Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Winter's end ❯ Epilogue ( Chapter 21 )

I'm so sorry!! I bailed on my promise =( Then I got super busy adjusting and making friends and going on a field trip (wish I could show you pictures!) to Hiroshima and Kyoto that-- well, this kind of fell behind. Don't ask me why I start writing again when school starts, but-- I did, and hopefully this will satisfy your last chapter needs. :)

 

Side note: I had really back luck with getting sick for some reason... I was sick at least 3 times, went to the doctor twice. Bah. Having a cough that makes you hack up a lung every time isn't very pleasant (though a good workout?), then I had pink eye-esk symptoms three times and had to ditch school in case it was the H1N1 flu or something. I still survived, so HAH! >.>

 

Disclaimer: Sadly, even though I'm in Japan, I'm nowhere near licensing anything. :(

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Epilogue

 

The rest of the pregnancy evolved mostly quietly. Ray moved back to Tokyo and returned to her school, not without earning a couple of disapproving looks from teachers for being engaged at such a young age. The apartment across from Shuchi's was still vacant - she stopped wondering why when she saw her furniture in there and guessed her mom and Shuichi had played innocent in front of her.

 

Not everything was perfect though, as Ray realized on the train back to Tokyo. Someone pulled the emergency break and the train was delayed for at least four hours. She realized of course when Kurama disappeared that it had to do with inhuman beings. Thankfully, he wasn't gone too long and before she could truly start to worry, he was back next to her, smiling while draping an arm around her shoulders.

 

“He helped, didn't he?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Your friend. The one who saved me.” She hadn't caught his name, nor had she been given the opportunity to thank him for rescuing her from Yukio's grip.

 

Kurama smiled mysteriously and gave a half nod, “Perhaps...” he answered vaguely.

 

Ray tried to pout, but she couldn't help a smile. “Fine, don't tell me his name. But the next time you see him, can you at least give him my heartfelt thanks?”

 

Kurama didn't respond, but he smiled. There was no need for her thanks, he had given Hiei more gratitude than the fire demon would ever want to receive in a life time. Kurama almost chuckled at the memory. Hiei's face was twitching when his fox friend thanked him for the billionth time. “Save it, fox, or I'll cut out your tongue.”

 

Or in everyday language : “Stop thanking me, it's embarrassing.” But after the thanking came the inquiring, how did Hiei manage to find Ray? Kurama was even more curious as to why his normally human-despising friend went through the trouble of finding his girlfriend. The only thing Hiei bothered answering was that he intended to drag her back to speak to him since they were both stubborn as mules and heartbroken. Kurama had meant to thank his friend again, but the short demon disappeared before the red head could.

 

Back on the train, Kurama had to admit he was a tiny bit surprised that his - gorgeous - fiancée was so astute. It would be impossible for a human to feel his presence when even he had some difficulties. Ray smiled, “I can tell you know, you're that much more happy when he's around.” she squinted at the small space between her thumb and index.

 

“Are you jealous?” chuckled the red head, soon-to-be-father. Ray smiled ambiguously and rested her head on his shoulder. The train brought them back safely, though late, to Tokyo, and life seemed to resume its normal course with the added happiness.

 

Following the doctor's strong advice, Ray tried not to do anything too strenuous—not like she could anyway with an overprotective Shuichi by her side. “Don't lift that, it's too heavy for you.” Oh alright. “No don't run! I'll come to you.” Um, okay... “That's okay, I can do it, really.” But so can I!

 

You get the picture.

 

It was autumn when Ray stopped going to school, her last year, because her stomach bulged so much it seemed Shuichi was afraid it was going to split open with every step. He almost wanted to restrict her to the apartment, where it was safest after all now that he'd invested in some-- security.

 

Ray had finally met Shuichi's closest friends, now that she had come to terms - after quite a few nights of thinking - with his true nature. Yusuke and Kuwabara couldn't help elbowing Shuichi the entire time, grinning idiotically and pointing at the matching rings. Now Ray understood all the mysteries and headaches of her other half's life.

 

Everything was going fine on this fine afternoon when the first contraction occurred. All the guys in the room freaked out. Shuichi reacted like a dog who had lost his sense of smell: running around seemingly aimlessly before coming back on his track, and being distracted again. Yusuke and Kuwabara didn't really know how to react except to chuckle nervously and keep moving around the living room.

 

“Will you-- calm down?” huffed Ray, trying to even out her breathing. “Shuichi-- the car.” Before too long, they arrived at the hospital and Kurama's breathless babble somehow made sense to a nurse - probably when she saw Ray being brought in holding onto Yusuke and Kuwabara - and she was then immediately taken care of. She started losing her water just when she was being helped onto the rolling bed.

 

Kurama seemed to go crazy and both Yusuke and Kuwabara had to restrain him from going berserk and running rogue everywhere. “Calm down fox, do you really think being agitated will help anyone?”

 

Yusuke glanced over Kurama's shoulder and smiled, “Hiei!”

 

“Nice of you to join us on this happy occasion,” grinned Kuwabara.

 

Hiei almost snorted, “Save the nonsense. Fox, you've got work to do.”

 

Kurama looked like he got electrified briefly, which must have rewired his brain. “Is that so?” he asked softly, glancing at his friend. The fire demon looked left, then vanished. Kurama half smiled and got to work.

 

“What was that for?” asked a confused Yusuke to Kuwabara. The latter simply shrugged, as lost as his friend.

 

“We might get company very soon. I need to-- 'erase' my family's existence.” answered Kurama before walking towards the delivery room, where the medical staff had taken Ray.

 

Yusuke's eyes lit up seriously. “I might just have to greet them warmly.”

 

“What about me?” inquired Kuwabara, pointing a clueless finger at himself.

 

“Stay there and stay alert. They might pose as staff.” With that, Yusuke and Kurama vanished, leaving Kuwabara become suspicious by himself.

 

Kurama started casting a protective barrier around the delivery room, all the while hearing Ray's breathless grunts. He tried not to wince and finished his barrier. Even though he was done, he couldn't bring himself to leave. Ray's screams resounded in his head and he envisioned her sweating, panting, and hard at work.

 

“Breathe, and - push!” directed a nurse for the tenth time. “I see the head, you're almost there!” Ray groaned and pushed out her baby with the rest of her energy. She heard a small cough before the baby tried out his lungs and cried a few shrill times.

 

“Congratulations, it's a boy!” smiled the nurse as another cut the umbilical cord.

 

“Let me see--” mumbled an exhausted Ray, covered in sweat. The nurses cleaned the baby and the mother's face, then handed the young mother her child. Though tired, Ray held onto her son tightly and brought him to her chest.

 

“... Hello, my Kousuke.” she smiled and kissed the baby's cheek. She didn't notice her son smiling back at her because pain shot through her uterus. “Ah--!” she gasped both in pain and surprise.

 

The nurses, worried, took her baby away and had the doctor come check the source of the pain. “My baby--” whispered Ray, wanting to feel his warmth.

 

The doctor frowned, “Prep her for surgery, stat!” The nurses wheeled Ray out of the room so quickly she barely noticed her fiancé before finding herself in another room.

 

“What's wrong, what's happening?” asked a very anxious father.

 

“Something happened with her uterus, we need to make sure her life isn't in danger.” answered a nurse before running into the operating room. Another nurse stepped out, holding the baby covered in blankets and approached Kurama.

 

“Are you the father?”

 

He quickly nodded then realized he was staring at his baby. “Is this--?”

 

The nurse smiled, “Your son.”

 

Hesitantly, Kurama reached forward and grabbed the newborn, realizing the weight of a new life. “What about Ray?”

 

“The doctor will come talk to you after the surgery. In the meantime, please be patient.”

 

Kurama followed the nurse into another room filled with newborns and sat by the window. “It'll be alright... your mother's strong.” whispered Kurama to his son, though mostly to reassure himself. As minutes ticked by, his thoughts diverted from Ray's surgery to the baby in his arms. What a beautiful child, he certainly thought it was the most beautiful baby in the world. But don't all parents think that way?

 

His son had little hair, gorgeous pastel green eyes and was currently gurgling at him. Kurama smiled and gave his kid a kiss. Suddenly, he stood straight up and frowned. What was that? It was like he heard a voice... Just when he was about to try something, a nurse approached him and started talking to him about baby care.

 

~*~

It was two hours later when a doctor finally came out of surgery to talk to Shuichi. “... It seems, the damage she suffered during her pregnancy wasn't completely stopped...”

 

“Wh-what does that mean?” frowned Kurama, slightly confused.

 

The doctor sighed. “It's very regrettable for a woman her age, but... we had to take out her damaged ovaries, which appeared to be-- disintegrating from the inside out, we're not sure what caused that but we're having a team examine it as we speak.” Kurama stared, at a loss of words. “I'm extremely sorry to say she'll never be able to have children again... She was lucky to have this one at all, a real miracle.”

 

The rest just washed off Kurama's ears, he wasn't listening any longer. It felt like a hole was opening beneath him and engulfing him. How could he tell Ray? Did she know? How would she react? After the doctor left, Kurama was pulled out of his thoughts by Kuwbara. “Hey, you okay?”

 

Kurama somewhat glanced at his friend and gave a tiny nod, still in shock. It was his fault, wasn't it? “Hiei and Yusuke uh-- escorted out... two visitors.” mumbled Kuwabara conspiratorially.

 

Oh-- right, Ray's life was still in danger, and again, because of him. “I see, thank you.” replied Kurama in a mutter.

 

“And uh, you have company...” mumbled Kuwabara, almost flustered before he nearly ran out. Kurama looked up and saw Ray's parents bowing to a doctor. He sure hoped they didn't get as much detail as he did, but judging from their faces-- they knew.

 

Kurama stood up as they approached, the mother with a sad smile on her face. “Ah-- hello.” bowed Shuichi. The mother bowed back but the father ignored him and sat down on a seat before pinching the bridge of his nose in between two fingers.

 

The next hour was filled with awkward silences or even more awkward small talk conversations. Finally, Ray's mother convinced the silent brooding father to leave for dinner. Only she bothered to say good bye to Shuichi, telling him to take care of their daughter.

 

~*~

After two days of checkups and last tests, Ray was allowed to go home with her new family, but without hope of expanding that family. At this point, Kurama was in overload of paranoia and saw enemies everywhere: the nurses, the other patients, the seemingly harmless elderly in a wheelchair. “Relax Shuichi, you're making me nervous!” chuckled Ray, glancing at the beautiful baby boy in her arms.

 

Kurama sweatdropped and let her in the apartment, “I'm sorry, I'm a little uneasy...”

 

“Really? I didn't notice...” smiled Ray before shaking her head. “Don't worry, didn't you say Yusuke took care of them?”

 

Grudgingly, the red head nodded and sat next to his beaming wife on the couch. “Yes-- I just have a weird feeling...”

 

“Stop being a worry rat! Kousuke will take after you.” tsked Ray with a reprimanding smile before nuzzling her baby's cheek. Kousuke simply gurgled at her, his tiny little hands clasping to her strands of hair. Kurama laughed and brushed his son's hair, smiling widely when he heard the little voice in his head again.

 

“He seems very happy.”

 

“Of course, why wouldn't he enjoy such a good show such as parents arguing?” chuckled Ray, glancing at Shuichi with an amused look. Kurama had nothing to retort at that and thus leaned in for a kiss. After the impending graduation, he had found a decent job to support his family. Things would look up from here, especially as Kousuke grew up to protect his mother. Things looked bright, and Ray smiled happily at Shuichi.

 

~*~

A few days later came some surprising yet relieving news: Yukio was dead. When they asked Hiei details, he simply answered that when he went back to castrate the bastard, he was nowhere to be found. Visiting their new acquaintance with a foot in the supernatural, Hiei learned from Sohda that Yukio was killed the very next day that he tried to get his revenge.

 

Apparently, a lot of unfriendly supernatural beings gathered in his hideout, attracted no doubt to his emanating darkness, and started fighting amongst each other - it is after all what they do best. However, the winner was the one who dealt the final blow to Yukio, before apparently eating his rotting heart. How Sohda came to know such information Hiei didn't disclose, but the information was indeed correct.

 

The good thing was that they would no longer be bothered by his persistently bothersome nature. It seemed that with the death of their most relentless foe, the number of attacks decreased substantially and their life could almost be considered normal. But no one in that family was normal, and it was just fine like that.

 

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I'm finally done! W00! And so inexcusably tardy! ;-; Sorry!!! I know it's... very happy, but I had started writing this with um-- action things, and then just got stuck deeper and deeper until I had to erase and rewrite (which I never do!) in order to finish. I hope it's satisfactory.

 

I really want to thank all of you reviewers and readers who stuck with me to the bitter (or happy) end! Reading your reviews and your overwhelmingly positive comments of how you loved this story, well, honestly it made uber happy!!! If the correct music was playing in the background, I swear I could've started tearing up... So, I hope (or know) you enjoyed it!! :) Stay tuned for more stories! My plots just... get better... (maybe). And if I can remind you to leave a last farewell review to help my goal of 100 (9 short on fanfiction!). =)

 

Thank you again!!

 

Twilightfairy: Here's the last of the last chapters, hope you enjoy it. I'm glad you loved it! Thanks! =D

 

Stelina Miko Kitsune: Haha, I'm glad it was somewhat funny!! ... I'll check the review count after this chapter, I think it'll get there, maybe. ^^; Thanks for your support/love! =D

 

Darkside 5454: You mean to say, extremely mushy and fluffy? ^^; I know I know, it's kind of... not my style? But yes... Too bad for the wind pipe huh? ;) Thanks for your support! ^.^

 

Kaori Minamino: So glad it was entertaining! I was hoping it would be pleasing... phew!

I fixed the uh-- dialogue, because Hiei didn't really pretend he didn't know Kurama ^^;; Sorry if that was confusing... >.> Yes, epilogue is upon us!! ... Sadly, this is the last update for this story! Thanks for your enthusiasm! It was by itself very entertaining ;)

 

lightlovebunny: Aww thanks!! Glad I could provide some suspense in your life. ^^ Thanks for the support! =D

 

anonymous: Whoever you are, thank you for the review and support!

 

Da Rose From Da Desert Garden: Thanks for the reward (aka review)! ^^ I'm glad I finally finished this story (only my second), but it is a goal mine now to finish what I start so... phew, I hope I can continue! =)

 

Ayla The Librarian: You know... I was TOTALLY debating that option when I wrote it (castration that is), but... I didn't. I would've if the story was comedic overall though! ^^; Maybe next time... haha. Thanks for the love! =D

 

Meg: All things that end are sad (my study abroad), but it only means more happy things come your way! At least if you want it to... Thanks for the support! =D

 

White Rose Fox: Aww, thanks! I hope you like the (last) update! And thanks for the support throughout! =3

 

tricey7: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I enjoy sharing my crazy imagination. ^^; Thanks for the support!

 

SheDreamsFiction: Haha yes! It would be... o.o; I don't think I'll write that one out though, haha xD

Thanks for the reviews! Hope you liked the last of it. =)

 

inuyuyu15: I'm glad you won't be able to forget this story, 1) because it took so long to finish, and 2) because... it's the best gift I can get for you. ^^;