Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho


I walked down the sidewalk, eyes downcast and hands stuffed in my pockets. My short brown hair was mostly covered with the red bandana I wore. My black, heavily pocketed coat was swinging slightly with my rhythmic motion. Every now and then, my black shoes would scuff against the cement, creating a small grating noise. I quickly shuffled past the crowded streets, longing for the familiar emptiness of the alleys which I lived in. I wore a loose red shirt and knee-length black shorts.

Despite my desire to return to shaded alleys where less people stared with disgust, I was hungry, and needed food. A lot of people stared at my eyes, which were two different colors, the left amethyst, the right blue, so I usually kept my gaze down.

Reaching into an inner pocket on my large coat, I pulled out a locket. I had found it ten years ago, when I was four. It was in an alley I had been exploring. Inside was a picture of a family, two parents and a son. On the other side was a picture of a baby. This was my most prized possession, because I have always wanted a family of my own. I wondered constantly what it would have been like had demons not killed my parents. Ever since the day that I had learned to fight on the streets, I dedicated myself to ridding the world, or at least my small part of it, from those filthy creatures.

Rounding a corner, a sudden bad feeling hit me, and I stopped dead in my tracks. Pushing my locket back into my inner pocket, I looked around, on full alert. I felt the demon's spirit energy flowing all over the place. Whoever this one was, they were strong. Closing my eyes, I pinpointed the demon's location. Opening my eyes again, I finally saw him. He looked human.

Standing a few inches above my own diminutive height, he wore a black cloak and a white scarf. His hair spiked up, and he was glaring at the ground with violent, crimson eyes. Suddenly, his eyes shot up and he directed his glare at me, raising one eyebrow slightly. I could visibly see his energy flowing off of him in waves.

I looked away, acting as if I hadn't seen him, walking forward once more. I felt the back of my neck prickle, his glare boring into my back. I needed to prepare before facing this particular vile creature. He was strong. A nice change, after years of weaklings.

The rumble of my stomach brought me back to the problem at hand. I passed a stand with some apples. My hand shot out, grabbing two before the man selling them had time to blink, shoving them into two different inner pockets of my coat. I kept walking, hoping he wouldn't notice. He didn't.

I smiled to myself, as I walked on, passing different stands and stores. Passing a random alley on the side, I was about to go in when a shiver ran up my spine, stopping and lingering at the base of my neck. I slowly turned to see the demon standing a few yards behind me.

He was throwing and catching an apple of his own. "Only managed to get two, boy?" he asked with a smirk, his voice low and smooth. Suddenly he had four apples, two in each hand.

I mentally smiled, but kept my outward expression disinterested. "Thievery is looked down upon," I said simply.

"You're one to talk."

I turned on my heel, closing my eyes and raising my chin. "Don't mess with me, demon," I said, kicking a small pebble behind me. I stopped and opened my eyes in shock when I sensed his spirit energy disappear. Suddenly, he was right in front of me, and I stumbled back a pace.

"How…?" he said, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

I didn't answer, just smiled tauntingly at him.

He growled, and I whirled around, diving into the throng of people. I masked my spirit energy, and took my bandana off, lest he spot it. Stuffing it into one of my many pockets, this one on the sleeve, I headed for my alleyway.

As uncomfortable as I was, being surrounded by people, I didn't want that demon to follow me. His speed was unnerving.

Minutes ticked by as the crowd slowed my progress. Finally, after what seemed like a half an hour, I reached it, and shoved my way out of the crowd.

I ran into the shadows, sighing with relief as I no longer felt the penetrating stares of all those people.

Once I reached the dead end of the alley, I was home. I had fashioned any wooden boards I could find together, using lengths of frayed rope and tattered cloths. Somehow, I had managed to make a low, sturdy shelter, which was wider than it was tall. Inside, I had two small cardboard boxes with some things inside of them that I used to fight against the demons.

One day, I had returned to find that someone had taken some of my belongings. I took care of that shortly, tracking the culprit down with precision, and, needless to say, no one from the alleys dares to touch my stuff anymore. I carried most of it around with me at all times, but some of it just got cumbersome and ended up scaring normal folk.

Getting down on my hands and knees, I crawled inside, checking the contents. All seemed in good order. Sighing and leaning against the wall behind me, I grabbed an apple from a pocket, famished.

Taking a bite, I chewed happily, content for the first time in a long while. I had food, found a new challenge, nothing was missing…All in all, a good day.

Leaning forward to the closest cardboard box, I pulled it towards me, taking another bite. This box held weapons I used against the demons, while the other box held healing equipment. Both boxes were fairly small, and nowhere near full, but at least I had the items, as they were the key to my survival against the demons. I took another bite of my apple.

I extracted an item on the top of the weapons box, a small, silver band. Swallowing, I took another bite and finished off my apple, lazily tossing the core at the alley wall. I fished the second from my pocket, and set to work on devouring it. The little silver ring glinted in my hand, showing my distorted reflection on its polished surface. This handy li'l weapon was something I had picked up from a slain demon after a battle. It helped me focus and control my spirit energy to an extent I could never attain without it. I slipped it into one of my inner pockets, so as to keep it from falling out. I had a strange feeling that I'd need it later.

Checking the box again with the satisfying crunch of my second apple, I pulled out a knife. It had quite an admirable blade, and also donned a saw ridge near the hilt. This was no ordinary knife, mind you. It was fashioned for normal uses, but, combined with spirit energy, it became a fearsome weapon. I stuck my hand into the little cardboard box and grabbed the sheath, belting it around my waist.

I ended up actually grabbing everything from the two boxes, trying as best I could to conceal it all in my pockets and under my coat. Pulling my bandana from my sleeve pocket near my shoulder, I tied it around my neck, covering up a thin chain necklace with a moon and stars trinket at the end. This had healing properties. Though it wasn't my first choice, it was good to have around, for if it were stolen, the thief most likely wouldn't be able to figure it out. It had proved useful in the past. I absentmindedly took another bite from my apple and stopped mid-bite; I finally noticed I had hit the core.

Crawling from my miserable shelter, the second apple core found itself with the same fate as the first, having been thrown roughly against the wall across from the shelter. Looking back at it, I realized I had with me right now all of my things I held dear, except one item. This I grabbed from leaning against the wall, hidden on the left side of my shelter. It was a mottled stick. My hand fit comfortably near the top, in between where two smaller branches had once grown, and I walked away without a backwards glance, painfully aware how much it seemed as it I were leaving, never to return to my alley.

I walked for a long time, all the while expanding my consciousness out as far as it would go, trying to detect any nearby demons. I stumbled slightly when one flared into my radar, but I quickly regained my composure and ran toward it. My feet flying at a speed unnatural for humans, I reached the destination in a matter of minutes: the park. The sun was sinking low on the horizon and clouds crowded the once-blue sky, turning it a sad shade of grey.

I faced the rest of the park, my eyes darting back and forth across the patch of grass that had been nurtured into a relaxing place for families and children. Then, it stepped out of the shadows.

The thing must have been at least twelve feet tall! It had sharp horns and orange, beady eyes, blue skin and rather large feet. The demon smiled when it saw me.

Assessing his speed and apparent strength in my head, I deemed the silver band would be all I would need. Grabbing the ring from my hidden pocket, I pushed it onto my left hand's middle finger, which was about the only place it fit comfortably. Lying my stick on the ground, I cracked my knuckles and spread apart my feet.

The demon laughed when it saw me take my stance. "A little human boy thinks he can defeat me, the great Ulgrehi? We'll see about that!"

I smiled lightly and began focusing my energy. It rose off of me in tendrils, curling around me and flying just above my head, making my figure glow slightly green. Ulgrehi struck at me with a clawed hand, and I hastily ducked while my energy twisted and weaved together into a large snake. He swiped again, his hand going for my energy snake. It slithered a dodge in the air, hissing at the demon. Then it struck forward, hitting the laughing creature in the chest, and with a gasp for air, the laughter abruptly ended and Ulgrehi fell to the ground with a resounding thud throughout the park. I bent to retrieve my stick from the ground, when I heard something behind me.

"Don't get cocky, kid," came a rough voice. Then I yelled out in surprise as something attacked me from behind with enough force to spin me around and I landed painfully on my back. I gasped just before the world went black.


Kurama and Hiei both suddenly looked up as they sensed spirit energy flare up. They looked at one another, and then moved off toward it. As they were fairly close, it didn't take long for them to reach the park. They watched in silent amazement as a green snake made of pure energy was reared up above a boy's head, and it had a short battle with a minor apparition, which it easily disposed of.

Watching intently, the two saw the boy who'd wielded the energy bent to pick something up off of the ground, but didn't notice the other, larger demon coming up behind him. It slashed at the boy after saying something; hitting him in the back and wounding him. He fell to the ground with a surprised cry of pain, spinning around once with the force of the blow and landing on his wound. Kurama and Hiei both leaped into action.

Hiei appeared suddenly in front of the creature, decapitating it with a simple swipe from his katana.

Kurama went to check on the boy, who lay on the ground on his back, unconscious. After Hiei swiped his sword through the air to clean it, and re-sheathed it, he walked over and Kurama noticed something.

"It seems our unfortunate friend here is, in fact, a girl," he voiced to his companion. Hiei's crimson eyes widened slightly in shock when he recognized her from earlier that day. "Hiei, if you'd be so kind…"

Hiei grunted and picked her up, his arms under her knees and about her shoulders. Kurama bent to pick up the item she'd been reaching for, which was a gnarled stick that was worn smooth from use.

Hiei's signature glare had taken its place back on his face as he waited silently for Kurama. Then the two hurried away, heading off into the night.


I jolted upright, suddenly wide awake, then was pushed back down from a strong hand on my shoulder. A searing pain shot up my back, and my shoulder tingled and prickled with heat as the hand stayed there for a split second longer.

Looking around and wincing from the pain, I noticed I was in a building. This wasn't right…

The room was painted with warms colors, and the hard wood floors were clean and shining. It took me a moment to realize I was in a bedroom, and my bed was in the corner of the room. Looking at the rest of the room, I saw there were three people. As soon as my eyes fell on the person who was the closest, leaning against a dresser, I gasped.

"You!" I exclaimed, my tone accusing.

"What's this?" said a voice, and I took into account the other two people in the room. "An old friend of yours, Hiei?" The voice belonged to an attractive, red haired boy with emerald green eyes. Next to him stood a short, old lady with faded pink hair, standing up straight with her arms behind her back.

The black haired demon from earlier merely grunted.

"An acquaintance, then?"

"Hn."

"Well, what—" the red head was cut off by the demon.

"Just shut up, Kurama. I don't even know her name," he said, rather rudely, closing his crimson eyes.

"Okay then," the polite boy said, turning to me now. "I'm Kurama, this is Genkai," here he motioned to the old lady, who nodded at me as a greeting, " and this," he emphasized, gesturing to the rude boy, "is Hiei."

"Hiei" turned away, and Genkai walked up to my bed, standing between Hiei and Kurama, who gave me an encouraging smile.

"I'm Aeth. Aeth Oteichi," I said, looking at the other three in turn. When my eyes landed on Kurama again, I nearly gasped again. "Y-you're a demon!" I spluttered.

He chuckled. "Very observant, I see."

Trying to sit up again, I did so slowly, and spotted my coat and other clothes, clean and neatly folded at the foot of my bed. That's when I finally noticed I was wearing pajamas, which were a simple red shirt and pants that matched.

"Where did my stuff go?" I panted, beginning to feel a little panicky. Hiei pointed over his shoulder at the dresser behind him, eyes still closed. I sighed with relief as I spotted a surprisingly large pile of odds and ends. I stood to my feet, a little shaky.

"Aeth, you must stay in bed to recover," Kurama protested, sounding worried.

I walked to the dresser, and Hiei moved out of my way. It was an extremely short walk, though it left me feeling tired and sore. Rummaging through the pile of gadgets and other items, I pulled my necklace with the moon and stars from it and clasped it around my neck with one hand while I found my ring with the other, placing it back on my left middle finger.

Concentrating, I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding as I felt my pain ebb away slowly. The ring was helping me focus my energy since I was so worn out. Turning and facing the three, but mostly talking to Genkai, the human of the trio, I spoke. "Thank you so much for helping me and letting me stay in your house. I'd hate to trouble you further, so I'll be leaving shortly."

"Nonsense!" said Genkai's raspy voice as I heard her speak for the first time. "You have to stay here."

I stepped toward the bed, speaking again. "No, no, really, I must be getting back to my all-…my house." However, I pitched forward suddenly, and I nearly fainted, but a strong arm caught me around the waist and Hiei roughly sat me on the bed. He glared through his red eyes, and I thought, What's his problem? Instead, out loud I muttered thanks and he grunted.

Genkai, now regaining my attention, stepped up to me. "You must rest, Aeth. No arguments. Hiei, make sure she doesn't try to leave."

Hiei directed his glare at the shorter old woman. "Hn. I don't see why I have to baby sit," he growled.

Genkai turned around. "Because I need to talk to Kurama." Then she and the red haired demon left the room.

I looked at the ground, breathing in my nose and out my mouth as my back tingled with the quickened pace of it's healing. I began to feel very tired. Panting, I laid down before I could fall again. Maybe the necklace wasn't the best choice. Glancing at Hiei, I saw he was glaring back at me. "Why," I said, my breathing still heavier than normal, "did you help me?"

"Hn."

I raised an eyebrow at him, then rolled my eyes and directed my gaze to the ceiling. Apparently, he didn't talk much.

After a moment's silence, he spoke. "You have a strange structure to your spirit energy."

I blinked and looked at him. He was glaring out the window. Somehow, I felt like his sentence wasn't quite an answer to my question. Aw well. At least he was talking. "I do?" I asked.

Hiei nodded, a very slight motion of his head.

Perhaps I spoke too soon, I thought. When he didn't say anything else, I took that as the end of our conversation and sighed. Taking a deep breath and standing carefully, I slowly walked to the other end of the bed, towards the door. "Now, if you don't mind," I said, pausing when Hiei suddenly appeared in front of me, blocking my way with an annoyed expression. I narrowed my eyes at him and reached down for my clothing. "I'm going to go change…" I picked up my clothes, walking past Hiei. As soon as my fingers touched the doorknob, I heard: "The bathroom is down the hall, second door on the right."

"Thanks," I muttered, and walked out. With this demon following me around, I wouldn't get many chances. I'd have to take this opportunity to escape. I'd come back later for my things, once I came up with a plan.

Entering the indicated room, I closed and locked the door. Changing quickly, I put my bandana back on my head, checking my reflection in the mirror. Nodding to myself, I looked around.

There was a small counter with a sink and a large, rectangular mirror. A pattern of lilies danced across the wallpaper lining the walls. A vase sat atop a cupboard, and near the far wall was a toilet and a shower was across that.

On the wall next to the toilet was a window. Small, but I could fit through it. I was pretty short and thin, after all; an advantage that I had over other people that lived in the alleys. Closing the toilet lid and stepping atop it, I boosted myself to the window. Pausing halfway out, on the windowsill, I strengthened the walls around my mind and masked my spirit energy.

Leaping from the window, I landed lightly on the grass and began running at full speed down a hill and into the forest. I kept running for as long as I could, which wasn't very long in my condition, then, panting, I jumped into a bunch of bushes and crashed to the ground, hiding. After a while, I fell into a light, fitful sleep, and my strength ebbed away steadily. I still wasn't fully recovered. Far from it, actually.


Genkai and Kurama's conversation had come to a pause, with the knowledge that they'd be speaking over their subject again, as they had decided to check on Hiei and the girl, Aeth. The two walked in, looking around for the girl, who seemed to have disappeared. Kurama mentally checked the rest of the house for her spirit energy, but couldn't find it anywhere.

"She's gone!" he said, opening his eyes, which he hadn't realized he'd closed.

Genkai turned her gaze to the fire demon, sitting on the windowsill and looking out over the forest. "Hiei?" she said, her tone disapproving.

Hiei pointedly glanced at Aeth's pile of belongings. "She'll be back," he said simply.


A/N: Okay, so I hope you all like the first chapter. I'm still new at this whole writing fanfics business, so if something goes wrong in the editing or the perspective changes, please tell me and I'll try to fix it right away. Sorry I left it at that cliff hanger, but I just couldn't resist. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to Review! I love hearing feedback from readers, and they really make me excited. Besides, with more reviews, more feedback, and possibly more submitted ideas (if you submit any, hint hint) then I'll be more likely to write faster and really get into it.

I'm going to try and make the chapters long, but the length will differ depending on if i want a major cliffhanger or not.