Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem
… "Sir… Sir!"
Takumi snapped his eyes open as he looked up at the doctor in front of him. The man towered over him, intimidating Takumi a little.
"Sir, your wife is ready to see you."
"How is she?" Takumi sputtered, trying to keep the quell of anxiety down. The hospital walls seemed to be closing in on him, the pasty green making him feel sick. For a split second, he felt dizzy enough to collapse on the floor. However, he pushed it away and looked the doctor in the eye.
"I'm afraid that she isn't doing so well," the doctor replied, avoiding Takumi's gaze. "She will be in a comatose-like state for a while until proper rehabilitation."
Takumi swallowed hard and thought of what it would be like for the rest of his life. We'll never go skydiving like you wanted. We'll never have a romantic dinner on our anniversary. You can't go to your job anymore. How are we going to take care of the kids? he asked himself. "I want to see her," he said resolutely, trying to force the fear down.
With a brief nod of compliance, the doctor led him to a room down the hall. Takumi knocked on the door slightly before walking in. Near the back of the cramped hospital room was a small bed with an even smaller figure sitting on it. In that moment, Takumi realized just how serious the change was over his wife. She no longer stood tall and proud. Her eyes didn't shine with that bright intelligence that he had always loved. She stooped over, her eyes dull and tepid. Takumi could almost see how her soul had left her. That person sitting on that bed didn't have a soul. The person sitting on that bed was an empty shell merely imitating a living, sentient being.
"K-Kamui…?" Takumi said quietly as he approached.
She looked up at him, her eyes having picked up some light. "Umi," she said, her eyes reflecting happiness. "Umi! Umi!"
Takumi sucked in a deep breath and sat down. This is going to be hard. "Kamui, you had a stroke. Do you remember?"
"Umi!" she said, her expression not changing.
Takumi sagged, his last flicker of hope extinguishing. He embraced his wife and kissed her cheek, struggling not to sob. "I love you, Kamui," he whispered. "And this isn't going to change anything. I'll find a way to support all of us. I can manage more than one job." He smiled. "The boys are impatient to see you. And I bet you want to see them too. I'll make sure to bring them tomorrow."
The corner of her mouth twitched. "Umi…" she said quietly. Even though it was just the tiniest gesture, Takumi could see that it was the beginnings of a smile. He patted her head and kissed her.
"Some day," he told her. Though he said nothing more, the look in her red eyes told him she agreed. I'm waiting, she seemed to tell him. Smiling at her, he stood up and exited the room.
Takumi sighed as he set the groceries down, already hearing his two sons running all over the house.
"Gotcha!" Kanna cried as he blasted a super soaker at Kisaragi. His brother dodged to the side, causing the stream of water to shoot past and soak Takumi. Takumi glared at the two.
"Put that down!" he snarled. Kanna and Kisaragi dropped the gun and stared. Takumi stepped forward. "That's it. From this day forward, I don't want to see you running around the house and goofing off. I've had enough of your shenanigans." He paused as his eyes drifted away from them. "And besides…"
Kanna finally started to take notice of the fact that his father had brought the groceries home alone. "Where's Mommy?" he asked, a genuine concern in his voice. Kisaragi stood right next to him, his eyes shining.
Takumi sighed. "I'm afraid your mother won't be home for a while," he said gently, leading his sons into the living room.
"But you said this morning that she just needed someone to see her headache," Kanna squeaked in protest. Kisaragi remained silent, his normally expressive eyes downcast and dull.
"She's sick, Kanna," Takumi said gently, trying to soothe his son. "She needs to stay at the hospital for a while. For now, I'll be doing the chores."
"But it doesn't make sense!" Kanna cried, the tears spilling down his face. "Mommy just had a headache! It isn't fair. What if something bad happens to her?"
Takumi sighed and brought his youngest son close in a tight embrace. "She's going to be fine, Kanna. She'll be home eventually. For now, you can do your mother a big favor." He smiled at his son. "Be a good little boy and act like an adult. It would make your mother so happy," he whispered, nearly losing his composure.
Kanna sniffled and finally got up. "Can I watch some TV?"
Takumi smiled and patted his son on the head. "Sure. I'll go make dinner." Standing up abruptly, Takumi headed towards the kitchen, listening to his son switching on the TV. It only took him a few seconds, however, to realize that someone was following him. Once safely in the kitchen, he turned around to find Kisaragi behind him.
"What is it?" Takumi asked.
Kisaragi swallowed and looked his father in the eye. "Mother's not all right, is she?"
For a moment, Takumi merely stared at his son. Then he simply deflated. Throwing himself back onto a chair, he slumped over and put his head in his hands. "Your mother had a stroke this morning. And while she's not dead, I'm afraid she might not be the same ever again," he choked out. He reached his hand out and grasped his son's shirt, pulling him close. "Take care of your brother," Takumi rasped. "He's too young to understand this kind of pain." He swallowed. "Please…"
Kisaragi nodded, his eyes tearing up. But not allowing his father to see his weakness, he turned away and headed upstairs toward his room.
Takumi sighed and turned towards the groceries, wondering with dread over what he could possibly cook.
Takumi entered the door slowly, edging Kisaragi and Kanna along. "Dear," he said softly, "we're here to visit."
Kamui didn't move, her eyes flickering over to the boys. Despite her immobility, her eyes reflected how glad she was. Kisaragi and Kanna walked up to her side, their demeanor subdued.
"Mother, I brought you your favorite food," Kisaragi said, setting down a small plate of rice balls.
Kanna looked at his mother. "Mommy, I was praised by the teacher during science for figuring out what the centipede was." He put his hand on the bedside. "I'm really proud of myself."
Kamui's hand twitched, as if wanting to touch Kanna's for a second, but nothing else happened. For a moment, Takumi had hoped something would happen. Like the movies he had seen, Kamui would miraculously get over the stroke and grab Kanna's hand. Everyone would hug and there would be tears.
But reality wasn't anything like the movies. It stung and refused to let go, biting deeper and deeper into those who were already suffering. Takumi swallowed roughly, biting his lip. Someday, he thought to himself. Someday, we'll be a normal family once again. Stepping forward, he put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Come on, Kanna. We best leave your mother be for now."
"But-"
Kisaragi put his hand on his brother's shoulder, not smiling for once. "Come on, Kanna. Do what Father says." The dark look passed just as quickly as it appeared and Kisaragi smiled once more.
Leading his son's away, Takumi felt a certain unease running through his spine. Something about Kisaragi seemed off. Almost as if he had snapped and had shown his true self for a second. Takumi seemed to be the only one who had noticed though, as Kanna was jovially hanging all over his brother. Takumi swallowed as they exited the hospital. Now it's Kisaragi… What next?
Okay, it's been a little bit since I wrote some stuff. Originally, I was gonna make this the one-shot and make the Kamui x Joker fic the chapter fic, but this turned out with so much potential, that I decided to just do this first and work on the Kamui/Joker fic later. I thought the Kamui/Joker fic would be my main priority but it was harder than I thought to write. While I'm working on this, I'm trying to think about where to start it. I know how it's going to be in the middle, but I have yet to figure out where to start the beginning and introduce Kamui and Joker's problems.
I'm also having a hard time just writing like I used to. I've clearly been taking my time, but my writing hasn't been improving much anyway. Scholastic's coming up and I have still to figure out what I'm submitting. Plus, I've been skipping a few other writing competitions since I just can't write the way I used to. I know eventually I'm going to fall back into my usual pattern, but as for now, I'm just going to keep writing and wait. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed~
Edit: I can't believe that I had the wrong chapter here posted the whole time. I can't believe it went unnoticed. It must've been confusing to those who've read it. Sorry for the blunder!
