Miraculous Taboo

A fanfic by Setsumi-san

Chapter Three: Sparrows, Mood Swings, and Old Faces

Disclaimer Number Two: Kurama is Yoshihiro Togashi's. I just married him to Takei's Tamao because I like the crossover couple. I do not plan, never have planned, and never will plan to make any money off this fanfic. In fact, it's really a tribute to Mankin and Yu Yu Hakusho.

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Why the hell did the hormones have to kick in now? the dao-shi thought.

"Jun! What's wrong?" her partner cried.

He dashed after her to the bedroom, but withdrew from knocking when he heard soft gasps and a continuous hum inside. It didn't take a genius to know what she was doing. Poor Jun! It had to be hard as hell to remain celibate, faithful, and pregnant!

I should give her a nice surprise early tomorrow to take her mind off of everything…but what? Pyron thought.

A sparrow chirped outside the window of their winter home. He looked at it and smiled as inspiration for the perfect gift came to him. She would be giddy as a hummingbird when she saw it tomorrow.

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The next morning the Tao heiress was woken up by a sizzling noise and a sweet scent from the kitchen. When she went down to the first floor she discovered that her boyfriend had set up the finest silverware and the good napkins with doves and ivy leaves sewn onto the corners. Meanwhile, a kyonshi servant had cooked a scrumptious stack of pancakes topped with strawberries and a bit of honey. However, the biggest surprise was a striking new coat that was draped over her chair. It was ruby red with small roses on each cuff and a flying sparrow on its front corner pocket.

"What's all this?" she asked.

"Breakfast," Pyron casually answered, "Oh-and a little gift I ordered from one of your catalogs. I was reminded of it when I saw a sparrow outside yesterday."

His beloved stared at the scene as though it was the Martian surface. Then, to his horror, he noticed miniscule pearl-like tears forming in the edge of her eyes. Crap!

"Oh, I'm sorry! Listen, I'm sure I can get this in a size you li-" he started to gabble.

"No," she interrupted with a quavering voice, "I'm just so touched."

Relief tumbled off of him. Thank goodness! His father had been right about women appreciating small gestures of kindness. The fair sex was delightfully puzzling sometimes.

"And here you were worried about never experiencing mood swings," he teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked crossly.

Uh-oh. Saying that to a pregnant woman was about as wise as sticking one's bare feet in a rattlesnake's nest.

"Ah…well…Jun? Jun, where are you going? Wait!" he cried.

Fortunately, her cell phone rang before she could storm off again. She inhaled deeply and said hello.

"Big sister," a masculine young voice greeted gruffly.

"Ren," she sighed happily, "How are you?"

"Irritated. The Asakuras want us to come to some foolish reunion at the onsen next week and I told Yoh I'd only come if you did. So…do you want to?" he asked reluctantly.

"Oh Ren, I think you just want an excuse to see your friend and still look macho," she teased.

"D-Don't be silly! I can't stand parties! Do you want to come or not?"

She started to say yes and then realized that her bump wasn't exactly inconspicuous. Anna would bombard her with questions about the twins's father and she couldn't lie for very long. Their father would be pretty obvious if one inherited that distinct clueless look he had when thinking or his razorblade earthen eyes. Not to mention the fact that she hadn't even told Ren yet.

Jun almost shuddered at the thought of her brother's reaction. Pyron was one of the few people he respected, but he might make sushi out of him if he knew he fathered two of her children. Then again, she had to tell the truth sometime and a public place would probably be the best to do it. Even Ren was much less likely that someone to blow a gasket in front of a crowd. All right, so he probably would…but he'd tone it down for her sake.

"Big sister? Are you there?" Ren said.

"Pyron and I would be happy to come," she answered.

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One week later the Tao siblings stood outside Funbari Onsen's door with their ghosts dressed in fancy new clothes. Ren was wearing a gold silk robe dotted with tiny leaves and a ying-yang on the back. His sister wore her new coat over a festive black and silver seasonal sweater with matching pants and ladies' loafers. However, the crowning glory was her queenly jade necklace and matching earrings.

"Oh Ren, you look so handsome," his sister cooed.

He flushed and growled, "This had better be worth it."

She just giggled and went inside. All of their old friends were there from the Shaman Fight: Horohoro, Pillica, Chocolove, the Fausts, Tamao, and Ryu.

"How are you?" Yoh happily asked the Taos.

Jun tensed up when Yoh hugged her but kept her cool and replied, "Fine. It's been so long. I heard you have a little boy now."

"Eh-hee-hee-hee! Yep, our little Hana is five years old and quite a handful," Yoh chuckled.

"He gets his laziness from you (2)," Anna added.

"Aww Anna," Yoh moaned.

"Hey if the shoe fits, wear it," the itako said coolly, "Anyway, several of us have families now."

"Really? Have Tamao and Kurama (3) had children?" Pyron inquired.

"Not yet," Yoh replied, "but-"

Just then a three-year-old girl with hazel eyes and a jet-black ponytail ran up and interrupted them.

"Hey, wanna see how tall I am?" she piped cheerfully.

Ren and Jun's eyebrows arched with surprise when Anis ran up and scolded, "Eden, I told you not to run away from me!"

"I'm sorry Mama; I just wanted to show 'em how tall I grew," the little girl said sadly.

"Eden? As in the infamous Garden?" Ren questioned.

The Arabian woman blushed and explained, "Ryu and I wanted to name our daughter after a famous paradise."

"D-Daughter?!" the shocked Taos and their ghosts screamed.

"That's what I was trying to tell you. Ryu and Anis have been married for quite a few years now," Yoh clarified.

None of them could hide their shock. Ryu, of all people, had gotten married! Ren and Bason's eyes darted nervously to the floor for they were certain icy winds would burst out from Hell any second. Good grief!

"Well, I think it's wonderful that you have such a lovely child," Jun said cheerfully, "Speaking of which, there's something I'd like to tell everyone."

"What?" asked Yoh.

The priestess took a deep breath and fiddled with her coat. Pyron's eyes widened to the size of satellite dishes. What the hell was his girlfriend thinking? Would she really reveal the secret now in front of her temperamental brother?

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2. If I've written Hana out-of character, please tell me. Most people assure me he's inherited Yoh's laziness, though.

3. Kurama and Tamao are already married in my Mankin settei/universe because I like them together. I might write another Yu Yu Hakusho/Mankin crossover explaining how they got together if I have the time. Jun already knew about Tamao's marriage, so it would be awkward for me to expose that with people talking about something they already knew about.