Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in this story, with the exception of many of the minor characters. This story is rated M for violence, bad language, and graphic boy on boy action.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: REDEMPTION

Kurama fixed his eyes on the sky, eliminating any traces of pain from his face. "Nevaeh, I want you to go to the kitchen and make some chamomile tea for everyone. Let Ian check your arm before you go. Ayden, have Ian check you and then take my kit out of the master bedroom."

Ian's face paled. "I'll call aunt Yukina." He moved in to the house.

Hiei snapped himself from his own shock and neared Kurama, cradling the fox's head in his hands. "When did they get those?"

"We went for a vacation in Makai once for the twin's thirteenth birthday. The children had all split up to explore and I heard Nevaeh scream. The twins had gotten caught in the middle of a war between two great dragons." Kurama raised a charred hand, silencing any interruptions. "The blue dragon was a dragon of heaven, Seiryuu, a guardian spirit. How he ended up in Makai is a mystery to me. Ayden didn't trap him, as you did with yours. Tatsu looked in his soul, found him worthy, and entered Ayden's body in the form of a dragon tattoo on his arm." Again, Kurama stopped all questions. "The red dragon is Juo, one of the judges of hell. As I said, I have no idea how he ended up in Makai either. Koenma thinks that they transcended the planes as they fought. In retaliation to Seiryuu's actions, he copied him with Nevaeh as his host."

"Those are very powerful beings," Hiei muttered.

"Yes, two powerful dragons at war. Consequently, Ayden and Nevaeh have been at war with one another for years. They are very opposite of one another." Kurama gazed at Hiei. "That places the power of Ayden's dragon directly at your level, though he doesn't have your control. You do, however, have power over Nevaeh's, as yours is the highest level dragon that was, according to legend, contained in the deepest pits of hell."

"You make me feel so good about myself love," Hiei commented. "They need training."

"Then give it to them." Kurama hauled himself from the ground as he heard a car screech in to the driveway. "Come see your sister, niece, and brother-in-law."

Hiei followed Kurama in to the kitchen. Yukina gasped when she saw Kurama's hands. "For heaven's sake, this is the third time this month!"

"Forgive me," Kurama murmured and let out a gasp. Within a few minutes, his arms were healed.

Yukina smiled at Nevaeh as she passed out cups of tea. "Thank you dear. Now, I hear that you wanted to borrow Shiori for spring break?"

"Sage has been offered a place in Yomi's tournament," Kurama answered. "He needs a team of five and immediately thought of Shiori. She's become such a powerful ice maiden and I'd feel so much better if you allowed her to participate. Hiei will be there to supervise."

"And a healer?"

"I already contacted Inaya. She'll act as their team healer." Kurama smiled softly.

Yukina nodded slowly. "They're leaving in three days then?"

Kurama nodded. "Yes."

Hiei cleared his throat and planted a soft kiss on Yukina's cheek. "Aren't you going to welcome me home?"

"I'm still angry at you for what you did to this family," Yukina answered with a huff. "It was completely unacceptable."

"Kurama and I are back together."

Yukina flung her arms around her brother's neck. "It's about time you came to your senses! You better worship your mate after all you've put him through."

Hiei locked gazes with Kurama. "I do." He pulled back. "I hate to cut this visit short, but we all need our rest and I need to speak with my younger two."

Yukina, Kuwabara, and Shiori left. All the kids sat around the table. Kurama gazed at each sorrowful face. "Ian, Sage, go upstairs. This no longer concerns the two of you."

"Yes mother," Sage muttered and grabbed Ian's hand. They exchanged a sultry look and raced upstairs.

Kurama gazed at the two faces. "I've had enough of this war under my roof. I don't care about your opposing dragons and your conflicting views about every insignificant detail. I will not have the two of you attacking one another with uncontrolled power like that again. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma," Ayden whispered.

"I didn't mean to," Nevaeh hissed.

"Talk back to me one more time, young lady, and I'll teach that dragon of yours his proper places as well as you. You both will have your mouths washed out with soap. You two haven't learned enough discipline, control, and strength from me. Your father will now be controlling your training. If your dragons have any issues with him, he has his own to defend against them. To your rooms, both of you. You are forbidden from fighting anyone or anything else besides your father until you prove yourself capable of control." He held up a hand to silence all protests. "Upstairs, now!"

They both trudged up the stairs. Hiei sighed. "You didn't let me get a word in."

"I've been a mother and father to them for the last six years," Kurama said. "There's no reason to suddenly hand over all control to you."

Hiei's eyes sparkled. "Are you glad to have me home at least?"

"I haven't decided yet." Kurama teased. "I'm exhausted, let's go to bed."

Hiei shook his head. "I want you to eat something first."

"I'm not hungry."

"It's not much," Hiei insisted and went in to his bag, pulling out a box of bars. "They're to help you gain weight quickly so that you're healthy again. Just eat as many as you can in a day and you'll be back up to your normal weight in no time."

"You like me fat?" Kurama smiled and stuck his tongue out at his lover. "You should know never to mention a woman's weight."

"You're not a woman and I want to see you healthy. I want three of these bars gone by the time I get out of the shower. And I'll know if you didn't eat them." Hiei wandered upstairs and did what any father would do; he checked on his children. He didn't realize until he opened the door to Sage's room why Kurama didn't check on them before going to bed.

"Ian," Sage hissed out in the dark of the room.

"You better be quiet unless you want your parents to hear us… again."

Sage elicited a groan as Ian buried his head between the fox's legs. "Bastard uh… Ian… sto… oh god…" He squeezed his eyes closed tight and entwined his fingers in the jet black hair of his lover.

Hiei shut the door and, feeling dirty, went to the bathroom with the intent of scrubbing himself until all memories of that sight were purged from his mind. Kurama slipped in to bed before Hiei got out of the shower, his stomach aching in protest from having eaten the whole box. He curled up and fell asleep.

Hiei came from the bathroom and smiled at the sight of the fox curled up before drying off, throwing on some pajamas and crawling in to bed beside his fox. Things weren't back to normal, not yet. There was still at lot of unspoken tension. Still… Kurama wrapped his legs around one of Hiei's and rested his head on Hiei's chest the moment the fire demon was settled in bed. Hiei just smiled and held his beloved fox close. No, things weren't normal yet… but Hiei knew within his heart that they would be soon. After all, nothing (not even his own stupidity) would be enough to make him leave his fox again.

AUTHOR'S CORNER:

Okay, a mediocre ending to this chapter. So sue me. Anyways, things needed to slightly calm down after Kurama's arms got fried and Hiei scarred himself by watching Ian and Sage. Anyways, the story isn't over yet. I'm guessing that there are maybe three or so more left to go. So yes, I loves you all. Be nice and review.