AN: And now the awaited part 2. Please, please, review guys, you have no idea what it means to see them. Anyway, enjoy!


Winter Winds

Part 2


Yusuke's sleep was not restful and peaceful like he had hoped it would be. It was infuriating, restless sleep that left him more exhausted than anything. The first time he had woken up, it was from another night terror. He couldn't remember almost anything from the dream except that the moment he woke up he heard Yoko call out his name. Yoko had seemed so real, so there that it took Yusuke more than a minute after waking to stop looking for his mate.

Mate. It was still an odd title for him to use. He was some one's mate, and even weirder than that, he was Yoko's mate. Ever since the mating ceremony had been performed two days earlier, Yusuke had found it difficult to get the silver-haired fox out of his mind. But he was not experiencing the honeymoon phase of the relationship, he was going through a darker, angrier phase that has not been given a name. His emotions were all over the place as far as Yoko was concerned. He loved him, but he hated him for manipulating him. He trusted him, and yet he felt abandoned. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to. He was supposed to be able to sense Yoko, right? Then why was it that all he felt was absolute silence? And not just from Yoko, but from Kurama.

At even the thought of Kurama, Yusuke's insides fell, and in the back of his throat he could taste shame. Just as he couldn't get the feeling of Yoko lovingly holding him close as the both rode their climax, he couldn't get the image of Kurama, with tears of fury falling down his face, turning his back and walking away.

Yusuke couldn't deal with this mental and emotional over-load. He was having difficulty dealing with everything before the fight. After Juichi had explained to him everything that was going to happen throughout the pregnancy, Yusuke had felt like everything had become so much more real, so much more inescapable. Until the moment she had said that there were three faint energies in his tummy, Yusuke had honestly felt like none of this could be real. Surely he'd wake up at any second, or someone would realize that he wasn't pregnant, just had bad gas. But that wasn't the case. He really was pregnant, and he was so embarrassed that there wasn't enough room left in his heart to feel much more than that.

He turned over, trying to fall back asleep. He tried to think about anything else than Kurama, Yoko, or the fetuses. He tried to just focus on listening to Puu's heartbeat. It worked for a little while, until Yusuke suddenly pictured Yoko, with his ear against Yusuke's distended belly as he listened to their children's hearts beating.

Yusuke flinched as if he'd been struck as the image flooded his brain, and he felt so sad and so guilty that he didn't know what to do. He hated that Yoko was now so much on his mind that he had entered his fantasies like that. He was supposed to have pictured Kurama, not Yoko. Before the mating ceremony, Yoko had almost never been on Yusuke's mind. Yoko had always been nothing more than an afterthought, or someone he would want to hang out with if he was feeling particularly horny or felt like watching TV and drinking beer. But Yoko was never who would come to mind if he wanted someone to be there with him, to comfort him, to see at the end of a long day. He had never missed Yoko the way he missed Kurama, but now he found that he missed them both terribly.

Yusuke stared at the sky through the greenhouse roof. There was heat lightening making its way through out the sky. Low rumbles and flashes of light invaded the green house as Yusuke stared forlornly at the clouds. His mind began to slow down as he stared at the light, after a few minutes his eyes started to become tired. He closed his eyes for a moment as he listened to soft, distant thunder roll over him lulling him to sleep.

He was walking through Spirit World. Koenma needed him for something. The hallway was long, and it ended in a court room. Keiko was the judge. Yusuke looked down, and he was in leg and arm shackles. He couldn't move. Keiko was in tears. She was going to sentence him as guilty. Yoko was giving closing arguments, but the jury didn't look like they were going to buy it. He had killed Kurama. He was guilty. They put the noose around his neck, Keiko slammed her gavel down-

Thunder crashed through the greenhouse as Yusuke woke violently. He was covered in sweat, and his heart was beating so fast and hard that he could feel it in his toes. He couldn't remember his dream again, and he was getting increasingly frustrated by this whole thing. He wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep. He considered going back to the palace, thinking that maybe laying in his own bed might help him sleep better, but when he thought about having to get up and walk all the way to the palace, he decided to stay there. Honestly, he knew he was too exhausted and too weak at that moment to make it all the way to castle by himself. He didn't know why he was so tired, or why his body had decided to give out on him, but he was become annoyed by it. He knew he could have called Hokoushin over, and the monk would have been glad to carry him to the palace, but there was no way in hell Yusuke was going to allow this. Nope. Not in this lifetime.

So he stayed outside in the greenhouse, all night long following the same pattern of night terror and sleep. Finally, around the time the sky started to get just a little brighter from pre-dawn light, he decided to stay awake. He got up and stretched out his back. Sleeping on the ground hadn't been as bad as he was afraid it would be, but that didn't mean his back was happy with him either. Puu ruffled his feathers irritably as Yusuke got up, and turned to stare balefully at the man. Yusuke knew already that he must have moved around in his sleep a lot, and the look on Puu's face clearly expressed how little he enjoyed being Yusuke's pillow. Yusuke sat back down on the ground, and put his back against a flower bed. He sat there and stared up at the sky as he mindlessly petted Puu's head. He didn't know when he had done it, but at one point he looked down, and noticed he had rested his other hand lightly on his belly. He raised his eyebrows as he looked down at his hand in surprise. He was shocked his hand had done that, but then thought it was dumb that he was acting as if his hand had acted all on its own.

Yusuke slowly lifted his shirt, and looked at the tight skin on his belly. Ever since he was young, he had already been fascinated whenever his body changed. When he was younger and his body didn't auto-heal, every morning after a fight the first thing he would do was look at his bruises in a kind of masochistic curiosity. He loved to watch as day by day they would grow darker and then wane into the background. He had the same kind of fascination now with his tummy, he felt the urge to stare at it every day and examine the changes it had undergone. It was definitely a little more round now than it had the day before. More like there was actually something in there, instead of looking like he might be badly bloated. He was so wrapped up in staring at his belly, that without thinking he turned his head to tell Yoko or Kurama to look before remembering why he had slept on the floor of a greenhouse all night.

He yanked his shirt back down over his belly and folded his arms as he looked determinedly at the other side of the greenhouse.

Thankfully, he didn't have to brood too long, because about a minute after he pulled down his shirt, Hokoushin came through the doorway. Considering he had had to spend all night with nobody else then his own mind (who turned out to be quite an asshole), he was relieved to be around Hokoushin.

"Lord Yusuke," He said, as he walked towards the mazoku and placed a tray of food on the ground. "How are you doing this morning?"

"I'm fine," Yusuke lied. In all honesty, he felt like shit, but Hokoushin wasn't his therapist, and he really didn't feel like pouring his heart out to the man.

"I saw that you had awoken, and took the liberty of bringing you breakfast."

Yusuke couldn't help but smile as he shook his head. Of course Hokoushin would have seen that he had seen him. He had probably stayed up all night himself to keep an eye on Yusuke, or had the other monks take shifts. Yusuke looked down at the tray in front of him. It was a simple meal, plain toast and tea, and Yusuke's throat constricted as he looked down.

"A Brit breakfast…" Yusuke muttered to himself.

"What did you say, Lord Yusuke?" Hokoushin asked, looking alarmed.

"I said that it looks good," Yusuke said after he cleared his throat. Hokoushin eyes squinted as he tried to see what had upset Yusuke. More to please the bald man than to help himself, Yusuke took a bite of the toast. The second the bread hit his tongue he suddenly noticed how incredibly hungry he was, and he had the urge to shove everything (including the tray) into his mouth at once. But he found that chewing did not come as easily as it should have to him. His throat was tight, and unwilling to let anything pass, and the roof of his mouth was complaining about having to move so much. Slowly but deliberately Yusuke made his way through his breakfast. After about twenty minutes he had eaten every bite of toast and had drunk every sip of tea.

It was fascinating, how quickly Yusuke regained his energy. Within ten minutes of finishing the meal Yusuke felt as if he could go for a run. For the first time in days Yusuke actually felt that he had enough energy to try and actually do something rather than sit on his ass. Hokoushin came back inside for the tray, and asked Yusuke if he was feeling any better.

"I'm feeling much better, Hokoushin," He said as he handed the monk the tray. "Thank you for bringing the food."

"It was my pleasure, Lord Yusuke."

"Hokoushin," Yusuke said, remembering what he'd wanted to ask him the day before.

"Yes, my lord?"

"I wanted to know if there is any way that you can build an extension off of my bedroom."

"I'm sure we could. What would you like?" He asked, taking a seat on the ground across from Yusuke.

"Well, I was thinking about adding a bathroom there… I have a feeling I'll want a private bathroom while I'm…living here…" He said, as he could feel his cheeks getting red. Yusuke still hated talking about anything that related to him being pregnant.

Hokoushin, thankfully, didn't seem to notice Yusuke's awkwardness and responded after taking a second to plan. "I think it would take about a month or two to complete, but it should not be a problem. The only issue would be that we wouldn't want to intrude on your bedroom."

Yusuke sat and thought about it. He wanted Hokoushin to get the bathroom done as quickly as possible, but he also wanted to make sure that they weren't going in and out of his space where even more awkward things might be seen. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Hey, why don't Kurama and I move into the other room for a little while, that way you guys can finish the bathroom sooner?"

Hokoushin raised his eye brows and tilted his head in thought before responding. "That would be…quite helpful actually. If we did that I would expect that we can complete the room within two weeks."

"Really?" Yusuke said, taken a back. He was expecting it to be a little quicker, but not cut the time in half. Yusuke sighed in relief, but it wasn't just about the work getting done faster. Honestly, he hadn't wanted to go back into his old bedroom, at least not until he and Kurama could be in there together. Now, he didn't have to be, and he was already thinking that he would probably spend the night back in the palace.

"I will go back to the palace, and begin making preparations now," Hokoushin said as he got up, and began to head towards the door, "I will have To'o and Seitei move your belongings into the nursery for the time being,"

"Hokoushin," Yusuke said, trying to sound nonchalant, and failing miserably. "Have you heard from Kurama at all…" Yusuke looked at the ground as he asked not daring to see the look of pity that was bound to be in Hokoushin's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Lord Yusuke," Hokoushin said sadly, "I'm afraid that Lord Kurama hasn't called. I assure you I will let you know the second he does, though."

"Thanks," Yusuke mumbled. Kurama hadn't called, which meant he wasn't worried, which means he didn't care… Yusuke lay back on the ground, not because he was sleepy, but because it felt like all his energy had left him once more.


Shizuru sat in the living room, staring absent-mindedly at the TV. It was around noon, but she had just gotten up an hour earlier and with Yusuke off in the greenhouse moping, she was beginning to get cabin fever, and she was already bored. Being in the Makai wasn't nearly as exciting as she had thought it would be. When she had first arrived, she tried to make sure she was fully clothed and had shoes on at all times in case she had to make a mad dash from some kind of homicidal demon, but after a day or so with no more demon threats than the ones issued between Kurama and Yusuke, she decided that fuck it, she was going to be comfortable. Now she was so comfortable she was wearing nothing but a flannel shirt over a wife beater, and a pair of boxers.

She wanted to go back home, but based on Koenma's last message, that wasn't going to be an option. She sighed as she sunk further on the couch. She missed her boyfriend. It wasn't as though Koenma and her weren't used to going on breaks, after all, he spent most of his time in another world, but this was the first time they were unable to talk. She missed bossing him around, and that look of shock on his face when she said something dirty. It's one of the reasons she hadn't spent much time with Yusuke, she didn't need to talk to someone else about their relationship crap when she was dealing with her own. She knew she didn't have a choice today though, she was going to have to ask Yusuke if she could move in. Koenma made her promise to.

The front door fell over (again), and Shizuru raised her head slightly to see who it was. It was just Hokoushin coming back from giving Yusuke food. She sighed as she felt her stomach fall in disappointment. Hokoushin still looked just as worried and anxious as he had when he left, so Yusuke was obviously still miserably mopey. In fact, now that she knew that was the case, she got a distinct vision of Yusuke laying pathetically on the ground, consumed by his own thoughts. Still, she thought it was only polite to ask about Yusuke, despite knowing the answer.

"How's Yusuke," she asked as she turned back to the TV.

"Lord Yusuke is still… well, he's about the same as before. He got very little sleep again last night, but at least he was able to eat some this morning," he said with a sad shake of his head.

"Gotcha…" Shizuru said as she looked without paying attention to the T.V.

"I wish I could do more to help, but…" Hokoushin's voice dropped off. While she may not have been the biggest fan of the monk (he had always seemed much too prissy for her taste) there was something endearing and pathetic about the way that the monk stood before her now. The bags under the monk's eyes looked like puffy black slugs curled up beneath the sockets, his scalp was covered in patches of scabs where he had scratched his head in contemplation. She stood up and gave Hokoushin a quick pat on the shoulder but unsurprisingly it did little to raise Hokoushin's mood. It was obvious how distressed the monk had become. He had gotten less sleep and probably eaten less over that last few day than his lord.

"Look, stop stressing out about Yusuke. He's gotta go through this shit on his own, but you don't have to go down with him. I have to go out and talk to him right now anyway, so why don't you try and get some sleep," she looked him up and down again before adding, "you look awful."

"Yes…alright…" Hokoushin said distractedly as he walked out of the palace and towards the monk's barracks. Shizuru didn't bother to change as she stepped her bare feet into her tennis shoes. She grabbed a cigarette and a lighter from the pack she had left on the dining room table before stepping out into the demonic sun. She stopped for a second to light her cigarette before continuing down to the greenhouse. She was not looking forward to this exchange, and she didn't know if it was because she was afraid Yusuke would say no, or that he would say yes. Shizuru honestly just did not fucking feel like living in Raizen's palace for an indefinite period of time. It was boring, in the middle of nowhere, and infested with judgmental monks. Not to mention she would soon have the pleasure of sharing the palace with a loudmouth, a smartass, and a murderous fox. Not exactly the ideal rooming situation.

As much as she loathed the idea, being angry and bored was slightly better than being dead, so it was still the smarter thing to do. It didn't take her as long as she'd hoped to get to the greenhouse, and she even had to take a moment to finish her cigarette before walking inside.

Shizuru groaned slightly in frustration as she looked at Yusuke. He wasn't laying down anymore but he was walking around aimlessly and pathetically, so slumped over that it looked like he was missing a vertebrae. If she really thought about it, she would realize that she wasn't really angry with Yusuke but with Kurama for making her friend the pathetic, lifeless, sack of skin that stood before her. Deep down, Shizuru knew that Yusuke was going through something huge and that it must feel like the world was ending, but being stuck in the palace with no amusement for the last two days was killing the part of her that was able to give a damn.

"Hey kid," she said as Yusuke looked up.

"Hey," he said back in a hollow voice.

"What's up?" She asked as she folded her arms across her chest and looked around her. She didn't know what had happened in there, but the inside of the greenhouse was a mess. With the amount of debris that was laying around, there was no way Yusuke was going to be able to clean all of this up.

Yusuke shrugged before saying, "Just trying to clean up the greenhouse some before…" He let his sentence drop.

Shizuru felt another stab of frustration as she tried desperately not to yell at Yusuke. Whenever Kazuma had walked around, wearing that kicked-puppy attitude, Shizuru had always made sure to show her brother how much more miserable he really could be. But she knew she couldn't do that to Yusuke, one it wouldn't help, and two, the monks might actually kill her. Still all that was going through her head was a continuous loop of "get better dammit!" that she wanted to yell at Yusuke.

As Yusuke bent back down to sweep up more debris, Shizuru took a second to collect herself, and sit down on the makeshift bed of comforters and pillows. She waited for Yusuke to turn back around, but apparently that wasn't on the mazoku's list of things to do. So she cleared her throat before beginning. "Look, I get that you don't want to talk to me right now, but can you come over here for a second, I have to talk to you about something important."

Yusuke threw down the trash bag he was holding and glared at Shizuru. "If this is about me eating or getting more sleep, you're wasting your breath. I've tried to do both, but my body won't let me, do you think I want to be starving and exhausted? I hate it! I want to-"

"Yusuke calm down!" Shizuru yelled after her initial shock of Yusuke's fury had dissolved. "God, not everything is about you! I just have to ask you a favor and then you can go back to whatever you were doing!" Shizuru knew she had made a mistake before her words left her mouth but try as she might she couldn't rein them in. Yusuke looked hurt, and turned his back on Shizuru as he went back to collecting the trash.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," Shizuru said sadly, she honestly felt bad for making Yusuke feel worse. "It's just… I have to ask you for a favor that I really don't want to have to ask." Her fingers twitched anxiously to hold a cigarette, and she started picking at the blankets below her to distract them.

She felt Yusuke sit down next to her on the ground. "What kind of favor?" he asked. Shizuru smiled lightly, knowing that if there was one thing that Yusuke could understand and forgive it was someone losing their temper.

"Koenma…" She began, her voice much softer than she would have wanted it to be. She looked up, and Yusuke's eyes were full of concern. She knew she could talk to him, he would find a way to help her, after all, that's how they had always been with each other. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I need to know if I can stay here with you for a little while," she finally said.

"You want to live with us, in demon world? Why?" Yusuke asked, looking shocked.

"To put it bluntly, King Yama's kinda pissy right now, and if I'm not careful, he might try taking his anger out on me and Koenma. He's not happy that his son is fucking around with a human, but he's been too busy dealing with other shit to do anything about it. Koenma's worried that if King Yama can't solve his other problems he's going to act irrationally, and fix the problem he can, and you know what King Yama's solutions generally look like," she added darkly. She didn't like being a burden, and she sure as shit hated that she was going to be forced into hiding, but what could she do?

"You mean, Yama's gonna try and kill you?" Yusuke asked, shocked.

"Yeah, maybe," Shizuru said with a shrug. "If I were in the Ningenkai he'd definitely try and do it I think, but Koenma asked me to stay here with you so that I'd be better protected. I really, really hate to ask but-"

"Of course you can stay here," Yusuke said simply. "Stay as long as you need, it'll be nice to have someone else around."

"Thanks, kid," Shizuru said. She was relieved to see some of that old Yusuke spark was still there under the layer anxiety, exhaustion, and hunger that was wrapped around her friend. She still wasn't fond of being stuck in demon world for the foreseeable future, but if it was this Yusuke that was with her, at least she wouldn't be lonely. She stuck around a while longer and helped Yusuke pick up the rest of the garbage, but Shizuru could tell that Yusuke was starting to get exhausted quickly. So, while Yusuke still had a little energy left, they decided to walk back to the palace, leaving the greenhouse behind.


Almost immediately after reaching the palace, Yusuke decided to rest. The monks were still busy moving all of his stuff, so he lay down on the sofa as Shizuru went back to watching T.V. He was in a slightly better mood than he had been in earlier, but that wasn't saying much. He was still so full of grief, guilt, loneliness, and anger that they threatened to choke him, but at least he felt like there was a small light at the end of the tunnel. Shizuru wasn't going to be leaving, and that actually helped him feel less alone. Kurama and Yoko were still going to be gone for another three days, and he hadn't been looking forward to spending that time with no one else other than the monk brigade for company. He felt comfortable with Shizuru, and he thought that having a friend with him would help him get through this whole ordeal.

As he lay on the couch, he listened to the sounds of the monks moving his belongings. Noises began to blur together into a harmless gray drone and he slipped further and further into his own mind.

Yusuke was chained to a wall. It was the cave he died in. Sensui stood, laughing as Yusuke fought to break free. He was taking fox kits to the water, pushing them under the surface until their cries stopped and the water was still. Where was Kurama? Where was Yoko? He looked at the lake, there were four bodies floating. Three small foxes and Keiko were floating dead in the water. Kurama broke open the locks. He was yelling at Yusuke, "Why didn't you stop this? You could have saved them!" Yusuke looked down, and the ground below him turned into quicksand. He cried out for Kurama to save him, but it was Yoko standing in front of him. His yellow eyes rested on Yusuke, and he turned and walked away. Yusuke cried out for help until the sand rushed into his mouth. It was falling down his throat, it was filling up his lungs.

"Yusuke!"

Yusuke awoke abruptly, Shizuru was over him, her hands were around his arms as she shook him. She had a wild, terrified look in her eyes, and Yusuke realized he had had another night terror.

"Sorry," Yusuke mumbled, and he realized he must have been screaming because his voice was hoarse and gravelly. He looked up and saw that Hokoushin had run into the room too, and he face was whiter than paper.

"What the hell was that?" Shizuru asked, as she sat down at the end of the couch.

"A night terror, I think. I don't remember any of it… Yesterday I had one that was so bad, I used my spirit energy in my sleep. That's why there was shit all over the floor in the green house." Yusuke sat up and put his head in his hands. He couldn't remember much of the dream except the image of three dead foxes floating in the water. Yusuke couldn't tell if it was sleep deprivation, hunger, or the hormones that made him do it, but he suddenly started sobbing into his hands.

Yusuke looked up in time to see Hokoushin walk over to the far side of the dining room towards the phone on the wall.

"No!" Yusuke yelled wildly. "Please Hokoushin, don't call Kurama!"

Hokoushin looked startled as he stared at his lord. "Lord Kurama needs to come back. You need help, sir, and Kurama should be here with you!" Hokoushin was angry, and Yusuke's heart was pounding in his chest. Hokoushin couldn't call Kurama. Kurama's last words to him were ringing through his mind, "I love you with all my heart, and I promise I will be back in a week, but if you love me at all, you will leave me be. Do not call me, do not contact me, I need to figure this out for myself."

"Hokoushin, please, don't," was all Yusuke could manage to say. Hokoushin looked at Yusuke, and bowed his head.

"If that is what you desire, Lord Yusuke, that is what I will do, but I think that Lord Kurama needs to know what is going on."

"He can find out when he comes home, but until then, he has to think I'm doing okay. He has to come back because he wants to, not because he has to…" Yusuke's heart beat was slowing down some. He was beginning to calm down a little. Hokoushin still looked angry, but it didn't look like he was going to call Kurama.

Finally, Hokoushin looked over at Yusuke and said, "Lord Yusuke, it's right around dinner time, would you like something to eat? Or would you like me to draw you a bath? It looks like you were sweating in your sleep."

Yusuke sighed in relief, and said, "I'll try and eat, I think. Can you heat up some broth?"

Hokoushin bowed and walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. He looked over at Shizuru, who still looked concerned. "I'm fine," Yusuke said. But he knew he was lying… he still couldn't get the bodies floating in the lake out of his mind.


Hokoushin had barely been able to restrain himself when Kurama had called. It had taken all of his energy not to yell at him through the phone, only his promise to his lord was keeping his mouth shut. In frustration and anger he hung up the phone, having to restrain himself from taking the whole thing off the wall.

Hokoushin was no fool, and he didn't appreciate the way that Yoko was playing with his lord. Hokoushin remembered what the Makai was like when that silver-haired bandit plundered and killed his way into fame and fortune. He had heard tales of all those that the fox had manipulated, controlled and killed for him to achieve his goal. Beyond that, he remembered what it was like, facing off against Yoko when he tried to break into Raizen's palace almost two thousand years before hand. Yoko had sent wave after wave of demons at the palace, cannon fodder that he had blackmailed into risking their lives. Hokoushin didn't count how many he had killed, all he remembered was Yoko's piercing gaze as he strategized how best to take the palace. When Raizen decided to take the battlefield, however, Yoko retreated, leaving the bodies of those he had let die behind to rot.

Ever since that day, Hokoushin had held a burning hatred for the fox. When Lord Yusuke had first told him about Lord Kurama and his relationship, Hokoushin had been worried about Yoko. He held no ill will against Lord Kurama however, and he had managed to hide his fears from his lord. But now that Yoko had manipulated Lord Yusuke into mating with him, Hokoushin was finding it difficult to be objective.

He looked worriedly over at the bathroom door. Lord Yusuke was taking a bath, and Hokoushin worried that he might have heard him talking to Kurama. Thankfully he didn't hear anything from the other side of the door, and so he made his way back outside. He had been fixing the door when Kurama called, and he returned back outside to finish working on the door. Shizuru was already outside, smoking a cigarette, and staring blankly at the town.

Hokoushin wasn't sure how to talk to Shizuru. Now that she was going to be living at the palace, he knew he would have to treat her with the utmost respect.

"Lady Shizuru," he said, "How are you doing this evening?"

Shizuru raised an eye brow, and said, "Please, just call me Shizuru. I won't respond if you call me 'Lady' again."

"I'm sorry Lady Shizuru, but I can't follow that rule. I hope you understand," Hokoushin said. But Shizuru didn't respond, she just continued to stare out into space. "Lady Shizuru, are you alright?" he asked. She didn't respond. "Lady Shizuru? Lady Shizuru? …Shizuru?"

"Yeah, what's up?" she said as she turned her head to look at him. Hokoushin had to actively try to hold in his irritation.

"Nothing," he said, as he went back to work on the door. He heard Shizuru laugh, which seemed to only add to his irritation. He looked over, and saw Shizuru take a sip from a beer.

"I thought we weren't supposed to drink or smoke around Lord Yusuke." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.

"I'm not inside the palace, am I?" She asked, daring him to contradict him. He was about to say something back to her, but he heard a crash from inside. He raised his head in alarm, and he and Shizuru both ran into the palace. Hokoushin broke open the bathroom door and saw Yusuke laying face-down on the ground. Hokoushin grabbed a towel quickly as he walked over to his lord and placed it over the other man's waist out of respect. Yusuke was groaning lightly, and he was mumbling to the monk. He had to lean in close in order to understand what Yusuke was saying.

"Can you check to make sure they're okay? Can you feel their energy?" Yusuke's voice was tight in panic.

Fear seized Hokoushin as he rolled over his lord, he repositioned the towel as he placed a hand on his lord's belly. Not a second after he placed a hand on the belly, Yusuke's aura leapt up and zapped his hand, but not before he could feel four distinct auras within. 'So the midwife was right,' Hokoushin thought, 'Lord Yusuke is pregnant with quads.' He looked down, and noticed that Yusuke's wrist was bent out of shape and swollen. There was no doubting it was broken. Shizuru made a small noise and exited the bathroom, leaving Hokoushin there alone to help his lord.

"They are fine, Lord Yusuke," as Yusuke was getting more and more frantic by the moment, "but we should get you to your bed and set your break." Yusuke just nodded as he let a silent tear of relief fall down his face. Hokoushin picked up his lord and carried him to bedroom as Yusuke looked away in furious embarrassment. As he started to set the mazoku's arm, Hokoushin told him about Kurama's call.

Yusuke didn't say much, but Hokoushin could tell that he was excited and relieved to hear the news. As Hokoushin finished bandaging Yusuke's arm, his lord started to drift off to sleep. Hokoushin's anger continued to rise as he looked down at Yusuke's mating mark. He would never forgive Yoko for this. He didn't care what Lord Yusuke said, Hokoushin would never trust Yoko or Kurama again. As long as Hokoushin was around to protect his lord, he would never let Yoko take advantage of him again.

Hokoushin called the midwife and told her what had happened. She seemed to think it was a good sign that Yusuke's aura had zapped him, but she was still worried. She told him that she would be there the day after next, because she was unfortunately on the other side of the Makai at the second. She did give Hokoushin a list of warning signs that the monk wrote down religiously and he asked as many questions as he could think of before he was satisfied that he had enough information to help Yusuke. When he hung up the phone he sat at the dining room table as he tried to calm down.

Shizuru walked in, and took a seat next to Hokoushin. She had a bottle of vodka, and two shot glasses. Before he could say anything, Shizuru started talking. "While you took Yusuke to the room, I called my brother. His wife has healing powers, and she'll be down tomorrow morning to heal his arm. She can't do much to help the quads, but at least Yusuke won't have to worry about his arm." She unscrewed the bottle top, and poured two shots of vodka, pushing one towards Hokoushin.

"When Kazuma and Yusuke fought in the dark tournament, I went to support them. Watching your brother get almost killed, like five times a day is enough to fry anyone's nerves. So ever since then, I had a rule, every time Yusuke or Kazuma were seriously injured, I would take a shot at the end of the day. It's not the best ritual in the world, but it seemed to help some. I would take a moment before every shot and think about how much I cared about them and how happy I was that they were okay. So, Hokoushin, will you join me in a shot for Yusuke?"

Hokoushin was surprised. He hadn't expected such warmth from this woman. She had always seemed a bit… stubborn… but she really did care for Yusuke. He took the shot glass and raised it with Shizuru before taking a shot.

The alcohol went down his throat like fire but it seemed to help release some of his tension. Shizuru put the top back on the vodka and took the shot glasses.

"I'm going to go to bed," she said, as she stood up. "Yusuke will be fine, Hokoushin, and don't place all of your blame on Yoko and Kurama. Everyone involved has made mistakes, and if you really want Yusuke to be okay, you need to let him work this out with both of them on his own."

Hokoushin nodded his head in response as she walked away. He wanted to agree with her, but he couldn't. His lord had done nothing wrong other than being manipulated by a fox. He stood up, feeling his anxiety crash back over him. What was it with Toushins having to be so completely helpless when it came to love? He had to watch, as for thousands of years, Raizen let his body waste away because of his love for a human woman. Well he was damned if he was going to let another one of his lords die for love. He grabbed a recliner from the living room and brought it into the bedroom. Placing it next to door way, he took a seat as he leaned back. Yusuke still seemed to be asleep, however it looked quite restless as he trembled lightly and moaned in his sleep. He closed his eyes, and began to drift to sleep, but not before positioning his seat so that if anyone entered his master's room, they would have to go through him, and that included all foxes.


So? What do you guys think? Let me know!

Special shout out to my friend Kaitlyn, GypsyReaper, and kit-kit for your continued support!