MissTuffcy: I've decided to change this story around a lot.

Summary: Takes place 7 months after the events of Playing with Flames. The scars of the short war are still slowly healing. The veterans of this war continue on living at normal, not realizing they are in danger.

Disclaimer: All Yuu-Yuu Hakusho characters, places, and references to the show does not belong to me. They belong to the sole creator/writer of Yuu-Yuu Hakusho.

Warnings: Yaoi, Mpreg, Language, Violence, some chars are slightly ooc.

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Embers

Hardships of Dominant Mates

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Aiolos stared out at the gardens with a frown on his face. He felt a warm body press against his back and a warm tongue against his neck and arms wrap around his waist. He turned in the grasp of the person behind him and stare straight into the red eyes of his mate. The other pressed their lips to his and placed a hand on the back of the other's neck as their tongues battled for dominance. The other moaned as Aiolos won the tongue war. They pulled away from each other and the red eyed person grinned. "Have you seen my son?" Aiolos glared at his mate and turned from him. His mate frowned and let go of Aiolos. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know where Hiei is." Aiolos said quietly. Fuji frowned and wrapped his arms around Aiolos's waist.

"What's wrong, love?" Aiolos stayed silent. "Are you still angry with me for taking you? I said it would only happen once!" Fuji pouted silently. Aiolos turned slightly to the man and glared heatedly at him.

"I'm pregnant." He snarled. Fuji's eyes widened as he stared in shock at Aiolos.

"Wh-Whaa…How…" Aiolos's glare intensified.

"What kind of question is 'how'? This is exactly why I didn't want to bottom!" Aiolos yelled. He snatched away from Fuji and walked away. Fuji watched him walk away in stunned silence.

"Wait, Aiolos!" Fuji yelled. Aiolos stopped and turned silently to Fuji. "How is it that I haven't been impregnated?"

"Because you are a fire demon male and not only that, I cannot impregnate anyone." Aiolos glared at him once more before turning and walking inside.

"Wait!"

"WHAT!" Aiolos roared. Fuji flinched at the angry tone.

"Is…it a dragon? Or a fire demon….?" Fuji asked quietly, afraid to enrage the dragon once more. Aiolos stared blankly at Fuji.

"What…"

"You kn-"

"No, I heard you! But WHY would you ask!" Aiolos snarled. Fuji walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Aio-"

"Don't touch me!" Aiolos snarled and walked away from him. Fuji frowned. He sighed and ran after his mate. Maybe it's just a dragon thing to be irritated with everyone when pregnant.

"GO AWAY!" Nerio screeched. Yusuke held his hands up. He ducked when a vase was sent flying at his head. He made a mental note to tell the help to remove anything flingable from out of the room with his mate.

"Calm down, Ner."

"You did this to me! You made me… DISCOMBOBULATED!" Nerio cried, motioning to his large stomach. Yusuke frowned in confusion. He looked at Vez. Vez looked confused as well but for a different reason which was his lord's choice of words.

"You're not…dis…whatever you said. You're beautiful and with child." Yusuke slowly made his way over to Nerio who was sobbing into his hands on the bed.

"Yes I am. I'm ugly…hideous! You don't love me anymore!" He cried. Yusuke sat next to him and wrapped his arms around the sobbing dragon. The dragon buried his face in Yusuke's neck.

"I love you. You're beautiful, baby." Yusuke coo'ed. Nerio sniffled and looked up at him and smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Yusuke smiled. Nerio squealed happily and hugged Yusuke. "How about we go visit Hiei and the others." Yusuke suggested.

"Yay!" Nerio cheered.

Ryuu sat at the soldier hall table, a meat stick in his mouth. He was staring down at papers and the soldiers around him were idle chatting with him. He commented to them from time to time and smiled at them. The soldiers here at Alaric were so close to one another. They were all like one big happy family. He turned when he felt his mate's energy. "There you are! I was worried sick!" Kuronue growled. He grabbed Ryuu's arm and tugged him up in a hug. "Let's go!"

"Kuronue!" Ryuu whined. "I don't wanna lay down!" He yelled. The other soldier chuckled.

"Yes you do! You're getting bigger and the baby is drawing more and more energy-"

"Y-You'rre calling me fat?" Ryuu cried, his eyes watering up. Kuronue eyes widened.

"No, nononono!" Kuronue exclaimed. "I didn't mean it like that honey!" It was too late. The dragon started crying and not to long afterwards Kuronue was smacked in the back of the head by a large sword. He groaned and sat up to see a fuming Aiolos standing over him.

"What did I tell you, bat!" Aiolos growled. He opened his arms and his little brother rushed into them. Kuronue groaned and let his head drop back to the ground when the two left.

"I need to watch how I word things…" He mumbled as the others laughed.

Hiei watched as his kits ran around and played with their grandmother, Kaldra. He looked down at his mate who was asleep against his chest. Kurama's brows furrowed. He opened them and stared up at Hiei. Hiei tilted his head to the side slightly. "What's wrong?"

"My stomach aches…" Kurama mumbled, a hand to his stomach. A brief flash of sadness passed over Kurama's features.

"Do you think it's the…poison that killed our kits? Maybe it is still inside of you." Hiei whispered quietly. Kurama nodded silently and laid his head against Hiei's chest. "I'll take you to the healer when we put the kits to sleep." Kurama nodded.

Demetri smiled at his mate. Rin glared at him. "How am I supposed to help lord Nerio if I am going to get fat! I'm going to be misshaped and it is all your goddamned fault!" Rin screamed. Demetri's smile faltered.

"N-No. You'll just be heavy with a baby." Demetri's smile strengthen.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL BETTER YOU BASTARD!" Rin screamed. "GET OUT! I HATE YOU!" Demetri ducked at the mirror that was thrown at him. His eyes widened and he stared at Rin.

"You…hate me?" Demetri asked slowly.

"YES! LEAVE ME NOW! BASTARD!" Rin screamed again. Demetri dodged the sword that flew at his neck. He slowly backed out of the room, a sad frown playing across his face.

"I-I'm sorry…" He mumbled and left the room.

Aiolos was sitting under a wisteria tree that seemed to just be there. It was next to a field of roses which confused him greatly. He thought Roses only grew on bushes. He silently mused over his situation. He placed a hand to his flat, armor clad stomach. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to bare children but he couldn't kill it either. He sighed and leaned limply against the tree and closed his eyes. "You should forgive grandpa." He opened his eyes and stared at Wistar. The small child had his back to the older dragon and he was staring up at the sky. His hair had grown over the months and it now brushed against his neck. He turned slightly so only one side of the front of his body was showing to Aiolos.

"What do you mean?"

"He is really excited, you know." Wistar turned back from Aiolos. "That he is having another child anyway." Aiolos was silent.

"Where is your mother, boy?" Aiolos grunted. Wistar turned back to Aiolos.

"Daddy took Mommy to the healer." Wistar explained. Aiolos was silent again.

"How did these flowers grow like this?"

"My mommy did it." Wistar whispered. "Way before I was born. It was when Mommy and Daddy first started liking each other." Aiolos hummed. He stood up and Wistar looked at him. "Are you going to forgive grandpa?" Aiolos nodded. Wistar grinned. "Does this mean you're my grandma?" Aiolos's eyes widened. Wistar chuckled and ran off and out of the garden. Aiolos glared after the boy. He growled and stalked out of the garden.

"Aunty Ner!" Blossom squealed as the dragon entered the castle walls. Yusuke was a little ways behind him and a few guards were with them. Amongst the guards were Demetri, Rin, and Vez. Nerio grinned as the small kit ran over to him and hugged his leg.

"Heyo, Blossom!" He chirped happily. Fuji walked into the room at that moment with a frown on his face. As he saw Yusuke, his expression brightened and also held a bit a shock.

"Oh, Lord Yusuke! What a surprise." Fuji smiled and walked over to the lord. Yusuke laughed.

"Ah, c'mon Fuji! Let's drop the labels and just be friendly and casual. We're too close to use those titles!" Yusuke chuckled. Fuji gave a light laugh.

"Indeed." Over the months, Many of the nobles and their mates had changed their appearances. Yusuke's hair had grown a bit but was nowhere near his father's length. It was just brushing his neck. Fuji's hair was no longer up and defying gravity. His hair had grown long and was just brushing his shoulders, but he kept it in a low pony tail. Nerio had grown his bangs out to his chin so it framed his face perfectly. There were also two arched locks of his hair that stood up on his head and looked like antennas. He almost resembled Suzaku, a demon lord from the maze castle. Wistar slowly entered the room and beamed up at Nerio and Yusuke. He looked at Fuji and grinned slightly.

"Grandpa, grandma is looking for you!" Fuji stared at the boy in confusion.

"Grandma?" He asked slowly. He grinned a moment later and laughed.

"So, it's funny to you?" Fuji paled. He turned and saw Aiolos glaring at him from the doorway. Fuji resembled a fish; his mouth opening and closing as he fought for words to say.

"I-!"

"Meh…" Aiolos cut him off. "Can I have a word with you in private?" Fuji closed his mouth and nodded. He followed the dragon out of the room. Wistar looked at Demetri and frowned. The dragon looked sad.

"Let's go sit in the garden! Uncle Ryuu and Uncle Nue are there!" Nerio furrowed his brow.

"How come I'm aunty and Ryuu is uncle?"

"Because, silly!" Blossom giggled as she pulled Nerio by the hand. "You look more like a girl than Uncle Ryuu does!" Nerio raised an eyebrow and shrugged. Yusuke trudged after the two. His guards followed behind, except Rin and Demetri.

"Please!" Rin growled, pushing Demetri away. "I told you to leave me alone! I'm going to abort this thing in me!" She huffed and hurried after her lords. Demetri sighed. He slowly followed them. Wistar furrowed his brows.

Demetri sighed sadly and stared off over the garden. He turned when he heard light footsteps. It was Wistar. The kit jumped up on the railing and walked on it to stand near him. "Hiya uncle Demetri." Demetri smiled slightly. "Whats wrong? You look sad." Wistar sat down on the rail as he looked up at Demetri.

"Rin hates me..." Demetri mumbled. Wistar frowned.

"Why would she hate you? I thought you guys were mates." Wistar said. Demetri looked down sadly.

"We were...until she got pregnant...She yelled at me and said she was going to kill it..." Demetri mumbled as tears gathered in his eyes. He roughly wiped them away. Wistar placed a hand on Demetri's shoulder.

"She is just saying that cos the baby is making her emotional! That's how uncle Ryuu is with Uncle Nue. And how Grandma Aio is with Grandpa." Wistar said with a smile. "Even my daddy said that my mommy was like that."

"Really?" Demetri asked hopeful. Wistar nodded.

"You can have Aunty Nue or Uncle Ryuu or Grandma Aio talk to her." Wistar said with a nod. "Even my mommy or my grandma Kaldra." Wistar grinned. Demetri stood up straight.

"I'll do that!" He said with new found confidence. Wistar smiled as he watched Demetri walked away. He stood up on the railing and held his arms out and walked down the railing after Demetri.

Hiei was sitting on the chair that was placed next to the bed Kurama was laying on. The silver haired fox held onto Hiei's hand as he sleepily blinked at the healer. The healer raised a hand over Kurama's stomach and held it there. After what seemed like hours, he looked up at Hiei with a small smile. Kurama had fallen asleep by then. "My lord, I have good news and bad news." Hiei frowned. "The good news is, Lord Kurama is with child. In fact, I feel four." Hiei's eyes widened. "However…whatever was injected into Lord Kurama's stomach is still there and it is slowly killing the babies." Hiei's expression darkened. "I'm afraid this pregnancy won't go well…In fact…I don't believe it will be possible for Lord Kurama to ever come to full term again."

"Never….?" Hiei and the healer looked down to Kurama whose eyes were wide and filled with tears. Hiei squeezed Kurama's hand gently.

"Don't cry, please Kurama…" Hiei whispered. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on Kurama's forehead.

"I will be able, however, to save at least one of the kits." The healer said. Kurama closed his eyes back and let out a shuddering sigh. "I'm not too certain it will be healthy." Hiei frowned and stared down at Kurama.

"Just…Let them die…" Kurama whispered. The healer and Hiei's eyes widened in shock.

"But, Kurama! He said he could save one of them!" Hiei exclaimed. Kurama opened his eyes and glared at Hiei.

"I'd rather them die now then watch them struggle when they're born." Kurama growled. "Get rid of them, please…" The healer frowned. He hovered his hand over Kurama's flat stomach and looked to Hiei. The demon lord had sat back in the chair and was staring at his mate. He nodded silently. The healer nodded slowly before he placed his hand on the fox's stomach. Kurama felt a sudden surge of heat and he winced when next he felt a sharp pain. He stared at the healer with a puzzled expression.

"It is done…" The healer mumbled. Kurama nodded. He sat up and Hiei backed away so the fox could stand from the bed. As sudden as Kurama had stood, he collapsed and fell unconscious. Hiei had caught him before he fell and looked at the healer in alarm.

"What happened?" The healer looked just as shocked as he was.

"I don't know…Lay him back down." Hiei did as he was instructed.

Wistar opened the door to the healer and instantly felt that something was wrong. "Daddy?" Hiei's attention went from his panting mate to his worried looking son in the doorway. "What's wrong with mommy?" Kaldra picked that moment to walk in. She glanced at her son on the bed and had an urge to run over and see what was wrong took over. Instead, she picked up Wistar and closed the door behind them. Wistar frowned and stared at his grandmother. "I want to see what's wrong with mommy!"

"Mommy is hurt?" Kaldra and Wistar looked down the hall to see Blossom and Aiolos walking up the hall. Kaldra sighed. She knelt and allowed Blossom to run into her arms. She held the two kits and walked towards the garden. Aiolos watched her leave and then turned and walked into the room with Hiei.

Kaldra sat the two kits down in the rose fields. She looked around before staring down at them. "Your mommy is okay." She said quietly.

"Grandma, why did you tell daddy you were mute?" Wistar asked. Kaldra's eyebrow shot up.

"You know what mute means?" Wistar nodded. Kaldra sighed. "I'm not too sure myself, but just keep this between you two and I." She smiled. Wistar and Blossom nodded. Kaldra motioned for the kits to follow her and she led them to their room to put them down to rest.

When Aiolos walked into the room, the healer and Hiei looked at him. "Ah, Lord Aiolos. Are you feeling well?" The healer asked. Aiolos nodded.

"What is wrong with Kurama?" He asked. As he asked this, Nerio walked into the room. Hiei's eye twitched as the healer changed his attention to Nerio.

"Ah, Lord Nerio! How is your pregnancy going?" The healer smiled. Hiei growled drawing attention to himself.

"My mate could possibly be DYING and you're not doing anything to TRY AND HELP HIM!" Hiei roared. "If my mate dies, I'll kill you in the most painful way I can think of!" Nerio walked past the cowering healer. He looked down at Kurama and then looked back at Hiei. He turned his attention back to Kurama and hovered his hand over Kurama's face and his hand glowed blue. He trailed the hand down to Kurama's stomach and stopped. He used his claw to cut a thin line on Kurama's stomach. "What are you-" He brought his claw to his mouth and licked it. He stared at Kurama in confusion.

"His blood tastes like Kiwi." Nerio mumbled. Hiei furrowed his brows.

"Kiwis? He doesn't eat them…In fact, he is allergic to them."

"Aha!" Nerio said with his finger poised in the air. "He's having an allergic reaction to the Kiwi in his blood."

"One question…" Aiolos mumbled. They all looked at him. "How did the kiwi get into his blood stream?"

"That must be the 'poison' that was inside of Kurama that killed our kits." Hiei mumbled.

"But," Aiolos mumbled again. "Why is it acting out now? 7 months later?" The healer frowned.

"Good question…" He mumbled. They turned when the door opened. Kaldra was at the door frowning. She rushed over to Kurama. She looked at Hiei.

"Don't worry; he's going to be fine." Hiei assured. Kaldra smiled and nodded. She kissed Kurama on the forehead and held his hand.

"So, how are we going to get it out of him?" Aiolos asked. The healer frowned and looked to Nerio. Nerio furrowed his brow.

"Well, there is a liquid we can inject into him. Though, at first, it will make his symptoms worst. In the end, it'll be worth it." Nerio said. They all looked at him. "It is called epinephrine."

"How do we make it?"

"We won't have to," Nerio said. "I know someone who makes! He is a very good medicine man." Nerio smiled.

Changed it a bit and combined two chapters. Its relatively the same as before but not at the same time.