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estiriseWhen I needed an image of Aya for OCChallenge, I chose to use Miyazawa Arisa (aka Nozomi from Kamen Rider Blade). Aya herself is an OC, one of those dreaded "child of a canon character" characters.
This fic is set post that story, when Aya and Noboru have established a home. This story retains the early-series "Fangaire" spelling of the "Boxed In" universe.
The Hatchling is Fine
by EstiRose
c 2009
Aya sat, holding one of the babies - “hatchlings”, Noboru insisted on calling them, even though they had been born after nine months by human mothers - gently rocking it to sleep. There were now eight of them, the results of her father’s exertions in the research facility.
At least she had help - her mother, who had surrendered herself in a way to Noboru, and was now voluntarily helping her take care of the infants - at least until her mother got away. She was obligated to stay, after all, and she knew that her mother wanted to leave this place and get away from all the crazy things and people. Go back to the world she’d been born in and be blessed with the fact that she was relatively normal.
Aya hoped her mother would go soon. She could see the strain in her mother’s eyes as she dealt with Noboru and Naoko, the other Fangaire there. She wanted her mother to be happy, not like she was now. The Fangaire had brought in a therapist for her mother, but Aya doubted it was doing much good. In their own world, she’d be declared crazy for any declaration that Aya’s father was not human; in this world, the therapists were much too sympathetic to the Fangaire, especially any that the Fangaire hired.
“How is she?” Noboru asked, entering the nursery.
“Well, I don’t think there’s that much change since the last time you asked,” she answered, amused. “thirty minutes ago.”
“Oh, good, I’ve got a doctor on the way, but....”
“Noboru, calm down. My mom says that she’d all right,” Aya told him. Really, he got worried about the slightest of things.
“Your mother is not a medical doctor,” he said, pacing. “And she doesn’t know Merman physiology. We Fangaire do.”
“Noboru, calm down, I was this way when I was a baby, Mom says. And I came out fine.”
“You didn’t have any doctors that could treat you properly,” Noboru said. “I’m not going to let this happen to her.”
She wished she could reassure him that everything was all right. But Noboru had always been the nervous type. “She’ll be fine,” she repeated. “She’s part of my tribe, Noboru.”
He gave her a tight smile. “You’re not a medical doctor either,” he said. “I’d rather trust the doctor on something like this.”
“Put her in the shallows, and she’ll be fine,” Aya said. “She’ll be fine. That’s what Mom did for me.”
“It might be,” Noboru told her, “But I’d rather hear it from somebody else.”
She nodded, knowing he wouldn’t be satisfied until he did hear it from somebody else. He was naturally very anxious, and he wanted an expert. She had told him everything was going to be fine, but he didn’t quite believe her. In some ways he was still his charge, as much as the babies, and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to any of them.
He just had to find out for himself that nothing was going to be wrong.
Aya let him pace, let him worry until the doctor came. Because he was very good at worry.
This fic is set post that story, when Aya and Noboru have established a home. This story retains the early-series "Fangaire" spelling of the "Boxed In" universe.
The Hatchling is Fine
by EstiRose
c 2009
Aya sat, holding one of the babies - “hatchlings”, Noboru insisted on calling them, even though they had been born after nine months by human mothers - gently rocking it to sleep. There were now eight of them, the results of her father’s exertions in the research facility.
At least she had help - her mother, who had surrendered herself in a way to Noboru, and was now voluntarily helping her take care of the infants - at least until her mother got away. She was obligated to stay, after all, and she knew that her mother wanted to leave this place and get away from all the crazy things and people. Go back to the world she’d been born in and be blessed with the fact that she was relatively normal.
Aya hoped her mother would go soon. She could see the strain in her mother’s eyes as she dealt with Noboru and Naoko, the other Fangaire there. She wanted her mother to be happy, not like she was now. The Fangaire had brought in a therapist for her mother, but Aya doubted it was doing much good. In their own world, she’d be declared crazy for any declaration that Aya’s father was not human; in this world, the therapists were much too sympathetic to the Fangaire, especially any that the Fangaire hired.
“How is she?” Noboru asked, entering the nursery.
“Well, I don’t think there’s that much change since the last time you asked,” she answered, amused. “thirty minutes ago.”
“Oh, good, I’ve got a doctor on the way, but....”
“Noboru, calm down. My mom says that she’d all right,” Aya told him. Really, he got worried about the slightest of things.
“Your mother is not a medical doctor,” he said, pacing. “And she doesn’t know Merman physiology. We Fangaire do.”
“Noboru, calm down, I was this way when I was a baby, Mom says. And I came out fine.”
“You didn’t have any doctors that could treat you properly,” Noboru said. “I’m not going to let this happen to her.”
She wished she could reassure him that everything was all right. But Noboru had always been the nervous type. “She’ll be fine,” she repeated. “She’s part of my tribe, Noboru.”
He gave her a tight smile. “You’re not a medical doctor either,” he said. “I’d rather trust the doctor on something like this.”
“Put her in the shallows, and she’ll be fine,” Aya said. “She’ll be fine. That’s what Mom did for me.”
“It might be,” Noboru told her, “But I’d rather hear it from somebody else.”
She nodded, knowing he wouldn’t be satisfied until he did hear it from somebody else. He was naturally very anxious, and he wanted an expert. She had told him everything was going to be fine, but he didn’t quite believe her. In some ways he was still his charge, as much as the babies, and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to any of them.
He just had to find out for himself that nothing was going to be wrong.
Aya let him pace, let him worry until the doctor came. Because he was very good at worry.
