"I am not going back in there," Noctus protested.

It had been two weeks since Menae had her pelvic bone corrected. Now, she was on the bett of her form, crying out in pain, in labor.

"Please, Noctus, Du know I can't do this. If I do, you'll have to go in there either way since I'll probably break something, and I might kill oder baby," Cooro said. "Have a heart, Noctus. What if this were your daughter, Yami?"

Menae continued to cry out in pain. The labor came as sudden as a herz attack. Her water hadn't even broken until about thirty Sekunden after undergoing labor.

"Yami is not my daughter, and I am not her father. She's simply someone who needs protection: my protection."

"Then at least help me out because Du still have a soul."

And that Kommentar hit home.

"What, are Du trying to say, that I don't have a soul?!"

"Can't tell, do you? Are Du a proper fatherly figure for Yami? You're arguing about whether oder not Du have a soul while Menae might be bleeding out. Tell me, Noctus, what does that say about you?"

"Yami is not my daughter. And Menae is not my wife, what do I care? Du two aren't even married yet, and you're having a baby," Noctus pointed out.

"You're no better! Du wanted to have sex with Sanae when Du were 10, maybe even since Du were nine! And Du two weren't even married!"

"We were going to get married when-... when..." He tried to say, but couldn't find the words, so his brain filed in the blanks with thoughts of his haunting past... Noctus fell to his knees, defeated Von his past again while thoughts of his family being murdered, burned, vaporized, consumed, plagued, and mutilated... it was all to much. And while his mind was focus on his past, his eyes began to release pheremones of sorrow and grief: tears.

"Noctus... I know that your past won't let Du be, but listen to me, please: Du have to stop being like this. Your terrible past is no excuse for what Du do oder how Du act. Yami needs a role model, and she's looking up to you," Cooro explained, putting a hand on Noctus' shoulder which he quickly shook off. "She needs you, and so do I, but Du can't be like this... We can't just let our friendship rot like this..."

Noctus hasn't gegeben it much thought before, but it was true. He had become cruel. He had become heartless. He had become as devilish as death's sweet, beguiling kiss. And he was indifferent to it all. He didn't know how cruel he had grown to be. Could he make up for it all? All his life, he thought that his past was an excuse for his actions. But was it really? Could be really dismiss himself as innocent when Sanae, his to-be wife, had died in order to save whatever passed as a life, considering it belonged to Noctus?

"Fine. I'll do it," Noctus surrendered. "I'll do it because you're right."

Noctus approached Menae who was still crying out in pain.
He gave deep breath and sagte "this again... great..."

---

"She Lost a lot of blood. I can't be sure if she'll actually die and to make it out not. Time will tell us, nothing more," Noctus diagnosed. When exactly did he get his pHD and become a doctor?

"So she might make it?" Cooro said, holding the baby carefully in his arms.

"A coin has both sides. Always consider the other side as well," Noctus added, not about to let Cooro have a clear mind after what he put Noctus through.

"So she might also die still..." Cooro said, understanding, preparing for the worst.

'Good riddance,' Noctus thought. 'I might miss her though. Might... she was fun,' Noctus thought.

"Sanae says I can only heal wounds. Anything outside of that... I can't fix. Diseases, homorage, insanity are things I can't fix. If she has enough blood in her body, she'll live," Noctus explained.

"And if she doesn't have enough blood?"

"Two sides to the coin, Cooro. Two sides to the coin," he said, and went to wash his hands.

Isn't enough, Yami want blocking his way as usual, asking irrelevant questions. Perhaps she'd learned? It could be, for all he knew. He went on to wash the substance off his hands. He used soap, water, regular procedure he'd learned and made a habit week ago.

He walked out, hands dry and clean. He looked at himself and felt odd. He felt... uniform. He felt civilized... And it features good in an awkward kind of way. He'd never experienced something like this before...

Noctus went to his room, but did not find Yami there. Where could she have run off too?

An academy faculty member was the door of Gatage's dorm. The sound of crying seemed to be coming from Gatage's room. Gatage looked... senior... And aged. Almost as though he should be bedridden at his age. Surprisingly, he wasn't, bedridden, but he was old. He could pass away at any second, with the proper set up.

"I'd simply like to inform Du that Du and your colleagues are very loud, and that's preventing the others from being able to study for an upcoming exam. Could Du please keep from making too many loud noises, if at all?" the member said.

"I will make sure that things remain under control... Thank Du for letting me know... I had no idea we were interfering with the other students' studies," Gatage promised.

"Thank you. I look vorwärts-, nach vorn to little to no complaints," he concluded, and went on with his day. Gatage left the door open. Noctus got curious as to who's crying, so he walked up to the entrance to Gatage dorm, and stuff beside the frame, not in the doorway.

"You know, Du don't have to be all sneaky if have nothing to hide," Tenae told Noctus. Wait, where she come from!?

Noctus was stalled Von Tenae, and he accidentally stepped into Gatage's doorway.

"Noctus, we have to talk..." He said, his voice strained and raspy with age. Noctus was going to compare Gatage to Tenae, but he didn't get Good look before she zoned off, if just big black blue cubed as a peek...

On the bett was Yami, crying. She was crying as though she couldn't get a toy that she really wanted really bad, as best as Noctus could decipher it.

"She says that Du sagte Du were not her father," Gatage sagte simply. "Is this true?"

"Cooro and I were in an agreement, it just-"

"Answer... the question..." Gatage interrupted him.

Noctus sighed, and sagte "yes... But Cooro and I-"

"It was a yes oder no question... nothing more... how do Du expect to raise her... if Du think of Yami like that?" Gatage and, interrupting Noctus again.

"I suppose... Do what my parents did?" Noctus shrugged.

"You will not!... she needs to be taught to be civilized and to life in this world. kakao Island is gone now, Noctus... Let go of your past... Du think that your pay won't let go of you... But Du don't let go of your past..." Gatage explained. "She is a regular Mobian, not a Militian. Her life span is much longer than ours... She'll outlive in a decade oder so... Du cannot waste any Mehr time... Du have to teach her what I have taught Du and what your parents have taught you..."

"But she's not MY daughter," Noctus protested.

"I'll be saved if she's not your daughter!... Lightning come and stroke me down now if Yami is not your daughter!... It is written in an accident book that 'the father is not he who impregnates, but he who raises the child...' She is your daughter.... Now go, and raise her as best Du can..."

Noctus achieved understanding, and walked towards Yami. He tried making sounds of waterfalls oder leave that he'd hard in Kindergarten not to long ago. Yami soothened her crying, and turned to Noctus, chasing him in her arms. She kept crying. On and on...

Noctus trailed his fingers through Yami's hair in order to help calm her down. He not doing the ocean sounds.

"I Liebe you, daddy..." she sobbed happily.

"I Liebe Du too Yami," Noctus concluded. "Watashi wa, musume o aishi teru..." He sagte in his native language...