Disclaimer: Do not own any of it, really. Promise. If I did, do you think I'd be writing this? XD

Hey all. My first Yu Yu Hakusho AU, and I'm kind of pleased with it so far. Mainly inspired by the Chapter Black Saga, and the idea just wouldn't go away. I have high hopes for this, and writing YYH fiction is really fun, so I'll try an update frequently. Yusuke/Keiko pairing for sure, but others may be hinted at.

Enjoy!

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Prologue

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He raced through the underbrush as hot, angry tears poured down his face.

He didn't see the blur of trees as they passed by around him, nor the startled faces of the native youkai. He only felt the sting of hatred in his chest -- rage at them, who took her away, and at himself, for letting it happen.

He blended naturally into the blackness of the forest with his dark clothing and hair, making him just another shadow under the moon's watch. His crimson eyes shined eerily like a beacon, focused on the path in front of him, seeing but not truly looking -- his mind moving as fast as his body.

They had traveled together for two years on their own; the Kōrime abandoning him for dead because he was a walking taboo, something to be ashamed of -- yet she left with him. She never had to come, he never forced or even wanted her to. But she was stubborn, saying they only had each other now, so they had to stick together. Which he thought was stupid, because they wanted her to remain in the village, there was nothing wrong with her, she was a typical ice maiden -- while he was a freak of nature.

Yet the life they knew before was long gone. She cared about him, and wouldn't let anything happen. She wouldn't let him be lonely. And when the day came for him to disappear from their snow covered village, she followed quietly behind.

It was a mistake. It was fine at first, they managed to scrape by overtime; him fighting, stealing necessities and growing stronger, and her, the healer and companion.

Then the humans came.

He had no idea how they found them -- if they'd be tracking them or what, but he'd been a fool not to notice beforehand. He had only left her for about an hour, but when he returned it was too late. The bastards had gagged her and tied her up with a kind of rope that burned the skin of ice youkai. Her screams were muffled, face contorted in pain. Fat tears cascaded down her cheeks, hitting the ground as sparking blue pearls. The human filth dove for the jewels, tripping over each other in greed.

ENOUGH! He pulled out a concealed blade, slashing at them with such ferocity that his vision went red. They yelled like gut-hanging dogs as he took them down, until there was only three left. Humans were frail, weak, and easy to kill.

He hated to murder them in front of her, her innocent mind tainted, blood splashed on her kimono.

Yet he'd lost; he dove to her, to free her of the burning touch of the ropes, only to be jerked back by a large claw.

He had no idea that youkai would take the side of humans. It never crossed his mind -- they chased the humans, fought them, some even ate them, but never worked with them. To torture other their own kind no less. His attacker was a large, ogre looking beast holding a spiked club over his shoulder.

He didn't feel any fear, he didn't back down to the enemy. He fought and fought for all he was worth, his palms sore from gripping the blade, feeling liquid trickle down his arms. At one point the club smashed into his body, knocking the wind out of him, yet he stood back up. The cries of his sister kept him going. "Hiei!"

But it hadn't been enough. Too many came at him, too many weapons all at once. Damn ogre looking beasts, out for their own fortune, just like the humans. Finally he was struck down, and stayed down. His entire left side when numb, black spots in his vision.

He reached out and grabbed his sisters hand. His head was spinning, and he knew he would pass out soon, but he could still see her; her long sea green hair tangled in the dirt, anguished expression on her face. They were yanked apart, her hand sliding out of his own as she screamed his name.

He blacked out, his body aching and dull.

Now days later, after he'd woken up in a haze of pain and confusion, he was searching for her. But they'd covered their trackers cleverly. No trace or hint that they'd even been there at all. And even if he was able to find them, what would he do? He'd get her back, that's what, even if he'd have to sacrifice his life for it. He expected a stronghold of men and youkai alike, but he was not afraid.

Hiei would have his vengeance; the anger rolled off him in waves as he moved silently through the forest, daring anything to get in his way. He swore that he would have his revenge on the humans, all humans, for doing this. Those bastards had a death wish, and he yearned for the day when he would fulfill it.

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The sun set in the dark maroon sky, shining harshly and casting fading light across the ground. Shadows danced along the flat lands, rolling up towards the brown mountains in the distance.

There were no other living beings around, they had all run into their village homes, hiding from the oncoming darkness. The falling sun was their cue to retire to safety, or at least the closest thing to it. The predators were worse at night, stealing humans who were blind and defenseless in the dark. Fear drove them back into the arms of their family, their home walls an illusion of comfort.

A figure of a little girl stood alone against the foreboding atmosphere. She watched the sun set behind the mountains with anxiety, worry etched upon her delicate face. She wiped her wet cheek with her blue kimono sleeve, hand trembling. She hadn't meant to wander so far from her village, she only wanted to find her friend who went missing days ago. But if she didn't get back, she'd probably disappear too.

Her parents told her to never ever play past the decayed tree at the end of the village. Children who disobeyed that rule usually did not come back. She was a sensible six year old, she knew the consequences, but this time was different; her friend was gone and she had to look for her, because nobody else would. So she braved the forbidden boundary, trotting past that last warning marker.

But she'd never been past it before, and she found herself wandering in unfamiliar territory.

Now what?

She bit her lip, the wind blowing around her chestnut brown hair. She really was done for, she had no idea how to get back. She thought about her family and friends who she would miss, thought about her little house in the village, and tears began flowing down her face. Her vision clouded, and the image of the rocky Makai blurred into a scene of color, as red and rusty as blood.

The girl wiped at her eyes again, then blinked. Was she imagining things? There, several yards in front of her, heading her way, was a figure of a person. Maybe. Or a monster.

Her heart rate sky rocketed, and she froze, mind in a panic. What if they came to eat her? Where would she run? There was no where to hide! But she tried to calm herself, quiet her trembling body and stand there; maybe they could help. She doubted it, but what else could she do?

The girl waited, watching, each passing second adding to her nervousness. She squinted.

They looked..short..but she couldn't see any horns or weird things like that. It came toward her at a steady pace.

Finally, and what seemed like an eternity, the figure stopped in front of her. She instantly regretted feeling so afraid.

It was only a little boy, around her age. He had on no shirt, just ratty green pants caked with mud. His face was round and bruised, matted black hair hanging in his face, covering big brown eyes. He looked at her with mild surprise, an eyebrow raised in question.

She smiled as relief washed over her. She wouldn't be attacked, and she wasn't alone now. Yet she couldn't help wondering why he was out here -- was he lost too? Her friendly nature kicked in, and she rolled up her long, bothersome kimono sleeve, extending her hand. "Hi, my names Keiko. What's yours?"

The boy hesitated, flicking his gaze to her hand, then her face, then back to her hand again. He hunched his shoulders. "It's okay." she reassured him. "I don't bite, promise!"

He looked at her funny, like she was some kind of alien, but slowly grasped her hand anyway. His palm was rough, dirty, though his grip gentle. She smiled. "Who are you?" she asked.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, swinging his gaze away, as if he hadn't heard her. He seemed kinda bashful to Keiko, reminding her of some of the shy kids in her village. But she'd never seen him there, never seen him before in her life. He wasn't from her home, that she was sure of. He was a real stranger -- not that it mattered, strangers could sometimes end up as friends.

"My name's Yusuke." He mumbled, so low she almost missed it.

Her smile grew. "Yusuke? That's a nice name."

Yusuke stared at her in surprise, and his eyes widened a little bit; she noticed they were a really pretty shade of brown, like the bark of a cherry tree. "You think so?"

Keiko nodded with enthusiasm, pigtails swinging around her face. "Uh-huh!"

"Yours is cool too.." He said, grumbling again. She thought he must not talk to other people much, always whispering like that. "Thanks!" she said. At least he was nice. Keiko was glad she wasn't alone out here anymore. Maybe he could help..."Um..do you know how to get back..?"

He cocked his head to the side, not sure what she was talking about. "Back where?"

"Back to the closest village." She pointed behind her. "I was trying to find my friend but I got lost, 'an it's really scary out here, and I need to go home, my daddy and mommy will be sad. Are you lost too? 'Cause if you are you can come with me. I won't leave you out here--"

Yusuke frowned. "No...I'm not lost, but I can show you the way, I guess."

"You will?" She asked hopefully, peering at him with big puppy eyes.

"Yeah." He shrugged, still not looking at her. "It's easy, there's only one village around here, you know."

A stifling weight was lifted off her shoulders, and Keiko felt like crying in relief. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve again to keep any tears from flowing. The gods must have been helping her today! She wasn't going to disappear after all! "Thank you Yusuke-kun!!"

Yusuke said nothing in response, now eying her warily -- he was not sure how to react to the emotional girl in front of him. Keiko's face changed from happy to sad and everything in between, and he couldn't figure out whether he'd helped or made things worse for her. Girls were so weird.

He trotted past her, which Keiko took as a cue to follow. Yusuke stayed a couple paces ahead, keenly watching the surroundings; he was wary, the sun was almost down. Keiko however was blissfully unaware of possible dangers, and nearly exhausted; her feet and legs were sore from all this traveling, her nerves were shot, and she didn't know how much farther they had to go. But she didn't let out a single complaint.

After ten more minutes of jogging across the barren landscape, the children stopped their journey, right as the sun sank down through the mountains. Keiko's tired body perked up. She hadn't been paying much attention to where they walked, as everything looked the same; rocks, dirt, and sand all around. But finally, after what seemed like ages, in front of her stood that eerie, rotten tree that rested at the edge of her home. They'd made it back at last.

Keiko, so caught up in her relief, turned and hugged her savior; Yusuke instantly went rigid, a look of panic on his face. Keiko sensed his uneasiness and let go, but grinned. She bowed several times, thanking him.

A smile finally spread across the boy's face as he watched Keiko nod her head over and over again, overdoing the politeness by a long shot. Nobody had ever bowed to him, let alone fifty times. "You can stop now, geez."

She looked sheepish, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "Um, sorry."

A strong wind drifted by, cooling their tired limbs and lifting the heavy heat off their backs. Neither of them said anything for a moment. Then Yusuke turned around, the lights from the village behind him, and the looming darkness before him. "So..see you around, I guess."

"Will I see you again, Yusuke-kun?"

He stopped. The girl wanted to be friends? Stupid. Nobody wanted to be friends with him. Maybe she was playing a trick. Yeah, that was probably it. He looked at her over his shoulder. Dirt stained her cheeks and hair, her kimono torn at the edges, making her look like a doll that had been thrown away -- the result of being lost three hours out in Makai wilderness. Still those naive eyes went on smiling, without a hint of malice or cruelty.

"Yeah."

Keiko bounced happily, and Yusuke just looked at her, shaking his head. "You're a crazy girl." He told her, grinning. But she was nice, too.

And as he walked back into the shadows, the weight pressing over his shoulders felt lighter. He would visit and talk to her again sometime. He had a feeling she wasn't lying, or trying to deceive him.

Keiko waved until he gone from sight -- a melancholy feeling in her chest, because she had another friend disappear into that gloomy darkness. His lonely figure drifted into that unknown region facing dangers on his way home. But she shouldn't be sad, she reminded herself, she'd see Yusuke-kun again!

She ran down into her village, a gust of wind ruffling her hair. Her parents would be so worried, but she'd tell them all about her adventure and her new friend. She hoped to bring Yusuke to meet them, next time they played together.

But that chance never came -- she never saw him again after that. Keiko's rescuer became lost in her memories.

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An' that's the prologue. The tone will probably lighten up in the next chapter. :3

I know Hiei doesn't cry. He's never cried in the series, not to my knowledge anyway. In here, he cries because he's younger; still basically a child. But he doesn't really act like a kid, and he sounds like he's older. I did this because I don't see him being naive at all, even when he should be. He was kicked off his home and had to face hardship from the beginning, so he's more mature than little Keiko, for instance (plus Keiko is human.)

And yesh, the siblings know that they're siblings. Needed motivation for Hiei, among other things. xD

Hope you liked it, and please tell me what you think. Thanks for reading!