Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters

There's a big surprise ahead. I did a lot to do the scene justice, including reading a manga special to make sure I got it right.

~Chapter 12 – The Plan~

Seven decades had passed since Hiei had lost his mate and was confronted by the bastard who had separated them. He was now ninety-two, and he had returned to the lifestyle he knew all too well. After finding his sister, he had returned to the only home he knew, living off the land and through thievery. No one could stop or apprehend him. The fire demon was either too quick for them or slaughtered his pursuers. It was truly a test of survival, even more so now that he had lost the majority of his past strength. He would sometimes get himself into hellish battles that he could not handle knowing that he once could handle opponents of that caliber. Those days, he needed to find a cave somewhere and treat his wounds. He was becoming a master at first aid.

Sometimes he'd use the Jagan to check on his sister. Yukina was still frolicking in Human World, safe among the trees, almost like himself. There were hardly any humans up in the mountains where she was, the only ones being so close were those of that village and that was still fairly far from where his sister normally traveled. Thankfully, because of this, he didn't need to check up on her often. Each time he would, she would be playing with the animals or in the snow. He was not needed.

Then, one day, everything changed. Hiei had gotten himself injured in a brutal fight and had to once again treat his wounds. He had gotten cocky and stolen something of value from a strong demon. Of course, Hiei's will had been stronger, and his opponent had underestimated him. He thought the fire demon was worthless and would be weaker upon injury. That landed the demon into an early trip to Spirit World.

Hiei, however, was exhausted and weakened. Though he managed to treat himself, he nearly passed out from the blood loss. He was in a cave near a stream, the stream reminding him so much of his lost lover. He tried not to focus on Botan, but the memories of his past were harder to push away when he was tired and drained of almost all his demon energy.

He decided to check on Yukina, the young ice maiden surprisingly bringing him solace from his chaotic and painful thoughts, though he refused to admit it to himself. When the Jagan opened, Hiei focused on his sister, but his crimson eyes flashed open moments later. He couldn't locate her, just like his mother's crystal. That was impossible. Even if deceased, he should have been able to find anyone, but it only seemed like Yukina didn't even exist. His brows furrowed in anger. Where was his sister?

Despite being exhausted, Hiei immediately fled, searching for a portal to the human realm. He had heard, recently, rumors of a female-hunting demon that had escaped to the wretched world and couldn't help but fear the worst for his sister. He was lucky he had gotten better use of the Jagan to pinpoint those random portals. He could do so very quickly.

Instead of finding himself near the mountain village, Hiei was transported into the middle of a city. Large, gray buildings surrounded him. Random cars passed by. There were few humans among them, and it was pitch-black out. It must have been really late in the evening. The sound of footsteps and a demonic presence alerted the fire demon. He quickly flitted out of sight, lying in wait.

It was then he noticed a young redheaded, green-eyed boy oozing demonic power walking with a young, human girl. Hiei was instantly on alert. This demon certainly wasn't the demon he heard of, not Yatsude. He must have been an underling of his. Red eyes narrowed. This bastard was going to pay if he was the one who had captured Yukina.

What Hiei didn't know was the demon he was looking at was once the legendary Youko Kurama, a highly skilled and violent thief, a fox demon, now trapped in the body of a fourteen-year-old boy under the alias Shuichi Minamino. He had escaped into the human world upon being mortally wounded, and ended up finding a home among those he once hated. He was currently walking a classmate home after she had witnessed a demon accost him. The Hedoki demon had discovered his identity long ago, and though Kurama was weakened he was still much stronger. He had warned the demon away, but he merely threatened the demon trapped in a boy's body. Kurama was warned then that the Hedoki had found a powerful ally. He knew that it was not a lie. A worthless demon like that would not return unless there was merit to his words.

When his classmate, Maya, had found him, he had been mentally arguing with himself. He hadn't wanted to use his powers, but these demons weren't leaving him with a choice. Maya, unaware of Kurama's dilemma, had immediately declared that she had always known he was different and nonchalantly confessed that he was her first love. The demon was baffled by her words. She found it cute and then proceeding to follow him around, asking him questions about himself, what he was. He could not tell her, deflating her excitement. Kurama didn't want to put the girl in danger, and so he couldn't burden her with his truth.

That was when, out of nowhere, Kurama sensed another demon. He panicked, not knowing what was about to happen. He remembered Maya was at his side and knew she was about to get caught in the crossfire. He gently grabbed her arm, alerting her. "Stay close," he ordered.

The attack came out of nowhere, and Kurama managed to grab Maya and jump out of the way. The girl looked frazzled, but Kurama couldn't worry about that. In that moment he was standing face to face with an unknown demon, a young one by demon standards, most likely in his first hundred years given his height, but definitely not a child. He was dressed in black and white, a white bandana over his forehead, and he had black, spiky hair with a hint of white, his blood red eyes filled with anger and hate. The youko demon could not tell if this was the one he was warned about, but if he was then he needed to take this battle away from the city, away from Maya.

"You dodged?" the stranger shouted, irritated that his target had avoided him.

Kurama set Maya down and then called upon his vines, the plants forming a sword. Hiei already had his in hand, and the two began exchanging strikes. "A plant weapon?" Hiei questioned aloud.

"Run!" Kurama shouted to Maya. He needed her to get as far away from them as possible. She was just staring at them, blinking. I need a change of terrain… Kurama thought, running towards the direction of the forest. Surprisingly, the demon who attacked him never took his eyes off of him. He didn't desire to harm the human girl, just him. That, at least, was a positive.

Neither combatant knew that, at that moment, the Hedoki had taken advantage of Maya being left alone. He had captured the girl, amused by his luck, and figured the girl would make a lovely gift for Yatsude. Of course, the reward the Hedoki received for bringing his present was to become part of Yatsude's power. Yatsude consumed the weaker demon without a second thought.

Once in the forest, Kurama had the advantage, but his demon opponent was much stronger than he gave him credit. The Hedoki must have been talking about this demon. He would have to be careful. This demon was young, but he was strong.

The two were still exchanging blows, their blades clashing together. Hiei could help but be impressed by the sword skills and tenacity of his opponent. "Not bad," he complimented. His opponent looked even more frustrated. Hiei couldn't understand why someone of such caliber was working for someone of lesser ability. "What's a guy like you doing with Yatsude?"

"Yatsude?" his opponent gasped out, shocked. "He's in town?"

Hiei was confused. Wasn't he fighting with Yatsude's lackey? He had seen him with some human girl, most likely planning to gift her to the demon. Still, he couldn't detect a hint of a lie. "…What? You're not with him?"

"I see…" At that, his opponent stopped struggling, his expression calmed as he offered a patient smile. "You can put away your weapon. I just live here."

Kurama was relieved that this demon wasn't the one that the Hedoki mentioned, but he knew Yatsude was probably more powerful than he could handle in his current condition. He noticed then with displeasure that Hiei was wounded from their fight, his blood dripping to the ground.

"I jumped to conclusions too quickly…" Hiei grunted, angry with himself. He didn't have too long to experience that failure as he dropped to the ground, passed out completely.

Kurama looked to the demon he had fought, concerned etched into his features. It wasn't concern for the young demon, though.

That monster, Yatsude… he thought. I can't defeat him alone… This is bad…

It had been a while, but Botan had become so much better with her duties, so much so that she was granted a promotion. She had become chief ferry girl because of how amiable and dutiful she always seemed to be. She had successfully ferried more souls than some of the other women. Botan had been thankful, but very bashful. Many of the other girls had been there much longer than she had. Some were jealous. A few had been supportive, even Ayame who Botan believed should have been promoted over her.

She, at least, had her friend, Hinageshi. The redheaded ferry girl had been a horribly tragic case. She was a child who died in an accident from what Botan had overheard, but no one mentioned that cause around the child. Botan wondered if it was like that when she wasn't around. Did the other ferry girls know of how she died, too?

Either way, Hinageshi was one of the only ferry girls who treated Botan like she had earned her position, not through favoritism as she was accused. It was no secret that Koenma favored Botan, mainly because she was a good confident to the Spirit World ruler. She knew he was the only one who knew of her entire past, though she never asked. Koenma, though, he had promoted her because he knew Botan's character in the purest form.

Botan had mastered the Dragon of Living Water at such a young age, but she had not made that choice on her own. The trial, according to her file, had been forced upon her. The woman was not a power-hungry demon looking for ways to get stronger and destroy. He knew that she had lived among humans, knowing that she might be an apparition, but died protecting human lives all because a ruthless demon had broken free of his confines in Spirit World. She had lost the dragon once she became a ferry girl. She was now deceased, and the Dragon of Living Water had no host to attach itself. It returned to the deep water where it would remain unbothered until someone tried to wield it. With the water clan gone, Botan being the sole survivor, she would be the only one to take it back, but as a spirit with no memory, she could not.

Koenma knew that Botan had suffered so much, and yet her attitude even after death was nothing but positive. That was who she was at her core. It was the reason Koenma had promoted her. He knew she would make a difference, and he refused to punish her for being a demon to start. She did not have any of the qualities that his father thought they did and had pounded into his son until he said he agreed.

"Hello, Koenma, sir."

The Reikai prince smiled when he heard Botan's chipper voice. It seemed she was back from her ferrying duties and wanted to get a head start on the paper work. Every time she went, though, she would stop by his office to chat for a brief minute. It was a nice reprieve from all of his paperwork that he detested so much. "Botan," he greeted. "I trust everything went well today."

Botan hesitated. "Well, for the most part…"

That caught Koenma's interest. Botan was rarely ever serious or grim. "What happened?"

The ferry girl sighed. "Well, I don't know what happened. I went to ferry just a handful of souls, and then when I got to the city there were so many more, all human teenagers. They all said that they had gone to some haunted factory to see if rumors were true and were all so terrified and upset. I calmed them down, but no one would talk about it. I didn't expect anyone else to die today."

Unfortunately, Koenma did. He had known something was amiss when he saw the predictions of the day. He was surprised, but he had no proof that something underhanded was happening until now. The location of death was not haunted. That only meant something that had Koenma fearful.

It meant demons were finding ways to cross over into Human World.

If there was ever a time he needed a Spirit Detective, it would be now, but Koenma hadn't been having so much luck finding any individual to do the job. He was painstakingly trying to come up with candidates, but he was starting not to trust his judgment after his last selection.

"Koenma, sir?"

Koenma snapped back to attention, looking into the confused and concerned pink pools of his subordinate and friend. "It's all right, Botan. As disheartening as it is, all of those children were supposed to die today."

"But…why?" Botan questioned, still not liking that aspect of her job. "They're so young."

"That's not something you have to worry about," Koenma assured her. "I'm sure the problem will correct itself soon."

"Well, alright, then," Botan replied. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to your paperwork."

Koenma felt relief when Botan went to leave the office. He ended up shouting at her retreating form to "find ogre" before he resumed stamping the files in front of him. Then he pulled up Yatsude's file. "This is going to be a long night…"

Hiei awoke later in an unknown place, finding himself in a comfortable bed. That was a rarity for him, unsettling. He looked off to the side and gaped at what he saw, completely dumbfounded as the redheaded demon stared back at him, sitting underneath his window. "You heal very quickly," the demon observed. "Just four hours." The fire demon looked down to his chest, torso, and abdomen to see that the gashes he sustained from battle had closed. "It was deep," his former opponent had continued. "I healed you. A Makai remedy…"

He couldn't help it. Hiei looked to the demon distrustfully. He knew how their world worked. This demon wanted something, and he would be damned if he allowed another like his former master would enter his life. He said nothing in response, but it didn't deter his host from conversing. "You haven't had the Jagan long. I can tell." Hiei looked away, irritated. "You must have a good reason to try that…" The stranger didn't elaborate on what he meant, but Hiei was certain he was either criticizing him or commending him for coming after a strong demon so soon, relatively speaking, after he lost all his strength. "What's the connection between her and Yatsude?

"Who is Yukina?"

Crimson eyes expanded as the question was voice, and Hiei froze. How did this demon know about Yukina? Was he a mind reader? Hiei almost believed he was when the demon stated, "You spoke in your sleep…"

Hiei gritted his teeth. "You talk too much…" he snarled. "I should've killed you." Then he got up from the bed and moved to the window. He paused before he reached it. "In thanks, I'll tell you something," he offered. "Your naivety will be the end of you one day."

Kurama kept a stoic façade, but he was actually highly amused. So this demon thought him naïve? He had no idea who he was, how old he was, and what he could do to him despite his weakened state. He was slightly stunned when the stranger he had harbored was about to climb out the window. His wounds were healed, but he had yet to completely recover. "You still mean to fight?" Kurama questioned, his expression dark and intense. "It's too soon."

Hiei growled at the demon, but waited so he could explain. "The more he eats, the stronger he gets."

Kurama was actually impressed. This young demon did his research. He also admired the tenacity. His curiosity about the stranger was growing. "What's your name?" he asked.

The fire demon hesitated to give it, but he did realize he owed the demon his life for saving his. This redhead could have left him for dead, but he chose to bring him into a human home to heal the injuries he caused from his own impetuous attack. "…Hiei." With that, he flashed out of the stranger's window and continued his pursuit of Yatsude.

Kurama was actually a bit surprised. He recognized the name the fire demon had given. After all, it had only been fourteen years since he was supposedly killed, and by that time he had already heard mention of the ruthless, loner demon as he himself passed through villages of thieves. "He already has a great reputation as a thief," the fox demon said to himself, "but he'll have trouble fighting Yatsude…"

The thief hardly had time to think about it when his house phone rang. "Hello?" he greeted. "Minamino speaking." The person on the other line was a classmate, Tasaka, though Kurama hardly cared to remember all their names. This one, though, he was one of Maya's friends. The words he said made Kurama's blood run cold.

"Maya never got home! Is she with you?"

A growl escaped Hiei as he jumped over the tops of buildings swiftly. He had used the Jagan to pinpoint a large, demonic energy. That had to be Yatsude. It definitely wasn't the kid he had seen. Speaking of, that naïve demon has caught up to Hiei, surprising the fire demon. He looked to the kid in question. "I'm coming with you," he was told by the redhead.

"Oh," Hiei muttered stoically. "Really. Why?" Actually, he was trying to play off his relief. He still felt weak from his earlier battle with the kid. He really didn't mind having a temporary ally against Yatsude.

"I have my reasons," Kurama answered cryptically.

Hiei was able to see right through him. "Because of that girl, right?" he pressed.

"Don't be smart," Kurama replied, though Hiei could hear the underlying threat in his tone.

Instead of giving a cheeky response, Hiei said, "…You still talk too much."

"We'll see about that after Yatsude."

In a burned-down and long-abandoned doll factory, Hiei and Kurama investigated, and neither were pleased with what they found. "Ruins…" Hiei murmured. "This guy's twisted. He mixes his leftovers with the dolls…"

Kurama agreed. The next moment, though, merely a second after Hiei spoke, he sensed the quick motion of Yatsude appearing behind them. Hiei felt the shift too, his eyes glistening with surprise, the fire demon not having expected the attack. "You're dead!" Yatsude exclaimed from behind, going to grab them with one of his arms.

They easily avoided him, but were face to face. Yatsude was a behemoth with four large arms and two coming out of his head wearing a belt made of the skulls of his victims. Hiei's eyes narrowed at the demon as did those of the redhead who accompanied him. "You two are tough," Yatsude said.

Hiei didn't care about praise from the monster. He had business to take care of. "I'll only ask you once. Who was the koorime you ate?"

Yatsude smirked, chuckling. "I don't remember."

Kurama grimaced, but his voice was calm as he declared, "You kidnapped a girl today. Where is she?"

"I'll give you a clue," the cretin responded. He held out a bloodied arm, and Kurama was deeply enraged at his gesture. Emerald eyes widened and filled with the fox's anger. "What's this…?" Yatsude taunted.

That was all it took for Kurama to give into his rage, charging in to attack, pouring his demon energy into his vines, the plants becoming swords as they extending from his fingers. Hiei jumped up, also attacking. The two boys were just randomly hitting Yatsude with their assault. At first, their movements were fast and confused the large demon, but then he was able to defend against them. "How naïve!" he mocked again. Hiei and Kurama didn't let up, even though they were getting hit. Eventually, though, they were pushed back, and both demons knew what was happening.

Dispersing our attacks doesn't work! they both thought at the once. It was then they knew what they had to do. The two demons, strangers, needed to fight in sync, as one.

"Hm?" Yatsude grunted before the two demons attacked him together. "A double assault?" he shouted in disbelief and frustration.

Kurama moved into view while Hiei moved behind him and vanished from sight. Yatsude was confused and thought, Disappeared? Behind the other one? He smirked. It's a trick… He's above! "Pathetic!" he shouted out and attacked. An explosion lit in the air. "Much too easy."

But it was not Hiei who was destroyed. "A doll?" Yatsude bellowed, seeing the shattered shards. "A trap!" He looked up to see Hiei ready to slash him with his sword. "Shit!"

Hiei cut through Yatsude multiple times, the demon's body falling to pieces. Kurama then used his vines to strike Yatsude, blood spewing everywhere. Then, Yatsude laid in pieces on the floor, grimacing. "Not bad…" he reluctantly spat out. "As a reward… The girl is safe…" Kurama's eyes widened slightly at the confession.

Hiei was still not appeased. He stared at the dying monster and once again asked, "Who was the koorime you ate?" Yatsude chuckled. "I don't know any koorime," he admitted. "If I'd eaten her…I wouldn't have lost…"

So it wasn't him… Hiei felt even more overwhelmed by the monster's confession. At least if Yatsude had eaten Yukina, he would have had closure, but now he still had no idea what became of his sister. An icy chill touched his core. Where is she?

After the battle, it was time for Kurama to return home. He found Maya unconscious in Yatsude's lair, and then collected her and carried her on his back. Kurama was surprised that Hiei waited for him and left with him. The young demon must have found solace that this Yukina, a koorime, otherwise known as an ice maiden, was safe from harm. He should have been off by now.

As they walked, Maya had awaken and found herself resting on Shuichi's back. Relief flooded her now that she was with her friend. "I must have been dreaming…"

Calmly and emotionlessly, Kurama replied, "Yes, that's right." It was then he used some of his power and a plant that would take care of this situation. "When you wake up, you'll have forgotten everything."

Maya started to drift, falling back to sleep as a sweet smell surrounded her. "You smell good…"

Kurama ignored her, thinking to himself, You'll have forgotten everything, including your love…

Hiei was walking back alongside the redhead enjoying the lack of conversation between them, but the fox demon spoke up breaking that. "The pollen of forgetfulness…" he stated, clearly trying to distract himself from what he had decided to do.

The fire demon had heard of it. "Partial amnesia," he announced knowingly.

"It's for her own good," Kurama continued, as if trying to convince himself. Hiei wondered how he could tell, but he figured that it was probably because the two had fought as one. Hiei had never done that with anyone before, never trusted someone enough other than Botan, but his chance to fight alongside his mate never came.

The fire demon closed his eyes for a moment, trying to force himself not to think about her again, not when his sister was in danger. There was nothing he could do for the dead. Yukina may have still been alive. Either way, he still had another demon in front of him, and he did not want to forget him. He could very well be a decent pawn later, if nothing else. It had nothing to do with how well they worked together at all. At least, that's what Hiei had told himself. "And you? What's your name? I'll try to remember it."

"Kurama," the other demon revealed without reservation.

Hiei wanted to call the redheaded demon out on his lack of self-preservation once again, but he realized that this Kurama must have felt the same about him, that same trust. In fact, Kurama stated more than that, having now had insight to who Hiei was. "You must also have someone important to you. You even had a Jagan implanted to find her."

Hiei looked to Kurama for a moment, but he did not want to give the demon any satisfaction. Besides, it wasn't just one person he had been trying to find. "You really talk too much."

He was about to take off. "Are you going?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah," Hiei answered. "I can't stay here for long."

"Will I ever see you again?"

Hiei didn't answer, though he already knew. They would meet again, but next time not as enemies. Hiei flitted away, leaving Kurama behind. The fox demon just stared out into the sky at the spot where his knew comrade had disappeared. "Hiei." He smiled. Kurama knew they'd meet again, too.

A year had passed since that day. Kurama had returned to his mundane life as Shuichi Minamino, the girl who once engaged him always dismissing him as if he were a stranger. Hiei, after returning to Demon World to scour the realm for more information, he actually had learned something interesting. Shortly after going through the portal, he settled in a village where thieves resided for the night. As he walked by some demons, he randomly heard them speaking of the legendary bandit, the great Youko Kurama, and the fire demon stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide as saucers. A moment later, he continued his trek and resumed his search for Yukina. He wasn't even certain if the ice maiden was alive.

Throughout the year, Hiei searched without rest, still not able to track Yukina down, not even to a resting place. Eventually, he came to terms with the fact that she had to be alive. He then devised a plan to find her, one which would require an army to scourge the human cities. Yukina was no longer in Spirit World, and with no resting place discovered she couldn't be in Spirit World either. That only left Human World.

To make his plan happen, Hiei needed the three Spirit World artifacts, the ones secured in a heavily guarded vault in that realm. No demon would be foolish enough to pursue the Orb of Baast, Forlorn Hope, or Shadow Sword, but now was not the time for Hiei to get cold feet. He already knew he couldn't do this alone, but he already had an inkling of a partner. Now, they just needed more muscle. Hiei would find some idiotic demon to take the fall for him and another. After all, Hiei was already acquainted with a masterful and calculating thief. He was going to recruit Youko Kurama.

A/N: So I bet now everyone can see where this seemingly AU story is going :D I've been so excited to actually get to this point. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and are excited to see where we're going next. Until next time!