A/N: Updating because it's 6 days from my birthday, that and I'm recently getting over a serious chest infection and have an X ray to attend.

"Wake up human!"

Kuwabara cringed at the booming voice and opened his eyes only to discover he had been blindfolded, his wrists bound above his head and his clothes were missing from his body.

"Now listen closely human, you do everything we say or the little bitches that came here with you will get it."

For a moment, his heart stopped, just as his breath stuttered to a stop. Quickly he reached out with his energy, sensing the children three rooms away before the bindings around his wrists shocked him. He felt himself scream, more than he heard it. A whip then struck him across the chest.

"First Lesson! If you try to call your buddies up with your spirit energy and the bindings around your wrist will shock ya with it!" The demon snarled and cracked the whip against the defenceless human a second time. "Second Lesson! You try and escape here and we'll kill ya. Live human pets fetch a better price but I'm bettin' that a few demons wouldn't mind snacking on your young hide." Another crack of the whip and Kuwabara felt blood run down from his new wounds before another demons voice spoke.

"Consider yourself lucky that we decided to train you into being a good pet. Until you're bought, I want you to be a good little pet and do everything we say, then the little kiddies won't get hurt, understand?"

Kuwabara nodded. He would agree to obey, only to protect the children, and stall for time until his team found him.

"Good, then let's have a little fun with our new 'pet'."

1314

Two children were missing from the ice village, thirteen remained, but all Hiei could focus on was that one human, Kuwabara, had been taken away from him. He had left Kurama and Yusuke to survey the damages to the village, lacking the patience for such a dull activity. Instead he sat atop a snow bank that was perched on the edge of the ice maiden's floating island, going over the last few moments in his head to try and form a reasonable strategy. Most of them involved using his Jagan to locate Kuwabara but that quickly fell apart as it became apparent that his Jagan was still too low on energy to be of any use to him. Below him the vast landscape was shrouded with fog while a light snowfall fell from above.

"Hiei..."

The fire demon turned towards the voice of his soft spoken sister, only to see another ice-maiden he knew all too well.

"Rie, just what the hell do you want?" The older ice maiden flinched, cowering at his words.

"To... to repay a long owed dept." Hiei out right laughed.

"And how exactly to you plan to redeem yourself for tossing a child off the very edge we stand in front of now?"

He wasn't surprised when she started crying, he even faintly wondered how an ice maidens tear gems could be rare if ice maidens were so prone to crying. The only thing that did surprise him was that Rie cried silently, not uttering a single noise while the tear gems fell.

"I know how you can track down those who stole the children, as well as your companion." Hiei stood, a smouldering glare fixed upon the ice maidens face.

"Speak any lies at this moment and it will cost you your life."

"I assure you Imiko, I give my word that I will not lie."

"Your word means nothing to me!"

"Even so, you will want to hear what I have to say."

Hiei's glare intensified. This woman, the one who tossed him from the Ice Maidens island, was really expecting him to listen to her? The woman who had ignored his mothers cries, an action that later caused her death.

"Leave before I separate your head from your shoul-"

"Hina sent me a letter three days before your arrival on this Island." The fire apparition could only stare and wait for her to continue. "The message warned me that the elder was in league with a demon named Chourin. I did not believe it was real, not until her warning came true."

"I'm not to keen on believing you either."

"Then at least read this."

Hiei took the letter from her outstretched hand. Instantly he could feel his Mother's presence, the same presence that emanated from the tear gems that hung around his neck. He read the small letter quickly, confirming what Rie had told him earlier.

"How is this letter supposed to help me?"

"If Hina knew that the elder was in league with Chourin, there's a chance that she would know how to find her. The letter was sent to me from the western mountains. "

"Fine." Was all he said before folding the note and hiding it within his cloak.

"Where are you going?"

"To fix the mess I made."

The ice maiden did not follow as he left; she had done all she could.

In an instant Hiei found himself standing in front of Yusuke and Kurama inside the ice maiden temple, explaining what he had just been told by Rie.

"So you will be traveling to the western mountains, to find where this 'Chourin' has taken Kuwabara?" Kurama replied with a thoughtful expression.

"Yes."

"Alright, while you go there," Yusuke interjected "Fox boy and I are going back to my territory to get what information we can from Raizen's archives, try to figure out exactly who Chourin is and how much it's going to take to kick their ass."

"You should meet us there Hiei as our task will likely take longer than your own."

"Agreed."

The fox and Mazoku then to their leave to the south western plains while Hiei left the temple a little later, taking care to find several suitable blades to hide in his cloak. He made it half way down Yenen mountain before he heard someone calling his name. The gentle yet almost panicked voice made him turn with irritation. His irritation soon turned to surprise as he saw Yukina racing towards him.

"Hiei, stop! I'm coming with you!"

"No you are no-" He was cut off by the positively frigid look that Yukina gave him, and the fact that she held up Rie's letter in her hand.

"I'm coming with you Hiei she… Hina was my mother as well… and Kazuma was my best friend; I need to make sure he's okay."

"I cannot guarantee your safety." He warned.

"You're not the only one that had to fend for themselves as a child Hiei."

The silence hung heavy in the air before the fire demon sighed. He hated how much tension was hanging in the air between them. Tension that he could only blame himself for. It had been so much simpler when she had been ignorant of their blood relation.

"I'm not keen on leaving you at ice village… you may come with me." He said carefully and she smiled. "But at the first sign of trouble you run."

She didn't answer him, but still kept smiling and began to walk with him, side by side, both determined to save the person closest to their hearts.

A/N: I have to confess that I never really liked how Yukina was portrayed in the anime or manga because she had the potential to be a total badass and that potential was never met. So I'm trying to give her a slightly stronger role without damaging her canon character. As long as she doesn't look weak I'm good.