I am thinking of putting in a lemon, right before the end of the story… What do you guys think? I was asked about my "Hiei-sama* quote at one point, where I realized that my humor does not carry throughout the internet… So…. I'm gonna give up trying to be funny, when I realize I'm obviously not. I just don't like it getting too serious and bad. So, yeah. I'm gonna end it soon, so you guys don't have to wait on me anymore. I'm thinking I'm going to write the stories first, and then publish them, so that you guys aren't waiting on me. So, enjoy! It's a little longer than the previous two, so happy reading!

~*~~~*~

Chapter 10: Babies and Ramen

~*~Fifteen Years Ago~*~

*I need to be at the hospital* Shiori stated. Her husband looked at her, shocked.

*What's wrong, dear?*

*Our baby is coming.* Shiori's husband turned white. He began to shake, as he quickly got his wife's things together. A robe, for when the baby was born, a blanket, in case she was cold, booties, for the baby's feet, etc. He stuffed them into a duffle bag, silently cursing himself for not being prepared already, and ran out the house. He jumped in the car, started it, and backed out of the driveway. Then, he parked the car, and went back inside for his wife. Together, they got in the car, and drove off.

The birthing process was a difficult one. Shiori screamed in pain, as each contraction came, and her husband turned a new shade of green every time. The smells that entered the room were gross, and he was prepared to pass out. Shiori kept screaming and screaming for drugs, but her husband firmly said 'no.' Shiori had told him, plain and simple, that she did not want drugs. She wanted the birth process to be a natural one. Yet, there she lay, covered in a layer of sweat, face contorted in pain. The doctor, finally, told her to push.

Her son began to slide out of her body. Hid head first, then shoulders, body, legs, and finally, feet. Shiori lay, gasping, as they picked her son up, and cut the umbilical cord. They picked up the placenta, and placed it in a pan. The doctor picked up the baby, to spank him, to make him cry, the baby simply looked at his mother, and began to babble incoherently. The doctor nearly dropped the baby.

*Never, in all my years as a doctor, has a baby ever looked at anyone and began to speak. Babies don't know how to speak. How is he talking?* Shiori looked at the doctor, smiling.

*My Shuuichi is a very bright boy.* she stated, simply. The doctor shook his head. "I could have sworn I heard him tell me to put him down, in all that babble." He thought to himself. "It must have been my imagination."

After a few days, Shiori was able to leave the hospital. She had a speedy recovery, and was looking forward to going home. She wanted time with her baby. As her car pulled in the driveway, she turned to look at Shuuichi.

*This is your home, baby boy.* she said sweetly. Shuuichi looked at his mother, through his baby eyes. Shiori lost her smile. She could have sworn that he rolled his eyes at her, but no, he just must be tired. Her baby was perfect, he didn't even know how to be indignant yet. She smiled again, laughing at herself for thinking her baby could have done what she thought he did. She got out of the car, and went around to get Shuuichi out. She unbuckled his seatbelt, and picked him up. Shuuichi screamed, and babbled incoherently. "Did he just tell me to put him down?" Shiori thought, confused. Looking at her husband she saw that he thought the same thing. They took him into the house, and placed him in his crib. Shuuichi immediately folded his arms across his chest, and let out a huff. Shiori looked a her son in wonder. She knew that babies couldn't sit Indian style until they were… well, she didn't know, but definitely not three days old. Shiori and her husband left his room, to talk about their baby.

*Did he say something?* Shiori asked

*Don't be silly, honey, babies that young cannot talk.*

*But he gave me a look. It looked like he knew exactly what was going on. Honey, he was sitting Indian style! He's three days old!* Shiori's husband gave her a weak smile. He was confused, too. Their baby was acting strange, and he did not know why.

*Sweetie, he's perfectly fine. He's just advanced for his age. I know, it's weird, but we just have to accept it.* He put his arms around his wife. *Everything is going to be fine.*

~*~~~*~

Kurama looked at his hands. They were small. He looked at his surroundings. He was in a jail-like place. He listened to the sounds. His parents were talking about him. His mother sounded scared. ?Good." He thought. Only ten years, and he can get out of this place. His powers would reach their fullest again, and he can once again become Youko Kurama, the famous Makai thief. Reaching down, he picked up a rattle. "How juvenile." He began to figure out how he could break out of his prison.

Click. The lock on the crib opened, and one side fell down. "Too easy." Kurama thought, as he stood, to walk to the edge of the crib. But, his legs would not support him. "Stupid infant legs. I can't stand yet, nor can I form logical words. Why am I bounded by such infantile actions? I wish to be grown up again, so I can control everything that I do." His mother rushed into the room, and saw the crib open with a very confused Shuuichi on his butt. Shiori looked at her husband, worried.

*Is the crib… broken?* She asked him, hoping he would say yes. He merely shook his head, not knowing how to find his words. Kurama laughed to himself. "Silly humans, they think I am merely their young human son. Well, just wait, a few years, and I have most of my powers back."

Months passed, as they do, and Kurama grew, steadily, both mind and body. He learned how to use his body, to the fullest if his human abilities, and he began to walk at ten months. People came from all over, to see the baby walking around. Kurama also gained some of his powers back, especially the ones over nature. When his parents sat him in the yard, he would begin to make the grass greener and longer. The trees would bloom, and the flowers would bud. Shiori and her husband would sit, staring at him, as he spoke to the earth.

More time passed, and Kurama's father died. Shiori was inconsolable, and Kurama was unscathed. Shiori thought it was simply because he was too young to understand. Kurama watched his mother become more and more sad, as she realized she had no one. Her son thought he was better than her since he was born, and he didn't love her. The only person that had ever loved her in return, had died. Kurama felt sorry for this woman, his mother.

Two weeks after they put his father to rest, Kurama went to his mother. She was in her room, as she tended to be, stuck in her depression. Kurama sat in his mother's lap, and hugged her. He stayed with her for hours, telling her he loved her, and that she would be OK. Shiori was amazed, her son had never shown her any affection. She had finally won him over.

Shiori and Kurama became close, and Kurama's tenth birthday came and went. He knew he had his powers, and he would be able to be Youko Kurama once more, but he stayed with his mother. In all the time that he told her he loved her, and she brought him closer to his heart, it became true. He truly loved his mother. She became an important aspect in his life, as did school work. Kurama became obsessed with learning everything the humans knew, or thought they knew. His life was going alright, and he had completely turned away from crime.

Kurama and his mother loved walking through the woods. Kurama loved it, because it reminded him of his time in the Makai, and how much he loved all of nature. His good mood would brighten up the trees, and even in the bleakest spring, with no water and horrible heat, the leaves would get a little greener, and the grass a little springier. His mother and him would laugh, as they shared a secret joke or happy memory.

Then came the day, the day his mother became sick. Kurama blamed himself. He didn't love her enough, he made her be lonely for too long, his father's death had impacted her too much. Kurama wasn't able to save his mother in time. His desperation to find a cure to his mother's illness went up like a flag. It took no time for Hiei to find him, and play on Kurama's weaknesses. Little did Hiei know, that Kurama would become a much bigger person in his life, than a youko in a human body helping him steal three artifacts from the spirit world.

~*~~~*~

Hiei looked at Kurama, as he lay, huddled in his lap. He began to stroke Kurama's hair, growing more angry as Kurama's sobs continued.

*Kurama, come now, she was just angry. Come with me, we'll find somewhere to stay.*

*But school, and work, and my room, and I can't leave.* Kurama sobbed. *This room is my entire life, this house is my entire existence. I can't just up and leave my life.*

*Kurama, you heard Shiori. You need to go, soon. We've been sitting here for hours now, and she's going to be coming home from work soon.*

*I just don't want to leave.*

*We have to.*

*NO! NO! NO! I AM NOT LEAVING THE ONE AND ONLY LIFE THAT I ACTUALLY FIT INTO! NO! NO! NO! I AM MORE SHUUICHI THAN I AM YOUKO KURAMA NOW AND I CAN'T GO BACK NOW. I CAN'T TAKE ON ANOTHER LIFE, IT'S TOO LATE NOW. I NEED TO STAY HERE. I NEED TO MAKE SHIORI UNDERSTAND.* Kurama yelled at Hiei, causing the tiny demon to fall backward, hitting his head on the wall near the bed. Hiei stood up, willing himself not to leave the house and Kurama alone. He knew he had to stay with Kurama, and get him out of the house. He knew Shiori needed time to cool down. He knew a lot of things, but his heart was not reacting to what his mind knew.

*Kurama…* Hiei took Kurama in his arms once again. *Kurama, we need to go. Just take a few things, important things, and we'll come back in a few days. Everything will be cooled down by then, and Shiori will be able to talk with you.*

*Alright.* Kurama stood up, and got a duffle bag out of his closet. He took a few pairs of pants, some shirts, his school uniform, his fox pajamas, and some other essentials and placed them inside. Then, he went to his junk drawer and fished out Hiei's sleeping picture (Hiei winced at seeing it again, bad memories). This, he placed in his pocket. Then, Kurama went back to his desk, and opened the school drawer. He carefully pulled out the glass rose in the plastic box he used to protect it (Hiei smiled at this, remembering the first birthday present he had ever given). Kurama also placed this in his pocket. Gathering up his school bag, he looked at Hiei. *I'm ready.* He said. Hiei nodded, grabbed Kurama's hand, and led him out the door. Kurama closed the door behind him, locking it, and pocketing the key. Sighing, he looked at Hiei, and, as Hiei pulled him closer to jump him away, smiled faintly. Everything was going to be alright. Hiei was right, just a few more days. Shiori would be alright in a few more days.

~*~~~*~

Hiei jumped Kurama to a clearing he had become very fond of. It was right by Kurama's school, so it should be easy for Kurama to get to school, and it was far enough in the woods that wanderers wouldn't find them. It was perfect, in his mind. Kurama thought differently.

"This is where I took that girl, that one day… Toya… The day after Hiei had caught me with the picture…" Kurama fingered the picture in his pocket.

*Are we staying here?* Kurama asked.

*Yes… or… no?* Hiei responded, not understanding Kurama's tone.

*No, definitely… no.* Kurama responded. *Can we find a new place?*

*Of course. What's wrong.*

*Bad memories.*

*Like…?*

*I'd rather not say.*

*Hn.*

*Don't be like that.*

*Well, I thought a relationship was supposed to be about honesty, and all that bullshit.*

*You wouldn't understand.*

*Hn.* Hiei began to walk away. He wasn't going to jump Kurama around, he didn't feel like touching the kitsune. He didn't even want to look at him. Sure, Kurama was sad, but secretive? Why was he being so evasive?

Kurama grabbed his bags, and followed Hiei. He passed by the rock that he left the crying girl on, and felt his heart sink. How could he have been so horrible to her? He wasn't a horrible person, he just… didn't like touching her, he didn't like kissing her. He didn't like being with her, when all he could think of was Hiei.

*Wait, Hiei. We can stay.* Hiei turned, and walked back to Kurama.

*No, you don't want to be here. I don't understand why, but that's alright. We will find a new place.*

*I wish to make better memories here, though.*

*Hn. Whatever you want.* Hiei dropped to his knees, and leaned against a tree. Kurama put his stuff on the cursed rock, and joined Hiei on the ground. Placing his arms around the youkai's neck, he placed a soft kiss on the demon's cheek. Hiei didn't respond, so Kurama placed another kiss, in the same spot. This time, Hiei turned to him.

*I only want you to be happy.* Kurama smiled at Hiei, and responded with a soft, long, innocent kiss, connecting his mouth with Hiei's, and transferring his energy to Hiei, as Hiei transferred his to Kurama. Their minds exploded with sweetness, as their hands clung desperately to each other's clothes. They were all the other had now.

Slowly, but surely, Kurama's hands went to Hiei's chest. He began to pull the cloak that separated his body from Kurama away. Hiei, in turn, took off Kurama's shirt. There they sat, their chests touching, mouths touching, minds touching, and Kurama finally emptying his mind of all the pain and worry he had suffered over the past two days.

The two finally broke their embrace, as the day ended and night began. The two became hungry, and had to find a means of food. Neither had money, so they went to the only place they could think, to find free food. Keiko's parent's ramen shop.

Upon entering, the two heard the telltale cheerful greeting of Keiko, speaking to the group ahead of them. They looked at each other, pleased. They would get free food, and not have to worry about starving.

*Hello, Keiko.* Kurama greeted the girl, who squealed with excitement at the sight of them.

*OOOH! Kurama! And Hiei! Oh, boys, I'm so excited to see you two! Come, come, sit with Yusuke and Kuwabara.* She ushered them to a booth where the two hooligans sat, awaiting their meals.

*You two OK?* she asked the two, eying Kurama.

*Yes, Keiko.*

*I'll make you a deal. Free ramen, if you tell me what you two are doing here.* Eying Kurama, Hiei let out a deep sigh. If only they knew.

Of course, Kurama was never one to pass up a chance at free ramen, so he plunged, head first, into the detailed story of his mother, the truth, and their hunger. Hiei gaped at him, while Kurama explained, in detail, the woods experience, where Kuwabara turned four shades of red, and Kurama continued up to where they entered the ramen shop. Once he finished, he picked up a glass of water, and sipped it calmly. Everyone stared at him. Keiko turned, and ran to get the ramen for them.

*See, Hiei? Easy free food.*

*Hn.*

*Wait, so you guys, like… are… umm… living together now?* Yusuke inquired.

*If you count sleeping on the dirt in some clearing in the woods living together, yes. But I plan on going home in a few days, to clear it up with Shiori.* Kurama replied. Hiei simply grunted.

*Here's your ramen!* Keiko announced, overly cheerful, forcing a smile.

*Arigato, Keiko.* Kurama replied, smiling sweetly, and taking the hot ramen from her. "Yes, everything was going to be alright, soon."

Hiei also grabbed his food and dug in. It felt like he hadn't eaten in days.

~*~~~*~

Please R&R, I feel like I'm losing you guys. I'm gonna wind up the story soon, I think. It's a good length, especially for my first fanfic. So… yeah. Yay!