I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. I want to state right here that there are no demons in this story. That means Hiei, Kurama, and any other demons mentioned are not demons.

Chapter One- The Discovery

The sea is a wondrous place. The sailors tell of all sorts of creatures that live in the water's depths. Some creatures are those that people can see at the shoreline or while on a boat. Other creatures, however, are those considered to be legends or myths. One of those mythical beings is the race known as merpeople.

A merboy no older than sixteen darted about a large coral reef. The fish that lived there swam up eagerly to meet him. He greeted them with some food before stroking their scales and fins. Every so often, though, he would gaze at a village in the distance.

"Hey, Hiei!" a voice called.

The boy, Hiei, looked up to see a raven-haired boy swimming toward him. "Hn," he said when the boy got closer. "Hi, Yusuke. You punk."

Yusuke lightly punched Hiei's arm. "Hey, same to you pal. How are our friends today?" He gestured at the coral reef.

"They're fine." Hiei stared at the village again.

Yusuke followed his gaze. "Thinking about your sister again?"

Hiei abruptly tore his eyes away from the village and turned to the reef. "Of course not," he answered.

Yusuke had known Hiei long enough to know his friend meant yes. "Hey, she probably thinks about you, too."

"No. She doesn't. I'm forbidden to be in the village and she's not allowed to leave it just like those she lives with, aside from our foolish mother. You know that."

"Yeah, yeah. You were banished for being male and not looking like them."

"Just being male was enough for banishment."

Yusuke had a point, though. The village Hiei had been looking at was full of only mermaids. They all looked similar to one another and had icy powers. On top of that, they were forbidden to leave the village; it wasn't necessary to leave and find a merman: They could give birth without males. Of course, the baby would be female.

Only one mermaid had ever violated those laws: Hiei's mother, Hina. She had met a merman who had an unusual power: He could create fire that could exist underwater. They fell in love and when Hina returned to the village, she was pregnant.

Hina was concerned that her encounter with the merman would show in the baby. She was relieved when the baby turned out to be female, had ice powers, and almost looked like the others. The only difference was the girl had bright red eyes.

Her relief didn't last long when she realized she was still in labor. Shock and terror filled her when she saw a baby merboy who was vastly different from his sister. Aside from being male, he had black hair with a white starburst, red eyes like the girl's, and a long black tail except for the fins at his waist and end of his tail: They were red like his eyes. His power was the same as his father's: Fire.

Upon hearing the news of Hina giving birth to twins, one of which was a boy, the Elders stormed her house and dragged all three to the town square. There, the Elders discussed what Hina's punishment should be. It didn't take them long to decide. Hina's daughter, Yukina, was to be raised by her friend, Rui while Hina and Hiei were banished.

Mother and son lived in a cave together for several years. Hina died when Hiei was ten. The young merboy was resigned to a long, lonely life until he met Yusuke.

The raven-haired boy lived in another nearby village. His dark hair, brown eyes, and long smooth green tail made him the envy of all the mermaids in his town. Unfortunately, his reputation as a punk caused most merpeople to give him a wide berth. Only his childhood friend and girlfriend, Keiko, could see beneath his tough guy exterior.

Keiko's ability had appeared to have rubbed off on Yusuke, because he was able to see beneath Hiei's hard, cold exterior and see him for the kind person he truly was. He thought Hiei's looks were cool and his powers even cooler. Yusuke just wished Hiei didn't have in live alone in exile.

"Hey, what's that?" Hiei asked suddenly, pointing down, where something glinted up from the sandy bottom.

Curious, both boys swam down. As they got closer, they could see the object was half buried. Yusuke sat on the seafloor and began digging in the sand until he was able to pull the object out. Yusuke and Hiei stared at it.

It was small, round, and golden with odd lines on both of its surfaces. Yusuke eyed it critically as he turned it over and over in his hand.

"It's too small to be a sand dollar," he said. He brought the item to his mouth and bit down. It didn't break or bend.

"Ugh. It tastes terrible!" he exclaimed. "It's just junk."

"I don't think it is junk," Hiei spoke up.

"In that case, you can have it." Yusuke dropped it into Hiei's open palm.

Hiei admired the object. Upon closer inspection, the odd lines formed pictures of crowns or humans wearing crown.

Do humans heave kings and queens like we do? If so, is this how they carry images of them? Or maybe it's part of a money system much like our sand dollar and clamshell system. I wonder if there are any other human objects lying around.

I know it's not much of a chapter, but it's a start. Hiei's interest in human things is a little odd, but let's remember he's not a demon, he's a merman.