Six Feet Under, and Still Breathing: The Jaded Light

What We Are Now
It was the crack of morning. The sun was just rising up over the hills, getting ready to grace the sand dunes with its heavenly light. Surprisingly, there wasn't much activity going on; there were few Adjuchas running around and tearing each other to shreds, and there weren't even any flying Hollows covering the skies. All in all, it looked like a devastated city, with nothing more than dense spiritual energy holding it up. However, when one stepped inside the innards of the area, it seemed like any other home, set up in a particularly comfortable fashion. It was like someone had taken the destroyed remnants and fixed them up as if they had never been annihilated at all.

And one of the helpers that made it that way was about to wake up.

"Urrgh..." A feminine groan could be heard from one of the rooms. Inside there was two people. The woman placed her hands to her face, trying to adjust herself from her dormant state. As she looked over her shoulder, she could see the prostrate figure lying behind her, arms wrapped around her. A small grin crawled up her face, her mind going back to the events of the night before this morning. Slowly, she allowed herself to move, knowing that she would probably wake up her husband.

Her name was Tereya Haruo.

His name was Nori.

"Nnnn..."

As she moved, the small amount of drool that had collected in her husbands mouth smeared across her arm, drenching it. In a few moments, it would dry, leaving an uncomfortable residue on her bicep. The man himself had hardly been woken; despite his wife's movement, he still clung to her dearly, head buried into her shoulder and eyes shut tight as they would go. As he slept, more and more drooled pooled onto his wife's arm.

Tereya should have stocked up on paper towels.

"O...oh, my god!"

Growling, and clearly annoyed, Tereya turned herself to face him as much as she could, with his arms wrapped around her. She was probably going to jump right into an argument for this later on, but the guy was being disgusting, at a bad time! She pulled himself right out of his arms, but stayed close to him in order to make sure she'd actually hit him. She pulled her arm back, took a deep breath....

And backhanded him across the face, the strength enough to knock him out of their bed.

SMACK!

Nori slid backwards off the bed, before finally falling off backwards off of it, landing on his head, then watching in disdain as the rest of his body came slamming down after it. Fortunately, he was out of her line of sight... He didn't care what her reason was; if she thought he wasn't going to retaliate, then she was one dumb bitch.

"You fucker!"

The bed they had been so comfortably resting on flew towards her at breakneck speeds, with Nori holding one of it's legs and swinging it like a bat. She was going to pay for waking him up so rudely... Weren't they past that point in their relationship?! What kind of example would this set for their daughter!?

"...oh, boy."

Thank God she had Shunpo.

Barely, she was able to avoid being crushed against the wall by the bed they oh-so slept in, on one knee and on one foot in a kneeling pose. She looked over at Nori, grinning in a rather smug manner. "Mornin', honey..." She drawled, as if nothing had ever happened. However, she could easily assume that he wasn't going to just shake it off like she could. "How was your sleep?" With one hand, she attempted to wipe off the drool on her shoulder.

Without any hesitation at all, he took the broken leg still in his hand and flicked his wrist; launching it at her like a spear. However, his expression wasn't one of fury, nor did he show any visible signs that he was anything other than a little grumpy because it was morning. A slight nod was directed at the drool she was wiping off of her shoulder, but it didn't really occur to him that it could be his. Nori drooling was as likely as Tereya having dimples.

"Good morning, Tereya... it was nice, but I had some trouble getting up."

"Oh, I bet you did..." Tereya grumbled, looking over at the bed... that was smashed up against the wall. Standing up, she walked over to it and reached within the boards. "And I think you woke up Mitsune... hell, with that, you might as well have woken up the neighbors." Fishing out a lighter and a cigarette, she placed the butt end within her mouth, lit it, and tossed the lighter away in a swift motion.

In a similar motion, a small blonde girl with unmanigable hair took the thown lighter and a conveniently stolen cigarette, popped the bud into her mouth, then lit in; perfect in her mimicry of her mother. It took Nori a few moments to figure out what had actually just happened before he used his spiritual pressure to extinguish both of their flames. The girl, however, didn't seem to be infuriated by it, simply pulling the cigarette slowly out of her mouth before exhaling a perfect ring into her mother's face.

"Mitsune says good morning!"

"...."

For a moment, Tereya kept her eyes shut, the corners twitching. A vein was showing in her jaw, showing clear agitation at both the swiping of her precious cigarette, and the smoke blown in her face. A grin, despite herself, crossed her countenance, and she looked at the small girl with pupil-shrunken eyes. "Good mornin' to you too, ya little bitch...." She muttered, not bothering to hide her irritation.

A devilish grin was shot back at her as the girl dropped the cigarette to the floor. "Who're you callin' a bitch, you tired out whore..?" Mitsune taunted, then gained an entirely clueless expression on her face. It only took a moment for it to be replaced with a cheery smile. "Mitsune's gonna take a bath!" She shouted enthusiasticly, then disintegrated into a red outline, surely heading to the bathroom.

Nori, however, was not as amused as his wife. Staring at her maliciously, he let his hand fly in a large arc, smacking her lightly upside the head and causing the cigarette that was still in her mouth to fall promptly to the floor. "It's your fault she's like that..." He grunted, folding his arms.

Briefly mourning the loss of another cigarette, she raised her head up, a rather tired expression and frown coming over her face. "I know. Just like Mom, right?" She asked, allowing herself to step towards the mirror that was hung on another wall. As she started to take a look at herself, she sighed heavily, raising a hand and taking a strand of her newly colored hair to her face. Ever since the years had went by, it was already starting to get lighter, though the process would no doubt be slow. She was so used to the black hair that had always been around with her... hopefully, it would stay this color for a while.

At least she had kept most of her physique... Grinning a little, Tereya decided to show off a little, performing some poses and stretching in order to check herself. Though she felt like she had lost most of her "battle form", she didn't mind the fact that she was becoming a lot more... ladylike. Was it because she had finally allowed herself to settle in? Or was it simply because of the after-effects of the child? If the latter was possible, she silently thanked Mitsune for being born.

"You should lose that baby fat already." Nori chided, looking away as she began posing in front of her mirror. She looked better when she had abs... Not to mention that her hair had changed color, as well as her eyes... It was like he was married to a completely different person. "And why don't you dye your hair like a normal person?... I don't like you with brown hair..."

"Me, neither..." Tereya agreed promptly. "Go get me some dye and I'll be glad to do that...." Standing straight, Tereya put her hands to her face for a moment, before she moved them away in a "peek-a-boo" fashion. A fake smile was on her face, her blue eyes wide. Then, when she moved to cover her face again, it was fixed with her traditional scowl, as well as dnagerously narrowed eyes. Her irises had switched from blue to red in a matter of seconds.

Nori dismissed her demand easily with a wave of his hand as he sat on the floor, his gaze shifting lower to the stone floor below. "... Maybe we should get a new bed..." He grumbled to himself, though it was loud enough for Tereya to hear. After a short pause, he directed his attention back to her. "After you broke our last one, I guess I'm going to have to pay for... steal... A new one, right?"

"!!!" An alerted and annoyed expression came over Tereya's face, and she stared at Nori incredulously. "Me?" She repeated, dumbfounded. "I'm not the one who used the bed as a baseball bat!! Who the fuck did you think you were, Barry Bonds?!" She turned to face him, fixing him with an irate glare.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that the woman who never watches T.V. and only enjoys going to walks knows about sports. So you're a baseball enthusiast now?" Nori fixed a stare at Tereya. It was fun to poke holes in her character.

"Hey, I watch TV!" Tereya corrected, folding her arms across her chest. "At least, when I was with Kuro...but only when I'm really fuckin' bored.... and that's a lot. Besides..." She walked over to him, until she was standing right in front of him. "I don't actually think there's gonna be cable here in these parts.

"That's the point, you retard." He grumbled, not bothering to be irritated by the fact that his head was near her waist because he was sitting on the floor. "Don't make me smack the shit out of you, like I did when we were in that hotel room... You don't want that to happen again, right?" Nori giggled. It wasn't as if she could actually do anything to shut him up.

"Oh, really?" Smirking at the memory, Tereya allowed herself to go into a kneeling position so that she could look Nori in the face, almost daring him to repeat his actions. "Well, I don't think you want your head bashed into the floor right now, either, so that makes two of us."

Frowning, Nori looked away for the third time, not daring to provoke his wife with anything; word or actions. Instead, he sat there, waiting to be dismissed. This reminded him too much of Sasha... Which was not a pleasant memory. It was still impossible for him to shake off the urge to do what his wife said when she threatened him.

"Aw, what is it...?" Tereya teased, leaning in towards him. "Am I...?"

Her face was just inches away from his, and her eyes were half-lidded in a rather relaxed expression.

"Scaring you...?"

Then, without waiting for an answer, she pressed his lips to his in a chaste kiss before pulling back. Slowly, she stood up, brushing herself off down to the knees. She stepped back from him, deciding to stay a moment. "Well, I'm gonna go get ready, then prepare breakfast. You gonna stay and...uh...collect dust?" She rolled her eyes.

"... Probably." Nori replied honestly, shooting her a dull glance. It wasn't like there was anything to do around here. Maybe he'd go check on Mitsune? It wasn't as if she couldn't handle herself, but it was always fun to baby her... Until she got nasty about it... ''Fucking Sasha... Made Mitsune screwed up... I want my sweet little girl back...''

Shrugging, Tereya walked off, opening the door and stepping out. "Just hope the brat came out of the bathroom by now..." She muttered to herself, promptly shutting the door behind her. Her steps were light, bare feet treading the ground as she made her way towards the bathroom door. Other than such, there was nothing to do... without the Kuro family, there was no one to argue with. Maybe she'd go visit her brother just to check on how he was doing....

Unfortunately, she wasn't. Small wisps of steam escaped through the crack in the bottom of the door, showing that she was still taking a shower... And wasting all the hot water. As she got closer, a light humming could be heard as the child hummed Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Finally, the water stopped, along with the singing, and Mitsune began getting dressed into her everyday clothes. "Mommy should have breakfast ready by the time Mitsune gets out, uuu~!"

Tereya happened to be by the door.

"No, Mommy does not have breakfast ready!!" She called into the bathroom, leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. Was she using up all the hot water?! Silently, she prayed that the child would burn herself for doing so.

"... Mommy should have breakfast ready by the time Mitsune gets out, UUUUU!" Mitsune called back, emphasizing her point with her nonsense word. If it wasn't ready when she got out, she would throw a tantrum, and then Daddy would yell at Mommy and get Mitsune what she wanted! The shower turned back on as steam began to pour back into the room. "Maybe it Mitsune takes another shower, it would give Mommy more time to make breakfast!"

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!!!" Tereya snapped, rising off of the wall. There was no way she was going to get her hygiene ruined by her own child! Rearing her arm back, she slammed the door open and walked briskly inside. "YOU BETTER GET YOUR LITTLE ASS OUT OF THAT SHOWER, RIGHT NOW!!!"

"Bitch."

The second the door was opened, Tereya was greeted by a stream of scalding hot water, aimed directly at her face. "What are you even going to do about it..?" She taunted, lowering the shower nozzle. "Try anything, and I'll just cry and tell Daddy that you hit me... And then he'll get pissed at you and take my side. So... Why don't you just go ahead and make my breakfast already, Mommy?"

No sooner had she finished that last sentence that Tereya re-appeared in front of her, grabbed the child by the skin of her arm, and hauled her out of the shower. "Yeah, yeah, go tell that to someone who gives two shits and a fuck about it..." She snapped, irate by the fact that she now had new burn marks along her arm and part of one half of her face thanks to the attack on her person. Without hesitation, she threw the child out of the bathroom (clothes and all), and slammed the door behind her. However, she didn't step in right away. Instead, she took a seat on the tub side, one leg bent, and it's foot placed in front of where she was sitting.

She had a feeling Nori would come in any minute now...

Thud.

The girl landed in something soft and comforting... Nori's arms! Frowning and sniffling, she snuggled into her father's chest, sobbing every few moments for good measure. "M-M-Mommy was m-mean to me..." She sniffled, looking up pleadingly at her father. This was going to be perfect! If she could get rid of Tereya, then her and Daddy could live alone, together... With him wrapped tightly around her finger.

Nori stroked his daughter's hair comfortingly, keeping a hostile glare fixed on Tereya. They would talk about this later. "Tereya... Why don't you go and cook breakfast? I'll help Mitsune get dressed..." He offered, raising an eyebrow. If she was going to cook dinner before, why had she even come to the bathroom..?

"I said I'd get ready first..." Tereya replied calmly, keeping a glare of her own at Nori. "I prefer not to stink up the kitchen with my lack of hygiene..." Was this guy blind? Did he not see the burn marks on her arms?! Where was the justification in that?!

"Oh..."

Continuing his petting, his glare flickered to the burn marks on her arm, and then to Mitsune's wet figure. Whatever conclusions she thought he was going to reach from seeing the burn marks... Would most likely conflict with the one he had reached.

"So because she was using the shower when you wanted to, you just decided to reach in and throw her out?!"

God, this guy was retarded.

"What?!" Not only was Tereya angered, but clearly shocked. "No! I am not stupid enough to stick my hand in burning water just to take someone out of it!! She turned the fucking nozzle on me!!! Plus, she was gonna take a second shower just to waste my time!!!"

"Mhm..." He huffed. In a split second, both him and her daughter disappeared using Kogeru, undoubtably in the child's room as Nori tried to calm her down. When he came back... He would be pissed. Tereya had always been a bitch, but she was a liar, too?! The love had obviously gone out of their marriage.

"Uuuggghhh...." Tereya let out a groan, reaching over and turning the shower head off. She faced the doorway, crossing her legs in a lady-like fashion, and her arms placed across her lap. Of course the man would believe the child over her, due to her being... well... a child. However, she had grown used to such situations. When he came back, would she expect an argument? Or just some domestic abuse? Either way, if he thought she wouldn't retaliate... then he was one dumb bastard.

Nori sat at the table with Mitsune. Despite the earlier event, both seemed to be very cheery now. Even after the arguement he'd had with them earlier, Nori still expected her to make them both breakfast. If she didn't... Then he would have to cook...

That wasn't going to happen.

But in the meantime, he could entertain Mitsune!

"Mitsune! What sound does the dog make?"

"Woof! Woof!"

"Good! What sound does the cat make?"

"Meow! Meow!"

"Yay! Now... What sound does the crab make..?"

"... Crabs... Crabs don't make sounds, uuu!"

"The Crab goes 'Nori'."

"And this is what I get for being the cook around here..." Tereya huffed, even as she came out with two steaming plates of their favorite food. "You better hope that I didn't put something in it that might kill ya..." Though she was being sarcastic, she set the plates down in front of the two respectively before going back in to fetch her own.

Nori perked up immediately. She'd made his favorite..? If she was trying to make him happy, it was certainly working... But before he could even dig into his own food, Mitsune had dove head first into hers, eating it all without a spoon or fork... Nori didn't even bother to try and stop her; she'd just bite him and get all of her unchewed food all over his arm. Tereya might get aroused from having people drool on her, but it wasn't really Nori's thing...

Once Tereya stepped out again, she was holding her own plate, sparing a glance over towards the animalistic Mitsune. "Well, I see that someone's a bit starved..." She commented lightly, settling into her own seat. She placed an extra fork at the girl's side, just to make sure that she would fetch it in the extremely rare chance she needed it.

"I'll make a trip and get you some cigarettes after breakfast, if you like..." Nori hummed quietly, taking a small bite of his food. He was eating slowly purposely, judging the quality of her cooking... But there was nothing to complain about! How was he supposed to make a comeback about it when she asked him, if there was nothing bad about it?!

"Well, isn't that sweet of you..." Tereya commented, smiling a little. "I'll be goin' with you, maybe to get that black hair dye..." She looked over at him as he ate his own food, while she ate her own. After the first mouthful, she decided to pop the question. "Well? How is it? I noticed you aren't shoving your face in it like Mitsu is...."

"... Good." Nori responded brashly, looking away for the umpteenth time. She didn't need to see the embarassed expression on his face right now. Mitsune finished her food, and let out a long, loud burp.

"...." It was here that Tereya gave her a raised-eyebrow, "Wtf" look while she shielded her face with one arm. "Your compliments to the chef?" She questioned sarcastically, remembering that burping was one's way of doing so... in another country.

"... Mitsune says that it tasted bad; the very essence of mediocrity. She would rather eat dogshit, but because there are no actual dogs in Hueco Mundo, she's stuck with your shitter-than-animal-shit cooking. Mitsune also says that the next time you want to make her favorite food, take the time to actually learn how to fucking cook it, uuu~!" She chirped, using Kogeru to leave the table before her mother could retaliate.

"..... I thought it was good." Nori sighed dismissively. If she went to try and punish the child, he would have to restrain her.

However, Tereya was actually chuckling, barely able to keep from laughing. She placed a hand to her mouth in order to help. "Ah... just like Mom..." She muttered, looking over at Nori in amusement. "But shouldn't you be telling her to watch her language?" Maybe it was her fault for Mitsune's colorful use of words... even she didn't cuss that much anymore.... except when she was mad. And when she was arguing with Nori.

"Don't be a hypocrite, Tereya... I don't see you telling her to watch her language..." Nori grumbled, glacing at her with a lop-sided grin on his face. It was an odd look for him. "You should cook more often~... Maybe if you actually made me a sandwich when I asked for it once in a while, we would get into less fights." The second he was done with the suggestion the grin disappeared, and Nori went back to his normal emotionless look.

"Well, I just fixed you a plate right there..." Tereya growled, scowling right back at the man. "And that was shitloads better than a sandwich." She raised a hand dismissively, waving him off. "Plus, what the hell did a sandwich have to do with what happened back there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about; nothing did happen back there... Unless... Something did happen and you want me to talk to you about it?" A glare was pointed in her direction, warning her not to talk about it. What was the point of him ignoring it if she was just going to bring it up anyway? "I have to say Tereya, you have a real weird imagination... Just like you always think you beat me, or something. It's funny how you imagine things that never happened."

"Oh, don't you start." Tereya gave him a pointed look, folding her arms across her chest. Though, she had to admit, the glare he was sending her way was quite amusing. "You know what else I can imagine that will never happen? You being on top." She didn't allow herself to smirk, because she could probably assume he would have something to counter with

"... I... I've been on top before..." Nori groaned, turning away from her before finally disintegrating into a faint red outline. She shouldn't be making fun of him about that... Why was this even the subject of their conversation? How did it drift from Mitsune cursing to their sex life? Oh, that's right! It's because Tereya's a bitch. Nori grumbled to himself, now back in their bed room. Nasuka was pulled out of their closet and strung around his shoulder.

"To the Human World..!"

"Aw, leavin' me behind?"

Immediately, before he could turn around, a set of hands found themselves around his shoulders, fingers massaging the muscle roughly, but in a manner that relaxed tension. "I said I was going with you to get that hair dye..." She commented, even as she continued to perform the massage on her husband. "But, I also might decide to visit the old family... maybe you could come along?"

There was no response. Her husband's body practically went limp in her arms as he leaned on her for support; too engulfed in the massage to give her a proper answer. Though... At this point, she could do whatever she wanted with him, and he wouldn't mind. Go to visit her ex-husband? Why not! He could rub how much sex they had in his face... And Mitsune could eat him. Then he could destroy the house and rape all his women and children. It'd be nice!

Oh, how she loved to put him in such a situation.

Only barely noticing that her chest was pressed up against his back, she moved her head over his shoulder and grinned. It was times like this that she both enjoyed the fact that she was able to prove him wrong, as well as the fact that he was enjoying himself. "That's my boy..." She whispered, lightening up on the massage just so that he could find his words again. "So... the family, or the store?"

"Whatever you want... Though... You should probably tone it down a little..." Nori moaned, glancing back at her dreamily. She knew what he was talking about... Unless she wanted another baby? Wasn't Mitsune enough..? Nori didn't want a little boy; they were too ugly for him. Not to mention their personalities were usually so vulgar...

"All right, then. We can forget about the cigarettes for now..." Tereya decided, eyes shifting to their reddish color for a minute. She raised a hand, and with a flick of her fingers, opened up the torrential portal known as the Garganta. "Though... where the hell's Mitsune?" Thinking for a moment, she released her imprisoning grip on Nori's shoulders. "Should we go get 'er first?"

"You can go get her, I'm going to stay here and wait for you..." Nori mumbled, still obviously shaken from what she'd done to him. "We can get the cigarettes on the way... I don't want you to be a total bitch when we get there. No reason to be on bad terms with the family, other than the fact that I stole you away from them and gave you my seed..." His eyes shut tightly as he awaited his wife's departure. Maybe he could rest while she was away...

"...I'll be back one second."

All it took was two Shunpo steps, before she came right back to the Garganta with a rather annoyed Mitsune sitting on her shoulders. She, however, had a rather cheery smile on her face. "All right, we're set to go!" She announced, setting the child beside her father.

"Uuuuu!"

Mitsune clung insanely to her mother's neck. "Piggy back! Piggy back ride for Mitsune! Mommy's a crab!" She cried, struggling against her mother before finally biting into her shoulder. She wasn't going to give it up so easily. And if she hit Mitsune for biting her, Nori would just get pissed again... Maybe they wouldn't have to go? Either way, it was a win for the daughter.

Drip!

A small amount of blood plopped from Tereya's shoulder to the floor.

Normally, it would've had no effect on the woman.

"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

But, it was unfortunate that Mitsune had razor-sharp teeth for chompers. The pain shot through her head like a hangover, and she could feel her shoulder being stained with a warm red liquid. "GOD...DAMN IT!!!" She shouted, falling on one knee and attempting to shake the girl off... violently "NORI, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET HER OFFA ME!!!!"

In a swift movement, Nori's hand clamped onto Tereya's head, preventing her from moving. Then, he pinched the bridge of Mitsune's nose shut, preventing her from breathing. After a few moments, she opened her mouth to gasp for air, and Nori removed her from Tereya's shoulder. "Bad girl!" Nori scolded, holding her in front of him. "Don't do that again!" Finally, he set her on the ground, content with his scolding.

"Okay Daddy! Mitsune won't!" She lied.

"....Ok.... now we're all set..." Tereya grumbled, holding her shoulder. She really hoped it wasn't too bad... she didn't want to call Sasha out again just for an embarrassing injury. "But you're keeping an eye on the kid!" With that, she leaped inside the Garganta.

Upon her exiting the Garganta, she found Nori and Mitsune waiting on the other side, smug expressions plastered on both of their faces. They used Kogeru to bring them through the portal before Tereya made it to the other side... "Mommy is slow! Mommy is slow!' Mitsune giggled, smiling warmly at her water. Nori patted her head. "I'd love to heal you, Tereya, but it'd be kind of cheesey for me to release, heal you, and then seal my Zanpakuto again."

"Oh, think you're hot shit, hm?" Immediately, Tereya reached over to flick Nori in the head. "Well, I don't need your healing, thank you very much!!!" Why did she have to have Nori as a part Demon, if he could do that? She knew he, as well as the child, would annoy her at this point on with the technique.

Frowning, Nori rubbed his forehead. "O... Ow..." He whimpered. She didn't have to be so mean..! "I didn't say you needed it! I just said that I wouldn't use it!" A cry emitted from Nori's lips. Was he being overly dramatic on purpose?

It was working. Upon seeing her father start to tear up, Mitsune bared her teeth at her mother. "Watch it, bitch..."

Tereya blinked. "I didn't mean it like tha--" However, she snapped her attention to the curse directed towards her, courtesy of the piranha. "Watch your mouth!" She scolded, pointing a finger towards Mitsune. "Only I'm allowed to cuss... damn it!!!" Ok... maybe it was her fault that Mitsune was cussing....

"Says who? Why the fuck should I listen to you, you worn out old whore!" Mitsune growled, taking an imposing step towards Tereya. This bitch couldn't tell her what to do! She wanted Sasha! Sasha was better! Sasha taught her what she needed to know! Sasha kept her father in check! Sasha wa--

Smack.

"Listen to your mother." Nori commanded, drawing his hand away from the back of her head. Tereya would have to pay him back for this later... As her father, he was going to be in turmoil for hitting her, even if it was only a little tap. "She's your mother, and my wife, whether you like it or not, and I'm not going to sit here and watch while you curse her out, even though I usually ignore it. Stop."

Thank God that Nori had intervened, or else Tereya would've had to resort to a spanking right then and there. She gave her husband a small nod of appreciation, before she turned her back on the both of them. "Assuming you won't do that Kogeru shit again... care to follow?"

In a dull flash of red, Nori appeared in front of her, looking back carelessly. "Sorry, what was that..? I didn't catch it." He mused, giggling and patting her on the shoulder before walking slowly away from her. She could overtake him whenever she wanted, but when it came to closing distance in a short time, Nori would win easily. After all, Tereya didn't have Kogeru~.

"Tch...."

With a scoff, she proceeded to follow him. She'd get hers one day...

Ahatake was sitting in the middle of the room, meditating, his Katana in his lap, which grey and silver haired granddaughters watching him. It was rather quiet.

Aoi was sighing. "Kyuui-chan, I'm bored."

"...what do you want me to do about it?" Currently, the silver-haired girl was lying on her back, hands folded behind her head, and a rather sleepy expression on her face. She had her legs crossed - the pose of a laid-back individual. "Haven't you tried practicing Jinzen yet? It'd give you somethin' to do..."

"You've never met my Zanpakuto Spirits have you?" Aoi asked, chuckling darkly. "You only fight those girls if you have a death wish."

"W..well... I didn't actually say fight..." Kyuui commented, shrugging a little. "Have you ever tried talking with them? Me and Sakashima have, in the times when we aren't training. It brings both of us a little bit closer to one another, as sword and master, you know?"

Aoi chuckled again. "Shinisou isn't exactly a talking Zanpakuto. Shini is an ass, and Sou and too shy to really talk."

"Aw... maybe you should get her to open u--"

BANG, BANG, BANG.

Immediately, the sounds of the door being knocked on from below was heard. Kyuui immediately shot up, at first surprised by the noise. However, her senses tingled, and she slowly stood up, a hopeful expression climbing up her face. "Is that who I think it is...?" She thought, eagerly running out of the room in order to get to the door.

Aoi sighed and followed. Better than watching her now statue of a grandfather. She already knew who it was. The Spiritual Pressure was not hard to mistake.

Immediately, she opened the door.

There stood her grandmother, only slightly different from when she last saw her, but it was definitely her. She gave a rather encouraging grin. "Hey there, kid..." She greeted, squinting her eyes into the upside down U-shape. "How's it goin'?" That prompted Kyuui to run over and grasp the older woman in the hug, affectionately and gratefully. "You have no idea how much I missed you, Obaa-san!!!" She said happily.

"Hey Tereya-baa." Aoi said cheerfully, not hugging her grandmother, but the warmth was felt from the greeting.

Unwelcome.

That was the only real word that could describe the way Nori was feeling as he hung behind Tereya, just slightly visible to everyone now that she had decided to open the door. Mitsune, despite her tempermant, also hung back. She wanted to see their reactions before revealing herself. He wanted to make sure that he and everyone there were on neutral or good terms before entering. In either scenario, it would at least ensure his safety.

As she felt her sister come up from behind her, Kyuui glanced behind her, noticing the slinking man and girl behind the corner. She could easily tell that they were acting shyly, about to greet what they could assume was total strangers. "What's the matter...?" She questioned, releasing an in-question grandmother and looking over at the two. "You're Obaa's husband, aren't you?"

Aoi zoomed in on him, staring intensely. "You don't look like much." She said rudely.

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUG!"

Aoi was hit with what felt like a truck; scrawny arms wrapped around her, squeezing her nearly to death. A hug. If it were a normal hug, it probably would have been cute, or adorable... But Mitsune had inherited her father's strength. If this had been a human, it would have snapped their spine and left them permanently paralyzed or dead. "Mitsune...! Likes...! Hugs...! Uuuu...!" She gasped, compressing Aoi and squeezing every ounce of air out of her lungs.

Nori, however, ignored the scene, and watched Kyuui with polite interest. After she asked her question, he nodded politely. "Yes... My name's Nori Haruo. It's very nice to meet you. That--" He nodded towards where Mitsune was squeezing the life out of Aoi. "--Is your half-sister, Mitsune."

"Ah!" Startled at Mitune's action, Kyuui reached out and grabbed her half-sister with her hands in an attempt to pull off the clinging girl. "Wait, Mitsune-chan, you're gonna kill her if you don't leggo!!!" She insisted, comically frantic as she pulled. Where in the hell did she get such strength?! It was unreal!!! Tereya, meanwhile, could only stare blankly, clearly dumbfounded as to what had happened.

"Oh, dear..."

Aoi pushed the girl off her at the same time Kyuui pulled, gasping for breath. "What the heck is that?" She panted, though the annoyance in her voice was unmistakable.

Right after she was pulled off, Mitsune whirled around and wrapped her arms around Kyuui. "Uuuuu..! You smell nice..." She chirped, snuggling into her. This hug wasn't nearly as harsh as Aoi's had been. It was more gentle, and adorable! Mitsune closed her eyes and kept her mouth closed so her teeth weren't intimidating. Almost suddenly, she fell asleep in Aoi's arms, breathing lightly.

Nori shot Tereya a disgruntled look. Was this okay? He didn't want to have to murder them all for harming his daughter.

Tereya, however, seem satisfied as Kyuui smiled, wrapping her arms around the sleeping girl with her own gentle hug in order to support her. "Well, would ya look at that...?" She muttered, chuckling. "The hellspawn can be nice..." It was here that she looked up, seeing the familiar face of Taiki walk in through the door. At first, he seemed to be unaware of their presence, hands in his pockets, until he finally looked up to see the figures.

A fox-like smile crawled onto his face.

"Well, what do we have here? Mom... and Geezer-san." With a carefree nature, he stepped into the group, tilting his head to the side as his mother frowned at his remark. She reached over to give him a gentle punch in the arm.

"Hey, knock it off... this geezer's with me..." She replied, though grinning as well.

"Right..."

"Tou-san, can you kick out ugly over there and make the demon child go with him?" Aoi asked, scowling in Nori's direction. The man had only been there 2 minutes and she already didn't like him.

"Aoi--!" Kyuui scolded, about ready to tell her sister off for being so rude. However, Taiki immediately stepped in. "Don't be rude, Aoi..." He reprimanded calmly. "These are all guests. They're fine if your grandmother was able to get along with 'em both." This caused Tereya to give him a pointed look, but she remained silent. She wanted to say, at that moment: ''"Are you fucking kidding me?! DO YOU SEE THESE TEETH MARKS ON MY SHOULDER?!" THAT PIRANHA BIT ME!!!!"''

Don't be rude, but you're calling someone who's probably younger than your grandkids and older geezer...

Nori placed a steady hand on Tereya's shoulder (the one Mitsune had bitten) and squeezed it, smiling at her. She shouldn't say anything. Nori wanted to stay and get to know the family more. As Nori reassured Tereya that if she told anyone, there would be consequences when they got home, Mitsune curled up into a tiny ball in Kyuui's arms, snuggling warmly into body. At this point, it looked like she might never want to wake up...

Ahatake walked in, looking exhausted and bleeding from his mouth. "Ugh...damn bitch.." He muttered, and then looked up. "Oh, we have guests?"

"...Ok, I get your point now, solemmego--" Immediately, Tereya's eyes widened at the sound of her ex-husband's voice. However, she immediately huffed, folding her arms across her chest. She wondered how he'd react to her presence; especially when she was with her current husband. Idly, and possibly due to Sasha's influence, she wondered if she could rub their relationship in his face... was she cruel enough to do that?

....

Oh, yes. Yes she was.

"Sure right, we do..." Taiki commented, grinning over at his father's direction.

Gently, Kyuui rocked the sleeping Mitsune back and forth in her arms for a moment. "Their daughter's so cute..." She crowed, looking upon the rather peaceful facial features of the sleeping girl's form.

Ahatake looked at the child in Kyuui's arms, wiping the blood from his mouth, but said nothing. He turned to Tereya. Great. She was here at the exact moment he had been beaten by the Zanpakuto spirit so like her.

"Tereya, why are you here?" He asked, frowning.

"Asshole..." Tereya snapped immediately, her own frown raising. "I don't think it's a crime to visit my family once in a while, is it? I couldn't let 'em forget about me for too long..." And she wouldn't forget about them... she had too much of a loyalty towards them.

Ahatake sighed and muttered. "Oh the money I would pay to forget about you."

Aoi sighed. "Aside from the demon brat and ugly over there, I'm happy you're here Tereya-baa."

"Demon brat?" Ahatake asked. "You mean the harmless-looking kid in your sister's arms?"

"She ain't harmless." Aoi frowned.

This was the ex-husband..?

No wonder the girl was being such a bitch.

"Hi... My name is Nori." He sighed loudly, showing the man how bored he actually was to introduce himself. Maybe he'd look to far into it and think that Tereya had kept him up all night. "I'm married to your ex-wife... the one that had sex to me while still married to you. You know--" He paused, wrapping one of his arm's around Tereya and giving her a psuedo-hug. "--This one."

Ahatake sighed. "You don't make good first impressions do you?"

"And you do?" Tereya rolled her eyes, raising a hand up to grasp Nori's cheek. The arm around her was quite comfortable... Though, she could assume that if Nori was just trying to make Ahatake ticked, it probably wouldn't work considering he almost tried to kill her during Sasha's possession of her body. "I thought you'd be a bit nicer, instead of a "What're you doing here"."

"You should know I wouldn't be nicer, considering I almost killed you last time we met." Ahatake snapped.

"Bullshit."

The one word was enough to express his feelings. There was no way possible that he had almost beaten her. What excuse could there be..? Oh, Nori could think of one. "That was while you were pregnant, right? I bet I know what happened. You threw-up towards the end because you were sharing you energy between too, and that's when he gained the upper hand." Nori giggled, squeezing her even tighter.

Aoi laughed. "Ugly just giggled. What self-respecting man giggles?"

Tereya scowled, reaching with one arm to grasp the hand around her midsection. "You got lucky, motherfucker. It was the little hell-spawn that saved you, so tell thanks to whoever you pray to..." She said indignantly. "Unless you wanna have a rematch, then I'm all for it." This made Taiki grin a little, the thought of the two fighting proving to be quite amusing. However, this also amde Kyuui a bit nervous, unconsciously hugging Mitsune even tighter.

"Anyday after today, I'll be more than happy to cut your head off." Ahatake replied harshly. "I didn't kill you because of Kyuui, but I won't so nice next time."

Aoi cleared her throat. "Anyone besides me think we should head into the living room?"

Mitsune responded by doing the same; though it wasn't just a slightly bit tighter. If Kyuui got excited, then Mitsune would too, albeit unconsciously. Small whimpers escaped her mouth. Nori glared at Kyuui, giving her a fix it already look. "Ahatake... If you want to fight anybody, it'll be me... I'll shove my sword so far up your ass you'll be shitting pancakes..." He mused.

"Fine. After today I'll kill both of you and make it even." Ahatake replied. "The kid can live."

"You can try..." Tereya stated casually, grinning in a challenging manner as she pulled herself from her husband's arms gently. "But yeah... it's gettin' tiring standing around all day in the doorway. How about we move ourselves to the living room?" Nodding, Kyuui allowed herself to pick up Mitsune gently, careful not to scare her again. Taiki himself simply watched the whole spectacle without word.

Ahatake sighed as he sunk down onto one of the sofa's and Aoi sat next to him. They were both staring at Nori with intense dislike.

What wonderful oppertunity!

Pulling his wife with him, Nori sat down directly next to the both. "You know... This is great. I think we're really bonding." Without warning, one of his arms laid itself across his step-granddaughter's shoulder, and he pulled her in along with Tereya for a family hug. "See? Isn't this great! I'm happy Tereya convinced me to visit! You're all so nice..." He giggled, this time incredibly loud in Aoi's ear so she could get an example of "the kind of self-respecting man that giggles".

Mitsune sighed softly and nuzzled Kyuui's cheek as she snuggled into the nook between her shoulder and neck. Her small frame clung to Kyuui's dearly, even as the incredibly hostile scene folded out before them.

"Ok, cut that out..." Tereya said bluntly, staring at Nori pointedly. "That's getting creepy. You sound like a 50-year-old rapist...!" Her words were brutally honest, as always. Ignoring the situation, Kyuui decided to keep comforting Mitsune, allowing her to snuggle up towards her. Promptly, Taiki took a seat beside the silver-haired daughter, resolving to simply looking upon the situation with what seemed like mild interest.

Aoi punched Nori in the face, shattering his nose, and walked over to the otherwise of her grandfather. "Not only is he ugly, he's a creep." She hissed.

Ahatake chuckled. He had been about to smash Nori's face in, but Aoi had done the job for him.

"Ow..."

A grin graced Nori's face. It seemed that the... eleven-year-old girl wasn't as strong as she thought she was. Nori was left fine (as he usually was), his arm solely around Tereya now. "That actually hurt a little..." He mumbled, squeezing Tereya slightly tighter. Maybe he'd stop being so social now.

The sudden flare of reiatsu made Mitsune's eyes snap open, only for her to realize nothing was wrong then glare up at the silver-haired man above her. "New Daddy, Uuuu~!" She shouted gleefully, launching herself off of Kyuui's arms as she clung to the man's head. "... New Daddy smells weird..."

A sweatdrop came over Taiki's face his eyes looked over the child crawling on his head. "Oh, hello there..." He commented, seemingly undeterred by the presence of the piranha. He didn't bother to pull her off - she seemed nice enough! Kyuui looked over the scene, blushing slightly out of embarrassment due to the fact that Mitsune had suddenly left her. Tereya couldn't help but chuckle, leaning her head on her husband's shoulders. Despite the hostilities, it seemed quite.... comfortable.

Ahatake chuckled. "Entertaining child."

As she rested on the man's shoulder, tugging on his long hair playfully, the child glared at Ahatake, bearing her teeth. "I don't recall asking for your fucking opinion, dipshit." She retorted nastily, before shooting both Kyuui and Taiki a playful smile. Snuggling into his head, she held her hand out for Kyuui to grab. If she could somehow hug them both, she would..!

"Ouch." Ahatake said. "She takes after Tereya I see."

"Ey, why don't you try playin' with your own hair, hm?" Taiki whined, though it was obviously in a playful manner. "At least, when you get it grown out..." Kyuui couldn't help but smile cheerfully, grasping her hand readily. However, Tereya herself was starting to get bored, nothing seeming to happen. Maybe she could stir things up. "All right, this is startin' to suck..." She stated bluntly, promptly standing up on her feet and looking over her shoulder. "Nori, I'm asking for your fucking opinion..."

Disregarding the fact that her family was there, she fixed herself so that a clear view of her... well... rear gifts... could be seen clearly to Nori. "How do these jeans look on me?" She asked casually, feigning innocence at the situation.

"... U-uhm... They make you look kinda fat..." He admitted honestly. It still attracted him. It just made him want to slap it, or squeeze it, or have her sit on his lap... The insult was to get her not to let him do that. Almost struggling to keep himself from touching it, he swallowed his anxiousness and looked away. Mitsune, however, would not be so kind.

"He called you a fatass!" She chirped, almost falling off of Taiki's shoulder because she was laughing so hard. "You're a cow! Daddy thinks Mommy's a cow!" Innocently, her tone changed from her angrier side to her childish side playfully, as Kyuui grasped her hand. "... Kyuui-chan's pretty~. So's Taiki!"

"Oh, thanks, Mitsune-chan..." Taiki commented, grinning at the compliment. Though, he inwardly resented that the compliment had to be pretty... wasn't he supposed to be handsome? However, Kyuui smiled warmly at the compliment, nodding her own thanks to the girl.

Undettered by her daughter's outburst, Tereya scoffed, seemingly a little bit hurt to hear his words. "Really? I thought so..." She mused, bending her knees a little bit just to show off a bit more. "But it's not too bad..." With a raise of her hand, she performed a light slap before straightening her knees again and turning to face him. "...is it?" Oh, how she loved having no shame... She barely noted the fact that Taiki had his eyes covered, not wishing to see such... activity.... in front of him.

Yes, it was his mother, but still!!

"... Kyuui, would you mind watching Mitsune for a while? We won't be gone long."

"Uhm....sure, I don't mind..."

Immediately, Tereya was smothered by an incredibly passionate kiss from Nori, who wrapped his arms around her and made them both disappear as they disintegrated into a faint red outline. They'd be back later! Right now, they had some buisiness to take care off... And then some shopping.

Mitsune didn't seem to be bothered by what had just occured, resorting to braiding Taiki's long hair to relieve her bored down. "Mitsune says new Daddy's hair is so smoooooth~!" She chirped, tugging on it slightly so he didn't move his head. If he wanted, he could just remove the braid later... And then Mitsune could do it again, and tie it around his mouth to gag then rape him!

At the moment those two left the room, there was a loud rap at the door.

"Come in!" Ahatake shouted, and they heard the door open, accompanied by what sounded like a girl's voice and a young child's. A girl, who looked very much like Tereya entered the room, holding the hand of a young boy who looked to be about 6 or 7.

"Hey everyone." Midoriko said cheerfully.

"How are you all?" Troddling along side them was none other than the current wife of Ahatake, Megami. She had her hands folded in front of her, smiling gently at the family as she and Midoriko came in. The kid himself seemed to simply help the mood lighten up with his own child-like, cheerful expression.

"We're...well annoyed." Ahatake replied, sighing. "Aoi and I are anyway."

Midoriko walked over, Kibou in tow, and looked down at the kid on her brother's head. "Who's she?" Midoriko asked.

Thud!

Within an instant, the Hell-Spawn had closed the gap between herself and the girl by kicking off of Taiki's stomach (which would've caused him some amount of pain, but that wasn't important) and rocketing towards Midoriko; her arms outstretched in a hug position. As she hit her, they both were knocked back out of the doorway, and then skidded on the ground, Mitsune still crushing her ribs in her vice-grip. If she tried to get her off, Mitsune would bite...

Midoriko chuckled. "Energetic ain'tcha?" She asked, getting back up despite the young girl's grip on her. "Who are you anyway?"

"Mitsune is Mitsune, because Mitsune's Mommy named her Mitsune!" She answered enthusiastically, loosening her grip on Midoriko's lungs as she snuggled further into her. Even though she smelt worse than Kyuui and Taiki, she was nice! So she'd tolerate that she smelt like rotten dogshit for a while! "Mitsune is Mitsune, uuuu!"

"Who is your mother?"

"The crab!"

"The...crab?" Midoriko asked, puzzled as she walked back into the house, pulling the young girl off of her, and sitting next to Kibou. "Tou-san explain?"

"That's...your little sister on your mother's side." Ahatake sighed.

"Oh!" Midoriko smiled. "I always wanted a little sibling."

"Oh, and when she says crab, she's talkin' bout Kaa-san." Taiki piped up, placing his arms on his lap. "Kinda cute.... when she ain't firin' off cuss words..." The fact that Mitsune had cussed had also caused Megami to put a hand over her mouth. Hadn't anyone put soap in her mouth?!

"She's your mother in miniature." Ahatake said. "You have her looks, Mitsune has her attitude."

"I see." Midoriko placed her hand on the young girl's head, ruffling her hair. "Where's Kaa-san anyway? Pretty sure she'd like to see me. And Kibou of course."

A glare was fixed on Ahatake. Who the fuck did he think he was talking about? "Once again! No one asked for your opinion, needledick." She growled, bearing her teeth at him. If this was going to be the last time she visited, she was going to maul him. "When I want your fucking opinion, I'll ask for it. Okay? Are we clear, or are you too busy sucking your own dick to hear me?"

Ahatake flicked his index finger in her direction, sending a small bullet of spirit energy that knock the child off her feet. "In this house, Mitsune, children know their place." Aoi grinned.

Midoriko frowned, and helped the girl up. "Granted she is rude, Tou-san, but considering she's being raised by Kaa-san, what did you expect?"

However, a second hand was placed onto her other shoulder, courtesy of Megami. She gave Ahatake a stern glare. "Ahatake-san..." She said calmly. "I know her behavior's been... strange... but would you mind keeping attacks against her to a minimum? This is another parents' child..." There was another unsaid reason - she could instantly feel a bad intent seep within the child upon the strike. If anything, she wanted things not to turn into a fight. She hoped her intervention would be enough to stop it.

Taiki himself wasn't saying much, due to the fact that he was laughing himself off for Mitsune's earlier words. A little kid was telling Ahatake off! She was definitely a keeper, all right.

Mitsune twitched the instant Megami's hand touched her shoulder. Slowly, she turned to her, the scariest and most intimidating grin she could manage etched onto her face. "Megami-chan!" She chirped, though the tone in her voice certainly wasn't playful. "Mitsune thinks you should remove your fucking hand now, before Mitsune tears it off with her teeth and eats it, then makes you eat the poo she makes after she digests it!"

Ahatake frowned. "Now can I kill her?"

"No."

Smack.

Though with enough force to put Mitsune's head back, Megami gently slapped the girl on the back of the head. "Don't be rude, or I'll tell your parents you've been naughty..." She warned calmly, her tone motherly stern. She could be kind to children, but refused to show cowardice in the face of angered ones... even if it was Mitsune.

Ahatake sighed. "When will her damn parents finish with...whatever?" He sighed. He wanted them out of the house ASAP.

"......?!"

Mitsune's look was one of utter shock. She had been hit... by someone not in her family!? What the fuck?! Using kogeru, she appeared at eye-level with Megami. The two locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity (though, only to them), before she opened her mouth wide, and...

"W... Waaaah..!"

Hugged Megami's neck, very gently, but just enough to hold on as she sobbed uncontrollably. This one must really care about her! She hit her and everything! Everyone knows that smacking the shit out of someone is a sign of love! Mitsune learned that from Daddy!

"M-Mitsune's sorry... Mitsune won't do it again..!"

"There, there..." Megami cooed, allowing her arms to embrace the child comfortingly, one hand rubbing circles on her back. "Glad to hear you've learned your lesson...ssshhh...." Kyuui could only stare blankly, admiring the woman for her rather bold move in subduing the child... for the moment.

Ahatake sighed. He was beginning to hate that brat. He turned to Kibou. "Hey Kibou, how's your Dad? Haven't seen him in awhile."

The boy, who had remained silent, raised a free hand to his mouth in thought. "Tou-san's at home with Kaa-san..." He said quietly, clearly shy to speak up. "They were pretend-fighting again..." He was referencing to their sparring matches.

Ahatake chuckled. "Oh? Not sure if that's healthy but who am I to judge?"

"It's nice that he can actually talk now." Midoriko said, smiling at Kibou. "I like to have responses when I say anything."

Mitsune was almost asleep, her eyes half-lidded in drowsiness. The hand on her back felt nice... She could sleep forever, if she kept doing that. "O-On the way here... Mommy and Daddy... were talking about sleeping here... So Mommy has more time with her family... and Mitsune has more time to pl--..." As she spoke, her voice got quieter and quieter before she finally fell asleep without even finishing her sentence.

"Hell. No." Ahatake said the moment he heard "sleeping here".

Both Kyuui and Taiki immediately made whining noises in order to show their disapproval. "Oh, c'mon, Tou-san!" Taiki complained. "It's not like you're gonna have to watch 'em while they sleep! I bet you'll even forget they're even here... after all, you have forgotten about her, right?"

"Mitsune-chan's fun to be around!!!" Kyuui added, comically teary-eyed. "And the rest of the family are either doing Jinzen or being bored..." She looked down, afraid that her new friend might have to leave too soon.

The girl in question twitched slightly in her sleep, a small puddle of drool leaking from her mouth onto the woman who was carrying her. So she took after her father! It was to be expected; it's not like she wouldn't pick up anything from him.

Ahatake frowned. "Fine." He said, slinging his Katana over his shoulder. "They can stay. But as long as they're here, I ain't sleepin'."

Taiki shrugged casually. "Suit yourself. Wastin' your sleep won't bother us any... I suppose." He commented, leaping off of the couch. Kyuui let out a sigh of relief, glad that her grandfather had changed his mind so quickly. Though Megami was unsure of how to react to the decision, she did smile a little, under the belief that Mitsune was a rather sound sleeper.

"... You got Mitsune to fall asleep..?"

The question came from behind them all, as the couple that had left them in a fit of passion earlier approached the house, with Nori's hand around his wife's waist pulling her closely. He watched the red-haired woman and befuddlement. How was that possible?... Should he tell her that the back of her shirt was going to get soaked with sticky drool? Not to mention that it smelled a little... But it wasn't really his problem!

"Oh! And thanks for letting spend the night, needledick~!"

A vein throbbed in Ahatake's head. "I want to kill her.." He hissed.

To prevent any commotion, Midoriko spoke up. "Hi Kaa-san!" She said cheerfully, waving in her mother's direction.

Tereya nodded, one arm wrapped around her husband's shoulders, and the other lifted in a wave towards her daughter. "Hey, kid, how's it goin'?" She greeted, satisfied at hearing a rather polite greeting from one of the family... for once. Megami's own eyes widened slightly at the sight of the couple. "This is Ahatake's ex-wife...?" She thought to herself in bemusement. For some reason, it seemed rather... irregular... at the thought of the two ever being closely related to one another, and she had only seen her for the first time! Hesitantly, she made her way over.

Hesitantly, Nori let go of his wife and stepped in the way of the woman making her way over a dull expression on his face. His arms were outstretched in a gimme position, obviously motioning for his daughter. For once, he didn't show any hostility. "Thanks for taking care of Mitsune! I know she can be a handful... And I hope she didn't cause you or Kyuui any trouble."

"So in other words, you want her to cause the rest of us trouble?" Ahatake asked, annoyed.

"I only recall asking Kyuui to watch her, and right now she's being held by this one. Do you want me to make her cause the rest of you trouble?" He retorted, shooting the man a glare.

"No, but the little brat seems to be doing a good enough job of it on her own." Ahatake hissed.

Midoriko sighed. "Tou-san, leave them alone." She said, frowning at her father. "Since they're guests, you should be a bit nicer to 'em."

Ahatake scowled, but said nothing.

It was here that Tereya took a look towards Megami, her cheerful expression immediately fading to one of astonishment. More particularly, she was staring at the bundle she had in her arms. "Did you...?" She asked quietly, unable to comprehend the fact that the woman was easily able to subdue their hell-spawn of a child. Megami herself was rather hesitant, looking down on Mitsune, then back at Tereya.

"Yes..?"

"...God, you must have patience."

Megami chuckled softly. "I'm just used to being around children like this. You just need to know how to act..."

Midoriko walked up to her mom, Kibou with her. "Kibou, this is my mother." She said smiling. "Kaa-san, did you ever meet Kibou?"

"You mean the little guy?" Tereya half-lidded her eyes skeptically, squatting down to Kibou's level and effectively removing herself from her husband's arms. Kibou himself looked at her curiously. "Brown hair, blue eyes...looks just like a mix of his parents, doesn't it?" Taking his resemblance as a compliment, Kibou smiled warmly and immediately wrapped his arms around her shoulders in an affectionate hug, much to her surprise. A slight blush fell across her cheeks (much to her own disdain).

Megami couldn't help but laugh a little. "Looks like Kibou-chan's taking a liking to you, Tereya-san..."

Nori looked slightly annoyed that he didn't have a child hugging him. Or anybody, for that matter. His arms were still outstretched, waiting for the woman he had directed to hand him his daughter to do so.

"Good to know Kibou doesn't dislike you, Kaa-chan." Midoriko said pleasantly. Then she turned to Nori. "And you are?"