Once again the Kuro characters don't belong to me. Any non-Kuro ones though do belong to me.

Chapter 6: All Pent Up

Talen's eyes widened in shock, standing before her was the one person she spent her whole life thinking of. It was as if she couldn't breathe the air felt so heavy, she never thought she would see him ever and yet there he was. Ringed ruby eyes met emerald in a moment of revelation, as emotions long-since buried came back to life.

"Why were you never there for me?" she asked quietly.

"Pardon?" he replied, expression hopeful.

"Really, what took you," she couldn't keep the edge out of her voice. "How come it took until now for you to come waltzing into my life? And why now? Do you really expect me to throw myself to you after abandoning me?"

"But..."

"Do you even know the kind of shit I had to grow up with because of you? Stuck being raised by somebody who can't make up his mind on whether I'm a bother or someone to take care of. Forced into a position with absolutely no say, just told that I have to work that position because my life depends on it. Not to mention all the pining I've had to deal with in your absence!" she snarled.

"I can explain.."

"Like hell you can! I don't want to hear any excuses from you. If I was really meant anything to you, you would have come for me sooner. Why did you even run away? Were you too fucking scared to bother taking care of me yourself? You'd rather just dump me on some sad sack?"

"Talen, please calm down," Undertaker interjected. "Just let him explain."

"Why should I? If I wasn't abandoned and actually had a real mother, maybe I wouldn't have half the issues I have now! Instead I grew up with nobody standing up for me when I needed it, nobody to actually invest anything emotional in me. I was just brought up to be used as needed!" she slammed her fist into a wall, causing both men to jump.

Then she left the shop, slamming the door on her way out. Grell stared at the door in complete shock, all color drained from his face. Quietly, he sat down at the desk, heartbroken.

"How could she react like that?" he asked softly.

"I didn't think she'd get that upset," Undertaker placed his hands on Grell's shoulders. "Usually she saves those outbursts for William when he's being a pain in her neck."

"It's not like it was my choice in the beginning though. After she was born nobody would let me see her. If I could, I would have been with her."

"I'm sure you would have, but she doesn't know that. I don't know the full story since I wasn't there, but I can tell you're being sincere. There's only so much information I could give, plus whatever she heard growing up from everyone else."

Grell sighed, "Does she hate me?"

Undertaker placed a hand under Grell's chin and tilted his gaze up, "I don't think she hates you. She's very angry, but I don't think it's hate. Talen has a lot of frustrations, but she rarely outright hates anything. It's such a strong word."

"But she was so cruel to me, I know I don't usually mind that, but coming from my own offspring, it really hurts," he sniffled.

"I understand, she's been through a lot of hurt as well. In most cases Talen can handle her own. Like you she is a strong fighter, she has a great sense of humor and is capable of caring. Yet she has a hard time handling her emotions, like a certain shinigami I know," he gently poked Grell on the cheek.

"What should I do? I want to get through to her somehow."

"Be patient with her, I'll have a talk with her later when she gets back. Just leave her be for now, and hopefully she'll come around. She's doesn't let many people in."

"And how do you know all of this?"

"We've been living together for the past ten years or so. We've grown close to each other. I suggest that you get back to wherever you're staying, I'll tend to your insufferable brat."

"I suppose so," Grell stood up, "Don't need her going off on me again. I'm sorry to cause you such trouble. I thought things would be different."

"Well you made the day more interesting," he pulled Grell into a comforting hug, "Now run along, I can handle her."

"Well, bye then. I hope you're right about everything," Grell pulled away and walked towards the door.

Meanwhile Talen sat on a park bench examining her bruising knuckles. She would definitely need an ice pack when she returned. More importantly her mind was still in a state of confusion She didn't even know she was that angry, most of the time she treated the subject of her mother with indifference or curiosity. Not outright anger. Yet his reappearance stirred up some old feelings she had forgotten.

Now she felt any prospect of that was ruined by her temper. Even if it just surfaced, it was real anger. Not that she ever thought of how she would act otherwise, the prospect presented to her became an impossibility in her mind. She realized that she did feel abandoned to a cold, uncaring world. The only time William ever seemed to approach her with anything other than sternness was when he was thinking of Grell. Those moments always made Talen feel awkward, he would get more emotional, sometimes downright depressed. Leaving Talen to feel like the odd replacement of a missing piece.

She didn't know how long she stayed on that bench, just that it was beginning to get dark. It would be best if she returned and went to bed. Right now she didn't feel like confronting anything. She felt like that sad, lonely child again. Maybe a few drinks would help soothe her shattered nerves.

Back at the Inn Grell laid in bed watching the moonlight drift across the room as the hours passed. The ache in his heart from Talen's rejection was still lay heavy within him. He was really hoping he could trust Undertaker on this one. Give her a couple days to cool down and see if he could just visit the shop more often. Find a way to get his daughter to accept him.

In the meantime he brought up those bittersweet memories from his only time with Talen. The months leading up to her birth. How he would fawn over his slowly expanding stomach, reveling in the fact that the impossible happened. As those months passed he took time to tend to her the only way he could. Long nights at home were spent reading to her, hoping she could hear him. Or he would just talk to her, as if she could respond. Back then he always reminded her that he would love her, no matter what. Although now that promise brought more pain than comfort.

There was a darker side to this joyous occurrence. The Council had decided that he would be unfit to raise her, and that he would have no custody over her upon birth. Circumstances stated this would be a sensitive case. Someone else would raise her, he wouldn't even be allowed to see her. It broke his heart to hear that, but there was no choice. He couldn't run, the doctors said that a surgical birth was necessary. It was safer and more sanitary than just leaving things to nature, which could threaten both their lives. If he wanted her to be born safely he was stuck there.

Instead he tried to push much of that into the back of his mind, spending time focusing on the fact he was going to have a baby. Almost nightly he wrote in a diary about her progress, about what he wanted to name her, how he hoped that one day when she was older, he could reunite with her. The fact that he was happy to learn he'd be having a girl, like he always wanted. Even if he wasn't able to raise her, he still wanted to be there for her when she grew up. Yet at the moment all of that felt like it was all for nothing.

Moving his clothing out of the way, he looked at the only remainder he had. A long pink scar that marred his otherwise smooth skin. It was a reminder as to why he left in the first place. How betrayed and violated he felt after her birth. Turning onto his side, he fell into a fitful sleep.

Talen returned to the shop later that evening after her vist to the pub. She had hoped that those drinks would wash away her confusion. They didn't, she just felt more mixed-up, and she almost started a fight with some bastard who wouldn't leave her alone. Some humans just couldn't take no for an answer.

She was hoping everything was still at the shop so she could just crawl into bed and sleep everything off. Instead she found Undertaker waiting for her at his desk, a look of concern across his handsome features.

"Can't it wait?" she sighed, "I've had a rough night."

"It would be better if it didn't," he told her. "What happened earlier? I wasn't expecting you to snap like that?"

"What, you expected me to be all happy?"

"Not exactly, but I wasn't expecting you to fly into a rage like that. You never told me you were angry with your mother."

"I didn't even expect myself to be," she said softly, " I just remembered a lot of things that I buried long ago."

"I can understand that, but you were pretty harsh."

Talen found a chair and pulled it up by the desk to sit down, and she took a deep breath, "As a child I did wonder about my mother. I heard all the stories around dispatch about the kind of trouble he would get himself into and all. That was all I had to go by and like any child I had my own fantasies. I would wish that some day he would just show up and take me away, and then we could go off and be happy. All those silly things that kids think of. One day you just stop dreaming, once you realize your dream will never come true. I realized today that I really do feel abandoned. He's not just some mythical figure that I dreamed about as a kid."

"I can see where that's difficult," he took her hand, gently caressing the back of it with his thumb, being mindful of her injured knuckles. "Sometimes we don't know we're hiding feelings."

"I wish I could help it. What happened after I left?"

"I had to console Grell before sending him off. He really wants you to give him a chance. Things are more complicated than you think. Like most things in life usually are."

"I'm not going to guarantee anything there. It's up to me whether or not I have a change of heart. I'm still pretty angry with him."

"Of course, it's your decision. I just know it's difficult when your emotions get the best of you. Now let's get upstairs and and see what we can do about your hand."

Talen nodded and followed him upstairs where she seated herself at the kitchen table. Undertaker fixed an ice pack for her hand, seeing the only real damage was bruising and a couple scrapes that would be healed by morning. The swelling was all that needed tending by now. Then he fixed them both some chamomile tea and a plate of cookies.

"I know life's difficult for you sometimes," he said while he sipped the hot liquid, "you remember how I've told you that you aren't the first hybrid right?"

"I remember something about that. Long, long time ago?"

"Many centuries ago. Hybrids are extremely rare since shinigami and demons are mortal enemies, but there was one I remember from my own past. I think I've told you about her before."

"Desdemona, right? I remember you bringing her up over a game of checkers some years ago. Around the time I started hanging around your shop."

"Yes, her. Unlike you though her mother was a demon, rather than a shinigami. She had different traits from yours because of this. You kind of remind me of her at times, she lived under a lot of scrutiny and expectation. For years she struggled with the fact that she was hybrid. Up until her death. Unfortunately for her she died before she could prove herself. Poor woman starved to death, she was unlucky to have inherited a need for souls to sustain herself. It drove her mad. Treatment was out of the question as it violates our own ethics. They simply locked her up until she expired."

"I guess I'm lucky in that respect," Talen sighed and looked over at Undertaker. He looked very solemn, and a bit sad? "You okay?"

"I'm fine, I think I'm just tired. It's very late, why don't we get some rest dear?"

"Yes, I'm wiped out," she took his hand. "Why not stay in my room tonight? It looks like both of us need some company."

"Why not," he stroked Talen's hair, and they retreated to the bedroom where they slept soundly in each other's embrace.

Author's Notes

Whew! Longest chapter yet. And yeah, hybrids have weird, traits can depend on which species is which parent. Like ligers and tigons, they're both a mix of lion and tiger, but who the mother/father influence how the cubs are. Ligers are these ginormous creatures with golden coats, and tigons are a smaller and more stripey. I figured I'd leave a nifty note on that, it does come into play later in the story.

When it comes to technology during the flashback scenes, I am going by how things are in the Shinigami OVA, as in their technology is more developed than human technology for the time. Therefore their medical facilities, when needed, are likely more advanced as well. I'll just approximate Talen's conception and birth as somewhere in the early 1890s.