Yukina sat quietly on the outside deck enjoying the early morning sounds. Birds chirped happily carrying a soothing melody to her ears. The ice apparition appeared to be lost in thought. "Is something troubling you?" Yukina jumped, having not heard anyone approaching. Her large ruby eyes met with an emerald pair, "Oh, Kurama you're awake!" "I apologize, I didn't mean to sneak up on you." Yukina smiled politely, "No need to apologize…..is Cheza awake yet?" Kurama's gaze lingered on Yukina's belly as her hand lay absentmindedly on it, "Yes. She is getting dressed." Yukina swiftly got to her feet, " I don't mean to be rude, but I would very much like to speak to her." Before the fox could reply she had already vanished into the house. Kurama frowned, something was clearly troubling the girl.
"Hey Kurama, breakfast is ready if you're interested. " Kurama turned to see Kuwabara in the doorway. "Wasn't Yukina just out here?" Kurama nodded, "Yes. She went to speak to Cheza.." "Oh, well come on and get some breakfast, I'm sure you're hungry!" Kuwabara exclaimed while walking back inside, Kurama followed soon after.
The fox decided to inform the girls breakfast was ready, so he quietly made his way to Yukina's room where he sensed the two girls. He went to knock on the door but stopped suddenly, contemplating rather or not to ease drop. Deciding against his urges to listen he knocked on the door and soon was greeted by Yukina. "Breakfast is ready" Kurama eyed Yukina warily, she appeared quite worried about something. His gaze turned to Cheza whose eyes were wide and filled with even more worry than Yukina's. "Is…something wrong?" Kurama asked, his eyes not once leaving Cheza, who sat at the edge of the bed. "Yukina my love! Breakfast is ready! I made your favorite!" Upon entering with a big cheesy grin on his face, the ginger noticed something amiss. " Did I miss something?" Yukina's eyes fell upon Cheza, Kurama noticed the two exchange glances. "No, everything's fine Kazuma."Yukina replied softly . The two boys watched as Yukina made her way over to Cheza and practically yanked her to her feet. " Lets go enjoy the breakfast Kazuma was nice enough to prepare for us all."
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The table was eerily silent as the four began to indulge in their breakfast. Hiei soon joined in along with Yusuke. Hiei had been observing the array of emotions that were making themselves known on the fox's face. The worry emitting from both Yukina and Cheza's eyes was driving the fire demon mad, something had clearly transpired between the three. Even more irritating was the fact Yukina had put up a mind barrier, keeping him from reading her thoughts. Not once had she ever put up a mind barrier, what was she trying to keep secret? Hiei's crimson glare landed on Cheza. Her eyes were down casted as she slowly ate her meal. Hiei tried to enter her mind, but for one reason or another he could not gain access to her thoughts. "Kurama" Hiei called out telepathically. Kurama quickly glanced in the moody demons way, "Yes, Hiei?" "We need to speak, follow me." Hiei suddenly stood up and began to walk away not saying a word to the others. "See you later sunshine!" Yusuke wise cracked. Hiei's only response being "hn."
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"What is it you wanted to speak about?" Kurama asked. He was curious as to what this could be about.
"What is going on with Yukina? " Kurama frowned, " I don't know. She has been acting strange all morning. She went to speak with Cheza earlier and ever since both of them have been acting out of character." Hiei's scowl deepened, " She put up a mind barrier to keep me from reading her thoughts, she obviously is keeping something from us."
Kurama appeared lost in thought for a moment, "I have no idea what could possibly be causing their weird behavior, I imagine we will find out soon enough."
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"Rose whip!" Kuronue dodged to the side as Kurama, in his demon form continued to lash out with his infamous weapon of choice. "Hey, Kurama!" Youko's ears twitched slightly as he turned to see Shizuru, Keiko and Boton standing off in the distance. "Have you see Yukina and Cheza anywhere?"
"They were both inside a few minutes ago" Kuronue commented. Yoko's eyes scanned the surrounding area, stopping short in the direction where a pond Yukina frequently visited was located. Without a word he vanished in silver blur, he sensed the two there. In a matter of seconds he arrived at his destination, spotting the two missing girls sitting under a large oak tree. " I may be wrong you know..it could be one of the other girls. Its just…you're around me a lot more and..well we will go today and find out for sure"
" Kurama!" Yukina looked up wide eyed as Youko came into view. " The girls are looking for you." Youko commented his golden orbs locking onto Cheza.
Yukina got to her feet, "Oh! Is it 1 already!?" Cheza's eyes met with Youko's, she quickly looked away and began to walk back towards the house. "We better hurry, don't want to keep them waiting any longer!" she exclaimed. Youko frowned, "Cheza we need to spea.." "There you two are!" Boton came into view, a big smile plastered on her face. "Well, what are you two waiting for!? We have lots of shopping to do today!" Cheza made eye contact with Youko, she was thankful Boton had appeared when she did. She knew he was fixing to confront her about her sudden odd behavior.
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Shizuru took another puff of her cigarette while glancing back behind her. Keiko and Boton were happily chattering away, Yukina and Cheza walked at a distance behind them. She knew something was up with them, they had spoken only a few words since they began their journey to the mall. Boton noticed Shizuru staring intently at something behind her, so she turned spotting Yukina and Cheza. She came to a stop, Keiko did the same. "Are you two feeling okay? You've been awfully quiet today" Cheza forced a smile, "Yeah, we're ..just hungry that's all." Boton smiled, "Well then lets get some lunch!"
After discussing where they would like to eat, the girls settled on the diner Keiko's parents owned. After all, her parents had said they were all welcome to a free meal anytime they wanted. While sitting at the table waiting for their food Shizuru noticed Cheza kept staring out the large glass window at a convenience store across the street. "Hey… guys, I just remembered I need to pick up a few things at the convenience store, I'll be right back!" Keiko nodded,"Oh.. would you like me to go with you?"
"Actually, I would like to accompany her if you don't mind Keiko." Yukina interjected. Without waiting for a reply the girls got to their feet, "We will only be a few minutes!" Cheza commented.
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"So…theres so many choices…which one do I choose?" Yukina scanned the isle, "I..don't know…maybe we should get a few different brands." "We should hurry, I don't want the girls to get suspicious."
"Suspicious of what?" The two jumped, neither having seen Shizuru enter the store. The two exchanged glances then turned their attention to Shizuru. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed the isle the two were down, " Which one of you is it?"
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" I need to be getting back to spirit world, I had a fun time girls!" Boton exclaimed. "Yeah, I should be getting home to." Keiko commented. After the two left, Shizuru demanded the two come to her house.
Upon arrival the three were greeted by Kuwabara. "Yukina! I wasn't expecting you here..not that I don't want you here. Would you like to…" "Not right now little bro, we're busy!" Shizuru yanked Cheza forward leading her to the bathroom, Yukina following close behind.
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Shizuru continued to pace back and forth while Yukina waited anxiously for Cheza to say something. Shizuru stopped pacing as the bathroom door opened, "well?" "Its…I..yes" "What the heck are you guys acting so secretly about?!" Shizuru crossed her arms, glaring daggers at the nosey intruder that had entered her bed room. "Nothing, now beat it!" Before he could reply her bedroom door slammed shut and she locked the door. After waiting to make sure Kuwabara had walked off she looked at Yukina then Cheza, "So both of you…but..how? I mean I see how Cheza is…but..did you and my bro.."
Yukina placed her hands up in a defensive way, "No, you misunderstand. As you know…ice apparitions live on an island occupied by only females, we do not need a man to reproduce. Once we reach a certain age or mother's take us to a cave located on the island, inside is a tree. The tree looks as if it is dead, but somehow it still is able to bare fruit. We are given a choice, eat the fruit and become impregnated…or.."
"You become pregnant by eating a fruit!?" Cheza interrupted. Yukina nodded, "Yes. " "So..you had to have eaten the fruit then? You wanted to get pregnant?" Yukina shook her head no, " I did not eat the fruit, actually I believe somehow you triggered something in me and I become pregnant that way. What I mean is..I believe you became pregnant first..which somehow triggered me into becoming pregnant…I can't come up with any other explanation…" "Shizuru!" Shizuru frowned, "I told you we're busy!"
"Kurama's here" Yukina and Cheza exchanged glances as Shizuru opened the door. " I sensed you all were here so I decided to drop by and offer to walk you two home, after all it will be dark out before you can make it back to Genkai's." "Good idea, it gets dangerous at night. There are a lot of creeps out there, you have to worry about more than just demons you know," Shizuru replied. "Hey sis, you think you could help me out with something for a sec?" Kuwabara asked, now standing next to the fox. " Sure thing little bro, well I'll see you guys later. I'll stop by tomorrow, okay?" Shizuru asked, directing the question at Yukina and Cheza. The two nodded and soon the three made their way to the Kuwabara residence's front door. Kurama suddenly stopped, "Shizuru, do you mind if I use your bathroom?"
"No, go ahead." Shizuru replied while walking off into the kitchen to help Kuwabara. Yukina and Cheza walked outside and waited patiently for Kurama to return. The fox made his way to the bathroom, as he began to relieve his bladder he noticed something in the trashcan, the only visible word being "test". After finishing up he decided to pick up the colored white box from trashcan, his heart began to race. A..pregnancy test? Was Shizuru pregnant!? His eyes widened as he thought back to Yukina and Cheza's weird behavior. No…it wasn't Shizuru…it was Yukina! Wait..it couldn't be Yukina…could it? He had heard stories when he was Youko, Kurama about the ice apparitions. The way they became pregnant was from eating some sort of magical fruit. That meant…CHEZA!? His eyes widened, his heart racing uncontrollably as soon as the realization hit him. He frowned, but that didn't explain why Yukina was acting so strange. Was it possible that…both girls were somehow pregnant!?
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Hiei, Kurama, and Cheza sat silently once again enjoying the meal prepared for them by Yukina. Looking up, Cheza noticed Kurama staring intently at her. She said nothing and looked back down at her plate. Cheza tore her gaze from her plate once more, this time her eyes met with Hiei's. A weird look was plastered on his face, his eyes shifting back and forth between her and Yukina.
After dinner came and went, Cheza made her way to her room to feed Trouble. A few minutes passed before Kurama joined her. "Cheza.." Cheza turned to see Kurama staring at her with that same intense look he had been giving her at dinner. Smoke began to engulf their room, soon Youko appeared. "You've been hiding something from me kitten and I want to know what it is" Cheza took a step back, "What…are you talking about..I have not" The serious look in the fox's eyes indicated he wasn't buying her lie. "Cheza, you need to tell me now. If you are… I need to know. " Cheza eyes widened, "How..did you find out" Her question was enough confirmation for the fox, in a split second the fox was mere inches from Cheza's face. "Kitten…."
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Once again Yukina sat quietly on the outside deck, the faint sound of crickets were the only source of noise. "Yukina" Yukina jumped, "Mr. Hiei!" Hiei sat down next to his long lost sister, silence ensued. Minutes passed before he finally spoke once more, "How is it possible?" "How is what possible Mr. Hiei?" Hiei's crimson gaze locked onto Yukina's large ruby eyes, "Ice apparitions only become impregnated from eating a certain type of fruit…how is it.." Yukina stiffened, "I…I'm not sure…" Once again silence took hold, the two stared upward at the night sky unsure of what was to come in the near future.