Hitomi flipped through the pages of her book with a pensive frown. According to this book, she had to be at least eight weeks pregnant. But that didn't make sense. She and Chase hadn't even been having sex for eight weeks. Maybe the book was inaccurate? Or maybe her baby was just special? How many babies had an immortal, part-reptile Heylin warrior for a father?

Hitomi lounged on her old bed with her ankles crossed. "My baby is half an inch long, huh?" Hitomi mused before looking down at her still-flat stomach. Hitomi quickly flipped through some more pages.

After a few more minutes, Hitomi frowned and sighed. Putting up the book, she attempted to curl up under the covers. She hadn't seen nor heard from Chase in the past few days. She wanted to be angry with him- she still was. But, her anger was fading and making room for an overwhelming sense of loneliness. She understood that he didn't want this kid. She wasn't too excited about it either (she had no idea how to be a mother!). But she couldn't abandon her child.

Chase just didn't understand. She'd spent most of her life without her mother. She'd never wish such loneliness and longing on anyone else. The idea of casting off a child just didn't sit right with her. But no matter how many times she tried to explain it to him, he wouldn't hear of it. The baby may not know that its life had been cut short, but she would. That wasn't something she could keep on her conscience.

"Mama, what if we end up hating each other for the rest of our lives?" Hitomi asked her mother in an almost whispered voice. Naomi lifted her head off her paws to give her daughter a saddened look. "You regret leaving me. Don't you?" Hitomi asked. She could see the tears gathering in her mother's large, brown eyes. Rubbing her hand over her mother's head, Hitomi smiled. "I understand. I don't blame you. I can't do that to this baby. With or without Chase, I'm keeping it and raising it."

Naomi growled lowly before licking at Hitomi's hand in an attempt to offer support.

~:~

Omi opened his eye slowly. He could see the sunlight shining through the window. But, there was something covering his right eye. Bringing a hand up to feel the covering, Omi noticed the bandages around his arm. Raising his other arm in his line of sight, Omi gaped at the white bandages on his arms. What happened to him?

A massive headache was brewing in his skull and his stomach was growling at him loudly. Despite his muscles crying out in protest against it, Omi sat up from his bed and left the room. His friends had already gotten out of bed. Where were they?

Before searching for them, Omi decided to get some food. Luckily, he spotted his friends sitting around the table with Master Fung and Dojo. They were silently eating breakfast together. Master Fung noticed him first. "Good morning, Omi."

"G-good morning, Master Fung," Omi replied and stepped into the room. His eyes scanned his friends with a saddened expression. Kimiko had bandages around her arms, hands, and chest poking out from under her robes. Clay had some bandages wrapped around his head and both his hands. Dojo was feeding him his breakfast. Raimundo seemed to be sitting in a rather uncomfortable position with light wrappings on his hands. Omi took the open seat next to Clay.

So many questions were floating around in his head as Omi dished some food out for himself. He felt concern for his friends as well as what day was it. How long had he been out? But everyone was being uncharacteristically quiet. Omi didn't want to break the silence.

"Three days, dude," Raimundo spoke up.

"Huh?" Omi asked.

"You were out for three days," Raimundo clarified.

Omi nodded thoughtfully. Omi didn't bother to ask how Raimundo knew what he was thinking. Out of all the members of their team, he was sure that Raimundo knew him the best. They had clashed so many times since they'd met. It was only natural that they'd been able to form a brotherly bond. "What have I missed?" Omi asked.

"Not much. We haven't been able to do much since our fight with Chase," Clay answered.

Omi frowned. "I... I am sorry, my friends. I have been a terrible teammate. I let my own anger keep me from doing what was best for the team. I am sorry, Raimundo. But I am relieved that you were able to do what needed to be done when I was acting most selfishly."

"Don't sweat it, dude. We got the Wu and we're alive. That's what counts," Raimundo replied.

"I believe now would be the appropriate time to say I told you so. Would it not?" Omi said with a wry grin.

Raimundo smirked. "You look beat up enough as it is. But, I'm glad you know it," Raimundo smirked. Omi offered a small grin before tending to his food.

"Young monks, I am glad to see that you are in lighter spirits. But I must ask what you plan to do next," Master Fung said. The monks immediately sobered up.

"What can we do, Master Fung?" Kimiko replied, a bit hopelessly.

"We done got our butts handed to us more than once by Chase Young. The fella's been mighty agitated lately. Don't you think?" Clay suggested before Dojo fed him some more rice.

"It's like someone spit in his Lao Mang Lone soup or something," Dojo remarked.

"I am most concerned that he is taking his frustrations out on Hitomi," Omi spoke up. Everyone shot each other wary looks.

"How are we supposed to find that out without Chase flipping out on us again?" Kimiko asked.

"I think we should focus on getting better first before anything else. We can't help anyone in this shape," Raimundo said.

"And after that?" Kimiko asked.

"I'm not sure. You think we could just use the Wu to see how things are gonna go?" Raimundo suggested with a casual shrug.

He had only meant it as an offhanded comment. But Omi immediately peeked up with an excited expression. "Raimundo! You are a genius!" Omi exclaimed before dashing away from the table.

"I am?" Raimundo asked.

"What's with him?" Dojo asked with a shrug.

Omi was soon back in the room with a bright smile on his face. His chest was heaving as he held up the Eagle Scope and Fountain of Hui with a bright grin. "Good thinking, dude!" Raimundo shouted out in excitement. The other monks watched Omi activate both Wu with eager expressions. They watched Omi concentrate on the information in front of him with bated breath. Even Master Fung waited patiently for his student. Finally, Omi ceased his quest for knowledge with a wide-eyed expression. He hung his head slowly.

"What is it, Omi?" Kimiko asked tentatively.

"My friends, it is much worse than we thought..." Omi said gravely.

~Three Weeks Later~

Chase walked through his lair, making his way down to the dining room. Normally, he would have eaten breakfast hours ago as soon as the sun had risen. Having spent all night and gone well into the morning practicing his martial arts, he felt drained and in need of something to eat. The practice kept his mind occupied and off of darker thoughts. Pushing the doors to the dining room open, Chase raised a brow when he spotted Hitomi sitting at the table. She had recently made special efforts to change her eating habits just so that she wouldn't have to be in the same room as him. He rarely ever saw her these days. When her surprised eyes landed on him, Chase kept an indifferent expression on his face and took a seat at the table.

He hated how much he missed her presence. He had spent the last 1500 years without anyone to disturb him. But she had completely redefined him by invading every aspect of his daily life. He'd already cursed her dozens of times for this. He'd cursed himself even more for allowing it to happen.

Why couldn't she understand how much danger she was putting herself in? He had come to rely on her ability to defend herself should she need to. She couldn't effectively defend herself while pregnant. He was only capable of defending her while he was in peak conditions. If someone attempted to bring about another Heylin Eclipse...

Even worse, she hadn't even considered that he just didn't want children. Children were loud, obnoxious, and disgusting creatures. You weren't just expected to tend to them for a short while either. They needed care for years to come. Chase didn't have the patience to deal with something so dependent for over a decade. His life was his own.

If only he'd been able to procure the Indigo Pyramid... Maybe he could steal it away from the monks? Even the Hodoku Mouse would fix this mess.

Suddenly, Chase felt the fetus's presence again. It had been growing stronger at a rapid rate. From across the table, Chase could almost see the fetus's aura. Chase frowned pensively. It was like a small, bright orange ball glowing like a light. What caused Chase to pause were the flecks of darkness amongst the orange. All souls were inherently dark. Even the purest of monks have their flaws. But for one so young to already possess such corruption...

"There's been a shift between the balance of good and evil."

"You think Chase Young is getting stronger?"

"I'm sure that the shift is Chase taking advantage of some new power."

Chase's eyes widened.

Hitomi stubbornly kept her eyes trained on her plate. She could feel Chase's gaze on her, but she refused to meet his eye. If he thought that she would bend easily to whatever he wanted, he had another thing coming. She was just as stubborn as he was. If not, more. So could he just stop staring already!? She stabbed a slice of mango a bit violently before looking up at Chase with irritation lighting her features. "What?" she snapped at him.

Chase was staring at her as if he was examining her under a microscope. Hitomi frowned before returning her eyes to her plate. He was acting so weird. If he hated her, couldn't he at least say so and leave her alone already? Why did he have to stare at her like-

"How are you feeling?" Chase suddenly asked her.

Her chopsticks fell from her grasp. Hitomi looked up to see Chase actually smiling at her. Granted, he looked like a cat who had just eaten a canary. Hitomi instantly felt on edge as well as slightly aroused. Darn her hormones. "W-what?" she asked.

"How are you feeling? Your heartbeat is irregular," Chase commented casually.

"Don't listen to my heartbeat. You don't have that right," Hitomi nearly hissed.

"I was simply concerned for your well-being."

"Oh. Now you care," Hitomi replied with a roll of her eyes. She heard his chair scrape against the floor before his feet padded softly towards her. She nearly jumped when she felt his hand on her back. "What do you want, Chase?"

"You have made up your mind and there is nothing I can do to change it. Rather than fight like children, I've decided to accept your decision," Chase informed her.

With surprise on her face, Hitomi looked up at Chase. He was smiling softly down at her now. It wasn't a cruel or conniving smile. He looked so genuine. "Do you mean it?" Hitomi asked with a small amount of hope in her voice.

"Of course. I will do whatever it takes to bring this child into the world," Chase answered.

With a bright smile, Hitomi launched herself into his arms. "I'm so happy to hear you say that," Hitomi replied. Chase ran his hand along her back with a smirk on his face.