Time of Dying
A Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's three-shot
Summary: A man. A scientist. That was all Hakase Fudou was in his own eyes until his wife, Ayame, gave birth to Yusei, their only child. However, work at MIDS had prevented Hakase from even seeing his wife and his child until an unfortunate accident once again binds the family together. From the day Yusei was born until the events of Zero Reverse occurred, he ponders why he risked his life and his family over the sake of research time and time again and he tries to do everything in his power to reverse all he has done. However, time by itself can be very cruel . . .
Disclaimer: None of the characters in this are mine. Not even Ayame. I mean, I just only gave Yusei's mom a name I could use to make life easier for myself. All the characters represented in this are owned by Kazuki Takahashi and those epic peoples that take part in 5D's.
A/N: Well, since I'm in the mood of re-writing my old fics these days, I felt the need to re-write the first and third chapters (Heck, probably the entire fic.) of Time of Dying. Hopefully, you'll enjoy these two chapters better than the original copies.
~Chapter 1: Life and Death~
The room is brightly lit, as per usual of a busy hospital around this time in the afternoon. There were many people in this hospital, most of them who are on the brink of dying. However, these people weren't on my mind at this particular moment. The only person on my mind right now was Ayame, my wife, who was probably giving birth to our child right about now.
I was working on my research with my associates, Rudger and Rex Godwin, when I received a call from Ayame's doctor, telling me that it was time for her to give birth to our first child. Our miracle, as Ayame truthfully put it. I quickly told the two brothers that this was a very important matter that not even the research on the Momentum could interfere with this time. After fourteen years of trying to conceive this child, our prayers were finally answered with a baby boy.
The two of them understood and continued to dutifully do their jobs so I could leave the research in good hands. Then, I immediately rushed out of the research lab and ran towards the hospital, which was the building right next door to the MIDS Research Center. The birth of my son . . . no, our son was an event I couldn't afford to miss. After spending so little time with Ayame after gaining my position as the head of MIDS, I couldn't miss meeting our little angel for the first time.
When I arrived at the hospital, I hurriedly inquired the receptionist at the desk, "Pardon the sudden intrusion, but where may I find Ayame Fudou?"
The receptionist looked up at me and gasped, for she probably didn't expect me to ask her such a question. Instead of replying, she quickly typed up something on her computer. Then she turned to look at me and said, "She's at the end of this hall on your right. The baby has yet to be born." Then she smiled at me and commented, "According to the doctors, you're just in time."
"Thank you very much." I responded. Then, I hurriedly ran towards the end of the hall.
I am now entering the room where Ayame was at. Room 565. My ears are greeted by the sound of Ayame's screams and my sight is greeted by the many doctors surrounding her. I run quickly towards her bedside, pushing one of the doctors out of my way. I had to see her face. It has been so long since I last saw her nine months ago.
Ayame's face is full of sweat, with tears probably mixed in. She is probably in extreme pain right at this moment, a pain I will never understand. But to her, it is probably a good kind of pain, the pain of knowing she will be able to deliver new life into the world. However, Ayame and I had been warned previously that this birth could cost her . . . her life. Her body is so frail and sickly, it probably can't handle the pressure of this birth. I could only pray that Ayame lives after this ordeal is over. Fate couldn't toy with Ayame's life like this. Not now. Not when we were so close to achieving our dream of finally having a baby boy in our family.
"Ayame . . ." I whisper, grasping for one of her hands, which was clammy from all the sweating.
The only response I got is more screaming from her pain. I only wish I could take it all away from her that she would never have to experience it. But, I can't. I'm just a mortal human being with no power like that whatsoever.
"It's alright, Ayame." One of the doctors tries to assure her. "He's almost here."
"Ayame, hold on. You're almost there." I whispered in her ear softly, hoping I would soothe her nerves, even by just a tiny bit.
No such luck.
She screams really loudly, which almost made me deaf hearing it since I was so close to her, and then she falls straight to the mattress of the bed she is laying on. The delivery process . . . it is finally over.
The room is filled with a new sound now. The sound of a baby boy's cries. Not ones of sadness. Not ones of joy. They are only cries which tell people that it is alive and healthy. I hold Ayame close to me out of instinct almost. She almost looks unconscious, but I could see that her eyes are slightly open and she is smiling. The baby . . . He is finally here.
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Fudou." One of the doctors comes up to us. "It is a healthy, baby boy. A miracle that he didn't inherit his mother's sickness."
I watch as the doctors bathe our new baby boy. He is a tiny little fellow, for he is only the size of about half of Ayame's arm. His skin is really ruddy and the amount of hair he has was just enough to cover the top of his head. Although he is crying very boisterously, he looks as though he is peaceful at the same time. He even looks like an angel.
However, a wave of guilt begins to spread throughout my body. Did a sinner like me, who did nothing to help his wife while she was pregnant with his child, deserve to call himself the father of this perfectly beautiful angel? Am I truly worthy to claim this angel as my son and his mother my wife? Did I deserve any of the miracles that had occurred before my eyes? Or, does Fate think otherwise?
I did not ponder on this thought for very long before I hear violent coughing breaking into my thoughts. The sound is all too familiar to me. It is a bone-chilling cough, one that made my skin grow cold as I look down at Ayame, who is coughing out blood at this point.
The joy of our newborn son quickly disappears from my mind as panic sweeps over my thoughts. Ayame's blood splatters over my face, but I didn't care. I want to be by her side more than anything right now. She's the only one that matters to me right now.
However, my wish wouldn't be granted. Doctors pull me away from her bedside as several of them take my place by her bedside, placing a breathing mask on top of her mouth. They try everything they could to get her to stop coughing blood. Normally, her fits, with medical help, usually cease after about a minute or two. But, five minutes have already passed since her fit of coughing began. Anxiety wipes over me in a second at this fact.
Finally, one of the doctors injects some kind of drug into her arms and her coughing gradually begins to decrease until finally, it stops. I am slightly relieved at this turn of events, thankful that she would be all right. However, being the worrisome person that I am, I ask one of the doctors quietly, "Will she be okay?"
The doctor that had helped deliver the baby is the first to reply to my question, "She will be all right, Hakase. She just needs to rest for a bit. Though, you and the child should consider yourselves lucky as well. We nearly lost her this time."
At those words, I become indignant. THIS time. I think bitterly to myself. She has had plenty of near death experiences before. Besides, how can these doctors take death so lightly? If I ever lost Ayame to death in this life . . . my life would serve no purpose, no objective, anymore. And, the little baby . . . How would I tell him about his mother if Death were to claim her as his own?
However, instead of saying any of these thoughts out loud, I sit beside Ayame again, since the doctors were busy conducting their tests. She must have noticed my presence in the room. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have stretched her hand out in my direction. Without even thinking about it, I grab her hand and hold it close to me. Then, for the first time since the delivery, she spoke, though her words were almost unintelligible.
"A-Aka . . ."
Aka is Ayame's nickname for me that she has always used since we started seeing each other.
"Don't speak, Ayame. Don't wear yourself out." I command her gently. "You need plenty of rest right now."
I place my right hand on her forehead. Her forehead is warm, the kind that occurs when you've been out in the sun too long. I want to reassure Ayame that I am here for her when she most desperately needs help. She grabs my hand and holds it.
"Where is . . . Where is . . . ?" However, her speech is cut off by her fits of coughing. Thankfully, this one lasts only a minute and no blood left her body.
"Ayame, please. Don't wear yourself out by talking." I remind her.
She nods in response, smiling.
"Our son's healthy. He's with the other doctors, so he'll be fine." I reassure her, answering her question which she could only partially speak.
She nods again and mouths, "I'm glad." I smile in response that she is going to be okay right now, as long as I am beside her.
However, even if I get to spend this much time with her now, the one thing I'm truly grateful for is that Ayame is even alive after the delivery. You see, Ayame was one of those children who were born with some kind of illness stuck in their body makeup. No one really knows why she is so sickly, since both of her parents and grandparents were healthy. The mystery itself even baffles the doctors. Her sickness, though, is improving, bit by bit. For you see, before we married each other, she had to make stops to the hospital for every trivial matter, such as the proper digestion of food in her stomach or if she was breathing properly. Well, the doctors say those are trivial matters, but personally, I think there's nothing 'trivial' about your body. Everything that your body does is important to you, no matter how trivial it seems. After we were married in the hospital she originally stayed at back in Okinawa, the frequent visits slowed down before she finally moved in with me. However, work at MIDS became so demanding that I had to make my home at the research center instead of in an actual house. So, Ayame was forced to stay at a hospital for around the clock treatment.
Although she was, and still is, considered sickly, she was showing some improvement over when she was younger, when she was really sick. The doctors were pleased at this news and they were relieved that they didn't have to monitor her body all the time. However, on top of her birth-given sickness, she has recently been diagnosed with tuberculosis. So she has been forced to stay at this hospital ever since so that her sickness wouldn't spread to others other than family.
However, this doesn't properly explain why her existence after giving birth to our child is considered a miracle. When we found out she was pregnant with the baby, the doctors gave us a grave warning. They said that due to Ayame's lack of blood, any of the remaining blood, when it comes time for the delivery, will be transferred to the baby to keep it alive, killing Ayame instantly. Ayame and I were distressed at the news, I more so than her. We wouldn't know what to do when that time came. So I asked the doctor what we could do in order for Ayame to not lose any blood. Ayame was still very much a young girl at 36, I being 38. I couldn't risk losing her at an age so young.
The doctors gave us two options then. Allow the birth of the baby, endangering Ayame's life in the process, or . . . abort the baby. They were strongly encouraging us for the latter option. However, Ayame and I were both indignant that they even suggested such a thing. They wanted us to abort our child, our love, our future.
Ayame was clearly more upset about this than I was. She flung her arm in anger, knocking over a vase of roses, where the water spilled on the tile floor and the roses lay abandoned. She winced in pain, but pain was the last thing she worried about, it seemed.
"Abort? Abort OUR child? OUR dream?" She interrogated the doctors present angrily. "Smash our miracle into a million pieces? Do you KNOW how many nights of working Aka had to sacrifice JUST so we could have sex and conceive this child? How many nights Aka had to sacrifice his health just so I could be pregnant?" She was choking a bit on her words, but she bravely continued, "Do you know how many times . . . we . . . we had to show our bodies to God, with only MY bed sheet to cover us both, in hopes that He would answer our prayers for a child?" Finally, she broke down and cried, for the situation at hand was too much for her innocent mind to bear. I placed my hand on her shoulders and held her close to me, remembering those days that she mentioned.
For the baby to finally be conceived in Ayame's womb, it took fourteen years of I trying to break away from the monotony of the Momentum research, just so I could help in fulfilling Ayame's dream by having sex with her. However, I could only leave at night time, which wasn't very often. That only happened . . . at the most, four times a year. Night time, fortunately, was when the hospital was mostly empty. Business in there usually didn't pick up again until four in the morning. I remembered . . . everything about those nights. Her body close to mine, her rapid breathing, her hands travelling along my bare back . . . It was all very vivid to me. I remember her being so reluctant about it, yet she went along with it anyway. All for the sake of one child.
I couldn't let all of Ayame and my efforts go to waste by means of abortion. That is simply and obviously out of the question.
"As you see," I told the doctors there, holding Ayame close to me, "abortion is simply not an option for the two of us. We're both going through with this pregnancy, whether you doctors like it or not."
Many of the doctors were too frightened by Ayame's outburst to even speak, yet alone respond to my statement. They only nodded and busily went back to work. One of the doctors gave me a pleading look, but I showed no difference in my facial expression, forcing him to follow his colleagues.
But, Ayame's outburst had made me realized that she was willing to DIE for this child. She wanted this child to be delivered safely, no matter what happens. I, by no means, consider abortion as the 'final solution' in pregnancy. But, I wasn't so sure if I was willing to risk losing Ayame's life over the child's delivery. Losing Ayame was the last thing I wanted to do in this life on Earth. However, I did not speak my thoughts then. I only held Ayame close to me, kissing the top of her head.
Maybe . . . Maybe it was because I didn't speak my thoughts out loud that Ayame lived past the delivery. Or, maybe it had something to do with our newborn son. He did have a strong aurora about him as he was entering this world. That aurora was something only a Signer, a follower of the Crimson Dragon, the dragon who helps protect mankind, had possessed. All that I knew is that our son might be more special than we had originally thought.
The doctors who helped with the delivery come in with the newborn baby, finally quieted down. The little boy is peacefully sleeping in the doctor's arms. It seems that the doctors finally calmed him down.
"It's a miracle." The doctor declares. "The baby shows no signs of permanent damage or sickness, despite the mother's condition."
The doctor's right. Our child was a miracle born into the world. He was the miracle that occurred after fourteen years of praying, after Ayame and my relationship had been broken by distance and time.
Like the Planetary Particles – Yusei Ryuushi – that bring the other particles together, this baby boy brought me together with Ayame, after we had been separated for so long.
So that shall be the baby boy's name. Yusei Fudou, the one who brings others together, no matter what.
Prior to this day in time, as a leader in quantum physics, I discovered these Planetary Particles, which were new. These particles were also necessary to build the Momentum, a non-polluting energy system. However, this is only my theory. But the fact I named my son after this discovery is the real deal, for I do believe he will bring others, despite the circumstances, together.
Yusei Fudou, the heir of the Fudou name and the blameless child of Ayame and me. I really expect the best for this child, after all we did to conceive, bear, and give birth to him. I pray that he does not commit the same mistakes I have made in my life. I pray that his path leads him to good fortune and prosperity. Not in money, but in bonds. I also pray that whatever obstacles he may face, he may overcome them with dignity.
I just wish him the best in everything he will do in this life.
The doctor then hands the sleeping boy – Yusei – to Ayame, who receives him with loving arms. She holds him close to her chest, disappointed that Yusei would have to receive her milk through the bottled kind instead of the natural way. The doctors had recommended this strongly, simply because they didn't want the baby to become sick like his mother.
However, her frown turned into a smile. She looks at me, and leaning towards me, she asks, whispering so only I could hear her, "Aka . . . Have you decided a name for him yet? For our little angel and our miracle?"
I smile in reply and whisper, "Yusei. Yusei Fudou."
"Yusei . . ." She repeated, stroking Yusei's black hair. "The name . . . It comes from your recent discovery, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. Since he brought the two of us together, I figured that was what Fate chose for our angel." I reply.
Ayame nods, still holding Yusei close to her. All of a sudden, she begins to cry, tears streaming down her face quickly. All that happened today is finally coming back to her in her mind, probably. She is probably still in shock of everything that's been happening to her. Before I even realized it, I start to cry also. This newborn child . . . He was the reason Ayame and I tried so hard, that we strongly hoped. This child spared his mother's life. This child sleeping . . . was our dream.
Our child, Yusei. He changed our lives the moment he was conceived.
Our son, Fudou Yusei.
At last, Yusei stretches out his tiny arms and yawns, waking from his slumber. He flutters his eyes open, wanting to see the world for the first time. His eyes open wide for a moment and then close them again, starting to cry. I guess he is still sensitive to the light.
"No, no. It's okay, Yusei." Ayame whispered, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's only the light. Nothing to be afraid of." She proceeds to rock him back and forth in hopes to calm him down.
He understands, by the tone of her voice, that the light wouldn't hurt him at all, so he opens his eyes again. This time, he lifts his right arm over his eyes to shield them so he wouldn't be as sensitive to the light. Then he put his arm down and stares at the two of us with his midnight blue eyes that he inherited from Ayame. Little Yusei stared at me for the longest of minutes with the semblance of a half-frown on his face. Then, his expression changes again.
Then, in half of a second, my worst nightmare begins to come to life.
Yusei closes his eyes for a moment, but when he opens them again, he begins to wail hysterically, like he had just experienced a terrible nightmare. Ayame and I both become concerned over Yusei's sudden behavioral change.
"Yusei, what's wrong?" Ayame inquires softly. But, before she attempts to calm him down, she proceeds to cough violently. Her breathing rapidly increases, as so does her heartbeat, initiating that her body has begun to spin out of control. Doctors scramble to the scene immediately, grabbing Yusei away from Ayame's hands so her tuberculosis wouldn't spread to him, pushing Ayame down on the bed while placing a breathing mask over her nose and mouth, and pushing me out the door of her hospital room, all at the same time. In a matter of seconds, my piece of heaven was changed into hell on Earth and my family was divided in an instant.
Yusei is still wailing hysterically with one set of doctors trying to calm him down, giving him multiple shots in case he caught his mother's sickness. Another set of doctors was focused on Ayame's coughing fits and many drugs were injected into both her arms in hopes to get her to stop. But, no drug seems to work on her this time.
I close my eyes to stop myself from crying. I want so badly for this to be a nightmare and nothing more. I want open my eyes and pretend what had happened was all a bad dream and that I was back in Ayame's hospital room with her and Yusei.
No such luck.
"Ay-Ayame . . ." I choke, holding back my tears. I couldn't cry over this. I just couldn't! Not now! But, the situation at hand makes it really hard not to cry. Men didn't cry, my father always told me. The closest they can get to crying is being silent and not talking to anyone. If you don't talk, you won't cry. And if you don't cry, no one's going to make fun of you for it.
But, sometimes, it is hard enough to not cry at all.
All I can do now is to go back to the MIDS building and try and remember and cherish the happy moment Ayame, Yusei, and I shared as a family before the unfortunate accident. Pretend that what I saw was a figment of my imagination. I didn't want to worry my colleagues over this, so I try to calm myself down.
I start to walk back towards the entrance of the hospital, distressed at what had happened.
Goodbye, Ayame . . . Yusei. Please don't forget me, a sinner unworthy of your love. Please . . . forgive all of my sins.
Preview
"Research on the Momentum has been causing the city to have the most unusual weather, so I have put a stop to this, but why is Rudger acting so unusual? Why does he want to resume research that might take lives if we're not careful? Has he lost his mind? But, despite these hardships, Ayame's feeling the best she's ever been in her life. I've been told that she hasn't coughed for more than one second recently. To even add to the good news, little Yusei is learning to talk now!
But, will this peace between us three last? Especially when Yusei is a confirmed Signer?
Next time, Time of Dying Chapter 2: Hell and Resurrection
