Kiseki
Wow. I can't believe that so many people wanted me to continue this. I was considering discontinuing it because, well, I think it's crap. It moved too fast, Anna was completely out of character (even though there is a reson for it), I screw up on a lot of the baby facts, nor did I research it nearly enough, and I have yet to give Hotaru or Chibo-chan the background story they deserve. But, I received so many reviews asking me to update it (even in some reviews for my other stories), that I decided to use my vacation to crank out another chapter. So for everyone who read, reviewed, and especially those who asked for more, here's chapter nine.
This chapter contains Chocolove, a peek into Hotaru's past, baby names, and a sadistic Anna. Oh, and of course, hormonal Lyserg. You have been warned.
And again, I do not speak Japanese, so I apologize for any mistakes I made with the title.
Disclaimer: It's not mine. I'm so poor right now, I can't afford the three dollar Shaman King calendar that's at my local anime store. Shaman King isn't mine.
Chapter Nine- Inbo to Nazukeru Aka-chan, Plots and Naming Baby
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"How's Lyserg's little baby-waby doing? Is she being a good little girl? I bet she is. Yes she is." Hotaru crooned, rubbing her cheek against the dowser's stomach lovingly. "Because she's the bestest little fetus in the entire world. Yes she is. Oh yes she is."
"Hotaru, stop. You're being really creepy." Manta said, watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and fear. "Besides, he'll wake up if you keep rubbing his stomach."
"Meanie." Hotaru huffed, reluctantly pulling away from Lyserg. Lyserg had fallen asleep on the couch earlier, where Hotaru had found him and began her cuddling session.
"Hey Hotaru, is it normal for pregnant… people to sleep this much? I mean, I was reading some things on the internet, and it said it was normal for pregnant people to get tired easily during the first trimester, but Lyserg's halfway through his second. Not to mention Lyserg didn't sleep nearly as much when he wasn't pregnant." Manta couldn't help but ask his question. Sure, Hotaru hadn't mentioned anything about it, so it probably wasn't too big a deal. And Yoh and the other's didn't seem to think anything was wrong… But Lyserg seemed to be sleeping more and more every day now.
"Nope, not usual, but not bad either."
"I don't get it."
"Well, how to explain." Hotaru scratched her chin with her gloved hand in a 'thinking pose.'
"Hi Hotaru. What's up?" Yoh entered the room, giving Lyserg a quick look over. His eyes stayed longest on the prominent swell of the other's belly.
"Explaining to Manta why mommy's been sleeping so much lately because he's preggy-weggy." Hotaru answered, spinning about to face Yoh. "Okay, what do you guys know about mana?"
The two looked at her as if to say, "Am REALLY I supposed to answer that?"
"Kay, stupid question." Hotaru waved it away, taking a blanket from the back of the couch and tucking it around Lyserg in a motherly fashion. "Mana is what cha use to do things like Unity and oversoul and stuff, but you can call it life energy too. Right now, Lyserg's using lots and lots of mana for the baby-waby-kins. Not only is the baby feeding off of mommy's mana like all fetuses do; but the womb is being supported with his mana. That explain things for ya?"
"Um… Yes?"
"I'll try again! First off, all babies absorb mommy's mana when they're in the womb same as they do mommy's nutrients and air and everything else. Lyserg's baby is the Shaman King's baby too. Cause the baby's parents have so much mana, the baby gonna be born with lots of mana. So, the baby absorbing more of Lyserg's mana than is normal. Now for the fact that mommy's a man; his womb is kinda like an form of mana manipulation. In other words, Lyserg's womb is basically mana itself, which also takes up a bunch of shaman juice." Hotaru placed a pillow she had found in the corner of the room during her little speech under Lyserg's head. "It takes a lot of energy, so it's natural for him to be tired. Especially now when all the baby's organs are developing and growing and stuff."
"What if the baby starts to take too much mana?" Manta asked curiously.
"Then he'll need another person or two to feed him mana a couple a times during the day. But if that happens, I'll catch it early. So, no worries peoples." Hotaru glanced around the room. "Anyone see where my widdle Chibo-chan went?"
"Not today-"
Horo's screams interrupted Yoh's answer.
"Get away from me! I'm not going to play dress up or beauty parlor or any other of your little games!" The ice shaman slammed the door, jerking Lyserg awake.
"What's going on?" the dowser rubbed his eyes sleepily.
"Chibo-chaaaannnnnn!" the pixie wailed forlornly.
"No and that's final! Hao, help me out here!"
"No."
"Bastard! No, let go of my Chibo-chan! I'm not playing! Go find Bason or someone else to play with!"
"Chibo-chan! Chibo-chan, Chibo-chan, Chibo-chan!"
"Go play with Ren!"
There was silence…
"Chibo-chan!" the pixie burst out happily, scampering away.
"Ren's going to kill you now." Hao remarked offhandedly; resting his chin on Horo's shoulder.
Horo just groaned and hung his head. The four watched as Horo slowly shuffled past the living room door. Hao, of course, was making it as difficult as possible by clinging to Horo's back.
"Kay-kays… Now where was I?" Hotaru turned away from the dysfunctional couple and back to the three shaman in the room.
Lyserg ignored the redhead and laid back down in attempts of returning to sleep. Sadly, his plans were thwarted.
"Wakey-wakey Lysergie-kins." Hotaru sat on the floor next to the couch and prodded the dowser. "I gotta ask you some questions."
"I already had breakfast, I ate red meat last night, and I drank my milk." Lyserg pulled the blanket over his head as a pitiful shield.
With the utmost innocent expression possible, Hotaru asked, "Speaking of milk, do you know that breast milk is always the perfect temperature for babies?"
"That's my cue to leave. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Manta grabbed his laptop.
"See you later Manta." Once his friend was gone, Yoh turned to the doctor. "Um, Hotaru, what does that have to do with anything?" Yoh asked cautiously.
"I need to talk to Lyserg about it." Hotaru explained happily.
"I don't want to have this conversation." Lyserg declared from beneath the blanket.
"Too bad, you're getting it. Now, do you want to go upstairs like a good little boy and let me examine you, or do you want me to do it here where absolutely anyone can just walk in a see you?"
"I want to go to sleep."
"Yooohhhh. Lyserg's being mean a-gain."
"Come on Lyserg. Let's go upstairs. When Hotaru's done looking at you, you can go back to sleep and she won't bother you for the rest of the day."
"I won't?" Hotaru tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Oh! Yeah! I won't."
Rolling his eyes, Lyserg allowed Yoh to help him to his feet. Once the three were upstairs in the bedroom with the door securely shut, Hotaru began to make the most of her time.
"Okay Lyserg, mommy needs to take off his shirt so I can check something."
This was nothing new to Lyserg by any means. Hotaru would often demand that Lyserg take off his shirt so she could examine his stomach. Pulling off his (Yoh's) sweater, the dowser shivered as his skin met the cool air.
Instead of Hotaru's hands prodding the bulging stomach like she usually did, her hands went up to… fondle… Lyserg's chest…
"What are you doing!" Lyserg tried to pull away, his face red with mortification.
"Checking to see if any mammary glands are developing. Now stay still." Hotaru bit her lips as she squeezed… well, that doesn't really need to be said.
"Stop it!" Lyserg grabbed the Korean shaman's shoulders and shoved her away.
"Oof! Hotaru fell over backwards. "That wasn't nice! Yoh, Lyserg's still being mean to me!"
"You were molesting me!"
"Err…"
"I was not! I was just checking to see if you were developing mammary glands!"
"I don't even know what mammary glands are!"
"It's the gland in the mother's breast that produces milk for the baby once it's born."
Lyserg stopped, mortification dying his face an even darker shade of red. His arm reached for the drawer of the bedside table that held his pendulum.
Yoh quickly grabbed Lyserg's hand and pulled the dowser to his chest. The dowser was using enough mana just by being pregnant. Spirit control was not something he should be attempting. "Lyserg, no spirit control, remember?"
"It's okay Yoh. It's just a mood swing. Lyserg's not really mad at me. He wuvs me!" Hotaru went forward to hug her victim.
"Don't touch me!"
"Now, now mommy. Stress isn't good for the baby-waby-kins. You need to relax and be calm."
Lyserg clenched his hands into fists. This woman, this THING…
"And even though you aren't developing boobies, if mommy starts to take estrogen pills; that will cause him to develop boobies and, in theory, produce milk." Hotaru finished with a smile.
She was driving him insane!
Yoh winced slightly as Lyserg's hold on his hand became painfully tight. "Hotaru, maybe you should go see how Chibo-chan is doing."
"Okay, fine." The sigh Hotaru added there was rather melodramatic. "Just remember that breast milk is a lot healthier for babies-"
"Goodbye Hotaru."
"-and studies show babies that drink breast milk are less likely to be get sick-"
"Goodbye Hotaru."
"-and that it creates and even greater bond between that mommy and the baby-waby-kins-"
"Goodbye Hotaru."
"Kays! See you guys tomorrow!" The door closed.
"Relax." Yoh murmured into Lyserg's ear.
"I'm not breast feeding."
"I know." Yoh stroked the other's back. "I know. Just relax for now, okay?" Yoh turned and laid Lyserg onto his back. Almost immediately, the dowser sifted to his side in order to take the weight of the growing baby off his spin. Yoh was just was quick to snuggle down next to Lyserg.
"Stop it." Lyserg muttered as he cuddled closer.
"Stop what?" Yoh asked innocently as he tugged the blanket over the two.
"Rubbing my stomach."
"But the baby likes it." Yoh argued playfully.
"I don't." Lyserg murmured as he fell asleep.
Smiling, Yoh brushed Lyserg's hair out of his face, and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. Pulling the dowser into his arms, he too fell asleep.
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"How is Lyserg doing?" Ryu asked. He sat cross-legged on the floor; Chibo-chan playing with his hair. The pixie had been delighted when she discovered that one the gel was removed, Ryu's hair was quite long.
"He tired and cranky, but he's fine." Hotaru answered, helping Chibi-chan put tiny braids in Ryu's hair.
"Tell me Miss Hotaru, why did you decide to become a baby doctor?"
"cause my gonads don't work!"
Ryu sputtered. "What!"
"My gonads, my ovaries. The ovaries produce the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen and progesterone are what develop the female figure, as well as maintain the bleeding cycles and the development of the womb when a lady's preggers and stuff. My ovaries don't make enough estrogen or progesterone. That's why I got small boobies, almost no curves, and why I can't have babies. So, when I found out that my baby making parts were broken, I decided to become a baby doctor because I love babies!" Hotaru chirped, tying off another braid.
"But, isn't it depressing?" Tokegero asked.
"An incy-wincy bit, yeah." Hotaru admitted as she began to paint Ryu's nails with a purple, sparkly polish. "But the gods took away my baby making powers for a reason. Besides, if my gonads weren't broken, I wouldn't have started studying the baby making process as early as I did; if at all. And if that happened, I wouldn't have met Faust so Faust wouldn't have called me to help Lyserg with the baby, and you guys would never have met me, and I wouldn't have seen my Ren-chan, and… and…" Hotaru paused, a confused look on her feature. "What was the question again?"
"Chibo-chan!" Chibo-chan tugged at Hotaru's shirt, gesturing with a hairtye. "Chibo-chan, chibo-chan?"
"Hmm.." Hotaru examined Ryu's face closely. "Yeah, his beardy-thing's long enough to braid."
"Chibo-chan!"
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Anna sat, thinking over the information she had been given. Her spirit servants were thorough if nothing else. Of course, most of the spirits she summoned from the afterlife had been spies or people of similar trade while they had been alive. Being an itako had many perks.
Lyserg would die. That had already been decided. But the question was, what would be done with the unborn child?
She was still a part of Yoh. Anna couldn't overlook that. It was the child's fault the womb she rested in was false.
The child should have been hers. The child would be hers. Anna would wait until the child was ready to be born. Then, before Lyserg could give birth, she would remove the child herself and claim the babe as her own.
All she had to do now was wait three more months. Lyserg would be nearly full term by then, and the baby would be able to survive the early delivery.
Only three months left until she struck.
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The next day at the Flame Inn was rather peaceful. Hotaru had another patient to take care of, so she was not present. Jun had taken Daichi and Chibo-chan to the park (Jun was quickly becoming a mother to the two). Pirika had gone with them to discuss The Surprise with Jun. Hao was quiet, for the moment. Hao was sitting on the couch, and Horo was using the fire shaman's thigh as a pillow. Hao was more than happy to play with the other's blue locks, despite Horo's grumbling and the occasional smack. Ren was in the room with them, although he was ignoring them in favor of a book. Lyserg was in the kitchen. Ryu had gone shopping. Manta had another cram school class (Yoh was beginning to think Manta was trying to take every course they offered before the next school year). The spirits were out and about in the house. And Yoh? Yoh was answering the door.
Almost immediately, a loud "I just flew in from New York and boy are my arms tired!" was screeched in his ear.
"Hi Chocolove."
"Hey Yoh. What's going on?"
"That was possibly the worst joke I have ever heard." Ren entered the hallway.
"Aww… Come on Ren. It wasn't that bad, was it?"
"It was horrible."
"Reee-eeeennnnnn!"
During Ren and Chocolove's conversation, Lyserg wandered into the hallway, plum in hand.
"Hey Lyserg! Long time no- Hey! What happened? You're as big as a house!"
Lyserg was well into the fifth month of his pregnancy, and looked every day of it. Even Yoh's sweat shirt and a pair of Horo's baggy pants (even baggier on Lyserg's otherwise slender form), did nothing to hide it.
Chocolove, despite his years of shamanic training, wasn't able to dodge the plum chucked at his head.
"OW!" the American shaman rubbed the newly forming lump on his forehead. "What was that for!"
Lyserg had already turned around and stomped his way back into the kitchen. Yoh was close behind him.
"Did I miss something?" Chocolove asked.
"Yes." Ren answered, leaving the room.
"Hey, wait! What did I miss? Huh? What happened? Ren? Ren!" Chocolove followed Ren into the living room.
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"He didn't know." Yoh soothed the dowser who was in his arms. He held his lover a little tighter when soft sobs reached his ears. "There's no reason to cry. You're five months pregnant, of course you're going to show." Yoh murmured. His hand stroked Lyserg's trembling back.
"But it's true." Lyserg sniffled. "I can't fit into anything anymore, I haven't been able to wear my clothes for over two months!"
"Because you're pregnant." Yoh said, kissing the top of Lyserg's head. "Besides, remember what Hotaru said? It's better for you to weigh a little more than you have too. It's safer for you and the baby."
Lyserg nodded. Calming down a bit, he allowed Yoh to wipe the tears from his cheeks.
"Better?" Yoh asked, kissing Lyserg again when he nodded yes. "Do you want anything?"
Lyserg shook his head no. "I'll be out in a minute."
"Okay. I'm going to explain things to Chocolove, all right?"
"Yeah." Yoh gave Lyserg one last reassuring kiss before turning to the living room where a headache- Chocolove was no doubt awaiting him.
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"Peace offering!"
As soon as Yoh entered the living room, he found Chocolove bowing, a book held out to him.
"What is it?" Yoh took the book.
"Baby names." Chocolove answered, straitening. "I'm really sorry. I didn't know he was pregnant, honest, I swear! Even I wouldn't joke about a pregnant lady's -er, guy's weight."
"They're too dangerous." Hao commented from the couch.
"Exactly! No, wait! I mean, it's mean! It's mean to tease someone who's pregnant about their baby belly!" Chocolove attempted to defend himself.
Yoh looked over the book in hand. A book of baby names, including gender, meaning, and origin. "Chocolove?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you have a book of baby names?"
"Props!" Chocolove smiled. "You need one anyways, don't you? I mean, Lyserg looks like he has to be at least halfway through."
"Five months." Yoh answered, flipping to the girl's names. Ayame looked nice.
Lyserg entered the room, and was quickly given the same treatment by Chocolove.
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It had been a few days after Chocolove's arival; and by then, everyone had taken the baby book and made their suggestions.
Yoh and Lyserg had to hole themselves in their room to get a moment's peace from the constant barrage of suggestions.
"First name is going to be Japanese, right?" Lyserg asked, snuggling next to Yoh on their bed.
Yoh nodded. "If you want it to be."
"What about her middle name?"
"Middle name?" Yoh blinked, slightly confused.
"Oh, I forgot." Lyserg blushed, a touch embarrassed. "In Japan, you don't have middle names. I think it's a western tradition."
"What's your middle name?" Yoh couldn't help but ask.
"Codeine." Lyserg answered, beginning to flip through the pages of the name book.
Yoh could practically see Lyserg's anxiety radiating off of him. "What did you want for the baby's middle name?"
"Rebecca." Lyserg answered softly, not looking up from the book.
Yoh's eyes softened. "Your mother's name?"
Nodding, Lyserg leaned into Yoh's comforting embrace.
"Let's find a name, all right?" Yoh pulled Lyserg close to his side, a arm reaching around his waist to rub idly at his stomach.
Lyserg smacked the hand lightly, not fighting when Yoh began to stroke the swollen mound again.
"The baby's going to be born late June right?" Yoh asked.
"Yeah, but I don't want to name her after a season." Lyserg rested his head on Yoh's shoulder.
"What about after a flower? Ayame, Hana, Kohana, Ran?"
"Isn't Ren's mother's name Ran?"
Yoh thought for a moment. "I don't know."
"What else do you think?"
"Hoshiko? Aniki kept saying we should name her that."
Lyserg was a touch surprised. "Star child? He didn't suggest something like Kimi or Chiyo?"
Yoh chuckled. "Yeah, he'd like those too. But he seemed to really like Hoshiko. At least he wasn't like Hotaru and suggested Ember."
Lyserg sighed at the insane baby doctor's actions and took the book into his rapidly diminishing lap and looked through some of the names various people had underlined. "Cho's cute. So's Mai and Nariko. I think Pirika and Jun choose those ones."
"Machiko sounds lucky." Yoh noted. "Which names do you like?"
"Hmm." Lyserg flipped through the pages, his fingers trailing over names he had looked over several times before. "Aiko. Suki. Kioko- Yoh, what's wrong?"
Yoh frowned, his hand pressing a bit harder against Lyserg's stomach. He hadn't meant to jump, but the movement had surprised him. "Did, did the baby just kick?"
Lyserg nodded, hand curling over Yoh's. "Could you feel it this time?" the baby had been kicked for a few weeks now, but the movements had been to gentle for anyone other than Lyserg to feel.
Yoh's face broke out into a large, beaming smile. "Yeah." he pulled Lyserg into his lap. "She kicked when you said Kioko-" Yoh broke off with another smile as another light kick pressed against the palm of his hand. "I think she's trying to tell us something."
Lyserg smiled, his thumb stroking the back of Yoh's hand. "I like it." Lyserg read the name's meaning from the book. "She who meets the world with happiness."
Yoh kissed the crook of Lyserg's neck.
"All right. Her name's Kioko Rebecca Asakura."
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You all have no idea how hard it was for me not to make Lyserg's middle name acid. I settled for Codeine, a painkiller drug that's a controlled substance. Yeah for being a drug nerd/pharmacy technician!
As for the information about Hotaru's ovaries and not being able to have babies, that's all technically true, except the boyish figure part. The boyish figure comes from an over abundance of testosterone instead of a lack of estrogen and progesterone. I just, kinda wrote this before I found that out.
Anyway, I hope this chapter does it's best to please those who have been waiting for it. I really hope I kept Chocolove in character (I just can't grasp his character, nor his sense of humor, no matter how hard I try). And yes, I know that's the same name I gave Lyserg's baby in the drabbles, Conflict of Interest. That's because Kioko will always be Lyserg's first baby as long as Lyserg's with Yoh and/or Hao.
Next chapter, I have no idea. It will probably focus a bit more on Hotaru. There'll be the return of an evil demon (not Anna), and a flash back to the first time they battled the demonic being. Pirika and Jun's plan begins to take some serious action. And, a bit more HaoHoro action, because this chapter was lacking.
The numerous reviews shall be responded to by Ren, because I threatened to let Hotaru vut off his spike thing unless he did. So enjoy Ren responding to all your reviews!
Ren stands, looking quite annoyed with the fact he has to do this job. Kigen's threat is the only thing keeping him from protesting. Taking out a piece of paper that serves as his notes, he reads the words quickly. He's getting out of there as soon as he can.
"Celestial-gal, Kigen apologizes for the late chapter, and thanks you for your review.
"Tai, Kigen thanks you for your complements, and says that Yoh doesn't mind the mood swings. She also says if you want some smut, to go to adult fan fiction . Net and look in the Shaman King section under the name Chu-leh. She has a few yaoi stories there, though none of them are HaoHoro." Ren can't help but wrinkle his nose when he thinks of the one Kigen has with him and Lyserg that needs to be edited and posted after a few others. "Pervert." he muttered.
"Luna-san, you have no worries about Kioko being a prep or a goth. Kioko will be an sweet and interesting little girl. Kigen thanks you for your review and apologizes that you had to review twice in hopes of getting her to write.
"Dyingrace, Kigen is always happy to see your reviews. She doesn't plan on putting me in a relationship with anyone, thank goodness, because she doesn't like fics where everyone is paired up and thinks it's more realistic when a character or two are single. Probably because she's single herself." he adds to himself. "She also apologizes for making you review several times, and hopes you like this chapter.
"Sonseray, Kigen's happy you reviewed, and that you like Chibo-chan. However, I will not allow Kigen to torment my spirit any more than she has, simply to amuse you-"
"Ren, be nice."
Ren jerks his head to see the ice shaman standing at the other side of the room. "Horo? What are you doing here?"
"Making sure you don't scare away the readers. Kigen told me too. Now keep going." Horo smirks, happy Ren's the one being forced to work at the moment.
Ren grumbles before moving on.
"Safferon, Kigen's happy you reviewed, and is glad you like Lyserg being with Yoh." Ren's voice is a tad more annoyed with each review he's forced to answer.
"Leuv, Kigen takes you for your reviews, and is happy you liked the story.
"Summertime201, Kigen apologizes, but the baby is a girl, and Anna won't disappear because she still has a role to play. She's glad you like the story, and thanks you for your review.
"FantasyFanatic1, Kigen's thanks you for your review. She's glad you like her story, especially since you don't appear to be a large fan of mpreg. She also enjoys the interaction she forces Lyserg and Yoh to have-"
"Kigen doesn't force them!" Horo cuts in from the side. "They like doing it!"
"-and is happy you like Lyserg's crazy urges." Ren continues.
"ShadowYin-Yang, Kigen's always happy to find fellow YohLyserg fans. Lyserg is in fact, one year and a week or two younger than Yoh, The reason Lyserg is introduced as fourteen while Yoh was thirteen is because in the animated series, 4Kids neglected to mention that the Shaman Tournament had taken the better part of two years before the second part of the tournament began, as opposed to a few weeks/months like it appeared. She thanks you for your name suggestion, and your review. And yes, we all know Hao is evil."
Ren crumples the paper and throws it at Horo, and hit's the ice shaman squarely in the face.
"Hey!" Horo shouted. "What was that for!"
"You were there." Ren explained, as though it explained all.
And since it was Ren, it did.
Thank you everyone for reading and sticking with me.
Ja min'na-san!
