• CHAPTER 67 - TARDY

    Ohhh, what do you do when one important person has missed every solitary historic mark of the family because of his absence after you got back?? What do you do with them?

    Was I only imagining Kira in the doorway, or was he really standing there in one piece? I took a moment to examine his enamoring beauty as he shut the front door behind him and stood in his place. I scanned him up and down and knew that--just like Kai--his beauty wasn't something I could merely imagine so easily. I stepped forward a foot or two and was surprised to notice that Kai wasn't trying to hold me back. He seemed pretty relaxed at seeing Kira after he took off from my scent when I came back. I stepped forward another foot and suddenly dove at Kira after my impatience started kicking in. I coiled my arms tight around his torso and buried my face in his frozen torso.

    "Kira, you're back!" I squealed in joy.

    I felt Kira rub my back gently, "Yeah. As are you."

    I held myself closer to Kira and inhaled his scent; his natural scent that radiated off of him like Kai's did. I smiled widely and almost started crying. I wasn't able to see him for more than a mere five seconds after I came back last week. He had taken off and Kai claims that it was from my scent. I pulled away from Kira and thumped my fist against his chest, injuring my hand that I didn't injure with Takeuchi.

    "You idiot! How dare you bail on me like that!" tears of frustration formed at my eyelids. "I come back after a month's absence and you end up running away!"

    Kira looked down at me in confusion and sympathy, "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Your scent...it was too much for me."

    I looked down in shame, "That's something I can't help,"

    Kira sighed, "And my craving was something I couldn't help. I'm sorry."

    "How are you feeling now?" I looked up at him.

    He smiled, "I'm feeling fine now,"

    I smiled back at him and out of nowhere, he crouched down and wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up right away. I immediately started laughing after a short second of freaking out and Kira spun us around once. It was strange how hyper he was all of a sudden. I turned to look over at Kai and he donned a smile on his face as well.

    "I haven't felt better in ages," Kira laughed, "now that you're back."

    I wrapped my arms around his neck--while he was still holding me up--and held him tightly, "You're finally back!"

    "I wish deeply I could have stayed," he frowned, "but my Vampire cravings amplified at your scent and I had no other option but to leave."

    "But Kira--"

    "I didn't want to risk infiltrating you," he interrupted me. "I went into the city, consumed as much as needed, and came back."

    I sighed again, "Okay, I forgive you," I smiled and hugged him again.

    Kira spun me around once more and placed me dantily on my feet. Kai approached us with a faint smile still on his face and he pat Kira's shoulder, "Good to have you back, Kira,"

    "Nice seeing you too, little brother," Kira smiled.

    I was overjoyed at how Kira was getting back to his normal, spontaneous self. I hadn't seen him so uplifted in ages. I wondered how he behaved and what he did while I was gone. Did he even know about Kai's plan?

    Something suddenly clicked into realization in my head and I freaked out, jumping up and down and squealing, "Kira! You need to see Toshihiro!!"

    Kira cocked one eyebrow, "Toshihiro? Who's that?"

    I grabbed Kira's hand and started pulling him along, "Come on!"

    I drug Kira towards Takeuchi's room and Kai follwed shortly behind. Kira didn't seem to struggle under my grip but seemed confused as to what was happening. I opened the door to Takeuchi's room to see everybody else still in there, talking with Miku and Takeuchi who was lying next to Miku and attending to her and Toshihiro. Everybody turned their attention to Kira and examined him as I did. Matsuda was the first to smile in realization and he glided over to pat Kira's back and welcome him back. Takeuchi hopped off of the bed and landed an ear-splitting whack on Kira's back and cracked some inside perverted joke and him and Kira wouldn't stop laughing for a while after that.

    "Dude, welcome back," Takeuchi smiled at Kira.

    Kira smiled back at Takeuchi and I released Kira's hand to let Kira slap Takeuchi's back just as hard as Takeuchi did to him. Kai stood next to me on my right and stowed his hands in his pockets and just observed the scene. He was so happy to have his big brother back. Even though Kira had been gone longer than this before, it was more important for him to be back now since we were all together again. I was back, Kira was back, Toshihiro was born--

    "Oh, Toshihiro!" I grabbed Kira's hand again and pulled him over to Takeuchi's bed where Miku was lying with Toshihiro cradled to her chest.

    "Hello, Kira," Miku greeted tiredly.

    "Miku?" Kira blinked. "You're not pregnant anymore?"

    "Of course not," I rolled my eyes. I pointed to Toshihiro lying on Miku's chest and smiled at Kira, "That's Toshihiro. Takeuchi and Miku's baby."

    Kira's eyes widened slightly in surprise and was overwhelmed, "When was he born?"

    "Just a day and a half ago," Matsuda butted in. "Arisa put on her brave act and basically pulled Toshihiro out with her bare hands."

    Kira looked to his side at me in astonishment. I looked down and blushed, "Arisa, you helped?"

    "Yeah," I nodded. "Toshihiro was basically killing Miku. I don't know what came over me, but I managed to become so filled with adrenaline that my nausea from blood and grotesque scenes vanished."

    "She fainted right after, though," Kai chuckled. I whipped around and beamed at him.

    "But it was because of her and Matsuda that I made it through," Miku smiled faintly.

    Kira looked down at Miku, most likely observing her injuries, "How did these injuries occur?"

    Miku burrowed her eyebrows together and sighed, "Toshihiro was growing agitated. He broke some ribs, started tearing through my womb, and split my pelvis, temporarily immobilizing my right leg."

    "Oh," Kira mumbled. He glued his eyes to Toshihiro, absorbing the new member of the family.

    Miku giggled, "You should have seen when Toshihiro tried to gnaw Arisa's finger off," she sighed. "She was stupid enough to stick her finger in his mouth."

    "Oh, like I knew he would have fangs after eleven hours of life!" I playfully argued with Miku.

    Kira nudged my arm with his fist, "Stupid girl," he smiled.

    I smiled back at Kira and we all spent the next hour talking and conversing. Half of the conversing was me lecturing and bitching at Kira for missing Toshihiro's birth and my return home. Of course, he was here for five seconds when I got here before he left, but he technically wasn't "here" to see me. I was surprised to see that Kai didn't keep as close of an eye on Kira. Maybe Kira's craving was under more control than usual. All of the talking and joking completely distracted me from the idea of telling Kai about my freakish dream. I figured Kai forgot about it--for now--and that I wouldn't have to tell him. But I could feel some sort of awkwardness when I was near him and I'm sure he could feel it, but it was just a dream so I shouldn't be so freaked out. I've been known in this house to have kooky dreams.

    "So Kira," I asked him, "with the week you were gone, where did you stay? Where did you sleep?"

    Kira rolled his eyes and sighed, "That's the dilemma. I didn't sleep. I'm debilitated."

    Ah, yes, how I missed his formal vocabulary as well as most others in this house, "You should get to bed, then," I frowned at him.

    "Arisa, you may go ahead and accompany him up if you want. Catch up on some things." Kai suggested with a faint smile.

    I stared at him in bewilderment and snapped out of my daze by nodding and smiling, "Okay!" I grabbed Kira's wrist and drug him out of Takeuchi's room. "Bye, everybody! Bye, Toshihiro!"

    Kira and I left while everybody was bidding their farewells and Kira and I headed up the stairs. As soon as I got to the top, I stood and looked around in confusion. I had never been in Kira's room...I didn't know where it was. Kira sighed and rolled his eyes and lead me to the other door across from Kai's room that I hadn't really noticed. Kira stopped in front of his door and I released my grip from his wrist. Kira tucked his hands in his pockets and sighed.

    "You didn't have to accompany me, you know," he donned a crooked smile.

    "I want to see your room!" I burst in his face.

    Kira stood and stared at me as if I were insane and finally opened the large door to his room. I ducked under his arm and slid right in before he did and immediately examined the room. It was smaller than Kai's, about two-thirds the size, but just as beautiful. Instead of cream-colored sheets and comforters, they were more of a mix between ivory and crimson. His bed was also overwhelmed by many useless decorative pillows. His end table and dresser were both a blackish-brown and he had crimson, velvet, opaque curtains drawn back from his wall-high windows, allowing plenty of light in. His bed was also placed delicately on a little platform and a nice, little bedside lamp took its place on one of the end tables and a faux fern on the other end table. His room was so finiky and well kept together, just like every other room in this house. I gaped and ran my eyes over the room a hundred more times before Kira chuckled at me.

    "Satisfied?" he asked me humorously.

    "Hell yes!" I smiled and clapped my hands together once. "I'm very happy now."

    "I'll need to clarify my bedroom to make up for my astray days," Kira chuckled to himself.

    I looked down and joy overwhelmed me. I clenched my fists and gulped deeply, "So...you're okay now?"

    Kira paused for a second, "Yeah. For now."

    "How long will you be okay?" I asked him. I turned around with partial tears in my eyes. "How much longer do you think until your craving will act up again?"

    Kira stared at me in both surprise and sympathy, "On average, a few years,"

    I sighed a huge sigh of relief and smiled lightly at him, "Good. Because I don't want you to leave again."

    "I wouldn't want to embark again," Kira looked down. "But my craving is something out of my authority."

    "I understand," I told him, although I wasn't entirely telling the truth. "But why won't you have Kai or somebody turn you into a full Vampire?"

    Kira's face shifted to shock and we stood, staring at each other for an eternity before he spoke up, "Because it's my last wish to become a monster,"

    I paused for a long moment, "Oh," so he'd rather suffer through the pain of the incomplete venom than cease the pain by turning completely?

    "Hey, I've made it this long," Kira smiled faintly, "so I won't be leaving anytime soon."

    I sped towards Kira and collided with his torso and wrapped my arms tightly around him, "You're back..."

    Kira chuckled and stroked my hair, "Yeah,"

    I tightened my embrace, "Everybody is here,"

    Kira nodded and sighed, "Yeah. It's unfortunate I missed Toshihiro's birth."

    "It was gruesome," I let out a halfhearted laugh. "I got sick."

    "That doesn't surprise me," by the tone of his voice, I could tell he rolled his eyes.

    "Shut up," I giggled. It felt so great to see him again.

    "In the whole month that you were absent, I had never been so companionless," Kira said in a low tone. "Same with Kai."

    I looked up at Kira in confusion, "What do you mean?"

    "During my craving sprees, I had thought before that, that was infallible loneliness," Kira sighed. "Kai had kind of been lonesome a majority of his life--especially after Ayame--until he congregated with you."

    "And...?" I pushed.

    "What I'm trying to implicate is that Kai and I never apprehended what true loneliness was until your absence," Kira sighed.

    I froze where I was and lost my breath for a moment. Did they really feel that way? I would think being a Vampire or half Vampire would almost be as lonely as you could get because for the first couple of decades, it's hard to communicate without attacking. How is it that Kai and Kira could be so independent and strong but yet collapse after someone like me leaves?

    "It was difficult for all of us," Kira whispered, "to not turn back and bring you home."

    My heart jumped as soon as he said "home". This place was like a home, it was my second home. Right now, there was no other place in the world where I felt most comfortable with anybody that was actually alive--sort of. Everybody here was friendly, everybody was nice, everybody accepts each other, despite their severe differences. Vampires and Werewolves--Takeuchi, Kira and Kai--are mortal enemies; Vampires and Werewolves and Angels are all mortal enemies as well, but they all put their differences aside and saved each other. They have saved me numerous times as well, but it took a while to make sure Kai and Kira didn't want to snack on me. I'm sure my parents at first wouldn't approve of me now living with Vampires and a Werewolf, but I'm sure they would learn to appreciate these people for who they are.

    "Well, I'm back," I sighed against Kira's torso and squeezed him harder.

    Kira stroked my head a couple more times and gently pryed me off of him. He reached down and grabbed my left hand and started twirling the ring around my finger. I held my breath--afraid he would be angry or depressed that Kai and I were engaged again--and waited. Kira continued to muse at the ring with a somewhat peaceful complexion. He smiled faintly and it reached his eyes.

    "You and Kai deserve the happiness you two have coveted," Kira granted. "This is Kai's first time in true love. It's his first time with serious consideration of marriage. He has never been so prepared or exhilerated in his life."

    "Kira..." I whispered, absorbing every word.

    "It's the first time I've ever been in true love as well," Kira sighed. "But you're much better off with Kai, now that I apprehend it. Besides, the last doing on my list is to soil my little brother's happiness." he smiled.

    I was choking on joy and tears at the same time. Kira was so understanding, he knew just what to say. Despite how much he's in love with me, he's still allowing me to be with Kai. He had promised before that he wouldn't try to take me from Kai, and I believed him. He also knew what was best for me, even if he had to suffer for it. But that's what makes him so incredibly special to so many people in this world.

    I wrapped my arms around Kira again and smiled with a little giggle, "Welcome back, tardy pants,"