A Traumatic Birth

Disclaimer: I do not own YYH or any of its characters being that they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.

Notes: The events of this one shot takes place over 700 years before the events of my multi-chaptered fanfic, "Musical Espionage" takes place. If you haven't checked out that or the one shots or drabbles that tie into it out yet, they and the first 15 chapters are all available to read on and AO3.

One Shot Summary: Having a baby is supposed to be a happy time…right? Unfortunately for the birth of a certain spirit prince, it wasn't such a pleasant event. Ties in with Musical Espionage. One Shot.

Her beautifully enchanting operatic soprano voice filled the auditorium of the Spirit World Opera House. All of the Spirit World inhabitants in attendance felt the warm happy effects of the magical properties of her voice as she sang. Queen Sakura then finished her song that was written for her unborn son with a lovely high note.

When she stopped singing, the ogre orchestra stopped their beautiful happy tune and an applause broke out around the auditorium. As she bowed, well as far as she can go, being quite pregnant and all, loud cheers and whistles erupted around her. The loudest was her husband of over these last couple hundred years, King Yama.

The king was brightly smiling, clapping, and cheering. He brought up two fingers to his mouth and whistled the loudest over the rest of the crowd. Queen Sakura looked up to the balcony and smiled and shook her head, "Oh Yama, you crazy bastard."

The large velvet curtains then shut and the beautiful queen then walked offstage. While walking to her dressing room she put her hands on her pregnant belly, looked down and began to talk to her unborn baby, "I hope you heard that. Everybody liked mommy's song. Did you Koenma?"

Suddenly she felt a little kick and she smiled, "Oh good. I'm glad you did."

Sakura now stood outside her dressing room door and with one hand still on her belly; she opened the door and walked inside. She walked up to her vanity mirror and slowly lowered herself down onto her chair.

Lady Sakura slowly exhaled out and looked down at her round belly again and spoke to her baby once more, "You know you're really making it difficult for me to do certain things. But that's okay, you still need time to grow and when you're ready, I'll get to hold in my arms and talk and sing to you some more. Mommy loves you Koenma."

She felt another kick again and she smiled, "You're going to be a very feisty one. I know because you keep kicking mommy so much."

Queen Sakura then shifted her attention back to her vanity mirror and picked up her hairbrush. Looking into the mirror she smiled at her reflection as she brought up her hairbrush to her long straight, luscious brown hair. As she continued to do that, the door to her dressing room opened and in walked two blue ogres.

The first one was a middle aged female ogre with long blonde hair pulled back into a braid, one horn on her forehead, and wearing a tiger skin halter dress. The second was a young adult male ogre with long blonde hair, one horn on his forehead, and wore a tiger striped loin cloth holding a large cello case and a book of sheet music.

Queen Sakura continued to brush her hair and looking into her mirror she greeted both of them with a lovely smile, "Hello Carlotta and hi Jorge."

Carlotta Saotome and her son walked over to her and the ogre woman smiled in greeting to her mistress, "That was wonderful Lady Sakura. Your song was so beautiful and quite adorable. I have a feeling that you're going to make a wonderful mother. Prince Koenma will be so lucky."

Finally finished with brushing through her long brown locks, Sakura placed her hairbrush back down on the vanity and shifted her attention back to her ogre servant/nurse maid/midwife, "Thank you Carlotta. I think Jorge should take some of the credit. He did a wonderful job at composing the music for it."

Jorge smiled and his blue cheeks flushed red at the queen's words and looked at his bare feet not knowing what to say. Seeing her son's shyness, Carlotta chuckled, "Jorge honey, you don't need to be shy."

Queen Sakura gave him a sweet smile, "You're very welcome Jorge." She then felt another kick and looked down at her pregnant belly and chuckled, "Koenma sweetie, you're not even born yet and you're already quite the handful."

Watching the queen, Carlotta then asked her, "Is he kicking again?"

Still looking at her belly, Sakura nodded, "Yes. He's been doing it a lot today. He just wants to be the center of attention."

Carlotta sweetly chuckled, "Well, he does get that from you."

The queen shifted her attention to her servant and said defensively, "What's that suppose to mean?"

Carlotta chuckled again, "I wasn't trying to be rude Lady Sakura, I was just simply stating that he's just like his momma."

Queen Sakura just stared at the ogre woman for a minute and then smiled. She looked down at her belly again and replied, "I really hope so. Heck, I hope he has some of his father in him too. Yama and I did make him together."

The queen looked back up at the two ogres and asked them, "Would you two like to feel him kick?" She then looked at Jorge, "Jorge?"

Carlotta put her hand on her son's shoulder, "It's okay."

Jorge stared at his mother for a minute and shifted his attention back to Queen Sakura who gave him a sweet smile. Without saying a word, he gently placed a hand on her belly. Suddenly the blue ogre felt the unborn prince kick. He brightly smiled, "Hey, I just felt it."

Sakura chuckled and she looked down at her belly, "Sweetie I hope that's the last one, I don't want you to hurt mommy."

Just then the dressing room's door opened and in walked King Yama who was currently shrank down to a normal height of about six feet tall, with a bright happy smile. He walked over to his wife holding a large bouquet of roses and kissed her on the cheek.

"My love you were wonderful."

Queen Sakura's pale cheeks turned pink at her husband's comment, "Thank you dear." King Yama handed her the bouquet and Sakura smelled the roses' sweet aroma. She then lowered the flowers and held them in her small dainty hands.

"He's doing it again."

King Yama stared at his wife and blinked his dark eyes and asked, "Doing what?"

Sakura sweetly giggled, "Our son, he's kicking again."

The old king smiled and without saying another word, he knelt down in front of his wife and gently placed his hands on his wife's belly. Sakura looked down and spoke to the unborn prince again, "Koenma sweetie, Daddy's here. Why don't you say hi to him?"

This time, he didn't kick at all. King Yama stared at his wife's swollen stomach and frowned under his black beard. Still looking at her stomach, Lady Sakura sighed, "Why are you being so stubborn?"

Still, no response and the king began to grow impatient and grumbled, "I bet he kicked for Carlotta and her brat. Why the hell does he always do this? Does Koenma hate me or something?"

Hearing the king's comment, Carlotta glared at him as did Jorge. Jorge then leaned over and whispered to his mother and asked, "Why is he always such a jerk? I didn't do anything to him."

Carlotta whispered back to her son, quiet enough only she and Jorge can hear, "That's because King Yama is not a very nice man. I don't know what Lady Sakura sees in him, honestly."

Queen Sakura shifted her attention back to her husband and slowly leaned down and kissed his forehead, "Koenma doesn't hate you. He's just probably tired from kicking me so much today. When he's born, he'll love you. In fact, I already think he does."

With his hands still placed on her belly, King Yama looked up at her, "I hope so. He is my son, my heir. We can't have a young prince hating his father, now can we?"

Lady Sakura chuckled, "No of course not."

A week later, Queen Sakura sat in a wooden rocking chair in the nursery that was prepared for her and the soon to be born prince. She rocked back and forth and suddenly heard a knock on the door behind her.

Still rocking back and forth with her small dainty hands on her belly, Lady Sakura replied, "Come in."

The large green wooden double doors opened and in walked Carlotta with Jorge carrying a silver tray with a teapot and a couple of teacups. While Jorge set the tray down on the small wooden table, Carlotta approached the queen and asked, "How is he?"

Still rocking the wooden rocking chair back and forth, Lady Sakura replied with a lovely smile, "Great. He hasn't kicked much today but, I think that'll change when I start singing to him."

Carlotta formed a lovely smile, "Prince Koenma seems to respond to you and Jorge the most." She then shifted her attention to her only son and oldest child and added, "I think that is a pretty good sign that my Jorge should be his servant like I am for you and my brother Francis is for the king."

Queen Sakura sweetly giggled and stopped rocking the rocking chair back and forth. Jorge then offered her, "Do you need help Lady Sakura?"

The queen looked up at the young blue ogre and shook her head, "Thank you for the offer Jorge, you're so sweet. But, I think I can get up on my own."

She then slowly began to stand up even though Jorge still wanted to help her. Even though she's pregnant, Lady Sakura hated being treated like she was this delicate little flower who couldn't take care of herself. She was always an independent woman who liked doing things on her own even after she became Queen of the Spirit World.

Now standing on her own, she slowly exhaled and said, "You know Carlotta, I would be honored to have Jorge serve and care for my son. I feel like they would get along quite nicely." She placed her small dainty hands on her belly and looked at it lovingly, "Who knows, we could possibly have a great friendship in the making like you and me have."

Carlotta chuckled, "Oh I agree. Jorge doesn't have too many male friends other than my neighbor's son, Hector and his little sister Christine of course."

Jorge just awkwardly stared at the queen and looked down at the floor at his bare blue feet blushing softly. Lady Sakura chuckled at the young ogre's shyness and deciding to break the awkwardness between them, she then offered, "Jorge, would you like to see if you can feel Koenma kicking again? Who knows, he might?"

Jorge looked back up at her and nodded. He walked over to the queen and gently placed his blue hands on her stomach. At first he didn't feel anything but, after a minute or two, he felt the unborn prince kick. Jorge smiled, "Hey, he's doing it again."

Queen Sakura warmly smiled and said, "That settles it, you will be Koenma's servant. It seems that he likes you already."

With his hands still on her belly, Jorge looked up at her and shyly blushed, "Um…oh, Lady Sakura…uh…I don't know…what if he doesn't like me after he's born."

The queen sweetly giggled, "Koenma does like you Jorge."

Carlotta smiled and tried to offer her son some encouragement, "I think so too. You know how you always said you wanted a little brother? Well, I think Lord Koenma would fill that void for you."

Jorge shifted his attention to his mother and shrugged his shoulders, "I guess so."

Lady Sakura gently placed one hand on his shoulder and Jorge looked back at her. The queen warmly smiled at him and said very sincerely, "Please consider it. I cannot think of another ogre who would be good enough for the job. Jorge, you're very sweet and from what Carlotta tells me, you're also hardworking, caring, nurturing, and loving. Those qualities make you qualified for the job. Please think about it."

Jorge didn't know what to say and just nodded, "Okay, I'll think about it."

Carlotta chuckled at the adorable scene in front of her and deciding to change the subject, she said, "My Lady, your tea is prepared along with…"

"Oh no, Mother, Lady Sakura, please don't get angry, I forgot to include the cherry blossom tea cakes. I had so much going on, I lost track of what I was doing."

Jorge then removed his hands from Queen Sakura's swollen belly and looked down at the floor feeling guilty about his mistake. Lady Sakura chuckled and placed one hand on his shoulder and Jorge looked back up at her to see her giving him a sweet smile, "Jorge, that's okay. Why don't you and Carlotta go get them? I'll be fine here by myself for a few minutes."

Carlotta nodded with understanding, "Alright but, if you need either Jorge or myself, just holler."

The middle aged female ogre then left the room with Jorge following close behind her. Queen Sakura then slowly lowered herself back down onto her wooden rocking chair. When she was settled on it, she began to rock back and forth and began to hum a beautiful tune.

Her beautiful and enchanting voice filled the nursery as she continued to hum her lovely tune. Lady Sakura shut her beautiful brown eyes as she continued to hum and rock back and forth in the rocking chair. She then placed her small dainty hands on her pregnant belly and began to sing in her lovely operatic high soprano voice to her unborn son:

I cannot wait to meet you
I love you already my sweet baby boy
My little prince, when you will arrive we will all say hooray

She then felt him kick. Queen Sakura smiled, she loved singing to Koenma. It appeared that he loved it when she did too. Lady Sakura opened her eyes and lovingly gazed at her pregnant belly. She then stopped rocking the rocking chair back and forth and slowly stood up. She once again placed her hands on her belly and gazing lovingly at her swollen stomach she began to sing affectionately:

My son, I know you'll become a great king just like your father
You will make life here in the Spirit World so much better
I know you will be a fair and just ruler

Queen Sakura then removed her hands off stomach after feeling Koenma kick again. She walked over to the small wooden table that had the silver tray with the teapot and teacups sitting on it. As she began to pour herself a cup of the hot tea, she began to sing again:

I can't wait to hold you in my arms my little bundle of joy
I want to hold you in my arms and sing to you my beautiful baby boy
The day you will be born will be such a wonderful day
My son you are loved by me and when you arrive, the rest of Spirit World will love you too

Lady Sakura placed the warm teapot back on the tray and picked up her teacup. She took a sip of the hot liquid. Moments after taking that sip, suddenly, she began to feel ill. Queen Sakura all of the sudden felt lightheaded, dizzy, and felt like vomiting as her hands began to shake. She dropped the teacup and it hit the floor and shattered.

Sakura sank to her knees and began to breathe deep and labored. She didn't know what was happening to her and all she could think of was Koenma. She hoped that he wasn't feeling the same way she was and she just wanted him to be okay even if it costed her, her own life. She moved her hands off her chest to her pregnant belly and began to sing feeling weak:

I may not get to hold you after all
This is unfortunately going to be my downfall
My little prince, my little Koenma
Please be strong my little one

Still breathing deep and labored and feeling more and dizzier by the second, Queen Sakura knew she needed to call for help. With what little strength she had, she then called out, "C…Carlotta! J…Jorge!"

Hearing the queen's weak sounding voice, Carlotta and Jorge ran in and gasped at the horrible sight in front of them. Both ogres ran over to her side and Carlotta spoke worried for her mistress and her unborn son, "Lady Sakura, are you alright?"

Queen Sakura shook her head, "N..no. I…I…f..feel…i..ill."

Knowing that she should keep calm in this situation, Carlotta looked up at her son and Jorge asked, "Mother, is she going to be okay?"

Carlotta shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Jorge, go get the medical staff and King Yama, now. Hurry!"

Jorge just silently nodded and quickly rushed out of the room to find the palace medical staff and King Yama. Minutes to an hour later, one of the palace doctors emerged from the nursery and Jorge, Carlotta, and King Yama all looked concerned. The old king then asked, "Well? How is she? Is Sakura alright?"

The ogre doctor sighed and that was when they knew that he bore some bad news, "I'm afraid not. Queen Sakura has suddenly contracted some kind of an unknown illness. I would keep an eye on her, especially the unborn prince as he is also in danger. There is a possibility that one or both of them may not survive the delivery. For the remainder of the pregnancy, it is wise to monitor Queen Sakura and Prince Koenma to make sure both the mother and baby don't take a turn for the worse."

King Yama then glared at the ogre doctor and barked at him, "No! You are dismissed! Get out of my sight! Now!"

As the ogre doctor left, he shifted his attention to Jorge and Carlotta and accusingly pointed a finger to the young adult ogre, "He's responsible for this. Your irresponsible brat should have kept an eye on her tea. She could be poisoned for all we know. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it."

Jorge felt his anger rising and wanted very much to punch King Yama in the face but, his mother stepped in between him and the old tyrant and narrowed her eyes at him and retorted, "Jorge did no such thing. He would never hurt a fly. My son loves Sakura just like everyone else in the kingdom. How dare you accuse him of something so horrible?! I can't believe you!"

"Well, if he didn't make her sick, then what or who did?"

The two ogres and the old king just awkwardly stared at each other for a moment and Carlotta broke the silence and added, "I don't know but, don't you start accusing my son for it again."

Without saying another word, King Yama then turned around and walked back to his office in a huff. Over the next several weeks, Queen Sakura's health seemed to get worse and worse with each passing day. She could still feel Koenma kick but, not as often. She began to feel concerned and prayed that he was okay. She didn't care what happened to her at this point. All what mattered to her was if Koenma was going to be okay.

Right now, with how sick she was, Lady Sakura was too weak to go anywhere. She was so weak in fact, she was bedridden. None of the palace's medical staff could figure out how she was getting sick. Her symptoms didn't seem to match any known illnesses of the three planes of existence and King Yama began to suspect that it was Koenma who was making her sick. Though, there really wasn't any proof of it.

Carlotta on the other hand, had her own suspicions. She began to suspect the queen had fallen ill under something more sinister. Even though she and Jorge were doing whatever they could to care for the queen, the middle aged female ogre began to conduct her own investigation hoping to find the cause before it was too late for Queen Sakura and the unborn prince.

While Jorge was currently brushing Sakura's long brown hair, the queen then felt a pain shoot through the lower half of her body. Her lovely brown eyes widened and she said out loud for Jorge to hear, "What?! I..it can't be…he's not due to come until December, it's still October."

Hearing that, the young adult ogre stared at her blankly for a minute, "What?!"

Lady Sakura nodded, "Jorge, Koenma is coming. I'm going into labor. Get Carlotta and my husband! Now! Hurry!"

Trying not to panic, Jorge nodded. He hesitantly left room as Queen Sakura let out a pained groan. He then shouted down the hall, "Mother! Someone, help! The queen is in labor!"

Hours later, loud screams and cries could be heard all over the large palace. News of the queen giving birth had traveled very fast and many of the Spirit World inhabitants where in or around the castle waiting for news of the young prince's birth.

The only people in the nursery who were with Queen Sakura were Carlotta, Jorge, the palace medical staff, and King Yama. The king didn't know what else to do but, watched as his wife, the woman whom he loved for over the several hundred years was enduring such pain. He didn't like seeing her like that and he just hoped that she would be able to make it out of this alive.

Carlotta then looked up at her mistress and said, "Okay Lady Sakura, it's time. Lord Koenma is ready to come out now."

Sakura took a deep breath and replied in a shaky voice, "I can't C…Carlotta. It's still too early."

Feeling awful for seeing her boss and friend in such excruciating pain, Carlotta then replied, "I know but, this illness you have is probably what triggered it. You can do it Sakura. Just take a deep breath and push when you can."

A tear streamed down the queen's pale cheek, "I don't want him to die. Oh god, I don't want him to die." Knowing that she didn't have a choice, Sakura took a deep breath, slowly exhaled and counted to herself in her head before she tried to push as she let out a blood curdling scream.

"You're doing great, Lady Sakura. Just breathe, keep your breathes steady. You're doing wonderful." Carlotta then shifted her attention to her son, "Jorge, could you hold her hand to comfort her?"

Jorge silently nodded and did as his mother instructed him to do. For over thirty minutes, Carlotta instructed Queen Sakura with her breathing as the queen continued to push. Lady Sakura let out another agonizing scream as she pushed one last time.

Carlotta brightly smiled as she held the newborn prince in her arms. One of the ogres of the medical staff cut the umbilical cord. Queen Sakura was breathing heavily and not hearing a sound from her newborn son, she began to worry, "W…why isn't Koenma crying? Oh god, No! My baby, my baby! Please take me instead! Take me instead! Please save my baby! Save my son please! Don't let him die!"

At Queen Sakura's words, Jorge then shifted his attention to his mother who was currently cleaning up little newborn Koenma. He began to worry and asked with genuine concern, "Mother, is he dead? Is Lord Koenma dead? Is he okay?"

Staring at the silent baby in her arms as she wrapped him up in a warm blanket, Carlotta too began to worry, "I don't know Jorge. I don't know."

Silently watching the scene in front of him, King Yama didn't know how to react. He just watched as Queen Sakura began to cry, "My son. Oh god, my baby boy. C…Carlotta l…let me hold him. P…please?"

Carlotta looked over at her mistress and nodded. She walked over to the queen's bedside and gently handed the small bundle that contained the newborn god to his mother. Queen Sakura held her son and seeing that he didn't look blue but instead he was pale but, had rosy cheeks at least. Tears began to stream down her beautiful face.

Lady Sakura stroked Koenma's soft brown hair, shut her lovely brown eyes, and kissed the "Jr" mark on his forehead. She removed her smooth pink lips after a few seconds she held him close and whispered to the silent infant god, "Please Koenma, I don't care what happens to me. I just want you to have a chance. I love you my son. I love you my little prince. Please don't die. Please cry for Mommy."

She kissed the "Jr" mark on his forehead again as she began to used some of her spirit energy to get the silent infant to cry. Suddenly, Koenma took in a sharp breath and let out a loud cry. Hearing the prince's cries, Queen Sakura removed her lips and gazed at her crying son and Jorge and Carlotta both smiled in relief. But King Yama on the other hand, began to sense that something wasn't right. Staring at his wife and son, he had a bad feeling that this happy moment, wasn't going to last.

Tears of joy streamed down Sakura's face and she smiled, "Oh thank goodness. Oh Koenma, I'm so happy that you're okay."

The queen then suddenly felt light headed and she tiredly blinked her eyes. Lady Sakura then shut her eyes and as she took her last breath she said while still holding Koenma in her arms, "I love you."

Everyone in the room fell silent as Queen Sakura passed way in front of them. The only sound in the nursery was the cries of Koenma as he continued to cry out for his now dead mother whom he will never know.

Staring at his now dead wife, King Yama felt as if his heart had shattered into a million pieces. He closed his dark eyes, took in a deep breath, and clenched his large hands into fists at his sides. Carlotta then spoke breaking the silence, "Jorge, get Koenma."

Jorge silently nodded and approached the dead queen's bedside. He gently scooped the still screaming and crying Koenma in his arms. He looked at Queen Sakura who was lying there peacefully and quickly turned around as it was painful for him to see her like that.

Jorge then walked over to the king and asked him, "King Yama, sir, would you like to hold him?"

King Yama then opened his eyes. He glared at Jorge and then looked at his son. He then formed a look on his face that scared the hell out of Jorge. With his fists still clenched at his sides, King Yama then turned around and walked out of the nursery leaving Jorge, the ogre medical staff, and Carlotta standing there dumbstruck.

Days after the death of Queen Sakura and the birth of Koenma, the entire kingdom was both in mourning over the queen's death and was relieved to know that the newborn prince was alright. But, not all was well. After Queen Sakura's funeral and memorial service when she was laid to rest in the royal family's monument, there was great concern that Koenma would soon join his mother.

He wasn't eating and he was dreadfully underweight. There were bets in, around, and outside the castle of how long the infant prince would live. Well not everyone was betting on that, in fact, Carlotta Saotome and her son, Jorge was hoping Koenma would eventually eat so his health would take a turn for the better. They kept a close eye on him and tried their hardest to give him something to eat but, so far, Koenma hadn't as so much as sucked on his bottle for a single drop of formula.

While Jorge sat on the wooden rocking chair in the nursery with little Koenma wrapped up in his baby blanket. He rocked back and forth holding a bottle that contained warm homemade formula that Carlotta made up for him. Jorge looked up at his mother and Carlotta could see the sad look on her only son's face, "Jorge honey, he's going to be okay. Just give him some time."

A single tear slid down his blue cheek, "Mother, you have been saying that but, he just won't do it. I don't want Koenma to die. If he does, it won't be fair at all. He deserves to have a chance to live his life."

Carlotta put her hand on Jorge's shoulder, "Just try to think positive about this. Who knows, he may eat today. Now, I'm going to continue my research of Queen Sakura's illness and I already have the hair samples I needed from Koenma. Also, King Yama wanted to speak to me about something before I do so. Do you think you and Koenma would be okay alone for a little bit?"

Jorge nodded, "Yes Mother."

Carlotta kissed her son's forehead and shifted her attention to Koenma and kissed his forehead too and said to the small infant god, "Don't give Jorge too hard of a time. I really hope you try the tasty homemade formula I made for you. I used to give it to my children when they were newborns too. That's why Jorge grew up big and strong and I hope it will help you grow too."

Little Koenma looked up at the middle aged ogre woman and just blinked his large brown eyes at her. Carlotta gave him a sweet smile and kissed his forehead again and picked up her large bear skin purse. She walked up to the nursery's doorway and gave her son a reassuring smile hoping to boost his confidence, "Have faith, it'll happen. You remember how your sister Lucy was and she pulled through didn't she?"

Jorge nodded, "Yeah Lucy did. Bye Mother, I love you."

"I love you too."

Carlotta then left the room to walk on down to King Yama's throne room curious to know what the old bastard wanted to talk to her about. Back in the nursery, Jorge continued to rock the wooden rocking chair back and forth still cradling Koenma in one arm while still holding the bottle with the homemade formula with his free hand.

Even though his mother tried her hardest to give him some encouraging words, Jorge still thought about the worst case scenario. He desperately wanted Koenma to get better and hoped he didn't have the same illness Queen Sakura did.

He gazed at the small infant and Koenma looked up to see the sad look on the ogre's face. Another tear streamed down the blue ogre's cheek and he did his best to hold back his sobs. Jorge took a deep breath and did what he could to keep his composure but, it was proving to be increasingly difficult with each passing minute.

He then gently guided the bottle's nipple up to little Koenma's mouth and said in a gentle voice, "Please Koenma sir. Please eat. You need to get better; it's what your mother would want. Sh..she wanted to see you grow up and have a happy life. Hell, that's what Mother and I want too. Please Koenma."

Little Koenma just continued to look up at Jorge who couldn't hold back his tears anymore and began to cry. The young adult ogre continued to rock back and forth in the wooden rocking chair crying while holding Koenma and the bottle of formula up to the newborn baby god's mouth praying that he would suckle on it.

Little baby Koenma just blinked his large brown eyes not really understanding what was going on. He didn't know why this blue ogre who was holding him was crying. Koenma just looked up at him a little more as the bottle's nipple got a little bit closer to him. The little prince felt it gently brush up against his lips and suddenly made a little pucker motion at the rubber object.

As Jorge continued to cry he then began to sing a lullaby in a soft voice to Koenma. His small song was cut short when he heard a small sucking noise. Curious to know where it was coming from, Jorge stopped crying and was pleasantly greeted at the wonderful sight cradled in his big blue arm.

Koenma was suckling on the bottle, sucking up as much of Carlotta's homemade formula as possible. Jorge brightly smiled and continued to watch the small god drink more and more from the bottle. Minutes later, the bottle then reached its last drop and Koenma sucked that out of the bottle in one gulp.

Jorge then began to cry tears of joy now the bottle was empty. When little Koenma realized that there was no more, he took his mouth away from the bottle and began to cry. Jorge quickly put the bottle off to the side and said, "Oh no, please don't cry. Um…what did Mother say to do after you're finished?"

Thinking fast, it dawned on him, "Oh yeah, she said to burp you." Jorge then gently held Koenma up to his shoulder and softly tapped his small back with his hand. Koenma then let out a small burp and stopped crying seconds later.

Jorge smiled and looked over at him and saw the tired look on the small infant's face. Little Koenma yawned and Jorge continued to rock back and forth in the rocking chair and began to softly sing a small lullaby to Koenma again.

Koenma listened to the young adult blue ogre who just had a decent singing voice and blinked his tired brown eyes. He snuggled up to Jorge's shoulder and began to fall asleep. Jorge continued to sing to him as Carlotta walked back into the room.

The middle aged ogre woman stopped in her tracks at the wonderful sight before her. Looking at the empty bottle that was placed on the small table, she smiled. Carlotta shifted her attention to her son and whispered so she wouldn't wake Koenma up, "Jorge, did he…"

Jorge looked over at his mother and silently nodded. He then stopped rocking the rocking chair back and forth and got up. He walked over to Koenma's bassinet and gently placed the small sleeping prince in it. Carlotta then gestured Jorge to come talk to her out in the hallway.

Jorge then placed Koenma's baby blanket over little Koenma and followed his mother out into the hallway. Carlotta brightly smiled at her son, "He finally ate, I'm so happy to see that."

Deciding to change the subject, she then decided to inform him, "Jorge, I just got through with talking to King Yama and it was about you."

Jorge just stared at his mother and asked, "What was it about?"

Carlotta gripped onto the straps of her bear skin purse and replied, "He said that you are being assigned to care for Koenma. He and I did have a discussion about it and we both decided that you would be the best one for the job. Also, it was what Queen Sakura would have wanted. Jorge, I know you're nervous about it but, please, think about it. After all, just a little bit ago, you did get him to eat."

Jorge just stood there speechless. He didn't know what to say or how to react to this. Carlotta put her hand on her son's shoulder and said hoping to encourage him, "Please Jorge. It seems like Koenma does like you best."

Jorge just nodded, "Okay, I'll think about it."

Carlotta smiled, "Okay. Well, I'm going to go do my research now. Are you going to be okay with being alone with Koenma again?"

The young adult ogre gave his mother a smile and nodded, "Yeah, I think so."

Jorge and Carlotta gave each other a big hug and parted seconds later. Hours later, Carlotta's lab results were finally ready. She then looked at her findings first from the hair and tissue samples she took from Queen Sakura before her death and her eyes widened. Looking at them, she felt sick to her stomach.

Carlotta then shifted her attention to the results from the hair samples she took from Koenma and felt the same awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. The middle aged ogre put her hand on her chest and began to feel her heart race and said to herself, "Why, why would anyone do this to Sakura and Koenma? Who would do this and how did they get it? How did it go undetected for so long?"

Back in the nursery, Koenma had woken up from his nap and began to cry for someone's attention. Hearing that, Jorge woke up from his nap and got up from the wooden rocking chair and walked up to the little prince's bassinet. He carefully scooped Koenma up into his arms and smiled at him, "What's wrong? Are you hungry again or do you need to be changed?"

Jorge walked over to the changing table to make sure Koenma didn't need to be changed. Surprisingly he didn't and guessed that Koenma was hungry instead. Leaving Koenma on the changing table for a little bit, Jorge put some more of his mother's homemade formula into a bottle and screwed the nipple back on it.

He walked back over to the changing table and scooped the still crying Koenma up in his arms and picked up the bottle and brought it up to Koenma's mouth. Koenma then stopped crying as he began to suck on the bottle and Jorge smiled, "You're hungry aren't you? I need to talk to you about something while you're eating."

Jorge sat down on the rocking chair again and began to slowly rock back and forth as Koenma continued to suckle on the bottle again. The young adult ogre gazed down at him as Koenma looked back up at him while still drinking from his bottle, "Mother has just told that your father has hired me to take care of you. I am a little nervous about it but, I think I'll do it. I'll do it to honor Queen Sakura's memory. You know Koenma, your mother was an amazing woman. She loved you very much and it sucks that you will never get to know her. I know you don't understand a word I'm saying but, you will when you're older."

The bottle was now halfway empty and Koenma still looked up at Jorge while still eating and blinked his large brown eyes at him. Jorge was right, Koenma didn't know what he was talking about but, all he knew was that this ogre was friendly. Jorge gave him a warm smile and said, "I have a feeling that we have a long and challenging road ahead of us. That's life, I guess. All we can really do is take it one day at a time, right Koenma sir?"

Koenma then finished off the bottle and Jorge took it away from his mouth and began to gently burp the small infant again. Koenma let out another small burp and Jorge then gently cradled the small prince in his arms. Little Koenma looked up at him and smiled and looking at the small smiling newborn god, Jorge knew he was going to be okay and get to live a long and happy life like Queen Sakura would have wanted. Or at least, as happy it can get.

Notes: What did Carlotta find in her research and why did it make her feel ill? Well, that is to be revealed in a future chapter of "Musical Espionage". Until next time ;)