Fever

After a few days, Koneko's condition slowly started getting better. However, her fever still remained and caused her great discomfort. Issei normally stayed by her side and did his best to keep her comfortable. It was soon found out that her sickness was not contagious and that the other girls could be allowed to see her. Asia had tried healing sessions, but it didn't seem to be working on a natural sickness.

Today was a day where Issei was at school. That meant that Asia, Xenovia, Irina, Ravel, and Rossweisse were all at school. Unfortunately, Rias and Akeno had been called away to speak with Sirzechs regarding the two girls going to college. This left Koneko and Kuroka with little Ellie.

Kuroka had made it her task to watch the baby. "Wow, you really don't do much, do you?" She giggled as the little girl proceeded to crawl around the little play pen that she had. Koneko was down there with them so that Kuroka could keep and eye on her too. Right now, the white Nekomata was sleeping. "Poor Shirone. I know you feel terrible." She reached over and felt her sister's head. "Still warm huh?"

Ellie had noticed that Koneko was very quiet and decided to explore. She crawled her way over to the edge of the pen and hitting her little hand against the wall.

"What is it Ellie?" Kuroka stood and picked up the baby then set her on the floor, wondering if she'd lead her somewhere.

Elizabeth instantly crawled to the couch where Koneko was laying and tried to pull herself up. She was trying to check on her.

"Oh. You wanna sit with aunt Shirone?" She once again held the child and placed her between Koneko and the back couch cushion so she wouldn't fall off of it. Ellie started crawling up and laid down on Koneko's chest.

This woke the sleeping Nekomata. "Huh?" Koneko started to sit up but found she couldn't. "Oh, hey Ellie. How'd you get up here?" She held her head with one hand and rubbed the baby's back with the other.

"She missed her aunt Shirone and wanted to hang out." Kuroka giggled.

"So, you put her up here with me?"

"Yup."

"Alright." Koneko pulled Ellie up and changed her position so that she could lay with the baby. "There we go. Better?" She held Ellie in her arms and rocked her till she was asleep. Koneko's smile began to fade.

"Don't worry Shirone. One day you will have kittens of your own. Until then, you can play with Elizabeth and my brat." She rubbed her swollen belly.

"Yea, I know." Her headache began to fade as she looked at Ellie's face. "Big sis can you check my temp again?"

"Sure." Kuroka picked up the thermometer and held it to her head. "Huh? It broke. Your fever is almost gone."

"Good." Koneko was soon asleep with the baby in her arms.

About 2 hours later, Koneko woke up to find Rias and Issei smiling down at her. She was really confused.

"Why are you two looking at me like that?" She asked.

"Because you've done such a good job with Elizabeth." Rias chuckled.

Issei bent down and placed his hand on her head. "Back to normal. That's always good." He kissed her forehead. "How was Ellie?"

"Quiet. Kuroka put her up here while I was asleep earlier." The baby in question was still asleep where Koneko had left her. In her arms and on her chest. "She's precious."

"Yes, she is. May I?" Rias asked. Koneko nodded and Rias took the baby from her. Ellie woke up after feeling the change of hands. "Hi baby." She tapped the infant's nose making her laugh. "I'm going to go feed her. Thank you for watching her Koneko." Rias left the room.

"So, you feeling better?" Issei asked as he sat down on the couch.

Koneko took the invitation and crawled into his lap. "Yea, I don't feel like crap anymore."

"That's good." He stroked her ears. "You're disappointed that Rias and Kuroka have children and you don't, aren't you?"

"A little bit. But I get that you just want to make sure my body can handle it." She laid back into his chest. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Getting me to feel something again. For so long, I was emotionally shut down thanks to Kuroka leaving. Now, when I'm with you, I feel happiness, joy, contentment, and love." Her cheeks flushed.

"Don't worry, kitten. I'm not going anywhere." He hugged her to him and sat there with her for a while.

Kuroka was upstairs reading a book on babies when Rias walked in holding Ellie.

"You wanted to see me Kuroka?" Rias asked as she sat on the bed.

"Yea. I don't know how to be a mom." Kuroka rubbed her belly. She was about 6 months in, but she was still nervous.

"To be honest, I don't either." She laughed. Elizabeth started squirming a bit, so Rias set her on the bed. "I just kinda wing it. It's not as hard as you would think. Every baby is different. You need to feed them, change their diaper, bathe them, help them learn, and most importantly love them. It'll take time to find your own way to do that."

"That helps a lot. Thank you, Rias." By now, Ellie had crawled up to where Kuroka was. "Hey brat number one." She picked up the baby girl and held her up. "One day soon you'll have a kitten sibling."

"See, you're already good at handling a baby. Now you need to learn the everyday parts." At that exact moment, a new foul odor filled the room. "Thank you, Ellie for helping me with this parenting lesson." Both girls giggled as they took the baby to the other room to change her.

They laid her on the table and Kuroka practiced changing a diaper. It took a few tries to get it right, but she figured it out.

"Ewww. Babies are gross." Kuroka tossed the soiled diaper out and picked Ellie up. "But she is adorable. So, in the end, I guess it's worth it." The infant in question just laughed.

"So Kuroka, you have your appointment tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind if I tag along?"

"No, of course not. I know that you are more familiar with all of this than I am."

The next day, Kuroka, Issei and Rias took a trip to the doctor so see Kuroka's baby. As the three waited in the waiting room, Kuroka kept fidgeting in her seat.

"It's gonna be alright Kuroka." Issei placed a hand on her own.

"I know, I'm just…"

"Nervous about what gender it is?" Rias finished. "I was too. I had a dream on our honeymoon that we were having a baby girl. When we came, I was scared that I was wrong. Now that I look back at it, I would've loved my baby either way."

"That's nice to know." Kuroka stared at the floor for a moment.

"What do you want it to be?" Rias asked.

"I kinda want a little boy." Kuroka blushed and smiled. "One that looks just like his daddy."

Soon, they were called back, and Rias was to wait outside. The doctor was not at all surprised to see Issei here with a different girl. Since this doctor was the same who saw Rias almost a year ago, he knew who Issei was and his lifestyle. He also had read over Kuroka's file and knew what she was.

"Ah, Mr. Hyoudou. Gotten busy again, have we?" He chuckled.

"It was more of a trade off and this was the result. But I couldn't be happier." Issei held Kuroka's hand as the gel was put on her stomach.

"That's cold." She whined.

"I know. Rias said the same thing." He laughed at her. "Doc, do you mind if Kuroka pops her ears and tail out? I think she'd be more comfortable that way."

"Of course. I know who you are Ms. Toujou. Please by all means."

Kuroka wasn't expecting a last name to be said. She turned to Issei confused. "Toujou?"

"Yes. I figured that since you and Koneko have made up, taking her last name would be fitting." He shrugged.

"Alright. The little one is looking just fine. I assume you wanna know the gender?" The doctor chuckled.

"Yes." Kuroka answered instantly.

"Here he is." Doc turned the monitor and showed them the blob that was the baby. "A little baby boy in the making."

The dark Nekomata was overjoyed. She instantly pulled Issei into a kiss. "Thank you, Issei."

"You had a part in this too, ya know." Issei held her hand and kissed it.

"Has he been kicking at all?" The doctor asked.

"No, not yet. He's been quiet." Kuroka smiled. "Is that normal?"

"That's perfectly normal. He should start kicking in the next few weeks. So, if you experience any weird movement down there, its your baby boy saying hello."

Kuroka was overflowing with happiness. At first, she was nervous about all of this, now she was ready for everything.