Hey there! I know, it's been forever. But I'm sorry. I did not intend to keep you for long. With all that I have to do. I am freaking busy and I don't even know what to do first. And since my conscience is already killing me, I guess I needed to update! So here's chapter three!

Please read and enjoy! :)

The Rose In Between

by four-eyed 0-0

CHAPTER THREE

The house had been pretty busy for an hour ago, more because of the certain group who took two tables by the poolside. He had been welcoming guests rather more warily than necessary. He had been mentally debating of the possibilities that the two them would indeed come and upon the sight of the herds of guests flooding all over the place, he could not help but feel foreboded. Anikka's graduation had been held two days ago and it was most possibly because of their busy schedule were they not able to come.

When Kurama sighed wearily, however, the cuff of the sleeve of his cyan polo was tugged downward, making him turn at his back then look down. There, clasping his sleeve was the little redhead wearing a green polo and grasping with his other hand a small paper bag. Warmth washed over him and he smiled, crouching down so that the child was slightly taller than him.

He impulsively placed a hand on the boy's head, saying, "Hey, Hiro."

Those big, emerald-green eyes gazed at him with happiness and was greeted with a chaste kiss on his cheek, taking him aback. "Happy birthday, Ku-kun." He handed his present.

Kurama gladly took it and ran a palm upon the boy's head. "Thank you."

"Open it, Ku-kun."

"Are you sure? I'm not much in a hurry."

Hiro nodded, grinning. He was such an adorable child. Kurama promptly opened the bag to find a fountain pen in a lacquered case and a card the boy undeniably made himself. He smiled at Hiro before opening the card with the drawing of a cake and presents on the cover. It was to find a very neat message that bore no erasure despite the typical kanji of a four-year-old who had grown in an English country. His heart pounded.

Dear Ku-kun,

Happy birthday!

Mum has told me that since you are a businessman, you would always be in need of a pen. But it was not all because of that did I give this to you. I thought that every time you use it you would be reminded of a friend ― and that's me, of course.

Again, happy birthday!

-Akihiro a.k.a. Hiro

Kurama blinked again and again. How many cards had he given to Anikka every during her birthday? How many times had Hiro been able to give her a letter? How many times had he greeted her? Now that he came to think of it, he was hurt. Hiro would have been the first to run to him the morning he would wake up and get down to breakfast the morning of his birthday to greet him. He would have been the boy to kiss him good morning, good-bye, and goodnight. He would have been the boy to play with him every weekend. He would have been the boy to watch him or even help him in taking care of the plants in the garden.

He missed so much of Hiro.

With his eyes blinded by unshed tears, he brought the boy to his arms and embraced him tightly, breathing in his fragrance, kissing him on the temple lingeringly. His chest twitched with pain and satisfaction as he held his son. He would have been able to hug Hiro endlessly if not for the retaliation of an enemy. He would have been there when Anikka gave birth to their first child. He would have been there when he first learned a word, when he first crawled and walked straight. A single tear dropped from his eye.

"Why are you crying, Ku-kun?" the boy asked, eyebrows knitted. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Ah, no, nothing at all. I'm just happy." He wiped the tear away and placed the card and pen back into the bag. "Thank you so much, Hiro." He gave him a watery smile and pinched slightly at his cheek.

"I'm glad you're happy, Ku-kun."

Kurama carried the boy in his arms and when he stood up, there was Anikka, her curls hanging loose about her shoulders, watching them a good distance away, alone. She wore a lilac off-the-shoulder and knee-length dress and was holding a brightly-colored box. Her face was neutral, almost blank. When he blinked, she started toward the two of them and stood, weighing her chances.

"Happy birthday," she said rather throatily. She forgot to clear her throat. As an afterthought, she handed him the box which he smilingly took with a lot of effort for Hiro not to slip from his hold. Sensing his discomfiture, she uttered hesitantly, "You can settle Hiro down."

Hiro promptly nodded at the kitsune and was standing with his own little feet between the two of them, hand still clutching at Kurama's shirt.

"Thank you for this," he finally said shakily, "and for coming."

Anikka nodded. "I wouldn't have come if it weren't for Hiro." She smiled and turned to look at her son. With what she stated, Kurama's chest jolted. It was true. He had been aware of that. He also thought that even if he invited her for the sake of a client's investment, she would have found ways so as not to come at all.

"Ah, well, I think I'll have to find you a table," he told Anikka who was pulling her son off him very discreetly. She nodded and he walked them nearby his friends' table and just as when her eyes widened did the others' heads simultaneously turned to look at them. She was red in the face and Kurama gulped guiltily. But what else could he do? There was no delaying the inevitable.

"Mum, why are they looking at us?" Hiro suddenly asked, breaking the tension. No. He made the tension grow more, now that the group's eyes wandered from the boy to Kurama then to Anikka wildly. The kitsune gulped nervously. Now that he had come to think of it, even some of the guests had taken notice of the trio.

Kurama took hold of the situation. He smiled nervously at his friends and said, "Guys, this is Inoue Takizato with her son Akihiro." They did not react at all and he turned to Anikka. "Ah, Takizato-san, they are my friends." She shot him a glare that he had not received for years and mentally slapped himself, knowing how awkward the situation was.

"Nice to meet you!"

The three turned to Shizuru who quickly grabbed hold of the brunette's hand, shaking it. "I'm Shizuru," she said, grinning at Anikka and Hiro. "Would you like to join our table?"

"Shuichi."

They turned to the dark-haired Shiori who was feet from them, closing in. "Oh, Mom," was all Kurama could say.

Shiori smiled. "Mind introducing me to your guests?" She now stopped, and was staring at Anikka closely.

Kurama had been so engrossed with how absurd the whole situation was. He knew his mother recognized her. And it was making him go nuts. "Takizato-san," he once again addressed the sulky Anikka who did not take her eyes off Shiori, "this is my mother, Shiori Hatanaka." He turned to Shiori who simply smiled. "And Mom, this is Inoue Takizato, a client and with her is her son, Akihiro."

Shiori turned downward to look at Hiro and in a second's notice, her hand was on her mouth. Kurama flinched.

"Mom." He held her arm and stared at her meaningfully.

"Oh," she interjected, quickly grinning at Anikka. "It's great of you to come. Thank you." She bowed and so did Anikka and Hiro.

"We're glad to come here," said the young mother and she held Hiro's shoulders more firmly. "Hiro, greet Mrs. Hatanaka." Anikka's face did not look convincing at all.

"Good evening, Ma'am," he hastily greeted, eyebrows quite twitched. Perhaps he too noticed the situation.

Shiori gazed at Hiro longer than necessary. "You are a very adorable child, Hiro." She smiled and crouched down, her brown eyes sparkling, almost watery. Kurama looked from her to Anikka. The latter's face was rather stony. She did not like this at all. Yet she succumbed to her son's wish, like any mother would do. His chest somehow became more constricted. He was just proving how unworthy of the child was he. He had never sacrificed anything for his son.

"Tell me," whispered Shiori, gazing at Hiro like she knew him so well. "Where is your father, Hiro?"

The sides of Hiro's mouth twitched ominously, and his green eyes started to water.

Anikka took charge of the situation by clearing her throat as loudly as possible. "I raised him alone, Hatanaka-san." With this she glanced at Kurama sideways very fleetingly. Shiori stood up and listened. "And I do not think he would take that topic easily. So if you would allow, I wish not to talk about that at all."

"Of course, dear. I understand." The kitsune's mother longingly stared at Anikka who kept her face straight. "Anyway, do you have a table?"

Shizuru suddenly spoke, and Kurama realized she had not gone away at all. "Sorry to interrupt, Shiori-san. But, Inoue-san," she looked at Anikka who in any way possible became even more grave, "I would like to invite you to join our table."

It was Hiro's chance to say something. And in Japanese at that. "Mum, let's go. They're Ku-kun's friends and I want to meet them." Kurama blinked, a trickle of fear running down his spine.

"All right, Hiro."

With that, Shizuru grinned and winked at Kurama who was still shaken.

"Ku-kun," Hiro called before being swept to the table by his mother, "come with us. Please introduce us."

Kurama stared at his mother who smiled and excused herself. He obliged and together they walked to the girls' table. They had been watching them all the time and as they approached, he felt his knees becoming wobbly again. Yusuke stood up.

"Hey, Kurama," he called, tilting his eyebrows up his forehead. "Happy birthday." His face was deliberately betraying his words. Kurama knew he needed a word with him and judging by the way everyone else looked at him, he was sure it would be a lengthy explanation.

"Happy birthday!" they chorused, perhaps for the general mood's sake. Besides, they had not greeted him at all since he was busy with the other guests.

"Thanks," he said as calmly as possible. "And... Takizato-san ― "

"Quit it." He sharply turned his head to Anikka whose face was still grave. She stared at him. "You know that I know them and that they know me. And please stop addressing me so formally. We are not in the middle of a board meeting." She turned to Hiro who was even more confused then back to him. "Just have them introduced to my son, will you, Kurama-san?"

Kurama was melting now. What was she on about? It pained him to hear her emphasize that Hiro was her son, as though he were not his.

He faced his friends who looked ashen. "You may now start, guys."

Yusuke cleared his throat and stared fixedly at Anikka. Then he grinned at Hiro fleetingly. "Hi, I'm Yusuke."

"Kazuma Kuwabara!" The carrot-top boy even made his way to Hiro and shook the boy's hand, much to Anikka's irritation.

Koenma nodded at the boy whereas Hiei merely grunted so that it was Kurama who said his name. The rest of the girls (Keiko, Botan, and Yukina) introduced themselves, even complimenting how adorable the boy was.

"Wow," interjected the boy later. "I didn't know you have many friends, Ku-kun." He smiled at Kurama before turning back to the group. He bowed. "It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Hiro, four years of age and Ku-kun's friend."

The girls giggled and nodded feverishly, mumbling things the boy was sure to be unable to catch. Anikka was somehow calm now, he concluded, as he stole a sideways glance.

"Hmm, well, you may now join them," he told the curly-haired brunette, then added tentatively, "Inoue-san."

Anikka looked at him and sighed, dragging Hiro toward the girls' table. He scratched his nose nervously. Tonight was one, big reunion.

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She had been expecting all these and there was no way to escape it.

"Hey," greeted Shizuru once they were seated.

Inoue gulped. How would she do this? How would she survive? "Hi." That was curtest greeting she ever did.

"So, how had life been?" asked Keiko cautiously.

Hiro beside her was intently listening, as though every single word would do him anything good. Can he be suspecting? "Oh, it was fine, really fine." She gulped, knowing that many questions were to be asked.

Shizuru piped in once again. "Where have you gone?"

Kurama had settled at the boys' table and Inoue warily took note that their table was only a foot away and that their heads were all turned toward them, faces perked up with interest, well, except for Hiei.

"Mum," Hiro suddenly budged in. "Sorry to interrupt, but, how come did you know them?"

The girls' eyebrows twitched. Of course. "Well, you see, Hiro, we've been friends before." This was not the time to lie to her son. And perhaps it was indeed high time to tell him parts of the truth about herself. Parts, that was. She could never tell that Kurama was his father. She could not bear to say that. She felt like that man did not deserve to know the whole truth, even though she was sure that he already knew. She should not confirm his assumption.

"Friends?"

Botan chirped in, "Yes, Hiro. Your mother has been a close friend of ours." That was so true. She had been at best with them.

Hiro looked at the azure-haired girl and then to Inoue. "Does this mean that Ku-kun was your friend too?"

The boys exchanged meaningful looks and she could not blame them for it. Kurama had been more than a friend to her. He had been the man she loved. He would always be, but she could not afford to let him know. After what that Karasu did, she knew she was as unworthy of his love as he was of Hiro. Then she realized: Why is he unworthy of Hiro? He had never done anything that would fall into the "unforgivable" category. Yes, he had not been there for her as she conceived their son and raised him, but it was her decision to run away. He had allowed her to go, even if it meant to be forever unhappy. He had been selfless. And she… why did it turn out that she was being greedy?

She looked down at her son whose emerald-green eyes shone very much like of his father's. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes."

"And they've been really good friends," said Koenma from the males' table. The boy turned to him as though expecting more. "That's all I can say, Hiro, I guess." He gazed at the boy and smiled.

"Why didn't you tell me, Mum?" The question would have been really accusing if not for the tone Hiro used. He was just asking innocently, perhaps more because of curiosity.

Inoue blinked and pat him gently on the head. "I'm sorry, son," she said, still grasping for words. "I thought I would save the story today. You know," she mumbled, smiling for her sake, "meeting them again would be the best time for you to know everything. There would be thrill and excitement, right?" How dumb can she get?

Hiro stared at her like he was not convinced at all. "Is that so?"

"That's right."

"Hmm," muttered Hiro, still unconvinced. He turned at the others. "Why did your friendship have to come to an end?"

Inoue swallowed and her brown eyes flitted from face to face. They would not be able to answer him, she was sure of that. And the fact that she had been grumpy and everything did not help at all. If she spoke now, her son would be more suspicious. Despite his age, he was way too smart to be easily outwitted. Her head was spinning for answers when Kurama came to the rescue.

"Hiro," he said as calmly as he could. Inoue took note that he avoided her gaze as much as she did his. "Our friendship did not end…. It just came to a rest." The young mother considered his expression for a moment and found out that he looked rather sad. When her son made a sound from his throat, Kurama continued, "You know, we needed to go on separate ways and dream our dreams by ourselves. We take pride of it, you see. And just look at us now." He smiled and nodded toward the others who shook their heads affirmative. "We're meeting each other after years and see that each has accomplished a great thing. Just like your mother." He gazed at Inoue for a split-second and was looking at Hiro the next. "She's now in-charge of your business and she had you."

Inoue's heart skipped a beat just as the others made bashful grunts and muttering. She studied her son who looked really pleased, making her chest feel heavier than usual. He had said it. She accomplished some things. And Hiro was part of those accomplishments. Yet deep inside the core of her, she was sure that it would have been more fulfilling if he had been there for the two of them. She failed at that. She had never been successful when it came to her son. She had not given him a perfectness that every child should have. She was never a great mother. And Kurama was wrong to say what he had said. Or he was. He was right to say that she had accomplished something for having Hiro. But she never was successful in the very responsibility of giving her son a perfect family.

She felt ashamed of herself.

Just as when she thought there would be nothing to do now, the others hastily stood up as Kurama made his way to his mother, stepfather and -brother. She quickly obliged and turned to the family rather blindly. The rest of the guests had risen as well and in a moment, Kurama was speaking, a wine glass being clutched by his hand, and his face alight with gladness she was not sure whether genuine or deceptive.

"Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to greet you all a pleasant evening." He smiled around, avoiding looking at their direction. "I have aged another year and with it comes along new opportunities, new quests, and new perceptions. However, with a year of one's life that had come to pass, along comes old and lasting memories of lessons, of tales, and of friendship." He momentarily paused and she could not help but feel like he was speaking of her and Hiro. "A year ago I had been at most success in life as a businessman, but just then here comes a new chance to prove a strong bond with what the past had been. Now is not the time to say 'Past is past.'. Today is a day to say, 'Look back and learn from the past.' And these things I shall do, as a year of blessings comes my way." He lifted his glass and Inoue struggled to lift hers too without trembling too much. Kurama beamed, and with one, fleeting moment, his emerald-green eyes locked with hers, a painful smile etched on his face. "For this year, and that."

"For this year and that," the crowd chorused and cheered. She reluctantly made a toast with the girls and Hiro watched them, rather excited. Once they were settled, the dance commenced. And when she was almost sure that the celebrant would be asking her, he was outrun by Kokoda.

"May I, milady?" he asked, grinning confidently. Inoue looked over his shoulder to see Kurama rooted yards away, watching us closely. She studied him as discreetly as possible and then looked at the rest who looked back. Hiro frowned at her when she held his gaze. She nodded at her son who shrugged.

Inoue cleared her throat and smiled at Kokoda before taking his hand. It was warm and calming, but not as assuring as Kurama's. She could not believe what she was doing. She was being the biggest heartbreaker in the world by choosing another man. And the other man's stepbrother at that.

Kokoda hoisted her to her feet and they walked away from the table. She took note with horror that they would pass by Kurama, and she simply looked down as though keeping herself from tripping with her heels when they did so. Through the corner of her eyes, she saw Kokoda wink at his brother while the latter merely smiled painstakingly.

Once on the dance floor, Kokoda took her hands in his and placed them about his shoulders and carefully slid his at her sides. They steered, slowly, tentatively, and she was unable to look at his eyes even if he did. She had always thought if it was essential for someone to look into the eyes her partner while dancing. And for now, it didn't matter. She simply had to look away.

With what seemed minutes, he was closing in, taking half-steps from time to time until she had no choice but to look over his shoulder and even tuck her chin upon it. And that was the very moment did her eyes widen in horror.

Dancing feet away from them were Kurama and Narako. She was pressed against him so tightly that her arms reached his back, drawing circles on it. Kurama's back was turned to her right now, and she could not help but feel so red in the face when she suddenly sneered at her. She knew her. And it sucked.

Through the pain in her chest, she pulled Kokoda closer with what seemed harshness so that he let out a small, "Whoa!" Nevertheless, he wrapped his arms around her, and just then did Kurama meet her gaze. Deliberately fluttering her eyelashes, she moved her chin to the fox's brother's shoulder more securely and closed her eyes, pretending to be warm and cozy when in fact, she was simply chilled. She was so sure that he was watching them, and, opening her eye a crack proved her right. She decided to stay this way and it didn't take long before Kokoda's hands ran on her back in small circles.

It did not feel soothing at all. It was beyond revolting.

So, there it is. And if you're thinking that it's not yet the end of the celebration, you're right! Next chapter will be the continuation. But I don't think I would be able to update soon. Really sorry. (-.-)V [peace sign]

Please review? Thank you!

~four-eyed 0-0