Summary:

Hiei works up the nerve to visit Yona and Yarika. He also finds out that Yukina is engaged.

Notes:

This chapter takes place the spring after the first story ended. For those of you who are new to this work, Yarika is a half demon. She and Hiei are both adults (they're around the same age, they didn't start sleeping together until they were adults) and they had a surprise baby.

This work contains some mature themes, sexual content (within the bounds of FFN TOS) and LGBT+ themes and relationships. The AO3 version has more content (as FFN does not allow non story content) and will be illustrated when i get around to drawing.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Hiei was having a terrible time in the human world. He'd dreaded facing his family since before rescuing Yona. He had no excuse not to see his family, now that both Yukina and Yona knew he was their close relative. Everyone else now knew, too. Kuwabara had thought it was a joke at first. It was bad enough that the ill-tempered fire demon was Yona's father, but his sweet Yukina was Hiei's twin. Love had prevailed and Kuwabara was even more determined to be her main squeeze.

Hiei had been in the human world a few days; he'd been lurking and spying before working up the nerve to actually go visit his baby mama and child. He stuck out like a sore thumb in the uptown neighborhood the Fujimiyas lived in, which added to his aversion. After he had rescued his daughter from the Sei-Sei Shinto bastard's clutches, he had split as soon as the house was in sight. If he didn't at least check in with her, Kurama would probably mastermind another 'accident' and put him out of commission again. Curses.

He stood at the door before pushing the doorbell. He hadn't bothered with the intercom at the gate. The curtain pulled back and before long the front door opened. It was Yarika, wearing an apron.

"I thought that was you lurking around. Please come in, we've been expecting you."

He felt very out of place in a house that did not double as a fortress. His eyes quickly took in the entryway and the décor, as if to scout out any potential threats. His hackles raised. A small, quick shape lunged at him, but instead of reaching for his sword, he caught it by the shoulders so it wouldn't knock him over in excitement.

"Daddy, you came to see us!" cried Yona, bouncing in place.

He nodded, unsure of how to proceed.

Yarika shepherded them both to a spacious living room. By urban Japan standards, this was a spacious house, although not ostentatious like some of the houses Hiei had robbed in his early days in the realm while he searched for Yukina. He noticed a small altar in one corner with a framed and fabric draped photograph on the altar, surrounded by incense and other items. The photograph was of a woman with wavy pink hair and magenta eyes who appeared to be in her mid to late twenties, if she had been a human.

"That's Grandma," said Yona, pulling him over by the hand. "Visitors are 'sposed to pay respects."

So this was Yarika's deceased mother, Hinoki. Indeed, she resembled her daughter.

Yona bowed and put her hands together before the altar. Hiei copied her stiffly, as this was obviously considered proper etiquette in a human household. Normally he did not bother with etiquette, but he got the feeling he had to be on his best behavior in front of Yona.

"We go every year on her 'versary to bring her flowers and cakes," said Yona, presumably meaning bringing an offering to her grave on the anniversary of her death. "Do you ever go see Grandma Hina?" She knew that Hina was buried on the island Yukina came from.

Hiei blinked at the child's question. He thought about his mother's lonely frozen tomb with no one to pay respects but Rui. "I went to see her once. I didn't bring anything."

Yona frowned. "I only know Grandpa. Great Grandpa and Great Grandma are alive but they're mean so we don't go visit. I wish Grandma Hinoki and Grandma Hina were still alive."

"I do too," said Hiei, almost inaudibly. He cared nothing about his unknown father, who had not bothered to protect Hina and her twins from the cruel ice maidens and scampered off to parts unknown. Or had died. No one knew his name, much less where he had gone. Hiei did not care to find out. But he cared about Hina, who he had intended to take away from the glacier and had arrived years too late to do so.

"I'm named after both grandmas," said Yona. "and Aunt Yukina." Mommy picked my name because it's got part of their names in it."

Hiei remembered the letter Yarika had sent him a few months ago. He recalled the spelling of the name. the first character could be read as "yo" or "hi" and the second character "na" was the same as Yukina and Hina's. the whole name could be read as Hina, too. Yarika had obviously put a great deal of thought and respect for their relatives into the naming of their child. Hiei appreciated that, as Hina deserved to be remembered.

By the time Kenji Fujimiya had come home, Hiei had settled in somewhat. Yona, happy with the opportunity to get to know her gruff, mostly silent father better, was perfectly fine doing most of the talking. She paused her childish prattle to ask him the occasional question. He took care to soften his language and tone as not to upset the child when he answered them.

When Kenji walked in the door, Hiei clammed up, feeling incredibly awkward. What does one say to a man whose daughter they knocked up anyways? Hiei had no idea. The two had briefly met at the Dark Tournament, but hadn't said much to each other. He remembered Kenji as a rather prim and polite man, who had treated Hiei and the other boys with courtesy. Hiei didn't know what the man would do now. He had some idea that a patriarch would not tolerate a deadbeat who had impregnated his daughter, or worse, try to force him to marry her.

"Hello, Hiei," said Kenji, before scooping up Yona and giving her a hug. "Hey there, Sunshine. Why don't you go help your mom with supper for a bit? Grandpa wants to talk to your father."

"'Kay!" said Yona, scampering off and leaving the men alone.

Hiei immediately assumed a cocky posture, much like he did with Mukuro when the latter was in a bad mood. He knew he deserved a tongue lashing for abandoning his family, but he still felt compelled to do the whole cocky act. But the expected tongue lashing didn't come.

"I'm glad you decided to come around. Yona needs her father and it's better late than never."

Hiei raised an eyebrow. "I'm only here because Kurama would try to kill me if I didn't at least check in on her once. I'm no fit parent. She'd be better off not knowing me at all."

"Why? Because you're a convicted felon?"

Hiei nodded. "I know nothing about caring for children, even memories from when I was one. I was raised by bloodthirsty bandits, not exactly a nurturing environment."

Kenji was a clever man. He could see Hiei was not at all confident about child rearing and was perhaps hoping that Kenji would forbid him contact. "That doesn't matter. All that matters is that Yona sees that you care about her, that you spend time with her and treat her and her mother with respect. There are no perfect parents. I've defended many felons that went on to raise children and most of them turned out all right, provided they took their roles as parents seriously."

Hiei went silent for a long time as he pondered this. Kenji was one of the few humans he had any respect for and the man was not one to yank his chain. Hiei was not so terrible that he would allow anything bad to happen to his family, but he had thought his past barred him from being an integral part of it. Maybe the human patriarch was right. If he was careful not to expose Yona to his unsavory traits, maybe she'd turn out all right.

Yarika came in, trailed by Yona. "Supper is ready. There is plenty if you want some, Hiei."

Hiei was out of his element. No one had ever invited him to partake of a family meal before. In general, he preferred to eat alone, as meals were distracting and opened one up to attack. Before he could open his mouth to refuse, Yona tugged at his sleeve.

"I set your place!" she chirped. Hiei sighed, resigning himself. Since no one here meant him harm that he could tell, he could at least join them for a while.

"Yes you did, you're a big help," said Yarika.

Hiei allowed himself to be shepherded to the table, where there was a dish of stew in front of the chair he was to sit in. It occurred to him that he'd never eaten any of Yarika's cooking before, or that it might be good. The stew looked all right and it didn't smell like anything hazardous. Hiei sat.

"I will humbly partake," said the three Fujimiyas, their hands in a prayer like gesture as they said the traditional Japanese mealtime expression.

The stew was good. It seemed that the years of taking care of her father and child had made Yarika competent in household matters.

Yarika was pleased to see that after some hesitation, Hiei tucked into his stew. Evidently he liked it, as he silently held out the bowl for another helping. She filled it for him.

"I'm not filming as much since I had Yona," said Yarika, to fill the silence. "I'm keeping it that way until she is old enough to attend school. If I have to work, I leave her with Yukina and Kuwabara. I hope you don't mind."

"No," said Hiei. He had heard that since Genkai died, Yukina had moved into the Kuwabara household. As long as Shizuru was there, Hiei was willing to tolerate it. The tall human woman would put a stop to any funny ideas Kuwabara had concerning Yukina. "I don't like that they live under the same roof, but they won't neglect Yona."

Yarika wisely did not tell him that Yukina had recently accepted Kuwabara's proposal. That was for Yukina to tell him herself. "Yukina wants to see you. She knows you're her brother." Hiei was aware. Yona had already spilled the beans to him, not knowing it was a secret that needed to be kept from him.

Hiei stiffened. "How did she find out about me?"

"Yukina isn't stupid. She's suspected it since you rescued her from that ugly jerk's mansion. She knew for sure since you took her hiruiseki stone with you, and confirmed it again when you tried to give it back. She just didn't tell you because she thought you had a good reason not to tell her. She was waiting for you to admit it."

"She would have waited forever. I wasn't allowed to tell her even if I wanted to. It was the price I paid to get my Jagan eye. I gave my word." Now that Yukina knew, he was able to admit that part of the bargain.

"I see, that makes sense." Yarika knew Hiei always kept his word. It was one of the things she liked about him. "You still have to face her, she has something she really wants to tell you. I don't mind going with you, maybe it'll go a little easier."

"Hn," said Hiei, considering it. Yarika was close to both twins and would hear about anything that happened anyway. "Fine," he said with the tone of it being a burden having a third wheel tag along.

"We will go tomorrow then," said Yarika.

That night, after Yona went to sleep, Yarika and Hiei had their long overdue talk about where they were going to go from there. Hiei could not bring himself to admit that he was in love with her. While he didn't think he was any good for her, he would not have liked her being with someone else. It was a hard position to be in. He truly did care about her, but he couldn't admit that any more to her than he could admit to Yukina that he was her brother.

As it turned out, she admitted her feelings first. Yona had told him that Yarika loved him, so this was not as much of a surprise as it would have been. But she had never actually told him that herself before now.

"I've been thinking about it… I was stupid to not want to burden you with my feelings, since I know you hate being tied down. I like you, Hiei. Much more than as a friend. I'm not expecting you to marry me or anything, but if you want to try being in an exclusive relationship and see where that goes, I'd like that."

She flushed, looking rather like the schoolgirl she had been when they first met. Hiei relaxed a few degrees, since she wasn't trying to force him into marriage like human women tended to do when they got pregnant out of wedlock. To most demons, marriage was a serious lifetime commitment, as their lives tended to be very long. The promise that until death did them part was literally meant. He was not remotely ready for something like that.

But he had missed her. In truth he didn't mind her bossing him around so much, as she did care about his well being. He had also missed her touch and yes, the sex. She was one of the few he truly trusted to have non-combat physical contact with him. Like with meals, sex was a time where he was vulnerable and she could have easily used it as a method to dispatch him. But she had not done so and it had likely never even occurred to her. It had taken a lot of trust to have those nights of passion with her and she did not betray it.

He would have to think about her offer.

They went to see Yukina the next morning. The Kuwabaras lived in an average size house, with Yukina bunking with Shizuru and Kazuma and the Kuwabara patriarch each having their own rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Kuwabara had been divorced for quite some time, so Mrs. Kuwabara did not live with them and rarely saw their children. Mr. Kuwabara was usually busy running his hostess bar and was rarely home, leaving the younger Kuwabaras to run the house. Hiei approved of this sleeping arrangement.

Yukina let in the three visitors and offered them tea. Yona happily nibbled the offered snacks and got distracted by the television, leaving the adults to talk.

Yukina was pleasantly surprised that Hiei had come of his own volition to see her. She had the feeling that he would not be pleased that she was in love with Kazuma, but it was a choice she had made herself. It wasn't at all against him, but a part of her felt smug at sticking it to the man hating women of her race. Kazuma was a kind, if silly man who had proven to her that humans were not all bad.

"Thank you for coming, Brother," said Yukina. She had the art of appearing human down pat, she even had adopted western fashion in dress, as opposed to the prim kimono she had worn most of her life. Most humans that were not elderly wore western clothing and she stood out less this way.

Hiei stiffened as if bracing for a blow. As with Yona, he had little to no idea how to proceed. He had no idea if Yukina was going to feel differently about him now that she knew their true relationship.

Yukina studied him for a moment, noting his discomfort. "I don't hate you, Brother. I don't care what you did before you met me. I'm just glad you're here."

Hiei stared owlishly, he didn't think Yukina would be so accepting of his criminal past. He was so perceptive in battle, but totally blind to the fact that his friends and family accepted him and approved of his growth as a person. He looked away, with a faint flush on his face. He felt like he wanted to cry from relief and happiness, but he could not do so in front of anyone, even family.

But with the next thing Yukina said, he went straight from that into seeing red.

"I'm going to marry Kazuma," she said.

"I forbid it!" hissed Hiei. It wasn't so much that he hated Kuwabara, he thought that no one was good enough for Yukina. Not to mention, as a human, Kuwabara would leave poor Yukina a widow in a matter of years. It would bring her grief. Hiei did not want to see her shed any more tears.

"Brother," said Yukina in a firm but gentle voice. "This is my decision. Please try to be happy for me."

Hiei fumed, but shut his mouth. He kept his peace until the visit had ended, as not to upset Yukina. He would put a stop to it if he could, but he'd have to be careful. He did not want Yukina to hate him.

As soon as Hiei was out of earshot of either Yona or Yukina, he let loose. "She is not marrying the oaf. End. Of. Story."

"Oh?" said Yarika. "What do you plan to do about it? Her mind is made up and you are not allowed to kill him. There is not much you can do."

Hiei growled, knowing she was right. "Scare him off. Or maybe torture. You'd be surprised what you can live through."

"Torture also falls under the don't harm humans law. As far as scaring, go ahead and try. I won't stop you," said Yarika, knowing Hiei was unlikely to succeed. Kuwabara had shrugged off a critical injury out of love of Yukina. Hiei's knight templar big brother terrorism didn't stand a chance.

Yarika knew it was useless to talk sense into Hiei just now, he was too worked up.

"You have plenty of time, they're not getting married until late this year. Meanwhile, I have an idea that you may like. Sort of a family vacation, if you will."

Hiei stopped muttering curses and glanced up at her.

"What if," said Yarika, smiling devilishly, "we go to that glacier of yours, visit your mother's grave and while we are at it, scare those ice maidens. Maybe convince some to defect. That would REALLY stick in their collective craw. You once said that they weren't worth killing, maybe destroying their peace and way of life would be a better punishment."

Hiei thought about it. It was an interesting proposal. The icy women were Yukina's to kill if she wished, but messing with them was not out of the question. That and he had been seized with the desire to visit Hina again, after Yona's display of respect before Hinoki's memorial.

"I suppose it might be time to go back after all these years," said Hiei.

Yarika smiled to herself, she knew Hiei well enough to exploit his weak points and redirect him. Besides, it would be good for Yona to know where she came from. Even though she had the blood of those icy bitches through Hiei, Yona would live a free life able to love whoever she wanted while they were confined to the glacier by their fear and unable to love.

Meanwhile, she would also have to come up with more strategies to thwart his wedding sabotage. Perhaps she could use her feminine charms to distract Hiei as well.

In any case, this was going to be an interesting year..

Notes:

Kuwabara's dad makes a single panel cameo in the manga and a single glimpse in the OVA All or Nothing. I made up pretty much everything about him.

In Japanese homes, there is often an altar with the photos of deceased relatives that one can pray to, light incense for, and leave offerings to. Going to visit the grave is a grander version as it involves cleaning the headstone and leaving quality offerings in front of the grave.

In Japan the wife traditionally does the cooking, cleaning, child care, and household accounts. Yarika has been doing as much of that as possible since Hinoki died. Fun fact, her cooking was awful at first, but got better over the years.

Biz suggested the line that Yukina would not marry the oaf, end of story.

Big thanks to BizPower and Sweetsnow73 both of who made this fic possible.