God forbid he'd ever get as scared as he was. Waiting. Waiting. All the waiting was making him lose his marbles.

Three hours since Mikan's sudden attack, and he still heard nothing from the doctors. Nothing! Not even a nurse to come out of the room to say anything! Never really having been a patient man when it came to situations like these, he started getting restless, pacing to and fro, at one point driving Imai nuts enough to make her yell at him to stop and sit down. He tried, but there was so much going on in his body and he did not know how to control it.

"Go look for anything to do," Ruka suggested. Natsume considered the thought. He could burn down the building, but of course that would be a tad bit improper considering his wife's dire conditions and the possibility of roasting his baby boy. He could play a game — no, that wouldn't work... A book? No, no, no — he had to do something fast-paced and energy-consuming and physically draining. He felt like a hunter in need of a hunt.

He supposed one reason why he felt so incapable of relaxing was his training during the Academy years — students in the Dangerous Abilities class were taught to fight not just physically but mentally as well. They were trained well to turn psychological pressure into physical strength, to delay the crippling effects of fear and maintain level-headedness during times of great stress. Sadly they were also trained to channel said psychological pressure into actions and motions strong enough to kill another human being. They forgot to teach the DA all about handling the mental side-effects of a wife in labor and a child on the way, both in danger of losing their lives. (But then again, no DA trainer ever thought of the possibility of their trainees living long enough to live a proper life.)

Mikan had been transferred to the delivery room shortly after the episode and all had been quiet for Natsume since then. Pacing did not help him at all, so he decided to go to the hospital canteen and look for anything to eat or drink. He took his time wandering amidst all the stalls, and he stayed to watch television just to get his mind off everything else if only for a while — dozing off in the process.

When he woke up, he checked his watch and felt the panic. He had been gone for nearly three hours. Quickly he ran back to the waiting room, only to be greeted by an empty bench where Imai and Ruka were supposed to be sitting. He looked through the glass window of the labor room door and saw nothing of his wife. He cursed, berating himself for forgetting, and waited until a nurse stepped out.

"Miss? Where is the woman in there - Mrs Hyuuga?"

He felt a tiny tug of pride at the sound of the name, but it quickly disappeared when the nurse quietly said, "She has been returned to her room, sir."

He breathed a sigh of minor relief. "And the child? Is my son okay?"

The nurse shook her head and only said, "I'm afraid you don't have a son, Mr —"

Natsume never heard the end of her statement. He just ran towards Mikan's room. He didn't have a son. His son didn't make it. Already he was beginning to plan the many ways to skin the doctors alive. He wondered whether setting them on fire would be too much, too theatrical, but then again they were too incompetent, unable to save his son's life. And the nurses, what to do with them? Perhaps a quick flick of the knife—

When he opened Mikan's room door, he was met by dozens of flashing pink Alice-crafted balloons that popped and reformed upon contact. For a moment he was at a loss.

Balloons?

Then he noticed the flowers as well. What was going on?

And that was when he heard a tired giggle and Mikan's small voice saying, "Hello, Daddy Natsume."

His eyes fell upon his wife, looking tired and spent, laying on the hospital bed, with something on top of her chest. It wriggled, and a round pink fist came flying into view before disappearing behind the towels again.

One look at the swaddling bundle and the pieces fell in place. He smiled a really, really big smile and laughed as the bundle moved again.

He didn't have a son after all.

"Kasai Hyuuga," he whispered as he grabbed his baby's tiny fist. The small hands clamped tight around his finger.

"She likes the name," Mikan mumbled, watching him intently. "She'll be a daddy's girl then."

"Apparently," was all Natsume could say.


Kasai means "fire". (: