A/N: Cha-cha-cha-changes! *sings Bowie* We are on the precipice of the end my dears. Just 2 or 3 chapters more. I had the most fun writing Honey and Mori's section for obvious reasons. Everything before Kagome/Kyoya at the end takes places obviously the night they... connect, fuse, join, make the sexy times.
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Ouran or Inuyasha. I only own the idea behind Breaking the Silence. A chika1345 original! ^_^ Happy April Fools!
Muse: Edgar Allen Poe. When I want to feel like a better author I read 1 of my top 5 idols. Whose your favorites?
Upon that evening. when the rosy sunset slumbered giving rise to the night and the pale moon made her glorious debut, while Kagome and Kyoya began to bridge the gap between two lost souls to become whole again, Hikaru was brusquely yelling orders into a phone. He was trying to uncover the whereabouts of one Ranka Fujioka. Though he lacked the extensive police force and information that Kyoya had, he still had his own resources and his own family guards and personnel. None of that was enough to find what he needed. If Ranka wasn't of the elite then his own people didn't know of him. They'd never been forced to make note of anyone that wasn't on the radar of the upper crust unlike Kyoya's forces. Too damned bad Hikaru couldn't reach the bastard! Probably wallowing in bed when something this important is happening, thought the twin all riled up. His subordinates had only been able to ascertain what Hikaru already knew. Ranka was a transvestite bartender.
Hikaru called Sesshomaru and the information that had his underlings had lacked was garnered within minutes as he heard the phenomenally fast typing of the demon lord. Of course, this was a man who would have strings attached to anyone associated with Kagome since birth.
"He's been taken to Ootori Hospital."
Of course he has, thought Hikaru. The lair of their most hated foe. He very well might die there if Mr. Ootori heard whose father he was. The father of the daughter who consorted with the Host Club. The best friend of the one who'd turned Mr. Ootori's son against him. "Put guards on him and get him the best medical-"
"I'm seeing to it now," confirmed Sesshomaru, finishing an immediate message to the head himself, Mr. Ootori. Medical expenses wouldn't matter. And Sesshomaru had a small personal moment of pleasure at the thought that attending to a commoner's well-being would put a nettle in Mr. Ootori's evening. Sesshomaru didn't even pause to get out of his casual attire at the house. He merely opened the window of his bedroom and summoned his cloud while Sango spared a glance at his computer to understand where her silent husband was venturing. Worry was immediate in her eyes and she waved him away. The night sky was clear and no electronic device had been invented that was fast enough to catch him in the sky. A brief glance at the computer had given him everything. Committed to the memory of a centuries old demon. Things looked rather grim.
"She has to be able to see her father." Hikaru was practically begging, though the anger in his voice tried to hide the real emotion behind it. He was straining to keep it cool around Haruhi.
"Clearance will be granted," he stated. Though he wasn't sure whether or not he'd allow it. The young woman's father was not in the best of health. The fact that he still had some health at all was a saving grace.
"What's his condition?" Hikaru asked, his eyes never leaving Haruhi's. Those frantic caramel eyes had jumped up to his face upon hearing her boyfriend ask about her father's well-being. He sat in the car far enough away that she couldn't hear the words that channeled through the phone line.
"Critical."
"What do you mean-?"
"I advise you," ushered Sesshomaru, "to stop worrying. Care for your intended." Hikaru didn't have time to correct him. "Meet me there. I must call to change that condition." A click of the phone signaled the line was dead. He didn't know how fast the man could work, but he prayed for a miracle before they got there. He did not want Haruhi to have to face a dying father and end up orphaned. He couldn't, wouldn't, let her think that way. He'd carry all the foreboding thoughts if he had to, but not her!
Weight shifted in the seats and he knew she was beside him. Tremblings fingers reached out and seized hold of his own. When he examined those eyes, those wide petrified eyes he'd come to seriously care for... Hikaru knew he'd protect her from the world if he had to. Which is why he knew he had to lie right now to keep her heart safe if there was going to be any rest for her tonight. Because he knew what she was going to ask before those glorious lips opened. "What did he say?"
Lying had always come easy to the twins. It had been habit, a protective one they'd learned from childhood to keep themselves protected from heartache when people couldn't tell them apart. Lies had been a game from a young age. But suddenly, Hikaru didn't feel like playing games anymore. He couldn't look at those eyes and lie to her of all people. Haruhi would know, she always knew, just by looking in his face when he was lying. He swept her into his arms, her head tucked under his chin as he cradled her close, arms around her waist while her own encircled under his arms. He could practically feel her heartbeat and hoped with her ear against his chest that she wouldn't hear his racing. Hikaru locked eyes with Kaoru and immediately the younger twin knew as Hikaru said it and let the words just roll off his tongue in an easy manner, "He's going to be fine, Haruhi. He's just got a few scratches and pulled muscles, they're keeping him in overnight for observation..." Kaoru knew that was the one time Hikaru wished a lie was the truth more than anything in his life as he placed a placating kiss on her head and rubbed her back to ease her anxiety. "Shh, we'll be there soon, Haruhi." Kaoru immediately joined their little group, hoping to hide his face just as his brother was doing. That woman had an uncanny way of sniffing out the truth.
Kaoru stretched his hand upwards to press the button on the roof of their car that accessed the speaker where the driver was. "Yes, sir?"
"Ootori Hospital," spoke Hikaru.
"Fast, as if your job depended on getting there," added Kaoru.
"Because it does," threatened his elder. And he prayed that Sesshomaru was a damned miracle worker. Demon or no, anyone in that hospital would be held accountable for Ranka's condition. He'd sue Ootori if he had to. Might as well start a war with the man since he was already picking on his friends.
After dropping off Renge like a proper gentleman, Tamaki's helicopter took off for the mansion. He alerted the pilot to park closest to his wing of the mansion. Not that he needed to make note of trying to stay as far from sight of his grandmother's mansion. Almost everyone knew that the young master suffered from a strained relationship with his grandmother. Practically no relationship existed between the two except that the grandmother found pleasure in putting down her grandson at every opportunity and reminding him that he had not been in her plans.
As soon as the helicopter touched ground a tall figure took off out through the ornate gold gilded glass doors of his wing. Even in the presence of night, Tamaki could easily spy the golden hair gleaming under the lights. The entire mansion was lit, bathing the courtyard in an almost festive glow as if to welcome him home along with the lights spread around the helicopter pad. You could hear the worry in Mr. Suoh's panicked voice as he shouted out proclamations over where his son had been and wondering if he'd eaten. He was running quite well for someone of his age and in no time Tamaki was swept up into a tight hug that felt as if he were banded between two arms of steel. This was why Tamaki had an easier time leaving his mother behind. This man had promised to do everything to help take care of his mother and Tamaki had willingly gone with him all the while knowing that he was exchanging a kinder world for a harsher one. A life of privilege where people weren't as open as his life had been with his mother. She'd explained as much to him.
"I was so worried! When you didn't immediately show at the mansion I called the police-"
"Father," he calmly said, stepping out of the loving embrace. There were times when Tamaki was serious. And moments when he needed to be. After watching Kagome's struggle to be accepted with Kyoya, something that mirrored what Tamaki had feared if his parents had openly tried to work something out. There would be obvious revulsion at the idea of a woman snaking into an arranged marriage. A marriage to a woman that his grandmother couldn't control. His mother was no planned queen piece on his grandmother's chessboard. Tamaki finally recognized that for what it was. "'I'd like you to arrange for a meeting with grandmere, please."
"Why?" The pallor of his father had whitened. "You know it's very hard to get your grandmother to see you-"
"I am her only heir," he spoke out. For a moment, Mr. Suoh thought he saw his son grow a head taller. He'd never spoken with such conviction. Tamaki imagined Kagome taking a stand. She had no voice and yet she was heard. He had a voice of his own and yet he'd never spoken out of turn. He'd always acted like the proper little heir and did what was expected of him. "If I guess right, you loved my mother, Anne-Sophie. You still love my mother. And you will never marry again, right Otosan?"
The silence that followed that was greeted with a quick nod as the older gentleman brought up the chained watch he kept inside his pocket. He popped open the false covering to show a picture of Tamaki's mother. She was always carried closest to his heart. "Grandmere will be receiving an invitation from Renge Houshakuji. Make sure she attends. Please." He knew he'd only be able to get it all out once. What better way to do so with his friends backing him? With a whole party where they were celebrating his relationship, albeit a false one, with Renge. He knew his grandmother might not want to go with Renge being half French as well, but he needed her there before he lost the courage to say what he'd been holding in for quite some time; he was a Suoh. Everyone recognized that fact even amongst his classmates. It was time for Shizue Suoh to accept that as well.
The group had trickled down little by little. Kagome and Kyoya leaving first. No doubt those two had the brunt of worry dragging along their backs, though none of it had to do with the earthquake that had transpired that morning. They probably had a lot to talk about and Rin sighed, wishing for Kagome's curse to be broken. Haruhi and the twins were next. She was explaining her house was right down the road and the twins immediately jumped on escorting her on their own. Tamaki had called his father and a helicopter was immediately dispatched to his exact location by his fretful father to pick him up... having not seen him after the mad chaos of the school. Tamaki offered to play up the ruse and drop Renge up and the duo were seen outside the shops window holding onto a hanging rope from the helicopter and waving cheerfully like two insane eccentric idiots. And so that left two members of the club left with the sunset broaching the horizon; Honey and Mori. Those two reminded Rin so much of herself and her father when she was just a girl.
"I can call your parents to pick you up? Or do you need a ride?" She chirped, elbowing her silent husband.
"Oof! I mean, yeah, we can drop you off," stated Inuyasha, rubbing at his side with a wince. Years of living with Rin and teaching her all that he knew had only made her more than capable of handling her own with him or anyone else for that matter. It didn't hurt that his brother had raised her in everything from swordsmanship to hand to hand contact.
"My parents are in America for a tournament," spoke Honey, holding his bunny close to him. "No one's waiting at home for me. Chika left school yesterday to go with them." Glancing over at his silent companion, Honey spoke up for his cousin, "And Takashi's parents are at an expo in England for swords."
Rin's eyes zoomed in on her husband and from that look he knew he couldn't refuse what he knew was coming out of her mouth. Pregnancy had just added a whole extra layer of beauty and irresistibility to her. "Can we take them home with us? At least, for the night."
"Oh! Can we please?" piped up Honey. Hearts and swirls of color were practically bursting behind him.
Taking the deep sigh of a man who knew when he was clearly outmatched, Inuyasha said, "Sure. But they might as well help us closing up the shop."
Rin and Honey cheered, Honey hugging her enthusiastically while Mori got up ready to fulfill any duties that awaited them. "Wanna make meringues with me, Honey? We're almost out." Rin offered and the lolita agreed all too eagerly. If Inuyasha didn't know any better he would've thought that Honey was a long lost relation of his wife's.
The somber half-demon looked to the tall quiet teenager. "Lets get started setting up the chairs on the tables, sweeping, and cleaning." There was no way Inuyasha was going to let his wife do the heavy labor in her condition. In fact, he'd been adamantly against it from the day he'd found out she was pregnant. It was her begging that had him acquiescing to her request to continue ringing up customers and doing light cooking every once in a while. But she had threatened that if he didn't give her an outlet for her boredom at the store than she'd redo the entire house, which although it wasn't a huge stint in his wallet, Inuyasha preferred having familiar surroundings. And it wasn't that bad, it was only three days out of the week she worked. Four days she remained home all day for the twins to come home from school, usually she quilted in that time hoping to knock out another blanket for their soon-to-be arrival.
Rin and Honey swept away into the kitchen and Inuyasha turned around to find Mori already hard at work putting the tables up with his jacket hanging on the doorknob to the side office. Inuyasha cocked his head and went to work alongside him, feeling rather short for once in his life. This kid had a couple of inches on him. "So, you'll be graduating soon?" He made for small talk, not that he was favorable towards it, but no one had gotten boo out of this kid and he'd bet Sesshomaru that Mori was mute like Kagome.
"Hnn." Hell he could've been a human clone of his half-brother.
"Do you know what you'll be doing afterwards?"
Silence met his ears and he didn't press Mori another thirty minutes or so until they brought out the brooms and dust pans. Meanwhile, Honey was proving to be prodigy in the kitchen. They'd already added the egg whites and tartar and all it took was some beating until they were ready to mold. Honey's arm strength was proving to be an asset with the meringues. Inuyasha could smell it. "What stuff do you like?"
"Protecting," was the simplest reply and the most obvious.
"I could tell that." He thought about it for a moment as he dumped out the dirt and grit from the pan into the trash. "Y'know, Stretch, Kagome's going to need some top security, right? If her and Glasses end up together and get his father to recognize them." Mori nodded and a wry smile appeared on his face at Kyoya's new nickname. It was common knowledge that Kagome would be protected like a hawk if Kyoya had anything to say about it or any of her "extended" family members. "Well, there's a problem." Inuyasha leaned against his broom. "As long as I've known Kagome, she won't want a lot of attention around her." She'd never like a crowd of security guards following her around. "Whose to say you wouldn't do a great job as her personal bodyguard? I'm sure she'd trust you and I hear you've got the skill."
There it was! The spark in that lugs eyes revealed his interest had been caught by Inuyasha's observations and handy capability to point out the obvious. "I'd like that," replied Mori. Well damned. There went that bet with Sesshomaru that Mori couldn't talk.
Just in the kitchen Honey and Rin were getting along like strawberries and whipped cream. "Oh, it's absolutely lovely, Honey," chirped Rin. "You know, you might have the talent of a future chef."
"You really think so?"
"Have you given any thoughts to your future, Honey?"
"Nope," the lolita chirped brightly, which shocked Rin so much at having known that Honey and Mori were on their last year of high school.
"You know, being a chef doesn't only mean you get to eat all the sweets you want," Rin informed him as she made up a little plate with his meringues. "But you also get to see people's happy faces when you give them something sweet." She nodded towards Mori and Honey, getting the gist of her meaning, took off with his plate, took a seat beside Mori, and presented the sweet before his cousin. "Takashi look what I made! These are for you!" The giant of a teenager looked down at the pretty plate set before him and faithfully popped one of the sweet confections into his mouth. The reaction was something Honey found himself liking as Takashi's face glowed with delight at the taste. He'd never been one for sweet things, but he'd never really shown an interest in it as much as his smaller cousin.
Rin waddled out with a gentle hand on her belly. "Maybe you should see if you can intern for your last semester here with-" And there was a loud gush in her body followed by the splashing noise of water as Rin lost her words when a new feeling entered her senses. All eyes spun to her, a lone pregnant woman looking down at the puddle on the floor underneath her maternity dress. Her eyes were wide and a smile ghosted her face. "Inuyasha, my water just-"
"BABY! OH MY GOD WE'RE HAVING A BABY! BABY!"
Honey fell right out of his chair in the shock and Takashi's hands flew upward knocking the palet into the air and sending marengs everywhere. The demon had already gathered what was going on and was freaking out, rushing to her side and then running towards her emergency bags they kept in the back office, setting the bags down, running back to her, running to the oven to check to see if it was off, running back to her. Teenagers were running with him. Honey was awkwardly wondering what to do, clutching onto his bunny doll. Takashi was running to the kitchen getting a warm pot of water thinking they were going to deliver the baby right then and there on the floor of the pastry shop. "What do we do?! Where are my keys!? WE'RE HAVING A BABY! Rin are you okay?"
Calm motherly hands grasped her husband's face so that his eyes met her own and he was instantly silenced. They were raising a small brood already. She had experience with overexcited men and little boys. "Take a deep breath."
"Shouldn't you be the one-"
"Inuyasha," she spoke sharply. You could practically see his ears twitch at the noise if he wasn't cloaked in an illusion spell to appear human. "We have minutes, maybe hours before this little life-"
'"Minutes," he squeaked fearfully, though she didn't know what he was worrying about. He'd been there in the lamaze classes with her.
"Inuyasha!" She griped his concealed ear to get his attention. As cute as it was him freaking out, she needed him to be collected right now of all moments. "You're going to check the kitchen. Turn off the ovens, the lights, everything except the fridges. Get the car parked behind the pastry shop. Your keys are in your back pocket, dear." Surprised he felt and sure enough his keys were plastered on his ass in his jeans. "You're going to call Sango and tell her to bring our boys from her house so they can see their new little brother or sister." Each word spoken at an even pace. But she had experience from one other time with two. If she could have twins then she could have one more. "And then you're going to bring the car here. Mori is going to grab my bag and these boys will escort me out to the car where you'll help me in and then lock the store." He nodded at each bit of instruction. And then he was in gear. Movements as efficient and as graceful as a warrior checking his equipment before battle. Mori walked alongside him, flicking off lights in the kitchen and turning the oven off while Inuyasha went over everything that needed to be taken care of. He remembered to shut down the register and lock the office and then with a kiss to her forehead, he went through the backdoor to get the car and bring it out front.
"Mori," she said, seeing the same terror in the kind giant's eyes. He scrambled to her side and tripped over his own huge feet.
"Takashi, it's just a baby," replied Honey, easily shouldering the overnight bag of clothes with one hand. It was always surprising to remember that little tyke was so strong. Honey gave Rin his Usa-chan. "Hang onto him for support," he offered with a smile. Rin was touched and took the offering. Honey grabbed her hand with his free one and led her to the door while his cousin picked himself up off the floor rather shamefully. Inuyasha was at the door in an instant, trunk popped and ready for the bag he threw in. He slammed it shut while Mori opened the car door. Inuyasha held his wife as gently as if she could break at any moment and helped her in while Mori and Honey got in on his side into the back seats.
She cupped his cheek once and said encouragingly, "We can do this." He kissed her palm and nodded before rushing over into the driver's seat and taking off like a demon with his ass on fire. They sped so quickly that cops began chasing them, but a quick phone call to Sesshomaru had the cops escorting them instead. This baby was going to make an entrance.
The noises of the hospital, the doctors telling her that she shouldn't go back there, not that she couldn't, all faded out. Haruhi walked right by them towards the demon lord who was observing through an inch of class the medical procedures going on in intensive care. Haruhi stared silently at her father. Such a lively and outgoing person full of energy and movement. And he was lying in a bed. No color in his cheeks. Bruises marred his beautiful face and he would've been ashamed to have his bloody shirt ripped open for the prying eyes of doctors. She didn't blanch at the sight of blood on him. All she wanted to do as a daughter was rush in there and touch him, comfort him, talk to him, but she couldn't even do that. She had to remain here on the other side of glass. A doctor came out upon seeing her arrival and began talking very hurriedly. They needed to do surgery. Without it he'd die. He'd been shopping and rubble had crashed down on him. His lungs were failing and his ribs were broken.
Hikaru and Kaoru came to either side of her. Kaoru looped comforting arm around her shoulders while Hikaru stared on in absolute loathing through the glass at all the wires, tubes, and equipment attached to Ranka like a stringed marionette lying at rest.
"Will he live?" Was all she asked, eyes not leaving that motionless form on the bed. A shell of the man she knew, loved, and called father. Bitter eyes turned on the doctor and pleaded hoarsely, "If he goes through with it, will he live?"
The doctor floundered for words, but finally he admitted the hardest thing a doctor had to admit to the family of a patient. "There is a minimal chance. His heart rate has been steadily dropping. Even if we go into surgery," he said with a shake of his head, "we may lose him." Haruhi let out a wail that broke Hikaru's heart as she crumbled into his younger brother's arms. Kaoru patted her back and was crying with her.
"Do it," she wept. "Just do it and leave me alone," she told the doctor. When he offered the paper for her to sign, Sesshomaru just glared at him and the man went ahead to prep the team that would begin the operation.
Hikaru's fists balled up and were shaking in his fury. "All the money in the world and I can't do this one thing," he said sourly. Bitterness in every word as if he were condemning everyone and everything around him. Luxury was a lie when death was concerned. Poor and rich alike could not stop it even when there was a man as deserving as Ranka who shouldn't reach it so soon. "What's the point in money if I can't bring someone back from the dead?"
And Sesshomaru's eyes widened at the implication of Hikaru's words that the boy had spouted off without even realizing the powers that lay at Sesshomaru's disposal. "I can," he whispered.
"What? What can you do that these doctors can't, rich bastard?"
"I can bring someone back from the dead." The demon lord was rapt with attention. This young woman and her father were important to Kagome. He had the chance to save Ranka. The sword might say it was his time, but there was still a chance that it wasn't. "Prevent them from the surgery. I will be back and he will live," vowed Sesshomaru. That sword would work or there would be hell to pay. Hikaru ran to tell the doctor. By the time he got back, Sesshomaru was already gone.
The hospital certainly catered to their needs. As soon as Inuyasha had pulled up to the pregnancy section of the hospital Rin was hastily escorted into a wheel chair and hoisted off before Inuyasha could even park his car. "How dare they take my wife and I haven't even finished yet!" He all but growled out, parking the car and walking off with Mori and Honey, growling in frustration when he remembered the bag of emergency clothes and had to backtrack to retrieve them.
Mere moments later they were in the hospital room of Taisho Regional Care Hospital. And surprisingly Sesshomaru was there seemingly out of breath like he'd actually strained to get there after talking to Inuyasha on the phone. But unknown to them the demon was trying to be two places at once since he'd just left from the Ootori Hospital and had run to retrieve his wife, sword, daughter, and nephews. Inuyasha and Rin's little brats were attached to both of Sesshomaru's legs, his niece was riding piggy back on the brute, and Sango was chattering in the room with Rin. "She is well," he affirmed as soon as Inuyasha, Mori, and Honey came into the room to find Rin set up in a comfy bed with a television broadcasting one of her favorite Japanese soap operas.
"DADDY!" Came the chorus of squeals from Kohaku and Roku. Both had Rin's cherub face she'd carried as a child, their father's golden eyes, but Rin's curly hair. Completely identical twins.
"Hi Uncle Yasha," waved little Kagome from her comfortable perch as her father placed her back down on the floor. Sesshomaru gladly switched the role of being the climbing tree for youngsters to his younger half-brother.
"Hey runts," called out Yasha, hefting both of his kids under his arms and carrying them over to see his wife. Inuyasha rushed over, set them down bouncing on the end of the bed near her feet, and held her hand, peppering kisses on her face. "Okay, deep breaths."
"Inuyasha," she laughed. "I don't think this baby is coming for another few hours."
"Soon though," confirmed Sesshomaru. His nose was far stronger than Inuyasha's. That little life would be in before the night was over. Sesshomaru came to her side and briefly kissed her forehead in a very tender gesture. The door was shut. Their masks dropped as this section of the delivering floor catered to demons and their mates. The doctors and nurses assisting the birth would be demons. Honey and Mori's eyes widened. It was still rather new to them the concept that demons and priestesses actually existed. Sesshomaru ran a cursory hand through his wife's loose hair. He loved it when it was free and bent down to give her a long kiss accompanied by a chorus of "ewws" from the kids and Inuyasha. He kissed the crescent on his daughter's forehead and with a lingering look at his family said, "Hnn, I will be back." It was when he turned his back that the others noticed the sword on a sling hanging over his shoulders.
"Hey, wait, where are you going? And why do you have that damned sword for?"
"Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides," he quoted Laozi, someone from the warring states period. He saw the flicker of terror on Inuyasha's face and turned to clap a hand on his shoulder. "Fear not, brother. It is neither your wife nor your child's life that needs this Sesshomaru tonight."
That was the second time in a long time Sesshomaru had openly called him brother. The first had been when he'd accepted, after much trying, Inuyasha and Rin's relationship. It appeared the old dog was softening up for them that or the occasion of his long-time ward giving birth might have left him a bit vulnerable. "Oy! You didn't answer me! Where are you going, dog breath?"
Sesshomaru replied over his shoulder, "To the other side of the line." That other side being half an hour away at the Ootori Hospital where things were looking far more grim than he'd hoped for. "Watch after the mortals," he commented.
A heartbeat was all that distinguished the living from the dead. A faint heartbeat. And Ranka didn't have many of those left as medics pulled out the defibrillator pads. He was going into cardiac arrest on top of his lungs beginning to give out. The pain was too much for one body. Haruhi shrieked, hands splayed against the windows, while Hikaru and Kaoru held her back as she yelled through messy tears that she wanted to be in there. She just wanted to be in there with her father.
It was pure chaos as Sesshomaru silently walked past them. The grim reaper's gait could not have been any quieter or foreboding. Haruhi's cries halted at the sight of such unwavering resolve to perform a miracle that science couldn't. He marched past the medics howling at him to "please step outside." With all the calm of a master in patience, he deliberately unsheathed his sword. The blade shone, glinting in the light, sharp though never able to kill a living being. The head doctor frantically began calling up security. They'd never seen someone brazenly come in with a sword and he was holding it as if he were about to kill the poor man on the bed that was already dying.
He spotted them. Imps from the other side struggling in their gnarled forms to extract Ranka's soul from his body. He waited, poised for that moment when the heartbeat stopped. He could only bring the dead back. When it came. When that shrill noise dialed out letting them all know that Ranka had left the living, Sesshomaru swiped his sword at the creatures the others could not see. Almost immediately a heart rate picked back up. And the room was at a standstill with only the monitor beeping for noise. Everyone gawked at Sesshomaru.
Ranka began breathing on his own and a nurse quickly came to his aid, removing the breathing tube that had been in his mouth.
"What did you do?" The doctor asked. Never in all of his live as a practitioner of medicine had he seen someone come in with a sword and wave it about to cure the dying. The way he did it, as if this billionaire had held no doubts of the capabilities of causing such a mystical looking scene.
"Ancient Japanese myth," stated Sesshomaru, leaving it at that. He'd let their imagination cook up the idea that waving around a sword over the ill would bring back their souls from the brink of death. Sometimes humans could come up with the most peculiar of things, like rationalizing that demons didn't exist. "Let the daughter in. He should be well enough for you to treat." Haruhi didn't need anymore prodding, she ran into the room followed closely by the twins and threw her arms around her father who was slowly stirring his eyes open. Sesshomaru gathered that his wounds, his ribs, his bruises, and cuts would be healed within a matter of days if the sword was as strong as it had been over 500 years ago. It would be a medical miracle these mortals would mention that this man would walk away from death within days.
Just as the demon lord went to leave the little family alone he felt two arms encircle his waist and smelt the saltiness of tears that was dampening his coat. "Thank you," murmured Haruhi.
Sesshomaru, not one for exaggerated gestures of comfort, patted her on the head and nodded.
The demon lord hadn't been lying. It had been all of two hours before Rin had gone into labor, squeezing Inuyasha's hand and shouting out obscenities that Inuyasha didn't even think she knew. She sounded more like the wife of a sailor than the gentle and loving wife of a pastry and sweets chef. Sango had calmly taken the twins and little Kagome out into the hallway to wait together. And of course, the remaining teenage audience members had not been swept out into the hallway like they were too young to witness a birthing. Nope. Instead, Rin had insisted they stand there. With Kagome back any of her friends were considered family. This pleased Honey to no end as he coached her alongside Inuyasha. All the while Rin held Usa-chan in her other hand. That poor rabbit if it had been alive would've died three times over now from suffocation.
"That's it, its coming," cried out the doctor. Rin and Inuyasha hadn't wanted sonograms telling them the sex of the baby. It was to be a surprise.
Honey quickly ran down to stand behind the doctor, tugging along his cousin right behind. You 'd think he was watching a sports event with how cheerful he approached it and how often he began cheering or chanting for Rin to keep on. "Look Mori! I see a head!" Honey was astonished by the view and tugged on his cousin's hand ushering Mori to take a peek. Takashi took one very brief glance that turned into a full out stare of absolute horror and promptly fainted.
"Just leave him there," shouted Inuyasha, in serious pain from Rin's grip. He couldn't even move to go take a peek himself. She needed him right beside her. "We'll worry about him later."
"I didn't know Takashi was squeamish."
"It's a girl," called out the doctor, raising the fragile bright red squirming mass in his hands.
"Would you look at her?" Inuyasha said awed as much as he'd been with his twin sons as the cord was clipped and his daughter immediately brought over to her parents for the first scenting. "She's so beautiful." She was placed in her mother's arms and the wailing softened at hands holding her. A little nose puckered at the smells. "She has your eyes," whispered Inuyasha, raising his pinky out and watching utterly charmed when she batted at it with a clutched fist.
"Her father's ears," snorted Rin. All of their kids apparently had them now, except her ears were sooty black like her mother's hair. "Here Yasha, hold your daughter."
Gentler than anyone had ever seen of the demon, he handled the small squirming babe like the most precious treasure he'd ever found. "What will we name you, doodle bug?" The endearment fell out immediately and he thought it suited her.
"How about Usagi?" Honey was full of suggestions, stepping over his cousin's prone unconscious form.
"Usagi," murmured Rin looking at the plush pink bunny rabbit that had kept her company during the birthing. "I like it. What do you think?"
"I think your mind is already made up," he replied with a teasing scoff as he bent down to rub noses with his little girl. His very own daughter.
When morning peeked through the window and brightly discovered Kyoya it was in a manner he was not at all familiar with, but he found himself altogether charmed by. Another body lay against his own keeping him warm. He could feel his heart overflowing with such feelings he'd never imagined having for himself. Kyoya had always thought that he'd never get the chance for love. That instead he'd be the dutiful son and marry whom his father chose. Well, that had went out the window along with any qualms he'd ever had at finding a bride. He sat up in the bed, reached out and settled his glasses upon his nose, and looked at her, just looked at her as the sunlight poured in and painted her skin in brightened hues that were missed at night. It was still relatively early in the morning, he was stark naked, and Kyoya had no idea about whether or not classes would continue today, but he'd never felt a day so promising. Last night he'd... they'd... the warmth flooding in his chest was overwhelming. Never had he'd felt this way for any other being than his sister and that was because that she was very much like him in wanting more to life than what was planned out for them.
He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders back and his head around in a nice stretch before getting out of bed as quietly as he could. Grey eyes were constantly watching how she shifted in the bed in hopes that she'd settle back down and sleep. A breath he'd been holding let out as soon as she rolled over and continued snoozing, bringing a lopsided smile to his face. If he smiled anymore the sun might burn out from shock. Kagome. Open and honest. I want to make you happy, the thought came unbidden.
Kyoya pulled his boxers on and shimmied into his pants before throwing on his t-shirt. There was a whole day ahead of him and he was wondering if he'd be able to get everything done within it. He sat on the bed and leaned over, brushing a kiss against her cheek. "Kagome," he murmured, trying to rouse her to at least hear him. "Kah-gooooohmeee," he sang quietly. She wearily blinked open her eyes and shut them back upon seeing sunlight, reaching out to grab his hand and bring it to her face. She'd never slept so well as she did last night and she wasn't exactly eager to wake up. He rolled his eyes. He leaned down so his lips brushed against her ears, "I'm going out to talk with Mr. Suoh and Sesshomaru. I'll be back before the day is over. Promise." He could see the smug cherub smile slowly unfurl over her lips at him making promises for her. Two pink lips puffed up waiting and he brushed his own softly against them. "Don't forget to charge your cellphone, it's always dead," he reminded her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you later today, my lady." The endearment fit her so well. She wasn't just some honey, babe, sweetheart, she was his lady. And if he remembered rightly from the few past memories he had, it had been a term he'd used before. Kyoya went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth before slipping out of their peaceful sanctuary and walking into the den where he was met by two protective men sitting at the kitchen table.
Souta was calmly drinking coffee, no doubt to appear more adult-like, and Shippo had a box of apple juice. Both seemed to be trying to appear as intimidating as a middle school-er and elementary kid could look. He paused and took the chair across from them. "Where's Mrs. Higurashi?"
"Helping the neighborhood take donations for the wounded," responded Souta.
Shippo's tiny green eyes never wavered from the steady glare he had going on.
"I take it you wish to discuss-"
"You're sleeping with my mama," stated the kitsune in a calm and brisk manner. Souta's eyes flinched. So he'd heard it from the fox demon. "It's a demon thing," replied the kit. His eyes then got surprisingly happy. "So, are you going to make her your mate?" Now there was the question of the day he'd woken up planning on answering.
Kyoya stood up and said, "Shippo, I'd like you to stay here and watch after your mother. Souta, you're coming with me. Provided I can borrow your cell phone," he added as an afterthought.
The teenager, immediately feeling like the climax of something important was happening stood up and put his mug in the sink. He tossed Kyoya his cellphone, an item he was wary of ever letting out of his sight since he just started dating. "Where are we going?"
Without missing a beat on his way to the front door, Kyoya said, "To speak to a demon about an engagement ring."
The quiet exchange of pleased faces between Souta and Shippo wasn't missed. Kyoya scanned over Souta's lazy attire of boxers and a t-shirt. "I need to make a call first. So go get dressed."
To assume Kyoya had every number in his previous cell phones memorized was not giving him enough credit. He could recite from memory in alphabetical order every person on his phone. In a moment he had up Sesshomaru's number. Before he could open his mouth shock filtered his face as he was filled in on everything from the previous night. Apparently it had been a very busy night for all around. "Will you send Sango to pick up Kagome in an hour? Make that two." She was always the latest riser when she wasn't required to get up. "She'll want to see both Rin and Haruhi."
"I assumed she would," noted Sesshomaru. "Why are you calling from the brother's phone?"
"I don't have my own."
"One will be sent to you today."
"No, I don't require-"
"As my future financial adviser we'll have to correct that," stated Sesshomaru coolly on the other line leaving Kyoya stunned. "Now, what reason did you call this Sesshomaru?"
This was an intricate matter that required delicacy and no one was more versed in delicate matters than the sole of discretion that was Sesshomaru. Kyoya hazarded a guess that he'd be a great poker player. "I would like to request a small loan to buy an engagement ring. I have the strong inclination to believe my father will bring me back into his graces, but as I'm inclined to refuse anything from him, I'll be able to pay you back by working at your-"
"Done. This Sesshomaru will pick you up in a few minutes." there was a bated breath. "Answer me this, will you love her with all of your heart?"
"In this life as I did in the past," he replied.
Apparently, that was all the answer Sesshomaru needed. "Good."
A/N: Yeah, stuffs happening. I called out of work today sick and went ahead and finished this chapter. Tummy bug. Bet you were waiting for Kagome to speak weren't you? All in good time, each tale has to be carefully told before everything is neatly finished. To borrow a quote from Flemeth/Ashe'bellanar in the video game Dragon Age 2, "Is it fate or chance? I can never decide." I feel that aptly sums up this chapter with everything happening.