In light of the recent slaying of the CYOA's by ff.n, I have decided to re-do my first fic, which is not a CYOA. It is, however, a HieixOC fic. You know the drill, read it and review it. Don't care if it's a long one or one-worded, just make me feel loved.
I am not worthy of owning YYH and its characters, but Rhys is my character and I own her and her problems. My apologies for any misspelled words or OOC-ness, but remember this was my first fic. Onward, readers!

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Chapter One
The Willing Prisoner

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Hiei approached the door slowly and silently. Something was wrong...he didn't sense any danger. It might be some kind of trick. It must be. He raised his sword, ready for attack, and kicked the door open with a loud bang.

Looking cautiously around the room, his eyes drifted over peeling, stained walls and dirt-streaked, high windows. The cracked cement floor was littered with about six to ten demons. Were they...? Yes, they were sleeping. And deeply, it seemed, for none had stirred when he had crashed open the door.

He spotted a pile of rags housing a sleeping girl in the far corner and was next to it in a flash, putting his sword away. The girl was resting peacefully on her back in a worn dress that more resembled a rag, like the ones she slept on. Thin beams of a pink sunset filtered through the grime on the windows and hit her face at a gentle angle, drawing her features beautifully.

He didn't want to wake her. Then he'd have to explain. She might not go with him; he wasn't the type people usually trusted in a few minutes. He'd have to carry her out. He bent and moved rags away from her, revealing a thin figure. And something else...clean cuts and light bruises faulted the pale skin along her arms and legs. It must have been the demons who held her against her will. He would have Yukina heal her later. Right now he needed to get her out of there.

He turned from her and faced the sleeping demons on the floor. He wondered if they would wake up if he were to slash their throats...his hand drifted to his sword hilt and he slowly unsheathed it.

But before he could move forward he heard movement behind him. He swiftly turned and saw the girl was now awake, and hugging her legs to her chest with her arms. When she saw him, though, her back straightened and her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" she hissed softly, seeing the sleeping demons. Her gaze shifted to the sword in his hand, which he dropped to the floor with a clatter.

"I was sent to get you out of here."

A relieved look flitted across her face, but was soon replaced by a hard stare. "I've heard that before. Just go away, or I'll be forced to make you." She rose from the rags and stood beside them, rising to her full height - which wasn't very tall. She was slightly shorter than Hiei by half an inch. After only standing for a few moments and staring determinedly into his dark eyes, she felt herself falling. Then blackness covered her vision.

Moments later she opened her eyes again, to find herself in the demon's arms. "T-Thanks," she stammered, blushing. Her defensive demeaner was suddenly gone, replaced by a gentler one.

"I'm Rhys," she said quietly.

"Hiei," he replied in his usual monotone.

There was a silence. "I haven't eaten in a few days, so I guess I must be pretty weak..." Rhys trailed off, looking out a window.

He voiced an infamous "Hn." and placed her roughly on the rags. "Stay here," he ordered, picking up his sword once more and disappearing into thin air.

He reappeared beside a sleeping demon and with a flash of his sword beheaded it. Rhys looked away, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. She heard the swish of his sword killing another demon and cringed. As much as she hated them, the demons really hadn't done anything to her. They shouldn't be punished for a pain they didn't inflict.

He was crouched in front a third demon, ready to strike. "Stop!" she called out.

He didn't drop his sword, but called out, "What?"

"Don't hurt them."

He was in front of her in the blink of an eye, making her jump. "Why shouldn't I?"

"They...they didn't do anything...to me. I came here on my own."

'Baka ningen,' he thought. 'Why is she protecting them?' "Do you expect me to believe you?"

"Do you have a reason not to?"

As much as he hated to admit it, she had him there. "Why would you come here?"

"I...had nowhere else. They took me in." Hiei was forcibly reminded of his own past...

-- Flashback --

"What's this?" The man's deep voice cut into the silence of the woods. He left his group of fellow theives and approached the small child, who glared at him and straightened his back. "What's your name?"

"Hiei."

The men gasped and stepped back. "The Forbidden One?"

He hated that name. "Yes," he said before stalking off into the forest, not sure of what he would do or where he would go.

"Come back here," demanded the leader.

Hiei whirled around, facing the group of theives. "What do you want with me?"

"It isn't safe for a child to wander these parts alone. Join us," the leader offered.

Hiei hesitated. This man was offering something Hiei had wanted for years...but what if he was lying? Hiei sneered. 'Liar,' he thought. 'He'll just leave me somewhere, or ... throw me off a cliff -'

His thoughts were cut short by the leader. "Well?"

The boy looked into the man's reassuring brown eyes. "Sure."

-- End Flashback --

Hiei blinked. "Are you okay?" questioned the girl, noting his blank expression.

"Hn." He glanced at the window. The last strands of sunlight wondering through the dirt on the windows, faintly streaking the floor. "We have to go," he reminded her.

She attempted to stand again, her legs shaking, and fell on the rags. She tried a few more times, then sat on the rags in defeat. "I can't..." Hiei sighed to himself and leaned towards her. "What are you doing?" she asked, backing away.

"Since you can't exactly walk out of here, I'm going to have to carry you. You'd be too slow, anyway." She nodded and he slid one hand under her knees and the other behind her back, trying to be gentle. She closed her eyes, rested her head against his warm chest, and felt herself being lifted. He jumped out of the room in a flash, feeling a red tinge creep into his cheeks when he realized Rhys had fallen asleep in his arms.

"Hiei, you've finally returned. Ah, and you have the girl with you." The speaker was a small toddler with a pacifier in his mouth. Hiei stood in front of him with Rhys in his arms. "Did you have any trouble with the gaurds?"

"Hn. You might as well have sent Kuwabara on this mission. The guards were all asleep." As he said this, Hiei gently placed the sleeping girl in an armchair in the middle of the room.

He turned to Kuwabara as his voice sounded. "What're you trying to say, midget!"

"I'm saying that even a thick headed oaf like you would have found this job easy," retored Hiei. Even though he didn't feel like fighting with Kuwabara right now, he had needed some distraction so that Kuwabara would stop staring at Rhys.

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S AN OAF!" cried Kuwabara, falling easily for it. He threw a punch, which Hiei easily dodged, resulting in him falling on the floor with a loud THUD.

Hiei smirked. "Didn't you learn this lesson long ago, baka? It's useless for someone like you to fight me," he said coolly, enraging the teen Spirit Detective more. Kuwabara stood up and angrily threw another punch. Hiei dodged easily again and felt the ground shake as Kuwabara fell yet again. "When will the others get here, Koenma?" Hiei asked the toddler.

"They should be here any minute. When they are, I can tell you more about this girl and your mission. In the meantime, look to your right," Koenma warned. Hiei looked just in time to see Kuwabara flying towards him, ready to kill him - or at least try. He laughed evily and stepped back, watching in amusement as the teen sailed straight past him and into the wall where he didn't move.

Koenma, who had been watching the one sided struggle, said, "You guys have got to stop beating up on each other. We're supposed to be fighting evil..."

There sounded a knock on the door. Botan entered the room smiling cheerily, closely followed by a serious looking Kurama, then a bored looking Yusuke. 'What is she doing here?' thought Hiei when he saw Yukina enter the office last. He retreated to a corner of the room and watched Yukina rush to heal Kuwabara.

"What's the urgent news?" asked the tall red head.

At this question, everyone looked expectantly at Koenma, who cleared his throat. "Your next mission centers around this girl," he said, glancing at the sleeping girl in the chair. Everyone except Hiei looked where he did, just seeing her. "Her name is Rhys. She is a rare Kiyone demon, one of the five I know exist." 'So she isn't a ningen...' thought Hiei. "I need you to protect her from the other demons who are trying to kidnap her to use her powers for their purposes."

There was silence for a moment, and Yusuke couldn't help asking, "What exactly are her powers?"

Koenma hesitated. "Well no one knows for sure what all of them are. From what I've seen, she seems to possess very advanced fire attacks. Once she learns how to harness her full power, I'm afraid she will be very near invincible - so watch out for her."

"How long do we have to babysit her for?" sounded a bored monotone.

Koenma chuckled to himself. "I think you'll find she might be babysitting you, Hiei. But stay with her until I tell you otherwise, all of you. I don't want you to let her out of your sight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must prepare for when my father comes home. I don't want what happened last time to happen again... ." The toddler shuddered and walked out the door, leaving the group in a thoughtful silence.

Kuwabara, now fully healed, leaned against the wall and asked "So, where should we keep her?"