The Search For A Mate
Chapter 37
Hiei awoke to the sound of rain. The day was gloomy and wet. He peered out the window. It didn't look like it would let up anytime soon. He glanced back at his mate. She slept peacefully. He smirked. He had, after all, kept her up most of the night. He dressed and quietly let himself out. She needed the sleep. He would try to come back with some breakfast for her later.
Hiei met Kurama in the hall. "How is Rayna?" Kurama had been concerned for her since the fight. He probably understood the psychological after effects better than anyone Hiei knew. "Better since the talk with her father." Kurama nodded. "She'll be fine then. I am going out for a walk. Would you care to join me?" "Hn. That was probably the stupidest question I have ever heard you ask." Kurama chuckled and turned toward the side door leading to the gardens.
Hiei shook his head. The fox was always happy when it rained. His damn plants sung or danced or whatever it was they did when the skies opened up. He could usually be found out with his 'babies' after a good rain. Hiei passed his office and went to the dining room. Yukina and the oaf were predictably missing. Hiei grimaced. That was not an image he needed before breakfast. Or any other time for that matter.
Yusuke was polishing off his large portion of food when Hiei sat down across from him. "Where's your mate, detective?" Yusuke smirked and swallowed. "Sleeping in. She was up late last night." Hiei barely managed to conceal his smile. "Groveling taking longer these days?" "You could say that." At least it was more enjoyable since they had mated, Yusuke thought, as he took another bite.
When Hiei finished breakfast, his adjutant was waiting for him. "I have your reports, my lord." He spent the next hour going over those reports. There was not a great deal they had been able to salvage from the rebel camp. King Enki had offered a sizable reward for the rebels. That coupled with the donation made by Kuwabara would cover the repairs to the villages and provide needed supplies until they became self- sufficient once again.
Sending his adjutant off with instructions for the day, Hiei went to check on Rayna. She was awake and sitting on the balcony. Her hip perched on the railing, she was staring out over the landscape, rain running down her features. Hiei stood just inside the double doors. "Rayna come back inside. You'll get sick." She giggled but complied. "It's warm. A little rain will not hurt a 'weather witch'."
He took her hand and led her to the bathroom. He grabbed a towel and began drying her off. "Get out of those wet things." She snapped off a salute and he chuckled. "Not orders. Instructions. Seeing as how my mate doesn't have the sense to come in out of the rain." He took the towel back to the bathroom. As soon as he turned his back, Rayna's lips curled in an evil smile. She allowed a small electric charge to build in her index finger. Just before Hiei cleared the door, he felt the sting as he was zapped with a low power lightning bolt.
He rubbed his left ass cheek. "You will pay for that you know." She took a step back. "Oooh! I'm scared." He arched a brow at her as he came back into the bedroom. She giggled again. "There aren't any rivers in the bedroom and I'm already wet anyway." He stood before her in less time than it took to blink. The next thing she knew, she was on the bed and her mate was straddling her. His eyes were mischievous as he lowered his lips to hers and his tongue demanded entrance. When he pulled back, he whispered. "You aren't wet yet. But you will be."
Some time later, Rayna lay naked in his arms. She'd had help removing her wet clothes. She traced lazy patterns on his naked chest with her fingers. "Why do you hate the rain so much? I mean, you take showers. Isn't it the same thing? It's water falling on your head. Nothing more." Hiei stroked her hair. He really didn't know how to answer her question. If you looked at it logically, she was right. It was only a little water.
He thought about it. It probably had something to do with all the times he'd been cold and wet with no shelter available. No friends to take him in when the weather got nasty. Once he had friends who offered him shelter, he had avoided the rain whenever he could. And grumbled and complained whenever he couldn't. It didn't make sense did it? One more thing in his life that fell into that category. The only answer he could find for her was, "Hn."
She sighed. So much for the romantic fantasies of walking in the rain with your lover. She did hope that he would become at least a little more communicative as time went by. Either that, or she was going to have to find a way to read minds. She wondered, not for the first time, exactly how many meanings 'hn' had. And did anyone besides Hiei speak that language?
"Hiei? I know you are still needed here, but in a day or two, can we go back to the Ningenkai for a while?" He arched a brow in question. She nuzzled his neck. "I still have some things I need to finish before I hand my job over to someone else. And winter will set in soon. I love the snow." She peeked up at him. "Do you like snow?" "Hn. It's frozen rain." He didn't tell her it reminded him of the land of his birth. The land where he was not now, and never had been, welcome.
She supposed that was all the answer she would get out of him. She was beginning to think he had issues with water. Was he part cat? "I know once you take over here, we won't get to spend a lot of time away. I'd really like to go. For a week or two at least. Please?" Hiei knew he was lost once he heard the 'please'. She didn't ask for much. And he knew Mukuro had no intention of stepping down until he had an heir. "Ok. It will take a couple of days to wrap up everything here. I'll let you know when we can leave."
Hiei and Rayna dressed quickly. Hiei still had work to do and Rayna had planned to immerse herself in the daily operations of the castle. She still had a lot to learn about running a place of this size and importance. She had only met a small number of the staff and no idea who was in charge of what. She wondered if Hiei could recommend someone to help her out for a while.
They had just left their chambers when Tara rounded the corner in a hurry. She seemed somewhat panicked. "Aunt Rayna! Please make it stop raining." She stopped before them, panting. Hiei steadied her. "Calm down Tara. What's wrong?" She drew a couple of deep breaths. "Shura sent word he planned a picnic for us today. We can't if it's raining." She turned pleading eyes to Rayna. "Please make it stop."
Hiei chuckled. "There is an arbor on the south side of the castle. It is covered. Your father made sure the plants kept the area dry for you. He also sent a message to Shura that it was available." Tara blinked as Hiei and Rayna continued down the hall. Then she smiled. Perhaps there were advantages to her father knowing her plans after all. She decided to find her father. It had been too long since she told him how much she loved him.
Hiei stopped at his office door. "I have too much to do to stop for lunch. You missed breakfast. We could have something brought to my office if you'd like to stay and share it." She grinned. "So I get to be your playmate today and share your lunch?" He smirked at her playfulness. "If you're good." She leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Oh, I think was quite good. I didn't hear you complaining." "Even if I had complained, you wouldn't have heard it over your screams." She blushed to the roots of her hair.
He let her into his office and called a servant to bring them lunch. He sat down behind his desk and pushed a set of bound books over to her. "Your office should be ready tomorrow. Mukuro left the current household ledgers for you. The rest will be brought to your office in a day or two." Rayna sat down in front of his desk and grabbed the book on top. After thumbing through it, she set it down. "They are neat and easy to understand. It will make it easy to transfer the information once I get my computer. That's another reason I want to go to the Ningenkai. There are some things I want to bring back with us." "Hn. You still insist on using that ningen device?"
She gave him an indulgent smile. "Once I teach you how to use one, you'll wonder how you ever got by without it." He mumbled. "Somehow I doubt it. I have few uses for most things ningen." She giggled. "I heard that." A knock on the door announced their lunch had arrived. The servant wheeled in a cart with several covered dishes. Rayna dismissed him. Hiei watched as she filled his plate and then hers.
He felt peace and contentment every time he was with her. He had never wanted a mate. Actually it wasn't so much that he never wanted one, he just never thought much about it. At least not for himself. Would it have been different if he had met Rayna earlier? He didn't believe in fate or destiny, but it would seem that there was another hand at work in his life. One that he had no control over.
He banished the thoughts. He'd been thinking too much about 'what ifs' lately. He had only reached demon adulthood a few years ago. If he had met Rayna earlier, he probably would have driven her away. He certainly wouldn't have entertained the notion of taking her as a mate. No, he had met her at just the right time in his life. It was a coincidence, nothing more. He had to admit it was for him a rather fortuitous coincidence.
He was snapped out of his musings. Literally. Rayna was snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Anybody home?" He looked up at her. "Huh?" "I asked you if you wanted tea or water. They sent both." He was a little embarrassed at having zoned out. "Oh. Uh. Tea is fine. Thank you" She poured his tea. "It must have been important." "What?" She set his cup in front of him. "Whatever it was you were thinking so hard about." "Oh. Just some details on a long term project."
After they had finished lunch, Hiei called a servant to take away their dishes. Rayna heard him give further instructions to the servant. In minutes there was another knock on the door. A tall man entered when Hiei gave permission. He was mature, but not old. Rayna could tell he was a warrior by the way he carried himself. She couldn't tell what kind of demon he was. His appearance was human. His hair was brown and his eyes were a blue green color.
Hiei introduced him. "Rayna, this is Tandar. He will be your escort when I cannot be with you. He has been one of Mukuro's retainers for many years. He will be your protector as well as a valuable source of information. He knows the workings of this castle probably better than anyone here. Myself and Mukuro included." He waited for her argument. She greeted him. "It's nice to meet you, Tandar. I look forward to working with you."
Well that was unexpected. Tandar bowed. "Thank you, my lady. I am pleased to be assigned to you. How may I serve you?" "I have some questions about the castle that you can answer. Wait for me outside, please." "Yes my lady." After the door had closed, Hiei expected the explosion. He was disappointed. She kissed him. "I'll let you know how he works out." She headed for the door. Hiei stopped her. "No arguments?"
She smiled at him. "I'm used to bodyguards. Remember? At least you just gave me one. And if he knows as much about the castle and it's people as you claim, he'll actually be of some help." She walked back to him and cupped his cheek in her hand. "I lived at the royal court long enough to understand the need for protection. I won't argue over reasonable precautions." She kissed him again and left him standing wondering how long she would continue to surprise him.
Rayna closed the door and smiled at Tandar. "Since my office isn't ready yet, we'll take a walk. You can show me the castle and answer my questions." "Very well, my lady. Where would you like to start?" "I want all the gossip first." His eyes widened. "Gossip, my lady?" She waved a dismissive hand. "Yes. Gossip. You know. All the intrigues going on behind the scenes." "I don't understand, my lady."
She smiled a knowing smile. "Of course you do. I spent too many years at the royal court to not know it goes on everywhere. I want to know who works well together. Who can't stand whom. Who the backstabbers are. Who the whiners are. Who the suck ups are. Who the slackers are. Anyone who might try to undermine my authority. If you're going to be following me around, you might as well save me the time and trouble of learning these things for myself." Tandar gave her an assessing look. It seemed the new lady of the castle was quite shrewd. He might find this assignment interesting after all.
There was a knock on Hiei's door. "Come in." Kurama opened the door. "You wanted to see me, Hiei?" Hiei looked up from his paperwork. "Yes. Close the door and have a seat." When Kurama settled into a chair, Hiei folded his hands under his chin. "When do you plan on taking your family home?" Kurama frowned. "I'm crushed. You want to get rid of us so soon?"
Hiei smirked. It had taken many years but he was now quite used to the fox's teasing. "Now why would I want to do that? Your kits are driving me crazy. The entire castle is scandalized by Beth and her sex crazed mate. And your daughter's romance has turned her into a drama queen." Kurama laughed. "The kits always drive you crazy. I highly doubt any demon would be scandalized even if we put on a public show and charged admission. But you are right about Tara. Every little thing sets her off."
Kurama crossed his legs. "Back to your original question. We're going home tomorrow. I have to get back to the office and the kits have to get back to school. Why?" Hiei took a breath. "I need a favor, fox."
To be continued….