AN: Sorry that updates have been so slow. Don't worry, the fic will definitely be finished.


YORI

Yori lay floating, weightless, surrounded by pain, suffering, grief… How badly she just wanted to drift away, to let the black take everything from her and resign herself to the nothing. In the distance, she heard the murmur of voices. If she strained her ears, she could just make out their words.

"It was quite deep… I think it's sealed now."

"Check again. She lost a lot of blood. She can't risk losing more."

"It's closed. With some rest, she'll recover."

"How deep was the wound?"

"You saw… The blade went in all the way to the hilt."

Yori's hands swiftly moved to her stomach, pressing desperately against her flesh, as though by doing so she might somehow feel the baby's life within her...or absence thereof. Her heart felt like shattered glass, like a priceless vase she'd once dropped as a young girl. Some of those scattered pieces would be forever lost in the cracks of her soul. Even if she tried to gather them together again, to mend what had been broken, there would still be gaps and rough edges that would never mend.

Wasn't it enough that she had lost her family? Finding her stepmother alive had been an unexpected gift, but before she had been able to truly celebrate, she had lost the single most important person in her life. She'd lost Hanabusa. Felt him die in her arms as his heartbeat faded away into silence. And now… Pain blossomed from her back, stretching and curling around her torso and limbs. Was she to lose their unborn child, as well?

With a cry, she shot up, searching with unseeing eyes for help. No one knew she was pregnant...if she didn't act quickly, the baby would be lost. Everything...every trace of Hanabusa...would all be gone. Yori had endured the losses of her siblings, of her people, her husband...she didn't know if she could survive the loss of this child, as well. It was too much. Far too much. Nausea and despair swirled together in a black pit that engulfed her senses.

A pair of hands pushed her gently back, and a strangely soothing energy crept through her veins. Her senses cleared enough to hear a soft voice reassure her, "It's alright. You'll be alright."

Yori shook her head, trying with dead lips to convey her urgent need. Her fingers clutched at her stomach in a clutch of raw panic, but her voice failed her entirely. Gradually, however, her vision was returning. Through the grey haze, she could make out the seer's calm blue gaze. His hand brushed across her forehead, and another wave of healing strength flooded through her.

"It's alright," he repeated, nodding to the archer's stomach. "She's alive."

Yori relaxed against the bed, struggling to ease the panic restricting her lungs. Alive... the baby was alive. If she wasn't so weak, she would have sobbed with relief.

At last, she found her voice, meager as it was, and asked with confusion as her mind registered the significance of his words, "She?"

"Senri!" Rima snapped from the head of the bed.

The seer blanched. "Oh… Sorry."

"Yes, she." Rima sighed. "Senri can sense these things."

"The baby...is a girl?" Yori repeated, dizzy and unable to fully process this information.

"Yes," Rima told her. "And she'll be alright. Senri made sure of it."

A girl… She was going to have a daughter. In the midst of so much pain, a sense of giddiness invaded. Hanabusa was going to have a daughter… She wished she could relay the news. They could have named her together… Instead, she'd never have the chance to tell him.

"There is some bad news, I'm afraid…" the druid added after a moment, tone serious.

Yori squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't need any more bad news. She'd had enough to last her entire life, and perhaps another few lifetimes, as well…

"In order to heal her, I'm afraid…" Senri hesitated, then continued after a short breath, "I'm afraid the baby might have absorbed some of our magical power."

The auburn-haired noble opened her eyes again. That didn't sound so bad. Did it? She was too addled to be sure. "What does that mean?" she asked weakly.

"I...don't know."

"This has never happened before," Rima elaborated. "But young, unborn children are particularly susceptible to magic. That much is known. It's not a guarantee, but...it is possible that she will be born with magical ability. Since I was helping Senri by channeling my own magic to him, she was exposed to both of our powers at once..."

"Oh," was all Yori could think to say.

"I'm sorry… There was no way to avoid it. If Senri hadn't acted when he did, she would certainly be dead. Whatever is done...is done." Rima exchanged an unreadable glance with the seer over the archer's head.

"It doesn't matter," Yori whispered, pressing her hands once more against her stomach for reassurance. "If she's alive, it doesn't matter at all."

"She'll live," Senri promised.

"Senri…" the druid cautioned again.

The seer gave a soft sigh. "She is healthy for now."

"We can't know what will happen later on in the pregnancy. But yes, at the moment she is safe and well. And your injury is healed, so it won't cause her further harm."

"Thank you." The words were scarcely audible, dragged down by fatigue.

"Rest," Rima bade her, and Yori felt herself sink back into the dark.

As she did so, she heard the druid whisper, "You must be more careful with your words."

"But she will live. I saw it," the seer protested quietly.

"Are you sure..?"

"Yes, as I was healing her. She will be very powerful, Rima… The web of the future spins around her."

"I see…"

The rest of the conversation muted into liquid, swirling through her ears. With nothing else to hold on to, Yori anchored herself with the knowledge that her daughter...Hanabusa's daughter...would live. That knowledge was enough to ease her into a peaceful, healing slumber.


AN: I know Hanabusa and Yori have a son in the canon universe, and I'm sure many fics have followed the canon, so I thought I'd change it up a little. I hope you don't mind!