Yusuke couldn't stop thinking about Hiei.

The most important thing was becoming strong so that he wouldn't die and that Raizen's kingdom wouldn't be destroyed by Mukuro or Yomi once his ancestral father was six feet under. But everything he did, he realized, he did for Hiei.

At night, he fantasized about the angry little fire demon, remembered his passionate, crimson-red eyes, realizing that the reason his first time having sex had been so wonderful was because it was with Hiei. It got to the point where he couldn't sleep without jerking off to the thought of him. In his head, he played back every memory he had of all the times Hiei had taken off his shirt, especially the way he looked after finishing a good fight. And during the day, when he fought people like Hokushin, he did it to release his pent-up sexual tension. He wanted to do it with Hiei again. He wanted to run his fingers through Hiei's spiky black hair and feel his bare skin against muscles as hard as stone. He wanted to penetrate Hiei again, or even to feel that rock-hard, demon-size dick inside him. Pitcher or catcher, he didn't care which; he just wanted Hiei so badly.

"Wow!" said Hokushin, who had just been knocked into a wall so hard that it now had a large crack in it. "You're certainly improving, Master Urameshi. My skull penetrated solid rock."

The only word Yusuke heard, of course, was penetrated. There were many things that could penetrate Hiei, he realized. And he was ever so curious about being penetrated himself. There were so many things they hadn't done that day…

"Master Urameshi? Master Urameshi!"

"All right, I'll try it again!" Yusuke yelled out, as Hokushin's voice snapped him out of his fantasy. Of course, he had no clue what Hokushin had been saying to him, but he did know one thing—he had to see Hiei again. He wasn't going to rest until he did.

"I didn't ask you to try it again," said Hokushin, looking confused. "I was asking you if you want to take a break for lunch."

"Oh," said Yusuke. "Um…sure. What are we having?"

"Well, I'm guessing you don't want to eat what I'm having," said Hokushin, "so I found a Ningenkai recipe you might like, but I made it with Makaian meat. They're called 'hot dogs,' if I recall correctly…"

Well, that was just great. Yusuke was going to spend lunch chowing down on a wiener, but not the one he wanted.

As they ate, Yusuke wondered if maybe he could sneak out tonight and find Mukuro's territory. He didn't know how to get there, but he figured that if he disguised himself, he could ask someone to show him the way. Puu would make great transportation; Yusuke didn't think many demons had seen his Spirit Beast after he'd evolved, so Puu probably wouldn't blow his cover. But still, he didn't think he could just go missing. He'd agreed to help Raizen and Hokushin and all the others. The only thing he could do was maybe leave the kingdom with permission—but he couldn't tell anyone where he was going.

"May I ask you a question, Master Urameshi?" said Hokushin.

"Shoot."

"Why have you cut your hot dog into little slices?"

Yusuke stared down at his plate, which was now full of little hot dog slices. The real reason he'd done that, of course, was because eating it whole made him think too much of Hiei, but he wasn't about to tell Hokushin that.

"It's the way people always eat them in Ningenkai," Yusuke lied. "Easier to digest."

"I suppose so," said Hokushin, although he was looking at Yusuke a little strangely, and suddenly, Yusuke just couldn't take it anymore.

"Listen," he said. "I was wondering if I could do a kind of…training mission. I might need to leave for a few days."

"It's possible," Hokushin replied. "But I ought to go with you as chaperone."

"No!" said Yusuke. "I mean, uh, no thanks. It's kind of like a…like a spirit quest. I won't eat or drink anything for a few days, maybe a week, and it'll help me get in touch with my inner power. I can take Puu with me for guidance." Yusuke didn't want to lie to Hokushin any more than he had to, but he did add one last thing. "I got the idea from my old sensei, Master Genkai. Yeah, she was always going on about spirit quests."

"Well, if you must." Hokushin looked reluctant. "But we should ask Lord Raizen what he thinks first."

Yusuke winced. "Do we have to?"

"Yes," said Hokushin firmly. "If Lord Raizen allows it, you may go."

…

Hiei awoke to yet another familiar face.

It was difficult to talk, at first, and he had no idea where he was. Everything was blurry, so he couldn't make out his surroundings very well, but he knew he wasn't in that other room. He may have been at Mukuro's lair because he thought maybe some of his surroundings looked a little familiar, but judging by the person who was healing him, the King must have kicked him out.

"Shi…Shigure?" he said weakly. "Why am I here?"

Hiei could understand Lord Mukuro wanting to kick him out. But what he couldn't understand was why he was back at his old sword-sensei's dwelling.

"Because Lord Mukuro decided to give you a second chance," said Shigure.

"Then why are we at your place?"

"I'm working for Lord Mukuro now," Shigure explained, much to Hiei's surprise. "I have been for many years."

Hiei was starting to wake up. The world was becoming less blurry, and his eyes soon confirmed that yes, he was still in Mukuro's lair. There was a needle in his arm attached to a drip, and he was the cleanest he had been in weeks. Someone had bathed him, and he was now wearing nothing but a hospital gown. Hiei cringed, trying not to think about one of Mukuro's lackeys bathing and dressing him while he was unconscious.

"I'm Lord Mukuro's resident doctor of sorts," Shigure continued. "Being a surgeon by trade, I figured the best way I could earn my keep would be to heal those who are sick or injured. Don't ask me why Lord Mukuro wanted to save you, though."

"How long have I been out?"

"About a week."

"I must have been really sick, then."

"Not exactly," said Shigure. "I'm afraid you won't be here for much longer, Hiei. Your condition makes you a liability to our kingdom."

"What condition?" Hiei asked, confused. "I thought you said I wasn't sick."

"Well, this complicates things," said Shigure. "You…you aren't aware?"

"Obviously not." Hiei was getting aggravated. "Aware of what?"

"This may come as a bit of a shock," said Shigure, "but Hiei, you're pregnant."

Hiei blinked. "I'm…I'm what?"

"You're pregnant," Shigure repeated. "Seven or eight weeks along, I would estimate, based on your scent."

"But…but that's almost two months!" Hiei was in shock. "How can I have been pregnant for two months and not have known it?!"

"That's very common, actually," Shigure told him. "Symptoms typically won't appear until at least the four-week mark. You weren't diseased, but the living conditions in Lord Mukuro's testing room seem to have exacerbated your pregnancy's existing vulnerabilities."

"Please don't tell Mukuro," Hiei pleaded. "He'll be so angry, he'll probably have me killed."

"It is my responsibility to be forthcoming with my Lord in such matters," Shigure replied. "And it is Lord Mukuro's call as to whether or not you will remain—but I highly doubt it. You will not be killed, just sent away. Mukuro will be away from the fortress for several days, but I need to relay the news upon my Lord's return." Shigure tossed what looked like an empty cooking pot onto the floor. "Here."

"What's that for?" Hiei asked.

"We don't have indoor plumbing here, and you're too weak to go outside," Shigure explained. "Anyway, you seem to be stable. Get some rest."

As his old sword-sensei walked away, Hiei wondered how in the world he was supposed to "get some rest" if he'd just received the news that he was pregnant. Obviously, this meant the father was Yusuke, since Yusuke was the only person Hiei had ever had sex with. But how was this going to work? Hiei couldn't have Yusuke's baby, not when Yusuke was the ancestral son of Raizen and Hiei was Mukuro's newest recruit. Maybe if things had been different…

Hiei shook his head, reminding himself not to think about that. As much as he hated to admit it, the reason he tried not to think about his day with Yusuke was not because he regretted it, but because he didn't regret it. And he was scared about what that might mean. His feelings didn't care that Makai was on the brink of a bloody civil war. Neither did this baby.

It was mind-blowing. Hiei had a baby inside of him. And not just any baby. Yusuke Urameshi's baby. Hiei had a part of Yusuke Urameshi inside of him. He really, really, really wanted to hate that fact, but he couldn't. When he thought of a little baby Yusuke inside of him, he felt almost pleased. Like it was an honor to bring such a child into the world—no! No, no, no! Hiei gritted his teeth.

Okay, let's just think of reasons not to want this baby, Hiei told himself. Well, there was the whole three-way civil war thing. And there was the whole "Yusuke might not even want the baby" thing. And there was the whole "I never had any parents so how could I possibly be one" thing. But all those seemed like excuses, not reasons. Who knew how long the war would go on, really? Raizen wasn't going to die for another year, or so Hiei had heard, which meant the baby would be born before Raizen's death, and maybe they could work things out. If Yusuke rejected the baby, that just meant Hiei should protect it more, not less. And as for the last one…

If he were to abandon his child, Hiei realized, that would mean he was just as bad as the ice maidens. They didn't want to give him a chance at life. If he was so afraid of being a bad parent because he didn't have any, he realized the best way to remedy that was to try his best, not try to be perfect. Just giving his baby a chance in this world would make him better than they were. And honestly, Hiei couldn't see Yusuke not taking responsibility for the child he had helped create. Maybe he wouldn't make the best parent either, but he wasn't a jerk. He just pretended to be.

This baby was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it deserved just a much of a chance as one who was in the right place at the right time. Elemental pregnancies were long—about the same duration as human ones, or maybe a little longer. If Hiei really was only seven or eight weeks in, he had plenty of time to decide what he wanted to do. He had to think of some way to shut Shigure up, but other than that, there was only one person besides Hiei who had to know.

…

By the time Yusuke and Puu reached Mukuro's lair, it was the evening of June 1. Somehow, they had made it all the way through both Raizen's and Yomi's respective territories, traveling eastbound until they finally reached Mukuro's territory. Hokushin had spoken very poorly of Mukuro, and Yusuke was wondering if he should be afraid of him. When he finally arrived at Mukuro's lair, he decided that yes, he should be afraid. Very afraid.

"You stay here, buddy," Yusuke whispered to Puu. Then he approached Mukuro's lair.

It was literally a giant white bug. Mukuro's whole territory was kind of dark and depressing, but this place looked so foreboding and deadly that Yusuke almost went home. Even he knew that he was being very, very stupid as he walked around the giant bug, looking for a doorbell or something. There wasn't one. Finally he decided to just knock. It was silent and still for a bit, until the side of the bug opened up to reveal a scrawny demon standing in the doorway.

"What do you want?" he snarled.

"I'm looking for the one they call Hiei," said Yusuke in his disguised voice. It had proven very effective on his journey thus far.

"I don't even know who you're talking about," the demon snapped. "Lord Mukuro is away, so if you're looking for him, you might as well move on."

Think of something, Yusuke! Quick!

"All right, you caught me, I'm looking for Mukuro," Yusuke lied. "If he's away, I'd like to speak to his second-in-command instead."

"Kirin is not a recruiter!" the demon almost shrieked. "I said, come back later!"

Yusuke jumped into Mukuro's lair and held the demon up by the front of his shirt.

"Here's what I say," he growled. "You let me in, and I'll let you keep your arms. Deal?"

"Yes, sir," the demon squeaked. Yusuke dropped him and walked inside.

The next person Yusuke saw as he walked deeper inside looked a little more serious. He had a long ponytail and a lot of piercings, including a hoop earring in his lip. Yusuke decided to approach him.

"I'm looking for Hiei," he said.

The demon smirked, almost as if he knew what Yusuke was there for, although Yusuke didn't see how that was possible.

"Right over there," he replied, pointing. "Try not to disturb him."

Yusuke followed the demon's finger until he sensed Hiei's energy. When he finally reached his friend, he was shocked to see that he was propped up by a ratty pillow in some sort of army cot, with an IV in his arm, wearing nothing but a hospital gown.

"Hiei?" said Yusuke. "What happened to you?"

"Yusuke!" Hiei looked up at him in shock. "What…what are you doing here?"

"I had to see you again." Yusuke sat down on the edge of the cot, making sure not to sit on Hiei's legs. "Hiei, I'm not gonna lie. I can't stop thinking about what we did that day."

"Do you realize how dangerous this is?" Hiei hissed. "Mukuro could come back any day now. What if he sees you here?"

"That's okay," said Yusuke confidently. "I've got a disguise. Come on, Hiei, talk to me."

"I don't want to talk."

"You could at least tell me how you ended up in this situation," said Yusuke, gesturing to the drip. "Did you get hurt during your training?"

"You're the one who landed me in this situation," said Hiei irritably.

"What are you talking about?" said Yusuke. "What did I do?"

"Fine." Hiei glared up at the former Spirit Detective, his eyes full of fear and anger. "You want to know what you did, Yusuke?"

"Yes!"

"All right," said Hiei. "You got me pregnant."