Kat
The Forgotten Child
Chapter 10
written by Kat Aubuchon
edited masterfully by Windlily
Kurama slid one of his emerald green eyes
open to focus on the cheery little bird that sang
in the open window. He followed it's movements as
it hopped along the sill and peered into the room.
As if sensing his scrutiny, the blue song bird
turned to look at him before it flew off. Kurama
opened both eyes and looked at the position of
light on the wall and estimated that he had slept
through lunch and it was now late afternoon. He
wondered why the house was so quiet at this time
of the day, but did not regret the blessed
silence.
He was spooned up behind Hiei. His lover's
spiky black hair tickled his chin and nose, his
right arm was wrapped loosely around Hiei's waist
and his numb left arm was folded under his own
head. It was no small victory that Kurama had
finally convinced Hiei to sleep the night with
him, and he had considered the war won when Hiei
would allow him to hold him this close. This had
become their normal sleeping arrangement when Hiei
was in the Ningenkai.
Kurama had always known that he couldn't kept
Hiei in the Ningenkai the whole time that he was
going to be living here. After his step-father
died, he had promised himself, and his mother,
that he would remain here until she had passed on.
By this time Shiori and little Shuuichi had found
out the truth about Kurama, and quite on accident
he was told. The three of them had never told him
what had happened that week he had gone on a
business trip, but when he had come back he found
his mother, brother and Hiei having dinner and
chatting like old friends. She had even let Hiei
eat in the kitchen window for crying out loud!
When he questioned them about what had happened
while he was gone, Hiei just refused to answer and
Shiori and Shuuichi told him that if Hiei wanted
him to know, he would tell him himself.
Kurama marveled at his mind's ability to
think of the strangest things when he was tired
and was hoping to be able to go back to sleep when
he felt a throbbing ache in his hip and the pins
and needles pain of his numb left arm. The guest
room his expending family had been given had the
same lay out as the bedroom of his apartment. The
door was directly opposite the window with the bed
between the two. He knew that his current
discomfort came from the fact that he was laying
facing the window instead of the door.
Normally Hiei insisted on facing the door so
that he would be able to confront anyone coming
in, but because the only space big enough to put
the bassinet for the baby was next to the window
he had changed his normal pattern so that he could
keep an eye on Kyuukai. Since he always faced the
same way Hiei did, he was forced to sleep on the
wrong side. He didn't mind, as long as it kept
Hiei happy and content.
In an unusual act of superstition, Kurama had
wanted to rearrange the entire bedroom so that his
son was nowhere near that window. Somewhere in
the recesses of his childhood memories were tales
of children being taken from open windows by
monsters of various sorts. He knew that it was
ridiculous for him to think this way. Most of the
tales were of foxes taking human form and either
stealing into windows at night or tricking the
human parents into giving up their children.
The others were of spirits that floated in
through open windows to steal infant souls in the
night. He knew that a lot of the stories were
just that, stories to scare little kids, but he
was a fox spirit and he knew that sometimes things
like this happened. Hiei's insistence that there
had been a youkai in the cave with him made him
nervous.
He believed Hiei, even though his lover was
unable to give a good description of the woman.
He had told him that she had made ice and that her
hair color had changed from a silver blue to
reddish black, but beyond that and her red eyes,
he couldn't tell him anything more about her.
Yukina thought that maybe she was Koorimei, that
would explain the ice and why Hiei hadn't
abandoned the baby, but she was at a loss to
explain the change in hair color.
When Kurama had brought Hiei and the baby to
the house, Hiei had been adamant that he go find
this woman and bring her. After a few minutes of
arguing, Hiei had fallen into an exhausted sleep.
His sister said that he was having emotional
swings because of the baby, and that most Koorimei
became attached to those around them when they
'delivered' their children. She assured him that
in a few days Hiei would be back to his normal,
cheery, smiley self.
More than likely these dramatic shifts in
Hiei's emotions were what had kept him from
realizing that Kurama was awake and standing
directly behind him when he unwittingly made his
confession last night.
When Kurama had awakened to find Hiei and
Kyuukai in the window together, he had been amused
that the baby had so affected Hiei that he was
actually off his guard and acting the motherly
part by cradling their son so close, but as he
listened to his lover's secrets unfold he was no
longer amused. He had been angry, no *furious*,
that Hiei had not told him about the first baby.
He couldn't believe that Hiei had been so cold as
to not tell him something as important as this.
He had been so blinded by regret, rage, and
sadness that he almost missed what Hiei had to
say.
He had listened while Hiei talked in hushed
whispers to a point in the sky. Kurama wondered
how many of those nights he had caught Hiei in the
window of his apartment looking out at the stars
were nights that he was talking to this child he
had not felt worthy enough to name. Kurama's
anger was blown way in the wake of Hiei's own
character assassination.
Kurama tried to listen to the meaning behind
Hiei's words instead of just hearing them. He
didn't miss the fact that Hiei had not included
himself in the list of people that would be there
to watch over Kyuukai, or that he never once
referred to himself as the children's father.
Hiei had separated himself from them, the same way
he had once separated himself from Yukina. He
didn't want them to be associated with him,
because he thought there was something wrong with
himself.
When he listened to the wistful way Hiei had
talked to their unnamed child and heard the catch
in his lover's voice when he mistakenly said their
child 'was' going to be seventeen, he heart had
shattered. He fell guilty for getting so angry at
Hiei. It was obvious that Hiei had already
punished himself for his mistakes.
Kurama had pulled the pieces of acquired
information together and realized that Hiei's
first admission of love had been right after he
had lost their first child. The days before that
declaration Hiei had acted the same way he had for
this birth, and their fight the night he had left
nearly seventeen years ago had been echoed in the
fight they had just last night at the Kuwabara's
table.
Kurama couldn't help but think that if he had
of been more understanding, if had of kept his
temper, if had of done something different, maybe
Hiei wouldn't have run off and their child would
still be alive. He thought about the name Hiei
had chosen for their second child.
Kyuukai, long cherished hope. There was a
lot of meaning behind a name like that. He knew
that it took a lot of time, effort and
concentration for a Koorimei to have a child the
way Hiei had Kyuukai. Had Hiei been thinking of
making this child to replace the one they had
lost, or did the name mean that he had hoped that
there would be another child? Kurama liked to
believe that the name meant that Hiei had finally
forgiven himself, that with this child he would
start over and let go of all the torment and
misery he had built up over the quiet years.
Kurama slid his hand up Hiei's waist to his
shoulder, then continued his caress down the arm
that was curled against his chest. He carefully
laced his fingers with Hiei's and brought himself
up on his numb arm. He ignored the tiny stabbing
pain of a million unseen needles, and leaned
farther forward so that he could see his lover's
face.
As he expected, Hiei wore an expression of
pure exhaustion that allowed his face to take on
an almost angelic look. Almost. If Hiei could
figure out a way to glare with his eyes closed he
would have done it by now. Kurama knew that it
was only Hiei's complete drain of youki that
allowed him to view him this relaxed and
unguarded.
He carefully lowered his head to kiss Hiei on
his temple, then shifted his body lower to follow
the curve of his lover's jaw with light kisses.
His hand found it's way back to Hiei's hip and
slipped down to his stomach to pull him tighter to
him. Kurama's kisses turned into small bites as he
went down the side of Hiei's neck to the junction
of his neck and shoulder. He felt Hiei move his
head to give him better access to his neck and
Kurama grinned. He slowly moved his hand downward
from Hiei's belly to the top of his thigh and made
a very sharp bite to the neck that Hiei had
willingly displayed for him. Hiei's hand came to
rest on top of his own on his thigh, but instead
of guiding, it stopped him.
"As much as I am sure you would like to
continue with this Fox, I am equally sure that
Yukina will not appreciate you teaching her
youngest daughter your version of the bird and the
bees," Hiei said in a slightly amused tone.
Kurama was instantly alerted to the little
girl's presence at the foot of the bed. He looked
down past the lump of covers that was his feet and
saw a pair of very wide and interested red eyes
peering over the edge of the bed. Kurama flopped
back down on the mattress with a groan and covered
his embarrassed face with his arm.
"And just think, you have one now, too," Hiei
said dryly as he motioned for Koori to come around
to his side of the bed.
The little girl jumped to her feet from her
kneeling position at the foot of the bed and
quickly came to Hiei. Under one slender arm,
Koori had a professional sketch book and a box of
crayons. Kurama wondered which of the kids let
Koori use their very expensive sketch book for
scribbling. He didn't even know that any of the
kids were artistically inclined enough for a book
like that. He knew that the little girl hadn't
taken the book without asking. He had mistakenly
told a story of his life as a thief when Koori was
in ear shot once and had been given a serious talk
about how bad 'taking without permission' was by
the four year old.
"What kind of trouble are you trying to make
now?" Hiei asked his niece as he gently grabbed a
fist full of her shirt and pulled her closer to
him.
Koori wrapped her arms around Hiei's neck and
gave him a kiss on his cheek. Kurama watched in
amusement as the fire demon shivered because of
Koori's icy kiss and used the grip she had on his
neck to pull her onto the bed with them.
"If your going to be wiggling on the bed like
that, you really should lock the door like Mommy
and Daddy do," Koori reprimanded Kurama as she
pulled a leaf of loose paper from the book and
offered it to Hiei.
"I'm sure he'll remember next time," Hiei
told her as he took the paper, "What's this?"
"A present for you and Uncle Kurama and the
baby."
Kurama sat up with Hiei and looked over
Hiei's shoulder as he turned the picture several
times in an attempt to distinguish which end of
the picture was up. He finally decided on a
position and looked over at the girl, confused.
"What is it?"
Kurama let out a sigh and turned the paper
around so that the red horse she had drawn in a
field of tall grass would be right side up.
"It's lovely, Koori," he told her.
"Uncle Kurama, you're so silly." Koori
giggled as she took the picture from them and
turned it back the way Hiei had it, then gave it
back.
Hiei gave him a satisfied smirk at having the
picture the right way and looked back at the
little girl. "You still haven't told me what it
is."
Koori rolled her eyes, in a Hiei manner, and
pointed at the paper he held. "It's all of us
kids camping in the woods. See the fire and all
of us standing around it?"
Kurama looked closer at the picture and
realized that the red horse he had seen earlier
was actually the camp fire and the grass the horse
had been standing in were really people. He
counted the number of 'people' in the picture and
found seven instead of six. He didn't think much
about it, figuring that Koori had just miscounted
or hadn't counted the number of kids at all and
just keep drawing until there looked like there
was enough of them. Hiei handed the picture and
the sketch book to him to put away and continued
to look at his niece.
Kurama opened the book out of curiosity and
was amazed at the beautiful pencil drawings
inside. He flipped through the book and found
pencil sketches and crayon drawings mixed in
together. Some of the pictures were rough
outlined pencil drawings that had been filled in
with a four year old's crayon. There was a sketch
of each of the kids, a few landscapes, and a
detailed drawing of a fox. He looked in the
corner of the sketch of the fox for an artist's
mark, but all he found were two rather shaky,
child-like characters for fox and dragon. Kurama
set the book aside and decided to find out which
of the kids had so much talent and had never
showed it to anyone.
"So why did you come sneaking in here in the
first place, Koori?" Hiei asked the little girl on
the edge of the bed.
"I wanted to see the baby and Mommy said I
could ask you if you were awake, so I walked in to
see if you were awake, and now that you are... Can
I see the baby?" Koori said in one long breath.
Kurama blinked at the whirlwind question and
began to shake his head, "I don't think that is a
good idea right now Koori, the baby needs to sleep
and..."
"Go see the brat, Koori," Hiei interrupted,
"He's going to wake up in a minute and thirty
seconds any way."
Hiei pushed the girl toward the bassinet, but
before she would get off the bed she looked at
Kurama to see if it was all right. Kurama gave a
nod and the girl practically flew the few feet to
the baby's bed. He wasn't sure if her little toes
ever touched the ground.
"A minute and thirty seconds?" he asked his
lover.
"A minute and ten seconds now." Hiei
responded.
"How do you know that?"
Hiei just shrugged at the question. "Just
know."
Kurama shook his head and looked to see what
Koori was doing. The little girl had found out
that she was too short to see over the top of the
bassinet and was dragging a stool over to stand
on. Since Koori's attention was elsewhere at the
moment, Kurama took advantage of it.
He pushed Hiei back down on the bed and half
covered him with his own body. He knew that Hiei
wouldn't protest, because that would alert Koori
that there was something going on. Koori's
excited squeal broke them apart just before he was
able to give his lover the long kiss he had
planned.
"A puppy!"
Kurama and Hiei stared at each other and then
questioned in unison, "A puppy?"
Koori nodded emphatically at them and lifted
the blanket wrapped bundle from the bassinet.
Hiei quickly left the bed and before she had a
chance to hop down from the stool he took the baby
from her. He set the bundle on the bed and Kurama
scurried over to see exactly what was going on.
Hiei unwrapped the soft blanket and laying in the
middle was a tiny fox kit.
"See. A puppy," Koori informed her
addle-patted uncles.
Kurama had never seen a kit as small as the
ball of bright red fur that was in front of him
now. There were always runts in litters, but his
little one could probably fit in his shirt pocket.
"Kurama.... Explain this!" Hiei hissed.
Their son started at the sound of Hiei's
voice and tried to lift it's head, but only
succeeded in bobbing it up and down. In
frustration Kyuukai started to whine and move his
paws in a swimming-like motion, but his round
belly lifted him high enough that it prevented him
from getting any traction.
Kurama took pity on his son and picked him
up. He placed him on his chest and the kit's fur
was so close to matching Kurama's own hair color
that he blended perfectly. The only mark on his
blood red coat was a small patch of white on his
forehead. In that patch of white there were a few
hairs of the same red fur that covered the rest of
his body. Kurama was sure that when Kyuukai got
older those strands of red in the center would
eventually form a patch that would give him a
white star like pattern on his forehead like his
grumpy father.
"He's part youko, Hiei. What is there to
explain?" he asked as he stroked his son's tiny
folded ears and velvet nose.
"What is there explain?! He was normal when
I put him to sleep last night and now he's a dog!"
"Hiei, your overreacting. He is *not* a dog,
just a youko kit. A very tiny kit, but otherwise
normal." A frown formed on Kurama's face as he
looked at the newborn kit. "But...."
"But what!" Hiei demanded.
Kurama looked at the little girl that had
been forgotten in the midst of all this new
excitement.
"Koori? Could you do me a favor? Go tell
your mother that Kyuukai is going to be needing
his bottle soon and that she is going to have to
find those bottles she used when she nursed that
puppy."
Koori nodded her head and quickly gave her
new cousin a kiss on his muzzle before scrabbling
out the door. Kurama turned his attention back to
Hiei's glaring face. Kyuukai started to whine in
earnest now and bobbed his head rhythmically on
Kurama's chest. Hiei's expression quickly changed
from angry to worried as he reach for his son.
Kurama let go of the kit and was amazed at how
quickly Kyuukai calmed when Hiei cradled him to
his neck.
"Is there something wrong with him?" Hiei
asked quietly.
Kurama wanted to reassure Hiei that their son
was perfectly fine, but the truth was he didn't
know.
"I don't know if there's something wrong or
not.... It's just that he shouldn't be able to
take kitsune form by himself, not at this age
anyway."
"So there is something wrong," Hiei said
flatly.
Kurama ran his hand through his hair and
tried to think of a way to explain how kits
matured and realized that he knew very little
about the actual raising of kits.
"A full blooded youko kit can't take
different forms until they are at least a year old
without their mother," he explained, but Hiei made
no indication that he understood so he continued.
"In other words, a kit will take on whatever
form their mother takes. It's for ease of
transport. A youko wouldn't have any trouble
carrying a kitsune around, but a kitsune could
never drag a youko infant, so if mother and child
are in the same form then there isn't a problem."
"So why is he doing it now?" Hiei asked
frustrated.
"I don't *know*! This is the first child
I've ever had!"
As soon at the words left his mouth Kurama
wished he hadn't said them. He had no intention
of making it sound like he was blaming Hiei for
this, but by the look on Hiei's face it was clear
that was the way he took it. Kurama took a step
forward but stopped when he saw Hiei's tilted
grin.
"I guess your just going to have to figure it
out, Fox," Hiei told him as he handed their
kitsune son over.
Out of reflex Kurama took Kyuukai from Hiei's
out stretched arms, but when he tried to talk to
his lover Yukina showed up. She was carrying a
blanket, bottles and a baby bag that had to be
bigger than she was. She got stuck in the door
when one of the straps of the bag caught on the
door knob. With an sigh of defeat she reached
behind her to unhook the strap.
"Well, I have the bottles you wanted, but I
don't see...." Yukina stopped when she finally got
free of the door and got a good look at the
occupants of the room.
She stared wide eyed at the little kitsune
cradled in his hands. "It *is* a puppy... I mean
a kit," she said stunned.
Koori came from behind her mother and stood
facing the adults. She placed her hands on her
hips and shook her head at all of them.
"Why doesn't anyone believe me?!" she asked
exasperated.
Koori went to the bed and grabbed the sketch
book and went to go find the one person she knew
would believe her.
========
End chapter 10
The Forgotten Child
Chapter 10
written by Kat Aubuchon
edited masterfully by Windlily
Kurama slid one of his emerald green eyes
open to focus on the cheery little bird that sang
in the open window. He followed it's movements as
it hopped along the sill and peered into the room.
As if sensing his scrutiny, the blue song bird
turned to look at him before it flew off. Kurama
opened both eyes and looked at the position of
light on the wall and estimated that he had slept
through lunch and it was now late afternoon. He
wondered why the house was so quiet at this time
of the day, but did not regret the blessed
silence.
He was spooned up behind Hiei. His lover's
spiky black hair tickled his chin and nose, his
right arm was wrapped loosely around Hiei's waist
and his numb left arm was folded under his own
head. It was no small victory that Kurama had
finally convinced Hiei to sleep the night with
him, and he had considered the war won when Hiei
would allow him to hold him this close. This had
become their normal sleeping arrangement when Hiei
was in the Ningenkai.
Kurama had always known that he couldn't kept
Hiei in the Ningenkai the whole time that he was
going to be living here. After his step-father
died, he had promised himself, and his mother,
that he would remain here until she had passed on.
By this time Shiori and little Shuuichi had found
out the truth about Kurama, and quite on accident
he was told. The three of them had never told him
what had happened that week he had gone on a
business trip, but when he had come back he found
his mother, brother and Hiei having dinner and
chatting like old friends. She had even let Hiei
eat in the kitchen window for crying out loud!
When he questioned them about what had happened
while he was gone, Hiei just refused to answer and
Shiori and Shuuichi told him that if Hiei wanted
him to know, he would tell him himself.
Kurama marveled at his mind's ability to
think of the strangest things when he was tired
and was hoping to be able to go back to sleep when
he felt a throbbing ache in his hip and the pins
and needles pain of his numb left arm. The guest
room his expending family had been given had the
same lay out as the bedroom of his apartment. The
door was directly opposite the window with the bed
between the two. He knew that his current
discomfort came from the fact that he was laying
facing the window instead of the door.
Normally Hiei insisted on facing the door so
that he would be able to confront anyone coming
in, but because the only space big enough to put
the bassinet for the baby was next to the window
he had changed his normal pattern so that he could
keep an eye on Kyuukai. Since he always faced the
same way Hiei did, he was forced to sleep on the
wrong side. He didn't mind, as long as it kept
Hiei happy and content.
In an unusual act of superstition, Kurama had
wanted to rearrange the entire bedroom so that his
son was nowhere near that window. Somewhere in
the recesses of his childhood memories were tales
of children being taken from open windows by
monsters of various sorts. He knew that it was
ridiculous for him to think this way. Most of the
tales were of foxes taking human form and either
stealing into windows at night or tricking the
human parents into giving up their children.
The others were of spirits that floated in
through open windows to steal infant souls in the
night. He knew that a lot of the stories were
just that, stories to scare little kids, but he
was a fox spirit and he knew that sometimes things
like this happened. Hiei's insistence that there
had been a youkai in the cave with him made him
nervous.
He believed Hiei, even though his lover was
unable to give a good description of the woman.
He had told him that she had made ice and that her
hair color had changed from a silver blue to
reddish black, but beyond that and her red eyes,
he couldn't tell him anything more about her.
Yukina thought that maybe she was Koorimei, that
would explain the ice and why Hiei hadn't
abandoned the baby, but she was at a loss to
explain the change in hair color.
When Kurama had brought Hiei and the baby to
the house, Hiei had been adamant that he go find
this woman and bring her. After a few minutes of
arguing, Hiei had fallen into an exhausted sleep.
His sister said that he was having emotional
swings because of the baby, and that most Koorimei
became attached to those around them when they
'delivered' their children. She assured him that
in a few days Hiei would be back to his normal,
cheery, smiley self.
More than likely these dramatic shifts in
Hiei's emotions were what had kept him from
realizing that Kurama was awake and standing
directly behind him when he unwittingly made his
confession last night.
When Kurama had awakened to find Hiei and
Kyuukai in the window together, he had been amused
that the baby had so affected Hiei that he was
actually off his guard and acting the motherly
part by cradling their son so close, but as he
listened to his lover's secrets unfold he was no
longer amused. He had been angry, no *furious*,
that Hiei had not told him about the first baby.
He couldn't believe that Hiei had been so cold as
to not tell him something as important as this.
He had been so blinded by regret, rage, and
sadness that he almost missed what Hiei had to
say.
He had listened while Hiei talked in hushed
whispers to a point in the sky. Kurama wondered
how many of those nights he had caught Hiei in the
window of his apartment looking out at the stars
were nights that he was talking to this child he
had not felt worthy enough to name. Kurama's
anger was blown way in the wake of Hiei's own
character assassination.
Kurama tried to listen to the meaning behind
Hiei's words instead of just hearing them. He
didn't miss the fact that Hiei had not included
himself in the list of people that would be there
to watch over Kyuukai, or that he never once
referred to himself as the children's father.
Hiei had separated himself from them, the same way
he had once separated himself from Yukina. He
didn't want them to be associated with him,
because he thought there was something wrong with
himself.
When he listened to the wistful way Hiei had
talked to their unnamed child and heard the catch
in his lover's voice when he mistakenly said their
child 'was' going to be seventeen, he heart had
shattered. He fell guilty for getting so angry at
Hiei. It was obvious that Hiei had already
punished himself for his mistakes.
Kurama had pulled the pieces of acquired
information together and realized that Hiei's
first admission of love had been right after he
had lost their first child. The days before that
declaration Hiei had acted the same way he had for
this birth, and their fight the night he had left
nearly seventeen years ago had been echoed in the
fight they had just last night at the Kuwabara's
table.
Kurama couldn't help but think that if he had
of been more understanding, if had of kept his
temper, if had of done something different, maybe
Hiei wouldn't have run off and their child would
still be alive. He thought about the name Hiei
had chosen for their second child.
Kyuukai, long cherished hope. There was a
lot of meaning behind a name like that. He knew
that it took a lot of time, effort and
concentration for a Koorimei to have a child the
way Hiei had Kyuukai. Had Hiei been thinking of
making this child to replace the one they had
lost, or did the name mean that he had hoped that
there would be another child? Kurama liked to
believe that the name meant that Hiei had finally
forgiven himself, that with this child he would
start over and let go of all the torment and
misery he had built up over the quiet years.
Kurama slid his hand up Hiei's waist to his
shoulder, then continued his caress down the arm
that was curled against his chest. He carefully
laced his fingers with Hiei's and brought himself
up on his numb arm. He ignored the tiny stabbing
pain of a million unseen needles, and leaned
farther forward so that he could see his lover's
face.
As he expected, Hiei wore an expression of
pure exhaustion that allowed his face to take on
an almost angelic look. Almost. If Hiei could
figure out a way to glare with his eyes closed he
would have done it by now. Kurama knew that it
was only Hiei's complete drain of youki that
allowed him to view him this relaxed and
unguarded.
He carefully lowered his head to kiss Hiei on
his temple, then shifted his body lower to follow
the curve of his lover's jaw with light kisses.
His hand found it's way back to Hiei's hip and
slipped down to his stomach to pull him tighter to
him. Kurama's kisses turned into small bites as he
went down the side of Hiei's neck to the junction
of his neck and shoulder. He felt Hiei move his
head to give him better access to his neck and
Kurama grinned. He slowly moved his hand downward
from Hiei's belly to the top of his thigh and made
a very sharp bite to the neck that Hiei had
willingly displayed for him. Hiei's hand came to
rest on top of his own on his thigh, but instead
of guiding, it stopped him.
"As much as I am sure you would like to
continue with this Fox, I am equally sure that
Yukina will not appreciate you teaching her
youngest daughter your version of the bird and the
bees," Hiei said in a slightly amused tone.
Kurama was instantly alerted to the little
girl's presence at the foot of the bed. He looked
down past the lump of covers that was his feet and
saw a pair of very wide and interested red eyes
peering over the edge of the bed. Kurama flopped
back down on the mattress with a groan and covered
his embarrassed face with his arm.
"And just think, you have one now, too," Hiei
said dryly as he motioned for Koori to come around
to his side of the bed.
The little girl jumped to her feet from her
kneeling position at the foot of the bed and
quickly came to Hiei. Under one slender arm,
Koori had a professional sketch book and a box of
crayons. Kurama wondered which of the kids let
Koori use their very expensive sketch book for
scribbling. He didn't even know that any of the
kids were artistically inclined enough for a book
like that. He knew that the little girl hadn't
taken the book without asking. He had mistakenly
told a story of his life as a thief when Koori was
in ear shot once and had been given a serious talk
about how bad 'taking without permission' was by
the four year old.
"What kind of trouble are you trying to make
now?" Hiei asked his niece as he gently grabbed a
fist full of her shirt and pulled her closer to
him.
Koori wrapped her arms around Hiei's neck and
gave him a kiss on his cheek. Kurama watched in
amusement as the fire demon shivered because of
Koori's icy kiss and used the grip she had on his
neck to pull her onto the bed with them.
"If your going to be wiggling on the bed like
that, you really should lock the door like Mommy
and Daddy do," Koori reprimanded Kurama as she
pulled a leaf of loose paper from the book and
offered it to Hiei.
"I'm sure he'll remember next time," Hiei
told her as he took the paper, "What's this?"
"A present for you and Uncle Kurama and the
baby."
Kurama sat up with Hiei and looked over
Hiei's shoulder as he turned the picture several
times in an attempt to distinguish which end of
the picture was up. He finally decided on a
position and looked over at the girl, confused.
"What is it?"
Kurama let out a sigh and turned the paper
around so that the red horse she had drawn in a
field of tall grass would be right side up.
"It's lovely, Koori," he told her.
"Uncle Kurama, you're so silly." Koori
giggled as she took the picture from them and
turned it back the way Hiei had it, then gave it
back.
Hiei gave him a satisfied smirk at having the
picture the right way and looked back at the
little girl. "You still haven't told me what it
is."
Koori rolled her eyes, in a Hiei manner, and
pointed at the paper he held. "It's all of us
kids camping in the woods. See the fire and all
of us standing around it?"
Kurama looked closer at the picture and
realized that the red horse he had seen earlier
was actually the camp fire and the grass the horse
had been standing in were really people. He
counted the number of 'people' in the picture and
found seven instead of six. He didn't think much
about it, figuring that Koori had just miscounted
or hadn't counted the number of kids at all and
just keep drawing until there looked like there
was enough of them. Hiei handed the picture and
the sketch book to him to put away and continued
to look at his niece.
Kurama opened the book out of curiosity and
was amazed at the beautiful pencil drawings
inside. He flipped through the book and found
pencil sketches and crayon drawings mixed in
together. Some of the pictures were rough
outlined pencil drawings that had been filled in
with a four year old's crayon. There was a sketch
of each of the kids, a few landscapes, and a
detailed drawing of a fox. He looked in the
corner of the sketch of the fox for an artist's
mark, but all he found were two rather shaky,
child-like characters for fox and dragon. Kurama
set the book aside and decided to find out which
of the kids had so much talent and had never
showed it to anyone.
"So why did you come sneaking in here in the
first place, Koori?" Hiei asked the little girl on
the edge of the bed.
"I wanted to see the baby and Mommy said I
could ask you if you were awake, so I walked in to
see if you were awake, and now that you are... Can
I see the baby?" Koori said in one long breath.
Kurama blinked at the whirlwind question and
began to shake his head, "I don't think that is a
good idea right now Koori, the baby needs to sleep
and..."
"Go see the brat, Koori," Hiei interrupted,
"He's going to wake up in a minute and thirty
seconds any way."
Hiei pushed the girl toward the bassinet, but
before she would get off the bed she looked at
Kurama to see if it was all right. Kurama gave a
nod and the girl practically flew the few feet to
the baby's bed. He wasn't sure if her little toes
ever touched the ground.
"A minute and thirty seconds?" he asked his
lover.
"A minute and ten seconds now." Hiei
responded.
"How do you know that?"
Hiei just shrugged at the question. "Just
know."
Kurama shook his head and looked to see what
Koori was doing. The little girl had found out
that she was too short to see over the top of the
bassinet and was dragging a stool over to stand
on. Since Koori's attention was elsewhere at the
moment, Kurama took advantage of it.
He pushed Hiei back down on the bed and half
covered him with his own body. He knew that Hiei
wouldn't protest, because that would alert Koori
that there was something going on. Koori's
excited squeal broke them apart just before he was
able to give his lover the long kiss he had
planned.
"A puppy!"
Kurama and Hiei stared at each other and then
questioned in unison, "A puppy?"
Koori nodded emphatically at them and lifted
the blanket wrapped bundle from the bassinet.
Hiei quickly left the bed and before she had a
chance to hop down from the stool he took the baby
from her. He set the bundle on the bed and Kurama
scurried over to see exactly what was going on.
Hiei unwrapped the soft blanket and laying in the
middle was a tiny fox kit.
"See. A puppy," Koori informed her
addle-patted uncles.
Kurama had never seen a kit as small as the
ball of bright red fur that was in front of him
now. There were always runts in litters, but his
little one could probably fit in his shirt pocket.
"Kurama.... Explain this!" Hiei hissed.
Their son started at the sound of Hiei's
voice and tried to lift it's head, but only
succeeded in bobbing it up and down. In
frustration Kyuukai started to whine and move his
paws in a swimming-like motion, but his round
belly lifted him high enough that it prevented him
from getting any traction.
Kurama took pity on his son and picked him
up. He placed him on his chest and the kit's fur
was so close to matching Kurama's own hair color
that he blended perfectly. The only mark on his
blood red coat was a small patch of white on his
forehead. In that patch of white there were a few
hairs of the same red fur that covered the rest of
his body. Kurama was sure that when Kyuukai got
older those strands of red in the center would
eventually form a patch that would give him a
white star like pattern on his forehead like his
grumpy father.
"He's part youko, Hiei. What is there to
explain?" he asked as he stroked his son's tiny
folded ears and velvet nose.
"What is there explain?! He was normal when
I put him to sleep last night and now he's a dog!"
"Hiei, your overreacting. He is *not* a dog,
just a youko kit. A very tiny kit, but otherwise
normal." A frown formed on Kurama's face as he
looked at the newborn kit. "But...."
"But what!" Hiei demanded.
Kurama looked at the little girl that had
been forgotten in the midst of all this new
excitement.
"Koori? Could you do me a favor? Go tell
your mother that Kyuukai is going to be needing
his bottle soon and that she is going to have to
find those bottles she used when she nursed that
puppy."
Koori nodded her head and quickly gave her
new cousin a kiss on his muzzle before scrabbling
out the door. Kurama turned his attention back to
Hiei's glaring face. Kyuukai started to whine in
earnest now and bobbed his head rhythmically on
Kurama's chest. Hiei's expression quickly changed
from angry to worried as he reach for his son.
Kurama let go of the kit and was amazed at how
quickly Kyuukai calmed when Hiei cradled him to
his neck.
"Is there something wrong with him?" Hiei
asked quietly.
Kurama wanted to reassure Hiei that their son
was perfectly fine, but the truth was he didn't
know.
"I don't know if there's something wrong or
not.... It's just that he shouldn't be able to
take kitsune form by himself, not at this age
anyway."
"So there is something wrong," Hiei said
flatly.
Kurama ran his hand through his hair and
tried to think of a way to explain how kits
matured and realized that he knew very little
about the actual raising of kits.
"A full blooded youko kit can't take
different forms until they are at least a year old
without their mother," he explained, but Hiei made
no indication that he understood so he continued.
"In other words, a kit will take on whatever
form their mother takes. It's for ease of
transport. A youko wouldn't have any trouble
carrying a kitsune around, but a kitsune could
never drag a youko infant, so if mother and child
are in the same form then there isn't a problem."
"So why is he doing it now?" Hiei asked
frustrated.
"I don't *know*! This is the first child
I've ever had!"
As soon at the words left his mouth Kurama
wished he hadn't said them. He had no intention
of making it sound like he was blaming Hiei for
this, but by the look on Hiei's face it was clear
that was the way he took it. Kurama took a step
forward but stopped when he saw Hiei's tilted
grin.
"I guess your just going to have to figure it
out, Fox," Hiei told him as he handed their
kitsune son over.
Out of reflex Kurama took Kyuukai from Hiei's
out stretched arms, but when he tried to talk to
his lover Yukina showed up. She was carrying a
blanket, bottles and a baby bag that had to be
bigger than she was. She got stuck in the door
when one of the straps of the bag caught on the
door knob. With an sigh of defeat she reached
behind her to unhook the strap.
"Well, I have the bottles you wanted, but I
don't see...." Yukina stopped when she finally got
free of the door and got a good look at the
occupants of the room.
She stared wide eyed at the little kitsune
cradled in his hands. "It *is* a puppy... I mean
a kit," she said stunned.
Koori came from behind her mother and stood
facing the adults. She placed her hands on her
hips and shook her head at all of them.
"Why doesn't anyone believe me?!" she asked
exasperated.
Koori went to the bed and grabbed the sketch
book and went to go find the one person she knew
would believe her.
========
End chapter 10