Growth of a Spirit Detective

Title: Growth of a Spirit Detective
Author: Azalea J.
Beta: Amymcclair
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Kurama/Yusuke/Hiei, Very, very small hints of Jin/Toya and Shishi/Suzuka
Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi and adapted by Funimation Studios. I claim no rights to characters or settings or dialogue. I am making no money off this work.
Warning(s): The usual... Hot boy lovin', Violence, Fighting, Swearing. Additional warnings for the Violence in this chapter... it gets pretty bloody...
Word Count: Approx. 8 800

A/N: It didn't start out this way... in fact, it started out as the worst chapter ever. But now... now this has got to be my favorite chapter. Not the longest, not the shortest, not the most violent or the most smut-filled. But... I'm proud of it. Enjoy. ^-^


Growth of a Spirit Detective
Chapter Nine


Yusuke clutched at the Koorime’s knees; his nose squashed into Hiei’s crotch. His fingers spasmed as he inhaled and his eyes rolled. Oh fuck! That smell! He nuzzled deeper into Hiei, breathing deeper, trying to inhale and inhale and never again breathe out.

Above him Hiei mewled, fuckin’ mewled, and Yusuke lost it. He pulled on the knees he was already clutching and tipped Hiei backward onto the dojo floor.

Hiei landed heavily on the wooden boards and immediately started clawing for Yusuke. He made that mewling sound again - a desperate keening, rough, gravelly - as if Hiei were trying to suppress it, and failing obviously.

It didn't take Yusuke long to follow Hiei down; he was arched above Hiei, nuzzling into the Koorime's neck, before Hiei could do more than scratch in his direction. The smell was the most intense there, right beneath Hiei's jaw, and Yusuke inhaled and inhaled and began panting when his body started to clue in to the lack of oxygen actually going anywhere but his nose.

Oh man... Yusuke nipped Hiei lightly and was rewarded with a sudden head rush. Once he'd returned to himself enough to notice dimly that his hips were currently grinding Hiei beneath him, he realized the smell had gotten so much more potent. He didn't nip, he bit Hiei this time, hard enough to draw just a little bit of blood, and Hiei arched into him and Yusuke was almost knocked out by the scent. His eyes rolled up in his head and his hips ground down and he was cumming and cumming and... "Oh fuck!" He gasped into Hiei's neck and groaned, "Hiei..."

When Yusuke came back to himself, Hiei was a mess. His eyes were clenched tight, so were his fists. His legs were spread allowing Yusuke to sprawl between them. They were twitching, and his hips pushed frantically up, rubbing against the wet front of Yusuke's jeans, begging for any sort of pressure, any friction at all. His head rocked side to side like a pendulum, a constant mantra of No no no no no...

The smell was still there and still ridiculously arousing. Cumming had built up a temporary resistance to it, apparently, but Yusuke could feel his nose tingling as tendrils of musk and heat began to tease at it again.

Wait, heat?

Yusuke looked closer at his mate. Hiei was wanton - Hiei was never wanton. He was always dominant, always in control, even when he was on the bottom. Right now he looked like... he looked like Yusuke had when he'd been in heat a little over a year ago. Had it been a year?

Jesus H. Christ! Hiei's in HEAT!!

So shocked, Yusuke's body tried to get away, but Hiei mewled again, and that was so hot. Yusuke found himself pressing into the Koorime and kissing him with spit and tongue and everything.

Kurama knew! He knew! He planned his stupid visit to his mum now so I'd be alone when Hiei... when Hiei- "Ooooooohm."

And that was the end to all coherent thought for quite a while.

The smell was back again, just as thick and addictive as before. Yusuke thrust his nose back into Hiei's neck and didn't take it out again. Working blindly, he got Hiei's belts off, and the thing around his neck preventing Yusuke from reaching his collar bone and throat hollow. He licked up one side of Hiei's neck as his hand thrust down Hiei's pants and grabbed the fire demon's erection. Hiei howled, arched into Yusuke's hand, and came.

Yusuke stroked languidly up along Hiei's shaft, spreading ejaculate as he went. He dug his mouth harder into Hiei's neck and sucked at his pulse point. Hiei didn't go soft, if anything he was harder and needier than before.

They managed to loose the clothes and with Yusuke's face still stuck to Hiei's neck, managed to get the Koorime into the detective's lap so Hiei could ride Yusuke as hard and as fast and as uncoordinated as he needed. Yusuke just sucked and bit and licked and groaned and enjoyed everything Hiei was doing to him.

By the fourth time, Hiei was moaning steady expletives onto the dojo floor as Yusuke pumped into him hard and slow from behind - his nose still buried in Hiei's neck. Hiei's heat was already flagging; they were riding out the last of it now, but the smell was still throbbing in his sinuses, and Yusuke was determined to enjoy as much of it as he could while it lasted.

Was this what it had been like for Kurama and Hiei when he'd gone into heat? The smell was compulsive; literally, there was no ignoring it.

He inhaled deeply, and licked a path to Hiei's ear. As he exhaled quickly he tugged at Hiei's ear with his teeth, then inhaled again, slowly, as he licked back down and sucked at the top lump of Hiei's spine. Beneath him Hiei was shivering - had been shivering for the past half hour as Yusuke refused to speed up or change anything about what he was currently doing. Inhale: Push in, lick up. Exhale: Pull out, bite something. Inhale: Push in, lick down.

It was getting harder to control his breathing, though, and both of them were damn close.

He shifted a bit on his knees to ease some of the pressure that had built up from kneeling for so long. Hiei felt Yusuke move but when he didn't increase his pace in the slightest, again, began to take a more active roll in their lovemaking. He began to clench up every time Yusuke pushed in, making it so Yusuke had to push harder just to get inside. Once Yusuke had acclimated himself to firmer thrusts, Hiei suddenly loosened up and Yusuke - quite accidentally - slammed home. Yusuke grunted and released Hiei's shoulder from his teeth in pleasurable surprise. Hiei moaned and pushed back frantically.

Panting, his lips wet with smeared spit and sweat, Yusuke lifted off Hiei's back (maudlin as he was to leave his neck) so he had greater control over his thrusts, so he could put more power behind them. He began to slam into Hiei harshly at last, gripping his hips with bruising fingertips, and Hiei's forearms lost the will to hold the koorime up. Hiei lowered his chest to the floor, turned his head so he could rest his cheek on his arm, and began to grunt helplessly every time Yusuke slammed back in.

A few moments later Hiei was jerking, cum was squirting out of his cock onto the floor; Yusuke hadn't even gotten around to jacking him this time. Hiei's ass clenched and Yusuke panted harder, trying to stave off his own release long enough to watch Hiei convulse beneath him. Seeing Hiei like this... was wet-dream fodder for the next ten years. The koorime was slumped beneath him, totally worn out; barely managing to keep his ass up so Yusuke could finish. His hair was a mess, his face was lax and incredibly sated, his nose and cheeks were red. Hiei was blushing.

"Hiei..."

Hiei's eyes, barely slits in his face, opened just a bit more. His pupils shifted around to look at Yusuke. His Jagan flickered, glowed a mellow purple for a moment, then shut exhaustedly. Hiei clenched his ass once more, half-heartedly, but it was enough to have Yusuke gasping and shooting, clutching at Hiei desperately as thrills chased each other up and down his spine and numbed what feeling was left in his legs.

Someone - probably Houkoshin - came in sometime later and put their clothes in tidy little bundles, pulled the fabric hanging from the ceiling so it shielded them from the door, and let them be.

---

Something nudged Yusuke in the ribs and he jerked awake with a snort. "Maa?"

"Hn."

Yusuke blinked blearily in the darkness; he was still naked.

Hiei was dressed, standing rigidly above him.

"Hiei?"

Hiei's Jagan glowed in the darkness; he refused to meet Yusuke's eyes. "You have a bed in this place, Detective?"

---

"Fuck, Hiei! Right there! Yeah... No, seriously - Fuck - What are you DOING!!" Yusuke threw his head back and groaned. "Mnnn Ah! Ah! Ah! Don't STOP! NUH! HIEI!!"

"Shut up, Detective." Hiei dug his nails harder into Yusuke's ass and concentrated.

"FUCK!"

---

Hiei left in the morning.

Sprawled on his bed, tangled in everything from the covers to the pillow cases and is that a slinky!? - Yusuke watched Hiei dress in silence. He felt... pride, when he saw Hiei's neck for the first time without... being distracted. And saw just how many time's he'd bitten the koorime - quite a lot more than two or three. Hiei's neck and shoulders, collarbone, jugular, chin and ears were covered in innumerable hickies, bite marks and quite a lot of vicious-looking scratches.

Hiei's white scarf didn't do much to hide it at all; the white actually drew more attention to all the bruises and flushed skin.

Hiei had a foot up on the windowsill when he suddenly paused. Yusuke observed him quietly, not really thinking of much. He was still half in dreamland and half in post-coital mellowness - not much room for actual wakefulness. In this way, Yusuke watched Hiei turn from the window and regard him thoughtfully, then leave the window and approach the bed, before leaning over Yusuke and kissing him softly on the lips.

Still feeling very fuzzy and warm, Yusuke returned the kiss. It was one of those kisses that can only be described as chaste. No tongue, no spit, just soft, chapped lips on lips. The barest of touches, soft pressure, and it was over. Then Hiei leaned over him farther and licked up one of the scars on Yusuke's neck.

Wet. Quick. And Hiei was gone.

It was a very long time before Yusuke got up.

---

Some time around early evening, Yusuke was plodding down the stairs in jeans and bare feet, rubbing absently at the scratch marks on his shoulders and arms, (there were more on his back, too, but he couldn't quite reach those) heading towards the kitchen for something food-like.

Houkoshin, coming up the stairs, hailed him as soon as he caught sight of his Lord. "Lord Yusuke, you're awake!"

Yusuke stopped, raising an eyebrow. "Yeaaaaaaaah?" Was there a memo about a coma he'd missed somewhere?

"Koku requested an audience with you while you were with Lord Hiei. I told her you were sleeping and weren't to be bothered, so she decided to wait."

"She's still here?"

"Oh yes, since early morning."

"Jesus, Houkoshin." Yusuke hopped past his vassal and all the way down the stairs, skipping six at a time.

"Lord Yusuke! Shouldn't you put on something more presentable!?" Houkoshin shouted after him, but Yusuke was too focused to hear him.

He rounded the banister, sprinted across the hall, and threw open the door to the receiving room.

Koku was standing in front of the cold fireplace, her back to Yusuke. Like the last time he'd seen her, she was wearing dark spandex. However, this time her green hair hung in loose waves all around her head, and there were two new gourds hanging at her waist, along with a sheathed katana. A third gourd was currently upended into her mouth.

"Uh..." Yusuke attempted to announce himself.

Koku finished chugging and took the gourd away from her mouth, emitting a soft ahhh before licking her lips and slinging the gourd onto her back by its thick strap. Then she turned to face him.

Yusuke would have taken a step back, except he was expecting it.

Koku stared at him with brows drawn tightly down, her eyes were not yet unfocused, but they were shaky enough for Yusuke to pin her confidently as 'slightly buzzed.' The set of her legs and hips was aggressive, and the way she loosely held the gourd strap told him she wouldn't hesitate to swing that baby up and belt him with it.

They stared at each other until Yusuke finally got tired of waiting and crossed his arms. "Houkoshin said you wanted to talk to me?"

Koku didn't say anything, just stood there with hips canted and gourd strap held against her shoulder. Yusuke was starting to find her glare intimidating.

And then without warning, Koku relaxed her grip on the strap and dropped that hand to her waist. She was still frowning but not in a threatening way. "I wanted to say thank you, for doing that thing for Enki, even though it's your job."

"Uh..." Yusuke unfolded his arms and raised both eyebrows. "Sorry, I-"

Koku waved a hand dismissively. "That thing with Kaname." And then rather quietly, "Bitch that she was." She took her eyes away and refused to bring them back. "Anyway..." She suddenly walked past him to the door, pushed it open, "Thanks." And was gone.

Yusuke stared at the door, bewildered.

It only then occurred to him that he was lacking shoes and a shirt, his hair was ridiculous, he was covered in sex marks, and he still smelled like jizz. Not to mention he probably had a well-fucked aura about him or some such crap.

Whatever. Koku didn't hit him as the type to care about shit like that.

He'd try to figure out what exactly she was thanking him for later.

Leaving the room, Yusuke resumed his search for something food-like.

And right then, very suddenly, it hit him.

It, was not an all-consuming revelation of amazing life-changing proportions. It didn't halt his progress to the kitchens or make him stumble or fall on his face. It was, in fact, so subtle as to have gone completely unnoticed by Yusuke at all.

Yusuke couldn't have said what changed exactly, he was just aware, suddenly, of things being less complicated than they had previously seemed; like they had been before the stupid ancestor-demon-dad thing.

Yusuke was a demon, a rare demon breed known as Mazoku, granted, but he was still Yusuke.

He was probably gay, (Read: he liked gay sex immensely.) and he was, effectively, married to two other (male) demons, who's wedding bands he wore in the form of two bite-scars, parallel one above the other, at the base of his neck.

But he wasn't going to think about that right now.

Kurama would return in a couple days, and Hiei would come and go as he pleased, and Yusuke would, in his own time, eventually return to human world.

This was the way things were... And, damn it, he was happy with the way things were.

---

"And welcome to this year's Demon Tournament!!" Koto's voice blared over the loudspeakers, eager and charged with infectious enthusiasm. "We have an AMAZING line-up for you this year! Demons from all over demon-world have come to pit brawn against brawn for a chance at the ultimate prize: King of Demon world for Three. Whole. Years!!"

Shouts and cheers filled the stadium. Everywhere demons were placing bets, eating, and occasionally fighting. Fights were quick; however, just spikes of sudden anger or over-excitement that resulted in a few thrown fists or insults, and ended with the combatants laughing and slapping backs or storming off their separate ways. The stands were overflowing; the stadium packed full of what was possibly a half of demon world's entire population. This was impossible, of course, but it sure looked that way. More demons were outside, clamoring for entrance or watching the tournament on the jumbo screens set up all around the outside and in the sub-levels of the stadium.

Listen to it for long enough, and the cacophony became a steady - not entirely unpleasant - buzz in the background.

Every three years demons would come to let loose and fight. And every three years they'd end up with a new king, with the next Demon Tournament to look forward to in the meantime. And they loved it.

Who would have guessed.

"And here's your current king, Enki! With a few words to get this year's tourney started!"

There was nothing in the rules that said the current King could not re-enter the tournament or that a King could not continue to rule provided he continued to win. However, Enki had made a promise that his term would only be three years, and he stood by that admirably. Up in the stands, in the royal box, (constructed just this year!) he stood from the ceremonial throne and addressed his denizens with microphone in hand and smile on face. "Demons!" Enki shouted then paused, adorned in plain shirt and pants, waiting for the greatest of the hubbub to die down. When it did, he cracked a genuinely, happy smile. "These three years have been new and exciting for us all, myself least in consideration. May the new Demon World King be as good looking as I!"

For a crowd of demons wrought with energy and adrenalin, the speech was wonderfully short for the appropriate attention-spans, and did exactly what it was meant to do - get things started.

"All right!" Koto, down in the arena, brought everyone's attention back to her, "The ten elimination groups have been drawn by lots! Demons with numbers 1 through 50 are in Group A. Demons with numbers 51 through 100 are in Group B. Demons with numbers 101 through 150 are in Group C. Demons with numbers..."

Kurama turned from Koto's larger-than-life image on the massive screen and faced Enki beside him. "It was very good of you to give us these seats, Enki."

Enki waved his hand. "It was the least I could do, Kurama, after all the things you, Hiei, and Yusuke have done for me these three years. Besides, they built the King's Box with all these guest seats... it would have looked bad to leave them empty."

To Enki's right sat Koku, Yuta (who would not be co-hosting the tournament this year) and various demons from Enki's counsel, who would carry on with the new king - provided the new king didn't have any personal problems with any of them. On Enki's left: Kurama, Hiei, Toya, Suzuka, and more anonymous demon's from various positions in the palace.

"How long's this thing gonna take to get started, anyway? This is almost as bad as the Dark Tournament! I'm going to need munchies if it drags on any longer!"

Below them Koto's voice shrilled on. "I will repeat that for anyone who didn't hear me the first time: Demons with numbers 1 through 50: Group A. Demons with numbers..."

"The preliminaries can sometimes drag on for quite a while. It will take some time to organize all the groups; I'm sure you'll have enough time to find something to eat and get back before any actual fighting begins, Kuwabara."

Oh yes, and Kuwabara was there as well. He had been originally seated between Hiei and Toya, but that decision became quite obviously stupid within a matter of seconds - he was now seated between Toya and Suzuka.

Hiei was glowering at everything, hunkered down in his seat between Kurama and Toya with a rather large bump on his head.

"Sweet!" Kuwabara jumped to his feet. "Be right back!" He laughed his crazy laugh and started making his way to the end of the box.

Above and around them demons chanted, screamed, and cheered, and the loudspeakers blared on. "Would groups A through J please make their way to their respective Okuninju Stalk battlefield. I repeat: would groups A through J make their way to their respective Okuninju Stalk. We will begin the tournament shortly."

Toya was busy messing around with the tournament charts; he didn't even notice Kuwabara leave. "Jin is in group A - that looks like an easy lot. Rinku's in G, so are Natsumi and Tsuketsu*... Poor Rinku. What group was Yusuke in, Kurama?"

Kurama leaned across Hiei, still glowering, to look at the chart for himself. "Group D."

"Ah. ...Oh."

Kurama's eyes twinkled. "Yusuke should be pleased with that."

"Pleased with what?" Hiei straightened up a bit in his chair.

Just a bit.

Kurama looked down at him, "Yusuke and Chu are in the same group."

"Hn." Hiei went back to slouching, fighting a sudden annoying tick in his cheek.

"We are still waiting on Group's J and C. Repeat: Groups J and C stop pigging out at the buffet table and GET TO YOUR ARENAS!!"

"I've been meaning to ask, Hiei, why'd Mukuro kick you out of the patrols?" Toya asked seriously, out of nowhere, from over his charts.

Hiei's glower grew darker. "She didn't kick me out, she gave me the month off for the tournament."

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "I believe her exact words were, you should be there for your mate while he competes."

Hiei flushed. "Like she cares - she's not even competing!"

"She's not coming at all?"

"Hn."

Kurama grinned, started to say something, and was cut off by Suzuka, "Even if she did enter, Hiei, you can't enter while you're in the patrols - unless she really did kick you out. Of course, they've finished drawing so you're too late anywa-"

Hiei gritted his teeth, "I don't care if she enters, and I don't want to enter, and nobody wants to hear anything you have to say, Clown." He huffed and slouched down further in his seat. Since Kurama was still hovering over him, all this did was give Kurama a very good view of Hiei's frown from above. He chuckled, and went back to locating everyone they knew on the chart with Toya, completely ignoring his sulking mate and the spluttering Suzuka.

Natsumi, Kouji and Tsuketsu were the only three from Raizen's group of friends that had entered, Enki and Koku were accounted for - the others had slowly drifted contentedly back into seclusion after Enki was declared King, it seemed. Shishiwakamaru had ended up in Group F; Kuju in Group H with Shura, and Youmi was in Group B. Some of the monkets had entered, and most of them had wound up in Group E; Houkoshin was sitting out this year.

"Attention: this year's Demon Tournament will begin in five minutes. Please finish any remaining bets and take your seats. This year's Demon Tournament will begin in five minutes."

"Ah, pardon me, sorry, didn't know that was your tail - hey, guys!" Kuwabara sidled back into the box with an armload of... well, of food.

Kurama looked at him in surprise, "Kuwabara, do you know what any of that is?"

Kuwabara sat back down and began handing things out. "Nope. But it all smells good and I always trust my nose. Here, you'll probably like this." He handed Kurama a purple squishy thing that kinda looked like a bun - except it was purple. And it squeaked when Kurama squeezed it. "Oh, I also used my awareness on all of it - none of it's poisoned or anything. And guess who I saw at the food tables!!"

"Who?" Kurama eyed the purple thing with caution - he didn't know what it was.

"Koenma! He and Botan are here checking the place out!"

"Of course they are you dolt." Hiei informed him snappishly. "Koenma has to be here to ensure the new king is someone Spirit World can deal with."

Kuwabara deflated. "Oh. I thought they were like... I 'unno, something cool..."

"Hey!" Suzuka perked up from his end of the box, "I love those!"

Kurama caught him looking at his purple thing, smiled sweetly at him, and handed it over. Suzuka took it gleefully and shoved it in his mouth. As he bit down it emitted a truly pitiful juuuuuuu sound.

"What's it called?" Kuwabara asked, eyeing Suzuka as if he expected him to start growing purple warts or something - awareness or not.

Suzuka shrugged.

"Was Koenma wearing his tuxedo again?" Kurama asked to take his mind off the purple thing, and because he really wanted to know.

"What? No, he was, uh, wearing blue jeans...?"

"Ladies and demons, may I have your attention please." Koto cleared her throat, the house lights dimmed, and a spotlight lit on the foxy announcer below. The entire stadium hushed immediately. "I am pleased to begin this year's DEMON TOURNAMENT!" Cheers went up and Koto did a back flip-twirl-thing.

"Really knows how to get things going, that one." Kuwabara said around a mouthful of... things. Jellybeans with legs?

"Mmm." Kurama agreed.

"We've got ourselves a fair turnout this year! Only five demons dropped out of contention so far - all of them from Group's B and D. And now we're ready to go! Groups!" Koto turned around and addressed the monitor - there were speakers on the hover-birds the referee's rode, so the combatants could hear the play-by and rulings even miles above the ground on their okuninju battle arenas. "Are you ready!?"

On the monitors, demons tensed and flexed; a lot of them bared fangs and began hissing at each other, and some began to catcall. Kurama spotted Yusuke up on one of the top monitors and focused instantly on his mate's serene expression; eyes closed, small frown creasing his eyebrows, fists clenched.

Yusuke didn't want to be king.

Yusuke wanted a brawl.

"BEGIN!!"

The monitors were blurred instantly with motion as demons sprang and began beating the shit out of each other. Some of the weaker ones stayed back, waiting for their chance. Other weaker ones ganged up on one poor, unfortunate idiot. Some of the stronger ones held back, waiting for other stronger ones to reveal themselves. Hence: The Elimination Prelims.

Yusuke didn't hang back. Yusuke put himself right in the thick of the melee just as soon as Koto's crackly voice over the radio-loudspeakers told him he was allowed to move. He punched and kicked and kneed and elbowed and generally started things off awesome.

"And Group G gets off to a nasty start - ouch! Groups A, C and F are taking their time, but things look promising. Wow! Members of Group D just banned together and tossed that poor guy off the okuninju! Things are quite chaotic right now with Groups B, G, E, H, I..."

"Man, it's seriously bad down there. I can't see anything that's going on, just a big pile of demons." Kuwabara squinted at the monitors, trying to sort out who was who - and what was what.

"It's like that at first." Toya told him, watching Group A carefully. "They're just weeding out the weaklings - this usually goes pretty quickly. The actual fighting begins once each group's narrowed down to two or three combatants."

"Hey! That's illegal! - Will the referee for Group H kindly disqualify her?" Koto's tail was bristled as she yelled angrily into her mike - then she calmed down and continued on, "Group A down to ten or so contenders - Group B down to twenty, Groups C, D and E still brawling heavily. Group F down to five, Group G down to ten, Group H down to eight or so..."

"You're right, goes pretty quick..."

"It's going to start picking up soon, now."

"Hn."

---

"Hahahahahaha!" Yusuke grappled with a taiyouki** and sent it flying, then turned and elbowed a lizard-thing right in the throat bole. "Who's next!?" A third demon charged him. He deflected its clumsy punch, brought up his leg, and kicked it onto its back. When it tried to get up Yusuke planted his foot on its pudgy little stomach. "Trust me, buddy, you don't wanna get up." He told it quietly. The demon blinked at him, and then of course Yusuke grew the biggest, brightest, most toothy smile and said, "Right?"

The demon nearly wet its pants. It nodded quickly and mimed I give! I give! And Yusuke left to find a new opponent, while the referee zoomed in to clear off the last one.

---

"Group I has been reduced to Nekotama, Koumi and Gekotsumei, Group J down to five contenders, It is down to Jin and Eikashi in Group A - YOUMI HAS JUST WON IN GROUP B!!! Our first winner, Youmi, blasted the last ten contenders in his group completely OFF the Okuninju! What a MOVE!!!"

---

"It's going to be down to you an' me, Urameshi." Chu winked at Yusuke, clothes-lining a demon to his right at the same time.

"Yeah? Figured we'd meet up eventually." Yusuke launched out of his crouch and cracked his opponent's jaw with the heel of his hand; the demon went down moaning.

---

"Groups C and D still brawling - might be a while, folks. Group E down to To-oh and... I'm sorry, I don't know this contenders name-"

"GAI!" Some random demon bellowed from the stands.

"Thank you! Group E down to To-oh and - GAI GOES DOWN! That must have been majorly painful! I-I-I-I-I love it! We're finally getting to the grit of the preliminaries now, folks! In Group F Shishiwakamaru and Bogunn are battling it out sword to sword - will Shishiwakamaru's Banshi-Shriek be enough to win him this round-"

"Go ShiSHIIIIIIIII!"

"We LOVE you, Shishi!"

"Wooooooooooooooo-SHISHI! These are for you!"

"-His fans certainly think it will."

"Don't these girls have any decency?!" Kuwabara huffed and crossed his arms.

"That one doesn't." Toya was looking over his shoulder at the last screamer, his face a study in amusement.

Kuwabara looked and immediately wished he hadn't. He returned his eyes to the monitors, face burning.

"And Bogunn slashes Shishiwakamaru across the triceps! Crippling his sword arm! Lookit all the blood! I think this is it for Shishi, everyone. Bogunn looks to be very confident of his next move..."

"Noooooo, Shishi..." Fans above cried.

"I can't watch." Suzuka brought up his knees and hid his eyes behind them.

"Shishiwakamaru is retreating carefully... In Group G Natsumi and Tsuketsu are trying to fight, but Rinku and his Serpent Yo-Yo's keep getting in the way! Every time one of them tries to stop him, the yo-yo master just laughs and darts away! How long can he keep it up!? KUJU HAS JUST WON IN GROUP H! That's right! He trounced Youmi's son Shura with a hard-core uppercut to the chest - can we get a ref down there to make sure the kid's okay - oh! Never mind, Shura looks to be quite alright - and Kuju dodges Shura's attack and kicks him into the ground! - With an AMAZING combination of jujitsu and youki, Koumi wins in group I! - Shura and Kuju still trading blows - I wonder how much more Shura has in him? Every year he seems to become more and more like his father! - Group J doesn't look to be moving... Ref, is anyone still conscious over there?"

---

Chu weaved drunkenly in and out of the mass of demons, bashing each on in the back of the neck and calmly knocking them out before gliding on to the next. Yusuke was punching faces in, left, right and center, ducking and darting and teasing his opponents relentlessly.

Both Yusuke and Chu were treating their fights as a friendly ol' warm-up. Either one of them could have done away with every last one long ago - it would have enraged their opponents, if any of them were bright enough to figure it out.

---

"Eikashi is fighting beautifully! Jin can barely keep up. Ouch, she just landed a punch square in Jin's nose! Blood splattered everywhere, people, it was spectacular! Eikashi follows with a to-die-for kick in the stomach. Jin plummets to the ground. I think this is it, people. JURUTA WINS IN GROUP C, following a wonderful toss! Group D still brawling away. - Shishiwakamaru has turned his battle around! I'm not sure what happened, folks, I was too busy watching the carnage from Group D - but it looked as if he caught Bogunn by surprise, he's leading him now at sword-point. Bogunn backs away - they are awfully close to the edge of their okuninju, there... BOGUNN DUCKS and TACKLES Shishi! Shishi goes down - I can't see much through the dust - BOGUNN SUBMITS! Our winner in Group F: SHISHIWAKAMARU!!!"

"Really? Shishi won?" Suzuka came out from behind his knees.

"Yes, it appears he has." Kurama smiled.

"He doesn't look too good, though." Toya commented, "He's pretty winded."

Shishi looked a little more than 'pretty winded'; on the screen he was propped up over the unfortunate Bogunn, using his sword as a crutch. His chest was swelling and collapsing so dramatically, it could be seen through his robe.

"For a while it didn't look like he was going to make it, but then he turned his match around! But Oh my, Shishiwakamaru might not be fit to compete in the next round, medical staff are en route."

Kuwabara looked up as Suzuka passed him on his way out of the box, then brought his attention right back to the monitors, where he focused to the exclusion of everything else.

"And Rinku's Serpent Yo-Yo's are still a bane for Natsumi and Tsuketsu; for a moment there, it looked like the two demons might get the jump on the little guy. And now Rinku's on his back, rolling around and... and laughing! Natsumi and Tsuketsu are pretty tangled up... Oh dear, they sure don't look happy to me. -KUJU WINS! Bringing Shura down with two solid blows in the back! Poor Shura won't be getting up any time soon. Group D FINALLY down to ten or so contenders - sorry, better make that five - and EIKASHI beats Jin down with a flurry of punches and a blast of the energy we caught glimpses of early on - Jin doesn't look to be getting up. The referee begins the ten-count!"

"C'mon, Jin." Toya murmured. Kurama glanced over at him, the ice demon was clutching the armrests of his chair so hard his hands had gone from white to red again and were now splotchy all over.

"EIKASHI IS OUR EIGTH WINNER! And she looks more than ready for the next round!"

"Oh, Jin."

"Don't worry, Toya, we know Jin tried his best - and look, Jin is fine with it. He'll keep training."

Toya shook his head with a sad smile. "Yeah."

"Rinku is still laughing, folks - that battle might go on for a while. Group D down to four contend- sorry, down to three - sorry - down to two contenders! Yusuke and Chu face off! If any of you weren't there for the Dark Tournament, I can assure you this is going to be bloody!"

---

"Blimey, mate." Chu held the demon away from him by its throat, "You reek!"

"Kraaaaaa?" The poor, wiry demon was so confused.

Chu tossed it aside, so he could use that hand to fan fresh air to his nose. The demon hit a boulder with its head and slithered to the ground, quite bonelessly.

"Now tha's outta our way," Chu turned to face the tantei, all teeth. "We can get down ta business, hic!"

"You sure you're good to fight, man?" Yusuke scratched dried blood off his chin. "You want me to wait while you... sober up?"

Chu went to take a step forward and wound up stumbling backward. "Whoa... Much appreciated, mate. Wouldn't want ta short-change ya none." He began to grope at his waist.

While Chu chugged Ogres' Bane and proceeded to puke everything else up, Yusuke took the time to stretch and limber up. Shaking himself loose, Yusuke turned his focus inward. "Huh." Tallying his spirit energy reserves was one thing, but his demon energy was much harder to gage. Still, however vague his abilities, he was pretty sure he had about six shots, of each, in reserve; more than enough to put the big lush down.

Chu belched and straightened up carefully. Wiping his mouth, he turned to face the detective, his aura already drawing in around him tightly. "Yeh ready ta get started, then?"

"I've been ready, Chu." Yusuke grinned and brought up his fists. "Let's do this thing."

The suiken master was suddenly right in front of Yusuke, "Y'sure yer mates won't mind me messin' ya up none?" And Yusuke went flying.

He crashed through a tree and kept right on going, clutching at his stomach, almost cross-eyed with pain. Chu caught up to him and slammed Yusuke in the collarbone with the heel of his hand. Yusuke hit the ground with a thud.

Reacting on instinct, Yusuke immediately crossed his arms above him and deflected Chu's next punch; the force caused his back to sink a couple more inches into the rocky ground. He coughed and caught Chu's fist in his palm, knocking aside his next attack mindlessly - his focus on something else entirely. "Mates?"

Chu hovered over him, his alcohol-breath wafting into Yusuke's nose. His eyes eerily clear. "Them pretty mate-bites on yer neck sure are high. Most demons wear them below the shirt collar, so's not to draw attention to themselves. Not only're your bites right up where folks can ogle them; there're two of 'em. And when yeh get close enough ta get a proper whiff off yeh, boy," Chu inhaled deeply to prove his point, cracking a cheeky smile, "Yeh know just wut lucky bastards did it."

Yusuke choked on his own tongue. "So... then... everyone knows!!?"

Chu blinked at him. "Ye thought it a secret?"

"Well, okay, in human world people don't know who you're... fucking, unless you tell them - or they catch you at it." Yusuke was so red by this point he complemented the sky.

"Ah ha ha hahaha!!! Nah mate, round these parts it's smells what tell the stories."

"So I'm starting to get."

"So tell me, mate, 's two mates really better'n one?"

"Well, Hiei's usually only around once in - fuck!"

"HA!. Alright, I'll stop teasin' ye, like. How's about we get back to the fists, then, eh?" Without any further warning, Chu yanked his fist out of Yusuke grip and wove an aura ball not two feet from Yusuke's face.

"DURRRRRAHHHHH-AHHH!!"

"SPIRIT GUN!"

---

Ruuuuuuuummmmmmmmbbb-b-b-b-b-bbbbbbblle

"Oh, my! How beautiful! Yusuke unleashes his mighty Spirit Gun right into Chu's attack! Right in his FACE! I can't see anything! There's far too much residual energy blurring the monitors. Can I get another camera down there!?"

Six of the gigantic TV screens were now focused wholly on the fight between the mazoku lord and the soused aura alchemist, the other six were still devoted to Rinku, Natsumi and Tsuketsu, (and that fight wasn't going anywhere.)

---

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Chu went up, blasted by energy and the massive air currents. "Don' remember the bludger bein' that strong - OOMPH!" Suddenly slammed from above, Chu hit the ground with a thud that shook the entire stalk, and took the mazoku's next punch right in the kidneys.

"Ooooh!" Chu's mouth slackened and he drooled mindlessly on the rocks crunched beneath his weight. Gathering back his breath, Chu twisted, kicked out at Yusuke, and steadied himself upright at the same time. He coughed once to clear the bile from his throat.

Yusuke dodged Chu's kick and darted right back in. They engaged at close range and reverted to handy fist work, almost wholly offensive.

Scratch that, it was wholly offensive.

Yusuke punched Chu in the chest, Chu - still reeling from the blow to his back - punched Yusuke in the arm; Yusuke punched Chu in his midsection and followed with five more to the same area when he caught an opening. Grunting, Chu pulled back and landed his fist squarely in Yusuke's jaw. Yusuke skidded around, blood dribbling down his chin. Wiping blood away, Yusuke leapt, and kneed Chu in the chin. Chu's head flew back, his body followed, and he hit the ground with a thud.

Yusuke followed him down, pulling back his fist to punch - and was struck at the last moment in the ribs when Chu lifted his leg and kicked.

Groaning, he landed badly and barely caught Chu's next kick - aimed for his chest plate - in both hands. He gripped Chu's ankle and lower leg, and tensed to throw the drunkard. Before he could shift more than a few muscles, Chu - balanced on one leg - lifted both arms above his head and brought down his combined fists with the weight behind them of a sledgehammer.

Yusuke dropped Chu's leg to block the blow.

The instant his leg was released, Chu altered his attack, swinging his fists up from the side instead of from above with deadly speed. Falling for the feint with a mental shitfuck, Yusuke took the blow to his already damaged ribs and hit the ground twenty feet away with a moan.

On his back in the dirt, Chu wondered for a moment how the fuck he'd wound up there. Sitting up, he realized, belatedly, that Yusuke had kicked his feet out from under him the moment he'd killed three of the kid's ribs. Mate's gotten a mite faster, he marveled inwardly.

Yusuke pushed himself slowly back to his feet with a grimace, hand pressed tightly against the bruised skin covering his broken ribs. Straightening up, ignoring the pain, Yusuke widened his stance, clenched his jaw, and pulled his hand into fist, bracing his elbow level with his armpit. His spirit energy gathered around the knuckles of his fist, glowing warmly and charging merrily. Slowly, his youki began to seep out of his clenched fist and swirl around the blue energy. Soon after, his fist was enveloped in blue, his entire arm surrounded in swirling, angry red. He clenched his teeth and sighted his target. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHOT GUN!!!!" The force of his blast sent him skidding back.***

On his arse in the dirt, Chu could only sit there and watch the multiple blasts heading straight for him. Them bludgers're gonna hurt! He managed to grit his teeth and punch the first one before it could hit . The others connected with the sound of a machine gun going off into a dirt pile.

Yusuke's aim wasn't as great with the multi-shot variety, but while some shots hit the trees and dirt around Chu - sending up clouds of dust and soil - most hit home.

His backward momentum slammed Yusuke into a tree. With a groan he arched away from the impact, his hand immediately going back to his battered side. "Nuh!" Pushing away from the tree, Yusuke sucked in as much air as his ribs would allow him without crippling him with pain. A few like breaths later, and he felt steady enough to bring his fists back up to bear.

Before the air could start to clear, Chu glided soundlessly from the dirt cloud and slammed into Yusuke's mid-section, elbow first.

"GAK-AHHHHHHHHHH!!"

The force was enough to launch Yusuke across the clearing once again. Racing after the tantei, the suiken master grabbed his foot, swung him around, and sent him crashing into the trees. He followed, and brought the back of his leg down on Yusuke's neck. Yusuke choked and ate dirt, hard. Before he could blink, Chu had spun his next attack into a blast the size of a watermelon, and hurled it down with both hands and all his strength.

The resultant explosion completely obscured the cameras - destroying one (the referee was fine) and scattering the others.

Chu landed a couple of meters away and tried to tally his remaining strength - Yusuke's first blast had taken more out of him than he cared to admit. Bitch had hurt, too.

"DURRRRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"OOOOMP!" Chu took the blast and wheezed; the air ripped out of him. He staggered and clutched at his ribs, finding his eyesight blurry and breathing difficult.

Yusuke came out of the residual mess and flew straight at him, pain forgotten; he caught Chu by his shirtfront and pulled him close, tearing the shirt down the middle. Chu caught a glimpse of glistening fangs and tribal tattoo's. He saw the fist coming up from below and slapped his palm down to stop it. Surprised, Yusuke paused his attack long enough for Chu to slap aside the hand clutching the tattered halves of his shirt together. He threw off Yusuke's other fist, twisted, and kicked Yusuke hard.

With a growl, Yusuke hit a tree feet first, and launched himself directly back at Chu. His fist connected squarely in Chu's nose and Chu went down, blood spurting from his nose in red fountains, blinding him and fucking with his air flow at once.

Yusuke sat on his chest and began to wail on him, his teeth clenched in a gleeful grin. His fists were bloody, his chest and arms were bloody. He'd received a blow to the head at one point that had left a shallow wound below his eye, and that was bleeding steadily over his cheek and down his neck. His fists connected with Chu's chest, his collarbone and his face. Chu might have noticed that none of them landed hard enough to shatter bone, though Yusuke doubtless had the strength to do so. Chu might have noticed - but he was too busy spinning duplicate aura balls out of Yusuke's line of sight; one in each palm.

When Yusuke's bloodied fist next lifted from the meaty crater it had formed in Chu's face, Chu lifted his first attack under the detective's guard and pushed with all his might.

As Yusuke flew back, Chu bent over and added more alcohol, tempered with his youki, to his second attack.

As Yusuke flew back, the detective leveled his index finger back the way he'd come, the thrilling charge surging up from his legs, into his spine, and all the way down his arm.

Chu grunted, and pushed with all his might. "Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake THIS!!!"

"SPIRIT GUN!!!!"

---

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The view from the monitors shook, and everything went red and blue and orange and black and swirling clouds of white and flying tree bits and-

"Oh wow, people. I don't know if either of them survived that!

Kurama absently noticed that, like himself, Hiei was perched on the edge of his seat.

When Hiei noticed Kurama's smile, he scowled and scooted right back, arms crossed.

The residual rumbling eventually receded, and every eye in the stadium focused intently on the monitors.

Koto continued her broadcast, as excitable as ever amidst such mystery. "With all the smoke I can't see a thing! I can only imagine both Yusuke and Chu are feeling that one - I can only hope they're both still alive, or this match will not live up to expectations!"

Slowly, the smoke began to dissipate; the cameras began to scour the ground more actively, searching... searching...

"And there they are! Both competitors seem to be unconscious..."

---

Yusuke and Chu were laying spread eagle fifty feet from the initial explosion point. Two of the referees flew over and hovered above them. Yusuke was covered in bruises and cuts; his left arm was a total mess. His lip was cut, and the cut beneath his eye was still pulsing; there was blood in his hair. Chu didn't look much better, his nose alone was a white bone sticking up amidst bloodied cartilage; blood was smeared across his cheeks and down his front.

Before the referees could even begin the count; however, both of them were up, balanced with hands on their knees, and laughing.

It wasn't long after they were back to pumping fists and spitting up blood. Ribs and nose completely ignored.

---

"Yusuke?"

"Uuuuuugh. G'way..."

"Yusuke."

"Mmmmmmm."

SLAP! "OW!"

"Hiei!"

"Hn."

Yusuke blinked himself awake, rubbing his freshly wounded cheek in irritation.

Kurama was at his side, glaring at the koorime, who was at the foot of the bed with his nose in the air. With a sigh, the fox turned back to Yusuke, "How are you feeling?"

"I could have done without being slapped awake - oh damn my neck! Fuck."

Kurama smiled, "Chu is still unconscious."

Yusuke cracked a grin, "He'd better be. That last attack of his was seriously badass. Who won?"

"You did, by thirty-four seconds."

"Naw," Yusuke made to wave his hand, then cringed and pressed it to his ribs, instead. "Screw my neck, my ribs! Fuck... ah..."

Kurama smiled in sympathy. "You won't be moving around any time soon."

"Figures. -I meant, who won the tournament?"

"Oh, Youmi did."

"What!? Seriously? Oh man... finally got it, huh." Yusuke relaxed all his tensed muscles and settled back into his pillows with a deliberate exhalation of pent-up air. After a moment, he felt safe enough to ease up the pressure of his hand at his side, as well. He was fine so long as he stayed relaxed. He asked, "And that was...?"

"Three days ago."

"Only three days?"

"You're getting better at regaining consciousness."

Yusuke chuckled, and took a moment to look around. The room was small, very small - just big enough for the bed and room for one person to walk around it. There were about two hundred of these rooms all down one of the back hallways beneath the stadium. There were more on the other side. From out in the hall, pained moans floated in through the door.

Finally, Yusuke allowed himself to muse, "Wonder what kind of stupid laws Youmi'll enforce."

"A very good question, but I'm sure Youmi won't change too much from Enki's reign. Oh, and Rinku won his match in the preliminaries, I thought you'd like to know."

"Really? How?"

Kurama laughed quietly, and from somewhere at the base of his bed, Yusuke was sure he heard what might have been a mirth-filled snort. "He tied Natsumi and Tsuketsu to a tree with his yo-yo strings, and had his yo-yo's attack at random until both of them forfeited the match."

Yusuke's eyebrows rose up right into his freshly washed bangs. He felt a bubbling sensation begin in his belly and, suddenly, he was laughing so hard he was hugging his chest painfully, gasping desperately for air while it felt like his ribs were trying to escape his skin. "Oh fuck." He gasped, "Don't make me laugh anymore, please."

Kurama placed comforting pressure on his shoulder and massaged his collar gently until Yusuke calmed down. "He forfeited before entering the semi-finals; however."

"Guess he just didn't want to be king all that bad."

"No, like you I expect he was just in it for a bit of fun."

"Kurama?" Yusuke reached up, favoring his wounded side, and gripped his fox's shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Get down here." Yusuke tugged and Kurama's lips descended on his, pressing mindful yet eager and all Yusuke wanted to do was arch into Kurama's touch. But that would hurt like hell, and Kurama was too aware of his injuries for Yusuke to successfully distract him into something more.

Kurama was already pulling away, lapping lightly at Yusuke lips teasingly as he went.

He'd just have to heal up quick.

With a tender look, Kurama said, "Kuwabara's waiting outside. He came to see you fight, I couldn't say no. I would have taken him back right away, but he wanted to stay to make sure you woke up."

Yusuke's mouth tightened.

Kurama wouldn't bring Kuwabara in to see him unless Yusuke asked, and Yusuke wouldn't ask to see Kuwabara, because he knew the first thing Kuwabara would do was try to convince him back to living world.

He still wasn't ready for that. He nodded silently.

As Kurama reached for the door, Yusuke blurted, "I fuckin' need you."

And he fucking knew, as he knew that Kurama knew, as well, that when he said 'need' he meant something else entirely. Something deep that didn't really need to be said, but it was there, and right then Yusuke needed Kurama to hear it.

"I already knew that, Yusuke." Kurama opened the door, and closed it behind him.

Suddenly a hard weight was pressing down carefully on Yusuke's injured ribs, and Yusuke's mouth was full of Hiei's tongue. It was breathless and slobbery, and Yusuke tangled his good hand in Hiei's hair to pull the fire demon closer so he could get more of it.

Broken ribs? Really? Where?

Too soon, Hiei pulled back.

Dammit. Yusuke panted, and smirked, "Jealous?"

"Hn." Hiei climbed off.

Yusuke was sure the soft brush of fingers across his neck and his marks was purposeful, but he didn't say anything.

Well, he wasn't going to say anything.

Something might have managed to slip past his lips before his brain had a chance to stop it. Something whispered and raspy that sounded rather a lot like, "Fuckin' need you, too."


-TBC


*Tsuketsu: One of Raizen's friends - the demon with the downward horns and a red barai...
**Dog demon.
***I realize Yusuke probably would not have used this technique with just one opponent. He uses it here because he's trying to draw out the fight. Since his Shot Gun has a lower impact-strength than his Spirit Gun does, he would end up doing less damage to Chu than otherwise. Less damage = longer fight. (Plus I hadn't used it yet...)

A/N: So this is technically the ending... and you could stop reading now and walk away with a fuzzy warmth in your stomach thanks to my brilliant unintentionally WAFFish ending. Or... you could wait for the epilogue in which I bring back some old friends, tie up a few lingering loose ends, and... there's a threesome. Probably with double penetration. And plants.

Just saying.

Also: I forgot to mention this at the end of Chapter Eight - I had fun with Jin and Toya and the gang, a lot of fun. Keeping THAT lot IC was a real challenge. I had to keep going back and re-writing speeches, especially Jin's, not just because he had a lot more to say than the others, but because of his messed-up grammar. Dear god, the grammar!.

And Chu? Chu was just fun. :D


REVIEWER RECOGNITION!!!


uchiha mikomi
*Blushing so bad at your review.*

Kitsune
Glad to please you! I had to think long and hard about Kurama's role in Yusuke's life - the harem seemed like a good place to start, and I worked from there. And oh yes, Hiei was definitely in heat. Had fun with that, I did. XD

Katonie
Of course! I mean, Yusuke got all the attention in the first few chapters... had to give Hiei some face time. Or... crotch time. :P [Bad pun, I is sorry.]

MarsInsane
*Snags cookie* I'm sorry! I couldn't think of a better place to leave it off... But here's another update for you, without the cliffhanger. ^-^

DuosAngel
Well... I would hope this update didn't take years... I'm bad enough as it is. But yes! I love Jin and the whole group! I wish I could do more with them...

Tellnoone_Noonetells
*Le gasp!* How did you know Kuwabara was coming to visit!?? :D But you're right, I deliberately kept him away from the three when they were all together. I'm saving the fun bits with Kuwabara for the epilogue. ~_^ how bad will he freak out?
No, it's totally the grapefruit's fault, I mean sure, the spoon was part of the problem, but really, it was all the grapefruit. And - I got a please! *Hugs* You're so sweet - no meep for you, instead, UPDATE! :D - you're reviews make *me* silly... York peppermint patties???

J Love
Well... it didn't come 'soon' but... it came? *Ducks head* Glad you're liking! :D

BlueUtopiah
I want to buy you a new fan! Oh, and yes, it's all in the details. I take pride in my details; it's nice to hear people [especially you] agree with me. Whenever I read a story, the more details the author gives me the more I feel I'm in that story. I try to do the same for my readers. ^-^
Lol, Jin was surprisingly easy, it's Chu I'm worried about... and Kurama gets enough of Hiei in heat - Yusuke's new, he thought he should have his chance. :P *Hands over Yusuke-Hiei action* Meep!
Also, Yusuke's battle with Chu is dedicated solely to you. Your one suggestion made me change the entire thing, and I think it turned out so much better because of it. Thank you. Thankyouthankyouthankyou.

FlameBody
Thank you. I went back and re-watched those episodes, it was bugging me so much. I was sure he'd called them that. :D

kanezu
You're welcome! You're welcome! *Hugs back* Thank you so much!

Marikalay
I'm so glad to hear that! (I blush like a virgin while I'm writing it, too) My writing is steady? Could you elaborate? I always like to hear about my style, what works and what doesn't... I realize I'm quite abrupt...

Kei-Chan
Yes, the grapefruit. I have a slight addiction to the juice version of the stuff... therefore it gets blamed for just about everything. :P *Steals brownie* And... oh my, I'm so flattered right now - also amused, I think you were reading a Naruto fic at the same time as mine, because you wrote "I look forward to Naruto ravaging Hiei thoroughly." As much as I would love to read a XOver with the paring NarutoxHiei... I don't think I'll be able to accommodate you in this particular fic. Much cause some confusion. ~_^
- Thank you so much for your review!

EDA
Glad you like it! The update may have been slow in coming... but I'm glad you did manage to wait for it. ^-^

Crim
I. Got. A. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! *Ahem* Yes, I find the lemons aren't as... ripe, without background. You need that buildup, I agree, I've read too many PWPs... I'm sick of it as a reader, I would never do it as a writer - if I'm going to write a story, then I'm damn well going to write a story.
To answer your question: Quite frankly no. I've read a couple MPreg fics and I find the idea amusing at best. If you're worried about Yusuke or Kurama or *shivers* Hiei, getting knocked up in this particular fic, no worries. I'd rather rip out my own fingernails. :D
In closing: Thank you so much! It thrills me to hear you notice the little things and appreciate them as much as I do!!

Love ya all!!


- Azalea J.