Disclaimer:I do not own Bleach!
Chapter 29
The Day the Magic Died
I'm now 38 weeks pregnant and considered full term, so Raina could arrive any day now. I'm hoping it will be sooner rather than later. I'm ready to get her out. I've only been pregnant 3 months but that was enough. Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but it can be rather miserable for the mother. You get huge and your feet swell. Being kicked in the ribs isn't very fun either.
I decided I would read The Book since I didn't have anything better to do. I flipped through the pages and noticed a spell I hadn't recognized before. I hadn't actually read through the whole thing from start to finish. I normally just flipped around till I noticed something interesting. This spell interested me very much.
It was a "to relinquish your powers" spell. Saying the spell would take away the person who chanted its powers. It said that either all of the relinquishers must say the spell together in sync to relinquish their power or one of them must chant it the same number of times that there are relinquishers. The spell read:
From whence they came,
Return them now,
Vanish the words,
Vanish our powers.
I studied the spell and thought about what it would be like to be normal again. I wouldn't have to worry about Aizen. Raina would be safe then. I have this fear about the soul society and them taking Raina away. I mean, she resurrected my Grandpa. She must have more power than me, because I can't do that. The soul society already doesn't like me because of my power. I can only imagine how they would feel about Raina.
"Bad news." I heard a familiar voice say.
I turned around to see who it was and saw Renji. "What are you doing here so early? It is 7a.m; I thought you'd be training."
"That's the problem, I can't."
"Why not?"
"My powers don't work. No one's does. No one can use kido. We can't even release our swords, much less use bankai."
"Wow, so no soul reaper has their powers?"
"No, do you?"
"I don't know. I haven't been up that long. I suppose I should try to use them."
I tried to move the door, but it didn't budge.
"Unmei, what is this?" I asked.
I have no idea, Kristen. I've never heard of any of this happening before.
"GRIMMJOW!" I yelled.
Grimmjow appeared in my door way. "Yea?"
"Can you get in soul form and try to charge a cero? Don't actually release it though."
"Sure."
He popped a piece of soul candy in his mouth and stepped out of his gigai. He held his hand out and nothing happened.
"Are you trying?" I asked.
"Yes, what the hell is going on? Why isn't it working?"
"We'd all like to know that." Renji said.
"Huh?"
"None of our powers work, Grimmjow. The whole soul society is out." I explained.
"This is just great. What about hollow attacks? How are we supposed to stop them?" Renji said.
"Your still have your sword, even though you can't release it. I wonder if Ichigo's works. I mean, his is already in release form."
Renji's phone rung and he stepped into the hallway to talk to whoever it was.
"I wonder if Aizen is behind this." I theorized.
"Nah, he's not that powerful. He couldn't take away everyone's powers. If he was going to do that then why have an Arrancar army?" Grimmjow responded.
Renji came back in the room. "That was Urahara. He got in touch with Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Rukia and Uryu. None of them have their powers either. Rukia said there was a report of someone fighting a hollow at midnight. The person said that right at the stroke of midnight, the hollow disappeared. It was like it purified itself. She said there hadn't been any reports of hollows since. Urahara also decided to open up a Garganta, just to see if it would work. It didn't. The Garganta are sealed. So it seems hollows won't be a problem. No one is getting in or out of Hueco Mundo."
"Well there goes my theory of it being Aizen. I don't think he would seal himself away in Hueco Mundo." I said.
"Whoever done it must be a powerful being. Who has the power to wipe out magic completely? They wiped it out of the world, the soul society and Hueco Mundo. We should be more scared of this person than we are of Aizen." Renji stated.
"How did you get here?" I asked.
"The Senkaimon still works. It seems to be the only thing that does."
"This is crazy. I wonder who or what done it." I said, and then felt Raina kick.
I looked down at my belly. Was that just a coincidence or was she responding to what I just said?
"You don't think it could be…" I trailed off and looked at my belly.
"No, she's just an infant. She couldn't have that kind of power." Renji said.
Maybe he was right. She's just a baby still in her mother's womb. It just wasn't possible.
Anything is possible. Unmei stated.
"Well I need to take a shower." I said, hinting to them to leave the room.
They left and I went to the bathroom. I had been hurting on and off since yesterday afternoon. It wasn't that bad painful, so I haven't thought anything of it. I turned the water on in the sink to wash my face. At that moment a gush of liquid came out of me and splashed in the floor. My shorts were pretty soaked.
"Somebody come here!" I yelled.
Grimmjow was the one to come. I guess he had gone to his room.
"Did you piss yourself?" He laughed.
"No, you dumbass! I think my water just broke! Go call the doctor or tell Grandpa to. Hurry!"
I went to get some different underwear and pants to put on. I hadn't had a shower and looked like a hot mess, but I guess that didn't matter to Raina. She was coming regardless. Renji ran into to the room. He was kind of freaking out. I guess he knew what had happened. I was trying to stay calm. No point in both of us spazzing out. Besides, I was ready for her to be here.
By the time I got my bags together and got downstairs, the contractions were worse. They were rather painful. I knew they would only get worse. Grandpa said that the doctor said that I needed to come to the hospital. Grandpa knew I had been hurting since yesterday and Grimmjow knew what the liquid looked like so I guess that's why they didn't ask to talk to me. Grandpa drove and Nana sat up front with him. I sat between Renji and Grimmjow in the back. Renji was holding my hand. When I had another contraction, I squeezed his hand and he made a painful face.
He jerked his hand away after the contraction ended. "Break my hand, why don't you."
Grimmjow just laughed.
"You think it's funny? You let her squeeze your hand next time." Renji said to Grimmjow.
"Nah, I think I'll pass. I hope we get to the hospital soon. I don't want to see the kid coming out." Grimmjow responded.
"I don't think she'll be born between now and then. Labor takes a little longer than 30 minutes." I said.
When we got to the hospital, they put me in a room. My doctor checked me and I was dilated 5 centimeters. Since I had taken birthing classes, I knew the breathing exercises. I did them every time I had a contraction. They actually helped. I had read on the internet that on average active labor could last four to eight hours with the first baby. So I was prepared to be here for a long time. They let me walk freely around my room since I didn't have any complication. I was right on schedule.
My Nana had called my parents and Miranda. I promised Miranda someone would call her when I went into labor. She wanted to see me when she got here and they let her. She hugged me as soon as she came into the room.
She put her hands on my belly and said. "It's your Aunt Miranda, Raina. I'll see you soon!"
I just laughed at her. She was excited about Raina. I kind of felt bad, because if Lee hadn't of been murdered then she and him could be married and preparing for a baby. She never got a proper goodbye with him. Looking though the book, I think I had seen a way to help her with that. It would involve me telling her about my secret life. I think she could handle it though. She was like the sister I never had. We had been through it all together. I could trust her with the secret.
After a couple hours, my doctor checked me again. I was dilated 8 centimeters. The contractions got much stronger. The breathing wasn't helping anymore. They were pretty close together, coming every 3 minutes. They lasted over a minute. They were so painful, they made me shake. Luckily these didn't last that long, maybe about 30 minutes. I had read they could last a few minutes to a few hours, so I was thankful they didn't last hours. I don't know if I could've handled them that long.
After I had fully dilated all 10 centimeters, the contractions got a little further apart and they were easier to handle. Being able to bear down offered some relief. Pushing every time I had a contraction was very tiring. If only Unmei could do this for me, she never gets tried. I think the black eyes would scare most away. Plus this was my baby and I wanted to do it. It was just a thought.
It felt like I had been pushing forever when they said they could see her scalp. Renji looked and smiled. I wish I could have seen, but I knew I would be holding her soon so it wasn't a big deal. She began "crowning" not too long after. The first time hearing her cry was a feeling like none other. I instantly knew in my mind what she wanted when she cried; it was like our minds were linked. She wanted me.
When she was out, they placed her on my abdomen and dried her off with a towel. They said skin to skin contact would keep her good and warm while they dried her off. They clamped the umbilical cord in two places and let Renji cut it. They wrapped her in a warm blanket and put a hat on her. Then they gave her to me and I got to see my beautiful child. Boy was she ever beautiful. She had my green eyes. The nurse said she had never seen a child born with eyes like that. She had red peach fuzz for hair.
I was wanting to breastfeed and they told me I could do it now. She started nursing almost immediately after I offered it to her. After she was finished feeding, they took her to weigh her and all that jazz. I told Renji to go watch them do it. I knew Grimmjow was out there, but I wanted Renji there too. Even though no one had powers today, I still felt she needed to be protected. She weighed 6lbs 7oz and was 18 inches long. She was a pretty small baby, but healthy none the less.
When they moved me to my new room, they brought Raina back. I had requested for her to have her sponge bath and hair washed in my room. I also requested the pediatric exam be done in my room as well. I didn't like her being out of my sight very long. I wanted her to stay in my room instead of being taken back to the nursery to sleep. She would need to nurse every few hours anyways.
After Raina had gotten settled and went to sleep, I asked if I could take a bath. I hadn't had one that day yet. They told me I could, so I left Raina with Renji and my family to take a quick bath. I felt so much better after getting clean. I had sweated a lot during labor, so I'm sure I didn't smell too hot. I think this was best for everyone.
Since I was done having her by the afternoon, everyone came to see her. She melted everyone's heart, even my mother's. I was shocked. I know people say that babies can change people, but I was still in utter shock. My mother had changed, if only for the moment. With this happening, I believed that Raina could melt even the coldest of hearts.
Rukia came and even brought Byakuya with her. I thought that she must have convinced her brother that he should come since Raina belonged to his Vice Captain. I had no idea why he had come, but it blew me away. He hated me, I was pretty sure of that. I thought he was the perfect subject to test my theory of Raina on.
"Do you want to hold her, Byakuya?" I asked, knowing he hated being called by his first name.
"No." He said coldly.
I practically pushed her into his arms, forcing him to take her. I could tell by Renji's expression that he disapproved. I ignored it though. Byakuya just looked at her. She smiled in her sleep and I swore I saw him crack a smile. It was only for a second, but he still did it. I was pleased. I held my arms out and he gave her back quickly. They didn't stay much longer, but I didn't care. I wouldn't have minded Rukia staying longer, but I was ready for Byakuya to leave. He brought the mood down.
A little later Yoruichi, Urahara, Uryu, Chad, Orihime and Ichigo came by. I didn't know how they got here from Japan so quick, but I didn't ask. Orihime wanted to hold her, so I let her.
"She's so beautiful, Kristen." She said.
"Yeah, she is. Good thing she looks nothing like Renji." Ichigo joked.
"Shut up!" Renji added.
Those two fought like brothers. I found it rather funny.
I finally convinced everyone that they could go home a little after 9p.m. Renji stayed with me, of course. But I didn't need everyone else staying. I told them they could come back tomorrow. I fed Raina and then fell asleep. When I woke up, I looked at the clock. It was a minute past midnight. I glanced toward my purse, where The Book was sticking out. It was glowing. I thought I should try and see if my powers worked now. I tried to use them to call the glowing book to me. It worked. They were back. I wondered if everybody else had theirs back yet.
The book stopped glowing when it got to me. I opened it up to see a page that wasn't there before. It was a page like mine, only it had Raina's name and picture. She didn't have a biography part yet, but her powers were listed. As I read over them, I realized just how powerful she really was. The soul society couldn't know. I wasn't even sure if I should tell Renji. I began to think about how everyone lost their powers yesterday and it just so happened that she was born on that day. It didn't seem like a coincidence to me.
"Did Raina really take away everyone's powers?" I asked myself out loud.
The pages in the book began to turn all by themselves. They stopped on an empty page and then the word yes formed on the page.
Author's note: So Raina was the one who "killed" magic. That just shows you how powerful she actually is. No one has guessed who writes the book yet. Care to guess again? It's not Unmei, btw. Review plz!
