Hello! And yes, I'm finally back! It took me so long to update and I didn't realize that this would be the last chapter (if excluding the epilogue, I really feel it's justice to have one). And so, I hope you will enjoy! (bites teeth)

The Rose In Between

by four-eyed 0-0

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Mum!"

Inoue turned to her son who had just come out of the tent. She smiled. For one crazy moment, she had thought he would never be able to call her that way. Back at the boulder. That was indeed scary. "Yes, dear?"

He sat on her lap and she wrapped her arms about his middle. "My friends told me they will be having some smoked marshmallows tonight."

"And you'd like to join them?"

"Yes."

"I thought you'd be waiting with me for twelve o' clock. It's ten-thirty already."

"I'll be back before you turn twenty-five."

Inoue smiled. "Swear to me that you'll do."

Hiro leapt out of her lap and faced her. He raised both hands. "I swear."

"Okay, dear. Wait for me and I'll bring you there."

She was just about to stand when he said, "Don't worry. My friends are already here." He nodded toward their direction and Inoue saw that they had an adult with them.

"Okay…"

"Bye, Mum. See you later." He then ran toward them and soon, they disappeared. That was when Kurama appeared and sat down by her side. And what happened that afternoon came rushing back to her.

There was a lengthy silence that stretched and stretched.

"Where did Hiro go?" he asked at last.

She looked at him then sighed. "Having some smoked marshmallows." Then she sighed again, wondering what to say next to keep the conversation going on. "Where did you go, by the way?"

"Nowhere important."

"Ah, I see." Okay, so he did not want to talk, did he?

Another silence. Just the crickets and the distant chatter of children having marshies.

She was considering going away when he placed his hand on top of hers. She turned to him and he smiled. "Come with me."

"Where?"

"Somewhere important." He grinned more broadly.

"Stop doing that," she said, grinning herself. His hand managed to take hers in it and she held into it.

He blushed. She found it cute. He stood up, taking her with him, and he led her into the woods, away from the people.

"Where are we going, really?"

"Sshh." He just looked straight ahead, and she followed. Wherever they were going, her heart knew it was somewhere special. And she remembered how she did not regret having let slip his nickname. Kuchi. She smiled at the thought of him calling her Kaka.

After minutes of silent walking, the thick trees cleared and then a gush of cold, salty wind touched her face. She knew that breeze. And the sound of the calm waves. She knew it was the shore. She just knew it. And then there was a log. Where a blazing fire burnt, alighting the cold darkness. They walked toward that log and fire. Silently.

And the gush of the wind sent her locks everywhere. She looked at the dark, endless sea, breathing in the air, absorbing her surroundings. She looked up at the sky and saw the stars so far away.

"Why did you bring me here?" She turned to him who happened to be gazing at the stars himself.

"To wait for twelve o' clock."

She smiled. "And why should we wait here?"

"To be alone."

"Kurama—"

"Hush, Kaka."

Inoue cleared her throat. "Look, Hiro and I—"

"I know. He told me it would be fine."

She knitted her eyebrows. "What are you saying?"

Kurama simply raised his eyebrows. "I told him I'd want to be with you. Just for this year."

A stitch built up in her chest. "Did you tell him—"

"No. But I told him how I feel toward you."

She wanted to blurt, "What?", but instead, she flushed.

He inched closer. "And do you know what he said?"

"What?" Now that was a different "What?".

"I'll tell you later. When you turn twenty-five."

She chuckled and wrapped her shawl more tightly around her.

"Would you like one snug hug?"

She blushed even more. He was good at rhymes. "Do you even have to ask?"

"I'll take that as a yes." And sure enough, he had his arms around her in just a second. She pressed her head on his shoulder and breathed in his scent. She carefully listened to the beating of his heart. It sounded like a melody inside her head. Too much familiar. She missed it.

"What are you thinking right now?" she asked, out of nowhere. She kept her eyes at the far, far sea.

"I'm not thinking right now. Just feeling you in my arms." He inhaled deeply and then said, "How about you?"

"Same here." Inoue smiled and tucked herself closer. "And wondering how we ended up this way."

"Are you sure you'd want to talk about that?"

"You've asked me for a talk last night and I guess it's about time." She sat upright and looked him straight in the eye.

He was silent, as though making up his mind. Then, "Would you mind telling me why you ran that night?"

She was ready for that question. She had been expecting him to ask that one out. And now, she was ready. It was a resolution she made that before she turned a year older, she would tell him all the things that had happened for the last seven years. She wanted him to know. Everything.

"Are you sure you'd want to know?"

"Yes."

She inhaled a deep breath before starting. Then she looked him in the eye. "Karasu… he tried to do me bad. He wanted to take avenge over his defeat. He wanted to use me to hurt you. As a bait…." She gulped and then a tear fell down from her eye. "He kissed me, Kurama! He shoved his tongue down my throat! He tore my shirt down! He touched my chest, my thigh, and he almost did it!" There a sob finally escaped from her throat, and he reached for her shoulder, but she shook him off. "No. Please. Let me tell you everything."

Kurama nodded and instead, he held her hand in his. "Go on."

"Believe me. I tried every possible way of getting away. I spat at his face. I bit his tongue. I blasted him with what I could. But he was too strong, too strong for me. And then when you came in, when you finally arrived, I knew I could no longer face you. I felt dirty. I felt so dirty. So filthy. A man whom I did not know touched me all for the avenging the death caused by the man I loved."

Inoue wiped her tears away. And then she breathed out a sigh of relief. Relief that he had finally heard her side. "And you know, as you were fighting that devil, I had made up my mind that I would run away. And never come back. But here I am with you now. The wind carried me back here."

"And I'm glad it did. For I can never live without you." Kurama kissed her hand tenderly. "What happened then?" he asked tentatively.

She breathed, her sobs subsiding. "I accidentally ran over Korin Takizato's gate. And she took me in. Took care of me. It was week after she found me that I finally talked about you. About myself. And about the child whose heart beat inside my womb."

"Hiro?"

"Yes. And how I wished he would not look like you. I did not want to be reminded of my past. But then, when he came out into the world, he did look like his father. My wish was not granted. But he is still my son. I will love him with all my heart. Raise him as a great child like you. At least I'll be happy with him, and he with me." She paused, looked at him, and, seeing that he did not have anything to ask, she continued. "Two months after he was born, we flew to London. And there he grew up, just like an ordinary child whose unordinary fact about him was that he had no father."

"Did he ask about me?"

"Yes. He always did. When he saw a man with red hair, 'Mum, is he my Dad?'. Or green eyes, 'Mum, he has green eyes like mine. Is he my Dad?'. Believe me, he was one of a kind. And then you came. He never stopped talking about you ever since. Long-Haired Mister. Ku-kun. And now, Dad."

"I was sure we had that connection the day we first met."

"Sure you do." She smiled and he smiled back. "So, now you tell me about yourself."

"Nothing much. The night you went missing, my mother learned about everything. And she married Sutoku that summer. I was there, imagining the two of us walking down the aisle. But you were gone. And I needed to accept that. But still, I waited. I kept your necklace, wishing that one day, I'll be able to wear it to you again. Yusuke and the others teased me a lot, but I knew they were just trying to make me laugh. Despite everything, one thing was for sure. I never forgot to think of you. You were everywhere. But then, I just wished you were there."

Inoue smiled as tears ran down his face. And right then she reached for his face and wiped his tears away, the same way he would every time she cried. She embraced him. "Now I am here. Right here." He hugged her back. They just stayed like that, holding each other. Never wanting to let go.

"Inoue—"

"I am Anikka. Your Kaka."

He suddenly let go. "Huh?"

She smiled, the wind blowing against her face. "Hello, Earth to Kurama. I said I'm Anikka. Your Kaka."

"Did you just—"

"Yep."

He smiled and then reached for his pocket. "I was planning to give this to you when the clock strikes twelve, but, I guess Hiro'll get here by the time." She simply listened and watched. The diamond rose. It sparkled against the firelight. She could not stop the happy tears from falling down. "Happy birthday, love."

"My God, Kuchi!" She flung her arms around him and he almost fell off. She looked at him and kissed him chastely. But hard.

"Let me wear it to you."

She obliged and turned her back at him, so that he had to brush her curls from her neck. She could feel his fingers on the skin of it, and the goose bumps got their way. Once he had fastened the hook, he slid his arms around her and she turned around again, facing him. Then she remembered. The ring. In her pocket. She took it out and held it out for him to see. He grinned.

"Have you always kept that?"

She nodded. She had always brought it with her. She could not throw it away without it being safe. It held a promise of forever. "Would you mind wearing it to me now? Again?"

He took her hand and the ring. "Can this be a proposal?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Will you marry me, Meisho, Anikka Mizokuchi, Inoue Takizato?"

"Do you even have to ask?" She giggled.

"Let me hear you say it."

"Yes, I will marry you, Kurama, Shuichi Minamino."

He smiled the happiest smile of all. He slid the ring down her finger and kissed it. "I haven't told you yet that I love you."

"You just did. And I love you too."

He leaned in and softly, he kissed her. Under the stars. She smiled beneath his lips and he did, too, she was sure of it. Her arms snaked around his neck and his about her waist. She kissed him hard, as though making up for all the kisses that must have been for the past seven years. He kissed her still with the gentleness that he had always possessed. Her lips melded with his as the cold wind brushed their faces. And it felt right. Felt like the only real kiss they had for the past three months. And she never wanted to end it. She never did.

They pulled away for air and then looked at each other's eyes. She missed those eyes. So much.

"Honestly, I miss pulling your hair every time we do that. It felt weird that I touched your nape without having to venture deep into the strands."

He snickered and kissed the tip of her nose. "It'll grow back."

"Nah. I love it the way it is. You look very much like Hiro."

"Thanks. I knew that'll come by."

"By the by, what did Hiro tell you?"

He looked at his watch. It was a good quarter before twelve. "Just wait a little longer."

She giggled again. "I love you." She kissed his cheek.

"I love you too." He kissed her forehead.

And they kissed again.

"Mum! Dad!"

They broke apart and pressed their foreheads against each other's, smiling. Hiro came running toward them and sat himself between. "Why were you kissing?" he asked Inoue.

"Because we're in love?"

Hiro smiled. He turned to Kurama. "Did you do what I told you?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

Kurama looked at Inoue and grinned. He nodded at Hiro.

"Mum, where's the ring?" Hiro took her left hand and saw it there. His eyes sparkled. "Now I'll have a Dad for sure."

"Hiro, would you like to know something?"

Kurama turned to Inoue just as Hiro knitted his eyebrows. He read her mind.

She smiled. "Your Dad's your real Dad."

"What?"

"Kurama is your biological father."

"He is?"

"Yes, he is."

Hiro's eyes widened and he slowly turned to see the tears running down Kurama's eyes. There was a long pause. "DAD!" he cried, echoing the words through the cold breeze of the night, and throwing his arms around him and sobbing. "I knew you're my Dad. I knew it! I knew it!"

Inoue's eyes brimmed with tears at the sight. Her birthday was now complete. And she started crying for sure. She embraced the two boys in her life, and just as she turned twenty-five, they were looking up the starry sky, their only rose in between her and Kurama.

And that's it! I really wish you won't kill me. I'm kind off... drifting. Drifting away from the story-writing business. FOR NOW. I'm just insanely busy with schoolwork and paperworks that I don't know how to squeeze in the ffnetwork. Besides, I'm having a very hard time to think of plots. Right now, I'm just taking down ideas until I'm quite ready to commit myself to a new story.

So, for now, thanks for reading! (I'll be posting the epilogue in a matter of minutes since I've no idea when I'll have time to surf the net.)

~four-eyed 0-0