Onihunter Yuna 2

51 A Bald-headed Stranger (Present)

Midori rinsed her mouth with water and then looked in the mirror. A deep sigh escaped her, then she ran her finger along the dark ring beneath her eye that had appeared in the last few days.

She had always thought that pregnant women were thriving, and had already observed this herself. For example at Koko. They had just met for tea last week, as the nurse wanted to get some tips from her, since Koko already gave birth to her first child and was ahead of schedule with the second one.

Of course, there was her best friend Machiko, who was ecstatic and had read through dozens of guides. She and Ken had been trying to have a baby for a long time, but it had not worked out so far. Sometimes Midori got the feeling that her friend was a little jealous of her.

At any rate, Machiko never got tired of providing the black-haired woman with her advice, or lecturing her, if she did something she thought would harm the baby.

Midori was pretty sure it was because of stress. The situation about the Takagi inheritance gnawed at her. She would have liked a solution that would include her wards as well as Yoshiro's and her unborn child. But she did not trust Narusegawa-san in the least. This woman exuded a coldness and arrogance that almost stifled her.

And then there was the dispute between Yuna and Yui. As the younger sister had suggested, she returned to the inn the next day and did not show up again. But both girls had failed to report to their guardian. It annoyed Midori, because she was so worried, but she did not want to wait any longer. She really needed the certainty that everything was alright.

The two events and her pregnancy caused her sleepless nights, and that's how she explained her tiredness.

She feared that she wouldn't make it to the end of her shift because she felt so sick. Constantly, she had to vomit, which Machiko had already identified as food poisoning.

The black-haired woman sneaked to the reception of her floor, where her best friend was just about to write a report.

"I think I'm going home, Ma-chan," Midori explained as she reached the counter.

The other nurse rolled her dark eyes. "Just say you come to your senses, Midori-chan."

"Come on. I think I'm really sick. I've never been so nauseous."

"Then you have to go to a doctor right away. Not that anything happens to the baby." Machiko clicked around on her computer. "I'll make you an appointment right now."

"Ma-chan..." The green-eyed laughed softly. "Don't go all crazy. I'll go home now, take a nice bath and then go to sleep. I'll be feeling better tomorrow."

"You're bathing alone at home?" Machiko asked with a shocked expression.

"Um... yes? I live alone if you forgot that."

Determined, the other nurse shook her head. "You can't do this. It's dangerous. What if you trip or fall asleep in the tub? You have to let one of the girls live with you."

"Ma-chan..."

"And then you surely want to take a hot bath. The water can't be too hot, otherwise something can happen to the baby."

Midori sighed. "Ma-chan..."

"Do you really eat the right stuff? Did you order preparations? You have to make sure that you eat the right nutrients, otherwise it can harm the baby."

Gritting her teeth, the pregnant woman slapped her flat hand on the counter and hissed, "And if you constantly annoy your pregnant friend, it will hurt the baby too!"