6th of November, 1998 | 15:34

「Yukimura-sama, it's your wife; her water broke.」The words sent a shiver down Kaito's spine. Anticipation and pure dread filled him: he was about to be a father; Suzume was in labour,- in pain; too early; what if it went wrong?「They're bringing her to the hospital in Oshu.」The name of the city gave him something to latch onto. He nodded against his mobile phone, whilst rushing to grab his coat beside the door of his office.

「Where? What's the address?」His voice was louder than intended, as his concern shoved its way out. At the same time he tried to put his coat on, and keep the cellphone to his ear at all times so he wouldn't miss anything. The address seared into his mind, as the worry turned to a burning determination to get there in time. 

「Thank you; call the hospital and tell them I'll be there.」He didn't wait for an answer. Rather he pushed through the door whilst simultaneously struggling to get in the second half of his coat.

The intensity startled his secretary, and the man looked up at him with concern.

「It's Suzume. Reschedule all appointments this week, I- I'm going to be a father.」His thoughts wavered for a second, as he wasn't sure whether to smile knowing he was about to have children, or scream out of fear that he could lose them. Instead he was left with a wide-eyed, weak grimace.

「Understood sir: congratulations.」The man flashed him a smile, and then gave a polite bow of his head as he returned to work. He nodded and felt some elation as he was congratulated,- only to turn and sprint down the hallway to get to his car as all the worries filled him again.

The road flashed by him as he drove as fast as his sports car allowed him to. There was little traffic, but anything in his way was too much. His foot was sore from the force with which he held down the pedal. His knuckles white as his fingers dug into the steering wheel. He even leant forward, as if it would somehow make him faster.

Nothing was more important to him. Nothing had ever been as meaningful – he never had to struggle, never had to worry or fight or even truly care. But he'd promised Suzume, he'd promised he'd be there for her. He wanted to be. He hadn't lived that long, he was only twenty-one, and everything in life had been granted to him. Except for this. Except for her, and his sons about to be born.

He didn't even know how to be a father, he just knew he wanted to be. Whatever he had to do he would. Work to death to provide for them, fight to the death to protect them: drive himself to death just to see them take their first breaths. Anything. He'd been searching for something to give him purpose, something that would be worth it. And he'd finally found it, in the form of his children.

A wild, excited laughter escaped him, as it suddenly hit him that this was real. That the past eight months weren't a dream. He'd be able to hold and see them and watch them grow up. All he had to do was get there, get there in time – to be there for them.

He scrambled into the hospital lobby, nearly stumbling head-first against the reception desk. The car keys he clasped in his hand clattered on the marble counter, whilst he clung on and caught his breath.

「My wife,-」He heaved through gasps. 「She went in labour,- I came as fast as,-」He barely got his words out, but the receptionist understood and aided him.

「What is her name sir?」She asked, a list already in hand.

「Suzume, Suzume Yukimura」Slowly he got his breath back, knowing well enough he'd give it up the moment he knew where she was.

「She is on the third floor, in the maternity ward to the left.」

She'd barely spoken the words, or he'd stammered  a deeply grateful thank you and sprinted to the stairwell. He didn't care if it was impolite, if anyone would see him like this, all that mattered was that he'd get to Suzume.

He wasn't sure if he'd been fast enough. Despite setting a record time from Sendai to Oshu, it all felt far too long. So he ran through the hallways and clambered up the stairwell like a madman.

As he reached the third floor, a distant yet familiar cry reached him. The sound petrified him, and his heart dropped at the sound of his wife in intense pain.

「Suzume!」He shouted out, startling several doctors and nurses in the midst of their work. It didn't matter if he seemed insane, he wanted her to know he was there for her – that he'd kept his promise. Despite the initial fear, he ran down the hall again to where she was, even more terrified of leaving her alone.

A nurse stepped in front of him, and he'd nearly ran through her but kept himself at bay with whatever was left of his rationality.

「Sir.」The woman bowed, yet remained firmly in front of him to prevent him from getting any further.

「My wife she,-」He gasped, pointing somewhere in the vague direction down the hallway.「Is she alright? My children? 」

「She is fine sir, very capable doctors are with her.」She reassured him, and although he felt some elation at the thought of professionals being with her, he wasn't there.

「I need to see her.」He demanded, unwilling to let her stop him. Another muffled scream caused him to jump up, and he felt his body instinctively try to reach wherever Suzume was. Instead his gaze met the nurse's, darkened by the unstoppable intent to get to his wife and children whatever it would take, and the full will to do so.

「I understand sir, but you must be clean and in garb. Please come along.」She gave another bow and gestured further down the hall. His violent thoughts settled somewhat now he was given a more reasonable way to get to Suzume, even if he wanted to rush there immediately. He nodded and followed, well aware that he should be more respectful, but unable to conjure that up when he had to listen to his wife in agony.

Aggressively he rubbed his hands to wash them, torn between rushing so he could get there sooner and cleaning every last speck so he wouldn't get Suzume or his boys ill. The solution wasn't to angrily scour his hands as if he was trying to remove his skin. Each cry he heard made him more upset, but he wasn't allowed to enter until the nurse cleared him. After what felt like an eternity of aggravating instructions, she finally deemed it right. 

As fast as he can he threw on the throwaway scrubs. Fastened the straps. Put on the cap. Fought his way into a set of shoe protectors. Then pushed past the door. 

Bright light illuminated Suzume. His view was hindered by nurses and a doctor that surrounded her. She was all but naked, splayed out beneath a hospital gown that hid nothing – but he'd figure out nothing was private in this room soon enough.

Through the chaos of puffs, encouragement, instructions and agonising cries he ran up beside her and grabbed her hand. She latched on to him. Her face was glistening in sweat. Her eyes lit up in gratitude for a moment, only to fill with fright as the next contraction set in. Whatever heroic delusions he had come into the room with were chased out by her scream and harsh breaths.

A nurse sternly told her what to do, and all he was able to do was hold her hand and encourage her. He'd wanted to be there, and now he could do nothing but be there. He felt powerless, none of this was about him.

「I've got you. You can do this.」He kissed her hand, despite her nearly breaking his. He was afraid his words drowned in-between commands and things he had no clue about like dilation. But she nodded and looked at him.

「Kaito,-」She cried, before a nurse forced her to huff and puff again.

「I'm here birdy. Everything will be alright.」He put his other hand on her head in an attempt to calm her down. There was panic in every puff she let out. Unsure what to do, or if it even mattered, he brushed a few sweaty locks out of her face.

Hours. He knew labour lasted hours. But he hadn't truly known how long an hour lasted until he spent every minute of it seeing Suzume hurt. The puffing got quicker, the screaming louder and more frequent. All he could do was agonize and encourage her all the same.

He hadn't left her side, or even let go of her hand. Still he felt worthless compared to the effort and pain she put in. There was nothing magical. No sacred or sweet femininity that sprung forth. Just strength and raw, brutal willpower as the contractions grew more frequent.

Another series of cries. She grabbed his wrist and dug her nails in to the point where he nearly cried out too – but at that point he was glad to bear some of her hurt.

「I can see the head.」The doctor's words jolted him. He sat up and looked in a futile attempt to catch a glimpse, only to glance back at Suzume and smile in relief.

「Nearly there.」He said as he took her hand in both of his. She grimaced and nodded, both in desperation and elation. 

And then suddenly he saw a little baby in the doctor's arms – covered in his wife's blood, glistening in whatever other fluid, squeezed and red from hours of labour and absolutely, grotesquely beautiful. He felt his heart lift as after all these hours of hearing his wife's cries, he heard the loud wailing of his son.

He watched as Suzume smiled at the sight too, loving and happy despite all the pain and exhaustion. She let go of him and reached out for their baby.

「Can I see him? Please?」She asked, her voice sore and tired. For just a moment he rested on her chest, and she ran her fingers along the tiny face to shush his wailing. 「Such a fast one… our Hayate.」She looked up and smiled at him, and he immediately nodded at the name. And just as quickly they took Hayate away again, to be wrapped in a small blanket and placed in an incubator to keep warm.

Suddenly, Suzume grabbed his hand tightly again and screamed. Startled he held on to her, as her contractions began anew. The doctors and nurses sprung to action. He mentally prepared himself for another long, arduous labour.

Yet within minutes, the second one followed, apparently unwilling to be separated for too long. Once more he saw a scrunched little face, and he was just as awe-struck as the first time. A few short wails followed, but unlike his brother he went silent when he was placed on his mother's chest.

「Hibiki…」Suzume whispered lovingly. Echo. He smiled and nodded again, and just then Hibiki opened his eyes. Two big, black orbs looked at him utterly fascinated – the very first thing they saw. He felt his heart skip at the realisation, and gently reached out a finger to one of the miniscule hands. The fingers instinctively held on to his fingertip.

「Hey little one.」He said softly. Only to choke up and smile so much tears rolled down his face. I'm your father.