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.


Existential Plight
Chapter One, Part III: The Bloody Rumor

"Just a legend,
Cold words on a page."


Hiei had sworn to himself that one day he would be strong enough to kill all those in his way to strength and the life he was denied. Then he had been found by a band of thieves and realized the folly of that way. He learned of something more important than strength: dignity.

For they had none.

And it was sickening.

Though he still longed for strength and the life he had been denied because of his sex, the bandits had taught him it all meant nothing if one acted as low and vile that people wished for one's death out of pure spite. Strength was only a matter of physicality; it did not mean anyone had to give another anything that truly mattered. Such as worth and honor.

Because he could not have those qualities, he wanted them.

So when rumors had cropped up about the existence of a human jewel that could grant any wish and bestow great power unto its bearer, he knew it would be a matter of time before they set off in search of it. He knew the pecking order too well and that he was no where near the top, which would not do for his desire of the jewel. After all, he reasoned, he had far better uses for it than any of the weak idiots he traveled with.

The night before they were to sneak into the Ningenkai, he killed them all. As if he could allow them to get into that realm and possibly find the jewel before him. He was not expecting them, however, to be as strong as they were, enough so as to injure them. He had underestimated them, a mistake he would make with no other opponent again. Though it did led to him discovering that there did, in fact, exist those with both strength and dignity. An ancient youkai known as Sesshoumaru, the lord of the lands he was in, was who he found.

Again, he was not expecting to get the shit kicked out of him when he spoke of the plans they had had and the plans he had had. How was he to know that the lord would have a soft spot for the dirty humans?

A month had all ready passed as he tried to recover. His first goal of finding the life he was kicked out from was put on-hold for the moment. Instead, he vowed, he would learn enough to knock that lord into his place. No one bested Hiei and lived to tell of it.

He cracked open a carmine eye as he heard the familiar baritone of the dog and the mentioning of his name. When he heard another male's voice along with that of a female, he opened his other eye and attempted to sit up. No one usually spoke close enough to his door for him to gather information until now. The opportunity would not be wasted.

Yet it was in vain, though not entirely. They stopped talking in favor of opening his door. The resemblence between the males did not go unnoticed -- brothers? Parent and child? It was always so hard to tell with youkai -- and neither did the obvious humanity of the woman. She looked the part of it, especially with the young girl clinging to her red hakama. From such a distance, they looked like parent and child. He narrowed his eyes at the two youkai, not liking whatever joke they were trying to pull. After all, what other reason could there be for a human in the Makai?

Though she was the only one smiling, bright and unguarded. His regard of her dropped even lower. He assumed she had no sense of self-preservation as his deepening scowl did nothing to deter her from approaching. It did get her to untangle the human brat's hands from her hakama and shoo her back to the youkai. He found it surprising, to a certain degree as he did now know that the lord had a soft spot for humans, when the girl skipped her way back to Sesshoumaru and latched onto his pant leg. The lord even looked at her with a soft expression.

Pathetic idiots; the whole lot of them.

Had he his sword, the woman would have been dead in two more steps.

Yet he did not, so he lashed out with his fists as much as his injured body could. She shook her head as the scent of burning flesh filled the air. Where his fist had made contact with her arm, some strange power of hers was purifying his flesh. He pulled his hand back to glare at his singed digits. "The hell are you, human?"

She laughed as she sat down next to him. "I believe you just answered your own question, Hiei." Her smile turned innocent when he glared.

With no concern toward the threat that he posed, she pulled out various medical supplies from underneath his cot. "I hear you were out looking for something you shouldn't have been?" He knew it was supposed to be a statement and not a question. And he would not have answered had it not been for one deadly look from the youkai lord.

"As if you would know anything of it." Conversing with humans was not high on his list of fun things to do.

Her smile faded and he smirked, thinking he had won. "I know more than you think about the Shikon no Tama. Far too much." She cut off her words as the way she spoke them seemed to say she had so much more she wanted to say. Instead she began treating his wounds, her touch gentler than the steel lacing her words.

He grunted and turned his head away, figuring she was not going to elaborate. And she did not for a long time as she worked; her fingers and quickness belying how many times she had performed such tasks.

"You know, you should've just ignored the rumors about the existence of the jewel. No one ever finds it and returns unscathed. Rumors about a legend aren't worth that kind of trouble, why even bother?"

All three seemed to be judging him, as he was certain the child had no idea what was going on, and waiting for his answer before passing their verdict on his life. They knew so much more than they let on, he could tell.

"Anything worth having comes with trouble."

She made a thoughtful noise before bidding him goodnight. The youkai and child followed her soon after she passed them. It was then that he realized that the one who really held his fate was the puny, unremarkable human. And a female one at that. Women had been the bane of his existence since his damned birth. It did not seem as if that would be changing anytime soon.