Two Sides to Every Coin (OPM Garou x OC)

Chapter 15: Responsibility

"I'm expecting," Kaana shut her eyes apprehensively. Her and Bomb were currently kneeling in front of one another at the dojo.
Kaana waited for his reaction, but for the first few moments it was really silent. She wasn't looking, but Bomb's face was blank, aside from the subtle shock in his gaze and features.
Then finally, Bomb spoke, "It's Garou's, isn't it?"
Kaana shot her eyes open, now looking at him before nodding calmly, "Yes."
"Mm," Bomb grunted and seemed to mull over his thoughts. His knitted brow suggested he was trying to sort through what he thought about this news, and this made Kaana even more anxious.
"Is there any plan for marriage?" he suddenly asked.
Kaana blushed at the question, "Uh, no, but he said that he wants it. I'm living with him, now."
"I see," Bomb mumbled, then sighed, "As long as he's taking responsibility for the child and making you happy. That's all that should matter."
Kaana smiled in relief, "I'm glad you aren't angry. As my mentor, your words mean a great deal to me. This means, that I won't be teaching for some time, though. I'm sorry for putting you through the inconvenience."
"It's quite alright, there are a few that can take over in your place until you return, so you just worry about the child," Bomb then went on to say, actually smirking, "However, I do expect frequent visits to know my future grandchild."
Kaana couldn't stop from laughing, "No problem."
She left the dojo with a hug from her Master, feeling relieved that he wasn't ashamed of her actions. If it had been her real father, he'd be devastated. Not at the fact that it was out of wedlock, but at the fact that she was not longer his little girl, anymore.
'I just hope that things go over well when Garou talks to Bang. I know how strict he can be,' Kaana thought.

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Garou left the dojo, fuming. The news didn't go over so well with Bang, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Bang was happy that they were finally together, but was shocked by such carelessness. Overall, he just reluctantly accepted that Garou had been, in his words, 'Reckless' and that Garou 'Better take responsibility for the child he helped bring into this world if he wasn't planning to marry Kaana.'
The way Bang worded it didn't sit well with Garou, but he wasn't about to let the old man dictate his decisions. Regardless, Garou had to go see Hitomi about his tests/DNA results and how it might effect the baby. This had been on his mind for a while and it made him worry about Kaana's health. Before that, the morning sickness hit its peak worse towards the end of the ninth week. Kaana would be up early hours of the morning, throwing up. The unusual malnourishment had been rectified, thanks to the unique batch of prenatal vitamins Hitomi gave her. Now, it was just a matter of seeing if the baby was in danger of genetic mutations from Garou's side.
~
Garou went to meet Hitomi at her hospital office, not her lab, to talk. Now, when Hitomi first met Garou, she was put off before realizing he isn't as intimidating as she had originally thought. Genos' statements when he heard about this meeting didn't help much, either with her initial assessment of him. Hitomi performed DNA tests, brain scans and behavior/sensory exams to gage his reactions to certain situations, according to the notes Kaana had given her. Then, comparing notes from Garou's side of the experience, it pieced together some things for the scientist and the results of the testing further confirmed it.
"Yo," Garou peeked through the office door. Hitomi was filing some paperwork when she looked towards her door, "Oh, Garou, you're early! Come in."
Garou silently walked in, shutting the door behind him and sitting in one of the chairs, "How's Kaana? Better, I hope?"
"She's doing alright. She isn't throwing up anymore," Garou rested his cheek against his fist, looking slightly disinterested, as per usual.
"That's good. She's passed ten weeks, so the morning sickness shouldn't be an issue anymore," Hitomi then stood up, "Now, speaking of the pregnancy, I've also put together a nutritional diet plan for Kaana to follow, according to nutritional needs of the baby."
Hitomi handed a piece of paper to him, Garou sat up more as he took it. He looked through it, then commented, "She isn't going to be happy about this change. She's got a big sweet tooth."
"Well, according to the readings I took, the baby isn't allowing her to consume anything with artificial sweeteners or ingredients," Hitomi relayed, "She'll have to eat raw vegetables and natural foods."
"I guess, that explains all the throwing up. I knew that sweet shit wasn't doing any good for her," Garou retorted.
"Now, this would be a normal change if the list wasn't so specific, but when I got your results back...they weren't exactly normal," Hitomi leaned against her desk, folding her arms, "I did find a few mutations in your DNA. It's nothing too concerning, it just tells me that you do hold the genetic potential that go beyond super human capabilities, which is, obviously very evident."
Now, this was just a nicer way of saying 'It tells me you're part monster, which has already been established,' but the material artist was somewhat thankful for her professionalism.
"Will this be passed down to the kid?" Garou asked.
"I'll have to take physical samples to confirm it, but if I had to make a guess just from the abnormalities of the pregnancy, I'd say there's a strong possibility," Hitomi relayed, "Now, there are the tests regarding your unusual behavior. This could be another issue all together."
"What did you find out?" Garou perked at this, showing more interest.
"The brain scans showed abnormal activity in your prefrontal cortex, which controls the subjects' instincts and impulse control. You also mentioned to me the partial monster transformation you went through when you were 18. Looking through the results and notes you and Kaana gave me, this tells me that your transformation altered your brain chemistry. Considering your basic instinct all your life was to survive, that instinct's now been amplified tenfold, like that of a wild animal. Add your heightened senses to it, your primal instincts overruled your impulse controls. That could also explain why you couldn't remember anything."
Garou eyes were wide with disbelief, quickly sitting up and leaning more out of the chair, "That can't be it! Kaana and I lived up in the mountains for years and I never jumped her! Explain that to me!"
"Garou, you need to remember, you had just went through your transformation when you met Kaana. Not to mention, you were just barely out of your teens, so the chemicals in your brain were still regulating from both of those factors. By then, you were used to having a female there over a gradual period, so you couldn't detect anything, hormone wise, from her," Hitomi explained, "Then, there's the four year gap where you two didn't associate yourselves with one another. During that time, you had already reached sexual maturity without a chosen female and wasn't actively seeking any other female besides Kaana. So, when Kaana was ovulating, your senses and instincts went into overdrive. The scent you were smelling from her, the territorial behavior, the impulse to protect. Even marking her when you two slept together are all associated with it. I know this sounds outrageous, but your brain is now rewired to act on animal instincts."
Silence filled the office as the former hero hunter soaked this in. It made sense, but this worried him even more than put his mind at ease. Did this mean that this could happen again?
"Since Kaana's pregnant, does this mean this'll happen again or what?" Garou inquired.
Hitomi just frowned, "Well, like I said, you were acting on the animal instinct to survive. That usual means procreating in any animal species. So, one of two things could happen: After the baby's born, you won't have another episode since you already have an offspring--"
"And the second thing?" Garou raised a brow.
"When Kaana ovulates, again...you won't be able to control yourself, just like the last time," Hitomi let out a long sighed, "Again, I'm not entirely sure, as I've never seen this behavior in ordinary humans. And you aren't exactly all human, anymore."
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"I'm home," Garou shut the door behind him. Kaana emerged from the kitchen, wearing an apron,"Welcome home, Garou," she greeted him with a smile. Garou felt his stresses melt when he saw her and heard her voice. It was always so welcoming and warm. His home didn't feel so cold anymore, now that Kaana was there.
Garou walked up to her, using both hands and pulled her in close by her waist, "How are you feeling?"
"Energized, surprisingly," Kaana told him, "I think because I'm not suffering from morning sickness anymore, I got most of my energy back."
"Oh, before I forget," Garou removed one hand from her waist, reaching into his sweatpants pocket and pulling out the paper, "Hitomi's got some new rules for you."
Kaana took the paper, unfolded it and scanned the contents before frowning, "Seriously? No sweets?"
"The baby doesn't want that shit in its system. It's why you couldn't keep anything down to begin with," Garou pointed out.
Kaana sighed as she folded it back up, "I have a feeling this baby is going to take after you, or at least, have your ravenous appetite."
"I ain't that bad," Garou rolled his eyes at her.
"Says the man who can eat a whole bear by himself, if given the chance," Kaana smirked teasingly. Garou snickered and pulled her in closer, their noses touching, "You're so cruel to me."
"I only speak the truth," Kaana giggled before pecking him on the lips, "By the way, I told Bomb about the baby. He was more composed than I thought he'd be."
"That's good, at least. Bang gave me an earful for knocking you up," Garou's face hardened when he recalled the conversation, "Funny, as he was trying to get us together for some time. Still, he wasn't angry, just...shocked, I guess?"
"Anyone would be. He sees you as a son, Garou, he was probably upset about us being reckless, if anything," Kaana didn't know how right she was, but Garou wasn't about to go into detail.
"I suppose, we have to tell your sister now, huh?" Garou reminded her, "You're 16 weeks, so you're out of the danger zone."
He wasn't wrong, plus with Kaana carrying so high, her bump was barely noticeable, so hiding the news this long was easy.
He felt Kaana tense in his embrace, "I know. I'm still nervous about how she'll react."
"You're nervous? She can literally vaporize me and tell everyone I ditched you," Garou gave her a look.
Kaana rolled her eyes at his ridiculous imagination, "She isn't like that. The worse thing that she can do is not contact us anymore, which is very unlikely. Kenji loves you too much."
"If you say so," Garou sighed, just accepting it as it is.
Kaana remembered, "Oh, did Hitomi talk to you about your tests?"
It was now Kaana feeling Garou tense, "Uh, yeah. Apparently, I'm rewired to act like an animal when you're fertile."
"....Huh," Kaana had a feeling there was a little more to it, but decided to just speak with Hitomi about it, "Will it happen again?"
"Hitomi's not sure," Garou grumbled, "That's what worries me. I don't want to wind up hurting you, again."
"You didn't hurt me," Garou shot her a skeptical brow raise, "Much."
"Like that makes me feel better," Garou then let her go, "It's a good thing I don't remember what I did. I don't think I'd be able to handle it."
"You're making it out to be much worse than what it really was, Garou," Kaana crossed her arms, now becoming irritated, "And I'm not telling you this to put your mind at ease, since you don't want me to tell you, at all. It was rough, not traumatizing."