Chapter nine of DI fic
Title: Islands Like Glass Towers - Chapter Nine
Writer: lynxgriffin
Rating: No higher than G-PG for now
Spoilers: This takes place even before BBS, so there's some BBS spoilers
Characters/Pairings: Sora's dad/Sora's mom, with a side of Riku's dad/Riku's mom
Warnings: Pregnancy and/or childbirth in later chapters, plus adorable bitties. Also expect some Final Fantasy cameos.
Notes: A pretty short chapter this time; just setting stuff up. Also, beware of cliffhangers...
The long summer had come to an end, and the kids of Destiny Islands returned to school. With the change in schedules came a change in the weather...the heat dropped a little, but stranger than that, dark clouds started to gather on the horizon. Storms happened, and the Islanders knew how to prepare for them, but they were still rare. And for those thick, heavy clouds to just sit on the horizon, barely moving...it was unusual.
Still, work went on, even on days off. Taro and Hoku had since finished the bridge on the kids' island, and it was already in use by the older children. But there was still one more task left to complete...fixing up the upstairs room so that it would be a suitable bedroom for the new arrival.
For the most part, the large stuff was done...they had a crib handed down from Emi's parents, stuffed with soft blankets. There was a desk that would remain out of use until the baby had grown enough to need it. Like all the rooms in the house, and indeed like practically all homes on the Islands, it was built with odd angles, giving it a slightly haphazard but homely look. Now all that was left were a few furnishings.
Hoku hauled up a couple of throw rugs striped green and blue, and tossed them onto the ground next to Taro, who was busy assembling a mobile. The mobile was made up of colorful tropical fish, carved out of wood. "Emi trusts you to pick out a good rug?" Hoku asked.
"Yes, she's said anything with green is fine," he replied. Families usually didn't buy pink or blue baby things anyway, since there was no way of knowing beforehand whether an unborn baby was a boy or a girl. He set aside the mobile for a moment to pull out a round rug with green stripes, and stretched it out on the floor near the crib.
"Lucky...Lana always got final say on what we put in Riku's room," Hoku said, leaning against the doorway. "Made everything in the room blue!"
"Emi picked out a few things, but mostly she's been down at the school," Taro mused, and finished hooking up the last fish on the mobile. He held it up, and smiled at the colorful fish dangling from the top bar. "Sometimes she's gone even longer than I am."
"Hard-working woman right up until the big day, huh?" Hoku crossed his arms and glanced out the window. The kids' island was visible from the bedroom view, bright in the afternoon sun.
"Yeah..." Taro shook his head. "I keep telling her she's working too hard, but she just shrugs it off."
Taro had been telling himself not to worry too much about Emi, and it had been working, mostly. He still couldn't really figure out what she was thinking, but she said she was happy, so he believed her. His thoughts were interrupted by a brief knock downstairs, and then the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Hoku and Taro turned to see Kenta come up, with something tucked under his arm.
"Hey Hoku, Taro! Hope you don't mind me dropping by," he said with a friendly wave.
Taro went and hung the mobile up by the ceiling. "Not at all, Kenta. We're close to finishing."
"I heard so from Rosa, so I thought I'd stop by with a little something." He presented the object under his arm, which was a small wooden mask, decorated with leaves and feathers. "Got this one awhile back and it's been sitting in the library since then...thought it might be something you'd like to decorate the room with."
Taro took the mask and examined it. It was a little spooky-looking, but not frightening...the sort of thing that a little kid would like to play with. He smiled at Kenta. "It's great, Kenta! Thanks, you didn't have to do that."
Kenta shrugged. "It's nothing, I like giving the new kids something fun and unique. Hoku knows!"
Hoku nodded. "I'm surprised you haven't run out of gifts from visitors yet! Haven't seen any strange people in over a year, it seems like."
"Yeah...it's been pretty quiet at the hotel lately. But I'll bet you anything that we'll be seeing a visitor or two before long."
Taro had never figured that strange visitors could be predicted. "What makes you say that?"
"The weather," Kenta said, and nodded towards the distant clouds out the window. "When there's a storm hitting the Islands, that's when visitors show up. Not every time, mind you, but more often than not."
"Now that's weird," Hoku commented.
Taro looked towards the horizon, wondering what this meant. Did the storms that hit the Islands affect other places, too? Drive them away from their homes and force them to travel to whatever port would take them? Or was it more than that? Either way, the idea was a little frightening.
"Well if they do show up during storms, hopefully they stay long enough to see that view on a nice day," he said, and grabbed a few nails so as to hang the mask on the wall.
"Looking good! I'd say this room is about done!" Hoku nodded to the mask.
"Just about..." Taro picked up the mobile, and hung it up above the crib. "There we go."
The bedroom was warm and flooded with light, decorated with greens and yellows. Despite its haphazard construction, it seemed inviting already. It just needed an occupant. "It looks perfect, Taro," Kenta said. "Emi'll love it."
Before Taro could reply, the sound of footsteps echoed back up the stairs...fast, almost frantic. The three men turned towards the door as Rosa burst in, looking winded.
"Rosa, you okay?..."
She looked towards Taro. "Taro...it's Emi. She got hurt."
Writer: lynxgriffin
Rating: No higher than G-PG for now
Spoilers: This takes place even before BBS, so there's some BBS spoilers
Characters/Pairings: Sora's dad/Sora's mom, with a side of Riku's dad/Riku's mom
Warnings: Pregnancy and/or childbirth in later chapters, plus adorable bitties. Also expect some Final Fantasy cameos.
Notes: A pretty short chapter this time; just setting stuff up. Also, beware of cliffhangers...
The long summer had come to an end, and the kids of Destiny Islands returned to school. With the change in schedules came a change in the weather...the heat dropped a little, but stranger than that, dark clouds started to gather on the horizon. Storms happened, and the Islanders knew how to prepare for them, but they were still rare. And for those thick, heavy clouds to just sit on the horizon, barely moving...it was unusual.
Still, work went on, even on days off. Taro and Hoku had since finished the bridge on the kids' island, and it was already in use by the older children. But there was still one more task left to complete...fixing up the upstairs room so that it would be a suitable bedroom for the new arrival.
For the most part, the large stuff was done...they had a crib handed down from Emi's parents, stuffed with soft blankets. There was a desk that would remain out of use until the baby had grown enough to need it. Like all the rooms in the house, and indeed like practically all homes on the Islands, it was built with odd angles, giving it a slightly haphazard but homely look. Now all that was left were a few furnishings.
Hoku hauled up a couple of throw rugs striped green and blue, and tossed them onto the ground next to Taro, who was busy assembling a mobile. The mobile was made up of colorful tropical fish, carved out of wood. "Emi trusts you to pick out a good rug?" Hoku asked.
"Yes, she's said anything with green is fine," he replied. Families usually didn't buy pink or blue baby things anyway, since there was no way of knowing beforehand whether an unborn baby was a boy or a girl. He set aside the mobile for a moment to pull out a round rug with green stripes, and stretched it out on the floor near the crib.
"Lucky...Lana always got final say on what we put in Riku's room," Hoku said, leaning against the doorway. "Made everything in the room blue!"
"Emi picked out a few things, but mostly she's been down at the school," Taro mused, and finished hooking up the last fish on the mobile. He held it up, and smiled at the colorful fish dangling from the top bar. "Sometimes she's gone even longer than I am."
"Hard-working woman right up until the big day, huh?" Hoku crossed his arms and glanced out the window. The kids' island was visible from the bedroom view, bright in the afternoon sun.
"Yeah..." Taro shook his head. "I keep telling her she's working too hard, but she just shrugs it off."
Taro had been telling himself not to worry too much about Emi, and it had been working, mostly. He still couldn't really figure out what she was thinking, but she said she was happy, so he believed her. His thoughts were interrupted by a brief knock downstairs, and then the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Hoku and Taro turned to see Kenta come up, with something tucked under his arm.
"Hey Hoku, Taro! Hope you don't mind me dropping by," he said with a friendly wave.
Taro went and hung the mobile up by the ceiling. "Not at all, Kenta. We're close to finishing."
"I heard so from Rosa, so I thought I'd stop by with a little something." He presented the object under his arm, which was a small wooden mask, decorated with leaves and feathers. "Got this one awhile back and it's been sitting in the library since then...thought it might be something you'd like to decorate the room with."
Taro took the mask and examined it. It was a little spooky-looking, but not frightening...the sort of thing that a little kid would like to play with. He smiled at Kenta. "It's great, Kenta! Thanks, you didn't have to do that."
Kenta shrugged. "It's nothing, I like giving the new kids something fun and unique. Hoku knows!"
Hoku nodded. "I'm surprised you haven't run out of gifts from visitors yet! Haven't seen any strange people in over a year, it seems like."
"Yeah...it's been pretty quiet at the hotel lately. But I'll bet you anything that we'll be seeing a visitor or two before long."
Taro had never figured that strange visitors could be predicted. "What makes you say that?"
"The weather," Kenta said, and nodded towards the distant clouds out the window. "When there's a storm hitting the Islands, that's when visitors show up. Not every time, mind you, but more often than not."
"Now that's weird," Hoku commented.
Taro looked towards the horizon, wondering what this meant. Did the storms that hit the Islands affect other places, too? Drive them away from their homes and force them to travel to whatever port would take them? Or was it more than that? Either way, the idea was a little frightening.
"Well if they do show up during storms, hopefully they stay long enough to see that view on a nice day," he said, and grabbed a few nails so as to hang the mask on the wall.
"Looking good! I'd say this room is about done!" Hoku nodded to the mask.
"Just about..." Taro picked up the mobile, and hung it up above the crib. "There we go."
The bedroom was warm and flooded with light, decorated with greens and yellows. Despite its haphazard construction, it seemed inviting already. It just needed an occupant. "It looks perfect, Taro," Kenta said. "Emi'll love it."
Before Taro could reply, the sound of footsteps echoed back up the stairs...fast, almost frantic. The three men turned towards the door as Rosa burst in, looking winded.
"Rosa, you okay?..."
She looked towards Taro. "Taro...it's Emi. She got hurt."