O.K. This is Yaoi but there is no Lemon in it. C&C would be appreciated
unless it's a rant over the subject matter in general. If such things
offend you, you shouldn't be reading it anyway.

Enjoy!

Windlily

**********************************************************

Kurayami Ni Akai Bara - Romantic Soldier
(sung by Kurama)

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 an oozing 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 forming around 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. I 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 Koorimereproductive 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.


* * *