With Dawn...

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo yawned, stretching. She was content. Happy. Elated.

...but she supposed that should be the case the morning after getting laid and all.

Casting a glance over her shoulder, she caught a glimpse of her husband, Ren, looking as though he was sighing into the pillows. Tomoyo sighed happily, propping herself up on an elbow, sheets sliding off of her as she moved aside.



"Ren..." she said, her voice sweet and rich with her happy mood. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "...Ren..."

Assuming that he had had as much fun as she had the night before, and was therefore just as tired (which still wasn't too tired at all) she nudged him gently with her nose, whispering in his ear. "Honey..."

[Yamazaki Ren]

Needless to say, Yamazaki Ren was not a morning person, that was his sister.

And after being thoroughly exhausted, with a vague feeling like his very essance had been sucked dry, he was slightly less than pleased to be wakened by his seemingly inexhaustable...he cracked one eye open...wife.

He was sore in muscles he didn't know he had and he was sure that he was getting way too old for this sort of thing.

He humoured her, however, with a grunt in acknowledgement that he was indeed awake and threw and arm around her waist, pulling her in closer and trying to will Tomo to just go back to sleep

[Sanada Tomo]

The pull--which was more like a jerk because of Ren's grumpy state--landed Tomoyo's body flush against Ren's, and the Ha-ou of Hell tried her best to keep the blush that she felt creeping up her cheeks from showing. Ren still made her react to everything like a giddy schoolgirl with a crush, and she tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear, hoping that Ren would be too sleepy to bother to notice the red tinge on her cheeks that she was sure he'd never seen before.

His grunt told her that he was indeed awake, though--while he may be wishing for sleep, Tomoyo knew--and there was something important that she had forgotten to tell him.

She said in a whisper to Ren's ear rather than his face,"Ren...there's something I forgot to tell you when I came over last night. There was a reason for my visit, after all...I suppose I just got caught up in you really, but..." she trailed off, sure that she had already said way more words than her husband wanted to process at this time.

[Yamazaki Ren]

The grunt this time had a distinct upward turn at the end to indicate it's questioning nature.

Ren was wide awake by now, with no hope of actually sleeping any longer, but that didn't mean he had to get out of bed and subsequently lose the warmth he was sapping from the body pulled against his.

And really, was so important anyway that it couldn't wait until after four cups of coffee? Hadn't Tomo know him long enough to remember that he usually couldn't even be counted as a sentient being without getting a serious dose of caffine?

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo reached with a hand and began to draw lazy circles across Ren's back, smile growing now that she'd heard the question-grunt from Ren. He didn't make a sound like he was annoyed, but she didn't know how he could sleep with Heaven's perpetual sunlight, anyway, and figured he and she both knew very well that he wasn't going to go back to sleep if even if she had decided to wait until later.

However, she did want ot be gentle with this news; she usually wasn't this considerate to his morning needs the morning after, anyway; both Tomoyo and Rei were morning people and it was something that she would just never understand about her husband as to why not he wasn't the same way.

Tomoyo leaned closer, if such a thing was at all possible, and said, "...Ren...I'm pregnant." The words felt strange to her, and she decided to focus on their uniqueness in coming from herself an not another person than on Ren's reply, which she was sure was going to be either something extreme or completely apathetic. Because he had just fully woken up, she wasn't sure which she was going to get.

"I forgot to tell you last night..."

[Yamazaki Ren]

The grunt this time was little more than a exhalation of breath from Ren's lungs, as rolled over, pulling Tomo on top of him and using her as a substitute for the blanket that they'd somehow managed to lose track of.

"...You don't give me enough credit. Foreign magical signatures register pretty quickly when you've trained yourself to certain ones." He snorted and opened one eye to glare at her "Honestly, you think I wouldn't have been able to sense it the second I saw you?"

[Sanada Tomo]

The blush that she had managed to keep under control before magnified as she was manuvered into a new position, now on top of Ren and being told that he already knew the news that she'd had to try so hard to work herself up to tell him.

That fact still did not stop the smile from still growing on her face, though.

She had expected him to roll over and tell her that he would deal with it later, or a rant about how such important information shouldn't have been forgotten and how she was going to be a terrible mother because of it...

But this reaction...this was much better.

It was a while before she realized she had been staring at Ren while thinking all of this. She relaxed, laying her head on Ren's chest and snuggling as much as possible to ensure maximum warmth. It had been a little while since she'd felt like there was a moment she wanted to keep forever and she knew that this was one of them.

Bringing a hand to her lower abdomen, she murmured against Ren's skin, "If you knew, why didn't you tell me? I didn't know how you were going to react..."

[Yamazaki Ren]

Ren shruged, yawning as Tomo snuggled up to him, smiling distractedly when he felt her move her hand.

"I figured it was something you would tel me when you felt like it. I didn't want to stress you out about it. Counter-productive and all that. Besides, if I hadn't then I wouldn't have gotten to see you blush like a pre-teen at a boy band concert." He snickered, knowing he was digging his own grave as he reached down to pinch her cheeks lightly, "It's just so cute to see Big Bad Tomo-sama flush like that. I'll have to figure out how to do it more often...."

The contented atmosphere was rapidly lulling him back into the realm of the mostly-dead, though he knew that he'd probably agitated Tomo enough that she would likely leave at this point.

The thought troubled Ren at that point. After all, the seventh layer was covered in snow and there was sometimes a draft on the sixth because of it and since he had no idea where the conformter for his bed had gone, he needed all the warmth he could get...

At least that was his rationalization as he tightended his arms almost too tightly around Tomo's waist, intending to make escape impossible.

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo decidedly frowned when Ren pinched her cheeks. "You'll never figure out how to do it, never! I'll never tell you. You're an evil tyrant and I'll never let you get the best of me! You always tease me..." she said, but she shifted slightly when Ren pulled her closer so that he would know that she was joking.

Honestly, she was just too stubborn to admit that Ren needn't do anything to make her blush other than being like this. Other than actively loving her. Other than showing her that he cared.

Tomoyo began to feel sleepy as well, and for a moment suspected magical foul play from the other King to ensure that he got the sleep that he deserved.

But at the same time, with their bodies pressed together like this, Tomoyo wasn't really sure that she was entirely in control of herself; certain bodily organs that didn't react in the action of sleeping were entirely too close for her for concentrate on getting rest properly...and Ren didn't seem as though he was letting go any time soon.

Tomoyo wondered if now was the right time to pull the comforter out from under the bed...

[Yamazaki Ren]

Now that the idea of having a child was much more than an idea and was an actual reality, Ren could freely admit that he was seriously happy. Moreso than he had been in a while.

Yet despite that, he also realized that for the first time in a long time he was also scared absolutly shitless.

Not for himself and certainly not for Tomo, but the child they were about to bring to into the world. The one that they would almost be sacrifcing to his family, the one that would be raised to take the helm as the next souke of the Yamazaki.

It was given that fact that he made up his mind then and there to do something rather drastic that he wasn't altogether sure wouldn't get him killed the moment he attempted it.

Rolling over again and letting go of Tomo, he rolled to the edge of the bed and slid off to his feet, searching the room for his pants while he tried to calm down and will the cold sweat of fear away.

Upon finding the article, he reached a shaking hand into the back pocket to pull out an intricatly ornated key...



"H-hey...Tomo...In light of this recent revelation...I think it's time I introduced you to our parents..."

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo wasn't really sure of anything at first. The only portion of the moment that her mind processed was that at one point, she had been on top of Ren, ready to jump his bones at the mere drop of a hat--

and then, all of a sudden, she was not, and Ren was up and about looking for his pants.

She blinked, trying to make sense of it all. First all Ren wanted to so was sleep, and now he was up and about, fluttering about the room like a fucking butterfly--

Wait...Ren doesn't...'flutter'... the rational thought permeated her inner musings for the second it took for Tomoyo to realize that Ren was shaking.

Tomoyo was out of the bed and making her way towards Ren before he even spoken.

"Ren..." she said in a whisper; the look on his face didn't bode well for either of them. "What--"

He turned abruptly, holding up a very delicately styled silver key that had a golden tassle on the end. The emblem emblazoned on it looked oddly familiar, but Tomoyo couldn't place it. She did not have the memory that she used to, and with something that had to do with Heaven...

"H-hey...Tomo...In light of this recent revelation...I think it's time I introduced you to our parents..."

Ah. That would explain the key. The Yamazaki house. Tomoyo leaned closer to Ren, more concerned with the craftsmanship of the key still than whom they were going to visit. Tomoyo did not concern herself by worrying about the Yamazaki. Perhaps it was because she was older than them, or perhaps it was because she knew that their oldest ancestor, Yamazaki Chikara, was on her side--but she did not see them as a serious threat to her.

Her and Ren's child, though--on the other hand, that was something entirely different. Tomoyo had promised Ren a Yamazaki, and that meant that she was going to have to abide by the Yamazaki law. Tomoyo didn't typically like rules associated with Heaven, so she knew that she and his family were going to be clashing a lot. However, she knew she held the advantage; it was her child, after all. It was coming out of her.

She smiled, though, to reassure Ren; she wanted to know that she was behind him; to remind him that he wasn't going through this alone. That's why they were married, after all.

More than anything, Tomo wondered how his family would react to the fact that their souke was married to the First Fallen...

"Ano...Ren-koi...shouldn't I have met them a long time ago?"

[Yamazaki Ren]

He laughed faintly and reached up to wipe his face in an effort to control the fact that he felt like he was drowning in his own bodily fluids.

"Probably...But..." And he knew he was going to upset her by saying this..."I didn't want to put myself in the position of having to defend my decisions if...'something' happened. My father would take any excuse accesible to ridicule me and generally discredit me. My rule in the 6th is shaky enough without having it become common knowledge that my own family doesn't have faith in me. I wanted to be sure that things were going to work out before I even tlaked to him about it. He's heard by now, of course, but luckily, Kenai and Shizuka know to let any calls from the compound go straight to voicemail." He laughed again, a little more strongly this time but still in a way that suggested that he might possibly faint at any moment. "And besides...You've already met them, I'm sure...Just this time...It'll be as their...-er...Ha-ou-in-law?"

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo moved behind her husband, hugging him to keep him still. Surprised at the amount of sweat that greeted her skin as she touched him, she pulled him closer.

"Ren...don't be so...tense..." She really didn't know what to do; she had never seen Ren behave like this before, either. Honestly, it scared her. Ren, according to his sister, was not one to let his emotions go unchecked. And for Ren to have a reaction like this, he must have really been worried. The thought of Ren being worried about anything caused the Ha-ou to tighten her grip on her husband.

"Please don't worry...I haven't met them directly, but I have the chance to make a good first impression, right?" she knew that with the Yamazaki, she would have to try very hard to maintain herself to do so. If they pissed Rei off, then there was even no specultaion that these would be difficult people to work with. After all, they were the family that allowed Chikara to leave Heaven over the specifics of a marriage--and Tomoyo did not respect that at all. She began to seriously worry about how they would take the news of their ruling male souke marrying--and having a child with--the Ha-ou of Hell. Well, she had been with Ren for a long time, regardless of anyone that may have been with her during that same time...did they know about Mizuki?

The only question that struck pain to her heart then entered her mind: were they Tsubasa loyalists? Tomoyo wouldn't want her child anywhere near that bitch.

Ren laughed in such a dangerous sounding way that Tomoyo wasn't sure if he was going to be okay...she wasn't sure if she was going to be okay, either.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling on the nape of Ren's neck, she said, to calm both herself and her beloved, "Darling. I promise we will deal with everything as it comes to us. I promise."

[Yamazaki Ren]

He laughed again, slightly worried when the room started to tilt and he sat back down on the bed with a thump, putting his head in his hands.

"Yeah, you say that now..." Not that he wasn't conforted by his wife's support....

Just there were some things about the Yamazaki that even Tomo had no clue about and he wasn't altogether sure that she would be too thrilled about them when they came to light.

Things that would appall even the most heretical of Fallen Angels...

"The only way to ensure that our child won't be pushed into the line of fire as the Yamazaki heir will to be to make sure that the elders of the clan accept me as the legitimate heir--permantly--and not just the heir to breed the next offspring. I need to make sure that I am accepted as the one who will eventually lead the family and I need the votes of all seven of them. Rei is the one vote I can count on, but as for all the others..." He turned to Tomo and sighed. "Do you think you can convince Chikara to my side? I know Mimiko is a lost hope but the majority is what counts."

[Sanada Tomo]

"I was not aware that Chikara was still recognized as an Elder of the family," Tomoyo said softly. "She is no longer an Angel, you see...however, if she is counted, she is already fond of you and Rei. I'm sure that she would vote for you in any case...Mimiko is not going to vote for you...just not going to happen. She hates me, she's in love with Tsubasa and as such she's not voting for you. That's just someting we'll have to accept." She paused. "What do I have to do to win over the other votes for you? I'll do anything for you, Ren...I'll...talk to some of those who are still loyal to me in Heaven...I'll--I'll do anything..."

[Yamazaki Ren]

While he hadn't really been expecting Mimiko's vote in the first place, being reminded of her opinion of him didn't really ameliorate Ren's nerves on the subject at all.

"Well, that's a start at least..."

Now the only thing that Ren could think to do was to garner his sisters supposrt...

...Something which he knew would probably be even more difficult to do than getting the other family members on his side...

[Sanada Tomo]

Ren's shaky reply did not make Tomoyo feel better about things. She felt worthless, useless, and she had never enjoyed that particular feeling. But this was the world of Yamazaki that they were discussing, and Tomoyo would just have to accept the fact that she would never obtain a position of power there, and never had hope of earning one, either. It was not a fair sort of world. The Yamazaki had their own rules, their own lines which could judged for crossing, their own way of doing things.

She shook her head, and took a breath to calm her thoughts. She could not properly support Ren if she allowed herself to be shaky as well. She had to be strong for him, so that they--and their child--would make it through this.

"Whose votes are of most concern to you? Tell me why, and what positions these people hold in Heaven and in your family. That would help considerably."

Usually, Ren was the responsible adult in these situations, giving Tomoyo advice and occasionally a slap upside the head when she was being stupid. Now it was time for Tomoyo to do the same for her husband, and she was taking this matter very seriously.

[Yamazaki Ren]

Ren took a steadying breath which did little to no good and tried to remember the heirarchy or the family as it had been drilled into him as a child.


"At the top is the current Souke--Yamazaki Hatori, who holds a Junshou rank in the military even though her retired from active duty centuries ago. Next are the Seishi, Me, Rei, Chikara, Amane, Mimiko, and Seki. Though, since Amane is dead, Seki might as well be dead and Mimiko is a moot point, the ones who matter on that level are Rei and Chikara. After that comes the rest of the family. They really don't have any say in voting matters but my father consults select older members of the family for advice. Who, I have no idea besides my mother Yamazaki Risa, who is also a non-active Junshou." I'm concerned that Rei won't support me, simply because she won't want me to deal with them. Mother basically hates us as much as Father does, so theres no point trying to convince her either. Their is a board of Elders for the family who have the power to overrule fathers decisions, but I doubt they will, their are 12 of them and the only two who aren't totally under my fathers thumb are Renji and Reiji, who are both Junshou as well." He stopped to sigh again "But, they happen to be annoyed with us at the moment...so...Then there are the vassels of the family, who aren't really consulted in the vote at all but have influence with their parents who are elders. And that's Yamazaki Shuuhei and Shizue who hold no rank in the military except in terms of working as commanders of the Yamazaki's private army. They actually fill in the last Seishi role and Amane's but the fact that they're illegitimate children make them ineligible in my father's eyes.

"And that's the whole family. In a nutshell. Unless you count children, which I didn't. Essentially, everyone is of concern to me since theirs such dissention throughout the family about Rei and I, so theres no way of telling whos votes I have for sure. We're basically the black sheep of the Yamazaki. Essentially."

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo could not imagine having to memorize such a family structure--she was lucky that her parents were some of the first Seraphim. She just couldn't imagine anyone living in a family where the members were assigned jobs. Families were supposed to live together and learn together, not...be drilled and perfect at everything.

Still, Ren's recitation had made her head spin. "Ano...Chikara isn't counted as one of your family anymore, is she? She's choirless and all. And if she is counted, does that mean that her husband Jiishita holds a vote in the family because they're around the same age? If it does, then that could be one more vote in your favor. What does your family think of Tsubasa. Considering that Mimiko is one of the Eldest, their stance on Tsubasa and her doings is most important. And Seki...I may be able to strike a deal with him to vote for you...if his vote still counts. I'm not very sure what he's planning to do now that he's back, but I get the hunch that he doesn't really like me at all...but he's not stupid. If I offer him something valuable enough he would take it."

In terms of the other members of the family, she wasn't sure; only Ren and Rei knew them well enough to predict them.

[Yamazaki Ren]

"Rei, Seki and Chikara should have top vote. Should being the operative word. My father, disagrees however and everyone is too afraid to go against him. They're the ones that Byakko himself picked to rule the Yamazaki and subsequently ever other thing that he had dominion over. Even above the Celestial King candidates, they were his picked as his sucessors, similar to the way Suzaku picked people. Instead, he was imprisoned before anything could take root and the three of them were cast down as heretics from the highest branches of the family.

"Takaishi is not counted amoung the voting body because the family doesn't recognize his and Chikara's marriage as legitimate because they didn't follow the proper channels and weren't approved. Seki loves Rei like a sister and would likely follow her to the ends of the universe if she called for it. I don't know how he feels about me, but Rei can pretty much assure me his vote. Like I said, Tsubasa and Mimiko are still considered voting members of the family but they're in discredit with my father because Tsubasa turned to Kouryuu." Discussing his family at length was starting to make Ren vaguely naseous.

Surging to his feet, he raked his unsteady hands through his hair once more and starting searching the room for the rest of his clothes, deciding to forgo any type of complicated freashening up and trying to get the hardest part of the matter out of the way as quickly as possible.

He doubted his sister would care about his state of dress anyway, the way she had been moping about.