Notes:
The next chapter is one of the longest I've written, so I hope you like it ❤️
I am also writing this note to leave the following DISCLAIMER (per platform policies): The first part of this chapter may contain derogatory language, references to past traumas, appearance of the Zenin clan, graphic depictions of violence and mentions of blood, so discretion is advised. Do not be alarmed or frightened, it's about a nightmare.
Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter overall, because it's time for Uncle Gojo to give Yuta some advice as a new father.❤️
Sorry if there are some mistakes, I repeat, English is not my original language, Spanish is my main language and this fic is a translation.
12. Eye Of The Storm
🌊 Summer 🌊
A woman usually becomes a mother from the moment her womb harbors a new life. But at what point does a man actually become a father?
15 weeks pregnant
Early morning of July 5
02:27 a.m.
The rain was pounding heavily on the bedroom window. That storm was a sign that a typhoon was very close to making landfall.
Maki was tossing and turning in bed, sweating and shaking. The poor woman was trapped in a nightmare.
In that dream, Maki seemed to be in a place very familiar to her. At that moment she could see herself walking down a long hallway of an old Japanese-style house.
She looked for a moment at the clothes she was wearing, those clothes were a traditional white long-sleeved shirt worn by maidens and as part of her attire, she wore a blue hakama.
She felt that she had already worn those clothes as a teenager.
She looked at her arms in fright, she noticed that she did not have her scars, she even touched her face quickly, her eyes were wearing her old round glasses and her hair was long and tied in a ponytail.
She quickly looked for an object to observe himself. Luckily, on a table in the hallway there was a silver tray. So Maki quickly proceeded to look at her reflection.
She looked at herself but in her teenage years, more specifically when she was 15 years old.
"Where am I?"s he asked himself, looking around. Everything looked so familiar with all those traditional touches.
"I have to find out how to get out of here..." she said to herself to gather her courage and continue on that road.
Maki kept walking down that hallway, until she finally figured out where she was.
That place was where her life had been hell.
"Well, well, look who's here!" said a voice that gave that girl a lot of chills.
Truly, she felt her blood freeze and her body trembled with horror.
"What are you doing here, Maki," Naoya snapped at him with his stupid, sadistic smile. That man had emerged from the shadows "Didn't you leave here to live the life of a commoner? Have you stopped being a lapdog?"
Maki fisted her hands "I" as she was about to speak in defense, she was interrupted by another voice she knew quite well.
"Yes she did!, she escaped from this house like prostitutes do!" mocked her mother who also emerged from the shadows "But it seems she wasn't as happy as she thought, was she, Maki?"
"Mother?!" came from her throat in a small cry.
Another shadow appeared in front of her, emerged from the ground and took human form next to Naoya and her mother.
"So you came back to my residence like a dog with your tail between your legs, eh Maki? Ha!, where were those words of yours about coming back to become the leader of this place, huh? Hahaha! I only see a repentant and ashamed teenager!" snorted Naobito, who took a swig from his bottle.
"Of course I'm not a teenager! I'm already an adult!" shouted Maki, but her relatives burst out laughing.
"Adult? Haha?, but you're only 15 years old!" scoffed Naoya.
"Enough!" shouted Maki with courage. She felt her insides hurt. Especially her belly
"Garbage! My eldest daughter returns to bring more shame to this family in this deplorable state!" now her father's voice was present.
Maki turned quickly to see that cruel man, who was still speaking to her with hatred.
"And by the way, look how you're coming back with that big belly of yours under those clothes!" Ougi chided, "You're only good for embarrassment me, and now you look so pathetic looking!" he shouted.
"You have brought us nothing but disgrace since the day I gave birth to you!" his mother said with disappointment, "Look at you! What the hell have you done? You're just a teenager!"
"What do you mean?, Do what?" asked Maki, confused and frightened.
She quickly looked down at her stomach, underneath those maidenly clothes she had a large pregnant belly.
"What the hell is this?, What's going on here?" shouted Maki, touching her belly, she felt too scared as more people emerged from the shadows.
She was on the verge of tears as more and more ghosts of the Zenin clan began to surround her.
All those whom she murdered began to appear only to mock her.
"Look at her! Look at that big belly! You can tell she's been fucked!" Naobito shouted, letting out a loud burst of laughter.
"What the hell is that? You're pregnant! you idiot!" Naoya said, pointing to her bulging belly. "Or are you so stupid that you don't know how sex works? Did you like getting your pussy filled up?" he mocked with a big laugh. "I always wanted to fill that pussy of yours and now I see that someone else did it before me, what a waste of a woman, you disgust me!"
"Pregnant! The failure of the Zenin clan was fucked! Surely that baby will also be a failure like its mother!" exclaimed the other members of the clan, laughing loudly.
"She who said she was going to be the leader of this clan is now pregnant! This is one of the reasons why we don't allow women to be leaders of a prestigious clan! Naobito with laughter as he smashed his bottle against the ground, breaking it into many pieces.
"What a shame! A Zenin who can't use any damned technique has become pregnant by a nobody! Really, I'm disgusted that you are my daughter!" cried her mother.
"And who is the father?" Naobito asked, pointing at her. "Who was the man who had the courage to sleep with you? A damn good-for-nothing woman!"
"HE IS NOT A DON NOBODY! AND I AM NOT ANYTHING THEY SAY!" replied Maki in a shout, before feeling a lump in her throat.
"So?, Who is this guy?, is he a sorcerer, or is he also a common person without any talent like you?" Naobito insisted.
"He... is..." Maki stammered a little, the words unable to get out of her throat.
"Come on, say it! Naoya pressed her by the wrist, pulling her closer to him and shaking her violently as he used to do in his years when he used to beat her "Or are you ashamed to admit that you slept with a loser?"
"My son's father is Yuta Okkotsu!" Maki finally shouted, breaking free from Naoya's grip.
She hoped that answer would calm her family... but it did not.
"What?"
"How could someone like him have slept with her?"
"Someone cursed like him can only bring more curses into this world..."
Several voices said quietly, before almost all shouted in unison the word "SHAME!"
"Yuta Okkotsu? Huh?" Naobito repeated, crossing his arms, "The one who was your classmate and is now a special grade sorcerer? The one who has the special grade curse Rika Orimoto?, The one who is considered the queen of curses? Are you talking about the man who never stopped loving that Rika? The one for whom you are just her substitute?"
Those questions confused Maki a little. But she knew they were trying to play with her mentally.
She was not going to fall into that trap "Yes, he is the father of this baby!" Maki confirmed proudly as she caressed her belly.
"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!" Naoya exclaimed. "You have stained the name of the Zenin clan! You have mixed our precious blood with the blood of someone from the Gojo clan! That is treason! That baby you carry in your womb is an abomination!" he shouted angrily.
"You're a disgrace to all of us!" Her mother reproached her once more "It's not enough for you to wallow with that boy! You've also mixed your blood with that bastard's! That's not my grandson! That thing you carry in your belly is a monster! A curse!" her mother shouted as she pulled her roughly.
"Let go of me! Don't touch me!" cried Maki desperately, as she pulled away from her mother.
Maki began to feel bad as she watched them all start to approach her.
"OU SHOULD ABORT THAT BASTARD!" Ougi shouted as he pulled his katana out of its sheath " I'LL GET THAT BASTARD OUT OF YOU! I DON'T WANT TO BE THAT THING'S GRANDFATHER!"
"NO!" cried Maki hugging her belly. "Won't let you do that! I love Yuta and I love this baby! I won't let you touch me!" she shouted angrily.
"How pathetic!" mocked the others.
"Love? HAHAHAHA! What a ridiculous word! We Zenin don't need love! We only need power! We only need talented people!" said Naobito taking a few steps towards her.
"And neither power nor talent is what you have!" Naoya reminded her, quickly approaching her to corner her "You're useless, you can't see curses on your own and you can't even use techniques! You're only good for being a servant or a prostitute! And it seems that the second one suits you very well!"
"Shut up!" shouted Maki, feeling tears forming in her eyes "Get away from me!" she pushed him away.
"Why should I shut up?" Naoya replied, catching her in his arms "Are you going to do something about it? Are you going to fight me? With your weak fists and broken glasses?"
Maki looked at her hands and realized that she had no weapon with which to defend herself and noticed that her glasses were now broken on the ground. She was defenseless against her family, who were approaching her with the intention of harming her.
Maki managed to run away from Naoya's arms "LEAVE ME ALONE!" she begged, starting to run.
"No, we won't!" Naoya answered, going after her
"We're going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget. We are going to make you suffer so much that you will wish you had never been born and by the way... we will get that parasite out of your womb" his voice was distorted, while he became a curse and all the others adopted the cuts and blows they had at the moment of death.
"Leave me alone!" she shouted trying to escape, her feet ran as fast as they could but many hands pulled her all over her body and threw her to the ground.
"Let me go!" Maki begged with too many tears.
"Someone like you only brings shame to this clan and your little spawn is disgusting!" said Naoya in his maximum form as a curse and bringing his face too close to Maki's face.
"Let's get this shame out of your guts... someone like you shouldn't be a mother!" said Naoya as he pierced that bulging belly with his sharp claw.
Maki really started to feel a terrible pain in her whole being, she felt so much pain that she felt like dying.
Her belly was what hurt the most, she felt as if she was giving birth as she had the need to open her legs and start pushing, it was an indescribable pain as she heard the cry of a baby before such a horrible scene while she saw how everyone in that dream was hitting her and above all, trying to rip her child from her womb.
"Enough!" shouted Maki in pain.
"Someone with a heavenly restraint like yours can never be a mother!" said a distorted voice amidst all the laughter.
¡Shame on you for being pregnant!" said another voice as everything was covered in blood.
"This baby does not deserve to be born!"
Maki heard all those voices mocking her pain as she felt her baby being ripped from her womb.
"You are a disgrace!"
Her baby's cry sounded too loud.
"NO!" shouted Maki, waking up suddenly.
She sat up in bed, panting and sobbing. She looked around and realized she was in her room, with all the lights off as a terrible storm raged outside.
She put a hand to her belly and felt the movement of her baby. She sighed a sigh of relief that the little Soya bean was still inside her and that it was all a nightmare.
But that relief was short-lived, as a pain, like a kind of cramp in her lower belly and lower back made her bend over a little.
She breathe deeply, to make your body relax.
"It was just a bad dream…" she said to herself, trying to calm down.
She quickly looked across the bed.
"Yuta?" She name him in the dark.
She looked around for her husband, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Maki quickly recalled that almost a week ago, the two of them had had a heated discussion about the future of their relationship.
And Yuta had decided to leave the apartment to give Maki time to think about whether she really wanted a divorce.
Her mouth tasted bitter, she was sweating profusely and felt shivers run through her body.
Maki could not take it anymore, she felt too much like vomiting. That nightmare had left her in a very bad state.
She quickly got out of bed and ran to the bathroom to vomit.
The poor woman felt so bad that she could have sworn she had even thrown up her breakfast from the day before.
After a few minutes, she flushed the toilet and got up to rinse her mouth and, while she was at it, she splashed water on her face to wash off the sweat.
"It was just a dream... they can't hurt us because they are already dead... it was just a damn dream..." she said to herself as tears fell down her cheeks.
"But it felt so real... that pain was so real..." she said to herself as she burst into tears and caressed her belly once more as she again felt a very slight pain and cramp but it was so fleeting that she better ignored it.
Once out of the bathroom, she lay back down on her bed, hugging her husband's pillow tightly.
"It was only a dream... it was only... a damned dream!" She was still crying and tried to console herself with those words.
Again, she looked to the side where her husband used to sleep.
"Yuta..." she whispered in tears.
That early morning, Maki cried too much. She felt lonely, confused and distressed.
And the weather wasn't helping either. On the contrary, it was only getting worse.
12:20 p.m.
The sky was completely black because of the storm, it was raining too much and only the wind could be heard crashing against the wood of the school.
"Sorry for calling you to meet here at the academy with this typhoon threat, but we have had a lot of work because of the typhoon" Ijichi began to say to all the adults gathered in one of the main rooms.
There were about 20 sorcerers of different categories.
Among them were Mei Mei, Itadori, Megumi, Panda, Toge, Nobara and Maki.
They had been called urgently by Ijichi.
"The reason for my call is because we have a very important mission coming up, which has been named 'Eye of the Storm'" Ijichi went on to explain.
"As you know, a Typhoon is a natural phenomenon that causes too much anguish and terror in people, this has caused that too many civilians are giving off too much cursed energy at the same time and as you know, this causes the birth of many curses" he adjusted his glasses while he continued explaining.
"We managed to detect that the highest concentration of curses is here in Tokyo, so it has been decided that most of you will be in charge of eliminating them, since we have received multiple reports of civilians who have been attacked by them" he showed that blackboard where you could see the places with the highest number of curses in the city.
That blackboard showed the most important parts of the city of Tokyo and circled in a red circle were the places with category one curses and even those that could perhaps be considered as semi-special category.
Category two curses were marked in purple.
Places with category three curses were marked in orange and weaker curses were marked in blue.
"The students will be in charge of eliminating the category four curses and maybe some category three, besides, we, the assistants, will be attentive to all their orders and we will support them with all the transportation while the city is not flooded," Ijichi look at everyone in the room "Do you have any doubts?"
The sorcerers present looked at each other.
Maki felt a knot in the pit of her stomach, she felt some disgust, but she also felt some fear. The nightmare of that morning had left her uneasy and that mission also for some reason made her more uneasy than excited.
"And what are those golden dots on the blackboard supposed to be? highlights out that there are only two of them and that they are on the outskirts of the city" asked Mei, since that had caught her attention.
"These are confidential missions and for the moment Yuta Okkotsu and Gojo Satoru are already taking care of them before the storm makes landfall," commented Ijichi seriously.
"I guess they are missions that will leave them a huge sum of money, too bad I missed them" Mei lamented.
Maki pursed her lips when she heard her still-husband's name. Since they hadn't spoken to each other for a week, she didn't know he was on this mission at all.
"Maki san, do you know what this special mission is about?" Nobara asked in a curious whisper.
"I don't know... I haven't talked to him and I'm not even interested…" she said in a muffled voice without looking at her friend. She just wanted to get out of there.
"Is everything all right, Maki san?" Nobara felt that her friend was acting strange and even more so when she talked about Yuta.
"I just haven't talked to Yuta about his mission, that's all" Maki answered seriously.
"I see, I guess if it's something very confidential" Nobara shrugged her shoulders at such an answer.
Megumi noticed that response from his familiar. He suspected that something was not right between those two.
"Do you have any other questions?" Ijichi asked, looking at everyone.
Megumi raised his hand to take the floor.
"And when is this mission supposed to start for us? The typhoon won't take long to make landfall and maybe that will put the mission and ourselves at risk" He asked seriously.
Everyone in the room was silent.
Ijichi sighed a little "Well, although the headquarters had proposed that the mission would take place after the typhoon, at the last minute it was agreed that this mission will begin tomorrow morning. We want it to be before the typhoon makes landfall so that the curses do not gain more strength, so we will be working against the clock" he explained.
The room was filled with murmurs of concern.
"This was decided in this way because we want to take advantage of the curfew that will be given to the citizens from today at six o'clock in the evening and, as agreed with the authorities, they will issue the typhoon alert tonight so that civilians take precautions and try not to leave their homes until the storm passes in the following days, so it was planned that the whole mission will be carried out tomorrow from eight in the morning, taking advantage of the fact that perhaps there will be no civilians in the areas where these curses are being sighted, which are especially certain alleys and shopping centers which will remain closed and some train stations which will not be in operation" explained Ijichi looking at all those present.
"I understand, so the lives of civilians will not be put at risk and we could work in plain sight without the need to use curtains" answered Megumi once the assistant stopped talking.
"It makes sense to me!" commented Itadori, who finally seemed to understand the whole issue, "So we can work without so many worries"
"But we will be against the clock anyway because the typhoon is supposed to make landfall before noon tomorrow, even so the danger for us will be present!" commented Megumi seriously.
"Tomorrow is going to be a very hectic day" Nobara commented with a sigh, "And more than I hate the rain"
"I don't like getting my fur wet either!" Panda replied at the thought of having to get wet in the rain.
"Kombu!" Inumaki pointed at his partner.
"What do you mean, I stink when I'm wet?" Panda grumbled at Toge's reply.
"Well, do you have any other questions" asked Ijichi once again, "Anyway all the information will be sent to their cell phones and I will also send their the places where you will be sent, as well as which situations their should avoid and in which to abandon the mission" he replied, showing his phone.
"It is also important that if any of you are not willing to participate in this, you should comment it in advance, especially since we are short of personnel. If there is no more to say, we will see each other tomorrow in the places specified" said Ijichi ending the meeting that lasted about an hour.
01:50 p.m.
Near the academy exit.
"Maki san, is everything all right?" asked Megumi, who intercepted Maki, who had said goodbye to the others in a hurried and even rude manner, some would say.
This was because the others had invited her to go with them to eat outside the academy before all the places were closed, but she refused because she said she had to go somewhere else that afternoon before the curfew was given.
For some strange reason, Maki seemed to be very nervous, it was as if something was bothering her and she even tried not to get so close to them.
She had even shown too much annoyance when she was asked again if she was going to see Yuta or if she knew anything about her husband.
To which she only answered with a very annoyed "I don't know, I haven't talked to that idiot. He must be too busy to answer"
Even so, Megumi was the one who dared to go and ask her if everything was all right. Especially since the others were afraid of that woman when she was angry and Megumi was the only one who was somewhat patient with her.
So he managed to catch up with her before she left the academy.
"Why do you ask? Can't you see I'm in a hurry, Megumi? Besides, I want to avoid getting wet" She answer a bit annoyed and pointing her umbrella at him.
"I was just asking because of the way you talk about Okkotsu senpai. Although I can guess that you two are fighting, aren't you," He asked serenely.
"Why do you say that?" asked Maki, twisting her mouth.
"Because, he told me something about it" He sighed showing his palms to show that he was telling the truth "I noticed that he had already been sleeping here at the academy for several days" He lied a little, since Takeru had told him that it seemed that his uncle Yuta lived there "And I simply asked him if everything was all right between you" this last was true, since he had asked him a few days ago.
"And what did that fucking traitor say to you?" asked Maki, crossing her arms.
"Traitor?" Megumi found it strange that Maki referred to Yuta with that word.
"Yes!, for me he is a traitor but I don't want to go into details because as I said I'm in a hurry, so tell me What did he tell you? Did he tell you anything about my pregnancy?" she asked annoyed.
Megumi shook his head.
"He looked kind of sad and tired" he sighed
"And he didn't tell me anything about your pregnancy. He only told me that you two had decided to take some time for a situation about your relationship, but he didn't give me more details" He looked seriously at his relative "I also didn't want to question him if the reason for your separation was due to the baby you two are expecting. This is because I still don't know if I can ask him directly and even more because of the way you asked me to, I haven't talked about this with anyone and much less with him until you give me permission... I don't want you to give me a beating for opening my mouth either".
Maki sighed at those words.
"Well, at least you are keeping your promise not to tell anyone about my pregnancy" she commented, rubbing her belly a little, which was not noticeable because of the bulky sweatshirt she was wearing. So her belly went unnoticed in that meeting.
"Even so, keep your mouth shut a little longer about this baby and as we agreed, I don't want you to tell Yuta that you were the first person to know it..." Maki stared at Megumi.
"I must confess that I dislike hiding this issue from Okkotsu senpai" Megumi replied sharply.
Maki grunted at that reply, it seemed that he was not in a good mood at all since he woke up from that nightmare.
"What, you can't keep your mouth shut or keep a promise either? I have enough problems with Yuta opening his mouth with Shoko so that you coming to ruin it even more!" she blurted out in annoyance.
That gave Megumi a clue as to why perhaps those two had quarreled.
"What does Ieiri san have to do with all this?" Megumi asked in confusion.
Maki rolled her eyes, she really felt annoyed by so many questions and maybe it was starting to affect her, as she felt dizzy for a moment and felt a slight pain in her lower back and head. But she thought it was just stress.
"Agh! He has a lot to do with this, especially now that Yuta told Shoko about my pregnant" she let out the air in annoyance, "And the last thing I want is for everyone to even know about it!"
"Are you ashamed of your pregnancy?" Megumi asked seriously.
That question echoed in Maki's head, and made the memories of her nightmare about that "she was a disgrace for being in that state" come back to her present.
Maki hugged herself a little, clasping her hands on her arms a little.
All this was noticed by Megumi, who analyzed the countenance of his familiar.
"Why such a question?" Maki questioned seriously.
"Because of the way you avoid the subject and hide and distance yourself from everyone else..."
"It's not about that" Maki hesitated a little
"I am just waiting for the safe weeks to pass before telling everyone about my pregnancy"
Megumi understood that Maki was afraid, but he knew he wasn't going to convince her so easily. "OK"
"Well, if that's all there is to say, I'll leave since I'm in a hurry" said Maki in a hurry as she opened her umbrella to go out into the rain.
Megumi continued speaking while looking at her seriously, "You should abandon tomorrow's mission. You are in no condition to fight!"
"What did you say?" asked Maki in surprise. She even took a step back as she had already opened her umbrella in the rain.
"Tomorrow's mission sounds like it will be too dangerous and from what Okkotsu senpai told me about you, I consider that..." Megumi was interrupted by Maki.
"You sound just like that idiot! Besides, remember that I'm your superior for a year, so don't come and order me around!" she rolled her eyes.
"Maki, it really seems that you are not in good health!" commented Megumi with some annoyance.
"I told you I'm fine! I know I can still fight for a few more weeks, besides this mission sounds important and interesting by the way. I really want to fight those things before that shitty typhoon makes landfall!" Maki replied annoyed, "Only I will know if you participated in the mission or not, still thanks for the concern and by the way," she unfolded her umbrella again as the rain came down heavily "Keep your mouth shut, otherwise I will kick your ass so hard it will hurt for weeks!"
"BUT MAKI!"
"I have to go! I have to go shopping for groceries!" she said in the rain as she began her somewhat hurried walk.
Megumi only sighed as he watched her leave. She really was stubborn.
"What a troublesome woman..."
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Tokyo
02:15 p.m.
"Please , answer me..." whispered Yuta as he listened to that phone call being forwarded to voicemail.
Communication seemed to be starting to fail in that region.
The sorcerer hung up and looked at the time on his cell phone screen. He knew that the afternoon was advancing rapidly, as well as how fast that storm was advancing.
Yuta had already concluded his mission. Which had been to exterminate a local deity that was wreaking havoc on the main road, which was already going to be closed by civil protection to avoid accidents due to the typhoon.
At that moment, he tried to communicate with Maki again. He was worried about her and more that it was almost a week since they had argued and all those days, she did not speak to him when they were at the academy or when he tried to communicate with her.
"The number you are dialing is not connected at the moment... please try again later," said that mechanical voice.
Yuta sighed and put his cell phone in his pants pocket. They had run out of signal.
Truly, Yuta felt a strange concern.
He simply wanted to hear Maki's voice. He wanted to know if she and his baby were well, He wanted to know if she was eating well and above all, if she was being cautious with this situation. Most of all, he wanted to know if she was at home and if she had what she needed to get through these days of confinement. Or at least Yuta wanted to know if Maki wasn't doing something reckless and if she had already thought about her marital situation.
Yuta was sadly admiring that gray landscape, where the clouds covered the mountains in the distance and the rain could only be heard falling hard against his umbrella.
"Maybe I am to blame for all this" he lamented as he continued to look at the scenery.
That is until a voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Mr. Okkotsu, are you going to stay in the shelter in this area or do you want to return to Tokyo?" asked an assistant who also covered himself from the rain with a black umbrella, both were outside a residence that served as a meeting point of that town.
Yuta sighed a little, "I want you to take me to Tokyo, I must be there in case I am needed" he said getting into the black car that was parked.
"Very well, I'll take you to the city right away, I hope we arrive safely since I was hearing that the streets were being closed due to the storm" answered the assistant getting into the car.
"Would you like us to stop somewhere before we get to the city? Or would you like me to take you directly to your house?" asked the assistant, looking at him in the rearview mirror.
Yuta sighed a little. He still couldn't go home yet.
"Just take me to the academy please" Yuta commented, looking away from the window.
"As you say sir! If there are no obstacles on the way, we will be in the city before nightfall" the assistant began to drive.
Once they were on their way, Yuta would try to dial Maki again. But it was useless, he had completely lost signal.
During the drive to Tokyo, Yuta would not stop thinking about the argument he and his still-wife had had exactly a week ago.
Yuta truly blamed herself for breaking that promise, but he simply did it out of love and fear that something would happen to Maki and his son.
"No one prepares you to be a father..." he said to himself mentally as he continued to look down that road and the rain began to pick up.
"But… When does a man really become a father?" he thought about that question as he watched the drops fall on his window and his breath fogged the glass where his head was leaning, his eyes filled a little with tears.
He remembered the moment when Maki gave him that news. He had felt an immense happiness, one that could not be compared to any other good news he had received before.
The poor man wondered if he would really be a good father. He wanted to be a good man to his baby and even more that he had no father figure to take as an example and even more that his own father kept rejecting him.
The thought also crossed his mind that perhaps, if he had only been more cautious that night, that baby might never have been conceived.
Especially since, when it came to contraceptives, Maki had refused to use hormonal contraceptives because of all their side effects. And Yuta respected that decision and he agreed that he would use a condom most of the time.
But in some of those intimate encounters they simply let themselves be carried away by what they felt and by the heat of the moment, and that baby was the consequence.
That was an unplanned baby but in a way, it was wanted and loved by him... although he really felt that Maki did not feel the same way.
"If only I... had been more cautious and kept my mouth shut in all aspects... none of this would be happening..." he whisper.
He was burdened with guilt and even felt his shoulders heavy from all the accumulation of emotions.
Yuta continued to think about everything that overwhelmed him for a while longer, until he fell asleep leaning back in that seat.
04:50 p.m.
The city was in chaos and Maki saw it in that convenience store and by how crowded the subway line was.
Too many people coming and going in that rain, trying to get home as soon as possible for fear of the typhoon.
But fortunately, Maki arrived home before that curfew was announced, but that didn't take away the fact that she had arrived a bit soaked, in a bad mood both because of the situation and because of hormones, and incidentally she felt very tired.
She left her bags on the floor for a moment where she carried her groceries for the next few days that he would spend at home once she finished her mission tomorrow.
And while she was looking for the key to her apartment, her neighbor across the street, an elderly woman came out to greet her.
"Hello Okkotsu san!, preparing for the typhoon?" asked the lady kindly as she saw Maki with her bags on the floor and her hands busy looking for the key in her purse.
"That's right!, it is better to be forewarned these days because of the typhoon and tell me Mrs. Kimura, are you also forewarned? Is Preferably you'd better stay at home, it's raining too much outside" commented Maki giving a quick look at the woman since she had finally found her key and was about to open that door.
"Yes, a while ago one of my sons came to bring me provisions for these days"
"It's Ok, Mrs. Kimura" Maki commented with a faint smile, which would fade with the next thing the woman said.
"And by the way Okkotsu san, I haven't seen your husband, is everything all right? I also wanted to ask you if you are well?, since I have noticed you a little different..." asked the old woman with curiosity while she saw how Maki opened the door of her apartment.
"He is fine, for the moment he is out of town but I guess he will be back these days once the typhoon is over!" she faked a smile "And you don't have to worry, I am well!, maybe it is the stress of my work that makes me look more tired!" she said nervously wanting to cut the conversation short
"Now, if you excuse me, I have some things to take care of. Excuse me." replied Maki, trying not to sound rude to the woman and quickly entering her house.
Once she closed the door behind her, she let out a tired sigh.
"That woman is very curious..." she said as she took off her sweatshirt and her T-shirt she was wearing that day until she was in her sports bra.
She looked at himself carefully and could tell that her pregnancy was already more noticeable than it was last week.
She sighed a little and caressed her belly feeling her baby move a little.
"Perhaps tomorrow will be our last mission..." she commented as she approached the kitchen to put away all the groceries and food she had bought.
After a few minutes of arranging things in the cupboard and refrigerator, Maki felt the uneasiness invade her again, as well as a slight pain all over her body, just as she had felt in the early morning when she woke up from that nightmare.
Maki quickly sat down on the sofa.
"That was just a bad dream... just that... they can't hurt us anymore..." she said to herself breathing deeply as she also felt a little dizzy.
"It must be the stress of tomorrow that makes me so anxious" she took some things out of her bag, including her cell phone.
Checking her cell phone, she noticed that she had a missed call from Yuta, which had been made almost two hours ago.
"Should I contact him? I wonder if your father is all right" she said caressing her belly, thinking that maybe she should put aside her anger and speak clearly about what had happened.
In part Maki had already reflected a little on what had happened, but her pride was strong.
She pressed the call button without thinking, feeling her heart beating fast as she heard the first ring.
That brought she back memories of when Yuta was in Africa, and the two of them would dial each other on the phone when night had already fallen in Japan.
The second bell rang, and she kept remembering when she would hear his cheerful voice say his characteristic "Hello Maki san!"
A third buzzer sounded and she expected that typical phrase of his to be heard over that horn, but it wasn't to be.
"We are sorry, the number you are dialing is not connected at the moment. Please dial later" said the computerized voice.
"Baka!" she blurted out in annoyance as she hung up and with her other hand continued to caress her belly.
"I'm sure your father must be having fun on his mission, which he didn't tell me about!" Maki growl in annoyance "How I hate him!"
Then she took out the other things she had in her bag, took out her boshi kenkou techou notebook and when she took it in her hands, out of it came the business card that Shoko had given her.
Maki picked it up from the floor and looked at the name and number of that OB/GYN.
She was tempted to contact this doctor and ask for an appointment for after the typhoon had passed.
But at that moment, her hunger was greater than her desire to make a phone call, so she put the business card back in the notebook and put it back in her purse.
She took her cell phone, went to the kitchen and started making dinner, then took a bath and went to sleep.
Although nightmares would continue to haunt her that night.
08:00 p.m.
Yuta was already in the city. More specifically, he was at the academy, which took too long to reach due to the roads and highways that were already closed for the typhoon.
After arriving from his mission, he went to take a bath and then went to the kitchen of the academy, to make some dinner and go to rest because he knew that tomorrow would be a very heavy day for everyone.
The rain continued to fall with intensity, even outside the academy everything was dark and the strong winds made the windows rattle, that institution seemed to be empty at that moment because of the loneliness that was felt.
As he approached the dining room of that academy, Yuta's attention was drawn to the crying of a child.
Yuta began to search cautiously under the tables to find out where the noise was coming from and to his surprise he found Takeru crying, that boy was very scared while he was hiding under one of those tables.
"Takeru?" asked Yuta with surprise.
That child quickly got up and ran to him while crying very frightened.
"I'm afraid!" Takeru sobbed. "Uncle Yuta"
"What are you doing here? Where is Gojo sensei? And your mother?" Yuta asked as he squatted down.
"Mommy is home, but!" he sobbed "This day I was going to stay with daddy, who said he would take me with her once he came back, but!" he wiped his nose with his little hand but his eyes were still crying "He is not here yet and I am so scared, it is raining too hard and I have been alone all afternoon since everyone is busy!" he started to cry more.
Yuta sighed and stroked his hair. "You don't have to worry, I'm already here and I'll take care of you while your dad arrives"
Takeru just nodded his head
"Are you hungry?" he asked standing up while Takeru again just nodded his head yes while trying to calm down.
"Come, let's make some dinner" said Yuta with a smile and took hands with Takeru, who followed him into the kitchen.
08:55 p.m.
They both had a nice time while eating some pancakes that Takeru had ordered. Luckily they had just the right ingredients to make that dinner.
"This is delicious!" said Takeru with a big smile. By this time he was much calmer and ate his third hot cake.
"I'm glad you like them, I've been practicing a bit of cooking" said Yuta with a slight smile as he put another bite in his mouth. Although in front of Takeru he pretended to be fine, as he still looked sad.
"You know, uncle Yuta" Takeru began to say with his mouth full, "Sometimes I wish you were my dad!" said the boy surprisingly while he finished eating.
Those words left Yuta somewhat shocked.
"W-why do you say that?" that question barely made it out of his throat.
"Because you do pay attention to me, you spend time with me and above all, you do play with me. Not like my dad who is often busy and hardly spends time with me, sometimes I don't see him until late at night!" Takeru sighed and pouted "sometimes I think he doesn't love me and loves the baby more"
Yuta thought maybe that could be the big brother jealousy stage.
"I know that Gojo sensei loves you very much, since before you were born, he has always loved you, I am sure of that," He answered with a smile.
"Really? Why doesn't it seem so..." said Takeru with a pout.
Yuta let out a slight chuckle.
"Gojo sensei might look like a bad father, but I know he loves you very much, both you and your little brother. He cared a lot for you and your mom since he found out you were going to be born, he was even able to go against everyone to protect you" he sighed a Little "Because that's what a father does..." his face became a little sad because he felt he was failing in that.
Takeru noticed that sad breath of his uncle's. He leaned his elbows on the table and his face in his little hands.
"I know you will be a good father, Uncle Yuta" said Takeru with a nice smile.
That answer surprised the adult. Yuta looked at him holding back tears.
"Do you think I'll be a good father?" he asked, pointing to himself.
Takeru nodded his head.
"Yep" he showed a big smile.
Those words gave him some comfort in that storm.
They both finished dinner and Yuta spent a long time playing with Takeru until they both fell asleep.
July 06th
02:00 a.m.
The rain was still falling heavily, the wind was blowing strongly and the wood could be heard creaking.
Yuta and Takeru had fallen asleep in a livin room near the dining room.
The sound of footsteps woke up Yuta. Who woke up observing how Satoru had arrived at that place, took off his sweater and with it he sheltered his son, who was sleeping soundly on the couch.
"I see you had some fun" Gojo said quietly as he sat down next to his son.
"Something like that, when I arrived from my mission, I found poor Takeru all scared because he was left alone here at the academy" commented Yuta while moving his shoulders a little as he had fallen asleep sitting up and felt numb.
Satoru took off his blindfold.
"I guess, everyone is super busy right now, even the assistants are scarce and that's why Takeru was left alone and no one could take him to Utahime's house" he sighed while stroking his son's hair "My mission was delayed due to the heavy rains, that's why it was very difficult to get here" he put his legs up on the small table that separated the armchairs.
"There are closed roads everywhere, I guess Utahime is going to be too upset when Takeru tells him that he was left alone" he sighed "And you?, Why didn't you go home? I've noticed that you've been here for several days already"
Yuta let out his breath in a heavy way because of that question.
"Well...it's just that...Maki doesn't want to see me right now and she doesn't talk to me either so, I decided to come to the academy and I guess it was a better idea to come here so I could take care of Takeru" he answered with a sad tone while he ran his hands over his face.
"Huh? Trouble in paradise?" asked Gojo with a smile that reflected curiosity.
"Something like that, this relationship seems to be hanging by a thread and I guess it's because of me..." replied Yuta with a sigh.
"Oh I get it, when love hangs by a thread, sometimes it's better to take some time to analyze the situation and even more when they have their temper, Maki and Utahime have that in common hehe" he laughed very lightly.
That laugh ended in a sigh "But I can tell you that this also runs in the family," Gojo replied as he stretched his arms upward and then placed his palms behind his neck, "There are even records that Sugawara had marital problems with his wife, so if you end up getting divorced, consider it as part of the family curse" he said letting out another sigh.
"That's no consolation!" commented Yuta in a low voice.
"I know! I'm bad at giving advice, I've already been told that!" said Satoru as he watched his son sleep and kept stroking his cheek as he did when Takeru was a baby.
Gojo looked fondly at his son. He had a special gleam in his blue eyes.
Yuta admired that scene with curiosity.
"Is it very difficult?"
"What?"
"Being a father... Is it hard to be a father?" asked Yuta looking at that scene.
"Oh, and why are you asking that question? Are you and Maki already expecting a baby? Am I already going to be an uncle?!" Gojo asked curiously.
Yuta sighed despondently, as he lowered his gaze. "We don't know yet..." he lied.
"Well…" Gojo understood that signal, "The short answer is a big YES, if it is very difficult"
That answer discouraged Yuta too much.
Gojo continued to speak softly as he continued to admire Takeru sleeping.
"Being a parent is by no means the easiest thing in the world, and certainly not for us sorcerers, who have a life very close to death"
Yuta sighed when he heard that, he seemed very discouraged with that answer and that was noticed by Gojo, who decided to cheer him up a little.
"But it's not the most complicated thing in the world either!, it has its good things like having a mini you running all over the place, enjoying some of their stages, hearing them cry for the first time, seeing them crawl and then walk and then running after them and hearing them say their first words, it's those little things that you say "it's worth it" as you look into their little eyes and hold their little hands!" said Gojo with a big smile.
That moved Yuta's feelings a little, and he dared to ask a little more.
"Gojo sensei... How did you feel when you found out you were going to be a father?"
"What did I feel?" that question surprised the sorcerer a little.
"Well, with Takeru I felt that my brain stopped working for a second, then I reacted with so much happiness that I ended up showing off to everybody in a shopping mall that I was going to be a father, the same thing happened with my second son..." his voice faded a little at that sad memory "I was full of emotion because I was going to be a father a second time... but I could never hear that baby cry and much less hear him laugh...".
"I'm sorry for your loss..." apologized Yuta in a very sad voice when he saw the look on Gojo's face when he remembered his second son.
"You don't have to apologize, sometimes things happen in an unexpected way, but that helps us to be stronger and the losses always leave us a learning" he commented with a very calm voice, although that topic hurt him, but he always tried to act as the strongest.
"And with this third baby on the way, I must confess that I have mixed feelings since it was something that came unexpectedly, it is a baby that came as a surprise, not planned but that is in one way or another, desired" commented Satoru playing a little with his black bandage between his fingers.
Yuta identified with those words because that's how he felt about his baby, which was a completely unexpected surprise.
Satoru continued speaking as he looked at Yuta "Once you find out you're going to be a father, you may be filled with joy because you instinctively want to have offspring." He pointed to his head. "But once you think about it with a cool head, you have a thousand fears and questions about that little being that carries part of your blood"
He began to enumerate with his fingers.
"What if the pregnancy is complicated? What if the pregnancy is high-risk? What if something goes wrong at the time of birth? What if someone tries to kill them? What if something happens to my wife? Will it be a baby with cursed energy or without it? What technique will it inherit? And thousands and thousands of other questions come to your mind and you are filled with thousands of fears that sometimes want to force you to run away. Men can run away and renounce to be fathers and nobody would say anything, but women, renounce to their maternity and society will want to eat them alive for having that thought"
"Sensei, did you ever think of running away while Utahime sensei was pregnant?" asked Yuta curious about that last question.
He didn't think about running away but sometimes he felt that all those thoughts would end up driving him to do so.
Satoru stretched his arms once more and then brought his hand to his forehead and rubbed of his nose.
"The truth is I thought about running away more than once when I thought I wouldn't be a good father, but!"
Her face lit up at what seemed to be a memory.
"But once you see that little bulging belly and feel those movements through their skin, you say; I REALLY WANT THIS. I REALLY WANT TO BE A FATHER!"
"I feel like I understand that last one" Yuta said with a slight smile as he remembered how Maki looked with her barely bulging belly.
"Yeah!, watching that little belly grow into a bigger one fills you with excitement, but then come all the chaotic changes!" Gojo commented, waving his hands simply.
"What do you mean by that?" Yuta asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"I mean her mood swings!" Satoru pouted.
"They will ask you a thousand times. Do I look too fat? And you must be subtle there!" he commented, waving his hands, "You must always tell them that they look very beautiful, otherwise you'll be a dead man!" he motioned with his hand to his neck.
That made Yuta swallow saliva.
"Their mood swings will be extreme, one day they will be very cheerful and the next they will explode like a bomb at the slightest touch!" he continued waving his hands.
"They have cravings galore, sometimes their cravings will be super weird and as a father's duty you should go get them, even if it's three in the morning or you have to cross half the country to get that craving!"
Satoru sighed a little, he seemed to have a little bad memory that his smile would completely fade.
"And many times you will suffer when you see them getting very sick with all their symptoms and in case the pregnancy gets complicated, you will feel super frustrated. Especially they can suffer too much with the ascos and vomiting... they can vomit too much, even until the end of the pregnancy they keep on vomiting" he commented with a slight smile and waving his hands.
But that smile was short-lived, her face looked very serious again.
"And not to mention at the moment of birth. That moment is the most crucial one where as a parent, you suffer because if something goes wrong, you can lose both of them... if a tragedy doesn't happen before like losing your child..." he said with too much seriousness.
That made Yuta sigh and wrinkle his forehead too much. He felt bad for everything Maki was going to go through in the next few months. His hands went to his face. He felt guilt that he had gotten her pregnant.
Satoru sighed at Yuta's reaction, and his face lit up with a smile.
Then he looked at his hands, it was as if he was holding a baby "But once your child is born and you hold it for the first time in your arms, you can feel an inexplicable emotion" he looked at his sleeping son.
Yuta watched him make that gesture and then watched as Satoru looked fondly at his son and stroked his hair.
"When you truly love a woman you will always be there for her. Whit it's her bad moods or her stress-filled pregnancy days, the best thing we as men can do is to stick by her side and support her through everything"
"So, When does a man really become a father?" Yuta asked, looking at them.
Satoru turned his gaze to him. "That depends on you, on whether you already feel like a father or you will feel like one only until you hugs your child for the first time... only you can answer that question, Yuta"
He returned his eyes to his son, who seemed to be waking up, as he moved his arms and gradually opened his eyes.
Yuta kept thinking about it all. One way or another he already felt like a father since he found out about that pregnancy.
"Dad?" asked Takeru with his eyes half open.
"Good morning champion!" he caressed Takeru's cheeks "Dad is already here!" Satoru said, opening his arms for Takeru to hug him.
Which that little boy did, he carefully got up from where he was lying and hugged his father.
"Come on Takeru!, let's rest!" said Satoru giving a kiss on his son's forehead, who closed his eyes again.
"I love you daddy, but don't leave me alone again..." Takeru whispered half asleep.
"I love you too champion and sorry for being late, you know I will always see my way back to you" Gojo whispered with a smile as he stood up.
Takeru put his head on his father's shoulder to continue sleeping while Satoru carried him in his arms.
Yuta watched the whole scene and somehow, he longed to one day be able to hug his son like that.
"Thank you Gojo sensei for answering my questions, I think I know what I should do" replied Yuta with a slight smile.
"You're welcome! That's what your favorite teacher and family member is for!" he replied as he used his sweater to tuck his son in.
Satoru, before taking another step to leave the livin room, turned to Yuta
"I know that you and Maki will be good parents, I just hope that soon they will give us the news! he commented with a big smile from ear to ear, he was really excited about the idea of being an uncle.
"T-Thank you, that's- I hope…" Yuya stammered slightly as he brought his hand to the back of his neck.
"Oh, and one more thing!" Gojo kept talking looking at Yuta, now his face seemed more serious than usual.
"And assuming that you two have not spoken to each other all day, it is my duty to inform you that Maki will be on a very important but dangerous mission later today"
"Mission? What mission? And with this Typhoon?" Yuta stood up immediately. That really caught him off guard and he was worried that Maki was going to participate in something so dangerous.
"The mission is called 'Eye of the storm', you can ask Ijichi to pass you all the information. Ideally, you should also be there to take care of Maki" his voice was very serious.
"This mission will not be easy at all and more than that we will be fighting against curses born from the fear of nature, so practically the rain can play against us, as well as our emotions" commented Satoru looking at the window and seeing how the rain was pouring down under that darkness.
Yuta swallowed noisily when he heard that. His hands balled into fists, he was too worried.
"As I said, ideally you should also be on this mission. That's why I warn you at once that at 7 a.m. we will leave for downtown Tokyo, so go and get some rest, in a few hours a very wet mission awaits us" said Gojo taking a few steps towards the exit to go to the dormitories.
Yuta took a deep breath, that sounded like good advice from Satoru. He had to protect Maki and his baby at any cost, even if it meant that she would be angry with his presence.
But things would take an unexpected turn.
Maki would never make it to the mission and a phone call would make Yuta move in that rain against the clock.
Coming soon...
"Maki never came! And we don't know where he is!" shouted Megumi all worried.
The rain was soaking them both. The typhoon had made landfall much earlier than expected and the water was beginning to rise rapidly there. They had to leave the area.
Yuta's cell phone vibrated in despair.
"Mr. Okkotsu" commented a woman's voice on the other end of the phone.
"Yes, Who is?" he asked, a little frightened. He had a bad feeling.
"I'm talking about the hospital, it's about your wife...
🌊To be continue...
Notes
Here Vera with this chapter that may have made more than one of us despair, cry, get angry or even want to throw the phone or crash the computer.
I hope you liked this long chapter, I apologize if at some point it bored you, but I really didn't want to divide it into two parts.
How are you liking this fic?
Well, the next chapter may already be the penultimate or perhaps the last of the summer, this to start the autumn. My favorite season ❤️
I must admit that summer has always been a very turbulent season for me with too many ups and downs as Maki has had in this first quarter.
But don't worry, in the fall things will change and little by little things will start to improve.
So tell me, are you excited for Shibuya yet? I'm not really ready to see it animated. Still, I'm going to enjoy it.
Well, we'll keep reading ❤️
Pd: if you are going to offend me, please do it by private message to my Twiter Vera1794