BLISS part 6 by Mike Loader and Lara Bartram Time seemed to fly by. At the point in time Akane's hair could be tied into a ponytail that reached her shoulder blades, she was most definitely showing. In fact, she thought she couldn't get any bigger. "I feel like I just swallowed a coconut whole," she groaned. There wasn't any real discomfort other than the fact that her stomach was practically its own entity. "NO, Akane. Whatever it was, it's much bigger than a coconut," Ukyo answered and grinned at her. Akane stuck her tongue out at him. "Hey there, missy, I dare you to do that to my face," Ukyo drawled, raising his eyebrows at her. "To your face? Don't tempt me. I might not stop there if I do." "Is that a promise?" Ukyo took two steps forward, putting himself within arm's reach of Akane. "Maybe. Depends." Ukyo took another step. "On what?" Akane beckoned him forward with one finger, to which he complied. "Stuff," she answered, slipping her arms around him. "You're a tease," Ukyo whispered and kissed Akane. "But it's worth it, isn't it?" she asked after they broke the kiss, smiling. Shrugging, Ukyo refused to answer, simply looking at her with his hands on her hips. Akane's eyes opened wide. "What the..." "What's wrong, Akane?" Ukyo asked worriedly. "What's..." "I felt it. I felt the baby kick." Akane's eyes were huge, amazed. "I felt the baby." Ukyo swept her up in his arms. "That's great!" "Right, now stop that before I throw up." *** Akane was on skin patrol, what she preferred to call the duty of skinning the hides of whatever beasts that happened to be needing it. Whistling as she removed the hide, Akane entered her own little world of daydreams. She wasn't aware when her whistling shifted to humming, still absorbed with the work she was doing. [... my need for two hearts that bleed with burning love...] "What's that you're singing, Akane?" Akane startled and turned, glaring at Ukyo. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" Ukyo backed away, grinning. Akane looked like a homicidal maniac with the blade in hand and blood staining her. "I just wanted to know what you were singing." "I was singing?" "Yes. I was curious a to what it was." Akane thought about it, but could only shrug. "I don't really know. I didn't even know I _was_ singing." "In English no less. It was very nice." He smiled pleasantly at her. "Thanks." Ukyo stood for another moment, but Akane wasn't really paying attention to him, so he went about his business. In English? How strange. Akane couldn't even recall any English words, let alone sing a song in English. She winced as the baby kicked especially hard, then went back to skinning the corpse. *** "Damn this kid is feisty. Feels like it's about to bust out through my gut." Akane sat down with her hand on her stomach, grimacing. The baby had waited approximately two weeks before it decided that breaking ribs was something it wanted to do as a hobby. Akane was none too pleased. "I'm not sure what to do. We don't really have anything for pain. Unless you want some more wine, but I don't think that's a good idea." "I don't either. I just am wishing right now I could hand this off to you. Bleah." Akane laid back and closed her eyes. "I don't know if it will help, but here." Ukyo offered the ashen powder and a smooth hide he used to write things down. "Maybe it will take your mind off things." "No, I can't draw or anything. It'd just be a waste of a hide." Akane tried to give the materials back, but Ukyo refused to take them. "Akane, it's not a waste. And how do you know you can't draw? Just give it a try." Shaking her head and sighing, she was going to refuse anyway, but Ukyo's gentle smile convinced her. "I'll give it a try." She doodled. There had been a couple vain attempts at drawing the interior of the house, Ukyo, a tree, birds... Failures. Bad ones. So Akane found herself simply doodling, drawing intricate patterns with no real rhyme or reason on the hide. It whittled away the time while she waited for the baby to be born. [...there is no doubt you're in my heart now...] Ukyo paused what he was doing, just long enough to hear Akane singing again. Not wanting to disturb her from it, he continued what he was doing, just listening. Her singing faded, slipping to just humming. And then that was cut short by a huge yawn. "I'm whipped, Ukyo. Think I'm going to sleep now." "I'll take care of the gate then. How's the kicking?" "Better. Guess the kid finally got tired." "Or just liked your singing." Akane gave a disgusted snarl. "I was doing that again? Tell me next time so I don't make an idiot of myself." "It was nice, and maybe that's why the baby stopped kicking." He looked back at Akane, only to see her with her eyes closed. "That's stupid," she mumbled. "How does the baby know I'm singing?" "I don't know..." *** "Sick again?" "Yeah, but not too bad. It'll only be another couple months anyway. I can handle it once or twice a week. Besides, it just makes that trip to the river that much better." Akane ran her hand down Ukyo's cheek then went out to the ladder. "Hey, I can take a hint when I see one," Ukyo called after her, gathering their primitive bathing items. "Shit!" Akane yelled. Ukyo hurried out and saw Akane at the base of the ladder, a look of pain on her face. "What happened!?" he asked, leaping off the walk and hurrying to help her. "I fell. What do you think?" she snapped. "I'm too damn fat to get down that damned ladder!" "Relax, Akane. Are you hurt?" Ukyo asked, voice remaining calm. "We'll deal with the ladder later." "I think I'm fine. My back's a little sore, but other than that..." "Good. Then I'll deal with the ladder. You just relax, take as long as you need." It seemed a little harsh just leaving her on the ground like that, but he couldn't realistically get her back up into the house. The ladder definitely wouldn't accommodate the two of them. "I think I've got an idea. It shouldn't take more than a few hours." IN those few hours, Akane managed to make it down to the river, her back protesting, gathered some fruit from the trees nearby, work on some weaving and a number of other random tasks. By the time she had finished everything she had set out to accomplish, Ukyo had finished. "What do you think? Looks good, doesn't it?" Ukyo asked, smiling at his project. Akane looked. "What is it?" "It's a ramp. Instead of the ladder. You can walk up it and don't have to climb." Ukyo sounded vaguely hurt. "It looks more dangerous than the ladder," was Akane's reply. "Nonsense!" Ukyo started to walk up the ramp. "It's perfectly safe." His foot hit a slick spot and slipped out from underneath him, sending him tumbling back down. "Sort of," he croaked. "You need help. Good thing I'm around." *** Ukyo looked up at the sky and knew they were in trouble. Never had he seen it turn green before. The stiff, cool breeze that blew smelled imminently of rain. He paced back and forth along the balcony, his eyes transfixed by the swirling green sky. This wasn't good. He cast one glance back at the house, inside where Akane was resting. How she hated to rest, forced to recline and do nothing, yet she knew it was something she had to do. Not to mention, Ukyo would physically force her to lie back down if she ever got too active. It was so soon. They had predicted as best they could the date the baby would arrive and that day was coming soon. That didn't mean their date was exactly right since they had, after that first time, attacked each other almost every day. They had no means of protection and the pregnancy was something they both had accepted as a risk they were willing to take. It had been only a matter of time, which brought them both back to the approaching moment. "Ukyo?" Akane called from inside. "I'll be right there," He answered, looking back at the sky. Bad things were in store for them, the sky was a frightening indicator of that. Shivering at the breeze, he went back inside, closing the door behind himself. "Is there something you need?" "Yeah," Akane grunted. "Help me sit up, first of all." She was in the hammock and struggling to rise. The thing was comfortable, but it was hell for a pregnant woman to get out of. Hurrying over to her, Ukyo took her hand pulled Akane into a sitting position. "Something else?" "Kind of. What's it like out there? I can here the wind..." Hear it? She could feel it, and she was very concerned that it would take the roof right off. Ukyo shook his head. "It doesn't look good. A storm it looks like. A bad one." Akane's face paled. "Do you think that it'll hit before..." "I don't know. I think the best thing to hope for is that it doesn't last very long. Maybe just a day. And that it doesn't blow away every we've worked to do up until now." Whatever happened, it wouldn't help at all when the baby arrived. Before the birth or after it, if it ripped up their house, blew down the palisade, where would they go? They couldn't have a baby living in a shelter and Ukyo couldn't build an entire house by himself while Akane was pregnant/recovering. "Don't worry, Ukyo-chan, we'll make it." Akane took his hand and smiled up at him. Ukyo squeezed her hand, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "I hope so, Akane-chan. I hope so." What little daylight there was faded into the darkness of night. The wind continued to blow, but no harder than before, leaving the roof in place, and only a few of the wild dogs came to investigate their compound. Even they were daunted by the imminent bad weather, and most of them stayed holed up in their caves in the mountain. It was when the rain started that Ukyo wished they had a cave to hide in. "Hungry?" he asked, putting another piece of wood on their small fire. Akane shook her head. "Not really. My stomach's kind of upset, actually." Making a tsking sound, Ukyo shook his head. "Well, you must eat. I'll see about putting together some of that stew." Akane nodded weakly, concentrating on not complaining about how crappy she felt. She feared that if she started, she'd never be able to stop. Her back ached, her feet hurt, she felt swollen, had to pee about once an hour and she just knew she looked like crap. "Be right back." Ukyo ducked out of the house and went down the ramp. He went first to the smokehouse, ignoring the sounds of the dogs outside the gate, and retrieved a flank of wild dog. The joke went that everything tasted like chicken, but the dog had a kind of gamey taste that went better in stew. It was the closest thing to beef they had. He retrieved some plantains from the storage shed, along with a few wild vegetables. It wasn't quite stew, but a chunky soup that worked just as well. If he had any real cooking ability, he would have devised some way to make noodles, but with the way their bread turned out... Back inside, Ukyo noted the look on Akane's face. She was not feeling well and he knew it, but there wasn't much he could do. Tossing one of those plants on the fire was completely out of the question with the baby... Devising a plan and saving it for after they had eaten, Ukyo went to work preparing food. Ukyo got the thick plantain stew heating then carefully got into the hammock with Akane. It would be a good 15 minutes before the food was heated up enough to eat. "So do you think it will be a boy or a girl," he said quietly, stroking Akane's hair. "I don't know," she replied, sighing deeply. "I just want this to be over. I want it to be healthy, but..." "But what?" he whispered, kissing the side of her head. Akane didn't answer for a moment and Ukyo knew there was something wrong. "I don't want my child to grow up on this island. I don't want him, or her, to have to watch us get old and die and not have anything they can do about it. I don't want..." She stopped as her breath caught in her throat and she held back a sob. "You won't have to, Akane-chan. You won't. Are you listening to me?" Ukyo held her closely, speaking softly as she tried to regain her control. "We _will_ get off of this island. One way or another. Eventually." Akane turned as best she could and kissed Ukyo, tear tracks on her cheeks. "I wish I could believe you, Ukyo. I want to, but I just don't think we ever will. "That scares me more than anything, to rot here and let my... our son or daughter do the same." Ukyo was caught speechless. Instead of continuing with false words of hope, he lay silently and held Akane. A while later, Ukyo stirred. "I should check if the food is done. You need to eat." There was no protest as he removed himself from the hammock and checked on the soup. It was slightly warmer than lukewarm, and that was enough. "I hope you're hungry." "I guess," Akane answered, feeling more like she wanted to throw up than eat. "I think eating a little something will make you feel better." Ukyo brought the bowl over and sat down on the edge of the hammock. "Here," he said, offering Akane a spoonful of soup. "You don't need to feed me. I can still do that myself," Akane protested. "Quiet. Eat." Ukyo held the spoon up and watched as Akane ate the spoonful of soup. Ukyo did not stop until the bowl was empty and Akane looked better than she did before. "I told you you would feel better after eating." "Don't gloat. I don't need it now," Akane warned, voice revealing fatigue. "Of course you don't," Ukyo replied as he set the empty bowl and spoon on the floor. "Here. Roll over a little." The two shifted until they were arranged more comfortably against each other. Ukyo then began to gently massage Akane's shoulders and neck. "This was one of the things that got us in this situation in the first place," Akane murmured, very much enjoying the attention Ukyo was paying to her sore muscles. "And now it's important to keep you as comfortable as possible. Just rest now." He reached around and released Akane's top. She sighed at the relief of pressure on her chest. "Ukyo, don't. Not now." "Don't concern yourself with it, Akane. You need your rest." "Just don't get any funny ideas." Ukyo didn't reply, continuing to give Akane a massage in silence. She was so close to sleep that he didn't want to disturb her any more than necessary. He listened to the first patterings of rain strike the house, the wind rising in strength. He didn't think the storm would be so considerate to give them relief when the baby arrived. Their wake up call in the morning left a lot to be desired. The home creaked ominously, but it was only, with a tremendous squeal, when the roof was yanked off and sent crashing into the tool shed that they realized they had a problem. A big one. Immediately Ukyo and Akane were awake, wind and rain whipping into the house and down on them. They struggled from the hammock, too shocked to even yell or scream over the rude awakening. For a moment the two scrambled around with any sort of direction. Akane was the first to calm down, but it wasn't because of any good reason. She sat roughly on the floor, rain pouring down on her. This was not good. Under normal circumstances it would simply be the most frightening moment in her life. Under current circumstances... "Ukyo," she said weakly. Ukyo finally took notice of her sitting on the floor, nearly naked, and he rushed to cover her with a soft hide vest. "Ukyo," Akane repeated, looking up at him with water dripping into her eyes. "What is it?" he almost had to yell to be heard over the wind. "I think it started." Ukyo stared at her for a moment. "What has?" Right away, Akane slapped him, rocking his head back. "It's started." Ukyo paled, the red mark on his face standing out. "Akane..." A gust of wind drove the rain horizontal for a moment, and the creaking of the house intensified. Both Ukyo and Akane looked around and grabbed each other's hands. They were just waiting for the entire thing to collapse around them. But the wind subsided and the house was still standing. Akane grimaced in pain. "Ukyo, it's really starting." He looked at her first, then at the house around them. "We can't stay here. We can't take the chance that... And we can't do this in the rain..." Ukyo grunted in pain as Akane squeezed his hand extra hard. "Ukyo..." "I don't know what to do!" he yelled, panicking. "We can't stay here!" As if to make his point, the wind gusted again. "We'll be lucky if the palisade stays up, let alone the house! Where are we supposed to go?" Ukyo continued to yell. "Damn it, I don't know!" Akane yelled back and flinched at the dull lance of discomfort that rippled through her. Ukyo panted, eyes moving from wall to wall. He might have suggested one of the sheds, but if the house collapsed, if the palisade collapsed, they would probably be damaged. Assuming they didn't blow away as well. There was the mountain, the caves, but giving birth amongst a pack of wild dogs... There was one other option he knew of. "Akane, the temple." Instantly she shook her head. "No, Ukyo. Not there. Not in that place." "It's the only place I can think of, Akane. Before this gets worse, we have to go! It's the only place!" How he wished that wasn't true. Akane closed her eyes, oblivious to the wind and rain for a time. It was the only way. Ukyo knew it. She knew it. "We'll need some sort of coverings, water..." Ukyo nodded and was instantly in action. He grabbed their three skins filled with water and slung them over his shoulder. Grabbing a mat and rolling it up, Ukyo also snagged a large, all- purpose skin. He shoved each of those, along with their trusty pocket knife into their satchel and put that over his shoulder. "Let's go, Akane," he said, helping her to her feet. "Will you be able to make it?" "I don't think we have much of a choice. Let's just go." She held on to his arm as they left their house. The ramp was slippery and they made their way down it slowly, Ukyo barely stopping himself from dragging Akane along. "Wait under the ramp while I open the gate," he commanded, expecting her to obey him. Not bothering with the usual care, he lifted and threw aside the half-trunk bar across their gate. For less than a second, he hoped the dogs had fled the weather, then opened the gate with a prayer on his lips. The only thing beyond the gate was jungle, dark, blowing in the strong winds, and wet. "Come on, it's safe!" Fighting back the pain and extreme discomfort, Akane followed as fast as she could, half-blinded by the wind and rain. "This isn't getting better, is it?" she asked, her voice just below the point of yelling. "I don't believe so. We have to hurry." Akane grumbled, "Like I don't know that." They headed northeast, looking to hit the ant trail, which they could then follow to the temple. Making their way to the trail was a journey in its own right. The wind was blowing branches and leaves and bushes all around, and rain was always in their faces. It was a battle to make it through the wild jungle, especially considering Akane's condition, but they somehow managed even though Ukyo had neglected to bring his stick. They burst from the trees to the open space made by the ants. "Come on, Akane, not that far now," Ukyo urged, holding on to her arm. Akane stumbled along behind him. "It's getting worse. I don't know how much longer..." "No! We'll make it!" Every word had to be shouted to be heard over the ever-increasing wind. "I'll carry you if I have to!" Akane shook her head and stumbled, ready just to fall to the ground and stay there. Ukyo was there, supporting her though, dragging her along. "You are not allowed to give up. If you die, the child will die, and I refuse to lose both of you." There were tears in his eyes as he spoke forcefully to Akane. Akane shuddered, her head hanging down, then began to move under her own power. "I'm doing the best I can." Several times, the wind managed to push over trees in their path, the sky blackening overhead, but they didn't let that stop them. They continued northward, drawing ever closer to the temple, to the only place they believed they could find safety. Akane felt like her feet were lead and the weather was determined to root her in place. But Ukyo would not allow it. He was pulling her, dragging her when necessary and never released her arm. She was blinded by the wind and rain, but when they were within sight range of the temple, she knew and dreaded it. "No, Ukyo. Someplace else. Anywhere but here..." "We have no time and no alternatives, Akane. We must." Akane wanted to cry as they crossed the threshold to the place. She tried to resist, pull away, but her feet simply slid on the wet tile. "Noooo..." "Akane! We must!" Ukyo snapped at her. They were free from most of the wind, but the rain was driving now, falling in a steady sheet. "Down here," he said, dragging her toward the set of stairs. "I'm so cold..." "Hush, Akane," Ukyo answered absently as they descended the slick stairs. At the bottom, he dropped everything he was carrying and helped Akane to sit down against the wall. He pulled out the mat he had brought along and laid it on the ground. "Relax here, Akane-chan." As she moved herself to sit on the mat, Ukyo was removing the other things from the satchel. He washed his dirty hands with some of the water then turned his attention to Akane. With all the moisture and then being on the tile, his skin was freezing, and Akane couldn't be any better. "Take that off," he said, and started to remove the oversized vest from her. Next, he removed her loincloth so that she was naked. "Akane, I don't know what I'm doing," he said as he washed the dirt from her. "Neither do I, Ukyo. But I'm cold..." She shivered, but was thankful for the mat, that her bare skin was not touching the floor of the place. Ukyo pulled out the skin, worked to be soft and supple, and put it over Akane's shoulders. "Does it hurt much yet?" he asked, offering her some water. "Not much." Akane took a drink of the water. "Do you think this will work out all right?" Sitting behind her for support, Ukyo took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I don't know, but I hope so. You just tell me when it hurts and we'll get through it together." Akane closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply, closing out the discomfort. Ukyo helped, and getting off her feet helped too, but she wasn't sure that was enough to overcome the fear and hatred of the temple. And to have her child born in it... "Unh... A little pain." Ukyo looked over her shoulder, but could only see the expanse of her stomach. Something told him to count and so he did, silently on his mind. He was still counting and rocking Akane gently when she indicated that there was pain again. "Three hundred," he said quietly. "Three hundred what?" "Three hundred seconds. Since the last time," he replied. "Five minutes." Akane was starting to breathe a little quicker than she had been. "Five minutes? SO what?" "I don't know. I don't know anything about having babies." Akane couldn't help but laugh, short and painfully. "Neither do I or we wouldn't be in this situation right now. Gods my back hurts." Ukyo began massaging her shoulders again. The cold, wet stone couldn't be helping at all, but he didn't think they'd find any place on the island that was currently dry and warm. Above them, he could hear the wind blowing, rising in intensity, and water had started to trickle down the stairs. Akane sucked in a breath of air and squeezed his hand almost painfully. "How long was that, professor?" she managed to say through her gritted teeth. "Not very long, Akane." "Is it supposed to feel like I'm going to turn myself inside out?" Akane was breathing shallowly, holding Ukyo's hand tightly as the discomfort mounted. "I don't know. Maybe. Is it getting worse?" Ukyo was very glad Akane could not see his face and the total bewilderment on it. He had no idea what to do, what to tell Akane, if everything was going as it should... He just knew that the woman he loved was in pain and there was nothing he could do to help. "Worse?" Akane asked, shivering. "The pain, Akane. Is the pain worse? Is the baby coming? Don't do this now," Ukyo answered, now very worried. "The pain? Not really. I just..." She grunted as every instinct in her body yelled at her to push. "I think it's coming," Akane said before she answered her instincts. "A Ka Ne, you're... crushing my hand," Ukyo gasped. The pressure suddenly released and Akane slumped against him. Ukyo pulled his hand free and flexed it, confirming that it was still intact. "I can't do this, Ukyo. Make it stop," Akane whined pathetically. "Make it go away." Ukyo let out something between a laugh and a sob. "I can't, Akane. You have to do this. There's no other option." Akane was slowly shaking her head back and forth. "I don't want to be here. I want to be home. I don't want a baby. I just want to stay with you..." "I'm here. I won't go anywhere without you. Just relax. Let it happen on its own. Those damnable dogs do it more often than rabbits, and they don't have any help. We can do it as well." Well, that was a pretty good speech. Ukyo just hoped Akane would believe it. "I don't care. I don't want to." "You have to." "I'm not sure if I hate you yet or not." Akane took Ukyo's hand again. Ukyo chuckled weakly. "We'll see after this is all over." The small smile on his face quickly disappeared as Akane squeezed again and the bones in his hand creaked. There was no holding Akane back as she didn't quite scream with the effort of trying to force the baby out. She put all her energy into it, but again she was denied the relief. Ukyo could only watch in fright as Akane put forth everything into her efforts and practically deflated when she stopped. She was shivering and her skin was pale, and he knew things were not good. Thankfully, it seemed things were moving quickly because the longer they stayed in the veritable dungeon, the worse things would get. The dank conditions weren't good for Akane and they wouldn't be good for the baby. He started rocking Akane again as she leaned against him, panting. The process repeated itself several more times until, rather unceremoniously, the child was expelled and landed roughly on the mat. Akane nearly passed out, while Ukyo could only stare. There it was, on the ground. The baby. Still he stared, and as if to protest this staring, the baby opened its mouth and wailed like there was no tomorrow. Ukyo moved slowly, like he was swimming in mud, to get a closer look at the baby. It was small, somewhat wrinkly, had a mouth the size of the sky it seemed, and was shaking. His secondary observation, after finally realizing that it really was a baby, was that it was a girl. "Akane, it's a girl. It's a girl. We have a daughter." His voice was growing in volume and excitement. Ukyo used some water to rinse the blood and mucus off the baby, then lifted the tiny thing in his arms. She hadn't stopped crying, but as Ukyo cradled her to his chest, she stopped shivering mostly. Looking back at Akane, he meant to show her what had caused them so much worry over the last nine months, but Akane was reclining with her eyes closed, obviously exhausted. "A girl?" Akane asked tiredly, thankful it was finally over. "Yes. Look at her. She's beautiful." Ukyo held the child toward Akane again, and this time, she opened her eyes to look at the brand new baby. Reaching out with her hand, she touched the baby on the side of her head. "Good. Can we go home now?" she asked, fatigue more evident in her voice than anything. "I need to sleep. I still don't feel well." She still felt full and there was still that instinct in her that wanted her to push. Akane clenched her muscles, pushing somewhat involuntarily, too tired to try it actively. "I don't think it's a wise idea to head back until the storm has passed. We would risk all of our lives traversing through the jungle," Ukyo answered, cradling the child again. Not to mention it was quite apparent that Akane was in no shape to be traveling at the moment. "I just want to... unh... get out of this place." Whatever was going on, she wasn't done yet. And they had never considered that there might be more than one baby. "Ukyo, I don't think..." She didn't think about, and she was very glad after the fact that she didn't have to look at it, but very shortly, she also birthed the placenta. With a sigh of relief that the feeling was finally gone, she fully relaxed. Ukyo looked with horror at what had just happened. For one fearful moment, he thought Akane had ruptured something, that her ovaries had fallen out or something, but when he saw the look of peace on her face, and that the umbilical cord was connected to the mess, he calmed down. "Let's remove this from you, shall we?" he said quietly to the baby. Some buried memory, from some place he didn't know, made him take a portion of the tie from his shorts and wrap it around the chord tightly. He then cut the chord with the pocket knife. "Akane, can you move? I need to clean this up. You don't want to lie in it," he warned. Akane did move, allowing Ukyo to pull the mat out from under her and rinse away the mess, getting the blood off of it. He flipped it over and allowed Akane to sit on it again. This time, he placed the baby in her arms and wrapped the hide around them both. Akane held the child and looked at her. She looked back. "What should we name her?" Ukyo shrugged, looking at the two. "I'm not sure. I can't really thing of any..." Pain ripped through his head as he looked into the wide open eyes of his daughter. His hands flew up to grasp his head as he gasped for air. "Na... Nabiki." Akane looked at him, quite concerned. "Was that a flashback?" "I... I don't know. Just a name... Nabiki. I don't know why," Ukyo said, his voice strained, head still in his hands. Akane looked at Ukyo then at the baby in her arms. "Nabiki." She smiled. "Nabiki. Yeah." As she held Nabiki, the baby began rooting around on Akane's chest. It took a moment for Akane to realize what she was trying to do. "Look, Ukyo. I think she's hungry." Akane positioned little Nabiki at her breast and directed the nipple to her mouth. Nabiki latched on almost immediately and began nursing in earnest. "Not so hard, Nabiki-chan," Akane warned as the baby suckled. Ukyo stood abruptly and walked up the stairs. At the top, looking out on the barren courtyard, swept by rain and wind, he had to bite his lip. It was almost too much, too much for him to handle. After a moment of futilely trying to hold everything back, he wept openly. The most dangerous time was over. The baby had been born with no ill effects and they were all currently safe even in the storm. Even in the temple. "Ukyo? What's wrong?" Akane called from the shelter of the bottom of the stairs. "Nothing, Akane. Everything is fine," he called back down, tears of relief still cascading down his cheeks. "Come back, Ukyo. Stay here with Nabiki and me." "I... I was just checking on the storm," he rationalized, wiping his face. As a matter of fact, the rain had slowed somewhat, but the wind was as powerful as before. If they were _very_ lucky, they might get a break before nightfall, allowing them to return to their home. If it was still standing. He definitely did not want to spend the night in the temple. Sighing, he headed back down the stairs. It was better that he stay with them anyway. "How's it look up there?" Akane asked as he descended the stairs. Nabiki was still at her breast, a look of determined contentment on her little face. "Not good. The rain has slowed, but the wind is as fierce as before. I hope that we can leave before dark. I don't want to spend the night in here." Akane nodded. "Neither do I. And I'm getting hungry." Ukyo sat next to them, huddling as close as possible. For once, a time when they didn't want it, it was actually cool on the island. After this was over, he was going to make a dog skin blanket just in case. "Maybe I will venture out later to gather food. Or if the weather has cleared, we can head back." That made him cross his fingers, knowing it would be a long shot from what he had seen. To think that the weather would break so suddenly and miraculously... "At least..." Akane started, then stopped. "At least what?" "At least it wasn't the transport. I think there might have been worse." Ukyo nodded, but he wasn't so sure that the temple was any better. He was grateful that he hadn't had to step another foot into that pile of scrap, but he knew that whatever had made it that way... It all came back to the temple. "I'm going to check the weather again," Ukyo declared and hurried up the stairs. He wanted to go, run up the stairs and keep going, but there was no way he would leave Akane and Nabiki. At the top of the stairs, his hopes were dashed. Wind still blowing and rain still falling, they were stuck at the temple. "Shit!" he yelled at the sky. "Come back, Ukyo. It'll clear up eventually. You need to give it more than a few minutes," Akane called from below. "Just sit with us for a while." Us. Akane... and Nabiki. The realization hadn't totally sunk in yet for him. Surely all the implications hadn't been considered, nor did he want to, but... "Ukyo?" Ukyo stood out in the open air and let the rain strike him for a few moments. The sound of thunder in approaching clouds made him shiver, the sky being lit up periodically by lightning. He made his decision then. "Akane," he said, marching down the stairs with purpose, "I'm going to check on the house." She looked at him, not quite believing what he was saying. "Why?" Ukyo looked down at his feet, frowning. "Because. I won't let you spend any more time here than necessary. If it's still in one piece, mostly, we're going back." He looked up and met her eyes. "We're not staying here. "Now I know the roof came off, but we can sleep in the storage shed while I fix it. That's where everything we know is, and that's where we need to be. Not here in this dungeon." Akane's lips twitched and then she smiled. "Just... hurry back." "Wish me luck." Ukyo leaned down and kissed Akane, then the top of Nabiki's head. Giving then one last look, he headed up the stairs. Akane watched him and sighed. It was silly to go back in the weather, but she didn't want to stay in the temple either. She winced as Nabiki started gumming her breast, and pulled the baby away. "Stop that. You keep that up and you won't get anything at all out of that one. "Oh. Aha." Akane turned Nabiki around and situated her at the other breast. "And I'm going to have to do this how many times a day?" Akane asked, as if expecting the baby to answer. Nabiki's only reply was to eagerly start nursing again. Akane sat there, the sound of the wind and rain coming from above her, water trickling down the stairs, but other than that, there was foreboding silence. When Ukyo had called it a tomb, he had been exactly right, and Akane hated it. Turning her attention away from the how much she didn't like being there, she concentrated instead on Nabiki. The little girl was adorable, not that there was anyone else to notice. Why she would ever consider not having a child was incomprehensible, especially after... after... After Ukyo had turned out to be someone she knew she could always count on, and someone she wouldn't mind being trapped on a deserted island with for the rest of her life. And Nabiki. He had helped create her, and Akane could see each of them in the little girl. The shape of her nose, a dimple there, her eyes... The way she was eating. "Ouch, not so hard. It'll all come out. Just give it a chance." Akane winced again at Nabiki's insistence on eating. She was starting to wish for a bottle the way Nabiki was going at it. "C'mon, Nabiki, take it easy. It's not going anywhere." In the dark they waited, Nabiki's feeding slowing down, and Akane counted off the minutes. She estimated 15 minutes there, if the way wasn't too blocked, and the same amount back, possibly less if there was good news. Thirty minutes wasn't so long. She had waited longer under less interesting circumstances before. This should have been no problem. And she had Nabiki to take care of, to get that first bonding with in. It would have been better if Ukyo was there instead of out in the jungle. "I'm sure he'll be find, Nabiki. Your daddy will be back soon." She knew it was true, but there was some doubt gnawing at her as well. With the weather going crazy, anything could happen. The dogs might have ventured out, or the house collapsed while he was in it, or the palisade... "He'll be back." Only another 26 minutes to wait. Nabiki's suckling slowed and finally stopped completely as she drifted off to sleep. Akane cradled her and sighed. At least one of them would get some rest after the entire ordeal. It was hard to think that just a little while ago, Nabiki had been a mystery presence among them, a little person without a face, without an identity. And there she was, sleeping soundly. Akane lowered her head and closed her eyes. She had seen the look in Ukyo's eyes before. He hadn't admitted it, but she knew he had been shaken up by the birth, and she was too. "I hope he makes it back soon," she whispered. The sound of the wind didn't make her feel any better, nor did the dripping water. Akane just wanted to be back with Ukyo, where it was dry and warm. She lifted her head when she thought she heard something. Looking over in the corner, there was nothing. It must have been her imagination, just her imagination. Akane lowered her head again, feeling the baby in her arms, so warm and alive, and slept. A snake. Water. Sand. The wind. It could have been any one of those things crawling across her skin, those claws poised to dig into her. Strange sounds, like music, but... not. Haunting. Evil. A voice now, calling to her. Akane... Akane... "Akane?" Akane opened her eyes and lifted her head, confused whether she was awake or still asleep. "Ukyo?" "It's me. I think we can go back. It shouldn't be too bad, and the rain's slowed down." He was a dark shape in the dim light. "Ukyo?" "Yes, Akane?" "Who... where's Nabiki?" "You mean... Isn't she there? Aren't you holding her?" he asked, kneeling down next to her. She felt his hands reach out, moving over her flesh, and fought to not pull away from him. The weight in her arms suddenly seemed to come into being. Nabiki. "She's here. Is there something wrong?" "I... I'm not sure." She tightened her grip, feeling the child in her arms. "I just want to get away from here." Ukyo's voice softened. "We can go, Akane. Back to the house." He took her arm gently and tried to get her to stand. "I'm so cold, Ukyo. And Nabiki..." "The sooner we get back to the house, the quicker we can get you warmed up. Come along. I'll carry Nabiki if you want me to." He stood slowly, pleased when she followed. "No, I want to hold her." Understanding the strangeness in the situation, Ukyo spoke gently. "Then you hold her. We should get going before the weather picks up again." He escorted her up the stairs and out of temple. The weather had calmed considerably, but the sky was still that strange color and the threat was still there. Ukyo was thinking that they might be spending the night under the house if things didn't clear up. The wind had been strong enough to take off the roof, but everything else seemed to withstand the storm fine, even the smaller structures remained standing. Ukyo walked as fast as he thought Akane could handle. He wanted to get both Akane and Nabiki out of the weather as soon as possible. He didn't even want to consider what the days ahead would involve, including repairing the roof, discovering just what about their baby preparations had been inadequate, tending both mother and child... Back at the house, Akane grinned tiredly. "Looks just like we left it." "I should hope so. It's only been three hours," Ukyo said, happy to see that Akane was acting like her old self again. Not that he blamed her for behaving oddly; giving birth would probably do that to a person. "If you wait in the storage shed, that should be safe until I can manage to get the roof back on." "No, Ukyo, I should help with that. I just need..." "You need to rest and take care of Nabiki," he said sternly, steering her to the shed and inside. "It's dry here and out of the wind. I'll get some food and water." He looked at her, his eyes rooting her to the spot. "Yes, sir." "Good." *** "Ukyo, almost done?" "No!" "When do you think you will be?" He wiped his forearm across his face, clearing some sweat away. "When hell freezes over," he grumbled. "What was that?" "Just as soon as I rebuild the entire thing, love," he said cheerily, an insane grin on his face. "That's good. Keep it up," she said happily and waved. Laughing sickly, Ukyo waved back, ready to throw the hammer at her. *** "It only took me a week. Not bad, if I do say so myself." Akane shrugged. "Not too bad. Though I think it is a little crooked." Ukyo made a strangled gurgling noise, his face a comedic mask of pain. "Settle down," Akane said, poking him in the arm, "I was only kidding. Looks great, especially since you did it without any help." Ukyo snorted. "Well _that's_ for sure." Akane blew a raspberry at him. *** Akane stared at the stretched hide, dipped a stick into the bowl of pigment, and drew. Lines emerged, and then an outline. With a satisfied grunt, she reached for a second bowl and began to fill in the form that was emerging with color. Another bowl, and green and black shapes were called into being around the center of the drawing. She frowned slightly. Carefully, she took a smaller stick, honed to a sharp point, and deftly began to etch in details. Reliefs, carvings, chips in the painted stonework... the building began to emerge with a crisp clarity on the hide, while the jungle framing it remained a blur of green and black. Akane examined the work, and frowned again. There was still something missing. Mixing two of the pigments, she daubed a bit on the edge of the canvas. No, not what she was looking for. She mixed two more, then a combination of three, then more, in varying amounts and types.... "Akane? What's this?" She blinked. Then, almost reluctantly, she stepped aside so that Ukyo could see her canvas. He stared at it for a second. "I never knew you were an artist," he finally said. Akane shrugged, somewhat embarrassed. "Neither did I. I just suddenly had this compulsion to paint, and so I mixed up some colors and sat down and, well..." "It's very good," Ukyo said, a slight tinge of wonder in his voice. "Why the temple?" Again she shrugged. "Well, it's really the only building around here. I think I'm more of an architecture painter than a people painter... I guess... I dunno, I just wanted to paint the temple." "It looks... I don't know... _real_," he said, amazed. "Not like a photo, but like you really captured the essence of it. Sort of creepy." She poked him hard in the leg. "Don't call my picture creepy." Ukyo chuckled. "Hey, if it wasn't creepy, it wouldn't really be the temple. Creepy is good." "It's not really that bad. Just different. Nabiki was born there after all, and it did save our lives. Twice." She frowned, looking at the line of sample mixtures at the edge of the canvas. "I just wish I could get the color right for the highlights." He blinked. "It looks finished to me. What sort of color?" "Well, it's a... I mean... well, it's not purple, really... maybe green? With yellow and purp.. well, no, not really." She stared at the canvas, confused. "I don't know. Just a color." Chuckling, Ukyo looked admiringly at the canvas once again. "Well, you're the artist, love. Tell me when you think it's finished, and we'll find a place for it." He cocked his head, turning back to her. "Maybe you could paint something over Nabiki's crib? Something..." he paused, fumbling for a word. "Less creepy?" "Yes, less creepy." He chuckled. "We should try to make her life as creep-free as possible. Certainly the island provides enough of that as is." Akane nodded somberly. "I'm going to start training her in a few more weeks." "Toilet training? She already...." "No, martial arts." He stared at her. "Akane, Nabiki can't even walk yet. She's not even a year old. How on earth do you train a baby?" "Not kicking or punching, stupid. Just basic reflex training, coordination exercises. That's all they're ready for at this stage, but it makes a big difference later on." "As you say." Ukyo still looked dubious. "I would ask how you know, except..." "...except that we both know that I have no idea," Akane finished. "But I do know, and strongly. This was a big part of my life, before. It was for both of us, I think." He nodded. "Why, do you think? What kind of people were we?" Akane spread her hands. "No idea. To be honest, Ukyo, I don't think it matters now as much as it used to. I've got you and Nabiki, and next to that... next to that, who I used to be really isn't very important, you know?" Ukyo nodded. "I know. I just worry, at times." "About?" "Nabiki. I worry that she'll get really sick. Or that something will happen to her. But mostly I worry about what her life is going to be like. We have each other, and I think that's all that's really kept us alive and sane. What's she going to have, especially when we're gone?" Akane nodded. "I've been worried about that too. But really, Ukyo, you shouldn't be, because there's nothing we can do about it right now. Maybe when she's older... 16 or something... we can make some sort of real attempt to escape, build a boat or something. But right now is not the time to risk it. I plan on being around for several more years anyway." He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I'm glad to hear it." Laughing, she reached out, draping her arms around his waist. "C'mere, you. I wanna paint." "I'm not a canvas." His shirt came off nonetheless. "We'll see." A mural of sorts was drawn, but largely destroyed by the exercise which followed. The painting was hung the following day. Ukyo often wondered how she had finally found the right color for the highlights. He didn't like the look of it at all. For her part, Akane just felt it fortunate that the mix of colors had dried like that, or that the light played on it just right, or whatever had finally made the highlights look the way she wanted. It was curious. She had another bad dream that night, but didn't mention it to Ukyo. The sound of the piping flutes faded from her mind by mid-morning, and Nabiki required her attention. *** Time passed, as it tends to if you take your eyes off of it. The groves and fields were their main chore, now. The labor involved in tending them wasn't terribly burdensome, but it did take a while. Especially since they were constantly expanding, cultivating new fields and orchards and food sources in case a storm or blight hit some of the current ones. They both, of course, required meat. Without a wide selection of modern vegetables, vitamins, and supplements, they had no real choice except to be the omnivores nature had designed them as. This didn't particularly bother them. After all, a large percentage of the meat they ate had wanted to eat them before making the career change to main course. With effort, probably, they could have set up a captive breeding program and raised dogs for food. Somehow, however, this didn't appeal to either of them. Besides, their current program of hunting helped keep the wild dogs within reasonable limits. The dogs themselves were beginning to feel a positive sense of hate for them, Akane sensed. These two bipedal creatures were threatening to take over the top rung on the food chain... HAD taken it over, because while they dined on dog steak every week, the pack had yet to drag either of them back to Canis Mountain for a snack. From their point of view, the situation was intolerable. That, of course, implied intelligence and reasoning on the part of the wild dogs. Akane still believed it. While they were individually no more that rather mangy, stupid canines, the pack as a whole seemed to have a certain evil, vicious cunning and sentience. She believed practically anything where the damn island was concerned. The damn, vicious, deadly, beautiful island. Akane couldn't really compare it to anything, not directly; her memories had begun that day on the beach. But somewhere below the surface were hidden knowledges and recollections. She knew the sheer misery and danger of this place, and how she had once lived somewhere safer, somewhere where you could relax your guard without danger. Somewhere where children played outside, and dogs were well-behaved and tame. She also knew that it was the most beautiful place she'd ever seen. The way the waterfall cascaded down through sheets of green and black, the birds flitting around like breakaway bits of rainbow, the lagoon crystal, a sheet of rippling glass over pebbles and sand... Their porch during a slow, steady, gentle rain, water thrumming atop the awning, water flowing down the branches and dripping from the leaves, dry in the crude chairs. Making love during it. Watching little Nabiki, almost a year old, stare in confused wonder and irritation at the falling drops. The smell of the air and earth afterwards. Akane loved the island, and hated it just as strongly. Her nightmares left her the most ambivalent about it, for in them she would be running through the jungle. Sometimes she would be fleeing, and other times running towards something, but each time she would awaken with the voice laughing in her brain, and sometimes she would scream. It worried Ukyo, she could tell. It worried her a bit, too, because it was getting worse and worse. Worst of all was when, in her dreams, she found the temple. After that, her flight always wound up in there, screaming as she dashed through the black corridors of it, deeper, deeper, running screaming through tunnels that dripped a black oil with a tinge of color she couldn't quite identify.... But they were only dreams, after all, and daylight banished them and the piping of flutes. Ukyo was happy, in his own way. His daughter made him feel oddly complete, as if he had needed someone to take care of. He would show her the places he treasured most on the island, and tell her why they were special to him. While Nabiki clearly couldn't understand the words, she easily picked up on the sentiment and would look at him with wide eyes. The early reflex training went well. To Ukyo's relief, it mostly seemed to consist of Akane poking at Nabiki's hands with a finger. After Nabiki had caught on to the concept of meeting finger with tiny palm, Akane would attempt to slowly move her finger to touch Nabiki's shoulder. And the tiny little hand would move to intercept. Gradually, Akane increased the speed. At an age Ukyo could barely comprehend, Nabiki could move her tiny arms with startling speed to accurately block her mother's pokes. "I'm burning in responses," she explained to Ukyo. "Kids' brains are still a work in progress, and you can do a lot with them if you catch them early. Nabiki's hand-eye centers are getting an incredible workout, and so they're being more fully developed and built up more than they normally would be." "It's not going to make her stupid, is it? I mean, if that part of the brain is getting all the attention..." "It doesn't work like that. The parts that get attention get well-developed, the others just do as they'd normally do. That's one of the reasons why I like you reading to her. She's picking up useful processing." "You make it sound like we're building a computer or radio or something." She had chuckled. "Something much more important, Ukyo- chan." The river flowed by, sweeping down to the sea. Sometimes the days were long and lazy, and sometimes the nights lasted forever.