"Sir, you've got to push!" the nurse said firmly as Hiroki writhed in agony, tears flooding down his face. His toes curled and he arched his back, squeezing Akihiko's hand with all of his might. The nurse held one leg up and back, and Akihiko held the other with the crook of his free arm. Nearby, Miyagi paced, a phone in hand.

"I can't reach Nowaki, he must still be in surgery," Miyagi said, once again punching in the number. Hiroki cried harder, his head lolling forward as perspiration dripped from his face.

"I c-can't do it!" Hiroki wailed, throwing his head back against the bed as another contraction shot spasms of pain up his little body.

"Hiroki, you have to!" Akihiko said, raising his voice over the sounds of Hiroki's cries.

"Here comes another one! Kamijou-san, push on three! One… two…"

"No, please! Please make it sto- AHHHN!" Hiroki screamed as a huge contraction wracked his body.

"Kamijou-san, you have to do this!" Nagasaki exclaimed. "I know your fiancé isn't here, but the baby is coming now! You have to push!"

"I CAN'T!" Hiroki shrieked, his cry breaking off with an immense sob as the pain became unbearable. "I'm t-t-trying, but I ca- AHHH!"

"He's contracting too fast for him to recover," the nurse announced grimly. "He needs to start pushing before the contractions start piling up on each other."

"We're going to have to perform a C-section if you don't push, Kamijou-san," Nagasaki urged. Hiroki squeezed his eyes shut as another contraction began before the one prior could fade.

"One, two, three… push!" the nurse chanted. Hiroki shoved with all of his might, his mouth stretching open in a silent scream.

"You're not pushing hard enough!"

"I'm p-p-pushing as h-hard as I c-c-can!"

"You need to-"

"I've got Nowaki!" Miyagi exclaimed suddenly. Hiroki strained his ears to listen over the sounds of his own agonized wailing.

"NOWAKI!" Hiroki howled desperately. "Help me!"

"What? No, Kamijou isn't in danger, he's in labor… yes, right now… he's having problems- either he's not pushing at all or he simply can't push hard enough…" Miyagi said, covering his free ear with a cupped hand to muffle Hiroki's cries.

"Kamijou-san, get ready to push again," Nagasaki yelled over the deafening sound of the room. Hiroki braced himself, gritting his teeth.

"One, two, three, push!"

Hiroki's world shook as spots of white exploded in his eyes. He pushed as hard as he could, but within mere moments he couldn't find the strength to continue. Trying to roll over as his body twitched and convulsed in agony, he let out a loud string of profanities. The nurse grabbed his shoulder and forced him down onto his back, earning a scream of pain.

"Hiro-san!"

Hiroki's cries died down for a few moments as the voice of Nowaki filled the room. In his pained stupor, he looked around stupidly for his fiancé. He spotted Miyagi holding the phone out in front of him.

"Nowaki…" Hiroki wept, tears flowing endlessly down his face. "I can't d-do it…"

"Yes, you can!"

"I can't do this without you here," Hiroki whimpered before he cut out with a pained cry.

"I am here, Hiro-san. Just close your eyes. I'm right here beside you."

Hiroki shivered and obediently shut his eyes. Immediately a warm presence was beside him, taking his unoccupied hand and allowing him to squeeze. Although deep in the back of his mind he knew that the presence was Miyagi, he pretended it was Nowaki.

"Here comes another contraction," Nagasaki warned.

"Get ready to push again. One, two, three…"

"Push, Hiro-san!"

Hiroki curled inwards, squeezing his eyes shut as he pushed with every ounce of strength he had. He bit back screams with clenched teeth, strangled sounds tearing themselves from his throat.

"That was a good push!" the nurse announced, a smile in her voice. There was cheering in the room over Hiroki's exhausted, raspy pants. Hiroki mustered a wavering smile, forcing out a few breathy laughs.

"N-Nowaki, I'm doing it," Hiroki breathed.

"I know, Hiro-san. You're doing a wonderful job. Our baby will be so beautiful. Don't give up. Focus."

"Push like you just did when I count to three, Kamijou-san. One, two, three…"

Hiroki trembled uncontrollably as he pushed once more, shoving all of his energy downwards. He cried out with the intensity of his effort, squeezing Akihiko's and Miyagi's hands as hard as he could.

"Holy shit, Kamijou," Miyagi snarled in pain, wriggling his hand slightly in Hiroki's iron grasp. "My hand is gonna break!"

Everyone in the room laughed, and Hiroki even smiled a bit as he heard Nowaki's chuckling on the other end of the phone.

"Kamijou-san, that was another great push. You're progressing quickly," Nagasaki praised, patting Hiroki's sweaty ankle.

"C-C-Can you s-see anything y-yet?" Hiroki asked shakily.

"Not yet, but with a few more big pushes, the baby might start crowning by then."

Hiroki felt a burst of enthusiasm, and as more contractions wracked his body, he pushed with powerful shoves. The nurse and doctor praised him for his efforts as Akihiko and Miyagi chanted cheers for Hiroki. Hiroki had to tell them to shut their fat mouths every few minutes so he could hear the one voice that mattered most to him.

"I love you, Hiro-san. You're doing great."

"Push, Kamijou-san!"

Hiroki pinched his lips together, squeaking slightly as he obediently pushed.

"It's crowning!"

At that announcement, Hiroki took a deep breath and shoved with all of his might.

"Slow down, Kamijou-san. Wait until you have another contraction so you don't waste your energy," Nagasaki instructed with a laugh. Hiroki pouted. He flopped his head back on the bed, impatiently working to catch his breath.

"The baby's almost here, Nowaki," he murmured. He felt Miyagi place the phone down beside his ear.

"I'm so excited," Nowaki replied softly. Hiroki nuzzled dazedly up against the phone, as if Nowaki was actually there. Before he could say anything more, however, the dull pain in his abdomen began to rapidly heighten once more.

"This contraction will be huge, Kamijou-san," the nurse warned as Hiroki began to pant again, curling inwards slightly.

"Oh God… ohh," Hiroki whimpered, his face contorting.

"You need to push as hard as you can, and as long as you can. This is the final contraction," Nagasaki instructed quickly, his voice deadly serious. Hiroki nodded, pinching his lips together and breathing hard through his nose.

"One… two… three…" the nurse slowly counted. "Push!"

Hiroki entered a world of blinding white pain as he leaned forward and pushed harder than he had ever pushed before. His screams tore at his throat, and the tears flooding down his face mixed in with the droplets of sweat that covered his face.

He couldn't hear his cries. He couldn't feel his own legs held up by the strong arms that kept them from flailing. He couldn't see Nagasaki standing between his legs, his brows furrowed as he hastily worked to help pry the baby out. He couldn't taste the saltiness of the liquids dripping down his face. None of his senses worked. He could only hear white sound ringing in his ears at a high pitch; he could only see white, he could only feel white, he could only taste white. White, white, white. It was as if the entire world was crumbling around him.

Hiroki's shrill voice rang out as he whipped his head back, droplets of sweat and tears flying in every direction. For a split second, as his vision began to darken, he wondered if he wasn't pushing hard enough. He felt panic bubble in his throat: he was going to die. He was going to die. He was goin-

And the cries of a newborn entered the world.