Author's Note: Alright, so many (many) years ago, I decided to write my first FanFiction. It was of the YYH genre, and it was titled 'Tremble for My Beloved'. It's horrendous. I'm not even kidding, it was the worst thing ever. I was SUCH a bad writer back then. xD. Anyways, as it stands, I'd like to think that I've improved a little. And because I couldn't leave my very first Original Character all alone in the dark, I decided to just revise, revamp, and rewrite the very first FanFic I've ever written. I am craving your reviews on this one, so don't hesitate to give them. I've been working on this for a long time and I loveth you. So loveth me back and send me a review. (:

I want to give a big thanks to littlemija69 for being there for me throughout this story literally every step of the way. It was her stories that gave me the inspiration to begin writing FanFiction in the first place. I also want to give a big thanks to Mayushii for answering some technical questions for me and for making me impeccably happy with her Saisei Project.

This story takes place in the pseudo-space between the Sensui Arc and the Three Kings Arc. As far as you should be concerned, the Three Kings Arc doesn't take place in this series. So no Raizen, no Mukuro, and no Yomi. And no Makai Tournament. And definitely none of that splitting up nonsense.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.


When The Sun Goes Down

Prologue

It's not a secret that for centuries people have been enamored with the sky above them. The endless sea of stars that always seem to be just out of reach have always been of interest to anybody brave enough to look up. There are two objects up in the sky, however, that have gathered more curiosity than all the stars combined. Depending on where you are in the world will depend on the story you receive about these two mystical objects, but no matter where you go, there is always some sort of legend or story at the heart of it all.

The sun, portrayed as a Goddess and as a God, represents all things that are light. The moon, also portrayed as a Goddess and as a God, represents all things that are dark. Some say that they're siblings, other say that they're lovers. One point that has remained constant is that there's always a story for why one is always in the sky while the other is not.

A popular theory is that they are siblings, a brother and sister, who could never stop arguing. The moon was jealous of the sun for always being associated with light, and felt that the sun was loved and wanted more. The moon wanted the light from the sun, hoping it would make his wish come true. For centuries the moon has been chasing his sister, trying very hard to achieve his dream. On the night of the new moon it is said that is the only day the brother takes rest, so that he can resume his chase.

But it's the night of the eclipses where these two siblings finally meet one another. A battle ensues as the sun fights for her freedom while the moon fights for a light that does not rightfully belong to him. With baited breath the people wait to see who wins, and every year the sun has been able to retain her light through both eclipses, but on the other hand, the moon has still been able to chase her.

Some wonder if it's because the sun does not want to lay waste to her brother, or if there is something keeping her from fully protecting herself. Others believe the reason for his failure each year is because the two objects cannot exist in this dimension without the other, both unknowing of their fate as they battle. Perhaps it is fate that intervenes; perhaps these siblings have guardians of their own that help to protect them from completely destroying one another.

Despite the warnings, despite the defeats, despite that amount of hatred the moon has built up for centuries for his sister, one thing remains certain: he will never stop until he has stolen her light.


Chapter One

Sky blue eyes looked up at the moon, enamored at the silver light it cast upon the Earth below it. Placing a hand over her heart, Ayumi tilted her head slightly to stare at the mysterious object that floated in the night sky. She was never sure why, but the moon always made her feel so small, and maybe even a little nervous. A silly thought, really. What harm could such a beautiful thing do anyways? Regardless, she felt restless, which was unfortunately normal for her. She always felt a bit restless at night.

She dragged her eyes away from the silver and white orb to look out over the street from the balcony outside her apartment. It was a quiet night in Tokyo, fairly chilly, and the wind made Ayumi shiver a little. She should have put a robe or a sweater on before coming outside, but then again, she had the tendency to do things without thinking. At least her feet, which were inside her fuzzy red house slippers, were nice and toasty.

Ayumi pulled a few strands of red hair back from the wind's pull and began to run her fingers through her scalp, gathering her hair into her hands and starting the usual French braid that she slept in when the sliding glass door behind her opened and she turned slightly, catching sight of her grandmother.

"You should be dreaming right about now, not standing outside."

"Just couldn't seem to fall asleep, Obaachan." She finished her braid and tied it off with a simple black band and turned to face her grandmother, leaning back against the railing of the balcony. Her grandmother was a very stern looking woman, but underneath the harsh look she was a gentle woman at heart. Albeit with a sarcastic mouth and quite a bit of tough love.

"Still afraid of the moon, ichi-hiki?" she asked, closing the door behind her so the chill didn't get in. Ayumi blushed at the nickname and turned slightly, catching the moon in her peripheral.

"Nonsense. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Her grandmother laughed, a laugh that Ayumi was familiar with and she ducked her head down in embarrassment. "You can never sleep when it's full. Always afraid that it's going to smother you."

"Obaachan…" Ayumi mumbled, her face suddenly feeling rather warm. The old woman laughed again.

"Come inside. You'll freeze out here, and don't think that you're going to miss your first day of high school just because you were silly enough to give yourself a cold," she scolded, ushering Ayumi back inside the apartment, closing and locking the sliding glass door behind them.

"I still don't think I'm going to be able to sleep," Ayumi started, earning a stern glare from her grandmother. She went to speak again, but her grandmother held her hand up and Ayumi's mouth snapped shut.

"I'll make you some herbal tea that will help. And then you're going to go to bed." Ayumi sighed and followed her Obaachan in defeat, taking a seat at the kotatsu in the middle of their living room. Once the kotatsu blanket covered her, Ayumi relaxed a little as the heat began to warm her legs. Her grandmother brought a tray of tea in not long after, sitting opposite of Ayumi and covering her lower half with the kotatsu as well. The two drank their tea in relative silence, Ayumi's mind buzzing about a dream she kept having recently.

"Obaachan…" Ayumi trailed off, wondering if she should ask. Her grandmother had taken her daughter's death very hard, and with the death of her husband not so far away, Ayumi didn't want to risk upsetting her.

"Do you always think so hard in the middle of the night?" the old woman asked, peering into her tea for a while before taking a sip. Biting her bottom lip for a moment, Ayumi decided to ask.

"What did okasaan look like?" she asked quietly, noticing how her grandmother went a little rigid. "It's just…there's no pictures of her in the house, and I can't remember…" she said quickly, hoping her grandma wasn't too upset. There was a heavy silence in the air for a while before her grandmother cleared her throat.

"A lot like you," she started, staring hard into her tea once more. "Most of all, you have her eyes. Too much water…" she continued, meaning the unusual color of Ayumi's eyes. It was uncommon for a Japanese child to have so much blue in their eyes, and Ayumi still didn't know where it came from. Her grandmother didn't have blue eyes, and neither did her recently departed grandfather. But her mother had the same strange shade of bright blue. "You have her face and body type. In fact, you would be an exact replica if it weren't—"

"—For the hair," they finished in unison, Ayumi chuckling a little. She had inherited her red hair from her father, whom she had never met, but was told he was as Irish as they could come with hair the color of the suns core. Honestly, the only reason people could tell Ayumi was Japanese at all was because of her body frame and complexion.

"Why do you ask, anyways?"

Ayumi frowned at the question and finished off her tea. "I keep seeing a woman in my dreams. I thought maybe it was okasaan."

"Is it?" her grandmother asked, but Ayumi shook her head.

"No. I'm not sure who she is." Ayumi stood and began to gather the small mess the two had made, but her grandmother's hands were suddenly on top hers, stopping them from moving.

"You've been up long enough. Goodnight, ichi-hiki." Ayumi blinked a few times and tipped her head to the side, smiling.

"Goodnight obaachan."

With her bag over her shoulder, Ayumi closed her apartment door behind her. Her grandmother had still been asleep when she got up, which wasn't unusual since they were up so late. Ayumi herself was feeling a little tired from the lack of sleep, but shrugged it off as she locked the door and placed her keys in her bag. It was April 1st, which meant it was the first day of school and Ayumi didn't want to be late. The apartment door next to hers opened and she turned to watch as her neighbor stumbled out, carrying three oversized bags of garbage. She blinked a few times and smiled, shaking her head a little.

"Yusuke-san?"

He dropped one of the bags he was carrying and turned slightly, his face twisted into an 'I-am-definitely-not-a-morning-person-so-who-the-hell-is-talking-to-me' expression as his eyes landed on Ayumi. The anger melted however when he realized who it was and he stood up straight, his face turning into a semi-warm smile as he reached his finger up to scratch the tip of his nose. "How many times do you I have to tell you, Ayumi? Its just Yusuke."

Ayumi bowed slightly in acknowledgement, grabbing the garbage bag he had dropped and waited for him to get a better hold of the other two. Yusuke and his mother Atsuko had been her neighbors for the past few years ever since his old apartment had caught fire, and over the past few years Ayumi had grown to have a strange likeness for the guy. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she had a feeling that Yusuke managed to make everyone around him intrigued and welcomed. He just had that aura about him that made people want to get closer, she supposed.

"All right then, just Yusuke," she started, smiling a little as he smiled in thanks and they headed for the stairs. "You know, if you aren't careful you're going to be late for school."

Yusuke blinked a few times and looked down at the pajama pants and white shirt he was still wearing and shrugged. "Nah, it'll be fine." Ayumi didn't quite believe the dismissive tone, but since it was none of her business she didn't say anything. Yusuke definitely wasn't the typical neighbor, and between the unusual friends he brought over from time to time and the racket he made, she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to know why he was such an odd neighbor. "How's your grandma?" Yusuke asked, probably to fill the silence.

Ayumi appreciated the gesture nonetheless. "She's alright. I imagine she's lonelier than she'd like to admit ever since ojiisan died." Yusuke stopped momentarily to look at Ayumi from the corner of his eyes, a small frown on his face.

"That's right, I keep forgetting. I'm sorry," he started, sounding a little embarrassed, but Ayumi waved it off.

"It's quite alright." Yusuke accepted, let out a ferocious yawn, and resumed walking, the two of them leaving the apartment building and heading for the trash bins by the apartment. Ayumi kept noticing the look that he kept giving her, and after the trash had been taken care of she turned to face him. "Is something wrong?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. Yusuke offered a sheepish smile and shoved his hand into his hair, which hadn't been gelled back as of yet.

"No. Why? Do you feel like there's something wrong? Do you feel weird or something?" he asked, eyes widened slightly and Ayumi could swear she saw a spark of curiosity.

"Um, no? Why would I?" she asked him, unused to any real expression in his eyes. The curiosity disappeared as Yusuke's expression returned to normal into something more familiar, which was incredibly bored and dull looking.

"Just wondering. Thought maybe there was a bug going around or something…" he trailed off, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Alright, well, you're probably on your way to school. I'm going to go get ready myself. So, I'll see you around?" he asked, offering a smile. After a moment Ayumi returned it and nodded.

"Yeah, you will. Say hello to Atsuko for me?" Ayumi asked. He gave her a thumb up and turned to head back into the building. She stared at his retreating back with a frown, wondering what that was all about. Letting out a sigh, she realized she was going to be late if she didn't hurry, and headed off in the direction of her school. She breathed in the spring air and tilted her head up towards the sun, a soft smile on her face. As Yusuke disappeared from her mind, she realized that she was feeling a lot better than she was last night. Maybe her obaachan was right; maybe she was still afraid of the moon. Ayumi let out a huff of air and shook her head at herself.

Being afraid of the moon was complete nonsense.


Yusuke watched from his balcony as Ayumi headed off down the street, eventually disappearing from view. His eyebrows were knitted together and a hard frown had etched its way onto his face as he regarded his neighbor with suspicion. His thoughts were anyone's guess, but eventually he had it with the seriousness and let out a gust of air and relaxed a little, breathing in the morning air.

"Good morning, Yusuke."

Yusuke gripped the balcony railing hard and mashed his teeth together in annoyance, his heart speeding up in his chest. His head seem to swivel in slow motion towards a certain fox youkai, who looked about as innocent as a puppy. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?" the Toushin asked, breathing heavily through his nose like a bull, angry puffs of air exiting each nostril as a sign of anger and annoyance. Kurama held his hands up in submission.

"To be fair, I wasn't sneaking. I simply walked up here. You just weren't paying attention," he countered easily. Yusuke snorted and looked away from the redheaded thief, clearly having nothing else to say on that particular matter. Probably because Kurama was right, but Yusuke's pride forced his mouth shut.

He changed the subject entirely then. "I take it you saw the girl."

"I did. You weren't being very subtle." Kurama placed his hands into his pockets and leaned against the railing, emerald eyes trained on Yusuke.

"Wasn't in much of a subtle mood," Yusuke admitted, the previous annoyance disappearing as a sly smile slowly formed on his face. All the sudden, as if a switch had turned, his expression darkened considerably and Kurama was sure that was a sign of bipolar disorder. "That damn Koenma, I bet he did this on purpose."

Kurama's expression turned curious at the Toushin's words. "Did what?"

"It's just a little too convenient that my neighbor has been flagged and needs to be watched like a hawk for any signs of anything supernatural."

"I wouldn't say that means he did this on purpose…" Kurama explained, choosing to ignore Yusuke's glare and offered a friendly smile in return. Yusuke sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against the railing as well. "I suppose it would have been nice of him to give us a little something to work with. As it stands, we don't even know what we're looking for."

"No, we do not," Yusuke said, sounding more than a little peeved at the whole thing. "Whatever. I'll figure it out." A comfortable silence fell over the two as Yusuke's thoughts carried him away once more. Finally, he asked, "Aren't you going to be late for school?"

Kurama waved him off. "Hardly."


Gym was not Ayumi's best subject. She could swim well enough, and she could even play volleyball well enough. But everything else was up for grabs and Ayumi had no luck in catching anything. Sighing in frustration at the bruise that would no doubt appear on her arm tomorrow, Ayumi tucked her gym clothes back into her gym locker and ran a brush through her hair.

"How's that burn feeling?" Ayumi heard from behind her, scowling as she faced her friend, her hand automatically rubbing at the sore spot on her arm.

"Like it's going to be bruised for the next week and a half."

Satsu smiled and rolled her eyes, putting her own gym clothes away and fixing her make-up. "You really should be a little more careful. Though I don't suppose it's your fault for being so clumsy," she said teasingly. Ayumi slammed her locker door shut and placed her headband back into her hair, frustrated with herself. Satsu looked at her with worry. "Hey, don't be so upset. I was only kidding."

Ayumi glanced at the brown-eyed girl and let out a huff of air, smiling a little. "No, I know. I wasn't upset with you. Just myself. I get tired of hurting myself, and this is only day one," she complained. Satsu offered an understanding smile and gathered her stuff, leaving the locker room with Ayumi at her side.

Satsu noticed Ayumi still holding her injured arm and shaking her head a little. "At least you only have gym three times a week this semester."

"That is true," she admitted.


"So, what do you think?" Yusuke asked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the wall. The fire demon that was sitting cross-legged in front of Yusuke slowly opened his crimson colored eyes while the purple eye on his forehead began to close.

"She's a weakling."

"Not helping."

Hiei was quiet then, staring intensely at Yusuke who tried his best not to fidget under Hiei's gaze. "Why did you ask me here, Detective?" Hiei asked then, his voice quiet as he roughly placed a white bandana over the Jagan eye.

"A few reasons. One of them is because I need your help. Is that such a problem?" Yusuke asked tersely, finally tearing his gaze away from his friend's excruciating stare so he could keep his composure.

"Hn, and I suppose you think I am at your beck and call because I was forced into working with you?" Yusuke scowled. That was a low blow, and Hiei knew it.

"Shut up. Jeez, why does everything always have to be so damn difficult with you?" Hiei didn't answer, and Yusuke was losing his patience a little. With a growl he stalked forward and placed his hands on his hips, giving Hiei his meanest glare. "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

Hiei seemed taken back by the sudden question and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He slowly stood, his hands finding their way into his pockets as he stood his ground. Yusuke waited for an answer, clearly not going to do anything else until he got one. Problem was, Hiei wasn't sure which answer to give. Helping Yusuke was not an obligation for him any more, and if he wanted to he could leave and return to the Makai without so much as a word. But something anchored his feet to the floor, and he found himself brooding as to why. "No," he finally answered, and however cautiously the answer was given, Hiei knew it was true. Did he trust Yusuke? Yes. Unfortunately.

Yusuke stared at the hiyoukai for a long time, almost as if he was searching for something and it was now Hiei's turn to try not to fidget under Yusuke's stare. Something passed on Yusuke's face; he had apparently found whatever it was he was searching for, and he straightened up with a short laugh.

"Alright, tough guy. You want to be a pain in the ass? Fine. But I'm asking you as a friend - and don't you give me that look, you know damn well that we are friends despite how hard you're trying to prove otherwise – to stay and help. It may be nothing or it may be something, honestly, I don't know." Yusuke let out a sigh and headed into the kitchen. He opened up the freezer and stuck his hand in, turning slightly to look at Hiei. "But I could use the help, and quite frankly, I could use your company," he finished, muttering the last part and taking Hiei completely by surprise.

"My company?" Hiei asked, narrowing his eyes again.

"Yes. Just because you hate everybody and their brother doesn't mean I feel the same way about you. I hang out with Kurama and Kuwabara all the time, but I don't ever see you. I know you don't really have a lot of friends Hiei, but that's not way to treat the friends you've got," Yusuke said stubbornly, retrieving a tub of ice cream from the freezer. Hiei was giving him a death glare now and Yusuke threw the tub onto the kitchen table, the hiyoukai's eyes traveling to it immediately. "I even got you some ice cream. I know they don't have any in Makai."

Hiei was still for a long time, eyes switching from the tub of ice cream to Yusuke, his thoughts were completely guarded and his face only gave away that he was incredibly annoyed. "I didn't know you could sound like such a sentimental ningen," he finally said, flitting to the kitchen table and tearing the cover off of the ice cream. Yusuke's face broke out into a grin. Hiei looked at the ice cream and then at Yusuke, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! You need a spoon. Otherwise you'd just be eating ice cream like a barbarian," the Toushin muttered, grabbing a spoon from the drawer and handing it to Hiei, who snatched it and dug in, ignoring Yusuke's jibe completely.

"You are such an annoying twit."

"Right back at you, jackass."

"Remind me, why haven't I killed you yet?"

"Because you'd be heartbroken without me in your life and you know it. You're such a little softie, Hiei. Like a teddy be- OW! Hiei! That hurt!" Yusuke clutched onto the hand that was previously on the hiyoukai's shoulder, inspecting the burn mark left on his skin. The vein in Hiei's forehead hadn't disappeared and he didn't apologize, taking a seat in one of the chairs. Yusuke finished inspecting the damage on his hand and looked at Hiei, who had gotten a little ice cream on his chin. Yusuke grinned again at the sight. "A vicious teddy bear."

"Detective!"