Tren: Alright! I was originally planning on posting this entire arc in one chapter.

Aillas: Obviously it failed.

Tren: Yeah. Obviously. I decided that the plot needed a break in between, so the next chapter should be up fast.

Aillas: Or at least faster than normal for her.

Tren: I appreciate all you guys staying through with me.

Aillas: Tren is JUST so busy (rolls eyes)

Tren: HEY! I have graduation to deal with!!

Aillas: Sure. Then why are you playing Crisis Core??

Tren: (hides PSP) uh… no I'm not.

Aillas: To help the readers with the storyline, why not introduce it?

Tren: This plot line takes place soon after the last cross dressing arc.

Aillas: Now then…

Tren: Read and enjoy!

In the dark forests of Makai, a young child was hopeless lost. He hadn't a clue where he was, and at the tender age of 3 and one half, this was intensely terrifying. More importantly, he wasn't of this realm, he had failed at creating his own portal and ended up coming out of someone else's, utterly shattering it as he came through. If anybody caught him, he knew it was over. Then, in the distance, he spotted a terrifying figure cutting through the tree. Slender and pale, he seemed like an apparition as he slipped through the tree with long hair that seemed made of the moonbeams themselves. Clapping a hand over his mouth, the child dived into the largest bush he could find and watched the figure through the leaves.

It was a demon, like everybody in Makai. Wide legged black pants fell around his bare feet and an undone red jacket hung off his slim frame. From his neck hung a gold chain and elaborate medallion. The creature's face was androgynous, but cold and terrifying, and the child slipped a little further into the foliage.

The creature was Keichi, who was now currently annoyed. He was SURE he made the portal here, but it seemed something had happened. Walking over to the site, he felt the hair on his arms raise and a slight hum fill his body and he paused. There WAS godly energy from him here, but it was weak, and completely shattered. Groaning, he ran a hand over his face. He'd been in Makai now for 5 days and his godly energy was already gone, his genes reacting to the environment and entirely engulfing his godly half. For all intensive purposes, he might as well have been full demon. This also meant getting out of Makai just became a whole lot harder.

Cussing under his breath in demonic, he began to button the Korean style jacket, pulling the high collar around his jaw line. Somebody must have broken the portal, but the forest was surprisingly empty. His fox ears flattened against his head as she narrowed his eyes, glancing about until his eyes fell upon the bush.

Here. HERE! A child! HERE!

He stared at the bush calling to him as he placed out a hand, watching the crimson flowers bloom to his touch and in an instant, he shoved his hand into the foliage, pulling out a small, screaming… something. Holding it up to his face, he noticed it was a small child wrapped in on himself, knees clutched to its small frame, and dressed entirely in white.

"What... the!?" he stared at the child, wondering what it was doing there. He didn't smell demonic… in fact… "Oho… a Godling, are you?" he crowed, holding the child by the nape of his neck as he would his own kit.

"NO!" the little bundle's muffled cry only made Keichi laugh harder.

"I think it would be best if you wouldn't lie, traders here would buy you in a heartbeat. I'd be rich," he whispered to the child when he heard soft sobbing. Immediately he was awash in guilt. He didn't like Gods, but it wasn't a good reason to yell at the child, he knew that. Pausing, he stared at the small kid. "… I won't sell you, you dumb brat. I'm not one of THOSE demons."

"NU-UH! My mummy says all demons are bad!!" the child wailed, voice still muffled as it remained curled tight.

"And what would your mum know, eh? Besides, you're obviously lost," Keichi added, trying to reason with the bundle of hair and cloth. "So, how about we start over. Did you break my portal?"

"…"

"WELL!? I could go back to debating on selling you!!" He shook the child a few times, snarling like the fox he was, to which the child cried out in terror.

"YES!! YES!!"

"Alright. Why? I need to get to ningenkai!!"

"… I didn't mean to! Honest! I was trying to get there myself!!" Giving up, Keichi fell back onto the grass in the small clearing and placed the child in his lap, absent mindedly petting his head, trailing the tips of his claws against the child's scalp delicately.

"Demon's aren't allowed in Ningenkai.. 'specially ones who look like you!" The child curled finally, revealing a strangely familiar appearance. A mop of bright red hair was messy, but perfectly straight and standing up at strange angles and peering out from behind thick bangs were glassy emerald eyes with pupils that, like all gods, didn't dilate. He wrinkled his small nose at Keichi who frowned, ears flattening once more against his head and tail giving an angry flick.

"I'm a damn Kitsune, I don't always look like this," he retorted to which the child simply sniggered. His small body, still childishly pudgy, was dressed in a plain white Chinese style shirt, trimmed in gold and he had similar pants and flats. It was all rather clean too, making Keichi feel grimy. He had planned on bathing and changing clothes when he got home.

"HEY! Don't swear!!" The Godling has seemingly forgotten that he was scared of this demon and took to chastising him. "My mummy says that swearing is the last resort for the weak minded!"

"Oh for the love of… well, your mummy probably has said a few choice words in her lifetime too!" Keichi's only response was the child sticking his small tongue out at Keichi who resisted grabbing it.

"But you're a demon, so I guess it's alright," the kid reasoned, shrugging as though Keichi's swearing wasn't of his control but a genetic problem.

"Of course…" Keichi rolled his eyes, glancing about. It was getting dark, and that meant that it was going to get more dangerous soon. He debated on letting the child fend for itself and find a way home but decided against it. Sighing, he bowed his head. "It seems were both in the same boat. You need to get back to your realm, I need to get back to my house. I think I can manage to get you where you need."

".. but I want to get to ningenkai.." the child whined softly, grabbing his toes with his small fingers.

"Why? Why on EARTH would a kid like you want to go there?" Keichi almost sounded like his was whining. He would prefer to get the child to his mother, and then leave as fast as possible. If the kid came with him to ningenkai, he'd be responsible to getting him to safety.

"My dad is there!" The kid rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a grubby scrap of paper and a picture folded in on itself eight times over. It was eerily familiar to Keichi, who remembered having a similar piece of paper and photo when he was child. Taking the paper from the child, he squinted at it, then felt his heart drop straight down to the tips of his toes. The address on the scrap was his own.

"Godling… answer me carefully. What is your father's name?" he asked slowly, keeping his voice calm and level while his mind raced. His father barely saw Arisa anymore, and hardly enough time was spent between the two for them to have another child… right?

"Minamino Shuichi."

Keichi could have sworn he heard the fates laughing at him as the boy stared at him expectantly. Slowly, he unfolded the picture to see an old high school picture of his father, smiling expectantly at the camera.

"… Ah…." Keichi couldn't think of anything more to say and handed the items back to the boy, who put them away reverently. He looked just like his father had in his old photo albums left by Shiori.

"Do you know him?" the boy thought he saw recognition in the pale demon's eyes and slowly, Keichi nodded.

"Yeah. I know him pretty well. He's a great guy," he smiled and ruffled the messy red hair. Glancing around, Keichi stood slowly, picking up the child. "Well, we gotta get moving. It's already night, so we should head to the nearest resting place. If we're gonna be traveling together, can I have your name?"

"Kuronue!" the boy was proud of that name. Keichi nearly laughed.

"Figures."

"Whaaaat? What about my name!?"

"I knew a guy who shared your name. It's a good namesake," Keichi thought back on the ghost in the forest of the Guild and smiled slightly. "You can call me… Yoko."

"Yoko?"

"Yeah, because that's what I am. I'm afraid we demons aren't too imaginative when it comes to names." He explained and headed off, the child clambering out of his arms and over his shoulder to ride on his back, nearly kicking Keichi in the face.

"Figures."

Laughing and hefting Kuronue a little higher up on his back, Keichi took off running at a brisk pace, letting the wind rushing past him clear his mind of the thoughts that brewed. It was only when he paused an hour later to survey the land at the edge of the cliff that the thoughts came unbidden into his mind like locusts. He couldn't believe his mother had given birth to another child when the first was such a… failure.

"What're we stopping for?" the small voice of his newly discovered kin was barely audible by Keichi's oversized ears and he paused. There was a familiar presence.

"We're letting someone catch up."

There was silence, and the sound of the wind, before someone stepped out and in a soft, female voice spoke.

"Did you think I couldn't outrace you, fox?" she taunted, stepping into the moonlight. She had a small, slight body, dressed in black, and was surprisingly short when standing next to Keichi. One garnet eye stared out behind the face mask and hair.

"I knew you could catch up, Appoline."

"Shouldn't you be home by now? And WHAT is on your back?" she cocked one eyebrow at him, the only one he could see, and pointed to Kuronue, who shrunk back from her. Unlike the mischievous Fox he was traveling with, this woman seemed more… sinister.

"A Godling I found," he replied softly. "Can we talk in a less… open space. I'm sure you know of a good safe spot, right?"

"Sure, follow me," Appoline waited for Keichi to help the kid onto his back once more before he took off at break neck speed to keep up with her fast pace. Already exhausted, he didn't complain when they arrived at a small cave just as snow began to fall from the sky.

"Damn, I hate the seasons here," Keichi muttered as he shivered off the chill and watched as she built a fire. It took him a minute to realize that Kuronue had fallen asleep on his back while they were running. Slowly moving the child into his arms, he cradled the child and sat near the fire to keep them warm.

"You almost look caring, Thief," his companion smiled wryly at him as she removed her face mask and let it hang around her throat.

"…" he paused then brushed a wild lock of hair of his recently discovered little brother's forehead. "… I thought I'd hate him… but…" he sighed and looked off for a moment, making a sour face. "This kit is so young and… he's gonna be a good kid. Unlike me."

The two shared a wry laugh in the firelight before they sobered up, falling deathly silent. Each waited for the other to speak and it was Appoline who ventured into breaking the shrill silence.

"So… does he…"

"Have demon genetics? No. This kid is just your ordinary Godling," Keichi laughed at the absurdity of it.

They thought it over as the night of Makai descended on the area. In the fire light, Appoline watched with surprise at how Keichi held the child in his arms. It wasn't with contempt, but with the utmost care. She'd never seen the thief this tender as he shielded the boy from the cold with his own body and it struck her as oddly enough, sweet. The two even looked related, in small ways. They shared a nose, and the eye shape, but the little boy looked more masculine already, with a more defined jaw and sharper cheekbones, even if they were insulated with baby fat.

"They say that Gaia always gives birth to two kinds of children," Keichi mused, making Appoline wryly glance over. "I think… I think he's the good kind. Please, don't tell him who I am. I'd rather he not know. I'll return him to his mother once I get to the next physical portal."

"You never struck me as the nice type."

"Yeah… I never thought of myself as that either. But… This child isn't defective. I just want him to be happy… I don't want the mistakes of my childhood put on him," he sighed and then shifted into his large fox form, wrapping around the child to keep him out of the cold, and tucking his nose under his many tails.

'Good night, fox," Appoline drawled, shaking her head, waiting for the sun to rise. She'd been on her way home when she found the two; she might as well keep them company. With that, she sealed off the entrance to the cave and waited out the night with the world weary style she had adopted from her father, setting up a barrier at the entrance to the cave.

Much to her surprise, the small child woke up long before his elder brother. At first, he just wiggled softly before it dawned on his sleep addled mind that the fur he was wrapped in wasn't from his room, but from a gently breathing, leaving creature. The small red head popped up and stared at Appoline in surprise

"What…" he couldn't figure out just how to talk, instead he just stared at her with puzzled green eyes. She wanted to laugh, as he looked like a shrunken version of his father.

"Sleep well?" she asked calmly, her well covered face staring off at the world through the barrier. The snow was already thick and heavy, nearly two feet, and packed against the pale blue aura that kept them safe.

"Uh.. Yeah," the small Godling rubbed at his eyes with tiny fists and yawned, perfect white teeth glinting in the light, lacking the sharp, feral quality of Keichi's. "Where's the Yoko??" he asked, glancing around as he pushing himself a little further off the fox below him.

"You should know. You spent your entire night curled up with him," she pointed down, and Kuronue stared down in surprise.

"He didn't look like this yesterday!" he exclaimed, trying to get up but finding one large paw still wrapped around his mid-section, effectively pinning him. "What happened!?"

"His species are a shape shifters, that's his natural form," she explained calmly, "He'll change back when he wakes up. He just wanted to keep you warm."

There was a small silence, as the child tried to wake up, but only yawned wider. As he tried to move out from under the oppressive warmth of Keichi, he only succeeded in making the animal shift, instead placing its large head near his face. The fox licked the bright red hair of the small child, leaving thick ropes of slime.

"But he drools!" Kuronue whined, trying to wipe the spit off of him as he sighed loudly.

"…" Appoline resisted the urge to laugh and instead turned her gaze outside. Eventually, the Godling tired in the way that small children always do, with little warning, and he fell fast asleep again.

Once more, the assassin fond herself waiting in silence.

The time passed agonizingly slow after that, as she had grown accustomed to talking to the child but instead, she just stared at him longingly. He was irresistibly small, and cute, and despite herself she wished she was the one cradling him instead of Keichi. Finally, the fox gave a wide yawn, and in one smooth motion, as though removing a fur blanket, Keichi revealed himself. The child was instead curled up in his lap, and a thick fur lined robe replaced Keichi's coat from moments before.

Rubbing at his eyes, he blinked slowly at Appoline, eyes tinged red from exhaustion before he smiled. It was the smile she only saw just when he woke up, before he regained his annoying, cocky persona. He looked younger when he smiled like that.

"Good morning, Fox," she gave a two fingered salute across the fire. He glanced around and then down at Kuronue. He sighed in relief, running a clawed hand over the still slightly drool coated hair and then looking at his wet hand, puzzled.

"You slobbered all over him in your sleep," she explained.

"Oh. Not my finest moment, I admit. At least he doesn't know we're related right?"

"How so?"

"This way it's not as creepy. There's no underlying hint of incest for the fan girls to freak over," he gave her a big grin.

"Fan girls?"

"Hey, a guy can dream right?"

Another awkward silence filled them before Keichi sighed, glancing outside. The sun was breaking on the horizon and the snow was knee deep, making Keichi groan. He didn't want to climb out of the cave, especially with the small child.

"Keichi… You really care about him, don't you?" Appoline dropped the barrier with a flick of one hand, while motioning to Kuronue with the other.

"Just a little. I spent forever trying to figure out how my dad managed to.. ya know.."

"I thought you took the Sex Ed classes," her reply was dry and he gave her a 'don't mess with me' stare.

"I MEAN, when did he find the TIME? The man's busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest," he stood, keeping the child wrapped in his furs and arms.

"What a quaint idiom."

"I know, aren't the human's inventive?" he laughed, watching as she snuffed the fire out and dropped the barrier.

"Let's just get out of here. You need to get back home and so does he," she pointed at the bundle he carried and he nodded.

"His mother must be worried sick," Keichi groaned, climbing onto the snow and crouching, staring down at Appoline, waiting for her. "We made good time yesterday; it should only take one more day to get to a physical portal, if I know my area right."

"You got it, start walking. I'll catch up with you once I erase signs of our existence," she gave him a grim look, "I doubt you're the only one to have found out the Godling is here. Word spreads fast in Makai, and while you might command the forest, its creatures have a nasty way of betraying you."

"Alright, I'll be waiting anxiously for that pretty face of yours," he blew her a playful kiss, only to nearly be burned alive by her glare alone. "Alright! I'm going!! I'm going!!"

Walking fast, he almost didn't hear her getting the last word.

"I'm sorry, I'm not interested in GIRLS, Arika-chaaan!!"

"Never going to live that down…" he cursed under his breath as he headed off into the snowy, demonic wonderland…

Tren: Yeah, Keichi is never going to live any of this down.

Aillas: Well, he was a very nice female…

Tren: I KNEW you were a little fruity!

Aillas: Hardly.

Tren: Mmhm?

Aillas: ENOUGH about me!

Tren: Okaaaay. This story just keeps pushing through, huh?

Aillas: I'm amazed people are still reading it.

Tren: It's practically an epic!!

Aillas: You should start condensing chapters…

Tren: Someday.

Aillas: And who would have thought Keichi had a brother?

Tren: well, I knew. I always know…

Aillas: (rolls eyes) Why not answer reader reviews?

Tren: RIGHT!

-Shade Spirit: I'm sorry to make Samui such an ass, but he and Keichi… they need to get along! Hold true though! It just might happen!! After all, they're just having a little rivalry. Ya don't like Midori? (laughs) Neither do I sometimes. Mainly when I have to type her.

-Vitanie Tora: I'm sorry, yer not a liar. I'm so glad that you took the time to review!! I hope that the family matters you have fix themselves! I don't have the forethought to back up my stories, I tend to take the punches as they come. This time it turned out… tragic. No, you don't get to see how sorry Midori and Samui are. This time, the chapter focuses on Keichi, Kuronue and Appoline. Midori and Samui get their time, so don't worry. There is guilt, you'll see it, but just not in this chapter. Obviously.

Tren: Aillas, care to answer her question?

Aillas: The half hearted wave is due to Tren breaking… my spirit (thematic sob)

Tren: (punches Aillas in head)

Aillas: YEOWCH!

Tren: Get back to the reader reviews!

-ForbiddenChildLover64: Yeah, Keichi can't keep a secret very well, can he? And yeah, Samui hates Keichi. Keichi hates Samui. It's all mutual, I suppose. Let's hope they fix it up, huh?

-Justice: Aw, Keichi is your favorite demon god? Cool!! How many do you know? (laughs) The genetic part is coming into play slowly, just wait until you see how Kuronue turns out (remember, he isn't a demon god, and he never will be). Kudos if you figure out the reference Keichi made about Gaia having two types of children. And as promised, your user name is tacked onto the end of this new chappy!

Aillas: speaking of ends…

Tren: See ya'll soon!

Aillas: CHEERIO!