Title: Finding You
Author: Hieiko
Category: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Hiei/Mukuro
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, or any of the characters.
Word Count: 825
Notes: Written for the 20aus' theme # 18, "The length of future memories".
Summary: Even demon children know how to make friends. AU.
Warnings: Some graphic violence.

She didn't know how long she had been running.

Rusted metal bit into her bound wrists, and rock edges sliced across the skin of her bare feet and legs. Sweat and blood made her long hair stick together in clumps; dirt had turned the once red-orange strands into a muddy brown. The acid burns, which she herself had inflicted to disfigure the right side of her face and body, had long stopped stinging.

Still, she ran. She didn't stop until she nearly dove head first into a river.

She dropped to her knees on the grassy bank, and stared at her blurred reflection on the water. A half-moon shone in the sky, but its light didn't reach the side of the river she was on. It was perhaps a mercy that she couldn't see her image clearly. Shaking her head at the thought, she glanced around once, then scooped a handful of water, and drank. She repeated the action three more times.

After satisfying her thirst, she eyed the woods on the other side of the river. It would provide better shelter and more food, but there would be predators on the hunt. She clenched her left fist, and relished the feel of energy crackling around it. There was nothing to fear.

She leaped on top of a large rock that protruded from the river's surface. There were other similar rocks, and she used them as stepping stones to reach the other side. Once there, she walked carefully between the trees, and searched for a place to rest.

A few minutes passed in relative silence, then she heard a scream. She ignored it, and kept walking, but she had only taken a few steps before a small demon rushed past her. Shouts came from behind, and she had to scramble up a tree to avoid being seen by a group of demons who seemed to be pursuing the small one. She perched herself on a branch that was high enough to keep herself hidden, but she didn't realize it would also give her a full view of what was happening below.

The group was closing in on the small demon, who suddenly stopped and turned around.

Her eyes widened a fraction when she saw that the demon was a mere child. Perhaps only six or seven years of age, judging by his size. Surely not any older than her own twelve years. But things weren't always what they seemed, so she might be mistaken.

The boy had unsheathed a sword when he turned. The sword was taller than he was, but he smirked as the blade slashed across the front of one of his pursuers. He did the same thing to the next attacker, then leaped over the third one's head to stab from behind. Then he swung the sword to the side, catching the arm of a fourth. The blade sliced clean through the elbow and straight past the torso until it met air again.

The two halves of the corpse had barely touched ground when the boy jumped, narrowly avoiding an axe that had been aimed at his neck. He landed with his feet on the last attacker's shoulders, and plunged the tip of his sword on the larger demon's skull. Taking his sword with him, the boy leaped off the dead demon as its body dropped to the ground.

"You're good." The words had come without much thought, as did the girl's actions: she slid off the tree branch and lowered herself to the ground.

The boy whirled to face her, shock written all over his face. The shock then quickly disappeared as his features shifted into a blank expression.

She smiled. "Do you have a name?"

"Do you?" he countered, crimson eyes narrowing. He seemed to be taking the question as a challenge.

"It's Mukuro," she answered.

"Why are you in chains?" the boy asked suddenly.

She stopped smiling. "That's none of your business."

"My name is none of your business either," he fired back.

"Fair enough," Mukuro conceded. "But at least lend me your sword. To destroy the chains."

He stared at her in disbelief. "You're asking for my consent?"

"Yes." She held out her shackled wrists.

He snorted, then vanished from her line of sight. Reappearing directly in front of her, he put his hands on top of the shackles. The metal glowed red, began to crack... And shattered a few seconds later.

The skin on her wrists was scorched, but Mukuro could hardly care about that; after all, she'd burned herself in worse ways. She looked down at the boy, who was smirking at her. "I owe you," she said.

"Fine."

"And if I'm to repay my debt, I need to know your name." It was her turn to smirk this time.

Scowling, the boy gave her his name, and then disappeared into the trees.

"Until we meet again, Hiei," she murmured, taking off in the opposite direction.