Ning followed the tall blonde back to the hidden chamber behind the closet. Silence, heavy and expectant, lay between them as they entered the room and faced off. Leon raised and eyebrow in silent question and Ning nodded and then bowed low. He moved to the center of the room and shook his body loose. Leon moved opposite and stretched his own limbs to warm them, preparing to fight. Leon bowed to Ning and moved into his own fighting stance rocking on the balls of his feet. One brief tense moment nothing stirred and then it broke loose in a flurry of strikes and counter strikes as they moved against one another. Ning was surprised at the human's quickness and adaptability. Mostly they blocked each other's kicks and punches but occasionally a solid hit broke through and connected. Leon spit blood where Ning's foot had connected with his jaw. Ning had to gasp for air as a solid punch hit his abdomen and knocked the wind from him.

The two danced around each other, their only conversation huffs and pants as came together and parted. Agility, grace, and strength were the pathways of their communication and the means in which thoughts were imparted. Leon let his anger flow through him and release itself and Ning let his frustration do the same pouring from him much as the sweat on his brow. The sounds of their exertion could be heard through out Leon's small apartment but not one of the company present came to disturb them. Insulated within the sparse room the two men struggled with each other until the last blow was thrown and arms hooked together, gripping the other tightly, they sank to the floor. Ning released Leon first and pushed his long soaked hair from his face and neck.

"You fight well for a human." Ning remarked in an off handed tone. Leon glared acidly at him but then shook his head deciding the kami meant it as a compliment.

"You put up a helluva fight yourself." Leon told him with gruff, begrudging respect. Ning grinned at him and laughed.

"I should hope so detective. I've been training for several of your lifetimes." Ning blew out his breath and stretched his legs out before him. Leon flopped down beside him and let his eyes wander over the jean encased limbs. He chuckled too himself and turned amused eyes to the kami.

"How'd you wind up in jeans, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked the humor evident in his voice. Ning rolled his eyes and tipped up one leg for inspection.

"My grandmother sent them and Jill was most persuasive." He answered, laughter glinting in the undertones.

"Ah, I see. Jill has a way of getting what she wants, come hell or high water." The two men lapsed into silence after that sitting companionably on the floor. Ning reached out tentatively to Leon with his mind asking permission to touch his emotions and let his be touched in return. Leon showed the better part of grace and with the gentle reassurance of Jiaoshu in his neural pathways, let him in. Ning crept through the cross hairs and triggers of Leon's emotional landscape accepting the still ripe anger he held but also finding the beginning of forgiveness that was there as well. In turn he pulled Leon into the bleak jagged terrain inside him, letting him feel the constant snarling of empathic information that sometimes overwhelmed the kami. It was an eye opening experience for Leon causing tiny furls of compassion to open inside of him and cutting through the distance he wanted to keep.

A part of the kami laid blocked and shored within him where neither Leon nor Ning could touch it. Leon kept coming back to it and hovering at its edges perplexed by what it was and why it was. The force coming from behind the blockage snapped and curled at the seals periodically as if testing its strength. In the dreamscape Leon traveled through he broadcasted his intrigue out to the miasma around him; almost immediately his mind filled with the vision of Nana, Q-Chan, and a woman he failed to recognize, gathered around Ning and forcing him to his knees. They each laid their hands upon him and words flowed between them in a crushing weight of joined power. Ning struggled in the memory, rallying against them ineffectually, before succumbing to them and their greater combined will. His disembodied voice floated inside the detective's conscious.

"It is a power to great for me to control. It drove me to madness and to cruelty." Leon listened and then let himself be pulled away back to his own stream of thoughts. He opened blurred eyes and blinked rapidly to bring the room back in focus. Ning sat beside him, his face very still, waiting judgement. Leon remembered sitting across from Alan much the same way. Alan though had been sitting on the floor for the deliberate lack of furniture and the walls had been soft and padded. His arms had been bound inside the garment he wore and secured behind him in a demeaning version of a hug. Alan had sat just as quietly, waiting for his cousin to either accept or deny him, as Ning did now.

Leon rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was worn down and tired from the release of his emotions and just a little let down that he couldn't keep himself angry at the kami. Why did everyone have to have a problem he could relate to? He asked himself in mild aggravation. He shrugged his shoulders and pushed his body up off the floor. Holding out a hand to Ning, he pulled him up and clapped a strong arm on his shoulder, giving it a little shake.

"We're done now aren't we? Fresh start?" Leon asked him soberly, his eyes intent and watching for any flicker on the kami's face. Ning placed his own slender hand over Leon's and gazed up at him solemnly, all his uncertainty laid bare on his features.

"Yes, we begin anew. That is my desire." Ning squeezed Leon's hand hopefully bolstering his words. Leon gave a curt nod, the best he could muster around the knot in his chest and led Ning from the room. The warmth of voices and food cooking spilled around them as they exited the room and went to join their now joint family.

Jiaoshu watched their return from under downcast lashes. A delicate hand rested on his stomach just above the concentration of energy that defined the child within him and his fingers stroked the area gently. He breathed deeply and let the tenseness in his muscles dissolve. Leon and his father had come to terms with one another. His belly full and his family sound he relaxed. A wellness and contentment washed over him, bathing him, and he purred gently in the back of his throat. The room suddenly seemed almost to warm and his eyes started to drift close, his head drooping slightly. He pulled himself upright with a little jerk, embarrassed, a light blush on his cheeks. Leon made his way through the room to his side to stand behind him at the table. The detective's blunt thick fingers came to rest on Jiaoshu's shoulders and his thumbs rubbed into the muscles in a soothing circular motion. Jiaoshu bit his lip trying not to purr where the others could here, terribly aware of how he must look.

You're tired, baby, you should rest." Leon whispered against his neck, a command wrapped in silk but undeniable. Jiaoshu's head rolled back and came to rest against Leon's stomach as he straightened up. Jiaoshu fought against it worried about his dignity, but his lover's strong masculine scent coiled around him like ropes of calming incense smoke. His mind grew hazy and his mouth parted showing the tips of his fangs. A rich deep purring settled in his throat and his eyelids determinedly shut making his connection to Leon the only tangible thing in the world. Leon's ran his fingers through his fine silk hair just barely brushing his cheek in passing. Jiaoshu instinctively nuzzled against the wall of muscle under his other cheek and sighed.

"Go on Jiaoshu, let go and sleep." The use of his given name gave Leon's will a firm nudge through the bond and the kami's body obeyed. Everyone quieted around the table and hidden glances watched as Leon took him down in levels, murmuring to him and caressing his face until the purring had died to a low rumble and Jiaoshu's arms had fallen loose by his side. Leon waited patiently for a few minutes and then gathered him in his arms. He cuddled his small frame against the solid mass of his own and pillowed his head on his shoulder where Jiaoshu could hear his heart. Leon nodded to mix of family around him and carried him from the kitchen.

Silence settled in the room as each dealt with the odd twists of emotions within themselves. Tet-chan bowed his head at the sudden surge in his chest that broke his jealousy in a thousand useless pieces. Alan watched them go, his breath held, as his heart pumped hard in want, craving what they shared so easily. Ning closed his eyes and gripped Jill's hand hard fighting back tears, feeling very small and unworthy next to his son's grace. Q-Chan stood pensive and thoughtful, his earlier convictions shaken and cracked, in regards to the human, who now seemed to be so much more than a loud mouth braggart. Nana and Jill met each other's eyes and shared a small secret smile of women who both have seen their children safely to port and were happy with the partners they had found.

Nana winked at the human and nodded her head in the general direction of Alan and Q-Chan. Jill grinned and winked back thinking to herself that it would be good to see the little minx settled. Alan was another of her grown children, him and Leon both were like baby brothers to her which she felt compelled to guide and help through life; Alan, albeit, a slightly more dangerous fare then Leon to watch over and care for. Ning tugged at her arm and the moment passed as she turned to him, love evident as she placed tiny kisses on his forehead easing the tightness in him.

In the bedroom Leon slowly rolled Jiaoshu from his arms and settled him in the center of their bed. He placed his own hand on the slight bulge of the kami's belly and checked on his child and his lover. He pushed deeper into Jiaoshu's mind to sleep not wanting him to awaken while he was gone. Leon bent over him and brushed his lips carefully against his. Leon held himself still in the space, eyes closed just breathing in all that he could of his lover. Leon backed away more then just a touch regretful and went to his closet. Long dark jeans, black t-shirt and an even blacker jacket all were pulled out and put on. The jacket was cut to hang over his double holster and had many pockets concealed within it. Leon pulled his hair lose from it's band and scrubbed his fingers through it before pulling it back tight to his neck and wrapping the band around it again, gathering in loose strands.

He went to his chest of drawers next and pulled out an assortment of knives and tucked them into his jeans and his jacket; flat blades that rested close to the skin with lethal throwing edges. He pushed twine into one pocket and then several clips into the casing on his belt and then loaded both his guns. Holstering his weapons Leon paused at the door watching the even rise and fall of Jiaoshu's chest as he slept and then swept out shutting it with a click. Alan met him on his way out, the psychotic grin on his face that he wore when trouble was brewing and he was going to be a part of it.

"Ready cousin?" Alan asked fairly bouncing in anticipation. Leon nodded and threw his cousin a couple of extra rounds, knowing they carried the same kind of gun. Alan caught them gleefully and began his own preparations. Q-Chan watched with his mouth slightly agape at the sheer number of weapons the little man hid on his personage as he took them out of his bag and checked them one by one. Two leather wristbands hid flat retractable blades that rested on the top of his hands when drawn, another long blade was sheathed in leather and tied to one leg and a small linked chain slid through his belt loops, whip like in its pliability and ending in a curved scythe. He stared as Alan slid two more blades into his boots and tucked another against the bicep of his right arm in a sheath hidden under his shirt and finished it up with a thigh holster on his free leg with a revolver that matched Leon's and a shot gun holster across his back complete with its own sawed off shotgun. Alan shrugged into his jacket patting the pockets checking that his rope and hook were in one main pocket and his herbal smokes and lighter in the other.

"Okay, all done..let's go play, shall we?" Alan chirped out cheerfully, stretching his arms over his head and twisting his back making it pop. Nana walked up to him a bemused grin on her normally serene face and kissed his cheek.

"Nothing but trouble. Take us to the dragon, little demon, we are ready." Jill and Tet-chan settled on the couch to watch over Jiaoshu. Ning, Leon, Nana, and Q-Chan all followed Alan out into the night. The last things done were the strengthening of their seals on the apartment as one more safe guard against their foes.