Title: A Healer's Kiss

Author: Reiko

Hello Minna! Here's chapter two! Thank you so much for the reviews!

Disclaimers apply of course!

A Healer's Kiss

Chapter Two – The Similarities of Horses and Infants

"My water bag just broke, you moron!"

Hiei placed his katana back into its sheath and frowned strangely at her. Actually, he was about to ask her what she was really doing there, how she got herself in Mukuro's territory and possibly take her back to Koenma but all questions were forgotten at the sight of her and at the mention of the word "water bag," which clearly had an effect to her present state. He just stood there, looking at her sourly while desperately trying his best not to appear confused or lost. But Botan knew better. Spending half of her afterlife with the fire demon, she was fairly having an idea on what was going on inside his thick, stubborn skull. From the looks of it, the stupid Koorime probably didn't even know what a water bag was! And it was quite clear to her that he was sorely not admitting it.

"Uh-oh, this is not good," she thought, looking at Hiei's stubborn face. She had to find a way for Hiei to help her, whether he liked it or not. She had no choice. Although not really pleased at the idea of Hiei being there instead of Kurama or someone REALLY helpful, still, it was better than nobody at all. Admittedly, she couldn't do this herself. And looking at the two demons he had with him, she was sure that they wouldn't dare take some action without their master's command. Suddenly, a thought came to her. Knowing Hiei, he was the type who was always easy to provoke. Now, to do that quite effectively, she had to provoke the most vulnerable part of his being, aim for his weakness… "That's easy," her insides immediately replied.

Aim for his ego, as simple as that.

She smiled mentally.

With that, she tried her best lifting her body up, propping her elbows against the soft grass. "So, are you just going to stand there? Do nothing?" she demanded impatiently.

"Hn." Hiei looked away. Unbeknownst to Botan, he too was wishing Kurama was there. The stupid Kitsune would surely know what to do, he thought.

Botan, despite the pain, frowned at him with disbelief. "Don't tell me you don't know what a water bag is?" she said, her voice half-mocking him. She widened her eyes to show wonder for an added effect.

His red eyes riveted towards her, glaring at her hatefully. Apparently, it was her mocking tone that irked his sensitive nerve even more. A loud and piqued "Hn" was all he could think of saying.

Seeing that, Botan knew she got him. She frowned at him, ignoring the sharp but subtle pain in her stomach. She decided to push her acting a little bit further. "So I'm right then?" When she received nothing but silence, she sighed tiredly, her eyes flying heavenwards. It was a Just-As-I-Thought-You're-Stupid kind of sigh that pricked Hiei's thinning bubble of patience. In the background, Hiei's men stood there in awkward silence, not knowing what to do. She turned to him once again and after a moment of silence, she spoke in sing-song sort of voice. "You don't know what to do, do you?" she asked scornfully.

That did it! Hiei's temper snapped. He inched his way closer to the paling woman, his eyes already narrowed with obvious annoyance. "I know what a water bag is, onna!" he snarled, without giving much thought. "And I know what to do, you stupid woman!"

Botan shook her head. God, she had to hurry up! There was another contraction on the way! "No, you don't," she quipped, through gritted teeth. "I bet— I bet you didn't even know what a pregnant lady looked like till now."

Arg! What a stubborn, half-witted woman! Muttering out his curses, Hiei took his katana off from his waist and laid it carefully on the ground, just beside his reach. He then knelt in front of her and turned his attentions to his two men. Apparently, the desire to prove his boast to the onna overcame the very fact that he REALLY didn't know what to do, which was, of course, bad in the opinion of others.

At that, Botan giggled to herself with satisfaction. The sly and shrewd Koorime wasn't even aware that he had been tricked! And what's more, by the least person that one could ever imagine. The very idea made her insides laugh. Oh, this was too rich! Hiei's going to massacre her if he ever found out.

Oblivious to the thoughts running inside Botan's head, Hiei called the attention of one of his men. "Oi, Nobu," he barked at the demon with long, blue hair and green eyes who was currently standing behind the groaning Botan.

"Hai, Hiei-sama," replied Nobu, looking instantly alert.

"Go and place yourself behind the onna," he ordered as he pulled Botan a little gruffly into a sitting position. Then he looked at Botan who was clearly wincing in pain. "Onna, rest your back against his knees."

Nobu and Botan did what they were told. Though feeling uncomfortable, Botan tried her best relaxing as he felt the bony knee of Nobu digging onto her back. Before Hiei could give out his next order, Botan let out another cry, this time louder.

"Will you shut up, onna?" Hiei demanded irritably

"I— I can't—" Botan gasped, her words barely understandable. "It hurts! It's really painful!" Then she began to cry.

Seeing the continuous flow of her tears, Hiei's eyes widened as panic slowly crept its way towards him. He was not good with crying females especially with crying PREGNANT females. He found himself swallowing hard, not knowing what to say or do. Now what did he get himself into? He was about to swear something vile when the voice of Hame, the other demon, interrupted his thoughts.

"What is your next order, Hiei-sama?" he asked.

He turned to the other demon and acknowledged him with a nod. "Hame, go and get some clean water." He bobbed his head up and down. "Yes, water's good," he thought, a little dazed. They use water in a situation like this, right?

The demon nodded once. "Hai," he replied before rushing off to his duty. That left him alone with Nobu and Botan, who was obviously in the verge of breaking down. Just then, Botan let out another pain-filled wail.

"What now, oh great one?" she nearly screamed at him in between sobs.

"Now we wait," he replied composedly. He tried his best to look passive and cool although deep inside he was already a jumble of nerves. Without thinking, he stretched out his arms and reached for her legs.

"What do you mean by wait?" she demanded angrily. When she saw Hiei's hand reaching for her legs purposely, she yelled at him, scooting away from his touch. "What the hell are you doing?"

Hiei blinked at her stupidly at first with the sudden outburst. Looking down, he saw his arms stretched out, his hands near to grappling her slender, white legs. Realizing on what he was about to do, he fixed a defiant frown on his face and quickly withdrew his hands. He turned away when felt his face heating up, blood rushing to it. He didn't wish for the baka onna to see him actually blushing.

"Wait for it to go out, baka onna," he replied unkindly as if she was stupid.

"It has a name, you know," she retorted as the fleeting pain ebbed away again. It never did occur to her that she could be sensitive about this. "It is not an 'it,'" she added after taking a deep breath.

This time, he looked at her. "How can you even be sure that it will be male, stupid onna?" he said flatly. "It hasn't even gone out yet?"

Botan rolled her eyes at him. "I just know, okay? Quit arguing!"

Just then, Hiei fell silent. Botan looked at him to see what was keeping the fire demon occupied. When she saw his eyes looking thoughtfully at the, ahem, lower half of her body, she gulped as she found herself blushing. If he was already looking at her like this, then what would he do when he expose her "everything" to him later on? Just thinking about it, shyness mixed with irritation washed over her as she felt herself blushing madly.

"Take your eyes away from me, you little creep!" she demanded sourly. "You're making me more uncomfortable."

At that statement, he looked away quickly. Contrary to Botan's belief, she wasn't really looking very attractive and fetching to Hiei's eyes at that moment. He was looking at her because he was busy contemplating on placing a cloth or fabric underneath her. He couldn't possibly have her deliver the baby on the ground, could he? He knew Botan would skin him alive if he did that. But then, where would he get the material?

"Bend your knees and plant your feet on the ground," he instructed unfeelingly instead. Nobu tightened his hold on the squirming woman. Then without bothering to give her a second glance, Hiei shifted his attention to the bag resting beside her, refusing to look at her. He reached for it and opened it, studying its contents, determined to find something useful.

With that, Botan's lips trembled as another tear rolled down from her eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening to her! She had pretty much envisioned herself giving birth in a hospital, with a very amiable, kind and understanding FEMALE doctor helping her. Never did she imagine that she would be birthing in the Makai, in a forest, on the dirty ground with Hiei acting as her doctor! With that thought, she found herself crying again. What did she ever do to deserve this? God, she was becoming too sensitive lately! Reluctantly, she did as she was told. In spite of everything, she felt herself blushing with embarrassment only to find that she was literally about to expose "herself" to Hiei. Thinking about that, she determinedly pressed her knees tightly together. There was no way in hell I would open them till it was time to do so, she fiercely declared to herself.

"S— so," she gulped, as she felt the pain slowly coming to her again. "Do— do I—"

"What the hell do you have here, baka onna?" Hiei demanded, interrupting her. He frowned disgustedly as he scattered the contents of her bag. A bunch of photo albums fell on the ground followed by a camera. Then if that was not enough, Hiei's hand fished out something resembling a rattle, an alarm clock, a book--- fortunately there were some clothes— he shook his head, looking at her. "What were you thinking when you were packing?" he asked scornfully.

"I wasn't thinking, you oaf! I was in a hurry!" she yelled at him as the pinnacle of that on coming birthing onslaught sliced within her. "How long do we have to wait?" she whined.

Hiei sighed, his hands flying up to his black cloak. He had no choice. Unclasping it, he took it off and held it before her. Looking at her legs again, her baby blue dress already stained yellow because of her internal liquids, he gritted his teeth in anger. After this, he would have to throw this cloak away. "On a second thought," he said to himself, "I'll make her pay for it."

"What's that? What are you doing?" she asked as Hiei bent down on her.

"Raise your hips a little," he ordered. Realizing what he was about to do, Botan didn't argue as she did his bidding. Raising it, Hiei quickly laid his cloak underneath her body.

"Thank you," she managed to say weakly.

"Hn," he said, looking away as his only reply.

Her contractions were coming and they were faster and more agonizing this time. Botan bit her lip as she struggled with the pain. She raised her right hand, reaching for nothing in particular. She needed to grab onto something, anything! Without thinking, she pulled the closest thing that she could get her hand on and that closest thing turned out to be Hiei's arm. Finding his hand, she eagerly grasped it with hers.

His eyes widened at the touch. "Oi, onna! Let go of—" He stopped short as he felt her hand tightening around his even more. She was clutching him tightly that her knuckles were already turning white. He tried not to wince with pain. Who knew that the onna could be this strong? Looking at the clear suffering written on Botan's face, her eyes scrunched closed, he desperately thought of something helpful to say. Due to that, he spoke the first thing that came popping into his head.

"Breathe, baka onna," he said, his voice commanding. Oh, he was not good at this. "Just take a deep breath."

Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say because Botan opened her eyes in a snap and turned to him angrily. "What do you think I'm doing, you idiot?" she yelled at him amidst her labor pains. She huffed and puffed as she looked upwards. "Oh, I swear! I'll kill you! Damn you to hell and to Mekai and back! I'm not going to have another baby again! I swear! In Enma Daiou's—"

Hiei was getting annoyed already. "Shut up!" he yelled. Botan tightened her grip on his hand even more that he winced.

"YOU SHUT UP, YOU INSENSITIVE PIECE OF—"

"NO, YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU BLASTED ONNA!"

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed at him as she let go of his hand and weakly pummeled his chest with her fists. She cried again, this time it was not just a cry, she was already bawling. "I HATE ALL OF YOU!" After that, another round of curses, swears and different sort of profanities, each one never failing to include the words "MEN" and "KILL" or "MEN" and "CUT OFF," (God knows what she meant by it, Hiei thought nervously ) poured from her lips that, if not for the current situation, Hiei would've been proud.

And so, Hiei Jaganshi, the only wielder of the dark flame, the sole master of the flamed dragon, found himself as the cushion for her frustrations, fury and rage for the whole male population. Without the culprit for her sufferings here with her, meaning the child's father, Hiei suddenly found himself reluctantly filling in for the position. He was actually taking all the blame for something that he didn't do! And he couldn't believe he was actually tolerating all of it!

"When this is all over, l swear I'll find him and I'll tear him limb from limb," he vowed to himself as Botan yelled something at him again, all not too friendly to his ears.

"And I was right!" she shrieked at him after her antics. She looked at him and pointed a finger at his direction accusingly. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! YOU STUPID KOORIME! OH, WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE YOU? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HERE? OF ALL PEOPLE! THEN THERE IS--" and her ramblings continued, testing, yet again, Hiei's patience.

He closed his eyes momentarily and tried his best reminding himself that she was currently in pain. Opening them again, he saw her crying once more. He sighed tiredly, wishing, just for once, for her to stop yakking. Where was that nosy Kitsune when you needed him?

"Stop crying, onna," he said testily. "I've had some experience with these things. I've seen how these— things are done," he added to assure her.

That finally stopped Botan's incoherent babble. Looking at him, she sniffed and ceased her sobbing. "You do?" she asked, hiccupping. "Really?"

Hiei nodded. "Yes," he said, looking away. At that, relief washed over her. Noticing that at the corner of his eyes, he decided to tell her the truth. No sense in getting her hopes up, right? He was sure that she would found out, sooner or later, anyway. "Unfortunately, it was with horses," he finally added flatly.

"WHAT!" She was about to bring her little fists against him again when Nobu, this time, decided to speak.

"Don't worry, onna, it has some similarities," said Nobu in a hushed tone.

"At this time, do I look like a horse to you?" she spat at him, ignoring Nobu's attempts to reassure her of his master's capability. Great, just great! He did know, all right… He did freaking know… but with horses! HORSES! For crying out loud! And when did even Mukuro commissioned the use of horses in her realm? She was into robots and machines, right? She didn't like animals! What the hell was she even thinking?

Hiei smirked at her. "You want to know the truth?" he asked, his eyes glinting.

"Arg! You bastard! I really hate you!" she shouted as she weakly and ineffectively pushed him away from her. "I can't believe you still had the grace to insult me, you freaking fire demon?"

And she continued yelling insanities again.

Hiei stared at her, clearly unfazed. Lord knows where she got her energy to yell and snap at him in her condition, he silently wondered. "Shut up, onna," he said but this time softly. Botan found herself stopping at how soft and almost caring he sounded. She turned to him, her eyes locking with his. They stared at each other in mutual silence before Hiei opened his mouth again while looking away.

"Do you trust me, onna?"

Evidently, he just came to a sudden conclusion that no matter how Botan yelled, snapped and shouted profanities at him, still, he couldn't bring himself to abandon her. He wouldn't be able to, anyway, even if he wanted to do. He was already involved. Cold and unfeeling he may be to others, God knows that if anything should happen to this woman or infant, Hiei was certain he couldn't forgive himself though he didn't know why. And besides, should he fail this woman, Koenma would undoubtedly have his ass for it. And he could tell that it wouldn't be pretty at all.

At the question, Botan found herself lost for words. She didn't quite expect that coming from him. When he got nothing from her but silence, he sighed deeply and decided to repeat himself, this time louder. "I said, do you trust me, woman?"

Grasping the seriousness of his voice she stared at him first. This time, Hiei locked his eyes with hers, waiting. And at that moment, Botan felt-- saw, his genuine sincerity to help her, to see her through this ordeal. Although he didn't say anything openly, the look in his eyes betrayed what he was really feeling. He was not going to let anything bad happen to her. The look he gave her was enough to convince her. Swallowing hard, she nodded bravely. "Yes," she replied in a hushed tone. "I trust you, Hiei."

"Good," he said, turning away from her as he heard some rustlings behind the bushes. Immediately, he reached for his katana, looking alert. It seemed to them that somebody was coming their way. They waited in tensed silence for the creature to show itself.

"Sorry it took a while."

Hearing the familiar voice of Hame, Hiei visibly relaxed as he laid his katana back on the ground. Not long after that, Hame's figure emerged from the thick shrubbery. He was holding a basin full of fresh water coming from the mountain spring. He placed the basin on the ground carefully while he waited for his master's next command.

Then Botan cried again and grabbed his hand. This time, Hiei couldn't find himself objecting as her fingers closed in on his tightly. He knew that the woman's torture was becoming unrelenting. The pains, he noticed, were coming faster and harder and they appeared to be sustained for a longer time until they were almost constant. He turned to Hame and handed her one of Botan's clothes.

"Wipe her forehead," he commanded, noting her blue locks already matted to her wet, sweating face. Hame nodded and did what he was told. He gently brushed the stray locks away and proceeded to wipe her forehead with the cloth, giving her a gentle smile.

Feeling the cloth gliding against her skin, Botan smiled weakly. "Horses, huh?" she practically gasped. She looked at Hiei and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Horses… Wonderful!" When Hiei scowled at her, obviously noting the sarcasm in her voice, she managed to let out a weak laugh. "That will have to do, I guess," she continued. Then her eyes sharpened at him warningly. "However, if this boy neighs when he is born, I'm holding you responsible, you got that?"

Before Hiei could hold it back, a smirk of utter amusement grazed his face. She was a plucky little thing. He had to give her that. But before he could utter something back at the mother-to-be, Botan was once more caught up in the throes of contraction. She heaved, her face turning deathly white. Seeing that, Hiei's pulse quickened nervously. This was something beyond him and his capabilities. Never in his damned life did he imagine himself getting into this kind of situation. Due to that, although he hated to admit it, Hiei, for the first time, never felt so helpless, never felt so afraid. And looking at the obvious terror on the woman's face, he knew he had no choice but to mask his apprehensions. Someone had to take charge here and it was clear that that responsibility was his and his alone.

"Oi, onna, if you die on me, it will be of your own doing," he warned, his voice unkind. "I will not be held responsible for it. You can tell that to the Rei Kai brat when you see him under different circumstances!" He knew he was being cruel but he couldn't help it. The worry and fright was making him say things he didn't mean to say, erm— out loud.

Just then, Botan cried as she held her head back. Nobu with the help of Hame, held her as she squirmed violently against the pain. "Hiei, I—" she began brokenly, looking at him with fear. "I— I think the he's coming out!"

He frowned. "What?"

"He— he's coming out! The baby! He's coming!"

Hearing that, Hiei nodded. "All right, onna, you can do this," he said. Actually, it was not a word of encouragement. It was far from it. It was a command in Botan's ear.

She shook her head vehemently. "No, no! I can't! This is beyond me! I can't!" she cried again and again. She was hurting all over and she just wished that everything would stop, that everything would just go away. "I can't! No!" she cried once more.

He gritted his teeth in irritation. "Shut up!" he snarled as he looked at her straight in the eye. "You can do this!"

"No!" Botan cried as she let go of his hand. Instead, she raised it and pushed him feebly away from her. "Go away!" she moaned, shaking her head. "Go away, you sadistic, unpleasant, diminutive imp! You--"

"You listen to me, you baka onna!" Hiei screamed at her face, finally shutting her up. "I said you can do this and do this you will!"

And with that, he forcefully parted her legs. With the help of his katana and overcoming his shyness, he tore the hem of her dress only to find her wearing cotton undergarments. He visibly weakened. Did he have to take those off her too? But judging from the state Botan was in right now, he knew he had to do it himself. Cursing mentally, he swallowed hard and reached inside as he tried his best not to look. He knew he was already blushing hard when his fingers closed in on the soft fabric. Taking a deep breath, he pulled it down forcefully till it slid smoothly off her legs. Then much to Botan's horror, he threw it carelessly aside for all the people to see.

"Hiei, you rat!" she screamed at him weakly. Embarrassment quickly flooded her as Hiei slowly turned his eyes to her lower body once again. "You're just trying to get back at me for all the things I've done to you in the past, weren't you?" Her voice was breathy and raspy now as she sobbed loudly. She blushed hard upon finding Hiei busy scrutinizing her middle, ignoring her. By that time, Botan was too tired to even protest her nakedness. Her sense of modesty was completely forgotten when she felt the urge to bear down.

Finally, he looked at her and if Botan was not hallucinating, she clearly saw pink tints grazing his flawless cheeks through her tears. "You have to push, onna," he commanded. "Bear down."

"I'm trying!" she yelled.

"Well, it doesn't look like it!!" Hiei yelled back. "Again. Do it again!"

"I know that this is how you do it with horses!" Botan lamented helplessly. She was not really sure of what she was saying now since her train of thought was already muddled. And she was sure that she probably sounded like a babbling idiot to his ears but she couldn't help it. "I'm not a horse!

Instead of retorting something offensive, Hiei chose to ignore her. He had to get this over and done with and to do that, he would have to check his temper. The sooner this gets done, the better, he surmised. "I said push, goddamnit!"

She shook her head. "I can't, you vile, cold-hearted, cruel beast!"

"I told you to do it again!" he directed severely, ignoring her pleas. It was clear that the tone of his voice brooked no disobedience. Then he frowned as he saw something small and black emerging from her tiny opening. With a start, he realized that it was the baby's head. It was already forcing its way out! He turned his attentions back to her face again. "Now, stupid onna. Do it now! Push!"

Botan's eyes squinted with effort as she attempted to follow Hiei's orders again and again. Then without warning, she gave one last cry as her body released the child into Hiei's able hands. Upon seeing the tiny, defenseless babe in his hands, his chest gave a little thud. It was a— a warm, emotional feeling, spreading from his chest to his whole body. Although it was not pleasant to him, he couldn't say that it was unpleasant either. Before he could contemplate on that sudden experience, a thin mewling immediately surrounded the forest as Hiei held the baby up. He frowned as he looked at the baby's red face. The crying was becoming a little annoying to his ear but it was music to Botan's, sweeter than any sound she had ever heard. He secretly wondered if he was that noisy when his mother bore him.

Then his eyes widened as a gush of spirit energy clouted at him. The energy, a most familiar one, was undoubtedly coming from the child. He knew that aura anywhere. There was only one creature who— he smirked at her, realizations coming at him full force. He already knew who the father was. She didn't even need to tell him. Although mildly curious, he didn't bother asking when and how or even why. After all, it wasn't his business, right? It had nothing to do with him. He had helped her thoroughly enough already.

And to think that he deemed the baby vulnerable and defenseless a while ago, he thought without humor.

"We've done it, onna," he said momentarily as he brought his eyes back at the crying child. He couldn't help but stare in wonder at the little miracle resting in his arms. At that moment, he was too weary to even hide his wonder and amazement behind his cold mask. In the background, Nobu and Hame both looked at the child with similar expressions of wonder on their faces. When Hame, being the gentler demon he was, first locked eyes with the infant, he immediately found himself vowing to protect the child till his very last breath.

"We?" Botan managed to ask weakly, her chest still heaving with exertion, oblivious to what was going on inside their heads.

He glared at her sharply. "Yes, we," he said, the tone of his voice challenging her to contradict his answer.

She rolled her eyes tiredly, too weak to argue. "Okay, fine," she replied, quite amused. "Some of the credit is yours," she added happily. Hiei turned to her for a second only to see her paleness receding as rosy radiance took place. At that moment, it never occurred to her how nice the onna looked. When Botan raised her eyebrows at him questioningly, he looked away and distractedly muttered something incoherent as he cut the cord with his katana.

"Hey, is that even sanitary?" she asked him frowning as Hame left her side only to take one of her clothes from her bag.

Hiei smirked. "Hn, it'll survive this little thing," he said, referring to his katana. Hame immediately held a clean, piece of cloth to him. "This onna's strong."

She looked at him dully. Never did she imagine that Hiei would even do the honors of cutting her first-born's umbilical cord. She found herself smiling wearily. She had to give him credit, though. For this day, Hiei had practically performed all the duties Yusuke should've been doing. It was actually something she didn't expect coming from him. "And he did a fairly good job on it too," her mind added as she saw him wiping the baby clean with the cloth and the water. Then she frowned as she felt herself getting dizzy. She blinked her eyes only to see Hiei fading from her sight.

"It's not a girl," Botan said, ignoring the painful throbbing in her head. "He's— he's a boy. I'm naming him Ichiro."

Hiei looked at her. "It's a girl," he insisted amidst the baby's tiny wailing. Apparently, he forgot to look at the one, important thing to determine what the baby's gender was.

"Boy," she shot back feebly. She was feeling light-headed now. She tried her best staying conscious as she felt herself drained and exhausted.

"It's a baka onna like you," he said adamantly. It came from her, right? So, it had to be a stupid girl too, his insides reasoned out.

This time, Botan felt faint. She couldn't believe they were even arguing about this! "Then take a look at his, you know, and see—" she stopped and closed her eyes. "—see what he has."

At her suggestion, Hiei deemed it as the only logical thing to do to end the puzzle and the argument. Quite sure that he was right, he confidently lifted the cloth from the tiny form but what he saw made him curse softly.

A tiny, dangling thing, much similar to what he had, hung between the baby's legs indicating his true gender.

Hn, so the baka onna bested him again. He gritted his teeth irritably and turned to Botan who looked like she was sleeping. Growling unpleasantly for having been wrong, he approached her slowly to hand her the child.

"Oi, onna, here's you baby BOY," he said shoving the tiny but noisy, wrapped thing to her, putting bitter emphasis on the word "boy". Lord knows how he hated losing. When she didn't open her eyes, he frowned and shook her limp body with his free hand, thinking her to be asleep. "Onna, wake up! Take a look at your baby and feed him!"

Nobu shook his head and turned to his ignorant master. "Hiei-sama, I think she passed out," he said looking at Botan's pallid face. Hiei's eyes widened as he looked at her closely only to realize that her color was drastically changing from the rosy radiance he saw while ago to a deathly white. Her eyes were tightly closed and her lips were pale. He looked at her chest only to notice her breathing already shallow. "It was quite an ordeal she went through. We have to take her with us back to the castle if we want her to survive," his trusted man added.

Hiei gently tapped Botan's cheek, ignoring Nobu at first. He half-thought of slapping her awake but decided against it. He tapped her again and when no response came, he shook his head tiredly. He couldn't believe it! The baka onna blacked out! He swore as he stood up and handed the crying baby to Nobu who, in turn, took it willingly. He had no other choice but to bring her back with him.

"Once you wake up, you'll regret this, woman," he thought grimly while placing his katana securely around his waist. Then he bent down and concealed her body with his already soiled cloak until her lower half was decently covered. Then without so much an effort, he reluctantly scooped her limp body into his arms while giving instructions to Hame to clean up and carry her things. He half-thought of just hoisting her on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes but decided against it. At this point in time, he didn't have any idea on how bad the onna was. He didn't wish to make it worse by doing that. He didn't want to be the responsible if something not really good happened to her. Oh boy! Mukuro was going to get the biggest surprise of her life now, he said to himself sarcastically. He would probably never hear the end of it!

Then nodding to Nobu, he led the way back to Mukuro's castle with Botan snug against his arms, her face resting against his lean chest. Then he remembered the baby BOY and found himself smirking at her sleeping face. How the hell did she even know that it would be a boy?

"Feh! Stupid female intuitions!" he thought, shaking his head, ridding himself of that useless thought as they slowly made their way back to the castle. "Who can even understand them?"

To be continued...

Author's notes: I apologize if anybody thinks that Hiei was a bit OOC in this chapter… well… I think he's a bit OOC… and I really tried my best ::sob:: the particular scene just won't work with a very, very, cold and aloof Hiei… he just had to show some emotions, whether he liked it or not…

It's a boy! And I named it Ichiro!!! In Japanese, Ichiro means first-born son… ::looks at Botan:: Congratulations, Botan!

Botan: ::shakes head:: You— you— I can't believe you!

I just wanted to ask everybody… do you prefer to have shorter chapters or longer chapters? ::shrugs:: thought I'd ask… I was thinking of cramming the next scene that they will be having with Mukuro but I decided not to… seeing that this chapter is already 12 pages long… Anyway, just tell me what you think… of course, shorter chapters would mean having many, many chapters… ::looks at Hiei::

Reiko: Are you, all right, Hiei?

Hiei: … ::blushing madly, dazed::

Reiko: ::raises eyebrows:: Hmmm….???

Botan: ::blushes:: How dare— how dare you, Reiko?! He saw— he had seen—

Reiko: ::rolls eyes:: Hiei, don't tell me you haven't even—

Hiei: …

Botan: Stop that!

Reiko: What? For crying out loud! At his age? He's, like, so old and---!!!

Botan: ::shakes head:: Drop that! Just get on with the reviews!!!

Reiko: ::rolls eyes:: Fine!

Hiei's Ice Maiden – is this fast enough for you? Hehehehehe… Thank you so much!

Tuathafaerie – yah… that's okay though… its Yami no Matsui… quite a shounen ai… ::giggles:: One can't really picture Hiei delivering children or dealing with them, ne? But let's see how he is going to be with this one… Oh btw, I greatly enjoyed your last e-mail… I'll try answering that after this… and now that I've realized it, do you have a new HB fic?? Hmmm… I'll look for it then! Thank you!!!

Yusuke: Enjoy that, Tuatha? ::hands her a soda:: I don't know about you but I did!!!

Kurama: Just wait till you see Hiei now!!! Whoot!!!

Yusuke: This is just too rich! Look at Hiei!!! ::points::

Hiei: …. :still dazed::

Yusuke: Bwahahahahaha!!! ::shakes head:: I have a boy! ::does a happy dance:: I have a baby boy to play with, go to baseball games with and--!

Keiko: ::raises hand:: Yusuke no baka! It's not real! SLAP!

Yusuke: ##

Kurama: ::sweatdrops:: Better be content with Puu in the meantime, Yusuke.

Pocky-and-Fred - ::giggles:: I just hope that this is what you kind of expected… Hope I didn't disappoint you Thank you so much!

Kitsune Kit – Hey, thank you! You just don't know what those words do to a writer! ::bows:: Here it is!

Nishigirl – Heh… ::scratches head:: The fandom's great, ne? I was a KoBo fan before but I suddenly saw the potential of this couple… soooo.. here I am… Thank you for the touching review J I do wonder too… You never know what my YYH muses would think of next ::winks::

Squish – Thank you! Yah, ::nods:: poor Botan… and I think after reading this chapter… ::shakes head:: I don't know… when I read it again after writing it… I kind of felt sorry for Botan… But, heh.. this is just the way it is… right?

Botan: ::sobs:: He— he saw— I can't believe it! ::bawls::

Hiei: …

KayHiei – I apologize if Hiei's scene was too short in the pervious chapter I just hope that this makes up for it… I too am wondering what Mukuro would do… Hmmm… and to tell you frankly, my YYH muses hadn't been calling me yet… soooo… Hey, but thank you! Thank you!

sailor-z-360 – Thanks for reviewing and even finding the patience to read the boring first part of the first chapter I really, really appreciate it! Thank you!

Moonbeam – Of course, I wouldn't want to have a dead reviewer!!! ::hugs:: Here it is! Thank you! I just hope that you liked it though… I tried making it shorter… but ::shakes head::

fath8252 – Thank you! So, did this chapter answer your question? Now, I think, the next question is, was Hiei a good or a bad doctor?? ::LOL:: Thank you! ::hugs::

DemonFirlGirlHotaru – Can't agree with you more!!! ::nod, nod:: Let's just say that there is something we really don't know about Koenma as of yet… hmm… ::plot bunnies hopping:: Let's wait and see, ne? Thank you!!!

Suki-Saki-14 – I know… at his age… one would not believe that he had never seen—

Botan: Arg! There you go again! Hentai!

Reiko: What's so hentai about that? Giving birth is one of the most beautiful things one could ever witness, right?

Kurama: Um… apparently not for Hiei… ::looks at Hiei::

Hiei: …

Kurama: He's still in shock.

Yusuke: He's in shock because it was the first time he saw a—

Botan and Keiko: SLAP! WHACK!

Yusuke: ##

Reiko: You and your big mouth!

But then— he was tolerable in this chapter, ne? I'm not even sure if I made him a bit OOC… I tried my best, though so I really do hope you like it Thank you! ::hugs::

Kimby – And I'll try my best to give you more Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Kurama-Haku – Thanks! No, Kurama's not in Makai… but I'm thinking of adding him in the next chapter… possibly on chapter 3… now that I think about it… I need to add the rest of the guys in the following chapters…

t – I'm sorry…. ::smiles:: So, this chapter is really not a cliffy… so that makes me a little evil now Thank you!

Shizuka aka Distant Voice – I'm sorry… I just hope that this update was fast enough for you! So what do you think of Hiei? Hehehehe… I don't know… I tried my best to not make him OOC but its up to you to decided… I'm sorry if the scene lacks the fluff… I'm not exactly sure if it will have the fluff in the next chapter but there will surely be more interaction between the two… Thank you again!

Ahala Tsuki – Here's the next chapter!!! Hai! Hai! It's going to be Hiei/Botan… though I think that Yusuke and Botan look cute together… I'm still in favor of having Botan ending up with Hiei… ::smiles:: Thank you!

timeless - ::snickers:: I'm veeerrrryyy evil… I'm sorry!!! But here it is! Tried my best updating quickly… This is all I could think about… to tell you honestly… yah, ::nods:: I know what you mean of character being OOC because of the fluff… but to tell you honestly, I think it would be very hard to conjure a fluff scene with Hiei not being overly OOC… I think that would be another challenge for me… ::smiles:: Thank you!

Shadow – Thank you! And I believe that the first chapter's up already so read to your heart's content!!! LOL!

Okay! That's about it! Again, I thank you all so much! You, readers, keep me going! Thanks for reading and please review!!! Ja ne!!! ::waves::

Hiei: ::blinks:: Where'd everybody go?