The Rise of Shiroi Nami – Chapter 11

This migraine differs from any other migraine I’ve ever had. What is it about this planet that my head hates so much? The last migraine I had on Kurai was the kind that makes my head spin and my stomach eject everything I put in it. This one fucks with my internal temperature settings.

I’m hot. I’m cold. I’m freezing. My teeth are chattering… And then I throw off the blanket ten minutes later because I’m burning up.

Kazuo stands over me at the bedside, rubbing the stubble on his jaw and humming.

“Don’t hum,” I plead.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t speak.”

His voice is amplified by a thousand times. So he whispers instead, “I’ve never seen symptoms like this.”

“Me neither,” Rin answers quietly from the door.

Rin climbs into bed with me, and I shrink from his first touch.

“Hold me,” I plead. “Make it stop.”

He wraps his arms and legs around me until I pass out, and then he’s gone.

It was night, and now it’s daytime. The room can’t be dark enough for me. I throw the covers over my head the next time my body descends into the frosty depths. If I could kill the universe for doing this to me, I would. But it’s some karmic payback, I know it. I can only suffer through it.

Time passes in which I’m unconscious, not asleep. When I open my eyes again, the light in the bedroom has changed to a softer ochre kissed with pink. It’s probably evening. The tinkling sounds of chopsticks in bowls and cabinets opening and closing pulls me to the surface. I stick my face out of the covers and tentatively sniff. Garlic and ginger meet my nose. I swallow and keep my stomach contents where they are.

A knock at the front door rattles around my brain, but I strain my ears to hear what’s going on. Shintaro’s low voice… and someone else. It sounds serious, and my name is said over and over. I snuggle down into the blanket even farther. There’s nothing they can do for me.

When the door opens, I brace myself. I shouldn’t tense my muscles because it makes everything worse. Still, my body expects the noise and intrusion of other people into my migraine. The cover lifts and gets tucked in and around me by sure hands.

“You have a visitor, Yumi,” Rin whispers. “Two of them.”

The bed creaks as something hefty lies down next to me. It’s unexpected, and I feel like I’m rolling around on a boat. My inner ear does not like this at all.

“I’m gonna be sick.”

I say it right before a trash can is put in front of me.

“I see. Okay.” A voice I’ve never heard before.

I cough into the trash can and reach for the proffered towel. I take a few moments to recognize Rin’s hand.

“Shhh,” I beg of these people.

The bed shakes like it’s vibrating in an earthquake. Are there earthquakes here on Hikari?

“The wound is infected.” A whispered voice joins the pounding in my head. “And she needs painkillers and anti-emetics. I’ll start IV drips for both of them.”

I pass out again. A needle enters my arm, but I’m in too much pain in other areas to care. I also suspect someone else is in bed with me, not Rin, not Kazuo. But I curl up and await my fate at the hands of everyone else because I’m incapable of helping myself, defending myself, when I’m this far gone.

Please, no one kill me. I’m not ready to go yet.

Too much to do.

I inhale through my nose and out through my mouth. Hours pass.

The next time I awake through the haze of the migraine, I feel much better. My head is clear, and my body doesn’t ache all over. Something tugs at my arm, and I realize there’s an IV there. Yes, right. A doctor, I think, came some hours ago and hooked it up.

I’ve been through so many migraines in this system without medical help that I forgot medical help could even be had. What a difference drugs make.

I roll over in the bed, careful of the needle in my arm, and try to snuggle up to Rin.

Only it’s not Rin in the bed.

I gasp and reflexively kick.

“Ow! Hey now, cousin. That’s not very nice.”

Well, no wonder the bed sank so much. It isn’t Rin next to me; it’s Isao.

Like me, he has his own IV attached to a bag on a stand next to the bed. Someone gave him his own blanket because I had stolen the covers. His wing is bandaged, and his skin is pale.

“Sorry. Sorry. I didn’t know who was in the bed.” My voice cracks. I’ve had nothing to drink in hours. Not that I’m dehydrated or anything because of the IV fluids, but my lips and throat could use some moisture.

“Rough night for both of us.” Isao shifts in the bed, and I hold on for dear life. I hadn’t thought about his sheer size until now, sharing a bed with him. “My wing got infected, and I was running a high fever. I think I still am.” He shakes violently, so I reach my hand over and slip my fingers around his.

“Ooooh, yeah. Your skin is hot.”

“S’okay. It’ll pass soon. Just need to sleep it off.”

“Where’s Kazuo? Rin?”

His teeth chatter. “Kazuo is at the table. Rin is sleeping at your brother’s.”

I sigh. Poor Rin. I hope Shintaro left him alone.

“Sleep,” I tell him, squeezing his hand. “Let’s sleep. When we wake up, we’ll both feel better.”

I yawn, unable to halt the blanket of drowsiness that falls over me. This is a good sign the migraine won’t last as long as others. When I can sleep and not just pass out, it means I’m on the mend. I close my eyes and keep my hand in Isao’s.

Dream, Yumi. I dream of freedom, running in fields, laughing, lost in a strange city, and at peace and back home on Orihimé.

Someday, I’ll be back there. Someday.

—-

I sip warm broth in the bed, sitting up, shoulder to shoulder with Isao. His fever broke in the early morning, and the doctor returned to remove both of our IVs.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” I say, lifting my cup as if to toast him.

“I’m glad you’re better too,” he says, sipping a cup of tea. “Are those migraines of yours a regular thing?”

I try to nod my head, but it still hurts too much to move it. “Yeah, I’ve gotten them regularly since I was ten. Back home, they were bad, but never as bad as they are here. I don’t know why.”

“You know,” he drawls, and a wave of tingles cascades down my back, “we could fix that for you. I’m familiar with the parts of genes that trigger migraines.”

I sigh and set my cup on the nightstand. Resting my head on the headboard, I close my eyes.

“Okay, let’s have this conversation for real, if you’re up for it,” I say, giving in to my curiosity.

“I’m going to need to leave here soon. Maybe within a few hours because I’ll heal faster on our moon base with the specialized medicines we’ve developed. I couldn’t travel like I was last night. So, when I leave, I can take DNA samples with me if you give me permission to grow your clone.”

Grow my clone. I reach for my cup of broth and swallow. That’s the strangest thing to think about.

“And I could have a body with no migraines? What about… uh, specialty enhancements?”

His smile makes my face burst into flames.

“Not like that,” I say, smacking him on the arm. “Like, I’m fine with my body. I don’t want big boobs or anything. I was thinking maybe easier recovery time from injuries or better stamina for all the activity I do.”

“We can achieve all of that easily. I have other enhancements which may come in handy in the future for you, like a more efficient use of oxygen and nutrients, and the ability to gain energy from solar and space radiation. We have many advancements that I think will suit you.”

I’m quiet for a moment, thinking of all the possibilities. And this is just a backup for me, anyway. Plan B, if things go wrong.

“What happens to the, uh, clone if I decide to never use it?”

“We have destruction protocols. We can harvest organs and render a body down to its component elements, and we can use those for other things.”

I don’t want to know what those ‘other things’ are, do I?

Yeah, I do.

I open my mouth to ask, but Isao holds up his hand. “Don’t ask. You don’t want to know.”

“Fine,” I say, pushing out my lower lip in a pout. “I’m sure I can use my imagination.”

“And most likely, your imagination would be correct. Any other questions?”

“Kids,” I blurt out, and this time I’m able to hold back the blush. “Rin and I have talked about having children someday, and…” My voice trails off at his frown. “And it came to my notice on Kurai that there were no female murasakijin or kumojin or tensojin.” I gesture to him, the first bat-man I have ever met.

He shakes his head. “We’re unable to clone women who can produce offspring. I’m sorry to say. Trust me, we’ve tried. It has always been a failure.”

I think of the cloned women finding this out. Pursing my lips, I imagine what the conversation was like. Was it a disappointment, or was it welcome? I can foresee situations where it could be either.

“So you can clone them, but they can’t reproduce. What about… What about the men?”

If you think it’s weird I’m sitting in bed next to my cousin who’s half bat, and we’re talking about human reproduction systems, then you’re absolutely right. It is weird, one hundred percent.

He chuckles. “I’m shooting blanks, and I have no sex drive. The only way I can reproduce now is through cloning. Same with my brothers and all our Shiroi Nami creatures. You see, Aka Matsuba and Aoi Uma sterilized the Minamoto line a few generations ago. This is the only way we have been able to survive.”

He looks down at his hands. “I don’t want to judge, but I was sorry to hear that your brother is gay. With him and you not producing offspring, the Minamoto line will die off.”

I smile at him, though I’m sad too. “No offense taken. I have an older brother I never talk about because he’s boring and everything my parents want in a child. Kenichi will carry on the line, no worries. He loves women.” I laugh and roll my eyes. “My parents have had their fingers crossed for years that he doesn’t impregnate someone ahead of an official union.” I pat him on his hands. “So don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

It’s his turn to chuckle. “I am sorry about this situation you’re stuck in. It can’t be easy to do everything you’ve done and come out in the end without the ability to have kids. The best we can do is harvest your eggs from your body and freeze them. You could potentially use a surrogate.”

“Okay. I think that’s a good idea.” It’s better than nothing. “Well,” I say, shifting over to my side of the bed and giving him some space, “this is just a backup plan. I intend to survive and make it back home in one piece.”

“It’s good to have a backup plan. You don’t survive on this world without one.”

“I just… I have a lot to consider before actually using this backup plan.”

A gentle knock on the door breaks up our conversation. Rin enters, and past him in the main room, Toro is waiting by the front door.

“Your ride is here,” he says to Isao. “It’s dark enough outside for you to travel without being seen.”

Isao looks at me, and I nod to him.

“Give us a moment, and I’ll be right out.”

Rin makes eye contact with me, and I smile, letting him know everything is fine. He closes the door with a soft click.

“I’m not sure I understand what you see in him,” Isao whispers, and I press my lips together. “He’s Kiiroi Yama.”

“Rin is Rin. Don’t judge him by the corporation he used to work for.” I sigh and throw the covers off my legs. I’m burning up from the inside with anger. “This is something you all should adjust about your thinking. People are not corporations, and corporations are not people. Remember that. Rin loves me, and I love him. We were meant to be together.”

His cheek jerks in a half-smile. “Fate, huh? Well, it’s hard to unlearn things that are hundreds of years old. Let me grab my bag, and I’ll take DNA samples from you.” He lays his hand on my arm. “I wish you all the luck I can give. I know the road ahead of you will be rocky. Please know that Shiroi Nami has your back. You can come to us when you need help.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Why do I feel like the help may come, but it will be too little too late?