Chapter 14 - Sorrow & Joy

Rin lay there in the dark, trying hard not to cry. In only a couple of weeks, Kenru had met and mated Tekki. Kome was smitten with Ayala, and Shippo had returned grown up and was spending all his time with her sister, Mirago. Pregnant, abandoned Mirago had someone who cared for her! And Keiki had shown no romantic interest in her at all - and now it was likely that he was already mated. Unable to hold back the tears any longer, she broke down sobbing.

Suddenly she heard a soft knock on her door. Someone had heard her sobs! A male voice asked if she was all right. She tried to say she was okay but her voice broke. The door edged open and the voice asked if he could come in. She didn't recognize his voice.

When he didn't get a reply, Kiri slipped into the room. Rin looked at him. Not him!! He would tell his father that she had been crying. She moaned and buried her head in the pillows. Kiri came and sat on the edge of the bed, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "Is there something I can do?"

"No." she said, her voice muffled in the pillow.

"I am sorry to see you so sad," he continued, trying to figure out what he could do or say to make her happy. She was so pretty, but never once had he seen her smile. She always looked so unhappy.
She turned her head and looked into his green eyes. Did his mother have green eyes? Did Keiki's mate have green eyes? She started to sob again and once more burrowed into the pillow.

Kiri was aghast by her reaction to him! He was obviously the cause of her tears! He tried to think of what he could have done to her. He had barely spoken to the girl, although it was not from lack of trying. She always seemed to be avoiding him. "If I did something, please let me know. I would never hurt you. Please…"

Rin just continued to sob, helplessly wallowing in self-pity. Kiri patted her shoulder and back in a desperate attempt to soothe her. What had he done to make the girl this miserable? Finally he gave up and left her alone.
Kiri dejectedly walked to back to his father's room. When Keiki saw his son's face, he raised an eyebrow, "What is wrong? You look depressed."

"I was walking past Rin's room and heard her crying. Father, I think I did something. She looks at me and cries harder. I can't think what I could have done." He said miserably.

Keiki looked at his son in concern. He had not seen the girl in days - ever since Kiri arrived - and he missed her. He liked Rin very much - she reminded him of Kalire, not her looks because Kalire was blond like the great majority of the unicorns, but her quiet demeanor. Now to hear that she was crying - this was sad news indeed. He didn't think it had anything to do with Kiri, but something was definitely upsetting her.

There was a knock on the door and Kiri went to answer it. Princess Aara came in the room, to ask Keiki how he was doing. He was tired of being an invalid, but could not take a chance of re-injuring his leg. In man form, he didn't put that much strain on his leg, but in his unicorn form, his slender leg would take a lot of weight and had to be completely healed before he could even attempt to transform. Kaiba had promised that the splint could come off in a few more weeks.

"Princess," Keiki began, "Do you know why Rin is so sad?'

Princess Aara was taken back by the question. She knew, but not because Rin had confided in her, but because of her power to read emotions. "Yes, but it is not my place to say anything."

Kiri asked her, "I did something, didn't I? I didn't mean to."

She looked into the eyes of the young unicorn. "No, Kiri, you did nothing."

"But I don't understand. She cries when she sees me. I must have done something."

The Princess shook her head, and got up to leave, "I promise that you did nothing." And then she hurriedly left the room. How could she tell Keiki that the girl had fallen in love with him? She was sure the unicorn was mated. He had mentioned "Kalire" once in passing and she had felt the deep emotions that her name brought to him.

Kaiba was also worried about Rin. She had not attended her studies for the last two days. He decided to check on Rin himself. At her door, he knocked and heard "Go away!" through the door. He knocked again, this time announcing who he was. He heard glass breaking and rushed in the room in alarm. He found Rin picking up the pieces of a vase she had accidentally knocked over while getting up. Her eyes were red from crying.

Kaiba bent and helped her pick up the glass. Rin stopped, the pieces falling from her fingers, and sat down on the bed, her head hanging. Kaiba placed the glass shards to the floor and sat next to her, his arm around his young apprentice's shoulders. She buried her head in his shoulder and sobbed miserably. Finally, she brought her head up, reaching for Kleenex. "Am I stupid?" she asked.

"What? No, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"I fell in love with someone that doesn't even care for me - and is mated - I am such a fool!" she wailed.

Kaiba thought for a second, then replied, "You could do better than Tekki, I'm sure."

"Tekki? Who is talking about Tekki?"

"Oh, you said he was mated - I thought…" the mage ended lamely. He was not good at this.

"It is Keiki that I love," she said miserably. "And he is already mated - he has a son!"

"Keiki? Oh, Keiki. Ah - well - oh." Kaiba couldn't think of a helpful thing to say. Rin was in love with the unicorn? Kaiba sighed, not sure what to do or say. He patted her on the back, which reminded her of Kiri's attempts to soothe her. She started crying harder. Kaiba snatched his hand away, afraid to touch her. He would ask the Princess to help him with Rin's sadness.

Kaiba decided to approach the Princess tomorrow after breakfast. It was long after breakfast when he gingerly broached the subject. He was well aware of the fact that she did not like to involved with the romantic affairs of the Castle.

"I cannot get involved in this, Kaiba. I know her feelings only because of my powers and she has not made them known to Keiki. And he might well be mated already. I only got involved with Toyna because the boys were coming to blows and Vara wanted to bind Toyna." Aara's reply was about what Kaiba expected.

Kaiba sighed heavily and left the table. He had no idea what he was going to do. Rin was incapable of studying when she was this miserable, and he didn't want to see his apprentice so unhappy. He tried to think of someone who could help him with this, but there was no one he could think of. Kurama wouldn't get involved, Hiei - well, that was not even feasible, InuYasha was too young and immature, Kyo - oh gods, Kyo! There was no one to could ask advice from!
Kaiba stood there in the hallway trying to figure out what he was going to do, when Toyna suddenly rounded the corner at a full speed. He barely missed colliding with the mage.

"Kaiba! You've got to come! My mother!"

Kaiba told Toyna to get Rin and ask her to bring the birthing supplies to Yukina's room. All thoughts of Rin's misery evaporated. This was a real emergency! Kaiba ran to Yukina's wing. Toya knelt by his mate's side, holding tightly to her hand. Yukina was covered in perspiration and obviously in a lot of pain. Toya's face was tense, filled with fear for his mate. Her last pregnancy had been very hard and painful, followed by a long recovery. Toya would have been quite happy not to put Yukina through this again, but she had let herself get pregnant, desperately wanting a daughter.

Kaiba put his hands over her distended stomach, sensing the baby's well being. Unfortunately, since birth was a natural event, there was nothing to heal. Afterward, if there was tearing or bleeding, he could heal those injuries. But until the baby was born, Yukina would just have to endure the pain.

Rin came in a few minutes later, followed by Toyna, both of them ladened with supplies. The warm birthing tub was out of the question - you don't put an Ice Demon in warm water. Soon word got around about the pending birth, and Hiei walked quietly into the room. His face was ashen. He did not want his sister to suffer and would have gladly taken her pain if he could. Princess Aara stood near the door with Kurama.
Yukina had another contraction, her breath coming out in a hiss between her gritted teeth. Kaiba checked her gently, careful to respect her privacy, and found to his dismay that she was barely dilated. This was not good. Her contractions were already severe. This meant that it would be another long, drawn out delivery.

Hours passed, Yukina suffering contraction after contraction. Toya never left her side. Kaiba kept on checking her, but she was not dilating further. She was now in her fifth hour of severe contractions and weak from the strain. Kaiba took Toya and Hiei aside, and told them that he wanted their permission to perform an operation from the Human World that he had read about. It was called a Caesarian and involved cutting Yukina open until he reached her womb to pull the baby out. Hiei blanched at his words, and Toya was also full of doubt. Kaiba was not a surgeon; he had just read about this procedure in one of the many medical books that Kurama had brought him from the Human World.

Kaiba looked at them sadly, and told them they had no choice. Yukina would not be able to deliver naturally and both she and the baby would die. Toya nodded, his face grim, and went to tell his mate what was going to happen. Aara put her arms around Hiei and he pressed into her body, tears beginning to run down his face. Nothing had ever frightened him more than this.
Kaiba and Rin went upstairs to prepare his main room for the birth. He looked around the room in despair - this was not a sterile operating room! And there was no way he was going to be able to boil every piece of equipment in the room. He sent Rin to fetch Bakura and then started to set out the pieces of medical equipment he thought he would need. The instruments had been brought from the Human World after he had read some of the medical books. You never knew what would happen and what would be needed. He set water to boil and dropped the instruments in it. While he was doing that, his mind was thinking rapidly. He could close up her incision with his power, but he still had to cut her open. Loss of blood was the thing that killed more Demons that anything else. They could heal wounds, but they could not replace blood any faster than a human. Of course, they could stand to lose a lot more than a human. But Yukina was already weak and frail; it wouldn't take much blood loss to succumb.

When Bakura arrived, Kaiba asked him to kill everything in the room, hoping that his power would kill germs also, and then to ward the windows so nothing could enter. He stepped out while the mage performed his magic. His tower crackled with power and vivid blue light streamed out of his main room. Bakura wasn't sure why he was doing it, but he did what Kaiba requested. When Bakura finished, the two mages pulled out a large table and set blankets on it-this would be the operating table -- then they put a smaller blanket on another table for the baby. Kaiba thanked the Demon mage and went down stairs to get Yukina. Toya insisted on carrying her up, but Kaiba did not allow him in the room. He took Yukina from his arms and, together with Rin and Bakura, walked into the room. Bakura closed and warded the door afterward, leaving an anxious group outside.

Bakura used his power and put Yukina in a deep sleep. Then he read aloud from the medical text while Kaiba made the first incision. Kaiba was very nervous and sweat began to bead on his forehead. Rin quickly tied a piece of cloth around his head so that it wouldn't get into his eyes. Painstakingly, Kaiba cut through layer after layer of tissue, using his power to stop the bleeding after every incision. It was incredible combination of medicine and magic.

Finally, they reached the baby. The infant seemed healthy and Kaiba gently removed her from the womb, giving her to Rin to clean. He took out the afterbirth, and cleaned up as best he could, still worried about germs. But with the healing powers of a Demon, the few germs that remained might not matter that much. Layer by layer, Kaiba closed the incision, pressing his hands over it while Bakura held the edges closed. Finally they were done and Yukina was still sleeping peacefully, her heart beating strongly.

Kaiba turned his attention to the baby, a beautiful little girl with snow white hair and her father's blue eyes. There was nothing more he could do - the operation looked like a success. Bakura removed the wards from the windows and door, and Kaiba walked into the hall, Rin following behind him with the infant. She handed the tiny baby to Toya, who looked at his daughter with tears of relief in his eyes. Toya asked about Yukina and was told that she was resting and it looked like she would recover fully. But Kaiba cautioned against having any more children. Toya agreed, but it was Yukina who needed to hear those words.
Toya handed his daughter to Hiei, who clutched the baby tightly, scared to death that he would drop her. Hiei looked at his niece and she stretched out a tiny hand, to grasp his finger. His heart clutched with emotion. In his entire life, he had never imagined feeling so much for one tiny baby.

Toya had gone in to see Yukina, and with Kaiba's help, took her down to her own bed. A wet nurse, the same one who nursed Shilo, had been brought to the Castle and she was waiting to feed the baby. Rin had taken pity on Hiei and was carrying the child to her basket.

It was late that night when Rin finally got a chance to go to her room to rest. Her tears over Keiki seemed so childish and petty after what she had just seen Yukina go through. She was just going to run a hot bath when she heard a knock on her door. She rushed to answer it, fearing that Kaiba had sent for her because Yukina had taken a turn for the worst. 
She opened the door and there stood Keiki, balancing on his crutches.

"May I come in for a moment?" He asked in that soft voice she loved so much. She nodded and opened the door wider so he could get through. He looked for a place to sit, but there were books and papers on every chair. She motioned to the bed and he sat gingerly on the edge. She sat down about a foot from him.

"My son tells me that you are very sad, and I was worried about you. I do not want you to be sad, Rin. I care for you." She looked at him when he said that, hope suddenly burning inside, but then he continued, "You healed me and have always been by my side as I healed. I miss your company."

She sighed; it was only gratitude that he felt for her. "It is nothing. Just a passing problem."

"Please, Rin, tell me. My son thinks that he is the cause and I thought it was his imagination. But then I realized that I have not seen you since he arrived. Did he do something to hurt you?"

"No, Kiri has done nothing." She hung her head, afraid that he would read her feelings in her eyes.

"Then why have you not come to see me?" Keiki could feel her sorrow, right there beneath the surface.

It was too much, being with him like this, but never able to be truly one with him. Tears ran her face. She could not stop them. He moved closed and took her in his arms, her head on his shoulder, his gentle hands stroking her hair.

"Shush. I am here for you. You can tell me," he murmured.

"I love you," she whispered, "I love you."

Keiki held her just a little tighter when he heard her words; they were very unexpected. But they made him feel good inside.  He still didn't understand what her feelings for him had to do with his son. Suddenly he saw the connection. He lifted her face from his shoulder, wiping away the tears with gentle fingers, and looked into her eyes. "Kalire is her name. She was my mate and the mother of my only child. She -- she died many years ago. But she is waiting for me. I feel her presence within me, and one day I too will pass and together we will go to the golden fields beyond this world. There has never been anyone since her death, Rin. My heart has been empty - until you came and reminded me of her. You are so much like Kalire, that my heart feels full when I am near you."

Rin looked up into his deep blue eyes, her heart suddenly filled with hope. Keiki leaned forward and kissed her softly. "My future is not mine to decide, Rin. If the unicorn clan decides to remain in hiding, then I must rejoin them. I have no future to offer until they make their decision."

"I could come with you."

"No, it would not be allowed. And we stay in unicorn form, not human."

Keiki kissed her again, this time a little harder and Rin wrapped her arms around his neck. Then he broke from her and struggled to his feet, grasping his crutches. "If the clan decides to take the Princess' offer, then I will have a future to offer you. Until then I beg you to remain my friend and allow me to be in your company."

Rin nodded mutely and watched Keiki leave the room. Her mind was a sea of emotion. She knew that he did not love her, but at least he felt something for her. Even if it was just a resemblance to his past love, it was a start.

Yukina slept through the night and woke up in the morning, sore and tired, but otherwise in good health. She asked for her daughter immediately and the baby was brought to her. Everyone had come down to see Yukina now that she was awake and to congratulate her.

Kaiba asked what the baby's name was going to be and Yukina smiled, replying, "Toya and I decided to name our baby Hiya. The "ya" from Toya's name and the "hi" from Hiei's name." She looked at her brother and smiled at the surprised fire Demon.

Hiei couldn't speak; his throat was so tight with emotion. He never expected them to do this and he was deeply touched by their generosity.

"You have to take her under your wing," Toya admonished his brother-in-law. And Hiei nodded, his eyes brimming with tears. He had never been happier in his entire life.

 

 

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