Okay everyone here it is, the sequel to 'Worlds Apart'. I have an interesting idea for my next story but I thought I'd reward all those who reviewed and asked for this first. I hope everyone likes kids because as the title implies it's time for Hiei and Kurama to start a family.

Standard disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho.

AND BABY MAKES… HOW MANY?

Chapter 1

Red hair fanned out across the sheets and a slender back arched off the bed as Kurama screamed out his pleasure. "Gods Hiei, yes!"

Looking down at him Hiei watched as his mate reached his peak before he too cried out his lover's name as he reached his climax. "Kurama!"

When his mind could focus again Kurama pulled Hiei close, keeping his legs and arms wrapped tightly around him. "I swear I will never tire of you waking me that way Dragon-Heart."

Hiei tried to cuddle closer. "Since you love me to sleep every night Foxie, I'm just returning the favor by loving you awake every morning."

Kurama smiled. "Well I'm glad you woke me early today Lover. Remember, you promised to take me in to town to the bazaar today."

Leaning up Hiei kissed Kurama before pulling out of his lover's embrace. "I didn't forget Baby. Let's go wash up and get going."

Kurama smiled as he rose from the bed. Even after three years of marriage he still thrills at waking in Hiei's arms every morning and he still thanks the gods every night when he falls asleep in them.

Once they were dressed and Kurama had transformed into his Youko form the two set out for town with Hiei's guards traveling at a discreet distance. One day a month the town hosts a bazaar. There are games for the kids, just about any kind of food you could want and local merchants as well as traveling vendors show off their best goods to sell.

Hiei smiled as he watched the excitement on his mate's face. Kurama loved bazaar day. He was like a kid, playing games and wanting to taste as many different foods as he could. Hiei liked that part because there were lots of sweets to be had.

Since their wedding Hiei had become the face of leadership in Mukuro's territory. Days like this served a duel purpose allowing the local demons see their future rulers up close and personal. Kurama was perfect for Hiei's public relations, gracefully handling any questions or concerns their people might have.

Today was no different than any other bazaar day with one exception. Hiei wasn't sure Kurama noticed until the Youko spoke to him excitedly through their mental link. "Do you see him Darling?"

Hiei smirked up at him. "How could I miss him Baby, he's been following you for an hour now."

Kurama squeezed his hand. "Do you think he's alone? Maybe I should go to him, make sure he's alright."

Hiei just sighed realizing this was not going to be an ordinary day at the bazaar. "Do as you wish Fox."

Hiei watched as Kurama slipped behind one of the clothing stands. The one they watched wasn't happy at losing sight of the beautiful Youko, anxiously looking around for him.

Feeling his mate's energy flare momentarily Hiei casually moved closer to their prey blocking his only means of escape. He seemed to know Kurama would return to Hiei and watched the fire demon closely. It wouldn't be long before he realized he'd been caught.

Hiding under one of the display tables was a Youko kit. He looked to be about four or five years old. His clothes were dirty, torn and obviously too small. The kit was concentrating so hard on trying to get another look at the silver Youko he'd been following he jumped when something warm and wet nudged his arm.

Hiei smiled at the surprise on the boy's face when he turned to see a silver fox sitting calmly beside him. He didn't move but his eyes grew wide when the fox's nose nudged at his hand. Tentatively, the boy raised his hand and gently petted the fox's coat.

So caught up in petting the fox the boy didn't seem to be aware that it slowly moved closer until he felt it lick his cheek. As if realizing the fox meant him no harm the boy raised his other hand to stroke behind the fox's ear. Suddenly, as if overwhelmed, the boy wrapped both arms around the fox's neck and hugged him tight.

Golden eyes looked past the boy to Hiei. "Gods Hiei, he's so beautiful."

Hiei was amazed that no one else seemed to notice the touching scene unfolding right before them. "Not as beautiful as you look holding him My Fox."

Once again Hiei felt his mate's energy flare and watched as his Youko mate appeared. Kurama sat on the ground gently holding the boy in his arms. It was a moment before the boy realized it was no longer a fox's mane his face was buried in but Kurama's long silver hair.

Pulling back slightly the boy looked up at him in awe. "Wow! Am I going to be able to do that some day?"

Kurama smiled giving a laugh of pure pleasure. "Yes little one, I imagine you will. My name is Kurama, what's yours?"

The dirty little kit looked up at the beautiful Youko with wide eyes. He seemed reluctant to answer so Kurama tried to put him at ease. "Don't worry little one, my mate and I mean you no harm."

The kit turned nervous eyes to Hiei who stood beside them. At Kurama's mental encouragement Hiei spoke quietly to the kit. "I'm Hiei. My fox is right, you have nothing to fear from us."

Looking back at Kurama the kit seemed to relax. "Rami."

Kurama gave him a beautiful smile. "Hello Rami, it's nice to meet you. Where are your parents? They're probably worried about you."

Rami shrugged. "Don't have any. My ma left us here a few months ago. She said we were in her way. Never had a dad."

Kurama gently stroked the kit's hair back. "I see. You said 'we', who else is with you?"

The kit looked at Hiei again before deciding to answer Kurama. "There's just me and my sister Kira. Oh and Jax, he's our friend."

Grinning at the boy's excitement at this Jax, Kurama raised an eyebrow. "So there's three of you. Your friend Jax, how old is he? For that matter how old are you and Kira?"

Kurama's smile grew as the kit seemed to settle more comfortably in his lap, not at all concerned that the Youko still had his arms loosely around him. "Kira's two and I'm four. Jax is older though, he's six. He found us a couple of days after ma left and has kinda taken care of us ever since."

When Kurama looked up at him grinning, Hiei just smirked and shook his head. "I'll bet they're hungry Fox."

As if it understood the word 'hungry', Rami's stomach growled. Kurama gave the kit a smile. "Sounds like Hiei's right. Why don't we get some food and you can take us to meet Kira and Jax. Would that be alright Rami?"

Rami thought a moment. "I don't know. Jax gets real mad when we let anyone see us. He says it can cause a lot of trouble."

Kurama nodded. "Jax is right. It can be very dangerous for all of you if the wrong person were to find you. If you'll trust us little one Hiei and I would like to help make it safer for you."

The boy's stomach growling again seemed to make the decision for him. "Can we get one of those yummy sticks with meat on them? Someone dropped theirs once and Jax let Kira and I have it. It was really good."

Standing with the kit still in his arms Kurama hid his anger behind a smile. "You may have anything your heart desires Rami."

Together they stopped at the booth where skewers of various kinds of meat were grilled over an open fire. While Rami munched on a rabbit skewer they stopped at several other booths for things the kit shyly admitted he wanted to try. Rami looked wide eyed at all the food they carried. "Maybe with all this food Jax won't be too angry that I talked to you. Is this really all for us?"

Kurama still held the kit in one arm. "That and more if you want it Rami. Is this where you live?"

Rami just nodded. They had arrived at a run down building near the edge of town. Around the side was a door half hanging off it's hinges, it appeared to lead to a storage room. When Rami squirmed, Kurama put him down. The kit pushed the door back, peeking inside.

When they entered Kurama was horrified. There was broken furniture piled on one side. Beside it appeared to be a pile of chemicals in various canisters. Half hidden in the back was a pallet with a ratty blanket on it.

Kurama and Hiei waited as Rami went to a cupboard tucked in the corner and called in to it. "It's okay Kira, they're my new friends. Come on out."

Little fingers appeared around the edge of the cupboard door before the sweetest little Youko face peeked out. Big violet eyes watched them suspiciously before turning to her brother. "Jax ish gonna be mad at you Wami."

Rami took her hand and pulled her to stand before Kurama. "It's okay Kira. This is Kurama and that's Hiei. Look Sis, they got us food."

Knowing his height would be intimidating to the tiny kit, Kurama sat on the floor before her. "Hello Kira, it's a pleasure to meet you. Don't worry, Hiei and I will talk to Jax and make sure he isn't angry with Rami. Are you hungry little angle?"

Hiei moved to stand beside Kurama with the food. Just as Rami's had done, Kira's stomach growled. Rami went to Hiei and took one of the skewers and offered it to her. Hunger overtook her unease as the kit took it and ate hungrily.

Hiei looked surprised that such a little kit could eat so much so quickly. "Slow down girl, no one's going to take it away."

When she finished it they all tried some of the other treats Rami had picked. It wasn't long before Kurama sat with both kits in his lap. Only Kurama noticed when Hiei moved over behind the broken door.

A moment later a boy entered. He was several inches taller than Rami. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and he had a human form. When he saw the Youko holding the kits his face contorted in anger. Dropping the bag he carried he reached into the pile of broken furniture for a large stick and advanced on them. "Get your hands off those kids you pervert!"

Calmly, Kurama gave him a gentle smile, petting the nervous kits reassuringly. "Hello Jax, we've been waiting for you. Could you please put the stick down? My mate doesn't like it when anyone threatens me."

The boy jumped when he turned and saw the stern face of the fire demon a few feet behind him, blocking the exit. Knowing the boy felt both trapped and intimidated Hiei didn't move, he just spoke quietly to him. "No one will harm you or the kits Jax. Now do as my fox says and put the stick down."

When Jax looked as if he was considering an attack on him, Hiei growled. Hearing this Kurama scolded him. "Hiei!"

Suddenly dropping the stick, Jax's black eyes widened in shock. He looked back and forth between Hiei and Kurama before turning to yell at Rami. "Kid, do you have any idea who that is? What are you doing bringing Lord Hiei here?"

Rami looked at Kurama confused before turning to Hiei. "Are you really Lord Hiei? Jax told us about you. He says you live in a big castle. He says you use a really cool sword too."

Kira tugged on Kurama's tunic and whispered rather loudly up at him. "Jax weally wuvs swords."

Jax scowled and shuffled his feet embarrassed. Hiei moved behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "If you're going to grow strong enough to wield a sword Jax you need to eat."

Rami jumped from Kurama's lap and picked up several things for the boy to try. "Here Jax, they got us lots of food and it's even better than we always thought."

Jax hesitated but in the end his hunger won and he took the food from Rami. Seeing him eat seemed to make the kits hungry and they ate again.

Kurama looked at Hiei longingly as he spoke to his mate's mind. "Look at them Hiei. Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yes Foxie, they are."

"They're just babies Dragon-Heart, what kind of mothers abandon them here?"

"I don't know Baby, but we both know it happens every day."

"We can't leave them here Hiei. I don't know how they haven't become prey to perverts or slavers."

"Do as you wish Sweetheart."

Hiei would do anything for Kurama when he gave him such beautiful smiles. "I love you Hiei."

"I love you too Kurama."

"Jax seems quite impressed with you, please try talking to him."

Hiei shifted uneasily before he spoke. "The kits tell us you've been taking care of them since their mother left. I'm impressed, I know how mischievous Youko's can be. You've done a very good job."

Kurama made a mental note to reward Hiei for his tact. He could almost visibly see Jax swell with pride at Hiei's praise. "You ain't kidding, those two can get into more trouble, especially Rami, he wants to talk to everyone. Several demons have tried to take Kira when they see how cute and little she is."

Hiei nodded. "You were very brave trying to protect them just now. Rami told us about their mother leaving them. Will you tell us how you ended up here with them?"

Jax's shoulders visibly slumped as he began speaking. "My mom and I came here last year, before winter hit. This is where we stayed while she looked for work. She came back late one day and said she'd gotten work at one of the taverns. One night about a week later she didn't come home at all."

When he paused, Hiei and Kurama waited patiently for Jax to continue. "When I went there in the morning one of the ladies she worked with said my mom was gone. She said I had to take care of myself from now on, that my mom wasn't coming back. I never found out what happened to her."

The kits had cuddled tightly against Kurama as Jax spoke. The Youko drew a breath to calm himself before he spoke. "I'm very sorry about your mother Jax. If you will allow us, maybe Hiei and I can make things a little easier for you."

Kurama waited for the boy to meet his gaze before he continued. "As you know, Hiei and I live in a big castle. For some time now we've been wishing we could have children to live there with us. It would be a good place for children to grow up. There's plenty of food so no one goes hungry. My beautiful gardens would love to have children to play in them. Most importantly, there is Hiei, myself, Lady Mukuro and all of the guards to keep everyone safe."

Jax looked at the kits. Kira lay against Kurama with her eyes closed. Rami watched him from the safety of the Youko's lap. Big black eyes looked from Kurama to Hiei. His expression was stern as he addressed the fire demon. "You'd take good care of them? Make sure no one hurts them? They're too little, they don't understand the danger around them."

Hiei held Jax's gaze as he went down on one knee before the boy. "I think you misunderstood my fox. Kurama said we wanted children not just Youko kits. We want all three of you to come live with us Jax."

His eyes widened at Hiei's words. Not sure what to believe Jax turned to Kurama for conformation. The Youko smiled at him. "We want to protect you from the danger too Jax. Besides, the kits might be afraid in a new place without their big brother with them."

Rami climbed off Kurama's lap to stand by Jax and Hiei. "Can we really go live in a castle Jax? They seem real nice, please can we go?"

When Kira wiggled out of his hold Kurama realized she may have been tired but had heard everything. The little vixen went to Jax and held up her arms. It looked so cute when the boy picked her up and she gave him a hug. "Pwease Jaxie? I wanna pway in his gawden. I don't wike it here, it's scawy. Dat big man came back again today."

Only Kurama noticed that Hiei had moved behind the door again. Sensing his mate's tension Kurama rose from the floor. As if on cue a large ugly demon pushed the door open. "I hear you little kit. Now you're going to be mine!"

In one step Kurama had all three children behind him. The demon stopped short at the feral growl coming from the nearly seven foot Youko. The metallic sound of Hiei's katana sliding from it's sheath had the demon spinning around to find himself trapped. Only the soft sound of Kurama's voice kept the demon alive. "Hiei no, not in front of the children."

Hiei scowled but didn't lower his weapon. A moment later two of Hiei's guards appeared at the door. The demon jumped when Hiei's deep voice met his ears. "If you go with the guards peacefully I won't kill you… yet."

Realizing he had no choice, the demon sighed in defeat before going with the guards. When Hiei sheathed his katana Kurama quickly turned and knelt before the children. Rami immediately rushed into his arms. When Jax just stood there holding a frightened Kira, Kurama reached out to caress the boy's cheek. Jax stiffened but didn't pull away. "He won't bother you ever again. If you come with us we will always protect you and you'll never be hungry."

When the boy still hesitated Kurama made a different offer. "How about you come visit for a week? If you're not happy we'll make other arrangements. If you decide to stay, then Hiei and I will be your parents."

That made Jax feel like he had more control over what was happening and he relented. "If we don't like it we can leave?"

He looked at Hiei for this answer. "You have my word. We will not keep you there against your will."

Jax had barely nodded his agreement when Kira squealed and practically jumped from Jax to Kurama. "Yay, can we go now K'rama?"

Kurama gave a laugh at the sweet sound of his name from the kit's lips. "I think that's an excellent idea Kira. If we go now there will be time for a bath before dinner."

Another laugh bubbled from Kurama at the look of awe Rami and Kira gave him. Youko's by nature are vain creatures and hated to be dirty. "A real bath K'rama?"

Rami was more concerned for his stomach. "We get to eat again? Wow."

Even Hiei couldn't help but smile at their innocence. The fire demon went to Jax as the Youko's talked of baths, clean hair and food. "Jax, is there anything you or the kits want to take with you? Even if you don't stay with us we will not allow you to continue living here, it's too dangerous."

Jax went to where he had dropped his bag and dumped out it's contents. There was part of a loaf of bread and a small piece of hard cheese. He then went around the room and put a few things in the bag. He appeared to be done when he turned back and opened the cupboard Kira had been hiding in and took something out.

When he came back Kira held her hands out excitedly. When Jax held out his hand he gave her an old human teddy bear. It was filthy and torn but Kira hugged it like it was the most precious thing ever.

After looking around one last time Jax turned to Hiei, his expression serious. "I'm only trusting you because you're Lord Hiei. If you lied to us or if you hurt those kits, I'll find a way to kill you both."

Hiei nodded his acceptance. "I would demand nothing less. I will expect you to always defend your family so fiercely."

The children never looked back as they set off for Alaric castle.