Chapter 22 Tremolando (Or, trembling)
To prevent herself from falling onto the pavement, Asuka stretched out her arms. Rain soaked through her high-heeled boots as she skidded through a puddle. She stopped, relieved.
Lightning bolted across the sky, and thunder cracked immediately after. The vibration rattled through her body.
Asuka adjusted her umbrella.
If I don't figure out where the dragons are, based on what Enma said, the Ningenkai is next. That barrier isn't going to hold. I know it's not.
It seemed like every free moment Asuka had was spent thinking about the situation in the Makai. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, as long as the Ningenkai was unaffected, everyone had to continue with their lives and their jobs.
Asuka was just returning home from a day concert at Orchard Hall. They had invited her to play in between the orchestra's sets and she chose the second movement of Franz Liszt's Sonata in B Minor—the Andante Sostenuto. The piece was somber and slow, but jeweled and lovely. It felt especially appropriate for today's weather, and it played through her mind as she walked from the train back to her apartment.
My ki has been vibrating strangely today, Asuka reflected.
Because of the Makai situation, no doubt. Koenma was conducting research on time distortions and Asuka was continuing to work on expanding her ki. What had happened at the barrier breach had been stressful, but it also gave her hope. She'd seen further than she had in a long time, and she had stopped Koenma from closing the barrier with her husband still inside. Her powers aided, and she felt this was significant progress on her road to strengthening Insight. If only she could see the information they needed.
More water splashed onto Asuka's pants as she stepped down from the curb and onto the street. The water ran off her umbrella and fell in steady streams.
A wave of fatigue washed over her as she walked in the rain. Being pregnant was exhausting, and trying to keep her normal schedule was equally exhausting. According to her pregnancy book, tiredness was a common first-trimester symptom. Her energy levels would return in the second.
Lightning flickered in the sky again.
I'm almost ten weeks pregnant, Asuka thought as she placed a loving hand over her abdomen. Just a couple more weeks till the second trimester. She smiled.
The dampness from the rain clung to Asuka's exposed skin as she continued down the sidewalk—her head still full of music. Kurama would be home in a few hours. She should pick up some salmon.
Asuka veered off her usual route and went down a side street. Outside, two blocks down, under a veranda, was her favorite fishmonger, Akai. The old woman's crinkled eyes lit up when Asuka came to the stand.
"Ah, Mrs. Minamino, how are you this rainy afternoon?"
"I'm good, thank you." Asuka smiled. "I'll take two salmon filets if you please."
"For sushi or for cooking?"
"Cooking."
The old woman's back was hunched as she got up from her seat. She took out a salmon and placed it on a white cutting board. She sharpened her knives and deftly sliced the fish with knobby hands.
Thunder crackled overhead again.
Asuka's abdomen sharply clenched. She rolled her shoulders and breathed outward.
The fishmonger wrapped the salmon in white paper and placed it on a scale.
Asuka cramped again.
"Everything okay?" the older woman asked.
"Yes, just startled by the thunder."
"Here you go, Dearie. Get home safe."
Asuka handed her the money. "I will. Hope it dries up soon."
"See you soon," the older woman said.
"Definitely."
As Asuka hurried away in the rain, she felt her abdomen cramp again. Instinctively, she checked for the life spark. It shone, and she sighed. Easy there, body. She'd been cramping throughout the day. Time to get home and relax, perhaps with a cup of tea.
Her coffee consumption had completely dissipated in the last two weeks. Not because she was worried about caffeine, but because it made her nauseous. Her stomach had rejected her favorite drink.
Chai was a good alternative, though. And Kurama got her the finest chai. In fact, he'd ordered some from India and had it express shipped to their house last week. It was just one of the many ways he communicated his love for her.
When Asuka arrived home, she put the fish in the refrigerator and put the kettle on for her tea. Rain streamed down the windows.
While the kettle heated, Asuka fetched her iPod and put in her headphones. She spun the wheel to Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor and turned up the volume.
The opening to this album, "Piano& I" was her favorite opening.
"Hello. My goodness, I didn't know I was here," Alica's velvety voice said before Moonlight Sonata played in the background. Somber vocals harmonized with Beethoven's most famous piece before an electronic beat layered on top.
"You've always got to try. No matter how long that shit takes."
Absolutely magical.
Asuka swayed with the music . She sipped her tea and felt her abdomen cramp again. She turned her ki inward again and felt the spark inside. Asuka moved to the bedroom. She slipped into bed, laid down, closed her eyes, and fell asleep to the music.
She jerked awake with an especially forceful cramp. Asuka frowned. Okay, this is getting a little worrisome. She breathed outward and tried to relax. Worrying wouldn't help.
And then she felt something wet between her legs.
Asuka shot up and ran to the bathroom. Her fingers shook as she hooked them around her underwear and pulled them down.
Blood.
It's just a couple of spots, she told herself. That's normal. Cramping is normal.
But even as she thought that, another wave of cramps went through her body. This time, her abdomen pulled taut and pulsed. She doubled over and tightened her arms over her stomach.
Asuka closed her eyes and turned her ki and senses inward. The hum of life that she'd grown used to sharing her body with…was gone.
More blood ran down her leg.
It had just been there an hour ago, pulsing and vibrant. How could it have changed so quickly? Why?
"No," Asuka choked. "No…you can't…" Another wave cut off her speech. Asuka sank to the bathroom floor, clutching her stomach. "No…"
There was a lot of blood now, and its loss made her feel dizzy. A single thought overtook her. The shower. She needed to get to the shower before she bled all over the bathroom floor.
Her back spasmed, and she gasped. She held one hand over her stomach and used the other to push herself off the bathroom floor. Asuka looked up, blinking. She had to get to the shower. She heaved herself forward and stumbled while clutching her stomach. Her long chestnut hair fell as she forced herself to move toward the shower door.
When she got there, she pushed on the glass and slid it open. As it slid, she fell forward. A shock went up from her knee as it contacted the tile. Another wave pulsed through her insides and squeezed until she gasped.
Asuka reached up above her head and pulled the water lever down. Hot water sprayed over her and soaked through her white button-up shirt and bra. She slid down in the corner as her hair clung to her face and her now sopping shirt. She laid down on the ground of the shower and curled up into a tight ball. A loud sob escaped her as her abdomen convulsed.
She squeezed her eyes tight as another groan escaped her lips, followed by another sob. Her back spasmed. Her legs charley-horsed. And her uterus tightened into a knot.
Asuka screamed in frustration and her agony reverberated back from the shower tile. It sounded foreign to her ears, but she had little time to dwell on it before her entire body went taut.
It was a contraction. Except…she wasn't delivering a baby.
At this realization, Asuka began to sob.
-* ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ *-
"How can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked.
Kurama stuck his hands into his jacket pockets and surveyed the case. "I'd like a dozen truffles if you please."
"Very good, sir. What kind would you like?"
Kurama peered at the hundreds of truffles, expertly piled on top of each other in the case next to little hand-written signs. These were expensive, but Asuka deserved them and he wanted to surprise her.
"I'd like…three dark chocolates, three raspberries, three hazelnuts, and…" he stopped, unsure what else to add.
"Our white chocolate and orange truffles are favorites," the man supplied.
Kurama nodded. "Two oranges and one white chocolate."
"Very good, sir. Would you like anything else?"
"That will be all, thank you," Kurama said.
The man plucked the truffles Kurama had picked out and carefully placed them in a golden box before tying it with a brown ribbon. Kurama paid and then left the store.
He smiled to himself and his steps quickened through the puddles the rain had left behind. Asuka was waiting for him at home, and he didn't want to delay a single moment. They'd both been so busy they hadn't had a chance to really sit down and talk. He knew they needed to. He imagined dinner, dessert, and then sex—if she felt up to it. If so, he'd worship every inch of her. Afterward, he planned to collect her in his arms and apologize for his worry. And then he would ask how he could support her as she tried to figure out what was happening in the Makai.
No one is going to take her away from me. We can figure it out together.
Kurama parked their car in front of their apartment building and hurried inside. When he got into the elevator, he smiled softly to himself as he pulled some seeds from his hair. He infused his yoki with them and made a bouquet of roses bloom.
But not just any roses. These were frosty green roses—the hue icebergs sometimes took on. He started cultivating them after he felt the spark of life their child gave off inside Asuka. He didn't know if the spark was a girl or boy, but it hardly mattered. Frosty ice green is what they reminded him of when he felt their baby. He couldn't wait to show Asuka what he'd made for their child.
The elevator dinged, and he stepped out, still smiling. With careful moments, he opened the lock and pulled open the door.
Their apartment smelled of blood.
Kurama dropped both the bouquet of roses and chocolates at the same time. He slammed the door and called Asuka's name.
No response.
"Asuka!" Kurama called frantically as he ran down the hall. His heart pounded in his ears and his ki spiked with rage and anticipation.
He heard the shower running and discovered the bathroom door was open.
"Asu—" he stopped.
There was blood smeared on the bathroom floor. His eyes followed it to the shower where he saw Asuka curled up on the shower floor amidst blood-streaked shower water as it streamed toward the drain. Her white button-up was also soaked with a red watery mix. So were portions of her hair.
Oh. Oh no…no, no, no.
She untangled herself just enough to make eye contact.
They were bloodshot.
No.
She whimpered as she clutched her stomach and said in a hoarse voice, "I lost…"
Her inability to finish her sentence broke him. She'd gone through that…alone. He took off his jacket and threw it outside the bathroom door, slipped off his shoes, and also threw them outside the door. He took off his suit jacket. It ended up in the same pile, along with his other clothes. "I'm coming in, Love," he said as evenly as he could.
She shook her head.
"Yes."
"You'll get blood on you," she managed weakly.
"I don't care about that." He moved toward the open shower door. He would not waste another second away from Asuka by stripping the rest of the way down.
Kurama stepped into the shower and put one knee down into the water. The pungent smell of blood accosted his nostrils.
He tried to ignore it.
Asuka looked limp and nearly lifeless. Very gently, he brought her to his chest and tried to comfort her. She stiffened in his arms as she choked on a single sob.
He swallowed. "Asuka, we…need to get you to the hospital."
"Please…no. I can't bear it."
"I'm sorry," he said into her hair. "But we need to make sure…" he set his mouth into a grim line as he forced the words out. "We need to make sure everything is coming out."
She choked on a cry. "But I already know that—"
He squeezed her harder. "They need to do a scan, and make sure everything else is okay inside you."
"It's not okay."
"No…no, it isn't."He kissed the top of her hair. "Let me wash your hair for you, all right?"
"I'm still bleeding, and it still hurts."
"I know. One thing at a time."
Kurama reached up and grabbed the shampoo from Asuka's shower caddy. They needed to hurry. The shower water was cool, and Asuka's skin was wrinkled.
Once he finished shampooing and conditioning her hair, he grabbed a hair tie from her caddy and put it in a loose bun. Then he helped Asuka stand so he could wash the rest of her body.
The smell of the blood was getting to him, but it wasn't because it was blood. He was used to the smell of blood.
But not the smell of this blood. The blood that used to be…
His eyes fluttered as his stomach turned. I can't get emotional, he told himself. Not now. Asuka needs me to be strong. Kurama moved his jaw. Next logical step. "I'm going to get up and get you some clothes and a towel. It's okay if gets blood on it," he said seriously. "We can get new towels."
He let go of his wife and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed the hand towel they used and put it on the floor and wiped the rehydrated blood drips. Then Kurama went into their bedroom. He picked out the comfiest clothes Asuka had—sweatpants, sweatshirt, and fresh underwear. Then he went back to the bathroom.
Asuka was standing exactly where he'd left her with unfocused eyes.
"Come here, Love," he said gently as he took her hand. He led her out of the shower and gave her a towel to put between her legs. Then he wrapped a towel around her body and jumped back into the shower to wash himself down.
Next logical step.
He got out, opened a cabinet, and pulled a tampon out of the box.
"No tampon," she said, emotionless. "Can't. Need to use a pad."
"Do you have one of those?"
"Behind the tampon box."
He fetched it and set it on top of her clothes. "Okay. I'm going to change. I'll be right back."
Kurama hurried back to their bedroom and changed into some joggers. He normally hated going out so casually, but it didn't matter right now. It was going to be a long night. Then, he grabbed one of Asuka's overnight bags and filled it with stuff she'd need. Her iPod, which was playing music, her phone charger, and additional clothes. Kurama packed his own iPod, charger, and an additional change of clothes.
Next logical step.
When he went back to the bathroom, he again found Asuka standing there, exactly as he'd left her, with a towel around her waist and one between her legs.
"Asuka, you need to get changed. Come on. That's it. Underwear. Here's your pad. Good. Sweatpants next. Your shirt. Okay. I've packed you a bag. I'll get some more pads. Come, Love."
He slipped his hand into hers and led her to the entryway.
"Those…flowers," she murmured. "They're so…green."
Kurama had already forgotten about them. "I was going to surprise you with a new variety I'd been working on. Don't worry about them. Come, Love. Let's go downstairs."
When she didn't respond, Kurama turned around. Asuka's eyes were fixated on the roses.
Kurama urged Asuka to put on her shoes and jacket. And then, without another word, he led her out of their apartment door. Emotion threatened to overwhelm him again. Kurama pushed it away. The only way he was going to survive was to act logically.
Asuka swayed backward. He turned and caught her just in time.
Author's Note:
:-(