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?
Chapter the fifth: In the Home Stretch
Month eight, apparently, was the month of the most weight gain in the entire pregnancy. About a week into it, Hakkai had become (finally) too large for his green tunic shirts. Luckily, he didn't have to go without a shirt for long, because an hour after he realized that he didn't fit into his tunics, there appeared at the door a paper bag with a few different colored shirts. He wasn't looking forward to wearing them ("They're practically tents!"), but in lieu of the current situation, he had to. Gojyo, who had pretty much passed out on the floor (the bed in the house was barely big enough for Hakkai and baby, so Gojyo nobly took the floor), woke up later that same morning to find Hakkai in a bright red t-shirt instead of one of his tunic shirts.
"Say a word, and I solemnly swear that your shoes will be full of dragon droppings." The irritated, embarrassed brunette growled. In an effort to protect his boots from being Hakuryu's litter box, Gojyo bit back the laugh that threatened to come forth. Of course, Hakkai wasn't stupid. He knew that Gojyo was trying not to laugh.
"You think I look ridiculous, don't you?" The pregnant youkai put his hands on his hips, cutting an imposing figure with his green eyes narrowed dangerously.
"No offense, 'Kai, but yes." Gojyo gave up, and burst out laughing.
"Yes, yes, laugh it up, Gojyo. It's not everyday that your pregnant barge of a roommate has to wear charity clothes left by the storks!" Hakkai kicked Gojyo in the side lightly, not really angry enough to actually hurt the hanyou but still pretty mad. Gojyo was laughing too hard to respond, just rolling over to protect his side. Hakkai huffed.
"Come on, Hakuryu. We're going for a walk." The white dragon squeaked and flew after his very pregnant master. The slamming of the door brought an abrupt end to Gojyo's laughter, and he went after his friend.
"Hey, wait, Hakkai." The brunette turned around from where he had been walking away. Hakuryu hovered just over his shoulder, chirping when he saw Gojyo. Hakkai turned back away from Gojyo, arching his back slightly to relieve the low ache.
"Do you know what your problem seems to be, Gojyo?" Hakkai had obviously calmed down a bit. "You have no idea what it's like to be pregnant. To be this embarrassingly large and know that this little life inside of you is going to keep growing like this for pretty much another two months." He turned green eyes to Gojyo, a soft smile on his lips. "You really don't know what you're missing, Gojyo." Gojyo smiled.
"Come on back inside, 'Kai. I'm sorry I laughed at you." The redhead apologized. Hakkai laughed.
"I would have expected nothing less from you, Gojyo." Hakkai walked back to the house. Gojyo laughed, but then realized what his friend had said.
"Wait, what was that supposed to mean?" The hanyou asked defensively.
"What do you think it meant?" Hakkai's tone was light and teasing, as he opened the door. Hakuryu chirped in something similar to a dragon chuckle, flying in after the pregnant youkai and leaving Gojyo to puzzle briefly over Hakkai's words.
That night, Hakkai lay in bed, his long-fingered hands resting on the belly (it wasn't his belly anymore, he mused with a smile). The baby was kicking actively, and Hakkai loved the feeling when she nailed the palm of one of his hands. It truly was a miracle, he realized. A second chance for him, for Kanan, and for their baby. Yes, there were some parts of being pregnant that he wouldn't wish on his greatest enemies (the morning sickness and hormone onslaughts came to mind), but it was all made up for in moments like this, where he could lay here and get close to the little life inside of him and just feel. Not for the first time since he found out that he was pregnant, Hakkai thanked Kanan for giving him this chance. He closed his eyes, smiling softly as the baby inside him finally seemed to get comfortable and settle down.
The next day, Hakkai was in so much pain that he couldn't bring himself to get out of bed. The stinging sensation that had developed in his seventh month had graduated to the feeling of a large butcher's knife twisting in his gut. He slept most of the day, much to the worry of the late-rising Gojyo. At one point, tired of the frequent 'Are you sure you're alright?' Hakkai sleepily clocked Gojyo over the head with the pillow with a mumbled 'Yes I'm sure, now leave me alone.' Hakkai hadn't resorted to door post simply because he knew what was going on, and he had a sneaking suspicion that it was supposed to feel like an amateur butcher hacking away at his insides. And the baby wasn't exactly helping, either. She would kick down, aggravating the twisting pain in his gut and hitting his bladder in one fell swoop. This, of course, meant that throughout the day, while he wanted to do nothing but sleep until the pain went away or the baby was born (whichever came first), he had to constantly get up and go to the bathroom or give some sort of response to Gojyo's constant 'Are you alrights'. It wasn't his best day, no. In fact, he'd venture to guess that it was the worst. It probably was. So far, that is.
Two weeks passed. Every day was a struggle for Hakkai, in one way or another, but he managed to keep an overall cheerful disposition anyway. He spent nearly every other day in bed, immobilized by agonizing pain. Most days, bedridden or not, he slept in far more than usual (Gojyo frequently was up and about before Hakkai). This was because the baby was becoming more and more nocturnal, and kept Hakkai awake all night. Near the end of the eighth month, the note appeared on the door that announced the storks' arrival in a week. The week passed very quickly, with the pain in his stomach barely registering. On the day that the storks were due to arrive, however, the pain was back with a vengeance. He was unable to get out of bed, but also unable to sleep. Gojyo had left that morning, at Hakkai's insistence when they had discussed it the night before. This left Hakkai alone in the house, in bed, in agonizing, immobilizing pain, when the storks knocked on the door. Hakkai, not fully aware of what was going on due to the pain, covered his face with the pillow to block out the knocking.
"Gojyo! Could you please get the door?" He called, his voice muffled by the pillow. A gentle tugging at the blanket caused him to take the pillow off of his face. Hakuryu was tugging at the blanket, cheeping urgently. The little white dragon hovered above Hakkai, lowering his long neck to stare into Hakkai's eyes. The youkai blinked. The dragon blinked back. Obviously, he wanted him to get up. He reached over to the nightstand and gently took Hakkai's monocle in his mouth, dropping the eyewear on his owner's chest.
"I can't get up, Hakuryu. Not right now." Hakkai said. Hakuryu's expression turned frustrated. He cheeped angrily. The knock at the door came again. Hakuryu, sensing that his master wasn't getting the message, started doing something akin to charades. He flapped more than a dragon needed to stay in the air, keeping his neck long and straight. Finally, he landed on the headboard and took Hakkai's green headband in his mouth, tugging hard enough that Hakkai's head left the bed. Hakkai's green eyes widened as he realized what Hakuryu was miming, and he hastily put his monocle on.
"The storks are here?" Hakuryu's expression could only be described as 'I was trying to tell you, but you wouldn't listen!' The knock at the door came again, more urgently.
"Hakkai-san, can you hear us?" Jyuuseii called.
"Hai, Jyuuseii-san! I'm coming!" Hakkai set his bare feet on the floor, needles of sensation aggravating the pain in his gut. His posture was a bit bowed, as it helped to ease the pain. Somehow, he managed to cross the small house to the door. He unlocked and opened it, straightening slightly.
"Konnichiwa." He smiled sweetly. Neither stork returned the smile, both looking worried.
"Are you alright? Why didn't you come to the door? Are you in pain? Did something happen?" Jihira bombarded him with questions.
"Iie, nothing's wrong. I was in the bathroom, and didn't hear you. Sumimasen, I didn't mean to worry yo-" the last word was cut off as a shocked gasp escaped Hakkai's throat. Jihira had placed her hand on the belly, causing intense pain to ricochet through Hakkai's nerves. Immediately, he clutched his stomach and fell to his knees, his head hung and his hair hanging in his face. His body quivered slightly from the sheer force of the pain in his gut.
"HAKKAI-SAN!" Jihira shouted in alarm, kneeling in front of the brunette. She tilted his chin up. "You're not alright, baka! Where does it hurt?"
"Be-below..." Hakkai managed to hiss between clenched teeth, his whole body shuddering and his eyes clenched shut in pain.
"Under the baby?" Hakkai nodded slightly. Jihira immediately looked no longer worried.
"Perfectly normal!" She said with a smile. Jyuuseii rounded on her.
"This is normal! He can barely stand!"
"Of course it's normal! It's just the birth canal developing. It's bound to hurt." She turned back to Hakkai. "What I want to know is why the intelligent, ginormous-chi'ed one here didn't think to apply part of his chi to pain relief." Immediately, Hakkai's head snapped up, his green eyes meeting Jihira's.
"What?" He asked.
"I said-"
"I heard what you said. Is that possible? It won't hurt the baby, will it?"
"This late in the game? Oh hell no, Hakkai-san. Just don't use all of your chi for pain relief." Under her breath, the stork added something that sounded like 'as if that's possible.' With that assurance, Hakkai bowed his head again and a faint greenish mist circled the belly, the storks watching with a mix of curiosity and awe as it spun around Hakkai quickly before going back into his body. Jyuuseii offered his arm to Hakkai as the youkai struggled to get to his feet. Once firmly upright, Hakkai smiled at the storks.
"Ah, much better." Jihira looked impressed.
"Sugoi! That was the singularly coolest thing I have ever seen in my life!" She squealed, giving a little hop.
"Why, thank you." Hakkai sheepishly raised his hand, resting it on the back of his head. He backed away from the door, letting the storks enter. Jihira clapped her hands together once they were inside, rubbing them together.
"Well then, shall we get this dog-and-pony show going?" Hakkai nodded.
"You know the drill. In the bedroom and pants off." Hakkai went to the bedroom, and the door closed. It opened again, and Hakuryu flew out.
"Oh, what a cute little dragon!" Jihira cooed. "What's your name, little fella?" Hakuryu obviously didn't like Jihira, since he puffed a short blast of flame at her fingers. "Ouch! Baka ryu burned me!" With a parting razzberry at Hakuryu, Jihira went into the bedroom to check on Hakkai.
"So, how's it going?" She asked amiably.
"Fairly well, considering that I've successfully outgrown the loosest shirts I own and have had to resort to your charity clothes – which, by the way, make me look like an overgrown fruit." Hakkai said all of this with a warm smile on his face.
"Ah, sou desu ka." Jihira said with a slight laugh. "Ready for your check-up?"
"As ready as ever, I suppose." Hakkai said.
"Sheet off, Hakkai-san." Jihira said. Hakkai pushed the sheet off of him, a light blush painting his face. Her tongue sticking out slightly, brow furrowed in concentration, Jihira gently examined Hakkai's lower area.
"Everything looks good down here. Birth canal's nearly completely formed, and from what I can tell, your pelvic bone's already starting to soften. In my clinical opinion, I'd say you might not make it all the way to the end of month nine before your little girl makes her entrance." Jihira said with a smile.
"Isn't that dangerous? Doesn't that mean that something's wrong?" Hakkai asked, worried for his baby.
"Put it this way, Hakkai-san: your baby girl could come into the world right now with only slight risk of complications. The developmental differences between 36 and 40 weeks are minor." Jihira reassured. "You can cover back up now." Hakkai pulled the sheet back over himself.
"Where's Jyuuseii-san?"
"He's out in the other room with your pet." Jihira said, pulling Hakkai's shirt up past the belly. Gentle fingers examined the taut skin, eventually ghosting downwards to the stretched, pale scar across his stomach.
"Everything looks good, Hakkai-san. How about you? Feeling up to another month of this?"
"Strangely, I think that I'll miss this once it's over." The youkai said with a smile, pulling his shirt down and resting his hands on the belly.
"You know, my powers let me create life from scratch, too. From anyone's genes. This doesn't have to be yours and Kanan's last child." Jihira suggested. Hakkai laughed.
"I don't think I'll miss it that much, Jihira-san." Hakkai's gaze drifted to the ceiling. "Iie...I'm carrying this child because Kanan and I created it together. Even if you merge our genes to create a new baby, the child would never truly be mine and Kanan's." A sad smile played across his lips. Jihira nodded.
"I understand what you're saying, Hakkai-san. If, however, you change your mind in a few years, I'll still be checking your door."
"I'll see you next month, then." Hakkai said.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily. My parole says that I have to stay through the entire ninth month."
"Nani! You're on parole!" Hakkai was now duly freaked out. He had a parolee as his baby's doctor. This is the kind of thing that you tell people, isn't it?
"Have been since my last inconvenient discorporation. Boy, was that a fiasco." Jihira seemed to fondly reflect momentarily. Jyuuseii took that moment to come in.
"Jihira, you're not supposed to tell people that you're on parole!" The dark-skinned stork exclaimed. "Sumimasen, Hakkai-san." He waved his right hand, and the whole parole discussion was wiped from Hakkai's memory.
"Then, both of you will be staying for the next month?" The once-again-calm youkai asked with a smile. The storks nodded.
"Pa..." Jihira started, giving Jyuuseii a mischievous grin, "-nts!" She giggled. Hakkai looked confused as to why she had just randomly declared 'pants', and Jyuuseii looked relieved that she hadn't said 'parole'. Wiping memories repeatedly was tiring and dangerous.
"Speaking of pants, could you two possibly leave the room so that I may put mine back on?" Hakkai asked sweetly.
"Hai, certainly, Hakkai-san." The two storks left the room, shutting the door just before Hakuryu could get through.
"You're a queer little dragon, aren't you?" Jihira scowled at the creature. It scowled back.
"He doesn't like to be called little," Jyuuseii said.
"Oh? I'm sorry. How about mini dragon? Chibi ryu?" Hakuryu snorted a puff of flame in Jihira's face, cheeping angrily.
"Joyous, Jihira-chan. You pissed off the dragon. Happy now?" Jyuuseii asked sarcastically. Jihira's eyes narrowed.
"If you don't watch it, ojisan, you'll be laying eggs out your nostrils next time mating comes around." She threatened, thrusting a single finger in Jyuuseii's face.
"Yare-yare. I'm sure that it won't be necessary to go to such extremes." Hakkai, who had just come out of the bedroom, had only caught Jihira's threat. Hakuryu, elated to see his master, flew over and landed on Hakkai's shoulder, cheeping happily.
"I'll make some tea." Hakkai smiled. "It will be a while yet before Gojyo comes home."
"Speaking of whom, how is the hanyou chimney behaving? I heard that nicotine-deprived people get irritable." Jihira said, following Hakkai into the kitchen.
"He's alright. I feel badly that he has had to quit twice now for my sake, but I suppose that it's for the best." Hakkai set the water on to boil, joining Jihira and Jyuuseii at the table.
"Of course it is, Hakkai-san." Jyuuseii said. "Smoking hurts everyone."
"Says the slogan-spouting anti-smoking poster boy." Jihira said, sticking her tongue out at Jyuuseii.
"You can't argue that I'm wrong." The dark-skinned stork argued.
"No, I can't, but at least I can argue!" Jihira retorted. "If you hadn't had such a good point, you wouldn't have had a point at all!" Jyuuseii and Hakkai blinked, both trying to make sense of what she had just said. Her pout turned into a mild facefault.
"I think that that was supposed to be an insult." Hakkai said with a laugh.
"I couldn't tell." Jyuuseii confessed, laughing along.
"Don't laugh at me! I'm not good at witty retorts!" Jihira pouted indignantly.
"That much we could tell." Jyuuseii laughed freely. After a few moments more of laughter, Hakkai and Jyuuseii stopped.
"I can tell that this next month will be amusing." Hakkai said, smiling warmly. The tea kettle started whistling. Hakkai used the table for a bit of leverage, standing and going to the stove.
"Would either of you prefer coffee?" He asked.
"Tea is fine." Jyuuseii said.
"I'd like coffee, actually." Jihira said. Hakkai nodded, reaching for two cups and a mug.
"I hope that instant is alright."
"Instant's fine." Jihira said. Hakkai prepared the beverages, setting a mug of coffee in front of Jihira and a cup of tea in front of Jyuuseii. He sat back down with his cup of tea.
"My apologies, but we don't have any sugar."
"That's alright, the stronger the better." Jyuuseii assured, sipping his tea. Jihira was staring intently at the ripples in her coffee when she blew on it.
"I believe she's having a flashback. Pay no attention." Jyuuseii said quietly to Hakkai.
"A flashback? What of?" Hakkai asked out of both worry and curiosity.
"A client who inconveniently discorporated her, probably. She has flashbacks too frequently for me to keep track of what she's remembering." Jyuuseii shrugged. Just as he said that, Jihira shook herself back to reality, picking up her coffee and taking a long sip.
"Sorry 'bout that." She said with a smile. "Didn't mean ta worry you."
"Good. You didn't." Jyuuseii said, sipping his tea.
"Hey! What was that supposed to mean?" Jihira looked affronted. The two storks started arguing.
"Yare-yare..." Hakkai shook his head.
A few hours later, Gojyo came home to find the storks still there.
"Tadaima!" He shouted as he came through the door.
"Gojyo! Welcome home!" Hakkai greeted cheerfully. He and the storks were sitting at the table playing cards (they were still under the illusion that they could win).
"Two twos. Hiyas, Gojyo-san!" Jihira put her cards down on the table.
"Four lovely ladies. Konban wa, Gojyo-san." Jyuuseii set his cards down as well, more confidently than Jihira had.
"Sumimasen, Jyuuseii-san. I do believe that my four aces trump your queens, ne?" Hakkai set his cards down with a friendly smile. Gojyo laughed.
"I've never won a single hand against Hakkai." The gambler said.
"Good to know we're not the only ones." Jihira laughed.
"Shall we deal you in?" Jyuuseii asked, shuffling the cards. Gojyo sat in the fourth chair.
"Why not?" He shrugged.
"I'll sit this round out." Hakkai said.
"Yes! There's a chance of winning!" Jihira cheered. Hakkai laughed. The cards were dealt, and the players raised their hands to their faces.
"So, why are you two still here, anyway?" Gojyo asked, picking up a card and moving it to the edge of his hand.
"We're required to stay from now to the end of the pregnancy." Jihira said in that same distracted tone, examining her cards. "Bingo! Straight flush!" She slammed her cards down, doing a congratulatory happy dance in her seat.
"That's better than my hand. Three sixes." Jyuuseii put his cards down.
"Royal flush." Gojyo put his cards down with a smirk. Jihira mock pouted.
"Don't worry about it. I do this for a living." Gojyo said.
"Let's play a new game, now that we've got more than three people." Jyuuseii suggested.
"What game?" Hakkai asked.
"The name of the game is BS." Jyuuseii said. "In?" The other three nodded, Jihira especially. He proceeded to deal out the entire deck.
"The goal is to get rid of your cards. I'll start with twos, and then we go around the table all the way through ace before starting over."
"And if you think someone didn't put down the cards that they said they did, you say 'BS'. If you're right, they have to pick up every card under theirs. If you're wrong, though, you have to pick them up." Jihira added.
"This sounds like an interesting game." Hakkai said, looking through his cards.
"Two twos." Jyuuseii set two cards facedown.
"BS." Hakkai said nonchalantly. Jyuuseii showed the cards to be a two and an ace, and put them back in his hand.
"Gojyo, you're threes." Jyuuseii said with a nod. The redhead looked through his hand.
"Three threes," the hanyou said as he set the cards down. He went unchallenged.
"Two fours!" Jihira chirped, adding her cards. She went unchallenged.
"One five." Hakkai put his card down on the table. Gojyo studied his hand, crimson eyes narrowed.
"BS, 'Kai." He said. Hakkai smiled.
"Are you sure that you want to say that, Gojyo?" He asked.
"Of course I'm sure." Hakkai flipped over the card that he had put down. The five of diamonds glared at Gojyo.
"I believe that those cards belong to you now, Gojyo."
The game went rather quickly (Hakkai won), and it was all too soon time to go to bed.
"Oyasumi, Jihira-san, Jyuuseii-san. Oyasumi, Gojyo."
"Oyasumi, Hakkai." The storks transformed and settled down under the table.
In bed, Hakkai was reflecting. The entire pregnancy experience was magical, and soon enough the baby would be born. Carrying the child was one thing. Raising her was another thing entirely. It was with this thought that the first inklings of a nesting instinct wormed their way into Hakkai's psyche. The baby was coming in a month, and Hakkai was completely unprepared. This would have to be remedied, and soon. Soon, but not tonight. Hakkai was going to take advantage of the baby's current sleeping state to get some rest himself. And with that thought, the pregnant youkai drifted off to sleep.
Language notes: Hai - yes, konnichiwa - hello, iie - no, sumimasen - excuse me, I'm sorry, etc, baka - idiot, sugoi - cool, baka ryu - stupid dragon, sou desu ka - is that so, nani - what, chibi ryu - young dragon, ojisan - mister, yare-yare - good grief, tadaima - I'm home, konban wa - good evening, oyasumi - good night
Canon notes: Hakkai wins at everything. Canonically, if Gojyo has a full house, Hakkai has a straight flush. He doesn't mean to be that good, he just is. Therefore, I figured he'd be fun to play BS with. Also, as a canon comment, you'll notice that even at his angriest, Hakkai doesn't actually hurt Gojyo. This is because he would rather bite off his own tongue than hurt one of his friends.
Stork notes: Jihira's powers are different from Jyuuseii's. They both can create life from scratch, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Jyuuseii has more powers than Jihira, because he's earned them. Some more of his powers will come into play later.
Author notes: - This is the longest chapter of Hakkai's Surprise to date. Six pages on Word, actually. Next chapter, month nine (with a bonus scene! D). Hakkai's nesting instinct kicks in full force, as everyone prepares for the arrival of the little bundle of joy.