A/N: I am an exceedingly impatient person sometimes. I wrote this, and didn't want to wait until Sunday. This little fic has thirteen chapters (including the epilogue) and prolonging it that long when I actually have it written seems almost criminal. So I've decided, even if I can't hold out on suspense very long, I'll be updating this fic probably at least twice a week. Probably not back-to-back days like I did yesterday and today, but maybe Sundays and Wednesdays. Maybe even more. Because, you know, after this chapter is when it gets good.

In my humble opinion, anyway. ;)

For those of you who read As It Should Be, I promise I'll try updating that one soon, too. The same goes for those of you who await the continuation of Figurine; I do have the chapter half-written, or maybe not quite half-but it's at least started.

In case any of you are wondering, the amount of time I now have has grown exponentially now that my fiance is back at school. Good for writing, but..well, you know, it kind of sucks anyway.

My new fic, Conquered, will be officially posted to this site on Friday. It will be updated every week on Friday, and bi-weekly on Mondays or Tuesdays, since I'll be waiting until the winners of each contest are announced.

Okay, so here we go!

Word Count: 722

Joy

Onigumo paced the length of the mouth of the cave, his eyes on the ground and his feet staying on the grass, never crossing into stone. His parents and told him to wait outside, and while he was more than anxious about the birth of his baby sister, he didn't exactly want to be in the cave when that was happening, so being banned was fine by him.

He couldn't hear very much; his human ears didn't permit it. Though he didn't know that—his parents had never quite corrected the assumption that he, too, was a youkai.

Soon, Daichi was at the mouth of the cave, and with the amount that he was sweating, it was hard to believe that this was the cool and collected youkai that Onigumo had grown up with the past seventeen years.

"What is it, Papa?"

Taking a deep breath, Daichi handed Onigumo a scrawled out list. "Run to the village and get us a few supplies; we thought we had a little more time and didn't get the proper supplies for a newborn baby.

"But it's a human village—will they have sufficient supplies?" Daichi only nodded before running back in with his mate, and Onigumo shook his head. With how nervous his father appeared, it was almost like he had never done this before!

Onigumo read the list as he made his way to the village, glad to have something to do in the face of his nervousness. He hadn't been to the human village that often, but he had been—and he had yet to notice the similarities between the humans and himself. It wasn't all that strange, really—it just wasn't an option for him to be human, in his mind, so why would his mind entertain thoughts of similarities between himself and them? His family had raised him to not be prejudiced, but he couldn't help feeling so—the youkai were a superior race, and he was proud to classify himself with them.

Both Akiko and Daichi could see this feeling growing within their son, and while it was a common feeling for a youkai, it saddened them greatly. He wasn't a youkai, and they hated seeing that he was so proud to call himself something he wasn't. It had hindered in them telling him the truth for far too long.

Of course, it didn't seem like that long to the two of them. At seventeen, he certainly wouldn't have matured as much as he had as a human—he probably would've appeared like the five year old he had been when they left. They couldn't deceive themselves into thinking he was that boy, though. Every day he grew, and every day the thought that he didn't know yet crossed the couple's minds. However well-intentioned they were in not telling them, they both realized it was a mistake—and one that was not going to be easy to correct.

When Onigumo returned from the village with the supplies, the newest member of their family had been born. Little Kaiya looked up at Onigumo with bright red eyes, giving a toothless smile that made his heart melt. The two red markings on each cheek were inherited from their father, as well as her bright white hair and red eyes. But she had one purple streak in her bangs, and her mother's face; to Onigumo, it seemed like she was the perfect mix of his two parents.

For the first time in his entire existence, he wondered why he looked nothing like his parents.

"Would you like to hold her?" Akiko's soft murmur brought Onigumo out of that near-dangerous train of thought, and he smiled down at the baby, reaching his arms out as she placed Kaiya in his arms. Cradling the small baby close, he closed his eyes and started humming the lullaby that his parents sang to him up until he insisted he was too old for such things.

The scene brought warmth to Akiko's heart, and put a huge smile on Daichi's face.

In that moment, nothing seemed to matter—Daichi and Akiko's secret, Onigumo's first moment of doubt, their all too secluded life—for once, everything seemed absolutely perfect as the three of them stared at the newborn baby.

If only this perfection could've lasted forever.

End Note: Does anyone else feel like my update was as long as this chapter? ;) Even so, I hope you review anyway!