Sorry, once more, for the long wait but thank you very much for the reviews! I've been focusing most of my attention on What Lies Within Our Heart that I must apologize for not writing much for this story. I've been trying to write bits and pieces in my stories in my free time but I'm afraid that this story didn't receive much of that time...

All that aside, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and please review! Thanks!

Losing Our Head: Chapter Twelve

"Hiei..."

Weighed-down eyes lifted to view the speaker before a pain issued from his stomach. Panic woke him fully as he tried concentrating on it but all too soon it was gone.

His fingers, he noticed soon afterward, were tangled in longer ones that pulled them to rest on his lower abdomen, "We're taking a bath. You should be able to absorb the energy of the spring."

Dejectedly he bowed his head and grunted before it again shot up at the feeling of the same pain from before. His felt his hand move again but when he looked down Kurama's hand no longer held his there.

"One of them is moving," was finally whispered in his ear.

"Moving?"

Kurama's eyes darted to the man across from them before settling back on Hiei, "Babies move inside their bearer's stomach when they are developing. This might be a sign that our children are developing much faster than what we first thought."

"But why?"

"Um, well, different demons have different gestation periods–"

"No... why are they moving? Are they hurt?"

He smiled into the damp black strands, "Of course not, it's perfectly healthy, they're stretching their muscles."

"It's only been about three or four days though... and you were saying that they were growing faster?"

"Mhm, I can't say why but as far as I know ningen's don't feel their children move until about four months into their pregnancy. That's about halfway through their full term," he sighed and kissed his collarbone, "If that remains true, then it's possible that you may be giving birth before the week is over. I'm just concerned because a week doesn't seem like nearly enough time for our kits to develop."

"I don't know much about all that but the average demon gives birth within three months," Yusuke finally spoke up, "The earliest successful birth was a month and a half and even then the demon was born with no more energy than a ningen."

Hiei felt like he had just swallowed a weight as he took in what the young lord had said.

"Hiei, from demon to demon it's different. It's very possible–"

The fire demon squirmed out of the hybrid's arms and swam to the edge.

"Where are you going?"

"To consult a healer," he grumbled.

Kurama rested a hand on his shoulder, halting him for the moment, "I'm coming with you, Hiei."

"Fine. Yusuke, bring the girls down when you're done. Wait outside the door for them to finish before going back to my domain. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Here, let me help."

Don't growl at me. You're not use to using a towel to dry off.

Doesn't mean I'm incapable of doing it.

Don't be difficult.

Both sighed before dressing and leaving.

"Stupid hair..."

"I don't know, I rather like it down."

Hiei swatted away the hand trying to play with his still damp strands, "Well it's annoying."

"I can tie it back if you like," he offered.

The demon shrugged as he stopped before a door and knocked.

Slowly the door drew open and a slender being met their view.

"Can I help you two?"

Aggravated with everything going on Hiei just pushed him to the side, "I'm in no mood, Phike."

"My apologies, Sire Hiei, I didn't realize it was you. Well, what seems to be the problem?"

Kurama slipped in and closed the door behind him, "You see, we're concerned with the growth of our children."

"Children, Sire Kurama?"

"My idiotic mate forgot that no one knows. I'm pregnant, only about three days along."

Phike's eyes grew impossibly large at that, "You're pregnant you say? If you don't mind I'm just going to take a look for myself."

The hybrid stood protectively at his mate's side as he made himself comfortable on a cushioned examination table.

The blond sighed as he slid on a pair of gloves with little suction cups at the end of every finger and thumb, "Please raise your shirt and roll down your pants."

A soft chuckle left the fox's mouth as he helped his mate with his belt buckles and pants, "Relax."

"Three days along?" he questioned as he eyed the body, "You've put on a lot of weight if that's the case."

"That's why I'm here. What's going on with them?"

"They are developing fast," Phike told after placing his finger tips upon the bared skin, "They've been taking in a lot of your youki and that's their primary main source of growth. You should probably hold back on the energy you two feed them for the rest of the month unless you want your body to go into shock. It needs time to expand to the fetuses' development. You might also want to try eating and having sex a bit more"

"E-excuse me?"

The blue eyes of the healer opened and looked to the golden ones, "Let me break it down for you. Fire demons draw energy from their partners through the joining of sex. This energy can then be used to prepare his body for what is to come. Now, there have been cases of male demon pregnancies. Their bodies underwent changes, if you will. So to insure he has enough energy to undergo this its best to at least have sex once a day."

"Can't he just... transfer his youki to me then?"

"Alright, how can I put this," he tried again, "This energy isn't youki. It's... kind of like the energy you get from sleeping but this can only be gained from you, Sire Kurama, spilling your seed in Sire Hiei. Fire demons' bodies usually terminate any sperm but that doesn't mean they don't absorb their energy. It's with this energy that they use to gain their mature form. They're one of the few demons that can use this energy to manipulate their bodies. So he's going to need to gain enough before he gives birth to... change."

"I see..."

"Kurama, what does he mean?"

Long fingers brushed through the black hair as he thought of a way to explain this, "What he's saying is that to give birth, a part of you must become female. Females–"

"Kurama, how is turning me female going to help?"

"Sire Hiei, females naturally give birth, for the most part. For that to happen the baby travels from here," he traced his fingers across the roundness and down to between his legs, "to here... That's how they come into the world. That or we could cut your stomach open and remove them."

His already pale skin turned whiter at that, "H-how?"

Kurama sighed at his naive mate, "Well... females don't have penises. Instead they have an opening that expands when the baby is ready to come..."

Hiei looked like he was going to be sick at the news, "A-and here I thought I was going to hatch an egg or something..."

Phike chuckled before he pat the small stomach, "Birds, snakes, gargoyles, dragons, and things of that kind hatch eggs. Here let me give you a better idea of what you're dealing with. Close your eyes and I'll send you an image of what your kits looks like right now."

Seeing the hesitation Hiei held, Kurama squeezed his shoulder and nodded his head.

An image immediately popped up, like it was placed on the back of his lids.

"Alright, here's one of them. Do you see it?"

"It's... odd..." he mumbled out, "It has a big head and what's wrong with its eyes?"

"Nothing is wrong with him," the healer laughed, "It just hasn't developed eye lids yet, as for it's head, it shouldn't grow much larger, it's body will soon grow larger too. Those little arms and legs are what's pushing against my hand right now."

Kurama smiled when the image was sent to him through their shared link, "So I was right, this is equivalent to a ningen's third, forth month."

"Yes, that's why he needs to slow down giving them youki, eat more, and such," his hand was held in place by the heir's when he went to remove it.

"What about the other two?"

"They're fine, now let those two be surprises, alright?"

The image fled their eyes before Kurama spoke up, "How is he suppose to slow down the energy he gives them? He can't exactly control it. If I let them drain him he'll fall into hibernation and lose them."

"I can only suggest he eat and sleep frequently. You'll have only a month, the kits are too far along to try and spread this out any further. If in two weeks he hasn't gained at least ten pounds, three inches on his hip and stomach, breasts haven't started to leak, and the beginnings of a vagina hasn't formed... you might have to do a c-section. Kits are small but even they need more space than just an inch or two."

"Wait, my breasts are going to leak?"

The fox smiled and shook his head, "Yes, milk, it's what the kits will eat until their teeth come in, Dragonheart. I'll tell you a bit more later on..."

Phike looked between them and sighed, "So I heard you were leaving, Sire Hiei?"

Hiei pushed down his shirt and fixed his pants before nodding his head, "Yes, but in a few years or so I'll be back."

"I thought you resigned?..."

Kurama listened as his mate continued with the information that he had yet to hear. "Mukuro and me talked it over. I'm on indefinite leave but when I return I will be taking her place."

The blond was taken back but that isn't to say he wasn't happy, he just didn't know what to do with this new knowledge. Apparently neither did the silver-red haired hybrid.

"Thank you for your help, Phike–"

"Wait," he held him in place before he realized what he was doing, "Let me come with you. You'll need a healer with you, wherever you're going."

His red eyes blinked blankly as he looked to his mate's and back to the blue, "Mukuro needs you here for her soldiers..."

"There are five more healers here–"

"But you're the only one who can do what you do."

Phike huffed and leaned against the table, "My powers are useless to the soldiers. I can bounce my energy around and form an image but unless they have some parasite, outside organ problem, or, like you, are pregnant, I can't help."

"Take no offense to this, but if that were the case, why were you hired?" Kurama softly questioned.

"For healing outside wounds and reattaching lost limbs. All healers can do that though," he admitted with a single chuckle, "Plus my mother worked here and when she returned to our village I took her place."

"I'll have to ask Mukuro but there's just one more thing I want to know," Hiei told and once receiving a nod to go on asked, "What type of demon are you?"

He laughed and gestured his still gloved hand around, "That's easy, I'm not a demon. I'm an Eternal. I look human because in a sense you could say I was. The only difference being that we have powers, what often is mistaken as magic, and that we live just as long as demons."

Kurama chuckled into his hand again, drawing their attention, "I'm sorry, I just remember running across them when I was younger. I enjoyed watching this one man that shot these white sparks from his fingers, they reminded me of stars."

"Yeah, there are many of them. Those are the ones that tend to escape to the Ningenkai and say they're magicians," he nodded his head, "Anyway, Sire Hiei, Sire Kurama, take care and please go ask Lord Mukuro."

"Thank you and we shall. It was nice meeting you, Phike," briefly he shook the Eternal's hand before helping his mate up and out the door.

"You go and tell the others about us leaving then ask that scroll of yours for a map and the whereabouts of your father and his clan. I'm going to talk to Mukuro and then bid her farewell."

"Alright, but stop by the kitchen on your way back and please get something to eat," Kurama bent down and kissed his lips before getting drawn into a more passionate embrace.

"I will, now go," he grinned before swatting his butt and walking away.

I hope you enjoyed reading, please review! Also I will try to write more but I can't make any promises. As I mentioned, I'm trying to focus on What Lies Within Our Heart. With any luck I'll finish the story within the next couple of months and be able to devote my attention to my other stories! Love you guys and I hope you read my other stories which I plan on trying to update!