Blindsided

by ravenskyeblackhawk

Yuki is a former runaway who has amassed wealth and prestige, along with a jaded lifestyle. Kagome is young woman with a painful past who unknowingly manages to worm her way into his steelplated heart. YukiKagome pairing

27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is sooo not mine.

Yuki ending

"Drop the knife, shitbag!" Naraku suddenly appeared out of nowhere and placed himself between Kagome and the intruder, his gun aimed straight at him. "Drop the knife and get down on your knees before I shoot you between the eyes! Oi, Kagome, are you okay?" In the corner of his eye, he could see Kouga racing down the hallway towards him and Kagome. "Nice of you to finally show up, Kouga," he muttered unkindly.

"Screw you," Kouga replied, easing his gun out of Kagome's limp hand and slipped it back into the waistband of his jeans. He took note of her shell-shocked appearance and pulled her into his arms. "Just take care of this guy, Naraku. Kagome doesn't look so good."

The man at the business end of Naraku's gun, blatantly ignored him and only had eyes for Yuki. Yuki, on the other hand, was trying to see if Kagome was alright and was completely unaware that the intruder was glaring at him. "You! You... bastard! You killed my daughter! You murdered my Tsubaki!"

Yuki's head whipped around, eyes narrowed. "You're insane! I've never heard of anyone called Tsubaki. Now get the hell outta here! You're scaring Kagome!"

The stranger pointed at Kagome with the end of his knife. "That girl over there was one of your victims too, wasn't she? I read about it in the newspapers, of her engagement to you. That's why my daughter killed herself! Not only had you rejected her, but you took someone else to be your wife when you knew that she loved you. But her guardian was wise to your evil nature, wasn't he?"

"Hey, wait a minute! How the hell did you find out about that?" demanded Naraku, gripping his gun a little tighter. "The annullment wasn't made public."

The older man gave Naraku a sly look. "I have connections," he said cryptically. "Morikawa annulled the whole thing and it was a good thing too, because sooner or later this young lady would have ended up as dead as my girl after you decided that she wasn't for you."

Yuki had to refrain from asking Naraku to pass the gun over so he could blow the old fuck's head off himself. "Look old man, I told you I don't know any Tsubaki. You've got the wrong guy, so get the hell out of here."

The man shook his head vehemently, his face beginning to turn red. "I'm not going anywhere! Not until you admit to pushing her to commit suicide. You did it and you know it! You killed my daughter!" He screamed and lunged at Yuki, his knife raised.

Without hesitation, Naraku pulled the trigger and the man's body jerked backwards. The crazed man groaned and clutched at his arm as Naraku called an ambulance and the police. "Get out of here, Kouga. You don't need to get involved in this. I'll take care of Kagome."

Kouga shook his head and slipped his arms around Kagome, who was white-faced from seeing the blood seeping into the carpet. "Are you crazy? I'm not leaving her. C'mon, baby," he said, preparing to scoop her up into his arms and take her away, but Kagome shook her head and went over to Yuki, who had fallen backwards in an attempt to get out of the way. He'd landed hard on his rump and in doing so, he had wrenched his knee, causing him to clutch at it with a groan of pain before passing out.

She knelt beside him and reached out to touch his knee, but Yuki, not realizing who it was, knocked the hand away. When he saw that it was only Kagome, his heart clenched. But when he saw the hurt that flashed across her face, he felt sure that his heart had stopped.

"Kagome! Wait! I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you...!" he called frantically to her as she backed away from him and went straight into Kouga's arms. Kouga wrapped his arms tightly around her and murmured into her ear before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

No, not again! Yuki's mind cried, his thoughts going back to the night he'd found them together. Seeing them like this, with her clinging onto him as though she'd never let him go, tore into Yuki's soul and he couldn't help but look away. Even at this moment, even though he knew that Kouga was a source of comfort to Kagome, Yuki hated his rival with an immense hatred that he'd never felt before.

Right now Kouga was saying, "I'm just glad you're gonna deal with it, Naraku, since you were the one that shot his ass in the first place. I'm gonna take Kagome back to Sesshoumaru's place."

"Sure. See you guys later."

"Okay." Kouga was already leading Kagome away down the hall to the elevators.

Yuki waited until heard the elevator doors close before struggling to stand up on his feet. He ignored the hand Naraku proferred to help him, but in the end, Naraku had to assist him up anyway.

"If you needed help, you shoulda asked," Naraku told him as he brushed himself off.

"Just leave me alone," grumbled the blond as he limped heavily on his cane. He moved slowly to his front door, but Naraku's hand on his arm stopped his progress.

"Are you gonna be okay? You look like you're in a lot of pain," remarked the investigator gently. "Need me to call Akira? Or do you just wanna wait for the paramedics?"

A growl erupted from Yuki as he turned to take a vicious swing at Naraku with his cane, but he lost his balance and fell against the wall. Dropping his cane, he grabbed a desperate hold of the doorframe so he wouldn't fall. The pain in his leg was pure torture; it felt heavy and hot and ached horribly all the way down to the bone. With a stunning realization of the condition he was in, he discovered that he couldn't even put weight on it anymore. "I'm... fine. Just... hand me my... cane," he panted, his eyes rolling to the back of his head for a moment. It was all he could do not to lose consciousness.

Naraku, looking very concerned, bent over and picked up the black walking stick. "Sure, Yuki. Um, how's that hand?" He'd noticed too, that blood was seeping through the bandages on Yuki's injured hand. "Look, just let me help you--"

"Fuck off." Once he had taken the cane, he threw Naraku an ugly look over his shoulder. "What's with this caring for my well-being all of a sudden? You didn't give a fuck about me the other day, so why do you give a fuck about me today?"

Naraku shot back angrily, "Shit, Yuki, I can't help it if I see someone in trouble and want to help them! What do you think I am? A fucking monster?"

A monster? No, you're not the monster here. I'm the monster...

Wiping the cold sweat that beaded his forehead, Yuki's body sagged for a moment, but he straightened as much as he was able to. "Let me know when the cops get here. I'm pretty sure your employer sent you here to have me arrested. I won't fight it. Just... ask them to knock before they come in to arrest me, please."

Hobbling into his apartment and leaving a concerned-looking Naraku in the hallway, Yuki quietly shut the door behind him. He began hopping to the living room on his left leg. As he headed for his bedroom, he went to retrieve his cell phone from his pocket which had begun to ring. The phone slipped from his grasp and he as he tried to catch it, but he stumbled and fell face down on the floor, watching it bounce away out of his reach.

He lay there for a moment, stunned from having the breath knocked out of him and the excruciating pain that shot up from his right leg. When he was finally able to breathe, Yuki rested his face against the soft carpet and cried. He would have to pull himself along the floor to get to the phone.

But he did not bother. It hurt too much to move and besides, nobody liked him or wanted him around, so why should he bother calling for help? Everyone, it seemed, wanted him to just go away. Why couldn't Kami just kill him now and make everyone he had hurt, happy? Besides, the cops would be here any moment. They would be the ones to have to haul his crippled ass off the floor.

ooo

An hour later, Yuki was still on the floor. He'd heard the paramedics stomping along the corridor, then the police arrived and from the shrieks, Yuki deduced that the police had taken the crazed intruder away.

Even though he waited for his front door to burst open, no one knocked and no one came in. The silence that followed was deafening and Yuki couldn't help but wish for the noise to return, to tell him that there was somebody nearby, to tell him that he wasn't alone.

During the long, pain-filled hour while he'd lain upon the floor, Yuki felt more alone than he'd ever felt in his life. Several times he'd caught himself thinking of Kagome, wishing she were with him because whenever she was around, he could never feel lonely or unwanted. With her, he felt happy and secure, knowing that he was loved unconditionally. But he knew it was foolish of him to make such a wish when all he'd ever done to her was hurt her and make her cry. Just as he had done with his parents and his brother...

Everyone who'd loved him, he'd ended up pushing away...

Biting back his pain with grim determination, Yuki began to pull himself forward. He had to get to his bedroom. It was suddenly imperative that he get there, for that's where all his painkillers were. He needed to take them, but it was not just his pain that he wanted to end ...

oooooooooooooooooooo

At the Morikawa mansion, Kagome sat listening to her step-brother and Naraku arguing about Yuki and for once, Naraku was taking Yuki's side. That surprised and concerned her, for if Naraku was worried about Yuki, something must not be right.

"You should've had him arrested anyway! Kagome was right there!" Sesshoumaru was saying angrily. "Do you think I give a damn if he can't walk?! My girl can't speak because of him!"

"Yes, and I'm sorry that that happened to her, but let's face it, Yuki is not a flight risk! He couldn't even put weight on his bad leg, Sesshoumaru. Where do you think he was going to go? He has no one to help him--"

Sesshoumaru jabbed Naraku in the chest. "No one except you!"

Naraku slapped Sesshoumaru's hand away. "Have a heart, man! If you'd been there instead of ruling from on high here in your fancy-ass mansion, then you'd have seen how much pain he was in. I couldn't let him get dragged away like an animal when he couldn't even stand upright on the one good leg he's got left. Shit, I should've stayed with him to make sure he was okay."

Kagome, who was sitting on the window seat in Sesshoumaru's office, turned her face and stared out over the gardens. She was feeling more and more uneasy the more she thought about Yuki. Something was terribly wrong, she just knew it. But he'd hurt her so much, should she try to help him? Or would she be pushed aside again?

Something flashed in her mind, bringing her off the windowseat to her feet, alarmed. It had been only a sense of intense pain and sadness, followed by a grainy, fuzzy shot of a hand reaching out for a little bottle. She'd seen a bottle like that before and it looked alot like the container of Yuki's prescription painkillers.

"Kagome?" Sesshoumaru called out, the argument between himself and Naraku ending abruptly. He'd seen her jump up and had noticed her pale, stricken face and her eyes that stared off into space. He went to her, but she dashed past him and ran to Naraku, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Naraku asked, removing her hands from him as gently as he could. "Kagome? What do you want from me?"

With tears of frustration beginning to blur her vision, Kagome grabbed her notepad and scribbled something before ripping out the sheet and handing it to Naraku, who looked puzzled but read it anyway. Skimming over the paper, his eyes grew wide and shot a look over at Sesshoumaru, who looked torn between grabbing Kagome away from Naraku or punching Naraku in the face.

"What?" he burst out, his eyes jumping uneasily from Kagome to Naraku. "Tell me what's going on, Naraku!"

Naraku turned back to look at Kagome, then grabbed her hand and the two of them ran out of the room together, leaving Sesshoumaru shouting for them to come back.

ooooooooooooooo

When they arrived at Yuki's apartment, Naraku went in first, his hand reaching instinctively for his gun. But Kagome stayed his hand and in her impatience to find Yuki, she rushed past him into the apartment and headed straight for Yuki's room.

Sure enough, he was in his bedroom. He had pulled himself half off the floor and propped himself up against his mattress, one hand reaching unsteadily for his bottle of painkillers that sat on his bedside table. She ran forward and knocked the bottle out of his reach, stumbling onto him in the process. As for Yuki, he turned a tear-stained face to her as she righted herself.

"Kagome? Why are you here? Why did you stop me?" he whispered as he sat up fully and regarded her with wounded eyes.

Sitting back on her heels, Kagome reached out to touch his face. She wanted to speak to him so badly, to tell him that she had long since forgiven him. Behind her, she could hear Naraku talking on the phone to Akira. Yuki could hear him too and turned his face away, but not before Kagome felt his face and was instantly frightened.

His smooth, flushed skin felt hot to the touch. Looking down, she noticed his right knee. Beneath the fabric of his trousers, she saw that it was swollen and immediately began to roll up his pant leg, but his hands reached out and pushed her gently away.

"Don't bother," he murmured quietly. "Just hand me the bottle and leave. I don't want you to be unhappy anymore, Kagome. I've thought about it and this is best for everyone. Nobody wants me around anyway and I'd be better off this way. Once I'm gone then you'll be free to live your life without me around to ruin everything for you."

Shaking her head firmly, Kagome put her hand on his hot, dry forehead and he could not hold back a sigh of relief. Laying his head back against his bed, he closed his eyes in bliss, a small smile curving one side of his mouth. "Your hand is cool. It feels good," he whispered, then frowned, his smooth brow furrowing in confusion. "It's gotten so hot in here."

She continued to stroke his face and his hair until he seemed to have dozed off. From the direction of the doorway behind her, footsteps moved swiftly down the hallway. She turned and saw Naraku, face grave, walk into the room.

"How's he doin'?" he asked, coming to kneel beside her on the floor. His normally laughing dark eyes were full of consternation as he studied Yuki's flushed face. "I knew I shouldn't have left him earlier, but he wanted me to leave. What could I do, you know? He's so damned hard-headed." He laid a gentle hand on Yuki's swollen knee. "It feels hot. I think there's a good chance it could be infected. He looked pretty bad earlier. Damn, I knew I shoulda stayed with him."

To Yuki he said, "Hey, Yuki. Can you hear me? I'm gonna put you in bed, okay?"

Kagome watched anxiously as Naraku gathered the semi-conscious Yuki up into his arms. With a grunt, he lifted Yuki up and lay him on his bed carefully, so as not to hurt his leg any more than he had to.

"Damn, he weighs a ton," Naraku grumbled as he straightened himself. "I hope he'll be okay."

Kagome nodded in agreement.

ooo

On the bed, Yuki lay in a semi-conscious state. He knew he wasn't alone now, but the world was hot; so very hot. What he wouldn't give for a cool shower...

He tried turning his head to look at Kagome, but his neck refused to respond to his wishes. He wanted to see Kagome! He had to know if she was still there with him!

His eyes welled up and soon he felt something small and wet roll down his face. Was he crying?

Kagome's face appeared in his sight, but she looked blurry. Yuki frowned when he couldn't see her properly. He wanted to see her sweet face clearly! Why couldn't he see her clearly?

"Can't... see you... Kagome..." he said brokenly and shook his head slowly. "Fuzzy..."

She moved closer and he could see her better. With a small smile, he reached up to touch her face. She leaned her face into his hand and shut her eyes. A moment later, she opened her eyes and he felt her hand rest against his forehead. He reveled in the coolness of her soft little hand against his burning flesh and then felt soothed when her fingers slid into his hair, smoothing it back.

"Feels... good..." he breathed and his eyes slid shut for a moment, then flew open when the hand stopped running through his hair. Kagome was moving away! No! He didn't want her to move away from him!

Despite the heaviness of his aching eyes, he shook his head and grabbed her hand, wincing. His head hurt so badly! But he had to let her know that he wanted her stay... to stay right beside him and not leave him. "Please don't leave me," he begged piteously, whimpering.

A male spoke to him in a soothing tone. "Yuki, Kagome has to get up, okay? We're taking you to the hospital. She'll be with you the entire time, I promise."

"No!" Yuki cried, grabbing for Kagome's hand. "I don't want to go!" He felt strong hands on him, pulling him away from Kagome. He couldn't be parted from her again... not again! "Stop! Leave me alone!" he screamed, his voice sounding hoarse to his ears.

Two sets of hands picked him up bodily from the bed and positioned him in his wheelchair. Yuki began to cry when he was strapped into it. He knew he should have gotten rid of the damn thing when he had the chance! But that didn't matter now. He was being separated from Kagome and he'd never see her again! They were going to take her away and let him be alone for the rest of his life!

"Yuki. Yuki, look at me."

Barely able to lift his incredibly heavy head, Yuki managed to look up. A familiar face was close to his, the eyes staring hard at him.

"Yuki, do you know who I am?" asked the familiar, yet fuzzy, face with a voice that he knew.

"I... I... think... Akira," he whispered, then dropped his head back down, his neck unable to hold the weight.

"Yes, I'm Akira."

"Akira... I hurt..."

Yuki felt Akira's hand rubbing his head. "I know, Yuki. You're very sick right now. You have an infection and we're going to take you to the hospital, okay?"

When Yuki felt the wheelchair move forward, hot tear drops fell from his aching eyes. "Kagome," he whimpered.

"She's with you, Yuki. She's right behind you."

Yuki would have turned around to see, but he was just too weak to manage it. Instead, he felt himself being wheeled out of his apartment, down the hall and to the elevators.

ooo

He must have slept for a long time, for the next thing that Yuki knew, he was lying on a hospital bed and staring up at a pristine white ceiling. His world felt much cooler now and his head and leg didn't feel so heavy as they did before. But soon, the feeling of loneliness was upon him and he lay there, eyes to the ceiling, crying silently. Was he doomed to be alone forever? He wanted her with him... so he wouldn't feel so isolated, so lonely.

Movement off to the side startled him and he turned his head. A slim figure rose from a nearby chair and came towards him.

"Who are you?" he demanded, attempting to sit up.

The next thing he knew, he found Kagome staring down at him, her hands pressing gently against his shoulders, forcing him to lie back down.

"Kagome." His voice came out in a happy, breathy whisper as he stared, starry-eyed, up at her. He took hold of her wrists and pulled her down on top of him. "Kagome, Kagome..." he murmured before suddenly kissing her startled lips.

"Let her go, Yuki. Kagome's tired. She's been here since you were admitted yesterday," came Akira's weary voice from the foot of his bed. Yuki looked over at his cousin, who was clad in his white lab coat. He fiddled with the stethoscope around his neck. "She hasn't left your side for a minute except to use the bathroom."

Looking more closely at her face, Yuki noticed at once how drawn and tired she looked. She had dark circles under her eyes and her lids were drooping with exhaustion, but she was smiling tenderly at him. He couldn't help but smile back as he cradled the back of her head and pressed it gently down to lay on his chest. She did as he wanted without resistance.

"I love you, Kagome, and I'm sorry. I apologize for everything I've ever done to you. I hope you'll forgive me." His hand ran through her hair over and over again; he discovered that he'd missed the feeling of the cool silk of her hair sliding between his fingers.

He waited for her reply but none came. Worried, he asked, "You do forgive me, right?" There was still no response and panic flew through him. "I'll do anything, Kagome! Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!"

"Oi, oi! Relax and be quiet! Lay your ass back down, Yuki," chided his cousin, striding over to the invalid's side. "Apparently you haven't noticed yet, but no matter how much you want her to answer, she can't."

"What? Why not?" Concern darkened Yuki's green eyes. "Has she moved on? Oh my god... what did Kouga do to her?"

Akira rolled his eyes. "Kouga did nothing except take care of her, baka. Look, there's two reasons why she won't answer you. One, she can't speak and two... she's asleep." He went around the other side of Yuki's bed and bent down to get a closer look at her. Cracking a half-smile, he waved a hand in front of her face. "Yep, she's out like a light. You must be pretty comfortable to lay on there, skinny man."

"Shut up, jer-- wait a second. What do you mean she can't speak? What's going on, Akira?"

"Of course you wouldn't notice something that's happened to someone else, would you? I don't know how many times I've reminded you of just how self-absorbed you are."

"Akira," Yuki growled warningly.

His cousin eyed him darkly. "At the very least, I thought you would have noticed that she never spoke a word the whole time she was in your presence." He sighed. "She hasn't spoken since that night, Yuki." Stunned, Yuki watched as Akira pulled Kagome's hair back and showed him a bandage on Kagome's neck that he hadn't noticed before. "A big shard of glass was buried in her neck, but it didn't sever anything major, thank heavens. It'll leave a scar though, but her face has healed pretty quickly, which is good--"

"So... how...?"

Akira shrugged and smoothed the girl's hair. "I don't know, but I do know how you get when you're throwing a tantrum. You say really nasty, hurtful things, and I'd be willing to bet that's what you did to Kagome that night. Not only did you physically harm this girl, but you abused her emotionally and suddenly, she's unable to speak." The doctor straightened and slid his hands into the pockets of his snow white coat. "I just want you to know, from the bottom of heart and soul, that I think you're a sick, twisted monster and I despise you with every molecule of my being. You know, I hate to tell you this, but you have this disease for which there's no cure. It's called Asshole Syndrome."

"Fuck you, you sanctimonious bastard. You think you're so damned perfect, don't you? Like you've never lost your temper before--"

"No, I'm not perfect, Yuki and yes, I have lost my temper before. But I've never put my hands on anyone and I've never hurt anyone the way you hurt Kagome."

At that moment, the door burst open and a very red-faced and furious Kouga stormed in. "So this is where she's been all day! Get your mitts off of her, creep! Don't you know she's way too good for someone like you?" he snarled, his blue eyes flashing.

"Get the fuck outta here!" Yuki hissed back, his arms tightening protectively around Kagome's sleeping form. "I don't want you in here!"

"Well, that's too damn bad!" Kouga stalked to the bed and scooped the sleeping Kagome up out of Yuki's arms. "You've done enough to her. Why can't you just leave her alone?!" He swept out of the room after Akira handed him Kagome's purse.

Yuki was now sitting straight up in bed and flung the sheets back. He tried to throw his legs over the side of the bed, but only managed to move one. "Stop him! Stop him!" he shouted at his cousin, who only shook his head regretfully. "Damn it, Akira! Bring her back! I need her with me!"

"I won't, Yuki, sorry. You've done far too much to hurt her." Bending over, Akira patiently hefted Yuki's left leg and placing it back in bed, he tucked his cousin in snugly under the sheets. "You need to rest for now. Okay? Doctor's orders. Besides, I'd like you to stay off that leg for now."

Yuki waved an impatient hand at his cousin. "I don't care about that, but answer me this. Why are you helping him?"

"Why? Because she's better off with him and away from you, that's why. You weren't there when I had to pull pieces of glass from her throat and face and you weren't there when she realized that her voice didn't work. Kouga was there, though, and hasn't left her side since. Let's face it, you are just no good for Kagome. She deserves better than you. She deserves a man who doesn't hit her or throw her against furniture when he hears things he doesn't want to hear." He stepped back from the bed, green eyes narrowed. "You need help, Yuki. I'll look into some anger management classes for you, because that's what you really need right now."

After a moment, Akira headed for the door, but Yuki called out, "Akira? I really do love her."

Coming to a halt, Akira stood still, but did not turn around. "It's a bit too late for that, Yuki. What you did was unforgiveable." Turning slightly, Akira threw a glance at his bedridden cousin over his shoulder. "But if it makes you feel any better, it's pretty obvious that she still loves you. She wouldn't have stayed by your side like that if she didn't. Oi! Stop that! Oh, damn it, Yuki! I wish you wouldn't cry. Please don't do that..." He turned away and covered his eyes with a stifled groan.

But his pleading was in vain. Yuki turned over on his side, his back to him, and cried softly into his pillow. "I want her to forgive me," he said, sniffling. "And I want her to be with me. I don't want to be alone. I'm... afraid to be alone." He was silent for a moment, then asked, "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"Don't be silly, Yuki. You're not going to die. It was just an infection that can be easily cleared up with some antibiotics. Besides, you're far too stubborn to die. Look, do you want me to call Hiro?"

"Don't bother. Just go away, Akira. I want to be alone right now."

"But you just said--"

Yuki's head came up off the pillow and he glared hatefully at his cousin. "I know what I just said, damn it! Now, go! Get the hell out of here!"

"Hmph." Akira picked up his clipboard from the chair he'd set it on earlier and clicked his tongue. Grabbing his pen out of his breast pocket, he began scribbling some notes. "Patient is becoming decidedly hostile with medical staff. Recommend instant ejection from the hospital via his bedroom window." Akira grinned brightly as Yuki's eyes narrowed dangerously at him. "Well then, behave yourself or I'll get Kaede to come and watch over her favorite little golden-haired angel. She misses you alot, you know."

Yuki's eyes widened in horror. "You... wouldn't... dare."

"Keep pushing me and you'll see just how far I'll go, Yuki. Remember this," he said, slipping his pen back into his pocket, "I have Kaede on speed dial." He nodded solemnly and left the room.

Yuki behaved himself for the rest of his stay.

ooooooooo

Two weeks later, Yuki found himself sitting on his balcony, having a smoke. Thankfully, Akira hadn't gotten Kaede to stand guard over him; Hiro had volunteered for that particular duty. But unluckily, Hiro was as much a stickler for Akira's instructions as Kaede was, and that meant Yuki couldn't have any alcohol whatsoever.

But it couldn't hurt to try. So going back into his apartment, he went to the kitchen to see if he could find something.

"Thirsty?"

Startled, Yuki looked up and found his brother standing on the other side of the counter, arms crossed over his chest and watching him intently. Yuki felt his face flush, for he' been looking for anything, anything at all with alcoholic content, but Hiro had cleverly hidden it all away. Damn, his brother knew him too well...

"Yes, I'm thirsty," Yuki'd muttered guiltily, for he knew he'd been had.

"I see." Hiro retrieved a glass from the cupboard by the sink and opened the refrigerator. "Let's see now. You have milk, water, or Sprite. Or should I make some tea?"

Limping to the dining room table, Yuki sat down heavily and leaned his cane against the arm of his chair. "None of those... unless you plan on pouring me some whiskey and adding a touch of soda to it."

Hiro, still holding the glass in one hand and the handle of the refrigerator door with the other, burst into laughter. "Oh, Yuki! You're such a comedian!"

Yuki, desperate for alcohol, brought his fist down on the table with a loud bang. "This is serious, damn it! I'm dyin' here!"

The laughter ceased abruptly and Yuki became aware of a pair of dark eyes glared unblinkingly at him over the counter. In a calm, deathly quiet voice, Hiro said, "That's just not possible, Yuki, and you know this full well. Now I'll ask you again. Milk, water, tea or Sprite?"

"Sprite... with vodka," Yuki replied stubbornly. "Heavy on the vodka."

A decidedly unpleasant look crossed his little brother's face and Yuki felt ill at ease. He recalled the times when Kaede had that expression... and he remembered that nothing nice came afterwards.

"Milk it is, then."

"Add some Kahlua to it, okay? There's a good lad."

Hiro removed the milk jug but stopped before pouring some milk into the glass in his hand. "How about I add water to it instead?"

"No! I'll drink the milk..." The rest of his sentence was a string of muffled curses.

"What was that?" Hiro asked politely, setting the glass of milk on the table in front of his glowering brother.

"Nothing. Leave me alone, Hiro. I'm upset."

Ignoring Yuki's request and taking a seat beside him, Hiro watched Yuki drink his milk like a good little boy... a little boy with an incredibly mutinous expression. "Why are you upset? Is it your leg? Do you need another painkiller?"

Shaking his head, Yuki lowered his glass. "No. I don't want to talk about it."

Hiro stared at his brother with twinkling brown eyes and quivering lips.

Yuki glared at him. "What?" he demanded.

"You have a milk mustache." Hiro reached out to wipe it off, but Yuki slapped his hand away.

"I can do it myself, damn it. I'm not a total cripple." The mustache was removed with a vicious swipe. "Now could you please go away? I can't throw myself off the balcony with you watching."

Concern replaced the mirth in Hiro's eyes. "Yuki," he began, but Yuki cut him off.

"No, I don't plan on killing myself today. Alright? Shit. I'm not completely insensitive to your feelings even though you're insensitive to mine. All I wanted was a whiskey and soda. Or a shot or two of vodka. Drinking would help relieve my mind and make my life far more bearable." He reached for his cane, but Hiro knocked it out of reach.

"You're not going anywhere. Now, what's this about killing yourself, Yuki? Are you playing around or what?"

Yuki's eyes slid guiltily away. It had been on his mind for awhile now, but like hell he'd shared something like that with his little brother. "Hiro--"

Hiro jumped to his feet in alarm. "Damn it, Yuki! You never said you were suicidal! How long have you been depressed? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Anger flared in Yuki's eyes. "Because it's none of anyone's business!" he yelled back, scooting his chair backwards from the table so he could stand. "Especially not yours!"

"Like hell it's not!" Hiro got in Yuki's face and jabbed a finger in his chest. "You're my brother, Yuki! I have every right to know how my brother's doing!"

"Why do you fucking care any damn way?!" Yuki screamed at Hiro, whose face had turned a bright, feverish red.

"Because I love you, that's why!" Hiro shoved his brother back down onto his chair, then grabbed the armrests and shook the chair violently. But he stopped as soon as he saw Yuki wince in pain. Dropping his hands, Hiro fell to his knees in front of Yuki and stared stupidly up at him. "I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to lose my temper. But why didn't you tell me?" he asked, hurt clouding his eyes. "You could have said something to me, Yuki." He began rubbing Yuki's knee gently.

Yuki looked away. He couldn't bear to see Hiro look like this, as if he could see the world coming to an end, but he still didn't want to talk about it with Hiro. He didn't want to talk about anything with anyone. How could he tell his little brother how many nights he'd lain awake, wishing that he would fall asleep and never wake up? Or how many times he'd sat on his balcony, wondering what it would be like to hit the pavement below at a high rate of speed? No, some things just weren't meant to be uttered aloud, especially not to people he cared about.

"You should tell Akira about this."

"Why? What for?" Yuki asked impatiently. "He's not a shrink."

"It doesn't matter. He's still a doctor." Hiro's hands stopped massaging his knee. "This is serious, Yuki. Depression and suicidal thoughts are serious." He took Yuki's scarred right hand, which had begun shaking and held it to his chest. "It hurts me to think of you wanting to kill yourself. I don't want you to feel like this, so please get help. Akira can prescribe something--"

"Fuck him." Yuki yanked his hand away from Hiro. "It's my life, Hiro. Mine. I can do what I want with it as I see fit. If I say I don't want to go on living, then damn it, I shouldn't be forced to keeping on having to deal with my shitty life! Look, no one needs me around! I never do anything right, I always screw things up and get in the way... Just leave me alone, Hiro." He got up, pushed his way past Hiro and struggled to make it to the nearest sofa before collapsing onto it.

"So, you're just going to... end it all?" Hiro's voice cracked with emotion, forcing Yuki to shut his eyes to keep his tears from flowing. The last thing he wanted was to hurt his brother, but he had a right to be happy, didn't he? If it meant killing himself, why shouldn't he, if he was in so much pain.

"Why not? What reason do I have for living? None at all."

"You can't be serious, Yuki. No reasons? None at all? What about mom and dad?" Tears streamed down Hiro's cheeks. "What about Kagome? What about me? Don't we mean anything to you?"

Yuki lay down on his side on the sofa. "You each have someone to love and to love you back. I don't and I'm tired of being alone. Besides, after awhile, all of you will move on and forget about me. I've never been a big part of your lives anyway, right? You don't need me. I'll just end up making all of you more miserable than you already are."

For the next few minutes, Yuki tried hard not to listen to his little brother's heartbroken sobs. Everything inside him wanted to go over to Hiro and comfort him, tell him that he didn't mean anything he'd said. But he couldn't. All he wanted was to feel nothing, absolutely nothing, and to shut his heart back up into the steel-plated box it had been in for years and lock it away. Before she had come into his life, he'd been fine; no emotion ever touched him. Why was it so hard to go back to the way he was?

Hiro's head shot up and he sent a frustrated, angry and tear-filled glare in his brother's direction. "Yuki, please! This isn't the way!"

"It is for me."

For a moment, Hiro stared hard at Yuki, not knowing what to say. Finally he said, "If that's how you feel, then I guess I have no right to stop you." His shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Thank you."

"I have one favor to ask of you, Yuki."

Yuki frowned. "What is it?"

"Don't do anything yet, please? I need to go home and think about how to tell mom and dad. They'll be devastated."

"Don't tell them anything. You'll find out about it on the evening news. But even so, I can't do anything yet, Hiro. My lawyer's coming over tomorrow to finalize my will. The good news is that you're going to be a very wealthy young man. Doesn't that make you happy?"

Hiro stormed over to where Yuki lay. "No! No, it doesn't make me happy, Yuki! What would make me happy is you getting some help and living!"

"That's not going to happen, I'm afraid. Sorry, but my mind is made up. I have nothing to live for, little brother. Now please leave me alone. My leg hurts and I'm tired. I'm... going to take a nap now." His eyes closed and soon he was fast asleep. Or at least he appeared to be.

A long moment passed and Yuki did not stir. Staring down at his big brother, Hiro felt his heart sear with pain. He'd never have guessed Yuki was suffering from depression. He thought that he was just acting childishly like he always did, pouting and throwing tantrums because things weren't going his way. Never in a million years did he think that Yuki was actually plotting to end his own life. That just wasn't like the Yuki he once knew. He'd give anything to have the old egotistical bastard back.

With a heavy heart, Hiro left his brother sleeping soundly on his couch and took off. Of course, he'd taken time to hide all Yuki's medicines, save one pill, which he left on the coffee table beside a glass of water. Yuki couldn't overdose on one pill.

Quickly, he drove through Tokyo and ended up at Sesshoumaru's mansion. When he was admitted through the security gate, he hurried up to the house where he was met by Souta.

"Come in, please. She's been expecting you," the young man said, motioning Hiro to follow him. They went up to Kagome's bedroom where Kagome was pacing anxiously about her room.

When she saw Hiro, she rushed over to him and hugged him. Hiro hugged her back and asked her what was wrong.

'Something's wrong with Yuki, I can feel it,' she wrote with a trembling hand. 'I need to see him.'

"That's just what I came to see you about. Yuki's seriously depressed." He paused as Kagome's eyes flew open. Hiro nodded solemnly. "He's contemplating suicide."

Kagome's hand came up to cover her mouth and she shook her head over and over again, as though she didn't believe him.

"He said that his lawyer was coming to see him tomorrow, to finalize his will. He's serious about this, Kagome. I'm terribly afraid for him."

She turned away and went into her closet while Hiro continued. "He says... he says that he has nothing to live for anymore. I tried talking to him about getting help, but he wouldn't listen." He ran a hand through his hair, sending his locks into disarray. "He doesn't want to get help, Kagome! I have no idea what to do, but perhaps you could--"

Kagome suddenly emerged from her closet. She had changed her clothes and went over to get her purse. Grabbing her paper and pen, she held out her hand to him as if to say, "let's go."

Leaving Souta behind to explain where she had gone, Hiro and Kagome sped off in his car. During the car ride to Yuki's apartment building, Hiro talked rapidly while fighting back his tears. How could he tell his parents what Yuki was planning to do? How could he look his mother in the eye and tell her that her eldest child was going to kill himself?

Once in the elevator and heading up to see Yuki, Hiro finally broke down. "I don't want my brother to die!" Hiro burst out, his chest heaving. "He's the only brother I have! How... how can he do this to me? To my parents? Doesn't he know that we love him?!" Whirling around, he slammed his fist against the wall of the elevator car before sagging against it, weeping heavily.

Putting her hand on her friend's arm, she squeezed him reassuringly. Hiro shot her a devastated look, then pulled her in his arms. "Forgive me, Kagome. I haven't been much of a friend to you lately, have I? It's just that I've been so wrapped up with Connie, work and taking care of Yuki... I don't have time for the two of us anymore."

She pulled away from him and shook her head, smiling up at him. "It's fine," she wrote to him. "I understand."

Giving her a grateful smile, he took her hand in his as they waited to reach their destination.

Walking up to Yuki's front door, Kagome stopped suddenly and turned frightened eyes to Hiro, who looked at her in confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking his keys from his pocket. He searched for the right key and unlocked the door. "I left him asleep on the couch and his walking stick is on the floor somewhere, so he should still be where I left him--"

Kagome flung the door open and ran into the apartment, with memories of what happened last time running around in her brain. She had very nearly been unable to stop him taking all of his pills... but this time, it felt different.

She ran into the living room. None of the sofas were occupied. She turned around a bit, trying to see what was out of place here. It did not take long to find the walking stick. It lay near the dining room table...

A cool breeze blew through the apartment and Kagome's eyes went to the balcony doors. They were slightly ajar...

Moving closer, she saw Yuki holding onto the railing and looking straight down. His blond hair flew about his head... and Kagome was instantly terrified.

Hiro came up from behind her and together the two of them watched as Yuki continued staring over the edge of the railing. When he could take it no longer, Hiro flung the door open and stepped outside the sliding glass door. "What are you doing?" he cried.

Yuki did not seem to hear him for a moment, but then he lifted his head up and turned to look at his brother. His eyes were red-rimmed and filled with tears. "I told you to leave me alone, Hiro," Yuki told him in a flat, disinterested voice. "But if you don't leave now, I'll do it with you standing here."

"What about the lawyer?"

"What about him?"

"I thought you said he was coming over tomorrow--"

Yuki shook his head. "Nope. I lied. It's all been taken care of already, Hiro. You and that Connie chick'll have nothing to worry about for the rest of your lives." He turned his attention back to the space between his balcony and the pavement far below.

"You can't... you can't do this!" Hiro burst out furiously, tears streaming down his face. "I don't want you to die!"

"Look, we already went through this, Hiro. What more do you want from me? You want me to suffer for the rest of my life?"

A soft touch on his arm caused Yuki to turn around. When he saw Kagome standing there, a gentle smile on her face, he backed away from her. "No, get out of here! Hiro! Take her away from here!" His back bumped into the railing and he slid down to the floor, tears once again staining his cheeks. "Please," he begged her as she knelt down before him. "Please go away, Kagome. I'm doing this for you, too, so just go with Hiro. Okay? I don't want you to see me this way--""

But Kagome only took his face in her hands, letting her thumbs wipe away his tears. She shook her head and moved forward, placing kisses on his forehead, cheeks and the tip of his nose.

"Don't," Yuki groaned, pushing her away. "Stop it. I can't take this. You don't love me, Kagome, so please don't do this to me. I want you to go."

Again she shook her head and Yuki scowled. "Go away!" he shouted at her, He grabbed her by the upper arms and held her from him. "Do as I say and get the fuck out of here!"

Kagome, a frown crossing her face, knocked his arms away from her then cocked her arm back and slapped him soundly across the face. Stunned, Yuki sat back against the railing, a hand to his face where she'd hit him. "K-kagome?"

Opening her mouth, Kagome scrunched her face down in concentration and...

"I... I... l-love... you..." she struggled to say.

Both Hiro and Yuki were startled to hear her voice. It was cracked and hoarse from disuse, but only at first. Her head shot up and she grabbed Yuki by the collar of his shirt. "I... love you, and your family loves you! How dare you treat your brother and parents so shabbily! Don't you know you have people who care if you live or die?" she burst out, shaking him with all the strength she could muster.

He stared up at her, not sure of what to say, but she went on angrily, "I know you've had a hard time lately, Yuki, but you've got to realize that you have people who need you in their lives and who are more than willing to help you if you would but ask them. You can't just throw your life away because things aren't going your way," she finished gently.

Yuki, thoughts of suicide vanishing for the moment, stared with fascination at her mouth, couldn't resist putting his arms around her and pulling her close. "Are you saying that you need me, Kagome?"

Wrapping her arms around him, Kagome held him tightly. "Yes, Yuki. I need you, but I'm angry with you at the same time. You upset Hiro a great deal and you didn't have to do that to him. He was so scared for you. If you needed someone to talk to, you could have asked me, or Hiro..."

Burying his face against her neck, Yuki squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled a shaky breath. He had missed her so much; he missed holding her close like this. She smelt awesome, so sweet and feminine; her body was soft and warm and the feeling of her arms around him made his insides turn to goo. It comforted him to know that his physical reaction to her had not changed; and indeed, it had only grown stronger. He could feel her breasts pressing against him, and his desire for her rose up and swirled with all the intensity of a tornado inside him.

He groaned aloud before he could stop himself. Giving in to his primal urges and take her right there on his balcony was becoming more and more necessary, but there was something he needed to know first.

"What of Kouga?" he whispered against her neck.

Slapping at his shoulders, she pulled away from him, her dark eyes glaring down at him. "I love him as well, and I won't have you bad-mouthing him. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Yuki agreed obediantly, his green eyes sparkling with interest. He'd never seen her be so forceful before and though it disquieted him at first, he felt more relaxed and calm than he had in days. And damn, having her order him around was certainly a turn on for him!

"Now get up off this hard concrete right this minute and let Hiro and me help you into bed. You need to lie down."

He opened his mouth to argue but she pinched him on the arm, causing him to yelp. With Hiro's assistance, he got to his feet and the three of them went back inside.

As soon as she tucked him in, Yuki tried getting Kagome to lie down beside him. Her response was to pull up a chair beside his bed and sat down, reminding him very much like Kaede when she was on the warpath... or just in her normally bad mood. Either way, it always ended badly for him. But since it was Kagome, he lay on his side, watching her watching him with adoring eyes and a goofy grin. Several times did he attempt to talk her into climbing in beside him, but each time he was given an cool look.

In the end, Yuki fell asleep with after staring for a long time at this new and improved Kagome. Ooh, would she whip him whenever he was bad? That thought brought an even bigger smile to his face.

The problem was seeing if he still had to consider Kouga as a rival for Kagome's affections... and if Sesshoumaru would give him a second chance with her.

ooo

When he woke, he found Kagome still sitting in her chair, but she was now reading a book. He shifted slightly and carefully stretched his leg. She lifted her head and glanced up at him the second he stirred.

"What time is it?" he asked, yawning.

Checking her watch, she said, "It's just after 10pm. How are you feeling?"

"I ache a little. It must be time for my pain medicine, I think." He sat up and leaned back against the headboard, watching as Kagome got up and left the room. When she returned he asked, "Are you still angry with me?"

She handed him his pill and a glass of water. "A bit. You put your brother through a lot of unecessary pain this afternoon... but you were going through a lot yourself. Still, that doesn't excuse you for what you did to him."

After swallowing his pill with two gulps of water, Yuki stared into the half-empty glass. "Did you mean what you said?"

"About what?"

"That you needed me. Did you say that because it was true or because you knew that what I wanted to hear from you?" He looked up and saw Kagome staring softly back at him.

"Yuki, I meant every word I said," she said, sitting beside him on the bed. She took the glass from him and set it on the nightstand. "But I was also frightened and angry. I did not want to lose you." She moved forward and kissed his cheek gently, placing her hands against his chest.

On his end, Yuki's eyes closed blissfully when she kissed him him on the cheek. Tentatively, he slid his arms around her, but Kagome moved away from him. There was a grunt of disappointment from Yuki and she chuckled. "Sorry, but you need to rest."

"I've rested enough!" he protested, reaching for her. "Come to me, my sweet! Let me show you the depths of my love...!"

Again she laughed and sat down on her chair. "No, I want you to rest now. If you don't, Akira ordered me to call Kaede."

"You're being too harsh on me, Kagome," he pouted. "You've never acted like this before. Why did you change so suddenly? Or was it because I... I mean... because of that night...? What I did to you?"

"I forgave you for that a long time ago. It was when I was out there listening to you that I realized that you needed a firm hand. Inuyasha's like that, too. He has a quick-temper and is rather argumentative like you. It took Sesshoumaru a long time to realize that when Inuyasha was acting up, he needed to be firm, yet loving." She paused, then added, "I must say this, Yuki. Even though I've forgiven you, I don't completely trust you. I hope you understand."

For a long moment, Yuki watched her silently. Kagome stood stockstill, wondering if she should say something but he spoke up, his voice quiet. "If those words came from anyone else, it would be a piece of cake to just brush them off. But coming from you..." He clasped his hands together on his lap. "They hurt like nothing else."

"Yuki--"

He shook his head and gave her a rueful smile. "I deserved them. I behaved like a monster towards you. But the really awful thing about this is that you really did love me and even to this day, I can't believe that I didn't trust in you the way you trusted in me. When you told me to remember that you loved me..." He raised his lightly trembling right hand and brushed his fingertips against his brow. "Even though I was in my own personal hell at the time, there was no excuse for doing what I did, Kagome."

"Thank you. I appreciate your apology."

"That's all? You appreciate my apology?" Yuki sighed, then smiled sadly to himself. "I suppose that's all I can hope for, huh?"

Kagome nodded, folding her hands in her lap. "I'm afraid so. I'm sorry, Yuki."

Yuki cocked his head and regarded her with something like amusement. "What for?" When she didn't reply, his lips stretched into a sly grin. "You don't know me very well, do you, Kagome?"

Her brow furrowed in confusion and he chuckled, his green eyes glittered cunningly. "I always get what I want, my love. Remember that. If I have to spend the remainder of my life making it up to you, I will, but I'll do it as your husband. Even if you reject me, I'll never go away and you'll never be able to get rid of me. As long as you care about me and love me, I'm all yours whether you want me or not. Sorry, I may have finally seen the light, but I still don't like to lose."

A look of shock crossed her face and Kagome got quickly to her feet. "Yuki, you really shouldn't say such things to me--"

"Where are you going?" he exclaimed as she began to gather her things.

"Home. You really should rest now."

"But I don't want you to leave, Kagome. Please stay. I'll shut up now." He slid down and lay on his back, pulling his sheets up to his chin. "See? I'm behaving myself. I'll be a good boy for you, so just don't leave. Okay?"

She turned to go, but she hesitated for a moment and looked back at him, uncertainty in her eyes. Yuki instantly saw this and sat up again, looking as pitiful as possible. "Please stay with me. You know how much I hate being alone. Don't let me be alone."

"You're not alone, Yuki. Hiro's in the guest bedroom, sleeping. You really don't need me here."

There was no reply from Yuki for a long time. He simply stared at her and it did not take long for Kagome to feel uneasy. He didn't appear to be plotting anything; his face was as placid and calm, his eyes serene. The mere fact that he was showing no emotion whatsoever only made her all the more suspicious.

"Okay, if that's how you feel." Yuki lay back against his headboard, his eyes watching her intently. "I can't exactly jump up and stop you from leaving, now can I?"

"N-no. I'll let your brother know I'm leaving now."

"Alright. Take care, Kagome."

"Thank you. You too, Yuki." Kagome took one more concerned look at him before she fled to wake Hiro. His earlier words rang in her in head, making her wonder just exactly what he was scheming. Allowing her to leave just like that, without putting up more of a fuss, wasn't like him.

Nevertheless, hearing him say to her that she'd never be able to be rid of him, sent a delicious ripple of excitement running through her body. No matter what he'd done to her, she still fell so easily under his spell that it frightened her, and despite her fear of him, he made her want to be under his spell. Yuki, she told herself as she got into her car, hadn't lost his effect on her. He was still beautiful, desirable and if she was honest with herself, she would admit that he still held a huge part of her heart... for she knew that she still wanted him.

She remembered the way he looked at her, with his eyes so green and beguiling, and the way he would kiss her would tease her senses and drive her senses haywire. But she couldn't trust him. That was the only problem. Otherwise, she'd fall back into his arms and allow him to love her.

oooo

Back in his apartment, Yuki lay down on his back and stared up at the ceiling. So she didn't trust him, huh? That was fine. It was exactly what he expected, but it hurt all the same. Still, he didn't plan on giving up. He loved her and now he knew for certain that she still loved him. He could work with that, at least.

A shuffling footstep could be heard in the hallway outstide his room and a moment later Hiro appeared, clothing and hair rumpled from sleep. "Oi, baka. What'd you do this time?"

"What do you mean?"

Hiro sank down on Kagome's deserted chair and yawned. "You know what I mean. Kagome raced out of here. So what'd you do? Had a hand up her shirt again?"

Yuki sneered at his brother. "No, actually. She wouldn't even let me hug her."

"Oh, really." Hiro laughed. "Well, it serves you right. You can't treat her the way you used to, you know. Those days are pretty much over for you. Now Kouga, on the other hand, can do pretty much anything he wants to with her--"

"Shut your face!" Yuki turned to see his cane and picked it up, giving it a good swing in Hiro's direction. "Why do you have to be such an asshole, Hiro?"

"Hmph. You're one to talk." Crossing his legs, Hiro yawned again. "So?" Leaning to the side, he rested his forearm on the armrest.

"So... what?" the blond snarled impatiently, his hand clutching the cane and readying his arm for another swing.

"Well, what's your plan? I mean, you're not giving up on her, so what do you plan to do? How much ass do you plan to kiss and whose will be kissed first? Will you do Sesshoumaru and Kouga separately or both at once to save time?"

This time, Yuki did not lash out at his brother. Instead, he set the cane back where it was and smoothed the part of the comforter that lay across his waist. "I'd rather not think of it like that," he told Hiro solemnly. "But I'm not thinking of those two anyway. Right now, I have to concentrate on getting Kagome to trust me again."

"I see." Hiro scratched his chin. "Well, I'm certain you'll find a way to accomplish that, although in your current state of helplessness I don't see how you can woo her. I suppose we can get Souta's help. I mean, after all, he knows her well, doesn't he? More than me, I should think."

A short span of silence ensued, after which, Yuki looked over at his brother. "You'll need to go away on a trip, Hiro."

"Huh?"

Yuki stared off into space, his eyes narrowing. "Or if you don't want to, that's fine. Just make sure you tell Akira you won't be able to take care of me."

A frown furrowed Hiro's brow. "I still don't see--" His forehead cleared and he nodded in understanding. "Oh, okay, I gotcha. You want Kaede back, is that it? Have a thing for older women, huh?" he said, attempting to hide his grin with his hand. "You're such a stud, Yuki, you know that?"

"Agh! That's... revolting! You're a sick bastard!" Yuki once more swung his cane at Hiro. "God, don't say shit like that! You know perfectly well what I mean, Hiro! Look, I want Kagome to watch me for a few days so I can have her all to myself. I'll get her to trust me again, just wait and see. Besides, I overheard Akira talking to that mean old woman and apparently, she's on assignment somewhere else, tortmenting some other poor soul. Why do you think he roped you into watching me?"

Rolling his eyes, Hiro sighed. "Damn, that's right. I forgot about that. Well, good luck with Kagome, then. I must tell you that I have my doubts, but with that pretty little face of yours and years of experience smooth-talking the ladies, you'll find a way back into her heart."

"Years of experience? I guess. I mean, I'll need every bit of it, too. How does one overcome such an obstacle?

How do you get someone to believe in you again after you nearly destroy them?" Yuki yawned and lay down on his side, facing his brother. Hiro grabbed one of the extra pillows and lifting the sheets and comforter, slid the pillow under Yuki's right knee, supporting it. "Thanks, Hiro. You're the best brother I could ever ask for." He shot a sleepy smile up in Hiro's direction, to which he got a smile in return.

"You're not so bad yourself," Hiro replied, pulling the sheets back up and tucking them around Yuki. "Get some rest and I'll see you in the morning."

But Yuki was already asleep.

ooooo

"What do you mean you can't come by today?" Akira hissed into the phone. "I told you, Kaede can't come over

to whip his ass into shape!"

"I heard that!" yelled Yuki from his bedroom.

Akira shot the bedroom a dirty look and he moved out onto the balcony. "Hiro, please don't do this to me!" he begged, sliding the door shut behind him. "I don't have anyone else... Yes, I'm sure. All the nurses who'd be good enough to deal with him are busy right now. If I sent the wrong one, he'd end up seducing them and make them strip naked and do unspeakable acts of... What? Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, the poor girl... Yes, I know she's better now." He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Sesshoumaru won't be pleased, Hiro. Fine! Fine, just... you'd better call her and ask. Well, I'm certainly not going to do it! I won't have this on my conscience. Why you? Because you're better friends with her than I am, sad to say. Look, just call her, okay? I don't want to be with this fool any longer than I have to. He's testing my patience... okay, goodbye."

Shutting his phone, Akira whirled around and stalked back into the penthouse. As he suspected, Yuki was making a fuss of something or other and when he entered the invalid's room, he found Yuki trying to get out of bed. "Oi! Don't get up by yourself!"

Yuki glared at him from beneath his bright yellow locks. "I gotta pee, Akira! Help me!"

Biting back a nasty comment, Akira put his arms around Yuki to help him up and assisted him to the bathroom. When Yuki was finished, he put his cousin back to bed, although he did not want to go back.

"No! I wanna go to the living room! I wanna watch tv!"

Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Akira tucked Yuki back into bed and then grabbed the remote from the nightstand and handed it to Yuki. "You have a television in here, baka."

"I wanna watch tv in the living room, Akira. I'm tired of being stuck in here!"

As Yuki continued to bitch and moan, Akira held back from slugging Yuki in the face. "Look!" he growled, turning on the fair-haired man. "If you don't stop acting like the patient from hell, I'll stick you with some sedative and you won't care where the fuck you are, because you won't wake up for two goddamn days!"

He stormed out, leaving a grumbling Yuki behind and going out on the balcony again, he dialed Kagome's number. When she answered, he felt much calmer. He loved hearing her voice again. "Kagome? Listen, could you do me this huge fav-- Oh, he did, huh? You said yes? Thank god! I mean, that's terrific. You've really eased my mind. Listen, could you possibly come by right now? He's being difficult again and I'm hard pressed to keep from chucking him over the balcony. You will? Bless you, my child! Okay, we'll be expecting you. Thank you, Kagome."

Hanging up, Akira smiled up at the sky, enjoying the warm breezes. The clouds had begun to gather on this warm summer's day and he had a feeling it was going to rain soon. Somewhere from inside the apartment, he could hear Yuki yelling for him, and he went back in to see what he wanted.

ooo

An hour later, while fighting with Yuki over something completely insignificant, the doorbell rang. Akira left Yuki to fuss all by himself and went to answer the door. Seeing Kagome standing in the hallway, he grabbed her and held her tightly.

"Thank god!" he whispered excitedly, giving her grateful, yet passionate kiss on the lips. "I was ready to murder him!" He gave her body a squeeze, then released her and led her inside. "He doesn't know you're here. I wanted this to be a surprise so that way, he'd be so shell shocked that he won't be able to speak until after I leave."

After leaving her things in the living room, Akira took her by the hand and they went to Yuki's room.

"Akira! Akira, where are you! You can't just leave me all by myself! I'll tell my mom on--" His words stopped abruptly when his gaze fell on the figure behind his cousin. "K-kagome? You came? I mean... you're here?"

Almost immediately, Yuki sat up straight, fixed his shirt, ran a hand through his hair and straightened his sheets.

Akira almost sobbed in relief at the silence. Yuki was a transformed man in the space of a breath and Akira couldn't help but be awed at the power Kagome wielded. She certainly was something special if she made Yuki behave properly.

Kagome let go of Akira's hand, grabbed a brush from his dresser top and went over to the bed where she sat down and began brushing Yuki's wild golden hair. "Have you been treating your cousin right, Yuki?" she asked, working through a small tangle.

Closing his eyes in bliss, Yuki smiled. "No, ma'am."

"That isn't very nice of you. Akira's been very good to you."

"I know." Taking the hairbrush from her, Yuki wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. "I missed you, Kagome. I'm so happy that you're here." He turned his head slightly and buried his face in her hair. "You smell wonderful," he murmured contentedly.

Feeling an overwhelming sense of relief rush over him, Akira bowed to them. "Well, I'll leave you two alone then. I've got to get to the clinic in an hour. Call me if you need help, Kagome."

Kagome nodded and Akira left them alone. It felt strange, being alone with him, but she knew that she needed to stay away from him as much as possible--

Pulling her onto his lap, his lips began brushing against her neck and she shivered. What was he doing?

"Yuki..." she began and pulled away from him, but Yuki's arms wouldn't let her go. Staring down at her, he shook his head and kissed her. Her heart began racing in her chest. His embrace tightened around her and she found herself chest to chest with him.

When he lifted his head, Kagome opened her eyes and saw those amazing eyes watching her tenderly. "Your heart is racing," he whispered, his voice full of love and awe. He reached up and lay his hand on her chest over her heart. "It feels the way mine does."

She tried to move away from him, but again, he stopped her. "No," he told her gently. "I don't want to let you go."

"Please, let me go. This is making me uncomfortable, Yuki."

He kissed her again, silencing her. "Do you know, that deep down, I still consider you my wife?" His green eyes bored into her startled brown ones. "Because you are, no matter what. I don't care if the law says we're not married anymore. My heart says we are. I love you, Mrs. Yamadera."

"No, I'm not your wife anymore, Yuki. Now please, let me--"

Shaking his head firmly, he kissed her until she lay limp in his arms and when he was done, he smiled down into her glazed eyes. "Be with me for the rest of your life, Kagome. We'll get remarried if that's what you want. I'd do anything for you."

Laying in his arms, Kagome knew that she loved this man with all of her heart. No matter what he'd done, she could not help but love him. He was so warm, so passionate, so downright sexy...

But Kouga was like that too, she thought to herself as Yuki's free hand slid over her body. Her eyes closed as his fingers came in contact with the skin beneath her shirt. Kouga never made her feel like this, though. There was just something magical about Yuki, something that kept her wanting more, something that kept her coming back to him... something that kept her from moving on.

He lay her down on the bed beside him, then carefully positioned himself on top of her. "I love you," he murmured against her neck, pressing light, fluttering kisses along her skin. "I love you."

Kagome could only lay helplessly beneath him and feel everything he was doing to her. His body was so warm, his lips so demanding. She knew she shouldn't allow him to touch her; hell, she shouldn't even be here! "Yuki, please don't," she begged, pushing at his chest. Inside her, however, a voice cried that she wanted him to remain right where he was, and to hold her down and kiss her as if he'd never see tomorrow.

Her pleas for him to move were abruptly cut off as he ravished her mouth, leaving her powerless to push him away. She couldn't have done so, even if she'd had the strength because this was exactly what she wanted.

"You don't want me to stop, Kagome. I can feel that want you me like I want you. Don't fight it, sweetheart." His voice was low and husky in her ear.

But it was too much for her bear. She wanted him, yes, but there was still something that kept her completely accepting him.

"Are you going to hurt me again?"

The blond head stilled. Yuki raised himself up and stared down at her, horrified. "Kagome?"

Tears rolled down her face and straight down to her ears. Kagome lifted a hand and wiped them away. "I asked if you were going to hurt me again."

"No, sweetheart! No!" He shook his head over and over again, his green gaze darting all over her face. "Is that what you think? That I'd lay my hands on you again? Well, I won't, Kagome. I promise." His body sagged and he rolled to the side of her, gathering her into his arms. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I let my emotions get the best of me." He kissed the side of her head. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not a very subtle man."

Kagome laughed and Yuki smiled into her hair. "I have no patience and I tend to be rather tactless. Akira told me once that I'm nothing but a spoiled child who needs a really good ass whooping. When it comes to you, I want you right now, no matter what. I don't care who I piss off or who gets in the way.

"That night," he said a little more solemnly, "all I could think of was you and Kouga together and how badly that hurt me when I realized you hadn't told me of your relationship with him. It... enraged me. I'd never felt such anger before. I mean, I've had temper tantrums before, but this was anger mixed in with hurt. I felt that you'd betrayed me, that you lied to me the whole time and I couldn't take it. The only reason I... did what I did was because I'd felt that you were the one who had hurt me the most and I reacted the only way I knew how. I struck back at the one who'd hurt me first."

He lifted a hand and smoothed her hair back, pushing it away from her neck so he could place a kiss on the exposed skin. "There was no excuse for what I did," he murmured, nipping lightly at her skin. "But I was so far gone, I couldn't stop myself. All those memories coming back, remembering the night I saw you with him... I couldn't handle it. I wanted to kill him for touching you, for daring to pass himself off as someone loyal to me even though he was romantically involved with the one I wanted."

Her body trembled and Yuki frowned. He turned her over a little and saw that she was crying. "Kagome," he whispered and would have bent down to kiss her, but she pushed him away.

"You said terrible things to me," she told him, turning her back on him. "I tried very hard to forget the way you looked at me when you blamed me for the accident. That's why I stayed with you everyday when you were in the hospital. I felt like it really was my fault and I had to make up for it, even in little ways. You... hurt me, Yuki."

"I know, my darling, and I'm so sorry. I said lots of things I shouldn't have said and I hate myself for having even thought of them. I want to make it all up to you, to spend a lifetime telling you I'm sorry, if you'll just give me another chance. Akira's ordering me to take anger management classes, which I will. Um, he's even going to set me up with a therapist, maybe put me on some anti-depressants..."

Turning, Kagome stared at him with something like amazement. "Yuki? You're going to do all this... for me?"

He gave her a half-smile. "Well, for the both of us, really. I don't want to explode on someone like that again and I don't want to accidentally push someone I love away from me. Oh, I have something to show you." He turned over and began feeling around beneath his pillows. A moment later, he turned back to Kagome and held out a small tie-string bag made of ivory satin. "I had this made out of your wedding dress. Apparently, Ginta and Hakkaku felt it would be great fun to mail me your blood-stained dress. Anyway, it's what's inside that matters."

Kagome took it from him and untied the bag, She opened it and peered inside. Her eyes widened. "Yuki! These are our rings!" Reaching in, she pulled them out and stared at them in disbelief. "But... Hiro told me that you got rid of yours."

"I lied. I couldn't bear to part with it. The day I returned home, I found a huge mess, an unconscious man trussed up like a Christmas turkey and your wedding ring laying on the table. That was when it really hit me that you were gone and I was responsible for it. I didn't really expect that you would leave, but then again, I didn't know just how badly I'd hurt you. Damn, I'm such an idiot. A cold, unfeeling idiot." He took her ring from her and slipped it on her finger. "I want to see you wearing this again, Kagome. It would please me greatly if, while you were wearing this, that you were married to me at the same time. You know, it would make things a lot easier." He grinned down at her, kissing her fingertips. "I'd prefer it if you and our future children had my family name."

"Hmm. Not a subtle bone in your body, is there?"

Green eyes twinkling, Yuki shook his head. "Nope. Not a one."

"Well you know, Sesshoumaru is going to say no."

Yuki shrugged and kissed her chin. "So? You're a grown woman and you can make your own decisions."

For a moment, Kagome lay there, contemplating the ring on her finger. It was a beautiful as she remembered and somehow, it seemed right that it should be there. It belonged on her finger... the way she belonged to him.

"Kagome?"

"Yes?"

"Will you marry me?"

Brown eyes met green in a heated gaze.

"Yes."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Epilogue

"Dad."

No response.

"Dad."

Still no response.

An impatient sigh, then, "Dad!"

"Hmm?"

"Wake up."

One emerald green eye cracked open warily. "What was that, son?"

"Wake up."

"Hmph. Can you give me one good reason for me to do so?" came the muffled reply.

"Cuz mom said so."

Yuki groaned and opened both eyes, but closed them again immediately. "Tell your mother I'm not feeling so hot right now. Okay? There's a good boy."

The boy padded away. Yuki turned over on his other side and sighed happily into his pillow. Now perhaps he'd be able to get some more sleep.

But, alas, it was not to be. A few moments later, just as he felt himself slip back into sleep, a small finger poked him in the back.

"Dad."

Stifling a sigh, Yuki grimaced against his pillow. "Yes, Toshi?"

"You have to come and help mom in the kitchen."

"I'll come in a bit."

"Okay, but Uncle Akira says that if you don't help in the kitchen right now, he'll take mom and your children to the Bahamas and you'll never see us again."

Yuki's eyes flew open and he sat up quickly, whipping around to look at him solemn-faced five year old son. Huge green eyes stared up at him from under silky brown hair and for a moment, the little boy looked exactly like his infernal cousin. "What did you just say?"

There was movement in the doorway of his bedroom and Yuki looked up to see Akira leaning casually against the doorframe, hands in his pockets. "He said that I said that if you didn't get your lazy bum out of that bed, I'd take your beautiful wife and your children to the Baham--"

"That's what I thought he said." Yuki threw his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his cane, but Toshi handed it to him before he could grab it. "Thanks, son. What's this about children, Akira?" He rubbed his eyes with the back of one hand. "You know as well as I do that Kagome and I only have one child."

"Oh, so she didn't tell you, after all. Oops." Akira pulled one hand from his trouser pocket and thoughtfully examined his fingernails. "Well, since the cat's out of the bag... Kagome came to see me a few days ago. Said she was feeling under the weather. Well, we did a little blood test and ta da!" He shot his cousin a grin. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

Getting slowly to his feet, Yuki stared with shock at Akira. "But she never told me... I mean, I never even suspected that... that she..." He paused, his gaze going to the floor. "Kagome's pregnant," he whispered, a little smile crossing his face.

"Do you need help, dad?"

Yuki looked at his son, who had moved in front of him, his tiny hand held up to him, ready to aid him. "You bet, big guy," he grinned, taking Toshi's hand.

The three went down the hall, into the living room and over to the dining room, where Yuki found his mother fussing over Kagome, who was trying to tell her that she was fine. As soon as Rini saw her son and nephew appear, she motioned them over.

"Yuki, Akira, tell Kagome to sit down! I'll take care of lunch, but she needs to stay off her feet! Look! She looks pale! Doesn't she look pale? Akira, tell her she looks pale!" Rini was becoming more agitated when Kagome merely smiled at her and returned to chopping the vegetables.

"Aunt Rini, Kagome is far from pale. On the contrary, she looks rather radiant. Don't you agree, Uncle Ryu?" Akira asked, sitting down with his uncle and Hiro in the living room. Toshi followed him and crawled onto his lap.

Turning to see, Ryuji nodded and smiled at them, then turned his attention back to the television and his golf game. Hiro was on the phone with his wife Connie, who was in Hong Kong on business. Their one year old son lay asleep in his lap.

Akira smiled down at the boy in his lap, who had made himself quite comfortable and lay back against him. It was strange having a tiny version of himself... and the boy wasn't even his. That suited him just fine, for he loved teasing his Yuki about the incredible similarities between them, often joking how Toshi was actually his son. Of course, the first time he'd joked about it, Yuki flew into a jealous rage and had to be physically held back by his father and brother, demanding to know when Akira had managed to take impregnate his wife.

Following the blow up, Yuki demanded a dna test and was immensely relieved when it was proven that the child was indeed his. Later, he'd had to beg forgiveness from Kagome, who'd been hurt to think that her husband hadn't trusted her and thought she'd been unfaithful to him. When she tried taking herself and their son away, Yuki threw himself in front of the door and refused to budge, and stayed that way until Akira had shown up and admitted to Kagome it had been his fault for starting the whole mess. Once she gave her weeping husband a stern lecture, she forgave him, much to his relief.

"Well, I see you finally woke up," Rini said tartly to her son, whose eyes refused to leave his wife's face. "Tell this young woman that I can finish making lunch."

"Kagome, Akira tells me you're pregnant again," Yuki murmured in a hushed voice, his gaze softening. "When did you first suspect that you were?"

Kagome's cheeks flushed a soft pink. "A couple of weeks ago." She shrugged. "I wasn't certain, so I went to Akira to make sure."

"Sweetheart, I'm happy," he said, with a tremulous smile, but it faltered slightly. "But I'd rather you sit down now. Mom will take care of lunch."

Rini nodded. "Yes, I'll take care of it, Kagome. We want you to rest," Rini told her kindly.

"I'm fine. I am. I'm only a month and a half along. The complications only came at the end with Toshi."

But Yuki shook his head. "I don't care." He came around the counter and took the knife from her hand. "I don't want a repeat of the last time, Kagome. Please."

Kagome looked up at her husband's worried face and touched his cheek. "I'll be fine this time, okay? Really."

He shook his head. "I nearly lost you when Toshi was born. I don't want to go through that again. I couldn't bear to go through that again."

Rini pulled her into a warm hug. "None of us could, Kagome. We all love you very much. So please, go sit down and send Hiro in here. I'll put that lazy boy to work." She winked at her daughter-in-law and gently pushed her out of the kitchen. "Now go on."

"Who's lazy?" Hiro called from the living room as he got up and handed his still-sleeping son to his father.

Yuki took his wife by the hand and they went out onto the balcony, where he kissed his wife soundly. "I'll bet it'll be another boy," he said against her neck. "Boys run rampant in my family, you know."

Nodding, she smiled and kissed the spot just below his ear. "It's a girl," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Her husband straightened and frowned down at her. "How on earth do you know that?" he asked, incredulous.

Kagome rolled her eyes with a laugh and lay her head against his chest. "If you don't know that by now, Yuki, you never will."

He laughed with her and held her for several moments in silence. Then a disquieting thought struck him and tightened his grip on her. "Wait a second! A daughter?!"

Nodding, Kagome looked up at him with a curious expression. "Yes. What about it?"

"But you know what this means, don't you?" His face grew pale. "Oh god! If she looks anything like you, I'll never have a moment's peace! I'll have to get a bodyguard to beat the guys off of her!" He took Kagome firmly by the shoulders. "I won't have disgusting males crawling all over my daughter, Kagome! I'd kill any guy who tried!"

"Honey, she isn't born yet," Kagome pointed out reasonably. "You've got plenty of time before you have to turn into that frightening creature, the zealously overprotective father. I can't imagine how you'll react when she starts dating."

"God, I know. Can't you just wait for that to happen?" Yuki chuckled, then sighed. "I have to be honest with you, Kagome. I tried hard to be careful."

Puzzled, Kagome stared up at her husband. "What do you mean?"

He kissed her forehead. "I tried not to get you pregnant."

"But why?"

"Well, because I was afraid that if you got pregnant again, the same thing that happened with Toshi would happen again."

"Yuki..."

Shaking his head, he kissed her lips. "Don't. I can't help feeling this way, Kagome. But don't think for a minute that I don't want this baby, because I do. I really do. It's just that I want my wife, too. I want her to be safe and healthy."

His wife laughed softly and pulled his head down to hers. "I'm not going anywhere, you silly man. The baby and I will be fine, I assure you." She kissed him. "Don't worry so much. Okay?"

"You'd better be, little girl," he growled warningly. "Who else would be willing to put up with my worthless carcass or take care of such helpless males like Toshi and me?"

"That's not true, Yuki. Toshi is far from helpless." She tried to hide her smile and keep from laughing at his adorably pouting face.

"That's so mean, Kagome," he said, bending doing and biting on her neck. "But I agree. Our son is very capable for one his age. He reminds me alot of Souta."

Kagome giggled and pushed at his chest. "Toshi reminds me more of Akira when he's being serious. Just the other day he told me that he wanted to be a doctor like Akira."

"I don't like Akira," Yuki burst out, throwing a dark look over his shoulder into the living room.

"Why?"

Yuki scowled. "He's got a crush on you and I know just know he's gotten to see bits of your anatomy that only I've seen. He's your naughty bits doctor, isn't he?"

"That's not true, Yuki. Akira isn't my 'naughty bits doctor', as you put it. My gynecologist is female, if you remember." She turned around in his arms and stared out over the city beyond the balcony. "Does he really have a crush on me?"

Her husband's arms tightened around her. "Oi, none of that now. I don't want to talk about it... but yeah, Akira's got a thing for you. Dirty bastard actually had the balls to come up and tell me that himself. Said that he's waiting for me to kick the bucket so he could be with you." He rubbed his cheek against the side of her head. "Brazen and shameless, that's what he is. Damn, I hate him."

"You shouldn't, you know. He's done nothing to me and he's been very good to you. He always comes by to see how your leg is doing. Akira's done a lot for this family, Yuki. I really wish you wouldn't be so hard on him."

"I know, I know. But still, I hate the fact that he gets to touch you, too. I hate it whenever I see him and he's got that irritatingly smug look on his face. That's when I know he's gotten a visit from you. Sometimes I wonder if his motives toward you are purely on a professional level."

"Darling, Akira has never been unprofessional with me. If Sesshoumaru trusts him and Kouga trusts him, then--"

"Kagome," Yuki murmured grimly in her ear, "you know I really hate it when you say his name."

Kagome sighed. "Oh, Yuki, don't tell me you still hate Kouga."

"Yes, I still hate him. I'll hate him until the day I die. Hell, I hate any man who's shown an interest in you, but I hate him more because he had a relationship with you."

"Don't be mean-spirited, sweetheart. He's done nothing to you."

"He had you first and I don't like that. Do you know he gives me smug looks too? I really wish you'd stop inviting him over and letting him play with my son."

"Our son, darling," Kagome reminded him gently.

"Yeah, mine and yours, not his and yours. Remind him of that fact. I don't want that man within a hundred yards of you. I keep thinking he's going to steal you away from me."

"Kouga would never do anything to me, Yuki. Despite what reservations you have about him, he respects the fact that I'm married to you. He won't cross that line, no matter what."

"Well, he'd better not. I don't think Toshi would want to visit me in prison for the rest of my life."

Shaking her head, Kagome rested back against her husband. "I'm going to call Sesshoumaru today."

"What for?"

"To tell them about the baby, of course."

"Do you have to?" whined Yuki, running his hands over her flat belly.

"You know I do. They're my family." She sighed blissfully and closed her eyes as his hands brushed lightly over her sensitive breasts. "Oh, Yuki," she moaned softly, her bottom unconsciously rubbing up against his front.

He bent down to bite on her neck. "Speaking of family, I wish mine would go away for a few hours. Do you know how turned on I am right now?"

She laughed and pressed herself harder against him. "I'd noticed, yes."

"You're not making this any easier on me," he groaned into her hair. "God, don't move like that! Another minute of this and I'll whisk you inside and have you naked and spread out on our bed in five minutes."

Kagome laughed and slapped him playfully on the arm. "Oh, stop that. You'll do no such thing."

"Watch me," he growled at her and grabbed her hand, pulling her inside the apartment. "Excuse me, everyone, but my wife is going to massage my leg for a bit. It really aches, so don't disturb us, okay?" Still holding onto her hand, he hurried them through the living room and then disappeared down the hallway. A moment later, their bedroom door was shut firmly and locked.

No one said anything for a long moment until Rini clicked her tongue in disapproval. "The least he could have done was told us the truth," she complained, stirring the pot of stew. "Like I wouldn't know. I mean, I could see everything from where I was standing. Besides... I'm his mother, for crying out loud! Mothers know everything."

"Rini my love, it's called tact," her doting husband said, eyes still glued to the television.

"Daddy's leg hurts again?" Toshi asked, turning to look at Akira. "Maybe you should go help mommy rub his leg, uncle Akira."

Akira, face flushing a bright red, looked over at Hiro, who stared expectantly back at him from the kitchen. "Well, uncle Akira? What are you going to do? Gonna go help Kagome rub Yuki?"

Rini raised her wooden spoon and whacked her youngest son on the head. "Hiro! You stop that right now, you filthy-minded boy!"

"Ow! Yes, mom," grunted Hiro, who was dismayed to find Akira laughing silently at him as he rubbed his head gingerly.

"Your mother will do a good job with your daddy's leg," Akira told the little boy at last. "But sometimes, there are things that only your mommy can do with your daddy to make him feel better."

"Okay," Toshi said and lay back against his torso again. Akira had the sneaking suspicion that Toshi knew much more than he let on.

But Akira did not dwell upon that thought for long. Both he and Toshi fell asleep and did not wake up until lunch was announced. When Rini went down the hall to get Yuki and Kagome, Toshi slid off of Akira's lap and looked up at him. For a second, Akira thought it was Kagome staring back at him.

"Yes, Toshi?"

Toshi blinked a couple times, then lay his small hand on Akira's knee. "You can't have mommy, uncle Akira," he whispered conspiratorially.

"Eh?" Akira was taken aback. How the hell did this little boy know something like that?

"Daddy's going to live a long time, but soon, you'll find her."

"Her, who?"

"The woman you're going to marry," finished Toshi solemnly. Then giving his relative a smile, he went to the table and climbed onto the chair next to his grandfather.

Akira was completely shaken and when he took his place at the table, he studied the little boy hard. So... he was going to be like his mother in that respect, huh?

He shook his head and smiled to himself. What Toshi had said him was exactly what Kagome had told him the day they'd done the blood test. He remembered that day well, for he'd admitted to Kagome that he loved her and would do anything for her. He'd shamelessly stolen several kisses from her as well. But Kagome, in her loving way, took his hands and told him that Yuki was the only man for her and not to wait for her because he would live a very long time.

"I love you, Akira, but not in the way I love Yuki. You are a wonderful man and I will always adore you and be grateful for everything you've ever done for us, but you have a young woman waiting for you. After you meet her, trust me, your feelings toward me will change for good."

The sound of Rini admonishing Yuki could be heard and soon the three were making their way towards the dining table. Yuki was rolling his eyes as his mother was telling him not to be rough with Kagome in her fragile condition. Kagome, on the other hand, looked delightfully flushed and giggled when Yuki tried to soothe his mother's nerves.

Akira sighed. What a shame it was, but what could he do about it? At least there was one thing he could take comfort in, and that was seeing Kagome's son, who looked exactly like him and wanted to be a doctor like him. He could pretend to be the boys' father, but that was silly.

He also took comfort in the fact that he was not the only one left pining for this very special woman. Sesshoumaru, Kouga, Inuyasha... they had all lost out to a man who'd mistreated her from the very beginning. It hurt and was grossly unfair, but that was life.

At least he wasn't alone. And no matter how much he may love his future wife, Akira knew that she'd never touch him the way Kagome had touched him.

ooooooooooooooooo

It was just after two pm when Sesshoumaru set his phone down in its cradle. He was happy for Kagome; of course he would be happy for her, but knowing that she was more than willing to procreate with that bastard...

He got up from his desk and walked to the windows. Staring out over his lush green lawns, Sesshoumaru stood as still as a statue, but his mind was spinning. First she remarries him, then she gets pregnant by him and almost dies giving birth to their son. After all this, he felt that fate couldn't give him anymore reasons to hate Yuki's guts. But he was completely mistaken.

And now... this new bombshell: Kagome's second pregnancy with that bastard's child.

As much as Kagome tried to get them to become one big happy family, nothing ever worked. There was hatred and disgust from everyone on both sides, except for Souta. He was very good friends with all the Yamaderas. Sometimes he even babysat not only his nephew Toshi, but Hiro's child as well, and Rini would pamper him often, just because he was Kagome's little brother.

That irked Sesshoumaru to no end, because she knew it would piss him off when Souta would bring home the gifts she'd bought him. Sesshoumaru couldn't very well tell Souta not to go to Yuki's home or to accept Rini's gifts because he was old enough to do as he pleased. But still... it really bothered him.

So... how to tell the others? Kouga would be furious, and so would Ginta and Hakkaku, not to mention Inuyasha. Inuyasha, thankfully, had gone back to his former girlfriend Kikyo and Sesshoumaru suspected that he had done so only because she looked alot like Kagome. After Kagome had gotten married again, Inuyasha had taken off and reappeared a month later. Sesshoumaru found out from Kouga that Inu had stayed at his home in the country, helping him and the Kawase brothers work on redoing Kouga's mother's koi pond and gardens. It had been backbreaking labor, but Inuyasha threw himself into it in order to forget that the woman he wanted had married someone else.

Returning to his chair, Sesshoumaru did something he rarely did. He poured himself a healthy glass of whiskey, straight. He took a swig and leaned back, closing his eyes.

ooooo

When he woke up, he found a small, solemn face with a pair of bright green eyes staring at him.

"Uncle Sesshoumaru? Are you okay?"

Sesshoumaru sat up and set his empty glass on his desk beside Toshi's thigh. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you. How are you doing, Toshi? Where's your mommy?"

"She's with Uncle Souta. She's telling him about the new baby," Toshi said, then added, "I'm fine, thanks. I was more worried about you, though."

"Oh really? Why is that?" Sesshoumaru rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and yawned.

"Because you're hurting."

Sesshoumaru dropped his hands from his face and stared openly at the boy sitting on his desk. "What do you mean?"

In a gesture that reminded him of Kagome and Souta, Toshi put out his small hand and lightly touched his uncle's forearm. "I can see it all around you, Uncle Sesshoumaru, and I can feel it too. I don't want you to feel sad."

Scooting close to the desk, Sesshoumaru picked up the boy and held him close. "I don't feel sad when I'm with the ones I love," he said to Toshi, who hugged him back.

"I'm sorry, uncle. I'm sorry that you'll never have mommy. I know you love her a whole lot."

Hearing the little boy's words, Sesshoumaru squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "I know. I'm sorry too. But many times, we don't always get what we want." He rocked the boy gently.

When Toshi fell asleep, Sesshoumaru noticed that Kagome was standing in the doorway of his study. She looked so beautiful and radiant that it took his breath away. "Hello, beloved," he said quietly, giving her a tender smile.

"Hi, Sess," she said coming over to him and bending over, gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I see he found you. He begged me to bring him over here to see you. He was worried about you."

"I know. He told me why." Sesshoumaru studied Kagome and taking one of her hands in his, lightly kissed her palm. "He knows an awful lot about things most kids wouldn't know. It's most unsettling."

Kagome smiled and nodded as she interlaced her fingers with Sesshoumaru's. "Are you truly happy for me?" she asked, running her free hand down her abdomen.

Sesshoumaru nodded and releasing her hand, placed his hand over hers on her belly. "I am, really. I just can't help but wish that it was my child." His eyes moved upwards until his gaze met hers. "I'm still in love with you, Kagome," he said, the gold of his eyes darkening with passion.

"I know," she said, and together, they watched her son sleep peacefully in Sesshoumaru's arms.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The End.

A/N: Okay! This ending is finally completed! Just one more to go...

Kouga's ending is still up on my LiveJournal for anyone interested in reading it...

http://raven-skye75. chapter has surpassed Kouga's ending as the longest chapter I've ever written. My poor, poor wrists... Oh, btw, you should never treat a suicidal person the way that is depicted in this fic. It is not the proper way to deal with someone in that position.

I hope you enjoy Yuki's ending! Peace!

Raven Skye Blackhawk