Konnichiwa, Akachan!

Solaris: Sorry I haven't updated this in forever. I've been concentrating my efforts on Road Trip and trying to finish it. I won't lie: I've hit a roadblock on the 16th chapter. So maybe, just maybe, updating this will help a little. So now, with no further ado, I present Chapter four of Konnichiwa to you! I don't own YYH or any other famous thing in this story. I just own Solaris, Foxglove, and Sanctuary.

Chapter 4: All NOT quiet on the western front…

Three days passed peacefully. Kurama told Solaris the trick to getting Okami to sleep, and the little wolf cub slept quietly thereafter. Foxglove avoided major outbursts, and the rest of Sanctuary's people; you rarely saw her in the same room as Okami for extended amounts of time. On the sixth day, Yusuke and Kuwabara brought Keiko and Yukina over to see Okami. Shizuru, having never met Solaris or Foxglove, decided to come and kill two birds with one stone. Even Botan and Koenma came.

"Solaris, this is my sis, Shizuru." Kuwabara grinned.

"Nice to meet you!" Both girls smiled simultaneously.

"I'd extend a hand, but I have to hold this kid." Solaris grinned, then turned her head to the stairs. "Foxglove, company!"

"If you're looking for the muse, she left a while ago." Hiei said as he sat in the living room.

"Oh, great. She's jealous of Okami." Solaris explained to everyone.

"Hello!" Koenma (in his toddler form) smiled at Okami. She just looked at him curiously and cooed.

"She's not like you, Koenma. She's a few months old, just barely able to crawl and unable to talk." Solaris smiled.

"Oh, so cute!" Botan smiled at the child as she took her from Solaris's arms. Okami promptly grabbed one of Botan's bangs and pulled. Solaris reclaimed the wolf cub. "Right up until she pulls your hair. Then she's painful."

"Foxglove got her ears pulled. Right up until then, she'd been the one wanting to keep her." Solaris mused.

"So, is it fun keeping a baby?" Yukina asked.

"You're Yukina, right? I think we met at Genkai's temple, correct?" Solaris asked; she had only met Yukina once before.

"On both counts." The Koorime nodded.

"Okay, just making sure. And to answer your question, not really. A few nights ago, she was up half the night. Honestly, I can't wait until her mother comes back and takes her. She has reinforced my decision to not have children in this lifetime or the next. And fox demons live a very long time." Solaris sighed.

"What are you going to do when she's gone?" Keiko asked, now holding Okami. People were taking this child left and right.

"Well, first I'm getting another sign to go under the 'Sanctuary' one, and it's going to say 'No Trespassing'. Then I'm going to get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep." Solaris nodded, certain of her plans.

The dinner went tolerably well, until Foxglove showed up in the middle, and didn't even bother to say hello. "I'm sorry. My muse is a little antisocial." Solaris said uneasily.

"Don't apologize for her. I've been meaning to talk to her, I'll be back in a while." Hiei said as he got up from the table. Charging upstairs, he barged into Foxglove's room to find her reading. She looked up when he slammed the door shut.

"EEEK! Hiei, don't DO that! I might have been changing or something!" she cried.

"Can it, muse! Why are you avoiding that child?" Hiei yelled, pulling the book away from her.

"Hey, everyone has their favorites! I mean, Solaris and Kurama hit it off pretty well right from the start!" she scowled.

"What does that have to do with anything! This is about you, not Solaris, not Kurama, YOU! So stop the crappy excuses and explain, dammit!" Hiei was furious, not that it takes much to tick him off.

"That kid loved Solaris and you guys right off the bat! I was a fifth wheel to your happy little family!" Foxglove cried, tears welling in her eyes. Hiei got the picture.

"You really are jealous, aren't you? You're afraid that the cub will take all of our love, aren't you?" he asked in quiet amazement.

"Uh-huh. Since that cub came, everyone has fawned over it. I've worn new outfits three days this week, and Solaris hasn't chewed me out for using money from some of Joshi's junk." She sobbed, leaning on Hiei. He could feel her tears soaking into the blue shirt he wore. Uneasily, he put his arms around the sobbing muse. Maybe this ningen form of comfort would help, after all, it helped that one girl from that daytime television show Solaris called 'Days'. (Solaris had seemed shocked that he watched that, but boredom does rule quite a few portions of the brain.)

"We don't love you any less, Foxglove. The stunts you've pulled haven't gained you any love, but there's no love lost, so it all works out." Hiei said, thinking of what the others would say if they saw this. Foxglove snuggled closer.

"Hiei… you actually hugged me. And it's the first time I've heard you call me by my name, instead of 'muse'. I'm not dreaming, am I?" she asked.

"How about I maim you, prove you're awake! Though you'll wish you weren't by the time I'm done with you!" Hiei declared angrily.

"I'm not dreamin'." Foxglove sweatdropped. Then she closed her eyes. "Just hold me, please… For a little longer…" Hiei blinked; his threats of maiming hadn't affected her! Of course, this is Foxglove we're talking about, it takes a lot more than threats to affect her. And, for her part, Foxglove was going to savor this moment as long as it lasted. Hiei was never affectionate. Well, there was the time Youko stole a truckload of sake and got everyone, including himself, drunk, which induced Hiei to say he loved her. But being drunk did nothing for his credibility, and he had a monster of a hangover the next morning, so she wasn't asking. After a few moments, Hiei stopped holding the foxgirl and got to his feet to leave. As soon as the door opened, two people fell face first onto the floor.

"Kurama, Solaris, eavesdropping is rude." Hiei chided.

"Ow… Solaris, remind me again why we did this?" Kurama asked.

"We wanted to know why it was so quiet." Solaris mumbled, rubbing the tip of her nose. The four descended the stairs.

"Wow, Hiei, were you two making out or something?" Yusuke joked. Hiei and Foxglove glared at him, then began to beat the pulp out of him.

"NO FRICKKIN' WAY!" they yelled.

"And you tow? Had to play kissy-face?" Kuwabara asked. The other two foxes rounded on him, and soon there were two comic dust-bubbles. "Sis! Help me!"

"No way, bro. I'm just a spectator to all this insanity." Shizuru smiled. Soon the fights ended, the guests went home, and Foxglove explained and apologized.

"Foxglove, we don't love you any less. Okami's a visitor in our hearts, you have permanent residence." Solaris smiled, hugging her muse. Hiei held Okami, who was asleep.

"Well, tomorrow she leaves. It's going to seem quiet around here." Kurama nodded.

"I'll play more DDR if you like." Solaris said.

"No, that's okay!" Hiei said in a hurry.

--

That night, as Solaris comforted Okami, trying to get her to sleep again, the child did something unexpected.

"Ma…Ma…" Okami said, reaching up. Tears welled up in Solaris's eyes, and she hoped Kurama didn't walk in at that moment.

"No, sweetie. No, I'm not your mama…" she said, tears falling silently.

Solaris: And that concludes chapter 4. I want to warn you, when I wrote the last two chapters, I was watching Tenchi Muyo, or at least the episode where Washu ends up taking care of the baby. Review, please! And prepare for the last chapter!