Author's Notes: This is my first attempt at a Kamen Rider story. I hope that you enjoy it, and that the characters maintain their correct personalities throughout the reading. Constructive Criticism is always welcomed.
MAJOR SPOILERS through Kamen Rider Moive: Accel
Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider or any of the series characters, I am simply borrowing them for momentary amusement.
Love Bites
Ryuu knocked hesitatingly on the bathroom door after he heard the toilet flush, his wife having just emptied her stomach's contents into it moments before.
"Chief…?" He called out and waited for an answer. When all he received was a groan in response he tried again. "Are you okay?"
"I think the milk for my coffee was expired," came her weary and muffled voice from the other side of the wooden door.
Ryuu grimaced in sympathy. "If you unlock the door I can come in and help you."
His wife's resulting groan of horror made him sigh quietly to himself. "Alright, but if you need anything I'm just in the other room." He stared at the locked door for a moment more before resigning himself to the kitchen and cooking up something light for her unsettled stomach.
Akiko eventually emerged from the bathroom looking exhausted and a little flushed as she collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table. She looked up to see Ryuu placing a plate of breakfast in front of her and she smiled warmly at him. "Thanks," she said before tentatively nibbling at it.
He simply smiled back, glad that she seemed to be feeling much better now that she had gotten everything out of her system. He returned to the table a moment later with a fresh cup of coffee for himself when he noticed Akiko's head snap up and stare at him.
"What?" he had time to ask before she was dashing out of the room and the inevitable sound of the bathroom door being slammed shut sounded throughout their apartment. Ryuu sighed. It looked like coffee wouldn't be welcome around his wife for a little while.
Shoutarou sighed in annoyance as he sipped at the hot tea on his desk. Ever since Akiko's encounter with a bad cup of coffee a couple of weeks ago she had all but forbidden it in her presence as now even the mere smell of it would send her running for the nearest bathroom. As she was at the Narumi Agency nearly every single day that meant that both he and Philip had to suffer along with Terui and forgo the stimulating dark liquid and seek other alternatives. He scowled at his tea; it just wasn't the same.
He had learned not to say anything though. The last time he complained Akiko had flared up in anger so quickly that he had been hit upside the head with one of her infamous slippers before he could blink. Then she had settled down as if nothing had happened. Rather than invoke her wrath again he simply glared at his cup when her back was turned.
Philip on the other had seemed to be taking this new change in stride. He had thrown himself into researching tea with all his usual reckless abandon, and seemed quite thrilled to discover all the various teas the world over.
"At least somebody's enjoying themselves," he muttered to himself.
"What was that?" Akiko's hearing was almost catlike sometimes.
"Nothing, nothing," Shoutarou stated. "Just wondering why you're eating so much takoyaki lately is all."
Akiko looked down at the plate in front of her. She had just returned from a cart vendor who was selling it down the street. "I like takoyaki."
Shoutarou rolled his eyes. "But you've been having it every day."
"So?"
"If you're not careful," he smirked, "you'll become fat." He was gratified to see Akiko's eyes go wide. "Ahh, just imagine. One day Philip and I will get a call from the hospital that poor Terui was squashed in his sleep by his wife." He couldn't keep the evil grin from his face as he looked back at Akiko only to see her burst into tears.
"I don't want to squish Ryuu-kun!"
Philip glanced up from his book to look at Shoutarou with a look that clearly said 'Now what have you done?'
"Don't look at me!" Shoutarou responded to the silent accusation, completely flustered.
Philip sighed quietly as he shook his head. "You're not going to squish him," Philip said in as reasonable a voice as he could manage. He just never knew how Akiko was going to react sometimes; her flair for the dramatics were unlike anything he had ever encountered in a person before, through research or otherwise.
"But I'm getting…fat," she lamented.
"Probably all the takoyaki you've been eating," Shoutarou muttered before there was a whoosh and he was seeing stars. "OW!"
"I'm not fat," Akiko was glowering down at Shoutarou now, her tears vanishing in an instant to be replaced with towering anger.
"I never said you were!" Shoutarou exclaimed. "You did!"
"Philip-kun!"
Philip froze in anticipation as Akiko set her sight on him. Her eyes filled with tears again. "Do you think I'm fat?"
"No, no. Of course not," he reassured her as he subtly shifted his body so that he could get a running head start if she chose to advance on him next.
"See?" Akiko rounded on Shoutarou, all ire once again.
"Argh!" Shoutarou let out his frustration. "What's with you Akiko? Your mood swings are giving me a headache."
"Maybe she's pregnant," Philip commented off-handedly from behind his book. Both Akiko and Shoutarou froze at this. The room was silent for a moment until Shoutarou dissolved into fits of laughter.
"Who? Akiko?"
Whoosh.
"OW! Akiko!"
"Are you saying I'd make a bad mother?"
The tone in her voice had Philip shaking his head at his partner's idiotic tendencies. Akiko was known for her dramatic mood swings. Hadn't Shoutarou learned that by now?
"Ah! Terui! Just in time!" Shoutarou's harried voice sounded the moment Ryuu opened the door and descended into the Narumi Agency. "Get your rabid wife off me!"
Ryuu watched in quiet amazement as Akiko landed one last swift hit to the head before turning with all smiles to her husband. It never failed to amaze him how much they acted like siblings at times. If he hadn't known better himself, he would have sworn they were related somehow.
Akiko bounded across the room and threw her arms around Ryuu in an ecstatic hug. "Are you ready to go home?" she asked, her grin as infectious as always.
Ryuu nodded with an answering smile.
"Bye Philip-kun!" she exclaimed happily before glaring at Shoutarou. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow."
"Just go!" Shoutarou's exasperated tone was evident.
Ryuu looked at Philip with an eyebrow raised in question. The younger boy's eyes darted quickly from his partner to Akiko and back to Ryuu before subtly shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders as if to say Don't ask; it's no different than usual .
Ryuu grasped her hand and his smile deepened as her eyes all but lit up in response. The couple had just reached the door when Ryuu and Shoutarou's phones went off simultaneously. Everyone paused as the two glanced at each other briefly before answering their calls.
"What?" they exclaimed at the same time upon listening intently for a few minutes. Philip and Akiko looked between the two in surprise.
"We're on our way," came Shoutarou's quick response, snapping his phone shut. Something in his tone had Philip on edge.
"I understand. I'll be there immediately." Ryuu looked at his wife. "I'm sorry."
Her face fell fractionally. "Work?"
He nodded.
She broke into a bright smile. "Then duty calls! Go protect people! I'll just stay with Ph -" She looked over her shoulder to see Shoutarou quietly informing Philip about the situation and their matching grim expressions sent a resulting chill down her spine. She looked back at her husband. "How bad is it?" she asked quietly.
He simply stared into her eyes for what felt like an eternity before patting her on the head softly. "I'll be back Chief." He looked up at the other two. "Are you ready?"
"Philip-kun? You're going?" Akiko was surprised. He still tended to stick closer to the agency despite Museum's evaporation; both Foundation X and the NEVER had proven that there were more people seeking control out in the world than they could ever count.
Philip exchanged a quick glance with Shoutarou again before nodding.
"Oh, then why don't I -"
"No."
Akiko looked at Ryuu in puzzlement. Where had that come from? He was looking at her intently.
"You need to stay here," he continued, softer this time as Shoutarou and Philip quickly ducked out the door, only glancing back briefly at the pair. Akiko felt an innate sense of curiosity at the identical looks they had on their faces. She looked back at Ryuu and was startled to see the same look on his face. "Please," he added. He smiled gently at her when she nodded hesitatingly, still confused.
As he turned to hurry out the door he felt her hand clamp down on his wrist. He waited for her to say something, but it seemed like the words were caught in her throat. Ever so gently she pulled him closer until she was nearly hugging his arm. On a whim he suddenly embraced her with his free arm and kissed her chastely on the lips before bolting out the door after the two detectives.
Akiko suddenly felt cold, as if all the warmth had left the room with Ryuu. She simply stared at the door, trying to puzzle together what could possibly be going on. Out of nowhere she felt thoroughly exhausted, as if all the intensity of the last few moments had wiped all the energy out of her system. Sitting heavily on the couch chairs near the door, Akiko decided that she might as well relax while she waited for the guys to return. Within seconds she was promptly asleep.
It was an ache in her lower back that woke her up. She groaned quietly as she sat up in the chair and blearily looked around the room. It slowly registered in her mind that she was still at the Agency, which was completely dark in the room aside from the steely gray of the approaching dawn that filtered through the windows. And that she was completely and utterly alone.
The last thought had her sitting bolt upright, her heart hammering in her chest. Her eyes darted all about the main room before she was on her feet and across the room, throwing aside the curtain that hid Philip's bed.
It was empty and undisturbed.
Akiko spun on her heel. "Philip-kun? Shoutarou-kun?" she tried to keep her voice level as she sought for any other human life in the Agency. No one answered.
She raced back across the room and snatched her cell phone from where it had fallen on the floor in her sleep. She flipped it open. Nothing. Not one message. Not one missed call.
"It's alright," she told herself. "It's not like a particularly hard case hasn't kept them out until dawn before…" She bit her lip and checked her inbox again in case she had somehow missed something. She was halfway through dialing Ryuu's number when she stopped herself. "Calm down Akiko. You're probably worrying over nothing. Someone would have called you if anything serious had happened." She nodded as if to reassure herself. "It'll be fine. Everything is just fine." She glanced at her stubbornly silent phone again as if mere willpower could summon someone to call her.
She growled in frustration, her temper quickly turning to anger. Enough was enough. They knew better than to not at least call her! She had just finished entering the last digit of Ryuu's number once more when she heard someone fumbling at the door. She closed her phone with a snap and stormed over to the door, throwing it wide open. "It's about time someone came to tell me what's going on. Do you have any idea -"
Akiko froze at the sight that met her just beyond the doorframe. She felt as if all the wind had been knocked from her lungs, drying her throat and making it impossible to utter a sound. She knew that what she was seeing would remain forever etched in her memories and create nightmares for years to come.
"Akiko!" Shoutarou's loud voice filled the small agency as he slammed the door open and rushed inside, Philip and Ryuu right on his heels.
The three breathed audible sighs of relief as they found her sitting at the little round table and look up silently at the sound of her name.
"Good, we made it back in time," Shoutarou exclaimed in an exhausted triumph.
Akiko returned to her cup of tea and stated in a flat tone, "If you mean before I called in to the police station for reporting you missing then yes. If you are instead referring to before I woke up and began to wonder if the three of you were even alive…"
The three winced as if she had yelled instead of spoken quietly.
Ryuu made to approach his wife "Chief -"
"Stop," Akiko held up her hand. "I'm sure it was important, otherwise you would have been here…" Her voice trailed off and her gaze fell back to her right hand holding her cup of tea.
The three young men all exchanged glances and with a silent understanding, seemed to communicate to each other. Ryuu moved closer and made to lay his hand on her head, but Akiko was up in a flash and halfway across the room before he could blink.
"Don't!" Her tone was piercing and sharp. She winced to herself, her right hand fisted at her side. "Please," she tried again, quieter this time. "Don't…don't touch me right now." She met his confused gaze with her watery ones. "Please." Her eyes pleaded with him and reluctantly Ryuu stepped back. Akiko let out the breath she had been holding.
Unable to look him in the face anymore she dropped her gaze to the floor. "I just…I'm tired. I'm going to go home and get some sleep."
"I'll go with y-"
"No!" Again Akiko's voice came out hard and final. Philip and Shoutarou's eyebrows shot high into their hairline. Akiko? Refusing Ryuu?
"I'll be fine," she rushed to assure them, infusing her voice with her usual cheer. "You're working on a dopant case, aren't you?"
"Y-yeah," Shoutarou reluctantly informed her.
"Alright then!" Akiko pumped her left fist into the air. "Go track down the user of this GaiaMemory and set them straight!" Her winning façade was back in place. "I'll be back later after I get some rest. Don't work too hard!" She called out in her usual singsong voice as she edged carefully out the door.
"I'll follow her," Shoutarou reassured Ryuu who was clearly torn between his wife's wishes and his own. "I'll make sure she gets there safe. You and Philip start the lookup while I'm gone."
Reluctantly Ryuu nodded and watched as the young detective slid out the door silently.
"I know you're there Shoutarou-kun," Akiko's voice called back over her shoulder when she was just over halfway home.
Shoutarou tried ducking behind the corner of the building at the sound of her voice then gave up the ruse when he heard her footsteps stop. He tried to laugh offhandedly. "How long have you known?"
"Since you left the Agency. I knew Ryuu-kun would probably send either you or Philip-kun." She waited until he had caught up with her before continuing home. "Philip-kun is quieter than you."
"Ah." It wasn't an insult, Philip was naturally inclined to be graceful and quiet, before springing out of nowhere at times. He reminded Shoutarou of Mikku every now and then.
When Akiko didn't continue he watched her face, surprised, as she usually took any opportunity to rattle his ears off about some nonsense or other. "So…" he began as she just continued walking in silence. "What was that back there?"
"What was what?" Akiko's tone came back seemingly uninterested but tense.
"With Terui."
"Nothing."
"…nothing?"
"Hmmm," she agreed.
"Oh…" They walked in silence for a few more moments. "So did anything interesting happen while we were gone? Did we get any clients?"
Akiko's right hand twitched and Shoutarou wondered briefly if she was wishing she had her slipper in hand. Her irritation seemed to be on a hair-trigger lately.
"No…" Akiko answered after a moment. "You did not receive any clients."
Something about her tone had Shoutarou glancing back over at the young woman walking beside him. He was startled to find her eyes swimming in tears.
"Akiko, look, we're sorry!" Shoutarou rushed to apologize. "We promise to call or message you next time. We didn't mean to worry you." When he saw that his apology only caused a tear to escape and slide down her cheek he tried to switch tactics. "We honestly thought you'd sleep through the entire thing and we'd come back to find you snoring and drooling all over the - OW!"
"Shoutarou-kun you idiot!" Akiko yelled as she ran off, slipper in hand.
"Akiko!" He growled, aggravated, until he noticed she was already half a block ahead of him. "Come back! Terui will kill me!" He raced after her.
"We should just tell her."
"No."
"It's not like she hasn't seen it before."
"Do you want to be the one to bring up her bad memories?"
"Of course not! I'm just saying that we can't keep her in the dark forever, she's bound to find out eventually."
"Are you volunteering to be the one to tell her, Hidari?"
"What? I -"
The co-conspirators fell silent as the Agency door swung open and the topic of their conversation walked in through the door, Philip right on her heels. He had been sent to relieve Shoutarou after hours had passed and Akiko hadn't emerged from her room.
"Ah! Akiko!" Shoutarou exclaimed loudly, trying to cover up the sudden silence.
Akiko glanced briefly at the two before heading for the teapot and pouring herself a cup.
"Still trying to wake up, huh?" Shoutarou tried to lighten the tense mood as Akiko placed herself as far from her husband as possible.
"I don't think she's been feeling well," Philip whispered to the two as Akiko stared sullenly into her cup, as if searching for an answer in its liquid depths.
Ryuu frowned in concern and rose from his chair. The movement caused Akiko to start and lock eyes with her husband, her muscles tensing like a cat backed into a corner. He worked to cover his frustration as he changed directions and headed for the emergency kit stowed away in the office, pulling out a thermometer and handing it to Philip who looked at him questioningly.
"It's not always coffee that's setting her off now," he stated in lieu of a direct answer.
Understanding dawned immediately and Philip crossed the room swiftly to take Akiko's temperature, cajoling her into using it despite her sputtered protests.
"Ah, Terui?" Shoutarou prompted once more with an intent gesture at Akiko.
Ryuu stared Shoutarou down for a moment before finally caving in with an almost resigned nod.
"Akiko?" Shoutarou cleared his throat nervously. "There's something we need to tell you about the dopant case we're working on."
"It's Spider, isn't it?" Akiko's monotone response cut Shoutarou off as Philip checked her results.
The three men all stared at Akiko in surprise.
Her right fist clenched until her fingers were white, but otherwise she gave no other visible signs of tension. "It's not hard to piece it together with the explosions going off all around town and the whispered voices on the street."
"Ah," Shoutarou offered in answer.
"Her temperature is slightly off normal," Philip supplied into the break of conversation. "She may have a low-grade fever, but nothing to be too concerned over just yet." He turned to study her intently. "Maybe it's the stress…"
"We're sorry Akiko," Shoutarou tried. He glanced at Ryuu. "We didn't want to bring up painful memories of your father."
"Is it the same?" she asked in a small voice.
"Is what the same?"
"Can they really not…touch the person they love most anymore?" Akiko's voice became unsteady as her eyes filled with unshed tears.
"It's slightly different from your father's time," Ryuu added to the conversation for the first time.
Akiko looked up at him hopefully, but it was Philip who supplied her answers as he rearranged the medical kit and put it back in its much used place.
"It appears that the original GaiaMemory stick your father's partner, Matsui-san, received was incomplete. This new version requires skin-to-skin contact to activate; it seems to have focused on the specific genes and heightened hormone levels that the victim gives off before it latches on to them, spins its web and explodes."
Akiko's face went white as he continued.
"While the old version was highly effective, apparently there were times when the toxin would attack any 'loved' one instead of the 'one they loved most.' It would latch onto a friend or other family member, instead of the intended target." Philip's eyes lit up in wonder. "It's a fascinating progression on the advancement of the human body and their emotional connection to -" He cut himself off when Shoutarou placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a curt shake of his head. When he looked questioningly at his partner, Shoutarou subtly jerked his head toward Akiko.
Philip turned to see Akiko hugging herself tightly, as if she were trying to make herself as small as humanly possible in the room.
"I'm sorry Aki-chan," Philip immediately realized his mistake, guilt flooding through his system. "I didn't mean -"
Akiko shook her head and smiled weakly at her apologetic friend. "It's fine Philip-kun. I needed to know."
"Chief," Ryuu tried, rising from his chair with the intention of comforting his wife; he knew this wasn't easy for her.
"Don't!" She cried, flinching.
"Akiko!" Shoutarou scolded as he watched Ryuu struggle with his frustration, confusion and hurt. "He's just worried about you! Any one of us could have contacted you last night, why are you taking it all out on him? Give him a break!"
Philip, however, was studying the girl with an innate sense of curiosity and scrutiny. "I don't think that's it Shoutarou," he stated quietly. His hand unconsciously rising to his chin and his head tilting slightly to the side.
"What do you mean?"
The younger man continued to study Akiko as he formulated his hypothesis. "Let's try an experiment." He began to walk toward Ryuu. "Shoutarou? Could you please hold onto Aki-chan for me?"
"Huh?" Shoutarou stared at his partner, more than a little lost.
Philip simply grabbed Ryuu's wrist and pulled the sleeve of his jacket up before he began to drag the man across the room.
Akiko was the first to catch onto Philip's theory. "NO!" She tried to launch herself from her chair, but only succeeded in running into Shoutarou.
"Shoutarou, if you'd please?" Philip inquired as he drew closer.
The young detective tried his best, but Akiko was fighting him with all of her strength, and though he'd never admit it to her, the young woman was strong.
As Akiko fought to release Shoutarou's hold on her, she rounded on Philip. "This isn't funny Philip-kun. Stop. Now."
As they came within feet of her Akiko now tried to back away as far as possible, but with Shoutarou standing behind her she wasn't getting very far. "Please, Philip-kun."
Becoming desperate now, she felt tears of anger well up in her eyes and a deep sense of fear clawing its way through her chest. Her heart pounded and she shrunk into Shoutarou's chest as Philip grasped her clenched right fist with his free hand.
As Philip brought their hands within inches of each other Akiko locked eyes with her husband and the intense look of fear that radiated back to him made his eyes go wide. He stopped dead in his tracks.
"It couldn't be," he whispered, shock and anger warring for dominance in his features.
"What?" Shoutarou asked.
"We were too late," Philip answered, having released Ryuu's wrist.
"Too late?" Shoutarou echoed.
Philip grasped Akiko's right arm more firmly and pulled her sleeve up to reveal a red and black spider dancing beneath the skin of Akiko's forearm.
Akiko was back on the couch chair that she had fallen asleep on the night before, her chin resting on her drawn-up knees and her eyes staring blankly at the wall. No one made any comments about the tears that continued to fall from her eyes, unnoticed only by her.
"Well, that certainly explains all her odd behavior towards Terui today," Shoutarou tried to add a positive spin on the day's events.
"Damn it." Ryuu slammed his fist onto the table making Shoutarou and Philip jump. Akiko didn't so much as flinch. "If only we had gotten here sooner."
Philip walked carefully over to the silent woman and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Akiko didn't blink. "Could you tell us what happened?"
She let out a deep sigh before relaying the events almost tonelessly. "I fell asleep almost right after the three of you left. I was just so exhausted all of a sudden. I only woke up because of an ache in my back, probably from falling asleep here." She shifted slightly, the ache had returned. "I searched for you guys, but no one was here." She didn't see all three men wince. "I started to panic, then I got angry and I was just about to call Ryuu-kun when I heard someone fumbling at the door. I opened it, thinking you guys had finally returned; I was ready to start yelling when I saw him. The same dopant from when I saw the Memory of my father and his partner…Spider."
Akiko suddenly felt exhausted; all she wanted to do was sleep.
"What happened then?" Philip prompted, noticing her eyes becoming heavy and trying to get her to finish her story before she dozed off.
Akiko wrenched her eyes open in an effort to stay awake. "He laughed," she continued seeing it play over and over again in her mind. Watched Spider laugh as he almost casually flung one of those hideous creations at her. "He threw the spider he made at me, and I put my arms up in defense. Before I knew it, it had already leeched its way under my skin." She remembered, vividly, the burn of the toxin as it seemed to dig a hole in her forearm and almost seem to eat its way into her body. She remembered screaming at the pain, thinking 'Is this what my dad felt? What Melissa felt?'
"Did he saying anything to you?" Shoutarou asked this time.
Why? She had screamed in terror at the realization of what she knew had happened. She had almost been able to see his contempt as he'd told her. "Revenge."
"Revenge?"
She nodded. "And then he left."
Disappeared like the ghost from her father's past that he was while her knees gave out and she sat on the floor, clutching her right arm where the pain had still lingered. Akiko buried her face in her knees, reveling in the darkness behind her eyelids, longing to give into the exhaustion.
Philip's touch disappeared as he rejoined his partner across the room and she dimly heard them discussing their information networks and the likeliest ones to have heard any news of Spider.
"Chief?"
Akiko jumped, wide awake, as she realized that her husband's voice was much nearer to her than she had assumed.
"Ryuu-kun," she whispered, wanting nothing more than to throw her arms around his neck and bury herself in his warmth and security. She tightened her arms around her legs to keep herself from giving into her desire, even as her arms ached to wrap themselves around his sturdy body. She wanted to feel safe again.
He tried to smile reassuringly. "It'll be okay. We'll make this work."
"How?" Akiko's tone cut Shoutarou and Philip's conversation short as they turned to look at their friend, recognizing the sound for what it was. Ryuu too sensed that he may have said the wrong thing as he stood up and began to back away slowly.
"How…?" she asked again, her anger and stress having found a new outlet. "Tell me how we make this work, Ryuu-kun? How? When we'll have to spend every second of every day being completely aware of where the other one is so that I don't bump into you! We can barely be in the same room without the fear of me accidentally killing you from merely brushing against you!" Her voice cracked. "I can't touch you! I can't hug you or kiss you…we can't even sleep in the same bed! Even an accident could kill you. So tell me Ryuu-kun. How? How do we make this work?" Her legs gave out and she collapsed on the couch, dissolving into heart-wrenching sobs.
Shoutarou and Philip stood awkwardly nearby, neither knowing what to say. They watched as Ryuu struggled with himself to keep his distance from his wife.
Shoutarou slammed his fist into the wall. "We're going to find him, Akiko," he promised. "Let's start asking around Philip."
Philip however, studied the couple for a moment more before rummaging around in his corner and reappearing with a comforter in his arms. He held it out to Ryuu who stared at the younger man in absolute confusion for a moment before understanding dawned.
Akiko suddenly felt herself engulfed in soft, thick material before being embraced tightly from behind. Her sob caught in her throat. She'd know those arms anywhere and dissolved into tears once more, this time out of gratitude. She didn't dare move an inch as her husband held her through the blanket, fear of any wrong move pervading her senses, but absorbing every smidgen of comfort that her body so desperately craved.
"No skin contact, right?" Philip grinned.
Shoutarou grinned back as he pulled his hat further down his head with one hand, while placing his other on Philip's shoulder. "Come on partner, let's go find some answers."
Ryuu heard the pair leave, thankful for the privacy, but even more grateful for Philip's intelligence and Shoutarou's compassion. He continued to hold his wife securely while her sobs quieted down into hiccups, and finally left altogether leaving her completely spent.
Her body automatically relaxed back into her husband's hold and she felt herself begin to drift. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?"
"That I pushed you away."
"…why didn't you tell me?"
Her drowsy mind clicked over into a memory. "He threatened me. He said that if I told any of you, that he was going to attack other people in the city." Her heart leapt, and she jerked upright, Ryuu's hold keeping her from vaulting off the chair. "What have I done…?"
Ryuu just embraced her tighter, resting his chin on her blanket covered shoulder. "You didn't tell us anything," he reassured her. "We figured it out on our own. He knew we would. He probably just wanted to watch us struggle for as long as he could."
Akiko felt a sobbing sigh bubble up in her chest before releasing her remaining tension and relaxing back into his arms once more. She lay against him silently for a few minutes and Ryuu began to wonder if she had fallen asleep when he caught her small voice speak out loud again.
"I guess we can never have children now, huh?" Her laugh came out as half a sob. Ryuu just held her firmly.
"We'll catch him," Ryuu assured her with a conviction that had grown with every moment since this whole mess had started last night.
She sighed quietly, half asleep. "It won't matter. It lingers even after the Memory is broken, remember? That's why I never saw my dad again. I don't want to lose you too."
"I'm right here," Ryuu promised her. "I'm not going anywhere Chief."
When Akiko didn't answer he carefully pulled the blanket back from her face to find that she had finally fallen asleep. He wrapped the blanket securely around her small frame, making sure that every bit of exposed skin was covered before picking up his wife and carrying her over to Philip's bed. He knew the dark-haired young man wouldn't mind. After ensuring that she looked as comfortable as could be, he kissed the covered part of her head before sitting down in the chair Akiko had just been sitting in, lacing his fingers together and waiting for the two detectives to return.
She knew.
Knew better than any of them; what happened when Spider bit you. Philip had the knowledge. Shoutarou and Ryuu had seen the aftermath. But Akiko had watched it, had felt it. Had seen the horror of it through Memory, and now had personal experience of exactly how much pain it caused.
And the thought of being the one who killed the one she loved most in this world? Or a world without Ryuu? Inconceivable. She'd never come near him again if that's what it took to keep him alive. She'd live halfway around the world if she had to.
He would not take Ryuu. She'd make sure of that. She had already lost her father to this curse; she wouldn't lose the rest of her family now.
While she wished that whoever had maintained and improved this particular GaiaMemory had left well enough alone and let it stay a faulty experiment, unworthy of the time to perfect it and reinstate sales on the market…she was glad that it had been improved. As strenuous as it was for Akiko to maintain a certain distance from her husband at nearly all times, it was easier knowing there was a specific target to her curse. She shuddered at the thought of having to remain in isolation lest the toxin decide to latch onto the love of her friends and attack them. The horror of that thought had her grasping her right forearm in nervous anticipation. It had been perfected, right? There really was no way that it would suddenly go after Shoutarou or Philip, her new family, would it?
Akiko jerked at the sudden touch on her shoulder.
"Aki-chan?" Philip's voice shattered her musings. "Are you alright? You were starting to hyperventilate."
The two of them were alone in the agency for the moment. As much as Ryuu now loathed being away from her, he knew that his presence was causing her stress levels to skyrocket and the tension was beginning to show. She was constantly exhausted now, receiving headaches and stomach cramps, and running to the bathroom to throw-up what little she could keep down. While her slight fever hadn't gone up, it hadn't returned to normal either.
Akiko tried to calm her furiously pounding heart and even out her breathing. "It's been improved, right?" Her voice was tight. "They fixed the Memory so that it will go after only one person, right?"
Philip reached out and touched Akiko's hand with his own, smiling up at his friend. "See?"
She nodded in response, but watched the connection with a guarded expression, as if she expected the little spider to suddenly appear on her skin and start crawling toward him.
Philip tried not to sigh. It had been a week and they were no closer to catching Spider now then they were then. This particular dopant seemed to have an exceedingly high compatibility rate as outward signs had not appeared on any known person in the city, though victims were continuing to appear.
Spider was elusive, proving to be exceedingly difficult to pin down, and the stress was beginning to show on the entire city. Fear was becoming almost tangible.
While citizens weren't blowing up left and right like the last time, there maintained a significant number to serve as a mocking reminder that no matter how hard the Kamen Rider's tried, they were still three steps behind their enemy.
The victims were all random and unrelated to any bigger picture Philip could see. It seemed Spider's way of reminding them all that he was still watching, still laughing from the shadows at their flailing attempts to find him. As victims increased, panic and rumor swelled in the city so that families, friends and lovers were now wary to keep their distance from each other lest they become victim or murderer.
Fuuto was crying.
Philip flinched at the sound of yet another explosion, feeling another heavy layer of guilt stack itself up in his stomach. He had all the knowledge of the world in his head, and yet without enough of the right keywords, they could not access the vital pieces of information that they needed.
He followed Akiko's movements as she lethargically sat at the table and picked at the takoyaki Philip had brought back from the vendor down the street. It seemed to be the only thing she ate now, and even Shoutarou didn't comment on it anymore as he was just as relieved as they that she was at least still able to eat something.
He began pacing the room, trying to puzzle out his frustration.
Why had Spider searched out Akiko? Why attack her, swear her to silence, and then tell her that he was seeking revenge? Revenge on whom? For what? Revenge on Ryuu? On Akiko? On some other denizen of the city, with Akiko's predicament as merely a distraction?
He paused mid-stride when the door to the agency opened and Shoutarou and Ryuu entered, both looking exhausted.
"Welcome back," Philip said as Shoutarou smiled back at his partner in thanks. Ryuu walked over to the table and stopped a few feet from Akiko who had looked up at their entrance.
The detective pair watched as husband and wife simply stared into each other's eyes, a habit that had grown over the passing days. It was beginning to become a physical pain as they watched the miserable couple remain rigidly in place, the longing in their gaze obvious.
"Any new leads?" Philip asked quietly. He heard his partner's sigh of frustration.
"Nothing."
"No one has heard of this guy or even seen him. Akiko seems to be the only one he has ever physically approached."
Philip caught onto the last fact. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why would he only present himself to Aki-chan? What would make her so different from his other victims?"
Shoutarou caught onto his partner's train of thought. "You think she's the intended target for his revenge?"
Philip shrugged. "Or Ryuu-kun. It makes the most logical sense." He watched as a new look of determination crossed the young detective's face before he had traversed the length of the room and was throwing Philip's comforter at Ryuu's face.
"Here," Shoutarou called as Ryuu caught the blanket at the last moment, startled. "Take a break and spend some time with your wife. Philip and I have some research we need to do." He then promptly dragged Philip into the lab and shut the door firmly behind them.
Ryuu held the comforter in his arms staring in slight confusion at the closed door. A part of him wanted to follow and discover what new line of thought Shoutarou had seemed to run across, but a larger part of him was grateful for the opportunity to spend more time with Akiko, something he hadn't been able to do a lot of lately.
He shook out the blanket and gently wrapped it around his wife, careful not to startle her as the touch of anyone or anything had her on edge lately. After ensuring both himself and her that her exposed skin was safely tucked away he embraced her tightly, reveling in the warmth she seemed to emanate; drawing and receiving comfort. It hadn't been an easy week.
"I'm glad you're eating again," he said quietly.
Akiko leaned into his arms, her own aching to hold him back, but content for the moment. "I like takoyaki."
A small smile lit up his face.
"Hey Ryuu-kun?"
"Hmm?"
"Will you still love me, even if I'm fat?"
Ryuu looked at his wife. That was one of the last questions he had expected to hear right now. "What?" was all he could manage.
Akiko sighed and pouted her lips. "All I want to eat, when I can keep it down, is takoyaki lately…it's making me fat."
Ryuu wondered at the logic in a woman's head at times. How was it that she was more worried about putting on a little extra weight right now when that was the least of their problems? In fact, it wasn't even a problem. He didn't even know it was possible to be emptying your stomach contents every day and still gain weight. Wouldn't the body lose it?
"I love you just the way you are," he said before kissing the top of her head, making sure it was covered before he did so and loathing the fact that he had to.
Akiko smiled in delight, reveling in the contact and his assurances. While his presence left her on edge, it was also the only thing that comforted her these days. She didn't know what she would do without him.
She knew it would be better, safer, for him to stay as far away from her as possible, but she was just selfish enough to not have the strength for that.
They heard the door to the lab open again, and she struggled against the growl of frustration at the lack of time they had together anymore. She felt colder the moment Ryuu stepped away as he moved to return the comforter back to its original spot. She looked at her empty teacup, deciding that a refill of the steaming hot liquid might replace some of the missing warmth.
Shoutarou and Philip re-entered the room with triumphant looks.
"Did you discover something?" Ryuu asked, trying not to get his hopes up. All their leads had eventually gone dead in the end no matter what new one popped up.
Philip nodded as Shoutarou grinned. "I think we finally have the bastard."
Akiko gave a small smile at Shoutarou's optimism. She couldn't - wouldn't - dare get her hopes up until they actually had the culprit in hand. She shook her head to clear her vision as she moved to stand up.
"Who do you think it is?" she heard Ryuu asking, but it sounded muffled.
Akiko swayed on her feet as she stepped away from the table, the edges of her sight going dark.
The three young men watched as Akiko seemed to drop in slow motion. Ryuu automatically reached for her.
"Chief!"
"Don't!"
Ryuu wrenched his arm away even as Philip grabbed him from behind to stop him.
Fortunately Shoutarou was close enough to the table to be able to catch Akiko at the last second before her head hit the floor.
"Hey! Akiko!"
Akiko blinked rapidly as her vision cleared, one of her hands braced out in front of her in an automatic response to stop her fall. Her other arm, she slowly realized, was being held up by someone, halting her descent to the ground. For one panicked moment she thought it was Ryuu, but with an intense wave of relief she turned and saw Shoutarou standing above her, Philip holding Ryuu back.
"Sorry." She shook her head to clear the remaining cobwebs. "Just a little dizzy all of a sudden." Shoutarou helped her stand up then guided her to one of the couch chairs before firmly setting her down in it.
Philip had released Ryuu and was en route to grab a glass of water for Akiko.
Ryuu remained where he stood, his fists clenching in frustration. He was supposed to be able to protect his wife! Not stand by and watch while others had to do it for him.
Akiko looked over and saw her husband's barely controlled agitation. "I'm fine, Ryuu-kun. Really." She accepted the glass of water and drank some without question, knowing she'd be forced to anyways if she didn't comply.
"Aki-chan…I think it's time we took you to a doctor." Philip looked at her with a serious expression.
"I'm fine Philip, see?" She moved her arms to show she was unharmed and even tried to stand up again, but Shoutarou kept a firm hand on her shoulder so that she couldn't rise out of the chair.
Akiko looked around the room. "Really guys, I'm fine. You're worried about nothing, right Ryuu-kun?" She looked imploringly at her husband.
"I think they're right," he answered in a quiet voice.
"What? But -" Akiko stopped her protests when she took a good look at her family around her. She knew that her health was adding more stress to them that this case had already laid on their shoulders. She couldn't ignore her body's signs anymore herself. It was probably just stress, but better safe than sorry. And if she could alleviate even the smallest bit of tension behind their eyes and in their shoulders, then far be it for her to argue. "Alright," she agreed and was happy to see their postures relax minutely.
"Okay!" Shoutarou clapped his hands together. "Terui, you take Akiko while Philip and I -"
"I can't."
Shoutarou turned. "Why not?"
The glare he received clearly read 'Don't ask me question.'
Philip interjected for the newly agitated young man. "If Aki-chan were to get dizzy again…"
"Oh, right." Shoutarou had already forgotten, though he wondered how that was even feasible. It was just that now that they had a lead he had felt like everything might just be starting to fall back into place and he could fix his beloved city. But if everything was normal, Akiko would be hanging onto Ryuu like she was permanently glued there, not in the opposite corner of the room. He sighed in exasperation. "Looks like we're all going."
"All of us?" Philip looked questioningly at his partner. He knew how bad Shoutarou wanted to be out in the city and tracking down this Memory.
"Well, Terui is going to be going to the hospital, curse or not, to see for himself what's going on with Akiko," he ticked off on his fingers. "One of us has to go, and as none of us are going after this guy on our own we might as well all go together."
"And you want to know what's going on with Aki-chan yourself. Right, Shoutarou?" A teasing grin lit up Philip's face.
As Shoutarou gaped at his partner, sputtering answers, Akiko felt a swell of love for her family.
Akiko breathed a sigh of relief as she sat on the hospital bed, glad that there hadn't been any incidents on the way there. The doctor had just finished his tests not too long ago and had gone to check on the results. She waited patiently in the quiet, sanitized room knowing all three of the young men were waiting outside her door.
She was as anxious about the results as they were, but Shoutarou and Philip had decided to give her some privacy. Ryuu remained outside after explaining to the doctor about the circumstances leading up to the visit. The doctor was unsurprised that his newest patient was a victim of a dopant attack; they weren't exactly a secret in Fuuto. He did, however, listen attentively to the young husband and his friends explain what they could remember, and then had listened to the young wife's story, compared the two and had gone off to consult another doctor on the matter.
Akiko wasn't sure if that was reassuring or not.
She sat up straighter as her doctor returned with another doctor, female this time, trailing in after him. Her family followed, but stayed near the door so as to be out of the way.
"Terui-san?" Akiko's doctor started. "This is Suzuki-sensei. I went over all of your symptoms with her and consulted her with my own results."
"How long have you been nauseated?" the new doctor asked.
"Since I had some expired milk in my coffee."
"And how long ago was that?"
"Three to four weeks ago now?" Akiko looked at Ryuu who nodded.
"Yamamoto-sensei," she indicated to the other doctor, "talked with your husband and that milk had not expired yet."
Akiko looked at Ryuu, bewildered. "It wasn't? Then why was I getting sick?"
"Yamamoto-sensei and I agree that you are simply nauseous from the smell of coffee right now."
"But I like coffee."
Suzuki nodded. "Yes, but it's perfectly normal to suddenly develop an aversion to favorite foods, drinks and even smells during your first trimester. It typically dissipates afterward."
"Trimester?" she repeated, trying and failing to suddenly comprehend what this female doctor was saying.
"Yes," Yamamoto affirmed. "Suzuki-sensei is an OB/GYN and confirmed the results I received from your tests."
"So…what you're saying is…"
"I know the timing isn't ideal given your current circumstances," Suzuki gave her an almost apologetic smile, "but you're pregnant."
Akiko could only stare in response. Ryuu looked as if the wind had been knocked out of him and he sat very abruptly down in the chair near the door. Shoutarou looked down at Ryuu before placing a supportive hand on the man's shoulder. Philip looked like his suspicions had been confirmed, a satisfied grin on his face. Akiko briefly wondered if that comment he had made weeks ago had really been a joke or not.
"That explains all the takoyaki," Akiko said and the comment broke some of the tension in the air as Suzuki and Yamato laughed, Shoutarou and Philip exchanged big grins and even Ryuu cracked a small smile.
"Yes! Food cravings are also quite normal," Suzuki nodded. "All of your symptoms from nausea, fatigue, mood swings, increased body temperature, even the aches and pains are all signs of early pregnancy. While many of these are symptoms related to stress, Yamamoto-sensei and I are positive of our results. You're roughly eight to nine weeks along now. Congratulations." She beamed.
Akiko was stunned. She looked over at her husband to see him looking back at her intently. The doctors noticed the moment and politely excused themselves, promising to be back in a few minutes with some paperwork.
Shoutarou and Philip stepped out into the hall under the pretense of going to the cafeteria to search for something to eat.
Akiko heard all of this but she was completely focused on Ryuu and let all their words wash over her largely unheeded.
Once they were alone, Ryuu rose from his chair and sat carefully on the edge of the hospital bed.
Akiko understood at first glance the range of expressions on her husband's face. Disbelief. Wonderment. Joy. Longing. Sadness.
They were starting a family! But Ryuu still couldn't touch her. Couldn't hold her. Wouldn't be able to. Ever.
And the baby? Would the toxin from Spider affect their child? Would Ryuu be forever barred from embracing his own child?
Akiko felt tears well up in her eyes. This should've been one of the happiest moments of her life, and she was happy, but…it seemed like her worries had quadrupled in a matter of minutes. What would they do now?
The bittersweet moment was broken by the doctor's re-entrance, and Ryuu and Akiko listened intently at all the information the doctors told them, receiving informational packets and pamphlets as well. Shoutarou and Philip came back halfway through the conversation, joining in when they had questions.
Philip was thrilled that his family was about to grow by another member. He couldn't remember his childhood personally, only what he had read in his own "book." He was looking forward to re-experiencing it with this new child. He immediately began looking up information in the Gaia Library when they returned to Narumi Agency.
Shoutarou was relieved that all of Akiko's symptoms had been explained so easily. Having a child was perfectly normal! It was also the best news they had had in what felt like a long time. So he couldn't understand why the parents-to-be where so down. When he asked, Akiko brought up their fears of Spider's toxin and both he and Philip were abruptly brought back down to the reality of their situation.
"I hadn't thought about that," Shoutarou muttered, fist clenching at his side. It wasn't right. Wasn't fair. But he knew life wasn't always fair, sometimes it was unbearably cruel as he was often reminded in his line of work. Good people didn't always deserve what they received. The four of them standing in that room where proof enough of that. How many tragedies had each of them seen or experienced personally? More than he cared to recall.
Philip looked like someone had just thrown a rock through his favorite stained-glass window. Then his expression changed into one of deep contemplation as he tried to sort the ideas flying through his head. He turned abruptly on his heel and vanished into the lab without a word. The other three were left staring at his sudden retreat.
"Well," Shoutarou sighed. "As there's nothing we can do about this at the moment, I say we focus on what we can do."
"And that is?" Akiko asked.
"Go after the man who's behind this city's tears," he pulled his hat off and switched it for a new one. "I'm going to ask Philip something real quick, if I can pull him out of his own head long enough to listen." With that he disappeared through the door.
Akiko sighed and trudged over to the table before plopping herself down in a huff.
"Chief?"
Akiko looked up at her husband.
"I love you, no matter what happens to us in the future."
She smiled warmly and affectionately. "I love you too."
Shoutarou reappeared through the door and shrugged on his jacket. "Come on Terui, let's go."
"Shoutarou-kun!" Akiko called.
He paused, his hand on the door, Ryuu right behind him.
"Who do you think is behind all of this?"
Shoutarou pulled his hat down, effectively covering the top part of his face. "A man named Kazuyuki. He's the son of Matsui-san, Narumi Soukichi's partner, the original Spider."
Akiko sat in the dim lighting of the lab listening to the squeak of the dry-erase marker as Philip madly dashed off notes all over his many whiteboards. After the revelation, Akiko suddenly hadn't wanted to be alone. Even though Philip was lost in his own thoughts, just his presence was enough to remind her that the world hadn't completely tilted sideways.
The rushed scribbling of words and phrases were oddly comforting after being around Philip for so long now. She had watched him interestedly for awhile, but the notes were now too complex for her to get a proper handle on.
There was a lot of medical jargon mixed into his notes. Something about human genetics, DNA and chemicals that had her head hurting within minutes. When she had asked him what he was working on he said he "didn't know yet," that it was just a theory. Akiko vaguely understood that it had something to do with Spider, but that was as far as he would go before becoming tightlipped again.
Instead she stared at her stomach, still trying to grasp the idea that a new life was forming inside it. She rubbed a hand across it almost subconsciously.
A mother. She was going to be a mother. That alone seemed to send thrills of affection and pure terror through her nerves. Could she handle it? Was she ready?
She sighed after a moment. With this curse on her, none of them would be ready. She stood up. "Would you like a cup of tea Philip?"
"Sure," he answered distractedly. Akiko wasn't sure if he had heard her or not but shrugged her shoulders and headed back into the other room anyways.
As she made her way across the room of the agency she heard a noise that made her stop and listen. As the sound came again she realized that someone was fumbling at the door and Akiko felt a chill travel the length of her spine as she turned to stare at it.
"I'm not alone this time. Philip's just in the other room," she reminded herself. Still Akiko grabbed the empty teakettle and held it tightly in her hand, ready to throw it fast and hard. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief as a young man with a disarming smile entered through the door.
"I'm looking for Narumi-san," he explained tentatively, stepping inside the door as if he expected to be attacked at any moment.
Akiko smiled brightly. Finally, something normal. Just a regular customer, with a regular problem. If she was lucky, maybe he had just lost his cat. "This is Narumi Agency," she affirmed. "Can we help you with anything? We solve all our cases hard-boiled style!" Might as well sell it while she could, right?
"Are you Narumi-san?" he inquired.
"Narumi Soukichi was my father," she explained with a twinge of sadness. "He's gone."
"So you are indeed Narumi Akiko-san?" he asked, all bright smiles.
Something about his smile seemed familiar. Akiko had the strangest feeling that she had seen it before.
"Yes," Akiko agreed slowly. "Narumi was my maiden name."
"Ah, that's correct. You're Terui Akiko now." His smile didn't falter but he looked at her apologetically. "I keep forgetting, but you see, the name 'Terui' is what made you so hard to track down in the first place." He sighed good-naturedly. "All those years wasted in my searching, the frustration, the rage…it just kept building up until I was nearly blinded by it."
The hair on Akiko's neck stood up.
"You know," he continued, oblivious of the color draining from her face. "The last time I visited this place, I wasn't quite sure who you were. I had to do my research so secretively, you see. Otherwise I might've been found out before I was ready, and I couldn't have that happen. It would've ruined everything and what fun would that be?" He smiled amicably at her, but the coldness behind the smile sent a chill racing through her veins.
He walked toward her slowly, stopping only a few feet away from her. Her heart was pounding and her feet felt as if they were cemented to the floor. "Tell me, Akiko-chan," his grin splitting his face, "how is my little pet treating you? Have you touched anyone lately?"
In a split-second move Akiko threw the teakettle at his face and while he ducked out of the way she sprinted across the room, threw open the lab door and slammed it shut, trying desperately to hold onto the door knob.
"Philip!" she shrieked, "He's here! Spider's here!"
The dark-haired young man slammed his book shut with one hand while he reached for his phone with the other, sprinting across the length of the room to try and help Akiko keep the door closed.
"Shoutarou!" he called the moment the call connected. "We miscalculated! He's here."
Akiko could hear explicit cursing sounding down the line before a quick, "Hang on! We're on our way. We're at his apartment; we should be there in a few minutes."
"I don't think the door is going to hold out that long," Philip warned as a ramming sound punched at it not a moment later. Akiko felt like her head was rattling from the impact.
Philip cursed as the phone dropped to the floor at the second, stronger impact.
"Philip! Akiko!"
She could hear Shoutarou's panicked voice sounding out into the air as the door gave a giant crack, splintering through the middle.
The next moment the door shattered inward and Akiko lost her grip sending both her and Philip flying backwards onto the metal grating. She felt a brief moment of terror before her head impacted with the metal floor and she saw stars. Then everything went suddenly and completely black.
Akiko awoke to the sound of yelling, crashing and fighting. She winced at the throbbing sensation in the back of her head. When she tried to rub the spot with her hand she discovered that her arms had been immobilized. Jerking herself more awake Akiko realized that not only were her arms caught in the sticky web-like substance of Spider, but that she was suspended from the lab ceiling; caught like a butterfly in a spider's web.
The sudden realization that she was being held above the ground by mere threads made her shriek loudly and desperately struggle to find something to hang on to.
"Chief!"
Akiko heard her husband's voice call out to her with a mix of panic, relief and warning.
"Don't move! You could fall!"
Her eyes searched the mess of what was once the lab before her. Finally she spotted Accel's form as he helped Shoutarou and Philip's form as W Extreme back onto their feet. The lab was a disaster area. The door hung off it's hinges and from what Akiko could see of the room on the other side, it wasn't in much better of a shape.
She felt helpless as she watched the fight progress, neither side gaining an inch. Even with two -three- against one, the man known as Spider was holding his own. They couldn't break past his defenses, nor could they afford to get too close lest he fling another poisoned spider at them. Akiko's eyes widened in horror as Spider got past Accel and W's defenses, striking them both down simultaneously.
"No!" she screamed in terror. She had already lost her father to this creature once before. Was she going to lose the rest of her family?
Another spectacular attack and the three lost their transformation, gasping for air as their bodies automatically curled in on themselves in a desperate move to protect themselves.
"Shoutarou-kun! Philip-kun! Ryuu-kun!"
Spider turned slowly to look back at his prey, enjoying the look of terror on her face. Slowly, almost casually, he released the Memory from his body and Akiko was staring into the face of Kazuyuki. His eyes held a maniacal gleam and the grin that slithered across his face made the hair on the back of her neck rise.
He was really going to kill them. He was going to kill them all.
"Why?" She felt tears well as anger flooded her system.
"It's simple really," he explained calmly. "Your father killed mine, destroying my family. But as your father is already dead, I decided to just kill you instead. Then lo and behold! It seems as if you've created your own little family here, and what better way to enact revenge then to inflict the same pain of loss as I received?"
"The toxin in the Memory took over Matsui-san; he was already dying when Narumi-san went after him," Philip tried to explain as he winced against his injuries.
Kazuyuki turned on him with an enraged mask of hatred. "Shut up!" Before they could blink he had aimed a kick solidly into Philip's abdomen.
The younger man gasped for breath as all the air in his lungs abruptly left his body.
"Philip-kun!" Akiko shrieked in disbelief.
Shoutarou growled in rage as he tried to lift himself up onto his elbows. "You'll pay for that."
Kazuyuki smirked in satisfaction. "I'd like to see you try."
"I'm…fine," Philip breathed between his teeth, his eyes shut tightly against the pain.
"Coward!"
The four men looked to see Akiko struggling anew against the web, her face colored with rage. "You're a coward!" she yelled again. "It's me you want to enact your revenge on. Leave them alone!"
"Aki-chan…don't…"
"Akiko! Don't antagonize him!"
"Chief!" Ryuu gritted his teeth and tried to stand to protect his crazy wife. She was pregnant, caught up in a web, cursed by a poison and had no power of her own. So why was she drawing more attention to herself, provoking the maniac into an even deeper rage at the same time?
He glanced up at Akiko to realize that she was staring back at him intently, trying to communicate something with her eyes. As her silent intent clicked in his head she looked back at Kazuyuki.
"If I'm the one you're after then why go after them? What's the matter? Too afraid to hit a girl? Afraid I might hit back?" She glared intensely. "Give me the chance and I will." She smirked as she watched his anger rise. "Oooh, I get it," she sing-songed. "You're weaker than even your father was. It took so little to take him down, you -"
"Shut up. Shut up! Shut up!" Kazuyuki snarled. "You little bitch! Do you want to die so badly? Fine, let me grant your wish!" He jerked the Memory into the air.
"Ryuu-kun! NOW!"
Kazuyuki turned, having forgotten the three men behind him in his fit of rage. Too late did he realize it was a diversion. With the roaring sound of an engine echoing off the walls he watched in disbelief as the Memory was shot out of his hand and fell through the open air, shattering into pieces.
Akiko shrieked in terror as the web holding her to the ceiling dematerialized and the ground rushed up to meet her. She came to a sudden halt as a pair of arms caught her and Akiko grinned at her husband through Accel's form. As he set her gently on the ground and released his transformation they both turned to see Kazuyuki with deep purple bruises beneath his eyes start clutching at his hair, his eyes wild.
His wild eyes focused on Akiko, the object of his revenge and rage. "No…NO! I'll kill you!" He started to charge for her and Ryuu nimbly positioned himself in front of his wife. "I'll kill you, you little bi-" His words were cut off swiftly as Shoutarou grabbed the man's shoulder and punched him in the abdomen.
"That's my repayment for what you did to my partner." Shoutarou's voice was steely. The man bent over double, clutching his stomach. Shoutarou aimed a solid punch at the man's jaw. "That's for everything you said and did to Akiko." He landed one last blow to the man, knocking him unconscious. "And that's payment from everyone else in this city." He dusted off his hat and pulled it down low over his face. "I'll let you do the honors Terui," he offered before turning back to his partner and helping him to his feet.
Akiko stood by as Ryuu handcuffed the unconscious man and Shoutarou helped Philip over to the dilapidated couch that had once been backed up against the wall, but was now haphazardly lying halfway across the metal grating.
She let out a slow, deep breath. "It's over," she whispered to herself. A thought hit her and she excitedly ripped her sleeve up over her forearm to discover the little spider still dancing just underneath her skin, taunting her. Her heart plummeted toward her stomach and tears filled her eyes.
There had always been that tiny ray of hope hidden in her heart that by ending this, somehow, someway things would magically go back to the way they were before. That the effect would wear off as the Memory broke.
"We always knew it was a long shot," Shoutarou said, sympathy filling his face as he and his partner watched Akiko sink to the ground.
As she watched her hope vanish into the air, tears began to fall and she placed a hand over her stomach. "It's not fair… It's not fair that Ryuu-kun will be the only one who can't-"
"Actually," Philip interrupted. "There might be a way."
"What do you mean?" Ryuu asked as he finished with Kazuyuki. Shoutarou and Akiko were looking at Philip just as intensely.
"It's just a theory, but…" he started, hesitantly. "The baby is half you and half Aki-chan, right? So why is it that the baby and Akiko were safe? The toxin hasn't attacked your child, who has your DNA in Akiko's bloodstream. If my theory is correct, then the combined DNA of your child just might be the key to nullifying the toxin's effects or possibly ridding itself from Akiko's system entirely." He looked at Akiko with a grin. "In fact, if studied enough, we could isolate the specific combinations of genes that could help detoxify the other victims as well."
"So what you're saying is," Akiko asked to clarify, her thoughts racing too fast for her mind to keep up. "Is that this might be possible?"
Philip nodded. "It's possible. Technology has advanced a long way since your father was bitten. Besides, the theory is plausible based on the continued existence and well-being of your child alone."
"But we wouldn't know if it's really gone until Terui touched Akiko, right?" Shoutarou asked. "And if it fails…"
Philip nodded at his partner's assumption. "That's the catch."
"I'll do it."
Akiko looked up at her husband. "But, Ryuu-kun, what if -"
The intense look he gave her stopped the words in her mouth and she swallowed her doubts back. "No questions, right?" She grinned.
He gave her a small smile in return.
Akiko tried not to growl in frustration.
It had taken several weeks for her child to mature enough before doctors felt safe to extract DNA, then several longer weeks to rapidly study the phenomenon and isolate the specific genes that had created it.
She was now well into her second trimester and grateful that nearly all of her early symptoms had abated or disappeared entirely, although her stomach had had a significant increase in size. But the more time went along, the more she ached to hold her husband. The desire was so intense sometimes that she nearly had to bite her arms to keep them at her side.
"Just try to be patient a little while longer Chief," Ryuu consoled her. "They have to make sure that they get the antitoxin solution correct the first time and also make it safe for you and the baby."
"I know," Akiko sighed, rubbing a hand comfortingly across her belly, a habit she had developed over the weeks. "It's just-"
"I know," he replied quietly, the longing and desire just as heavy in his eyes as hers.
An embarrassed cough sounded in the room and the couple looked up to see Shoutarou and Philip file in through the doorway to Akiko's hospital room.
"We can come back later," Shoutarou teased. "If you two need another moment."
Akiko puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"How was your case?" Ryuu asked curiously of Philip as Shoutarou dodged out the way of one of Akiko's slippers.
"All wrapped up," Philip informed him.
Ryuu nodded in answer.
"Alright Terui-san," Akiko's doctor, Suzuki, announced as she entered the room. "Today's the day."
The four immediately sobered up and looked at the doctor as she took out a sterilized needle and poked its point into a tube of clear liquid. "Are you ready?"
Akiko felt a thrill of fear go through her. "What if it doesn't work?"
Shoutarou and Philip looked at each other. "That's why we're here," Shoutarou assured her. "We'll do whatever it takes." Philip nodded grimly.
Akiko shot a look of fear at her husband, still not entirely convinced this was the right thing to do even after all the weeks of reassurances from everyone around her. Ryuu's lips narrowed into a thin line, but he held her gaze.
"Let's just get it over with," Akiko said as she buried her face in her shoulder, trying not to tense her muscles as she felt the needle slide beneath her skin. There was a cooling sensation that raced through her veins as her heart pounded in anticipation. It was followed quickly by a warming feeling that helped relax her.
"All done," Suzuki announced. "I'll be waiting just outside the door, as planned." With a swift turn of her heel she was out the door, shutting it snuggly behind her.
Akiko's heart pounded in her ears as she looked back over at the three tense men standing at her side.
"Chief?" Ryuu asked softly.
Akiko found that she couldn't move. After all the months of waiting and wanting nothing more than to touch him, she suddenly found that her body would not respond. She was more terrified now than she had ever been in her life.
"What if it didn't work?" Her voice was small.
Ryuu decided that he had waited long enough. He wasn't going to live his life in apprehension anymore. If he was going to die from this, then he was going to go in a way of his own choosing. He forgot about everyone else around them and searched his wife's face. Before anyone could stop him he plunged in and kissed his wife, feeling warmth surge through him at their contact and knowing that if died now, at least he'd die happy.
"I'm going to kill him," Akiko cried, tears of pain rolling fast and hot down her cheeks.
"You can't kill him," Philip reasoned with her, knowing it was futile.
"He did what he had to do," Shoutarou tried to console her as he winced in pain. He thought his hand had gone numb already, but apparently not. He looked desperately at his partner, but Philip just held his hands up in surrender.
"You'll be just fine," Suzuki consoled her patient. "You're strong enough for this, you can handle it."
Akiko gritted her teeth against the pain, and Shoutarou's face twisted into a silent cry of agony. Philip looked at his partner in pity, he didn't envy Shoutarou's position right now.
"I can't," Akiko breathed through her teeth. "I need him here!" She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, another hot tear escaping and rolling down her cheek. She felt someone loosen her strangle hold on poor Shoutarou's fingers before a cool hand slipped into hers and gripped them tightly. Her eyelids fluttered open as another hand wiped at the tears on her cheeks.
"I'm sorry I'm late Chief."
"What took you so long?" Akiko gasped as another wave of pain swept through her body.
"We had a little trouble with the arrest," he answered.
Akiko studied his face and saw a new bruise just below her husband's eye, and felt a wave of anxiety well up in her chest. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he assured her. "Just concentrate on your breathing."
Akiko nodded and tried to remember to breathe as she hissed in pain, squeezing her husband's hand in a deathlike grip.
Shoutarou, who was still trying to get the blood flow back into his own fingers winced in sympathy. He looked over to see his partner grinning at him with a look that clearly read, 'Better you than me.'
"Why you-" he growled. They both jumped as Akiko let out a scream of pain. "I think that's our cue to leave." The pair wasted no time as they hastened out the door to return to the waiting room where they had been until Ryuu had called them to tell Akiko he was going to be late.
They sat out in the waiting room for hours. Philip nearly pacing a permanent groove into the floor in his anticipation. Shoutarou simply resting his elbows on his knees and watched his partner go back and forth.
Finally Akiko's doctor, Suzuki, entered the room. "Both mother and child are fine," she smiled. "Would you like to see them?"
Without a word Shoutarou and Philip were one step behind the female doctor. They reentered Akiko's hospital room to find an exhausted but content Akiko settled back into her bed. Ryuu was standing by her side, a bundle of blankets in his arms, his eyes fixated in wonder at the little squirming life inside.
"She's beautiful," Akiko whispered, her eyes tired but smiling.
Shoutarou and Philip couldn't hold back their grins.
"And the…toxin?" Shoutarou asked hesitantly.
Akiko looked up at her husband to see a tiny little fist curled around his finger. A warm smile lit up her face. "Not a trace."
Ryuu looked back at his wife, the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face.
He looked over at the two detectives and noticed Philip's look. "Would you like to hold her?"
"Me?" The dark-haired young man looked both thrilled and terrified at the same time.
Shoutarou's grin deepened. Philip had read everything he could about babies, but knew his partner was still terrified of dropping her. "You'll be fine," he encouraged the younger man.
Philip cautiously held his arms out and automatically held the little bundle close to his chest as he felt the warm weight in his arms. The look on his face was one that the other three knew they'd never forget.
As Shoutarou turned his attention to his little 'niece,' Ryuu sat gently on the hospital bed, as close to his wife as possible without jostling her.
Akiko sighed blissfully and rested her head on her husband's shoulder, one of her arms automatically looping through his, their hands intertwining. She reveled in the warmth and security he radiated, feeling safe and content.
Ryuu brushed aside her damp bangs and placed a discreet but soft kiss on her forehead.
"I love you," Akiko sighed sleepily.
Ryuu smiled and gently rested his head on top of hers. "I love you too."
Together they watched the detective pair, neither willing to break their contact just yet, and both content to enjoy the other's touch for another moment more.