I spent the next day bedridden. Hiei rarely left my side. Kurama would bring in hot soups filled with mysterious herbs that was supposed to be good for the baby. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Yukina dropped by during the evening and was promptly kicked out by Hiei again by the reasoning of not wanting to strain my body. Even Botan and Koenma came by. It had been awhile since I'd seen Koenma. The last time I had met him, he had said the case with his father was still under appeal. He would update me when his father reached a decision on whether I survived or not. I found it slightly unfair, but he was King Enma. He came to report that King Enma had been away on another business trip and hadn't had time to deal with my case yet. I'm not sure if it had been good news or bad. For now, the case has once again been put off for later. When Hiei had been ushering them both out, I overhead them talk outside the closed door when they thought they were out of earshots.

"I don't want to alarm you, Hiei, but my father's most likely not going to be so forgiving this time." Koenma warned solemnly. Hiei was silent.

Botan chimed in, "Sir, you're making it out to be so serious!"

"It is serious." Koenma argued, "Hiei, it's an unconfirmed rumor, but my father has apparently picked up a new group of assassins. They're supposedly powerful and ruthless. I don't think he'll turn his attention to Yuki yet, but in the near future, you have to be careful."

"When that time comes, I'll just slit each of their throats." Hiei said darkly, "It's not the first time people have tried to assassinate me."

"It's not you they're going for; you know that." Koenma replied, "Do you really think you can protect Yukihime her entire life? And what about the baby?" Hiei remained silent, thinking over Koenma's new warning.

Koenma continued, "There will come a day when you'll have to choose between the baby and Yukihime. Can you choose one over the other?"

"I will choose Yuki." Hiei replied coldly.

"You say that now, but once you become a father, you'll see things differently." Koenma prophesized.

Botan laughed, "Sir, you sound like you're a father already!"

"It's common knowledge!" Koenma flustered and cleared his throat, "Hiei. You be careful."

"If I've grown weak enough that Koenma has to worry about me, then I am truly pathetic." Hiei scoffed.

Koenma ignored him, "If you ever need help, just come to me. My father might not help you, but I am still the owner of Team Urameshi!" Koenma announced proudly. I heard a small laugh from Hiei.

"Well, we'll see you next time!" Botan chirped. Their footsteps faded into the snow and the doorknob squeaked. I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. His footsteps approached the bed and I felt his hand graze my cheek. I concentrated on keeping my breathing rhythmic, but suddenly it seemed like a struggle. It seemed the harder I concentrated on timing the breaths, the more irregular the intervals were.

"Yuki?" I heard Hiei whisper. I remained silent and still, pretending to be deep asleep. I prayed that Hiei wasn't in my head right now.

"What do I do?" Hiei's voice was so heartwrenching I almost abandoned my rouse and replied, but I bit back my answer.

"I don't know if I can protect you." Hiei continued, unaware that I was awake, "I can't lose you...not again." I heard a thump as he fell to his knees and buried his face in the blankets next to me. His hand trailed down from my cheeks to my palm and he squeezed. His hand shook in mine and I felt all his fears and worries in each little tremble.

I hadn't known that he had been hiding this much from me. It always seemed as if he was so sure and fearless of everything. His reply to everything had been the same emotionless mask that he wears in front of everyone. Even to me, he would only reveal his true feelings when I was asleep. It hurt in a way, how maybe he couldn't trust me enough to share this side of him. Yet, it felt as if he was struggling. Struggling to hard to hide it from me because he didn't want to worry me. I wanted Hiei to show me that embarrassed smile. I wanted him to blush like the first breath of dawn. I wanted us to be lost to the heat of passion every night and fall asleep without worries of the dangers of tomorrow. I wanted us to have a happily ever after with the baby in my stomach. Was that too much to wish for? Suddenly, the thoughts of the Inari-kami came to mind, and for the first time since I was born into this world, I prayed. Inari-kami, please, protect our little happiness. Protect Hiei and the baby inside of me...May we be a happy family...together forever…

That night, I fell asleep with my prayer whispering around us as if Inari-kami was with us.

I woke up in the middle of night thirsting for water. The darkness was heavy like smoke, almost suffocatingly so. Hiei was asleep on the chair next to the wall. I saw his sleeping profile and smiled silently to myself. I didn't want to wake him up, after all, it had been awhile since Hiei slept so soundly. Most of the nights, he had kept himself awake to wait on me. He must have been exhausted. I rolled to my side slowly and pushed myself and my over swollen belly upright. I was getting really big now, so big that I couldn't sit up straight, much less stand up. For a moment, I thought about waking Hiei up and asking him to get me a cup of water, but I saw the pitcher sitting on the table in the middle of the room and decided against it. I could get myself a cup of water.

Pushing myself up from the bed, my back immediately started to ache from having to lift the weight of my stomach. I steadied myself against the bed and made way slowly to the table. After what seemed like a snail-like struggle, I finally poured myself a cup of water and gulped it down thirstily. Turning to return to the bed, my foot caught on a chair leg and immediately went sprawling forward. The floor approached quickly and my arms were suddenly there from sheer reaction speed to stop the fall. I landed on my hands and knees, stomach safely away from the ground as I breathed a sigh of relief. My knee ached, but I was okay. It was when I started sitting up that I realized something was wrong. Water seemed to pour from between my legs, soaking the maternity night dress. A cold chill ran through me as my mind raced. My water broke.

To make matters worse, I suddenly felt a sharp pain deep in my belly. Panic surged through me. It's not supposed to hurt! Not yet! Labor pains should be contractions towards the bottom! There shouldn't be pain in my belly! It must be when I fell!

"Hiei!" I croaked, unable to speak loudly from the throbbing pain that was growing ever sharper. He remained motionless.

I tried again, "Hiei!" I cried louder. This time, his eyes finally flickered open groggily. When his mind finally registered that I was on the floor, he immediately flew to my side.

"What's wrong?!" Hiei asked, alert. As if it couldn't get any worse, my body chose that moment to start contracting.

"My water broke." I hissed inaudibly, unable to concentrate on anything but the pain.

"What?" Hiei asked again, leaning in.

"I SAID MY WATER BROKE!" I nearly screamed. Once the first screams started, I couldn't seem to keep quiet anymore. I groaned from the utter pain that was radiating from my abdomen to my back all the way back down again. It seemed like my lower body became one large ball of pain and everything else didn't exist.

Hiei's face was filled with utter panic. If I hadn't been too busy screaming bloody murder, I would have laughed. He flew out the door and woke everyone up, pounding on doors and screaming inaudible words. I could do nothing but curl up into a ball and scream. I knew I had to push, but I was so afraid and so unprepared! I had no idea what to do since Yukina had said I should be due next week. I had stupidly put if off since I was too busy with being weak and immobile. Sweat soaked my entire body from fear and pain. My nails raked the floorboards as Youko was the first to barge in through the doors. He lifted me up gingerly and placed me onto the bed after he threw the blankets aside, stripping it down to a pillow. He got some more and propped them behind me so that I could be in a somewhat sitting position.

Yukina came running in next with two other women that I had never seen before. They were both in kimonos and looked vaguely uniform like Yukina. They were carrying hot water and towels as they began to take charge. All the boys were barred from the room as my hours of pain began.

Outside, Hiei stood leaning against the door with his arms crossed across his chest. He couldn't seem to stop his finger from drumming on his arm an agitated beat. Yusuke paced outside the door, flattening the snow as it came floating down. Kuwabara was trying to peek through the half drawn curtains when Kurama put a firm hand on his shoulder and shook his head. They both sat back down on the wooden bench outside the one-roomed cabin.

Yukihime's screams started echoing throughout the Hyouga village and Hiei's heart seemed to stop each time her shrieks ripped through the night. It woke the other koorimes as some trudged outside to see what was wrong. They watched the four boys with caution and suspicion despite them having negotiated with them beforehand. "Negotiations" had been Yukina begging them to help Yukihime. The only reason they had allowed her to give birth in their village was because she was their ancestor of sorts. Even when they finally agreed, the women stayed clear of their living quarters. Hiei grimaced at their downcast stares. It brought back unpleasant memories.

When Yukihime let out a particularly loud scream, Kuwabara bit his nail, "Is Yuki going to be alright?"

Kurama responded, "This is normal."

Yusuke shivered, "I'm starting to think I don't want Keiko to have kids…"

"This is how every woman gives birth. I'm sure she's fine." Kurama chuckled, slipping a side glance to Hiei who was still leaning motionlessly against the wall. The only thing that had changed in the past hour was that his finger had stopped drumming, but now his foot was tapping the snow in irregular beats.

Finally, what seemed like an eternity passed before the first cries of a baby broke through the night. The door cracked open and Yukina emerged with a triumphant smile and a small bundle cradled in her arms, "Hiei, would you like to come in?"

His heart stopped as his eyes fell to the unmoving bundle. Stepping through the door, Yukina placed the small bundle in Hiei's useless arms. He fumbled with the baby, not sure how to hold it and settled with both hands under the little arms of a tiny fire demon. Yukina laughed and cradled an imaginary baby, showing Hiei how to hold him properly. Hiei imitated her arms and the baby was looking up at Hiei with the same pair of garnet eyes.

"It's...ugly." Hiei finally said with a small smile. Yukina chuckled.

"He's still wrinkly, but he'll be plump after a while and he won't look like that." Yukina smiled, "He's a boy, you might want to think of a name."

Hiei suddenly snapped his attention from the bundle in his arms to Yukihime. She suddenly whimpered and started screaming again, "Yuki! What's wrong?" Hiei was by her side instantly.

"It...hurts!" Yukihime screamed, her hands raked the bed shoots again, tearing through the thin fabric.

Hiei turned to Yukina, "What's wrong? Shouldn't it be over? Why is she still in pain?!"

Yukihime answered the question instead, "There's...another one!" She moaned as the contractions started again.

Hiei was pushed out the door again with the little bundle still cradled in his arms as the door slammed shut in his face. Yukihime's shrieks tore through the night again as he flinched.

"What's wrong with Yuki?" Yusuke demanded.

"She's having twins…" Hiei whispered in disbelief. He turned back to the little baby. His eyes were open fully and they stared up at Hiei with curiosity. The others gathered around the baby as they coo-ed him and made faces at him.

"He's a little fire demon." Kurama marveled, "What are you going to name him?"

Hiei thought silently, "I'm...not sure. I never asked Yuki…"

"Name him Shrimpy Devil." Kuwabara suggested with a grin, "He's going to turn out just like you."

Hiei flashed him a glare and snorted, "Yes, he will be stronger than you one day."

"He has a really strong fire aura for a newborn. He must have been the little troublemaker then." Kurama grinned, wiggling his finger in front of the baby. The baby seemed to ignore everyone except Hiei. He stared up at his daddy curiously with large widened eyes. Hiei returned the stare. He couldn't help but see himself in the baby. Various names flew through his head but each was rejected. Hiei finally hung his head in defeat, putting off naming the baby until Yuki was well again. For now, the baby will be "Brat".

"Hey, is it alright to have the baby out in the cold?" Kuwabara shivered as a gust of icy wind blew across them. Hiei turned in question to the baby. The baby was wrapped in a thin layer of white towel. He didn't seem to be shivering, rather, Hiei could feel the fire aura around the baby buzzing constantly. He smiled. There's my Brat.

"He'll be fine." Hiei said with a small grin. Kuwabara looked doubtful, but he was ignored.

Hiei curiously wriggled a finger on top of Brat's head. Brat watched closely, but didn't move to grab it. He lowered the finger until it poked Brat's forehead. Brat glared up at his daddy. Just when Hiei was going to pull back his finger, Brat reached out with tiny hands and grabbed the finger and subsequently chomping down on it. Hiei flinched and suddenly broke out into laughter.

"This little Brat seems to have an attitude." Hiei smirked. Yusuke grinned at the little baby.

"You're just like your daddy." Yusuke howled in laughter.

Suddenly, the doors flew open again. This time, one of the Koorime that was helping with the delivery was at the door frame with an exhausted frown, "Yukina says to come in."

Hiei's attention was immediately on the Koorime as he passed on the little bundle to Kurama. Kurama cradled it expertly and started playing with the little Brat as Hiei stepped back into the cabin.

Yuki's screams were dying down to moans as consciousness was clearly beginning to slip away. Hiei was instantly by her side as Yukina screamed at her to push and to not give up. Yukina turned to Hiei with desperate cries, "Hiei! There's a complication! The baby isn't as mature as the other one! Yuki says she fell and that must have ripped the placenta from the baby and they're both bleeding too much!" Yukina panicked.

"What?!" Hiei felt a cold chill run up his spine as fear settled in the pit of his stomach. Ripped placenta…

"At this rate they'll both…!" Yukina cried desperately.

One of the Koorime put a hand on Yukina's shoulder, "Calm down. You need to pull it together." She turned to Hiei, "You said you were a fire demon?" Hiei nodded quietly, his eyes still a little too wide.

The Koorime sighed, "This might just save them both. The baby's feet is out before the head. We need to cut the baby out instead. We need you to stop the bleeding by searing the lesions shut. Can you do that?" She looked into Hiei's eyes and didn't like what she saw. Her hand flew out and slapped across Hiei's cheek, breaking him from his stupor.

"This is why I told you to calm down." She hissed at Yukina, "If you scare the one person that might be able to save her, he'll be next to useless!"

She turned her cold gaze back to Hiei, "Are you finally listening?"

Hiei glared at her, "Slap me again and I'll cut off your arm."

She smirked, "Welcome back. Now, we need to do it quickly or they'll both die from blood loss. There's no time to explain. I'm going to start!" She announced as she set a scalpel to Yuki's stomach. Hiei couldn't help but turn away despite having killed countless enemies with a sharper knife. He cursed himself and forcefully turned himself back to Yuki, who was already unconscious.

The Koorime skillfully sliced through each layer of skin and successfully extracted the baby who immediately started crying. The other Koorime took the baby and began to bathe it. Yukina set her hands above her stomach and started healing, but it wasn't fast enough to stop the bleeding.

"There! Can you sear that tear?" The Koorime commanded. Hiei obediently set fire to the place she pointed at. The bleeding began to stop as Yukina continued to heal while the Koorime began to stitch close wound.

The other Koorime spoke from the little bucket of hot water, "The baby." Hiei turned to her and saw that she had cleaned away all the blood and knotted the umbilical cord. The baby was in another bundle the same as the Brat's. He took the bundle gingerly in his arms the same way he held the other one. This baby was asleep with eyes solidly closed. It was lighter than the Brat. Something must have shown on his face because the Koorime replied.

"She's smaller than the other one. She should have been born next week. She's an ice demon." The Koorime replied with a small smile.

Hiei looked back down at the little bundle in his arms, "She's a girl…" He trailed off.

"For a Koorime, she is very strong." The Koorime said, "I've helped deliver almost all the babies in the village and she's the strongest one I've ever seen, just like her brother."

"Even though she's premature?" Hiei asked.

The Koorime nodded, "You both must be very strong." Hiei smiled down at the baby girl. He stroked the tiny wrinkled face and realized just how soft and delicate she was. He was suddenly afraid to break her, as if if he held too tight, she would shatter.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here." The Koorime handed Hiei two red diamonds, each already strung into a necklace, "I've never seen diamonds. We only cry Hiruiseki stones, but her tears become black diamonds. I was afraid that her birth tears would be the same color, but they were red."

Hiei reached a hand carefully to take the two red diamonds while carrying the baby in his other. They were the color of blood, a deep set red, almost like garnets. He hung one around the baby's neck and tucked it into the bundle, shortening the string so that it wouldn't fall. Hiei looked over at Yukihime and saw that she was still being stitched together as she slept with her face wrinkled in pain. She won't be awake for a few hours. He decided to head outside so that the Brat could see his new little sister.

Upon opening the door, he immediately stiffened as the smell of blood stagnated the air. Yusuke and Kurama were both nowhere to be found. Only a trail of already-fading footprints pointed their direction. Kuwabara lay collapsed in the snow with a deep burn wound on his chest. Hiei was immediately next to Kuwabara's side, lifting him up, "Where's the baby?!" Hiei screamed desperately. Kuwabara only moaned, still out of it.

Hiei called into the house, "YUKINA! Come here now!"

The door opened again as Yukina emerged, alarmed from the sound of desperation in Hiei's voice, "What's wrong- KUWABARA!" She rushed to his side and immediately started healing him.

Hiei was about to push the sleeping baby into Yukina's arms but stopped. If the demon is strong enough to defeat Kuwabara, Yukina and the other Koorime won't stand a chance. Hiei cursed as he wrapped the bundle securely to his chest with a sash he snatched from inside the house so that he could move semi-freely. With his sword at his side, he dashed off after the footprints that disappeared into the night. Hiei prayed that he could find them before the snow covered their tracks. Hold on you Brat! I'll bring you back! This time, I won't fail!