Brides

Hi everyone and happy holidays. Thanks to all that have reviewed thus far, it's always good to feed the authors; we do more tricks that way.
Anyway, thanks once again to Kuroi for beting this monster. I'm trying to pace myself so I don't run her into the ground. Hard working college student an all, that she is.
If anyone's interested I've drawn and cleaned up new pics of the litter all grown up. I just need to scan and color them. I'll see about getting a link up so you can see what they look like if I get any bits.
Anyway enjoy.
ja ne
b-chan AKA Saiaynb

All three kingdoms looked for a spell or cure that could reverse the effects of the white glove that Echi had used on them. They encountered several problems on the way. There were several different methods to change a person’s sex. One was a cursed object or spring that a person could touch: this could usually be undone by another object or spring with the opposite property. Another was a spell or a ward: those were easy to fix; use a counter spell, simple. Last was to change a person’s genetic make up by scrambling their DNA, which was the hardest way to change a person, let alone changing them back.

So the three found that they had many methods to pick from; unfortunately, you could never tell how something would react without testing it first. Mukuro had no problem with using some of her lesser servants as guinea pigs; after all, she didn’t want to mess up her heir any more then she already was. For the most part, everything worked fine; she now had some more female servants running around her palace, which made her soldiers much happier. Unfortunately, when she tried them on Hiei, nothing happened. Not only was the spell on Hiei powerful, but it also prevented other spells from reacting. She suggested rearranging Hiei’s DNA, but the Koorime refused, saying Mukuro would probably get some sick idea to ‘improve’ her while she tried to change her back. Mukuro had looked innocent and said she wouldn't have done anything too bad to her; maybe add a few inches in height, muscle mass, and make ‘certain’ areas bigger. Needless to say, Hiei had stomped out of the room, growling ‘what the hell do you mean by that?!’ Mukuro chased after the pissed Koorime saying it was a joke.

Kurama didn’t have much better luck. She tried some experiments of her own with plants and ended up doing some strange things to herself. She’d made her Kitsune aspect half emerge in the form of a redhead human with fox ears and tail; another had made it so her eyes changed all kinds of weird colors throughout the day. One had even made her shrink down to Flora and Ryu’s size. Needless to say, it had been ‘difficult’ to control those two when she didn’t have a height advantage over them.

Yuusuke went on a hunt for every sex changing magic item in the Makai. Several turned out to be fakes. The ones that did work seemed to have no effect on her so she threw them away. The strange training ground she’d heard about where people fell into springs and came out the opposite sex or as some kind of animal was so unorganized that she and her men couldn’t figure out which spring was the one to change Yuusuke back into a guy. They’d also had some trouble with a strange girl and a giant panda running round the place, knocking in a few of her men; they came out anything but youkai.

* * * * * * * * *


Hiei sighed and petted Tatsue’s head, tired after another day of not finding a cure and having every male in the palace give her a look over. Damn troops all knew she’d ‘changed’ and kept looking even when she’d donned her usual black and white outfit. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that someone had stuck a sign on her back saying ‘human female, just call for a good time.’ They just wouldn't leave her alone!

She wondered how Yuusuke and Kurama were doing; if they’d had any success in finding a cure to that strange spell. She doubted it since she’d heard nothing from either of them. She wouldn't admit it, but she kind of missed them and Koenma. Missed?! Hiei sat up with a frown. Since when did they become part of her daily life? Okay, so maybe she was usually staying at one of their houses; that’s just because she was away from the Makai. And so what if she’d had a litter with them… okay, that that one was kind of important, but it didn’t mean they owned her now. She frowned, reaching up a hand to rub the faint scars on the side of her neck. Okay, so maybe technically they did have a claim to her, but that still didn’t mean she was obligated to doing anything like marry them!

Hiei laid back down on the bed with a huff, looking up at the ceiling. Tatsue crawled up on her chest and rested his chin on her shoulder, yawning cutely in a tired fashion. A little grin tugged at Hiei’s mouth.

Okay, she’d admit she kind of liked the whole family thing. She’d never had a real one until now. It certainly took up a lot more of her time, but what did she have before that was so time consuming? The never-ending task of getting stronger? Ha! She was back to square one when it came to strength; once, that would have meant almost certain death, but now that she was allied with such strong figures, it was only an annoyance, really. Strong figures who strangely cared about her well being. Why should they? No one ever had before. It was a new concept to her, one that made her very uncertain.

She weighed out her options: one, stay a weak human woman for the rest of her life; two, agree to Koenma’s proposal; or three, break into the Reikai and steal that glove. Of course, there were problems with all three options. The first was obvious: she didn’t want to remain a weak human girl! She’d built a title for herself and she was going to keep it! The second option would get that stupid curse off her, but just what would she be agreeing to? She’d be practically giving Koenma the right to do whatever the hell he pleased with her. Hiei scratched her chin, wondering if that was all that different from her current relationship with Koenma. The last one went with the first problem: being a weak pathetic human. Just how could she break into the Reikai and get that glove without any ki? It seemed that any choice she made, she’d be, quite literally, screwed.

Hiei sighed, wondering just how she’d gotten herself into such a relationship with three guys like Koenma, Yuusuke, and Kurama. A blush crept across her face as she recalled just how it had all started. "A night of wild sex and this is the result," grumbled the ex-demon. "I’ve turned into a human girl, with nine kids, and the would-be one of three wives to a spoiled Reikai prince. Why does that sound so… depressing?"

She looked down at Tatsue as the dragon cub licked her cheek. Once again, that small smile tugged at her mouth. "Maybe not that depressing after all," she said, running her fingers through Tatsue’s spiky hair. She picked the Ryu cub up and held him above her. "What do you think? You want to live with Koenma Otousan in the Reikai?"

The dragon cub laughed and flapped its little wings.

Hiei lowered the cub back down and patted his head. "Well, at least you know what you want," said Hiei, closing her eyes.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Kurama yawned loudly and fanned her mouth. After a day of chasing Ryu, Flora, and Shura around, as well as trying to figure out a cure, she was dead tired. It was a lot easier taking care of the kids when Hiei and Yuusuke were around. Yuusuke loved to rough house and usually tired them out, and Hiei had the unique ability to appease them with her mere presence; must have something to do with being the mother.

She leaned her chin on her hand and looked at the two sleeping Youko kits. Ryu was curled up in a ball and Flora slept spread out as far as she could get, head resting on Ryu’s side. A small smile tugged at the corner of Kurama’s mouth as she reached down and tapped her finger against the redhead’s cheek, then moved it down to run it over Ryu’s, who squirmed and rubbed his face with the back of his hand in sleep.

The two had been restless of late, missing Hiei, Yuusuke, Shiori, and possibly Koenma as well. She sighed softly as she thought about Koenma, Prince of the Reikai; not a bad title for a possible life mate. Many Youko wouldn't hesitate if they were in her position to accept the position and power he’d offered her.

She frowned bitterly; Koenma’s proposal wasn’t just out of the desires of his heart, far from it. This marriage was also very business-like. Kurama knew that the only reason Enma hadn’t killed them flat out was because they were heirs to the Makai–or, in her case, a candidate for the position. If she, Yuusuke, and Hiei agreed to the marriage, the Reikai would have complete control over the Makai. Well, technically, it was still Kurama’s and the other’s power, but Koenma would have power to influence them. Kurama frowned darkly; in some marriages, the wife’s property was given to her husband after marriage. She was going to have to look into the Reikai’s rules on the subject; no way was she going to become Koenma’s possession: she had her pride.

She sighed again. Did she even want to be a ruler of the Makai? She’d turned down the position when Yomi had offered it to her, so why was she seriously considering it yet again? Maybe it was that wild Kitsune in her that craved for power and luxury? Maybe it was the thrill of the challenge, or maybe she didn’t want to be the only one without any land or title in the relationship. Kurama had always wanted to be on even or better terms with those around her; it was survival instinct. Even after she betrayed him, Yomi was still eager to have her as his heir. Like Enma, he probably realized the opportunity of making Kurama his heir if she was going to marry into the Reikai’s family. So once again, the way things were happening was all set up around business.

Marriage should never be set up simply because it is convenient for others. Many arranged marriages were loveless and empty to the unfortunate two that had been force to join in wedlock. Kurama certainly didn’t want to be one of the unlucky ones. But her relationship with Hiei and Yuusuke certainly wasn’t loveless; after all, they’d all been partially living out the ideal family life together before all this had happened. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t exactly a normal family environment, but what could you expect when demon genes were involved. Koenma, on the other hand, was another matter; with his exhausting job, he didn’t have the luxury of coming to them whenever he pleased. Therefore, she didn’t have as solid a relationship with him as she did with her other partners. She couldn’t really blame him; his job was rather important, and he did spend most of his free time with them, but did she want to be the wife of a work-a-holic? She’d always imagined that if she did take a life mate, whoever he or she was would be devoted to her and only her; everything else would come in second. She didn’t like the thought of being second to some papers. She knew she wasn’t second in Hiei or Yuusuke’s minds, but what about Koenma? If it came down to a choice would the Prince of the Reikai choose them or the Reikai? It was an unsettling feeling, thinking that her husband might care about his job more then her or their family.

Family. She once again returned her focus to the two sleeping kits. What would happen if she said no? A fine tremor ran down her spine; would Koenma allow his father to terminate their lives? Or would he try everything in his power to save her and their forbidden children? What of Hiei and Yuusuke? What if they said no? She’d be damned if she’d let anyone lay a hand on them. God of Death or not, they’d be dealing with one pissed Youko bitch.

She sighed yet again. She’d been happy with her life before all of this had happened, with Yuusuke and Hiei partially living with her. Three hot, sexy lovers; a hand full of darling kids; and her mother, happy as a clam and blissfully unaware of what was really going on; why wouldn't she be? Why did Koenma have to complicate things with marriage? Marriage just wasn’t in a Youko’s nature; they were free creatures that liked to have nothing to tie them down. But she wasn’t completely Youko any more, she was part human now. Humans: their whole lives are structured around the bases of life like all other living creatures: food, shelter, sleep, and procreation. But unlike animals and demons, humans made those simple tasks complicated. They added meaning and feelings; one need to love their mate, go through a ceremony to show their commitment to each other before they could go through the processes of procreation. It was stupid, yet it felt right. The part of Kurama that was human wanted those useless human steps: wanted the display of affection; the whole shebang. But if she went for a normal human life style, she’d be slowly killing that wild Youko trapped inside of her. Was that way she was with them? A compromise between her two worlds, her two halves?

She could have a family with them like a human did, but the experience would be anything but a boring human existence. It would have all the perks of a demon’s life style, with the stability and affection of a human’s. She rather liked the thought. She rather liked the idea of love and devotion. She rather liked Yuusuke, Hiei, and… Koenma.

She smiled, once again running her finger over the two kit’s cheeks. "What do you think?" she asked them softly. "Do you want to go back? Back home, back to the others?"

The two kicked in their sleep and snuggled up closer to each other.

Kurama smiled warmly at them.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Oh! That felt good!" said Yuusuke, walking out of the bathroom butt naked, a white towel draped over her head and shoulders as she rubbed at her damp hair with one hand and closed the bathroom door with the other. She pulled the towel off her shoulders and tossed it to the corner of the room, grabbing a white bathrobe that lay waiting for her on the bed. She slipped it on but didn’t tie it as she reached over to a tray of food and grabbed a pastry that was also laid out for her. She stuffed it in her mouth and picked up the two trays that were she, Raiko, and Sake's dinner for tonight. Still with the pastry in her mouth and robe open, Yuusuke pushed open the door that joined her and the kid’s room with her hip and walked in to see the two pillow fighting and jumping on the twin beds. She frowned around her pastry.

Yuusuke moved over to the table and set down the two trays. She then walked over to the beds and caught Raiko by the back of his shirt as the boy bounced up and then did the same for Sake. Grumbling around the roll as she dragged them over to the table and dumped them into the chairs in front of their meals. She then reached up and pulled the pastry out her mouth. "Eat," she commanded.

The two looked suspiciously at the meal as if they didn’t know what it was. Truthfully, Yuusuke didn’t know what it was either; some kind of Makai dish. She sighed and slapped a hand over her face as Raiko flung a spoon full of what looked like mashed potatoes at Sake, and the girl retaliated with a drumstick of some unfortunate Makai animal. The food fight was brief as Yuusuke quickly separated them and gave them a 'behave' look. As they settled down enough to eat what was left of their meal, Yuusuke sat down on one of the beds and ran a hand through her black hair. She was tired and frustrated.

After nearly a week of looking through the Makai, she’d come up empty handed. There didn’t seem to be a cure besides that black glove kept snuggly in Enma’s pocket. She sighed in annoyance and flopped back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. It didn’t help that she was frustrated in more than one way. She missed Kurama and Hiei, the rest of the kids, and even Koenma; little things they did that she hadn’t realized were so important to her. Like dinner for instance: the food here wasn’t nearly as good as Kurama’s home cooked meals. And how Hiei could somehow get the kids to sleep for her: how the hell did she do that?! It took her forever to get Sake and Raiko to bed. She even missed the missions Koenma would send them on; the adventure. Another thing she really missed was sleeping with someone, not sex–although she did miss that–but just the physical presence of another. She’d become too comfortable with sharing her bed with others that it felt empty and lonely at night without someone beside her.

She rolled over onto her stomach and propped her head up on her hands, looking at Sake and Raiko as they ate. She knew they too missed the warm family life they’d had. Yuusuke frowned, damn that Enma. She wasn’t going to give in to him; it wasn’t in her character to do so. She’d find a way to beat him. She was going to get her manhood, comfortable life, and all three of her lovers back no matter what it took. But how?

She sighed into her hand. Planning had never been her strong suit, she left that up to the others. She had always preferred the old fashioned method of "fight now, ask questions later." Okay, just what was her goal? The damn glove! It was probably the only thing that could change her back; nothing else had been effective. Hm, was she daring enough to fight Enma for it? She smirked; indeed, she was.

"I’ll teach that over grown ox to mess with Urameshi Yuusuke!" she laughed at that, getting odd looks from Sake and Raiko. She frowned, realizing that might be a suicide plan, she needed help… Yuusuke smirked widely. Well, I do miss Hiei and Kurama; maybe it’s about time we got back together.

* * * * * * * * * * *

For some reason, Kurama wasn’t surprised to see Yuusuke heading towards her out in the garden. No, she was actually surprised it’d taken her this long to decide on this course of action.

Kurama couldn’t hide the foxy grin from her partner as Yuusuke walked up with a confident smirk on her lips.

"Kurama, long time no see. I’ve got a little mission planned. You’ll help, right?"

The Kitsune nodded, eyes twinkling. "Let’s get Hiei."

* * * * * * * * * * *

"He-yeah!" shouted the ex-demon, katana slicing clean through an ancient Makai oak. The tree toppled to the ground with an earth shaking crash.

Hiei let out a low sigh and stood up straight, looking at her sword. After a little practice, she was pretty sure she could defend herself fairly well with just the blade in her human form. Of course, she still hated the thought of relying just on her sword; that was far too dangerous in the Makai.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead, annoyed that her human body got overheated so fast; it was uncomfortable. The human girl tugged at her black coat; she was suffocating in this heat, how did humans keep cool?! She looked down at the ‘black’ coat and wondered if Kurama and Yuusuke could possibly be right about such an attire making one hot.

She suddenly felt two very powerful ki moving towards her and stepped behind a tree, wishing that she could jump up in its branches like she use to be able to. She needed to try and train this body as Yuusuke and Kurama had trained theirs so she’d be able to do that task again. Hiei sighed in relief when Kurama and Yuusuke stepped into the clearing and moved to join them.

"Hiei," said Yuusuke with a grin, looking at the sweaty ex-demon. "Take that coat off, you’re killing me just looking at you," said Yuusuke, going over and yanking the black coat off her.

Hiei blinked her red eyes, wow, that was a ‘lot’ better. "Hn," said Hiei, crossing her arms over her black tank top. "What are you two doing here?"

"We’re going to a party at the Reikai, we didn’t want you to miss any of the fun," grinned Yuusuke.

A matching grin spread on Hiei’s face. "No, I wouldn't want to miss that."

* * * * * * * * * * *

The three moved silently through the corridors of the Reikai palace. Hiei, a shadow, like her name suggested; Kurama, as silent as moth wings; and Yuusuke, staking like a tiger behind the two.

Soon they were near the large set of doors that led to Enma’s office. Kurama smirked as she watched an office oni heading toward the twin doors. She silently motioned for Yuusuke to get ready to open the door, and for Hiei to get ready to move.

The oni was looking down at the folder it held when it heard a soft hiss of breath. Blinking its eyes in confusion, it looked up to see a tall woman with long red hair leaning against the wall. The oni couldn’t help but stare!

She reached out with a finger and beckoned him with it.

The oni looked around; seeing no one near, pointed to himself in disbelief.

The redhead smiled and nodded her head, motioning for him yet again.

The oni fairly trembled as it moved over to vision in front of him.

Yuusuke glanced around the corner, seeing Kurama working her stuff, then moved as quietly as possible with Hiei beside her towards the doors. They reached the large twin doors and Yuusuke pushed hard against one; straining, she pushed it slightly open. Hiei at once darted inside, and the door closed after her. Yuusuke glanced quickly at the oni Kurama was distracting as it tried to turn and see what that noise had been, but Kurama pressed up against its side, turning it to jelly. Yuusuke flashed her the thumbs up sign and ran back around the corner.

Kurama looked over the shoulder of the blubbering oni and smiled as Yuusuke flashed the okay sign and ran around the corner. She glanced at her watch dramatically.

"Oh, my! I forgot I’ve still got a dozen souls to ferry," said Kurama, giggling much like Botan. "I’d better get going," she said in a perky voice, running in a girly fashion around the corner Yuusuke had disappeared behind, leaving the poor, dumb-founded oni alone.

"Wait, I don’t know your name!" cried the oni in disappointment. "Nuts!" he said with a pout, moving toward the twin doors. He knocked softly on the door, asking for permission to enter. The doors silently swung open to let him into the office.



Yuusuke turned back to Kurama after watching the oni enter the room. "Kurama, you acted so much like Botan it was scary," said Yuusuke.

Kurama made a cat face. "Who, me?" she smiled.

"Quit it; you’re freaking me out!" said Yuusuke.

Kurama laughed softly. "A good thief always knows just how to act in enemy territory," said Kurama, looking around the corner at the twin doors.

"You don’t really think all the Reikai ferry girls act like that do you?" asked Yuusuke.

Kurama shrugged. "We’ll wait a few minutes for Hiei to get into position, then we'll move," she said.

Yuusuke cracked her knuckles and leaned again the wall in anticipation.

Once Hiei was in the room, she quickly rolled into the shadows. Lucky for her, Enma’s office was only well lit around his extremely large desk. She silently moved closer to the giant god; black form blending easily into her dark surroundings. She was soon standing under Enma’s giant desk, looking at one massive shoe. Her eyes went up and up and up as they moved up the leg to the god’s knee. She was unable to see past his knee due to the fact Enma was sitting at his desk.

‘Right,’ thought Hiei, moving towards the foot and climbing on it. She rubbed her hands together and gripped the slacks Enma wore to begin scaling up his leg. She was almost mid-way up when Enma reached down and began scratching his leg, no doubt feeling the ever so slight movement of the climbing figure.

Hiei bit her lip and leaned as far to the side as she could get as the giant hand scratched at the leg underneath, lightly brushing her side as he did so. Hiei held on for dear life as the scratching jolted the material up and down, back and forth. By the time Enma straightened to return to his work, a very dizzy ex-demon was clinging to his pant leg by one hand, a slightly sick look on her face from the wild ride. Hiei shook her head to clear it and once again began climbing up.

Yuusuke tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. "Now?" she asked.

"Give her some more time," said Kurama, looking at her watch.

Ten seconds later. "Now?"

The redhead sighed loudly. "Wait."

Ten more seconds. "Now?"

Kurama slapped her face in defeat. "Fine."

Yuusuke grinned and was racing toward the twin doors before Kurama could even get up from her crouched position.

"Wait, Yuusuke!" she called, standing up.

Yuusuke drew back her fist, which glowed a bluish white; she then slammed it into the giant door and watched in satisfaction as it went flying off its hinges and into the room.

Kurama winced at the loud crash that must have shook the entire Reikai as the door fell flat on the ground.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" shouted a very loud, very angry voice.

Kurama made a silent prayer and moved to stand next to Yuusuke. 'Well, until death do you part,' she thought.

"Urameshi Yuusuke?!" shouted Enma, standing up. "HOW DARE YOU?"

Yuusuke smirked. "Oh? You thought I’d just be a good little girl and do as you say?" she asked, turning around and bending over. "This is what I think of that," she said, sticking out her tongue at him and smacking her rear.

Kurama and Yuusuke watched as first shock, then rage flashed on Enma’s face and it turned a lovely shade of red.

"HOW DARE YOU!?" he roared, standing up so fast he knocked over his chair, which fell with another earth-shaking crash.

"Oh? Have I made you mad?" asked Yuusuke in a teasing voice. "Well, what are you going to do about it, you big dumb ASS?"

Enma snorted like a bull, eyes seeming to turn a blood red.

"Um… Yuusuke... Don’t over do it," whispered Kurama next to her.

"Some god," said Yuusuke. "You’re not so tough," she said, leveling her finger at him. "Rei Gun!"

The blast struck the god right between the eyes and Yuusuke laughed.

Kurama was already moving back as Enma roared in rage and smacked his desk aside to crash against the wall and break to pieces. He began to stomp towards the two.

Yuusuke stopped his laughing and paled as he looked up at the giant god. "I think it’s time to RETREAT!" she shouted, running with Kurama down the hall. Enma went right after them, giant footsteps shaking the whole palace with every stomp he made.



"Whoa!" said Hiei, clinging to Enma’s side as the enraged god ran after the two. "Yuusuke, you just had to piss him off," she said. The two hadn’t given her enough time to get to her target, she wasn’t as fast as she used to be now that she was human. "Yosh," said Hiei, climbing with all speed up the god’s hip and to his coat, where she moved up to one of the giant pockets.

"Ah!" she screeched as Enma’s bouncy steps made her fall right into the pocket as she moved to climb down into it. She landed in a tangled heap at the bottom of the pocket. "How the hell did I get stuck with this part?" she grumbled, rolling off her head. 'Damn, everything’s black; I can’t see a thing!' she thought, feeling around. "I hope this is the right pocket; I’m not going to crawl down Enma’s pants pocket, no way in hell," she said, stopping as she felt something that was much smoother then the cotton of Enma’s coat. A smirk lifted her lips as she picked up something small and leather.



Yuusuke and Kurama stumbled down the halls with the angry god after them, staggering like a pair of drunks due to the ground shaking with every step he took.

"Yuusuke!" shouted Kurama. "Next time, I’m making the plans!" she screamed.

"Agreed!" shouted back Yuusuke, looking up at the tall god and smiling brightly as she watched a familiar figure in black climbing out of his pocket with a small black glove in her mouth.

"All right! Hiei, jump!"

The ex-Koorime gave him a ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ look.

Unfortunately for Hiei, Yuusuke’s yelling got Enma’s attention; he glanced at his coat and gasped in shock as he spotted Hiei. Enma raised a hand and made a grab for the little ex-demon.

Hiei 'eeped' around the glove while holding onto the side of Enma’s coat with both hands. With a muffled curse, she let go and fell backwards as Enma’s hand swept over her to make another grab; the wind from the pass whipping past her like a tornado.

Yuusuke looked up, running forward and backing up, trying to estimate where the little figure would fall. She smiled in triumph as Hiei dropped right into her waiting arms, glove still in her mouth. Yuusuke was all grins as she took it from the wide-eyed ex-demon and grinned up at Enma.

"Hey, Enma!" she called, waving it at him.

Enma looked down at the three in shock; then his face twisted up in a snarl and he screamed in rage, lifting up a foot to stomp down at them.

"Whoa!" said Yuusuke, running out from under the giant foot with Hiei still in his arms.

The three ran around like chickens with their heads cut off under him while Enma seemed to be doing one strange jig as he tried to squish them.

"GIVE ME THAT GLOVE!" roared Enma, bending over and making a grab for Yuusuke.

"Hiei! Catch!" shouted Yuusuke, throwing the glove to her.

Hiei leapt and easily caught the glove.

With a growl, Enma turned to glare at her, making a dive for her with open hands.

"Kurama!" shouted the ex-demon, pulling back her arm and throwing the glove to her as a giant hand scooped her up.

The Kitsune caught the glove and paled as Enma turned to glare at her with Hiei in one hand. In a puff of smoke, the redhead turned in to a six-tailed silver fox and ran with all speed down the hall: glove in mouth.

"GIVE ME THAT GLOVE!" roared Enma again, running after the silver fox.

Kurama skidded into a large room with Onis running across it. The fox weaved in between feet and legs as she made a dash for the other side.

"THIEF!" roared Enma, entering the room. Onis and ferry girls gasped in shock and quickly ran to get out of the way as he ran after the silver Kitsune.

Yuusuke was now behind Enma; the god had forgotten about her as he chased after Kurama. The raven-haired teen took a short cut to where she thought they’d show up.

"N-nani! Earthquake?!" said Koenma as he rattled around in his office. "Ge-ge-george!" he stammered, moving towards the door. He gasped in shock as he watched a silver fox go running across the room.

"Kurama? Ah!" he shouted as his father ran after the fox in hot pursuit, Hiei in one hand. "Oh… NO!" shouted the godling, running after them. 'Please, please don’t let me be too late!' he thought, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

Kurama’s little pawed feet slid again as she turned a sharp corner. There was no way she could keep this up. She yipped in shock as she realized she’d run down a dead-end. Kurama backed up against the wall and growled as Enma turned the corner and stopped. The god smirked down at her and reached out a hand. In a puff of smoke, Kurama was back in her human form. She dove to the side, but Enma caught her and wrapped his hand around her in a strong hold.

"Oh, no," said Kurama, trying to squirm out of his grip, but not able to get her hips any higher with his tight hold. She watched as Yuusuke came running between Enma’s legs, looking up at her with shock; obviously wondering what she should do.

"Yuusuke! Catch!" said Kurama, tossing the glove down to her.

"Run!" shouted Hiei from Enma’s other hand as Yuusuke hesitated a moment.

"Right!" said the raven-haired teen, turning and running down the hall she’d come from.

"WHAT?!" shouted Enma, turning around to see Yuusuke’s retreating form. "WHY YOU...!" he raged, taking off in pursuit.

Koenma turned the corner and was nearly run over by Yuusuke, who jumped right over his head and kept going.

"Yuusuke?!" shouted Koenma. He screeched and jumped out of the way as his father came running after her.

"Dad! Please don’t!" shouted Koenma, running after them.

Onis and ferry girls ran out of the way as the three ran through the halls, the whole building was in chaos as the chase continued.

Yuusuke turned a corner. "Shit!" she shouted as she realized she’d run right back where they’d started: Enma’s office! She turned around to see the massive body completely blocking the doorway.

Yuusuke cursed and backed up as Enma entered the room, a very angry look on his bearded face.

Yuusuke soon found herself backed into a corner; the giant of a god towering over her. She growled up at him, holding her hands up in fists.

Panting for breath, Koenma leaned against the doorframe.

"HAND OVER THAT GLOVE!" growled Enma down at her.

Yuusuke didn’t answer; only clenched her fist tighter.

"HAND IT OVER NOW!" shouted down Enma, moving Hiei to the same hand as Kurama and aiming one giant fist down at the little figure.

"NO!" shouted Koenma, running between the two massive feet and jumping on Yuusuke, covering the shocked teen with his body.

Yuusuke gasped as the fist impacted and struck Koenma full on the back, the force of it carried through him and slammed her back into the wall hard enough to crack it.

Enma also gasped and quickly drew back his fist to look with wide eyes at his son slumped limply in the raven-haired girl’s arms.

"Koenma?" said Yuusuke, wrapping her arms around him. "Koenma!" she shouted.

Enma was so shocked that he took a step back from the two. It was the first time he’d ever struck his son. Sure he’d spanked him on the bottom once or twice, but he’d never struck with his fist! Terror ran through his whole frame, causing a fine tremor to rake him.

"Koenma! Quit playing around! Koenma!" shouted Yuusuke, shaking him.

"Is… is the idea of marrying me so terrible… that you’d go through all this to get out of it…?" said Koenma in a low voice against her, low, but heard by them all as they stood in shocked and concerned silence.

"No!" shouted Yuusuke before sighing loudly. "Silly fool," she said with a grin, looking at him. "If you want to know, once we got the glove we planned on giving you our answer," she said, reaching up a hand to brush some brown bangs out of his face.

"Your answer…?" asked Koenma, lifting his head to look Yuusuke in the eyes.

"Yes, Baka," she said, poking him in the forehead in a teasing manner.

Koenma smiled brightly then, leaning his face on Yuusuke’s shoulder and sighing loudly. "I’d jump for joy if I didn’t think my legs were broken," said Koenma into his neck in amusement.

Enma sighed loudly; seeing his son was still healthy enough to make jokes, it couldn’t be too bad then, nothing a healer couldn’t fix. He frowned, looking down at the raven-haired teen holding his son upright.

"If you’d already decided to agree, then why did you try and steal the glove in the first place?" he demanded.

"Hey!" shouted Yuusuke up at him. "What guy wants to be a bride on his wedding day?! We’ve got our pride! You can’t just order us around like a bunch of mindless fools!" she yelled at him.

Enma looked down at the teen for a long time, seeing the serious look on her face. He grinned widely and shook his head. A low laugh started in his throat, which soon turned into a roar as he threw back his head and laughed.

"What the hell are you laughing about!" demanded Yuusuke, shifting Koenma in her arms to shake a fist at him.

"I don’t believe it! You did all this just for your pride!" he laughed loudly. "I don’t think I’ve had this much fun in centuries!" said the god laughing so hard that he had to sit down on the floor. Still laughing, he lowered his hand with Hiei and Kurama in it and let them down. "I like you three; I like you a lot!" grinned the God of Death. "It’s a good thing you’ve already agreed to the marriage, because now I insist you join the family," said Enma sill chuckling.

Yuusuke grinned up at the laughing god, then started laughing with him. Throwing back her head, she laughed hard.

Kurama smiled and joined in, as did Hiei in her low tone; even Koenma laughed, although it only made the raging pain in his body increase until tears started to slide down his cheeks.

TBC