Last time on Spoils of War: We take a break from Hiei's POV and hang out with Mîra. She visits with Kurama and discusses how she ended up in the Makai, as well as the confrontation with Hiei. Kurama discloses he's worried about Hiei, who is hiding a key component to the case he's investigating with Simran. Later, Mîra relaxes with Shana, Ryuji, and Yukina and is comforted by their company.

Chapter 43: Little Talks

Hiei stared at the campfire, the orange flames flickering dully. Simran breathed evenly next to him; he could feel the rise and fall of her chest as her side pressed up against his, her head nestled on his shoulder. He rested his arms on his knees and her arm looped around his for support. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, absorbing the smoke flavor of the campfire and Simran's earthy scent, now refreshing after her bath in the river earlier. She asked him to join her, but he declined. He was in no place to be doing anything of the sort for the moment.

In the past few weeks, Hiei returned to the host and threw himself at the case. Not only did he need a distraction from the elf, but Mukuro's patience was beginning to wear thin. He needed an answer, and soon; he didn't know how much longer he could stall. Simran was smart enough to ask enough about what he was keeping from her often enough that it reminded him of how little time he had left, but infrequently enough that he didn't tire of her. Hiei swallowed as the knot in his stomach churned at the thought. He couldn't possibly be involved; none of this made sense. During the tournament Hiei, blinded by his own ambitions, ignored Simran; turns out she was right and their suspects were able to slip away. Tracking them down now took twice as long and was setting them back, despite the useful information they discovered. They tried to be as efficient as possible and hit as many suspects close together as possible, but their next mark took them to the other side of the Makai and they needed to restock their provisions. Fortunately, the fortress was along the way and they planned on stopping for a few nights to rest and reassess the information they found.

Unfortunately, there was no way to stop at the fortress and avoid the elf. Hiei wasn't looking forward to seeing her again after their last exchange, and he didn't know if he was prepared either. With time to think over what she said, he wasn't upset over her remarriage; he should have expected it considering so much time passed. But the thought of her being so willing to bear this other man's children when she refused to have children with Hiei, made his stomach turn with bitter jealousy. That and the fact she spent so long in the Makai without a word to him. As part of their journey, Hiei passed through Raizen's territory and made sure to stop and tell Yusuke exactly how he felt about the elf staying with him for so long. The conversation did not end well and Hiei and Simran didn't bother staying with Yusuke and Kaneko for very long. He understood what Yusuke did, and why, but he still felt somewhat betrayed that one of his oldest friends put the elf's wishes over Hiei's wellbeing. He barely knew how to comprehend the knowledge that the elf actually spent the time recovering from near death; if she was dying, why wouldn't she want to see him?

The answer was simple; she didn't want to see Hiei. The Hiei tensed at the thought, ignoring the stabs of pain, and curled his hands into fists. He exhaled deeply and Simran's head raised.

"You okay?" she asked. Her dark eyes blinked up at him, a frown on her face.

He looked away from her. "I'm fine," he replied evenly. He felt her grip on his arm tighten.

"Was it about… the queen?" She asked hesitantly.

Hiei glanced at her before looking back towards the flames. "Don't worry about it."

Simran shifted so she was in his gaze, now sitting in front of him. She stared at him quietly, unsure. "Hiei, I-" She sighed and looked away. "I really like you." Her voice was barely a whisper. "But I don't want to be… jerked around, you know?" She looked at him, her eyes pained. "Just tell me, okay?"

Hiei stared at her. "I will," he agreed. Her dark eyes held his gaze and he didn't know why, but he moved towards her, bringing her face to his. Her lips tentatively connected with his, and her hesitation lessened as he pulled her closer, his hand buried in her thick tresses. He inhaled her scent, her earthy taste mixed with the fish from earlier that evening, and feeling of her body pressed against him. He wanted her, and it had been so long since he'd been with another, but there was something in the back of his mind holding him back. He didn't know what it was, but he was able to ignore it enough to enjoy her embrace, and later, her body snuggling against his as they went to sleep.

The next morning, Hiei and Simran packed up camp quickly, heading for the fortress. There was a bounce in Simran's step and a pretty flush on her cheeks in the cool morning, and he noticed how her blue kimono-styled dress hugging her curves well as they ran through the tress towards his home. They arrived uneventfully, and after letting Maria and Claudia take their things, Hiei led Simran to the usual dining room for breakfast. She walked in step next to him confidently, and when she caught his glance she smiled sweetly at him, her eyes bright. He supposed that the glance should have made him feel something, but it didn't affect him as much as it should have.

As Hiei neared the room, the anxiety over seeing the elf began to melt away. He enjoyed being in his home, and he smiled to himself hearing Sakura's loud voice from the hall. Without a word he darted into the room, and making sure the girl wasn't eating anything, picked her up and spun her around.

Sakura shrieked with laughter from the surprise before she threw her arms around his neck. "Ji-chan! You're home!" He held her tightly and smiled at little at Yukina, her red eyes and soft smile providing her warm greeting. Simran appeared in the doorway as Hiei set his niece down. The demoness sat next to Yukina at her insistence, and Sakura wouldn't let Hiei away from her so he pulled up the chair next to her. Hiei dug into breakfast and Simran follow suit. He listened to Yukina and Simran chat about their time out while Sakura babbled to him. He was glad they decided to make the stop for a few days; being home again felt rejuvenating in the presence of his sister and niece.

His peaceful contentment didn't last long, however, as the elf appeared in the door way. Her clothing didn't seem that different; she wore another black gown without any embellishments and simple jewelry. With her white hair pinned tightly to her head, he noticed her long ears were bare, save the single pair of large black stones at the base of her ears. Hiei wasn't sure how he felt about the realization; she always loved having her ears lined with the ridiculous, colorful jewels. The elf didn't bother pausing or looking at him as she made her way to the head of the table, opposite of Yukina, and sat down. The room fell silent, the corners of Yukina's mouth tensed, and Simran sat straighter.

"Good morning, Mîra-hime!" Sakura chimed enthusiastically.

The elf looked at her as she reached for the fruit plate. "Good morning, Sakura," she greeted warmly. The sound was odd, like a song he heard a long time ago and was familiar with, but he could not place the words. "How are you feeling after our session this morning?"

"My butt hurts!" Sakura whined and the elf laughed, her voice ringing brightly. Hiei felt something stir within him, but he didn't want to acknowledge it so he focused on finishing his plate. The girl turned to Hiei and said, "Mîra-hime is taking akido classes with me."

The elf's eyes glinted with pride. "Well, it's certainly a challenge and it's more entertaining that warming up with my bow, especially in winter," she explained. "Also, I have to agree with you, Sakura. I'm a little sore too." She began to eat and Yukina began to refocus her daughter, asking her to finish eating. After a few minutes of small chitchat, the elf said,

"Well, I must say, your arrival is perfect timing." She looked at Hiei and the warmth and familiarity of her voice lessened as her eyes became guarded and her voice formal. "I've completed the new guard rotations, schedules, and training plans with Honjo," she paused before smirking a little, "as you asked."

"I did no such thing" he responded quickly.

"Of course you did," the elf replied, the small smirk growing into an annoying haughty smile. "We shall review the changes today, as soon as you have some time available."

Hiei did not like being told what to do, but as the scowl on his face began to form, Yukina interjected, "Mîra-chan, the caravan will be available for viewing in Tomeda by noon."

"Perfect! I know I set time aside for the visit, but Ryuji has my schedule to today and- oh, there he is." Hiei looked up to see Ryuji enter the room, freshly showered and carrying a tablet. As the boy sat down, Hiei turned to Yukina.

"Caravan? Are you buying more furniture?"

"Yes, of course," Yukina smiled at him and he glared at her.

"You just-" he started but she cut him off.

"I'm well within my budget, and I'm certain I can do anything I want with my money," she reminded him lightly with a pointed smile. Damn, woman. She was always redecorating unnecessarily.

"Hn," he grunted in reply.

He glanced at Simran who gave him a small smile, and then turned to Ryuji who sat next to him, going over the whatever was on the tablet screen with the elf. She used the device slowly, though she was hiding her unfamiliarity and ignorance well. When the screen went black, the Boy gently reminded her how to turn it back on, leaning in towards her. Hiei did not like how close Ryuji was to the elf, his eyes narrowing on the boy. The elf absentmindedly scratched her neck with her gloved hand and Ryuji cast him a side glance. Grinning he relaxed in the chair, pouring himself tea, and offered some to the elf. She nodded and he poured her a cup. How close were these two? The thought made him uneasy. Surely they weren't… well, he knew the Boy still kept his wanton ways, but to go after the elf? Surely he wasn't that foolish.

"Sup, Gramps," Ryuji greeted. "Simran," nodded before a wolfish expression came over him. "Looking good, as always."

"Good to see you too, Ryuji," Simran replied, shaking her head slightly, but still smiling. The two engaged in small talk with Yukina and Sakura interjecting every so often. The elf was absorbed in whatever it was she was trying to do with the device, slowly making selections and every so often having Ryuji assist her. As they were all wrapping up with breakfast, Yukina stood to take Sakura to her lessons and turned to Hiei.

"If there's anything you want, let me know before I head out. I also had Maria and Claudia prepare a room for Simran as soon as we heard you were in the area," Yukina said. Hiei contemplated his answer. Part of him wanted to tell her not to bother with a second room, out of spite. But that was the wrong reason to invite Simran into his bed and he knew it.

Instead, he merely nodded at his sister and she shooed Sakura to her lessons. As Hiei made his way around the table, intending to find Shana next, the elf stood.

"Hiei, I need you on the ramparts within the hour. I'd like to review the changes with your before I head to Tomeda village," she instructed. "Honjo and Shana will meet us there." Hiei knew it was not a request, but he ignored her anyway. He motioned to Simran and she followed him out. Hiei figured that the room for Simran was in the same wing as his quarters, and he wasn't wrong. When they entered her room, she began to unpack her things.

"Did you really instruct the Queen to make all these changes?" She asked as she moved about the room.

"No," Hiei responded.

Simran stopped and stared at him curiously. "Can she even do that?"

"Yes."

Simran frowned as she threw a majority of her clothes in the hamper. "I don't see how. This isn't even her home."

The fortress was, once. Although, maybe she never saw it that way…but he didn't want to believe that. "She was trained from birth in military strategy. If anyone knows how to manage a group of soldiers, it's her," he admitted. That still didn't explain why she would admit the plans were his. If anything, her vanity and pride dictated that she took credit for her work.

Transitioning out of his thoughts, he looked over at Simran who was hesitantly staring at him. After a moment, she brightened, a fake attempt to put whatever she was thinking aside, and Hiei did not mention it as she sauntered up to him. He let her push him against the wall and press her body against him, her hands buried in his hair and hot mouth capturing his. His arms wrapped around her torso and his body ached against hers, but his mind refused, pulling him away from the heated moment. Eventually, he broke the kiss and gently pushed her back.

"Take your time; bathe and do as you wish. I need to meet with the elf and take care of other matters here." His voice came out evenly, as though he wasn't just in a heated embrace.

Simran did a poor job of masking her disappointment as she said, "Alright. I'll see you later."

Hiei left and headed for his own room, where he showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes quickly. As if she knew he wanted to see her, he heard a knock on the door and granted entry to Shana. Though she normally didn't wear pastels, he thought his demoness looked like her bright and bubbly self with the light blue vest over the white blouse and the large, puffy blue skirt. Of course, her lolita ensemble wasn't complete without the thick white stockings and boots. He noted that the small, lacy white top hat on her head was the one he bought for her the last time they were in Gondora, just after they arrived for the tournament.

"Papa, I'm glad you're finally home! Sorry I missed you at breakfast." Her smile fell a little, and this time, Hiei interjected,

"The Boy, again?"

She sighed, her violet eyes glancing away from him. "I just… well it's complicated. I guess me being with Shura doesn't help either," she shrugged. "Anyway, Mîra-hime is waiting for you."

Hiei narrowed his eyes, but Shana knew him too well. "But before you say something rude and end up in a nasty fight, again, she did work hard on this with Honjo. So, at least try to listen."

"Tch, we'll see."

Shana rolled her eyes before holding out her hand. He took it and he closed his eyes for a moment as they traveled through the shadows to the ramparts. He opened his eyes to see the elf, now wrapped in her black fur cloak. His tall commander stood with his arms crossed. His yellow eyes seemed relaxed as he conversed with the elf, but at Hiei's arrival the usual sharpness returned.

"Heika," Honjo saluted. Hiei nodded at him before turning to the elf.

"Good, thank you for meeting me here," she said formally. Hiei never liked it when she spoke formally; after a time, she only spoke formally when she was under stress and unsure of her situation. But then, her lavender eyes glinted and her lips pulled into a proud smile. "Now, let me show you what we came up with; I think you'll be pleased."

In truth, after she led him through the ramparts, the fortress perimeter, and then the barracks, he was pleased. She did an excellent job of explaining what she improved and why, and he had to acknowledge that her knowledge and experience far surpassed his. He also noted that a few of the demons they passed acknowledged the elf without hostility; one even asked for a lesson in swordsmanship later, which she happily granted. They were in the war room in the tower where Honjo and the other higher officers of his fortress lived, reviewing a map of the Makai.

"Now, in light of the recent attacks on the trade routes, I suggest we reinforce and expand the patrols along the roads." As she pointed, Honjo adjusted the hologram so figures representing his men appeared.

"That could leave the fortress exposed," Hiei said.

"I've reviewed our numbers and we won't be putting ourselves in a major disadvantage; we would still have enough soldiers to handle an attack," Honjo explained.

"That, and with my latest experiment, hopefully we'll have plenty of notice," the elf said proudly.

Hiei narrowed his eyes at her. "What experiment?"

Unfazed by his glare, she smiled. There was a look on her face, one that he hadn't seen in a long time. It was pride, of that he had no doubt, but it was reminiscent of the way she used to look after winning a sparring match, or successfully completed a potion without any explosions. Hiei felt himself warm, and he knew his glare was melting as he stared into her confident eyes.

"With Ryuji's help, I toyed with a security camera and worked on extending the range of the camera as well as using magic to conceal it. I've hidden a few around the fortress for testing to see how the magic holds." Her hands on her hips and chin raised, Hiei felt the familiar ache and longing stir, but it didn't hurt like it used to. She didn't seem to notice the change in him, and she continued, "To actually determine if the magic is holding up, we created a contest. Anyone who finds a camera gets a nice bonus. There are rules, of course, and eventually we will throw a large banquet for everyone, as thanks for participating."

"Oooh, a party?" Shana exclaimed eagerly.

"Yes!" Mîrvana grinned. "But I've hidden them well. So far no one-"

The door opened to reveal one of Hiei's up-coming archers. She was a spunky demon, with a small, wiry frame and large fuzzy green ears and tail. She loosely bowed to Hiei, and, with a large grin bearing her fangs humorously, she tossed the metal camera onto the war table. "I'll be takin' my winnin's, thanks."

Hiei almost chuckled at the shocked look on Mîra's face. He turned to the demoness and smirked. "Good job, Noriko. You have an honor not many possess; few outwit the Queen."

He meant his words in jest, but as the elf paused he realized she may not take them that way. After a moment, Mîra began to laugh merrily, and he relaxed while trying to ignore how the sound of her voice made his heart race.

Hiei turned to Shana, "You'll take care of the winnings?"

"Of course!" Shana smiled and disappeared.

Noriko bowed clumsily again, and Mîra clapped her hands together. "You all will have to excuse me while I interview Noriko. I must know how you got past my magic!"

Mîra began to chat animatedly with the smaller demoness as they walked out, taking the camera with her. When the door closed, Hiei pushed past his unexpected feelings and stared back at the table. The revisions were solid. Personally, he wanted to make a few adjustments, but that was simply from knowing the land better than she did. He set began to shuffle a few things on the map around.

"It's good," Honjo said, nodding towards the map.

"How much input did you provide?" Hiei asked, still examining the table.

"Some. My input was more valuable in redoing the rotations and the groups to help the younger recruits. It's been awhile since we've updated them and our old green soldiers are now seasoned veterans." A satisfied rumbled came from the wolf demon as he continued, "I learned a lot from her. Positioning, tactics, other things I should know better."

Hiei should know these things better too. "This is her area of expertise."

"I think there will be a small transition time, but I think the soldiers will like these changes overall. It's balanced well and gives opportunities to less experienced demons while providing challenging rotations for our veterans," Honjo said. His general began making suggestions and taking notes based off of Hiei's adjustments.

As Hiei worked with Honjo, he considered the situation. He thought of Noriko bowing to him and the soldiers they passed earlier. His soldiers didn't give Mîra the cold shoulder, like he expected. Instead, they seemed rather accepting, if not openly warm towards her presence. By putting the credit in his name… The realization dawned on him, a mixed feeling washing over him. If Hiei receives the credit, then it doesn't appear Mîra is in charge and usurping his authority. In turn, that appeases his soldiers and keeps the peace within the fortress; Mîra was using him as much as she was bolstering him. He didn't know how he felt about that, but it was a smart strategic move. He supposed he shouldn't have expected any less. Setting his mixed feelings aside, he continued to work with Honjo for the rest of the morning.

~*0*~

In the afternoon, Hiei's time was scattered. He talked more with Shana, giving her any comfort and advice that he could; he sat with Sakura as she finished her last few lessons for the day; and he finally ended up with Ryuji and Simran, who were catching up and swapping stories. Soon, Yukina and Mîra returned from Tomeda with movers in tow with their recent purchases. After complaining to his sister about her purchases, as usual, he helped place some of the new items in Yukina and Sakura's room. After a rather pleasant dinner, everyone gathered in Yukina's favorite sitting room. He sat in the window as Sakura played a game with Maria and Honjo's cubs, and Yukina, Simran, and Shana talked. Ryuji decided to head to Tomeda's tavern, much to Shana's disappointment, and Mîra stated she wanted turn in early, claiming she wanted to read a new book Kurama suggested.

Hiei wasn't fooled though. During dinner, he caught elf's cool glances towards Simran and noted how she never directly acknowledged the demoness. Dinner was nice, he certainly didn't feel any tension, but he supposed Mîra had years of experience practicing her political dinner talk. Still, there was something unsettling about being around her this visit. He seemed to catch glimpses of her old self and other times he received the distant, formal, and occasionally cold gaze of her lavender eyes. He didn't know what to make of her anymore, let alone the desires towards her that were now starting to bubble up.

His feelings didn't matter, though. He needed to know her motives for returning to the Makai. What if she was luring them into a trap? Keeping a low profile, Murkama aside, and appeasing the fortress was working well for her as heated tensions across the Makai began to relax. But that didn't explain her intentions; What was her angle?

Hiei looked up to the door before he saw Mîra appear. He frowned, taken aback by her appearance. She was in a white nightgown and slippers and she wrapped herself in a large black shawl, covering her chest and arms. Her hair was down and tied together with a ribbon, resting on her back. Her expression was collected but knowing her standards, the woman looked disheveled.

"Oh, Mîra-chan! Are you going to join us?" Yukina asked.

The elf shook her head. "No, I'm sorry." She turned her attention to him. "Hiei, something has come up and I need to speak with you."

Hiei frowned at her but he stood. Clearly there was something wrong. As he walked by, he noticed Simran's unsure gaze following him, but he ignored her. The faster he spoke with Mîra, the faster he could leave her confusing presence. Wordlessly, she turned and he followed her through the fortress. When he realized she was leading him to her quarters, unease crept in him. Was she going to explain why she was here? What else could she possibly want? If they were in any real danger, she wouldn't have hesitated to warn them.

Unless it was a trap. The thought made his stomach turn. It would make sense to wait until Hiei arrived; she could take him out and there would be no one left to claim what really happened, and no one for his soldiers to rally to. But… was it really a trap? If revenge was her goal, then it was possible; Mîra was cold and calculating when she needed to be, and, much like Kurama, she would not hesitate to execute those plans. Hiei almost didn't walk into her room when she opened the door, but he set his hesitations aside. Worst case, she would attempt to ambush him and he had Heiwa and Koku, so everyone else would at least be alerted to her true intentions.

Mîra's quarters were fairly large. The entrance to the room was merely to a sitting room, and another door led to the actual bedroom. As she closed the door, he turned to face her and realized that whatever thoughts he had about revenge were dead wrong. With her gloved arms, she readjusted her shawl, pulling it to her tightly as though it was a life line. Her face was pale and her her guarded lavender eyes became anxious.

"It's-" she started. "It's over there," she whispered and nodded her head towards the back corner of the room. "I really got better about handling them, I swear I did. But here-" She cut off again and leaned towards him. "What if they're demons in disguise? They'll get bigger and then bite me, spin me, and drain my blood!" She hissed.

Hiei looked at the corner and back at her. Was she… was this really what he thought it was? He walked to the back of the room and stared up at a small spider web, the black arachnid itself not a demon, and very harmless.

And, in spite himself, Hiei smiled.

A year or so after they mated, Hiei took her on a tour of the Makai, showing her different interesting places he had been. As a shortcut, he decided to travel through the Arachnae Queen's forest. It wasn't entirely safe, no where in the Makai was, but as long as they stayed away from the Queen's specific territory, they could pass through easily and kill anything that tried to kill them without consequence. He wasn't surprised when a large spider tried to ambush them. He was surprised when Mîra screamed in pure, unadulterated fear. The new sound was so shocking, he watched stunned as she proceeded to violently destroy the demon with her sword and fire.

It was then, her eyes wide with terror and shame, that she confessed. Even as a child, Mîra was unsurprisingly ambitious. In an attempt to prove herself capable without her instructor, she accidentally enlarged a normally harmless spider. Terrified, the young, proud, elf tried to defeat the spider herself and almost ended up getting killed as a result. Ever since, she's been terrified of spiders and kills any she comes across quickly. After revealing this to Hiei, the task to finding and removing the spiders fell to him. Any time Mîra suspected a spider was in her personal space, she demanded that he remove the offending creature. As trivial as it seemed to him, he was the only one who knew about her deep seeded fear. Revealing this to him was revealing a weakness, and Mîra did not display vulnerability to just anyone. Not the Mîra he knew, anyway.

But this was the Mîra he knew. Right here, in this moment, this was his Vesse who patiently, and anxiously, waited for him to help her. Even now, after all these years, she was still depending on him.

He opened the window, the cold air penetrating the room's warmth, but he didn't mind. He took the spider in the corner in his hand and tossed it outside. He then proceeded to destroy the web and began to check the other walls and corners. After sweeping the first room, he went into the bedroom and decided to check the walk-in closet next. He found another web in the top corner. With a full closet, she would have noticed it a lot sooner, but her clothing didn't fill even a fourth of the space. He frowned, noting that what few clothes she did possess were all black.

After dealing with the spider from the closet, he did a quick check of the bedroom's corners and under the bed. He made his way over to her large vanity, to check the gap where the chair fit. He recalled seeing the ornate piece earlier that day and figured it was a new purchase, but she already had her things settled. On the desk was her small golden box, the one she kept her grandmother's earrings in, along with other personal mementos, but what caught his eyes were the pictures tucked into the mirror frame. There was an old, small portrait of a handsome man with shaggy blond hair and bright blue eyes. Through he seemed like an intimidatingly large man with broad shoulders, the small smile on his face gave him a light, warm appearance. Sigmundr, he acknowledged. Another portrait was next to it, with a solemn young man with brown shaggy hair and blue eyes. Was this her son? Hiei frowned. Why did he have brown hair? He looked nothing like her at all, not even the narrowness of her eyes or her thin lips. While the boy looked a great deal like Sigmundr, there was no trace of Mîra. There was a chance that was how the genetics worked out; not all of Yukina's sons resembled Kuwabara.

He moved his gaze to the other side of the mirror, noticing two photographs; she must have brought a camera back from this world to hers. In one photo, she stood next to Rodynar, both of them smiling broadly. He was dressed in red and gold armor and she seemed to be dressed down compared to him, wearing a layered, sheer red dress. In the last photo, Rodynar was next to another woman with purple skin and luscious black hair and dark eyes. Between them was a young girl, laughing. This must be her brother's family. His gaze wandered back over the images, when his gaze settled on the middle painting and his breath stopped.

Instinctively, he reached out and pulled the image out of the mirror, bringing it closer to him. It was another painting, but slightly larger than the other two. Hiei stared at a side profile of Mîra wearing gold plated armor. Her body was angled slightly so he could see the engraved tree on her chest plate, and her hands rested on the top of Víraserce's hilt, exposing the ornate metalwork. He could see her white hair was done up elegantly on the back of her head with gold ribbons entwined in her tresses, showcasing her long ears lined with gold and silver earrings that matched the vine inspired circlet on her forehead. Her lavender eyes stared at him proudly, and all he could do was stare back. She was always beautiful, but this painting was different. She was more than that, she was regal.

Hiei was overwhelmed with a mix of bittersweet pride and longing. He knew letting her go was the right thing to do. She was born to be queen and lead her people, and he was glad to see that's exactly what she did; she became who she was always destined to be.

"Hiei?"

Her voice snapped him back to reality and he quickly returned the painting to the mirror and pulled out the chair, pretending he was still searching as she walked into the room. Quickly replacing the chair and walking towards the bathroom, he said, "I found a few and removed them. This is the last place I need to check."

She didn't reply as he swiftly scanned the bathroom and, finding nothing, returned to the bedroom. She was staring at him, her eyes quiet and knowing. She didn't need to ask if he saw the portraits and photographs, she knew he did. Feeling guilty, He turned away from her gaze, and walked into the sitting room towards the main door. She followed him and he turned to face her before exiting.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"Tch, I can't believe you managed on your own against them for so long." He meant it as a partial joke but Mîra pressed her lips together tightly and frowned.

"Well," she started, "After living here they didn't seem to scary at home, but I still had Rodyn help me from time to time."

Hiei couldn't stop himself as the words left his mouth, "But not your husband?"

Her eyes narrowed at him incredulously. "Are you joking? Do you know what he would say, what they would say, if they knew the great Mîrvana, the indomitable Black Queen, was terrified of a spider?"

Hiei wasn't sure how to respond. So he said the only obvious thing he could think of. "Black Queen?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, as if she was about to repeat herself needlessly, "In order to quell political unrest, I had to fight for the throne. I needed to call upon the dragon's power to do it and my loyalty was to Koku, so the nickname was formed and stuck."

Hiei stared at her before turning and opening the door. He was going to walk away without saying anything else, but he turned to look back at her. With her arms crossed over her chest and the annoyed look on her face, it was safe to assume he at least distracted her thoughts away from the spiders.

"I am here for a few more days to restock before venturing back out."

Her expression softened and she nodded. He turned away from her and paused once more. Without looking back at her, he said, "You look terrible in black."

He went straight to his room after that, Mîra's regal image burned in his mind as he stared into the fire as he mused over everything that happened in the room. His thoughts and feelings were a mess. How did she continuously do this to him? Just when he seemed to have his life in place, Mîra came and tore all his assumptions asunder. He didn't know what to think anymore. There was no trap, no ill intent, no sinister motives. Instead, he was left with the slow burn of longing for her presence and confusion over what he should do.

After what felt like a long time, he turned to the door, sensing Simran's presence. He stared at the door, knowing she was hesitating to knock, and at least one thing became clear. Sighing, Hiei stood and prepared himself for a talk.

I really like this chapter; there's a lot of moving parts touching on different relationships and the main plotline. I hope you all enjoyed this one as much as I did too! Thanks for reading and special thanks to those who favorite and review!