The Search For A Mate
Chapter 52
Yusuke ate dirt. For the second time. Damn, he thought. Yomi's gotten way faster than the last time we fought. Gotta step it up. He stood up spitting dirt and blood. "What's wrong Yusuke? Are you getting soft?" Yusuke smirked. He would have fallen for that taunt when he was a kid. He wasn't a kid anymore. "Nah. Just seein what you got you old goat. Is that it?" Yomi smiled that all knowing smile that irritated the hell out of his opponents. Then he vanished.
Yusuke had seen that twice now. He leaped up and kicked out, catching Yomi in the chest. Yomi flew backward several feet just barely maintaining his balance. He braced for the attack. Yusuke hit him with both fists, pummeling him. Yomi swept out a leg and knocked Yusuke off balance. He did a handspring and righted himself just in time to avoid the energy blast that Yomi sent his way. Yusuke was using his spirit energy almost exclusively. He had learned in the first tournament that Yomi could block almost anything with demon energy. It had been the mix of Yusuke's spirit energy into his attacks that had broken Yomi's barrier.
Yomi had gotten faster, but then so had Yusuke. He was able to keep up with him. After several shared blows, they both jumped back. Panting and sweating. Neither holding back. Yomi fired another energy blast and Yusuke dodged it. He focused his spirit energy into his right index finger. Yomi was not impressed. But then he had not seen Yusuke fight since their first meeting years ago.
Yusuke's power had grown immeasurably, but so had his technique. All those years ago, when Yusuke called on his spirit gun technique, he had the normal, which fired a single blast, or the shotgun, which fired multiple smaller blasts at the same time. He had realized that while the spirit wave technique he learned from Genkai was extremely powerful, it took too much out of him to be of effective use. It was basically a one shot, all or nothing attack. Kind of like Hiei's dragon. Instead, he developed new techniques using his spirit gun. He now used his spirit machine gun. It fired multiple blasts, but unlike the shotgun, they were not fired all at once. He was able to fire continuous blasts for a short period without powering up again.
Yomi thought he had dodged the attack, but Yusuke followed his movements and continued firing. Yomi went down hard. Yusuke waited for Yomi to get up. This time he was spitting dirt and blood. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was new." Yusuke laughed. "Yeah. I'm just full of surprises." Yomi smiled and the battle resumed.
Kuwabara was totally engrossed in the fight. He had missed the first tournament because he was not powerful enough to handle demon world. He could see why Yomi was a Makai lord and why he was feared. He felt a ripple in the energy around him, but was only able to sense the direction with all the power coming off of the fighters. He scanned the demons in that direction until his eyes fell on the blanket where the women were sitting some distance from him. He glanced at each of them trying to determine whose energy he had sensed. It was definitely off. He noticed a slight grimace on Yukina's face.
He found Hiei talking to Mukuro. "Hiei, Can you grab one of your healers and follow me?" "What's wrong?" "Yukina's energy feels off and it looks like she's in pain. I think she may be in labor." Hiei ran off to the far side of the field where the healers were watching the match. Kuwabara squatted down beside Yukina and took her hand. "Is it time, sweetheart?" She nodded. "I thought I'd be ok until the match was over. I think this one is impatient." "Hiei's gone for the healer. Let's get you back to the castle. Looks like Genkai won't be delivering this one."
Yusuke stopped fighting. Yomi halted his attack. Yusuke was watching as Kuwabara gently lifted Yukina into his arms. Rayna helped Beth up and they followed them. Keiko stopped long enough to nod at Yusuke. He turned to Yomi. "It's been fun, but we're going to have to call this one a draw. Yukina's in labor." Yomi nodded. "We'll have to do it again sometime. Perhaps in the tournament." Yusuke laughed. "Maybe. Who knows?"
There was good natured grumbling from the spectators when the bets had to be called off. Hiei caught up with Kuwabara. "Are you alright, Yukina?" She smiled. "I am fine brother. You are about to be an uncle again." Hiei snorted. Kuwabara chuckled. "Your times comin, shrimp. I am so gonna enjoy watchin you squirm." Hiei opened the door to their chambers. Since his family's visits became more frequent, he had suites permanently assigned to all of them.
Kuwabara laid her gently on the bed. He knelt and took off her shoes. The healer came in followed by two female servants. "If everyone would clear the room please." Kuwabara looked up. "I won't be leaving." The healer looked at him strangely. "I was there for the deliveries of both of my other children. I will be here for this one too." The healer relented. Humans were strange indeed. Kuwabara settled on the bed beside Yukina while the servants helped her to change into a loose gown. He held her small hand in his. He fed the child his ki to keep it calm. Just as he had with his other children.
Kuwabara had learned during the birth of his first child that his mate was much stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Even bearing the intense pain associated with childbirth, Yukina had not screamed once. Nor had she with the second. Once the servants had finished their task, Kuwabara got comfortable on the bed behind his mate. She smiled at him as he held her hand. She had known the sex of their child for a while but hadn't told him. He never wanted to know before the birth. He preferred to be surprised as was the way of most humans.
"Kazuma, are you ready to know now?" He smiled down at her. He knew what she was inquiring. By the time it got to this point, he would be seeing for himself soon, so he always allowed her to be the one to tell him. "Sure sweetheart. What do we have?" She squeezed his hand tighter, the only indication that she was having a contraction. "We have another son. Perhaps this one will look more like you." Kuwabara laughed. "Not if luck is on his side."
Their first son, Hakochi looked nothing like him, he thought. Thank Gods. With the exception that his hair had a tendency to curl, he was the image of Yukina. Aqua hair and red eyes. And he had her ice powers. Yukina frowned at her mate's assessment. He had been awkward as a teenager, but had grown into his looks. If you liked the rugged type instead of the pretty boys, which she did, then he was now quite handsome. His face had filled out and was less angular. His body was even more muscular. She would be very happy if their son looked like his father.
The healer addressed Kuwabara. "Have all of Lady Yukina's births been this quick?" "No. The first two took hours." The healer was pensive. "This child is quite impatient. It may be an indication of his power level." He turned back to his previous task. Kuwabara wondered at the statement. While Hakochi had Yukina's ice powers, they weren't all that strong. And it had been clear very early that Isahina would be a healer like her mother. Her healing powers already rivaled her mother's, but she had almost nothing else.
Scarcely forty five minutes later, Kuwabara was holding his son. The birth had been almost effortless. Kuwabara frowned at the child who had, in his opinion, the supreme misfortune of looking almost exactly like his father. He did manage to avoid the curly hair, but it was a sandy red in color, almost orange. He didn't sense any strong demonic energy from the child. So much for the healer's assessment of his son's power. Then the boy opened his eyes and stared directly at his father. Kuwabara's eyes got wide and his face split with a huge grin.
Koenma had been speaking to one of his advisors when his voice trailed off. Botan gripped his hand. "What is it? What's wrong?" He shook his head to clear it. "Nothing is wrong. I just felt something that I have rarely felt. Only once or twice a century. A very strong human spiritual energy. I have felt it only twice in recent memory. When Genkai was born, and again when Kuwabara was born." He stretched out his feelings to locate this powerful child. His eyes snapped open. "It's coming from the Makai. Unless something is horribly wrong, this can only mean that Yukina has given birth." He called loudly. "Ogre! Get Alaric on the communicator."
After several minutes of waiting, it was Hiei whose image filled the screen. "This had better be important Koenma. I am busy." Koenma didn't waste time on pleasantries. "Please tell me the spirit energy I am feeling is Kuwabara and Yukina's child." Hiei smirked. "Yes. I have a new nephew." Koenma smiled, relieved. "Tell them congratulations from Botan and myself. And that I trust them to properly train that powerful child." Hiei nodded with a, "Hn.", and closed the connection. If Koenma felt the child's birth energy in the Reikai, then his nephew had an incredible level of spirit energy.
When Hiei got back upstairs, Kuwabara was with the rest of the family holding a tiny bundle in his arms. He looked up. "There you are shrimp. These guys didn't want to wait. I had to remind them that you always get to be the first to hold my children." He laid his son in Hiei's arms. Hiei stared at his nephew. "He looks like you, oaf." "Yeah, poor kid." Yusuke chimed in. His hand went to the back of his head as the expected hit came from his mate. "Ouch, Keiko. That hurt." She snorted. "Good."
Kuwabara sat down, knowing that it would be a while before he got his son back. "Where'd ya go anyways?" Hiei looked up. "I had to answer a call from the Reikai. Koenma felt your son's birth energy." Kuwabara grinned. "He did, huh?" "Yes. Along with his congratulations, he says he is trusting you to properly train him." Yusuke scratched his head. "Wait, so this means…" Kurama chuckled. "It means that this boy takes after his father in more than looks."
Hiei looked back down at the sleeping child he held. "What is his name?" "Shoujo." Hiei nodded and walked over to Rayna. He laid the child in her arms. "Shoujo, meet your Aunt Rayna." She smiled as she took her nephew from Hiei. She cradled him close and began making cooing sounds to the boy. Hiei had an image of her holding his child. It made him smile. He was glad his back was to the others. She was looking at the child in her arms, so no one had seen it.
A servant entered the room and bowed. "Kuwabara san, the healer bid me tell you that he is finished and Lady Yukina is resting. You may return at any time." "Thanks." He smiled at how all the servants called her Lady Yukina. She deserved the respect more than any woman he knew. He knew it was only a courtesy title because she was their lord's sister. Kurama had explained it to him the first time he had heard her called that. The whole royalty and titles thing didn't matter to him. But he knew that it comprised the world that Hiei and Yusuke chose to live in. He also knew that being a lord wasn't a fairy tale. It was a very great responsibility. One his friends took very seriously.
He stood up and went to the bedroom. Shoujo was in good hands. He wanted to spend time with Yukina. She opened her eyes when he sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to wake you." She smiled at him and reached for his hand. "I wasn't asleep. Did you let Hiei…?" "Of course. He's always the first." She giggled. "I guess it will be a while before we get him back, won't it?" "Yeah. Everyone wants to hold him. Did you know that Koenma felt his birth energy in the Reikai?" "Is Shoujo that powerful?" "Guess so." She snuggled into her mate's arms. "Like you."
Kuwabara returned to the sitting room to retrieve his son. He knew that Shoujo would want his first meal soon. He found Tara holding him and all the kids gathered around her to get their first look at their new cousin. He knew that Yusuke had sent a message to Tourin to tell the boys about their new cousin. Tara expressed her reluctance to part with him, but he was getting fussy. A sure sign that he was hungry. She handed him over. With Shoujo returned to his parents, the rest of the group went back to their rooms to get ready for dinner.
Himura had not strayed far from Mukuro's side, constantly asking how she felt. She had done much more today than he had anticipated, but she was not experiencing any difficulties. He pronounced her ready for the last step in the procedure. He would complete the process tomorrow morning. It seemed that he and Mukuro were growing close.
The same could be said for Hiei and Rayna. Since the shared apology things had pretty much returned to the way they were. With the exception of that one declaration between them. Rayna had chosen to ignore it. Pretend she had not heard it. That he still had not said it. Hiei was trying to think of a foolproof way to convince her he was sincere.
He had spent a great deal of time thinking about what to do, when it hit him. Beth had told him to compare searching for a mate to a battle he had to win. That line of reasoning could surely apply here as well. He had to plan his strategy well. The most important thing in a successful battle was to outflank the enemy, and weaken them, before you moved in for the kill. He spotted Kurama in the courtyard. "Fox. I need some purple flowers."
To be continued….
