2026-04-19: A Boy for Yua's Birthday
- Log: A Boy for Yua's Birthday
- Cast: Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin
- Where: Aoba General Hospital
- OOC Date: 2026-04-19
- IC Date: Sun, Oct 28 2012 (forward-dated)
- Summary: Yua's held in hospital for a day to make sure she's well, after what Miho says is an attack from a crazed fan who broke into Pyramid Plaza to attack them. Yua shares her devastated feelings over the assault, while Miho tries to maintain she has little to be hurt, out in public scrutiny without her medication to aid her. But when their doctor comes in to perform an ultrasound, Yua and Miho get some good news to balance out all the bad -- Hiroki really IS a boy! Even so, the high blood pressure they measured is concerning... and Dr. Matsuhashi advises methods by which Yua must keep it lower, for his health. A random assault might be unavoidable, but there must be something she can do to stay away from stress...
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua has a great many visitors, in hospital. In the morning, there's Fuyu and Yume Ooshiro, who's off school on a Sunday -- and Natsumi and Ritsuko Ijuuin, who both don't have as many household duties as women without maids, all the better to free up their schedules -- and, of course, Kimitake Ijuuin, Yua's husband. He clasps her hand in support, though makes no untoward moves towards her, and expresses deep relief that she came out of a meeting with the Black Mask alive. (For he's the only one they can tell just who attacked them, the night before Yua's birthday.) He thanks Miho for staying tirelessly by her side, in that comfortable chair they've provided her at the hospital, and urges Yua to stay until all the tests they couldn't run overnight have been done.
He, of course, does not stay.
He's very busy, but he came to see her anyway... isn't that nice?
Perhaps one can't blame him; there's so much waiting, in hospital. Yua reaches out, to where Miho is seated beside her, to grasp her hand; her other arm, of course, has a drip running through it, as much to correct her dehydration as anything. "It's a little sad, right...? It is my birthday..." A few of her visitors have pointed it out -- including Kimitake, who expressed both regret and well-wishes.
"Moouuuu..."
The good thing is, even if they're in public, it's more acceptable to offer comfort to someone who's sick.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
There are flowers, at least.
Miho arranged to have them sent from her phone, without so much as a word about them until they arrived; she knew that something like that would help... especially including a few Okinawan blossoms to make Yua more comfortable.
These are some of the ways that Miho can help, instead of simply waiting; she is not overfond of waiting.
She's been here, though. She has, of course, been here, and Miho acepts Yua's hand, squeezing gently.
"It is," Miho agrees. "It is not the ideal way to spend one's birthday."
She has been largely quiet, withdrawn. One may even assume that she is plotting, but her mind has been racing.
...Of course, it's not that she remembered to grab her medication before coming out...
But that's not important right now.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
Yua adored the flowers, when they came. She named them all, and teared up, to see them on her little patient's cabinet beside her bed.
The worst part is, in hospital, it's hard to sleep... especially with all those tests. And Miho's had to stand by for all of them, to assure Yua that they really are for her own good, this time.
"I guess that's why he did it last night," Yua sighs, looking down to their hands. "He was being mean..."
Her fingers tighten, around Miho's. There are things she hasn't gotten around to saying, in these sleepless hours; she finds them only now, after her terror's abated. "He made me do a really mean thing to you, Mimi... are you okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho smiled, when she saw Yua's reaction to the flowers. It does not matter to her right now who people think sent them.
But, Yua has a theory, and Miho inclines her head. "It's very possible," Miho says. "Cruelty appears to be his primary means of operation--which makes him more popular in that organization in turn."
Many things that haven't been said, but--
Miho shakes her head. "Do not trouble yourself about that," she asks. "It does not trouble me overmuch. You did what you had to do, to protect Hiroki. As did I."
Her feet required a bit of attention from the doctors, for her part; she walked over too much debris and fire. ...But she has on loose shoes, now.
But none of that actually answers whether she's 'okay'. Just what she doesn't want Yua to worry about.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
They assume her husband sent them, of course. Who else?
"Would they accept us more... if I were more cruel?" Yua wonders, sadly. "Trapping people like that... I could do it, Mimi."
But it was cruel. She did a cruel thing, to her wife. (To the woman who should be her wife.)
"But... your feets, Mimi," Yua pouts, and of course she says it like that. "You were hurt... and... and you were so tired... and..." Her lip wibbles, and Miho may well have to be quick with the Standard Issue Box Of Tissues to make sure that she doesn't start crying without anything to soak them up.
(Luckily?, she didn't have any time to put on makeup, today...)
"... I'm not okay," she admits, quietly. "So... so you're not okay either, right...? Even if you're stronger than me... it was still really scary..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Maybe," Miho allows. "Or maybe they would exploit that, instead. ...Personally, I doubt it; we are women, and that means we are not 'meant' to hold power of our own. That... That I will change."
Her feets! Of course she does. "I was," Miho says, "And I was. But know that I don't hold that against you; as I said, we both did what we had to do." Even before she finishes talking, she has the box of tissues to place in Yua's hand.
"It was," Miho says. "...Battle doesn't scare me, in general. But knowing that I could not protect you... That was frightening."
"I do not like it."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"... he called me a 'stupid cow'," Yua sniffles, and that's apparently her greatest encapsulation of all the power she's not holding.
She dabs at her eye, the crinkled tissue falling onto her lap, beside that box. "What I have to do... I make a lot of things okay because it's what I have to do," she reflects, sadly. "But I didn't like it, Mimi... I didn't like hurting you."
Yua reaches out, again, to rub Miho's arm. "Even though I put you in a bad position, you were really amazing," she offers her, trying to smile, though it fades a moment later. "But... it must have been really hard, trying to get up that tower, knowing... knowing he was there, and..."
She swallows, and shakes her head. "He -- he wasn't pointing his gun at me a lot," she says, trying to make it better with the technicality. "Just, just waving it about... I just... I was still very frightened. He said he could tear me to pieces even if I used Gretchen to attack him... I couldn't do anything. Mooou... so I guess... I don't like it either, right...?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho scowls. She doesn't like that, either.
But Yua reflects on it. "You challenged me," Miho says. "...I look at it that way, instead. Most of the actual harm came through the Shadows he drew to us. The rest was more than unsettling, but was something my mind and body could focus upon. Could test myself against."
"...Reality turning against me is something I am familiar enough with."
But Miho smiles faintly at Yua, as she tries. "Thank you. ...It was, yes."
He didn't point it a lot... Hm. "He didn't need to, at that point. And he may have been correct. ...He's strong. Stronger than..."
Than he ought to be, really.
"No, neither of us like it. But we have passed their test, for now. ...And come through it with little and less inclination towards them."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"I don't want to make your reality all topsy-turvy," Yua insists, "but... but even though I let those Shadows through...? If it was just a challenge, I... I guess that's okay... Mimi likes challenges..."
But she does not like Yua being held at gunpoint. "Mm," Yua nods. "When -- when I woke up, and -- and there was metal pressing into my belly, and -- and I realised it was a gun, I -- w-why did he have to put it there? Against Hiroki! Hiroki didn't do anything wrong...!"
Yua's breath hitches in another sob, and she grabs her tissue, to scrub at her eye again. Snif...
"He's too strong... but he said he'd leave us alone, right? S-so long as we played our parts?" The worst part is how she sounds desperately hopeful, saying that. "They're mean to us... b-but we can't get away that easy, Mimi. Hauuu... my eye, your hand... they won't just let us leave. A-and, the drugs..."
Miho had to make sure to get a dose of Yua's Persona Suppressants into her, before the ambulance came.
Just in case.
But it's just in this moment -- teary and scared -- that there's a knock at the door of Yua's room.
(For all that a hospital's care is equitable, the Ijuuin's top-notch medical cover does afford them some preferential treatment... like a single room.)
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"I know," Miho says gently. "But it's all right."
Miho definitely doesn't like Yua being held at gunpoint. That much is sure. "To scare us that much more," Miho surmises. "If it were against me, I might risk being injured to protect you; if it were against you, you might risk the same. But against Hiroki... He knew that neither of us would take a risk."
"Yes." Pause. "...No, it won't be easy. But that does not mean we can fail to try. ...They won't just let it be, no. But..."
There is something they can do, or must be. Before--
"Ah?"
"Let's get ourselves presentable for the doctors," Miho suggests. Then, when Yua is ready, "Enter."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"I can't wager Hiroki... I can't wager you or Hiroki, but Hiroki isn't strong like you, Mimi, he can't even defend himself, he's so little...!" Yua must have been put in the mindset of wagering by that horrible event...
"Mm... we can try..." Though Yua sounds uncertain, about her capacity to do that.
But there's a knock, and Yua gasps, "ah--!", in mirror echo to Miho. She nods, swallowing down her grief, and pats at her eye with a tissue; "Mimi, Mimi," she insists, holding the box up for her, too.
Even if Miho can't cry here... Yua can still acknowledge that she's hurting.
"I'm okay," she assures her, a moment later. And so, at Miho's summons --
Dr. Himari Matsuhashi enters, wheeling with her an ultrasound machine. "Good morning, Ijuuin-san," she smiles, as she draws the curtains closed, to give them a little extra layer of privacy beyond the closed door; of course, Miho's included inside them, because Yua's long since communicated her wishes to her.
"Good morning, Doctor," Yua says, glancing down.
"Has everyone been treating you well?" She asks, with concern. "I know you'd prefer not to go to hospital..."
Yua shakes her head, with a wan smile. "It's okay," she says. "Mimi's been with me the whole time, so no one did anything bad!" As if... the only reason she didn't get experimented on is because Miho's been looking out for her?
"I see..." Dr. Matsuhashi inclines her head, as she pulls up a chair at Yua's other side, sliding the IV pole back a little to make room for her machine. "I'm sorry for the delay. I'd like to perform an ultrasound, to see how Hiroki is doing. Is that all right?"
"Okay," Yua nods, as she reaches out, to take Miho's hand. And then, shortly afterwards -- "It's cold!" She yelps, as if the gel which Himari has to spread on her stomach to aid the imaging isn't always cold.
"Sorry," Dr. Matsuhashi apologises, anyway. "Please try to stay still... can you tell me what happened?"
Yua pauses, and then looks to her other side. "Mimi...?"
She's asking Miho to come up with what happened; a story of an attack and home invasion by someone they didn't know, who terrified them only to leave without taking anything.
It will end up as a minor news story, given the 'break ins' which occured on lower levels -- but was it a crazed fan, or a once-jailed criminal seeking to get back at Kimitake...?
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Yes," Miho says. "That's right."
But... If Yua doesn't feel she can try, Miho will take up that part, too. For now.
Miho accepts the box, taking it with both hands and setting it in her lap. And so the doctor comes in.
"Good morning, Doctor," Miho greets as well. But Yua credits her with the lack of trouble. Miho nods.
But she doesn't say much at first; instead, she listens as Dr. Matsuhashi indicates her desires. Miho lets Yua take her hand, and--
...Ah.
"It was a break-in," Miho explains. "A fan I think, from the things he said..."
She can't blame Kimitake for it; it's not as if it's his fault, and adding trouble to his story would be wrong. So... she should take more responsibility.
"When we awoke, he didn't stay much longer; apparently the reality wasn't to his liking."
"There was a bit of a struggle," she explains. "...But the stress was hard on Yua, and so... we came here."
Pause. "My own scrapes and such have also been seen to, of course. But I'm here primarily for Yua."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mm," Yua nods, hearing Miho's explanation. (And it's the first time she's hearing it, even if Miho, perhaps, has had to give this explanation more than once. ... she was quite beside herself, when they came in.) "H-he... he pushed a gun into my belly... he pointed it at Hiroki!" And it's not the whole story, but it's close enough to the truth that she's tearing up again: "He had a gun... it was so frightening..."
"That does sound very frightening," Dr. Matsuhashi frowns, with concern. "In a country like this... and this isn't even the first time you've been attacked by a fan," she recalls, looking to Miho. "It must be very confronting, that one of those crazed fans went so far as to assault your partner... I hope they're able to catch him."
"He hurt Mimi," Yua says, dismal. "He's... a bad fan!"
(Well, in that they're not really fans of Miho and Yua, it's not entirely a lie...)
"I do at least have good news for you," she assures them, as she directs that probe to image the child inside her. "It looks like Hiroki's behaving normally, in there... I don't see anything that's concerning me regarding him. Though..." She adds, thoughtfully, as she changes the view a little. "I think I do see... it's a little early, but would you like to know what gender Hiroki is?"
Yua brightens, grasping Miho's hand anew. "Mm!" She hums, affirmatively, looking to Miho again. They got that blood test, of course, but...
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho has had to say it a number of times; it's given her time to stick to it, avoiding adding too many unnecessary details. But Yua remembers, of course--the gun. It's close enough...
"I do not like guns," Miho says sincerely. "...And no, it is not. I suppose that is the nature of fame. I wish, though, that I could have shown him finer 'hospitality'." She says it darkly.
"...Hopefully," she says of catching him. "I suppose we'll see."
But a bad fan. True in more ways than one. ...Mostly at being a fan in the first place...
But good news? "That's wonderful," Miho says. "Hmm..." Nothing concerning, but--
Miho brightens slightly. "Yes," she says, looking to Yua at the same time. "I believe we would."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mimi had to be careful... since I was there..." Yua adds, sadly, on the heels of Miho's dark addendum. "It was really... really tense... and hard..."
"It sounds as if it was a deeply traumatic experience," Dr. Matsuhashi agrees, and her concern is kind.
But she smiles, when Miho responds well to her good news -- and Yua does, too, as soon as Miho's demonstrated that it's safe to trust good news from a doctor. When they affirm their interest, she turns the screen towards them, a little more, so they can better see. "It might be a little hard to interpret this image." she admits, but if you have a look at his belly, there... I do believe you are, in fact, having a boy. You wanted to be doubly sure, didn't you?" She asks, smiling.
"He's really a boy?" Yua asks, brightening up. "Really, really?" ("Really, really," Dr. Matsuhashi echoes, in Yua's fashion.) "Mimi!" Yua chirps, tugging at her hand, as she looks to the screen. "Look, look! We can see him, right there! And he's a boy, Mimi! We're having a boy...!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"...I'd have had to be careful regardless," Miho points out, perhaps trying to spare Yua's feelings. "But I was all the more careful for you, yes." A traumatic experience...
Well, that obviously applies to Yua. "It was unpleasant," Miho says.
She smiles though. it's even sincere; she isn't as dissociated as she was earlier, just distant and thoughtful. But to interpret the image... Hmmm.
"Ah!" Miho says, and she is pretty sure she can see.
"We did," Miho confirms, and smiles warmly at Yua. "We are," she says. "He's a boy."
"...That's wonderful. That's just what we hoped. And what Yua was sure of, for that matter."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"He was mean!" Yua agrees, with Miho's decree of unpleasantness.
(She would of course argue that Miho was also hurt... but she can't argue it too fiercely out here, in front of someone else, when Miho's under strain.)
Yua squeezes Miho's hand, and now, she's all smiles. "Mm, mm! I prayed every day! And we got that blood test done, too, and that said he was a boy, but a blood test couldn't say something like that for sure... I had to see!"
It's a strange mix of belief and scrutiny, but Dr. Matsuhashi is of course already briefed on why Yua might not trust the medical establishment. "Congratulations," she smiles, to them. "We'd like to do a couple more tests -- I'm worried about your blood pressure, Ijuuin-san. High readings this early suggest chronic hypertension..."
"Huh?" Yua tilts her head. "You mean I'm really tense? Um, I guess I'm stressed?"
"No, no," Dr. Matsuhashi shakes her head. "Hypertension means that your blood pressure is quite high. Earlier in your pregnancy, we expect it to be lowered... so high ratings like these are a little concerning to us. Your stress can certainly be contributing... but if we're not able to address it, it could lead to pre-eclampsia."
"That sounds bad," Yua says, frowning.
"It is bad," Dr. Matsuhashi agrees. "But there are tablets we can put you on."
"More tablets?" Yua pouts. "Mooouuuu..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Very mean.
Miho might come around to the idea eventually but for now it just seems obvious; Yua was more hurt.
She prayed every day. "We did," Miho remembers the blood test. "And now you have." Seen.
She may not sound very effusive, or look it, but this is a sort of warmth that spreads from Miho's heart, a real feeling that thaws some of how she's been over the past day. However...
Hypertension. "It's true that you're stressed," Miho agrees, "But what she says is more serious than ordinary stress." She tries to support the doctor! But to bad...
"You can handle it," Miho says of the tablets. "It's for him, remember?"
"Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate your expertise."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mooouu... you're right," Yua smiles, to Miho. "Since it's for Hiroki, I can do it!"
"I'm glad you have a reason to go to the trouble," Dr. Matsuhashi says, sympathetically. "With these tablets, I'd like you to keep an eye on your blood pressure..."
"But Sachie-san's been doing that!" Yua insists, pouting. "It hasn't been too bad, right?"
"Not when she's been measuring it," Dr. Matsuhashi admits. "But I'm very concerned about all this stress in your life, Ijuuin-san. You must find a way to distance yourself from... at least some of it... though I know there's nothing you could have done to avoid being attacked." Does she suspect there's more to the story, when Yua so often has to come in for check-ups after experiencing stress? ... well, she has a running theory, though she's at least quite sure Miho isn't exploiting her.
"Okay," Yua nods, squeezing Miho's hand again. "And the tablets will help if we get attacked again?"
"Ah... I suppose, in a sense, they would," Dr. Matsuhashi says, "though I do hope such a horrible thing doesn't happen to you twice. Now... do you have any questions for me before I go?"
"Mmm... uh-uh," Yua shakes her head, before she looks to Miho, for confirmation.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
The extra stress... Miho squeezes Yua's hand, and nods. "Of course," Miho says of avoiding being attacked, looking to Yua for a moment. "I'm sure we can find a way," Miho says then of distancing her. "I'll just have to work harder to protect her," she resolves.
But the tablets...
"I also hope that," Miho says. "It's not right that... my troubles, become her troubles."
But questions...
She looks to Yua, and then Miho looks to Dr. Matsuhashi again. "I... don't think so. Thank you."
Even if she usually does.