Well now…It's been a while, ne? Like, two whole weeks! Have you all died of boredom yet? I know you've been *dying* to read my update…

Sorry about my long absence. I've been working away at something else for a bit of time.

Did every one check out that link at the bottom of my profile? Violet Ice is *cough* a fantastic writer!! Make sure you run off to read Lessons Well Learned. She too understands the depth of Kamatari…

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February 14th

Little children seem to have an internal alarm clock set to go off earlier on days that are more special to them than normal days.

Around the time the sun would be dragging itself over the horizon, Kietsu burst into her parents' room, throwing herself in the midst of their bedding and awaking them both.

"Today? Today?? Today?!" She bounced excitedly, patting her father's face with her small hands.

Groaning and rubbing his eyes, Kamatari sat up, his hair falling all around his face, flipping out in strange places. It was cold in the room, again, and the sun was just barely making its presence known. Gesshoku had burrowed deeper under the blankets at the disruption and all he wanted to do was crawl back under there with her.

But that was virtually impossible, seeing as he had a small, excited child crawling into his lap.

"Yes, Sweetie, today is your birthday." He smiled at her, drawing her into his arms, where she snuggled up to his chest.

"I'm this many now!" She proudly held up three fingers, her eyes dancing with happiness.

"And how many is that?" He asked patiently, knowing she knew but asking anyway.

"Three!" She giggled, "Is Mama hiding?"

"Why don't you crawl under there and get her to come out?" A mischievous smile crossed the man's face. If he had to be up this early, so did she. They did everything together.

"Daijoubu." Kietsu's smile mirrored his own as she crawled under the blankets, poking at her mother. "Up! Up! My birthday, Mama!" Her voice was muffled by the blankets.

"I'm awake…" Came Gesshoku's voice, soon followed by the young woman herself. She emerged looking rumpled and weary, her eyes bleary. She yawned, pushing her hair from her eyes, looking at her husband, who simply smiled nonchalantly in return.

"Good morning to you too." He teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him; ever the child. "So, it's somebody's birthday today, is it?" She asked casually.

Kietsu poked her head out from under the blankets, the thick fabric framing her cherubic face. "Mine! My birthday! Me! Me! Me!"

"Now," Gessho glanced from the child to her father, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "Isn't there something you said you wanted for your birthday?"

Kietsu thought for a moment, one finger in her mouth. Then she beamed up at her mother. "Baby!" She exclaimed.

Her parents smiled. Kamatari's hand found its way into Gessho's. "Tell her, Koishii."

"Papa and I are going to have a baby, Kit." Gessho imparted, "In the summer, you're going to be a big sister."

"Summer? But it's my birthday now!" A small frown crossed the child's face, "I wanna baby now!"

"Sweetness," Her father pulled her into his arms, "It doesn't work quite like that. The baby needs to grow some more inside Mama before it's ready to have a birthday."

"Baby's in Mama?" Kietsu's eyebrows went up. This was intriguing and she looked at Gessho. "You eat the baby??"

Gesshoku laughed. "No, Kietsu. I didn't eat the baby. When a Mama and Papa want to have a baby, this is what it's like. See, the baby stays in Mama's tummy until it's big enough to be born."

"Baby's in there right now?" The little girl poked at her mother's stomach. Questions seeped through her mind. How did a baby fit in there? How did it get there in the first place? How did it get out?

"Hai." Her mother nodded.

"And I hafta wait till summer?"

"Hai."

"Awww…" She pouted.

"Hey there, don't be pouting." Kamatari lifted her into the air, "It's your birthday. We're going to have a party."

"YAY!" She hugged him around the neck, her excitement growing. She loved anything that involved food and lots of people. She knew she would get to see Aoi -her best friend- and she was thrilled. "C'mon! C'mon Papa…Help me find somethin' pretty to wear!"

"All right." He leaned over to kiss Gessho, "Happy Valentine's Day, Darling." Then he rose to his feet, swinging the little girl into his arms. "Let's get you all dolled up, Kiddo."

Gessho smiled as she watched them exit the room.

Then she snuggled down under the blankets to go back to sleep.

@--,---'---

Kumori watched as her granddaughter bounced around the dinning room, her sea-green kimono flapping around her ankles. The child's energy was unceasing and the matriarch couldn't help but wonder if her daughter's second child would be like that also. Kietsu was a lot like Gesshoku had been at that age; wild, free, unconcerned with the big picture, focusing only on what was thrilling in her own little world.

"Aoi! Aoi, come look! Look; look!" The birthday girl was dragging her friend all around the house, showing off this or that or anything that was different since the other girl had last been there. "C'mon…Obasan!" Having spotted her other grandmother, Kietsu went scampering across the room, leaving Aoi wide-eyed and staring.

Aika smiled down at her granddaughter, that little girl who looked so much like her son. She couldn't have been happier with the way her son's life had turned out; he had a wife who loved him, a child who worshipped him, a nice place to live. But most important of all, he was happy.

When he had returned home, she had feared for him, wondering what would become of him due to his…uniqueness. How was she to know that his bride loved him more than life itself? How was she to know they were already the best of friends, that they had been living together for a year, that Gesshoku worshipped the ground he walked on? Of course she was afraid for him.

But it had all worked out in the end.

She lifted Kietsu into her arms for a hug. "Happy birthday, little one."

"Domo arigato, Obasan." Kietsu hugged her back, wriggling excitedly, her brown eyes sparkling with glee.

"There's the birthday girl." Kamatari came along, taking Kietsu from his mother's arms and into his own. He looked at Aika, taking in her worn features, dulled after years of worrying and wondering what had happened to him and where he had been. She was smiling softly, her eyes lit with pride, and every time he saw that look on her face it made him feel bad for causing her to worry so much. "Mama, I have something important to tell you." He set Kietsu down and she ran off again, "Gessho and I are going to have another baby in the summer."

"That's wonderful, Dear." A pleased smile graced Aika's well-worn features. There had always been a question in the back of her mind - Why didn't they already have more children? It wasn't lost on her, the way they looked at one another; the way they acted around each other. Why -after five years- were they only now having a second baby? "I'm happy for you."

"Arigato, Mama. We're happy too." He grinned, looking over his shoulder at his wife, who hadn't stopped moving since the moment the Shinomori family had arrived. She was a bundle of excitement, flittering around the house, fussing over this and that. Nobody loved company than Gesshoku and, when people came visiting, everything had to be just so.

Sonomi glided silently through the dinning room over to where Sojiro and Harusame had settled themselves in a corner. The older of the two woman was sure the younger hadn't stopped blushing at all in the five days since she'd become engaged and it didn't seem that the rose hue tingeing her cheeks would vanish anytime soon. "So, are you telling every one else today?" She asked, lazily pushing her long hair back over her shoulder.

Sojiro looked at Harusame, which only caused her to blush deeper and him to smile cutely. He scratched the back of his head, looking back over at Sonomi. "I suppose the only ones here who don't know already are Shinomori-san and Misao-san. It really wouldn't be of any concern to Kamatari's mother or uncle."

"Okay then." Sonomi straightened up, looking around the room for either Aoshi or Misao. Aoshi was sitting at a corner table, looking detached from the crowd and drinking tea, Aoi seated in his lap. Misao was just about to sit and join him, but Sonomi waved to her, calling her attention away. "Oi, Misao!" She beckoned the other woman over.

"Sonomi!" Harusame grabbed her sleeve, "What are you doing? I'll tell her when I'm ready!"

"Oh, relax. If we wait till you're ready, no one will ever tell her." Sonomi's eyes rolled heavenward, "You're engaged. Act happy about it."

"I am happy about it! I just don't want you making a scene. You do have tendencies to over exaggerate things, you know." Harusame's arms folded across her chest and she glared defiantly at her friend.

"I do not. And I'm just spreading the good news."

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who's view it was looked at from), Misao was waylaid by Gesshoku as she crossed the room to the trio. They could see Gessho's hands flying as she exclaimed over something, then Misao burst into a grin and began hugging her friend. Releasing Gessho from her clutches, she ran back across the room to Aoshi, where she began telling him something, pointing excitedly in Gessho's direction.

"Guess she told Misao-san her own good news." Sojiro commented, feeling a little relieved. He and Misao got along just fine, but at times he couldn't help but wonder what went on in that mind of hers. She was so blunt and had a habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Both she and Harusame could be very stubborn and the last thing any of them needed was an argument in the midst of Kietsu's birthday party.

Sonomi shrugged, a look of slight disappointment on her face. "I'll just tell 'er later then." She waved slightly at the two as she wandered off in search of somewhere she could stir up more trouble. "And you can thank me for all of this later too."

"We can WHAT?" Harusame glowered, jumping up from her seat in order to demolish her friend, only to be jerked back down by Sojiro, who shook his head slightly.

"Don't let her get to you." Smiling shyly, he pulled her into his embrace to keep her from springing up again. She stayed perfectly still, her head pressed against his heart, its steady beat pulsating through her mind, calming her, soothing her, as he buried his face in her hair. "She was the one that made the arrangements for us to come here, after all."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Harusame's arms wrapped around Sojiro, "But I would have happened eventually, whether or not she had a hand in it, ne?"

"Of course." He spoke into her hair, a smile playing across his face, "It just would have taken much longer." In a way, he was glad Sonomi had intervened and helped to push things along. If it weren't for her constant prodding, it would have taken forever for him to work up the nerve to propose. He wasn't about to tell Harusame, but he probably would wind up thanking their friend.

The party atmosphere and all its gaiety continued on into the late afternoon; everything went smoothly with no disruptions. Kietsu and Aoi were happy playing with one another and the two little girls fell asleep in their respective fathers' laps. Aoi cuddled up in Aoshi's arms, cradled in his lap, clutching one of his large hands in both of hers, while Kietsu buried her face in Kamatari's chest, her arms wrapped around one of his.

Misao and Gesshoku were chatting amiably with one another, each every now and then smiling at their significant other. They both found it incredibly amusing, the fact that neither of their husbands were men any one would have ever pictured married or with small children climbing in their laps. Kamatari was stroking Kietsu's back, staring off into space, as his mother told him all the latest gossip from Kyoto. Aoshi was listening politely to his wife and her friend, the expression on his face as stony as ever, almost as if he didn't even realize the little girl was asleep in his lap. The others were gathered around the table, engaged in conversation of their own.

The pleasant din was shattered, however, when a familiar empty voice echoed down the hall. "Mother, I'm home."

Kumori and Gesshoku's heads snapped up at the sound of Nisshoku's voice down the hall. There was no mistaking that it was her; she had a distinctly dark, rich voice. Only…There was something different about it. She sounded almost…content.

Both mother and daughter rose from their seats and hurried out to the front room of the springs. There indeed was Nisshoku, looking a lot more at peace with herself than any one had ever seen her. A trace of a smile was apparent both in her eyes and on her lips and another woman followed close at her heals as she embraced her mother and sister.

"You made it back!" Gessho felt like crying as she wrapped her arms around Nissho. Even the feel of her twin was different, as if something had drastically altered the way she was. The younger twin looked over her sister's shoulder at the other woman. She was pretty, with her long hair bound up in a braid and pinned to her head, and tall, her willowy form draped in wine colored silk. I wonder who she is…

"I had to come back." Came Nisshoku's serious reply. "Kietsu would never forgive me otherwise." She pulled away, studying Gessho. "You look well. Put on a little weight, but well."

"You never miss a thing, do you?" The same old Gesshoku; her usual wide grin flashed across her face, "Kamatari and I are having another baby in the summer."

"Congratulations, baby sister." A hint of a smile brightened the woman's dark features, and she indicated the other woman, who had held back from the reunion. "This is my…friend, Totanno Kurushimi. Kurushimi, this is my mother and my sister, Gesshoku. I hope you don't mind that I brought her along."

"No, not at all." Gessho smiled warmly, "The more the merrier. And Kietsu will be so happy to have another new friend. And that you came back for her, Nissho."

"That's why I came. Now where is she? I would have expected her to be the first to come running."

"She wore herself out already. She's asleep in Kamatari's lap. But she'll be so excited to see you…"

Feeling even happier, Gesshoku led the way back to the dinning room and the party. She felt like dancing with glee. Everything had worked out so well. There was a wedding in the works, a baby on the way and now Nisshoku was home. She couldn't have been happier.

@--,---'---

Blah…Whatdya know, another craptacular ending. .

I really like this story, but I am sooooo sick of it, if you know what I mean. I just want it to end already. So there will be an epilogue and that's it. Look for more soon(?) with a wedding a and a baby…

If ya wanna know about Kurushimi and Nisshoku and their *cough* relationship and haven't already read it, check out Sunshine and Shadow, my original fiction posted at fiction press.com under the pen name Ameagari.

That's all I have to say about that u_u