Disclaimer: Kohana, Momo, Piaoliang Feng, Shen Yuan, Naraku, An Hua, Ayame and Ruri are my characters. The personalities and looks of the new seishi are mine.
Red Wings of Fate
Chapter 21: Reconciliation
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
-Conversations between twins-
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Kohana and Momo sat silently while Chichiri finished telling them all they had missed. An sat in Ryuuchi's lap, eyes wide. "Is everyone okay?"
Chichiri shrugged. "We're all a little beaten up, but no one's seriously hurt…" She didn't want to mention that she thought the young girl's brother was hurt the worst out of everyone when she had left.
Kohana stared at the ground. "Tamahome attacked Hotohori?" She had been thinking about it ever since the blonde mage had mentioned it.
"I don't know everything that happened since I wasn't there when it happened…but like I said, he's been drugged to forget so I'd be careful what you do around him…you should probably ask Hotohori for the whole story in private."
"I will…" Kohana sighed. "Are you going back there now?"
"That's the plan. Hotohori sent me here to see if you two were okay." She stood up. "Since you are, I have to go back and tell them."
Momo suddenly stood up. "Well, then I'm going too."
"Excuse me?" Chichiri raised an eyebrow. "You're not in any shape to…"
"I don't care. I've been unconscious for the last, what? Month roughly? I'm not going to sit around and wait anymore." Momo put her hands on her hips.
"But Momo…"
"No, she's right. I'm coming too. And I'm sure An wants to come too, right?" Kohana stood up.
The little girl nodded and hopped up onto the bed. "Please Aunt Chichiri? I want to see Ni-chan!" She looked up at Chichiri with big puppy eyes.
Chichiri groaned slightly. "Alright, alright…I'll take you back to the village. You wanna come to Ryuuchi, since I'm taking passengers and all?"
He chuckled. "That's okay. I'm far more comfortable traveling naturally rather than magically."
"Well then, I guess we'll see you again soon. Come on girls."
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Chiriko and Miboshi were sitting under a tree just outside the village watching the stars.
"Hey Chiriko?"
"Yeah?"
"You okay?"
"I'm fine…why?"
"You've seemed…I dunno…spacey since the battle…"
Chiriko sighed. She trusted Miboshi but she didn't want to say anything about what Tomo had said to her or anyone really. "I know…I guess I'm kind of overwhelmed…a few weeks ago my life was pretty simple…now I'm somehow part of some battle for the world…"
"I guess it is pretty overwhelming…" Miboshi sighed. "I never really thought about it…"
"I think I have too much time to think…"
They sat in silence again.
"So how's it going with Tomo?" Miboshi suddenly asked.
Chiriko's face turned red. "What do you mean?"
"He saved your butt today. Don't you think he cares about you?"
"He saved me, so what?" Chiriko sighed again, sounding slightly annoyed. "Shen and Tasuki saved Hotohori, does that mean they love him?"
"Well no…it doesn't…but technically Shen, Tasuki and Hotohori are part of the same team. They look out for each other. Tomo doesn't have to save you. He just does."
"I wish you'd stop suggesting something between us. There isn't anything."
"What about when Nuriko and I found you two in bed?" She asked innocently.
Chiriko was about to yell at her about how nothing happened when a bright flash of light drew their attention. They both jumped to their feet, ready to either fight or run.
Four figures landed on the ground, hard. Miboshi and Chiriko looked at each other, confused, when at least two groaned in pain.
They cautiously approached the pile of people.
"I never thought I'd actually be happy to feel pain…" A female voice murmured as she got up.
"Lady Momo!" Miboshi recognized the voice immediately and pulled the girl to her feet. "You're okay!" She hugged her priestess tightly.
Momo laughed and hugged back. "It's great to see you too Miboshi!"
Kohana stood up and came face to face with Chiriko. "Hi. I don't think I know you. But I'm Kohana." She smiled and stuck out her hand.
Chiriko stared at Kohana's hand, not knowing what to do. "Umm…hi. I'm Chiriko…"
Kohana's smiled widened and instead of offering the other girl her hand, she hugged her. "So you're Chiriko! It's great to finally meet you! I wish I could have been there when you joined the group but, you know, I was kinda out of it."
Chiriko blinked a couple of times and slowly returned the hug. "Nice to meet you too."
"You okay? You seem confused." Kohana let go of the other girl.
"Well…ah…Nuriko and Tasuki told me to expect an…out of the ordinary girl for a priestess…but you're…ah…"
"Even weirder than you figured?" Kohana giggled. "Most people say that."
"I hope you're not offended…" Chiriko was a little nervous.
"Don't worry about it." Kohana waved it off. "Let's go see the others. I've been dying to see everyone."
"Everyone or just your boyfriend?" Momo smirked.
"Momo!" Kohana wrinkled her nose and ran after the other girl. "You promised you weren't gonna be mean any more!"
Momo just laughed as she ran off. An and the other girls smiled and quickly went after them. They stopped running when Kohana caught Momo by the arm.
"Would you quit running? I bet you don't even know where you're going."
Momo shrugged. "No, but that's never stopped me before."
Kohana rolled her eyes. "Don't I know it."
"If you two are done running around, we could go see the others." Miboshi laughed and picked up An.
An smiled. "Come on! Come on! Let's go!"
Chiriko and Miboshi took the other girls back to the village elder's. It was the only place big enough for all of them.
The first ones to greet them were Nuriko, Tasuki and Ashitare. Tasuki spotted Kohana first and nearly pounced on the girl. "Kohana! You're okay!" She pulled Kohana into a bear hug. "Jeez! Ya little brat! You had us all worried!"
Kohana laughed. "Sorry 'bout that. Oh it's good to see you!" She hugged the other woman.
Miboshi handed An over to Nuriko. He smiled at the green haired girl then turned to his little sister. "Were you good for Ryuuchi and the others?"
She hugged her big brother and grinned. "More or less."
Miboshi giggled as Nuriko rolled his eyes. "Oh well. It's more important that you're safe." He hugged An. "I missed you a lot you know that?"
Ashitare grabbed Momo and ruffled her hair. "You're back! Now I have some one to bug again!" He laughed.
Momo swatted at his hand. "Jeez, I come back from Naraku's other dimension thing to have my hair ruffled." She shook her head. "It's good to be back."
He gave her a wolfish grin. "I bet you wanna see Suboshi, right?"
Momo smirked. "No. I've been dying to see Nakago."
Ashitare chuckled. "Oh, what a treat she's been on this trip…" He opened the front door and everyone went in.
Just about everyone else was asleep somewhere in the large house. Ashitare led Momo down a hall to the room Suboshi and Amiboshi were in. Amiboshi was already asleep while Suboshi sat up in bed, staring off into space. Ashitare smiled at Momo and left the room.
Momo walked up to the side of the bed. "Hey." She poked him gently.
He jerked out of his slight trance and looked up. "Momo?" His eyes widened in shock.
She smiled. "Always know what to say, don't you?"
He got up and pulled her into a hug. "You're really back…"
She said nothing, just held onto him. Any words she might have wanted to say were lost in her quiet sobs. He held her tightly as she cried.
"It's okay Momo…the mirror is gone…it won't happen again…"
"Oh Suboshi…it was so dark and cold…and all those people…it was horrible…it felt like I was dead…" She looked up at him with a tear streaked face.
He wiped away her tears with his thumb and kissed her forehead. "You're here now…safe and alive in a warm place. I'm not leaving your side ever again."
Amiboshi began to wake up when he became more aware of someone else in the room. He opened one sleepy eye and saw Suboshi and Momo in a tight embrace. For a moment he thought about saying hello to Momo but decided against it. He rolled over and went back to sleep.
Suboshi looked at his wrist. "Momo?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you want your bracelet back? You said that you wanted it back when…"
She stopped him with a kiss. "I know what I said…but I changed my mind. Keep it. I want you to always carry something of mine with you." She curled up into his arms. "Suboshi?"
"Hmm?" He pulled away from her a bit so he could see her face.
"Can I stay here tonight? I still feel cold…"
"If you want to, sure. Even if you hadn't said that, I probably still would have slept in a chair next to whatever bed you slept in."
She smiled. "Thank you Suboshi. I love you." As he slipped his arms around her, she quickly drifted into a warm, peaceful sleep.
"I love you too Momo…" He held her for a few moments then drifted off to sleep.
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Kohana found Hotohori standing by a window, staring out at the stars. He looked so deep in thought that she hated to disturb him. He also looked tired.
She walked up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist. "Ever think about sleeping? This place doesn't look so bad."
He craned his neck to look who was holding onto him. "Kohana!?"
"Hi." She giggled and let him go.
He turned to look at her and pulled her into his arms. "Thank Suzaku you're safe."
She buried her face in his shirt. "I could say the same about you…how's your arm?"
"It's fine. How do you feel?" He ran his fingers through her hair.
"I'm okay. A little shaken, but okay." She looked up at him. "You'll tell me what happened, right? Chichiri told me mostly what happened but I want you to tell me…" They sat down together next to the window.
"I will…in time. Not now though. You're back now and that's what matters." He smiled and kissed her.
She looked up at him and nodded. "I so happy to be back…" She pressed herself back into his arms, enjoying the safety and warmth she felt with the man she loved. "I don't think I've ever felt so alone in my whole life…"
Hotohori rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes. "I failed you as a guardian Kohana…I'm sorry."
Kohana shook her head against his shirt. "No. You never failed me Hotohori…please don't say that…"
"But…"
"Shhh…" She put one finger over his lips. "It's not important now. It won't ever be important. I'm here with you now. That's what's important."
Hotohori smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. She let out a happy little sigh. "Kohana?" She didn't answer him. "Kohana?" He shook her a little, a bit more concerned.
She shifted a little but still didn't say anything.
Hotohori let out a sigh of relief when he realized she was only asleep. He picked her up and took her to a bedroom. When he tried to let go of her, she held onto him. He was surprised at how strong she was. Not wanting to wake her up, he laid down next to her and fell asleep as her arms tightened around him.
Tamahome saw them together from a doorway. He wasn't sure what to think. Part of him couldn't really remember ever being around Kohana. Another seemed to be angry to see Kohana and Hotohori together. But he quickly pushed the feeling away and quickly convinced himself he had no reason to resent them being together. He walked down the hall back to his own room.
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Suboshi panicked when he woke up alone in bed. He wondered if he had only dreamed being with Momo last night. He got up and went back to the main room of the house. Hotohori was there as well, with a similarly distressed look on his face.
"Hotohori?"
"Suboshi…did you see Momo last night?"
"Yeah…well…I thought I did…but she wasn't there when I woke up…"
"Neither was Kohana…I know I was with her last night…"
They stood in silent wonder when they both heard someone talking. They got closer to where the voices were coming from. The people talking seemed to be just outside.
"No…I haven't really thought about what to do after the summoning…you?" They both recognized Kohana's voice.
"I've been thinking about staying here…" Suboshi sighed with relief when Momo's voice answered.
"Really?"
"Can't really think of a reason to go back…"
"What about your family?"
"What about it? It'd take a year before my parents ever figure out I was gone."
"Oh come on Momo."
"I'm serious. I can't stand my parents. If they're around at all, all they do is yell at me for what I do wrong. Suboshi knows my flaws and he still loves me. Why should I leave him?"
Hotohori and Suboshi looked at each other while they waited for Kohana to answer.
"They're your parents. Wouldn't you miss them?"
They heard Momo sigh. "Just because they're your parents doesn't mean you love them and they love you. Your sister and her husband care more about you than my parents ever cared about me. I'd kill to have a family like yours."
"Like…mine?"
"Yeah. I want to feel needed and loved. I feel that here…even if it's just because I'm the priestess, I don't care. At least I'll have it for a while."
"I didn't know you felt that way…"
"No one ever does. I'm pretty good at hiding everything…"
"So why talk about it now?"
"I dunno…" She paused. "Doesn't seem to matter who knows anymore…" She took a deep breath. "Where would you go given the choice? Stay here or go back?"
"I don't know…there's so much I can't give up. Hotohori means everything to me…but so does my sister…I don't think I could choose between my family and the man I love…" Suboshi looked over at Hotohori. He seemed deep in thought.
"Would you prefer it if someone chose for you?"
"Yeah. I'd feel better if I knew I had absolutely no control over it."
"What if you wished for everyone to be in one world?"
"No…" Another pause. "There are too many other things that need to be done first. It would be selfish of me to ask that while so much still needs to be done…"
"You're right…we're not doing this for ourselves…for the longest time I thought all this was a dream…but now I know it's not."
"Do you regret being here?"
"No. I could never regret coming here. I love this place. For me, everything is just right. I can't really describe it, but I never want to leave."
"I don't really want to leave either…" There was another pause in their conversation. "Momo?"
"Yeah?"
"There is a truce between the countries we're with, but what about us? Are we going to start fighting again?"
Momo sighed. "I'm tired of fighting. After all this, us fighting would just be stupid."
"Friends then?"
"Friends."
"Should we go back in now?"
"Yeah. I'm sure Suboshi and Hotohori have noticed we're not around by now."
"Let's go then. I haven't said hi to everyone yet."
Momo sighed. "I wonder what I'm supposed to say to Nakago…"
"Don't get along huh?" Kohana opened up the front door.
"Not in the least." She went inside. They both were a little surprised to see Suboshi and Hotohori immediately inside the house. "Morning. Sorry 'bout leaving. I wanted to walk around but I didn't want to wake you up." She linked her arm with Suboshi's. "You're really cute when you're sleeping." She smiled when he blushed and she dragged him off.
Kohana looked up at Hotohori. "I'm assuming you heard most of the conversation."
"Most." He nodded. "I wouldn't make you choose Kohana…"
She held onto his arm and smiled. "Let's go find breakfast, huh? I'm really hungry."
Hotohori looked down at her. "Alright. We'll go find something to eat."
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After eating, the group said their thank yous and goodbyes to the people in the village and Chichiri took them all back to the ship. They would spend a few days on the boat recovering and planning their next move.
Kohana and Momo's conversation wasn't mentioned by any of the four that heard it. Everyone was fine except for one thing. Tasuki was worried because she hadn't heard Chiriko and Tomo fighting all day. As a matter of fact, except for meals, no one saw them in the same room together all day. Tasuki made up her mind to find out what happened between the two of them.
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Chiriko lit the lamp in her room and sat back on her bed. She absently flipped through a book and sighed. After a few minutes she rested the book on her stomach and sighed. "This is so pointless. I can't even think straight…"
Tasuki walked by her room when she heard her sigh. "Hey kiddo, what's wrong?"
She rubbed her temples then picked the book back up. "I can't read."
"Funny. Thought a genius would be able to." Tasuki smirked.
Chiriko smiled. "Ha. Ha…My mind's just really…preoccupied…" She pretended to find something interesting on one page.
"Sorry." She grabbed a chair and sat next to the younger girl. "What's wrong?"
Chiriko didn't answer at first. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell anyone about her problems with Tomo. "Well…a friend of mine…she has this problem…" She stared at the floor.
Tasuki smiled knowingly. 'Here we go…' "A friend huh? Want some advice to give her?"
She nodded. "Could you give me some?"
"I'll try. Tell me about your friend's problem." Tasuki leaned back in the chair.
"You see…there's this really annoying boy that…well…she kinda likes…she thinks she does anyway…and the boy likes her but she doesn't know exactly how she feels about him…and she's been really confused for a while now…" Chiriko closed the book in her hands and rubbed her eyes.
"Hmmm…Does she know for sure this guy likes her?"
She tried to hide a blush. "H-he told her that he loves her."
"He said it huh? Well…" 'So that's what he said to her…how cute.' She tapped her finger against her chin. "What is it about this guy that she sorta likes?"
"Well…every time she sees him…she gets this nice feeling…" She smiled a little. "He's really nice to her…when he wants to be really…he is kinda mean at times…but he was because he was scared to tell her how he felt…" She looked up at Tasuki. "You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I do. I'd say your "friend" has got it bad for this guy. Can you tell me the guy's name or is it a secret?" Tasuki propped her chin on her hands.
She turned red. "I…well…she doesn't want anyone to know…it's really embarrassing…"
"Because up until now the two of them have only been mean to each other and it would be really weird if the two of them were suddenly together?"
She twiddled her thumbs and shifted nervously in her chair. "Yeah…"
"Well, screw what everyone else thinks. It's your friend's life. If she eventually figures out that she likes him and he still likes her, nothing else matters."
Chiriko sat quietly. "Thanks Tasuki…that makes a lot of sense. I feel a lot better now."
"Oh? You feel better?" Tasuki sat back in the chair, amused. "Must be a really close friend for you to be so worried about her problems."
Chiriko blushed again. "Well…I uh…I mean my friend will feel better once I tell her…" Tasuki burst out laughing. "Hey! Stop laughing! I'm about to have a nervous breakdown over here."
Tasuki quickly sobered up. "Sorry." She was quiet for a moment. "My suggestion to you is figure out how you feel about Tomo and tell him. He's up on deck if you happen to figure it out tonight. Don't lose the moment."
"Thanks…Wait! How'd you know it was Tomo?" Her eyes widened.
Tasuki chuckled. "Come on Chiriko. You two fight like an old married couple. It's pretty hard to miss. Besides, I saw him kiss you after he saved your butt from Naraku. I just couldn't hear what he was saying to you."
She blushed again. "We do not!" Then she smiled. "But thanks…"
"You do too." She grinned. "And you're welcome. I'll leave you alone to think for a while." Tasuki left her alone.
Chiriko nodded. "Bye! …Maybe I should tell him…I do care about him a lot…do I love him? Maybe…I think I do…" She sat for a time, deep in thought.
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Out on deck, Tomo was beating himself up over what he'd done the other day. He leaned against the mast, hitting his head on it in a steady rhythm. "Seiryuu help me. I'm in love with Chiriko and I told her…What the hell was I thinking?!" Unbeknownst to him, Chiriko had come up on deck and could see and hear him quite clearly. "She probably thinks I'm nuts now…" He started walking to the bow of the ship. "I must be nuts to think she could have felt the same way…why did I go and tell her I love her?"
Chiriko swallowed hard. Tasuki's voice rang in her head. 'Don't lose that moment.' "Um…Tomo?"
He stopped dead in his tracks. "Shit…"
She smiled and walked towards him. "Hi." She looked up at the early evening sky. "Nice night, huh?"
He didn't move to look at her. He just silently leaned against the rail. "Ummm…hi…" He shifted nervously. "Yeah…it's not bad…"
She leaned on the rail next to him. "I've been thinking about what you said…"
He bit his lower lip really hard. "Look, if you could just forget that…I didn't mean for that to happen…I just…"
"Then you don't really love me?" She didn't look at him but she sounded a little hurt.
"No! I do!" He mentally slapped himself for admitting it again. "I just…I didn't want it to happen that way…"
"What do you mean?" She looked up at him curiously.
He continued to look at the open waters. "I don't know, okay? I don't know what I meant, I didn't know what I was doing, just please…forget I said that to you Chiriko… There was a moment while we were fighting Naraku that I thought I might lose you and I just blurted it out…" His voice was strained, as if he might cry.
"But you meant it, right?"
"Yes!" He growled at himself. He couldn't believe how stupid he was being. "Just forget it! I was stupid to think you could love an idiot like me!" He started to stalk off.
"I can't do that Tomo…I can't forget." She grabbed his arm.
He turned around. "What? Why?" His eyes narrowed. "You wanna blackmail me later?"
She covered his mouth with her hand. "Shut up. You've had your time to talk. Now it's my turn." She let him go. "I've been driving myself nuts since yesterday trying to figure out my feelings for you. And I finally figured it out. Even though you drive me nuts, there's a part of me, a big part, that…" She timidly brushed her lips against his. "That loves you dearly…"
He looked at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. "W…what?"
She looked up at him and smiled. "I love you."
"You're not trying to play games with me are you?" He held her by her shoulders, both happiness and fear in his eyes.
She rolled her eyes but still smiled. "I'm not playing with you. I really do love you. Honest." She closed her eyes.
Tomo smiled and pulled her into his arms to kiss her. Chiriko immediately responded to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed back as hard as she could. She shivered as she felt his fingers run through her hair while he whispered 'I love you' over and over again. She smiled to herself. 'I won't lose the moment…'
Tasuki sat up in the crow's nest watching them on deck. She laughed to herself and took a long drink from her sake bottle. "Like I said…old married couple."
Tomo rested his forehead against hers. "I think Tasuki's watching us." He murmured.
"So what?" She shrugged. "She already knows. She was the one who helped me figure out how I feel about you."
Tomo pulled her closer. "What'd you need help for?"
"I was scared…" She rested her head on his chest. "No one's ever said they loved me before…not 'I want to be with you forever' love anyway…I didn't think anyone ever would. I'm nothing special…"
"You are to me." He rested his chin on top of her head.
She smiled. "You're being really sappy you know that?"
"What? Don't want me to be romantic?" He chuckled.
"Not all the time. I don't want us to change."
Tomo loosened his hold on her and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think it's a little late for that?"
"That's not what I meant." She rolled her eyes. "I mean I don't want us to, you know, always be together every second of the day and be like super romantic and mushy and stuff like that. I like the way we are."
"Even the fights?" They stood together on the front of the ship.
"Even the fights." She smiled. "They're the best parts." Then she was quiet for a moment. "What are we gonna tell everyone else?"
"About what?" He looked a little confused.
"About us."
Tomo raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to hide it from them?
"No!" She answered quickly. "I don't care what the others think about us being together. I don't care who knows. But I'm not going to, you know, make a big announcement at breakfast tomorrow."
"Well, I wasn't going to do that either, but if it'll embarrass you…" He looked like he was seriously considering it.
"Tomo!"
"What? You said you didn't want us to change, right?" He smirked and started to walk back to the rooms below deck.
She sighed and followed him. "You ass."
Tomo laughed. "But I'm your ass, right?"
She smiled. "Yeah. Now I gotta figure out whether or not that's a good thing."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and they went down to his room. "In time you'll see it's a good thing."
"Well aren't we the cocky bastard?"
"Yes we are." He smirked. His hand was on the door handle. "Stay with me tonight?" He wasn't demanding it, just making a simple request.
She nodded and followed him into the room. She kicked off her shoes and watched him do the same. She smiled as Tomo reached for her and pulled her to the bed with him. She curled up to him and fell asleep in his arms.
Tomo watched her sleeping form for a long time. He played with a strand of her hair. 'I guess I didn't mess up as much as I thought I had…she loves me…Chiriko actually loves me…' He smiled and drifted off to sleep with her.
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Nakago glared at herself in the mirror. 'What the hell is the matter with me? Why do I feel like I'm going to pass out?' She pushed a strand of dark blue hair away from her unusually pale face. 'I've never felt like this before…could Tasuki have been right? Am I pregnant?' She shook her head furiously. 'No…that can't be it…'
"Nakago?" A soft knock accompanied by Soi's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "May I come in?"
"Yes." She opened the door for him.
His eyes were immediately drawn to her face. Not only was she pale, but she looked tired. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She muttered and walked back into the room.
"You don't look fine." He closed the door and followed her.
"Did you come in here to say something to me or just to nag me about how I look?" She snapped at him.
His brow furrowed. "I'm worried about you. You haven't been yourself lately."
"I'm fine." She growled. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"Yes it is." He wrapped his arms around her. "Please tell me what's wrong."
She closed her eyes and sighed. His arms were so warm and welcoming. He made the world less painful for her. "I don't know what's wrong with me." She said softly while mentally cursing the new softer side of herself that Soi occasionally brought out in her. "I just don't feel well."
"Maybe you should go see Mitsukake." He ran his fingers through her hair. "He could probably help out. He's not busy right now."
"I'm not admitting to any of them that I'm not feeling well. I'm sure it will pass."
"I'm not sure. You haven't been well for at least a week that I've noticed…"
"I'm not going."
"If you don't go see him, I'll will."
"You wouldn't…" The look her gave her clearly said he would. Nakago frowned. "Fine. I'll talk to him…if it'll stop you from nagging me…it's probably nothing though."
"Just to make sure…"
"Yeah, yeah. Just to make sure." Nakago left her room in a bit of a huff. She wasn't used to anyone caring for her and Soi's affection for her unnerved her.
She walked quickly through the halls to Mitsukake's room, thankful no one else was around. She knocked on his door, hoping he was also alone.
"Come in." She heard him say and walked in.
Mitsukake was indeed alone. He finished writing something and looked up at the door. "Nakago…I was wondering when you'd come see me."
She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I know you haven't been feeling well." He stuck the paper he had been writing on into a stack on the side of his bed.
"Who told you I wasn't well?" She barked, thinking to kill whoever went behind her back.
"No one." He stood up. "I am a doctor. And I'm not oblivious. You don't look well."
"Whatever. Just figure out what's wrong with me and I'll leave." She muttered and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Fine, fine. Sit down." She grudgingly sat in a chair. "How long haven't you been feeling well?"
She shrugged. "A couple of weeks maybe."
"Any fainting or dizzy spells?"
"One major one."
He frowned. "When?"
She thought for a moment. "I don't remember exactly. I think it was in one of those first few villages we were in on the island."
"And you didn't tell anyone?" He suddenly snapped at her.
"It's no one's business but my own!" She hissed back at him
"Nakago, I understand you don't like to be open, but you have to understand you're part of a team now."
"So?"
"So what you do affects all of us now. What happens if you pass out in battle? What are we supposed to do, huh?"
"Stop lecturing me about how I deal with my life! Just figure out what's wrong with me and I'm done here."
Mitsukake sighed, knowing there was no arguing with her in the state she was in or any time for that matter. "Fine. Close you your eyes." She reluctantly complied. He held his left hand over her and it began to glow softly. He was thankful she couldn't see his face because the look on his face was one of pure confusion. "Nakago?"
"What?" She asked without opening her eyes.
"When was umm…" His mind raced, searching for a tactful way to ask his next question. "When was umm…your last…ah…period?" He braced himself for impact when her eyes shot open and she stood up sending the chair flying.
She grabbed him by the shirt and hissed at him. "You have no business asking me that!"
"I'm asking as a doctor. It's a legitimate question!" He pulled her hands off his shirt.
Her glare did not soften at all. "It's been about 5 weeks…"
"I thought so…"
"You say that like it's some important piece to a puzzle."
"Nakago, you're going to have to take better care of yourself now." She raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how to say this other than being blunt. You're pregnant."
"I'm…what?" Her arms fell to her sides and the anger fled from her face.
"You're pregnant. I can feel the baby girl inside you. I'm assuming Soi is the father?"
Nakago didn't answer him. She headed for the door. "Don't mention this to anyone. If I want someone to know, I'll tell them."
"Of course." Mitsukake watched her leave in a daze.
Nakago walked down the hall nearly as fast as her mind was racing. 'How did this happen? Well…that's a stupid question…I know how it happened…what am I supposed to do now? What is Soi going to say? Am I even going to tell him? Well…I have to…no doubt he's still in my room waiting for me…Seiryuu why?! Of all people why me? I can't be a mother!'
Her pace slowed slightly as the door to her room came into view.
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-Shadow Hawk