Two days after Aomine Masaki is gone, Ari's water broke.
And it invites a mess.
The sky is covered with clouds for humans, but other creatures could see the things hidden in those clouds.
"What… Why?" Standing on the roof of the house, Cina croaks when he sees shadows hiding in the clouds. Takayama Ari is in her room, screaming in pain. "We need to take Mother to the hospital."
"Taking her out of this place is dangerous," Sosuri tells him. "We must guard the house. These creatures must not be let in."
"Let's do this." Ai cracks his fingers, prepared. In the past two months, the demons have been staying away since they have guarded Ari for twenty hours of the day. But the demons are overactive today. They must have sensed that the children are going to be born. "Whatever happens, we can't let them reach our sister, Cina."
"Yes." Cina rolls up his sleeves. He looks at the Rain God's people. Ame Onna is not here. Cina takes a deep breath and folds his fingers into a fist. "Come at me, you suckers!"
On the first floor, Takayama Ari howls like a cow being butchered in her room. Ame Onna brings hot water to the room while Rilyah is hyperventilating while telling Ari to breathe.
"I think that you should leave the room if you can't bear to see it," Ame Onna tells the girl who hasn't seen a woman giving birth before. The girl is too pale, on the verge of passing out. "We can't have two patients in this dire time."
"B-But…" Rilyah looks at Ari who is clenching her teeth and trying to push the bundle out. "Will she--"
"I can't do this." Ari cries, "It hurts too much."
"Your mother has done it." Ame Onna scolds Ari, "You can also do it."
Rilyah wonders how her mother felt when she was giving birth to her and her sisters. Was it this painful?
"Breathe," Ame Onna reminds Ari, but it's Rilyah who is inhaling and exhaling, panicking as she sees the baby's head. How is that coming out of that small place?
Even to a goddess, it's a mystery.
"It's almost done."
"Yes, I can see the head."
"Push! You must push now!"
Ame Onna's voice is urgent. Ari purses her lips as she pushes the first twin out of her. Sound of baby's cries pierces the room.
"Is it done?" Rilyah asks Ame Onna. Her hands are trembling. She glances at the baby girl who is slathered in blood. The child has clear dark eyes, an exact copy of Adira's eyes.
"No." Ame Onna pats Ari's head. "Take the baby and give her a wash. I am sure that you can do that much."
"Yes, yes," Rilyah rushes toward the baby. The baby girl stops crying when she wraps a piece of clothing around her, walking out of the room in a hurry.
"One more time," Ame Onna tells Ari. "You can do this! You are strong! Breathe and push her out!"
It sounds wrong to Ari's ears. Her mind is muddled with pain. She inhales and exhales sharply, feeling like her woman canal is being torn about, half-doubting if she's even alive. Then, she must be alive if she can feel this pain. No more children! She promises herself as she pushes the second twin out.
Outside the room, Rilyah bathes to the baby gently. This is her first time holding a newborn baby. "You are going to be a beautiful one."
The baby doesn't make any fuss. She watches Rilyah, holding her palms together.
"Don't worry, Ena." Rilyah wipes her clean with a smile. Renasir Ari has already decided names for her daughters-- Ena and "Your younger sister will come out healthy."
After she's done, she carries the baby back to the room. The door is slightly open. When she enters, she finds Renasir unconscious on the bed, bleeding profusely with her legs widespread. Ame Onna is gone and there's no baby in the room.
Did she leave to give a bath to the baby? But then, why did she leave Renasir like this? Rilyah places the child in the crib and rushes over to Renasir. She stops her bleeding, healing her body, and shakes her awake. "Renasir!"
"Rilyah, where… my daughters?" Renasir asks her with a weak voice.
"Misumi is here." Rilyah brings the first twin to her. "Ame Onna must have taken Misaki with her."
"Where…" Feeling that something is wrong, Ari climbs off the bed, wincing in pain. "Why did I fall asleep like that?"
"You were in labour for thirteen hours." Rilyah shrieks, "Don't walk. I will look for her."
"I need to find her." Ari staggers toward the door, summoning the universal energy to give strength to her body. The labour and the childbirth have weakened her body a lot. Barely hanging on to her consciousness, she walks down the stairs with Rilyah trailing after her with Misumi in her arms.
The shrine is gone.
Ari opens the door to the rain god's room and finds that he's also gone. There's no presence. No traces. How could this happen? "Where are Cina and Ai?"
By now, Rilyah also senses that something is not right. She hands the baby to Ari. "I will look for them now."
With Misumi in her arms, she drops down on her knees. The lease? It would protect her. Where is the lease? When she checks the drawer in her room, she finds a letter.
'Renasir Ari, I am leaving now. There is no debt between us. Thank you for letting me stay here.'
The letter doesn't make sense. She looks at the lease and rereads the contents. The god's seal is still there. When she presses her hand on the paper to sense the magic, she realizes that nothing is broken.
"Why?" Then, where is Misaki? Where is Ame Onna? A foreboding feeling feels her heart. She reads the clauses in the lease.
'I, Ryou, a face of the rain god, will never ever harm my landlord and her people. I will never…'
Ah… He won't do it. But what about Ame Onna? That spirit can take her child away. They must not have gone far away. She can still find Misaki.
She lays down Misumi in the crib and caresses her daughter's face who is calm and quiet. "Stay here. I need to find your sister, okay?"
Ari leaves the house that day. She's never seen in the vicinity again.