Star-Crossed Hearts

Sleepless Nights: Under the Web; Kidomaru

I tossed and turned, finally opening my eyes to stare at the ceiling.

D*** summer nights in the Sound. It's always hot, even in a cave.

I threw the sheet off in an attempt to cool down. D***, why is it always so hot?

A small rustle above my head made me lean back a little, catching a glimpse of feet dangling.

"Karu," I accidentally growled. I slapped a hand over my mouth when I realized how p***ed off I sounded.

No reply came.

I sighed. "Karu, I know you're awake. Don't pretend," I groaned, rubbing my temple with one hand.

Another rustle, followed by the soft tap of a pair of feet hitting the floor.

"I'm sorry, daddy. I didn't mean to wake you."

I looked up at my six-year-old son, Karu. He had inherited a lot of my looks; tan skin, black eyes, the six arms; and had my web-spitting abilities. His personality, straight silky hair, and soft eyes and smile came from Marrietty, his mom.

Right now, he was playing with his mom's rosary, a keepsake she left for us. His hair was pulled in my trademark ponytail and was currently sporting a basketball shirt I gave him, making all his arms visible, and white shorts.

I smiled. "Couldn't sleep either, huh, kiddo?"

He shook his head.

I motioned for him to come closer and he climbed onto the web-hammock with me. His pet spider, Clemetine, jumped on his shoulder from his hammock above me.

Call me paranoid, but if our sleeping places are arranged like that, anyone who comes in trying to kill Karu may find a knife in his gut.

He moved between my legs and positioned himself to wear the back of his head rested on my chest and his back rested against my stomach. He reached down and grasped one of my hands with one of his as I did with mine.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Why can't you sleep?"

I leaned back. "Too d*** hot."

Clemetine scuttled onto my shoulder and nuzzled my face with her front legs. I rubbed her head with a finger while Karu leaned back to match my position.

"Dad?"

I looked down at him. "What?"

"Do you....do you miss Momma?"

The question caught me off guard. It was only two years ago, when Marrietty died, when I found Karu......

My mind flashed back.

Karu just....sitting there, wet from the drizzle, cold, crying, shivering, and scared, hiding in the forest near her dead body.....

I shook that memory away. That was the past.

"Daddy?"

I just realized that I was breathing hard and fast, like when you wake up from a nightmare.

"I'm.." I swallowed. "I'm okay. I'm okay, kiddo."

He looked away from me. "It's alright. I know you miss her."

"I do."

I looked at the picture on the dresser. Marrietty, holding on to me while I picked her up, both of us smiling, and Zaku photobombing in the background with a peace sign. We were all so happy.....

Even though that two years ago, I still hadn't quite gotten used to the fact that she was gone. Karu was all I had left now. He was my family.

His head leaned against my chest, the soft breathing against my skin. He was asleep. Clemetine jumped off, crawling into a corner as I undid the hair tie in his hair. His hair fell over his shoulders, the silky strands like fine spider thread. His face and hair reminded me so much of his mother.

I smiled, looking up at the picture of Marrietty holding him as a baby. It was the only thing Karu had, when I found him.

My eyes drifted to the one next to it. Nostalgia hit hard. It when all of us were still together, when Tayuya was still with us....

Tayuya was holding her newborn son, Kima, Kimimaro supporting his child's head. Sakon was resting his head on Ukon's shoulder, who was holding Tayuya from behind. Sakon's sons were climbing on their father, and their sister, Taiya, was looking up at the their newborn brother.

Tayuya was certainly a strange woman. She had a hormonal imbalance, leading to having Taiya with Ukon. Sakon got jacked on a weird drug, did Lord knows what, and she had his twins. Then she had another hormone screw-up, and had Kima with Kimimaro.

I was in the background, photobombing them from the ceiling. Kin was petting Kima's white fuzz, her boyfriend, Zaku, was holding their daughter, Katran. Dosu was standing way in the background, hiding something behind him. Jirobo was standing a little ways back, eating something again.

Now, Tayuya, Sakon, Ukon, Kimimaro, and their kids are gone, missing. They were like my family, the only people to draw me out of my shell.....

Now, Karu is my only family.

And I won't let him slip away like everyone else.

I let myself fall asleep, holding my son close, to keep the last thing I loved from slipping away.....