She had been surprised by the phone call: Hatori did not often call since the curse ended.
And she was just as surprised by the purpose of the call: a summons from Akito. Well, no, not a summons. A request . Hatori had made that clear. Akito was trying to let go of her former imperiousness and autocratic ways.
Of course, when she heard why Akito was requesting her, how could she say no?
Without telling anyone where or why she was leaving, she set out.
There were times when Akito wanted to strangle her husband Shigure. Two times in fact: the daytime and the nighttime.
'Teasing', he called it. 'Teasing', indeed. She was far from convinced that it wasn't all a plot to turn her into a ball of humiliation. A fat ball of humiliation.
She hated this feeling. She felt bloated, her feet were swollen, rooms were always too hot, and above all, her body just felt wrong .
She could trust Hatori not to say anything about it, but Shigure she had doubts about. Ultimately, she had used her trump card on him: if he told anyone without permission (Even Ayame. Especially Ayame.), he was to be denied sex forever. Thought, based on how she was feeling, she might go ahead with the threat anyway. A lifetime of celibacy sounded rather appealing at the moment.
But honestly, she had to come to terms with it. She was pregnant, and soon, it would be obvious to everyone.
The sour-faced head housekeeper looked at her with disdain as she quickly put on her house slippers.
"Akito-sama is waiting."
"Yes, yes!" She hurried. It felt odd being here. Though Akito had changed, much about the house had not. The oppressive atmosphere had lightened, but not fully dissipated.
Slippers on, she quickly shuffled after the housekeeper.
This latest idea of Shigure's was clearly yet another attempt to put her in a laughable situation. A 'pregnancy coach'? What an idiotic idea.
And yet, in a moment of weakness, she had agreed to it. Still, at least she was strong enough to veto Shigure's initial suggestion for a choice of coach: Mine Kuramae. Ayame's lover was altogether too happy, too crazy, and too grabby. She shivered with horror when she remembered the one and only time she had visited Ayame's shop. Before she had known what was going on, the Kuramae woman had stripped her and was dressing her as a dominatrix!
As usual, Hatori's suggestion was much more sensible and considerate.
The housekeeper knocked, and after hearing a soft word of assent from within, slid the door opened for the visitor to enter.
As she stepped in, she saw the former god of the zodiac rising to greet her.
In seconds, Satsuki had crossed the room and embraced Akito warmly.
Hiro had privately been one of Akito's favorites of the twelve. So guileless and innocent. It had felt like he had not feared her, but respected her-at least, at first. When the curse had broken, Hiro had privately insisted she she apologize to Kisa and Rin. So bold of him to demand that of her. But as she had told him earlier, that boldness was never something she hated about him.
And Satsuki, Hiro's mother, had always been fascinating to her. Having had a supremely self-centered, cruel mother in Ren, Akito had long harbored a special contempt for most zodiac mothers, but Satsuki was the glorious exception. She did not fear her child as Momiji's or Kyo's mothers had, did not regard her child as a key to social status like Ayame's and Yuki's, or publicly denigrate her child like Ritsu's.
But as fond as Akito was of Hiro and his mother… she still wasn't wild about being hugged. "Ah… Satsuki-san…"
"Akito-saaaaan" the other woman keened, "I'm just so happy for you!"
Finally, Akito couldn't take it anymore. She placed her hands on Satsuki's shoulders and firmly pushed away. "It hurts."
Satsuki released her hold on Akito and smiled sympathetically. "Your breasts are feeling sensitive, right?"
Akito nodded. "And sometimes, everything hurts."
"And in a few weeks, it'll be hard to even just get out of a chair!"
"I've… heard of that happening. Is it that bad?"
"Oh, I could tell you stories! There were days I felt like a beached whale! Of course, Hiro was premature, bless him, but Hinata took the whole term. The last two weeks I could barely get out of bed. I felt huge and sweaty and disgusting."
Akito mentally noted that Satsuki's coaching technique seemed to be somewhat counterintuitive." But after the baby is born, I'll go back to normal, right?"
Satsuki's chuckle had no humor in it. "If it were only that simple. The contractions that happen the two days after the baby is born are the worst. There are a few more weeks of cramping after that. And there is so much fat left over! And you certainly can't cut down on your diet if you're breastfeeding."
"Breastfeeding?" Akito started to go pale. She hadn't even thought about that.
"I never really got my original figure back. After two babies, my bikini days were over forever. But the worst part…"
"There's a worst part?" Akito croaked.
"...for me at least, were my dental problems. Both of the times I was pregnant, I had a bunch of cavities, and after Hinata, I had to have a couple of teeth pulled." She held her hands up to her jaw.
Akito had a special terror of dentistry. "Oh my god."
"So anyway, Hatori-sensei asked me to come over and talk to you because he said you had some worries about being pregnant." Satsuki's eyes suddenly widened in horrified realization. "Oh no."
Akito was nearly hyperventilating, her back to Satsuki.
"Wait! I'm sorry! I only told you about the bad parts! You haven't heard the good parts yet." Satsuki gently embraced Akito from behind.
"The good parts?"
"The good parts. Akito-san, can you imagine what it's like to have a tiny life in your arms, that loves you completely and that depends on you for everything, and that has a tie to you that can never be broken?"
Akito stiffened in Satsuki's arms. "Actually, I can."
Satsuki realized what the former god was talking about. "Akito-san… motherhood is not the same as the curse. I admit, it sounds like there are similarities, but they are only skin deep." She held Akito more tightly. "You'll be a wonderful mother."
Tears blurred Akito's vision. "How can you know that? When I was such a horrible god? What makes you think that I won't end up being just like my m…." Akito stopped herself before she said something she would regret. Ren was a topic she did not trust herself to talk about with anyone.
Satsuki gently but firmly placed her forehead against Akito's. "Akito-san is not her mother. Akito-san is Akito-san. And the Akito-san I know is the one who gracefully gave up being a god, and who instead tried to become a friend, a wife, and now, a mother." Satsuki gently touched Akito's slightly-bulging belly. "You are already in love with your baby. That's why you're so worried. But you know what? You don't have to be. I know for a fact that your baby is already in love with you. Head over heels, hopelessly smitten."
She couldn't take it anymore. With a loud sob, Akito hugged Satsuki tightly and began weeping on her shoulder. This felt ridiculous, humiliating, Tohru-ish, idiotic, and right . She cried out her worries, her stress, her pain, her irritation. Everything. She left dignity aside, and released all her anxiety and frustration.
At length, Akito stopped crying, but continued holding tightly onto Satsuki, who was softly running a hand up and down Akito's back. "Feeling better?"
Loosening her hold, Akito croaked out "Yes", then tried to fix her mussed hair, in vain. "I look a mess."
"Normally, I'd say that it's all right for a pregnant woman to look a bit on the sloppy side, but from what I know of Shigure-san, the less chances for him to tease you, the better, right?
Akito's hair was askew, eyes were red, clothes were wrinkled and tear-stained, and nose was runny. "I need a bath. Right now."
"Well, then, I should leave you to that." As Satsuki bowed to her, Akito quickly grabbed her wrist.
"Come back again tomorrow?" she asked almost timidly.
Satsuki smiled warmly. "Course I will. As often as you need. Besides, we haven't even talked about the actual childbirth yet."
Akito's eyes grew wide. "Oh, god, the birth ."
Satsuki cringed ever-so-slightly. This might end up being more difficult than she originally thought.
Notes: Like "Ayame's Baby", this was written in 2009. Even more than that story, this required very little editing: just a few word changes here and there.
I meant the switching perspectives in the first few sections to fool the reader into thinking that Tohru is Akito's coach, but the character tagging system has made a mockery of that.
I hope you enjoy.