Kurama was Yomi's second-in-command, so it was part of his job to keep the stronghold running smoothly whenever Yomi wasn't feeling up to the task. This was hardly difficult; Kurama had been in a management position before. (As a matter of fact, Yomi used to be his subordinate.) No, Yomi himself was the one giving Kurama problems.

Ever since the breakup, Yomi hadn't come out of his room once. Even his meals were to be served to him on the ground outside his door on a tray. He said his foot was still bothering him, but of course that was ridiculous; there was no way a superficial wound like that could possibly put an upper S-class demon out of commission for more than an hour or two, and even if his foot did still hurt, that didn't mean he couldn't rule his kingdom properly. Yomi had always been a bad liar, especially when Kurama knew what was really going on.

After three days' worth of this, though, Kurama was fed up. He headed to Yomi's room and knocked on the door.

"Yomi?" he called, leaning his ear against the door. "Yomi, open up."

There was no answer. Kurama was actually a little concerned, then, so he picked the lock and went on in. Yomi was lying on his bed with noise-canceling headphones on, tuning the rest of the world completely out. Kurama strode over and yanked them off.

"Kurama!" said Yomi. "What the hell!"

"You need to snap out of this now," said Kurama, standing over Yomi with the headphones dangling from one hand. "I understand that you might miss her, but you have a kingdom to rule."

"No, you don't understand," said Yomi, flat on his back, his long hair fanned out all over his pillow. "The world is crumbling down around me. I don't know what to do with myself."

"What you need to do is not tie your worth to another person," said Kurama sternly. "She's not the only woman in Makai, you know."

"That's what she said," Yomi told him. "But no other woman is like her. If you only knew…"

"I know she must have been special, Yomi," Kurama admitted, trying to make his voice gentler. "But sometimes all you can do is move on. This won't hurt forever."

Even as he said this, Kurama remembered that Yomi still seemed a bit sore about the fact that Kurama ordered a hit on him, and he just hoped it wouldn't take Yomi a thousand years to get over this rejection, too.

Yomi could only sigh. "What's forever if you're all alone?"

Kurama was trying to think of something comforting to say when they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Kurama set the headphones down on the end table.

"Lord Yomi, did you not hear?" It was Yuda, Yomi's advisor. "We need your presence immediately. Mukuro is here with Hiei. And a very suspicious package."

"What kind of package?" Kurama demanded. Yomi sprung up like someone had jump-started him.

"The lookouts couldn't see it properly," said Yuda.

"Ready the troops for defense, Yuda," Kurama ordered, signaling for the little demon to head on down the hall. "Yomi, that package could contain anything. Can you hear what it might be?"

Yomi's ears twitched like a dog's. "It sounds like a baby!"

"What in the world would Mukuro want with a baby?" Kurama wondered aloud, but Yomi wasn't listening.

"That bitch!" he shouted. "She told me she couldn't have children!"

Kurama's eyes widened as he turned to face Yomi, incredulous. "Ex-cuse me?"

Yomi's hands were over his mouth, as if he was trying to shove the words back in, but it was too late. Finally, he threw them down onto the bed and tipped his head back towards the ceiling.

"Fine, the secret's out!" he snapped. "Mukuro is a woman."

"And you slept with her?!" Kurama cried.

"Wait, Kurama, it's not what you think," said Yomi, holding up his hands like he was under arrest.

"It's exactly what I think," said Kurama, and he shook his head. How could it be that Yomi was a King now, yet he still kept doing one dumb thing after another? "I thought I was done cleaning up your messes! What were you thinking, having sex with your mortal enemy? Getting her pregnant? You really couldn't keep it in your pants, Yomi?"

"She lied to me!" Yomi protested. "She told me she couldn't have children."

"That doesn't make it okay to sleep with her!" Kurama shot back, throwing his hands up in the air. "She was probably trying to get close to you so she could destroy you, and you fell for it! For all we know, she's going to incorporate the baby into it, too!"

"Surely you don't think Hiei would be complicit in a plan like that," said Yomi.

"After staying with her for the better part of a year, I don't know what he'd agree to," said Kurama shortly. He had thought of that already, and he didn't want to discuss it any further. "But we need to confront Mukuro. I don't care if she dumped you. There's a lot at stake here."

With that, Kurama took off swiftly down the corridor, hands in his pockets, Yomi close behind him. They headed to the front gates of Yomi's stronghold, where the lookouts said Mukuro and Hiei were standing. And sure enough, there they were: Mukuro, Hiei, and a strange bundle in Mukuro's arms. If he didn't already know there was a baby in there, Kurama probably wouldn't have guessed.

"Let them through," Yomi commanded, and the sentries let them pass by: Mukuro with the baby, then Hiei. Kurama avoided all three of Hiei's eyes. They weren't supposed to be friends anymore, and if Hiei really was okay with using a child as a war tactic, maybe they shouldn't be friends anyway.

They headed farther inside the building, away from the crowds up front. The medical room was nearby, so they decided to go in there. Kurama watched as Mukuro took the bandages off her head. Now she really did look like a woman, although half of her face was gone.

"Yomi," she said. "We need to talk."

"Oh, I'll bet we do!" said Yomi furiously. "What's with the baby, huh?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she said. She kept the baby close to her chest, so no one could see what it looked like, and that was when Kurama realized Yomi would never be able to see what his baby looked like. The thought made him a little sad, even now.

"What's there to talk about?" Yomi demanded. "I can clearly tell what's happened here."

"You'd better watch your tone, you ass," Hiei piped up. Kurama would have warned him to be quiet in the past, but that wasn't his job anymore. He did, however, feel a sense of responsibility for the innocent life involved here.

"Mukuro, why don't I hold the baby?" he suggested, holding his arms out. "Hiei and I can wait outside while you have your talk."

Kurama had never been face-to-face with Mukuro, and looking into her one eye for the first time, he saw much more of a soul in her face than he ever thought could be under those bandages. This whole insane situation aside, for a minute, she looked like a normal new mother with a normal newborn baby. It was strange, too, how much taller than her he was, even in his human form; she was barely taller than Hiei.

"You're Kurama, aren't you?" she asked. Even her voice sounded different when her true identity was exposed.

"Yes," he said.

"All right." Mukuro gently transferred the little one to Kurama. "Thank you very much."

"It's no trouble," Kurama replied softly, and he led Hiei to stand outside the medical room.

"You know I'm going to watch anyway," Hiei whispered, gesturing to his Jagan eye. The first words he'd spoken to Kurama in over six months.

"I'll do you one better," Kurama whispered back, showing Hiei that he left the sliding door to the medical room just a tiny bit open. Yomi couldn't focus on every sound at once, he knew, and as long as they were completely silent, he would never know they were watching. If he heard their heartbeats, he would only know they were "standing outside," not watching. As for Mukuro, she didn't seem to care who saw or heard. Hiei smirked, in the old way, and kneeled down next to Kurama on the floor at the doorway.

"You told me you couldn't get pregnant," Yomi was saying indignantly.

"I said I had my tubes tied, and apparently that's not as foolproof as we thought," said Mukuro. "I just had the worst pain, and then I was giving birth on the floor. I had no idea I was pregnant."

"You expect me to believe that?" said Yomi. "How could you not know?"

"Not that you'd know, but when your tubes are tied, you don't even think of pregnancy," Mukuro said back. "I never would have dreamed in a thousand years that this would happen."

"Well, now that it did, why are you coming to see me?" Yomi crossed his arms. "You told me a few days ago that it was over between us."

"For your information," said Mukuro, "I thought Aiko deserved to meet her father."

Kurama looked down at the baby in his arms. She really did look a lot like Yomi, except that the big eyes that gazed up into his were blue, like Mukuro's. Had he really misjudged Mukuro that much? Could it be that she was telling the truth? All Yomi said to Kurama was that she couldn't have children, not that she had her tubes tied. It was entirely possible, if not probable, to conceive in that case. And the fact that she'd named the baby seemed to suggest that she didn't plan to use her daughter for anything malicious. Could her visit really be that benign? It wasn't consistent with her reputation, but it was consistent with everything Kurama had witnessed today.

Apparently, Yomi didn't feel the same way.

"Well, I think you're making shit up again!" he shouted. "How do I know you're not going to make her into your slave or something?"

Beside Kurama, Hiei gasped. His sweaty hands were flat against the glass door. Kurama carefully moved the newborn to one arm, prepared to hold Hiei back if he decided to go stupidly rushing in. He didn't need to pick up the pieces of any more stupidity today—although, he reminded himself, if Hiei and Yomi were involved, he surely would.

"How dare you!" Mukuro screamed. Yomi didn't seem to notice how her mood was changing, but Kurama was suddenly very glad the baby was safe with him.

"How dare I? How dare I?!" Yomi shouted. "You told me less than a week ago that it was over, and now you're here, bringing me this baby you said you didn't know you were having? What the hell am I supposed to do with that?!"

"You're supposed to accept it!" Mukuro shot back. "She's our daughter!"

"She's your daughter!" Yomi bellowed. "I don't want anything to do with her! And I regret sleeping with you even more!"

It all happened so quickly. With a flash of light, Yomi was halfway across the room, blood quickly blossoming out of a deep wound in his chest. Surrounded completely by a glow of youki, Mukuro grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him into the wall, leaving a large crater. Yomi yelled in pain, and coughing, he held himself up by one hand, the other clutching at the still-bleeding wound in his side. He managed to summon a green ball of energy and send it her way, but she dodged, allowing the energy ball to shatter some of the medical equipment behind her. Yomi leaned against the wall and held both hands out.

"Demon Absorption Sh—"

"SHUT UP!" Mukuro never let him finish. Her next slash was directed at his jaw. Yomi stood up and struggled against her as Mukuro, still flaming with anger, tried to pierce his heart with her fingers. He was pushing back, with his greater size as an advantage, but the wounds on his face and especially his chest were definitely draining him. His shoulder also looked a little funny, like it had been dislocated when she threw him into the wall. As the seconds passed, he was clearly struggling just to stay on his feet.

Was this how the war would end? Was this how the new order would be decided? The two remaining Kings, battling one-by-one for their lives? Looking over at Hiei, Kurama could tell by the look on his face that his former partner-in-crime had never seen Mukuro even close to 100%, with her rage at her complete disposal. She didn't look anything like the woman from before. She looked, honestly, like the monster everyone always said she was, even if one could argue that Yomi deserved it. She pushed harder—he started to sink—she was about to plunge her fingers through his heart—

And then the baby cried.

The pink glow of energy around Mukuro faded like sunlight on a cloudy day, and she let go without even seeming to realize it; without anyone to push against, Yomi fell like a mighty oak, blood still gushing from his wound. Mukuro dropped to her knees beside him. The look of sudden panic on her face was unnerving, but it spoke clearly enough—What have I done?

"HELP!" she screamed, glancing down at Yomi, at the blood on her hands, then around the medical room. "SOMEBODY, HELP!"

Kurama gave the wailing baby to Hiei, and he reached Yomi in seconds. Yomi was lying on his side, mouth open, blood leaking from his lip. Kurama turned him onto his back and got him out of his jacket and shirt. The laceration was worse than he thought, and he did not know at all if Yomi would survive it.

"He'll be okay," Mukuro was saying desperately. "I have a healing chamber in my fortress. Come on."

"Your fortress moves, right?" said Kurama as he produced a blade of grass from his hair, except it was as sharp and stiff as a needle. "It's here?"

"Maybe a mile from the city, yes…"

"It's not safe to move him that far, and we don't have time, anyway," said Kurama. "My only option is to fix him up right here, and if he survives, he can use your healing pod once he's stable."

"Do you know what you're doing?" Mukuro asked.

"Yes," said Kurama, and this time he took out a much longer, smoother blade of grass, like tall prairie grass. To his relief, Yomi cursed loudly as soon as Kurama pierced his skin with the needle. "I used to be a healer."

As he started sewing up Yomi's wound, Kurama couldn't figure why she was so repentant all of a sudden, except perhaps because Yomi was the father of her child. One…two…three…four…She held his head in her hands while Kurama counted the stitches. Yomi was swearing so badly that Hiei had his hands over the baby's long pointy ears, but at least it meant he was alive. It was a miracle he wasn't dead already.

Always the master of brutal verbal lashings as well as physical ones, Hiei walked into the room, gazing upon Yomi with scorn.

"Mukuro had a whole-ass baby, you pathetic fool," he said. "I think you can handle a few stitches."

"Hiei, stop," said Mukuro tearfully, her fingers combing through Yomi's long black hair. "It wasn't supposed to be this way." Kurama didn't know if she meant the war, their relationship, or both.

"Were you there when the baby was born, Hiei?" Kurama asked calmly, still threading his needle. Eight…nine…ten…

"Yes," said Hiei. "Everything she said to Yomi is true."

"I know it's not easy to believe," Mukuro added, "but she's living proof."

"If you'd like, Mukuro, you can help Yomi chew on these," said Kurama, offering her some large, bright-green leaves the same color as his eyes. "They'll help with his pain, though he might seem a bit…loopy."

She basically had to force them into his mouth, but once he was chewing, he seemed a bit calmer. Kurama finally finished his sutures on the big wound—eighteen in all. Then he stitched up the gash by Yomi's jaw, which wasn't quite as bad. Yomi seemed kind of out of it, but at least he wasn't cursing anymore.

"Kurama," he groaned.

"Yes, Yomi?" said Kurama warily.

"Please don't punish me for my insolence," Yomi mumbled. "I'm hurt enough…"

Mukuro gave Kurama a weird look, and he had to explain. "You're not the only one who has a history with him."

Finally, Kurama lifted Yomi up and held him by the shoulder that wasn't dislocated.

"Somebody hold him from behind," he instructed. Hiei had Aiko, so Mukuro steadied her lover's back with both hands. "Now, Yomi, hold on. Leaves or not, this is going to hurt."

Kurama pushed hard, and Yomi hollered in pain as his shoulder was put back into place. But after that, he did seem better.

"All right," said Kurama. "Yomi's going to be okay. Now we just have to stay here while he gets a little rest. Those leaves will help him get to sleep soon enough. Then we can move him to your fortress, Mukuro, and put him in that healing tank you mentioned."

"Dream of me, Lord Yomi," Mukuro whispered, gently stroking the side of his face.

"Yes, Lord Mukuro," Yomi mumbled, and Kurama could have sworn he smiled before he fell asleep—a smile Kurama had never seen before on the face of anyone who consumed those leaves. After she soothed him to sleep, Mukuro looked up at Hiei and Kurama, despair clear on her face. "I-I didn't mean to hurt him. I was so angry, I just…I think I just blacked out."

"But you stopped," said Hiei, looking fascinated. "Why?"

"I don't know," she answered, shaking her head. "It was like…suddenly I came to my senses. I didn't want to kill him anymore. I realized I never did. Even if I dumped him, and even if he said those awful things, he's still my baby's father. And I still love him." She turned her head away from them. "I hurt someone I love."

There was silence for a moment, when they all just watched Yomi sleep. Mukuro took Aiko back from Hiei, but she still looked upset as she gazed at her lover.

"Mukuro," said Kurama finally. "Do you know what made me stop killing?"

"No. What?"

"The unconditional love of a mother," Kurama replied, giving her a small smile. "I believe that's what made you stop killing, too."

Mukuro stared down at the baby in her arms, her mouth slightly open, her brow knit. She looked so uncertain—frightened, almost. Like she fully expected to raise the baby herself, but didn't think she could do it.

"I'm convinced Yomi will have a change of heart when he wakes up," Kurama told her gently.

"But even if he doesn't, you won't have to do it alone," Hiei added.

"Still, before we go thinking anything rash, we should just let Yomi get his rest," said Kurama, grabbing some ointment off the table and spreading it over Yomi's wound. "We can move him in a little while, and then we can put him in the healing tank in your fortress, Mukuro. Does it work like most healing tanks?"

"Yep, as standard as it comes," Mukuro answered. "Just strip them down and let them soak. It helps to talk to them."

"Healing tanks are generally used for otherwise irreparable wounds, and the worse off the person is, the longer it takes," said Kurama. "If there are any limbs to regrow or body parts to reattach, it can take days. Yomi's wounds, however, would have healed on their own over time, so the healing tank will merely expedite the healing process, and he will have healed in a matter of hours."

It certainly felt like a matter of hours, just sitting there watching Yomi sleep on the floor. Kurama felt very awkward, considering the fact that before today, he hadn't spoken to Hiei in months, and he knew Mukuro by reputation alone. It didn't quite match up to the person he had met today. Maybe having a child changed her, or maybe there was just more to her than he had previously thought. Still, he was all too glad when he determined it was safe to get Yomi to Mukuro's fortress. As soon as he told her, Mukuro got quickly to her feet.

"Okay," she said, tucking her hands under the unconscious Yomi's armpits and trying to drag him to his feet. "Come on."

"Hiei, why don't you and I carry Yomi to your fortress?" said Kurama. "Mukuro, you can carry Aiko instead."

"Sounds like a plan," she gasped, and set him down. Hiei handed her the baby, then he and Kurama hoisted Yomi right up and carried him out.

Kurama ordered everyone to make room for them as they went past—Mukuro with Aiko, followed by Hiei and Kurama, supporting Yomi. Kurama noticed how Mukuro lifted her head up as she carried the baby, completely uncaring about all the henchmen and servants gaping at her. He couldn't help but laugh; she reminded him a lot of Hiei right then.

"What's so funny?" said Hiei.

"Nothing," said Kurama. "I just think I can see why you look up to Mukuro."

"Yeah, she's cool," Hiei replied. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You clearly don't feel any real loyalty to this joker," said Hiei, nodding his head to Yomi. "Why are you with him?"

"I didn't realize you cared," said Kurama.

Hiei scoffed. "No less than I ever did."

Same old Hiei. Kurama looked over and gave him a genuine smile.