Author's note: Quick thing before the chapter starts, sometimes in my stories I recommend a soundtrack for certain parts. In this chapter when you see (***) I recommend playing Asphalt and Ablution from Halo ODST
Chapter Five: Haida's Choice
Haida and Retsuko's mother sat in the procedure room of a doctor's office. Retsuko laid across an operating table while a stork doctor carefully ran a piece of ultrasound equipment over gel.
"Are you comfortable?" The doctor's voice felt warm and soothing to Retsuko's ever-increasing discomfort from her pregnancy. When they came here, she was afraid the doctor would be nosey or unprofessional. However, he turned out to be the opposite.
After Retsuko nodded, he had her and Haida go over every symptom she had thus far.
"I think that's all of them." Retsuko said while placing her hand by her mouth. The doctor nodded while a nurse jotted down everything she said.
"Good, it sounds like there's nothing out of the ordinary, miss."
Haida let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and Retsuko's mother noticed him claps his hands together while giving thanks.
"Alright, give me a moment, and you'll get to meet your baby for the first time."
Retsuko and Haida felt their hearts race in excitement. Retsuko's mother almost pushed past Hadia so she could see the sonogram on a screen. Haida held Retsuko's hand, and they waited anxiously for the image to appear. At last, the picture became clear, and Retsuko saw her child.
Retsuko's face glowed red in passion and love, for such a strange-looking thing on a screen, she felt more devotion for it than anything else in her life.
"My first grandchild!" Retsuko's mother exclaimed.
Haida wiped a tear away from his eye and kissed Retsuko's cheek. Whatever anxiety they felt over Haida being let go faded, and their minds lingered only on-
"Oh my!" The nurse's cry made Retsuko and Haida turn to her nervously.
"Is something wrong!?" Retsuko shouted, Haida placing his hand on her shoulder for support.
"Uh, no, from the looks of things, they're very healthy and have no complications."
"...They." Haida muttered as he and Retsuko began to sweat.
The doctor took a deep breath and pointed to three spots on the sonogram.
"You're having triplets."
Haida and Retsuko went pale while Retsuko's mother lit up in enthusiasm.
"I'm going to have three grandchildren instead of one!"
Haida held his head as if to keep it from splitting open. The stress from lacking a job now came back like a raging fie ready to burn him to a crisp.
"...Three children at once." Retsuko's eyes went white and an almost psychotic smile formed on her face.
"Rage."
"Triplets!" Retsuko roared.
Over the next few days, Haida broke away from Retsuko's mother's lectures and devoted almost every moment of his day to find another job. He updated his resume and posted it on as many websites as he could find. As time went on, Haida donned his suit and went to several job interviews, but to no avail.
After another unsuccessful interview, Haida performed at a restaurant, something he'd been doing in between job interviews. These brief reprieves helped keep Haida and Retsuko's spirits strong.
Retsuko sat with Gori and Washimi as they watched Haida lose himself to the music the same way Retsuko lost herself to singing.
"Three babies at once, boy, did you luck out!" Gori exclaimed, much to Retsuko's chagrin.
"Honestly, Gori. Handling one child is troublesome enough, but three, when one parent has no job."
Both women saw Retsuko's eyes start to spin, and sweatdropped.
"Sorry, Retsuko. I'm sure everything's going to be alright." Washimi said, patting her shoulder.
She took a deep breath and held her stomach.
"Haida's trying so hard to find a job..."
"Indeed. As are many, it's not his fault." Washimi said.
"The economic downturn is troubling to us all. I've had to lay off two members of the marketing department. It's heartbreaking." Gori spoke with exaggerated tears in her eyes.
Retsuko looked back at Haida. The stress of the world all but gone in his face with each note on the guitar. Those around them showed similar enjoyment to Haida's music, and several left tips in his guitar case.
Retsuko smiled, thinking back to her time in OTM again and how close they were to making a living out of it.
"Maybe there is hope. Maybe he won't need another job." Retsuko's eyes glittered, though Washimi and Gori nervously glanced at each other. Both far more skeptical of such a thing happening. Sadly, Haida soon felt the same when he counted up his tips and commission and saw it only came to 6650 yen.
He took a deep breath and thought about their ever-rising bills and shrinking savings. Despite Retsuko's mother offering to help them financially, Haida knew he needed a job sooner rather than later. As much as these performances eased his mind, Haida knew the money it provided was only a drop in the bucket.
That night, Haida and Retsuko rested in their bedroom while both looking at a computer. Retsuko did so more optimistically. She searched for more potential spots and openings for Haida to perform, while Haida himself looked at job openings and forebodingly at their finances. As experienced accountants, Haida and Retsuko both planned out the cost of having a baby, now Haida had to multiply that by three.
Haida noticed yet another email from a potential employer.
"Mr. Asami, we regret to inform you that despite your experience, we cannot offer you a job at this time. The recent economic downturn has struck us harder than initially perceived. I'm afraid we cannot expand our accounting department any further. We wish you luck in finding another employer."
"Haida! I found another cafe that is looking for a musician!" Haida heard the joy and exuberance in his wife's voice and forced himself to smile. Setting the laptop down, he went over beside her. As he did so, Haida noticed Retsuko had another window open, one showing a singing gig.
"What's this? Retsuko, could you be planning to sing again?" Haida whispered into her ear.
"Eeep! I, I was only looking!" She pleaded with an embarrassed expression.
"You made OTM. If you sang again, it would be a gift to Japan." Retsuko trembled, thinking about it, but not just from fear. In truth, a part of her did want to sing again. However, in her current condition, that wasn't a possibility without intense discomfort. But eventually, the babies would come, and then who knows what the future would hold.
Unfortunately for Haida, the future's harsh reality set in sooner rather than later. Because of Retsuko's increasingly strenuous condition, her mother kept her from attending Haida's performance.
By the time Haida finished, darkness fell upon Tokyo, and stormclouds formed above them. Haida managed to pull off a good enough performance to earn an invitation to play again. However, his mind still lingered on Retsuko, triplets on the way, and their financial situation.
Haida pulled up their bank statements and felt his heart sink further, particularly when he pulled up another picture of him and Retsuko on their honeymoon. He smiled, thinking back fondly to the memories. However, if he didn't do something, he would only have those memories.
Haida stared at his guitar with deep sorrow, with both eyes clenched shut. Forty minutes later, he walked out of a pawn shop holding 127054 yen and no guitar. Haida looked back inside at his most prized possession now gone for the sake of his family. The hyena felt a drop of rain hit his snout, but didn't look up or notice the drops that followed.
(***) He glanced at several others walking through the streets at night. Many of them appeared depressed and hopeless, just like Haida. Each of them went numb to the world around them, ignoring the thunder and pouring rain.
Haida found himself once again trapped in a storm as his world came crashing down around him. Tears began to fill his eyes as the inescapable reality of his failure as a husband and soon to be father closing in. Haida wobbled, nearly collapsing before he braced himself against a street sign. As he looked up, Haida saw a familiar building in front of him. His eyes became fixed on a cross that hung above it. Haida looked at the lamb nailed to the cross, who almost seemed to stare directly back at him.
Haida's eyes flooded with more tears than falling rain around him, and he clenched his eyes shut. This lamb made a sacrifice greater than any other for those he loved. Standing up tall, Haida tightened his fist with pure determination. He would do the same.
An hour later, Haida's mother answered the door after hearing a loud knock. Her eyes lit up in a delightful surprise when she saw her son.
"Haida! What are you doing here at this hour? Come inside. You'll catch an illness." Haida felt his mother's warm embrace but remained stiff and beyond anxious for what was to come.
"...Where's father?"
Yuuri's heart experienced a mixture of fear and excitement at this prospect and pointed to another room. The General sat in an office while looking over a series of reports from his subordinates and superiors.
"Tatsyua." Yuuri's soft voice drew his attention to the doorway where he saw Haida standing there.
Tatsuya stood up and crossed his arms with a stern expression. Neither spoke an eternity of a minute until finally, Haida broke down into tears and bowed.
"Help me. Please, help me, father." Tatsyu's expression softened, and with a growing smile, he came forward embracing his son. Yuuri almost teared up seeing this, but Haida only received as much relief as he anticipated.