Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Never have, never will.

The song talked about at the end of the chapter is called The City is At War by Cobra Starship. I suggest listening to it while reading that part of the chapter.

"What is with the freaking rain?" I asked, glaring out the kitchen window at the steady drizzle falling outside. It wasn't the utter downpour of the day before, but it was certainly enough to make a run relatively unpleasant. Actually, that's not true. The rain would have little effect on my run, in all likelihood I would forget it was even raining after the first half mile. The aftermath of the run would be an entirely different story. Rain always makes my hair a tangled mess and the endless puddles that collect almost guarantee that my sneakers will be wet for days.

"I'm not a meteorologist," Genkai barked. Turning around, I raised an eyebrow at the old psychic. Who put the stick up her ass?

"It was kind of a rhetorical question," I said, frowning at her. "No need to bite my head off."

Genkai glanced at me, allowing herself a small smile. "I apologize if I offended you," she said, without sounding particularly remorseful. "I'm annoyed with the dimwit."

"That isn't out of the ordinary," I observed, taking a seat at the kitchen table. There was no way in hell that I was going to go out running while it was still raining. If the weather cleared up later in the day, I could go running then, but until that time I was staying safely indoors. "So why are you annoyed this time?"

"After Mecca's most recent attack, Yusuke contacted Mukuro and Yomi. He feels that the three of them should get together and discuss the best way to handle Mecca."

"Why does Yusuke need Mukuro and Yomi to get involved?"

"The boys have come to the conclusion that whoever Mecca is working for may have interests in upsetting the current peace in the Makai. By uniting the leaders of all three territories against a common enemy, Yusuke hopes to preserve that peace."

"Oh, that reminds me," I said, sitting up straighter and leaning forward in my seat eagerly. "When Mecca was attacking Keiko, he said that Epsilon would be upset if Keiko was killed. Could Epsilon be the man Mecca is employed by?"

Genkai took her time responding, no doubt considering what I had said. "It is possible. Have you told any of the boys about this?"

"No, it slipped my mind, which I'm sure you think is stupid, but I'm not good at all this stuff. I don't understand political alliances or why Mecca is such a threat. I'm not sure I want to understand," I muttered, shoving a lock of hair back behind my ear.

"You're aware that you will have to understand all of this if you become Hiei's mate, aren't you? It will be a major part of your life."

"Wonderful," I groaned.

"I still haven't answered your question," Genkai said. "The one about why I'm annoyed."

"True," I replied, grinning. "Feel free to continue."

"I am annoyed because Yusuke, being the ingrate that he is, decided to invite Mukuro, Yomi, and all their advisors here, to my house. Back when the peace negotiations where first being created, this shrine was used as a meeting place because it was deemed a neutral location. Apparently the dimwit assumed it is still available for such uses." The psychic glared irritably at her mug of tea, her hand clenching the handle to tightly that her knuckles turned white. Yusuke was the only person I knew that could get Genkai so riled up.

"Mind refreshing me on Makai politics?"

"After Yusuke designed the tournament to decide who would become ruler of the Makai, the three territories settled into an uneasy peace, though peace may not be the right word for it. There was no fighting between territories, but they were by no means on friendly terms. Around the time Yusuke returned to the Ningenkai, peace negotiations began in earnest. Enki, the current king of the Makai, met here with Yusuke, Mukuro, Yomi, and Koenma to settle the issues between the three territories. Since then there has been a relative peace between Gendar, Alaric, and Tourin. Issues still crop up, but they tend to be caused by rebels who are unaffiliated with any of the territories."

I frowned slightly, trying to get everything she said straight in my head. "If the three territories have their own rulers, then what does Enki do?"

"He presides over the Makai in its entirety, creating and enforcing laws that affect every territory. His authority outranks that of Yusuke, Mukuro, and Yomi, giving him the ultimate power in the Makai."

Tapping my fingertips on the tabletop, I pursed my lips. "So you're annoyed due to the meeting that is going to be held here at some point?"

"Not at some point," Genkai growled, her irritation back full force. "The meeting will be held today. Our guests are due to be here in a few hours time."

"I assume you're not going for a run this morning." I glanced toward the doorway, to find Hiei leaning against the doorframe.

Smiling, I stood up and moved toward him. "You assumed correctly. But I might go for a run later if the rain stops." I stopped before him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Morning, firefly."

I was almost positive that Hiei's eye twitched. "You're going to insist on calling me that ridiculous name?"

"You don't like it?" I asked, pretending to be hurt.

"I simply do not see how that name is appropriate."

"It's a pet name, it doesn't need to make sense," I said, rolling my eyes. Cutting Hiei off before he could say anything, I stood up on tiptoe and pressed my lips to his.

A chair scrapped across the floor behind us. "If you are going to be all over one another, I am leaving." Grumbling under her breath, Genkai headed toward the front hall, probably intending to take the hallway there that lead to her bedroom.

Laughing at Genkai, I moved to pull away from Hiei, but he wouldn't let me. He kept his arms wrapped firmly around my waist, smirking down at me. "What?" I asked, confused as to why he wouldn't let me go.

"Genkai explained that we would be having company today?" At my nod, Hiei continued, "Do not worry about what they may think of you. Act as you always would." I swallowed hard, trying to fight my sudden onslaught of nerves. I hadn't been nervous until Hiei told me not to be. "If they do not like you as you are, they can answer to me."

I couldn't help but smile. "That may have been the sweetest thing you've ever said to me," I said, giggling at his immediate grimace. "That's a good thing," I assured him.

Hiei's scowl faded, his face becoming deadly serious. "They may say things that are offensive. I want you to be prepared."

I hesitated, trying to understand what he meant. "Why would they do something offensive?"

"You're a human and therefore an unorthodox choice for a potential mate."

"But Keiko is a human and she's never said anything about demons giving her problems."

"Yusuke is of a higher rank than me, which provides Keiko with more protection. Not to mention that he is a hanyou. Normal tradition does not apply to him."

I wasn't sure if I should find Hiei breaking tradition to be with me a compliment or not. Deciding not to stress about it, I shrugged. "I'll be alright, Hiei. I have tough skin."

He nodded and quickly bent to give me a kiss. Even after he had broken the kiss, he kept his hold on me. "When the meeting begins, you will not be allowed to be in the room. For that matter, neither will Kuwabara, Keiko, or Yukina. I am not sure how long it will take, so I suggest you think of something to do in order to keep entertained."

"Will do, firefly," I said, grinning at him cheekily. "Now, let me go. Since I'm not going for a run, I want to eat breakfast." He released his grip on me and I turned away, heading toward the fridge. "I'm going to have cereal. Do you want any?"

"Hn, I will have some," he answered, taking a seat at the table.

I quickly grabbed milk, the box of cereal, and two bowls before joining Hiei at the table. Once I'd prepared myself a bowl, I glanced at him. "So, is there anything I should know prior to the arrival of our guests?"

"Yomi is blind, but I advise that you do not stare at him. He will know if you do. What do you know of Mukuro's appearance?"

"Not much."

Hiei nodded. "I expected as much. Mukuro was once a slave and during that time she incurred injuries that disfigured her body. As a result, the right side of Mukuro's body is robotic. She won't care if you stare, she is much too used to such behavior to care, but I request that you refrain from doing so."

"I'll do my best," I promised. I looked at my cereal, trying to hide a smile. Hiei had told me not to worry about what Yomi and Mukuro thought of me, but I had a feeling he himself was worried, at least where Mukuro was concerned. If Mukuro found me lacking, she could probably command him to end our courtship. Deciding to see if I was right, I asked, "How much say does Mukuro get in who you mate?"

"None," he answered immediately. "Who I mate is my business, not hers. That being said, things would be far simpler if she approved of my choice, if she approved of you."

A blush flared across my cheeks and I ducked my head, avoiding his eyes. Swallowing hard, I tried to think of something to say. "So, um, do you mind me asking why Mukuro was so against having children? I mean, you were considering mating her, which means that you two were obviously serious about one another. Plus, if you two had children, she would have had a blood heir." Realizing that I was rambling, I closed my mouth and waited for a response.

"It was not a matter of her not wanting children, she is simply unable to do so," Hiei said, choosing his words carefully. "The same injuries that disfigured her body made it impossible for her to have children. She may sleep with a man, but there will never be a chance of her becoming pregnant. We split on friendly terms; she does not hold my desire for children against me. She knows what it is like to be unable to have children and would never wish that fate upon another."

I voiced my next question without thinking, realizing only after I spoke that it might not be something he wanted to answer. "Did you love her?"

"I am not sure I am capable of such an emotion," Hiei replied flatly, though the intensity in his eyes contradicted the lack of feeling in his voice. I forced myself not to react visibly to his words, trying to hide the disappointment I felt.

Could I be in a relationship with someone who could never love me? Pushing the thought from my mind, I stood up and carried my bowl to the sink. Moving toward the kitchen door, I said, "I'm going to see if Keiko or Kuwabara are awake. We need to discuss what to do while your meeting is going on. I'll see you later."

"Hn."

"You think it would be alright if I go for a run?" I asked Kuwabara. He was sitting on the living room floor, concentrating on his game of solitaire.

"Uh, yeah, I don't see why not," he answered distractedly, his eyes never wavering from the cards in front of him. "With all the demon energy around this place, nothing in the forest would dare attack you."

I glanced at the closed kitchen door behind which was all the demon energy Kuwabara was talking about, not that I could feel any of it. Mukuro, Yomi, and the demons that they brought with them had arrived nearly an hour ago and, after a brief round of introductions, disappeared into the kitchen.

"Alright, well then I'm off for a run. You want to come?"

"Nah, I'll stay here. Have fun."

Rolling my eyes at his laziness, I stood up from my seat on the couch and headed for the front door. I paused in the doorway and got Keiko's attention. She and Yukina had decided to spend the time during the meeting to paint their nails and they had set up shop on the dining room table. "I'm going out for a run."

"Yeah, I heard you and Kuwabara," she said, looking away from Yukina's nails and glancing up at me. "You guys were sitting like five feet away, Shy."

Sticking my tongue out at her, I resumed my walk to the door. "I was just making sure you knew, no need to be mean."

It took all of ten seconds to tug on my shoes and slip out the front door. I jumped the front steps and set out at an easy pace. The grass was wet from the rain and the toes of my sneakers rapidly became wet. I spent the majority of the run leaping puddles and avoiding mud, doing my best to stay as dry and clean as possible.

When I got back to the shrine, I slowed to a walk and raised an eyebrow at what I saw. Kuwabara was seated in the bushes below the kitchen window, his orange hair standing out like a beacon against the green of the foliage around him. He put a finger to his lips when he saw me and motioned for me to come join him.

Trying to stifle my laughter, I approached the bushes and stood in front of him. "May I ask what the hell you're doing?" I whispered, eyeing him as though he had lost his mind.

"Come take a seat," he instructed, patting the ground beside him, "then I'll explain." Humoring him, I slipped between the bushes and sank down onto the mulch. "I got bored," he said, apparently thinking that that cleared up my confusion.

"And how does that explain why you're crouched in a bush?"

"If you would be quiet, we'd be able to hear what they're talking about," he murmured, gesturing to the window above us. Frowning, I fell silent and listened intently. Sure enough, I could everything being said in the kitchen.

"How did you know about this?"

Kuwabara grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, back when the peace negotiations were being worked out I stumbled across this spot and I used to use it to eavesdrop on what they were talking about."

"I'm assuming you weren't allowed into the negotiations either."

"Obviously. If I had been, do you really think I would have participated from the bushes outside the window? Now, be quiet, I'm trying to listen." I did as told, focusing on the voices coming from within the kitchen. It felt like I was doing a lot of eavesdropping of late.

"So, we've decided that Mecca is working for the hebi Epsilon?" That voice sounded like it belonged to Kurama. There was general chorus of agreement and Kurama continued, "And we also agree that the Epsilon was responsible for the trouble in the Makai a few weeks back?"

It took me a fraction of a second to realize what trouble he was talking about. The day I had met Kurama and Hiei, they had been visiting to inform Yusuke about issues in the Makai. After all the crap with Mecca, I had completely forgotten about it.

"Yes, yes, Kurama, we've covered that."

"That's Yomi right?" I asked Kuwabara. He nodded, but made no move to respond vocally.

"Why don't we take a small break to gather our thoughts and begin again in a few minutes," suggested a voice I recognized as Hokushin's. He and some of the other monks had come to advise Yusuke.

"Sounds good," Yusuke said. A murmur of consent followed his comment and there was a slight pause in the conversation.

The silence was broken when Yomi spoke once more. "So, Hiei, I had heard you'd taken yourself a human whore, but, I have to admit, I was expecting more than that mere girl. What was her name again?"

Beside me, Kuwabara stiffened, his hands curling into fists, and a loud snarl sounded from within the kitchen. There was a clink and then the hiss of metal. "What was that?" I asked.

"Katana." Kuwabara's answer was clipped and short, his anger at Yomi barely under control.

Yusuke was the first to speak next. "I would watch what you say, Yomi. This is not the place to insult human woman." There was a slight pause and then Yusuke added, "Besides, Shy's a prude, not a whore."

And just like that the tension was broken. Kuwabara relaxed, shaking his head in amusement. He nudged me slightly with his elbow. "The funny part is that Urameshi thought that was a good way to defend you."

I shrugged, unbothered by Yomi's potentially hurtful words. I was many things, but a whore was not one of them. "Come on," I said, standing up and leaving the bushes. "I say we go get Keiko and Yukina and have some fun."

"What do you mean?" Kuwabara asked, eyeing me warily as he followed me toward the shrine.

"I brought some CDs back with me last night. I'm sure we can find a radio to play them with," I answered, grinning as I thought of the song I wanted to play.

"I have a boom box in my room. We can bring it out here if you want."

"Oh, I do."

Twenty minutes later, we had set the portable boom box on the picnic table in the back yard and taken seats at the table. Keiko dealt out cards for a game of four-way war, while I flipped through my stack of CDs, looking for the one I wanted.

"Do you have a song in mind?" Kuwabara asked.

"Of course," I said with a grin. Finding the right CD case, I popped it open and took out the CD. Quickly putting the CD in the boom box and adjusting the volume, I skipped to the right track. "Is this song perfect or what?" I asked Kuwabara as the song started playing.

He grinned. "Utterly appropriate."

"Why is it perfect?"

I quickly explained what we had overheard and waved off Keiko's anger. "I don't care, which is why this song is perfect."

When Keiko still looked confused, I glanced at Kuwabara and asked, "Ready?"

He nodded and together we both sang the lines of the chorus that made the song so appropriate. "Ignore me if you see me 'cause I just don't give a shit."

Keiko stared at us for a second before bursting into laughter. "I'd just like to point out that that was in perfect unison."

"That's because we're awesome," I said, slapping Kuwabara a high five.

Chuckling, Kuwabara reached across me and put the song on repeat, turning the volume up while he was at it. "Let's make sure Yomi gets the message," he said, shooting a glare in the direction of the shrine.

I flipped over my first card and glanced at Keiko. "What makes the song even more perfect is the fact that the first time he heard it, Kuwabara thought the song says, 'the city is a whore place' instead of 'the city is at war.'"

Kuwabara snorted. "I forgot about that."

"Don't worry, I never forget the things you do to embarrass yourself," I told him.

"Thanks, Shy. That's great to know," he muttered sarcastically.

"Anything for you."

AN: Next chapter Shyle will actually interact with Mukuro and the other visiting demons, so you can look forward to that.

I've received a few reviews now that have asked how to pronounce Shy's name. The best help I can give is that 'Shyle' rhymes with 'Kyle.' I hope that helps anyone who was wondering.

My life has never been as interesting as it has these last few days. Saturday I had that mess with the thunderstorm and on Tuesday I had an equally crazy experience. My friend and I had gone into the city to see a baseball game and we took the train home. We were just sitting on the train, waiting for it to leave, when four Transit Police came onto the train with their guns drawn. They escorted a guy off the train and took a gun from the girl he was sitting with. It turns out someone had seen him with a gun hanging out of his shirt and reported it to the police, who came and arrested him. The train attendant told us that the police looked him up to see if he had any charges against him and there were four warrants out for his arrest. The craziest part is that that police would have shot him if he reached for his shirt. So yeah, that's my crazy story.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Tell me what you think of the chapter. Any guesses on what will happen between Mukuro and Shyle?