Chapter 22

Shigure sighed heavily at Hatori's words and Ayame was silent for once.

"What are you going to do Gure?" Came the voice over the phone.

"I'm going alone. Don't tell Kyomi she was called for." Was Shigure's response and he stood up and left to do just that.

Ayame and Hatori sat on the phone quietly. "He really loves her, doesn't he?" Ayame said quietly proud of their best friend.

Hatori grunted his agreement. "He really has started to grow up. I'm going to follow him, why don't you stay with Kyomi just in case. Distract her as much as possible."

Ayame agreed, Kyomi had ran home to grab something for Luc she had forgotten. Luc was currently "helping" Mine organize some fabric. Really Luc was just enjoying the different textures and colors.

"We will take care of her." Ayame promised and they hung up.

Hatori left for Akito's room. It really was a beautiful morning and it could have been enjoyed if circumstances had been different. He rounded the corner of the hallway to be in eye sight of Akito's door and Kureno was already there. They could hear Akito screaming at Shigure.

"Any violence yet?" Hatori asked quietly, noticing the door was open just enough to see Akito standing over Shigure who was on his knees.

"Not yet, but he hasn't been here long." Kureno was worried for his old friends. They might not be close, but they had always been good to him in their own way. He even remembered Kyomi from when they were younger. She had always been especially kind to him, inviting him to join them in their play whenever he happened by.

Suddenly, Akito's voice got very quiet and they had to strain to hear her words. Until now, she had been screaming her usual derogatory rhetoric at him which they all knew wouldn't really bother him. She had then turned to maligning Kyomi and Luc personally which had bothered Shigure, but he knew Kyomi would be more worried about any harm that came to him so he kept his mouth tightly shut and vowed to make it up to her later. However, in her quiet menace the question she asked, they all knew wouldn't have a favorable reaction.

"Did you ever love me?"

Shigure answered just as quietly. "Not the way you wanted me to. I've always loved Kyomi."

Akito's reaction was not what they were expecting. She crumpled to the ground in tears sobbing. Seeing her, Kureno was taken back in time to when his curse broke. Shigure didn't move. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea by comforting her. He couldn't be that person for her anymore. Kureno came in quietly and gathered Akito up in his arms and carried her away. Hatori followed quietly, giving Shigure's shoulder a small squeeze as he passed. Hatori looked at his friend and said, "You should go." Shigure was a little dazed at the lack of retribution from the small woman and as soon as he got to his feet he left as quietly and quickly as he could.

…..

Shigure was still a little shocked at the outcome of his visit when he got to Ayame's shop. The bell rang when he opened the door. Shigure heard the little feet coming towards him before he saw the small barefoot toddler running at him and it brought a grin to his face.

"Shi gu!" Luc yelled as he grabbed Shigure's legs. Then he lifted his little arms up. "Shi gu, up pease." Shigure of course lifted the boy and wandered further into the shop to find the adults. Ayame and Kyomi were sitting on the couch with tea chatting, Kyomi looking a little worried while Mine was working on a project in the adjacent room. Shigure held a finger to his mouth to shush Luc who giggled and copied the older man. They snuck up behind Kyomi whose back was conveniently to the door. Ayame noticed them out of the corner of his eyes and winked at Shigure. He took Kyomi's cup to "get her a refill" and that's when the two boys pounced. Shigure went on one side of Kyomi's head and Luc went on the other and they both noisily kissed Kyomi's cheeks at the same time. She jumped a mile and then started laughing at their antics and raised her hands to give both their heads and awkward hug.

"That is the best surprise I've ever gotten!" She said as the boys moved to sit in the seat next to her that Ayame had vacated for his friend. Kyomi searched Shigure's face for any signs of anything wrong. She gave him a questioning look and he gave her a small smile and kissed her temple saying, "I'm alright. I'll tell you later." Luc scrambled down to go see what Mine was doing and Ayame came and sat down across from them.

"I would give you both a hug if I could, but alas, your child is here. I am so happy that you two are finally together!" Ayame gushed and Mine said loudly from the other room, "Took you long enough." Kyomi shook her head and Shigure laughed at their friends.

"So what happened with Akito this morning Gure? You seem miraculously unharmed." Ayame commented quietly so Luc wouldn't overheard their conversation.

"Akito had plenty of things to say, however she didn't do anything more than malign our dear Kyomi, myself, and even Luc." Shigure responded. "She asked me if I had ever loved her and I told her that I hadn't loved her in the way she wanted me to. She just broke down into tears and Kureno and Hatori took her back to her room. That was it."

"That's it?" Kyomi asked skeptically.

"You are more than welcome to undress and inspect every area of my body if you don't believe me." Shigure said, a finger under her chin lifting her face to his. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips and she smiled at him. He pulled away, happy to get away with his teasing, when she whacked him in the arm. "Ouch"

"Not likely." Was her response. Shigure let the comedic tears fall and Ayame just sat back and chuckled in happiness at his best friends and their banter.

"Manager? Can I get a hand please?" Mine called. She needed both a model for the hemming she was doing and a distraction for the toddler who was watching her.

"Coming my love!" Ayame swept out of the room to help Mine and pull the door almost closed behind him, winking at the couple as he did.

Kyomi rolled her eyes and looked at Shigure. "Are you sure you're alright?" She said still slightly concerned.

Shigure took her face in his hands and said, "I am better than I ever thought I could be." He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. She responded by deepening the kiss by pulling him closer by his collar. After a minute of Kyomi struggling with herself to both pull him closer and keep him away, Shigure growled into her mouth and grabbed the back of her head and wrapped his other arm around her back. They were allowed a few seconds of that position before Shigure disappeared into a cloud of smoke and the familiar dog appeared, his paws on Kyomi's shoulders. Shigure gave her cheek a kiss before he nuzzled his head into her shoulder and she just held him, reassuring herself that he was really there and that he was okay.

"I'm sorry my dear." Shigure whispered next to her ear. Kyomi pulled back and let his paws back down to the couch.

"What are you sorry for?" Kyomi asked confused.

Shigure just gave her a look as he poofed back into human form. Kyomi blushed slightly and turned her eyes to the side. Shigure lightly pinched her chin and made her face him again and he gave her a searing kiss making her blush even more. He stood to put on his clothes, Kyomi peeking appreciatively at his bare back.

"I saw that." Shigure teased her. He was tying his tie back. "Of course it's not surprising you would be unable to resist me and be completely reduced to a puddle by me." He continued gloating for a bit while Kyomi debated about throwing a pillow at him before she decided on a more devious plan. She stood and walked towards him swaying her hips a little more than usual. She had a look on her face that to Shigure looked like she wanted to devour him. She walked up to him until they were toe to toe and never losing eye contact, took his tie from his hands and slowly tied it herself. She finished and slowly pulled his tie to bring his lips to hers and just as slowly kissed him. The heat between them was unmistakable and they were panting by the time Kyomi pulled away. She still held his tie and pulled his eyes back to hers and whispered with a triumphant smirk, "Who can't resist who now?" He responded with an appreciative grin and flopped back on the chair behind him wrist laid over his face dramatically yet purposefully to regain his composure.

"I swear you are going to be the death of me Kyomi Sohma."

Now Kyomi really did whack him with a pillow. "Cart before horse Gure." She said blushing furiously, then seriously asked. "Is that really where you see us going?"

Shigure looked at her like she had grown two heads. "After pursuing you for so long, now that I have you, do you really think I'm stupid enough to let you go? There is after all no one else who is a match for me." He quirked a smirk at her before answering more seriously since she was leveling a mom glare at him. "There is no one else in my life that I have been able to envision life with but you. You have always been the only one. Ever since I realized what love was when we were five years old. I lost sight of that for awhile when you were gone. I don't intend to make that mistake again." Kyomi responded by laying her head carefully on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for all that I put you through even though I really didn't have any say in it." She played with his long fingers as they spoke.

"You really shouldn't be sorry about all that." He responded watching their hands.

"I don't mean 'I'm sorry' like that, I mean I'm sorry that you had to go through that at all. I know it wasn't my fault, but I can still feel bad that you had to deal with that. Losing people isn't easy." She said quietly.

Shigure kissed the top of her head. "Then I'm sorry you had to go through all you have as well. No one deserves to go through so much in their lives. Though I have to say, you have done an amazing job of getting through each day."

Kyomi laughed sadly. "You should have seen me right after Luc was born. Post-partum depression is a very real thing and not to be taken lightly and that was when I still had Sean home with me every day. And then you feel guilty for feeling so bad when you have such a precious little miracle staring at you."

Shigure interrupted. "What causes that anyway? I heard Hari talking about it one day and have never really understood it."

Kyomi sighed finding the right way to explain it. "A large part of it is your hormones coming back into balance after pregnancy and giving birth. Then if you are breast feeding, there's still hormonal changes going on with that. Plus especially with your first, your whole life is turned upside down so you mourn the ease of your old life a little. Becoming a parent is not for the faint of heart that's for sure." A well-timed peal of laughter came from her son at that moment. The sound brought an immediate smile to her face. "However, it is the greatest blessing I've ever had in my life. He brings me so much joy. Plus knowing that I'm raising him to be kind, caring, and hopefully giving him the tools he needs to live the life he wants and to stand up for what he believes is right is more fulfilling that I ever imagined it could be. The goal of a parent should be to raise their children in such a way that the older they grow, the less they need us and that parent should be able to watch it happen with pride and unwavering support for those rare times they do need them."

Shigure listened to her speak and more and more was struck with the differences in her upbringing and his families. "Where were you when all of us were kids?" He joked, kissing her head again. "Your children are going to be happy to have you my dear."

"Child, singular, and who knows if I will ever have any more at this point. It's going to be harder now for sure." She said raising her head. "I'm hungry and we've been here all day. You said the teens are all at school late today? I'll cook if you want."

Shigure agreed and they went to collect Luc and head to the store and then home.

Maybe a little anticlimactic on the Akito, but I feel like she got all her physical frustration out on the poor maid and I feel like since she did love Shigure, this "betrayal" from him would just break her down more than anger her once it finally happened. I feel like this would also push her even more to her conversation with Tohru later next spring😊 I've never felt Akito and Shigure were a good fit, but at the same time I feel like they work. I've always been torn by that one. All the other couples I totally ship all day long though. I originally started thinking Kyomi would go for Kazuma, but that just didn't feel right to me and her and Shigure's banter and relationship just flowed for me so that's where I went😊 It might be because Kyomi is slightly modeled after me and Shigure seriously reminds me of my husband LOL. After I'm done with this story, I'm going to have to go back in and edit all the little things that are driving me nuts too. If you see any little inconsistencies, please let me know and I'll fix them:)