Title: Hakkai's Surprise
Rating: T
Summary: Kanan took her own life because she believed the child inside her to be Hyakugan Maoh's, but what if it was really Gonou's? A year post facto, Hakkai's been living with Gojyo for a while, and they've fallen into the commonplace normalcy of life (punctuated with visits from Sanzo and his pet monkey). But when a young girl comes bearing an announcement and another chance, what will happen to our beloved human-turned-youkai?
AN: I am so sorry. I just keep forgetting to post on Sundays. oo; From now on, I post on Wednesdays!
Chapter the second: Gojyo finds out
After an hour or two, Gojyo stood up with a snarl and stalked to the door. Even if he did believe that the dark-skinned man meant Hakkai no harm, this was getting ridiculous! And of course, as soon as he opened the door, who was on the other side but Hakkai himself.
"Well?" The redhead was curious. What had Jihira and Jyuuseii said to him?
"Well what?" Hakkai seemed distracted, as though he wasn't following Gojyo's question.
"C'mon, 'Kai! What did the misfits have to say to you?"
"I'm pregnant." Hakkai smiled gently at Gojyo, pure bliss shining through his features. The hanyou's left eye twitched.
"N-nani?" The water sprite managed to stammer. The demon slayer's smile simply broadened.
"I'm pregnant, Gojyo," he repeated. Part of Gojyo's mind was telling him that there was no way this could possibly be true, that male youkai couldn't just become pregnant, but the part that scared him the most was that he actually did believe what Hakkai said.
"Don't you see? The fatigue, the nausea, the aches...it all fits. My chi has been preparing my body for the child, that's why it delays." While yes, Hakkai's explanation made sense, Gojyo couldn't quite wrap his mind around the idea of his best friend being pregnant. His male, abstinent best friend.
"Demo, Hakkai, how is it possible? You've rarely left the house since you came back." The slightly shorter youkai laughed.
"And that, my friend, is for me to know and you to perhaps find out. Now, would you care to play a few hands of cards before dinner?" Now it was Gojyo's turn to laugh.
"What's the point? You always win anyway." The smile never left Hakkai's face. This was the happiest that the hanyou had ever seen his friend.
"Good point. Perhaps I should start on dinner, then?" Hakkai asked.
"Iie, Hakkai. How about we go out to eat? We do have reason to celebrate, ne?" Gojyo suggested with a smile.
"All right, it has been a while since I left the house." Hakkai said with a nod. "Should we take Jiipu into town, or leave Hakuryu here?"
"Let's leave him here, he'll be fine on his own. And anyway, town's not that far away."
"You're right. Let's go, before he realizes we're leaving." Hakkai whispered conspiratorially, ushering Gojyo out the door with a laugh. Gojyo was unnerved around this new Hakkai. He was used to the old, reserved Hakkai, not this practically giddy one. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off of the youkai's shoulders, and though it was odd, Gojyo was happy to see his friend happy for once. He led the way into town, knowing it like the back of his hand.
After dinner, the two friends returned home. As soon as they walked in, Hakuryu flew at Hakkai as if to say 'Don't you ever leave me alone again!' Hakkai simply laughed and stroked the white dragon's long neck soothingly.
"Dinner was lovely, thank you again for treating." Hakkai's smile practically lit up the room, broken only by a slight yawn that was quickly covered with his hand. "I believe I'll retire for the night. Good night, Gojyo."
"Night, 'Kai."
The next morning, Hakkai's nausea was worse than it ever had been, as though now that he knew what was causing it, it was determined to debilitate him to the best of its ability. It was so severe that he wasn't actually able to will it away, but was instead forced to run to the bathroom. The retching sounds coming from the bathroom were what woke Gojyo up, and he looked over to see that Hakkai had gotten out of bed in such haste that he had forgotten his monocle. Just as he was about to get out of bed himself and see if his friend was alright, the brunette came back into the room, holding his stomach.
"You alright, 'Kai?" Gojyo asked. The 'what do you think?' look Hakkai gave him was more than enough of an answer, as the youkai sat down on the bed with a groan.
"Can I get you anything?" Gojyo asked. Hakkai shook his head, lying back down.
"No, just...let me rest for a while," the youkai said. The hanyou nodded.
A few hours later, Gojyo was outside with Hakuryu (the dragon had been squeaking a little too loudly at the door, so Gojyo took him outside), smoking a cigarette.
"You're going to have to stop that, Gojyo-san. The smoke could hurt Hakkai-san's baby." Gojyo opened his eyes to see a tiny bird on his knee.
"I said put the fag out, baka yarou!" The bird shrieked. Hurriedly, Gojyo flipped the cigarette out onto the path, more out of surprise than a will to follow the bird's orders.
"Just who are you, anyway?" The redhead snarled at his avian visitor.
"You don't remember me?" The bird looked hurt, if birds could look so.
"Ano...Actually no, I have no idea." A jet black crane-like bird, around three feet tall, landed on the path as if beckoning the white creature to him.
"Jihira-chan, stop bothering Gojyo-san. We need to check up on Hakkai-san, remember?" With that, the crane raised its wings and transformed into the dark-skinned, tattooed young man who had come the day before. A heavy weight on his knee brought attention to the little bird that was no longer a little bird at all, but instead the pale, white-haired young woman.
"Recognize me now, Gojyo-san?" She asked with a smile. Gojyo nodded. "And you're not going to light another cigarette as long as Hakkai's baby is inside the house, ne?" Her smile turned into more of a warning grin.
"Iie." Jihira patted Gojyo's head, vacating his knee.
"Good hanyou." She smiled. Jyuuseii sweatdropped.
"I apologize for my lifemate. She's rather protective of our charges." The dark-skinned young man walked casually up to the house. Just as he was about to go in, Gojyo grabbed his wrist.
"Just what kind of youkai are you two anyway? And how did Hakkai end up pregnant?"
"We're not youkai, Gojyo-san." Jyuuseii sounded calm, as though explaining to a small child. "We're just storks."
"Guardians of the hearth and home, givers of second chances, keepers of conception, and patron animals of mothers and children." Jihira grinned. "And also the prime excuse when little kids ask where babies come from." Gojyo looked confused.
"As a species, it's our duty to oversee the health of all who are expecting. Your friend Hakkai has been a bit special to Jihira and me from the start, which is why we bent the rules to give him this second chance." Jyuuseii was still in 'teacher mode.' "As to how he became pregnant, well, that was her fault." He pointed his thumb at Jihira.
"He hasn't gotten close enough to a woman, and the poor little dear was about to vanish, so what was I supposed to do? Pop it into a random woman and watch it be raised as the second Christ?" Jihira got defensive.
"I would have done something. Hakkai still isn't 100 after his injury." Gojyo argued.
"Ah, now see, you underestimate your monocled friend. You speak of the scar on his belly, correct? That old wound, though it still aches him, is nearly a year old. It poses no danger to him or the baby, though it might cause him a bit of pain."
"What Jyuuseii means to say is that the scar might not stretch as the baby grows, which could hurt Hakkai-san, but not terribly. And definitely not enough to cause lasting damage. The baby will just be carried low, that's all."
"And you're sure that it won't hurt him."
"No more than light cramps, no." Jyuuseii looked down at the hand still holding his wrist. "If you don't mind, would you kindly let us go check up on Hakkai-san?" Gojyo let go of Jyuuseii's wrist. "Domo." The stork went inside. His mate stayed behind.
"You stay out here, no matter what." Jihira warned, giving Gojyo the Angry Eyes. "Hakkai won't want you to see him like he's going to be."
"It doesn't get much worse than stuffing his guts back in, does it?"
"It's a different kind of worse, but yes." Jihira went inside, locking Gojyo and Hakuryu out.
Hakkai, being a light sleeper that he was, awoke with a start to the storks' entrance. He hastily put his monocle on, blinking as the adrenaline left him when he saw who it was.
"Oh, it's you two." He offered a smile, one that only Jihira returned.
"Would you mind taking your pants off?" Jyuuseii was calm and clinical. Hakkai blinked.
"Nani?" He asked incredulously.
"We're just here for a checkup, Hakkai-san." Jihira gave a reassuring smile to the youkai. She turned to her husband. "It's too early for that to have developed, Jyuu-kun. Trust me; I've been doing this for a while." Hakkai got out of bed, ignoring the slight cramping feeling that had hit him after the nausea had faded, and started to unbuckle his belt.
"Iie, Hakkai-san. It'll be a few months yet before you have to do that." Relieved, Hakkai sat back down on the bed. Jihira sat beside him.
"So, been feeling a bit off-color lately?" Hakkai nodded. "Anything you need to mention?" Hakkai looked uncertain, as though he wasn't sure if he should be talking about such delicate issues with the storks.
"Don't worry, Hakkai-san. Jyuuseii and I are friends and doctors, first and foremost." Jihira reassured.
"Starting recently, a strange cramping sensation accompanies the nausea." A blush painted Hakkai's cheeks, embarrassed as he was to be talking about this, even with Jihira's reassurance. She smiled.
"Lay down, Hakkai-san. There's a simple explanation." He did so, and she stood. She lifted his shirt up just enough to reveal his stomach. Her finger traced the rubbery scar that went from left to right across Hakkai's stomach. This aggravated his cramps, and he winced.
"Your scar doesn't want to stretch to accommodate this," Jihira put her hand on the barely visible disruption in the line of the youkai's stomach, "which is why you're cramping. It's perfectly normal." Hakkai's hand replaced Jihira's on the small raised bump.
"This...this is the baby?" Jihira nodded with a smile.
"Say goodbye to your abs for a while." She laughed.
"Jihira, Jyuuseii, I'm not sure how to thank you for this." Hakkai sounded as if he owed the two storks something. Jihira smiled and patted his arm.
"You've been a bit of a special case of ours, Cho Hakkai. The only thing that you need to do to repay us is to take good care of yourself and the baby." Jyuuseii said, smiling for the first time since entering the room.
"We already told Gojyo-san not to smoke around you, so all you need to do is don't drink, don't smoke, and make sure to eat plenty." Jihira added. "See ya in two months, Hakkai-san." She chirped.
"Sayonara." Jyuuseii said.
"Sayonara." Hakkai responded with a friendly smile, sitting up and pulling his shirt down.
Language notes: Nani - what, demo - but, iie - no, ne? - right? Baka yarou - stupid bastard, ano - um, domo - thanks, sayonara - goodbye
Youkai - non-human (sometimes translated as demon, but I prefer the term youkai)
Hanyou - half-youkai (funny, that)
Culture notes: '-san' is a term of respect. '-chan' and '-kun' are terms of familiarity, almost endearment.
Canon notes: I changed the location of his scar only slightly, moved it up a little. Sure, accuse me of fanonizing. It really doesn't matter. Oo; And this story takes place after Gojyo and Hakkai have met Sanzo and Goku (hence why Hakkai's name is Hakkai instead of Gonou), but before the journey west. There's a three-year gap in there and I was like 'Well, something needs to go there, and there's a shortage of m-preg. Hm.'
Stork notes: For those trans-fandom people who have read my first 'Surprise' fic, you may be confused by the presence of Jyuuseii and the bimonthly check ups. Jyuuseii is sort of Jihira's parole officer and husband at the same time. She's required to do bimonthly check ups as per the arrangements of her parole (as Jihira says: "Yeesh, one mistake and they clasp ya in irons for the rest of your life!").