CHAPTER NINE

Once they were back at Gyro's, the doctor whisked Kitsune into her bedroom, and had been working on her for five hours. Hiei had paced for awhile. Then his attitude changed completely. "What the hell am I still doing here?" He said aloud.

Everyone looked at him. "What do you mean?" Kurama asked.

"It's my fault." He said quietly. "If I hadn't ignored her, she would have been stronger. If I had just left her alone, her life would have been so much easier." His face became stony. "I've got to get out of here and stop wasting my time on this useless emotion." And with that he left.

Everyone stared after him. "Oh, poor Kitsune. And poor Hiei. They're so perfect for each other, but they met under rotten circumstances. Guys, we've got to do something to Hiei realize it's not useless." Botan exclaimed sadly.

"Yeah, but what can we do?" Kuwabara asked, hopelessly.

Botan deflated. "I don't know."

Everyone smiled at her sadly. They all agreed, but they all also knew that Hiei was hard to convince, not to mention now that he'd left he would be hard to find. Then as if something clicked, everyone looked at Kurama. "What?" Everyone smiled. "I know what you're all thinking, and no. I will not chase after him."

"Oh, come on Kurama. You're his closest friend, and you've got a way with words that the rest of us don't!" Botan exclaimed.

Everyone nodded vigorously, looking at Kurama with hopeful eyes. Then Takara looked at him and pouted. "Pwease, go after Hiei and make my best friend happy." She batted her eyes and stuck her lip out farther. "It would mean so much to me."

Kurama caved. "Alright, I'll go after him and talk to him. I may be able to persuade him, but if I'm not, don't blame me."

"OK! See ya later!" Botan said happily and pushed him towards the door. "And don't come back without our favorite short grump." And she slammed the door in his face.

Kurama sighed. He knew he shouldn't have befriended Hiei. Too late, now. And with that thought, Kurama headed towards the forest.

Kitsune opened her eyes, and was confused. Why was she in her room? She moved and pain shot up her back. She groaned with pain. The doctor quickly looked towards her. "Ah, Miss Kitsune, you are awake. I've been waiting." He smiled. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been trampled by a giant." She grimaced with pain. "What happened?"

"Well, what you said was close to what happened." The doctor explained. "You charged Karoshi angrily, and from what I understand you were giving him quite a beating until he grabbed you and then you blew poison dust in his eyes and he threw you into a wall. So, instead of being trampled by a giant, you were thrown by one." He laughed a moment, and then turned serious. "Do you remember now?"

"Yes, he insulted my parents. I got so angry I didn't think ahead. My first hit, he shook off, but when I wrapped my vine around his neck, he was losing strength. But then I tightened my whip giving him the leverage to launch me. That was my mistake. But what about Karoshi and the rest of them?"

"Karoshi is dead, and your friends are extremely worried about you." He smiled. "Especially one certain young man."

At those words, Kitsune's heart ached. "He was just watching out for a teammate, that's all. He would have done the same for the others."

"I take it the two of you are not on good terms."

"We're not on terms at all."

"Hmm." He hummed thoughtfully. "Well, the reason I have been waiting for you to wake up is that I have a very important question to ask you." He looked up at her over his glasses. "Did you know that you were pregnant when you went to fight Karoshi?"

Kitsune gasped. Pregnant she was pregnant. Wait, was? "Was? The baby didn't-" Her lip began to tremble.

"Oh no, dear! I'm so sorry. No, you are still pregnant. I was just going to say that if you knew you were pregnant, you would be in some trouble. But I can tell by your reaction that you didn't know. The baby actually saved your life. You were so under nourished that you were fading quickly, but the baby used its spirit energy to protect you. But this made the baby weak, and I had to work hard to save him. But now, you are both fine, besides your outer aches and pains." The doctor explained to her.

"Could you not tell anyone? I'd rather tell them on my own. No one knew that Hiei and I had done anything other than kiss." She pleaded with the doctor.

"I won't tell, but you'll have to tell them within a few months. You're a tiny person; a baby is going to impact your body a lot. You should also tell the father, you're going to need all the help you can get. I'll be watching over you during your pregnancy and during the birth. I'll need to see you again in a couple of months. Take care of yourself." And with that the doctor left.

Kitsune lay in her bed, her hands on her stomach. She was pregnant. How did she tell Hiei? Did she even want to tell him? He had broken her heart, he didn't deserve to know. But still, the doctor was right she would need help. Takara would help her though, or maybe even Botan. Either way, there was no need to tell Hiei, he would have to earn that right and prove to her that he could love her.

Kurama had been searching for Hiei for over two hours and he was beginning to get discouraged. He had searched the obvious places around Gyro's, and then come to the realization that he must have went back to human world. So, Kurama followed. There he searched all Hiei's usual favorite spots, but found him in none. Kurama then began to fear that Hiei had gone to back to demon world, and if that was so, then he may never find him.

He had almost decided to return to Gyro's and give up the search, when an idea hit him. What if he had gone to the place where he and Kitsune had had their first real conversation? Kurama ran as fast as he could to Kuwabara's. When he got there, he was relieved to see Hiei sitting on the steps.

"What are you doing here Kurama?" Hiei asked in an emotionless voice.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I just needed to think."

"At Kuwabara's?" Kurama asked, trying to get some emotion out of him.

It worked. Hiei glared at him. "Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, I guess not."

"Good. Now, why are you here?"

Kurama sighed. "We think you should come back. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Botan, Takara, and I think you should come back and give your feelings for Kitsune a chance."

Hiei glared at him again. "I think that you all should mind your own business."

"Hiei, we can't do that. You're our friend, and you're suffering. We think that if you are with Kitsune, you'll be happier."

"But will she? Will I ever be able to make her happy? Besides, who's to say that I will be happier? Kurama, I don't even know what love is."

"I think you do. I think you know that what you're feeling is love for her, and that scares you. Give this a chance, and you see it was the right thing to do." Kurama said to his friend.

"I don't think I can, Kurama. I just don't think I can." Hiei said sadly.

Back at Gyro's, everyone was visiting Kitsune. "We're so glad to see that you're doing better. I was afraid I was going to take another one of my friends across the river." Botan said smiling sheepishly.

Kitsune laughed. "I wouldn't put you through that. I'm tough. Just a little back pain. I'll get over that soon though." Her smile faded a bit as she scanned the crowd in front of her. "Where's Kurama?" She asked curiously.

"He had some things he needed to do for his human mother." Takara said quickly.

"Oh." She looked around again. "And Hiei?" She asked, barely audible.

Everyone looked around, not meeting her eye. Finally, Kuwabara spoke up. "We don't really know. He just left."

Kitsune blinked back the tears. Everyone asked if she was ok, and she nodded. This just made her decision easier for her. He would know nothing of their child. He didn't deserve that privilege.

THE END!

A/N: Well, that's the end for this fanfic, hope you all liked. Keep an eye out for the sequel that follows. It's pretty much a connection to this one, I just didn't think the title fit that far. So when it continues, Kitsune must learn to live with her decision, but Hiei begins to rethink his. It's called What to Expect When You're a Demon Expecting