Notes:
In the end I decided to split this chapter into two parts because it was definitely going to be super long. And yet this chapter is still very long in content.
Anyway, I must say that this chapter and the next one will be an up and down of emotions, because as the description of this fic says, motherhood and pregnancies are not rosy. And much less for someone as stubborn as Maki.
And I admit it, I love writing dramas like this and I know that maybe some of you may feel a thousand emotions while reading this chapter.
Don't worry, everything will be fine, I promise.
Anyway, I hope you like it ❤️
An apology if there are any mistakes, I am translating it before leaving town
13. In The Middle Of The Storm (Part.1)
🌊 Summer 🌊
"Sometimes our mistakes become a storm that we must resist in order to survive it."
July 6th.
08:03 a.m.
Shinjuku.
The rain was falling heavily. The sky was completely dark. The streets were empty due to the typhoon warning that had been issued by the authorities during the afternoon of the previous day. So most of the population was supposed to be taking shelter.
But not all people were at home at that time. For the sorcerer's craft, even in natural disasters they could not rest.
The "Eye of the Storm" mission had begun and the few sorcerers available at the time were gathered under the tent that served as headquarters, which had been improvised in one of the main streets of Tokyo.
Among the sorcerers present there were Nobara, Megumi, Itadori, Toge, Panda and Okkotsu.
Yuta looked around, but there was still no sign of his wife at that meeting point.
"Maki, Where will you be?" Yuta asked himself mentally. He was too worried about her.
A voice began to give them instructions.
"Thank you very much for coming today!" said Ijichi through the megaphone. His voice was barely audible due to the rain falling and hitting the tent.
"I know this mission will be complicated, so we must do our best to finish it soon, as the typhoon will be making landfall in the next few hours" He continued, "Once you finish your assigned mission, you can go home!"
Ijichi lightly wiped his glasses, which were fogging up from the humidity.
"Some of the students will be accompanying some of you to make all this work faster, so we will have to support each other" said Ijichi while holding his tablet with his left hand and with his right hand he held the megaphone.
"As you were informed yesterday, your working points have already been assigned to you according to your degree in sorcery! If you have any doubts about which point in the city you are assigned to, you can come to me and I will tell you one more time!"
"Well, before you go, I must give you some recommendations about the cases in which you should suspend the mission and evacuate immediately!"
"If you notice that the curse or curses you are fighting against are getting stronger and stronger because of the storm and you feel that you will not be able to defeat them, it would be best to desert the mission and flee from there! Curses born of nature become more dangerous when they are exposed to the elements from which they were born!"
He went on to explain as he read the objective of that mission.
"This is the main reason why it was decided to do this mission before the typhoon makes landfall, in order to eliminate as many curses born from the fear of this natural phenomenon " he looked at the sorcerers.
"Civil Protection along with some paramedics and firefighters who know us, will be supporting us throughout this mission, they will be in charge of opening the way through the streets in case we need it, as well as providing assistance in case of injury" Ijichi cleared his throat to continue speaking through that megaphone.
"And the main recommendation from them is that if in the area where they are, they notice that the water begins to rise too much, they should abandon the mission and flee. The main thing is to get to safety. After the flooding subsides, we will return to the place to finish with the curse or curses" he looked quickly at his tablet.
"We will be working against the clock, we have been given a maximum of two hours to finish as many curses as possible. So if you have not finished by eleven o'clock in the morning, it would be best to abandon the mission until further notice. Since it is expected that by that time the typhoon will have already entered the city and it is known that it will come with strong winds that put us all in danger."
Ijichi sighed.
"And as a last recommendation, if you run into any civilians, the main thing is to try to get them out of the area and get them to safety. Try to guide them to civil protection. They will guide them to the shelters that are already prepared in several buildings in the city. And in case you have to leave the mission for any matter outside the academy. Please let me know or let one of your colleagues know."
Ijichi looked at those present.
"Do you have any doubts?"
He ask, but no one present raised their hand or said anything.
"Very well!. At 08:11 a.m. we initiate the mission "Eye of the storm"... good luck" he answered, adjusting his glasses.
08:03 a.m.
While that meeting was taking place.
On the other side was Maki, who could not get out of bed.
Again she was having a nightmare, in which, it seemed that all her most recent fears with her motherhood and the ghosts of her past were attacking her once more. They all had the same goal, to kill her baby.
"No! My baby!" cried Maki, waking up with a start.
Maki was trying to catch her breath.
"It was just..." she gasped, "It was a nightmare..." she sobbed and stroked her belly as she tried to calm down.
"It's all right now... it was just a bad dream..." she said to herself, breathing a sigh of relief as she leaned back on her pillows.
But that relief disappeared very quickly.
Suddenly, Maki felt a strange pain, it was a kind of cramp that ran through her whole body as if it were a current of electricity, but the pain was more acute in the area of her belly.
That pain made Maki lean forward a little, clenching her hands on the blankets.
"What was that? What's happening to me?" she wondered as she felt that strange and painful sensation quickly disappear. Even a shiver ran through her skin.
She froze for a minute, waiting to see if the pain would come back. But that pain did not return at that moment.
Maki caressed her belly and felt the agitated movement of her baby, it seemed that the little one was also restless just like her.
"You are also very restless in here…"
It was the first time she felt her baby move a little bit more than usual.
"Maybe we feel this way because of that stupid nightmare, but it's all right now, they can't hurt us" she wiped the sweat from her forehead and began to look around.
Maki listened as the rain beat against her window, the room was slightly illuminated by the dim light coming through the curtains.
In truth, she felt a little uneasy. She felt as if something wasn't right.
"What time is it?" she wondered as she reached for her cell phone.
As she ran her hands across the pillows, she looked at the empty space where Yuta slept. She really missed him, but it was still hard for her to admit it because of her pride.
Sigh "Maybe by finishing this mission, I can dial him to talk about all this..." She thought.
She quickly looked at the time on her cell phone, it was 08:12 a.m.
"FUCK! I'M LATE! THE MISSION HAS BEGUN!" she said in a hurry, throwing the covers off her and pulling her feet off the bed.
The moment she stood up, he felt her head spinning.
She felt her body begin to tingle again and in passing she felt as if all the sensations she perceived through her senses had sharpened to the point of making her dizzy. The worst would come seconds later, as again, a pain in her hips and in her belly afflicted her that even made her lean forward once more.
But again all those pains lasted seconds.
"What's happening to me?" she wondered in confusion as her hands clenched the sheets.
That feeling was too fleeting. Maki did not really understand what was happening to her.
She caught her breath. "Maybe it's all mental, maybe that nightmare made me really sick. Come on, Maki! You're running late! You must hurry!" she said to herself, getting back on her feet and rushing to the bathroom.
"I must hurry! How stupid of me! I set the alarm wrong! Agh!" she scolded herself as she quickly put on her clothes and combed her hair.
"It's already too late!"
She hurried to the kitchen to take her pre natal vitamins, which she took with a glass of water.
"Sorry my little bean, but today we are in too much of a hurry to make us breakfast!" she quickly took a juice from the refrigerator and grabbed some slices of bread, which she ate in too much of a hurry.
As she took one more step, she again felt that strange sensation of vertigo in her body and again felt her head spinning that she even had to hold on to her kitchen table.
"It must be the rushing that makes me feel dizzy" she said to herself.
Before leaving the kitchen space, she quickly grabbed an apple to eat on the way. She then rushed to the sofa to grab her purse.
She was thankful that bag was the only thing she had fixed since the day before. She stuffed her apple into her purse and ran to the entrance of her apartment.
Once standing in front of her door, she grabbed her boots and began to put them on in a hurry.
As she put on those shoes, she felt a little dizzy again. But Maki kept associating it with the rush and the nightmare. Big mistake.
She quickly grabbed her keys and prepared to leave her house.
"Good morning Okkotsu san!" greeted her neighbor, who was sweeping the entrance of her apartment. "Is everything all right?, Are you going out in this storm?" asked the worried woman.
Maki squeezed her eyes tightly shut when she heard her neighbor's voice. For a reason unknown to her, it seemed that she heard that voice too loudly, it was as if it had been shouted in her ear.
"Good morning Mrs. Kimura and yes... I... leave for an emergency..." She slurred the words. Even her mouth started to taste bitter, she began to feel too much like vomiting.
As she secured her apartment by locking it, Maki again felt everything spinning around, even felt again that strange sensation invading her belly, which even made her lean forward again.
Maki began to feel her breath catching. Everything was spinning and her vision began to blur.
Something was definitely wrong with her.
That wince of pain was noticed by her neighbor.
"Okkotsu san, Are you all right?" asked Mrs. Kimura with concern.
Maki took a step back, her hands were so loose that she even dropped her keys. She felt that all her senses were dazed, everything was spinning around her and that pain continued to afflict her.
"My baby..." said Maki with a voice full of pain, feeling how everything went dark.
"Baby? What baby? Are you all right?" the woman asked worriedly.
But Maki could take no more. The poor thing felt so bad that at that moment she fainted, falling sideways on the ground.
"Okkotsu san! Quickly, somebody help us!" shouted that lady, approaching very frightened to attend to Maki.
Mrs. Kimura opened her eyes wide when she saw how in that position, Maki's bulging belly could be seen.
"My girl, you're pregnant! Quick, someone help me!" she shouted even louder as she watched Maki sweat profusely and still unconscious she seemed to be moaning in pain.
Those screams attracted the attention of a neighbor who lived in the apartment next door to Mrs. Kimura. This girl was as young as Maki, but she was single and worked only part-time.
"What's going on?" she peeked out her door and worried about what she was seeing out there.
"What happened to Okkotsu san?" she asked very frightened as she came out of her apartment and approached them quickly.
"She fainted! The poor thing looked like she was writhing in pain! Besides, she is pregnant, we must do something fast, since she has a temperatura!" said Mrs. Kimura very worried, feeling Maki burning with fever.
"Pregnant? Oh my God, and with this typhoon, let's hope the emergency services are operating!" said the young woman as she ran to her apartment to grab her cell phone.
"Quick!, Call an ambulance!"
"Should I call directly to the emergencys or to a particular hospital?" asked the young woman with her cell phone in her hand. The poor was shaking with nerves.
Mrs. Kimura quickly checked Maki's bag, since she dropped it when she fainted, causing her things to fall out of it, including her cell phone, the apple, the pregnancy pendant and her boshi notebook.
She quickly checked that notebook, because she knew from experience that sometimes there must have been an emergency number or the number of a particular doctor with whom a pregnant woman was being treated.
"Dial this number! But hurry! Okkotsu san seems to be suffering too much even though he is unconscious," replied Mrs. Kimura, taking out of her notebook the business card that Shoko had given to Maki from her acquaintance who was also a doctor.
The girl quickly dialed that number.
"Hello! I need you to send an ambulance! We have one of your patients collapsed and she is pregnant!" said the young neighbor as the call was answered.
"You're going to be fine Okkotsu san, you and your baby are going to get through this!" Mrs. Kimura commented, holding her right hand.
These two women cared for Maki at all times, who was still unconscious and moaning in pain.
They tried to lower her temperature with some wet cloths and, above all, put some pressure on her forehead to stop the bleeding, since she had hit her head in the fall and had a small wound on her left side.
There were even moments when it seemed that Maki was trying to regain consciousness, but it was hard for her to open her eyes. The poor felt her body tingling strangely. Perhaps it was due to her celestial restriction in that situation.
Mrs. Kimura was touching Maki's belly at times, trying to make sure that the baby was okay.
Trying to feel the movements of that little one and watched for that little belly not to get hard or for Maki not to start bleeding or leaking fluid, as that could mean that she could be suffering a miscarriage.
The ambulance took about thirty minutes to arrive due to the storm, which had increased too much. The typhoon was already making landfall, and it looked like it would arrive much sooner than expected.
Although the way to the hospital was a bit bumpy due to the rain. It was almost miraculously possible to reach the place where Shoko's acquaintance worked.
They were up against the clock and also had to contact Yuta.
09:20 a.m.
"This was the last curse of this alley" commented Yuta, putting away his sword.
The rain was falling heavily. Yuta had managed to put an end to several first-degree curses that had formed outside the shopping mall that was closed due to the emergency.
At that moment, he was taking shelter under the small roof of a pharmacy next to the mall.
"Are we done here?" asked Rika.
That curse was also helping in that mission.
"Yes, we're done in this area. Good job Rika-chan!" Yuta smiled a little, while adjusting the hood of his raincoat.
"Although now I want us to go to the area that was Maki's turn" Yuta answered, wiping a little sweat from his forehead. Fighting in the rain was not easy.
"Yuta is worried about Maki and the baby?" asked Rika. She detected his concern.
Yuta sighed and put his hand on the head of that curse. "Yes, I'm worried about both of them, I just have a weird feeling and I want to make sure they're okay"
"Rika is going to protect Maki and that baby" that curse began to speak.
"Especially Rika is going to protect that baby, because that baby carries Yuta's blood! And Rika must protect everything that belongs to Yuta!"
The sorcerer smiled slightly, he still found it surprising that this curse would say such things even though it was already a shell "I know that when that baby is born, you will take good care of him or her and you will be a good guardian" he lightly caressed Rika's head.
That curse let out a small noise that seemed to be laughter. Although this Rika was no longer the original Rika, it seemed that she still kept some memories of the previous Rika Orimoto, even still retained her love for him.
In addition, this current Rika seemed to be more docile, especially since she served as both a storehouse of weapons and a reserve of energy for Yuta.
"Come on Rika!, we'd better go to the place where Maki, maybe she needs help!" he said, taking off his ring and putting it away to save his energy in case he had to use it once more.
09:35 a.m.
Yuta headed for the area Maki had been assigned to. Which was not too far from where he had been, so he rushed there in a matter of minutes.
His wife had been assigned a street near a train station.
But upon arrival, Yuta was in for a surprise, as the scene was somewhat sinister in the rain.
There were several paramedics attending to three students, who were injured but out of danger. There was a lot of blood on the ground, which was being washed away by the water current.
And scattered along that street were the remains of a curse that had apparently been in the form of a worm.
Next to the students, who were being cared for under the roof of a store. There was Megumi, who fortunately had come to save those kids and next to him was an assistant.
"Fushiguro Kun!" Yuta ran towards them, he was worried about what he was witnessing.
"Okkotsu senpai!" replied, surprised to see the man there.
"What happened here? What's the situation?" asked Yuta, catching his breath.
"It just so happens that these students were fighting this curse that turned out to be of semi-special category!" Megumi began to explain and began to raise his voice a little as the rain began to fall with more intensity and the wind currents began to crash against things.
"The poor guys were hurt pretty badly, but they managed to weaken the curse! If it hadn't arrived in time, they might have died! And they were even more unattended! They were supposed to be in charge of Maki! But she never arrived! And we don't know where she is!" he said with a tone of being quite worried about his relative.
"What? What do you mean, she never arrived?" Yuta shouted, he was too worried.
"No one has seen her, let alone answered her phone! The assistants have not been able to reach her, nor have the students been able to contact her, which is why they started the mission without a tutor!" explained Megumi.
"And the situation here is only getting worse, the typhoon arrived much earlier than we thought!" said Megumi observing how the rain was falling with much more intensity than before and he noticed how the water began to rise in that street.
The paramedics began to load these students into the ambulance. That area was already at risk. So they had to get out of there before the water rose any higher.
"Where can she be?!" Yuta was frustrated.
But it seemed that his question was going to be answered in that instant.
Yuta's cell phone vibrated in desperation. He didn't know the number, but a feeling told him he should answer it.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Okkotsu?" commented a woman's voice on the other end of the cellphone.
"Yes, Who is?" he asked a bit worried.
"I introduce myself, I am Dr. Azumi Satō, I speak from Tokyo Medical and Maternal Hospital, I speak because it is about your wife Maki Okkotsu!" said that female voice.
His voice rose in a cry of concern "HOSPITAL? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY WIFE? IS SHE OK?" he asked. Those words made even Megumi's blood run cold.
"Sir, I can inform you that your wife and baby have arrived of emergency. At the moment I cannot give you more details of their situation, but we need you to come as soon as possible" said the doctor over the loudspeaker.
"I'll be right there! I'll try to get there as soon as I can! I'm close to that hospital!" said Yuta all worried.
"All right, we will be waiting for you here. We'll be waiting for you here" commented the woman before ending the call.
Yuta's gaze was unfocused, his eyes watered, even his hand went to his mouth as he felt short of breath.
He was in a state of shock at the news he had received. What if something bad had happened to Maki and his son? Had they suffered an accident on the way to the mission? Thousands of questions began to bombard him.
"What about Maki san? Where is she?" asked Megumi all worried, holding Okkotsu by the shoulders to bring him out of his trance.
"Maki was hospitalized of emergency! I didn't get any more details! She's in Tokyo Medical and Maternal Hospital!"
"But why is he in that hospital? What happened to her?" asked Megumi in despair.
Yuta tried to speak. He didn't know if he should tell Megumi what was going on and more that he felt he would be breaking his promise to Maki even more.
"It's that she's pregn..." His lips tightened again. His hands became fists. He couldn't even complete that word because of the feeling of guilt he carried because maybe all that was happening because he had broken his initial promise and he felt more guilt for not being close to her.
"I know, Maki is pregnant!" shouted Megumi, pulling Yuta out of his trance.
"How did you know?" asked Yuta with confusion.
"Maki revealed it to me recently! Although I've suspected it for a long time..." he lied on that last point
"But there's no time to talk about this! You must go to her! I'll let the academy know that you had to leave because of a family emergency! I'll also let the academy know that Maki didn't show up because she had a health emergency!"
"Thank you Fushiguro!, I owe you one!" Yuta said, gathering his strength to get out of there.
"You're welcome and there's no time! You must go with Maki!" said Megumi also with concern.
Yuta quickly spoke to the assistant who had arrived with Megumi, to take him to the hospital where Maki was hospitalized.
The assistant obeyed the order and both boarded the car, which was parked a few blocks away. With luck they would be at the hospital in less than 10 minutes and the strong winds also began to wreak havoc on the road.
By 10 a.m. the typhoon had already entered Tokyo. And its fury was not long in coming.
10:17 a.m.
Yuta got out of the car in a hurry. He didn't mind being drenched by the heavy rain in an emergency.
He almost slipped on the floor because he was soaking wet. And so he forcefully pushed open that glass door and walked straight into the hospital reception.
"I'm sorry sir, we are closed for the moment!" said the receptionist, getting up from her seat behind the large desk.
"I have just been informed that my wife has been admitted here as an emergency! A doctor from this hospital has just contacted me!" commented Yuta, very agitated and with his clothes all soaked. Water was dripping from him and wetting the floor.
"Do you remember the doctor's name?"
"I don't remember very well! I think her name was Azami! Please, I need to see my wife!" he begged.
"What is your wife's name?" asked the woman.
"Okkotsu Maki!"
The receptionist reviewed the list of those patients who came in as emergencies.
"His wife is in the emergency section of Gynecology, that is on floor two" said the woman looking at her monitor.
"Thank you very much!" Yuta ran to the elevator.
"Careful!, and stop wetting the floor!" the woman shouted with a grimace, before marking the quartermasters.
While on that second floor.
Maki seemed to be trapped once again in a nightmare. Her breathing was agitated, she was sweating too much.
"No! Let go of me!" she shouted, opening her eyes and feeling that this time she had actually take someone.
"Okkotsu san, can you hear me?" asked a female voice, "and by the way, do you think you could please let me go? I won't hurt you, I'm just checking your forehead"
"Where am I?" Maki tried to focus her eyes on the person standing next to her.
"You are in the hospital" answered the woman, "You are in good hands, your neighbors called my personal number and I was the one who sent the ambulance"
"HOSPITAL? WHAT HAPPENED TO ME? WHAT ABOUT MY BABY? HOW IS MY BABY?" asked Maki, all scared.
"Please stay calm and do you think it would be possible for you to let go of my wrist so I can explain what is happening?" she pleaded "You have a very strong grip and you are hurting me" said the woman.
Maki began to visualize the doctor who was treating her.
That woman looked the same age as Shoko, plus she had slightly wavy black hair held in a half ponytail and a very thin face.
She was wearing a pink medical philipina. She also had a pair of glasses.
"Who are you?" Maki asked in fright as she let go of the woman, whom she had grabbed by the wrist.
Then she tried to sit up, but immediately her body tensed up "My whole body hurts..." She let out a grunt as she lay down again "My head hurts too..."
The doctor took a cotton with some solution to clean the wound on her head.
"Yes, you did get a strong blow here, but fortunately it doesn't require stitches. And with my reverse curse technique I will close it right away" said the doctor.
"Reverse curse technique?" asked Maki, confused that a doctor would know that term from the world of witchcraft.
"Maki!" Yuta's voice was heard coming from the medical room once he got out of the elevator.
"I'm looking for Maki Okkotsu, I'm her husband, I was told she was here!" said Yuta approaching some nurses who were at the reception of that floor.
"She is in that private medical office, the Dr. Satō is attending her" she pointed to a private room.
"Thank you!"
Yuta crossed that threshold and looked at Maki who was on that stretcher. His eyes opened wide at the sight of his wife's head wound.
"Maki! What happened to you? How are you feeling?" he asked, approaching quickly.
Maki took his hand, but she was still shaking.
"Yuta... can you lower the volume of your screams?... my head hurts too much" she complained putting her other hand on her forehead. "Everything hurts... and the truth is, I don't remember much at this momento" she commented worriedly.
"Everything will be all right!" Yuta stroked her cheek without letting go of her hand.
"Are you her husband?" commented the doctor looking at those two, "You are both sorcerers, right?" asked the doctor curiously.
She closed the door and then went over to turn on the small ultrasound monitor next to the table.
"Yes, I am her husband! Are you the doctor who contacted me?" Yuta asked, looking at the woman but without letting go of Maki's hand. "What happened to my wife? How is our baby?" he asked worriedly.
"And by the way, who the hell are you? And how do you know that we are sorcerers?" asked Maki in a bad way.
"I introduce myself, I am the doctor and obstetrician gynecologist Azumi Satō and you don't have to worry, I am also a sorceress and by the way I am certified by the Jujutsu headquarters to attend other sorcerers and to register the births of our small society. Besides, I am a friend of Ieiri san" She explain. "Only to her I give permission to pass my number to other sorcerers"
Yuta and Maki looked at each other for a moment at that explanation.
"I promise you, you are in good hands. But before I check you completely, I must ask you a few quick questions to find the cause of everything that is happening to you and give you a diagnosis, okay?" asked the doctor taking her tablet to enter the data.
Maki just nodded her head yes.
"First, how are you feeling right now?" asked the doctor.
"A little confused... and my whole body hurts"
"What other symptoms did you have before you came here?" The doctor looked at her.
"In addition to the pain, I feel as if an electric current is running through my whole body. I have felt a lot of chills, I have also been sweating a lot and I feel like I have had some fever..." Maki leaned back on her elbows for a moment to look at the doctor.
"But above all, I remember that since I woke up, I have had some pains in the belly area, I can liken them to the pain of colic, plus I felt that everything was spinning and my nauseas became more intense..." commented Maki leaning slightly on the pillow.
"Why didn't you call me if you were feeling this bad?" asked Yuta, all worried.
"Why I still didn't want to see you, you idiot. I'm still a little upset with you!" Maki replied with a grimace and looking away.
Yuta only sighed at such an answer. Even the doctor could feel that tension even though they were both still holding hands.
"Did you suffer from any situation that triggered a lot of anxiety or stress? Do you still go on missions even in your condition?" the doctor asked, looking at her patient's belly.
"While you answer my questions, I am going to check you physically. Your neighbor told me that you fainted and fell to the ground abruptly. I am going to lift your shirt to check your abdomen, okay?" commented the doctor next to Maki.
"All right" answered the sorceress, giving permission for the doctor to touch her and lift her blouse up to her breasts to check her belly.
"Fortunately, there is no superficial bruising and it doesn't feel hard" explained the doctor, palpating that belly without being too rough.
Maki sighed a little while answering those questions. "Yes, I went through some stress due to some missions I had these days. And yes, I admit it, I have continued to fight in my condition"
The doctor wrote all this down on her tablet.
"All right, now let's move on to check on your baby, but before we proceed I need to ask you a few more questions to open the medical record"
Maki let out the air in annoyance at that, but she still wouldn't let go of her husband's hand and her other hand was caressing her belly.
"How old are you?"
"19 years old..." answered Maki with some embarrassment.
The change in Maki's tone of voice and the slight blush on her face was noticed by the doctor. She assumed that because of her age they would tell her something.
"And the age of the baby's father is?" Azami ask, looking at Yuta.
"20 years old" answered Yuta without leaving Maki's side.
"And tell me Okkotsu san, is this your first pregnancy?" the doctor asked, writing on the tablet.
"And yes, I'm going to be mother very young!" she answered with annoyance for those questions, Maki felt judged "So basically I'm new at this mothering thing! But, Can we hurry up?" she asked worriedly, "I can hardly feel my baby moving!"
Those words worried Yuta too much, who swallowed saliva and squeezed Maki's hand with fear.
"That is what we are going to see right now Okkotsu san, I am going to check your baby by the ultrasound, so with your permission and sorry if you feel a little cold" commented the doctor, proceeding to apply that gel that gave Maki the shivers.
"May I call you by your name? Or do you feel more comfortable if I keep calling you Okkotsu san?" asked the doctor as she placed the transducer on the maki's belly.
"For my name it's fine..." she commented, settling down on the stretcher.
"Very good, Maki San, and tell me, how many weeks pregnant are you?" asked the doctor, starting to move the transducer in her belly, looking for the baby on the black and gray screen.
"Approximately fifteen weeks" replied Maki fearfully as she looked at the image.
Both Maki and Yuta looked at the monitor in fear, as they could see the baby but no movement was detected and at first no heartbeat could be heard.
"Yes, from its size, it is a baby between 15 and 16 weeks old. But this side does not detect its movement" commented the doctor, still moving the transducer.
"Let's look at this side " The doctor continued to move the device over Maki's belly.
Both parents were holding their breath, they were too afraid because they didn't see that baby moving.
Maki squeezed Yuta's hand, Yuta did not let go of her and even kissed her forehead to try to reassure her. Maki's tears began to overflow. She was so afraid that her baby had died.
Yuta was in a cold sweat. She was also very afraid that something had happened to her baby and if that happened, she knew she would regret it forever.
The doctor kept moving that transducer, looking at that baby from a certain angle.
"The baby just moved!" said the doctor with relief when she noticed that the baby was still live, since he moved his feet and the heartbeat could be better detected from that angle.
"Don't worry, maybe your baby was asleep, that's why it was very quiet and didn't move too much. And It seems that the amniotic fluid helped to cushion the blow"
The sound of that heartbeat started coming out of that monitor. It was a strong heartbeat, somewhat fast and with a rhythm.
Both Maki and Yuta sighed with relief. Even the tears of both overflowed.
"It seems that your baby is fine for the moment, however, I need to do more tests. That you are having these pains and symptoms is not normal"
"Doctor, What do you think is happening to me?" asked Maki worried.
The doctor wiped the gel from her belly. Her face looked serious at such a question.
"I'm not sure yet, but I feel that maybe what is happening to you must be something related to your condition as a sorceress, so I need to ask you some more questions. Maybe this way you can give me more clues about what could be happening to your body" commented the doctor looking seriously at those two.
Maki and Yuta looked at each other. Both were still holding hands.
"That's fine. Go ahead and ask us" Yuta replied with concern.
"Well, starting with you," She stare at Yuta.
"You are Yuta Okkotsu, aren't you? The rumors I have heard about you are that you have too much cursed energy, besides your technique is very peculiar but at the same time it is very powerful, isn't it?" said the doctor looking at them seriously.
"That's right" said Yuta, "I possess more cursed energy than Gojo Satoru, who is my distant relative"
"You are a descendant of Sugawara no michizane, interesting" Azami noted on her tablet.
"And you, Maki san, do you come from a clan of sorcerers? Or are you the first sorceress in your family?" she asked.
Maki swallowed saliva as her hand caressed her belly.
"Yes, I also come from a clan... more specifically I am a member of the main line of the former Zenin clan. My maiden name was Maki Zenin" She replied with some annoyance at remembering her cursed family.
The doctor wrote that down on her tablet. Her face seemed to show a mixture of surprise and concern, and Maki noticed that.
"Why did you make that face? What's happening to me is because of my damned clan?" Maki ask with annoyance.
"Doctor, is there something wrong with that?" asked Yuta, also worried.
The doctor looked at them serenely.
"I'm not quite sure yet, but the case of the two of you is somewhat interesting and more so if you come from the former great Zenin Clan and your husband is a descendant of Sugawara, it is likely that your baby has a very strong genetic load that will make him a sorcerer with great potential in the future. That is just a hypothesis. And more supposing that your Maki san, you also possess cursed energy to support this pregnancy, right?" commented the doctor writing on the tablet.
That last made Maki too uncomfortable. A noise came from her throat.
"Emmmm I..." She sighed a little before telling the truth "I don't actually have cursed energy... nor do I possess a technique... I was actually born with a celestial restriction, which endowed me with great strength and physical prowess and the day my twin sister died... well I..." She took a breath while her hand was still on her belly and swallowed saliva to undo the lump in her throat.
"Love..." whispered Yuta as he wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Maki looked at him and just nodded her head as she continued talking.
"And since the day my twin sister died, that day apparently my restriction was strengthened to the degree that I can feel and see curses with my other senses, which are more acute than those of a normal person... so in other words I am a physically gifted person but without a drop of cursed energy, unlike my husband, who is a person with an exorbitant amount of cursed energy..." she explained.
The doctor stopped typing and stared at that mother once she heard all that. Her face looked too serious, she seemed to be processing all that information.
"Doctor, is something wrong?" asked Yuta with concern.
She took a deep breath and let the air out little by little "It's just that I find your case very interesting, but at the same time a little worrying..."
"Why?, Will something happen to my baby because of my condition?" asked Maki, a bit frightened.
"This is just a little guess of mine, but if that baby has more of your husband's genetic load than yours, we don't know if your body is acting defensively against your baby, especially since we have almost no information about how celestial restrictions act or what causes them, much less do we know what can happen in the bodies of women who suffer from it."
Azami continued explaining seriously
"So we must be watching you more closely and more than what you have told me, it seems that all your symptoms were aggravated due to your baby's energy and by the way, maybe the stress you have suffered in the last days could have activated that defense mechanism in you... in other words, it could be that your restriction is acting against your baby or against something else as a defense mechanism" commented the doctor looking at both parents.
Yuta felt as if a bucket of cold water had fallen on his body. The news had left him in shock. His baby was in danger and so was his wife's life.
Maki felt her world come crashing down on her with those words
This one just clutched her shirt tightly to her belly.
Was letting that baby live a good idea?
Maki wondered at the mere possibility that her body might be attacking her baby instead of protecting it.
Even the sensation of her nightmare seemed to feel so real. Were her dreams trying to warn you about your condition?
Yuta approached her, as she began to cry silently.
"Maki..." whispered Yuta but she was in shock.
Yuta hugged her, while Maki only cried more in his arms. This medical assumption hurt her. She stifled a cry into her husband's chest.
The doctor sighed when she saw that scene.
"Tonight and while the typhoon passes, you will be hospitalized here. We will move you to a room so we can monitor you closely, above all we must be prepared for any situation that happens in the following hours and more if the pains you present intensify" she looked at the couple and continued speaking seriously.
"Although all these ailments that are afflicting you could also be due to stress and exhaustion that you have accumulated due to your missions and to check which of the two options it is, I will keep you under observation and I will do some blood and urine tests, plus we will keep your baby with 24/7 monitoring" She said writing something on her tablet, "We must find out if it is really your restriction or some other medical cause that is causing all this."
"Don't worry about the expenses, the academy covers half of them in these cases. I will also communicate with Shoko so that she is aware of the situatio," Dr. Azami looked at Yuta.
"It would also be a good idea for you Okkotsu kun to take a bath so you don't get sick. I will get you some dry clothes. I will tell the nurses to prepare a room for you. I will stay with you until we find out what is happening to you," said Dr. Azumi in a slight bow, "I will do everything in my power to keep you and your baby safe" she stood up and took a few steps back.
"With your permission, I will go and arrange her admission and have her transferred to her room" she withdrew.
Maki kept hugging Yuta as she continued to cry inconsolably.
"Everything will be fine... I trust it will be" whispered Yuta, also shedding some tears for that situation while he kept hugging Maki.
That day seemed to be hell in the middle of the storm.
🌊To be continue...
Notes
I hope you liked this chapter and you don't want to kill me 😅.
The second part will be the end of the summer.
Anyway. Don't worry and just trust me, okay? because this all revolves around the saying "after the storm comes the calm" and I know that Maki will learn from her mistakes.
That's what summer is all about, learning from the mistakes we make in order to mature and reflect before the arrival of autumn.
Anyway, I wanted to comment that I wrote this chapter based on the question: What would happen if a woman with celestial restriction (Maki) had a baby with cursed energy?
This is because I always saw comments that said that a child of these two would be too powerful and I think he is right, but I feel that they never take into account the celestial restriction as a point to analyze. That's where I got the inspiration to write this, plus I always had the questions of what would happen in pregnancy, would this be a problem for a woman like Maki to have Okktosu's children?
Or is there really something else?
Anyway. You will find out the outcome of all this in the next part, which I may upload next week.
Also, I made the medical situation cold because before writing, I researched what medical care was like in Japan and from what I found it is too cold and sometimes even lousy for both residents and foreigners.
Anyway, we'll keep reading. Trust me, everything is going to get better ❤️
Pd: if you are going to offend me, please do it by private message to my Twiter Vera1794