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Kano was a nervous wreck. He paced back and forth impatiently. Tasuki and Kouji watched him walk up and down the hospital hallway.
"Kano, stop that. It's not helping anything." Kouji rolled his eyes.
"I just want to know if she's okay…I've never done this before…"
"I would hope not." Tasuki gave his daughter's husband a warning glance.
"Can I go in there yet?"
"Quit worrying. Kei and Tora are in there with her right now, so are the doctors. She's in good hands. This is the hospital Akane was born in."
Kano stopped by a window. "I just…I want everything to be perfect…" A stray sunbeam bounced off his wedding ring. They'd been married for about two years.
"This is your child you're talking about. Of course you'd want it to be perfect." Kouji nodded.
"Hey guys, you can come in now." Kei opened the door to the room to let them in.
Akane was lying in the hospital bed, hands resting on her very round stomach. She looked up when Tasuki and Kano came in. "Kano, I could hear you pacing in here."
He stood next to her bed and kissed her forehead. "Sorry. I worry."
"I know. You've worried about me all the time since the day we met." She rested her hand on his. "But I'm a big girl…quite literally thanks to you…" She smiled and looked at her stomach. "You already look like a nervous wreck and I'm the one who's going to be doing at the work here."
Kano smiled at his wife. She knew him very well. Since that day, she'd always been on his mind, even before he knew he loved her.
Seven years ago…I know it was real, yet it feels like a dream…
Sometimes it's hard to remember Akane and I are from different worlds. Sometimes I forget my true home. But when you haven't seen it in so long and all the people you love are with you, it's not so difficult to understand my position.
I will, however, always remember the day I met Akane and everything I ever knew to be true changed. Regular rounds in the forest brought us to our former leader's lost daughter. Of course Akane was unlike any girl I knew. She spoke up for herself. She's my equal in a fight. Though I think if we fought to the end, she'd win.
I'm grateful she was around when my mother came back. Just having her there was comforting.
I remember our first night in the same room. It was after my mother left again…we spent half the night screaming at each other. Exhaustion is a powerful mediator in an argument and finally we went to sleep. When I woke up with her in my arms, it felt…right.
Before Akane and her family, I knew nothing about people from her world. Even after I met them, I was still confused. Akane and Naoko were very outgoing. Nyoko was quite a bit more reserved. Kimiko was somewhere in between. Toshiro refused to believe what couldn't be explained while Toru took everything, no matter how strange in stride. Hiroshi was level headed, must come from the royal blood in him. But still, there was no pattern to their behavior. That could be the pattern though. It's normal for them to be abnormal.
It's funny how even when you think you know who you are and who others are, you really don't. Turns out my mother cared a lot more about me than I thought. And me…I wasn't just a bandit. I was Tamahome. Can't say I was too proud of it. It's difficult to explain to the father of the girl you love that you have the same name as a man that tried to kill him years earlier. Being Tamahome aside, I suppose I was still Kano.
I still wonder with morbid curiosity what would have happened if Reizo had killed me as a child. I can't imagine it would have been anything good. He would have won…he would have killed Akane…
But he didn't win. We did. We made it to the real world. It was unlike anything I could have imagined. I didn't understand much there, but I liked being there. I knew it wouldn't take long before I could call it home.
Liking Akane's world wasn't the only reason I had for not wanting to go back. Deep down, I knew things were almost over. I knew as soon as we went back to Konan, it wouldn't be much longer until Akane and I would be separated.
Then that final battle came. I had to face my…brother…Reizo was my brother…I can't see it even now…he was so evil even the spirit of his father helped us to beat him. Nakago was, for lack of a better word, our guardian angel. He probably wouldn't like me saying that about him, but it was true. Akane told me once that Nakago had always protected her as a child. I believe he still does. I can feel him around the house sometimes.
Though it was hard…I have forgiven Reizo for trying to kill Akane, for trying to brainwash and then kill me…sometimes it seemed like he wasn't in control of himself. He was a puppet. Raised by court officials without love, he couldn't have understood what he was doing. And it was through his evil that Akane and I became so close.
There is one thing I can't forgive though…Akane changed after killing Reizo…to anyone else, it might not have seemed so, but something about killing him changed her. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night crying. She sees him in her dreams. He calls her a murderer. Recently though, the dreams are far less frequent. She doesn't believe them anymore. She knows she didn't murder him. She isn't like him. Reizo was a murderer. Akane is more than I could ever say. She's the reason I'm here now.
She's the reason my father can smile again. Without Akane coming through, Dad never would have met Tora. They wouldn't be together now. I'm happy Dad has someone. Everyone should. Even Nakago is spending eternity with that woman he loves, Soi I think. And I'm here now with the woman I love.
I remember waking up alone the day after the final battle. I knew Akane was back in her world. I worried I wouldn't see her again. I'm not sure how it happened or what exactly happened, but all I really need to know is that we're together now.
"Kano, what are you thinking about?" Akane touched his arm.
"Us." Was his soft answer.
She smiled warmly. "That's a lot to think about."
"I like to think about it." He held her hand. "How are you feeling?"
"So far okay…the full on pain of labor hasn't hit yet."
"You know I'd take the pain if I could."
"I know. But I have put you through hell for 9 months. I now understand why I'm an only child." She put her head back on the pillow and sighed.
Tasuki, Kouji, Kei and Tora watched the young couple.
"We should leave them alone." Tora nodded to the door.
"Why?" Came Tasuki's immediate response.
"They're starting their own family. They don't need us looming over them the entire time." Kei hooked her arm with her husband's.
"I agree. This is their time." Kouji nodded.
"Okay…we'll go." The four older adults left leaving Akane and Kano with the doctors.
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"KANO, YOU BASTARD! I HATE YOU! YOU ARE NEVER COMING NEAR ME IN BED AGAIN! YOU HERE ME?!?!?" A few hours had passed and Akane was now in full-blown labor.
Kano cringed in pain as Akane's nails dug into his arm adding more pain to her already vice-like grip. But he put up with it.
The delivery doctor looked at Akane with knowing eyes as if she'd seen a woman scream like that many times before. "Miss Akane, you're doing just fine. On the count of three, push okay?"
"FINE, MY ASS! I HATE ALL OF YOU!" Akane cried in pain. "WHY THE HELL DOES THIS HURT SO MUCH?!?!?!"
Kano wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It'll be over soon, okay Akane? Just do what the doctor says…"
"I CAN'T! I can't do it! Make it stop! Please!" She sobbed into Kano's arm. "It hurts too much!"
Kano wrapped his other arm around her. He leaned his head close her ear. "We've been through worse. There's nothing you can't do."
She looked into his eyes, bright with love and pride. "Okay…okay I'll do it…only for you Kano…only you…God it hurts…" But Kano was right. It wasn't much compared to what they had gone through in Konan.
Seven years ago…I know it was real, yet it feels like a dream…
Who would have thought that when Kano and I met all that time ago, we would have someday ended up here in this world? And now, we have a child together, the ultimate expression of love…
I wouldn't have thought the jerk I fell into a river with would end up being the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.
My life has been strange…my mother's been dead before, my father was a warrior of some ancient god, so was my husband…the spirit of a fallen warrior follows and protects me…his son tried to kill me…
A harmless trip to the library with my cousin started it all. Pretty soon I wound up in my ancestral home. I saw the place my father lived for many years. I met the bandits he led. I saw the palace. I learned my family's history. I fought a madman looking for vengeance.
Everything seemed okay at first. Being in another world aside, I wasn't in any danger. I wasn't afraid the bandits would try and take advantage of me. Knowing who my father is must have stopped them.
Reizo changed everything. he put me through more pain than I could imagine. I was bound and beaten. Only reason I stayed alive was because he wanted to toy with me. I suppose I should be happy for that. He could have easily killed me. Toying with me gave my family time to rescue me.
Sometimes I still wonder about the effects of our trip into the past on our parents. I know some things changed, but a lot was still the same. Even knowing they'd be married, Aunt Taki told me it still took a long time for my parents to get together. They probably didn't believe it. I don't think I'd have believed it if a kid came to me and Kano and said 'Hey, you two are my parents.'
Death has never been a big part of my life. A pet here and there, but no family members really. Not until Reizo went after Hiroshi…my baby cousin…I've never felt so wrong. I can't even begin to explain how his death mad me feel. It stopped me from feeling. I did the unthinkable and killed Reizo…I don't regret what I did. Reizo didn't belong in life.
Once after I returned home, I saw Nakago and asked him if I did the right thing. He smiled and told me yes. He said I did what was best for both world, that if I should never think otherwise. I'm eternally grateful for having Nakago to guide and protect me. He follows where no one else can. Sometimes Reizo appears in my nightmares. He tries to convince me I'm a murderer. But with both Kano and Nakago reassuring me, I've been able to fight back. I'm no longer afraid of him.
In the end, everything was okay. Kimiko brought Hiroshi back. She's another person I'm grateful for. I'm happy she and Hiroshi will be able to spend their lives together. Kouji and Tora get to be together. After all the misery they'd been through, it's great that they found each other. Kano and I are together. We were apart for a few months, but even that was good. When we finally found each other, we were closer than ever.
"Akane, Akane! Are you okay?" Kano gently shook his wife.
"Huh? What?" Akane blinked and looked around. "What's going on?"
He smiled. "It's over."
"What? Already?" Akane sounded exhausted.
"Already? You've been in labor for 6 hours. And asleep for 2." Kano stared at her in disbelief.
"I…I have?" She leaned back in the pillows. "I guess I got lost in my thoughts…" She looked over at Kano his arm was in a sling. "Ummm…what happened?"
"You dislocated my shoulder." He grinned.
She blushed. "I did?! Oh my God I'm sorry!"
"It's okay. I've had worse." Kano wrapped his arm around her.
She clung to him. "Oh Kano…"
"Oh good, you're awake Miss Akane." A nurse came in holding a small blue bundle.
"Is that…?" She looked up at Kano.
He nodded and smiled. The nurse handed the bundle to Akane. "Congratulations. You have a very healthy baby boy."
Akane felt a few tears roll down her face. "He's perfect." The baby had jet-black hair like Akane and bright green eyes like Kano.
"So, what is your son's name?" The nurse was holding a birth certificate.
"You didn't name him yet?"
"Not without you." Kano smiled.
Akane thought for a moment. As she stared into space, something moved out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to the side and saw a faint outline of a person. She caught a glimpse of blonde hair and blue eyes. A smile formed on her lips.
"What is it Akane?" Kano looked where she did. He saw the same outline Akane did. He smiled as well.
"Ayuru…" She whispered.
"Ayuru?" The nurse looked completely baffled.
"That's his name." Kano answered.
"Alright." The nurse wrote down the name. "Congratulations again. Shall I send your parents in?"
"Sure." Akane cradled her son in her arms.
Kei was immediately at her daughter's side. "He's beautiful Akane."
Tora smiled. "So what's his name?"
"Ayuru." Akane and Kano answered together.
Kouji and Tasuki looked at each other, knowing immediately where the name came from. They both nodded in approval.
Kouji chuckled. "Any more kids coming?"
"NO!" They shook their heads vehemently.
"I completely understand why I'm an only child Mom." Akane looked at her son. "Maybe someday…but I want to see how good of a mother I am before doing this again."
"You'll be a wonderful mother Akane." Tasuki smiled.
"Thank you Daddy."
Kano sat on the edge of Akane's bed. "Everything's perfect huh?"
She nodded. "Everything." She let out a tired sigh and rested her head on Kano's shoulder. "I love you Kano…"
"I love you too Akane." Kano kissed her tenderly.
Ayuru watched his parents with wide eyes. He, like his parents many years ago, had no idea just how much his parents had been through in their short lives.
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Wow, the end of my third story…Didn't think I'd get here. I couldn't have done it without everyone's support. Jamie, Cortney, Amanda, Cat, Rhapsody, jeez, there's so many of you. That's not even a sliver of the people who have supported me from the first chapter of the first story to now. I can't thank anyone enough. Both stories totaling 73 chapters. You people have some dedication. Thank you all.
And now, this story is finished. No sequel to this one. I'm totally done with this story line. For more of my creative genius *Snicker* Red Wings of Fate is my latest on going endeavor. If someone would like to send me ideas for stories they'd like to see me do or want to write a joint story, don't hesitate to ask. I could beta if anyone needs it. With summer coming fast, I can always use more work.
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~