Ch 25

and the world is new

It has been almost a month since Seth made himself known, the Pharoh that stepped in after Atem's reign. The great priest that had served him with his every waking breath. Hundreds of things have attempted to make their way towards the house, Seth bats them away like a nuisance mosquito buzzing in his ear. The traffic of these creatures has slowed, to almost a standstill, leaving them with a day like today, where there are few noises other than the maids and butlers tending to the house. Seth stands in a hallway closely examining a portrait of Seto as a child, the way his eyes have such a cold focus, the familiar expression. He turns to look to his right, down the hall he finds mokuba paused mid stride, staring at him like he always does. With curious analytical eyes, that always focus and lock on him.

" what is it you want child."

"do you want to see other pictures of nii chan?"

"..."

He gives a curt nod and follows Mokuba down the hallway up the stairs and off to Mokubas bedroom. Mokuba motions to a rolling chair by his writing desk as he reaches into his closet for a box he doesn't bring out much anymore. He pops off the lid smiling at a collection of small photo albums, he hands the box to Seth with a wide grin as he picks up one of the oldest albums. Set picks up the topmost album , he blinks as he finds still frames taken from security videos. Blurred images of kaiba leaping off a helicopter and running across rooftops- even one of him leaping out a window. He flips again to find several advertising and promotional images clipped out from magazines and tucked away in the clear pages. He flips to find another picture this time of Kaiba standing beside Mokuba who holds out a giant gold pair of scissors over a bright red ribbon. As he flips through pages and books he finds the images becoming more personal and more recent. Until he finds an image of Kaiba sitting down beside Jou, looking mildly pleased with himself.

"who is this?"

He taps his finger beside Jounouchis face, a striking resemblance to the servant he keeps always close at hand. Mokuba leans over and smiles brightly.

" That's Jounouchi! He's the one who Nii chan is in love with- he's the one taking care of nii chan right now."

" he is the...father of the children?"

" yep and he's gonna be a great dad- he's real strong and loyal and real nice too."

Mokuba smirks as he makes note of the slightly confused expression on Seth's face. The familiar sound of small knuckle's rapping softly at the open door announces Jono the slaves return to Seths side. He folds his hands over his stomach as they look at him, before speaking he gives a steep bow to both Seth and Mokuba.

" lunch is ready, would you like it brought to you or will you take it in the dining room."

" I will eat here."

"mine too please."

This Jo is very different from the Jou that Mokuba has become so fond of over the years. He is not unpleasant, extremely different in that he obeys without command, makes a point of using proper etiquette and remains silent unless spoken to. He wonders to himself if the relationship between these two is similar to the one his brother has with Jou, the only thing he knows is that Seth harbors some form of attachment to his slave. Maybe he'll ask...maybe. Jono backs out of the room with a deep bow and walks off down the hall silent as a shadow, so as not to bother Seth.

They wake to an ear shattering shriek, Jou leaps out of bed and rushes down the hall tearing open Khokenris bedroom door. Kaiba screams out in pain, the sound blaring in his too sensitive ears, he claps his hands over his ears and struggles to get up. Khokenri sits up in bed looking bewildered, the sound stops, followed by a heavy thudding on the rooftop. He looks at her confused, then up at the ceiling, the heavy sound travels and disappears until a heavy thumping can be heard on their living room windows and door. She throws the blankets off her healed legs, both now perfectly healed as she rushes down the stairs with Jou. Kaiba huffs heavily, his head spinning from the sound, he decides to get up slowly. With one hand he cradles his burgeoning belly and with the other he braces himself against the wall. He follows the trail his hand follows as his the floor appears to be a good distance away. He blinks repeatedly trying to clear his vision of its folly all the way out of the room. He can hear Khokenri, she sounds fine, flustered but otherwise fine.

Jou hears a soft scraping noise coming from somewhere behind him, he looks back and spots Kaiba trying to get down the stairs. He bolts back up the stairs and carefully helps Kaiba down the currently tricky steps, he sets him down on the couch before moving for the door. Khokenri stands beside him all her long nails extended and ready. Jou slowly opens the door and gasps when he spots a woman. She is tall slender but firm and beautiful, her hair is long sleek and multi-faceted shades of black and blue. Her wonderfully wide jungle green eyes focus immediately on Jou, her full lips press down to a thin line he watches the way her brow furrows. What did she expect? She has a thick fluttery shawl wrapped around herself, it halts as it nears her knees, from there down she is bare. With milky white skin on shapely legs and small petite uncovered feet.

"mother..."

Khokenri stares at the woman she hasn't seen in almost a month and a half, the woman looks back in mild confusion at first then blooming pride. Khokenris time with these humans did not go to waste, she learned to take control of her shape shifting ability with kaibas guidance. In this form she has a round button like nose, similar to Jous, glowing blue eyes like Kaiba, short choppy black hair. Both her hands and feet appear as completely human, and with the ladylike features of being small and soft. Her small figure is slim and lean, her tender limbs concealing strong ropey muscle. Although she has not learned to reshape her teeth, she no longer speaks with clicks between each syllable.

" why are you here my little one."

Less a question so much as a command to be answered, Khokenri blinks at her interested in the face she see's.

" I didn't want to die."

The woman looks from Khokenri to Jou who who peers at her as if he can't quite see her properly. She returns the expression for a moment, before finding herself irritated with a memory she can't quite grasp. She moves to speak but find her silky voice over powered by a cross between a scream and a roar, both jou and kho whip around to see kaiba panting on the couch.

"JOU!"

"shit"

He rushes forward and tucks one arms beneath Kaibas knees the other around his back, Kaiba throws one arm over Jou's shoulders the other still on his stomach. He shouts over his shoulder to khokenri who appears frozen in place.

" Kho go get the bed set up QUICK! And grab the towels... we need water water lots of fricking water-"

The woman at the door watches as her daughter runs to the foot of the stairs and leaps up the full flight. Jou walks up the stairs slowly and carefully while Kaiba huffs pants and swallows down the louder noises. By the time he makes it back upstairs the bed has been stripped and remade with layers of thick white sheets, two stone bowls on either side of the headboard filled with lumps of herbs smoking on the center. Khokenri yanks the windows shut and leaves the curtains open to trap the smoke and keep the tranquil view that Kaiba loves so much. She skirts past Jou and out the door to collect the needed water. She leaps down the stairs and shoves past her mother who looks at her in bewilderment, Khokenri pops open the cars trunk and pulls out a pile of soft blankets along with a blue plastic infants tub. She rushes back inside as if the woman wasn't even there, once back inside she finds Jou flipping through the heavily scribbled in composition notebook, apparently written by a woman called Deardra. Jou fans the smoke gently toward Kaiba who inhales deeply, the strange odor slowly calming him. She sets the blankets down on the top of the dresser and stares at Jou for who waves her over to him.

" are you ready for this?"

He looks at her nervously she smiles back.

" I know you guys are... wheres that music box..."

She turns around and searches for any item she knows to calm his nerves. Cognac slips into the room and steps up onto the bed where Kaiba fists his hands in the blankets, Just she begins to crawl up toward Kaibas face she finds herself snatched up and set outside the door. She turns around to find the door shut behind her.

"mow-"

"oh no you don't, now is not the time for all that nonsense."

Khokenri quickly scoops up the massive cat carrying it to front door where her mother stands looking at her with mild interest.

"here hold this"

She drops Cognac into her mothers arms, the expression is beyond priceless. Horror disgust and fury all wrapped in one, she glares at her daughter who turns to go back inside.

" you don't actually expect me to hold this monster!?"

" shes a basically a furry pillow- she doesn't do much and yes I do."

Half an hour later the woman sits on the couch idly petting the cat that doesn't seem to want her anywhere else. She glances at the top of the stairs where she spots her daughter carrying the plastic tub, now heavy with water down the hall. In her mind she wonders if she should pleased or upset with this situation. Humans... this pair is very odd. And the male seemed so familiar.. come to think of it. She sniffs the air curiously for a moment then stares down at the cat draped over her lap and most of the couch. She blinks curiously wondering why she can't smell any female hormones, aside from the cat and her child... although she does smell more than one cat. Sage...sweat she decides to interrogate the male thoroughly after all this.

Upstairs Kaiba huffs and screams through clenched teeth, his knees raised up and open, he can feel jous hands on his knees, kneading tense muscle. Kaiba fists his hands in the sheets, desperately wishing for it to be over already.

" Oh gahd I can't do this."

"yes you can, your doing so good"

Khokenri steps forward and wraps her hand around kaibas, allowing him to squeeze her hand though the intense pain.

" you can do this! Your so strong I know you can!"

He can feel her hand squeezing his back, laying back on the pillow he tries to focus on Jous voice.

" you have to breathe okay, breathe deep alright."

Kaiba huffs, trying to inhale, he takes long breathes exhaling in a choppy pattern.

"ahh!"

He feels a distinct weight dropping into the lower portion of his stomach, he props himself up on his elbows.

" nnngghh"

Khokenri feels him drop her hand, he returns to fisting the sheets, she bolts over to where the tub of lukewarm water is along with a few cleaning cloths and the blankets. Kaiba huffs and holds his breath as he finally gives a good long push. After almost a minute he lets out the breath in several huffs, inhaling deeply he pushes again.

Downstairs the woman petting cognac wonders idly why it is that human labor takes quite so long. She remember laying khokenris egg, a grand total of twenty minutes work, and there had been four eggs. She inwardly huffs at how strange and inefficient humans are. Thirty minutes later she finds herself gawking at the top of the stairs where that blood curdling shrieking roar comes from, she stares as she grips the large cat to her chest, cognac only grunts her discomfort.

Upstairs Kaiba has completely lost his human shape, he reaches over his head with his long arms, gripping the heard board. Jou stays lodged between his legs, reentering the room is khokenri with the blue plastic tub, now filled with warm water, as it had become ice cold in the long wait.

" c'mon one more push! I can see em! Were almost there!"

Kaiba lets go of the headboard and shoves himself into almost a sitting position, leaning forward as he pushes. He lets out another long screaming roar, hot tears burning down his face. He collapses backward grinning like a lunatic when he hears a soft mewling cry. Jou grins as lifts up an infant that fits perfectly in both his hands.

" oh ,u god, babe- she's so tiny.."

" a girl.."

He passes the new girl off to Khokenri who smiles while washes her up, she fold the clothe diaper around the new baby, then swaddles her in a pastel blanket and sets her in one of he bassinets. Kaiba huffs feeling another shift, Jou looks over to Kaiba and his yellow eyes.

"ready- push!"

Its only minutes this time before another one is passed off to Kho, a boy. The one that follows a girl, another boy and the final one, appears to be female. Afterward Kaiba collapses back onto the bed, he smiles as he watches Jou carry over one of them, however he blacks out before he can see the fruit of all his effort. Jou sits down on the edge of the bed, looking at the firstborn, shes miniscule, only about a pound and a half. Although her body is soft and pudgy, her face and body covered with light brown peach fuzz.

"Hey there"

He grins when he sees glowing yellow eyes looking blearily about. He places her down in her bassinet and looks at the others, he snickers to himself when he spots two with fuzz the color of sunflowers. All with small pointed ears and small thin little tails, kittens indeed.

"hey kho,"

"yea?"

She tosses the bloody cloths into the pink tinted water as she looks over to jou. Kho grins to herself as she watches Jou cradling the last born.

"they're gonna be hungry, can you bring up their milk?"

"mmhhmm."

The woman blinks curiously as she watches her daughter come down the stairs, looking deeply tired and wet up to her elbows.

" is it a good one?"

"there are five of them! They're so tiny what beautiful little kittens!"