Snake

BEGINNINGS

I woke up having to pee badly. It was 12:12 a.m., and my husband wasn't home.

Rin tends to leave different times of the day, and I usually don't question him. But for some reason, this wasn't sitting well with me.

I called his phone and left a message just wanting to know if he was okay. There was no way to know if he was safe unless I could hear his voice.

I crunched on some baby carrots and finished my Freddy marathon. Then I felt the baby move, and I smiled.

After a few minutes, I got a sharp pain, and I knew that wasn't the normal braxton hicks. I did the breathing exercises that Rin and I practiced together, and the pain calmed a little.

I went to grab my phone to call my midwife. She answered on the second ring.

"Hi Violet, did the contractions start?"

"Y-Yes...uuhhhh." The pain hit me at that moment.

"Okay, how far along?"

"Every two minutes."

"Tell Rin to run you a warm bath."

"Okay...aaahhhh! Shit!"

"I'm on my way."

She hung up and I went to run the water. I didn't think to tell her that he wasn't here. I'm in pain and can't think straight.

I got undressed and waited for the tub to fill up, and I clenched the sides of the tub while another contraction hit me.

My midwife knew the code to the door, so I got in the tub and let the warm water ease the pain in my lower back and abdomen.

"Whew, thank you, Lord."

I kept breathing, but then another contraction hit. After the pain went away, I grabbed my phone off the toilet seat and called my husband again....no answer.

The pain hit me again, and I screamed.

"Aaaahhhhhh! Nishimura where the fuck are you!"

***

It was thirty minutes later and Isamu wasn't going down easily. His face was bruised with one swollen eye but he kept getting back up.

"You are not leaving here tonight, Hebi!"

He charged toward me and I kneed him in the face. Both my elbows connected with each side of his jaw and he fell to the hard stone ground.

I felt this wave in my chest and a pain in my side. It instantly hit me.

"The baby."

Isamu hit when I was in thought but all that did was piss me off as I tasted my own blood.

I countered with right and left hooks to his face and stomach. I kept going until the muscles in my arms burned and my knuckles began to bleed.

I stomped on his face as I got a surge of energy running through my body. The sounds of cracks and crunches didn't stop me until Isamu no longer moved.

When I stopped, I noticed members standing around me. Isamu was dead and I may have to fight more.

"The fight is over." I breathed heavily.

"Are you sure about that?"

I heard another voice. It was an elder standing at the bottom of the steps. A wave went through my chest again, and I began to shift.

My skin changed, my sharp black claws ripped through my fingertips, and my limbs became extra flexible. I could hear the sound of swords being pulled.

"I guess the Doku Clan ends tonight."