Subject: [FF] (YYH) A Gift of Unusual Nature pt. 1

Kurayami Ni Akai Bara - Romantic Soldier (Kurama sings it)

My soul, dried up by loneliness,
Right now, send out blossoms of courage!
Just like a red rose
Blooming in a dark land...

Everyone is a soldier, fighting with themselves
Overcoming suffering and looking for tomorrow
A soldier of love

Out of this sleepless, worried dawn
A new me has been born
The sun rising out of the darkness
Is spreading out light in my heart...

A soldier fighting to protect you
Love, the power to give birth to miracles
Soldier of love

Everyone is a soldier, fighting with themselves
Overcome suffering and grasp tomorrow!

A soldier fighting to protect you
Love, the power to give birth to miracles
I'm a soldier



	Kurama opened the door to the small apartment, anticipation mixing
equally with relief and annoyance. Hiei was back! His lover came and went
as he chose and Kurama never tried to put any restrictions on him. Hiei
would stay because he wished it. And so far, he had. But this time Kurama
had been worried. Before, Hiei's jaunts had been a few days, maybe a week
at most. He'd been gone 20 days this time. Kurama had promised himself he
wouldn't panic until a full three weeks had gone by.

	He eyed the trail of sodden clothing that was scattered along the
path to the other room as he toed off his shoes and put the wet umbrella
into the stand next to the door. Hiei's coat was a sodden pile next to his
boots just before the step up into the living area. A few feet further
along was his shirt, then his pants. Kurama shook his head with a resigned
smile. One of the few drawbacks about living with Hiei was that he was a
slob. He left the coat where it was as he hung up his jacket. He'd need to
put a towel down before he wrung the water-logged thing out. He stepped
around the puddle oozing from the black fabric and up into the room, then
headed for the only closet next to the kitchen area for some towels.

	He had just picked up Hiei's coat when the said youkai made his
appearance. Hiei had chosen to wrap himself in Kurama's favorite robe and
the oversized garment made him look even more petite and diminutive than
usual. Kurama smiled and bit his tongue so he wouldn't laugh as Hiei
stalked toward him holding up the bottom of the robe so he wouldn't trip.
Hiei stopped just out of arms reach and regarded him with a somber and
serious expression. Not his usual scowl and glare of greeting and Kurama
felt a little flicker of alarm.

	"Hiei?" Kurama tried to place what was 'off' with his
friend...something wasn't quite right...

	Hiei nodded back at him, his knuckles white where he held the
fabric of Kurama's robe.

	"Are you all right?"

	Hiei shook his head 'no'.

	"Are you hurt?" Kurama dropped the coat and started toward Hiei,
concerned.

	Hiei shook his head 'no' once more as he retreated a few steps and
held out one hand in a 'stop' gesture.

	"What? What's wrong?"

	Hiei was anxious as hell, he could tell as his friend dropped his
gaze and his fingers twisted in the fabric. What was wrong? Hiei undid the
bow of the belt that held the robe crossed and then looked up at him, the
orange sparks in his dark eyes glowing.

	"Don't laugh."

	Kurama didn't. He fainted instead.


	He came to on the sofa...Gods...what a bizarre dream...he heard the
rattle of dishes and sat up, his head swiveling towards the noise. Hiei was
standing, back facing him, still in his robe. *No. It couldn't be real, it
was a dream...* Hiei turned and Kurama just blinked stupidly as his friend
walked calmly over to him, the cream colored robe still open and trailing
now, framing his brown body...Kurama felt himself start to go light-headed
again. Hiei was no longer a him...he was a her! Perfect breasts, his waist
curving in then out into generous hips and a dark triangle of hair minus
his male equipment. He held out his hand for the mug Hiei offered and hoped
it was spiked with the bottle of sake he kept in the top cupboard.

	"Figured you over react," Hiei scowled at him and Kurama almost
choked on the swallow of un-spiked tea as he registered the sweet soprano
voice that had replaced Hiei's usual dark baritone.

	"What happened?" he managed to get out.

	Hiei sighed hugely, then settled next to him pulling the robe tight
and hiding his body.

	"Have you ever heard of a place called Jyusenkyuu?"

	Kurama thought about it for a few seconds, then shook his head. He
might have but his brain was in no shape to go hunting about in the cobwebs
for half remembered bits of lore.

	"It's a training ground in China. A cursed training ground." He
looked at Kurama out of the corner of his eye. "There are a bunch of
springs there. I...fell into one. I came out like this."

	Kurama took a deep breath, stood up and went to get the sake. He
poured a generous amount into the tea, aware of Hiei's stare boring a hole
into his back.

	"Is it permanent?" *Not that he'd mind, now that he thought about
it...*

	"Kind of."

	Kurama took a big swallow of the spiked tea as he turned around.
"Would you mind elaborating on that cryptic statement?"

	"The curse is permanent. The shape is not." Hiei winced as Kurama
turned back and poured some more sake into his cup.

	He knew Kurama was freaked. His lover always used big words when he
was upset. Not that he blamed him. He had been almost hysterical at first
until he had coaxed some information out of that gibbering idiot who was in
charge of the springs.

	"Cold water activates the curse...which is this," he gestured at
his female shape. "Hot water turns me back into a male."

	He watched Kurama very carefully as his friend and lover absorbed
that. He let out a mental sigh of relief as Kurama grinned and the hard
gleam in his eyes, the dangerous one that showed up when he was feeling
threatened, turned into a mischievous twinkle. Hiei covered his relief with
a glare.

	"What's the hell are you smiling about?" he snarled as Kurama came
back and settled beside him again.

	"You. This," Kurama slid his arm around his shoulders and pulled
him close. "It's not every youkai that gets to experience the best of both
genders, you know."

	Hiei sputtered a few half-meant curses, not having an answer for
that. Kurama cut them off with a kiss. A very passionate kiss.


* * *

	Kurama blinked sleepily and smiled softly. Hiei was still in the
futon with him which was a rarity. Normally Hiei was up well before the
sun. He studied his lover's face. Hiei really was beautiful in his female
shape. Not that Kurama got to see it all that often. His smile turned
sensuous. But when he did, it was always worth it. Hiei preferred his
original shape in all things and Kurama really and truly didn't care. Hiei
was Hiei. That was all that mattered. He kissed Hiei softly, his lips
slowly teasing him into wakefulness. Hiei kissed back for a moment, then
frowned and pushed him away. He raised his eyebrows at Hiei's baleful stare.

	"Not now. I'm hungry."

	That pronouncement made Kurama laugh. "Fine. I'll make you
breakfast if I get a rain-check?"

	"Maybe," Hiei grumbled back as Kurama rose and pulled on his robe.

	Kurama sang to himself with the radio as he bustled about in the
kitchen and grinned when he heard the shower start. *You're not going to
get out of it, Hiei...* A shriek of agony rang through the apartment.
Kurama ran full speed into the bedroom, on guard and looking for
assailants...nothing...he kicked open the bathroom door and frowned.

	"Hiei?" he pulled back the shower curtain. "Hiei?!"

	He was in a collapsed huddle at the bottom of the tub. Kurama
slapped off the faucet, shutting off the warm spray of water from the
shower head. He lifted Hiei carefully out of the tub then sat on the floor,
Hiei a contracted and shuddering curl against his chest.

	"Hiei, what's wrong?"

	Hiei twisted out of his arms and scrambled for the toilet. Kurama
followed on his hands and knees and wondered what in the hell was wrong
with his lover as he kept a comforting hand on Hiei's back while he got
violently and repeatedly ill.

	*...the water had been warm, Hiei was still female...Gods! Was
something going wrong with the curse?* Finally, Hiei was finished and
Kurama handed him a cold washcloth as Hiei rested his forehead against the
cool porcelain.

	"Hiei? What happened? Why didn't you change?"

	"I don't know. It...hurt, Kurama! Shit!"

	"It'll be all right," Kurama soothed, "maybe you've just come down
with a bug that's scrambling the magic. Are you done?"

	Hiei looked up at him and Kurama was concerned by his pallor, the
huge dark circles that had suddenly shown up under his eyes and the almost
gaunt look to his face.

	"I'm hungry."

	"Are you sure? Hiei, you just got sick..."

	"I'm HUNGRY!!!" the violence in that sweet voice, the ravenous look
in Hiei's eyes made him shrink back a little.

	"Fine. I'll go finish breakfast. Can you get..."

	"I'm fine!" Hiei snapped and slapped his offered hands away as he
struggled to his feet. "Just leave me alone!"

	Kurama bit back his own sharp retort and backed out, pausing in the
doorway to make sure Hiei was going to stay on his feet. Hiei glared at
him, then the fury faded from his eyes and was replaced with an unspoken
apology.

	"I'm fine. I just need to eat. I'll be out in a minute."

	Kurama nodded, not at all sure that Hiei was anywhere close to
fine, but left him to go and finish the breakfast.

	Hiei stalked in, dressed in his usual black pants and swamped by
one of Kurama's t-shirts since his own tops did not fit comfortably over
his female anatomy. Kurama reminded himself once more to pick up a few
shirts for Hiei's bustier self as the youkai threw himself down to sit at
the table. He started eating before Kurama even had it all on the table and
bolted everything down, even Kurama's portion, like he hadn't had a meal in
weeks. Kurama hoped fervently it was going to stay down as Hiei sat for a
moment and blinked at the empty plates. Then he looked up, his expression
uncertain and a little uneasy.

	"Kurama, what's wrong with me?"

	"I don't know. How do you feel?" Kurama asked as he knelt next to
Hiei and pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. A little of the
color was coming back to his face, but he still was pale.

	"Sleepy," Hiei answered around a huge yawn.

	Well, he did feel warmer than normal. "How's your stomach?"

	"Fine."

	"You feel nauseous at all?"

	Hiei shook his head no.

	"What happened in the shower?"

	"I don't know. It just hurt," Hiei frowned at him.

	"Well, you're acting like you've got a virus. Did you spend some
time in the Makai while you were out wandering?"

	Hiei nodded affirmative.

	"That's probably it, then. You've got a bug and it's scrambling the
magic of the curse. Nothing to worry about. *I hope.* Go get back in bed
and sleep it off. I've got a test I have to take this morning, but I'll
skip my afternoon classes..."

	"Don't. I feel better now. Really." Hiei stood and stretched, then
gave another huge yawn as he headed for the bedroom. "I'm sure I'll be fine
when I wake up."

	Kurama poured himself a bowl of cereal and after he'd finished
eating, cleaned up the kitchen, then tip-toed into the bedroom. Hiei was
sprawled on the futon on his back, sound asleep. Kurama collected his
cloths and went and got dressed in the living room, then came back in
before he left to check on his lover. Hiei didn't feel as warm as he had
and his color was almost back to normal. Kurama gave him a kiss on his
forehead over the lidded Jagon, and frowned when that elicited no response.
Hiei rarely slept so deeply. Well, that was probably a good sign. Probably
meant that his body was purging whatever it was that was wreaking havoc
with the curse.

* * *

	After 48 hours Kurama was at his wit's end. Hiei wasn't any better
or any worse. In fact, he had started to set his alarm clock by Hiei's
cycle. He slept for five hours straight, woke in a horrible temper and
threw up, then ate ravenously and passed back out into a sleep so deep that
Kurama couldn't rouse him. None of the cures he knew of had worked and he
was certain now that it wasn't an outside influence that was making his
friend ill. There was something wrong with Hiei himself. It was time to
call Yukina. He knew Hiei would be furious. He had been adamant that Yukina
and her 'Husband' not know of his curse. But he'd rather have a furious and
well Hiei, than a sick and possibly soon dead one.

	Yukina showed up without her brood in tow which Kurama was thankful
for. He adored Yukina's children and knew Hiei did also, though he'd never
admit to it. But at the moment, with Hiei's uncertain temper, it was safer
for them to be out of the way. He leaned down into her fast hug and forced
a smile. Yukina 'looked' at him and he knew she saw past his facade, that
she could see the worry and tiredness that was haunting his mind.

	"So, what is this 'thing' that you couldn't tell me about over the
phone?" Yukina asked as she started past Kurama on a bee-line toward the
bedroom and her twin.

	Kurama put his hand on her arm, stopping her. "Yukina, a moment
before you go in."

	She stopped and looked at him expectantly.

	"Hiei got cursed a few months ago. He can change genders now and at
the moment he's stuck as a female."

	Yukina blinked at him and giggled. "You are teasing me, aren't you,
Kurama?"

	Kurama crossed his arms against his chest and shook his head 'no'
solemnly. "Hiei didn't want you to know. He's going to be furious that I've
told you. But I don't know what else to do for him."

	A strange, calculating expression came onto Yukina's face as she
listened, then she smiled and patted Kurama's arm. "Let me guess. He's
sleeping for four hours, then getting ill, eating and going back to sleep?"

	Kurama felt a rush of relief. Yukina did know what was wrong with
Hiei. "He sleeps five hours, though. What's wrong with him?"

	Yukina giggled again and Kurama gave her a little glare. This
wasn't funny.

	"Well, I have a pretty good idea, but let me check him over to make
sure before I say one way or the other, all right?" she told him as Kurama
followed her into the bedroom.

	Yukina knelt on the futon and just gazed at Hiei's female form for
a moment, then shook her head and placed her hand on her brother's
forehead. Hiei started a soft purr in unconscious response to his twins
presence as she moved her hand down his body, a light, ice blue glow
emanating from the underside of her hand and almost imperceptible against
the afternoon sunlight streaming in from the window. Kurama kept his eyes
on her as he went and knelt on the other side of the futon, anxious and
searching her features for any clues as to what was wrong with his lover.
She paused over his lower abdomen, the glow intensifying. She smiled as
Hiei mumbled and turned on his side away from her, curling into a tight
knot.

	Yukina raised her hand, closing her fingers into a fist and
squeezing the light of her power out as she gave Kurama a radiant smile.
Kurama blinked back, wondering what in the hell was going on.

	"Kurama, Hiei's pregnant."

	It sank in, slowly, and he said the first thing that came into his
head. "He's going to kill me."

	"Oh, don't be silly, Kurama! How long until he wakes up?"

	Kurama glanced down at his watch, his brain dazed and still
whispering over and over *He's going to kill me...*, "Thirty-three minutes."

	Yukina rose and pulled the stunned youko up by his hand and led him
out of the bedroom.

	"Sit," she commanded as they reached the sofa and left him to come
to terms with his impending fatherhood as she went and made them some tea.

	He hadn't even come to that realization when Yukina came back with
a tray and the tea service. He was still trying to figure out how to
survive Hiei's inevitable reaction to the news that he was pregnant.

	"I'm surprised you didn't think of that possibility, Kurama,"
Yukina said in a soft scold as she poured the tea.

	"I also. I should have. It makes sense now," he sighed as he took
the cup and sipped. "I take it that this cycle is normal for a pregnant
Koorime


?"

	Yukina nodded. "Well, it was how it went for me when I was carrying
the twins. Though I only slept four hours, not five. Every pregnancy is a
bit different, you know."

	"No, I wouldn't know," Kurama responded with dry sarcasm.

	Yukina looked at him, a little shocked. "Kurama, don't you have
children from when you were Youko? You are so good with mine, I just
assumed that you had been a father..." she trailed off as all traces of the
gentleness that usually graced his features disappeared.

	"No. I don't have any children."

	The harshness in his voice was reflected in the flat, hard sheen of
his eyes. Yukina laced her fingers together as she lowered her gaze and
blushed, knowing she had trespassed into a place Kurama did not wish to
think on.

	"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried," she apologized softly, then
raised her head once more and offered something she hoped he would be
pleased with. "Well, you are going to be a father now!"

	It sunk in this time. Father. Hiei was carrying his kit! No, if his
lover held true to his Koorime heritage, it would be twins. His hands
started to tremble so violently that he had to put the tea cup down. Gods,
what was he going to tell Shiori? He tried to envision an infant version of
Hiei's female shape...what would the male look like? Panic took him for a
moment.

	"Yukina, what are my worst traits?!"

	Yukina gave him a sympathetic smile and wondered if she should tell
him that was exactly what her husband had asked when she had told him that
they had conceived together. She decided against it as she gave him the
same answer she had her husband.

	"Kurama, you don't have any truly bad traits."

	That answer didn't reassure Kurama at all. He had quite a few, he
just managed to keep them hidden most of the time. He pushed that aside as
a worry for another time. Hiei was pregnant and he had almost no knowledge
of
Koorime


 reproductive processes.

	"Yukina, I need some help here. I don't know much about Koorime
pregnancies. What do I expect? What's normal? What's not? Is Hiei going to
have problems because he's a half-breed?"

	Kurama tried to think of any fire spirits he might know who could
provide information on the other half of Hiei's heritage. He let out Hiei's
favorite curse softly when he couldn't think of one, startling Yukina as
she gathered her thoughts to answer. She blinked at him, then laughed
inwardly. She had never seen Kurama this...unsettled. Then she got serious.
There were quite a few things that Kurama would need to know.

	"A Koorime pregnancy lasts 16 weeks."

	Kurama nodded. That he knew.

	"The first four you don't do anything but sleep and eat. The nausea
tapers off and is normally gone by the middle of the second week," she
added as she saw that question coming. "The next six you don't sleep so
much but your appetite increases. And we tend to get incredible cravings
for certain foods."

	She grinned and Kurama grinned back. Kuwabara had shown up on his
doorstep quite a few times during Yukina's pregnancies in a dither asking
for certain fruits and vegetables that only grew in the Makai.

	"The last two are the hardest."

	She took a deep breath before she continued. This next bit of
information was repugnant to her and the one and only time since she had
been a child that she hadn't been able to resist the natural instincts of
her species.

	"Pregnant Koorime need blood and rei in their fifteenth week. Not a
lot of it, but we do need it," a small, shy smile touched her lips as she
remembered how giving and unafraid her husband had been when she had hit
that stage of her pregnancies.

	Kurama gave her a startled look, but covered it quickly as he
nodded his understanding. That was something that he would have no problem
giving to Hiei when and if he needed it. It would be a small price to pay
for Hiei doing all the work of carrying the kits.

	"The last week, we 'nest'. It will be in a small, contained space."

	Kurama was aware of that fact also. He and Hiei had helped Kuwabara
construct what he referred to as Yukina's 'nesting box' in the corner of
that couples bedroom. It wouldn't be a problem. He would create a bower for
Hiei out of the house plants...he was pulled from his fast calculations
about just how big to make it when Yukina continued.

	"We will also eat every hour that last week until twelve to
twenty-four hours before we go into labor. You'll know it's close when he
stops eating. If you would like, I will come when it's his time to be
mid-wife," she offered shyly.

	Kurama nodded his head yes vigorously. He was sure Hiei would want
her there anyway. She frowned a little as she searched her knowledge to see
if there was anything else she needed to tell him. She couldn't think of
anything else really important.

	"That's about it, I guess. If anything comes up, you can call me.
And I'd like to come and check on him every week, if you wouldn't mind?"

	"Not at all, Yukina. I would be very grateful if you would. And I
imagine Hiei will be also." Kurama's watch alarm went off. "I've got to
start getting his meal ready. Would you like something as well?" he offered
as he rose.

	"What are you making?" Yukina asked.

	"Curry. I can make one big batch in the morning and feed it to him
all day. And he hasn't turned his nose up at it yet."

	"No, thank-you. Can I do something to help, though?"

	Yukina made light conversation as she set the table and tried not
to laugh at Kurama's jitters as he kept glancing at his watch. Finally he
gave her a grim smile as he wiped his hands on a towel.

	"He's awake."

	"Let me tell him, Kurama?" she asked, knowing that Kurama was
dreading dropping this bit of news on her brother.

	Relief claimed Kurama's expression. "If you wouldn't mind, Yukina.
He'll probably take it better coming from you."

	Yukina gave him a hug, then headed for the bedroom. She peeked in
and winced as she heard the sounds of her brother getting ill. Well, at
least she could give him the reassurance that this part of it was almost
done as she crossed to the doorway of the bathroom. Her own version of
'morning sickness' had been fierce for three days, then had quickly tapered
off. She waited out of sight against the wall until she was sure he was
finished, then stepped into the doorway. Her heart went out to her twin as
she saw him sitting against the wall with his knees drawn up, rocking
slowly, his face down and hidden in his crossed arms.

	"Brother," she called softly as she went to him and held out her arms.

	His head snapped up and for a moment she thought he was going to
try to run from her. She stopped a bit away from him, giving him the space
to get around her if he decided to run, still offering the comfort of her
hug. He rocked forwards onto his knees, his arms going around her waist as
he pressed his forehead into her middle.

	"Yukina, what's wrong with me?" he asked in a small voice as she
wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

	"You're pregnant, Hiei."

	"No I'm not." He looked up at her, his expression blank with shock.

	"Yes, you are," she smiled back. "Come on. Kurama has something
ready for you to eat. We'll talk about it after you're done, all right?"

	He followed unresisting as she took his hand and led him out.


	Kurama held his peace and hovered in the kitchen as Yukina brought
Hiei out and steered him to the table. Hiei wasn't ranting and snarling and
trying to blast him into atoms as he'd expected. Instead, his lover was
studiously ignoring him, wearing a closed, cold expression and refusing to
look in his direction. It was almost worse than the show of temper he had
been expecting. Finally he couldn't stand it anymore and came to the table
and knelt opposite Yukina at Hiei's other side.

	"Hiei..." he reached out to put his hand on Hiei's arm and froze as
Hiei recoiled, sliding his whole body towards Yukina and out of his reach.

	"Don't touch me. Just leave me the fuck alone!" Hiei hissed, still
not looking at him.

	That total rejection hurt in so many ways that Kurama responded in
kind.

	Yukina groaned inwardly as a mask as cold and closed as her
brothers slid into place over Kurama's features as he rose smoothly and
headed for the door.

	"Kurama, wait!" she called out but Kurama was gone.

	"Hiei!" she scolded her brother in exasperation. "That was mean!
Kurama is just as shocked and frightened as you are."

	Hiei looked sideways at her as he worked on getting his mouthful of
food down.

	"I am NOT frightened," he informed her as he spooned up another bite.

	He wasn't. He was terrified. That was very different from being
frightened. And he was furious. At himself and that Youko for not
foreseeing that this might happen. Furious that Kurama had let Yukina see
him like this. Furious...just because!

	"Fine. YOU are not frightened. But HE is."

	"Why in the hell should he be frightened, Yukina? I'm sure he has
dozens of children from spurned bed-mates running around in the Makai," he
snarled.

	She blinked at him and put her hand on the knot of tension that was
threatening to spawn a headache at the base of his neck. Some of his anger
receded as she kneaded lightly, the motion soothing.

	"Kurama doesn't have any children, Hiei," she informed him softly
as he finished.

	That took Hiei by surprise and he almost choked on his last bite.

	"And I don't think he's had as many lovers as you give him credit
for. He's worried about you, Brother. He loves you."

	Hiei dropped his head further, half to cover his feeling of shame
as Yukina moved behind him, going to work on his neck and back in earnest
now that he had finished. He knew that Kurama loved him and to this day he
couldn't understand why. He found it so hard to trust his lovers devotion,
to believe that Kurama wasn't playing some grand kitsune game that would
end suddenly one day when the youko found someone else who captured his
curiosity. Again he had let his distrust, his own inability to 'love' in
the same way that fox did govern his reactions. Kurama wouldn't abandon
him. He wouldn't.

	He put his hand on his flat stomach. Babies. Were there really
babies in there? In him?

	"Yukina, tell me about being pregnant," he asked softly.

* * *

	Kurama strolled down the drain way, heading for the little wild
growth of trees at the end. Hurt and anger roiled in him, unreflected in
his calm countenance and movements. But it was there making him want to
lash out, to destroy something. He and Hiei had more in common than that
youkai knew. Kurama had just had a thousand years to learn how to hide it.
He had also been abandoned as a newborn. A kit of unlucky color born out of
season to a low caste vixen. She had left him naked and exposed to the
elements and predators, too selfish to give him a clean death. He had also
been 'rescued' by one of the many bands of robber youkai, but instead of
being kept, he had been sold to the Flesh Merchants. He knew that was why
he was so fond of Shiori, why he loved her so much. She had been the mother
he had never had and always yearned for.

	He reached the end of the drain way and jumped lightly down to
weave his way through the overgrowth, the plants parting obediently in the
few places that were difficult to pass. Finally he was in the clearing he
had created when he had first discovered this place. He pulled a handful of
seeds out of his pocket, held his hand up over his head and cast them in a
wide circle around him with a graceful flick of his wrist. An impenetrable
barrier of thorns covered vines grew in response to his will, walling him
away from any prying eyes.

	He started a series of katas that resembled a sensuous gymnastic
dance. It was his fighting style, one that he had created and mastered in
Cyninko's arena. He never had the bulk of most of the other fighters and
had to rely on speed and maneuverability to survive. And he had, killing
every warrior sent against him with a cold determination. Cyninko's goad to
his stable was the promise that if they could survive two hundred matches
then he would set them free. It had only happened twice in the 1500 year
history of that place and Kurama had been the first to do it. The katas
became more complex, faster as he fought the flood of memories that the
knowledge of Hiei's pregnancy had re-awakened.

	A face formed in his mind, beautiful as only Youko vixens could be.
He pushed it away and refocused on his kata pushing himself faster, harder.
So beautiful as she stood there smiling...no...I don't want to remember
this! His body was begging at him to stop now and he smiled grimly and
pushed himself harder, hoping that the physical pain would keep the
memories at bay for just a little longer...she just stood there smiling as
he screamed in the cage while her father drowned her newborn kits...his
kits...harder, faster...don't think, just move...coming back from a
skirmish in the Border Wars...don't go there, idiot...the village
smoldering...stop it...Yana and the kits...so much blood...he collapsed
with a sob and buried his face in his arms and let the grief take him.
Finally it was spent and he felt himself go lax with physical and emotional
exhaustion.


* * *

	Yukina let out a breath of relief when the front door opened and
Kurama came in. He gave her a wan smile as he came and knelt next to the
sofa where she sat with her sleeping brothers head in her lap. She had
started to fear that Kurama had really and truly left as the hours ticked
by. It was almost time for Hiei to wake up again.

	"How is he?" Kurama asked as he started to reach to touch Hiei's
cheek, then pulled his hand away.

	"Oh, fine. Cranky, but then he always is, isn't he?" she answered
in a light voice and snuck a peek at his aura.

	It normal soothing and steady green was shot through with black
streaks of exhaustion and depression. Mother Snow! Kurama was reacting to
this far worse than her twin was. She kept her tone light as she suggested
Kurama take Hiei into the bedroom or find a bucket. The smile he gave her
was almost his normal one as he gathered Hiei into his arms and took him
into the other room. She wasn't sure what to do. Should she stay and try to
be a referee or leave the two to sort their own problems. She decided that
the two of them needed to work it out on their own and was putting on her
coat by the door when Kurama came back out.

	"I've really got to go! I made you dinner, it's in the oven staying
warm. Kurama...it will work out. Just give him some time to get used to the
idea."

	"Thank you for staying so long, Yukina. And thanks for the dinner,"
Kurama gave her a bow and avoided her last comment.

	She stretched up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He gave her a
genuine smile and a nod and she left knowing she had done all she could.


* * *


	Hiei frowned and studied Kurama's profile as they ate. Kurama
hadn't said one word to him yet. He didn't seem angry, just...distant.
Very, very distant. Shit. If this was what he was the treatment he was
going to get for the next three months, then his decision was right. He
figured that Kurama didn't have any children because he didn't want any. He
wasn't sure if he wanted any either. And he was pretty certain that if he
did decide to have any, he was not going to do the carrying and baring of
them.

	Yukina had inadvertently given him the solution to his problem with
the warning not to use any rei while he was carrying the babies. They were
already drawing most of his energy, that was the reason he was so exhausted
and sleepy all of the time. She also had said that if he used his rei for
anything it would endanger the babies and he could loose them. Well, that's
exactly what he was planning on doing. This pregnancy was a big mistake and
one that he was going to rectify tomorrow when Kurama went to class.


	Kurama's restless movements roused him and he snarled soundlessly
as he waited for the wave of nausea that always accompanied his waking. He
was surprised when there was nothing more than an uncomfortable queasiness
that was possible to suppress. He glanced at the clock. He was also awake
an hour earlier than he should be. Well, with the way Kurama was tossing
and turning, no wonder. He propped himself up on one elbow so he could get
a good look at his lover. Shit, it was one of his nightmares.

	Kurama had a really bad one about once every other month. The first
few times he had simply vacated the bedding and fled to the roof. Then
Kurama had chosen to have a whopper on an evening when he had barely
managed to drag himself back into the safe haven of his lovers arms very
chewed up from an encounter with an extremely unhappy dragon. He could
barely move and Kurama had been doing an excellent impression of an
eight-limbed Juus having an epileptic fit.

	He had hit on a solution that had worked wondrously. He had dipped
into Kurama's dream state and overlaid a few of his own contented memories
of the two of them together. It had nudged the Youko's subconscious out of
his nightmare instantly and Hiei had done it ever since. He had found that
he didn't like sleeping alone and this way they both got to finish the
night in peace. Though he ended up with a very aroused and determined
Kurama to deal with on the mornings after.

	He opened the Jagon as he put light fingers on Kurama's forehead
and discovered suddenly that he had no control over the thing. Instead of
the third eye obeying his will and transferring the images he had decided
on, he found himself in Kurama's dreamscape. He hated this! Dreams had no
meaning except to the dreamer and he found himself in a chaotic frenzy of
rapidly shifting images. Horrify images.

	Tiny, silver-furred youko kits floating with wide golden eyes under
crystal clear water accompanied by Kurama's howling screams and a females
light laughter...Kurama, covered with soot and blood trying to piece
together the bodies of four kits, sobbing but hands steady as he worked
with a grim determination...Kurama reaching for a newborn pair of twins
that Hiei held and screaming as all three of them ignited and burned into
cinders as soon as he touched them...the contact was broken when Kurama
twisted away and a wave of weakness hit him as he felt a twinge of pain in
his middle.

	The Jagon...it was sucking away his rei...the babies! He was aware
of them now, could see the tiny sparks of their life-forces in his body.
Black sparks with a silver corona. Sparks that were wavering slightly.
Suddenly those sparks where the most important thing to him in the world.
He would never let anything harm them, not even himself! He willed the
Jagon to close and groaned when it wouldn't obey. Fuck! The ward...he
needed to get the ward...

	"Kurama..."


	Kurama jerked out of the nightmare and panted into the darkness...what?

	"Kurama..." barely audible, *Hiei*, he turned his head...the Jagon
was open and glowing lambent red.

	"Hiei?"

	"...ward..." it was a whispered plea.

	It took a half-second for Kurama to place what Hiei was asking for,
then he was a blur of motion. He winced as he heard the hiss of burned
flesh as he pressed the strip of ward covered fabric over the Jagon and
lifted Hiei's head so he could wrap and tie it. He had never known Hiei to
loose control of his implant like this. A trembling hand caught one of his
own, a weak pressure as it guided his hand down and placed it flat against
Hiei's belly.

	"Check them, Kurama. Make sure they're all right..." Hiei's eyes
slid closed and he went limp.

	Kurama knew what he was asking and shifted form without a thought.
He took a deep breath as his senses shifted and expanded and golden eyes
narrowed as he focused on the aura of his mate and the two little sparks of
new life at it's core. They were flickering and distressed, pulling Hiei's
rei, his very life-force from him. Hiei was almost gone and Kurama knew
suddenly what was happening. Stupid, stubborn youkai! Hiei's
self-preservation instincts should have kicked in, stopping the flow of rei
to the kits when his own was so severely depleted. Hiei was still
channeling it to them and Kurama knew he would until they all died. That
was a thing Kurama would not allow to happen. He drew his thumbnail across
the underside of his right forearm opening a deep gash, then pressed it to
Hiei's mouth.

	"Take it, Hiei!" he growled as Hiei didn't respond.

	Then he exhaled as fire lanced up his arm as Hiei sank his fangs
and started to suck both blood and rei. He leaned back against the wall for
support, cradling his mate against his chest as the rei flowed out of him.
Hiei was purring now, a sweet sound wound around a hypnotic vibration. He
felt his form shift as he weakened and again felt the loss of what he was,
what he by choice lived without, and still Hiei fed. He knew he had given
as much as he safely could, that he needed to stop Hiei, but that purr had
wrapped itself around his heartbeat and insinuated itself into his mind
making it too much of an effort to move, to resist.


* * *

	Hiei purred contentedly, sated and still half caught in
memory-dreams as he slowly started to wake up. The taste of human blood,
the sweetest and the best, was in his mouth and a vibrant fire that hummed
through his veins. He wondered how many more times he could feed off the
human he had caught as he pressed his tongue against the cool flesh of the
wound and felt for it's pulse. It was weak and sluggish and the blood that
trickled onto his tongue had very little rei left in it. He heaved an
unhappy sigh and decided he might as well finish it off now. He bit down,
re-seating his fangs in preparation to fed some more and heard a whisper of
pain/protest come from his treat.

	It snapped him into full wakefulness. He was on his back, Kurama a
slumped shadow next to him, and it was Kurama's flesh that he had his teeth
in. *Oh, shit!* He opened his mouth carefully so his fangs would do no more
damage, then sat up as the nights events came back to him in a rush. One
hand went without thought to cover the little lives in his body as the
other went to the ward around his forehead. He paused just on the verge of
pushing it up out of the way. He couldn't use it! He ground his teeth in
frustration as he reached for the light.

	He didn't need the Jagon to tell that Kurama needed a lot of blood,
fast. His hands were a blur as he wrapped a bandage around Kurama's wound.
His stupid lover was going to need every drop he had left. He wrapped
Kurama's pale and cold form into a blanket and told himself to stay calm as
he wrestled with Kurama's long and limp body. Finally he had him loaded and
balanced across his shoulders. He paused to pick up the phone thing, then
blurred out of sight.

	He was angry at his breathlessness and the creeping exhaustion that
kept trying to take him to his knees as he staggered into the emergency
room of the human hospital. Humans were swarming around him suddenly and
Kurama was lifted from his shoulders making it easier for him to breathe.

	"He's lost a lot of blood," he managed to pant out at one of the
healers.

	She nodded at him and they were gone. He slunk into a dark corner
and eyed the phone thing he had tucked into his pocket as he worked on
getting his breath back. Hiei hated Ningenkai machines. He didn't
understand or trust their magic. But Kurama had said if he ever needed to
talk to Yukina with it he only had to push the first and last button.

	*Work...* he willed it as it and winced as it started a shrill
ringing in his ear.

	He knew the human healers would be able to put back the blood
Kurama was missing. Kurama's damaged and drained rei was something they had
no experience with and he needed Yukina's help.

	"Yo," Kuwabara's sleepy voice grumbled in place of the ring.

	"I want to talk to Yukina."

	"Who is this?" Kuwabara asked around a yawn.

	"Hiei, you idiot. Let me talk to my sister!"

	"Hiei? You even sound like a gi..." there was the sounds of a minor
scuffle and he could hear Kuwabara laughing in the background. He promised
himself he would break a few of that asshole's fingers the next time he saw
him...

	"Hiei? What's wrong?" Yukina asked, having apparently gotten the
phone away from her husband.

	 "We need you. We're at the human hospital east of the apartment."

	"I'm on my way."

	His sisters voice was cut off and replaced by a most annoying buzz.
He scowled at the handset and pushed buttons. Nothing worked so he whacked
it against the wall until it stopped. He was overtaken by a huge yawn as he
put it back in his pocket. He wanted to do nothing more than curl up in the
hidden space behind the fake plants that shared the corner with him and
sleep as he started to feel light-headed and floaty. But first he had to
find out where they had taken Kurama.


* * *

	Yukina left a grumbling Shizuru to hash out Kurama's admission
details with the stubborn woman at the front desk. Shizuru just was not a
morning person, even though it technically was still night. The sun had
just started to lighten the horizon in preparation for her lift into the
sky. Yukina smiled sweetly. That rude woman had just met her match. The
receptionist had squawked and sputtered when Shizuru had simply reached
over into the folders on the other side of the counter and pulled the right
one out. She had stepped back out of the receptionists range and read the
Ward number out loud to Yukina and made a shoo-ing motion at her, then
offered the folder back to the lady with a cold smile.

	Yukina slipped on silent feet through ward 4-1 trying not to
disturb the other human patients that slept there as she peeked shyly into
each curtained space. Hiei and Kurama were in the last one on the left. Her
twin was in a chair pulled up close to the bed on the right side, clear of
the huddle of equipment and the ward nurse that was to Kurama's left. He
was asleep, his head turned slightly in the crook of his left arm and next
to Kurama's shoulder, his right hand resting lightly over his lovers own.
It had always amazed her how sweet and unguarded Hiei's face was when he
slept and now, with his normal chiseled angles softened by the curse, he
was downright angelic.

	"May I help you?" The nurse gave Yukina a hard once over, her hands
busy exchanging an almost empty IV bag with a full one that held the
red-black of human blood.

	"I'm family," Yukina assured her and flashed her best smile.

	The nurse relaxed and let Yukina head for her twin unchallenged.
She shifted her vision as she started across the few feet that separated
the edge of the curtain from the bed. Her steps stuttered and she stopped,
staying well out of the range of her brothers aura for the moment. She had
never seen it like this! It was almost overwhelming and mantled like a pair
of shadow wings around himself and the unconscious youko. Her eyes narrowed
with worry as she tried to find Kurama's green in all that black and she
gave a little gasp as she detected the deep red tinge in the cold black
refection of Hiei's inner fire. *Oh, Hiei! What did you do?*

	"What happened?" She asked the nurse, wanting as much information
as possible before she ventured into Hiei's space.

	"They're not sure. He," she pointed at Kurama, "was almost blue
from blood loss when he was brought in. There is a laceration on his right
arm, but nothing that should have bled that much. She," the nurse pointed
at Hiei, "came with the gurney when they brought him up from the ER. They
told me she had brought him in, so I figured it was all right for her to
stay with him?" the nurse ask hesitantly, a little unnerved by the way
Yukina was staring at her twin.

	Yukina dragged her focus away from the bed and blinked a little
dazedly at the nurse. She saw the distress in the tiny and soft white/blue
of her human aura, a weak glow against Hiei's shadow, and made herself
smile.

	"Yes. Hiei's his..." she paused for a moment and hunted for an
explanation this human and none of the others that were wandering around
would question, "...fiancee."

	The nurse nodded, reassured and then smiled, giving reassurance
back. "He'll be all right once we get another pint in him. "

	She decided not to tell this delicate little thing just how close
the young man she was tending had come to death. She seemed shocked enough
as it was.

	"All done," she said softly to her patient and Yukina as she
reached out and patted his hand.

	A chill ran up her arm and raised the hairs there. She pulled her
hand away quickly as she had the feeling that something dangerous was
hovering close and didn't like her touching the red-headed young man. Then
she shook her head and chided herself mentally for being silly.

	"I'll be right back."

	Yukina gave her a distracted nod and wished she would leave
permanently so she could get to work. It worried her that Kurama's rei was
so weak than she could not find a trace of his aura, though she hoped that
it was only because Hiei's was so strong at the moment that it was masking
the Youko's. The nurse came back with a stool and she colored prettily and
bowed, truly surprised at the woman's thoughtfulness.

	"I'll be back in a little while to check on him," the nurse assured
her with a glance at her watch as Yukina took control of the stool, then
left pulling the curtain closed behind her.

	Yukina waited a full minute to make sure the nurse wouldn't be back
for some forgotten item, then took a deep breath and advanced cautiously on
her brother. She knew from the size of his aura and the rei swirling in it
that he was Bloodhigh and in the sated stupor that feeding on human blood
brought to the Koorime. And he had lost the babies. If he still carried
them his aura should have been wrapped tightly around him and barely
visible to her. She stepped into the radius of it and for a moment felt the
push backwards and threat of promised violence. Then it was enfolding her,
warm and welcoming as Hiei's subconscious registered and accepted her
presence. She put a hand on his back, felt the rumble as he purred softly a
few times as she started a quick check to make sure he was all right before
she turned her attention to Kurama.

	She startled, then smiled. They were still there! She took in a
little surprised gasp of air. Not only there, but growing! She could see it
happening as they fed greedily on the rei that Hiei had in so much
abundance at the moment. They hadn't even put a dent in it yet. She lifted
her hand and wondered how long Hiei's Bloodhigh would last with the babies
feeding off it. She was very pleased that both he and the babies were all
right. She was not very pleased with her thoughts on how Hiei had achieved
this state. She put her hand on her twins wrist needing to remove his
physical contact with Kurama so she could see what was going on with the
damaged youko. Hiei's eyes snapped open and a warning growl, somehow more
menacing in the higher pitch of his female form, froze her. Bloodhigh
Koorime were very dangerous and Hiei might react before he realized what he
was doing.

	"Hiei, you need to let go and move," she kept her tone low and
soothing. "I can't see what's wrong with Kurama with your aura oozing all
over him."

	The growl cut off as Hiei narrowed his eyes at her, then he smiled
and she almost giggled. If Hiei knew how disarming that expression was he'd
have an incredible weapon to add to his arsenal.

	"'kay, 'kina," he mumbled at her as he moved his hand after giving
Kurama's a light squeeze, then leaned back in his chair.

	She gave him a smile and a pat on his knee, then focused on Kurama.
She frowned unhappily. It was as bad as she had feared. She couldn't see
his aura at all. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought him to
be what her husband so unkindly called a 'brick'. A human with so little
spirit that it couldn't even cast an aura. She had to reach out and
physically touch Kurama's skin to get any reading off of him.

	Mother Snow! In her other vision he now appeared almost
translucent, a crystal shell barely prismed with the verdant greens he
normally shone with. And that was fading rapidly as his physical body drew
on it to heal itself. What in the Worlds had he been thinking to let Hiei
drain him this much? She dipped into her talent and started to feed him
some of her own strength. She let out a breath of relief as she saw the
green of his power pulse, then spread until it lightly tinged his whole
being. That had been too close. If Kurama had lost any more rei he would
have ended up with his power crippled. As it was, he was going to be a
psychic invalid for weeks.

	She sighed softly as she snagged the stool with one foot and
dragged it over so she could perch on it, still keeping her fingers in
contact with the youko's skin. She knew she would need to monitor Kurama
and keep passing along small doses of her power until his body stopped
drawing on his resources long enough for him to start to recharge his own
rei. The blood flowing into his body was helping, but still, it was going
to be a long morning.


* * *