Chapter 46: Explosions

Hiei did not prefer Gondora. As the years went by the bustling demon city was becoming more like human cities, full of bright lights, technology, and crowded with demons looking to get away from the Makai's rural violence. As a core, somewhat neutral city, Gondora was also the main hub for demon politics. Most kings used Gondora to announce new initiatives and rally the major demon lords. When Hiei was king he ventured to the city as little as possible, but he distinctly remembered using the city for his political agendas—right after he won the tournament the first time to announce he was reinstating the human food source ban and when he officially declared war on the elves coming through the portal.

This time he was visiting the city based on the official summons from Mîra. In two days she planned her first meeting with all the demon lords. He doubted it would be a simple and quiet affair considering many demons still resented her. Still, he would get to see his clan over the next few days. Tonight, Ryuji's band was playing so their whole group was traveling to the city for both occasions. He knew Mîra, Kurama, Shana, and Yukina traveled together and arrived in the city early in the morning. From what he knew Yusuke and Kaneko were already in the city. As he was on his way to the city, he received a holo-message from Shana to meet her for dinner prior to the show. Initially he wanted to spend his time in the city to himself in the quiet of his hotel room, but he was always willing to meet with his daughter.

After arriving in the city, he briefly stopped by his hotel room he was sharing with Yukina and Shana, and he quickly showered and changed into his casual evening attire which consisted of the navy short sleeved button down, dark jeans, and boots Shana prepped for him. He exited and made his way to the restaurant Shana picked, which he was happy to see was in a quieter part of the city. She was waiting for him on a bench outside the restaurant talking with some a tall, broad shouldered demon. Hiei chose to jump down from the rooftops at a distance and walk up behind the demon. As he got close, he heard Shana say,

"Oh, well, I don't know if I should go out with you," Shana said in a fake cutesy voice.

"Aw, come on. You'd be missing out," the tall demon leered.

"Hm," she pretended to think it over before exclaiming brightly. "Okay! But you have to run it by my Papa first!" She gestured to Hiei who was now standing right behind the male demon. The demon turned around and Hiei gave him a dark glare.

"Hi-Hiei-sama!?" The demon screamed. The demon frantically began babbling nonsense and Hiei narrowed his eyes at the demon. Terrified, he ran off.

Shana burst into laughter and Hiei relaxed. He really shouldn't indulge her like this, but he couldn't help himself. "Papa! Perfect timing!" She grinned, baring a fang.

"Tch, why is it that you're always creating trouble?" He scolded lightly as she stood. She kissed him on the cheek and grinned at him.

"I never get into trouble Papa. Trouble always finds me!"

Lightly smirking as he followed her into the establishment he said, "So the bar fight in Kurosawa last week wasn't your fault?"

"What? You heard about that already?" She exclaimed, shocked. Hiei smirked at her and but she merely grinned back. "Not my fault! I have no idea why Ino's drink kept spilling."

"So even though he was rude to you and Ryuji, you have no idea why his drink kept spilling on its own like it was possessed." Hiei said skeptically as he sat down.

"Yep! No idea!" Shana chirped.

"And then Ino, furious, started a fight with Ryuji-"

"Mm, yep. Not sure why, but it was fine since Ino totally missed and Ryuji knocked him out cold in one hit!"

"Which caused an uproar in the bar, leading a full out brawl."

Shana pretended to be concerned. "It was so crazy Papa. Fortunately, Ryuji and I were strong enough to beat up everyone there. I'm so glad we made it out okay." She smiled at him innocently.

Hiei frowned at her. "One of these days…" but he left his chiding trail off, not wanting to spoil their conversation. They ordered food and Hiei decided to change the subject. "What else is new? Did you have any issues with traveling?"

"Nope! Although Mîra-hime seemed irritated with me, but I'm not sure why," Shana said frowning. Hiei considered telling Shana about Mîra's holo-call the other day, yelling about five thousand in damages owed to the bar owner, but decided it wasn't worth it.

"How is she?" he asked, but immediately regretted it when he saw the mischievous grin on Shana's face.

"Oh? Hoping to get more kisses?" Shana grinned slyly and his face flushed, embarrassed.

"It's not funny!" He snapped, but she laughed anyway. After getting caught that night in the kitchen, Hiei was hoping that Emiko would keep quiet if he helped her cook breakfast in the morning, but as soon as a kitchen servant was brave enough to ask Emiko why she was in such a foul mood, it was all for nothing. Emiko screamed about how she had to "pick up after Heika misbehaving in her kitchen like a teenager in heat."

So, naturally, the entire fortress knew what transpired before breakfast. To make things worse, at breakfast Sakura bluntly asked him if he and Mîra were mated again, while his entire clan was at the table, including Mîra. The entire room went dead silent until Ryuji burst out laughing, Shana following him in a fit of giggles. Mîra's cheeks burned red as she swallowed her drink and scolded Sakura, stating that she was incredibly rude and that she should learn to control her tongue. Yukina forced her daughter to apologize before practically dragging her out of the room. Ryuji and Shana, still in their fits of laughter were silenced by a cold look from Mîra, and Hiei couldn't look at the elf. He left after that and spent the day to himself, away from the gossip. But Sakura, ever persistent and tactless, brought it up to him again when they were alone and he was forced to answer her incessant questions. No, they were not mates again. Yes, he liked her more than he like Simran. Yes, Mîra-him would be around for a while. No, there were no plans for a mating ceremony. The girl was exhausting.

But Mîra was not one to let this slide. He heard, but was not present for Emiko getting an earful from the ever vain queen. Still, he didn't blame her; Mîra wanted to be respected. A day or so after the breakfast incident Hiei and Mîra had a frank conversation and they both agreed to ignore the rumors and a let the whole thing die. Initially, he thought that the kiss was a one-time thing, but after a rather heated sparring match and a few stolen kisses later, he was pleasantly wrong. While Hiei was irritated that Mîra bested him by kissing him while he had her pinned, which then loosened his hold on her and allowed her to break free and close the match, he wasn't going to protest to her methods.

"Don't worry!" Shana chirped. "She went through, like, a million dresses for tonight. I know she wants to dress up for you!"

"Tch, with that woman's vanity, she doesn't look her best for anyone but herself," Hiei retorted, smirking.

Shana laughed. "True! So, how's the investigation going? I know that Simran is here too, at Mukuro's request."

Hiei's good mood began to wane. The investigation was grating and seemingly getting nowhere. He was no closer to the answers he needed to vindicate his nephew and both he and Simran were unable to locate the major leaders within the gang. He knew Mîra and Mukuro were looking specifically into the gang's primary base of operations but they were also beginning to run into roadblocks. The investigation was stressful, and the awkwardness between Hiei and Simran didn't help. She was professional, but he knew she was still hurting from his rejection. He was in the 12th hour and he knew that his time was just about out. Not knowing who was behind the gang's activities in the Makai was stressful, but Hiei was far more worried about Yusuke, Kurama, and the others getting involved.

"Papa?"

Hiei glanced up at Shana, who was staring at him worriedly, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"You okay?"

"Fine," he sighed. "These last few weeks have been difficult."

Shana looked him, frowning. "I worry about you, Papa. You look tired." When Hiei didn't respond, she added, "Let me go to the Ningenkai and check out the building again, I'm sure that-"

"No," he said sharply. "You've done enough."

Shana sunk into her chair and an uncomfortable silence settled between them. In an attempt to salvage their outing, he asked, "How are things with Ryuji?"

That seemed to brighten Shana a bit. "We're okay. After you left, we got into a nasty fight which Mîra-hime broke up. She told us to figure it out because the efficiency of the fortress depended on our ability to work together. So, Ryuji and I went for a long walk." She sighed heavily. "I didn't tell him how I really feel about him, but I did say that I feel like he's pushing me away for no reason and that it hurts. He apologized and said that if I wanted to be with Shura he wouldn't say anything else about it." She smiled wryly at him, "At least the fortress is talking about that now instead of you and Mîra-hime."

"I'm glad you're friends again," he said, "And I'd rather everyone talk about me than you." She gave him a genuine, small smile, and they spent the rest of their dinner in pleasant conversation. He was interested in other recent developments in the fortress, while he filled her in on what he could about the investigation and his awkward situation with Simran. By the end of their meal, which naturally included dessert, Shana was in a chipper mood again and Hiei was nice and relaxed. Tonight was shaping up to be decent, despite the locale, and he looked forward to seeing Mîra later.

~*0*~

Hiei drummed his fingers along the wooden balcony in time with music, watching the club's stage where Ryuji's band, the Lonely Hearts Club, were performing. The venue was rather large, with an open ground floor with multiple bars. On the second level, there was another bar and VIP lounge areas. He found himself a nice high-top table against the balcony of the second floor where he could easily watch the Boy, and everyone else in the club. Kaneko sat next to him, dressed in a simple long-sleeved light blue dress and black shoes, sometimes singing along with the band and occasionally sipping her wine, while Yusuke talked boisterously with Chuu and Jin further back by the bar.

The energetic music and vocals from Ryuji energized the club and down below Hiei watched Yukina dance with some other demon friends. He was glad she was able to get away for a bit and leave Sakura back at the fortress. She looked lovely tonight in a one-shouldered red dress and black high-heels, her wavy hair bouncing as she danced around, singing and laughing. Shana was backstage, helping with the set changes, but Hiei could still see his daughter's tall frame in the wings from his vantage point. Kurama stood by the bar talking with some of Yomi's lackeys in a rather casual attire, jeans and a dark purple button down shirt. Why Kurama bothered Hiei would never understand. Even after all these years of relative peace he, and Mukuro, were wary of Yomi.

Mîra, however, was completely out of his usual vision, but he could feel her magical energy underneath him, and occasionally he heard her bright laughter. When she first entered the club with Yukina and Kurama, the place went dead silent. Both he and Yusuke prepared for an altercation, but Mîra smooth talked her way out of any fighting by buying several rounds of drinks for everyone in the club. Hiei tried not to think about the total cost of the night, but the peace was worth any price. Mîra was wearing black as usual, but tonight she was wearing something far more modern. She wore a long-sleeved black off-the-shoulder dress with a V-neck, showing off her chest rather tastefully. The dress was short, ending a few inches above her knees and he didn't know how she was successfully walking around in the black knee-high boots, but she seemed to glide through the throngs of people in front of the stage. Even when the lights dimmed when the band took the stage, he was still able to make out her tall, graceful, figure among the cacophony below.

Initially, Mîra stayed with Yukina, but as other demons around the dance floor approached her, she began to weave her way across the room. He followed her movements, locked on her stunning figure until she disappeared from his view, underneath the upper floor. She seemed to be talking with everyone possible within the club, which wasn't a bad choice considering, from what he picked up walking through Gondora, many demons still had mixed feelings about her.

Kaneko began to sing along and he glanced at her. She swept her long black hair to one side and gave him a polite smile. "I really like this song," she shouted over the music. Just then, Yusuke came back and Hiei noted he was a bit drunk as the former detective threw his arm around Kaneko's shoulder singing loudly out of tune. Kaneko laughed and Hiei was glad to see her happy. Yusuke needed some happiness in his life, even if the Boy was unable to see that his mother would never be forgotten or replaced. He was about to return his attention to the stage when there was a commotion by the stairs as Mîra appeared.

Yusuke and company greeted her loudly as she sauntered over. He fixated his gaze on her, and as she chatted with Chuu, her gaze flickered over to him. Hiei held her gaze steadily, and he enjoyed watching her lips curl into a smirk. Mîra turned her attention back to the other demons, but then the lights came on to signal the intermission. Everyone cheered and whooped loudly and the upper floor began to clear out as people made their way to the bar below downstairs, outside, or to the restrooms. Hiei quickly found Yukina, who was chatting with Fudo on the outskirts of the dance floor and Kurama was talking with another group of demons. Before he could turn back to Yusuke's group, Mîra was standing next to him, leaning over the rail.

"So here you are, hiding away," she grinned at him. He felt her natural spell weaving around him and he relished the feeling of being locked under her gaze.

"Not hiding, waiting," he responded with a light smirk.

"Waiting? For what?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"For you to finish with the rabble and come here, to me," he growled lightly. Mîra licked her lips, holding his gaze. Then she knocked back the rest of her drink and dangled the empty glass in front of him.

"Go get me another one. Yoshi's Cherry Ale."

"Are you incapable of getting your own drink, woman?"

Her eyes glinted at him. "Well, if I leave then I have to make you wait as I work my way through all of the, what did you say, rabble. Do you really want to wait?" She purred.

Damnit. He snatched the glass, and darted down to the tap. During the long 30 seconds of filling the glass he gave anyone who protested death glares, and as soon as the beer began to spill over the top, he darted right back up. All in all, he was there and back in less than a minute.

"Oh, wonderful!" She exclaimed, taking the glass from him. She took a long sip, and Hiei watched her relish the flavor. Now that she was in front of him, he could see the details in her dress. The long sleeves of her dress hooked around middle fingers, replacing her usual gloves. Running down both sides of the dress were black mesh, revealing glimpses of her pale skin underneath, and he enjoyed the sight of the fabric receding as she sat and crossed her legs, exposing more of her muscular thighs. She wore simple, long gold earrings and a gold circlet around her forehead, and in her side-swept hair he noticed glitter in her loose rivulets.

But of course, she knew he was staring at her, absorbing her enthralling image and already lost in her captivating eyes. He lost that battle, and would have to find a way to win another.

Her gaze locked onto his and he held her bewitching gaze until she was ready to talk. "So, tell me," she began, "When did you get into town? I was hoping to see you earlier, before the show."

"This afternoon. I met Shana for dinner."

Mîra rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed. "So then I'm sure you heard about the ridiculous rumors spreading about us? I should have known that as soon as Emiko opened her mouth I would never hear the end of it. I forgot how quickly gossip spreads around the Fortress; it's just as bad as court!"

Hiei didn't care for gossip but he thought that the fortress moved on. "What are they saying?"

Mîra let out an exasperated, dramatic sigh and Hiei followed the movements of her attractive chest rising and falling. "The stories about our rendezvous in the kitchen are out of control, worse than before you left. Everyone is saying we did far more than a simple kiss, and it involved, well," she eyed him in a way that he could only describe as hunger before continuing, "ice cream and chocolate syrup. Ridiculous!"

Sweet snow and chocolate? Now he was interested. "Ridiculous?" he asked.

"Well, when one thinks about the how either item could possibly be involved it doesn't make any sense. For one, I don't like chocolate that much and two you would never let ice cream go to waste."

Hiei knew Mîra was slightly drunk. He could see it in her imprecise gestures, her formal language, and the attractive flush in her cheeks. He didn't know if she had really thought about the two of them together that way, but the more he considered it, the more appetizing she became.

Unable to resist himself he smirked at her, "So, you've thought about it?" He kept his pointed gaze on her as she took another swig of her drink before launching into an explanation.

"Well of course, I have to consider all possibilities and after everything that's occurred it doesn't make sense at this point in time for something like that to transpire between the two of us."

"But you're open to the prospect?" His voice dropped, low and husky without him realizing it. The longer this went on, the more he wanted to be alone with her.

Mîra's opened her mouth to make a logical response but then the wheels in her head seemed to click into place and the color in her cheeks deepened. Hiei took advantage of the opening.

"The sweet snow would not be wasted if it was on you," he growled. Her eyes went wide and she stared at him in shock before throwing her head back, laughing.

"You're rather forward tonight, Hiei," she purred. The sly, inviting look in her eyes ignited something inside him, something he had not felt in long time. It burned in his chest, and filled him with a maddening desire for her voice, her scent, her touch.

In a swift, fluid, movement, he grabbed her chin and brought her to his eye level. "I'm cutting the bullshit. I know what I want." With that, he kissed her roughly, drinking in her sweet alcohol infused taste and her flowery and sweaty scent. She responded eagerly to the kiss but for Hiei it wasn't enough. He jerked back from her and she pouted at him. The band was onstage again now, but he didn't pay them any attention as he hopped off his seat and took Mîra's hand. She resisted momentarily to get some final swigs of her drink in before leaving it partially full on the table and he pulled her over to the VIP area.

A bored lizard-like demon stood watch over the entrance and stopped Hiei as he began to undo the rope blocking the area off.

"You can't do that. This area is for reservations only," the demon hissed.

Hiei grabbed his collar and jerked him down to his eye level. "I'm a fucking S-Class Demon with the Demon Queen and you think you're going to keep me out?" Hiei shoved the guard back into the wall and he slumped to the ground. Hiei kicked over the rope stands before turning to Mîra and holding his hand out to her. She took it and he led her to the furthest VIP room, where they could have some privacy. When she entered, he closed the curtain behind them, closing off the entrance.

Hiei turned to Mîra and saw she was already on the plush couch, her legs crossed and eying him lustily.

"My, my, you certainly do know what you want."

Not want. Need. In a flash, he was straddling her, kissing her, running his hands through her hair, down her body. Mîra broke the kiss suddenly and took his chin in her hand, studying him. He emitted a growl in his displeasure of being denied her embrace, but she smirked at him.

"Don't be silly, Hiei. You only taste what I let you taste."

Power. Her ultimate attraction and desire. Thankfully, Hiei had plenty to spare.

He chuckled darkly and pulled her chin from her grasp. He nuzzled her neck and slowly licked the spot where he claimed her as his mate a long time ago. He felt her frame shudder underneath him and he brought his lips to her ear. "Don't be a fool, woman. Your desire for this is far stronger, deeper, than mine." Hiei almost laughed when she crushed her lips against his but he settled for the satisfaction of his victory. His hands roamed her body again and he earned her pleasurable moan by dipping his fingers below the front of her dress. When his fingers began to tease up her thighs Mîra broke their embrace and pushed him back a little.

"Just for you," she breathed. "Only for you."

He stared at her and raised the back of his hand to her cheek, caressing her face. As his fingers crossed her lips, she captured them, kissing them. Hiei felt his heartbeat increase. She told him she loved him, that she still loved him. He needed to be with her, after all this. There was simply no one else. No one that could match her strength, her passion, her drive. No one had the fiery gaze that captured his own red eyes and burning desires of his own. Mîrvana had no match, no equal.

Hiei needed Mîrvana.

He captured her mouth with his own and pressed his body up against hers. Mîra moaned as his tongue entered her mouth and his hand shot underneath her dress and up her thigh. He needed her. And he would have her.

But all too soon, Mîra shoved him away again. This time, he stumbled backwards, off of her lap. He scowled at her and started towards her, intending to capture what was his, but she placed her hand on his chest and laughed airily. "Not here, Hiei. Let's go back to the hotel." She stood and Hiei struggled to control his urge to throw her back down on the couch and claim her as his.

"Oh, don't look so disappointed," she laughed. "We'll stop at a convenience store."

"For what?" he scowled.

She smirked deviously at him, her eyes glinting. "For sweet snow. What else?"

It took far too long for Mîra to drink two glasses of water and settle the enormously large tab for Hiei's like. But then they were off, her hand tightly clasped in his. He quickly found an open store and dragged her there. She was too drunk to move along the rooftops so she lazily wandered back and forth in her drunk giddiness through the street, stumbling every so often. He could barely believe what was happening. Was she truly going to become his again? Maybe he should wait to refresh his mark. Still, Hiei felt... happy. Full. Whole. He was going to be with his mate again.

By the time they reached the store, Mîra seemed to sober up a bit. She said a bright hello to the store clerk who ran immediately to the back. Mîra went to the restroom and Hiei made his way to the frozen section and stared at the pitiful sweet snow assortment before him. They should have gone to the grocer a block or so back. They would have more flavor options. Still, he was definitely getting chocolate. Was rocky road a better substitute? Hmm… moose tracks had fudge and peanut butter, which he also liked but he didn't want just chocolate. Maybe strawberry would be a nice second flavor. No, no, Mîra didn't like strawberry. Tch, annoying woman. The two flavors would have gone so well together.

"Hiei?"

Hiei didn't look up. "What, woman?"

There was a pause before she spoke. "Have you picked a flavor?"

"Yes. Moose tracks."

"Oh. Okay great. So let's-"

"I need to pick a second flavor."

"Second flavor?"

Hiei scowled at the glass in front of him. "I'd rather have three but they have a shitty selection."

Mîra snorted and burst into laughter, finally pulling his attention off the sweet snow and to her. She was laughing hard, her face red and a hand holding her face. "Oh, ancestors-" she wheezed, "I completely forgot how weird you are about ice cream!" She kept laughing and Hiei frowned at her. Sweet snow was serious business, and it wasn't even as good here in the Makai as it was in the Ningenkai. But Hiei waited for her to calm down, since he didn't want to make her mad and cause her to change her mind about their plans. Finally, she calmed down, sighing and wiping her eyes while leaning against a freezer door.

Mîra looked down at him and Hiei suddenly felt rooted in place, the pure feeling from long ago rising in him. She was staring down at him tenderly, her beautiful lavender eyes soft and gentle. "I missed you," she said softly. Hiei stared up at her, a mix of pain, longing, and the pure feeling washing over him. He wanted to tell her he missed her too, but the words were stuck in his throat.

But she did not seem to mind his lack of response. Maybe the raw expression on his face was enough. Mîra smiled down at him and said, "Listen, I'm rethinking this whole thing. It's just everything feels so swingy between us. We're fine on minute and at each other's throats the next."

Hiei glared at her. He didn't want her to do anything she was uncomfortable with, and she was correct about the current nature of their relationship, but he was certainly looking forward to laying with her again. This was …irritating.

She chuckled at him, her eyes shining. "We can do other things. Just not all the way. Okay?"

Hiei eyed her. "We're still getting sweet snow."

Mîra laughed. "Only if you hurry up and pick a second flavor!"

"You pick," he said. Well, at least she was still interested in having some sort of intimacy with him.

She walked over to the front of the glass door and stared inside, a thoughtful expression on her face. Hiei's gaze flickered from her visage to the glass, starting to grow impatient.

But then, for some reason, her posture shifted. Her body straightened and Hiei frowned as she turned, looking behind her. Her ears twitched, as though she was straining to hear something.

"What is it, woman?" He snapped. "Just pick a damn flavor and-"

Hiei barely had time to comprehend Mîra's sudden gasp, the panicked expression on her face, or that he was suddenly crushed into her chest when the convenience store exploded.

This chapter was really fun to write, and I hoped you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I almost had to cut the bit between Hiei and Shana at the beginning, but I'm glad I was able to work it in. I'm getting close to the end now, hopefully only 4-5 more chapters. It would be nice to end on 50, but I'll go over if the story needs it. Ideally, I'll have one or two more Extras for you too. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!