Hello, readers! Thanks for taking the time to read this lil' sequel (even though its been a SUPER long time since the last one's been published.) I'm really excited for people to be reading this final story in the Black Jack Trilogy.

Well, this is technically a Black Jack fic, but there are a bunch of new original characters that I've thrown into the mix. This is because the story focuses primarily on Yukia. I'm sorry if that does upset people, but the story will sort of explain why it's mostly about him... I promise that this is a great story that will deliver on the long wait! Let me know what you think by leaving a review!

Prologue

The morbid surprise came on a rainy Sunday morning, before breakfast, when the morning animes were being broadcast on the television. Yukia had sat in front of the television, his legs folded pretzel style, focused on the show but pondering as to why his mother and father hadn't exited from their bedroom yet. His uncle Kiriko already sat at the kitchen table (as he ate with them most mornings) with his disheveled white hair pushed back behind his shoulders. He raised a coffee cup to his lips and slurped from it, eying the clock every once in a while.

Then Yukia heard a door open, and he quickly switched off the TV and whipped around to see his parents exit. Their house slippers shuffled against the floorboards of their home as they entered the main area. Black Jack, who was his father, had half of his face at an unusually pale hue which contrasted sharply with his scar and the darker half of his face. His mother, Pinoko, nervously bit her lip and wrung her hands. She was still dressed in her peach colored robe, which was unorthodox, as most mornings she was already dressed and ready for the day.

Kiriko raised his head and arched a brow. "So, you finally figured it out, huh?"

Pinoko and Black Jack awkwardly separated from each other, and Pinoko headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Yukia swallowed, a bit nervous. This wasn't good.

Black Jack sat down at the table and stared out the window, past the cliff and out towards the sea. The rain smeared the image and dragged it down to the edges. He sighed heavily and placed a fist under his chin, propping himself up.

"I've been noticing it for a while now," Kiriko commented freely, gulping down the rest of his mug. "She's been acting strange, lately. Just like that time…"

Black Jack cast Kiriko a furious look, and Kiriko smirked and tilted his body away from Black Jack, avoiding eye contact. Yukia gazed at his father. He was never usually a testy man—unemotional at times, yes. But touchy and on edge? Only at the worst of times, like during an operation, or when he had been in an argument.

"Except it's not like that time," Black Jack protested sternly, his eyes still wide and reprimanding Kiriko. "Because there are twins."

"Twins!?" Kiriko and Yukia both shouted in amazement, and from the kitchen, a pan clattered to the floor.

"Pinoko?" Black Jack glanced over his shoulder and concernedly looked into the kitchen.

Pinoko glanced over at her husband and nervously smiled, wiping her hands on her apron. Her eyes glittered with tears, but she refused to allow herself to cry.

"I'm fine, chenchei," she murmured, bending over to pick up the pan. She switched on the stove and faced her back to them.

"Twins," Kiriko echoed. "Twins. How did that happen? I mean, honestly, do you not understand the concept of birth control?"

"She had strep throat a few months ago. She had to be on antibiotics for that. I didn't even consider…"

Kiriko grinned slightly, and Black Jack once again glared.

"You think this is funny?" he hissed.

"Well, in a strange sense, yes. She's a twin herself isn't she? A twin having twins. Imagine if those were two baby girls as well!"

"Mama is pregnant?" Yukia cried out, the truth slapping the air so loudly that it practically jolted them.

Black Jack sighed heavily. "Yes… for now."

Yukia, being too little to understand this, frowned and stared in confusion at his father. Pinoko then exited the kitchen, and set down a hot frying pan that had scrambled eggs already prepared.

"The miso soup is boiling," she stated quietly, and then went back into the kitchen.

Obediently Yukia set the table, and his father served him some of the eggs. Black Jack made a point of not serving Kiriko, who showed a look of distaste when he didn't. Pinoko then entered, carrying a heavy pot.

Black Jack stood up. "Let me carry that for you."

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I can do it myself."

She set it down on the table and ladled it out into the bowls. She then sat down beside Black Jack. Her quivering lip was visible to the table.

"I'm going to stay pregnant."

Kiriko and Black Jack looked at her in pure alarm. She then burst into tears, covering her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

"Yukia, take your breakfast and go to your room," Black Jack ordered sternly, turning his attention to his distressed wife.

Yukia immediately did as he was told, though he felt a pang in his heart as he caught one final glance at his mother, hunched over and weeping.

"Pinoko," Black Jack whispered, rubbing his wife's shoulder soothingly. "Pinoko, we talked about this. Remember the last time? You almost died."

"But I…!" she sobbed. "I just can't! I can't… I can't have an abortion, Black Jack. I still see her face in my mind and I…" she hiccupped through her tears. "And I can't do that again!"

"Pinoko, that's ridiculous," Black Jack shot back sternly. "There are two of them. Two of them, when you couldn't even carry one. They'll kill you. And we still have our son." He wiped away some of her tears. "I know you want to let them live. But is it worth the cost of your life? Is it worth it that they grow up without their mother?"

"Chenchei," she whispered. "Please. Isn't there some chance? Some way that I could survive with them? I mean, if there's no other way, then…"

He sighed heavily and hung his head. He stroked his face with one hand. Kiriko, who had been sitting there witnessing this, then piped up.

"There are ways," he suggested to Pinoko, diverting her attention from her husband. "Since we recognized this early. You aren't too far along, so we can prepare some precautions."

"Kiriko, even then… We'd be giving her drugs, Kiriko. Given how fragile Pinoko's body is, we don't know how fragile these babies will be. They could end up with serious disorders or defects. This could kill them."

"Yes, it could," Kiriko said hotly, "but at least then we will have tried."

Black Jack gritted his teeth, conflicted. Though the children that Pinoko carried were his, he couldn't see the reason to keep them. Not when it could cost Pinoko her life, and abandon him with the possible future of raising three children, including the oldest which would still be very young. To him, an abortion wasn't necessarily cruel: it just made common sense. But then on the other hand, he respected that it was Pinoko's decision—it wouldn't provide well for their marriage if he was to force her into it.

"Please, chenchei," he heard her quiet, soothing plea. "I know it's a lot to ask, but please."

Staring at her tearstained face, he recalled the vows he had made those years ago as he stood at the altar with her. Above everything else, he had to help her. He had to support her, with whatever decision that she chose to make.

"You need to listen to me," he told her firmly. "And we can get through this."

She smiled warmly and fell into his arms. Kiriko coughed and then excused himself from the table and headed into the kitchen. Stroking her auburn hair, Black Jack placed his chin on her head, and wondered what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

For most families, the time when a mother is pregnant is usually happy, and has little conflictions—at least, that's what Yukia could get from television. But television was so very different from his reality. Most days seemed to carry an ominous gloom that hung over them. Each day was relatively busy, and once every week, Black Jack and Kiriko both performed checkups on Pinoko, adjusting vitamin and supplement intakes among determining other important things. Pinoko was also confined to the bed in her room or the living room sofa, as Black Jack had sternly instructed her not to move. She could not perform tasks such as doing the laundry, or washing windows, for he feared that she would strain herself. She was allowed to lightly sweep, cook or wash dishes, but that was as much mobility as she was granted. When lying on a comfortable surface, she would always have a blanket pulled halfway up her body, tucked lovingly and cautiously around it.

There were some definite happy moments that Yukia was able to witness. The first time he had heard the twins' heartbeats. His mother had been in the examination room of their house and his father had his stethoscope pressed against her stomach. And for once, they were both smiling.

"No problems that I can hear," Black Jack told his wife, removing his stethoscope and pulling the knobs from his ears. "They're both developing very well."

"Thank goodness," Pinoko said with a happy whisper, placing her hand on her stomach. She turned to Yukia. "Yukia, do you want to hear them?"

Black Jack fixated the stethoscope on Yukia, and in little to no time, Yukia could hear them. Two separate heartbeats that were almost in perfect sync. He was astounded.

"That's so cool," he commented, withdrawing.

Black Jack ruffled his son's hair. "And they're plenty healthy, too, from what I can tell."

"That is good," Yukia said, beaming. "That is very good."

His mother embraced him, and he laughed a little. That was when Yukia, who had been a bit disheveled by this whole process, now finally felt content with the idea of being an older brother.

One night, Black Jack and Pinoko had gone to bed fairly late in the evening after watching a movie on a public channel. The double-wide crib where the babies were to sleep had been assembled and was set right by their bedside.

Black Jack had woken up almost instantaneously. The bed had been soaked, and Pinoko was breathing heavily.

"Chenchei," she said in a scared voice. "They're coming."

He got up carefully and quickly fetched towels and set water to boil. He then called up Kiriko and had him head over right away. Pinoko shouted from where she was in the bedroom.

"I-it really hurts," she said, gritting her teeth as he came to her side.

"You must already be close to fully dilated," he murmured in a concerned voice. "I can't give you an epidural."

This was bad. She was progressing faster than she normally should have.

"Then what are you going to do?" she asked desperately.

"Hold on," he told her, and examined her. He frowned as he did so. Yes, he had been right—she was almost fully dilated, but there was something strange…

"They're in breech position," he told her. "I'm going to have to perform a C-section."

"Are they going to be okay?"

"The sooner Kiriko gets here, the better," Black Jack responded, rushing to go and change into his scrubs.

He quickly disinfected and changed into his green scrubs as a sweaty, red faced Kiriko entered the room.

"Get changed," Black Jack told him. "I've got to get Pinoko to the OR. One of the babies is in breech position. We have to perform a C section."

"Got it."

They moved Pinoko into the OR, and Black Jack gave her general anesthesia and fixated an oxygen mask over her nose. Kiriko hung a curtain across her chest. They then performed the other necessary tasks: inserting a catheter and an IV. After double checking her blood pressure and heart rate, Black Jack moved to begin. He picked up his scalpel, rather shakily, and prepared to make an incision. He couldn't remove any of the plates that covered her organs—he was at least thankful for that.

"Stop shaking!" Kiriko barked at him angrily.

"Shut up," Black Jack retorted, and he began to make the cuts.

He made a horizontal and vertical cut in her abdominal wall, where her uterus laid behind. Kiriko handed him a few clamps as he pulled the area open. Inside, Black Jack could see the two small bodies, curled up beside each other. His eyes widened.

"Kiriko," he said, "one of them has their umbilical cord wrapped around their neck."

"Oh no."

An unusual panic rose up inside of Black Jack. He had to work fast. He quickly clamped the baby's cord, and then severed it. He held the limp child in his hands, and it stared up at him with wide, dead eyes. It wasn't crying, which meant that it was drowning in the fluids trapped inside its lungs.

"No, no, no," he whispered, staring at its face.

"Here!" Kiriko shouldered him out of the way rather forcefully. "I'm going to get this other one out. You help that one!"

Black Jack rushed. He quickly grabbed a few towels and did one of the simplest things that he could think of. He rubbed the baby vigorously and precariously between the two towels, trying to massage it in a way that would open its airway. Its rasping could scarcely be heard.

"Come on, don't do this to me…" he muttered as he then quickly attached an oxygen mask to its face. He set it in a small incubator and began to monitor its heart rate, which was steadily dropping. "Shit!"

The baby seemed to be turning its head towards him, its eyes wild with fear, and mouth open as it tried to suck in air. Its entire body fluttered, and then almost at once, it suddenly relaxed. Black Jack watched with sweat running down his forehead. And then suddenly, the beeping steadied itself.

Beep-beep. Beep-beep.

"Oh…" he sighed with relief, and now finally got a good look at the baby.

It was a girl. She started to cry into her oxygen mask, and after a minute or so, he removed it and allowed her to breathe in the air herself. He was fascinated by this small little creature. And then he heard the wailing of another baby behind him.

"A girl?" Kiriko called out to Black Jack.

"Yeah," Black Jack answered, smiling beneath his mask.

Kiriko seemed to be grinning as well. "A twin girl who had twin girls. What did I tell you?"

Suddenly a loud beeping rose up and they saw Pinoko's blood spilling forth from her body. Black Jack redirected his attention to his wife, who now very suddenly, was dying.

"The uterus isn't contracting," he said. "She's hemorrhaging. I need a stimulant!"

Kiriko handed Black Jack the syringe and he quickly injected it into Pinoko's body. He could see her face contorting in pain even though she wasn't awake. They both then waited, and tried to clean up the blood. Then Black Jack examined her again.

"BP steadying, as well as heart rate." Kiriko told him.

"The blood vessels are closing," he said. "She's going to be okay."

He then expertly sewed Pinoko back together, and set himself down in a chair with wobbly legs. Over in the corner, the babies were crying, just as they should be. He was amazed at how after all of that work; they were all going to be okay.

Meanwhile, Yukia sat outside. He yawned and rubbed his tired eyes as he fussed with the starchy-stiff collar of his pajama top. His face was illuminated by a small strip of light coming from inside his parents' bedroom. Suddenly the light was blackened out by the lanky tall figure of his uncle Kiriko. His long white hair looked as exhausted as he was.

"You can come in now," he said, opening the door a little further.

Cautiously Yukia entered the room, as if afraid to touch anything. He saw his beautiful mother lying in the bed, one of the babies on her chest. She looked extremely tired, and her eyes were sunken in from the blood loss. Her auburn hair was frayed and curled from her sweat. She smiled at Yukia as lovingly as she always did, and allowed him to approach her. She kissed his head and showed him the baby sleeping against her breast.

"Wow," Yukia whispered, and he instinctively set a hand on the baby's head, gently. It felt soft and fuzzy. She had long strands of auburn-black hair, such a strange color that it almost looked like a dark violet.

Yukia looked up and saw the worry circling in his mother's brown eyes. He then turned his attention over to the crib, where he saw his father with a few medical tools. He was hovering over a crib, and then Yukia realized that that was where the second baby was. And something was terribly wrong.

His father shone a flashlight into the baby's eyes and it cooed in response. Grimacing, Black Jack set his tools back in the black bag that he had on the dresser.

"Pinoko. It's no use. Haruna is blind."

Pinoko's voice became choked with tears. "But why? Why her? Why not Makoto too?"

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't even notice when she had her eyes open…"

"Why did this happen?" Pinoko repeated.

"It's just a birth defect," he told her with a sigh.

"How do you know she's blind, Papa?"

Black Jack signaled Yukia over to him. Yukia peered down into his little sister's face, which was pinched up and angry. She was small, bald, and looked to have more than blindness amiss about her: she had small, delicate ears and strangely spindly fingers—her ring finger, on her left hand, was crooked, and her toes were crooked as well.

Then Yukia saw it. Her irises, which were brown, were a faint and almost milky color, and her pupils were a dark gray instead of a black. While they were honestly beautiful, Yukia then understood how his father could tell she was blind.

"You can't fix her, Papa?" Yukia asked as his father placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She needs two new corneas," Black Jack responded. "A simple fix when we can find a donor, but even if, she is much too little for such an extensive surgery."

Black Jack slipped one of his fingers into Haruna's hands, which she firmly squeezed back.

"It's not too much to worry about. She's got a good strong grip," he commented with a proud smile. "She's a fighter. She had to fight for her life, you know."

Yukia nodded. Black Jack set his gaze on his son.

"But I do expect you," he said softly, "to fight alongside them, as they are now your little sisters."

"Of course!" Yukia cried out softly, his chest swelling with pride. "For both of them, Papa, I'm going to fight for them for the rest of their lives!"