A/N: I decided to join in on the Misawa and Taniya love! This is NOT an attempt to copy Higuchimon. Her stories did give me that extra bit of inspiration, but I had had these ideas for months.
I admit that I know nothing about most of what Taniya has endured in this story. But I did do quite a bit of research online in an attempt to make it more realistic.
For most of her life, Taniya had not had a true family to call her own. She had next to no memory of her mother, and less of her father. Taniya's grandmother had raised her instead. She would never be able to forgive that woman. Never. It had all been right in front of her face, but she had been blind. Taniya had kept on protesting that she didn't like that man in the marketplace, and he creeped her out, but all Grandmother said was that she should be grateful for the nice man's compliments!
Sometimes Taniya wondered if maybe she was being a bit too harsh. Grandmother had been a genuinely kind person, and wanted to see the best in everyone. And it was partly her own fault, too, for letting that man lure her away when she went to the market alone. At eleven, she had thought herself nearly grown, and had thought she could fight off anyone who caused her harm. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case.
Taniya had told no one, but instead had withdrawn into herself. Grandmother had asked what was wrong, but eventually gave up after only getting stares of stony silence as a reply. Taniya had spent more and more time outside the village, making her body stronger so this would never happen again. At first, the people in the other villages had laughed at the scrawny preteen who showed up asking for work. But she had been determined, and grew strong from all of the heavy physical labor. She could lift large animals and plow fields along with all the grown men by the time she was fourteen.
In her free time, Taniya practiced harnessing the duel spirit energy that most of the tribe had abandoned. It took years of attempts, but she finally learned how to change her form temporarily. And when she deemed herself fit enough, she made sure that that evil man paid for what he had done. The other people had never been able to figure out just what had caused the huge bite marks all over that man's corpse.
When Grandmother died, there was nothing left to keep Taniya in the area. The women in her own village scoffed at her ideas to restore the Amazon name. The people in the neighboring nomadic settlements had grown to respect her for all the hard work she did for them, but she couldn't live there either. No, she needed to go out into the world, to find people she could actually identify with for once in her life.
Her long journey had eventually led her to the Seven Stars. They were very gracious to her, considering that she had still been a farm girl in homespun clothes when she first encountered them. They had introduced her to the modern world. Where she had come from, cars had been an oddity to gawk at from a distance every few months or so. Taniya had never thought she would get to ride in one…plus a plane and a boat! Plus, she got her first store-bought set of clothing and her own pet tiger. It took a while to tame the beast, and Taniya had the scar to show for it. But eventually, it proved to be a loyal friend.
It was fun while it lasted, but Taniya couldn't let these flashy things distract her for long. She had a job to do…well, two jobs really. First, there was her work with the Seven Stars. She wasn't entirely sure what this was supposed to accomplish, but she had never been one to question an assignment.
Then, there were some more personal matters. She had vowed to her tribe that she would conceive a daughter for them within a year. But it was difficult finding the right guy. Most of the males at this school were scrawny, boyish teenagers who were probably barely old enough to make a baby, let alone be a suitable mate.
Then…she had met Misawacchi. Boy, had he ever thrown her for a loop. Taniya's goal had been to just pretend she was interested in him so she'd get her baby. She'd timed this all down to the day, so hopefully it would only take one time and she could get on with her life. However, she found herself actually meaning what she was saying! Taniya had never thought she could actually be attracted to a man...she had assumed that any natural sex drive had been destroyed for good when she was eleven. She had started to think she was on to something here, only to be sorely disappointed when this boy turned out to be no better than his peers. But Taniya did manage to get what she wanted out of it before she dumped him.
And now, the waiting began. Taniya spent the next weeks hiding in the jungle. She had no intention of going back to the Seven Stars…she had gotten all she could out of it, so it was time to set off again.
And then everything changed. Just when Taniya was starting to think she might be pregnant, she was catapulted into that alternate dimension. Well, there would be no going back to her tribe now…but the thought of never seeing home again was not so distressing after she got used to the idea. What was left for her there, after all? No, it was probably better this way.
So she started up her old habit of wandering from village to village, doing assorted chores and protecting the people from hostile duel spirits in exchange for shelter. During this time, she confirmed that she was indeed having a baby. But that wasn't the end of the waiting…far from it. Now, Taniya had to be held in suspense for eight months until the actual birth. If it turned out that the baby was a boy, this would all have been for nothing and she would have the whole process over again.
As Taniya grew bigger, she tried her best to do her usual work. After all, she firmly believed that a pregnancy was no excuse for napping all day, despite what the village women said. They kept exclaiming that she should at least stay inside; she might hurt herself. But Taniya ignored them and continued to stoically chop down trees for firewood.
Eventually, she decided that she should find her own place. It was winter, and she was getting restless being cooped up in the village area. After a few days of searching, she happened upon a spacious cave. Sure, it was a bit cold in there, but she was used to that. She had grown up in a place where temperatures routinely plummeted to forty degrees below zero, after all!
Taniya spent those last long weeks building furniture for her apartment. She was determined for the furnishings to be mostly finished by the time the baby came. She also knitted blankets and hats until her fingers bled. She didn't know too much about babies, but she had figured out that they would need extra protection from the cold.
The nights could be difficult. Toward the end, Taniya had to get out of her warm bed to pee about every ten minutes. When she finally did fall asleep, she was plagued by nightmares of her old tormentor. She began to wish that Misawa was here with her, so she wouldn't be alone in this dark cave. If she didn't know any better, she'd think she was actually scared. But she was Taniya, and Taniya was above such trifling things as fear.
Taniya had assumed that the birth would be easy. She had resolved to do it all herself, so there wouldn't be any silly village women getting in the way and making the process longer than it had to be.
After just a few hours of labor, though, Taniya knew she had bitten off more than she could chew. Well, she couldn't go get help now…it was too late for her to walk such a long distance. All she could do was stay curled up in a corner, biting down on a stick so she wouldn't scream. . She had never guessed that pain could encompass all of her being like that. Soon she even lost her ability to think coherently. The only ideas in her head right now went something like: HELP OH NO IT HURTS I'M GOING TO DIE HELP ME!!!
Later, it would be difficult for Taniya to recollect many details. She couldn't remember just how she had summoned the strength to push for hours on end. If she had been a normal woman, the exertion probably would have killed her. But her spirit energy, as well as her extra strength, must have given her just enough of a boost to make it through.
Finally, it was over, and Taniya collapsed on a blanket, soaked in sweat and holding the squalling infant close to her. Despite herself, she broke down in tears of relief when she saw it was a girl. She'd done it! She had her own chubby, healthy baby girl. It wasn't going to be easy, she knew that. Taking care of a baby was a daunting task even with two parents around. She'd have to learn everything as she went…how to hold the baby, and feed and change her. But at last, she had a family of her own.
After a while, things fell into a routine. The village women scolded Taniya roundly for not seeking their help, but agreed to watch over the baby while Taniya was out working for them. As time went by, she stayed in the village overnight sometimes also. Taniya wished that she could spend all day and every day with her daughter, but was grateful for even the reduced amount that she got. She couldn't take on the duties of a father and be a full-time mother simultaneously…not in this world at least.
Even so, for the first time, Taniya felt fulfilled. After baby Anna got a bit older, she turned out to have a very pleasant temperament. She wasn't much for smiling, but would sit in the lap of anyone who let her. She also preferred her little world to be logical and predictable; just like…her father.
Yes, despite all the things that were going well, Taniya's thoughts often wandered back to Misawa. She wished that he could see his daughter; that she could be here so he could have a second chance to prove himself. Taniya was fairly sure that he'd be almost done with school by now, so maybe he'd grown up a bit. But other than that, the two of them were as happy as they could be, given the circumstances.
But then something unexpected occurred yet again when Anna was eight months old. Taniya had spent the day helping the men to get the harvest in before the first frost. Anna had been left with the women again. She was returning from hauling the last sacks of grain to an underground storage place when someone fell through the cave ceiling and landed right at her feet. And who was that person other than Misawa himself!
For a while, neither of them could believe what had happened. Taniya was so involved in helping his friends out, they barely even got a chance to speak to each other that first day. They didn't speak much that first night either, after the others finally left them alone. Therefore, Misawa didn't know about Anna until the next day, when Taniya went to pick her up from the village. He was taken aback, to say the least: he was even less prepared for parenthood than Taniya had been. Anna was also a bit shy around him, since she had not had been around many men in her first months of life. But they did eventually find peace, and Anna grew to be happy about the extra lap. Now, there was someone to stay at home with Anna when Taniya was at the village. And fortunately for them, Anna was a very sound sleeper during the night.
They knew this wouldn't last forever. Things were getting very ugly in this realm, and sooner or later they would have to go off to find help. When that happened, they would have to leave Anna behind; it would be much too dangerous to take her with them into uncharted territory. Their future together was uncertain at best. But for now, they were a complete family. Taniya had found what she was looking for, at least for the moment.