Disclaimer: I have no right to anyone or anything in the YYH World.

A/N: Here is part I of what I'm calling the "missing Hiei" arc of this story.

I'm so happy to hear you guys are angsting (not a real word, I know, but maybe one day OED will recognize it. If Bling can get in, anything can!) over this as much as the characters. This is fun! Please enjoy and drop me a line if you're so inclined. And if you are good little boys and girls, I'll post the next chapter on the 17th.

No Matter What

Chapter 8

The proud parents beamed as their friends and family crowded around to oohh and aahhh over their baby. Today had been the Christening and now they were all gathered at the Urameshi house in celebration.

"What a darling little girl! She looks just like you, Keiko."

"Oh, thank you, Yukina. How are the twins doing?"

"Making life interesting as usual."

The two women laughed and Yusuke just smiled down at his daughter who was completely unaffected by what was going on around her. Her big brown eyes just seemed to be taking in everything, her little mind processing every detail. He reached out and wagged his finger in front of her. Her little baby fist grabbed the intruding digit and his heart just melted.

"That's my little girl."

"Oh, Yusuke! Just look at you being all fatherly! What a beautiful picture!"

Yusuke and Keiko smiled at their longtime friend and grim reaper who hadn't stopped weeping since the ceremony at the church.

"Botan, you really need to stop that. Your eyes are all red and puffy. You don't want to look bad for the pictures, do you?"

At the mention of pictures and permanent evidence of her crying, Botan quickly shut down the waterworks and perked up, beaming and bouncing like the perky woman they knew her to be.

"Alright then! No more tears for the wee one, Auntie Botan needs to look pretty for the camera."

"So, you keeping Junior in line back home?"

Botan saw the smirk on Yusuke's face and she blushed. The pair had been seeing each other for awhile now but they hadn't told anyone. So how in the name of Kami does Yusuke know? Before she could sputter out a response, she felt a hand slide around her waist and a familiar voice spoke up in her defense.

"I don't need anyone to keep me in line, Yusuke. Besides, things are pretty busy back home. So unfortunately that means we're too busy to see each other properly."

"That's right. Between my regular duties and trying to track down Hiei, I've barely been able to---"

"Wait. Trying to track down Hiei? Why? What's going on?"

Botan yelped as Koenma hung his head and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Even though the two friends hadn't seen each other in two years, Koenma knew that if Yusuke caught wind of his friend's disappearance, he would be the first to volunteer to help look for him. And normally, Koenma would be eager to accept his assistance. However things were different now. Yusuke had a family and Koenma would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to destroy that.

"It's nothing. We're working on it. Just enjoy your family. You're retired, remember?"

Koenma looked up and smiled as he patted Yusuke on the shoulder and led Botan off who kept muttering 'I'm sorry' over and over.

Keiko saw the creases in Yusuke's forehead and she knew that this little bit of news was greatly troubling her husband. She handed their daughter off to Yusuke in an attempt to distract him as more friends and family kept coming up to them and offering their congratulations. But the frown remained and Yusuke was unresponsive to those around him.

"Yusuke? You're being rude to our guests."

A soft hand on his shoulder brought Yusuke back to reality and he handed his daughter back to Keiko.

"I'm sorry. I need to go talk to Koenma."

Keiko couldn't even get a word of protest out before he disappeared. She just sighed and turned back to the smiling faces before her. Maybe if he talks with them, he'll feel more involved. I know this must be difficult for him, but he's just going to have to face facts. He has a family now and he can't just go running off whenever he feels like it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Tell me what the hell is going on right now."

Koenma sighed at the determined voice behind him and Botan silently disappeared into the house, leaving the two to talk.

"He was working on something for Mukuro and hasn't come back. She sent out some scouts who didn't turn up anything so she contacted us requesting our assistance since he is a former Reikai Tantei."

"How long has he been missing?"

"I'd say about a month now."

Yusuke's eyes widened and his heart constricted. No. Not that long. They would have found something by now. If even the Reikai can't find him by now…..

"Look, I know you two were close, Yusuke, and we're doing everything we can to----"

"I'm going to look for him."

"What! No, you can't! You have a family now, Yusuke."

"And they'll understand that I have to do this. Just because I have a family doesn't mean I'm going to stop being who I am."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Yusuke! You can't just leave!"

Keiko had interrupted Yusuke's talk with Koenma with a meek Botan hanging back at the study doorway. Her best friend had told her that the pair was talking and warned Keiko that Yusuke wanted to go search for the missing fire demon.

Yusuke sighed and hung his head. He was hoping to avoid this argument until after the company had left. He felt Koenma exit the room, heard a whispered exchange between he and Botan and then silence. When Yusuke spoke, he tried to keep his voice calm and level.

"Keiko, Hiei is in trouble, I have to help him."

"No! You let Koenma handle this! That isn't your life anymore. You belong here….with us."

Yusuke looked up and gazed at the sleeping bundle within his wife's arms and he became more determined than ever. When he met Keiko's eyes again, she saw a fire within them she hadn't seen in a very long time and hoped she'd never see again.

"What kind of father would I be if I taught our daughter it was ok to turn her back on her friends? I'm going to save Hiei, Keiko, and if you have a problem with that, then you're not the person I thought you were."

Yusuke turned and walked away from his family, his thoughts already focused on bringing his friend back alive.

"Yusuke!" He stopped, but didn't turn around. Suddenly he felt an arm wrap around his chest and the trembling body it belonged to was pressed against his back. "Please be careful, Yusuke. And come back to us in one piece, ok?"

He placed his hand over the one that was now clenching a fistful of his shirt and squeezed.

"I promise."

Keiko let her husband leave without further protest. She stood there, her daughter clutched tightly to her, silent tears running down her cheeks.

"Keiko?" A soft, hesitant voice sounded from behind, but she didn't acknowledge it. "Don't worry, he'll be fine." Slender and caring arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders and Keiko leaned into the supportive body of her close friend.

Botan squeezed tighter, knowing there was nothing she could do for her best friend's heartache. The two women had a heart-to-heart before the wedding, the anxiety getting to the bride-to-be. Keiko suspected there was something between Yusuke and Hiei but for all her fears, by the end of the confessional, she'd convinced herself they were just jitters and would go away once they were married. Two years later, and she thought that the fire demon was gone from their lives. But now, her paranoia had returned full force.

"He loves you, Keiko. He wouldn't have married you otherwise." Keiko nodded her head, unable to respond with anything other than sniffling noises. "Oh, Sweetie." Botan loosened her hold and turned Keiko around to face her. She gently wiped the tears away and offered the woman a tender smile. "Yusuke promised to love and cherish you for all your days, and he's never broken a promise."

"I know, Botan. But I thought that part of his life was gone for good."

To be continued…..