Disclaimer: see previous chapters.

Comforting Heat

Chapter 14

"Why do you still work for her?"

Hiei smirked at the almost whiny voice of his mate. It had been six months since he'd properly claimed Yusuke as his own and now that they were bonded, leaving him for such an extended period of time would prove to be most difficult. But it was something he had to do. For now.

"Because it suits my purposes."

"But what about me?"

Hiei stepped into Yusuke, their bodies still radiating heat from the hot bath they just shared. His hands came to rest on Yusuke's hips and he nuzzled the toushin's neck, emitting a low growl.

"You serve many other purposes, Yusuke."

"Hmmmmm….like?"

"You're an excellent sparring partner." Yusuke let a deep chuckle escape as he let Hiei lead him to their bed. "You make me crazy in a way I can't describe." His fingers deftly untied the robe Yusuke was wearing and let it fall to the ground and Yusuke did the same for him. "And you make me happy."

This last statement caught Yusuke's interest and he focused for a moment, pushing Hiei away and gazing up at him.

"Really? You're truly happy, Hiei?"

Hiei caressed Yusuke's cheek, his thumb tracing over the dark blue markings of his toushin heritage.

"Yes, Yusuke. I will be grateful to live out the rest of my days just like this."

"You liar. You need the rush of battle and the thrill your shady little business dealings offer."

"Right now, all I need is the rush you give me."

Hiei kissed Yusuke before he could say anything else and the toushin was happy to comply. The pair stayed sequestered for Hiei's remaining four days at home before he left to report to Mukuro. And as Yusuke watched Hiei disappear in a blur of black, he suddenly felt an emptiness within that he'd never experienced before. He felt as if a part of him had just been ripped away. Hurry back to me, Hiei.

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For the first four weeks that Hiei was gone Yusuke had gone non-stop, trying to ignore the emptiness he felt. He roamed the Makai for days at a time before returning to the fortress for some sleep and food. Then he would leave again the next day. Now Yusuke found himself walking the streets of the Ningenkai whistling, happy to have visited his friends for a week, needing a new distraction from missing Hiei. The fire demon had been gone for almost five weeks and he was hoping he would be back from Mukuro's by now. He chuckled as a thought sprang forth. I'm going home to Hiei. It feels so good to say that.

It was pretty late at night for the Ningenkai but there were still convenience stores and gas stations open and as he passed a small grocery store, he thought of stopping in to buy a little snack. Might as well get some ice cream before I leave. Who knows how long it will be before I get to have some again.

He entered the store and nodded to the older man behind the counter and made his way to the back for a small carton of ice cream. Please let there be some strawberry. He smiled to see the small pink container and whistled as he made his way up to the counter.

"Good evening."

"Good evening, young man. It's a bit late to be coming out for ice cream. Wife have a craving?"

Yusuke chuckled as he paid the smiling man. "No, this is for me. It's never too late for strawberry ice cream. Thanks. Have a nice night."

Yusuke waved off the change, grabbed a plastic spoon from a nearby display and made his way to the front door.

"Alright, everybody freeze!"

Yusuke was pushed backwards into a display as three masked figures came bursting through the front door, guns waving around. One robber started looking through the store for other people, one went in the back room and the third was dealing with the clerk.

"Give us all your money, old man and no one gets hurt."

The clerk nodded and mumbled in his panic, opening the register and putting the money in a paper bag. Yusuke just stood there, his whole body tense, hating that he was helpless to do anything. But as had been proven by Sensui, even he was not impervious to bullets. The second robber came back to shove a gun in Yusuke's face, and the third appeared informing their ringleader there was a safe in the back.

"Go with him and get the money from the safe."

"No…No…I don't have the combination. I'm just the night clerk. Only the owner and manager has---"

"If you can't open it, then you die! Which is it going to be, old man!"

"No! I swear! I don't have the combination! Please!"

The ringleader hit the clerk in the temple with his gun, then went behind the counter to pick him up off the floor and drag him back to open the safe.

"No! I don't know it! Please! Don't kill me!"

Yusuke had seen enough. He couldn't just stand by and let these men kill this guy. It wasn't in his nature to let the bad guys win.

"He said he doesn't know it now leave him alone!" Yusuke dropped the ice cream and took a few steps toward the retreating figures.

The robber next to him hit him in the back of the head with his gun. Yusuke stumbled forward a bit, but with his youkai speed, swung around and kicked the robber through the front window and out into the parking lot. The ringleader kept a hold on the clerk and the remaining robber headed for Yusuke, gun aimed.

Oh shit. This isn't good. Think, Yusuke!

Yusuke disappeared in a blur and reappeared behind the advancing robber, kicking in the back of his knees, sending the man screaming to the floor. As Yusuke turned to face the ringleader he heard a loud bang. Everything was quiet for a moment and then Yusuke felt a searing pain in his chest. As he looked down and saw the gaping red hole, he fell to his knees.

He saw the robber walking towards him and he saw the man's lips moving, but he couldn't hear anything. As the man came to stand in front of him, gun pointed at his head, Yusuke refused to look away. He glared at the robber wishing to Kami the man would be punished for his crimes. Suddenly, the man's body jerked violently and he fell to the side, revealing the terrified store clerk, smoking gun in hand.

Yusuke said thank you and fell to the ground into total blackness.

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Hiei was racing through the dense Makai forest, enjoying the cover of night and the relative quiet of the remote area. He hadn't been sleeping well since coming back to Mukuro's five weeks ago and he could feel that suffocating void building within him again as thoughts of his mate entered his mind. Damn it! I'm losing control again! Not having Yusuke around is physically affecting me. I must say something to Mukuro. I have no other choice. I'll go insane at this rate. His routine had now become to wear himself out by running around a set route until he was exhausted enough to fall asleep.

He could feel his limbs starting to ache so he increased his speed, knowing that Mukuro's fortress was not far off. Halfway there he felt a searing pain pierce his heart and he stumbled, finally stopping by crashing into a tree. Hiei sat there, panting, clutching his chest, eyes wide in shock. He remained there until the pain was merely a dull ache and he slowly made his way to Mukuro's. Once there, he bathed and went to bed, still worried about the dull ache in his chest.

To be continued….