From: Ardith Okay! Part 11. A New Era: Part 11 -- Peace "Aoshi...sama," Misao whispered, clutching her belly. She felt the warm liquid pour from between her thighs. The baby... She felt pain rip through her again. "Misao, what-" Blood and water was pooling at her feet. He felt his heart stop. "The baby." She smiled gamely at him. "I'll go get Megumi," Yahiko yelled, running through the rain. Aoshi couldn't hear him for the roaring in his ears. The baby was early. "Aoshi, Misao-" Kaoru took one look at the pair and the water on the floor and knew the situation. "I'll get the futon ready." She rushed to the room that they had been using and swiftly prepared the bedding for Misao. As Aoshi set down his precious burden, she lit lamps so that Megumi could work. "She's early," Aoshi said starkly. "The baby... Misao is early. What if..." "She will be fine," Kaoru murmured. "Misao-oneechan?" a sleepy voice said from the doorway. Shin-chan was awake. "Are you okay?" "Aoshi. I have to check on the other children. Will you..." At Aoshi's nod, she walked swiftly out of the room. Shinnosuke went up to the futon where Misao lay panting. "Is she hurt?" he asked Aoshi. The man kneeled down to be nearer to his wife. He looked at Shinnosuke's face and recognized the need for assurance. He gently pushed the hair away from Shin-chan's face and nodded. "You know that she has a baby inside her. It's just time for the baby to come out." "Oh." He scooted nearer to Misao. She smiled up at his serious face, his thumb inside his mouth. "I hope that he comes out soon. So he can play with us." "So do I," Misao said dryly. The pains were harsher than anyone told her. Much sharper. She closed her eyes so that she could control the pain better. She did not want to worry Aoshi. "Can Shin-chan help?" he asked gravely. Aoshi nodded just as gravely. "Shin-chan can go help Kaoru watch the babies," he replied. Shinnosuke nodded again and left to help Kaoru. "I'm all right, Aoshi-sama. It was just time." "Nothing feels wrong?" "Other than this awful pain? No. Nothing at all." She regretted her statement when she saw the fear in Aoshi's eyes. He had been so careful with her since she was so sick. Feeling the rising crest of pain beginning, Misao grabbed his hand and put it on her belly. "Aoshi-sama. Our baby is trying to get out. Do you feel him? It's time. I'm not afraid." "I am." He could feel her muscles tightening beneath his hand. His child's life. It was hard to imagine, hard to get used to. Misao...the little girl he had loved so much was bringing their child into the world. "You can't be scared, Aoshi-sama. Everything is going to be okay," Misao said, smiling sunnily at him. "I can be scared when you are going through so much pain. I... It hurts, doesn't it Misao-chan?" He traced her cheek gently with the tip of his finger. "I wish it wasn't hurting you so much." "I'll probably be blaming you for it soon, just wait," she joked. When he flinched, Misao cupped his face and looked into his eyes. "Aoshi... you'll see." "Misao. You were always a fast learner," Megumi said as she entered the room. "You had to do this ahead of schedule." "Megumi-san." She smiled at the young doctor. Megumi quickly examined her patient. "You are really ahead of schedule. Looks like you are going to be lucky with this one, Misao-chan. Looks like a fast birth." Megumi looked at Aoshi and sighed. "You don't want to leave the room, do you?" At his refusal, she smiled. "I would expect no less from you." ***** Yahiko and Tsubame stood in the dark watching the rain fall. They were in charge of watching the children while the adults took care of the Misao and the baby. It was going to be a long night. "Tsubame?" "Hm?" "Do you miss your family?" "My family? Sometimes. But I send them money when I can." She remembered working. Her family had been indebted to work for one family for generations. They were all free now, but it took time to find their bearings again. "They are happy for me, though. Some of my other brothers and sisters are working around the city now. But... once we left home, we are mostly on our own." "It's hard to believe Misao is having a baby. She always seemed like a kid to me." "It seems to me that you think that about a lot of the girls in your life," she said sharply. "Huh?" "Oh, nevermind. I'm going to check on the kids." "No." Yahiko grabbed her hand and held her fast. "What do you mean?" "I mean that you thought Kaoru was young to be marrying Kenshin. You though Misao was young to love Aoshi, to marry Aoshi...." She stopped, not wanting to say anything else to ruin things between them. Yahiko wasn't that dense. He filled in the blanks. "I thought that you were too young... But Tsubame-" "I said, nevermind." "I said wait!" He pulled her close to him. "You think I look at you like a child?" No way. If she knew what he thought sometimes, she would not want anything to do with him. "It's pretty obvious. I'm like a sister to you. A good friend-" Yahiko kissed her, pressing his lips to hers to stop the flow of words. She sighed and pulled him closer. It was awkward, the first touching of lips. My first kiss, Tsubame thought. She tried something that Tae, Megumi and Kaoru talked about when they thought she wasn't listening, deepening the kiss with novice brilliance. They slowly pulled away from each other, as if not wanting to ruin the moment by moving too quickly. By saying anything. They were so close that they breathe the same air, warmed each other with their body heat. "I don't think of you as a child, but you are. And I am, too," Yahiko said, his voice harsh. "You mean a lot to me, Tsubame." "Yahiko." She brushed the hair from in front of his eyes. It was a habit that drove him crazy, making him want to grab her hand. Tonight, he gave into the instinct, holding her hand to his face instead. "I've loved you since you came into my life." "You feel it, Tsubame? You feel it, too?" "You are so stupid! I've been waiting for you to say something." "We are too young." "Age is just a number." "Why do girls keep saying that! We have to grow up, Tsubame. I'm willing to wait." "I'm holding you to that." Tsubame kissed him once more and then turned away. "I'm going to sleep now. With the children." He watched as she stalked off into the dark. "Tsubame... I love it when you call me stupid," he said, smiling besottedly into the dark. ***** "It's a boy." Misao sighed in relief as the pressure and the pain stopped. She vaguely could hear Megumi's proclamation. "Aoshi-sama?" "Misao," he whispered from behind her. He cradled her from behind, supporting her during the strains of birth. "He's beautiful. Like you." "Amashi." She smiled through the tears in her eyes. "Amashi. After you, Aoshi-sama. And after the rain of tonight." She felt him kiss her temple, the hands that were supporting her were shaking. Megumi put the baby in her arms, she looked down and smiled. "You're wrong. He looks like you." The baby started nuzzling at her breast. She quickly offered it to him, gasping at the sensation of his rooting. "He's hungry, like you, Misao," Aoshi teased with a raspy voice. Megumi left the young family alone. They needed time to get to know each other. Aoshi gathered his family close to him and whispered, "I love you, Misao-chan." The little girl who followed him around was long gone. She had been a beloved little sister. He had fallen in love with her all over again when she was sixteen and tried so hard to charm him out of his moods. And he didn't feel very brotherly. He tried to leave her alone, for her sake, but she kept on barging in, knocking at his heart until he couldn't resist anymore. He loved her more every day. "I love you, too." The baby in her arms began to fuss and she smiled, filled with peace. Everything was right. "Misao..." he hesitated as he watched his wife begin to feed their son. "When I'm well enough, we should go back to Kyoto. Everyone is waiting for us. Aoshi...I told you everything would be okay." Aoshi sighed and watched his wife feed their son. Everything was right. ____________________________________ ardith@ucla.edu http://www.webslacker.com/ardith/ --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- Was the salesman clueless? Productopia has the answers. Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------