Four months later:

"Please let me go with you. It's an abandoned building, there shouldn't be any danger there," Arya begged.

Kaien growled as Toshi and Haru rolled their eyes.

She sighed, "I just want to help.."

"Fine." The wolf relented. "But if anything happens, you're going to be sent straight home. Understood?"

She nodded. "Let's go then."

"Get in the car before I reconsider."

She went out and climbed in the passenger seat.

He climbed into the driver's side as the bikes roared past them. Starting the car, he headed toward the building they were reconning. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess."

"I know this has been hard on you." He willed the still raw grief back, forcing his voice steady.

"It's been hard on all of us," she sighed.

"We're not the ones pregnant. Or who became a widow before a wife." He winced as the words fell off his tongue. "Sorry."

She shook her head, "It's been difficult, especially with my hormones going crazy. But at least Ryu and Shouma have been helping with the kids a lot so I'm not alone on that."

Kaien remains quiet as the building looms in front of them. He turns the car off and looks at her. "You sure about this? It was where the Otas kept people. It may not be pretty."

She nodded, "I was held by them too, remember? I know what to expect."

He nodded slowly, then climbed out and headed for the door.

The bikes were parked nearby, the others already inside.

She got out and followed quietly.

There were leftover bloodstains on the floor, rusty manacles drooping from the walls and ceilings.

"There's nothing here, Kaien." Toshi appeared. "No papers or anything valuable."

Haru moved past them, climbing on his bike and riding away silently.

Arya went further into the building, looking around closely.

A weak noise reached her ears from what appeared to be a brick wall.

She stared at it for a moment before approaching, putting her hand up to it.

The bricks were starting to crumble, the mortar flaking under her hand.

The sound repeated, but it was getting fainter as she listened.

She focused for a moment, vines appearing and tearing down the wall.

There was a locked door in front of her.

She focused the vines into ripping the lock off, then she carefully opened the door.

A figure lay on the floor, shirtless and chained to the cracked tile. It was unclear if it was dead or alive, blood dried on every inch of exposed flesh.

She approached it slowly, raising a hand up and pouring pink light over the figure to see if it was alive.

The noise she'd heard earlier became louder and she realized it was humming.

She poured more light into the person, trying to heal them up.

"I'm not telling you where she is, so you should just kill me already." The voice was raspy from disuse.

It sounded familiar to her and she asked quietly, "Toya?"

"I won't fall for that. I swore to keep her safe." The figure shook his head, then gasped as the chain tightened around his neck. He stopped moving, slowly regaining his breath.

She broke the chains apart with the vines, removing it gently from his neck. "Toya, it's me. I'm here to help you." She continued to pour light into him.

"Not safe...Get away. Protect the baby.." He struggled to open his eyes. Finally, the unfocused orbs looked at her.

She yelled for Kaien before speaking softly, "I'm not leaving you."

He trembled in shock, his hands clutching hers. "I..love you.."

Tears filled her eyes, "I love you too." She focused as much energy into him as she could, trying to fight the shock he was going through. Her hands began trembling but she continued, refusing to give up on him.

Kaien entered the room and froze. "Arya?"

"We have to get him out of here."

"Can he be moved?" Kaien knelt, brushing his brother's hair back and wincing at the damage.

"Give me just another minute," she closed her eyes and then focused a large burst into Tomoya. She then blinked her eyes slowly and tiredly as she looked at Kaien and nodded.

He helped her stand as he hefted the now unconscious hunter over his shoulder. "Come on."

She followed quietly, sitting in the back beside Tomoya and continuing to heal him as they went home.

Kaien rushed his brother into medical, laying him on a bed and pacing worriedly.

Arya entered, beginning to clean Tomoya up. She then went back to pouring her energy for a few minutes until she collapsed back into a chair.

"How bad? Will he survive?" Kaien asked softly, his eyes focused on Tomoya.

"He'll survive. He needs more healing but I need a few minutes to rest.."

"Let me." Ryusei entered, one hand already sending silver light streaming into the shifter.

"Thank you," she said quietly. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a minute.

"No need to thank me." He sighed as he increased the flow of energy. "He is still in bad shape. He must have been near death when you found him."

"Yeah," she answered tiredly.

He extended his other hand and sent energy into her. "Can't let you wear yourself out anymore."

"Just take care of him, I'll be alright," she replied quietly.

He clucked his tongue and turned to Kaien. "I caught two of the boys in the armory earlier. I fear they may be planning something foolhardy."

Kaien growled under his breath.

"I'll be back soon," Arya stood. "I'm going to tell the kids that Toya is back."

The two men nodded silently.

Arya went to find them, pausing a moment to lean against the hallway wall. Her arms shook and she tried to hold them close to her to stop them. She continued on, finding most of them with Shouma.

"Mommy? Are you alright?" Yamae hugged her softly, Kenji following suit.

Shouma waved as he flipped grilled cheese in a pan. Azra and Taren sat at the table, watching her curiously.

"We found Toya. He's hurt but he's alive," she said quietly before hugging Yamae and Kenji with a trembling arm.

"Daddy's home?" Yamae looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Yeah, baby. Daddy's home. When he's healed and awake, you guys can go see him."

The kids cheered as Shouma served the food.

"Have you seen Ryon or Zal? Don't want their food getting cold."

"I'll go look," she answered, heading out of the kitchen.

Both their rooms were empty, as was the game room. A flashing light on the security system caught her eye.

She glanced at it carefully.

The armory was reading open.

She growled slightly before heading down there.

The door was ajar, but the armory itself was empty. She frowned and was about to close the door when she saw the grenade box on its side, half of them missing.

Arya rushed upstairs, heading outside to see if she could find them out there.

Zal's motor scooter was missing.

She let out a cry, jumping in the car and heading to any place she thought they could be.

Her phone rang.

She answered it quickly.

"Arya, please tell me you have the boys." Kaien's voice was pleading.

"I'm looking for them.."

"The Otas just told the Council they were attacked. They're demanding the right to punish the perpetrators."

Arya took a deep breath, "So do the Ota actually have them?"

"Unknown. It was a message delivered by courier. They say they will send a video."

She growled, "I'll find them, don't worry." She hung up and called Ichigo, asking if he had any idea where the attack happened.

"Down by the docks. Where we lost.." He trailed off. "A cargo building exploded and several Otas were killed in the blast."

"We found Toya today. He's alive, but hurt pretty badly," Arya admitted. "I don't know what the boys were thinking but I'm going to beat their asses when I find them."

He was silent a moment. "You need help?"

"Sure. Meet me at the docks?"

"Don't do anything until I get there." He hung up.

She arrived at the docks, climbing out of her car and checking her pistol as she waited.

His car pulled up a few minutes later. He was walking toward her when a pair of screams rang out.

Arya quickly started running toward the noise.

Ichigo followed her, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the shadow of a building as a pair of men emerged from a building carrying two sheeted figures.

The men went to the edge of the dock and tossed the figures in, then turned and walked back.

Arya ran to the water, focusing for a moment before a large wave splashed onto the docks with the two figures landing in front of her. She knelt down and checked them over quickly.

Two stab wounds sluggishly pulsed blood, their lungs somewhat wet.

She quickly healed the stab wounds and tried to make sure the water was free from their lungs.

"Arya, take them home."

She nodded, "Carry them to the car for me. I'm going to do something first.."

"Arya! Don't you dare risk yourself or that baby!" He scowled at her, lifting the boys and heading for the car.

She sighed and followed him. After the boys were in the car, she looked up at him, "I just.. I hate that I can't do anything anymore. I want to fight."

"I know you do. And normally I'd be right beside you. But you have two children hurt and against all odds Tomoya has been found. You need to take time and deal with everything."

She nodded, "Alright.. Thank you for helping me, Aniki."

He kissed her forehead. "Anytime, Ary."

She climbed in the car and waved, heading home. She carried in Ryon before going back out to get Zal. Once they were both in the medical room, she checked them over once again and sat down, glancing over at Tomoya.

Tired eyes met hers. "Sorry, Princess."

She shook her head, "I love you."

"Love you more." He gazed at her stomach with a wistful look.

She smiled softly and moved to kiss him.

He cupped her cheek, gently pressing his lips to hers. When they parted, he sighed.

"I missed you. I thought I'd never see you again.."

"I'm so sorry. You've been all alone."

"My brothers have been helping with the kids, so it's not been impossible. But it's so much better with you here."

"I was sure I was going to die there. The only thing that kept me going was you." He kissed her again. He glanced over at the boys. "What kind of trouble did they end up in now?"

"They decided it was smart to steal grenades from the armory and go blow up an Ota building. They should be glad I came after them or they'd have died and we'd never have found them."

He facepalmed. "They are so grounded for the next decade."

"Definitely."

He struggled to sit up. "Are the Otas planning retaliation?"

"I don't know. They tried to kill the boys. I'm not sure they are taking more retaliation than that." She sighed, "I wanted to go kill them but Aniki wouldn't let me."

"Smart man." He finally quit, then raised his hands in surrender as she glared at him.

She glanced over at the boys again, quietly watching them for a minute.

Kaien came in, trembling with anger. "Those bastards.."

She raised an eyebrow.

"The Otas killed them.." His eyes stayed focused on the floor, his hands clenched at his sides.

"You mean the boys that are right here? Or someone else?"

His head shot up, his eyes homing in on the two. "They're alright?"

"They're alive. You're gonna have to keep me from beating their asses, but they're alright."

He nodded in relief. "I was not looking forward to telling you."

She chuckled softly.

He glanced at Toya and smirked. "He looks so innocent doesn't he?"

Tomoya was snoring softly.

She chuckled again and nodded.

Ryon slid off the bed and crept toward the door. He was almost there when a hand grabbed the back of his shirt. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Let go of me! I'm going to kill more Otas!"

"Sit your ass back down, Ryon." Arya growled.

He stuck his tongue out, then pulled his knife. "I'm going to hurt Otas and you better not stop me."

"Sit down." She growled once again.

He flopped into a chair, hissing at her under his breath as Zal's eyes fluttered open.

"Now let's just talk for a minute." She tried to calm herself. "Why are you suddenly going after the Otas?"

"They took Dad. I can hear you crying every night. They have to pay!"

"We found Dad today. He's alive," she said quietly, pointing over to Toya's bed.

Ryon followed her finger and froze. Then his face twisted and he began to cry.

She bent down and hugged him. "It's alright. And I know you want to help, but leave the Otas to us Hunters. It's our job to fight them, we've had training. You guys would have died if I didn't come after you."

"I just..I can't stand you crying." He tried to stop the tears, but failed. "All I could think was you were hurting so much.."

"Do you know how much more I'd be hurting if I had lost you two?" She asked softly. "And revenge is nice, but it wouldn't have brought him back."

He didn't answer, merely clung to her.

"I'm sorry. I was the one who opened the armory." Zal's voice was repentant. "We merely wished to make them pay."

"It's alright but you know you guys aren't allowed in the armory." She sighed, "The Otas have to pay for a lot of things, but that doesn't mean you should be the ones to do it. Like I said, leave it for us Hunters. We know what we're doing." She paused, "The only reason I haven't gone after them myself is the baby. I don't want it getting hurt. But I can fight my own battles. I don't want you fighting them for me."

Zal nodded slowly as Ryon quieted.

Kaien gave a wry smile. "Tempted to train you two though. You didn't do half bad boobytrapping that building."

Arya shook her head, "Don't encourage them."

He shrank under her glare. "I surrender."

"I guess if they want to become Hunters when they are older, fine, but wait until they're adults."

Ryon looked up at her. "Really?"

"I mean, I don't want you doing something so dangerous, but if being a Hunter will make you happy, then you have that choice and I'll accept it. But only when you're old enough."

"May I be excused?" Zal asked quietly.

"Just stay out of trouble," she gave him a soft smile.

He nodded, slipping off the bed and disappearing from the room.

"I'm gonna go play pac man." Ryon announced as he wiped his face. "Promise I won't go anywhere."

She smiled and kissed his forehead. "Have fun, honey."

He disappeared as well, leaving Kaien staring at Tomoya.

"I'm not dreaming right? We really found him?""

"Well, if it's a dream, I'm dreaming too. But I think it's real."

He moved to the bed, running a hand through his brother's hair. "I'd resigned myself to believing we'd finally lost him.. Did I give up too easily?"

"No. I thought he was gone too."

"I better track down the others before they do something stupid as well. Haru hasn't returned yet." He gave her cheek a kiss. "Take care of him."

"Always."

He chuckled, then was gone.

She sat down beside Tomoya, taking his hand with the one of hers that wasn't shaky.

"I feel like a failure." His eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling.

"Why?"

"I hurt everyone. Ryon had calmed down, but now he's back to threatening people. Some dad."

"You were taken! It's not like you had a choice in the matter!"

"I could have fought harder. Tried to escape more.."

"You did fine, love. You did your best and I'm proud of you."

"Then why do I blame myself?" His eyes were haunted when they met hers.

"Because we all have a habit of blaming ourselves even if it's not our fault," she admitted. "You did fine. You were hurt. You probably went through a lot while you were gone. You just need to take it easy and be kind to yourself."

He gave her a small smile. "Alright. How are you feeling? What's the verdict on the baby?"

"I'm a lot better now that you're here." She smiled, "We have so many boys, the universe decided to bless us with another girl."

His eyes lit up. "Oh boy...she's going to be the most protected kid in the universe. I pity any boys that ever want to date her."

She chuckled, "I haven't come up with a name yet though. But we have a few more months."

"Everything's going well though right? No problems?"

"She's a perfectly healthy baby," Arya smiled again.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then tried to sit up.

She reached out to help him, frowning a second and switching arms, pulling him up.

He kissed her hard before wincing.

"Do you want me to heal you more?"

"I don't want you wearing yourself out." He intertwined their hands as he breathed through the pain.

She pushed energy, pink light slowly surrounding him.

He relaxed slightly, his breathing easing. "I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden," she assured.

"You have enough to deal with. You should go rest."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Some things never change. You need to take care of yourself, you know."

"I take care of myself just fine," she answered.

He chuckled, then tried to stand. He swayed, then bent double with a gasp.

She quickly put a hand out to steady him then went back to pouring energy into him.

He sat down again, trembling violently. "I don't want to die…"

"You're not going to die," she said softly.

"Tell my body that.." He forced out between gasps.

She focused, pushing a large amount of energy into him. His breathing calmed slightly and the trembling went away, right before she slumped forward unconscious.

He panicked, catching her and yelling for help.

Ryusei raced in and grew exasperated. "Dammit, Arya." He gently took her, laying her down and sending silver energy into her.

"I told her to stop.." Tomoya said softly.

"Since when does she listen to any of us?"

Tomoya chuckled wryly, then pushed himself up and stumbled out of the room.

Ryusei shook his head and focused on her. After several minutes, he gave her cheek a soft kiss and left the room as well.