Chapter Eleven – "What's in the Box?"

Satoru had been sitting with the dragons, gently petting them and rolling a ball over to them which they would nudge back to him with their snouts. It was definitely different that he had dragon grandchildren but he didn't think of Kei as being an animal. Kei was his son and he always would be. These dragons were his children and therefore, they were Satoru's grandchildren.

"You guys are doing so good," he told the dragons as he scratched both of them behind the ear which they really enjoyed. They looked up at him innocently and Satoru was just glad he got to be with them. He watched as the dragons sniffed the air and saw Midori return with four raw steaks. They smiled as they let smoke blow out of their tiny noses and gobbled up the food.

"They both have such healthy appetites," Midori smiled as she made eye contact with her granddaughter who was looking at her rather unsure. "It's okay," she said as she gently touched her snout. "You're okay. We'll protect you."

Natsu backed away but started choking and Midori's eyes widened. Had the meat been bad or had she given something they had problems in digesting. Satoru panicked as Yoji appeared to be the same. They needed their mother or father with them. Kei and Hikari would know how to help them, it was part of being a parent.

"Baby," Midori said as she pulled Natsu to her chest and saw the dragon panting for breath. Midori turned to Satoru very nervous about what was happening. "Can I see your mouth?" she asked before seeing there to be a shimmer over Natsu's body and Midori held her close, unsure how to ease the pain that she was going through but as she held her, Natsu turned into a human child who had characteristics from both her parents. Yoji did the same.

"I don't know what happened," Midori said as she pulled the screaming little girl close to her. How was she human? Had the curse been broken? "It's okay. It's okay. We've got you," Midori looked across at the tiny boy who took after his mother and saw how he was very gently and affectionately holding him though Satoru appeared extremely concerned.

"Grandfather has you," Satoru promised Yoji as he placed kisses to the top of his head. The doorbell rang and Midori gently passed Natsu to Satoru so he could be with both of their grandchildren. She went to the door and opened it in time to see a car drive off. Midori looked to her feet where a seemingly drugged and unconscious Hikari was but in her human condition.

Was the curse broken, was that what that meant?

"Hikari," Midori asked as she knelt down opposite her daughter in law and placed a loving hand on her shoulder. Hikari groaned and opened her eyes to see Midori there. Hikari stretched out her arm and looked at her hand starting to cry further.

"I'm a disgusting human?" she asked and Midori opened her mouth to argue with her but shook her head, it wasn't worth it. "My babies?" she asked and Midori paused before taking a deep breath.

"They're okay," she said and Hikari stood up feeling as if she was drunk again. "We have them." Hikari nodded and went into the room where Satoru was. She didn't know how to explain to her twins the way that she looked and that she was a different species to them. As Hikari turned to Satoru she saw the two human babies in his arms. This was the first time she was seeing her children as human.

"They seem to be okay," Satoru told her and the babies recognized her and both reached for her.

"Mommy's here," she told them as she knelt opposite Satoru so that she could take her babies from him. "You two are absolutely beautiful," she told them. She turned to Satoru and looked extremely guilty and ashamed. She knew that he was asking for information on Kei and she couldn't give that to him. "I'm sorry," she apologized and Satoru paused. "He got captured," she whispered in a haunted voice and Satoru continued to watch her.

"He got captured?" Satoru asked as he repeated the words to her and Hikari nodded. She felt exhausted but she wanted to find him. He had come to save her again and they had captured him and turned her human. She was just thankful that some power out there had turned her babies human as well so that she could care for them as their mother.

Early the next morning, Hikari awoke and immediately felt strange to still be in her human form. She looked around and saw her children nestled in a crib that Satoru had found for them. She knew how beautiful they both looked, so much like their father's human form. She turned to them and gently let her fingers sweep through their hair, being extremely careful to not wake them up.

It was then that she heard a knock on the door and stretched. She was about to walk over there but saw Sui approach it and they both saw a mailman there with a gigantic package that looked like it weighed a ton.

"Are you a Takishima?" the man asked and Sui nodded before he was presented with an electronic device to sign. "The insurance on this thing was huge. I mean, they said priceless artifact but it's probably the most expensive thing I've ever delivered."

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Sui shrugged and Hikari went over to help with the box.

"What is it?" she asked and Sui looked at her and rolled her eyes to say that that was a stupid question and that he had no idea what it was either and why was Hikari just expecting for him to know that. There was a smell to the box that seemed so familiar but incredibly strong and it pained Hikari to her stomach. Sui had grabbed a fancy box cutter and was opening the box as Satoru came down the steps, having decided to work from home that day.

"Like I know," Sui said and the smell grew even stronger. He could see a very large object wrapped in brown paper as if a butcher's cut of meat and there was so much blood that it had completely soaked the paper in the bottom corner of the box.

"I'll get a blanket that we can put it on," Hikari told him and ran to grab one. Satoru helped Sui lift the wrapped item as Hikari came over with a plastic sheet so that the blood didn't stain the floor. Carefully they ripped the paper to look at what was inside of the box and when they did, it felt like a dark omen had come upon the house.

It was a dragon head but more importantly, it was his decapitated head.

"What is this!?" Sui yelled as he looked at the head. "This has to be some kind of a sick prank, right!?" he asked as Hikari gently touched the head and Satoru's entire body had gone white and he was shaking quite vigorously. "I mean, what the hell!? Who the hell has this type of sick sick humor!?" he asked and Hikari let her fingers spread over the head.

"It's him," she told them and Sui started going into a panic attack whilst Satoru vomited, the pain causing him more physical discomfort than he had ever had in his life. Hikari broke down, feeling that she would never get through the grief and guilt that his death had caused her. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she broke down and put her hands over her eyes despite how she had his blood on her fingers and it was getting wiped over her own face.

"Wrap it up," Sui said as he clutched his chest and wrapped his arms around himself. He felt as if they had destroyed him. He loved his big brother. He loved his big brother and he hated to think about how this head on the ground was actually his.

Satoru reached forward but Hikari had never seen his body this shade of white before. "I'm so sorry, Kei," he whispered as he gently touched his cheek and wrapped the head up in the paper once again. He very gently and respectfully placed it in the box. As they sat there, Midori came down the stairs and looked at the three of them. Sui was sitting in the corner, crying and rocking himself a little in shock. Hikari was just sitting there frozen and Satoru was standing and looked as if he was about to faint but threw a punch into the wall.

"What?" she asked, "What happened?" she asked as she put a hand on Satoru's back and looked at the box. "What's going on?"

"Big brother's dead," Sui finally managed to get out and Midori looked at the three of them. She shook her head, not able to believe it and went over to the box. She saw the blood but she couldn't believe it. She unwrapped the head again and saw that it was Kei's head and looked at Hikari who didn't seem to be arguing that it wasn't him. Midori looked down, feeling her hands and body shake before she completely lost it and screamed, pushing her bloody hands through her hair as she felt the intense pain of losing her baby boy.

He hadn't deserved this and they all knew this.

"We'll bury his head, right?" Sui asked and Satoru and Midori nodded weakly. "He's still my big brother," he argued and they nodded again.

"Of course he is," Midori said as she screamed again as she stared at the decapitated head.

End of Chapter Eleven

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated

AN: Wonder if anyone can guess the reference in the title