#nijiko

Karita still exists. Karita gets Ran pregnant, but her heart is with a certain construction specialist.

Theme of the day: Death

Starring: Karita, Ran and Nijiko

Day 7: Death

“It’s a girl” Botan announced as she walked out of the cabin, a new born baby in her arms. She handed it over to delighted Karita “Congratulations.”

The man looked down at his daughter, who looked way more like her mother than her father. In his opinion, the baby had gotten lucky.

“Karita-kun” he looked up, and was surprised to see that Botan’s face was grim. Instantly, he felt worry “What is it?”

“Ran-Chan’s bleeding won’t stop” the woman said “Ban-chan and Fujiko-san are doing what they can, but it doesn’t look too good.”

Karita paled, already considering the worst.

What if she didn’t survive?

Looking at the doorway to the cabin, he could see Nijiko going in. She must’ve overheard and, unlike him, wasted no time. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Karita looked behind him to see Ryuusei. And behind the man, he could see that the others had clearly heard too, judging from the troubled looks on their faces.

“Go to her” Ryuusei said, finally getting Karita to move. He entered the cabin, the baby still in his arms, finding Fujiko and Ban doing their job, trying to stop the bleeding. Nijiko was at Ran’s side, wiping her forehead with a wet towel.

“Karita…” Ran noticed he was there. Karita smiled in relief; the fact that she was still conscious was a good sign, right?

“Ran-san” he said as he went over, kneeling to Ran’s other side, opposite of Nijiko “Good work.”

“Since when have I ever not done good work?” was the barely conscious woman’s reply, which made Karita smile sheepishly.

“Forgive me, Ran-san” he said “You do always do good work. Always.”

Ran smiled slightly in approval, before grunting in pain.

“Just hang in there” Fujiko said, her voice shaky “You’ll be fine.”

“You don’t sound all that convincing” Ran told her before turning her attention to the baby “It’s a girl, right?”

“Yes” Karita confirmed “She looks like you.”

“Good for her” Ran said. Someone else might’ve gotten offended, but Karita had been thinking of the same thing first, so he couldn’t do so, not really.

“Have you thought of a name?” ever so silent Nijiko spoke suddenly. Ran glanced at her before turning back to the baby.

“Not really” she admitted, smirking “But how about “Hazuki?” It’s a good name for a girl.”

“Very funny, Ran-san” Karita said. He’d never liked that name, which was also a reason why he’d made sure everyone stuck to referring to him with his family name.

“It wasn’t meant to be a joke” Ran said, but her face told otherwise. Her eyelids were dropping closed, but she stubbornly tried to keep them open “Then, do you have any ideas?”

“Eh? Well, no…”

“Try to think of something…” Ran muttered quietly, her eyelids drooping again, making Karita realize she was passing out.

“Ra- “

“Stay awake” Nijiko cut him off, lightly patting Ran’s cheek “Stay awake!”

Karita looked at Ban and Fujiko, who looked very stressed. The helpless looks on their faces didn’t make him feel any better. He wanted to do something, anything, for Ran, but had no idea what, so he just continued sitting there helplessly, holding their newborn baby girl.

“I… don’t think we’ll be able to stop the bleeding” Fujiko said, her words hitting Karita like a truck.

“Keep trying” Nijiko snapped at her before Karita could really react to the information “Both of you just keep trying!”

Karita took Ran’s hand, not knowing what else to do. He knew that Ran had lost consciousness, Nijiko’s swearing was a rather obvious sign, but he had no idea how to wake her up. So, he just kept sitting there, holding his lover’s hand with one of his own and holding their daughter with the other.

He didn’t know how long he had been at it. At some point, Kurumi had come in and taken the baby from him, but other than that he hadn’t really registered anything that happened around him as he focused on staring at Ran’s unnaturally pale face. However, now he did notice Nijiko’s hand going for Ran’s neck and he clearly heard her next words: “I feel no pulse.”

What?

“I’m sorry, Karita-san” Ban said “We couldn’t save her.”

Karita heard Fujiko sobbing, or at least he thought it was Fujiko, but he couldn’t be sure. It could’ve been him as well, or perhaps both of them.

“No…” how could this happen? And to Ran-san of all people, the one who originally didn’t want anyone having children due to the danger it put all the women in? She’d been right, she’d been right all along! He never should have laid a finger on her!

“I’ll… I’ll let the others know” Ban said, taking Fujiko with him, leaving Karita alone with Nijiko and… the body. No longer his Ran-san, just a body.

“At least the baby is alright” Nijiko said “Ran-san would be happy about that.”

At first Karita wasn’t so sure, but then he scolded himself for it. Of course, Ran-san would be glad; it was her child!

“These things happen sometimes” Nijiko continued “It’s unfortunate, but natural.”

Karita, still holding Ran’s hand, gritted his teeth. He knew tact wasn’t the strongest suite of anyone in team Summer A, but how could Nijiko say that? She and Ran had been so close, hadn’t they? Or had he misread it all?

“Perhaps it’s better that she passed on now” Karita’s head shot up in anger; he didn’t remember the last time he’d felt this angry, yet the shock melted away his anger as his eyes met Nijiko’s, the tears openly falling down her face. He had never seen her cry before “At least she’s not in pain anymore.”

“I suppose not…” Karita trailed off, looking down at Ran’s pale but rather peaceful face. She might not be, but he sure was. Looking up again, he understood that he wasn’t the only one. Death may end the pain of one, but it won’t go away. It just moves on to other people and, this time, those other people were him and Nijiko.

7 Seeds Week: Eating Together