Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Mating ❯ Confirmation ( Chapter 26 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Mithryl Darkstar 
Everyone's arrival at Kurama's for another meeting, sorry this one's kinda short.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.11.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 7.6K | Visits: 1.2K | Status: Completed
Everyone's arrival at Kurama's for another meeting, sorry this one's kinda short.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.11.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 7.6K | Visits: 1.2K | Status: Completed
"The Mating"
Disclaimer: No, I don't own it. Though at the moment, I wish I could be a character, sigh.
AN: Some waff alert.
To all my reviewers: There are so many this time!
morwen re, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! Please, just give me a kick, though my schedule has been absolutely crazy lately with Christmas shopping taking up my spare moments! Answers are coming to the question of kits.
Rabidfangirl101, thanks for keeping me going!
Kitsune 71- thanks.
LunaGoddessofFoxes- Touya and Moya have their own upcoming story, it'll be a sidestory to this one, needless to say, it'll entertwine with this, but it will be a story of it's own. I've started chapter 1, and I'm going to try keeping them parallel to each other.
DragonofDarkness- I'm glad you are enjoying the story, and I hope I'll be able to take care of your concerns about Shizuru. I've already edited a little, but I'm keeping what I've posted the same.
A Critic-I apologize profusely for any misspellings or typos, however, wordpad(what I use) DOES NOT have a spell checker and MediaMiner, last I checked, doesn't accept Microsoft Works(yuck) format, so gomen.
Woodshop2300- I'm glad you enjoyed it, there's more to come!
Sakuralovesli- thanks again!
Blade99507- *blushes* thank you.
axelalx- Thank you, I'm trying very hard to keep it original.
Nakira- I'm glad you're enjoying the Hiei/Shizuru stuff. I'll try, but it looks like updates'll probably be about every two weeks, and until the holidays are over, it might be a little sparser, but I'm trying not to let all of you fall through the cracks.
Chapter 26- Confirmation
Hiei had stayed by Shizuru all day, both of them dozing. Kurama had caught the journal up to date. He gave extensive warnings to any future youkai who happened to be S-class about some of the side effects, though they were planning on keeping the word alive with them.
Shiori was delighted with her daughter-in-law. She had been pretty as a human, but now she had an otherworldly grace that had been coming out over the last three and a half weeks. She was almost hard put to remember the shy, brown-haired, brown-eyed girl that she had met back when her son had first mated. She could see that the personality was still the same, but more self-assured. She wondered what changes would come to Shizuru when she was done.
Keiko had sorted through the stuff she had collected in the two days when she had been full fox. Some of it was actually pretty, and Shiori had told her that she could keep some of it, but she did want some of it back. Keiko didn't even know where she had found half of this stuff, or when, considering that she had spent most of the time asleep.
Kurama finished the journal and helped Keiko finish cleaning their room. It had looked a little cluttered and definately messy. Kurama had to shake his head at his being stuck in demon form now. There were certain things that he just could not do in demon form that he could do, admittedly barely, in human form, such as vacuuming. Even the quietest of vacuums hurt their ears now.
They finally had the debris picked up and looked at the clock. It was only two in the afternoon and they were not expecting any of the others to be there until at the earliest four-thirty, especially as Touya had to arrive in order to get the illusion put back on him. Keiko told her mate what she could remember of Takanaka-san. Much was said in the fact that Yusuke respected him.
Kurama got the impression that Takanaka would like to see what Yusuke had done with himself, especially as he was now responsable not only for himself, but for many others. Yusuke had always been a punk who could bring out the best in others. He was a natural leader.
After talking the problem over, they decided that it probably wasn't as big a problem as it had been looking like earlier in the day. There were other considerations coming into play. Yukina was almost a month along in her pregnancy and it would still be two months before she really started to show. Keiko would start to show in a month, which meant the clock was ticking.
"You are really happy about this? I know that we were going to wait a little if possible." Keiko asked.
"My flower, I am happier than you will ever know. Knowing that you are carrying our kits. Trust me, I will be every bit the doting father for while my human lifetime is only 19 years, they have taught me the value of family." Kurama told her. "They will know that they are loved."
Keiko nodded. "Will they know their grandparents?" She asked quietly.
"I want them to know who taught us to love them. My mother and your parents. I do feel protective of you, as well as knowing that you can take care of yourself." Kurama added fiercely.
"I want to know how to defend myself in case I have to, but at the same time, I don't want to have to defend myself." Keiko said, burrowing into her mate's shoulder. "I have never been a fighter, despite my abilities in defending my virtue. I don't like having to do that."
"I know, love. You are not a fighter. I am not truly a fighter either, despite my abilities. I can fight, but that does not mean that I like doing so." Kurama replied. "It is why I am so ruthless in the fight. If not, I am dead. My plants are one of my few weapons as my strength is not enough to hurt truly high level demons. You are my source of strength, Keiko. I worked hard to keep up with Yusuke and Hiei, true, but it was only with you that I accepted my place in the Makai."
"Does it bring you peace?" Keiko asked, hoping she hadn't pushed him into something that he was not ready for.
"Keiko, you have brought me peace with who I am." Kurama explained. "Before, I had always repressed my demon side, wanting to remain with my human family, now I understand that they will accept me no matter what I am. You were the catalyst."
Keiko smiled at her mate. "I am glad that I could do that for you. Now, if only my parents can accept who I've become and the fact that they will be grandparents in three months time, we'll be great."
Kurama kissed her. "You will be fine, love. Your father came around and your mother did not seem opposed to us. The main problem is the fact that I am stuck in my youko body."
"Are you really that worried about it?" Keiko asked. "I no longer have a human form."
"I know that, love, but the human body should not convert completely into my youko body, at least I did not think it would." Kurama replied. "I am unsure how to take this developement."
Keiko held her mate while he pondered the entire situation. "Listen, this will take care of itself and you and I both know that."
"I know. I did kind of grow attached to my human form, though, so it does bother me."
"What could have happened, do you know?" Keiko asked, hoping that helping him pinpoint what was bothering him would help.
"I do know that when my abilities jumped back to A-class, I was able to freely access my youko form once again. The jump to S-class simply made the shift effortless." Kurama answered.
"Has your youki changed at all?" Keiko asked.
Kurama thought about that. He didn't sense any changes within himself, but youkos didn't always show changes immediately. There were some subtleties that required very little change, but could indicate some major changes in the not too distant future. "I don't know. A youko does not change all at once. For instance, the gaining of a tail has very little indication other than a slight shift in one's youki."
"Do you think it could be that?" Keiko asked.
"It might. But I didn't think so." Kurama asked. "I have been pushing myself lately, but it shouldn't have been enough for another tail to form."
"How do tails form, anyway?" Keiko asked in return, curious about this race that she had become.
"A tail forms when a youko's abilities grow, or in a few cases, change. We also can gain tails just as we age. They can also form after times of great stress, or if we have been pushing ourselves, and our abilities to their max." Kurama explained, "Hence how I got my fifth tail. By age standards, I shouldn't have gotten my next tail until well after this human lifetime was over. The combonation of the two tournaments together pushed me to create the fifth tail."
"But you haven't done anything like that lately, have you?" Keiko asked.
Kurama shook his head. "Only thing I did was spar with Hiei and mate with you."
"We'll have to think on it later, then." Keiko told him.
Kurama nodded and then kissed her hungrily, glancing at the clock. He then grinned and pressed Keiko back against the bed. "Allow me to catch up for lost time, love."
Keiko had no objections to this plan and responded ardently. She pushed him over so that he was on his back, exploring his planes as a demon. She had once before in the shower, but this was totally different and Kurama was allowing her free reign. She rode him til they were both crying out in pleasure. Afterwards, Keiko asked, "Why am I not as tired after this as I used to be?"
"Two reasons, my flower." Kurama replied. "One, youkos have a lot of stamina in this area naturally, don't ask me why we just do. The other reason is because you are getting used to this type of exertion."
Keiko felt the emotions flow back and forth between herself and Kurama through their mating bond. It was one thing seeing the emotions through his eyes, but it was a totally different sensation feeling those same things flowing through his soul. She hugged him tightly to her, her own emotions mirroring his. "How deep is our bond really?"
Kurama returned the embrace, "I don't know. I only know that there have been a few demons that I have known that were mated, and their bonds didn't seem to be this deep, even amoung kitsune and I did spend some time with the clans, not much, admittedly, but enough to pick up what I need to for your pregnancy. I've been a loner, Keiko. Much like Hiei."
Keiko, once again feeling like blushing, said, "You can't lead me to believe that you never had partners, or lovers! Not with all you have taught me."
"Only one partner have I had. Lovers, yes, too many." Kurama said, his eyes taking on a shadow as he thought of his old partner. "My partner died even as he told me to run. Before that I had been a thief, yes, but that was probably where the legend of the Youko was born. He was the first that I ever cared about and feeling the pain of loss, well, I went off the deep end and life was one thrill after another, always cutting the escape just a little closer, seeing how close I could come to death. I really was a selfish bastard, Keiko."
"It doesn't matter!" Keiko told him fiercely, holding him to her wrapping her legs around him as well as her arms. "It's past and gone! It's not who you are now!"
Kurama chuckled a little at Keiko's fierceness. "You are right, but all the same, I still feel that pain, even after a thousand years. Kuronue was the friend, partner, brother I never had."
Keiko accepted this. "I'm sure he would not want you to go through your life mourning his passing, would he?"
Kurama smiled ruefully. "Guess not."
"Feel better?" Keiko asked him.
Kurama nodded. "Shall we check on Hiei and Shizuru?"
Keiko looked down at their still unclad bodies, "Only if we get dressed first."
Kurama laughed and gave her a quick kiss, unentangling their bodies before getting up to start gathering their scattered clothing.
Keiko watched as Kurama put on his trousers, still astonished as how they kind of just let the tail flow through and then forming a hole around the base of it. He put on his shirt like top, belting it at the middle with the wide cloth. She sighed as she bent to pick up her own discarded dress from earlier, pulling it over her head and belting it, as well. Like Kurama's pants, there was a flawlessly made a hole for the base of her tail in the dress holding it in place.
"You are so beautiful, Keiko. Before you were beautiful as well, now I cannot describe your beauty." Kurama told her as he cupped his hands around her cheeks, holding her face so that he could just look at her.
Keiko felt as if she should be blushing. Kurama was actually admitting that he was at a loss to describe her! She looked at the floor, only to see their feet standing toe to toe. "Really?"
Kurama took her in to the bathroom, facing them both so they stood as if they were getting a portrait done. "What do you see, Keiko?"
Keiko pulled her eyes away from his in the mirror. She hadn't looked into a mirror in quite a while and gasped. She wonderingly put a hand out to the mirror, touching her own face. Her skin tone had darkened slightly, the overall shape was the same, but it looked different with the youko ears higher up in her head, it looked narrower. Her silver hair flowed around her, loose and shining and her hair had never been so long in her life. Her lips had not changed appearance at all, nor her nose. Her eyes were a gold, framed by bright silver lashes. She was relieved to see that her bangs had not changed in the slightest save for color and texture. Her cheekbones appeared to be finer chizled, but that could have been wrought by the long hair and the absense of the ears on either side.
Kurama watched possessively as Keiko explored her new features. This was a day of discovery for both of them. He had no clue that Keiko had been that close to a complete transformation, nor what she would look like when she was done. He was blown away with how completely youko she had become. Youkos were beautiful, that was a given fact and something he had worried about when he had formed the human body, he did not want to lose his youko-ish beauty. He acknowledged the fact that he was vain, and never gave it two thoughts. "What do you think? Still uneasy about your appearance?"
"Is this what I really look like?" Keiko whispered, shocked to her core.
Kurama nodded. "You are a female youko, Keiko. There is no ningen left in you now."
Keiko nodded back, a little shakily. "I will face my future." She turned away from the mirror, facing Kurama. "My path lies with yours, Kurama. Just one thing."
Kurama raised a brow, his only indication that he was listening.
"Never leave me out of the plans! We are mates, which means we are also partners for life. I want to be included in what's going on, I can't be just a pretty flower sitting on the sidelines, I need to be with you, walking beside you!"
Kurama smiled. "That goes without saying, love." He kissed her swiftly and then let her pull them out of the bathroom, towards their friends' room. Kurama and Keiko listened, but couldn't hear anything with their sensitive youko hearing. Kurama swiftly opened the door, seeing Hiei sleeping next to the bed and Shizuru laying on the bed in a light doze. Kurama picked Hiei up and laid him next to his mate. He didn't want to wake the two, but wanted to discuss the situation with Keiko. Ever since her transformation to a fox, their telepathy was tight enough that even the Jagan didn't pick it up, unless they were deliberately broadcasting. ~This worries me. Hiei is in a deep hibernation state.~
~Should I make some kela for him?~ Keiko asked.
~I think it would be wise. See if there is some kind of meat that you can fix on the side as well, he hasn't had any for a day or two. Meanwhile, I'm going to take some of the burden off of Hiei and knock Shizuru out for about six hours. Fortunately the formula that is used in this instance also has a restoring affect on youki.~ Kurama said.
Keiko nodded and the two left the room, closing the door behind them. "That worries me as well. I've never seen Hiei in that state before."
Kurama said grimly, "I have, but only after having to absorb his dragon. That is the only thing that takes that much energy, but he can hibernate to restore his youki, in fact most youkai will hibernate after an intense usage of youki."
"Shizuru's shorter now, does that mean that her body is almost done?" Keiko asked.
"I think so, but I don't know." Kurama replied. The two entered the kitchen, only to be greeted by Shiori. They had let her know what was going on that evening and had decided to order pizza, so as to not have to clutter the kitchen cooking for that many. Kurama got down his mortar and pestil, getting what he'd need to prepare the powerful analgesic. It had a mild narcotic effect on youkai, but he needed the pain killing effects too much. He handed Keiko the seeds she would need for the kela, telling her to keep them for the time being and mentioning which herbs he would need a leaf or two of.
Shiori stepped aside and let the two youkos work. The two looked like an old married couple, with the way they worked together. She let them concentrate since it was obvious that they were not doing this for themselves, but for their friends upstairs.
Keiko soon had the cut vegetables warming in the pan and while they were heating up, she poked her head into the refrigerator, obviously looking for something. She held up a package of hot dogs. She waited while Kurama carefully measured some juice and poured it in, then asked, "Will some of these do? It's the only thing that I can see in here that will work."
Kurama looked up from stirring. "That should be fine. Make one for yourself while you are at it. You need more protein."
"Yes, my mate." Keiko replied playfully. She hurried back to the stove before the veggies could burn and turned them out into the leaves that had already been browned. She lightly tossed the mixture. She then proceded to cook the hot dogs, making two for Hiei and one for herself.
Shiori laughed watching her overly serious son flicking his tail in Keiko's direction, acknowledging her banter. He carefully mixed some more leaves and ground up a few roots that he had to grow. The mixture did not look like much, but it did have a rather overpowering aroma, making Shiori's eyes water.
"What is making that stench?" Keiko asked, sneezing.
"Sorry, love. It's a necessary ingredient, and I don't know how much I owe Hiei for actually being able to find it. He must have had to visit every apothecary in Gandistra." Kurama said. "However it is also the strongest pain killer known and very dangerous if used incorrectly."
Shiori just joked, "So even in the Makai, the most effective medicine is the worst smelling, or tasting?"
Kurama only nodded. "The juice that I added to this makes it marginally tolerable to take, but that's not saying much. Most youkai don't need this kind of thing as we heal very quickly. There are a few exceptions and if overused, this concoction is addictive."
Shiori asked, "So then why are you making it?"
"Because Hiei's body is running critically low on youki right now as it is. I need to get him at least a few hours in which he can replenish himself. I'm not going to lose my best friend in a thousand years." Kurama told his mother. "Right now, he is pushing himself to the max in trying to keep Shizuru's pain minimized and while that is honorable and something I would expect from Hiei, it is also draining him faster than his body can restore itself. If we lose one, we lose both." He finished up and it looked like a thick liquid.
"So, how much of that do you give her?"
"One teaspoon, no more, no less." Kurama said grimly. "Keiko, is there an apple or a banana around that we can bring up with this? Neither one will completely kill the taste of it, but it will at least dull it enough so that when she wakes up, she won't still be tasting it."
Keiko quickly fetched a banana off the counter. She put two hot dogs on a plate and grabbed the bowl of kela, snatching a couple of leaves and one of the chunks of vegetables.
Kurama laughed seeing that. "I'm glad you're as fond of that as I am. I forgot how good it tasted, getting used to eating human food."
"Is it possible for me to try a little?" Shiori asked.
"I don't see why you couldn't have some. It looks like Keiko made enough to feed both of us a small helping, as well as Hiei." Kurama got her a little of everything that went into the kela and then they were off with their stuff for the two bed-ridden mates. "Your exhaustion just pulled me with you into sleep, this is a bit more serious."
Keiko nodded wordlessly. "We're going to have to wake them up this time."
"I know." Kurama grimly said. "Can you feed Hiei after I wake him up with a little of my youki?"
"Sure. You going to take care of Shizuru, then?"
"I have to." Kurama was armed with the small bowl he used for mixing, a teaspoon and the banana while Keiko carried up the two hot dogs and the small bowl of kela.
Kurama opened the door, leaving it open at the moment while they were in. Shizuru was now only half a foot taller than Hiei. She had been steadily shrinking to the size of the koorime. Once again, Kurama wondered which side was actually dominant within the Forbidden child. Fire demons were not generally known for their height either, being small, nimble and generally bad tempered. Fire demons were usually flame colored in some fashion or other, though Hiei's only sign of that was his hair. In the sunlight it was actually shown to be an extreme dark blue with the white starburst. The color at the core of the flame. Most fire demons were lighter in coloring, showing the outer colors of the fire, Hiei's was the hottest of the flame colors. He turned away from his small friend to Hiei's mate. "Shizuru?" He softly called.
Shizuru proved to be the more awake at the moment, falling back with a groan. "Didgya hafta wake me?"
"Unfortunately, we did." Kurama told her. "I have something here that can help you feel better, but I'll warn you now, it'll taste awful. I have a banana to chase it down."
"Why'dya have to do this?" She was waking up a little more.
"Because Hiei is on the verge of complete exhaustion of his youki. Which is why you are feeling pain. This is the mixture that I sent Hiei for the ingredients for, not sure of who else would need it, but keeping them just in case. Will you take this?"
"Where is Hiei?"
"Hibernating beside you." Kurama said. "I tucked him in next to you when I found him slumped to the side of the bed."
"Then yes. He told me about his hibernation periods. If he needed one now, then there are serious problems." Shizuru said. "Just have that banana ready for me."
Kurama peeled the banana, gave her the teaspoon of medicine, which she held her nose, put the spoon as far back as she could and then swallowed the contents, giving a violent shake. He immediately handed her the banana and took the spoon. She ate quickly.
"Good choice." Shizuru said, quite obviously starting to feel the effects already of the medication.
Keiko perched on the side of the bed while Kurama gave Hiei enough youki to come out of his hibernation stage.
"Huh? What happened?" Hiei asked.
"You really are muddled." Kurama said. "You're suffering from severe youki depletion."
Hiei wrapped his arms around the already laying back Shizuru who was drifting off peacefully. "What did you give her?"
"Just the same medicine that I had you pick up the ingredients for. I only gave her enough to sleep for six hours while your youki could replenish itself, which wasn't happening."
Hiei quickly picked up a hot dog and ate it, then the other one disappeared into his stomach. He grabbed the bowl of kela and the chopsticks and polished that off quickly. "I need to take advantage of this time period. I knew you owed me for some of those ingredients, but I never realized that you would pay me back by having to bail me out."
Keiko smiled at him, "That's what friends are for, Hiei." She told him, giving him a hug as she took the dishes from him.
"This is a change." He looked at her. "You turned out beautiful, Keiko. Now, if you two will excuse me, I'm going to sleep." He put his arms around Shizuru and promptly went to sleep.
Kurama looked at his best friend and just smiled. ~We should go now.~
Keiko nodded. The two quietly crept out of the room, carrying the dishes with them.
Kurama closed the door behind them and hoped that their ordeal was almost done. He heard the thought follow him out, ~Thank you, Fox.~ Kurama smiled and sent back, ~You are welcome, Hiei.~
Keiko saw his smile. "Private comment?"
"Only a bit. Hiei just said thank you. Do not mention it to him." Kurama replied.
"I'll try. Doesn't he realize just how good of a friend he is?"
"He never has." Kurama replied. They went down to help Shiori until the group started to arrive.
Touya brought Kuwabara and Yukina over at promptly 4:30, knowing that they had a little more to do. Keiko put the illusion over herself to look like she did when she had still been human just before, they wanted to unveil her new looks when everyone was there, Kurama put the same type of illusion over himself. After Touya arrived, Kurama took a moment to renew the illusion over Touya, then Kurama took the other two mates to see their siblings for a moment, then wrote in the journal what had been going on with Kuwabara. It was very slight at this point, but there were a few minute changes. After they were done with the journal, Kuwabara wanted to see his sister again.
"Man, I still can't believe that's my sister!" He exclaimed quietly in respect to the two sleeping mates.
Yukina went over to Hiei and Shizuru. "You gave her something to kill the pain didn't you?" She asked quietly.
Kurama nodded, "I was forced to, your brother was working himself beyond exhaustion keeping her pain down. He should be awake in a couple of hours, along with Shizuru."
Yukina nodded. "You know the dangers with that particular medicine, then."
"Yes, I was not going to put either one of them through withdrawl, but we needed it to kill the pain long enough for Hiei to rest and replenish himself." Kurama explained.
"Exactly what I would have recommended." The healer replied. "If I ever need a good apothecary, Kurama, you'll be it. You know about the herb infusions and how to get the most out of them."
"Thank you for the praise." Kurama replied. "I am always glad to help a friend."
Yukina turned pink. "Are you offering?"
"Unless you would rather be, as the human saying goes 'barefoot and pregnant' constantly." Kurama told her.
"Thank you for the offer. I shall be taking you up on that. I think Kazuma and I need time to be parents before we become parents again." Yukina replied to the kitsune.
"I shall prepare something then once you deliver." Was the reply that she got.
"Thank you." Yukina said.
The small group went out to the backyard while waiting for the others to show up. Keiko asked Yukina several questions in regards to both of their pregnancies. Kuwabara was astonishd to learn that even though Keiko had concieved almost a month later, she would still deliver before Yukina.
Just then, Moya came through the back, followed by her uncle. "Everyone, this is my uncle, Takanaka-san. Keiko, you might remember him from junior high, I understand?"
Keiko nodded. "Kuwabara, too."
"Well, Yukimura-chan, Kuwabara-kun, I am surprised to find the two of you here." Was the reply.
"Yeah, well, I come over a fair amount for help on homework." Kuwabara replied.
"I'm glad to hear that you're paying more attention to the school work." The teacher in him came to the forefront.
Keiko forced her illusion to blush. "And I am engaged to Minamino-kun."
Kurama forced his own illusion to bow. "I am honored to meet one of the teachers that has been held in high esteem by Keiko."
Moya went over to Touya. "And this is the one I was telling you about. This is Touya Minamino. Shuuichi's, or as he prefers it, Kurama's, cousin."
"Pleased to meet you, Minamino-kun." Takanaka said to Touya. "Moya has told me a lot about you over the last couple of weeks. Never seen her so excited to meet anyone."
"Thank you, Takanaka-san. I think we were both kindred spirits in that arena." Touya replied with a slight smile.
"Yes, my neice has always been a loner, even most of her friends are . . ." He trailed off as he tried to think of a polite word to fit them and then finally gave up. "Flakes, I do believe is the term I'm looking for." He looked hard at Kurama, "I do believe most of them are hangers-on of yours, young man."
"Only to my shame, Takanaka-san." Kurama replied. "I never encouraged them."
"Yeah, man! Kurama's always tryin' to get them to go away!" Kuwabara told his old teacher.
"Is that so?" He raised his eyebrow at the red-head. He was impressed with the poise that the young man possessed. There were not many who could be that cool in front of what appeared to be an interrogation.
Kurama was holding back as much as possible, though from laughing or just taking skillful control of the entire absurd situation, he was unsure. "Yes, sir." He looked at Moya, "Do you have the textbook with you, or just your notebook? If we all want to best Kaito's score on the test, we'll need to study." He mentioned his famed rival with a small smile of his own.
Touya had already run afoul of Yu Kaito, just the third day of classes. It had been over a small quiz that they both had to take. "Indeed. His arrogance needs to be cut down."
"No need to worry when your natural intelligence is higher." Moya replied. "He's okay, but he's so stuck on being the best and can't help but be frustrated when he is continuously beated by Kurama on tests."
Kurama's stepbrother came out to the porch. "Kurama! Pizza is here!"
"Thank you, Shuuichi." Kurama told him. "My younger step-brother." Kurama quickly explained. "One of the biggest reasons why I took a nickname. Otherwise, Shuuichi brought both of us, then it was Shuu-kun and Shuu-chan, however, I had also been called Shuu-chan when younger. I decided Kurama was easier."
"Easily understood." Takanaka replied. "Well, seeing as my neice is in good hands, I should be taking my leave. Though I did have one question, whatever happened to Yusuke Urameshi?"
"I'm still alive and well, Old Man." Yusuke replied. "Hey, guys, I brought the pizza out with me, or were we planning on eating in the living room, spawled out with books?"
Botan kept up the pretense for Takanaka, "Oh, and Keiko! I really need to have you help me with that pre-calc homework! I swear I didn't understand a thing that he explained!"
Takanaka just shook his head. This group didn't look like it would get much studying done, but on the other hand, it looked like his neice was more animated than she ever had been. "Well, It's good seeing you, Yusuke. You always had been a delinquent and it doesn't look like very much has changed for you."
Yusuke told him quietly, "Maybe not in this area, but trust me, there are more important ones that I learned, and learned well."
"As long as you have your priorities straight, then I will count on you to make the best call." Takanaka told him. "You always had a potential in you beyond what you used."
"Yusuke!" Kurama called.
"Be right there, Kurama!"
"I'll leave you hear then. Moya, call when you're ready to come home. I don't want you walking all that way by yourself!" Takanaka told his neice.
"Sir, I can walk her home. It is not a problem." Touya replied.
"If you're sure." Takanaka replied. He went back through the house, thanking Shiori for having his neice over for dinner and the hospitality.
"It is our pleasure, Takanaka-san. Moya is a delight to have over." Shiori told him. "They are having a real pow-wow tonight. I gather a few big tests are coming up." Shiori inwardly winced at the double meaning behind her own statement. The test would really be if they would all survive this coming issue. Keiko and Yukina were carrying the future of the Makai in their bodies in the form of children. Shizuru was going through the last stanges of her ordeal to become Hiei's mate in truth and Botan was feeling her way into a new world altogether away from things she had known for centuries.
"Don't worry about the children so much, Hatanaka-san. You raised a fine son and some of them I know from Junior High. That group always lands on it's feet. I even attended Yusuke's wake!" Takanaka told her. "They'll come out on the top in the end."
Shiori smiled tenuously, "Thank you, Takanaka-san. I'll try to remember."
Takanaka left by the front door but a strange feeling washed over him as if he wouldn't see any of them for a long while.
To be continued . . . .
Disclaimer: No, I don't own it. Though at the moment, I wish I could be a character, sigh.
AN: Some waff alert.
To all my reviewers: There are so many this time!
morwen re, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! Please, just give me a kick, though my schedule has been absolutely crazy lately with Christmas shopping taking up my spare moments! Answers are coming to the question of kits.
Rabidfangirl101, thanks for keeping me going!
Kitsune 71- thanks.
LunaGoddessofFoxes- Touya and Moya have their own upcoming story, it'll be a sidestory to this one, needless to say, it'll entertwine with this, but it will be a story of it's own. I've started chapter 1, and I'm going to try keeping them parallel to each other.
DragonofDarkness- I'm glad you are enjoying the story, and I hope I'll be able to take care of your concerns about Shizuru. I've already edited a little, but I'm keeping what I've posted the same.
A Critic-I apologize profusely for any misspellings or typos, however, wordpad(what I use) DOES NOT have a spell checker and MediaMiner, last I checked, doesn't accept Microsoft Works(yuck) format, so gomen.
Woodshop2300- I'm glad you enjoyed it, there's more to come!
Sakuralovesli- thanks again!
Blade99507- *blushes* thank you.
axelalx- Thank you, I'm trying very hard to keep it original.
Nakira- I'm glad you're enjoying the Hiei/Shizuru stuff. I'll try, but it looks like updates'll probably be about every two weeks, and until the holidays are over, it might be a little sparser, but I'm trying not to let all of you fall through the cracks.
Chapter 26- Confirmation
Hiei had stayed by Shizuru all day, both of them dozing. Kurama had caught the journal up to date. He gave extensive warnings to any future youkai who happened to be S-class about some of the side effects, though they were planning on keeping the word alive with them.
Shiori was delighted with her daughter-in-law. She had been pretty as a human, but now she had an otherworldly grace that had been coming out over the last three and a half weeks. She was almost hard put to remember the shy, brown-haired, brown-eyed girl that she had met back when her son had first mated. She could see that the personality was still the same, but more self-assured. She wondered what changes would come to Shizuru when she was done.
Keiko had sorted through the stuff she had collected in the two days when she had been full fox. Some of it was actually pretty, and Shiori had told her that she could keep some of it, but she did want some of it back. Keiko didn't even know where she had found half of this stuff, or when, considering that she had spent most of the time asleep.
Kurama finished the journal and helped Keiko finish cleaning their room. It had looked a little cluttered and definately messy. Kurama had to shake his head at his being stuck in demon form now. There were certain things that he just could not do in demon form that he could do, admittedly barely, in human form, such as vacuuming. Even the quietest of vacuums hurt their ears now.
They finally had the debris picked up and looked at the clock. It was only two in the afternoon and they were not expecting any of the others to be there until at the earliest four-thirty, especially as Touya had to arrive in order to get the illusion put back on him. Keiko told her mate what she could remember of Takanaka-san. Much was said in the fact that Yusuke respected him.
Kurama got the impression that Takanaka would like to see what Yusuke had done with himself, especially as he was now responsable not only for himself, but for many others. Yusuke had always been a punk who could bring out the best in others. He was a natural leader.
After talking the problem over, they decided that it probably wasn't as big a problem as it had been looking like earlier in the day. There were other considerations coming into play. Yukina was almost a month along in her pregnancy and it would still be two months before she really started to show. Keiko would start to show in a month, which meant the clock was ticking.
"You are really happy about this? I know that we were going to wait a little if possible." Keiko asked.
"My flower, I am happier than you will ever know. Knowing that you are carrying our kits. Trust me, I will be every bit the doting father for while my human lifetime is only 19 years, they have taught me the value of family." Kurama told her. "They will know that they are loved."
Keiko nodded. "Will they know their grandparents?" She asked quietly.
"I want them to know who taught us to love them. My mother and your parents. I do feel protective of you, as well as knowing that you can take care of yourself." Kurama added fiercely.
"I want to know how to defend myself in case I have to, but at the same time, I don't want to have to defend myself." Keiko said, burrowing into her mate's shoulder. "I have never been a fighter, despite my abilities in defending my virtue. I don't like having to do that."
"I know, love. You are not a fighter. I am not truly a fighter either, despite my abilities. I can fight, but that does not mean that I like doing so." Kurama replied. "It is why I am so ruthless in the fight. If not, I am dead. My plants are one of my few weapons as my strength is not enough to hurt truly high level demons. You are my source of strength, Keiko. I worked hard to keep up with Yusuke and Hiei, true, but it was only with you that I accepted my place in the Makai."
"Does it bring you peace?" Keiko asked, hoping she hadn't pushed him into something that he was not ready for.
"Keiko, you have brought me peace with who I am." Kurama explained. "Before, I had always repressed my demon side, wanting to remain with my human family, now I understand that they will accept me no matter what I am. You were the catalyst."
Keiko smiled at her mate. "I am glad that I could do that for you. Now, if only my parents can accept who I've become and the fact that they will be grandparents in three months time, we'll be great."
Kurama kissed her. "You will be fine, love. Your father came around and your mother did not seem opposed to us. The main problem is the fact that I am stuck in my youko body."
"Are you really that worried about it?" Keiko asked. "I no longer have a human form."
"I know that, love, but the human body should not convert completely into my youko body, at least I did not think it would." Kurama replied. "I am unsure how to take this developement."
Keiko held her mate while he pondered the entire situation. "Listen, this will take care of itself and you and I both know that."
"I know. I did kind of grow attached to my human form, though, so it does bother me."
"What could have happened, do you know?" Keiko asked, hoping that helping him pinpoint what was bothering him would help.
"I do know that when my abilities jumped back to A-class, I was able to freely access my youko form once again. The jump to S-class simply made the shift effortless." Kurama answered.
"Has your youki changed at all?" Keiko asked.
Kurama thought about that. He didn't sense any changes within himself, but youkos didn't always show changes immediately. There were some subtleties that required very little change, but could indicate some major changes in the not too distant future. "I don't know. A youko does not change all at once. For instance, the gaining of a tail has very little indication other than a slight shift in one's youki."
"Do you think it could be that?" Keiko asked.
"It might. But I didn't think so." Kurama asked. "I have been pushing myself lately, but it shouldn't have been enough for another tail to form."
"How do tails form, anyway?" Keiko asked in return, curious about this race that she had become.
"A tail forms when a youko's abilities grow, or in a few cases, change. We also can gain tails just as we age. They can also form after times of great stress, or if we have been pushing ourselves, and our abilities to their max." Kurama explained, "Hence how I got my fifth tail. By age standards, I shouldn't have gotten my next tail until well after this human lifetime was over. The combonation of the two tournaments together pushed me to create the fifth tail."
"But you haven't done anything like that lately, have you?" Keiko asked.
Kurama shook his head. "Only thing I did was spar with Hiei and mate with you."
"We'll have to think on it later, then." Keiko told him.
Kurama nodded and then kissed her hungrily, glancing at the clock. He then grinned and pressed Keiko back against the bed. "Allow me to catch up for lost time, love."
Keiko had no objections to this plan and responded ardently. She pushed him over so that he was on his back, exploring his planes as a demon. She had once before in the shower, but this was totally different and Kurama was allowing her free reign. She rode him til they were both crying out in pleasure. Afterwards, Keiko asked, "Why am I not as tired after this as I used to be?"
"Two reasons, my flower." Kurama replied. "One, youkos have a lot of stamina in this area naturally, don't ask me why we just do. The other reason is because you are getting used to this type of exertion."
Keiko felt the emotions flow back and forth between herself and Kurama through their mating bond. It was one thing seeing the emotions through his eyes, but it was a totally different sensation feeling those same things flowing through his soul. She hugged him tightly to her, her own emotions mirroring his. "How deep is our bond really?"
Kurama returned the embrace, "I don't know. I only know that there have been a few demons that I have known that were mated, and their bonds didn't seem to be this deep, even amoung kitsune and I did spend some time with the clans, not much, admittedly, but enough to pick up what I need to for your pregnancy. I've been a loner, Keiko. Much like Hiei."
Keiko, once again feeling like blushing, said, "You can't lead me to believe that you never had partners, or lovers! Not with all you have taught me."
"Only one partner have I had. Lovers, yes, too many." Kurama said, his eyes taking on a shadow as he thought of his old partner. "My partner died even as he told me to run. Before that I had been a thief, yes, but that was probably where the legend of the Youko was born. He was the first that I ever cared about and feeling the pain of loss, well, I went off the deep end and life was one thrill after another, always cutting the escape just a little closer, seeing how close I could come to death. I really was a selfish bastard, Keiko."
"It doesn't matter!" Keiko told him fiercely, holding him to her wrapping her legs around him as well as her arms. "It's past and gone! It's not who you are now!"
Kurama chuckled a little at Keiko's fierceness. "You are right, but all the same, I still feel that pain, even after a thousand years. Kuronue was the friend, partner, brother I never had."
Keiko accepted this. "I'm sure he would not want you to go through your life mourning his passing, would he?"
Kurama smiled ruefully. "Guess not."
"Feel better?" Keiko asked him.
Kurama nodded. "Shall we check on Hiei and Shizuru?"
Keiko looked down at their still unclad bodies, "Only if we get dressed first."
Kurama laughed and gave her a quick kiss, unentangling their bodies before getting up to start gathering their scattered clothing.
Keiko watched as Kurama put on his trousers, still astonished as how they kind of just let the tail flow through and then forming a hole around the base of it. He put on his shirt like top, belting it at the middle with the wide cloth. She sighed as she bent to pick up her own discarded dress from earlier, pulling it over her head and belting it, as well. Like Kurama's pants, there was a flawlessly made a hole for the base of her tail in the dress holding it in place.
"You are so beautiful, Keiko. Before you were beautiful as well, now I cannot describe your beauty." Kurama told her as he cupped his hands around her cheeks, holding her face so that he could just look at her.
Keiko felt as if she should be blushing. Kurama was actually admitting that he was at a loss to describe her! She looked at the floor, only to see their feet standing toe to toe. "Really?"
Kurama took her in to the bathroom, facing them both so they stood as if they were getting a portrait done. "What do you see, Keiko?"
Keiko pulled her eyes away from his in the mirror. She hadn't looked into a mirror in quite a while and gasped. She wonderingly put a hand out to the mirror, touching her own face. Her skin tone had darkened slightly, the overall shape was the same, but it looked different with the youko ears higher up in her head, it looked narrower. Her silver hair flowed around her, loose and shining and her hair had never been so long in her life. Her lips had not changed appearance at all, nor her nose. Her eyes were a gold, framed by bright silver lashes. She was relieved to see that her bangs had not changed in the slightest save for color and texture. Her cheekbones appeared to be finer chizled, but that could have been wrought by the long hair and the absense of the ears on either side.
Kurama watched possessively as Keiko explored her new features. This was a day of discovery for both of them. He had no clue that Keiko had been that close to a complete transformation, nor what she would look like when she was done. He was blown away with how completely youko she had become. Youkos were beautiful, that was a given fact and something he had worried about when he had formed the human body, he did not want to lose his youko-ish beauty. He acknowledged the fact that he was vain, and never gave it two thoughts. "What do you think? Still uneasy about your appearance?"
"Is this what I really look like?" Keiko whispered, shocked to her core.
Kurama nodded. "You are a female youko, Keiko. There is no ningen left in you now."
Keiko nodded back, a little shakily. "I will face my future." She turned away from the mirror, facing Kurama. "My path lies with yours, Kurama. Just one thing."
Kurama raised a brow, his only indication that he was listening.
"Never leave me out of the plans! We are mates, which means we are also partners for life. I want to be included in what's going on, I can't be just a pretty flower sitting on the sidelines, I need to be with you, walking beside you!"
Kurama smiled. "That goes without saying, love." He kissed her swiftly and then let her pull them out of the bathroom, towards their friends' room. Kurama and Keiko listened, but couldn't hear anything with their sensitive youko hearing. Kurama swiftly opened the door, seeing Hiei sleeping next to the bed and Shizuru laying on the bed in a light doze. Kurama picked Hiei up and laid him next to his mate. He didn't want to wake the two, but wanted to discuss the situation with Keiko. Ever since her transformation to a fox, their telepathy was tight enough that even the Jagan didn't pick it up, unless they were deliberately broadcasting. ~This worries me. Hiei is in a deep hibernation state.~
~Should I make some kela for him?~ Keiko asked.
~I think it would be wise. See if there is some kind of meat that you can fix on the side as well, he hasn't had any for a day or two. Meanwhile, I'm going to take some of the burden off of Hiei and knock Shizuru out for about six hours. Fortunately the formula that is used in this instance also has a restoring affect on youki.~ Kurama said.
Keiko nodded and the two left the room, closing the door behind them. "That worries me as well. I've never seen Hiei in that state before."
Kurama said grimly, "I have, but only after having to absorb his dragon. That is the only thing that takes that much energy, but he can hibernate to restore his youki, in fact most youkai will hibernate after an intense usage of youki."
"Shizuru's shorter now, does that mean that her body is almost done?" Keiko asked.
"I think so, but I don't know." Kurama replied. The two entered the kitchen, only to be greeted by Shiori. They had let her know what was going on that evening and had decided to order pizza, so as to not have to clutter the kitchen cooking for that many. Kurama got down his mortar and pestil, getting what he'd need to prepare the powerful analgesic. It had a mild narcotic effect on youkai, but he needed the pain killing effects too much. He handed Keiko the seeds she would need for the kela, telling her to keep them for the time being and mentioning which herbs he would need a leaf or two of.
Shiori stepped aside and let the two youkos work. The two looked like an old married couple, with the way they worked together. She let them concentrate since it was obvious that they were not doing this for themselves, but for their friends upstairs.
Keiko soon had the cut vegetables warming in the pan and while they were heating up, she poked her head into the refrigerator, obviously looking for something. She held up a package of hot dogs. She waited while Kurama carefully measured some juice and poured it in, then asked, "Will some of these do? It's the only thing that I can see in here that will work."
Kurama looked up from stirring. "That should be fine. Make one for yourself while you are at it. You need more protein."
"Yes, my mate." Keiko replied playfully. She hurried back to the stove before the veggies could burn and turned them out into the leaves that had already been browned. She lightly tossed the mixture. She then proceded to cook the hot dogs, making two for Hiei and one for herself.
Shiori laughed watching her overly serious son flicking his tail in Keiko's direction, acknowledging her banter. He carefully mixed some more leaves and ground up a few roots that he had to grow. The mixture did not look like much, but it did have a rather overpowering aroma, making Shiori's eyes water.
"What is making that stench?" Keiko asked, sneezing.
"Sorry, love. It's a necessary ingredient, and I don't know how much I owe Hiei for actually being able to find it. He must have had to visit every apothecary in Gandistra." Kurama said. "However it is also the strongest pain killer known and very dangerous if used incorrectly."
Shiori just joked, "So even in the Makai, the most effective medicine is the worst smelling, or tasting?"
Kurama only nodded. "The juice that I added to this makes it marginally tolerable to take, but that's not saying much. Most youkai don't need this kind of thing as we heal very quickly. There are a few exceptions and if overused, this concoction is addictive."
Shiori asked, "So then why are you making it?"
"Because Hiei's body is running critically low on youki right now as it is. I need to get him at least a few hours in which he can replenish himself. I'm not going to lose my best friend in a thousand years." Kurama told his mother. "Right now, he is pushing himself to the max in trying to keep Shizuru's pain minimized and while that is honorable and something I would expect from Hiei, it is also draining him faster than his body can restore itself. If we lose one, we lose both." He finished up and it looked like a thick liquid.
"So, how much of that do you give her?"
"One teaspoon, no more, no less." Kurama said grimly. "Keiko, is there an apple or a banana around that we can bring up with this? Neither one will completely kill the taste of it, but it will at least dull it enough so that when she wakes up, she won't still be tasting it."
Keiko quickly fetched a banana off the counter. She put two hot dogs on a plate and grabbed the bowl of kela, snatching a couple of leaves and one of the chunks of vegetables.
Kurama laughed seeing that. "I'm glad you're as fond of that as I am. I forgot how good it tasted, getting used to eating human food."
"Is it possible for me to try a little?" Shiori asked.
"I don't see why you couldn't have some. It looks like Keiko made enough to feed both of us a small helping, as well as Hiei." Kurama got her a little of everything that went into the kela and then they were off with their stuff for the two bed-ridden mates. "Your exhaustion just pulled me with you into sleep, this is a bit more serious."
Keiko nodded wordlessly. "We're going to have to wake them up this time."
"I know." Kurama grimly said. "Can you feed Hiei after I wake him up with a little of my youki?"
"Sure. You going to take care of Shizuru, then?"
"I have to." Kurama was armed with the small bowl he used for mixing, a teaspoon and the banana while Keiko carried up the two hot dogs and the small bowl of kela.
Kurama opened the door, leaving it open at the moment while they were in. Shizuru was now only half a foot taller than Hiei. She had been steadily shrinking to the size of the koorime. Once again, Kurama wondered which side was actually dominant within the Forbidden child. Fire demons were not generally known for their height either, being small, nimble and generally bad tempered. Fire demons were usually flame colored in some fashion or other, though Hiei's only sign of that was his hair. In the sunlight it was actually shown to be an extreme dark blue with the white starburst. The color at the core of the flame. Most fire demons were lighter in coloring, showing the outer colors of the fire, Hiei's was the hottest of the flame colors. He turned away from his small friend to Hiei's mate. "Shizuru?" He softly called.
Shizuru proved to be the more awake at the moment, falling back with a groan. "Didgya hafta wake me?"
"Unfortunately, we did." Kurama told her. "I have something here that can help you feel better, but I'll warn you now, it'll taste awful. I have a banana to chase it down."
"Why'dya have to do this?" She was waking up a little more.
"Because Hiei is on the verge of complete exhaustion of his youki. Which is why you are feeling pain. This is the mixture that I sent Hiei for the ingredients for, not sure of who else would need it, but keeping them just in case. Will you take this?"
"Where is Hiei?"
"Hibernating beside you." Kurama said. "I tucked him in next to you when I found him slumped to the side of the bed."
"Then yes. He told me about his hibernation periods. If he needed one now, then there are serious problems." Shizuru said. "Just have that banana ready for me."
Kurama peeled the banana, gave her the teaspoon of medicine, which she held her nose, put the spoon as far back as she could and then swallowed the contents, giving a violent shake. He immediately handed her the banana and took the spoon. She ate quickly.
"Good choice." Shizuru said, quite obviously starting to feel the effects already of the medication.
Keiko perched on the side of the bed while Kurama gave Hiei enough youki to come out of his hibernation stage.
"Huh? What happened?" Hiei asked.
"You really are muddled." Kurama said. "You're suffering from severe youki depletion."
Hiei wrapped his arms around the already laying back Shizuru who was drifting off peacefully. "What did you give her?"
"Just the same medicine that I had you pick up the ingredients for. I only gave her enough to sleep for six hours while your youki could replenish itself, which wasn't happening."
Hiei quickly picked up a hot dog and ate it, then the other one disappeared into his stomach. He grabbed the bowl of kela and the chopsticks and polished that off quickly. "I need to take advantage of this time period. I knew you owed me for some of those ingredients, but I never realized that you would pay me back by having to bail me out."
Keiko smiled at him, "That's what friends are for, Hiei." She told him, giving him a hug as she took the dishes from him.
"This is a change." He looked at her. "You turned out beautiful, Keiko. Now, if you two will excuse me, I'm going to sleep." He put his arms around Shizuru and promptly went to sleep.
Kurama looked at his best friend and just smiled. ~We should go now.~
Keiko nodded. The two quietly crept out of the room, carrying the dishes with them.
Kurama closed the door behind them and hoped that their ordeal was almost done. He heard the thought follow him out, ~Thank you, Fox.~ Kurama smiled and sent back, ~You are welcome, Hiei.~
Keiko saw his smile. "Private comment?"
"Only a bit. Hiei just said thank you. Do not mention it to him." Kurama replied.
"I'll try. Doesn't he realize just how good of a friend he is?"
"He never has." Kurama replied. They went down to help Shiori until the group started to arrive.
Touya brought Kuwabara and Yukina over at promptly 4:30, knowing that they had a little more to do. Keiko put the illusion over herself to look like she did when she had still been human just before, they wanted to unveil her new looks when everyone was there, Kurama put the same type of illusion over himself. After Touya arrived, Kurama took a moment to renew the illusion over Touya, then Kurama took the other two mates to see their siblings for a moment, then wrote in the journal what had been going on with Kuwabara. It was very slight at this point, but there were a few minute changes. After they were done with the journal, Kuwabara wanted to see his sister again.
"Man, I still can't believe that's my sister!" He exclaimed quietly in respect to the two sleeping mates.
Yukina went over to Hiei and Shizuru. "You gave her something to kill the pain didn't you?" She asked quietly.
Kurama nodded, "I was forced to, your brother was working himself beyond exhaustion keeping her pain down. He should be awake in a couple of hours, along with Shizuru."
Yukina nodded. "You know the dangers with that particular medicine, then."
"Yes, I was not going to put either one of them through withdrawl, but we needed it to kill the pain long enough for Hiei to rest and replenish himself." Kurama explained.
"Exactly what I would have recommended." The healer replied. "If I ever need a good apothecary, Kurama, you'll be it. You know about the herb infusions and how to get the most out of them."
"Thank you for the praise." Kurama replied. "I am always glad to help a friend."
Yukina turned pink. "Are you offering?"
"Unless you would rather be, as the human saying goes 'barefoot and pregnant' constantly." Kurama told her.
"Thank you for the offer. I shall be taking you up on that. I think Kazuma and I need time to be parents before we become parents again." Yukina replied to the kitsune.
"I shall prepare something then once you deliver." Was the reply that she got.
"Thank you." Yukina said.
The small group went out to the backyard while waiting for the others to show up. Keiko asked Yukina several questions in regards to both of their pregnancies. Kuwabara was astonishd to learn that even though Keiko had concieved almost a month later, she would still deliver before Yukina.
Just then, Moya came through the back, followed by her uncle. "Everyone, this is my uncle, Takanaka-san. Keiko, you might remember him from junior high, I understand?"
Keiko nodded. "Kuwabara, too."
"Well, Yukimura-chan, Kuwabara-kun, I am surprised to find the two of you here." Was the reply.
"Yeah, well, I come over a fair amount for help on homework." Kuwabara replied.
"I'm glad to hear that you're paying more attention to the school work." The teacher in him came to the forefront.
Keiko forced her illusion to blush. "And I am engaged to Minamino-kun."
Kurama forced his own illusion to bow. "I am honored to meet one of the teachers that has been held in high esteem by Keiko."
Moya went over to Touya. "And this is the one I was telling you about. This is Touya Minamino. Shuuichi's, or as he prefers it, Kurama's, cousin."
"Pleased to meet you, Minamino-kun." Takanaka said to Touya. "Moya has told me a lot about you over the last couple of weeks. Never seen her so excited to meet anyone."
"Thank you, Takanaka-san. I think we were both kindred spirits in that arena." Touya replied with a slight smile.
"Yes, my neice has always been a loner, even most of her friends are . . ." He trailed off as he tried to think of a polite word to fit them and then finally gave up. "Flakes, I do believe is the term I'm looking for." He looked hard at Kurama, "I do believe most of them are hangers-on of yours, young man."
"Only to my shame, Takanaka-san." Kurama replied. "I never encouraged them."
"Yeah, man! Kurama's always tryin' to get them to go away!" Kuwabara told his old teacher.
"Is that so?" He raised his eyebrow at the red-head. He was impressed with the poise that the young man possessed. There were not many who could be that cool in front of what appeared to be an interrogation.
Kurama was holding back as much as possible, though from laughing or just taking skillful control of the entire absurd situation, he was unsure. "Yes, sir." He looked at Moya, "Do you have the textbook with you, or just your notebook? If we all want to best Kaito's score on the test, we'll need to study." He mentioned his famed rival with a small smile of his own.
Touya had already run afoul of Yu Kaito, just the third day of classes. It had been over a small quiz that they both had to take. "Indeed. His arrogance needs to be cut down."
"No need to worry when your natural intelligence is higher." Moya replied. "He's okay, but he's so stuck on being the best and can't help but be frustrated when he is continuously beated by Kurama on tests."
Kurama's stepbrother came out to the porch. "Kurama! Pizza is here!"
"Thank you, Shuuichi." Kurama told him. "My younger step-brother." Kurama quickly explained. "One of the biggest reasons why I took a nickname. Otherwise, Shuuichi brought both of us, then it was Shuu-kun and Shuu-chan, however, I had also been called Shuu-chan when younger. I decided Kurama was easier."
"Easily understood." Takanaka replied. "Well, seeing as my neice is in good hands, I should be taking my leave. Though I did have one question, whatever happened to Yusuke Urameshi?"
"I'm still alive and well, Old Man." Yusuke replied. "Hey, guys, I brought the pizza out with me, or were we planning on eating in the living room, spawled out with books?"
Botan kept up the pretense for Takanaka, "Oh, and Keiko! I really need to have you help me with that pre-calc homework! I swear I didn't understand a thing that he explained!"
Takanaka just shook his head. This group didn't look like it would get much studying done, but on the other hand, it looked like his neice was more animated than she ever had been. "Well, It's good seeing you, Yusuke. You always had been a delinquent and it doesn't look like very much has changed for you."
Yusuke told him quietly, "Maybe not in this area, but trust me, there are more important ones that I learned, and learned well."
"As long as you have your priorities straight, then I will count on you to make the best call." Takanaka told him. "You always had a potential in you beyond what you used."
"Yusuke!" Kurama called.
"Be right there, Kurama!"
"I'll leave you hear then. Moya, call when you're ready to come home. I don't want you walking all that way by yourself!" Takanaka told his neice.
"Sir, I can walk her home. It is not a problem." Touya replied.
"If you're sure." Takanaka replied. He went back through the house, thanking Shiori for having his neice over for dinner and the hospitality.
"It is our pleasure, Takanaka-san. Moya is a delight to have over." Shiori told him. "They are having a real pow-wow tonight. I gather a few big tests are coming up." Shiori inwardly winced at the double meaning behind her own statement. The test would really be if they would all survive this coming issue. Keiko and Yukina were carrying the future of the Makai in their bodies in the form of children. Shizuru was going through the last stanges of her ordeal to become Hiei's mate in truth and Botan was feeling her way into a new world altogether away from things she had known for centuries.
"Don't worry about the children so much, Hatanaka-san. You raised a fine son and some of them I know from Junior High. That group always lands on it's feet. I even attended Yusuke's wake!" Takanaka told her. "They'll come out on the top in the end."
Shiori smiled tenuously, "Thank you, Takanaka-san. I'll try to remember."
Takanaka left by the front door but a strange feeling washed over him as if he wouldn't see any of them for a long while.
To be continued . . . .