"Ugh..." - the sound of a woman's pained moan echoed through the dark alleys of the city along with ragged breathing.
The sound of footsteps in the puddles of water produced by the rain was becoming more and more prominent as the silhouette of a woman continued to run relentlessly.
"Just... a little more..." - murmured the woman with a pale face. She was beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes and a delicate figure, which was covered by a hospital gown, showing that she had escaped from a medical institution - "Ugh... I have to go on... I can't let them find me, or you won't survive, my little one..."
A small, happy smile appeared over the woman's pale lips as she looked down at the tiny creature in her arms. A cute little baby with a tiny tuft of blonde hair atop his head.
The baby seemed to hear his mother, because he slowly opened his eyes, revealing blue eyes with slight green tints.
"I'm sorry..." - muttered the woman as she took a long breath and continued running without an apparent destination - "Please hold on a little longer, you'll be somewhere safe soon..."
The woman continued to run as she tried to listen for the sound of her pursuers, though to her sorrow, the sound of the rain along with the sound of the hundreds of cars was blocking any possible ambush trail.
"I'm really sorry, my little one, I know you're not to blame, but that's not what they think..." - said the woman as she began to sob - "I know I shouldn't have done it, but I couldn't go on like this, I don't love that man, and I thought that with you, I could save myself from that marriage, but..."
The woman paused for a few seconds as she bit her lip - "They didn't care, in fact, they told me to abort you..."
She continued sobbing as she looked at the sky clouded by rain clouds - "You are the fruit of the love between Takahito and me, you are the proof that I could have been happy if it wasn't for those... monsters..."
The woman ran again until she heard the sound of her pursuers on the road ahead, so she quickly changed the direction of her escape.
Her weak body was getting more and more exhausted, however, her maternal instinct gave her enough strength to continue. She had to protect her baby and would do so even if she had to sacrifice her life.
"It's not this way, check the other alleys!"
"!" - the woman's eyes widened when she heard this voice, so, she started running much faster.
The baby started crying because it was too cold.
"Please hold on a little longer, my little one, just a little longer..." - murmured the woman as she increased the speed of her steps until she came out onto an empty street. She quickly looked around in the hope that she could find a safe place, until she saw it, a huge house surrounded by fences with a sign that read [Takagi Orphanage] - "I made it..."
The woman let out a huge sigh of relief as she felt her strength draining away.
In a last-ditch effort, she ran to the door and knocked on it with as much haste as she could muster.
"Yes?" - said an elderly woman, only to be surprised to see a pale blonde woman - "Jesus Christ!"
"I don't have time, please take my baby and protect him!" - exclaimed the woman with a hysterical voice.
"No, come in, you're pale, shivering, and I can tell you've been in the rain for hours!" - exclaimed the elderly woman.
"No, I can't stay, or I'll endanger my baby" - replied the blonde woman as she bit her lip and looked lovingly at the little baby - "Please protect him..."
The woman tried to say something else, but watched as the woman in a hospital gown ran off with tears in her eyes, though when she reached the gate, she turned around and looked at the elderly woman - "Please tell my little baby, my little Cloud, that his mother loves him, and always will..."
"Ok..." - murmured the older woman as she let out a sigh. It wasn't the first time she saw something like this, so she decided to accept the woman's request, more so when she noticed how cold and wet the baby was - "I will, although I would like you to tell me your name..."
"My name is Iris... Iris Strife..." - The woman replied as she turned around and started to run.
The older woman watched as this woman's silhouette disappeared, praying that someday she would return for her son, after all, she could see that this beautiful woman did not wish to be separated from her little boy.
"Lucia-san?" - asked a woman as she walked towards the door.
"I was just going to call you, Hana-chan!" - Lucia, the older woman exclaimed as she handed the baby to the 30-year-old woman - "I need you to bathe him with warm water, the little one has been hours in this cold rain!"
"Right away!" - Hana exclaimed as she grabbed the baby and ran to the bathroom.
Lucia let out a heavy sigh before walking to the kitchen to prepare some baby formula, though her thoughts quickly drifted to that beautiful blonde woman who had sacrificed her health for the safety of her child - "I hope you're safe."
* * * * *
"You've wasted a lot of our time, Iris-sama" - a male voice said.
"Seiya... I knew you would be the first to find me..." - Iris replied as she turned around and watched as a man in a suit walked from a nearby alley, though this was bad, after all, it was obvious that this man had seen what she had done - ". . ."
Seiya looked at the woman before letting out a sigh - "Come on, we have to get back, your father is anxious about your health..."
Iris opened her eyes, surprised to hear this, after all, she hadn't expected him to not ask about her baby.
"I may not be happy with your actions, Iris-sama, but that doesn't mean I wish for the death of a child, especially when it is already in the world of the living" - Seiya replied as he noticed the surprise in the young woman's gaze.
"Are you also condemning me for trying to be happy with the man I loved?" - Iris asked while biting her lip as she remembered how her father's subordinates had managed to find her beloved and had killed him in front of her eyes for having "tarnished" her reputation - "Takahito didn't deserve what you did to him."
"You know how the rules of our world are, Iris-sama" - Seiya replied as he shook his head, though he quickly let out a sigh - "You can hate us all you want, we just do our job..."
"I know, that's why even though I'm mad at you, I don't hate you..." - Iris answered while biting her lip - "The ones I hate are my father and that son of a bitch Ichiro Shido whom my father wants to offer me..."
Seiya simply kept silent, though he had to admit he wasn't happy about this either because that man, Ichiro Shido, was a son of a bitch of the lowest class. A corrupt politician who was only looking out for his amusement, to the point that he had lost count of how many deaths after rape he had covered up.
"I don't plan on marrying him, Seiya..." - said Iris as she gritted her teeth - "I..."
Seiya paused for a few seconds before letting out a sigh - "I'm sorry. Iris-sama."
Iris simply lowered her head with a blank stare, it was obvious that she had given up hope when she heard the refusal from Seiya, who was the most reasonable of the group.
Seiya quickly hailed his vehicle, a long limousine and had the woman get in, only to frown as he saw how there was someone inside, a man of about 30–40 years old, black hair, obese, and ugly, the kind of men who would star in those stories that were becoming popular in certain types of animations lately.
"What are you doing here, Ichiro-sama?" - asked Seiya as he bowed his head.
"I was worried about my beautiful fiancée" - answered Ichiro as he licked his lips at the sight of Iris with that gown stuck to her body because of the rain - "Aren't I a fantastic man, Iris?"
Iris looked at him with disgust before sitting as far away from him as possible.
Ichiro simply smiled as he approached the woman, only to frown when he felt her push him away with a slap - "Pretentious bitch, you already spread your legs for that bastard... And you're still playing pure?"
Iris simply glared at him as she saw how this son of a bitch talked about her beloved, though she didn't say anything else.
"Tch, wait when we get married, I'm going to make you sing my name every night while I show you that son of a bitch's picture" - Ichiro said disdainfully.
Iris trembled slightly, though she didn't say anything all the way home.
As soon as he arrived, she said she would be in her room.
The next morning, her father went to her room to make sure she was okay, after all, she had been in the rain for a long time, although when he did, he let out a scream of terror when he saw how his only daughter was lying lifeless on the bed with dozens of small vials beside her.
[Medical report: Death by overdose].