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LostCause6661: she goes by pyro, kurama just calls her thistle to be different, and because he thinks feochadan is hard to say. (I know, I already gave the fox a strange look for that.) actually, all of the demons pretty much call her Feochadan except yusuke and hiei. Yeah, they get to be royals, because they just rock so hard like that.

Kagome141414: thank you. I'm doing a lot better than I was. Not the best yet, but getting there.

wolvesrain17: man, this writing program hates leaving your handle lowercase. Lol, thank you for the review sweetie. Yeah, I'm not fond of mukuro either, she just seems like she got uber clingy after the series ended.

We were met at the portal by a group of rather dangerous-looking, uniformed demons. The sight of the bodybag hanging from our hands didn't seem to phase them one bit. In fact, the feeling of relief washed over them as they, in a single move, dropped to one knee and said, "My Lord, Hiei."

"Hn, get up." Hiei grunted. Secretly, he was pleased that they thought he was the better choice as Lord.

The demon with the most stripes stepped forward. "My Lord, I see that Lord Mukuro found you." Two other demons moved to take the body from us at a nod from the speaker.

"She did. There was a disagreement over my choice of mate." Hiei shrugged. "I was forced to kill her when she did not take defeat gracefully as befits a Lord."

The demon turned to me and did a gladiator type salute. You know, where they put a fist to their opposite shoulder and bow slightly. "My Lady."

'Don't suppose I could somehow get out of that title crap.' I gave Hiei a hopeful look.

'Don't even try, onna.' He smirked at me. "You there, take the boxes from Lord Yusuke and General Kurama. My mate and I are moving to the new fortress, the one that does not resemble the innards of a bug."

Yusuke handed his load over, then took a couple demons through for the rest. Five boxes, total. I looked askance at Hiei when the clothes got left behind.

"Ningen clothing stays in ningenkai. You will have clothes by the end of the day." Hiei explained.

Yusuke patted my non-bitten shoulder. "What he's not telling you is that they'll mostly be made of demon silk, and one item would pay your rent for three years."

The leader spoke again. "Will Lord Yusuke and General Kurama be staying for the funeral?"

Hiei turned to the pair. "Well?"

Kurama shook his head. "Since I am here, I should check in with Yomi. I will extend an invitation to the ceremonies?"

"Yes, fox. Thank you." Hiei replied. He almost smiled at the red head.

Kurama bowed slightly, then ran off. He had become a silver fox before he'd gotten more than ten feet away.

"I might as well stick around. With the way I run, I'd be a day and a half late." Yusuke shrugged and grinned.

Two demons stepped forward. "We are not as fast as you, Lord Hiei, but we can get to Tourin, and the King by night fall." the one on the left said.

"Good, go. The ceremonies start at midafternoon." Hiei said.

The fortress was impressive. It looked like a medieval castle, but without the moat. Simple, rough hewn rock made up the outer walls. The inner keep had been made smooth, so even if something got in, they could not scale the walls. I half expected to see dirty peasants and animals roaming about, but was wrong. Everyone seemed neat and clean (for a demon), and none were idle.

Hiei grabbed a passing maid. "Gather everyone in the main hall. I only wish to make this announcement once."

She dropped a curtsey and ran off with a mumbled, "Yes, my Lord."

Another of the servants approached. "My Lord, Which of the rooms will you be moving into?"

"The set that had been designated for Mukuro, she will not be needing them." Hiei said after a moment's thought.

The servant bowed and scurried off to direct the demons with the boxes.

I turned to my mate with a smirk. "You're pretty good with all this Lord crap."

He shrugged. "I have been a Lord for several years now. After the first king, the following kings decided that having the territories in place made it easier to control the population. So, after fourteen years, I should have a handle on it." He offered me his arm. "I'll show you to the main hall."

I threaded my arm through his. "And every where between here and there?" I gave him a grin.

"Of course, onna." He patted my hand where it rested on his forearm. "What would you like to be called? If you wish to leave your human identity behind, I will not object."

I thought for a moment. "I think I would like to be known as Feochadan. That's what most of the demons who taught me call me anyways."

"I noticed. Will I have to change what I call you?"

I gave him a confused look.

"Do I call you Pyro and onna, or do I have to start calling you Feochadan as well?"

"You can call me anything you like, my darling." I chuckled and leaned into his side.

By the time my tour to the main hall was over, the room was full. The crowd parted and dropped to one knee as we walked up to the raised dias at the far end. When we turned to face the assembled demons, they had risen to their feet again.

"Lord Mukuro has fallen. I have returned to take my place as your new Lord." Hiei said in a loud voice. His tone and stance dared someone to make a move against him.

The demons stomped. The noise was like a hundred timpani drums* being beaten all at once.

"This cat demon is my mate. You will obey Lady Feochadan as you would obey me."

The stomping increased.

'They stomp to show their approval.' Hiei squeezed my hand gently.

I squeezed his in return. 'Like when humans clap?'

'Yes.' "Mukuro's funeral ceremony starts tomorrow at mid-afternoon. We will be hosting the other Lords, and the King. Go prepare the castle and grounds. You know what needs done." Hiei made a dismissive motion with the hand that wasn't holding mine.

The demons scattered.

Hiei led me over to a long bench. The decorations and size led me to think it doubled as a throne for official purposes. "I need to prepare you for tomorrow." He looked away, as if collecting his thoughts.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me sweetheart." I sat next to him and forced hime to look at me.

"I want you to stay with the women tomorrow. No matter what you may see or hear, you have to promise you'll stay with the women." he blurted after a moment.

I sighed. "You have to fight."

"It is only a formality. I have to prove myself against the general and top two sargents in our army. I could easily best them, even if they weren't surrendering within moments of the start."

This time I looked away. "They have to hurt you. Lotus was at a Lord's funeral in Alaric once."

"Yes, they have to cut me. Just once. I'm telling you, so that you do not jump in and kill them. It would look bad."

I looked him in the eye. "You're a dick. You know I'll feel it."

"I'm sorry."

"I have to be there. Do not even think about telling me to stay in the room."

He nodded. "When the fight is done, the guard will lead you down to me, and you will be given the keys to the castle, and we will be acknowledged Lord and Lady of Alaric."

I snorted in derision. "How very medieval of you."

"Shut up. You humans achieved widespread peace faster than demons. We've only had a king for fifteen years. And even then, if I hadn't already proven I can put down any demon who challenged, the fights tomorrow would be real."

"Power solidified in the hands of the strongest." I grinned at my scowling mate. "Its a very good thing the strongest demons are on friendly terms then."

"Only between tournaments." he chuckled.

I gave him a confused look.

"Right, its one of those new things you wouldn't have leftover from her. Every three years all demons gather for the demon tournament. The winner gains the kingship and rules all of Makai. Yusuke started it so he wouldn't have to go to war with Yomi and Mukuro." He grinned at me, pleased to finally have to explain something about demons.

"Did I hear my name?" Yusuke sauntered over to us.

"I am explaining a few things about tomorrow, and later this year." Hiei glanced at the zombie, then back at me.

"You entering the tourney this year, three-eyes?" Yusuke grinned. He stuck his hands in his pockets.

"I do not know yet." He gave me a hopeful look.

I patted his knee. "Not if there's a real chance of you getting us killed in the process."

"I think I'll have to pass for a few years. Maybe after my mate gives me an heir." Hiei gave Yusuke a grin and a wink.

"Sick, man. You are so whipped already." Yusuke laughed.

I growled. "No, you're just a damn jackass. Dying twice must have fried your give-a-shit neurons." I said in a sugar-sweet voice.

The zombie stepped into a defensive stance, then stopped. "If you weren't..."

I jumped up before he could finish. "If I weren't what? A girl? Hiei's woman? You really are an idiot if you think that matters."

"No!" Yusuke backed up a pace. "If you weren't so damn scary! You nearly wasted my ass as a human, I'm not so sure I wanna test you now that you're a demon."

"I did?" I calmed instantly from the shock.

"Hell yeah. You were very powerful, even without Lotus helping that one time." Yusuke laughed a little. He was still nervous.

Hiei stood and took my hand again. "You were very strong, even when we met you. I was impressed."

I dropped back down on the bench. "Holy Hades. Coming from you, that says a lot."

"Just let me know when you're competing in the demon tourney, so I can drop out." Yusuke ran his hand through his black hair.

I gave him the look that said he's cracked. "And what the hell am I gonna do? Cute you to death with my kitty ears and tail?"

Hiei shook his head and chuckled. "Do you not know what being a mid A means?"

"Um, not really. I think Lotus failed to pay attention to that kind of thing." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'm an upper S. A is right below S, so that means you're damn near the top of the food chain." Yusuke explained, scratching the back of his head and grinning.

"With a little work, you'll be equal to the idiot, since he hardly ever trains." Hiei gave our zombie friend a pointed glare.

I snorted again. "Like I'm ever gonna slack off. Be serious, oni-san." I stroked my fire demon's arm. "I gotta protect your scrawny backside."

Hiei growled a warning at me.

"My Lords, My Lady, dinner is served in the small dining room."

I sighed in relief as Hiei led me from the room. Saved by the dinner bell, sort of.

There, what do you lovelies think? Kind of twisted, but what do you expect of demons? On a sadder note, only two chapters left for this story. Leave me reviews please.