Chapter Two: The Night Before
"Yusuke, I'm very sorry about yelling at you, but really,
did you have to flirt with Nabiki in front of me. Anyway that's
all over now. I'm really looking forward to this new adventure,
I'm so happy that you decided to take my advice and bring
everyone along. This is going to be so much fun. But I do want
you to be careful Yusuke, we don't know what these new enemies
are capable of. I want you to on your guard at all times. Oh,
and by the way, I'm pregnant. Goodnight Yusuke."
With that Keiko turned to go to sleep, rolling until she
had her face buried in Yusuke's chest, hoping he was so tired
that he would disregard that last comment and simply go to
sleep. But when she looked up to see his face it was frozen in
some awful mixed expression of shock, joy, and most of all
horror. Keiko quickly buried her face back into his chest. But
not two seconds later she heard him screaming.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE PREGNANT? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
"Well Yusuke, it's very simple. Now I thought you already
knew about the birds and the bees but if not I would gladly
expl—"
"NO! I mean what do you mean just blurting it out like
that. You're really pregnant?" Yusuke was beginning to like the
idea of being a father. Visions of a little boy that looked just
like him and a little girl to match Keiko started to run through
his head.
"Yusuke?" Keiko calling his name brought him back from a
picture of his little boy beating up street punks on his way to
school, while his little girl complained from the sidelines that
they were going to be late, and then punching one of the thugs
when he tried to sneak up on her brothers' back. What a great
life it will be, Yusuke thought to himself.
"I'M GOING TO BE A DADDY! WHOOOOOOEH." He jumped off the
bed and picked up Keiko and swung her around the room, laughing
and crying at the same time. He could not believe his good
fortune. But then something struck him. He sobered up and looked
down at Keiko, held preciously in his arms. "Um, Keiko? You
realize this means that you'll have to be more careful. In fact
I don't think you should com—"
"Yusuke? Just shut up. I'm coming on this trip. And before
you open your mouth, may I remind you that arguing with a mother
doesn't do any good."
And our smart handsome hero didn't argue, but he did kiss
the girl.
Kurama found Botan sitting in one of the front parlors on
a window seat, looking out into the rain. He hesitated a moment
before approaching her. Sitting down behind her on the window
seat. He had run different scenarios in his mind on how he was
going to tell her that she was now life-bonded to him. But no
matter how many scenarios, how many times he had tried to
explain it in his head, it never came out right.
Suddenly she turned around, and, looking directly into his
eyes, pointed at the bite mark he had left on her, he could see,
though very faintly, the kanji that would one day be as black as
oil. It was his mate mark. "This means something to you, doesn't
it Kurama?"
Botan had pondered the bite mark ever since the initial
meeting had ended. She had searched her memory of demon and
apparition study, trying to come up with a reason as to the
foundation of his behavior, and trying to find an explanation as
to why there would be a kanji in the middle of such a bite mark.
Now she looked at him expectantly. She was waiting for an
answer and she didn't care how long she had to wait to get it.
"Botan, that mark means that you are life-bonded to me."
When she showed no sign of understanding, he continued, "It
means you are my mate."
He looked up at her now, hoping and willing her to
understand. She smiled faintly at him, a dazed expression on her
face. "Oh? Is that all it means?" And she fainted.
Hiei silently made his way up to the third floor of the
mansion, to the very room were this supposedly new fighter was
sleeping. Hiei personally didn't believe that females had the
same capabilities as men had, but he was willing to give her the
benefit of the doubt, not that it would ever look like that.
As he opened the door to her room, he heard a stirring
from the general area of the bed and quickly blended himself
into the shadows. He saw the lump in the blankets start to move
around. And then she emerged. For a moment, Hiei thought his
eyes might be deceiving him, but no, he could smell her, that
meant she was real.
Hair like copper and flames was at first all he could see,
spun like silk and made for a mans fingers to run through it.
And in the midst of this glorious mass, two fuzzy flame copper
fox ears started to twitch, as if she had shut them off while
she slept and was just now gaining the use of them again.
The blankets fell, and again he beheld her magnificence,
skin like the whitest of ivory, covered only by a forest green
nightdress barely coming to her thighs. Her tail was sticking
out underneath it, not bushy like most foxes tails' were, but
smooth and silky. And then she turned and he was sure he was
looking at a painting.
Her face was thin, not narrow, but that wasn't what held
him fascinated. It was those eyes, a perfect shade of purple and
green and blue, making swirls of her eyes, but they didn't make
her eyes seem strange, it made them look like they were unique
and natural, as if they were meant to be that way, and he was
sure she had been born with it, he would have been able to see
if they were contact lenses.
Her eyes were shaped perfectly to her face, and they
looked big, almost drawing all attention away from her other
assets, almost mesmerizing. Her nose was small and button-like,
and every few seconds it would sniff, as if trying to detect
something in the air. Her mouth was a perfect cupids bow, with a
small upper lip and a full bottom.
All in all she was beautiful. Hiei guessed that most of
her opponents were slain almost immediately, as she would
probably take advantage while they stared dumbfounded at her
beauty. But he had taken in the effect and it no longer had any
hold on him.
He was about to make his grand entrance when she turned
her head a little in his direction and said, "Why are you hiding
in the shadows?" as if it was perfectly normal for strangers to
be in her bedroom, just unusual that they would be hiding. Huh,
he thought, I can't sense any power from her, she's just as I
thought, a weakling. But he was disappointed, he had been hoping
that he would be wrong at least about one female.
And then she let loose the barriers to her aura, and he
was again struck dumb. "Wha...What are you?" Yes, what was she?
Her aura was as powerful as his, maybe, certainly his first
estimation of her had been wrong, he realized that now. But now
was not the time for pondering questions better said, so he
regained his composure and awaited her answer.
"Why, you must be Hiei. I've heard so much about you from
Yusuke and Keiko. Is that the Jagan eye under that cloth? Can I
see it? What are it's capabilities? Can it read minds? Here,
read my thoughts. Well, what are you doing just standing there,
say something. Honestly." Setting aside that her voice was that
of the harmony of the harp, she shot questions at him like
energy blasts. Hiei now realized why Yusuke had had that look on
his face when he mentioned this particular female. She was
something to be avoided if possible. She may be powerful, but
she sure as hell was annoying. He needed to escape this female
quickly.
He had had his questions answered and so he moved to
leave, but one of her hands catching his sleeve as he was
turning made him stop and incline his head back her way,
silently asking what she wanted. "Please. I just woke up, and I
was hoping to see Kurama again. But I don't want to be alone.
You see, Kurama has known me my entire life. My older brother,
Kuronue, was his partner, and when I came of age I joined them
on many of their heists."
Now, Hiei thought, things are getting interesting.
"Touya, hand me the silver handled sword on your right."
Jin said, pointing in case Touya didn't know which one. Touya
picked it out successfully and handed it to Jin. At the same
time Touya picked out his spearing staff, Rinku got his yoyo's
off the tack, and Chuu slipped on his brass knuckles.
The elite team, and they were readying for the next new
adventure that Yusuke had set up. They were used to going on
these trips by now, they had been friends with Yusuke since his
first time at the Dark Tournament. But actually, instead of
being annoyed at their friends' constant persistence with
battling, they were looking forward to this trip, it was
probably going to be the last time the whole gang was together.
Suddenly, they all stilled, looked at each other, and
burst out laughing.
The old woman approached the palace that her dimwit had
earned. She was proud of him, though she would eat her own heart
before fessing up to it. She knew that he had far surpassed her
training and in the meantime she had been working on her own,
getting stronger and stronger. And now she was strong enough to
play with the young ones again. She was even thinking about
taking another apprentice.
But now she made her way inside the palace, she saw Kurama
trying to revive Botan, who had obviously fainted. As she made
her way past Yusuke's room she heard someone shouting, "I'm
going to be a Daddy." She looked beside her and saw that Rinku
had also heard and was now running away. Well, she was happy for
him. Not that she would ever tell him, of course. And maybe, if
she was still alive, she would take Yusuke's child as her
apprentice.
"I don't understand what the problem is. They are our
friends, and having a little fun isn't unheard of. It didn't
cause any harm."
Koenma whirled around to face her. "No harm, you hurt poor
Keiko's feelings, she's your friend and you should think about
what your flirting with her husband is doing to her. And on that
note, you should think of what would happen should Rinku and
Touya think that you are hurting her too much."
Nabiki's face softened and tears started to pool in her
eyes and Koenma realized he must have scared her with his harsh
words. Even though she looked tough, she was really a big softie
and was easily hurt. He walked over and enveloped her in his
arms, hoping she had learned her lesson.
Kuwabara found Yukina in the bathroom off they're suite,
readying for bed. He looked at her in disbelief, still not fully
accepting that she was now his, and he was hers. His eyes
strayed to the wedding ring on her finger, it was one of a kind,
Kuwabara had made sure of that, he had made it himself. The band
itself was silver, but it was the stone that made it unique. It
was one of her mothers' very own tears, which had been hard to
find considering that Yukina's mother was dead.
He could still remember the way her face had lit up when
he had given it to her and proposed marriage, and here they
were, three years later, and he wouldn't trade them for anything
in the world.
He had trained hard in that time, mostly with Genkai, and
had developed a new spirit sword technique, along with some
other useful weapons, and Yukina had tutored Keiko, Botan, and
Nabiki in the healing arts.
Yep, life couldn't get much better than this, and here
they were, ready to go on a new adventure.
Kuwabara walked back to the bed and called Yukina,
thanking God again for sending her to him.
Midnight found Jin and Touya in the library. Touya was
sitting on a green leather sofa reading a first edition book of
poetry by William Yaets, he was guessing that the book belonged
to Keiko, since Yusuke didn't like poetry. Jin, however, was
flying around the room in a pacing-like manner, going faster and
faster with each time he circled. Finally it was too much, he
obviously had something on his mind and it would be better for
Jin and for Touya's reading time if he just talked about it.
"Would you please stop that, you're ruffling the pages.
What is the matter with you, anyway?" Touya made the inquiry
sound casual without sounding indifferent, something he was
proud he could pull off.
"Botan! He did that to her without her knowledge or
consent. At first it was somewhat amusing, but I just looked in
there and she fainted when he told her what it meant. I swear if
he hurts her in any way, any possible way, I'll make him regret
being born a man."
Touya sat up straight, taking a mental second to admire
the threat and felt very sorry for Kurama should he ever cross
Jin on the subject of Botan, thinking that the conversation was
just getting interesting. "What are you talking about." Suddenly
enjoying his friend's discomfort immensely.
"The Mark, of course. Kurama mate-marked Botan. And she
didn't even know it until a few minutes ago, and when he told
her she fainted. I tell you it's wrong, that boy needs a talking
to." Jin took a moment to look at Touya's emotionless face. "Ah,
come on, if it were Keiko in this situation you would be hopping
around turnin' everyone you thought was suspicious into
popsicles."
"Yes, but the fact remains that my darling Keiko is
happily married and every so often she lets me threaten her
husband for something of little consequence, so I remain
content. You, however, need to talk to Botan, not Kurama. Help
her through this time in her life, if Kurama will let you. Just
don't-"
Touya broke off as a small something ran across the room
and locked arms about his waist, screaming, "SHE DOESN'T LOVE ME
ANYMORE!"
Touya looked down and saw that it was Rinku who was
hugging him so fiercely. He looked up at Jin and saw that he was
looking as bewildered as Touya felt.
Oh boy, this was going to be a long night.
"Okay, now explain to us, who doesn't love you and how did
you come to this conclusion?" Touya said, as he stared at the
childlike figure across from him. He had never seen Rinku this
upset and he honestly didn't know what to do. He looked over to
Jin who had a bewildered expression on his face. "Start at the
beginning."
"I was walking to my room and decided to pop in and say
goodnight to Keiko and Yusuke," Rinku paused and Touya felt a
slight premonition as to where this story was going. "I could
here shouting coming from the room and when I looked in Keiko
told Yusuke that she was having a baby. Don't you see, she
doesn't love me anymore. I was supposed to be her baby, for all
time. And now she's having a baby, she doesn't love me." At that
point Rinku broke down into loud sobs, throwing himself against
Touya in a bid for comfort.
"Well," Touya started, "from what I can tell, she still
loves you. Just because she's having a baby doesn't mean she
doesn't love you anymore. It just means that she's ready to give
love to someone else as well, it doesn't take any love away from
you, in fact, I bet it makes it stronger. And she'll rely on you
a whole lot more, what with Yusuke trying to run an entire demon
world, she'll need a lot of help with the baby, she'll need
you."
Touya looked down at Rinku to see if his words had worked.
For a few moments, Rinku just stayed still in his arms, but then
he lifted his head and asked quietly, "She will? She'll need me,
you're sure?"
"I'm sure."
Touya watched as Rinku's face perked back up to his
usually cheery expression. The child quickly pulled himself off
of Touya, as if embarrassed that he had been caught doing it, he
then joyfully bounced around the room to come to a stop in front
of Jin and Touya. "I'm going to go play a midnight prank on
Kuwabara. Wish me luck."
"Luck." They both said at the same time, but the little
scamp was already gone.
"Well," Jin said as he plopped down onto the sofa, "that
was one disaster avoided. But I think it will be fun to have a
wee one around the mansion, especially if it belongs to Keiko
and Yusuke, Botan is definitely not ready for children yet, and
if Kurama knows what's good for him..."
Touya zoned him out as he sat back and relaxed. He was
happy for Yusuke and Keiko, they had been trying for a long time
now to have children. He began to wonder what it would be like,
helping to take care of her children, to have a hand in raising
them, to protect them as he protected her.
It seemed as if peace was at last within reach. Not that
he didn't like all the adventures Yusuke took them on, but he
was an old youkai and he was beginning to grow weary, he wanted
to settle down, create a family of his own.
This would be the last time, he decided, thinking of the
upcoming tournament. He had been to so many, when he had met
Yusuke, it had been as if the revelation he had been looking for
had smacked him in the face, when he had met Keiko, he had
realized what the revelation meant. He had vowed then and there
to protect her, and so far he had kept his promise. When her
parents had died in that horrible car crash, he had relinquished
comforting rights to Yusuke, thinking him better equipped to
give her solace. But she had sought him out, and when he held
her in his arms it was the first time he felt like he had a
family, his little sister. When she had married Yusuke, it had
been he who had walked her down the isle and he who had given
her away, setting her hand in Yusuke's, and it had been the
hardest thing he had ever had to do.
But they had given him a home and a purpose, he could
never think of anything great enough to thank them with, so he
stayed and protected them, being Keiko's personal bodyguard and
one of Yusuke's elite team, it was a rewarding life, one that he
would never give up. He just hoped that nothing went wrong on
this mission. But just in case, he would stay close to Keiko's
side, never letting her out of his sight, or, if Yusuke was
around, never let her out of hearing range.
Red Dragon of Egypt: Watch Pretear, or you will pay.
"Yusuke, I'm very sorry about yelling at you, but really,
did you have to flirt with Nabiki in front of me. Anyway that's
all over now. I'm really looking forward to this new adventure,
I'm so happy that you decided to take my advice and bring
everyone along. This is going to be so much fun. But I do want
you to be careful Yusuke, we don't know what these new enemies
are capable of. I want you to on your guard at all times. Oh,
and by the way, I'm pregnant. Goodnight Yusuke."
With that Keiko turned to go to sleep, rolling until she
had her face buried in Yusuke's chest, hoping he was so tired
that he would disregard that last comment and simply go to
sleep. But when she looked up to see his face it was frozen in
some awful mixed expression of shock, joy, and most of all
horror. Keiko quickly buried her face back into his chest. But
not two seconds later she heard him screaming.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE PREGNANT? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
"Well Yusuke, it's very simple. Now I thought you already
knew about the birds and the bees but if not I would gladly
expl—"
"NO! I mean what do you mean just blurting it out like
that. You're really pregnant?" Yusuke was beginning to like the
idea of being a father. Visions of a little boy that looked just
like him and a little girl to match Keiko started to run through
his head.
"Yusuke?" Keiko calling his name brought him back from a
picture of his little boy beating up street punks on his way to
school, while his little girl complained from the sidelines that
they were going to be late, and then punching one of the thugs
when he tried to sneak up on her brothers' back. What a great
life it will be, Yusuke thought to himself.
"I'M GOING TO BE A DADDY! WHOOOOOOEH." He jumped off the
bed and picked up Keiko and swung her around the room, laughing
and crying at the same time. He could not believe his good
fortune. But then something struck him. He sobered up and looked
down at Keiko, held preciously in his arms. "Um, Keiko? You
realize this means that you'll have to be more careful. In fact
I don't think you should com—"
"Yusuke? Just shut up. I'm coming on this trip. And before
you open your mouth, may I remind you that arguing with a mother
doesn't do any good."
And our smart handsome hero didn't argue, but he did kiss
the girl.
Kurama found Botan sitting in one of the front parlors on
a window seat, looking out into the rain. He hesitated a moment
before approaching her. Sitting down behind her on the window
seat. He had run different scenarios in his mind on how he was
going to tell her that she was now life-bonded to him. But no
matter how many scenarios, how many times he had tried to
explain it in his head, it never came out right.
Suddenly she turned around, and, looking directly into his
eyes, pointed at the bite mark he had left on her, he could see,
though very faintly, the kanji that would one day be as black as
oil. It was his mate mark. "This means something to you, doesn't
it Kurama?"
Botan had pondered the bite mark ever since the initial
meeting had ended. She had searched her memory of demon and
apparition study, trying to come up with a reason as to the
foundation of his behavior, and trying to find an explanation as
to why there would be a kanji in the middle of such a bite mark.
Now she looked at him expectantly. She was waiting for an
answer and she didn't care how long she had to wait to get it.
"Botan, that mark means that you are life-bonded to me."
When she showed no sign of understanding, he continued, "It
means you are my mate."
He looked up at her now, hoping and willing her to
understand. She smiled faintly at him, a dazed expression on her
face. "Oh? Is that all it means?" And she fainted.
Hiei silently made his way up to the third floor of the
mansion, to the very room were this supposedly new fighter was
sleeping. Hiei personally didn't believe that females had the
same capabilities as men had, but he was willing to give her the
benefit of the doubt, not that it would ever look like that.
As he opened the door to her room, he heard a stirring
from the general area of the bed and quickly blended himself
into the shadows. He saw the lump in the blankets start to move
around. And then she emerged. For a moment, Hiei thought his
eyes might be deceiving him, but no, he could smell her, that
meant she was real.
Hair like copper and flames was at first all he could see,
spun like silk and made for a mans fingers to run through it.
And in the midst of this glorious mass, two fuzzy flame copper
fox ears started to twitch, as if she had shut them off while
she slept and was just now gaining the use of them again.
The blankets fell, and again he beheld her magnificence,
skin like the whitest of ivory, covered only by a forest green
nightdress barely coming to her thighs. Her tail was sticking
out underneath it, not bushy like most foxes tails' were, but
smooth and silky. And then she turned and he was sure he was
looking at a painting.
Her face was thin, not narrow, but that wasn't what held
him fascinated. It was those eyes, a perfect shade of purple and
green and blue, making swirls of her eyes, but they didn't make
her eyes seem strange, it made them look like they were unique
and natural, as if they were meant to be that way, and he was
sure she had been born with it, he would have been able to see
if they were contact lenses.
Her eyes were shaped perfectly to her face, and they
looked big, almost drawing all attention away from her other
assets, almost mesmerizing. Her nose was small and button-like,
and every few seconds it would sniff, as if trying to detect
something in the air. Her mouth was a perfect cupids bow, with a
small upper lip and a full bottom.
All in all she was beautiful. Hiei guessed that most of
her opponents were slain almost immediately, as she would
probably take advantage while they stared dumbfounded at her
beauty. But he had taken in the effect and it no longer had any
hold on him.
He was about to make his grand entrance when she turned
her head a little in his direction and said, "Why are you hiding
in the shadows?" as if it was perfectly normal for strangers to
be in her bedroom, just unusual that they would be hiding. Huh,
he thought, I can't sense any power from her, she's just as I
thought, a weakling. But he was disappointed, he had been hoping
that he would be wrong at least about one female.
And then she let loose the barriers to her aura, and he
was again struck dumb. "Wha...What are you?" Yes, what was she?
Her aura was as powerful as his, maybe, certainly his first
estimation of her had been wrong, he realized that now. But now
was not the time for pondering questions better said, so he
regained his composure and awaited her answer.
"Why, you must be Hiei. I've heard so much about you from
Yusuke and Keiko. Is that the Jagan eye under that cloth? Can I
see it? What are it's capabilities? Can it read minds? Here,
read my thoughts. Well, what are you doing just standing there,
say something. Honestly." Setting aside that her voice was that
of the harmony of the harp, she shot questions at him like
energy blasts. Hiei now realized why Yusuke had had that look on
his face when he mentioned this particular female. She was
something to be avoided if possible. She may be powerful, but
she sure as hell was annoying. He needed to escape this female
quickly.
He had had his questions answered and so he moved to
leave, but one of her hands catching his sleeve as he was
turning made him stop and incline his head back her way,
silently asking what she wanted. "Please. I just woke up, and I
was hoping to see Kurama again. But I don't want to be alone.
You see, Kurama has known me my entire life. My older brother,
Kuronue, was his partner, and when I came of age I joined them
on many of their heists."
Now, Hiei thought, things are getting interesting.
"Touya, hand me the silver handled sword on your right."
Jin said, pointing in case Touya didn't know which one. Touya
picked it out successfully and handed it to Jin. At the same
time Touya picked out his spearing staff, Rinku got his yoyo's
off the tack, and Chuu slipped on his brass knuckles.
The elite team, and they were readying for the next new
adventure that Yusuke had set up. They were used to going on
these trips by now, they had been friends with Yusuke since his
first time at the Dark Tournament. But actually, instead of
being annoyed at their friends' constant persistence with
battling, they were looking forward to this trip, it was
probably going to be the last time the whole gang was together.
Suddenly, they all stilled, looked at each other, and
burst out laughing.
The old woman approached the palace that her dimwit had
earned. She was proud of him, though she would eat her own heart
before fessing up to it. She knew that he had far surpassed her
training and in the meantime she had been working on her own,
getting stronger and stronger. And now she was strong enough to
play with the young ones again. She was even thinking about
taking another apprentice.
But now she made her way inside the palace, she saw Kurama
trying to revive Botan, who had obviously fainted. As she made
her way past Yusuke's room she heard someone shouting, "I'm
going to be a Daddy." She looked beside her and saw that Rinku
had also heard and was now running away. Well, she was happy for
him. Not that she would ever tell him, of course. And maybe, if
she was still alive, she would take Yusuke's child as her
apprentice.
"I don't understand what the problem is. They are our
friends, and having a little fun isn't unheard of. It didn't
cause any harm."
Koenma whirled around to face her. "No harm, you hurt poor
Keiko's feelings, she's your friend and you should think about
what your flirting with her husband is doing to her. And on that
note, you should think of what would happen should Rinku and
Touya think that you are hurting her too much."
Nabiki's face softened and tears started to pool in her
eyes and Koenma realized he must have scared her with his harsh
words. Even though she looked tough, she was really a big softie
and was easily hurt. He walked over and enveloped her in his
arms, hoping she had learned her lesson.
Kuwabara found Yukina in the bathroom off they're suite,
readying for bed. He looked at her in disbelief, still not fully
accepting that she was now his, and he was hers. His eyes
strayed to the wedding ring on her finger, it was one of a kind,
Kuwabara had made sure of that, he had made it himself. The band
itself was silver, but it was the stone that made it unique. It
was one of her mothers' very own tears, which had been hard to
find considering that Yukina's mother was dead.
He could still remember the way her face had lit up when
he had given it to her and proposed marriage, and here they
were, three years later, and he wouldn't trade them for anything
in the world.
He had trained hard in that time, mostly with Genkai, and
had developed a new spirit sword technique, along with some
other useful weapons, and Yukina had tutored Keiko, Botan, and
Nabiki in the healing arts.
Yep, life couldn't get much better than this, and here
they were, ready to go on a new adventure.
Kuwabara walked back to the bed and called Yukina,
thanking God again for sending her to him.
Midnight found Jin and Touya in the library. Touya was
sitting on a green leather sofa reading a first edition book of
poetry by William Yaets, he was guessing that the book belonged
to Keiko, since Yusuke didn't like poetry. Jin, however, was
flying around the room in a pacing-like manner, going faster and
faster with each time he circled. Finally it was too much, he
obviously had something on his mind and it would be better for
Jin and for Touya's reading time if he just talked about it.
"Would you please stop that, you're ruffling the pages.
What is the matter with you, anyway?" Touya made the inquiry
sound casual without sounding indifferent, something he was
proud he could pull off.
"Botan! He did that to her without her knowledge or
consent. At first it was somewhat amusing, but I just looked in
there and she fainted when he told her what it meant. I swear if
he hurts her in any way, any possible way, I'll make him regret
being born a man."
Touya sat up straight, taking a mental second to admire
the threat and felt very sorry for Kurama should he ever cross
Jin on the subject of Botan, thinking that the conversation was
just getting interesting. "What are you talking about." Suddenly
enjoying his friend's discomfort immensely.
"The Mark, of course. Kurama mate-marked Botan. And she
didn't even know it until a few minutes ago, and when he told
her she fainted. I tell you it's wrong, that boy needs a talking
to." Jin took a moment to look at Touya's emotionless face. "Ah,
come on, if it were Keiko in this situation you would be hopping
around turnin' everyone you thought was suspicious into
popsicles."
"Yes, but the fact remains that my darling Keiko is
happily married and every so often she lets me threaten her
husband for something of little consequence, so I remain
content. You, however, need to talk to Botan, not Kurama. Help
her through this time in her life, if Kurama will let you. Just
don't-"
Touya broke off as a small something ran across the room
and locked arms about his waist, screaming, "SHE DOESN'T LOVE ME
ANYMORE!"
Touya looked down and saw that it was Rinku who was
hugging him so fiercely. He looked up at Jin and saw that he was
looking as bewildered as Touya felt.
Oh boy, this was going to be a long night.
"Okay, now explain to us, who doesn't love you and how did
you come to this conclusion?" Touya said, as he stared at the
childlike figure across from him. He had never seen Rinku this
upset and he honestly didn't know what to do. He looked over to
Jin who had a bewildered expression on his face. "Start at the
beginning."
"I was walking to my room and decided to pop in and say
goodnight to Keiko and Yusuke," Rinku paused and Touya felt a
slight premonition as to where this story was going. "I could
here shouting coming from the room and when I looked in Keiko
told Yusuke that she was having a baby. Don't you see, she
doesn't love me anymore. I was supposed to be her baby, for all
time. And now she's having a baby, she doesn't love me." At that
point Rinku broke down into loud sobs, throwing himself against
Touya in a bid for comfort.
"Well," Touya started, "from what I can tell, she still
loves you. Just because she's having a baby doesn't mean she
doesn't love you anymore. It just means that she's ready to give
love to someone else as well, it doesn't take any love away from
you, in fact, I bet it makes it stronger. And she'll rely on you
a whole lot more, what with Yusuke trying to run an entire demon
world, she'll need a lot of help with the baby, she'll need
you."
Touya looked down at Rinku to see if his words had worked.
For a few moments, Rinku just stayed still in his arms, but then
he lifted his head and asked quietly, "She will? She'll need me,
you're sure?"
"I'm sure."
Touya watched as Rinku's face perked back up to his
usually cheery expression. The child quickly pulled himself off
of Touya, as if embarrassed that he had been caught doing it, he
then joyfully bounced around the room to come to a stop in front
of Jin and Touya. "I'm going to go play a midnight prank on
Kuwabara. Wish me luck."
"Luck." They both said at the same time, but the little
scamp was already gone.
"Well," Jin said as he plopped down onto the sofa, "that
was one disaster avoided. But I think it will be fun to have a
wee one around the mansion, especially if it belongs to Keiko
and Yusuke, Botan is definitely not ready for children yet, and
if Kurama knows what's good for him..."
Touya zoned him out as he sat back and relaxed. He was
happy for Yusuke and Keiko, they had been trying for a long time
now to have children. He began to wonder what it would be like,
helping to take care of her children, to have a hand in raising
them, to protect them as he protected her.
It seemed as if peace was at last within reach. Not that
he didn't like all the adventures Yusuke took them on, but he
was an old youkai and he was beginning to grow weary, he wanted
to settle down, create a family of his own.
This would be the last time, he decided, thinking of the
upcoming tournament. He had been to so many, when he had met
Yusuke, it had been as if the revelation he had been looking for
had smacked him in the face, when he had met Keiko, he had
realized what the revelation meant. He had vowed then and there
to protect her, and so far he had kept his promise. When her
parents had died in that horrible car crash, he had relinquished
comforting rights to Yusuke, thinking him better equipped to
give her solace. But she had sought him out, and when he held
her in his arms it was the first time he felt like he had a
family, his little sister. When she had married Yusuke, it had
been he who had walked her down the isle and he who had given
her away, setting her hand in Yusuke's, and it had been the
hardest thing he had ever had to do.
But they had given him a home and a purpose, he could
never think of anything great enough to thank them with, so he
stayed and protected them, being Keiko's personal bodyguard and
one of Yusuke's elite team, it was a rewarding life, one that he
would never give up. He just hoped that nothing went wrong on
this mission. But just in case, he would stay close to Keiko's
side, never letting her out of his sight, or, if Yusuke was
around, never let her out of hearing range.
Red Dragon of Egypt: Watch Pretear, or you will pay.