Summary:
Preparations are underway for the Demon World Tournament, the cast goes about it in their unique ways.
Notes:
Apologies for the hiatus, writers block plus nasty hot weather took it out of me.
Implied sexual content.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
The day of the tournament was fast approaching. Hiei was satisfied with the results of Yona's training and Yona had passed all her subjects in school, so there was no barrier for her entry into the tournament alongside Hiei. Sometimes Hiei was a little miffed that Yarika wouldn't let him pull her from school to train more often, but an agreement was an agreement.
Hiei, while intelligent, never had much in the way of formal education aside from what one of the friendlier bandits had deigned to teach him as a small child. His curriculum beyond the three R's was all crime, survival, and fighting. Yarika by contrast was both well educated and intelligent, with decent but not stellar battle prowess. Yona was a smart girl, was doing fairly well in school and a was good fighter, she had struck a good balance. Hiei saw the value in that, an education and socialization meant Yona did not have to turn to banditry to survive. Yona could choose how to live her life as an adult, while his own criminal past was difficult to move on from.
Hiei still had moments of disbelief that Yarika, who in his opinion could have had any demon or human she wanted, had chosen him. He was not exactly a good person, but that didn't seem to bother her much. As she pointed out, he had chosen to be a better person than who he used to be, even more so since he had become a father.
"I don't know why you stay with me, I'm really not any good for you or Yona," he murmured from under her chin. They were snuggling in bed between romps. Sometimes this state of relaxation opened the floodgates and he said what he was really thinking. She was the only person he ever opened up to: as she not only could keep her mouth shut, she was tactful and insightful. "All I'm really good for is fighting."
Yarika sighed, thinking what to say that would not only comfort him, but not sound condescending. "Love has nothing to do with worth. So what if you're not a saint?" she stroked that odd blue-black streaked with white gravity-defying hair of his. "Since we first got together, you've been decent if not good to me. And you have been a good father to Yona, as reluctant as you were to be at the time."
He relaxed a trifle, reassured that she still didn't expect him to be a model citizen. He had done his best for Yona's sake, but fell short in many ways. "Why did you even want to be with me in the first place?"
"I can't put my finger on the exact reason why. It was a number of reasons. The simplest being I was feeling like I needed someone. I liked you and trusted you not to hurt me or go bragging about banging me." She smirked to herself. "That, and I thought you were really hot."
Hiei smirked too, from his nest under her chin. He wasn't one to preen, but hearing that she thought he was attractive stroked his ego. The fact she trusted him was something he enjoyed hearing even more, no matter how often she said so. Trust was everything to Hiei. When Yusuke had trusted him to save them at the gate of betrayal, Hiei had been instantly won over. To Hiei, "I trust you" was almost a declaration of love. Yarika trusting him and being able to be trusted with his secrets had made him devoted to her.
She asked something she had always been curious about. "Why did you accept my offer?"
Hiei was silent for a long time. "You needed me. No one ever needed me before, except as muscle." That had been the thing that had made him unable to resist giving into her advance, despite all logic screaming at him not to. After that incredible first time, he felt himself becoming dependent; sending her back home after she had made her kill was all he could do to get back to normal. Now he was in so deep he could never get rid of her, not that he wanted to. He still thought he had gotten the far better deal. She was beautiful, brave, clever, and above all, loving. He was still not a great person, although he was much calmer and far less needlessly violent than he had been at their first meeting. They were a mismatched couple, but somehow it worked for them.
He was hers forever, he hoped that she would keep on wanting him. True, he could propose and make things permanent, but his self doubts combined with the fear of rejection kept him from even considering it. It would take time to work up the nerve to if he ever accomplished it. Yarika, who was a confident, self assured person, was in no hurry to and never even hinted at it. Kenji approved of him, rather unwisely, Hiei privately thought. Still, he was touched by a human wanting him for a son when his natural father and his bandit foster father had not.
Having gained back full control of his faculties, Hiei spoke no more. A rather tender look in his eye, he shifted his position, ready for more. He was a full-on addict of his hanabito lover, he no longer cared who knew about them. After the tournament, most of demonkind would likely know about their relationship. Few would challenge him, he was too feared by all but the strongest. He would kill anyone who tried to hurt her or take her from him, that was a binding promise. He would only release her if she no longer wanted him.
If Hiei had one prayer, it was that that day would never come.
The preparations for the tournament were well underway for the other participants. Keiko was used to Yusuke participating, but she worried every time it came about. Keisuke was old enough to understand, he thought his father fighting monsters was the coolest thing ever. Keisuke had been pestering Yusuke to let him go to the tournament. His favorite tactic was leaping onto Yusuke's back to get his attention.
"Daddy, please let me go! I'll be good!" whined Keisuke.
Yusuke tried to pry his son off his back. "Sorry, champ. You're not strong enough to survive Demon World yet. The air is poison to humans, so you'll have to watch it on TV with your mom and grandma." Atsuko had thoroughly enjoyed watching it on television three years prior, and was already buying booze and snacks for this year's viewing party.
Keisuke looked mutinous. "Uncle Kuwabara is going."
"That's because his spiritual power is strong enough to withstand it for at least a few days. Weak humans die quickly when they breathe it in. You have some demon in you, but you're not strong enough."
Kuwabara was planning on entering this go round. There was no rule barring humans from entering the tournament, although no one would have accepted a pure human's rule over them. Several demons had made a stink about the lack of a human ban, although one had never been implemented. Yusuke being allowed to compete despite his mazoku avatism was a insult to demons, they claimed. The rest were merely impressed that Yusuke had always been a finalist.
Yukina of course was supportive, like a good wife. She was worried, sure, but Kuwabara was the strongest pure human currently alive. She was happy that she was following all his dreams, including becoming a strong enough fighter to protect the family and all his fellow humans. Kuwabara's schooling, career and family obligations had prevented him for a time, but he had started training seriously again with his sweet wife's blessing. He wouldn't have been able to do it if his boss was anyone else and if he had been married to a human, as any other boss would have expected him to sacrifice everything for the company. Kenji understood the need for a man to test his mettle. Being aware of the supernatural, he understood the dangers as well. Just as well that Kuwabara stayed fit enough to help keep the region safe.
The twins were happy to help in any way they could. They cheered on their father as he trained, and happily provided extra weight as he did his warmups, like a pair of noisy dumbbells.
"You can do it, Daddy!" cried the twins, hanging onto his arms.
Kazuki was a bit worried about the scary monsters Kuwabara was to fight, but gamely cheered on his big, strong daddy. Yuuhi exclaimed that that she would be knocking heads in a future tournament like their big cousin was going to this time.
"Are you gonna beat 'em to a pulp, Daddy?" asked Yuuhi.
"I'll do my best, kiddo," chuckled Kuwabara, ruffling her hair. "I bet you'll give Touya a run for his money and become the strongest ice demon someday." Yuuhi puffed up, fully believing she would be.
Shizuru was somewhat less approving when she found out Kazuma intended to fight. He had done wonderfully in the last several years, and it wouldn't do to leave Yukina a widow quite so soon. Rui thought them fighting at all was barbaric, but it wasn't her place to tell them what to do. She was truly worried about her brother-in-law's chances of making it back alive, but she'd leave Shizuru to handle it.
Shizuru bounced Rukia on her knee. "If you die, I'll have Koenma hold your soul in his broom closet so I can beat the stuffing out of it."
Rukia squealed with delight, ignoring Mama Shizuru's scolding of Uncle Kazuma. Shizuru was as tough as she ever was, but she was soft to .
Shizuru smiled down at the roly-poly baby ice maiden. "Uncle Kazuma had better listen or else, hm?"
Rukia beamed up at her, showing off her few teeth.
Kuwabara huffed, but didn't talk back. He may have surpassed Shizuru ages ago, but he still found her scary. At least she couldn't punch him while holding Rukia. "I won't die 'til I see my kids grow up at least."
"Good boy," said Shizuru, resuming bouncing the baby. "Mom was here, she's starting to come around about Rui, she finally stopped bringing pictures of eligible men. She even brought Rukia some cute clothes. She's a little disappointed Yuuhi hates dresses, so she picked out some adorable dresses for Rukia. I think Rukia charmed Mom into accepting her as a granddaughter. That and Mom always did want a dainty little girl, me and Yuuhi are neither."
Kuwabara nodded, he knew their mother was much more traditional minded than his father. While Mrs. Suzuki loved her grandchildren dearly, she had been disappointed that Yuuhi wasn't at all feminine like Yukina was. She liked Yukina as Yukina was ladylike, Rui was also ladylike and was slowly winning her over. Rukia was the deciding factor in her favor since Mrs. Suzuki very much wanted a feminine little girl to spoil. Kuwabara himself didn't care, Yuuhi was his angel-faced little bruiser, she was just as cute as his ruffle-clad little niece, even cuter in his opinion because she was the child of his beloved Yukina.
Kurama prepared as usual, taking Shiori out to a nice meal out and shopping like a dutiful son before skipping town to train. As he was happily single, his focus was on giving Shiori a nice time in case he did not return home.
"Always so sweet to your old mother," she said, with her gentle smile. She always had accepted her son as he was, and never questioned him aside from inquiries about his wellbeing.
Kurama just smiled at his dear mother. Not knowing what he really was kept her happy. He was happy too, just like this.
When Hiei wasn't training Yona, he was training with Mukuro. The older woman was still more powerful than him, but the gap was slowly but surely being closed. Hiei's strength had stagnated before the first Demon World Tournament, as he had chosen to give up as he felt there was no more purpose in his life. Now Hiei had plenty of purpose, now that Yarika returned his feelings and he had a child to raise and train.
Mukuro credited herself with making it happen. Hiei was so stubborn, he would have never taken the initiative himself. Mukuro was rather selfish and jealous, so when it turned out that Hiei had a secret crush on a girl that had physically resembled her in her youth (minus the scarring) with a drive to prove herself much like her own and a good understanding of Hiei's hidden better side, Mukuro would only accept him having a relationship with Yarika in her stead. Mukuro felt that she was far too damaged to give Hiei what he needed aside from mentorship. Her doppelganger with slightly different coloring could give him everything else, so she did everything short of ordering Hiei to ask her out to get them together. The results justified the efforts, other than that three year gap between Yona's conception and them officially becoming a couple. If he decided to marry her she could breathe easy, as divorce demon style only happened when one party killed the other, and Hiei was unwilling to kill Yarika despite his previous threats.
"What are you smirking about?" demanded Hiei after a barrage of punches.
Mukuro gave him her best enigmatic smile. "If you defeat me, I will tell you."
"Always so mysterious. It's annoying," he growled.
"You like being annoyed. Otherwise, you'd leave."
Hiei growled and resumed his assault. "When I win the tournament, I'll throw you out instead."
"Then who will I watch Yarika's movies with?" Mukuro smirked as she blocked Hiei's punch. She loved watching Hiei's reactions to seeing his girlfriend's movies, especially when Yarika had a fight scene or a love scene. Hiei trying to hide his… interest when things got bloody, and his jealousy and murderous looks toward the love interest was always entertaining. "She sent me the new one, the one she made overseas. Let's watch it after training."
Hiei was distracted for a fraction of a second and Mukuro landed a powerful blow. He would be lying if he said he was uninterested. This was The Big One, as far as Yarika was concerned. She had once told Mukuro in front of him that it was difficult for Asian actresses to break into American cinema, which is why she had not wished to join Rin in America, leading to their breakup. For the movie she had done the previous year, she had told him that the director was a fan of Japanese cinema and had asked for her by name. It helped that she spoke English fairly well, as it had been one of her favorite subjects in school.
"That was a cheap shot," hissed Hiei.
Later, Hiei fumed as Mukuro put on the movie. She had upgraded her home theater setup; now she possessed both LaserDisc and DVD players, both of which she had ordered Hiei to get for her on his trips to visit his family.
Mukuro further annoyed him by fiddling with menu options. "Just get on with it," he grumped.
Mukuro chuckled to herself and hit play. This was the first American movie for the both of them, as such, the variety of humans on screen was greater than most of the other movies they had watched.
The movie was about some strapping American man who got entangled with a faction of Yakuza taking over San Francisco, eventually going to Tokyo to take out the main branch. Yarika was an assassin the hero met on the way, who he recruited to help him.
"That move looks familiar," mused Mukuro. Yarika had incorporated some of the moves Hiei had taught her into her action scenes. Hiei could appreciate that, as it showed his training had stuck with her.
What Hiei didn't like was when the musclebound hunk had love scenes with her. While he could accept that this was part of her job, that this was fiction, it didn't mean he liked it one bit. If looks could kill, the sandy blond American actor would be dead several times over. HE was the only musclebound hunk who got to touch her like that. Mukuro smirked at this. Hiei was also indignant when Yarika's character died just before the climax, and the hero took down the whole syndicate in revenge.
"Killing off the hero's love interest is terrible writing," he grumbled. Even though her death was fake, her acting had sold it and if he hadn't seen her alive and well after he might have believed it.
"I thought her death scene was touching," said Mukuro. "And I bought that she loved that blond guy."
Hiei glared, not liking her implication. Yarika may have pretended to love her costars on camera, but she was faithful to him. He didn't even need to view her remotely or pry inside her mind to know she meant what she had said about being exclusive, as she knew he considered betrayal a crime worthy of death. That, and Yarika would have just dumped him if she was tired of him. She was not afraid of him and had the frankness to let him know when she was displeased with him, a partner like that was unlikely to stray.
Mukuro smiled, stirring his jealousy was part of her long game. Not that she believed he would harm Yarika, but Hiei needed motivation to move their relationship along. Mukuro relished her role as cupid, it had given her much entertainment these last several years.
When the movie ended, Mukuro put the disc back into the case, leaving Hiei feeling uncomfortable. What if some handsome man who could offer her more than he stole her away? He wasn't afraid of the ex-boyfriend, as not only was he human, he was now married. But perhaps, he thought, other demons with better personalities may be able to woo her. Damn Mukuro, always meddling…
The ex-boyfriend himself decided to make the trip to Japan to watch the tournament with the viewing party. Rin had met Kenji many times of course, but he'd only met her friends twice, the last time was on that trip to the land Master Genkai had left behind when she died. Yarika had told Rin that Yona and Hiei, along with Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara were fighting in the Demon World tournament. Rin had only met Hiei once, when Hiei had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and Yarika had revealed herself to be a demon. That had been the catalyst for two happy years of a relationship between them, only ending with his decision to permanently live where he could be a man physically and legally. While the US was not the best country for trans people, certain states had the facilities and legal protections he felt necessary. He had settled in Minnesota and become a doctor at the Mayo Clinic.
Rin couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Hiei, and a bit resentful that he had not only gotten Yarika, but that he had given her a child and then disappeared for three years before coming back for them. Yarika deserved better than a convicted felon, he had thought. Thankfully Hiei seemed to come around and had gotten a better job and stepped up to take responsibility for Yarika and Yona. He thought a woman like Yarika deserved better, but he kept his peace about it. Yarika did say that Hiei did make better choices when he had support, he had lacked it the first half of his life. Rin found that reassuring.
Yarika's support had helped Rin break free of his family and complete his transition abroad. As his family had no control over him, they had been forced to somewhat accept that he, Rin, was a man, a man with an American wife. After years of estrangement, they were on good enough terms to meet up once a year, although only Naota had come to the wedding, as did Yarika and her little girl.
On a warm September day a bit over five years ago when Yona had been nearly three, Rin and Angela were married in a white gazebo with a wrought iron canopy with a view of Lake Superior. The city in northern Minnesota it was situated in was scenic and a favorite of tourists, especially ones looking to marry. Angela's family had all come out, with only his brother Naota and Yarika coming from Japan to attend. His parents had not believed that this was legal, and had declined to attend. True, it too early for marriage equality in that state, but he had legally become male at the time so this was not an issue.
The pink-cheeked toddler Yona couldn't understand most of the adults, but she had charmed them with the adorable way she sprinkled the flower petals and gave dimpled smiles. Yarika watched her happily sprinkle them, her heart healed by that smile. It had hurt when Hiei never responded to her letters, she had yet to find out he hadn't actually read any beyond the first, she hadn't been clear that he had a daughter in that one. Rin had known of her unhappiness and hated Hiei for abandoning her, fully believing a jerk like that would do it in cold blood.
The wedding went off without a hitch. The wedding party moved to a restaurant near the lake, near a converted brewery that still made craft brews, but also had retail space in it and a hotel. Rin took his attention off his new bride long enough to catch Yarika alone and gently ask if she had heard from Hiei. Yarika shook her head. "He hasn't replied, but that's not unlike him. He's not very social at the best of times, but being forced would make him resentful of us. I suppose I could go over there, but traveling with such a young child would make me a target. Demon World can be very dangerous outside the more civilized areas."
Rin had been glad when months later, Yarika had contacted him and said not only had Hiei come back, he had decided to step up as a father and they were now in a relationship. He had not actually known about Yona, only finding out when Yusuke had put the hurt on him over it. Yarika had fully forgiven him after he had rescued Yona. Rin still thought she was far too good for Hiei, he didn't know Hiei would have agreed with him.
In the present day, Rin had made his peace with it, and was curious about the man who had taken his former place in Yarika's heart. Since they had been together for five years, it was likely the two would stay together for the time being. Yarika had been right, it was better for Rin to find a human mate, since they could remain together throughout a lifetime, hopefully living out old age together. He had been very happy with Angela, the second woman to accept him as a man.
Rin brought up his intention to Angela to go back to Japan. "We have not been to Japan in years. I'd like to go, and get in on that viewing party of the Demon World Tournament Yarika's family and friends are having. Little Yona is going to compete."
Angela was a little distracted, as the two of them were in the process of adopting, their new daughter was awaiting them at an orphanage in China. Being half Chinese herself, Angela was prepared to adopt a child who didn't know a lick of English. Rin had felt a pang of not being able to provide her a natural child, but Angela had assured him that as long as they could get a child at all, she'd be content.
She looked up from the photos of their intended daughter. "We can make a stop to get little Lihua while we are at it."
Rin beamed. "We can certainly do that."
The last of the intended tournament attendees were busily completing as much work as possible to avoid a literal avalanche upon their return. Botan ferried souls without much rest, and Koenma stamped papers at a pace that threatened to give him carpal tunnel. He may be the reigning king after deposing his father, but he still had to do much of the menial work. Thankfully Botan brought back plenty of bottles of energy drinks from the human world.
This one held particular interest, as Team Urameshi had finally reunited for the tournament and little Yona would also be fighting. Koenma had worried ever since Hiei had returned and helped raise her that she would be corrupted, but the child was as polite and sweet as ever, albeit with deadly fighting skills. Yusuke and Kuwabara's kids on the other hand were little devils and Koenma was now rightfully scared of them. Leave it to Yusuke's son to lead an ambush and humiliate him. Hopefully Keiko and Yukina would prevent the children from becoming real threats in the future.
"Botan, did you bring me more energy drinks?" asked Koenma after Botan had returned after bringing in the latest stiffs.
"Yes sir!" she presented several cans with a bright green logo.
"Sir, please don't drink too many, you'll die," fussed Jorge. "And then who will do the paperwork?"
"Ah, stuff it, ogre," Koenma said, popping the tab on a can. "I'm not that weak."
On both sides of the Pacific and in all three worlds, the excitement was almost too much for all to bear.
Notes:
LaserDisc was big in Japan until DVD overtook the format.
As Rin is legally male and legally married at this point, they could adopt overseas without suspicion, although a domestic adoption might have caught that Rin entered the US as AFAB. Minnesota has fairly high protections for LGBT+ residents so he chose to settle there.
I'm originally from Minnesota and have been to where Rin and Angela got married.