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‘Lightning Crashes’
May 7th, 20XX
It had been a long, long night - a night which had not been expected for at least a few more weeks. About ten hours prior, Ren Amamiya and his wife Ann were preparing for bed, hoping for a good night’s sleep following a long day of Ren helping Yusuke prepare for his latest gallery appearance. All of that changed when Ann let out five words just as she settled into bed.
“I think the baby’s coming!”
Neither the black-haired business graduate nor the blonde model expected their child to arrive until later that month, but life had other plans. Within minutes, Ren rushed his wife to Tokyo General, with the doctors not wasting any time getting Ann into a hospital bed. The night would continue on, with the doctors waiting patiently for the married couple’s baby boy.
As Ann went through the stages of labor, Ren never left her side. Whatever his wife needed, whether it was water, an adjustment to her pillow, or even something as simple as a kiss or her hand being held through the pain, her loving husband was there. The couple had decided not to tell anyone else about the arrival of their newborn until morning had come, so the only company they had throughout the night were the doctors who also attended to Ann’s every need that night. Additionally, Morgana opted to stay home in case any of the other Phantom Thieves came by to check on the soon-to-be parents.
As the hours tore on, a storm was brewing over Shibuya that night. It wasn’t a particularly violent storm at the moment, but the sounds of pouring rain and rolling thunder along with the occasional flash of lightning only made Ren more anxious than he already was. All nine months leading up to this day, Ren could only worry about if his newborn, and his wife, would both be fine by the end of the process. Admittedly, the couple took every precaution and piece of advice they could from their own respective parents regarding pregnancy, but the frizzy-haired man still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he had.
At last, the moment had come. As the doctors huddled around the foot of the bed, they instructed Ann to push with every contraction - each one more painful than the last. The blonde had experienced pain many times before, whether from shadows or from the real world, but this was a much different, at times worse, kind of pain. After almost an hour of constant pushing, it was over. After months of Ann dealing with the many mood swings, cravings, and general soreness of carrying a child, she had given birth.
“He’s a beautiful baby boy,” one doctor said as he held the newborn in his hands, running through the usual procedure to make sure the child was healthy - naturally, the doctors were pleased when the baby boy began to cry. It wasn’t a terribly loud cry, but it was nonetheless a welcoming sound for the entire room to hear. The obstetrician offered the newborn to Ann as she reached out, grabbing her son and cradling him in her arms.
“It’s okay,” Ann said softly, “mommy’s here for you.” As the blonde mother slowly rocked her son back and forth to soothe his tears, Ren leaned in to get a closer look at his new son. Even when the young man was given a chance to hold his son in his arms, he still found it hard to believe that he, once a student who was thought to be a troublemaker, was actually a father - just the thought put the biggest grin on his face that his wife had ever seen. At that moment, the married couple felt nothing but pure joy. All of the anxiety, all of the worries about if they had done everything right over the course of the last nine months, was lifted from both of their shoulders.
The doctors gave the couple around thirty or so minutes with their son, allowing the new parents to comfort their child as the placenta was delivered before the doctors requested the newborn be borrowed for examination. As much as it pained Ann for her to be separated from her son even for a few minutes, she knew it was necessary. Ren remained by his wife’s side just as he did leading up to the moment of birth.
“Are you feeling okay?” The young man knew it was probably a stupid question to ask his wife who had just finished labor, but he didn’t know how else to start the conversation.
“So much better,” Ann replied in a relieved tone. “A better question is how do you feel now that you’re a father?”
“Well, it’s certainly a lot to take in,” Ren replied, rubbing the back of his neck due to soreness from the best ten hours. “I mean, I’m just happy we were able to safely bring him into this world.” Tears of joy welled up in his eyes as Ann reached out and wiped them away with her delicate hand.
“Ren, it means so much to me that you stayed here this whole time,” Ann confessed as she then leaned towards the edge of the bed, with the two closing the distance between them to form a soft kiss.
The couple kept up their small talk for what felt like ages. Just as the two picked up their phones to begin making calls to their friends and family to share the great news, the door suddenly opened. A younger-looking nurse stepped into the room and gave the new parents a concerned look on her face - Ann was quick to notice she didn’t return with her son.
“Amamiya-sans,” the nurse said with hesitance, “I don’t know how else to put this but…your son has been transferred to the emergency ward.”
The new parents audibly gasped. Ren’s heart felt like it sank down to the floor, and tears began to well in Ann’s eyes.
“W-w-what?!! B-but I had him in my arms. He was crying,” Ann sputtered in disbelief, “what could possibly be wrong with my baby boy?”
“Pneumothorax,” the nurse simply replied. The pair at the hospital bed stared, not knowing the medical term that was just said.
“Your son has a leak in his lung and it’s allowing air to escape into his chest,” she explained. “We noticed when we took him in for his examination that he wasn’t breathing properly. Upon taking an X-ray our suspicions were confirmed.”
The sleep-deprived mother put her hands over her mouth, while her husband continued to stare at the doorway as the anxiety he had harbored just hours ago attacked him once more.
“He will be given surgery to repair his lungs. It is more than likely he will survive. We have performed this operation many times before, but it will take about a few days afterwards for your newborn to recover. We hope that you two understand.”
“YES,” Ann shouted with tears streaming down her cheeks, “I don’t care if I have to wait an eternity longer than I already have, just PLEASE do whatever you can to save our baby!”
The young attendant nodded before exiting the hospital room. As soon as the door shut, Ann turned and threw her arms around her husband, with the black-haired man allowing his wife to sob into his shoulder. As Ren held his spouse in his arms, he too began to shed tears. For nine months, the married couple hoped and prayed that they had done everything right, and on their part they did, but nothing could have prepared them to hear the news they had received. Outside, a huge strike of lightning flashed through the hospital blinds, the storm outside only intensifying.
—---------------------------------------------
Ren and Ann wasted absolutely no time in contacting the rest of their old Phantom Thief friends, as well as their parents. Much to their dismay, neither of their parents would be able to make it that day as they were currently far from Tokyo. Luckily, their friends made their way to the hospital as soon as they could.
Ryuji and Makoto were the first to arrive, as the married couple had woken up early for their daily workout and immediately responded to Ren’s phone call with the bad news. Naturally, the couple had to cancel their plans and immediately head to Tokyo General - along the way they picked up Morgana from Ren and Ann’s apartment complex, as Ren didn’t want to leave his wife for even one second in her moment of grief, but he obviously didn’t want to leave the feline out of the loop either.
The next to arrive were Yusuke and Haru, who prior to receiving a similar phone call from their former leader, were making the final preparations for their appearance at the art museum in Ueno. Luckily, there was enough time for Yusuke to postpone the event to a later date, allowing him and his wife to come to Ann’s support. Haru brought along a vase of bright Irises she had grown a few days ago, placing it on the table beside Ann’s hospital bed.
The last two to arrive at Tokyo General were Futaba and her newly-wedded husband Akio Iwasaki, who only two days prior had returned to Tokyo from their honeymoon in America.
Unfortunately for the young couple, they were in such a rush to leave their apartment upon hearing the news that they neglected to bring an umbrella - Akio was currently busy drying his wife off with a towel that was present in Ann’s room.
Even with the abundance of support coming from the circle of friends around the room, much of the emotion was somber. Each one of the former Phantom Thieves did their best to assure the new parents that their child would pull through - it was just a matter of riding out the storm. Conversation filled the room as the hours ticked by.
Presently, Makoto stood next to the bed, trying to comfort the emotionally distressed mother.
“Ann,” the brunette softly spoke to the blonde whilst placing a hand on her shoulder, “I know I can’t even begin to imagine what you and Ren are going through right now, but…I just know everything is going to be okay. I promise.” There wasn’t much more she could say, as deep down Makoto wished she could instantly make Ann’s baby boy well again. But her words resonated well with the model.
“Thank you Makoto,” Ann responded through her nervous sniffles. “It’s just…I had him in my arms, he sounded perfectly fine…it was going so well. How did I not notice he wasn’t breathing right? God dammit, I’m such an IDIOT!” She buried her face in her hands and sobbed once more.
“Ann, don’t say that,” Makoto calmly ordered after allowing Ann a minute or so to let her emotions out. “I know how helpless you feel now, but it’s not your fault for not noticing - even the doctors didn’t know anything was wrong either until they took him in for examination.” She used both of her hands to grab a hold of Ann’s left one. “I know you, Ann. You’re not an idiot - you’re strong, and I know your child is too. And after all of this is done you’re going to be the best mother you can be.”
“Th-thank you Makoto,” Ann said with a few tears still in her eyes. She reached her arms out for a hug, with Makoto leaning down to the bed to do so. The heartfelt moment between the two was rudely interrupted by a loud crack of lightning from outside the hospital.
Sitting on the opposite side of the bed was Makoto’s husband Ryuji, doing his best to console Ren, also sitting in a chair beside the bed. Sitting on the former leader’s lap was Morgana, who was watching the rain fall outside the window.
“Hey listen, man,” the fake-blond said, “I’m sure this isn’t how any of us thought this would happen but…I’m sure your kid’s gonna be just fine.”
“Yeah, I’m sure too, Ryuji,” Ren agreed, even with his anxiety eating at him. “It’s just…I thought we had done everything right up to this point. What did I do wrong that our son needed surgery straight out of the womb?” He hung his head in his hands, his fingers running through his messy hair.
“Dude, none of this is your fault,” Ryuji assured, sensing his best friend’s frustration. “I know for a fact you and Ann followed every rule in the book about pregnancy, and whatever your child was born with is not because you did something wrong. If anything, seeing how you guys went through the process only sets an example for us.”
“You’re right,” Ren said as he took a deep breath and removed his hands from his head. He then glanced at the athlete with equal parts gratefulness and curiosity at the last comment he made.
“Wait…do you and Makoto want one too? I’d love to help you out,” Ren offered. Ryuji’s eyes widened as he realized what he just said.
“What? O-oh, well…we’re not exactly trying,” he stuttered in response, “b-but, it would be nice if we did.” The blond let off a nervous laugh, as neither he nor Makoto had shared what he just did with anyone before.
“I’ll tell you what, Ryuji,” the raven-haired man said, “if you and Makoto do end up expecting some day, me and Ann are always a phone call away.”
“Of course, bro. Although, I gotta admit I probably need to become a better chef if that ever happens - there’s no way I could satisfy any cravings Makoto might have with my current skill level.”
“You could definitely take advice from Ren in that case,” Morgana chimed in from Ren’s lap. “There was one time Ann had an incurable craving for fried potatoes and Ren spent a whole day peeling, slicing, and cooking like a week’s worth of them.” Ryuji could only stare at his best friend in amazement.
“For real?!” The three continued the conversation for a while, with Ren sharing various stories about the experience he and Ann had over the past nine months.
Sitting on the opposite end of the room were Haru and Yusuke. The artist comforted his somber wife as he occasionally sketched in his notepad, with the subject of his drawing being the vase of flowers that Haru had brought for Ann - like on most occasions it was his way of dealing with the wave of emotions he and Haru were currently feeling.
“Poor Ann-chan,” Haru said in a dejected voice as she looked down at the floor.
“Indeed, she should be cradling her baby boy in her arms right now” her husband added, “but instead she’s faced with the prospect of never seeing her newborn again.” He put down his sketchpad when he felt his right hand being grabbed by Haru’s left.
“Yusuke-kun, all we can do right now is be here to support her and Ren-kun. Just like they’ve been there for us in our times of grief.” Haru could very well remember when her father had a mental shutdown following his change of heart and how supportive the Phantom Thieves, particularly Ren, were of Haru in the aftermath. Likewise, Ren, Ann, and Ryuji all helped Yusuke through the emotional rollercoaster of finding out the truth of his old mentor Madarame and how it related to his mother’s death - it would have been wrong of him to never return the gesture to his friends.
“Sweetheart,” the young woman continued, “I know you were really looking forward to your latest showcase, but it means so much that you came here with me instead.”
“Of course my dear Haru,” the blue-haired man said. “While I am disappointed I couldn’t present my latest masterpiece today as I had hoped, this is much more important than anything at the moment. I’m just grateful the museum allowed me to postpone the date so we may be here in this trying time.”
“And it means a lot that you’re here with us, Yusuke,” Haru cooed as she leaned her head on her husband’s shoulder.
Finally, standing near the window were Futaba and her newly wedded husband Akio, who after drying each other off were both absentmindedly watching the rain fall outside, trying to keep their minds off of how much time had passed.
“Hey, hon,” the dark-haired young man asked his wife, “do you know if Ren and Ann told their parents that they had just given birth?”
“What?” The orange-haired nerd snapped out of her trance. “Ren already told us his folks are out of town but they would get back as soon as they could and Ann said her parents were in America. Neither of their in-laws expected the baby to arrive so soon, I guess.” She lowered her head. “There’s nothing we can do about that, unfortunately.”
“Right,” Akio then remembered they were given that information when they arrived but time had clearly taken its toll on him.
“Nevertheless, I’m just glad we were able to make it here when we could,” Futaba added. “If it had been even a couple days earlier we might have still been stuck overseas. I really would have hated to have let my brother and Ann down.” Her husband nodded in agreement.
Akio then stared out the window for a minute more before posing another question. “Wait, what about your dad, does he know? I mean he’s basically Ren’s second father.”
Futaba’s eyes were wide open as she audibly gasped upon realization that she neglected to contact Sojiro.
“Wait, does he?!” She turned to her brother by the bedside. “Ren, please tell me you told Sojiro about-” Before she could finish her sentence, the door opened; the entire group, hoping it was news on the baby, instead heard a familiar voice.
“Sorry I’m late.” As if by pure coincidence, Sojiro Sakura arrived, putting Futaba’s fear that her father had not been contacted to rest..
“I tried to get here as fast as I could but the traffic was absolute hell because of this storm, so I ended up taking the train instead but even that was backed up.” He then approached the bed where the physically and emotionally drained Ann rested.
“It’s no problem at all, Boss,” Ann assured, giving her husband’s former caretaker a tired smile.
“It just means a lot you came, Sojiro,” Ren said as he stood up from his seat.
“Listen, I’m really sorry that you two are going through this,” the shop owner sympathized. He surveyed the room, seeing that most of Ren and Ann’s friends had already arrived. “Although it does make me happy that you have such a supportive group here. We’re all here for you, kid.”
Ren gave a light smile, as he greatly appreciated all of the support that he and his wife had received.
As the hours continued to tick by, the storm would not let up. The pouring rain combined with the constant lightning flashes followed by thunder did little to lighten up the general mood in the room, in fact it only made the worried sick couple even more on edge as they awaited the news.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, the door to the room opened.
“Amamiya-sans,” the nurse who had given the bad news from before said, “the surgery was a success.”
A smile started to form on Ann’s face.“Wait, you mean?”
The nurse nodded. “Your son is expected to make a full recovery. Congratulations.”
Ann could barely contain her excitement as she turned to face her husband on the other side of the bed. “Did you hear that, Ren?!”
No more words were needed. The blonde threw herself into Ren’s arms as the proud parents shared a long, celebratory hug - the rest of the room was equally thrilled, letting out claps, cheers, and other congratulatory remarks. The couple wasted absolutely no time wanting to see their recovering child in the postanesthesia care unit as a wheelchair was brought for Ann - with the nurse escorting the new mother, Ren followed with the rest of the group staying behind in the hospital room to give the parents their space.
As the door shut, the others in the room resumed their idle chit chat as they waited for the couple to return. Futaba then turned to face the window once more, only this time she noticed something change in the sky above them.
“Hey guys, look! It finally stopped raining!”
Ryuji was the first to face the window’s direction. “Wait, for real?” Indeed, the storm which had persisted through all of Ann’s labor, as well as the surgery which followed, had finally come to an end. The clouds began to move past Tokyo, and the sun shone brightly as it broke through the patchy sky.
“It looks absolutely breathtaking,” Haru remarked.
“Yes,” Yusuke agreed. “It is as if the fierce storm that represented Ann’s struggles has finally let up, now representing the happiness she and Ren must feel knowing their son is going to make it.” Haru giggled at her husband’s use of metaphor, as she couldn’t help but see it the same way.
“I’m sure it was all just a coincidence that the rain stopped just now, but that doesn’t make it any less poetic,” Makoto added as she approached the window herself.
“Heh, guess we don’t need that umbrella anymore,” Akio joked to his wife, “eh, sweetheart?”
Futaba responded by lightly punching her husband before both of them were sent into a laughing fit - the rest of the room joined in the laughter as well.
—---------------------------------------------
The walk from the main ward to the recovery unit, just as the rest of the day felt up to that point, seemed like an eternity of anticipation. The exhausted parents were very eager to see their baby boy again, but they also knew they needed to take it slow for Ann’s sake. At last they reached their destination, coming to a stop in front of the room where their son was currently residing. Per the permission of the nurse who escorted Ann, the blonde model was able to stand up on her feet for the first time since arriving at the hospital, with Ren holding on to her for extra support.
The married couple entered the room, and saw their child resting comfortably on one of the beds; attached to him was a tube which helped control his breathing whilst he recovered. There were currently no other patients, allowing the reunited family some alone time. The Trickster and his Lover approached the bedside, speaking softly as to not wake their child.
“He’s just as beautiful as when I first saw him,” Ann admired as she held her husband’s arm tightly.
“He really is,” is all Ren could say back as tears of joy formed in his eyes. The two stood in silence for a moment as they continued observing their son before Ann spoke up.
“Hey Ren, I know we already picked a name beforehand, but…I think I’m having second thoughts.”
Ren was caught off guard. “Wait, really? But I thought we were pretty confident already?”
“Well, after today…I think I have another name in mind,” the mother said. “After all that’s happened, it genuinely feels like a miracle that we’re able to raise a child after almost losing him to something out of our control.” She paused. “Sachi.”
The name change took Ren by surprise, but when he remembered that Sachi was the Japanese name for miracle, he couldn’t agree more. He gave his wife a big smile.
“Sachi, it is.”