Babes in the (Makai) Woods Once upon a time there were two terrible children who were a torment to their parents. One day their parents, desperately needing to be alone, left the pair of them in the Dark Forest of the Makai, hoping that predators would take care of them appropriately. "What shall we do?" asked Keikai, tears welling in her eyes. "Never fear," replied Keibi, "for I have an unerring sense of direction." And he led them both home to their parents. Frustrated, their parents led them a second time, deeper into the Dark Forest, and left them there to be taken care of by predators. They could hear the snarling and muttering of wicked youkai around them, and were afraid. "We're going to die," Keikai sobbed. "Never fear," Keibi assured her. "I can outrun a thousand of them, and I have an unerring sense of direction." He lifted his sister easily into his arms and sped past all the slavering youkai who would have eaten them whole, and carried her home. Desperate to be rid of the terrible children, their parents finally took them into the deepest darkest part of the Dark Forest, and left them there. "Uh-oh," Keikai sniffled. "I think they really mean it this time." "They couldn't," Keibi noted. "There's a house over there." He took his sister's hand and bravely went up to the house. The door was opened by a wild-eyed youkai, who looked them up and down. "Our parents abandoned us in the woods," Keikai told him. "We thought perhaps you'd take us in," Keibi added. "I haven't slept well in months," the youkai told them. "You can come in and share my food, and you can even sleep in my little bed, but if you talk in your sleep or if you kick me in the back, I'll have to cook you up and eat you." "That's fine," Keibi nodded. "I don't kick in my sleep." "And I don't talk in my sleep," Keikai smiled. "I think we've found ourselves a new home." The youkai, whose name was Kinme, gave them plenty of good food to eat, and made them wash their faces after dinner, and let them curl up in his little bed with him, where they slept very well. In the middle of the night, however, they were rudely awakened by Kinme's voice. "That's it!" he shouted. "I warned you! Into the oven with you both!" "But why?" Keikai cried. "I didn't talk in my sleep!" "But you kicked my back so hard," Kinme told her, "I thought your foot was going to come out through my stomach." "I don't kick," Keibi wailed. "You were talking so much I thought my ears would fall off," Kinme informed him. "And don't say I didn't warn you!!" And he tossed them both into the oven and cooked them up and ate them with great relish. The next day he went in search of their parents, to inform them of their children's fate; and the two youkai were pleased, and let Kinme stay with them for as long as the three of them lived. And no one ever kicked Kinme in the back again, and no one's talking woke him up in the middle of the night. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crystalline tears fell on his face, stinging his skin, waking him. Kurama opened one eye, and the twins threw themselves on him, sobbing. He sat up, wrapping his arms around them both. "What's the matter?" he asked, his voice rough, half-asleep. "Niichan told us a story," Keibi told him, his face pressed against Kurama's chest. "And we had bad dreams," Keikai gulped. Kurama frowned, looked over the twins' heads at Hiei. Sure enough, Kinme was lying spooned up with his father, face relaxed in sound sleep, safe with Hiei's arms wrapped tightly around his middle. He looked down again at the twins. "Stay right here," he murmured, and crawled to put his face next to Kinme's. "You brat," he growled, low, "what sort of story did you tell them?" Kinme's golden eyes fluttered open, blinked sleepily at him. "Hn?" He wriggled back against Hiei, who woke immediately. "I asked you," Kurama growled again, "what sort of story you told your brother and sister." Kinme closed his eyes, half-smiled. "I can't sleep with them," he said, pulling Hiei's cloak around himself. "They keep me up all night, kicking me and talking." "That's no excuse," Kurama informed him, "for terrifying them. They're having nightmares." "'Bout time someone besides me had a lousy night's sleep," Kinme yawned, turning to snuggle with his father. Hiei smirked over Kinme's hair, and closed his eyes. Kurama shook his head, leaned forward and kissed Hiei lightly. Turning back to the twins, he gathered them -- still sniffling -- into his lap, and prepared to chase the demons away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contents of this page and its design (such as it is) are © 1997 Katrina Somers. YYH and its characters are © Togashi Yoshihiro and Jump Comics and Studio Pierrot.