I think this chapter is my best so far, but you are the judge(s) of that. Anyhoo, all I have to say is: now that you know that Nicholas/Neicodemus's father is Isaac/Dornkirk, don't you wonder who his mother is? The answer is not in this chapter, but a hint is given. Review with any guesses you have as to who she is!
Ditto.
~*Chapter Six: Calling All Angels*~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Leon? Is that you?"
Silence.
"Leon? Leon?"
"No, my
pretty. I am not your friend Leon."
"W-who
are you?"
Chuckle. "You do not remember Leon's comrade? Pity. Oh well, there really is no need for you to know my name."
"What do
you want with me?!"
"You. It was fated for us to be together."
"But
I…Hey!! Get your hands off me! Stop this, you dirty old man!"
No
reply.
"STOP!! Get off of me! HELP! LEON!!!"
Grunt. "Stop squirming. You're making this harder. This is Destiny. This is Fate!"
"LEEEEOOOONNNNN!!!!!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hitomi
awoke, her body damp with sweat. She
shook her head, trying to clear the remnants of the nightmare. Or…was it a vision? She shook her head again, trying to dismiss
that thought. She looked to her side,
and noticed that Van's astral form was asleep beside her. She sighed, feeling safe knowing that he was
with her in a way.
It was the
night after Nicholas/Neicodemus had come to the Kamiya Dojo. After he had given his names, he had said
"Keep in mind that your precious King is different from most. I'll be back." And with that, he had left. Just walked off. No beam of
light or anything like that. He just simply
walked off.
He sure
was strange, Hitomi noted. Smiling
wistfully, she turned her attention to Van. He looked so peaceful while in slumber, especially the way one of his
wings folded over himself. Hitomi
surmised that at one point during the night, that very wing was folded over her
as well. For a few moments, she simply
sat on her futon and watched as Van slept. After a while, she decided that she better get back to sleep. Lying back down on her futon, she gently put
one of her hands on her swollen stomach. Today it's five months, she realized. She closed her eyes, letting thoughts of what her and Van's baby
would look like swirl in her mind.
Suddenly,
she was startled out of her reverie with an intense feeling of indigestion-like
pain. Finding that it hurt to much to
sit up, she decided to stay lying down. Out of sheer panic, she called out Van's name.
Van awoke
to the sound of her frantic voice. "Hitomi?" he questioned. "Are
you okay?"
Hitomi
shook her head in the negative fervently, her hair rustling on the pillow
beneath her head. "No. Van, something's not right! I really don't feel good! I've never felt like this before…."
Van sat up,
his brows furrowing as he tried to figure out what could possibly be wrong with
Hitomi. "Do you think it might have
been something you ate?"
Again she
shook her head. "No. This…this doesn't feel like that." She squeezed her eyes shut out of pain,
forcing a crystalline tear to escape. Opening her eyes again, she whispered almost inaudibly, "It's the baby."
"What?" Van
asked, having not heard her.
"It's the
baby," Hitomi said louder. "I know it's
crazy…but I think I'm in labor!" she exclaimed in panic. She gritted her teeth as another wave of
pain hit her. Once it passed, she
continued. "I think that was a
contraction! Van, I'm only five months
along! I'm not supposed to give birth
this early!"
Van
gasped. I should have known…he
berated himself. Quickly he stood,
looking down at Hitomi who was still writhing in pain on the futon. "I thought you would carry for the normal
nine months, because you are the human and I'm the Draconian. I didn't know…oh, Hitomi! I'm so sorry, I should've told you!"
"What are
you talking about?!" Hitomi demanded through gritted teeth.
"Draconians
carry for five months!" Van exclaimed. Clenching his fists with resolve, he stated, "Hitomi, I'm going to use
the pendant to come to you." He began
to fade, willing his astral self to return to his body on Gaea. Giving Hitomi a reassuring smile, he
promised, "I'll come as soon as I can."
Hitomi
nodded, though she was scared now that Van left her. Another painful contraction came to her, causing her to scream in
agony. Crying now, she sniffled and
yelled for help.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Van's
astral form slammed into his body with such force that he nearly knocked the
air out of his lungs. Ignoring the need
to cough, he quickly got out of his bed. I can't just go to the Mystic Moon, he reasoned as he hastily
pulled his trademark red shirt over his head. I have to tell Merle, so if I'm not back by daylight she won't worry. He nodded his head, as if agreeing with
himself. He ran out of his bedchamber,
trying not to wake anybody up—especially the Duchess, he added with a
grimace. He tiptoed as quietly as
possible as he passed her guest bedchamber, and mentally cursed as he heard the
door open behind him.
"King Van?"
Neicole sleepily asked, rubbing her eyes. "Is that you?"
Van sighed,
knowing that there was no way to get out of this one. "Yes, Duchess. It's me,"
he admitted, turning around to face her.
Neicole
smiled. "What, may I ask, are you doing
up so—hey! That necklace of yours is
glowing!"
Van gasped.
In a panic, he pulled the pendant off
from around his neck. Indeed, he
noticed, it was glowing. But it wasn't
a steady glow; it was more like a flickering glow. Could it be… he gulped, a dying glow? "Hitomi!" he exclaimed in an alarmed
whisper.
"What?"
Neicole asked, confused.
Van simply
ignored her, and began to run to the nearest window that was big enough for him
to fit through. There's no time to
get Merle, he sadly realized. I'll
just have to go and hope that the Duchess mentions it later. At this, he speeded up, heading for the end
of the hallway where he knew the castle was still damaged from the Great
War. The window there would certainly
be big enough for him to fit through.
Neicole ran
after Van, calling out his name in somewhat loud whispers and hisses. She finally caught up to him as he stood on
the broken sill on what was once a fairly large Gothic-style window. "King Van!!" she hissed again. "What are you doing?!"
This time
he decided to answer her. "I'm going to
the place I need to be right now." He
slipped the pendant over his head. Hitomi,
I'm coming… And with that, he
pushed his wings out of his back, and flew upwards out of the window.
"KING
VAAAAANNN!!!!"
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hitomi had
blacked out soon after she had called for help; her head now lay nestled in a
worried Kaoru's lap. Megumi had been
summoned by Yahiko earlier on, though unfortunately it was at a most untimely
moment (i.e.: Yahiko walked in on Megumi and Sano going for a little "romp in
the futon"). Kenshin had been ordered
by Megumi to get some towels and hot water, and he obeyed with haste. Yahiko and Sano simply paced in the corner
of the room, the tenseness of the situation having been proved to be too much
for them.
Kenshin
re-entered the room, and promptly delivered the requested materials to
Megumi. "How is Hitomi-dono?" he asked
out of concern.
Megumi
grabbed a towel and unfolded it. The
bright white cotton soon turned crimson as it was pressed against Hitomi's
vaginal area. "Not good," she answered
in earnest. "She is losing blood much
too fast, and she definitely shouldn't give birth this early. She'll be lucky if she makes it out alive,
let alone the baby."
Sano
suddenly growled. "Can't you do
SOMETHING, Kitsune-onna [Fox-woman (what he calls Megumi)]?! Tori-onna [Bird-woman (the name he's given
Hitomi, since she's always surrounded by feathers in the mornings)] doesn't
deserve to die! She's too…nice!"
"Don't yell
at her!" Kaoru exclaimed in Megumi's defense. "Can't you see she's trying to save Hitomi's LIFE?!"
"WOULD YOU
TWO JUST SHUT UP?!?!" Yahiko demanded in a fleeting moment of passionate
bravery. His eyes widened as he
realized his extremely loud outburst, and he quickly ran behind a potted plant
for protection.
"Perhaps it
would be best if we were a bit quiet," Kenshin suggested calmly.
Hitomi
suddenly moaned, and Kaoru took quick notice of it. "Hitomi?" she asked gently but worriedly.
Hitomi slowly
opened her eyes, though it was Kaoru she saw. Instead, she saw the ghostly image of Varie, Van's mother. "Varie, is that you?" she asked weakly.
"Who's
Varie, Hitomi?" Kaoru asked, her worry growing.
Hitomi did
not hear Kaoru. Instead she heard ~Do
not worry, my son is coming for you~ Hitomi managed a light chuckle at that statement. "That's about as clear as mud," she
commented hoarsely. "If you mean Van,
then it means I might live. But if you
mean Folken, it means I'll die."
Kaoru's eyes
widened with intense worry. "She's
hallucinating!"
~Do you
think me to be the sort of woman who would look on while her own grandson's
mother died? If you have the spirit and
the faith—if you believe in yourself—, then you shall not perish~ Hitomi gritted her teeth, vaguely aware that
her body was now in the process of giving birth. "Help me, Varie. Please…it hurts so much…."
"Hitomi,
it's Kaoru!" Kaoru exclaimed quietly, slapping Hitomi's cheeks gently in an
effort to wake her.
~Sadly,
I cannot help you. I am simply a being
in a spirit realm, as is Folken. But I
can give you reassurance; I can tell you that my son is coming for you, and by
that I mean 'the only one who can'~ Hitomi managed a small smile. "Van," she repeated his name. A
feeling of familiar warmth crept up her spine. "Yes, Varie, he is coming…." She
blinked, and suddenly found herself looking up into Kaoru's teary blue eyes. "Kaoru?"
Kaoru
smiled. "You see me!" she exclaimed
with relief. Wiping sweat-laden hair
off of Hitomi's forehead, she continued, "Do you want to see your son?"
Hitomi
nodded, too astonished to say anything. Kaoru made a beckoning motion to Kenshin, who was presently holding the
tiny bundle of joy while Megumi was cleaning up.
Yahiko, who had finally crept out from behind the
potted plant, and Sano, who had finally stopped pacing, watched with rapt
fascination as Kenshin placed the newborn into Hitomi's waiting arms.
"Your son
is beautiful, that he is," Kenshin complimented with a warm smile.
All Hitomi
could do was smile, her eyes tearing up. She gently pulled back the soft cotton towel that masked the baby's
face, revealing slightly tanned skin and tufts of ebony hair atop his head. His eyes were not yet opened fully. "You look exactly like your daddy," she said
with a smile as she found her index finger gripped in her son's tiny hand.
Suddenly
the beam of light that Hitomi expected touched down in the very room. Seconds later, Van, with his wings spread
fully, was revealed. At first he said
nothing, taking in the sight that was before him.
Yahiko
collapsed in a dead faint at the sight of the winged King, and hit the wooden
floor with a pronounced thud. Kaoru
simply sat still, her eyes wide in shock. Kenshin mumbled a soft "Oro", and he too sat still with his eyes wide in
shock. Megumi gasped and dropped the
bloody towel she was holding, and ran into Sano's arms. Sano simply stood still, the fact that there
was a supposed angel in the room having not quite registered yet.
Hitomi
smiled. "Van," she called out. Holding up the baby, she continued, "Meet
your son."
There was a
collective gasp (from those who were still conscious anyway) as Van too
smiled. He made no attempt to reabsorb
his wings as he slowly walked toward Hitomi. "Our son," he amended.
Sano,
having finally registered what was going on, let out a nervous yet amused
chuckle. "Now that's what I call
'having friends in high places'."
And with that, he joined Yahiko on the floor.