Vows

by Yami Yue

Chapter One

I awoke to the early light of an approaching dawn. I sighed as my eyes slowly opened and my fox was not there beside me. It had been about a month since I had last seen him. I smiled as I gently touched the ring on my finger. That visit had been a magical one for me. I had given him my body that night and promised him my heart forever the next morning. I still found it hard to believe that I would soon have a mate.

I got out of bed and immediately I felt sick to my stomach. I made a mad dash for the bathroom. What little had been in my stomach forced itself out and once my stomach was empty I knelt there over the bowl mouth wide open, my stomach trying to force the very air out of it. When my stomach finally calmed and I was able to wipe my mouth and flush away the mess, I stood shakily to my feet. "What the hell was that?" was the first thought that crossed my mind.

As a general rule demons get very few illnesses. I had been lucky enough to have experienced few of them. This was different from any of those illnesses. Feeling better, I rinsed my mouth to rid myself of the vile taste and began getting ready for the day.

Breakfast was a noisy affair as usual with the others on border patrol talking, laughing and joking among themselves while they ate. After being greeted by several of my teammates I found an empty seat and sat down. I was quickly served my breakfast. I picked up my fork ready to dig in, but the nausea from earlier returned with a vengeance.

Whatever this was wasn't going away quickly.

I frowned and drank my tea instead. The tea seemed to soothe my nausea. I had a second cup before attempting to eat my meal. Thankfully my stomach seemed to settle down enough for me to eat my breakfast, I just hoped that my breakfast would stay down.

For the next three days it was a constant battle to keep my food down as my nausea plagued me day and night. At my wits end, I finally decided to seek out Kairi, one of the healers Mukuro employed for various reasons. She had treated me for various wounds and injuries I'd received while on border patrol duty. I found her to be trustworthy as well as a kind and competent healer. Over the years she had become a friend and the only healer I would allow to treat me for anything but a minor scrape or wound. "Lord Hiei, what brings you here to see me?" Kairi asked curiously as she admitted me into her office one evening. "Why do you think?" I replied, earning a roll of the eyes from the healer. "You know what I mean," she said. "Stomach issues," I told her as I took a seat on the examining table and she sat down at a desk.

I told her of the nausea and vomiting that I had been experiencing. She listened very carefully as I described my symptoms only asking questions when she needed more information. Once I had finished talking, Kairi motioned for me to lie down and began to examine me.

I felt her energy wash over me as she used her abilities to see what was going on within me. When she was done, there was a slight frown upon her face. "What is it?" I asked, knowing from her reaction that this was not minor. "I'm not sure," she said. "There's an abnormal amount of cell growth in your lower abdomen," she began. "There doesn't seem to be anything else out of the ordinary," she assured me.

Kairi went over to the cabinet and began pulling out various containers of dried herbs. I watched as she took herbs from several containers and added them to a stone bowl. Using a long thick stone she ground them all together into a fine powder and then carefully put the concoction into a container.

"I want you to try a pinch of this before you get out of bed in the morning and if you feel nauseous as the day goes on," Kairi instructed. "I'll need you to come back next week so I can examine you again to see if there's any change in that growth. If you feel worse or don't feel any better come see me right away," she added. I nodded.

Kairi's herbs did in fact make me feel better. The nausea quickly became tolerable and I was easily keeping my meals down. As the days passed I began to realize that I was hungrier than usual. Gradually, I began to eat more and became fatigued more easily. I began to wonder if this growth Kairi found was the cause of all my problems.

That next week Kairi examined me again, but this time instead of a frown there was a look of utter confusion. Worried, I sat up and looked her strait in the eye. "What is it?" I demanded. "The growth I saw last week is bigger," she said. "You still don't know what it is?" I asked her. "Well that's just it, I think I know what it is, but it shouldn't be possible," Kairi answered. "What do you mean?" I demanded.

"Lord Hiei, I've only seen this in females," she told me. "Pregnant females," she added. "What the hell are you babbling about?" I hissed. "The growth I saw, was a baby," she told me. I stared at her with wide eyes. "You're saying I'm pregnant?" I asked in disbelief. Very slowly she nodded. "It appears that way. Judging by the size I'd say you're about five or six weeks along," she said. "Are you sure?" I demanded. "Not one hundred percent. It will still be a few more weeks before I can be absolutely certain, but I still don't see how it's possible," Kairi said.

Over the next few weeks I did feel better and I began to gain weight. It just added to my suspicion that Kairi's diagnosis was correct that I was indeed pregnant. It explained the sickness, hunger, weight gain, and the fact that I was becoming moodier than usual.

Although Kairi didn't know how it could be possible, I did. I was half ice apparition and it was possible that I possessed the same ability that allowed them to reproduce, only it appeared I needed Kurama's help.

Still, I was apprehensive when Kairi examined me a few weeks later and gave me a final verdict. My eyes watched her face as she examined me, the wonder and surprise I had seen there before reappeared and I felt my stomach knot in dread. My heart pounded in my ears as Kairi nodded her head. "I don't know how it's possible but you're pregnant Lord Hiei," she said.

How the hell was I going to tell Kurama that I was pregnant, with his child?

Looks like Hiei is in a bit of a bind. Will Hiei find a way to tell the Fox his secret? How will Kurama react? Find out in the next chapter.

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- Yami