Disclaimer: see previous chapters.
Sorry for the long wait folks. When I started writing this story, the beginning and end came to me very easily but now the middle is giving me some trouble. Damn plot!
Rujutoshi: Your suggestion of jealousy had me thinking of all kinds of evil things to do with Yusuke and Hiei. Thanks for that bit of fun! Alas, my story has taken its own course and hopefully you'll enjoy that course as well.
Skittles the Sugar Fairy: First I just have to say, what a cool freakin' name! Lovin' the happy-hyperness vibe of rainbows and sugar. And I'm glad I could make your night with a new chapter 5. I wouldn't want to make you sad so here's another chapter.
Sintiger: Your "demanding" alter ego sounds a lot like me. Hope the update was quick enough.
Ryukotsusei: You know how easily Hiei comes to terms with his emotions so that should give you an idea of how things will progress. Seriously, as usual, he'll need some help.
Red Kitsune Flames: Hey, I know you! It's nice to see someone popping up on different stories. Thanks for reading, it's much appreciated!
Captain Starseeker: I've never had a "loyal fan and captain" before. Sweet! I'm so happy you're enjoying the story and I'll be looking for ya at next update!
Jessica: So you liked Hiei's internal, huh? I thought it helped us understand the little hothead a smidge better. Glad you like, keep reading!
Comforting Heat
Chapter 6
Yusuke raced through the Makai, regretting not having paid attention when he followed Hiei out that morning. He was pretty certain he was heading in the right direction, but on the off chance he wasn't, he could be putting himself further and further away from the fortress. Damn, I have got to start paying more attention to my surroundings. This isn't the Ningenkai. I can't find some nice helpful policeman or stranger to point me in the right direction. Hiei was right. I have to be self sufficient.
As he kept running towards what he hoped would be his new home, a thought occurred to him. All my stuff is in the Ningenkai. Maybe while Hiei is gone, I should go back and bring some stuff over. That'll help me kill some time waiting for him to get back.
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Hiei entered his fortress and found his oni waiting for him, scowl in place. He kept his face an unreadable façade and came to face his most trusted retainer. "Can I assume that your lovely countenance has something to do with our new houseguest?"
The green-skinned ogre took a deep breath before speaking to his master. "I do not wish to speak out of turn Master. I realize he is your friend."
"Just say what you need to say."
"He comes and goes at all hours, oftentimes coming back with large armfuls of stuff which have a distinct ningen smell. He insists on sparring with the entire staff every morning, and his mannerisms leave a lot to be desired in a new master."
"He is not your new master. I am the only master of this fortress."
The servant bowed and without raising his head inquired, "Then, I beg your pardon Master but, what is Yusuke Urameshi to you?"
Hiei was about to smack the bowing ogre where he stood for even questioning him in this manner when the ogre risked his physical well-being even further.
"We….we had assumed that the young toushin was to become your mate Master."
Hiei stood rooted to the floor, almond shaped crimson eyes now as round as could be in shock. Why would they think such a thing! Hiei closed his eyes and fought the urge to take his shock and confusion out on his servant. True, Yusuke was the first outsider brought here in the two hundred years Hiei had resided here. And true, if anyone had been watching, they would have seen them holding hands after their sparring match. But that did not mean…..
"Master?"
The ogre's nervous voice brought him back and he opened his eyes to glare at the now fully erect servant. In the blink of an eye Hiei had the ogre slammed against the wall, his fists clutching handfuls of the ogre's collar, tightening it little by little causing him to choke.
"Your only concern is obedience. I am the Master and you will treat me with the respect I deserve. Yusuke is my guest and should be treated as such. Do you have any other questions?"
"N-no."
"Where is he now?"
"Gone."
"You will notify me immediately upon his return, no matter the time. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Leave me."
Hiei tossed the servant aside and listened at the shuffling of fabric as the servant did a he was told. He was Hiei's most trusted retainer which was why he didn't kill him for the transgression. But the matter needed to be put to rest so he had to make sure to get his point across. I'll deal with Yusuke when he gets back.
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Hiei was on his way to his quarters when he passed Yusuke's room. The door was closed but he could still catch a whiff of the Ningenkai. The pull was too great and Hiei walked in, stopping to gaze in wonder at the room. There were boxes piled high in the corner, unfamiliar scrolls hanging on the walls, and various odd possessions dumped in another corner. Hiei wandered around the room, investigating the stuff Yusuke had brought from his former home.
Certain things he could understand. Clothes, shoes and his Spirit Detective stuff were to be expected. But there were boxes of those ridiculous books he called 'manga' he liked so much and several boxes of ningen food. He came upon a large wooden chest and didn't hesitate to open it. He found it full of random, miscellaneous stuff that didn't make any sense until he inspected them further. When he finally realized what the chest contained, he kneeled down and began to pull things out, inspecting each one with care.
There were things he recognized immediately like a ticket from the Dark Tournament and a very familiar green uniform. Other things had him truly puzzled. What would Yusuke want with bright green and bright orange feathers? And what significance did a lock of bright orange hair have?
As Hiei delved further, he came across a small box. He opened it to find a collection of photographs. He sifted through them, seeing pictures of things he'd rather forget, and pictures of things he wished to remember forever. One such example of the former was a photo of Sensui. Why would he want a picture of the bastard that killed him? Hiei kept looking through the photos and came across a group tied together. He undid the twine and flipped through the series of photos which were a timeline of their group through the years. Each photo was labeled with a date, place and purpose.
There were several other bundles as well. There were bundles for each one of them. Being the curious demon that he was, he went straight for his own bundle, noticing it was quite larger than the rest. There were pictures of him sleeping, fighting, glaring. He stared in fascination at a picture of him in full demon aspect, standing atop a stack of boxes, the Shadow Sword in his hand. How did he get this picture! How did he get any of them?
Hiei was too engrossed in his task and the confusion that resulted to notice the figure approaching him from behind. The figure stopped several feet away and observed the fire demon as he looked at picture after picture. He watched as Hiei dug deeper into the chest and came across a framed picture. He tensed, wondering what the fire demon's reaction would be.
When his crimson eyes fell upon the image his heart stopped. There, in all their combative glory were Yusuke and himself staring each other down. They were bruised, dirty and sweaty from fighting. He recognized this fight. This was the fight they had after he saved Yusuke's life from that Sniper kid of Sensui's. Yusuke looked strong, determined…..magnificent.
"Yusuke….."
Hiei gazed at the picture, running his fingertips across the glass encasing the photo, wishing to touch the burning skin framed within his hands. He closed his eyes and recalled everything about that battle. The weather that day, the smells floating through the air, the adrenaline rush that always came when he was about to face Yusuke. He recalled everything they said, everything they didn't say. The feel of the connecting blows, the sounds of their pain and the life and power sparking within those big brown eyes.
The unknown observer heard the whispered name and reached out for the fire demon. But he quickly came to his senses and pulled the hand back. He suddenly felt guilty for watching the private moment and he slowly backed out of the room and headed back the way he came. He sounded so far away. I wonder what he was thinking.
Hiei was snapped out of his reverie at the soft knock at the door. He placed the framed picture back and stood up to face the door, mask in place.
"Enter."
His trusted retainer entered and bowed his head. "Master, the young toushin has returned home."
"Thank you."
The ogre bowed once again and left Hiei, closing the door behind him. Hiei turned back to the collection of items he'd laid out on the floor. So many memories. Hiei made sure to put everything back and he was sitting on top on the large chest when Yusuke came walking into his room. The toushin made sure to act surprised to find his friend in his room.
"Hey! This is my room! Go get your own!"
Hiei just smirked. "This fortress and everything in it are mine Yusuke."
"Is that so?" Yusuke started walking towards Hiei, that mischievous grin in place and Hiei couldn't help the jolt in his chest as the toushin got closer and closer. "Everything Hiei? All the dishes, furniture, clothing, weapons….residents?"
Yusuke was now standing close enough to Hiei that the fire demon could smell the mixture of sweat and the rich smell of the Makai forests on him. Images of Yusuke in his toushin form rushing through the thick forests, hair flowing behind him, golden eyes glinting, scanning for its prey….
"Hiei?"
Yusuke waved a hand in front of Hiei's face and it served to snap him out of his reverie. He blinked and then scowled at Yusuke.
"I have no time for your games Yusuke." Hiei stood up and made a wide path around the toushin on his way to the door.
"Hey wait! What were you doing in my room anyway?"
"I came to let you know I was back."
"That all?"
Hiei turned to face the inquiring toushin who still had that infuriating smirk in place. "What else is there?"
Yusuke shrugged and turned his back on his friend, starting to sift through the many boxes. "I don't know. Maybe you wanted to talk. Tell me what you did for the past two days. Or maybe you just wanted to hang out and keep me company while I unpack?"
Hiei didn't answer Yusuke. He just listened as the toushin continued to ramble on about nonsensical matters as he unpacked his boxes. He found a comfortable spot on the bed and tuned out the noise, intent only on watching Yusuke go about his business. This comfortable scene between friends went on for several minutes until Yusuke said something that caught Hiei's attention.
"Well I didn't want to sit around doing nothing and miss you, so I figured I could at least be doing something productive while I was missing you, right? So I decided----"
"You shouldn't say such things."
"What things?"
"There is no reason for you to 'miss me' Yusuke. You're a grown demon and grown demons do not 'miss' anyone."
"Are you sure about that?" Yusuke left the chest of drawers and approached Hiei who was still sitting on his bed on the opposite side of the room. "Are you telling me that you didn't miss me in the slightest? Your mind didn't wander even for one second to me and what trouble I might be getting into?"
Hiei felt his cheeks getting warm so he quickly turned away from the big brown eyes and looked out the window. "The only reason you made it into my thoughts Detective was a concern that you might burn the fortress down before I could return."
Yusuke was suddenly at his ear, whispering conspiratorially and it sent shivers down Hiei's spine. "You're lying Hiei. You missed me. Maybe not as much as I missed you, but---"
Hiei disappeared and reappeared at the now open bedroom door, glaring at Yusuke. How could he know such things? This is unacceptable. "I'll leave you to unpack."
Yusuke appeared at Hiei's side suddenly, his hand on the door, keeping it from closing. "Hey, try not to miss me too much."
"Idiot."
Hiei started down the hall and Yusuke just watched the retreating back. He'd always liked teasing Hiei. It was more fun than teasing Kuwabara or Koenma because even though his reactions were a lot less dramatic than the other two, they seemed to mean more to Yusuke. And through the years he'd learned just how far he could go before he had a fight on his hand. Not that the fighting was bad either. The prospect of fighting Hiei always got his blood pumping. That's why he'd framed that picture of the two of them fighting. Facing off against the powerful fire demon was one of his favorite things to do. Come to think of it, in the past week or so, just being with Hiei had become his favorite thing.
Yusuke closed his door and went back to unpacking. It took him nearly two hours to put away most of the stuff. He took a hot bath then went to bed, his muscles relaxed and his mind just beginning to wander. He wasn't surprised that Hiei was the first thing to come to mind. The fire demon had been on his mind a lot lately. What did surprise him was that as their last encounter played back in his mind, he found himself reacting strongly to Hiei's statement.
This fortress and everything in it are mine Yusuke
He had teased the fire demon for his bold declaration but now, he felt his chest tighten and suddenly he was entertaining the prospect of 'belonging' to Hiei. But to what extent?
Yusuke's overactive imagination suddenly took over and a fantasy sprang forth featuring the fire demon with burning crimson eyes. The toushin moaned and rolled onto his side, his hands slipping under the covers and down his pants, the answer to his question painfully clear.
To be continued….