The Black Unicorn
[timeline: immediately after Otherworld 2] 7 Years Ago
Rin had said that one night would be enough when she went to Keiki that last night before Seiryuu, but she never expected her words to be so prophetic. Keiki would never come back to her and now all she had was the memory of that one night. She stood there on her balcony bathed in the moonlight. She had shed so many tears that there no more left in her. She felt empty inside. "Where do I go from here?" she asked the empty night.
As if in answer, a soft knock came from her bedroom. She went to the door and opened it, to find Kiri standing there. She opened the door wider and let him in, then walked to the balcony with Keiki's son following. Once there, she turned to look at the young unicorn. His face was sad.
"I wanted to go instead of my father, but he wouldn't let me." Kiri said, his voice filled with sorrow.
"I know. It was his choice and he didn't want his son to die. I think he knew what would happen."
"I'm sorry," Kiri said.
The silence after those two words was deafening. Sorry? Sorry that you didn't die instead. That would have only caused Keiki even more pain.
Rin shook her head, "No, never say that. He wanted you to live."
Kiri stood there, head bowed, not able to find the right words. Finally, he said, "I am leaving tomorrow. I am rejoining the herd and telling them what happened. It was my father's last request."
Rin nodded. Now she would lose the last unicorn. There would be no one - only emptiness. Tears that she thought she did not have began to fall, drawing moisture from some deep well of pain inside her. "Will I ever see you again?"
"It depends on the herd's decision, but," there was a long pause, "probably not. I think the herd will remain in hiding forever."
"I will miss you. I know I have not been kind to you, and I am sorry I didn't get to know you better. You saw a very bad side of me, one that I am ashamed of."
"I saw a beautiful side of you, Rin. I saw a woman that loved my father and gave him a moment of joy. I am eternally grateful to you for that. And I hope someday you will find your own joy." Kiri's eyes were gentle and sincere.
That was the last time she saw Kiri, for he left before dawn the next morning.
Two days later and unable to stand the long empty days any longer, she decided to continue her studies and trudged up the long stairs to the South Tower. The door was opened and she went inside. Kaiba looked up and smiled. "Glad you're here." the mage said. He did not have his outer robe and hood on, and his long dark purple hair hung loose to his waist. She suddenly realized that she had never seen him without his hood.
He was busy mixing up a potion. "I can really use your help. We have a lot of injured people to care for." Rin nodded and walked to the table and began to sort the various herbs that were strewn about. Kaiba nodded and smiled, then continued with his potion.
Bakura was the worst; he would have been killed from Jodah's psychic blast if not for Malik's sacrifice. The demon mage was not in his tower, but in a bedroom below. Kaiba and Rin went to him, the mage was in a deep healing sleep thanks to numerous potions and herbs and also to one of Kurama's plants. Kaiba moved the plant to the balcony while they worked, then he gently took down the covers, exposing the mage's torso; his skin was light blue with intricate black demon markings, but dark burn areas had distorted the markings over much of his torso. Kaiba and Rin each took a side and began to dab the potion on the burns. Bakura moaned at each painful touch, no matter how light they were. His would be a long, painful recovery.
One by one the pair went to the injured, checking wounds, changing bandages as necessary, doing what they could do to help alleviate the discomfort of the men and women who had fought for Otherworld. The entire day passed quickly and Rin left, promising to return tomorrow morning.
She returned to her room, but it still felt as empty as before. The dinner bell sounded but she didn't want to join the others, so she stayed in her room and had a tray brought up. A while later, a soft knock sounded at her door and she called "come in" through the door. To her surprise, Princess Aara walked into the room.
"I missed you at dinner, Rin, and came to see how you were. Kaiba says that you helped him today so I was hoping you would come down for dinner."
"I just couldn't. I…" Rin began, and then stopped, not knowing how to explain the emptiness in her heart.
As if reading her mind, Aara said, her voice barely above a whisper, "We both lost someone we loved. I know the emptiness you feel inside. And I know I am fortunate in having my males around me. But you also have people here that love you and want to help you. Please let us help."
Rin looked at the Princess. She had been so wrapped up in her own sorrow that she forgot that Vash had died also. Tears spilled down and Aara hugged her tightly, her own tears joining Rin's. For the first time in her life, Aara felt a bond with another female.
After a long time, the two women broke apart, and smiled at each other through their tears. Aara stood to leave, and turned to Rin, "Please don't stay in your room. We need you with us."
Rin nodded mutely. She had never expected to feel friendship from the Princess.
The next morning, Rin again joined Kaiba on his rounds, and this time he allowed her to mix the potions, guiding her carefully. The mage seem to have infinite patience and she remembered the time that he came into her room when she had been crying about Keiki's supposed mate. What a child she had been! And Kaiba had tried so hard to comfort her, but her tears had flustered him badly, and he had fled in panic. Kaiba was a good friend. She never realized that until now - he was not only a teacher but also a friend. She reached out and touched his arm, and he turned to meet her eyes.
"Kaiba, thank you for being there for me," she said and he smiled at his young apprentice.
"You are special, Rin, your heart is beautiful." He said to her, and then on an impulse, hugged her lightly. Then suddenly stiffened, still holding her in his arms.
"What is wrong?" she asked, suddenly worried. He moved apart from her but kept his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her gravely.
"Rin, you have a child within you. I can feel it's magic. Unicorn magic. You carry Keiki's son."
Rin swayed and Kaiba sat her down quickly and dipped a cloth in cool water and bathed her forehead and the back of her neck. She started to cry, tears running freely down her face, but they were not tears of sorrow. She looked at the mage, "I am no longer alone!" and smiled through her tears.
"You were never alone, Rin." Kaiba replied.
Rin was walking through the garden with the Princess, talking about mundane things, as friends were wont to do. The pair were strolling slowly through the garden when suddenly a small black unicorn ran to them at full speed. It leapt up in the air and transformed into a little boy and ran to his mother's arms. Taiki was six years old now, a sweet child with silky black hair and dark eyes. There was innocence about him, a feeling that made you want to love him with all your heart. Everyone felt it and Taiki could get anyone to play with him. Even the reticent Bakura would come down from his tower to be with the child. Rin hugged her son and soon he was off again, running in the gardens ahead of them, a bundle of vibrant energy.
Two weeks after Taiki's birth, Rin returned to Kaiba's tower, baby in tow. Kaiba pulled herbs from a large basket, lined it with blankets, and Taiki was set down inside it. The baby slept most of the day, waking only to nurse. When he was awake, he watched his mother. Even when he learned to crawl, then walk, Taiki was no problem. If you told him not to touch something, he would remember. Near disaster happened when he was a scant ten months; he wandered too close to the long narrow stairs and took a tumble down them. Rin screamed and both she and Kaiba rushed to the stairs to look down, fearing what they might find. At the bottom of the stairs stood not a child, but a tiny black unicorn with a nub of a horn. Taiki had changed and sailed down the stairs unharmed.
Rin sighed in relief and sank back to lean against Kaiba's shoulder. He unconsciously put his arms around her and she twisted around to look up at him, suddenly aware of him as a man for the first time. He flushed in embarrassment when he realized that he was holding her, but before he could release her, she turned in his arms and lifted her face, her hand touching his cheek, bringing his face down to hers. Their lips met, a bare touch at first, but it turned into a kiss. They heard a clip-clop of little feet up the stairs that turned into a soft footstep and looked down to see Taiki smiling up at them. He had felt their love, even before they had.
That night Rin tucked her son into bed in his room, closing the door between her room and his. Kaiba was on the edge of her bed waiting. He was very nervous. He had always believed that his life would be solitary, dedicated to healing, and now everything had changed. Tonight Rin would become his lifemate.
He was wearing a loose robe, and his long hair hung unbound. Rin went to him, lifting his face in her hands, looking deeply into his turquoise eyes. She bent and kissed his eyelids. "I never thought to find love again," she whispered.
"And I never thought to find love at all," he answered.
Kaiba had no experience except for what he had read and Rin had only one night, but they knew that their love would guide them. She sat next to him on the edge of the bed and found his mouth, kissing gently at first, then with more passion. His hand brushed against her breast and he pressed it through her gown, liking its gentle give. She undid the lacings at the neck of her gown and let it fall to her waist.
His hand trembled slightly as it returned to her breast. He had touched a woman's breast many times but in a medical sense. This was so different! He felt a stirring in between his legs, and lifted her breast to take the rosy nipple into his mouth. He sucked and licked the nipple taut, and found himself responding also, his own length was hardening and rising. If Rin had looked down, she would have seen his swelling shaft just beginning to protrude from the opening in his robe.
Rin stroked his shoulder as he sucked, enjoying the feeling of his mouth. Both of them had forgotten that she was still nursing her son and suddenly her milk began to spill into Kaiba's mouth. They laughed together and he reached for her mouth again, this time tasting of milk. He moved to the curve of her neck and began to kiss that area, feeling her pulse under his mouth.
She glanced down, noticed his protrusion and pulled his robe open, revealing his swollen length. She lightly touched it, feeling its velvet, stroking its head in gentle circles. Kaiba closed his eyes, and opened his legs for her. No woman had ever touched him there before, save his mother when he was an infant, and the feelings her touch was creating were wonderful. Rin ran her hand down his hard length, wrapping her fingers lightly around his shaft, and then continued downward, bringing her hand underneath his balls to lift them gently. Kaiba leaned back on his elbows, bringing one leg on the bed and the other over the edge, opening himself wide. A tiny pearl of liquid emerged from the tiny mouth in his tip and Rin bent to lick it, still holding his balls up.
The mage moaned, her every touch reverberated deep inside of him, and he began to move his hips in a slow sway. She continued to lick at the tiny hole and then added the area surrounding it, while her hand began to massage him, feeling the round orbs shift under her fingers as she pressed his soft sac. Soon Kaiba was completely hard, and the skin that covered his swollen shaft was tightly stretched.
He sat up with a groan, and moved to the head of the bed, propping himself with pillows against the heavy headboard. He pulled Rin to him and took her gown completely off in one easy motion. He lifted her so that she was kneeling in front of him, her knees on either side of his slim hips. Her breasts were in front of his face and he lightly kissed each rosy tip, careful not to squeeze them. Slowly, he lowered her on his length, the tip of his penis finding her entrance easily. She was wet and ready and he slid in effortlessly, and then using the headboard as leverage, began to thrust himself deep inside her.
Rin braced herself on his shoulders as she rode him, his thrusts making her breasts bob. Kaiba smiled as he watched them. Well, now he knew he was a "breast man." He had once overheard a conversion between Souten and Kome about what part of a woman's anatomy excited them. Breasts turned on Souten while Kome loved the curve of a woman's butt. He had chuckled at their conversation and now here he was -- understanding it all too well.
Rin reaching for his mouth interrupted his thoughts. They kissed passionately, their mouths echoing what their bodies were feeling. Kaiba pressed against her, his strong hands on her hips. He pushed her body down as he thrust hard upward, burying his aching penis deep within her. His whole body shuddered as he released warm, copious streams of semen into her pulsing walls. He brought himself half way out and thrust in again hard, sending even more into her passage. Then his whole body relaxed, and he leaned his head on her shoulder, exhausted. She was still sitting on him, but he was softening quickly, and in a few seconds, slipped from her body. Rin kissed the top of his head and then moved off him, leaving him for a quick look in at Taiki -- the boy was sound asleep -- then Rin returned to her new lifemate's side to curl into his arms.
Being in Kaiba's arms was not the same as it had been in Keiki's embrace -- first love is always special -- that unique moment when all you are is given to another person for the very first time. But Rin found comfort and love in Kaiba's arms and she knew that their love would be enduring.
That morning, as dawn's light began to light their room, Rin woke and looked at the sleeping mage, his face gentle, his long hair spread across the pillow, draping down the other side of the bed. Her mate! She felt a tug on the covers of her side of the bed and turned to see her son. She nodded and he crawled into bed, curling next to her contently. They were truly a family!
Taiki stood on his balcony looking at the hills that surrounded the Castle, hills that he was not allowed to roam. Because his very existence was a deep secret, Taiki had never been outside of the Castle. And those hills always enticed him, but he never disobeyed his mother's orders -- until today. Suddenly, on the nearest hill, he saw something wonderful -- something magical! And without hesitation he jumped off the balcony, transforming into his unicorn form as he did and galloped out of one of the side doors cut into the protecting walls and went straight into the forbidden hills.
The entire Castle was turned upside down trying to find the young unicorn. Taiki had disappeared! Rin was inconsolable and Kaiba held his mate tightly as she sobbed on his shoulder. Wolves had tracked the unicorn to the hills and then his trace had disappeared. Bakura himself went to the spot were his track ended and searched the entire area of a hint of a spell or a portal, but found nothing. The unicorn had simply vanished.
An entire week went by, each day agony for Rin. She was barely sleeping or eating. Kaiba was worried about her and kept pouring herb potions and teas into her to sustain her life force. But he despaired to think what would happen to her if Taiki did not return.
On the seventh day, one of the guards at the front gate came running into the main hall, shouting. Rin flew down the stairs and ran out of the Castle. Coming down the road were two unicorns, a full-grown white and gold unicorn and a tiny black unicorn. Taiki! He changed form and ran to his mother. She embraced her son, tears of joy running down her face.
The other unicorn transformed in a halo of brilliant white light and became Kiri.
"You took my son!" Rin accused him, holding her son tightly.
"Yes, and I am sorry, but I needed to borrow him." Kiri said.
"Borrow him? I was almost insane from worry!"
Princess Aara arrived at that moment, with Kaiba and Kurama behind her. Kiri knelt before her and asked, "Several years ago you promised my father protection for the unicorns in Otherworld. Does your offer still stand?"
"It will stand forever," the Princess replied solemnly.
"There is a valley beyond the hill to the west that we would like to live in. If Bakura could ward it, we can make our herd invisible to all but those we would allow."
"It shall be done. The valley is yours." Aara promised and looked at Bakura, who had arrived shortly after she did. He nodded.
"I don't understand why you needed Taiki." Rin said to Kiri.
"He was proof that a unicorn could safely live in Otherworld. But more than that, he is a sign of hope - a black unicorn is extremely rare - the last black unicorn was born centuries ago. I returned here a couple of times to see how you are doing, and then I saw your son when he was just a baby. Since then I have watched him grow until it was time to show him to the herd. Taiki is our promise of a new life." Kiri knelt before her, "I beg your forgiveness for taking him from you."
"I forgive you, Kiri, but never do it again!" Rin said, still holding her son tightly.
"I promise you upon my life. And I would never hurt my brother." Kiri stood and turned to the Princess, "Would you like to see the herd?"
Together the group walked to the top of the nearby hill. Beyond the hills lay a lush green valley, filled with high grass and dotted with flowers of yellow and purple. The grass was moving to and from in the breeze. A small stream wound its way through the valley. It was beautiful! Kiri chanted something under his breath and it felt like a mist had been cleared from their eyes. Now the valley was dotted with unicorns, about fifty in all, most of them in unicorn form, but a few in human form. A tall, stately unicorn was walking toward them. He was pure white with a golden ring around his horn. When he reached them, Kiri bowed before him and the Princess bowed her head. His voice came inside their heads, speaking to them telepathically, "I am Zalika, leader of the Unicorn clan. I am grateful for your kindness in giving us a home. We have wandered throughout the worlds for many ages now, never daring to stay in one place."
"I am honored to have your clan here. I will do everything I can to protect your herd," the Princess promised.
The unicorn turned to Rin and said, "Rin, I am honored to meet the second mate of my son and mother of my grandchild."
"Your son?"
"Keiki was my son."
And so the unicorn herd made its new home in the protection of the Castle. Kiri came to the Castle almost every day, to spend time with his half-brother. He was beginning to teach Taiki how to use unicorn magic. Some magic was instinctual, like the time Taiki had fallen down the stairs unharmed, but other magic had to be learned through chants, the simple spells using simple chants but the harder spells had complex chants. Taiki would be Kiri's student for many years.
It was a few weeks after the arrival of the herd in Otherworld, and Rin was lying in Kaiba's arms. He was surprising strong for such a slender man. His long supple fingers were like iron, strengthened through long hours of intricate work. She was lying there, back to front, with his body wrapped around her, spooning her. She was playing with his fingers, running her own small fingers over his, trailing up and down their length. He moved one of them out of her hands and reached into the top of her nightgown to cup one of her breasts and pressed his body tightly against hers. He teased her nipple until it stood firm, and then turned her body to face him so that he could suck at them, always loving the feel of her breasts.
"Well, if you are going to play, then I will find something of my own to play with," she teased reaching down between his legs. Her hand never got there because suddenly he raised his head, accidentally hitting her jaw. Her teeth came together with a clack. "What happened?" She protested, rubbing her face.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" Kaiba exclaimed, and then shook his head. He reached down and placed both hands on her stomach and then smiled. His eyes lit up, the turquoise in them gleaming brightly. "You carry my child, Rin," he whispered.
Rin wrapped her arms around him, covering his face with tiny kisses. "I am so happy! I want to tell Taiki! Should I wake him"?
Kaiba smiled and nodded to the side of the bed. The little boy stood there. "How long have you been there?" Rin asked, suddenly worried about what he had seen.
"I just got here. I felt your happiness and knew that you wanted to share it with me. I am going to have a brother."
Kaiba looked at the child. Even he could not tell the gender of the baby yet. "When did you know that your mother was going to have another child?" He asked.
"Five days ago, in the morning. I knew the seed you planted the night before had taken root and had begun to form a child."
Kaiba was amazed. Taiki could tell in a couple of days while it took him a week to sense a child. He wished he could learn more about unicorn magic but knew that the unicorns could not share their magic with anyone. Unicorns were born with the magic.
Nine months later, Taiki said solemnly to his mother at breakfast, "My brother is coming today."
And sure enough, by evening Rin gave birth to her second son. Kaiba lifted his foster son up to see his new brother. The baby had dark hair like his mother's, and turquoise eyes just like his father.
Taiki looked at the baby, "Kain," he whispered.
"Yes, this is your new brother, Kain." Rin smiled at her son. Kaiba sat on the bed with Taiki on his lap, while Rin held Kain. Kaiba bent down to kiss his mate lightly. "Thank you for giving me a family."
Then he stood up and threw Taiki high into the air, catching him on the way down. Their laughter filled the room.
Rin smiled, her happiness complete. Kiri's wish for her had come true: she had found her joy -- it was all around her -- in her family.