A/N: Ohayo minna-san, I'm sooo sorry it took this long. But here it is - finally. The last part of 'Live in the Light'. I decided to make the story not too long. But for those who are interested I'm willing to write an epilogue.
Remark: Like this site already insinuates all stories are fanfictions and therefore these characters are not mine.
Live in the Light: Part III
Last time:
"It's dark," Misao noticed.
Aoshi nodded. "Aa, it's winter, days are short."
Misao sighed. "I wish I could see the snow. I just wish I could see again."
Aoshi pulled her close. "I wish for the same," he whispered.
xxxxx
Another couple of months had passed. Aoshi was in the study together with Okina, since Misao had lost her vision Aoshi had taken over her role as Okashira. He and Okina were discussing about an investment in the Aoi-ya.
Misao sat in their room with Han'nya. She had taught Han'nya 'fetch'.
"Are you hungry boy? I am, let's go downstairs to eat something." She stood up with the greatest difficulty and left the room with Han'nya in her lead.
She went downstairs and what happened then, happened so fast. She missed a step, lost balance and fell. Han'nya barked and ran down the stairs towards her. He licked her. Misao pinched her eyes together as she felt the pain throb through her whole body. Han'nya licked her hand.
"Han' – nya – fetch – Ao – shi," she said.
Han'nya immediately set of and ran to the office. He jumped against the shoji and barked. Aoshi and Okina looked at each other before they got up and opened the shoji. The moment the shoji was opened Han'nya stormed in and started pacing around Aoshi while he kept barking.
"Something is wrong! Han'nya where's Misao?"
The dog sped off again with Aoshi and Okina in his lead. As they neared the stairs Aoshi saw Misao on the ground.
"Misao!" he ran toward her and dropped to his knees. "Can you hear me?" he asked worriedly.
Misao opened her eyes a bit. "Good – to – see you again," she said weakly.
"You can see?" Aoshi asked softly.
"Blurred – but yeah – I see you – that smack – on my head – must have – done it."
Aoshi looked worriedly. "Is the baby – "
"Don't worry – baby is fine – it still kicks. At least – someone is able – to move."
"Okina, get a doctor," Aoshi said.
Okina nodded and ran away. Aoshi slowly put his arm under Misao's shoulder and gently pulled her in a sitting position.
"ITAI!" Misao screamed. "My back."
Aoshi gently ran a hand over her spine. Misao winced.
"It's not broken, the doctor will be here in a moment," Aoshi said than he looked at Han'nya. "Go fetch a cushion."
Han'nya barked and ran off. A moment later he returned with a cushion and dropped it at Aoshi's side.
"Good boy, now lie down" he said as he took the cushion and laid it under Misao's back before gently laying her down on it.
"I'm such – an idiot," Misao said.
"No, you're not, it could have happened to anyone."
At that moment Okina came back closely followed by a doctor. The doctor looked once at Han'nya, who was lying near the stairs observing everything.
"He won't do anything," Aoshi told him.
The doctor nodded and knelt beside Misao.
"Shinomori-san, where does it hurt the most?" he asked.
"My back," Misao winced.
"Can you move?" he asked.
"Iie," she answered.
The doctor took her legs and bend them. Misao screamed in pain.
"As unpleasant as it is, the pain is a good sign, it means that you aren't paralyzed. Do you have any abdominal pains?" he asked as he checked some other things.
"No, I just felt the baby kick."
"That's a good thing," he took her right ankle.
"Your ankle is sprained too. I'm going to give you some morphine so we can move you without you suffering too much pain," the doctor explained as he prepared a syringe and injected it in her arm.
As they waited for the drug to take effect, the doctor noticed Misao pinching and blinking with her eyes.
"You can see?" he asked.
"Not clearly, but more than I did before I fell."
"Mmm," the doctor mumbled thoughtfully. "Can you still feel pain?"
"Iie, it's almost gone," she said.
The doctor gave Aoshi a curt nod. Aoshi understood and lifted Misao gently from the floor. They went upstairs and Han'nya shot straight and followed them.
"That's one loyal dog," said the doctor.
"Luckily, he was a great help," Okina said.
They entered the bedroom and Aoshi commanded Han'nya to stay outside. Then he laid Misao down on the futon.
"You seem to be hit by a number of unfortunate events," the doctor said as he bandaged the sprained ankle. "How is your head?"
"Throbbing," Misao said. "And my eyes sting."
"That's pretty normal. They're not used to strong light anymore and the blow on your head might have caused a little concussion," said he then he turned to Aoshi. "Leave the room as dark as possible." He also took some medicines and an ointment and gave them to him. "This is against the pain. If anything might be wrong or the pain becomes unbearable, don't hesitate to contact me." With that the doctor left.
"My pretty poor Misao," Okina said as he sat down beside her.
"I'm so sorry, I must have scared you both."
"It's alright Misao, it's not your fault." Aoshi reassured her.
"Why did you come downstairs?" Okina asked.
"I was hungry, I still am to be honest."
"I shall ask Okon or Omasu to make you something," Okina said as he rose and left.
"Han'nya, come here boy," Misao called.
Han'nya dribbled into the room and sat down beside Aoshi and Misao.
"Thank you."
xxxxx
Okina reentered the room with a bowl soba.
"Pretty Misao, I – "
He stopped his sentence abruptly as Aoshi laid his finger on his lips. Okina knelled down beside the other man.
"She just fell asleep."
xxxxx
Misao woke up. Her back ached, her head throbbed, her eyes stung and her ankle was sore. She could vaguely recognize the figure of Han'nya beside her. Han'nya lay fully stretched on his side.
A moment later the shoji shoved open and Aoshi entered. He closed the shoji and walked over to her futon.
"How are you feeling?"
"You really want to know."
"That bad?" He moved to the end of the futon and lifted the sheet from her feet. He gently took the bandage off and took the ointment. He massaged her ankle gently with the ointment. Then he put the bandage back.
"Thanks," Misao said.
Aoshi gave a curt nod. "Put your arms around my neck, then I can put you in a sitting position."
Misao did so and Aoshi carefully placed his hands underneath her shoulders and pulled her up. Misao let go and Aoshi moved behind her. He pushed the yukata slowly from her shoulders.
"Well it won't surprise you, your back looks awfully black and blue." He took the ointment again and rubbed it over her back.
Misao winced with gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry, Misao, I didn't want to hurt you," Aoshi said.
"It's not your fault, it just hurts when it makes contact with anything."
"I'm afraid it will remain that way for a week. How's your head?"
"Still throbbing ... thanks for taking care of me and I'm sorry for being a burden," Misao said softly.
"Don't be silly Misao, I care about you, you would never be a burden to me," Aoshi said as he pulled her yukata back over her shoulders and moved back in front of her. "You mean everything to me. Never doubt that, and even in the beginning of our marriage I cared for you. I was quite angry with myself after you got in that accident, I should have shown what you mean to me before that."
Misao rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her yukata.
"Oh Misao," he said as he pulled her in a gentle embrace. "You really thought I didn't care."
Tears streamed over Misao's cheek. "I – you took so long before you accepted Okina's offer to marry me."
"I did, but not for the reasons you think. I'm a marked man, Misao. I was wondering if I deserved you and if I could make you happy. I finally decided that I didn't want another man to have you."
His hands now cupped her face and he placed a kiss on her forehead. Misao looked up and crashed her lips on his. At that moment the shoji opened and Okina entered.
"I – " he saw the couple break apart and Aoshi looked at Okina. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Yes," both Aoshi and Misao said.
"Oh ... well ... I'll go."
xxxxx
A week had passed and the members of the Aoiya were downstairs working in the restaurant. Okina just emerged from his office as he saw Aoshi and Misao coming downstairs, closely followed by Han'nya 'the loyal super spy dog'. Aoshi supported Misao by holding her arm while she used the railing to lean on. Once they reached the bottom, Aoshi handed her the walking stick he'd been holding in his free hand.
"Misao, you're out of bed again," Okina said happily.
"Well, the pain in my back is now bearable when I walk," Misao said and she gave Okina a wide smile.
"That's good news, how's your eyesight?"
"Better, though I still suffer from eye-strain and headaches."
"Ah, well it will pass, well we'll eat in ten minutes," Okina said.
"Aa, we know, we're just going to the backyard for a moment," Aoshi replied.
Okina nodded and Aoshi and Misao continued their way to the garden. They walked down the small stairs.
"What is it Misao, you're so quiet."
Misao sighed. "It's so silly actually, but I'm scared."
"Scared?" Aoshi asked.
"What if something goes wrong during childbirth, or what if I'm a lousy mother, or – " Misao was cut of by Aoshi, who placed a hand on her cheek.
"You bother too much, I honestly don't know what is going to happen, but I have faith in you."
"But I don't know anything about children and – "
Aoshi silenced her by placing his lips over hers. "You'll learn."
xxxxx
It took another week for Misao to heal completely. Once her back and ankle were back in their old state Misao wanted to run around, the only thing that kept her from doing so was an almost 9 month thick stomach.
Misao was already lying underneath the covers, while Aoshi sat in the corner with a candlelight writing a report. It was already late and Misao turned her face in his direction.
"Anata, come to bed, you can finish that tomorrow," Misao said while suppressing a yawn.
"I'd rather finish it now, instead of restarting it tomorrow, it's almost done."
Misao pushed the sheets off and stood. She walked towards Aoshi and sat slowly down on her knees behind him. She slung her arms around him and rested her chin on his left shoulder.
"I'm coming Misao, one minute, go back to bed, I'll be right there," Aoshi answered.
"Alright, one minute, no more," Misao said with a chuckle and she pulled herself straight using Aoshi shoulders as support and walked back to the futon. Suddenly a sharp pain hit her in her abdomen and she doubled over moaning in pain.
Aoshi turned around. "Misao?" He jumped on his feet and supported her.
"I think the baby is coming," Misao said panting.
"Lie down on the futon, I'll get Okon and Omasu while I fetch the doctor."
Misao nodded and lay down on the futon with some help of Aoshi. Aoshi turned to leave, but Misao grabbed the fabric of his yukata. "One minute," she said with a weak smile.
Aoshi kissed her on her forehead. "I'll do my best."
xxxxx
"Omasu, Okon," Aoshi called as he knocked on the shoji of the women.
A moment later Omasu opened the shoji. "Aoshi-san, what's wrong?"
"It's Misao, she's gone in labour. I wanted to ask the two of you if you could stay with her while I fetch the doctor."
Omasu nodded. "Of course." She and Okon hurried out of their room to Misao.
xxxxx
Okon used a wet rag to wipe the sweat from Misao's face while Omasu spread out some towels. At that moment Aoshi returned with the doctor.
"How far are we," asked the doctor.
"Her water has broken and the contractions are coming faster and faster," Omasu informed.
"Aoshi-san, perhaps you better wait outside," Okon said.
"No," Misao begged as she grabbed Aoshi's yukata. "Don't go!"
Aoshi took her hand in his. "I was not planning to leave," he said gently.
"So far everything is going smoothly, I'm surprised Okina-san didn't wake up," the doctor said.
"Well, Misao hasn't screamed, so ..." Okon said suggestively.
"Probably because the pain is quite bearable, certainly after everything that I've gone through the past months," Misao said with a weak grin.
"I guess there's some truth in that statement," the doctor admitted.
xxxxx
An hour or two had passed.
"Seriously, how long can a baby take to get out," Misao asked with deep breaths.
"You would be surprised if I told you," the doctor said. "But I can tell that I won't last that long for you, soon it will be over."
"Not soon enough," Misao said through gritted teeth as her stomach pulled together again.
"Well, Shinomori-san, you're ready for the real part of giving birth, and believe me within a half hour you'll say that it was worth it."
"Well it better be!"
"It will, now push," the doctor ordered.
And she did, while squeezing hard in Aoshi and Okon's hand.
"Misao, you're breaking my knuckels!" Okon whimpered.
Misao looked apologetic and released her strong grip on the other woman's hand.
"Good," the doctor said. "Now take a few deep breaths."
Misao took a deep breath and exhaled slowly while Omasu wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"And push. I can see its head."
xxxxx
It didn't take long before Misao gave a final push and expelled the baby from her body.
"It's a boy," the doctor said as he cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a clothe before handing him to his mother.
The baby cried loud, not being used to the atmosphere outside of his mother's womb.
Misao looked up at Aoshi, and saw how the brand new father looked at his son and then he smiled proudly at her. He leaned down and kissed her.
"He's beautiful as are you," Aoshi whispered. "What will we name him?"
"Ryuu, 'dragon'," Misao said.
Aoshi smiled again and nodded. "Ryuu."
OWARI
Thanks to those who read this and gave me tips. I'm sorry for all spelling and grammatical mistakes, but I'm just too lazy to find myself a Beta and even lazier when it comes to reread and correct. Someday I will reread it properly and correct the mistakes ... someday.
Little Weasel Girl