Shattered Skies: The Morning Lights

CHAPTER 53: At the Shrine of Friendship

Chapter 53: At the Shrine of Friendship

TSAB L-Class Inspection Cruiser Arthra

The Lighthouse

"Come on, Akemi! You can't do this to us! Please, you have to stop!"

Gurio Umino's plea went unheard. His infant daughter Akemi squalled and screamed and hollered just as she had been for the last two hours, flailing her tiny arms and legs. She didn't look to be stopping anytime soon, if ever. The scientific part of Umino's mind marveled at her lung capacity, to say nothing of her stamina. Where that came from, he didn't know, for it definitely wasn't from his side of her genetics. Briefly he wondered if Naru might not have passed on her temper and stubbornness through hers... but then he dismissed that thought, because he truly did love Naru with all his heart, and parenting was difficult for both of them.

He truly loved Akemi as well... he just wished that she would stop her tantrum before his splitting headache escalated into a full migraine.

Naru was taking a nap, safely ensconced in hers and Umino's "quiet room", which had been magically soundproofed by the TSAB mages to give her a place where she (and Umino) could rest without interruption if they needed it. Once Akemi's colic problem became common knowledge throughout the ship, the mages came back and soundproofed the rest of the walls and bulkheads as well, for the benefit and sanity of those in the neighboring quarters.

"Look here, Akemi!" said Umino, snatching up one of her favorite stuffed toys from the floor and waving it over her crib. He shouted to be heard, but the racket all but drowned him out. "It's your ducky, Ahiru-chan! Don't you want your ducky?"

Still she wailed, apparently not caring one bit about Ahiru-chan or anything else.

"Quack quack quack!" said Umino. "Quack quack... quack?" His valiant attempts petered out, there was no getting through. Gingerly he reached into the crib and placed Ahiru-chan at Akemi's side, in hopes that maybe holding on to her would help.

Seconds later, Ahiru-chan hit the ceiling over the crib, hurled with a ferocity that Umino had to admit was impressive.

Seized by sudden inspiration, he sprinted for the adjoining kitchen, and came back with his hands over his face and his glasses in his pocket. "A-ke-mi," he said in muffled singsong as he turned away from her, "look at Daddy! Look!" With that he pivoted back and waggled his tongue out, while also stretching his cheeks and eyelids. The two chopsticks shoved into his nostrils were an emergency measure, an embellishment brought on by desperation. Perhaps it would be best not to inform Naru about this one, he thought. "Ack-thpppt!" he said, shaking his head vigorously. "BLEARRGH! BORK-BORK-BORK! HARGBLE!"

No response. If anything, she only got louder.

Umino massaged his aching temples and wracked his brains. All of the standard methods had been failures: he tried feeding her, burping her, singing to her, changing her, bathing her, the works. Waking Naru up for help was an absolute last resort, but this time he doubted whether even she could do anything. "Oh God," he said, inclining his eyes to the ceiling. "Help me, please!"

With suspiciously apropos timing, the front door's chime rang, almost inaudible over Akemi's outburst. Umino ran for the door and jabbed the open button... one could be forgiven for thinking he was trying to escape.

The sudden blast of noise from within their quarters did precisely nothing to shake the girl standing in the corridor outside. Wearing the same lack of expression she almost always wore, Homura Akemi waited patiently while Umino stepped out of the door frame and into blessed quiet. Her cold violet eyes scanned over his disheveled state: his rumpled pajamas, his five-o'clock shadow, his frazzled hair, the murky bags beneath his eyes. "This appears to be a poor time to visit," she said, shrewd as ever. "I should return later."