Suprise!

Okay, so this is what I decided to do. My beta unfortunately has had some problems with her computer, so it will take a while for her to get it done, so instead, I am going to post up the chapter with out her editing, so it might be a little rough, but I think you guys deserve it. Thanks to all that helped me decide what to do!!

Chapter 7

The Lossed


Over the course of the night, Kurama barely slept. The kits’ would wake up screaming for attention and if Kurama didn’t act immediately he would have to attend to four screaming kits. Kei and Rei seemed to be the trouble makers of the group, crying for nothing more then attention. While Kurama was thrilled to spend time with his kits, he was exhausted. He had been awake for over 24 hours strait and with Yusuke getting some recuperative sleep, Kurama was on his own to care for them. There was no way he would to anything to stir his lover. Yusuke would be asleep for up to the next 48 hours as his body tried to deal with the stress of child birth. After he awoke it was very likely that Yusuke would be so weak that he could hardly move, and with his organs moving back into place he would most likely be in pain if he tried to. Thankfully though, according to the information Kurama had been given Yusuke would be close to his former strength in little more then two weeks. His body of course wouldn’t be in the same shape however. Yusuke’s hips would always be a little wider and it would take him a while to get back his six-pack abs, but with four beautiful kits to look at why would he need six-pack abs?

At around five in the morning, Shizuru and Kuwabara took over watch of the kits, giving Kurama a chance to get some well deserved sleep. He plopped unceremoniously on the bed and wrapped his arms around his sleeping lover. He sighed deeply and smiled. The next thing he knew he was asleep.


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Ten hours later, Kurama awoke to take care of his two yet-to-be-named children. Never before had he ever felt such a strong kind of protectiveness surge through his. He was definitely protective of Yusuke and his human mother, it couldn’t compare with the love and possessiveness he had for his kits. Yusuke could protect himself, the squeaking fluff balls below him could not.
The longer Kurama looked at his kits, the more Yoko’s past haunted Kurama’s mind. Flashbacks of all the babies Yoko had kidnapped were on permanent display every time he closed his eyes. He could see the pleading parents, begging for their children back. He remembered the burst of superiority and cruel pleasure Yoko had taken from the situation. Kurama couldn’t help but feel shame at Yoko’s past.

How could he do that? That was perhaps the worst thing somebody could do to another person. He didn’t know what he would do if anyone where to take any of his children, but he knew that whatever demon/human it may be would never see the light of day if he ever caught up with them.


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Genkai and Atsuko cooed over the sleeping kits in the living room as Juichi carefully inspected each one of them.

“Look at their daughter, she is the spitting image of Yusuke, only in drag,” Atsuko said with a smile on her face.

“Kei and Rei look like their father, only for some reason I think they are going to turn out more like Yusuke,” Genkai said as she lifted one of the kits who began to squirm.

“I know, it looks like we’ll have the stereotypical red-headed twins on our hands,” Atsuko said.

“Well, either way, it looks like in one way or another we’re grandmas now. Only I’m their great grandma.”

“I can’t believe I’m a grandma at such a young age. God, I’m only 43.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll feel old soon enough.”

“Oh, thanks,” Atsuko said sarcastically.

“All I meant is time will seem to fly by. I hope that it doesn’t leave me behind before the kits are all grown.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine Genkai,” Atsuko said, “you’re kind of like Yusuke, way the hell too stubborn to stay dead.” They both laughed at that and returned to tending to the kits.


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Yusuke finally started to wake up around noon the next day. He had a screaming headache, so didn’t open his eyes as he lay on the bed. His thoughts were hazy as he tried to recall that dream he had. He had dreamt he had given birth to the kits. It seemed so real to him that he couldn’t shake the memory of it. It wasn’t until he heard one of the kits screaming that he realized what had happened. He tried to snap out of bed, but ended up groaning and falling back. Kurama looked over at his exhausted mate and smiled.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Kurama said with a smile.

“That’s not a good thing to say to me, knowing my track record it just may be accurate,” Yusuke said with a grin as he managed to position the pillows so he was sitting up.

“Here Yusuke, you didn’t get a good look at him the other night. This is our third son.” Kurama placed the kit in Yusuke’s arms. The kit looked up at Yusuke with big, green eyes blinking up at his dad lazily. He started to make a crying noise that wrenched Yusuke’s heart. Yusuke could figure out what the kit wanted quickly enough though, and soon enough the kit was happily nursing.

“Did you feed them while I was asleep?” Yusuke asked quietly.

“Of course we did, Yusuke. I don’t think you realize you were asleep for almost two days.”

“Two days, damn.”

“You’re going to have to start watching your language.”

“Aw fuck. That’s gonna be hard as shit to do.”

“Yusuke…” Kurama said warningly.

“Okay, okay I get the point, calm down fluffy.” He looked down at his son and said, “So, what are we going to name this one?”

“I had an idea.”

“What?”

“How about Sachio?”

“Sachio… it sounds great, Kurama. I love it. Hello their Sachio.” He said to their kit. The kit responded by doing absolutely nothing.

“Once you’re finished with that, you might want to see your daughter too. You barely got to see her you were so exhausted.” Sure enough right after Kurama said that, Sachio was full and Yusuke was able to switch kits with Kurama.

“Holy crap, she looks like me in drag,” Yusuke said as he looked down at his daughter.

“Your mother said the same thing,” Kurama said with a grin.

“Thanks, Ma” Yusuke said under his breath as he looked at his kit. “I was thinking Kurama, I think we should name her Miyako.”

“Miyako… I think it’s beautiful Yusuke.” She opened her eyes and Yusuke was able to get a glance at her big, beautiful amber eyes. “Wow, looks like she stole those from Yoko.”

“Which is ironic seeing as he’s a thief.”

“Yeah, that’s a horrible profession for her father to have.”

“Speaking of which, even though Yoko won’t take up the active role of their father, he wants to fulfill it in someway or another. Yoko loves the idea of being a father”

“I know that Kurama. Let’s figure out where we’re going to live before figuring that out. You have him all under control and everything now, right?”

“As in control of him as I can be, which isn’t saying much.”

“How does Yoko feel about the kits?”

“Yoko loves them. All of them. If possible, he’s actually more protective on them then I am, which again is
saying something.”

Yusuke stomach dropped as he remembered how the spirit fox had once stolen other people’s children for his own profit. Kurama must have been able to read his mind, because he said, “Yoko understands the gravity of his past crimes now, something he never fully understood before. He isn’t sorry for what he did, because he’s rarely ever sorry for anything, but he knows that he never should have done that to begin with, for any reason.”

“I know, it’s just… I don’t know how I feel about him being around the kits.”

“Well Yusuke, it’s going to be rather difficult to keep him away from them seeing as he’s part of me.”

“I understand that… it just makes me nervous.”

“I’m not going to lie to you, Yoko is hurt that you think of him like that. It wasn’t just me who fell in love
with you. I know Yoko never really did anything more that screw around with you, but he does love you, even if he won’t admit it. Would you at least be willing to listen to what he has to say, because I’m tired of having to play translator.”

“Fine.”

Red hair turned silver as Kurama transformed into Yoko right in front of Yusuke’s eyes. He looked down at Sachio, whom he was holding and said in his gruff voice, “I always wanted a son, and now I have three.”

“Yoko…” Yusuke said warningly.

“I know, I know, their not really mine or whatever. Look, the bottom line is that I do love you as Kurama said, and I love these kits. I would hope that in a time of need you would be able to trust me to do whatever necessary to help them. They feel every bit as much mine as they do to Kurama. Please just understand that.” Yoko brushed his finger against Sachio’s face in a rare display of emotion, before nodding at Yusuke, and silver hair once more became red.

“Thank you for listening to him,” Kurama said as he put the sleeping Sachio in his crib next to Kei and Rei.


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Over the course of the next few weeks, Yoko became a huge presence in Yusuke’s life. In order to truly gain Yusuke’s trust he reasoned that he needed to be around Yusuke every day. It seemed alright with Yusuke, as he was good with helping with the children. In fact Yoko was with Kuwabara trying to give the kits a bath why’ll Yusuke tried to clean up the mess in the room. Chu knocked on the door lightly and said “May I come in mate?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“Well, I told you I was gonna have ta leave once you had the kit’s, so tha’s what I’m gonna be doing. I jus’ thought ya ought to know tha’ you and Kurama have the prettiest kid’s in the world, except my lad back ‘ome.”

“Thanks, Chu. For everything.”

“No problem mate, and if ya ever need anything, you know ya can call your ol’ buddy Chu.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So I hear you an’ Kurama are thinkin’ about goin’ back to da Ningenkai.”

“Yeah, well we figured that we might want to, at least for a few years, until they become a little stronger, and
then come and kill the threat.”

“That makes sense. Well, if ya come back to do Makai, make sure ta say hi to me. I’d love for you to meet m’ son some day.”

“That sounds great, Chu.”


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“You know, not that I have anything against him, but how long is Yoko going to be here?” Kuwabara asked the next day at breakfast. Kuwabara was always uneasy around the demon fox; he had seen what he had done to Karasu in the dark tournament and elder Toguro in the cave, and he didn’t want a repeat.

“Until Yusuke feels more comfortable around me,” Yoko said right behind the man, making Kuwabara spit out his orange juice. Yoko wore a wicked smirk as he walked over to the stove and grabbed some food.

“Why does Yusuke have to become more comfortable around you?” Atsuko asked as she cradled one of the kits in her arms.

“Who wouldn’t have to get used to him,” Kuwabara mumbled under his breath.

“Let’s just say I found out some things about Yoko’s past that makes me uncomfortable.”

“Like what?”

“I kidnapped people’s children a couple thousand years ago in order to insure I got what I wanted,” Yoko said quietly as he sat at the table. “Before you start, know that it was a very different time, that none of you
present could comprehend, it was before all of your times’ including Hokoushin. I did what I had to in order to support my family.”

“What do you mean family?” Once again it was Atsuko questioning the fox.

“Well… at the time, I had mate, and we even had a child together, but that is something that I will not discuss with anyone other than Yusuke.”

Yusuke stared in awe at the silver-haired demon. He had no idea that he had a previous mate. “Is she still alive?” He asked as he scooted the food around his plate slowly with no intention of actually eating the food.

“Yusuke, that was almost 3000 years ago. I was young, and stupid. I don’t even remember her name, or what she looks like. I do remember our son though.”

“What happened with him? Are our kits gonna have a half-brother.”

“I’m afraid not, he died when he was only three years old.”

“How?” Yusuke asked, shocked. Everyone in the room was dead quiet, which is a lot for Yusuke’s friends.

“I told you that times were different, didn’t I? Someone had a grudge against me and killed both my son and my mate. I have no idea how I continued living, the next 150 years or so are blurry. Anyway, that was when I stopped kidnapping children, and that’s why I’m so protective of our kits.” Yoko stood, and gracefully walked out of the room. No one was dumb enough to try and follow him, it was obvious that he was upset, and that just one guy that you don’t mess with.

Any anger anyone had towards the kitsune disappeared as they heard his story. Everyone in castle had been crowded in that small kitchen, so the fact that he said it to all of them gave it a quality that made it real. Any doubts were erased.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A week later Yusuke was enjoying a quiet time of just him and all four kits. Yoko had left earlier that morning, saying that he had to meet up with Yomi as soon as possible. Yusuke just lazily nodded and brought the kits closer to his body.

It was unfortunate that Yoko did not inform the others that Yusuke was alone. Without this information, most of the guards were relaxing in their rooms or in the living room when it happened.

With Yusuke preoccupied with taking care of his kits, and with his energy not yet fully regained, he did not sense the demonic energy that came form outside. Only at the last second was he able to dive foreword to shield the kits. Six even slices went across Yusuke’s back as he growled furiously at the demon in front of him. He couldn’t make out the vague form as he tried to keep his ground protecting his precious children. Unfortunately, he was soon winded, and it only took one solid kick to the ribs to push Yusuke over.

Yusuke looked up in horror as he saw all four of his kits being gracelessly snatched from the bed. Another demon suddenly appeared and took the kits and ran, but the first demon lingered before leaving through the window. His hood blew off revealing silver hair and ears, golden eyes, and a twisted smirk. Rage filled Yusuke, making him gather what little energy he had.

Alas, Yusuke’s protectors knew nothing about the events occurring within the castle. It wasn’t until they heard an earth-shattering, sorrowful wail, followed by the thunderous boom did they have any idea. By the time they reached the room, it was too late. Yusuke lay on the bed, bleeding and unconscious, all four kits gone.


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“Kuwabara, you and I have to quickly give Yusuke some of our energy, like you did against the saint beasts. Yusuke had to use his life force to fight off the enemy. Let just enough flow in that he won’t die, but not too much, I’m not sure how his demon blood will take the energy.”

Kuwabara nodded solemnly to Genkai as they both lowered their hands to let their energy flow through Yusuke. Yusuke’s aura grew from the frighteningly low level from before. Atsuko sat next to her son, silently praying that her son and grandchildren would be fine.

After his energy stabilized, Genkai started to work on the slashes on Yusuke’s back.

“They won’t heal…” Genkai muttered under her breath.

“What do you mean?” Touya asked.

“I mean, that the scratches have latent demonic energy in them that reacts to my energy. If I try to heal Yusuke, the slashes will just continue to sink through the flesh. This wound will have to heal on its own.” She looked down at Yusuke, her grandson in many ways, and felt such great sadness for him. All they could do now was wait until Yusuke awoke. The demon who attacked must have been at least an A class demon who knew from years of experience to cover their tracks. He left behind no trace of his demonic energy, scent, or and other leading evidence.

They made Yusuke as comfortable as he could be, and walked into the living room for a quick meeting, leaving Atsuko and Yusuke behind.


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“I’m jus’ sayin’ that we should be goin’g aft’a the bastard!” Jin said angrily.

“Jin, there’s no way for us to do that,” Touya said, his frustration starting to surface.

“Then we’re just supposed to sit around and do nothing?!” Kuwabara yelled while pounding his fists on the table.

“No, but until Yusuke wakes up, we can do nothing, you idiot.” Hiei said from the corner.

“You know what shortie, I’ve had just about enough of you!” Kuwabara said, glaring at the demon. Genkai shook her head, this fighting had gone of for the last hour.

“Come and bring it,” Hiei said over-confidently.

“Hiei, Kuwabara, CUT IT OUT!!” Genkai managed to yell over the two. “Either you two stop it now or Hiei, you’ll get another wash-rag in the face.” Hiei grumbled while Kuwabara snickered. “Don’t think I won’t throw one at you too, Kuwabara. Now, we need to come up with some sort of plan. Hiei, can you use your jagan on
Yusuke while he’s sleeping?”

“Of course, but all I’ll be able to see is his dreams.”

“Well he will undoubtedly be dreaming about this, so go check it out. The rest of you, we need to decide who goes and who stays behind. I know that all of you will want to go, but some of you must stay behind incase a different enemy comes for Yusuke. I’m sorry Kuwabara, but I do believe that you should stay behind.” Kuwabara was about to interrupt in order to let the woman know that she could not be more wrong, but as usual Genkai spoke over him. “Listen Kuwabara, it’s nothing personal, but I think all humans should stay behind. Think about it, you may be the strongest human on Earth, but here, you are about as strong as a B class demon.”

“… Fine.”

“Hiei, you’ll want to go with the group, you’re jagan will come in handy.”

“Who says I even want to help the detective?” Hiei asked.

“Oh cut the bullshit, Yusuke’s your friend and you know it. You helped in the Sensui fight, and you tried like hell to beat the shit out of him when Yusuke died. Besides, you owe Yusuke for saving you and the entire Ningenkai from getting their asses served to them on a silver platter on three different occasions. So suck it up, and admit it. Stop acting like a child.”

With that, Hiei grumbled as he stalked towards Yusuke’s room.


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Hiei walked back into the living room about thirty minutes later with a hint of disbelief on his expressionless face. For one of the first times in Hiei’s life, he decided to choose his next words carefully.

“Does anyone know where Kurama is?” He asked the room. Everyone looked at him quizzically before shaking their heads.

“Why?” asked Genkai.

“I am sure that this is just Yusuke’s dream and not what actually happened, but in Yusuke’s dream, he keeps seeing Yoko grab his kits and jump out of the window.”

“What?!” everyone except Hokoushin and Genkai said in unison. The room was filled with faces plastered with disbelief, all of them looking at Hiei. The room was quiet for about two minutes before Genkai finally said, “We have to consider the possibility that Yoko was the one behind the kidnappings.”

“How could you think that, Genkai?!” Shot Kuwabara.

“You remember the other day at breakfast, when Yoko was telling us his past? He made sure all of us where there, and that every single one of us felt no distrust towards him. No one’s seen him since last night. This doesn’t bode well.”

No one in the room liked it, but they all realized there was a good possibility that Yoko could have kidnapped his children and been the one to hurt Yusuke.


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Atsuko sat next to her son’s bed as she tried to think of everything she could do to help the boy beside her. Yusuke’s breathing was uneasy and hollow. Puu slept next to Yusuke, trying to take up some of the empty space on the large bed. Atsuko rested her head against the wall, when suddenly Yusuke began to thrash wildly. It startled Puu and Atsuko, causing both woman and beast to jump up then gaze at Yusuke sadly. He was going through a night-terror, something that Atsuko had expected from him. It had only been a matter of time.

The group had split up and gone in different directions in order to look for information concerning the kits. Jin and Touya were on the way to consult with Yomi, while Hiei and Shishiwakamaru were heading towards Mukuro’s. Suzuka and Rinku were heading to Enki’s, and Hokoushin and the rest of the monk brigade went in search of Yoko.

Atsuko, Kuwabara, Shizuru, and Genkai had been left behind to tend to Yusuke. It was unknown when Yusuke would finally wake up again, but Atsuko couldn’t decide what was best. If he awoke soon, he might be able to give them vital information on what happened, and yet she hoped that he would sleep for a while longer. The longer he slept the longer it was until he became aware of what he had lost. Atsuko could imagine what Yusuke would go through, after all, for a while Atsuko had lost her son.

As Yusuke’s body finally stilled, and rested uneasily on the bed, Atsuko thought how unjust the world was when a man like Yusuke, who had died twice saving the world, could, in one fell swoop loose almost everything dear to him.


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Yusuke lay in his bed, mind both sluggish and racing at the same time. He couldn’t remember almost anything, but knew in the back of his mind that something was missing. There was something important to remember, but Yusuke couldn’t remember what it was supposed to be.

His arms and legs felt like they were filled with sand and his back was sore and throbbing. The thick fog covering his mind began to fall away as true consciousness came closer and closer.

He began to ask himself questions, annoying ones that he didn’t know the answers to. Why was he here? Where was “here”? Why did his back hurt? What was he forgetting? Why was it so quiet? Wait… why would he bother to ask that?

As his irritation level rose, he began to piece back the puzzle in his mind. He had been attacked, that much was clear. They had taken something from him… but what had it been?

Suddenly the answer came to him in a blaze that consumed his mind like wildfire. His eyes snapped open and looked across the room, seeing Kuwabara asleep in the chair.

“Where…” He began to rasp out. Kuwabara looked startled for a moment before lowering his eyes.

“Urameshi… you were attacked-“ He began.

“Where are they?” He asked, sitting up, rage coiling, ready to spring in his body.

“Well… we’re not quite sure. We are looking for Kurama but…”

Yusuke tuned Kuwabara out, coming to the conclusions himself. Yoko had stolen the kits. That bastard had knocked Yusuke up, and then had the nerve to take the kits and run. He was never going to see them or Kurama ever again. He had lost both his mate and his kits in one day.

Wrapped in his own grief, he remained in his bed, sobs and wails escaping from him like a wounded animal. Kuwabara had never heard a sound so raw, so full of grief, and so bone-chilling in his entire life.

Yusuke fell to the ground. He wanted to punch it, hurt something, and let out some of his caged anger, but he was too weak after shooting the spirit gun. Instead he feebly punched the ground until his knuckles bled, and he wore himself out, collapsing on the floor.

As Kuwabara lifted Yusuke onto the bed his eyes were full of conviction. Yoko was going to pay for this. Nobody got away with hurting Yusuke in this way.

Yoko was going to pay, even if Kuwabara had to die making his point.


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Jin and Touya reached Yomi’s “territory” within a day from Raizen’s palace. They approached the border and followed the standard ritual of announcing their presence to Yomi. This was done by simply saying your name and that you wanted to meet with him, all the while looking like a psychotic moron who was talking to themselves.

Within twenty minutes they were sitting across from Yomi in his usual meeting room.

“Touya, Jin, it’s been a while. From the sound of your pulse you ran to get here.”

“Yer bettin’ we did-“ Jin began but Touya cut him off. If Jin was allowed to, he would go on for hours instead
of getting right to point.

“What he means is that we had to run here in order to reach you quickly and attain valuable information from you that will help us in our search.”

“Search for what?” Yomi asked.

“Yesterday, around this time, Yusuke’s kits were kidnapped. We have almost no information on whom the kidnapper might be, but there is a particularly disturbing theory that we must investigate.

“Which would be?”

“… That Yoko Kurama took the kits. He disappeared yesterday and hasn’t been seen yet. According to Yusuke’s dreams, Kurama was on his way to visit you, or at least that’s what he told Yusuke.”

“According to Yusuke’s dreams?” Yomi asked, unable to keep the incredulous tone from his voice.

“As of our departure yesterday, Yusuke had still not awoken. Hiei had to use his Jagan eye in order to see into
Yusuke’s mind, which unfortunately meant his dreams.”

“Well, I can assure you that I had not planned on, nor did I, see Kurama yesterday. I haven’t heard from him since my visit a couple of weeks ago. I’ll make sure to keep an ear out and will inform you immediately if I find anything. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go.” And with that Yomi rose, taking with him the small amount of hope that Touya and Jin had stored for their friend, Kurama.


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It took Hiei and Shishiwakamaru a longer time to find Mukuro than it did for Jin and Touya to find Yomi. Mukuro’s moving castle made it difficult for Shishiwakamaru to keep up with, and that it was continuously moving made it increasingly difficult for Hiei to find. Nevertheless, within a day and a half, they had reached Mukuro’s palace.

“Hiei, what a wonderful surprise, and this is?” She asked, looking towards Shishiwakamaru.

“Nothing but an annoyance,” Hiei said flatly.

“My name is Shishiwakamaru, I’m sure you’ve heard of me,” he said, his ego inflating. Unfortunately, it was quickly popped by Mukuro who said that she had never heard of him, which meant he was probably extremely weak.

That shut Shi-Shi up.

“We’re looking for Kurama and Yusuke’s kits.” Hiei said bluntly, ignoring the sulking demon behind him. Mukuro looked at Hiei, shocked for a minute.

“So, I’m guessing the kits have been born and have been kidnapped?” She said, rising her eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“So why are you the one looking for them? This sounds more like Kurama’s job.”

“It appears as though Kurama may have been the kidnapper.”

“Interesting. I’ll keep my eyes out for them, but I can’t promise anything.”

Hiei blinked at her for a minute before turning to leave in his usual rude manner. Mukuro shook her head before informing the other demons of the situation.


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For more than a day, Yusuke lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, sorrow painted on his face. Kuwabara, Atsuko, and Shizuru had taken turns sitting with Yusuke. While Yusuke appreciated the gesture, it just made it awkward for all involved. He felt like he couldn’t truly show his misery to them. He knew that they were all trying their best to get the kits back and that all of them were filled with the same sorrow.
Yusuke didn’t need to add to their sorrow.

By the time the third day had rolled by Yusuke had resigned himself to his “new” life, and had all but given up hope for his kits and mate. Usually the Yusuke his friends knew and loved would have thought that he would be optimistic and hope for the best, but his years as spirit detective hardened him into a realist, and after Keiko’s sudden death, Yusuke knew that in one fell swoop everything could change and you never had nothing to loose.

It became obvious to his friends how resigned Yusuke had become that by the fourth day Yusuke got out of his bed and started working out. Kuwabara was the first to witness it as he walked into Yusuke’s room to see the demon doing push ups.

“Urameshi, what are you doing?” He asked.

“Push ups, really I thought that much was obvious.”

“I know that much, but what are you doing out of bed?”

“Push ups, didn’t we just go over this?”

“Urameshi?!”

“Look Kuwabara, I don’t think they’re coming back, okay? After all, it seems to be the story of my fucking life. I die, come back to life, and what’s my fucking reward? To systematically see the people I love die or taken away. So I know that I need to build up my strength, the pregn-“ Yusuke choked, “pregnancy made me extremely weak, so I have to build up my strength again.”

Kuwabara shook his head and walked out the door, not believing that the fatalistic pessimist on the other side could be Yusuke.


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Kurama stumbled and braced himself against a tree as he tried desperately to catch his breath. He couldn’t believe he could ever be that stupid. How could he leave Yusuke behind when he was that weak? Luckily he was close enough when the kidnappings happened that he could pick up their scent and track the bastards, but was still about a good day behind them.

Now, five days later, his body was so thoroughly exhausted that he could hardly move. Even through switching between Yoko himself wasn’t enough to catch up to the demons. He cursed at himself as he caught his breath. His chest felt like it was on fire, and his shoulder throbbed as his mating mark swelled.
That was probably the hardest thing about the situation.
Yusuke had given up on Kurama.

He could feel Yusuke’s sorrow and pain, and knew that it was directed towards him. How could Yusuke think he could do this?

It was making Kurama so much weaker to have Yusuke doubting him at a time like this. Without that support from a mate, and with Yusuke’s rejection the toll on Kurama’s body was to great.

Kurama had to rest. He didn’t want to, but he knew he couldn’t take another step, and he had to be as strong as possible. His eyelids drooped over his unwilling eyes as he slowly drifted to sleep.

“Yusuke… hold on.” He whispered as he slowly blacked out.


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“Ow!” Yusuke said with a hiss. He was putting on a new shirt, but he found that his breasts were extremely sensitive. He looked down, and saw a little bit of white liquid at the nipple. “Dammit.”

He walked into the living room where he saw Juichi sitting on the couch, drinking a beer.

“Hey, Juichi, can I see you for a minute?” She nodded, and walked towards Yusuke. He closed the door behind her, and said “They’re leaking.”

“…I’m sorry Yusuke, but I think I need a little bit more then that.”

“My boobs, they’re leaking.”

“Are they sore?”

“Yeah.”

“Sounds like their engorged. Have you not been using the breast pump?” She saw Yusuke shake his head slowly. “Yusuke, I told you to continue to use it for this reason. Alright, take off your shirt.”

He did as he was told and sat on his bed, trying his damnedest to not be embarrassed but failing miserably. Juichi walked back with a wet rag and said, “Now, I’m sure we don’t want to make this any more awkward then it already is, so I’m going to tell you what to do. Since you didn’t use the pump, your breasts have become to full. Now, you need to rub your breasts with this cloth to try to coax some of the milk out. It’s going to hurt, but you need to do it. After they’ve stopped hurting, you need to use the pump, and use it a couple times a day.” She paused for a minute before adding, “… If we have to, we’ll start weaning you off, that way you will stop producing milk, but I don’t want to do that for a couple more days.”

Yusuke nodded as Juichi walked out of his room. As he followed Juichi’s instructions, he thought about his kits. That’s why he had been reluctant to use the pump, he wanted to forget about his kits.

No, that wasn’t quite accurate, he just didn’t want to feel pain about his kits. He didn’t want to imagine what was happening to them. He didn’t want to think about how they could have possibly been killed or mutilated. He didn’t want to imagine them abandoned in the woods. He didn’t want to think about how his mate had betrayed him. He wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare but he was stuck.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Somewhere shortly after a week since the kidnapping, Hokoushin caught his lucky break, he could feel trace amounts of Yoko’s carefully suppressed energy. He quickened his pace as he ran towards the kitsune.

“Don’t worry Lord Yusuke, we’ll catch the spirit fox and bring back your children.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Yoko quickened his pace. He was so close, less then a mile away from the bastards. He had run halfway across the makai, but finally he was so close. By the smell of it, they had stopped to make camp, after all, they had been running for a week strait, while trying to conceal their energy which ironically sucked most of it up.

Within five minutes, Yoko was looking through the branches at the demons bellow. There were at least 15 of them, all of them A class or above. It must have been a permanent camp for this group. Yoko knew that as much as he wanted to run in and tear everyone’s head off, he had to strategize. He needed to make sure that everything went smoothly otherwise both him and his kits could end up dead. As he sat in the trees he did what he was famous for, creating flawless plans.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hokoushin could feel how close he was to the fox. He had effectively suppressed his energy, but he was not so close that he could smell the fox. He was no further then a two miles away. His heart raced in his chest, not only from running but in excitement. He hadn’t been this dedicated to something since Raizen was alive. For some reason Hokoushin felt almost indebted to Yusuke, and he would do anything to make his lord happy again.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Yoko had yet to form the perfect plan when he heard Sachio cry out in distress followed by three other echoes. His heart felt like it had been wrenched out of his chest as he heard his children cry from below. For the first time since Toguro, Yoko became so enraged that he didn’t think, he just acted.

He jumped silently down from the trees, and snuck up behind one of the exhausted guards and soundlessly slit his throat. Systematically Yoko killed the outer peremeter guards before charging into the center, whip in hand.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Less then a quarter mile away now. Hokoushin smelled blood and heard frantic cries through the silent forest.

“To’o, Seitei, you two go around the sides.”

“Yes, sir.” They said and disappeared.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Yoko pulled on his whip which was wrapped around a demon’s neck turning from the bloody scene as he readied for his next attack. Someone lunged at him, but Yoko quickly threw a rose dart, hitting the demon square in the chest. He continued the on-going fighting before he had single-handedly took down all twenty of the demons. He knew that if it wasn’t for the other demons’ sleep deprivation there was no way he could have won, but thank God for small favors.

His white robes were splattered with blood as he slowly walked towards the tent that his screaming kits were kept in. There were two demons standing in there, a male and female. The male lunged towards him, who simply threw a rose dart at the man, killing him instantly. The woman screamed loudly, before collapsing in terror at Yoko. It was obvious this woman was no fighter, she was a captive herself.

“W-who ar-are you?” She managed to stutter fearfully.

“I am the father of those children.”

“You are?” She said, “they are the sweetest kids I’ve ever met.”

“Why did they kidnap you?”

“I just had a child, but he unfortunately died right after birth, so they kidnapped me and made me nurse your kids.”

“They look horribly malnourished.”

“I only came here a couple of days ago, and I don’t have enough milk to feed them.”

“… Do you have any idea who I or my mate are?”

“No, and honestly, I don’t give a damn. I don’t even know who kidnapped, I just want to leave.”

“… Then I will let you live, but if I find out you were ever lying to me, I will slit your throat without a care
in the world.”

“I understand. Thank you!” She said as she ran out of the tent.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hokoushin saw a woman run out of a tent in a hurry, looking over her shoulder and shuddering before disappearing. The bloody scene below sickened him. Why did Yoko have to kill that many people? What had they ever done to him?

He slowly walked towards the tent, stepping over the bodies as he made his way closer to Yoko. He walked into the tent suddenly and saw Yoko holding his children before snapping his head up and growling at him.

“Put the kits down Yoko!” Hokoushin yelled.

“You were with them?” Yoko snarled.

“Apparently. I can’t believe you would slaughter those innocent people.”

“Innocent!”

“There is no way I could leave these kits in the hands of a blood thirsty fiend like you!” Hokoushin said as he closed the difference between Yoko and himself. Yoko growled before saying, “I thought you of all people would understand,” before setting a smoke screen and running away.

“To’o, Seitei! After him!” Hokoushin yelled once he could see again. They ran after the kitsune through the forest.

It looked like Yoko would be the obvious victor, being the thief he was, but with Yusuke rejecting him as his mate and having just taken on 20 demons took their toll on the fox. He began to stumble through the forest, unable to keep standing as his mark began to bleed. He finally fell to the ground, twisting his body so he landed on his back to protect his precious children.

Hokoushin stood over him, a look of complete contempt and disdain on his face. As Yoko’s mark began to worsen, causing his entire body to lock up, Seitei and To’o managed to quickly snatch the kits from Yoko who snarled at them before taking a rose out from beneath his hair. Hokoushin quickly ran up to Yoko and kicked him in the face before kicking him again in the chest.

“Don’t even try, Yoko. Who would believe the great Spirit Fox could look so pathetic. So, fox, I think you’ve lived a bit too long, would you like to say any last words?”

“Don’t hurt the kits please.”

“Why would I ever hurt these kits?” Hokoushin asked, freezing momentarily in his determination.

“I don’t know, why would you want to kidnap the kits? What could they possibly offered you to turn your back on Yusuke like that?” Yoko spat out.

“What? Wait, you didn’t kidnap these children?”

“No! Why the hell would I kidnap my own children?”

“Lord Yusuke said that when the kidnapper appeared, he had your countenance and no one had seen you for quite a few hours, and with your history…”

“YOU ARE STILL GOING TO HOLD THAT OVER MY HEAD!!!! AND NOT ONLY THAT, YOU ARE GOING TO BLAME ME FOR MY CHILDREN BEING KIDNAPPED?! LOOK AT THEM, DO YOU THINK THAT IS SOMETHING I WOULD DO TO MY OWN CHILDREN!!”

Hokoushin looked at the kits, who out of shear exhaustion and malnourishment had fallen back to sleep. It seemed impossible for an infant to look so hungry and lifeless. Their sunken eyes, and thin, long frame were unbelievable.

“I’m sorry, Lord Yoko, please forgive me.” Yoko looked at him like he would like nothing more then behead him only after ripping out his guts, but suddenly white hair went red and before them sat Kurama and not Yoko.

“Lord Kurama.” Hokoushin said, bowing.

“I feel the same way towards you as Yoko did, but I know that we must hurry back to the castle, and in Yoko’s condition he’s not the one that can go.”

“Meaning?”

“Even though we are in the same body, if we switch personalities, and alter our body one of us can sleep and the other stays awake, I’m also in a little less pain then Yoko was in. It isn’t the best solution, and in the long run puts even more strain on our body but I think we can live through it.”

“Alright. Then we should get going. We can get to Yomi’s territory in a day from here, and if we can just let him hear that we have the kits he can send someone to help us, probably a speed demon.”

“Okay,” Kurama looked down at his four beautiful kits and felt his heart throb. He needed to get them to Yusuke, he needed to get them their fast.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Welcome back, Hiei, Shishi, how did it go?” Shizuru said as she leaned against the door frame outside smoking.

“We accomplished absolutely nothing except to piss each other off the entire time.” Shishi said.

“Have any of the others returned?” Hiei asked, completely ignoring Shishiwakamaru who stomped off.

“Just Jin and Touya.”

“Hn.”

“Why, is that bad?”

“For anyone who passed the desert it just might be. Mid-June is when the sandstorms pick up in the desert. It’s huge and almost impossible to avoid if you’ve already crossed it. It’s the only area in the demon world that is entirely out of anyone’s jurisdiction, although it lays in the center, separating the three nations. Anyone’s who passed that may be fucked.” He said, before walking past Shizuru without even a glance.

“Dammit. I was hoping my premonition was wrong.” She leaned against the door frame for a second longer shaking her head before stomping out her cigarette and walking back into the palace.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kurama was begrudgingly leaning against Seitei as he held his precious kits in a quick-fix basket made of various strong plant leaves. He looked around at the ever darkening sky as he stumbled through the loose sand.

“Lord Kurama, as much as I hate to admit it, it looks as if a sandstorm is heading in this direction. While we might make it out intact, there is no way the kits will survive the journey. In about two miles there is an emergency hut that is part of Raizen’s territory. We should probably stop there until the storm passes. Touya-san managed to convince us to take along bottled milk and stash them in every such hut, so there is a bottle there.”

“…I guess we have no other chance then. Let’s hurry, we have no time to spare.”

“Yes Lord Kurama.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Yusuke stood in the shower letting the scalding hot water pour down on his skin, turning it pink in the process. He sighed loudly as he hoped that the water would make him forget, if only for a minute, and give his mind some peace.

It looked like that wasn’t going to happed however. Standing in the shower only made him think of Kurama more. Of the first night they consummated their relationship in a tub very much like the one he was standing in. How Kurama had helped wash him or stood there with him, in that exact tub, while he was in pain during the pregnancy. That reminded him not only of the kits, but how caring Kurama had been during the last year. He had been there by his mate’s side, and made sure that he and the kits were happy and safe.

Yusuke forced those images and thoughts out of his mind. He began to wonder what it would be like back in the Ningenkai. He could take on a few students and live with Genkai. He could probably make a decent amount of money and work off the government radar, and live a happy life for the next couple hundred years.

As he tried to push out bad memories in favor for the desperate idea of the future, Yusuke picked up the washrag and began to wash himself. This was easily the first time he had bathed in a week. He felt sticky and grimy, which was the only reason he had decided to bathe anyway, it wasn’t to make him feel better emotionally, that was for sure.

He wiped the rag over his skin, successfully managing to preoccupy his mind until the rag brushed over his abdomen. He looked down at his flabby stomach and began to cry. His hand rubbed over the place that had once held their, no, his kits. Tears welled up as he slowly started to wash each breast that he had fed his kits with. He finally broke down when he rubbed over the mating mark on his shoulder, where pleasure and pain had combined so wonderfully as Kurama brought him over the edge, making him scream his name.

Yusuke slowly slid to the tile floor of the shower and sobbed. Everything reminded him of Kurama or the kits. He couldn’t escape no wonder how hard he tried. As he sat sobbing, with the water beating on his back, Yusuke wondered whether or not life would ever go back to the way it was.

Whether he could ever escape this pain.

Whether or not it was better to have loved then lost, then never to have loved at all.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


By the time Kurama and the others had reached the cabin, Kurama was utterly exhausted and had to be supported by To’o. He placed the kits on the bed before collapsing next to them. He probably could have made it there a little easier if he could have switched with Yoko, but Yoko was far to prideful to accept help from others, and the fact that he still wanted to rip their eyes out, and shove them up their ass so they could see how big of assholes they were being, didn’t help.

“Lord Kurama, will you be alright,” Hokoushin asked.

“I will be fine, please tend to the kits. Don’t give them all the milk at once. Since it’s been a while since they’ve eaten, they’re likely to throw up what little they can, so let’s try not to waste it.” Kurama was practically slurring from exhaustion. He nodded towards Hokoushin, who took the kits away from him, and slowly began to sleep. He wanted to stay up, make sure his kits were alright, but he found himself unable to keep his eyes open.

Another burning pain went through his shoulder, and spread across his chest and down his arm. If Yusuke kept it up like this, there was a very good possibility that Kurama could end up dead. No demon was ever to betray their mate. The strong hurt and scorned emotions from the mate could be transferred as physical, aggressive energy in their mate, causing them pain and weakness. However, when one mate gave up complete hope, or worse, the mate became dead to them, then it was possible that they could die.

“Yusuke… please,” Kurama mumbled through his groan as he finally lost consciousness.


Okay, thank you guys for being so patient with me, and if you haven't been patient then not yelling at me about it. I will hopefully have the final chap done in time for christmas, and once I get this chap back from my beta, I will make sure to post up the edited version.
Izumi_Incarnate