Renewal

She pants from the pain and exhaustion. Beads of sweat rolls down her forehead as she clenches her teeth, another contraction ripping her apart.

"Keep going, Kaoru! You're almost there!"

Megumi is calling her. She is reassuring her.

She allows the voice to guide her as the final contraction shreds her insides. And then—a cry of a child.

It is finally over.

Megumi brings the baby over, tears in her eyes. "He looks just like Ken-san," she tells her, her lips curved into a grin.

Kaoru smiles as she looks down onto her son. Megumi is right.

Rebirth.

Renewal.