Shishi would never admit it, but the old woman seemed to have roughed him up quite a bit. Now that the fight was over, he and Suzuki were headed up to their room in the hotel where the fighters were to stay free of charge. As they waited for the elevator, Shishi's back was hurting him off and on, even though it hadn't been doing that right after his fight with Genkai.

"I thought you were the one whose back she jumped on," Shishi muttered.

"Don't worry, angel," said Suzuki, in that flamboyant tone Shishi just loved. "I'll set you on your back very gently tonight."

For a moment, Shishi forgot his back pain, and he pulled his lover in for a kiss. Suzuki brought his hand down to cup one of Shishi's buttocks in his hand. Shishi hadn't told anyone that the reason his outfit was kind of loose was to hide the small amount of weight he had gained over the past several months, but as a silver lining to that cloud, he'd gained weight everywhere.

"Oh, it's so scrumptious," Suzuki moaned in Shishi's ear, putting such an inflection on the last word that it made Shishi's dreams scrumptious, too. Suzuki ran one hand through Shishi's hair. "And your hair…it's gotten so thick lately."

"Are you going to dress up as a clown for me tonight?" Shishi asked naughtily, in between kisses.

"But of course."

"I can't wait to—fuck!" Shishi suddenly pulled away from the kiss, holding onto his back. That one was worse than ever.

"Neither can I," said Suzuki, leaning on the wall.

"No…not…that!" Shishi could barely get the words out. The pain was so bad, he was doubled over like an old hunchback. Finally, after what was probably only a minute but felt like hours, the pain passed again, and he straightened up. The elevator car dinged and the doors opened, just as they heard running footsteps down the hall.

"Wait! Wait for me!"

It was the ice maiden who had come to see Team Urameshi. Shishi couldn't remember her name. Yuki-something, he was pretty sure, but he didn't really care. All he wanted was to get up to his room and rest.

"Come on," said Suzuki, gesturing for Shishi and the ice maiden to follow him into the elevator. "What floor are you on, Yukina?"

"Seven," she replied. "What about you?"

"Ten." Suzuki pressed the seven and ten buttons. Yukina smiled at them and set her hand on the railing. Shishi was still feeling a little sore at Team Urameshi as a whole, but Suzuki seemed to have moved past it. Shishi was sure he was already working on some new inventions—just like those dice he'd manipulated with his powers during their fights. Of course, no one could prove that.

I've had worse pains than this, Shishi tried to tell himself, as he felt the pain move from his back to his abdomen as well. He tried not to cry out, just to breathe in through his nose, out through his mouth. Come to think of it, when had he felt pain like this before? Not only of this severity, but of this variety? It felt a bit like really bad indigestion, but…not quite. It was lower in his belly than that, and sharper. It was right where he'd been so embarrassingly bloated for the past few months.

"Are you all right?"

Shishi looked up to see Yukina watching him, her brow now furrowed in concern.

"What do you mean?" he snapped.

"You look kind of flushed," she explained. "And something's a bit different about your youki."

"I'm just fine, as a matter of fact," he informed her, even though now he knew that wasn't true. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh…I'm sorry." Now it was Yukina's turn to look flushed. She turned towards the wall, but as yet another wave of pain rocketed through Shishi's back, causing him to let out an involuntary whine, she whipped her head around again.

"Maybe she's right, darling," Suzuki whispered. "You might have really injured your back."

"Please, sir, I'm training in healing," said Yukina. "I'm not very good yet…but my mother and my grandmother were famous healers among the Koorime, and I'm trying to follow in their footsteps. I haven't yet been able to heal completely, but if you have injuries from your fights, I can expedite your body's natural healing process."

Shishi bit his lip, wanting to deny her help, but the pains were very bad now, and they were getting closer together, too. He looked at Suzuki, who nodded.

"Okay, fine," Shishi muttered. "Do what you must."

"I'll go up to the tenth floor with you and help you once we get to your room," Yukina promised. "Just hang in there."

But then, as if on cue, there was an ominous sort of clunk, and the lights went out. Yukina shrieked, and Suzuki let out a yelp of alarm. Shishi barely reacted because he was in so much pain; it was only when the pain faded that he realized the elevator must have broken down.

"The elevator's broken!" Yukina cried. "We're trapped!"

"Ohhh…owww!" Shishi moaned. He didn't even recall dropping to his knees, but there he was on the cold elevator floor, falling forward into a hands-and-knees position. He had never felt pain this terrible, and he could not have gotten up and walked for the life of him.

"Oh, my, what do we do?!" Suzuki's voice was almost as high-pitched as Yukina's.

"I don't know!" Yukina ran over to the doors and tried to pry them apart. She couldn't do it, and neither could Suzuki. Shishi couldn't even reach the door. Yukina was right. They were trapped.

"HELP! HELP!" Suzuki shouted, banging on the walls of the elevator.

"Fuuuuck!" Shishi screamed. Yukina ran over to him and started rubbing his back.

"Beautiful Suzuki?" she asked, turning to Suzuki. "You and Shishi are object manipulators, right?"

"Oh, and let me guess," Suzuki said dramatically. "You only have experience with elementals such as yourself."

"W-Well…everyone has to start somewhere," she answered, her voice trembling. "I just wanted to ask…do object manipulators have an appendix like we do?"

"Sometimes." Suzuki looked alarmed. "Shishi, you have one, don't you? Is it your appendix?"

"It should feel like a pain in your side," Yukina said quickly.

"No…owww!" Shishi moaned again. "It's…it's…"

But now he could barely speak when it was hurting. There was no space in between the pains like there had been before. What was going on?

"Please, sir, describe your symptoms to me," said Yukina. "What hurts?"

Shishi could tell that this girl had no ulterior motives, no quid-pro-quo expectations out of the situation. She sincerely just wanted to help—and, as a matter of fact, probably felt that it was her responsibility as a healer-in-training to do so. Considering what he knew of her upbringing, a bit of naivete was to be expected…but, well, it was kind of refreshing. Somehow, he trusted her. He couldn't speak, but he pointed to his stomach, and then his back.

"O-Okay," said Yukina, dropping to her knees. "Let me feel your back and your stomach, please."

Still wincing in pain, Shishi let her guide him into a kneeling position like hers. She pressed her chilly hand up against his back, and then she palpated his stomach. He was just as shocked as she was to find that it was as hard as a rock.

"You've got some sort of…mass right here." She was trying to hide it, but Shishi could see the fear in Yukina's crimson-red eyes. "I think that might be the source of your pain. If it's big enough, it might be pressing up against your spine as well."

"Well, what are we supposed to do about a mass?" Suzuki demanded. He had been watching.

"Oh, shit. Wait," said Shishi. Now it was really bad that they were trapped in an elevator. "I…I think I have to use the bathroom."

"So you're telling me this was just gas?" said Suzuki indignantly, turning to Yukina.

"Not if he felt it in his back," she said, but Shishi was sure he had to use the bathroom. He felt enormous pressure—the feeling that something had to come out, and it had to come out now. As if he hadn't been humiliated enough today, now he was going to shit his pants in a broken elevator in front of his lover and an ice maiden he barely even knew. Great.

"Can you two at least not look?!" he screeched.

"It's okay, Shishi, we all have accidents sometimes," said Yukina, but somehow that only made him feel worse.

"GET AWAY!" he shouted at her. "GAAAHHHHH!"

On a scale of one to ten, the pain was about a thirty, all on top of the panic that he needed a toilet and couldn't get to one. His scream was one of both terror and pain. It was getting so difficult to hold back. The "mass" in his stomach was probably constipation. After all, he had been feeling quite bloated…Which would be more embarrassing, he wondered: messing up his pants, or just taking them off? His body was telling him he needed to decide, quick. He opted to take them off.

"Shishi, what are you doing?!" Suzuki cried, but then there was a splash, liquid on the floor—like pee, except it did not come from the same place it usually did. The smell was strange, slightly sweet. Shishi had no idea what had just happened, but Yukina's eyes suddenly grew very wide.

"B-Beautiful Suzuki," she stammered. "D-D-Do object manipulators…give live birth?"

"Why?" said Suzuki, then he did a double take. "Wait, you think he's pregnant?"

Yukina nodded stiffly. "I think that was his water breaking. That explains the back and abdominal pain. Shishi, can I check you?"

Shishi nodded; the pain was so bad, and he was feeling so desperate, that he didn't even care when she placed her hand in between his butt cheeks, up against his opening. She gasped.

"It's true! You're going to have a baby!" she cried, and the look of terror on her face was one Shishi would never forget. He was pretty terrified himself. Suzuki, though, completely freaked out.

"HELP!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He banged on the elevator doors, the walls, pressed all the buttons. He must have pressed the right one, because an alarm started going off—a loud, constant, blaring alarm—and they were suddenly bathed in a dreadful flashing red light. All three of them screamed.

"I can't be having a baby!" Shishi moaned. "I…I'm not pregnant!"

"Maybe you are and you didn't know," Yukina suggested. "It's possible. But we have to make sure you deliver the baby safely."

"You said you were a healer." Shishi's voice was a hiss of pain. "Have you done this before?"

"I've had training," she said nervously. "But no experience. This baby is going to be my first."

Somehow, Yukina's admission of inexperience made the pain even worse. Shishi leaned back on his hands and clenched his teeth. He knew less than nothing about childbirth. But he knew one thing. This baby wanted out.

"Yukina, I…I can't hold back any longer," Shishi groaned. "It's coming out!"

"HELP!" Suzuki hollered at the top of his lungs, but he was drowned out by both the deafening alarm and the howl escaping Shishi's mouth. The blonde demon turned to look at Yukina, his eyes wild, and said, "Tell me you know what to do!"

"I-I-I don't think there's much I can do!" said Yukina. "Shishi, you're just going to have to give birth here in the elevator."

"FUCK!" Shishi yelled, because he realized she was right.

"Okay, listen to me," she said. "Wait for your contraction, take a deep breath, then push."

Shishi positively screamed. It seemed that all his adrenaline went into those pushes. It hurt so bad, yet at least it was a relief to not have to hold back any longer. He'd been kneeling, but he fell forward onto his hands and knees instead and just pushed.

"You're doing great, Shishi!" came Yukina's voice from behind him. She had to shout over the alarm. "I can see your baby's head. Just keep doing what you're doing!"

As if he had any choice in the matter. Shishi screamed again and kept pushing. It felt like someone had lit his opening on fire, but he couldn't stop. He just kept howling and pushing, until finally the pain dulled a little.

"Your baby's head is out!" Yukina announced, and she sounded relieved. "Keep pushing and the rest will follow!"

That was Shishi's whole world for the next five minutes or so—until suddenly he heard a cry, and he felt a whole lot better. The baby was born. Gasping and panting in exhaustion, he fell forward onto his elbows. Then the last of his strength gave out, and he collapsed completely.

"It's a boy!" Yukina cried. "It's a beautiful baby boy!"

Suzuki ran over to where Shishi was sprawled out on the floor. He held his lover in his arms, and Shishi saw him staring in awe at the baby. Big and pink, he was crying profusely, and he had a little mop of blonde hair on his head.

"He is beautiful!" Suzuki cried in delight. "Just like yours truly!"

Yukina set the baby in Shishi's arms. The two of them were still attached by the baby's cord.

"Don't cut it," Yukina advised. "We'll have Master Genkai do it when we get to the seventh floor."

"Absolutely not," said Shishi. "Didn't you see what she did to me today?"

"She's much more experienced with this sort of thing than I am," Yukina insisted. "All she'll want is to make sure you and the baby are healthy. I promise. I know you lost to her, but do it for your baby."

"Fine, whatever!" Shishi moaned. Suzuki was supporting him so he wasn't lying on the floor, and Shishi was still holding the baby. The floor was soaked with blood and birth fluids, and so were Shishi, the baby, and Yukina's hands. Suzuki and Yukina were slowly easing Shishi into a resting position against the wall when the alarm suddenly fell silent. The red light stopped flashing, too. All three of them looked at each other in confusion. Then they heard a voice from the other side.

"Can you hear me in there?" called a man's voice. "Hello?"

"YES! WE'RE IN HERE! HELP!" Suzuki screamed, and began banging on the doors again.

"This is general maintenance," said the man. "I'm going to get the elevator tech."

"Thank you, and please have the front desk call room 710 as well," Yukina replied. "Tell them it's an emergency."

"Yes, a dire emergency!" Suzuki added.

"Please stop panicking, Beautiful Suzuki," Yukina implored, as they heard the maintenance man walking away in search of an elevator tech. "It won't help the situation any. We just have to keep the baby warm and safe now."

They didn't have a blanket or a towel, so Suzuki finally took off his shirt and they used it to wrap up the baby, who was still crying.

"Now might be a good time to give him a name," Yukina suggested. "And to breastfeed him. He looks hungry. Plus, that will help you pass the afterbirth faster."

Shishi looked down at his little baby. What should his name be? He looked a lot like Suzuki, except his eyes were just like that of the demon who had just given birth to him. Such a lovely shade of pink. He was still crying, and Shishi was pretty sure he knew what the baby wanted. Yukina was right.

"You're right that he needs to be fed," he said. "But you can name him, Suzuki. I just can't think of anything."

"Ayato," said Suzuki. "It means—"

"Let me guess," said Shishi. "Beautiful."

"Well, you don't have to ruin it," said Suzuki, setting his hand on his chest. Yukina didn't seem at all surprised that he was the father, which just went to show how obvious their attraction to each other was, even to someone who was unfamiliar with the concept.

"Do you need help nursing him, Shishi?" Yukina offered gently.

Shishi nodded, and Yukina came over to join him and his baby over by the side of the elevator. He handed her the baby, and she held him to her chest, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Ayato! If you aren't just the most precious thing!"

With Yukina's help, Ayato was maneuvered into the proper position for feeding, and after a few tries, he successfully latched on. When he did, Shishi was pleasantly surprised at how much calmer he felt. Like everything was going to be all right. It helped soothe some of the soreness in his ass, too.

It was maybe about ten minutes until the afterbirth was delivered, and Suzuki helped Shishi get back into his pants while the baby kept eating. After another ten minutes, the elevator finally began to move. None of them cheered, since they didn't want to disturb the baby, but Yukina let out an audible sigh of relief, and Suzuki gave his brow a dramatic wipe and said, "Oh, what a relief."

Another ten minutes passed before the elevator finally started to move. Shishi and Ayato were both starting to feel pretty sleepy, but Shishi, at least, snapped to as soon as the doors opened. It looked like they were in the basement, and the whole maintenance crew appeared to be there, along with Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara.

"Yukina!" said Kuwabara, his eyes brightening at the sight of her. Then his gaze traveled to the newborn. "Um…whose baby is that?"

"Mine," said Shishi. "I didn't know I was pregnant until he was born."

"Pregnant?" said Yusuke. "I thought you were a guy."

"Male demons can get pregnant, too, dimwit." Genkai stepped into the elevator then, surveying the scene with a sort of controlled surprise.

"How is that possible?" said Yusuke.

"His physiology is different than yours, let's leave it at that," she said. "I can explain it to you later, when there's not a baby and new parent to be assessed. Yukina, what can you tell me?"

"The baby was born vigorous," said Yukina. "He didn't need to be stimulated to breathe or cry. He's nursing now, as you can see, and the placenta has passed. Shishi doesn't seem to have any abnormal bleeding, and he was very alert until he started feeding the baby. It's normal for him to be sleepy after that, isn't it?"

"Yes." Genkai nodded and gave Yukina a smile. "You're well on your way to becoming a skilled healer, young lady."

"It's the only thing I've ever wanted to be," said Yukina, her eyes shining. "I love helping people."

Genkai cut the baby's cord, and Ayato finished his first meal shortly after. Shishi could walk, so Suzuki was able to help him to his room for an examination. After both father and son were given a clean bill of health, Suzuki held the baby while Shishi got a shower and put on clean clothes. Then the two of them sat on the bed, gazing into the eyes of their new child.

"You know, maybe we didn't win the tournament," said Suzuki, "but we got something even better."

"Yeah," Shishi agreed. "We'll send Yukina a thank-you card."

-end-