Our Future, Together (Zenyuki)

Tragedy

The birth itself was sudden and unexpected, but surprisingly quiet.
It started when Shirayuki's water broke when she was simply just reading a book in her room. She was really confused for a moment, but quickly alerted Obi, who was close by. Obi got up and ran as quick as he could to the pharmacy to alert the midwife, who was hired to stay at the castle until the child was born. Her, the head pharmacist, and a few other assistants ran quickly to the Princess's quarters while Obi requested for Ryuu to alert the Prince. Ryuu nodded and headed for the inners of the castle, ignoring anyone who asked why he was in such a hurry. They wanted to keep this as lowkey as possible.
When he finally reached his highness's office he bursted through the door without hesitation, breathing heavily because of all the running. He immediately saw Kiki and Mitsuhide on the side of the room, nonchalantly holding hands but giving the young boy a look of irritation for interrupting their moment.
"Ryuu? What's the matter?"
Mitsuhide groaned.
"Where's Prince Zen?"
Ryuu spoke, still panting.
"He got tired, so went to his room for a nap. Why?" Kiki butted in.
"It's Shirayuki."
Their faces immediately went serious.
"We'll alert him immediately. You can return to the pharmacy, Ryuu."
Ryuu nodded and headed back as Kiki and Mitsuhide let each other's hands go and paced out the door, shutting it behind them.
Finally reaching the door where Zen slept behind, Mitsuhide began to knock on the door but Kiki made haste and opened it before his hand could reach the wood of the door.
"Zen." Kiki spoke in a loud, stern tone.
The prince bolted up from his bed in a panic.
"Wh-What!?!" He shouted while rubbing his eyes.
"Shirayuki has gone into labor."
Mitsuhide said, walking further into the doorway.
Zen immediately stood up from his bed, grabbed his shoes on, and ran.
Mitsuhide and Kiki followed, twisting and turning through the castle, avoiding hitting other staff members and various objects. Zen halted when he finally made it to the hall where his wife's room laid. Obi was there, sitting in a chair just by the door. "Well hello, father." He smirked. "When did this start?"
Zen paced over to the man as Obi responded.
"Bout' and hour ago, and labor can last up to eight hours, so you'd better get comfortable, Pops."
Zen sighed as he sat in a chair next to the amber-eyed man, while Kiki and Mitsuhide sat on two chairs just across from them.
"Did she look afraid?"
"You'd think so, but she seemed more determined than scared. Almost as if she was saying 'Alright, time to get this baby out!'"
Zen gave a small chuckle.
"That's not surprising at all. That's actually much like her, to be nervous as hell leading up to the birth, but be fearless in the face of it."
Mitsuhide grinned and put his head in his palm.
"It shouldn't be too long. You'll be a father before you know it, Zen."
Zen started fidgeting.
"Like that makes me feel any better, i'm pretty sure actually being a father is ten times scarier than just expecting to be one."
The green haired man scoffed, brushing off what he had said.
"Oh shut up, we all know you're going to be a great dad."
Zen looked down, still anxious and still unsure.
"How would you feel, if you were just waiting around doing nothing, while Kiki was somewhere else delivering your child?"
Both Kiki and Mitsuhide glared at him disapprovingly.
"Well, I'd know for one thing that Kiki is strong, and could handle it."
Kiki scoffed and elbowed Mitsuhide's side. "Let's drop this part of the conversation. I am not having kids anytime soon."
He grinned at her.

Hours, which felt like days pasted. It took several trips to the lavatory and kitchen for snacks to get through it before they even heard any kind of news. By news, they actually just heard a lot of shouting, which somehow made Zen both more anxious, but also relieved. They wanted desperately for someone to come out and tell them that everyone was fine, and everything was going smoothly, but no one had.
Everyone's hearts dropped when everything suddenly went silent. Their ears had gotten used to the shouting and noises coming from the room behind them. After twenty minutes of sitting in absolute silence, and six hours in all, Zen had had enough. He stood and walked past Obi, who had fallen asleep.
"...Zen." Kiki warned in a whisper, trying not to wake Mitsuhide, who had also fallen asleep, but on her shoulder.
Zen ignored her, and knocked anyway.
After a good twenty seconds, Chief Garak answered the door.
"Now isn't a good ti— Oh, Your highness."
"Is everything going smoothly?"
Zen asked, shaking slightly under the anxiety.
Her face looked grim.
"Well, the baby has been born."
Zen's hands shook but covered his mouth to stop him from shouting.
"How come I wasn't immediately alerte—"
Garak signaled him to stop talking.
"There are minor complications, your highness. The child's life is on the line, and we can't have anyone disturb the process."
She shut the door in his face.
He backed away as his eyes started to tear.
Mitsuhide and Obi, who had awakened not long ago, looked even grimmer than before.
"Zen, come sit down."
He stumbled to his chair.
"The child's life?"
His hands tightened around each other as he faced the fact that his child might die. All of this would be for nothing. All the work Shirayuki put into to raise this child, a waste. She'd possibly only be rewarded with a cold and unjustified death.
He heard crying.
Shirayuki's crying.
His heart broke in two, he knew what this meant.
He stood up once again and opened the door quietly, not bothering to knock. He was sick of not being able to be there for her.
She was lying in the bed, half naked, sobbing with something wrapped in cloth in her arms smooshed up against her chest.
He walked briskly to her side as the midwife protested.
He grabbed her head and wrapped his arms around her slowly.
One of her hands clawed at his back while the other still tightly held her child that never got to live.
"Zen... Zen."
She shrieked in between sobs.
He brought his knees up and onto the bed, giving him a better angle to hold her tighter.
"Zen, I'm so sorry."
He brought his mouth to her ear to let of a half-word, half-cry: "Why?"
She continued to speak between sobs. "Bea... Because I wasn't strong enough. I c-couldn't bring the child... intoo— th- the world safely. I-I failed you."
He released his grip on her shoulders and backed away, grabbing her face.
"Shirayuki, you are the strongest, most determined, smartest, and best woman I have ever met. You have not failed me or anyone else. You did exactly what you should've. You're still a hero."
She let out a wail as he rubbed her cheek with his thumb.
The midwives and pharmacist looked grimly at the couple, heartbroken themselves.