A/N: I was tempted to just call this Genkai's Reformation Boat. What should've been a prompt inspired drabble ended up becoming its own story. *sweat drops* Should I do something like this again? Let me know in a review, throw me a bone here people!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Anna, Miranda and Densetsu are all original characters. This is not related to my Ice Dragon series.

Scaled Savior

Whenever Hiei was out at sea, he had a suspicion that something was watching him. Growing up he had never envisioned himself being part of a fishing crew, the pay wasn't much to brag about and when it stormed being on deck was akin to being in hell. Infection could lead to lost limbs, muscles were sore and there wasn't much to do for entertainment. The captain of the Sea Hag was an old woman named Genkai, part of her philosophy was that if a delinquent was put through hell in order to earn a pay check that it would reform them. Yusuke was her second in command, he was required to work aboard her boat for half a year after he was charged with assault when he picked a fight with the son of a politician. He was one of the newer crew members but he took well to the grueling work, even if he was always complaining.

Another crew member was Kurama, their navigator and often the one in charge of the radar. He looked more like an idol than someone that was accustomed to weathering the choppy seas but was caught shop lifting when he was younger. Kuwabara, like Yusuke, was charged with assault while Hiei had been caught for arson. Each boy had Koenma as the judge that overlooked their trials and he sent all of them to Genkai to have them straightened out. One evening when Hiei and Kuwabara were both hauling up their net, Hiei could've sworn that he saw a glimpse of something white before it disappeared under the waves.

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Annabel was a curious mermaid, she supposed that all of her kind were to a certain degree. Her hair was as white as sea foam and her eyes a vibrant purple. Her scales were a frosty blue, nothing like the other merfolk that had striking colors that gave them an ethereal beauty. She wasn't even that high on the social hierarchy, watching over the young while their parents went off to fulfill their duties. Her twin Densetsu was a hunter, their uncles were bodyguards for the royal family. And the royals… they were strange in Annabel's opinion. She had watched over their youngest, a young girl named Miranda, and she had somehow ended up being seen akin to family after she disciplined her. Miranda had never received anything more than a light slap on the wrist growing up and seeing someone that wasn't afraid to punish her was apparently thrilling. Honestly Annabel still didn't understand how the mind of the princess worked.

Whenever Annabel had any free time she would often watch a small boat as they went to cast their nets for food. It was strange to see them pick up so many fish, only to sort through them and toss out any that they deemed too small or disfigured. She certainly wasn't very picky when it came to eating fish and would sometimes trail after the boat to eat any fish they threw back into the sea. The humans aboard were all so different from her people. The red head could pass as a merfolk with his vibrant red hair and green eyes but the others had darker colors. One had light brown hair and often sputtering what Annabel recognized as human expletives, a sound assessment since it was usually after the male had harmed himself. Their captain, an old woman, may have spotted her once or twice but didn't seem bothered by her presence.

Maybe it was because they were both caretakers to the younger generation, maybe it was that the woman in all her years had seen others of her kind. Either way Annabel was grateful that the woman never tried to shoo her away like the woman tended to do with sea gulls and pelicans. Another young one had slicked back black hair and the woman seemed to be grooming him for her position in the future. Finally there was a young man with ink black hair and crimson red eyes, making her wonder if there was any blood from magical creatures in his family. He was a man of few words but his eyes expressed many emotions, sometimes she would get lost in them and dive under the waves so the man wouldn't spot her. There were times that she wondered what would happen if she approached the man but thought better of it. That sort of thing was meant to be a thing of fairy tales, a story she would read to younglings. She wasn't adventurous, nor was she of royalty.

It was pouring rain, the light of the lanterns barely visible in the night. Large waves rolled over the boat, causing the raincoat wearing men to shiver in the cold. They still hadn't reached their daily quota and were working overtime. "D-Dude, I can barely f-feel my fingers." Yusuke comments, his teeth chattering and body shivering. "We're almost done, then we can finally head back below deck for that disgusting canned soup Kuwabara heated up." Hiei says through gritted teeth as another wave hit the deck. It was difficult keeping his balance as the boat swayed beneath him, his body was naturally warmer than Yusuke's so he wasn't freezing like the young teen. "Here comes a big one! Hold onto something!" Yusuke bellowed as another wave crashed onto the deck and Hiei felt his feet losing traction on the deck. Another wave crashed into the boat and Hiei suddenly found himself flung over the railing and sputtering in the open water.

Annabel didn't know what it was that compelled her to the surface that night, she supposed it was intuition. Her brother had often teased her that she must have been a seer in a past life with all her "bad feelings" she often had. Her head bobbed above the waves as she looked at the boat, noticing as someone on the deck was scrambling to grab a life preserver. Her eyes scanned the waves as she finally spotted the human flailing in the water, if he stayed in the water for too long he would freeze to death. She went back under the waves, surfacing moments later only inches from the panicking human. Yusuke had already thrown the life preserver overboard, now the human just needed to make his way over to it so his people could tend to him. Crimson eyes widened as she grabbed his arm, keeping his head above the water as she guided him to the life preserver. When he finally had a grip on it she gave him a slight smile. "Safe." And disappeared under the waves as Hiei was towed back to the boat.

"Damn, you're one tough bastard you know that? I thought you were a goner for sure when you went overboard!" Yusuke exclaims, watching Hiei shiver heavily as his body tried getting back to its normal temperature. "I-I saw something out there." He says through chattering teeth, Genkai smirked. "It seems that you earned the attention of the merfolk Hiei. Count yourself lucky that you weren't spirited away or killed." The woman says, Kuwabara yelped. "Wait, fish people actually exist? I thought that was just a hallucination Hiei saw, he was totally out of it when we got him back on deck!" Genkai glared. "There is truth behind every myth and legend child. Many would kill for such a rare opportunity. Tomorrow you must show proper gratitude for your savior Hiei."

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When Annabel returned to her home she was humming happily to herself. She, a nursery worker, actually helped to save a human life! It made her feel all giddy, especially when she got to see those beautiful eyes up close for once. Like she thought the man was freezing, his lips had turned blue. It wasn't until then that she realized that her coloring could be compared to a human that froze in the open ocean. She lived in cold waters all her life so it never bothered her like the rest of the merfolk that would be hibernating by now. "Hey sis, you look happy about something." Densetsu says with a smirk. Like Annabel he had white hair but instead of frost blue scales his were a light purple and his eyes were a dark blue. "I saved a human." She says proudly, Densetsu looked skeptical. "Riiiiight, you don't have to tell me then. Come on, I found some snow crab earlier today. I know it's your favorite!"

The next day Hiei kept an eye out for the mermaid that saved him, how was he supposed to repay them? From the stories he heard about them as a child they would sooner drown a human than rescue them. What if they thought it was a mistake and tried killing him? He saw a glimpse of white in the distance and steeled himself, he supposed he would find out soon enough. Hiei then went over to one of the rafts and rowed over to where he saw what he assumed was the mermaid's hair.

Annabel looked at the human with wide eyes, why was he leaving the big boat? Was he looking for something? She squeaked in surprise when she saw him row towards her but couldn't find it within her to disappear under the surface of the waves. The man looked at her in what could only be described as awe, something that had Annabel blush. Among her own kind she wasn't really considered attractive. What did this human want?

Hiei watched as the mermaid looked up at him cautiously, not knowing if she would even understand him. They just stared at each other, mesmerized by the other's eyes until Hiei finally snapped out of it. "I don't know if you can even understand this but thank you." Hiei grumbled, his breath catching in his throat as the woman smiled brightly. "You okay?" She asks in fragmented Japanese, looking up at him curiously. Her eyes were void of any ill intent, only showing concern and curiosity. He patted the mermaid on the head, almost like a puppy, and chuckled. She flinched at first but seemed to enjoy the body heat that radiated off him now that he wasn't in the water. "I am fine thanks to you. How did you know I went overboard?" He asks, deciding that she wasn't much of a threat. Annabel blushed. "Bad feeling. Felt restless." She says, fidgeting under his hand.

The mermaid was a shy thing and Hiei still didn't know how to properly thank her. Honestly it was starting to frustrate him. He didn't even know their name! "I'm Hiei." He says abruptly, the mermaid looked at him hesitantly. "Anna." She says quietly. "Anna, how can I thank you?" The mermaid looked shocked, as if she didn't really expect anything out of it. Hiei never liked being in someone's debt and there was no way of knowing when he'd see Anna again. "Hiei talk to Anna?" She asks hesitantly before her expression became more confident. "Yes, talk to Anna!" She exclaims cheerfully. "We're already doing that." Hiei deadpanned, Annabel gave him an irritated look. "No, talk MORE to Anna. Much more. Understood?" She asks. Hiei nodded in agreement, it wasn't like there was much he could give anyways.

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Densetsu noticed his sister coming home with a smile more frequently, warming his heart. The people of this city didn't appreciate the soft-hearted woman as much as they should. He and their uncles were respected for their hunting prowess while Annabel was often seen as a somewhat plain and dull girl. She didn't have any bright colors that would attract a possible mate and was picky over who she approved if there was any interest shown. It was a shame since she was usually happiest whenever she was watching over children, his heart breaking when she'd sob at night because she had none to call her own. Miranda had gotten curious as well so they both decided to follow Annabel one day.

Annabel listened with rapt attention as Hiei described his homeland and all the interesting things there. Of structures that reached for the sky and of different creatures that lived there. He spoke of a lost sister, of feeling alone and lashing out. Annabel couldn't completely identify with the man but knew she'd be devastated if her own brother disappeared. She was the level-headed twin and often had to calm her brother, not the other way around. In return she would describe some of the creatures that were too far down for the human to see, of the bright and cheerful younglings that she would watch over. She even boasted of the one time a bull shark had attacked the children she was watching and held it off until her brother helped to chase it off. She spoke of her hot-headed twin and their mischievous young princess that would often get into trouble.

Miranda and Densetsu watched from a distance, stunned as the usually withdrawn mermaid spoke animatedly to the man in a raft. Every once in a while the human would smile and ruffled her hair, making the woman smile brightly up at him. "Annabel was telling the truth." Densetsu says, feeling ashamed of himself. He was usually the one that would weave tall tales, his meek sister would never lie to him. "He is quite handsome, I can see the appeal." Miranda says as Densetsu's eyes darkened, swimming over to his sister.

When another merfolk surfaced near his raft, Hiei was stunned to hear Anna hiss at them threateningly. Her childish eyes were narrowed and she positioned herself protectively in front of him. The other merfolk seemed surprised too, eyeing him. The new arrival looked like the male version of Anna with blue eyes instead of violet. He looked at Anna softly, cooing in a language Hiei couldn't understand. It made him wonder where Anna had learned Japanese in the first place if they communicated through clicks and whistles. Annabel seemed frustrated at what the other was saying, glaring at him heatedly. Her arms moved animatedly as they always did whenever she was speaking passionately. The male said something before pointing at him, Anna looked close to tears. He looked straight at Hiei and spoke. "She belongs to the sea, not you." He says, disappearing under the waves. Annabel sniffed, tears running down her face. "That was Densetsu." She says, looking as if the weight of the world had just been put onto her shoulders.

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"Dude, you talk to that chick more than you ever had to us. You have the hots for a fish lady!" Kuwabara snickers, Hiei deadpanned. "I just find Anna to be a better conversationalist than either of you morons." He states, Kurama hummed thoughtfully. "She's changed you Hiei, you aren't as abrasive as you usually are." The navigator comments. "So? What difference does it make? After this season we probably won't see her again." Hiei says bitterly.

"Annabel, please get up." Densetsu begged, Annabel just glared from under her kelp blanket and hissed whenever anyone would approach. Their kind were known for loving deeply when they found someone that was a worthy mate, to Densetsu's dismay it was the human. She hadn't left her room in two days and refused to eat anything, Densetsu was one of the few that knew how stubborn the mermaid could be. At this rate she was going to die of heart break, something that was a real possibility amongst their kind. "Has anything changed?" Miranda asks softly, hating the bitter thing that Annabel was becoming. "Not for the better. I think she'd rather starve than let go of that human." Densetsu says in frustration, raking his fingers through his hair.

"I was looking through the castle archives and found something that could help. It's possible to turn merfolk into humans with the right ingredients." Miranda says as Densetsu bristled. "I am not giving my sister up to those monsters!" Densetsu roared, remembering how their parents had been killed by the propellers of a human vessel. It had torn through skin and bone, forcing the two to relocate to where their uncles had lived. She was all that he had left! Miranda placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "Densetsu, you know that she's miserable here. Isn't it enough that the human makes her happy?" She asks softly. Densetsu felt conflicted, all of his life he had been selfish and dragged his sister along for the ride. The one time that she wanted something for herself he had forbidden it. "I will speak to the human, then decide what to do." He says solemnly.

Hiei wasn't much happier than Annabel was over her absence. He was on edge, the smallest mistake often setting him off on the poor sap that was on the other end of his anger. As he brought up their latest haul he saw a glimpse of white in the water and felt his heart pound, praying that it was Annabel. Instead of vibrant violet eyes greeting him they were narrowed dark blue eyes. "Genkai, I'm going out." He announced, ignoring the relieved sighs Kuwabara and Yusuke let out. "About damn time." Yusuke muttered.

Neither male was in a good mood when they met, crimson eyes clashing with dark blue. Densetsu growled irritably. "I'll make this brief human. What is your purpose in associating with my sister?" He demands. "She saved me when I went overboard and spoke to her as payment for her kindness." Hiei says tersely. "Is that all? You pity my sister? She receives enough of that from our own kind! Did you know that it was humans with boats that killed our parents, that made us move away from everything we knew and loved? How miserable she was when we relocated? Her meetings with you made her smile like she used to when we were children, she finally had her spirit back!" Hiei winced. "I hope you'll be happy with her death on your hands you bastard!" Before Hiei could get Densetsu to say anything more, the merman disappeared under the water. He could feel himself shaking, whether it was due to anger or sorrow he couldn't even tell anymore.

Miranda tried asking Densetsu what happened during his meeting with the human but all he did was glare at her, stating that he would ask the king to place him on that day's hunting party. The princess looked down at the tomes in her hands, feeling conflicted. A woman that was like a second mother to her was in pain and she didn't want to see her leave. "Anna? Can I come in and just… just talk?" At the end her voice broke as she tried not to sob. Annabel lifted the blanket, her eyes red and dark circles starting to form under them. "I… fine." Annabel says tiredly, looking miserable. "If you could become a human for that man, would you?" Miranda asks timidly. Annabel smiled sadly. "If he would have me. What are you planning?" Annabel asks.

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Their third merfolk visitor looked nothing like Annabel or her brother, instead she had short green hair and dark brown eyes. She scanned the deck for the man matching Annabel's description and huffed in frustration when she didn't see him. "Bring me the human you call Hiei." She commands, sounding more confident than she felt. "Haven't you just done enough to piss him off?" Kuwabara asks irritably, not knowing how dangerous it was to anger royalty. "I might not be my father but I have enough power to capsize this boat. Bring him out now or I'll drown you all!" She yells as the once calm waves began to churn, violently moving the vehicle. Kuwabara quickly scrambled below deck to retrieve Hiei as Genkai watched from the cockpit. If Hiei had been honest with his feelings before instead of being his usual prideful self they wouldn't be in this mess.

Hiei wasn't too pleased being dragged out of his sulking. "Haven't you done enough?" He demands, Miranda regarded him coolly. "I don't see what big sister sees in you to make her so happy. If I give her to you, will you keep her happy?" She asks, Hiei looked as if he'd been slapped. "What?" His voice had softened, sounding less irritated and more lost. "I can change her into a human with a bit of effort on my part. I want to know that her affection isn't one sided." Miranda says, one of his crew mates decided to speak up for him. "He's totally head over heels for the girl. He's been moping the entire time she'd been gone!" Yusuke exclaims. "I want to hear it from the man himself. Well?" Hiei looked conflicted and finally sighed in defeat, his expression softening. "I don't think I could live without her." With that the waves began to calm and Miranda looked solemn. "Treat her well human, she deserves that and much more." She says before going to retrieve Annabel.

"Annabel, wake up! I found a way for you to be with your human!" Miranda exclaims, Annabel weakly attempted to sit up but her eyes shone brightly. "Really?" Miranda nodded. "Yep, I looked through the magic tomes and found a spell to change you into a human. As long as you have a human anchor you'll be able to live as one. Now will you please eat something?" Annabel nodded as Miranda eagerly went to retrieve the food that Densetsu had left out for her friend.

As Hiei leaned against the railing he scanned the waves for Miranda, his heart pounding violently in his chest when he saw Annabel popped up from the waves and smile at him. In his haste to see the mermaid he jumped overboard instead of taking the time to launch a raft, alarming both the crew and mermaids. He felt familiar arms wrap around him as Annabel helped him surface, looking at him in a mixture of both relief and concern. "Are you alright? Did you get knocked overboard again? You need to wear one of those harness things, I can't always save you ya know." She huffs, Hiei chuckled. "Missed you too." Annabel blushed in embarrassment. "Not that your enthusiasm isn't romantic, but we actually needed the raft. Unless you want Annabel to drown after receiving unfamiliar limbs." Miranda states.

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The transition from mermaid to regular human was not like it was portrayed in Disney movies. It was painful having an entire tail split in half to create legs. Her hair started to darken, changing to a light brown while her skin turned to a fair color. Only her eyes stayed the same. Annabel had panicked about her more humanoid appearance, thinking that Hiei wouldn't like her anymore. Hiei lightly hit her in the back of her head. "I am not shallow you idiot." He states before finally kissing her. She was still new to being human and tired so it was just a chaste kiss. Annabel's face flushed a dark red and a large blanket was thrown over her. "Stop staring at her unless you want extra hours. I'm sure that you'll have more time to see her later Hiei, now let's get you some clothes girly. I expect you to pull your own weight around here." Genkai states.

It took some time but eventually Annabel learned how to walk, albeit it was while she leaned against Hiei. She was practically glued to his side until she started opening up to the others, running to help with whatever she could do. So far it was just helping to sort through the nets and dumping scum but she wasn't bothered by it, stating that she had been used to eating raw fish. The boys had to stop her from actually eating one whole, explaining that she could give herself food poisoning without cooking it properly. She looked confused but heeded their advice, they had been human for their entire lives after all. Hiei couldn't be as affectionate as he wanted with Annabel on the boat but he was satisfied just being able to kiss and hold her. She loved grabbing one of Kurama's books and demanding Hiei help her read, soaking up everything like a sponge. Fishing might not have been his dream job as a child but it lead to his happiness. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.