Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. InuYasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro, Shueisha, Viz Media, and Shounen. No profit or money of any kind is made from this fan-created crossover.
Written for: madmiko, as a gift-fic.
Summary: Laughter in the snow caused them to meet, and forever changed his perception of winter.

Title: Winter Laughter

There was once a time when he didn't mind the cold...

When the snow meant nothing to him, and when he could actually say winter was his favorite time of year. Most thought he loathed the cold season because it would remind him of his past, and how he was tossed off the floating island of Koorime who personified the season. But he didn't. Those memories once filled him with something resembling glee.

It reminded him of his promise to himself that one day he would find those cold-hearted women and kill them all. They shouldn't have tossed him off the island in the hopes the impact would kill him. No, instead they should have shoved a blade into his fiery heart and made sure he died. That was their mistake. And he intended to make sure they suffered immensely for half-assing their attempt to kill him.

Yes, in his younger years, winter filled his heart with the one welcome emotion: vengeance.

However when he finally had a chance to fulfill his vow, he couldn't. They were already dead to the world and he would be granting them a favor by killing them. Such cold-hearted women... He found it hard to believe his mother cried out and felt enough for him to commit a warrior's suicide.

And with that, for the first time he felt nothing when he saw the snow fall. The pure white snow reminded him of the dull, lifeless look in the eyes of the Koorime. He refused to believe that he was related to them. While he did not always show every emotion he felt, he did feel something. He was not emotionless or lifeless, and he would not go down without a fight like them.

Yet, it all changed in a moment. She gave a new meaning to the frozen time, and he couldn't help but admire the fire that not even snow could put out.

The sound of laughter had reached his ears and had intrigued him. While he had known he was staying close to a human village, he had been under the impression that none of them enjoyed the snow. In all the years he had spent traveling around, he had never come across a human who enjoyed it. His curiosity had been piqued.

He had come across a field filled with the powdery substance not far away from where he had been, and close to a village. There he had been met with the strangest sight. A human woman, dressed in the strangest clothes, had been playing with a young fox youkai and a neko-mata. Instead of trying to kill each other (he had felt the hama no reiryoku rolling off her in waves), they had been laughing and trying to hit each other with snow packed into balls. Hiei had looked on in veiled surprise and shock as they played with each other like they had been together for years.

He didn't know what was more strange: a domesticated fox, a playful miko, or a care-free neko-mata. It had seemed more like he had stepped into some weird reality or world that he had never known or seen before.

It had tugged at the heart he thought he had locked away. It had been too soon after confronting his past, so he couldn't help but wonder if everything had been different... Would that scene be one he, his mother and his twin sister could have had?

Hiei had shaken off that thought as fast as it had appeared. With how Koorime were, something that care-free and fun would have never be allowed to happen. That had left just one option: he had to get away before he found himself trying to get closer.

Yet the damage had been done. He couldn't get them off his mind and found himself following after their strange group, trying to find out more about them. Such as why they didn't kill each other -- they were all sworn enemies. Monk, miko, youkai slayer, youkai, hanyou... They just didn't exist together in peace.

However they were proving that they could. And it all centered around the miko who dressed in indecent clothes. She brought them all together, and she kept them all together. Because of the bonds she had forged between them, he could tell they would stay together even if she left.

And she did every now and then. She would disappear off the face of the country and return out of nowhere soon after. It was baffling to him. Youkai couldn't pull off a disappearing act like that, so humans, in their limited power, couldn't. Just who and what was she?

By the time the next winter came around, he found himself admiring her. She was different from other humans and even youkai. Unlike so many, she held an unwavering loyalty and belief in her friends. Not to mention she held kindness and trust towards everyone until they gave her a reason not to. And even then, she still was nice depending on their reasons for acting the way they did. She was far too strange.

And he didn't even know her name.

He was an elemental youkai, not an animalistic one. His ears were not able to pick up on every sound close by, so there was no way he could pick up on sounds far away. He was never able to hear their conversations. He never chanced going too close to them because he was sure killing the hanyou in a fight would not get him on her good side. For the first time in his life, he actually cared about the first impression he made on someone. Normally they were dead long before anything resembling camaraderie could form.

Except her.

After a year of following her around and trying to figure out more about her, this was not how he had wanted their first encounter to be. He had wanted to show no signs of weakness; not be laying in the snow, waiting for a gut wound to heal. Now the naive miko would think he was someone weak and needing protection. That was unacceptable.

Just as unacceptable as the peace he had felt near her. His entire childhood had been filled with anger and death and arrogance. He had killed countless others just because he could and wanted to see them bleed. But around her, it had all faded away. He had wanted it and loathed it. It had set him off-balance so much that it had frightened him. And he didn't do fear, unless it was putting it into the hearts of his enemies.

"Are you all right?"

He had glared at her; how stupid did she have to be? Did he look all right with a bleeding wound to his stomach?

Her smile had been sheepish as she had sat down next to him. "Sorry, stupid question. Do you need some help?"

Just like he had feared, she had thought he was some helpless youkai she could take in. Yet, he didn't want to make the other kind of impression on her. He could already feel the words he had wanted to hurl at her on the tip of his tongue, and he knew if she said one more thing, they would come flying out of his mouth.

"Here, let me help you."

"Keep your filthy hands to yourself, miko, before I sever them."

Anger had appeared in her face. It had been seen in the way her eyes narrowed and the tightening of her jaw.

"You, you... You youkai are all so alike! You all think you're just so much better, and I bet your hands are filthier than mine! Ugh, just... just... Osuwari!"

He had cocked an eyebrow at her in amusement. Osuwari? Was that the magic word that subdued the hanyou?

"I already am."

Color had blossomed across her cheeks as she had covered her mouth.

"I'm sorry... I just thought... You made me so mad like Inuyasha does that it just slipped out, sorry..."

"You're pathetic to mistake someone like me for your precious hanyou."

Her gaze had been sharp, he could already tell her mind was processing that bit of information and coming to a conclusion. "So, it's you who's been following us around. I never thought we'd meet like this."

He had resisted the urge to roll his eyes, like he had wanted them to meet like this. "You knew?"

"Of course. While Inuyasha couldn't smell or see you, I could still sense you."

They had sat in companionable silence for a while as his wound healed. For the first time, the calm silence of winter and the soft falling snow didn't invoke feelings of vengeance or indifference... Instead, it had reminded him all the more about the woman sitting by his side. She had exuded such a peaceful calming aura, and had been as delicate as each snowflake. They had both brought him peace despite the wound that was almost gone.

"I should be getting back before anyone worries... It was nice to finally meet you-... Ah, I don't know what to call you. I'm Kagome, by the way."

He had been caught off-guard by the warmth of her smile. It had been strange to see something so warm and full of life surrounded by so much coldness and peace.

"Hiei."

Her smile had brightened even more before she had left. He had been able to see why even youkai would stay around her with that kind of smile. He had never wanted to see it again because he did want to see it directed at him once more. Hiei didn't know he would get his wish.

By the time the next winter came around, she was gone. Forever.

Her group had still stayed together, but it hadn't been the same. It had been only a few months afterward that he had stopped following them around because he had realized that she was never coming back. The calm peacefulness that the winter had held for him that one time still lingered. Only this time, it hadn't been welcome.

It only reminded him of her. She had been the reason he no longer could claim he liked or even tolerated winter. It had taken only a year of following her around and one conversation for her to be embedded into his mind. He couldn't forget her no matter how much he tried.

And he had resigned himself to the fact that he would never see her again. Wherever she was, she was still human. While he may not have kept track of the time, he knew a few centuries had to have passed. There was no way for a human to live for so long, but it still didn't get his mind off of her. Even when he had the Jagan implanted, she had been there in the back of his mind. His hidden reason for wanting the implant. He needed to find some sort of closure, to know what had happened to the mysterious woman with a smile that could be so bright.

Even then, he hadn't been able to find a single trace of her. How could one human disappear? It had made him loathe their species. Not only had one of them managed to avoid all his probing and attempts to find her, but that same human had managed to ruin the one season he had been able to stand. That, in his opinion, was enough to condemn them all.

Until he had come across one human that had reminded him of her. That damnable detective had been too much like her that he had wanted to slit his throat. Yet her memory had always stayed his hand. And made him curious. Perhaps if he followed him around long enough, he would find the woman he had searched for for years.

Hiei didn't know how right he would be.

It was by accident that they met again. He was with his teammates as they searched for a youkai that illegally crossed the barrier, and as they passed by a shrine following the trail, he heard it. Much like the time so many years ago, his ears heard the sound of laughter that was familiar to him and caught his attention. It was too much of a coincidence for him to pass up.

So he ran off in the direction he heard the laughter. He didn't care about abandoning his teammates or that he was on a mission. This was far more important as he was not ready to let a chance like this pass up. And if it was her, then he would make sure he never lost sight of her again. She was too special, too different for him to let go of.

Much like the first time he saw her, she was playing in the snow with a young boy she resembled. She was wearing the same clothes as that day, only this time she didn't look out of place. She looked exactly like she belonged and not a day older. Just what was she to be able to weather the centuries so well?

He managed to dodge the snowball she threw in his direction. Her face was flushed from cold and excitement.

"Do you ever stop following me around, Hiei?"

Any doubts he had about her identity were put down with her playful question.

"Seems as if your senses haven't been dulled by the centuries."

"Of course not. Have yours or will my filthy hands finally get a hold of you?"

He smirked; she was unable to ever change. And only more time would be able to tell if she ever did. This time, he would make sure she never left and never turned winter into a season he loathed again.