Author's Notes: Definitely an interlude chapter, folks. A bit of fluffy randomness to offset the tension. I'd also like to thank everyone who worried about me during my brief stint in the hospital, I really appreciate it.

Enjoy.

Wonderland of My Own Making

Chapter Five

"What do you think you're doing?"

Akira's stomach had dropped into her feet, a very uncomfortable feeling, but she reminded herself that she had chosen this and forced herself to meet her husband's eyes. The dark depths were filled with worry, betrayal, and no small amount of anger. She straightened her spine.

"You're home early."

A muscle moved in his jaw. "I decided to bring some paperwork home with me instead of staying at the office."

She nodded and held his gaze, watching as his anger began to dissipate into worry and anxiety. It was a something she had learned about him at the beginning of her pregnancy. Given enough time, his concern for her and the baby's safety outweighed his wrath every time. It certainly would not get her out of trouble, but it would perhaps lessen the scolding she was about to get.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly after a moment.

"Yes, we're fine," she answered, linking her fingers together and bowing her head slightly. "I'm sorry, Kenji. I know I shouldn't have gone without you, but something came up that I felt I had to look into. If I had waited for you it would have been too late."

Kenji didn't fall for the distraction she offered him. "You made me promise," he reminded her, still calm and quiet.

Akira's eyes glittered, her flash fire temper getting the better of her for a moment. "Only because I knew you would leave me behind if you could," she snapped.

His expression hardened and he stood up, his body stiff and tense. "You can't do this, Akira. I can't leave in the morning wondering if your risking yourself in the game without me." He took a step towards her. "What if something happened to you? To the baby? If I came home and…" He swallowed, deflating. "If something bad were to happen to either of you, I'd…"

She didn't wait for him to finish.

Suddenly on the verge of tears, she stood and went to him, standing on tiptoe to throw her arms around his neck, pressing her face into his shirt.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done it. I'll never go without you again, I swear."

"Kira," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, holding her close. She could feel him trembling slightly, probably still imagining something horrible happening to her and he, himself, helpless. Smiling somewhat tearfully, she ran her fingers up through his hair and raised her head to be kissed.

"I love you," she murmured when they parted, leaning forward slightly as he pressed a last kiss into her forehead.

"I love you, too." He paused. "But don't ever scare me like that again."

"Never again," she echoed in agreement, meeting his gaze steadily. He smiled, the movement lighting up his face in a way that made him look like a teenager.

"Now, tell me what you found."

"Mistral's son? Really?"

Akira smiled. "I couldn't believe it either, but it fits time wise. He's a Heavy Blade and his name's Sasuke. Despite the fact we couldn't get into the field, he turned out to be a well of information."

Kenji's eyebrows rose. "What did he tell you?"

"Well, the strangest is that the Moderators will capture us if they find us. Apparently, we're wanted for some reason no one can quite figure out. Because of the way the Mods are running things, some people are suspicious of their motives, or are downright angry about how The World has changed. The majority of these don't bother to do anything about it because it's just too much trouble."

"And the minority?"

"They become rebels." She shook her head slowly, still digesting the notion. "Not surprisingly, Balmung and Orca are leading them. The group itself is not very large. I got the impression from Sasuke that there aren't more than a handful that are really serious about standing up to the Moderators."

"And now there's one less with the loss of that Heavy Axeman," Kenji said solemnly, sitting back in his chair at the kitchen table. He watched for a moment as she stirred the spaghetti sauce and tasted it, adding a bit more salt as an afterthought. "Did he tell you what the Moderators are doing? I mean, besides deleting characters?"

"He didn't say much about them, except that they seem to use The World as their personal playground. I think he was a bit nervous to talk to me, especially since someone could have overheard us." She leaned over the stove to check the pasta.

Kenji gave one of his short laughs. "I'm not surprised he was nervous. After all, you are legendary," he teased.

His wife turned to face him, stabbing a wooden spoon in his direction. "Go ahead and laugh if you want, but I'm sure I'm not the only one with fans. You were far more noticeable than I, what with that orange outfit and all."

He blinked. "You don't like my outfit?"

Akira smiled playfully and then relented at her husband's childishly hurt look. "Well, I did marry you despite that, didn't I? And besides, it really wasn't your fault. The Bracelet was what changed you."

"The Bracelet…" Kenji said, nodding. "We're going to need it again if the Mods keep locking fields."

"Sasuke told me that the hacker working with them managed to regenerate our character data but not the Bracelet's."

"I'm not surprised. I think only Aura has the power to bestow the Bracelet." Kenji glanced at her. "Did you ask him about that strange star-like mark on your chest?"

His wife nodded. "He didn't know anything about it. He said we would need to talk to the hacker to find out what it was. Speaking of which, we need to remember to check our email tonight. Hopefully, Yasuhiko will write back with a meeting time for us." She paused, remembering. "And maybe I'll get a response from the Admin as well."

"I doubt it," Kenji replied quietly. "The Admin is the one who gave the Mods their power. If he had a problem with them, he would have done something before now."

Akira sighed and turned back to the stove only to make a startled noise as all the lights in the house went out, throwing them into darkness. Outside the kitchen window, far away lightning flashed.

"Great," she muttered, reaching over to turn off the gas burners. She heard Kenji rise from the table and head to the hallway closet in search of a flashlight. She called back to him. "Do you think it's just a fuse?"

"Maybe," he answered, his voice echoing oddly in the silent house. He closed the closet door and flipped on the flashlight. "I'll go down and check it out." He looked to her for a moment. "You'll be alright?"

"Since when have I been a scaredy cat?"

Her husband titled his head and smiled slightly. Akira crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright, don't answer that. I'll be fine. I'll light some candles."

He nodded, still smiling, and turned to go down to the basement. She waited until his light disappeared before opening one of the kitchen drawers and taking out a few of the emergency candles. She fumbled around before finding the matches as well, lighting one of them with a sense of relief. She set one of the candles in its holder on the table and lit it along with the one in her hand. Flickering light immediately cast broad shadows along the walls, sending her heart rate up a notch or two. Despite her bravado, she really didn't like the dark.

Outside, thunder rumbled overhead and she jumped, turning towards the window as another sound caught her ear. She moved closer to it, straining to see into the darkness as the first of the raindrops pattered against the glass.

In the yard, a shadow moved.

Walking down the steps of their small basement, Kenji shone the flashlight around as he descended, letting the beam fall on the fuse box in front of him. They didn't come down there much, a few unpacked boxes and a shelf of canned jellies the only evidence they ever used the place.

Kenji skirted around the boxes and went to the fuse box, pulling open the cover and shining his light on the switches. None of them had been flipped and he frowned, running his fingers over them lightly. If it wasn't a fuse then it must be the storm, something Akira definitely wouldn't want to hear.

He closed the fuse box and turned. He was on the fourth step when he heard his wife shriek in fright.

Stumbling up the rest of the stairs, he gripped his flashlight tightly as he pushed through the basement door and raced to the kitchen, his heart in his throat.

"Akira! What is it? What's wrong?"

She turned from the window quickly, a hand over her mouth. He went to her, gripping her arm, desperately trying to read her expression in the dark.

"There's someone outside the house, in the yard," she managed. "It startled me."

He took his first breath in minutes and let it out slowly. "Are you sure?"

She nodded tightly and dropped her hand so he could squeeze it. In his head, the words from the email she had received echoed. I've found you. It could be nothing, he reminded himself, an animal. It might not be related at all, just a coincidence.

But Kenji did not take chances with his wife and unborn son.

"I'll go and have a look. It's probably nothing," he reassured her. She tightened her grip on his hand.

"Are you crazy?" she asked incredulously. "You'll do no such thing! What if it's some sort of deranged ex-convict just waiting for you to step outside so he can murder you?"

He blinked and then gave her a half smile. "Don't you think you might be overreacting?"

She slapped his arm irritably. "Of course I'm overreacting. I'm pregnant, it's what we do, but you're still not going out there." A remnant of fear flashed through her eyes. "You can't."

He looked into her face a moment before nodding. "Alright. I'm just going to go check to make sure the doors and windows are locked. I'll be right back."

"Be careful," she called after him, and he hurried forward, checking the front door first before testing the windows. Lightning flashed sporadically, lighting his way better than the flashlight and he shut it off when he was done, heading back to the kitchen. Surprisingly, Akira wasn't there but he saw the flickering light of her candle in their bedroom.

Putting the flashlight back in the closet, he joined her there, meeting her gaze as she looked up.

"Everything's secure." He sat down on the edge of their bed. "I'm sure the lights will come on again when the storm's over."

Forgoing her usual show of fearlessness, she sat down beside him and curled against his chest, her hands gripping his shirt. He leaned back against the headboard, pulling her with him until they were both comfortable in each other's arms, their legs tangled together.

"I'm sorry," she said softly after a moment. "I know it's silly but after that email…"

She trailed off as he tightened his arms around her. Not that long ago it would have been very hard for her to admit that she was frightened, and she still often wore a brave façade around everyone but him. Not that she wasn't courageous, as going into The World alone had proved, but she had slowly come to realize it was alright to be afraid sometimes.

"I know," he replied, rubbing circles on her back. "I'm worried about it, too."

Thunder rolled overhead, shaking the windows. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

"Without power we won't be able to see if Yasuhiko wrote us," Akira commented thoughtfully. Kenji closed his eyes, relaxed and content.

"It's alright. We'll check tomorrow."

"I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow."

"I know." Kenji opened his eyes, thinking. "Do you want me to come with you?" He knew what her answer would be but he always felt it safer to ask. She could be prickly about those kinds of things.

"If you can get away," she said, her voice belaying her tiredness. "What time do you have class?"

He ran his fingers through her hair absently as he answered. "My last one is at 2:00 tomorrow and your appointment isn't until 3:30 right?" He felt her nod against his chest. "Then I'll take you. It's better if you don't drive anyway."

He smiled as she sniffed disdainfully. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you do have a record of road rage."

"Hmph." She yawned. "I'd hurt you but I'm too sleepy."

He kissed her hair. "Sleep then. I'm tired too."

"I'm going to be hungry in the middle of the night," she warned him. He closed his eyes, perfectly happy.

"I'll be here."

To be continued…