The story of Yukina's life from her captivity up to her kids being in high school.
Warning: mention of sexual assault, sexual content, angst over gender identity.
Yukina never expected someone to rescue her, she expected to remain in Tarukane's castle until either the man gave up trying to make her cry, he died, or he killed her. At first, it was easy for the cruel human to extract her valuable tears from burning her. This did not last, as Yukina summoned strength from her cold forebears to endure all the physical torment her human captors could dish out without so much as a peep. She also drew calm from the frozen tear with her mother's love inside that she kept hidden in her stomach. Not that she hadn't been warned that something like this might happen: her people were fearful race and rarely left their floating glacial village without a pressing need, so Yukina had grown up with warnings peppering everything taught to her.
She along with the other girls had been warned by the elders that men would try to force her to bear a male child if she let them touch her under her clothing, although the exact mechanism by which this happened wasn't particularly clear. The elders told her that it had happened to her mother, but Yukina knew the truth from Rui, who could not bear to lie to her. Hina had been charmed by a male fire demon while she was gathering medicinal herbs below and they had a fling, which resulted in her and her brother being born, a boy wrapped in a fiery aura that burned the cold flesh of any ice maiden that laid hands on him. The baby fire demon had to be wrapped with seals to be picked up, not to cradle and soothe, but to be thrown off the cliff like garbage.
In her heart Yukina felt that he was still alive. She ran away to look for her brother as soon as she felt that she was strong enough to make the journey. She had learned as much about the outside world as possible, even making short trips below with an older ice maiden, using the opportunity to explore and frolic with the animals. When she was a teenager, she felt that her ice powers were developed enough to defend herself if her life was at stake. She had made good progress, but after stumbling upon a dimensional portal and going through it out of curiosity, she was seized by a group of men. The men locked her into a cage to await her fate. Yukina swallowed her mother's tear to keep it from being found by her captors. She was promptly sold to a disgusting, cruel human man who saw her as a money machine. She might have hated humans, but the upper servant assigned to bring her meals and supervise the cleaning staff had been kind to her. Tarukane had been concerned that allowing her physical health to deteriorate would affect the quality of her jewels and therefore his profits, so the staff had orders to ensure that Yukina's cell was clean and that she had food and clean water to drink and bathe in, so her torture wounds would not fester and kill her. Tarukane was perfectly happy to torture her to extract her tears, her mental health mattered nothing as long as his profits soared and her body was healthy enough to produce beautiful tears.
Yukina did not fear her own death. She was safe from the worst of assaults, her ice powers prevented the humans torturing her from touching her bare flesh without heavy gloves on, so they relied on knives, canes, and talismans to wound her. She only feared what would happen to her bird friends and people trying to rescue her. The one servant who had been kind to her had tried to free her, so Tarukane's goons filled him with lead. When a ragtag group consisting of human boys and a ferry girl broke in, Yukina was filled with terror for them. One boy, who said his name was Kazuma Kuwabara, spoke to her in her mind, assuring her that she would be rescued soon. She tried to dissuade him, but he refused to run away. She was forced to watch as he and his friend, a boy with slicked back hair, fought the powerful demons who were guarding her.
The human boys beat all the odds against them, with assistance from a demon boy her age with spiky black hair and eyes the same shade of crimson her own were. The boy got rid of the guards in the control room and beat Tarukane to within an inch of his life, only stopping when she begged him to quit hitting the monster of a human. As she pleaded, she got a good look at him. He felt familiar to her. She wondered if perhaps he was or knew her brother, but she didn't have time to talk much with him as the two human boys needed medical attention and she had to hurry to tend to them. She only learned the black haired boy's name was Hiei afterward.
Kazuma apologized to her as she healed him for how humans had treated her, and said that he hoped she wouldn't hate humans for this. Yukina smiled at him, her first genuine smile in a long time, and told him she liked humans.
Yukina could not stay in the human world. First, she needed to go home and finish her training in the healing arts with her adoptive parent, then set out to find her brother so he could kill the last of their unworthy race. The only ice maiden she cared anything for was Rui, she would ask her brother to spare her alone. The training having been completed, Yukina ran away again to the human world. Having heard of a tournament of demon fighters, she made her way to the island it was held on to try to find her brother.
Yukina was right that her brother was there, although at the time she only had suspicions. Hiei, the same boy who had beaten her captor to a pulp, treated her civilly when he had to speak to her, but made a point not to if he could help it, which aroused her suspicion further. She was reunited with Kazuma and Yusuke and Botan, along with the red-haired boy who had shown up at the end of her rescue named Kurama. Yukina was introduced to friends of his that had not been at her rescue, along with Kazuma's elder sister Shizuru, Yusuke's girlfriend (whatever that was) Keiko, and a demon girl her own age named Yarika. Yukina still did not understand why Kazuma acted so silly around her, but she knew that his kindness toward her was sincerely meant. The other young ladies were kind to her as well, she felt safe among them. Yarika in particular made an effort to get to know her.
"I'm very glad to meet you, Yukina." said Yarika. "You're the first apparition my own age I've ever met aside from Hiei. Kurama looks our age but he's really an old fart fox that got reincarnated. I'd like to be friends, if I'm not being too presumptuous."
"I would like that," said Yukina, smiling sweetly. She never had real friends on the glacier. All the girls near her age there were timid, cold and self-centered. Yarika was bold, brave, and surprisingly considerate and kind under that tough demeanor, Yukina liked her. Yarika was also from a rare single sex species like she, although her race always mated with men to create children and ice maidens were forbidden to do that. Her father was even a human, which surprised Yukina.
From then on, Yukina and Yarika were close friends. Yukina also liked Kazuma and considered him a good friend. She settled with the old human psychic Genkai, as the elder human could keep her safe and she would be unbothered by humans and demons wishing to profit from her. Yarika often called her at Genkai's, but as Genkai wasn't paying for the long distance, Genkai allowed this, she let Yukina do whatever she wished as long as she didn't cause problems or rack up big bills.
Yukina repaid her by diligently cleaning the temple and making tea for Genkai and any guests that happened to show up. Sometimes it was just Yusuke, there for advice or training. When Kazuma and Yarika came to visit, it was to see her. Yukina greatly enjoyed these visits.
Sometimes Kazuma came alone, forcing Genkai to babysit them. The boy was a dimwit, but as he was a besotted dimwit, Genkai had to make sure he didn't get any funny ideas about her naïve demon ward. Genkai considered teaching Yukina about the birds and bees, but she really did not want to. She left that for Yarika, giving the red-haired demon girl a discreet hint to have The Talk with Yukina.
"Yukina is a good girl and smart girl, but she doesn't know a come-on from a how-do-you-do,"said Genkai to Yarika when the latter came to visit Yukina alone. Yarika was a clever, independent girl who was unlike most of the demons Genkai had experience with. She had gotten off on the right foot with Genkai by greeting her politely, which made Genkai inclined to treat her better than Yusuke and his merry band of dimwits.
Yarika obliged. Yarika set Yukina straight about what Kuwabara's clowning really meant as they sat chatting in Yukina's room.
"You know when Kuwabara acts like a clown around you? He's not trying to make you laugh, it's his awkward attempt at impressing you because he is in love with you. Romantic love."
"Kazuma is in love with me?" asked Yukina, blinking owlishly. She knew what love was, but the concept of romantic love was difficult to grasp. "I don't understand what romantic love means."
"Romantic love is when you care deeply for one single person and want them to be with you always and hold them above all others in your heart. Sometimes even enough to marry and stay together for life," patiently explained Yarika. "It's how Yusuke and Keiko feel about each other, even if they deny it."
Yukina pondered, this new concept was interesting. "Kazuma sees me like that?"
"He does. He's a good guy, I don't think he'll try anything funny, but I should tell you what romantic couples might do so you can either consent or send him packing."
Yarika launched into an explanation into the basics, kissing, holding hands, etcetera, which Yukina had seen on television.
"So that's why people do that on television?" asked Yukina.
"That's right. They do other things when their relationship deepens. Do you know how babies are made?"
"Ice maidens make babies by themselves."
"I mean for other species, like mine. Most beings have to mate to make babies, but romantic couples can choose to mate to show love for each other. Some people who aren't in love just mate for fun."
As Yukina didn't know too much, Yarika had to explain this too, including making doodles of nude men and women and two figures doing the deed as well as a crude anatomical drawing of their respective inner plumbing. Drawing was not her strong suit, but she got the point across.
"Oh, I get it. I've seen animals do that. So that's where babies come from."
"Some males and females prefer doing things like that with their own gender, without risking having a baby. Like I said, people can do it for fun, too. I'll leave the mechanics of how that works for later."
"Is that what Kazuma wants to try to do with me?"
"I can't say, I'm not psychic. He is a boy going through puberty so I'm sure he sometimes thinks about mating, or having sex as we also call it. He can't help simply thinking about it, those hormones he's got are flooding his brain as well as turning his body into a man's. He isn't the type to force a girl to do anything against her will, so I wouldn't worry too much. But even so, you have every right to say no to anything he might want to do with you, even if it's just holding hands. If ever you do consent to have sex with him or anyone else, there are ways to prevent babies from being conceived."
Yarika gave a brief description of condoms and how they worked. As they were demons, the human Pill would likely not work for them, so she didn't mention it. Even for human women the Pill was incredibly difficult to access in Japan, so few women there used it. Maybe demons had a version that worked for them, but she hadn't heard of one yet.
Yukina was beginning to understand most of this, she was smarter than most gave her credit for. Sex was easier to grasp than romance. "I see. The male's seed doesn't get into the female's womb that way."
"You got it, you catch on quick."
"Have you ever mated with anyone?"
Yarika blushed a little and smiled. "Yeah, with my boyfriend. I was sure I wanted to and I love him, so I didn't regret it. It was nice. Always be sure you're ready and that it's what you want before you have sex with someone."
Yukina promised that she would never do it unless she really wanted to.
"Good. I'm hungry, let's go get a snack, maybe watch a movie."
Genkai's temple was a treasure trove of ancient and modern marvels. The old woman had an arcade all to herself and had consoles, as well as a good stereo and a home theater setup with both videotapes and film reels. Genkai gave the girls permission to explore the room she kept her media collections in and watch what they wanted, with the condition that they were to put everything back in place after they were through.
"Genkai really likes her Takarazuka," said Yarika, discovering a stack of recorded troupe performances. "We should watch some of these, she has several versions of The Rose of Versailles." Most of the other movies were commercial, but there were a few that turned out to be very old home movies kept on reels. "I wonder what's on these?" asked Yukina.
"I don't know but they are very old. They look to be from around the time of the war, the labels are faded. We should have a peek after we watch these."
Yarika and Yukina ate popcorn and watched the Takarazuka performances of Elisabeth and The Rose of Versailles, Yarika explaining the roles of male characters were performed by women.
"I see that you girls found my Takarazuka collection," said Genkai, who had finished her meditation and went to see what the girls were getting into. She had a nostalgic feeling about the girlhood obsession that he had indulged in when not fighting and was pleased that the two demon girls showed an interest in it.
"It's very interesting," said Yukina. "I didn't know women could be men on stage or television." Yukina was even beginning to glean a little knowledge about romance.
"I love theater, so I'm familiar with it and wanted to show Yukina. I've never done a musical myself, but I've been in a theater production of Anne of Green Gables," explained Yarika.
"With that red hair of yours, I don't even have to ask what character you played." Genkai was familiar with the book. It had taken off in popularity after the war and was a beloved classic in Japan, even taught in schools. Yukina was unfamiliar with it, but resolved to read a copy of the book after hearing about the story later.
Yarika laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "Of course I was Anne. That's what started my love of acting. Mom really enjoyed watching me play Anne."
"Good for her," said Genkai, although not in an unkind tone. She went to get some lunch Yukina had left for her to fuel her afternoon training, leaving them alone again. She could trust the girls not to meddle with her things while she did her usual run around the property. They were more reliable and trustworthy than her favorite dimwit, who had filched some of her smokes and gotten beaten for his trouble.
While Genkai was occupied, Yarika put on an old reel with the barely legible label "Fukuhiko and Nadeshiko demonstrate spirit wave techniques" and started the projector. To her astonishment, a young Genkai herself was on film, with an older man who had a striking similarity to Genkai's older self, particularly in the crinkly hair and around the eyes. Genkai and the old man went through their paces, showing off some of the basic forms of some of the techniques Genkai had shown at the Dark Tournament. With them was a very tall young man who looked oddly familiar, Yarika thought the youth looked like the younger Toguro, only with a slighter frame and a softer, boyish face.
"Shit, I meant to lock that one away," said Genkai, making both girls jump.
Yukina stammered a bit, apologetic. "My apologies, Master Genkai, I had no idea this film was not for our eyes."
"You said we could watch anything in that room, so don't get mad at us," said Yarika.
"True, but don't push your luck. Get that thing back in the case right now." The girls obeyed.
"I can't believe your name is really Nadeshiko," murmured Yarika. It was the last name she expected Genkai's given name to be, it was so old fashioned and feminine. Genkai was old, but had modern sensibilities and was the baddest bitch this side of the rest home. Yarika had expected a cooler name.
Genkai instantly appeared before her. Yarika was taller than Genkai, but in her anger Genkai seemed to loom over her. Yarika was normally quite brave; she had even stood up to a pissed off Hiei, but Genkai suddenly snapping at her terrified her. Genkai wore the air of a demon executioner in that moment. "NEVER call me that and NEVER reveal it to the dimwit or anyone else, you little demon brats. I can't help being named after someone with a girly name, I didn't pick it and I don't like it." Genkai hated her given name. It had been her mother's name, her father had called her that when her mother died in childbirth.
"I promise! I don't tell people's secrets, ever!" cried Yarika.
"I also promise," said Yukina. They both knew that Genkai could obliterate them in an instant if sufficiently angered.
Genkai could see that they were sincere and subsided into her usual harmless old crank mode.
"You are wise children. The dimwit could learn from you two."
The girls kept their promise, so mutual goodwill reigned between them and Genkai. Yarika was staying at the temple when the SDF came to escort Yusuke to Demon World, and she got a chance to bid the boys farewell along with Yukina. Particularly with Hiei. After Yukina had given Hiei her mother's tear, the way he reacted proved to Yukina once and for all that he was her brother. She realized that Hiei's aloofness was because he knew she was his sister. He didn't want to tell her for some reason, and she respected that. Yukina was just happy that he was alive and safe, even if he told her to kill her people by herself.
Yukina also watched the goodbye between Yarika and Hiei, paying rapt attention to Hiei's soft expression. She had only seen it when he looked at her, but now he gave Yarika that look. The look that showed that he cared. Yukina now understood a lot more about romance and thought that Hiei was possibly in love with her friend, but she couldn't be sure. If he was in love with Yarika, Yukina approved, as Yarika wasn't afraid of him and she had been good to her soon-to-be-ex boyfriend, Hiei could use someone to be good to him. Yarika had confided in Yukina that she planned to break up with Rin to set him free for his new life in America, as she wanted to stay with her father in Japan and with her friends for the foreseeable future, so the human boy would not be in the way if Hiei liked Yarika. The three demon boys left to Demon World, leaving Kazuma alone. At first Kazuma was inconsolable with the departure of his friends, the two girls did their best to console him. Shizuru just rolled her eyes and told him to blubber after he was done studying.
Yukina began making trips into Sarayashiki to visit her friends. Yarika had gone with her at first and taught her how to use the train system and to avoid being groped on it, although it was not foolproof outside the women-only cars in the urban lines. Now Yukina was confident enough to navigate public transit by herself.
"I once beat a train molester who groped me to within an inch of his life, I don't mean for you to do that and get in trouble," Yarika had said. "Find a way to protect yourself." Yukina used a variation of the trick she had used to keep male demons and Tarukane's goons from raping her; she froze areas of her body to low enough temperatures to burn the hands of anyone who dared touch her. The few who had dared instantly regretted it, touching her backside was like touching dry ice.
When she was in town, she and Yarika went shopping, went to cheap eateries, tried things like ice skating (which was harder than it looked!) and generally goofed off. They were often joined by Kazuma, who Yarika made to carry their shopping bags and boxes. As Kuwabara liked Yarika and was enamored by Yukina, he didn't complain. Being in the presence of two pretty demon girls was reward enough.
Yukina also enjoyed visiting with Kazuma alone. Even when he did his awkward flirting routine with her, he never forced unwanted physical contact on her. Yarika was right, Kazuma was a gentleman. She made fast friends with his cat Eikichi, who was used to demons as Yarika had occasionally come over to tutor him for his high school entrance exams; they were just friends, so no one made a big deal out of it. Yukina loved all animals, especially furred and feathered ones. House cats were a special delight, and Yukina got Eikichi to show belly almost right away, doing that eye squeeze thing cats did when they trusted someone.
Kazuma took this as a good omen. The besotted boy imagined Yukina as his wife, meaning to ask her someday when he was a grown man who could support her. Yukina now knew what the looks he gave her meant, and allowed the flirting with her usual placidity. Yarika had advised her to wait until he got the courage to ask her on a date, as he had to grow up a bit before being a date-able guy.
Finally, he stammered it out. "Do you want to… I dunno… go see a movie with me?"
Yukina smiled sweetly. "I'd love to."
Kazuma whooped, then hushed, blushing. He didn't want to blow this. First dates only happened once.
It was a very simple but very pleasant date. They saw a romantic comedy movie, sharing a bucket of popcorn. This carried the bonus of brushing her hand as they dug in together. Afterward he bought them parfaits, which Yukina declared almost too pretty to eat.
While Yukina was enjoying herself, she didn't quite know how to express romantic affection, but Kazuma wasn't easily put off by her apparent indifference to his romantic intentions. He was just enjoying having her to himself.
As he walked her to the train station to go back home, Kazuma turned scarlet. He badly wanted to hold her hand, but was still too shy to ask. He was really a rather innocent young man despite puberty hitting him like a ton of bricks; actually putting moves on Yukina, even to hold her hand, was too daunting.
"Are you all right, Kazuma?"
"Of course, Sweetness," he said, putting on that awkward bravado. He waved like an idiot as the train pulled away.
Yukina recounted the date to Yarika on the phone after.
"I think he's still too shy around you. He'll hit his groove eventually, just keep gently encouraging him," said Yarika. "And we better not tell Hiei, he won't like it."
"Why does my brother hate Kazuma?" asked Yukina. She had told Yarika that she now knew Hiei was her long-lost brother. Yarika had in turn confessed that she had known for years, but as Hiei wished to keep it secret she felt it wasn't her place to tell.
"He doesn't hate Kuwabara. Hiei gets annoyed by him, sure, but he doesn't hate any of his friends. Under that bad attitude Hiei is a decent guy, he might even turn out to be a good guy if he gets over himself and grows up."
"Do you like Hiei?" Yukina had wondered if Yarika liked Hiei as much as Hiei liked her.
There was a pause. "I like him okay, I consider him a friend. I can see his good side, even if he tries to hide it. He's the sort that needs friends, even though he claims to despise them."
This was a satisfactory answer. Yukina agreed that Hiei had a good side and needed friends.
Years later Genkai passed away, and Yukina went to live with Kazuma's family. Kazuma's father was an unusual man who was seldom home, but was quite happy to have an honorary daughter. He looked very much like his son and was good-natured like Kazuma. She finally met Kazuma's mother, who had also approved of her as a match for her son. Kazuma was as much a gentleman than ever with Yukina in the house, but he had less time to flirt with Yukina as he was working hard to attain a career and spent much time studying his college textbooks.
Yarika decided to go to Demon World for the first time, as the replacement for an injured performer in a troupe that was to entertain crowds at the Demon World Tournament. Yukina saw her off after helping her pack, wishing her well. Yarika promised to have a word with Hiei so she could tell Yukina how he was doing and what he was up to. Yukina only caught a glimpse of Hiei as she and Kazuma caught the end of the tournament and the closing ceremony, Kazuma had treated it like a date. By that time he was finally holding her hand and enjoyed it, he held her hand as they watched the final round. He had even chastely kissed her on the forehead. She returned the favor by kissing him on the cheek after he brought her home, causing steam to come out of his ears.
They weren't the only lovebirds that had gotten some kissing done. Yarika disappeared for months, returning with a grim sense of satisfaction.
"I did it, Yukina. I killed the fucker who murdered my mom. It was all thanks to Hiei, he helped me get strong enough to do so. I went up an entire power class."
"You spent time with Brother?"
"I went to Mukuro's fortress and trained with him," said Yarika, going pink. "He went with me to slay the jerk, too, but I did it myself. He was there for moral support."
There was something in her voice that told Yukina that Yarika had left something out. "What else did you do with him?"
Yarika sighed and fessed up. "We ended up having sex."
Yukina's eyes went big. "Do you have feelings for him?"
"I'm not sure exactly how I feel about him right now. He was pretty good to me, and I was feeling vulnerable and lonely that night and there he was, he took me up on my offer to spend the night with me. We did it twice after that, too. I admit that I find him attractive, and I trust him not to brag about it. He's really grown up."
Yukina took this all in. She had been right about Hiei liking Yarika, she did not think that Hiei would want to sleep with someone he didn't like and trust not to attack him as they shared a bed.
As it turned out, that fling had unintended consequences. Yarika had become pregnant by Hiei, and she confessed to Yukina that meant that she really did love Hiei. Much like ice maidens, hanabito reproduction had some oddities unique to their species. The chemicals that were released by romantic love stimulated their ovaries to release eggs, and should an egg be fertilized by a sperm with an x chromosome, it would result in a baby hanabito. Male embryos were like their fathers and almost always died upon contact with the trace amounts of toxin in their mothers' bodies. It was cruelly ironic, Yukina thought when she was told this. Ice maidens did not want boys and would go to great lengths to avoid birthing one. Hanabito would love to have boys but almost never successfully produced one.
Yukina was relieved that Yarika decided to keep the baby. Of course it was Yarika's decision, but it might have hurt Hiei had he known she'd rejected his child and killed it, given his past. Yukina didn't want an innocent baby to be thrown away like him as well. It just so happened that Yarika was carrying Hiei's daughter, so this baby would be successfully born. Yukina promised to do everything she could to help Yarika raise the baby. Yukina was disappointed in Hiei when he never replied to Yarika's letters, but she still hoped Hiei would change his mind and come back to help with the baby, who Yarika named Yona after her mother Hinoki and Yukina and Hiei's mother Hina.
Yukina's opinion of Kazuma further improved when he proved adept at taking care of Yukina's little niece, not that he knew Yona was her niece yet. Yukina thought to herself that Kazuma would be a wonderful father, given the opportunity. She loved him but she wasn't sure yet if she wanted to marry him, given the fact that he would grow old and die long before she did. She had to think long and hard about this so she would have the answer by the time Kazuma proposed.
Hiei did eventually come back to help raise Yona, much to Yukina's relief. By then she had made her decision to become Kazuma's wife, even though her heart would break when he died. She also wanted to have the thing denied to her mother: a son. It would be a thumb in the eye of the elder ice maidens.
Hiei did not like this, as Yarika had predicted. He fought against the engagement tooth and nail, as much as he could without harming Kazuma.
Yukina was still on edge after Yona's abduction and with uncharacteristic ferocity-which for her was still calm and reserved-had told Hiei that this was her decision and she later forbade him to do anything to harm Kazuma. Like Yarika had said, Hiei didn't hate Kazuma, but he didn't think he was good for her. Or good enough for her.
Hiei kept his word, but the hostility was there and mysterious accidents kept happening to Kazuma, who had graduated college and gotten a good job under Kenji Fujimiya's wing. Shizuru crowed about it to anyone who could listen about Kazuma's success, which she attributed to keeping Kazuma's nose in his textbooks. Yukina also had a good relationship with Shizuru. The older woman had looked out for her as well, and they both looked forward to being sisters.
It was difficult, having to manage the tension between Kazuma and Hiei. It was also difficult to begin a sibling relationship with Hiei. His banishment and childhood had made relationships of any kind difficult for him. Still, there was something in him that neither the ice maidens nor the bandits who had raised him had managed to kill: the ability to love. Yukina could see that Hiei valued his friends and herself, as well as Yarika and their child. Perhaps that was because the element of fire was a wild, passionate one, and that was in his nature as a fire demon along with his inherent love for battle and his temper. Ice maidens were the opposite: tranquil, dispassionate, fearful, to the point where they had even forgotten how to love; with just a spark left for the daughters they bore, which became their gifted tears. Yukina was considered by some "tainted" by the man her mother had conceived Hiei with, which may have accounted for her rebelliousness and unusually kind and loving nature. Hina was kinder than usual and had a touch of rebel, although not to the point of being able to run away after her lover disappeared. Yukina was by far the bravest of her people and had accomplished what her mother could not.
It was this cold nature that Rui, her adoptive parent, had to struggle to overcome when Hiei and Yarika took her out from the glacier. Yukina had expected never to see her again, but Yarika was a very determined person and had somehow convinced Rui to come stay with her despite her terror of men and the outside world. She noticed that Rui and Shizuru had that spark between them, the one that meant that there was attraction. Perhaps it was Hina's influence that Rui was able to manage that much. Yukina had no grudge against Rui, knowing the woman had lamented every day over what she had done to Hiei. Hiei himself had no grudge left after he realized that Rui had been forced to and had so little spirit that she could not break free of her conditioning to obey the elders. Now that Rui was away from the glacier, she had a chance to grow a spine. Rui eventually did, deciding to shack up with Shizuru after Yukina married Kazuma.
Yukina's wedding night with Kazuma was a challenge. Although Yarika had given her a thorough sex education, practice was so much different than theory. The sight of Kazuma's naked body, his aroused body, gave Yukina such a shock that she had accidentally given Kazuma frostbite, complete with little icicles dangling off his nose and other parts of his anatomy.
"I'm so sorry, Kazuma!" she cried, getting him into the bath, which was thankfully still hot. "I just got nervous and lost control of my powers."
"It-it's o-okay." he said, his teeth chattering.
Thankfully she had not done any permanent damage, even to Little Kazuma, as he referred to it. As soon as he was warm and had a bit of recovery time, Yukina got to experience sleeping with a man.
"So this is what Mother liked so much about this," thought Yukina as Kazuma tenderly kissed and made love to her. It was pleasant. Kazuma was very gentle with her, afraid to hurt her the least bit. It took some time before she realized what Yarika liked so much about sex, the first time she orgasmed was a complete and total shock, an experience so explosive that it wasn't any wonder why sex was forbidden to her kind. An ice maiden could get addicted to his sensation and have a whole army of baby boys.
Speaking of baby boys, Yukina found out she was pregnant not long after Kazuma had managed to rock her world. Yukina went around uncharacteristically smug after finding this out. Rui had been worried, asking her if she thought the boy would be violent and reckless as prophesied. Hiei was violent and reckless, this was true, although under Yarika's influence, he had become much tamer, proving that love and patience did a lot to temper a fire demon's natural aggressiveness.
As it turned out, it wasn't her son Kazuki who was the violent, reckless one. From birth her daughter Yuuhi was the one who was all piss and vinegar, using her ice powers from the cradle. Yukina took note of this and named her after Hiei. Hiei, secretly flattered to receive a namesake, was relieved to see that an ice maiden born far from the glacier was nothing like the ones there.
"Good for her," he said. "I hope that she never ends up like those women on the glacier."
Yukina's twins were her pride and joy, especially Kazuki, her son. She took special pains to give him all the love she could, because as a human, Yukina knew she'd lose Kazuki like she'd lose Kazuma someday and wanted the time with him to count. She also loved Yuuhi, but the child was unlike any ice maiden ever born and Yukina sometimes had difficulty knowing what to do with her. Yuuhi liked to fight, Yuuhi hated feminine clothes. Yuuhi also picked on her brother, but at the same time defended him from anyone who picked on him. Kazuma saw nothing wrong with his daughter, he only gently scolded her to play nice with other kids and to be nicer to her brother. Kazuki was a good-natured boy like Kazuma, he liked helping his mother in the kitchen and playing with the cats. Their cousin Rukia was more like a traditional ice maiden, but as she was spoiled by Shizuru and Rui, she was much more outgoing and perky than the glacier maidens, with a strange fascination with the macabre that grew with every passing year.
Despite their differences, their children were close like Kazuma and his friends, with Yuuhi and Keisuke Urameshi constantly fighting for the leadership position. It was really Yona who was in charge, as she had Yarika's ability to get others to do her bidding; although as she was mostly concerned with finishing an education and training with Hiei, she didn't do much commanding. Rukia was the tag-along, getting into whatever mess the younger children got into that day.
Yukina had always hoped Yuuhi would try to be a bit more feminine, as her passion for sports and fighting was far beyond what her mental image of a girl should be. Her niece Yona was a strong fighter, but still feminine. Yuuhi hadn't a spark of femininity and had always torn off any dress Yukina had stuffed her into.
It started when Kazuki was angry with Yuuhi for picking on him, he was shouting at her over the table.
"I hate you, Yuuhi. All the guys tease me because a girl keeps pounding on me!"
"I hate you too! You always call me a girl!" yelled Yuuhi, grabbing him by the nostrils.
"You two, can it and make up!" yelled Kazuma over the din.
Yuuhi had furious tears in her eyes, the ones that escaped clattered onto the table. "But he called me a girl! I'm not a girl!"
"What do you mean, you're not a girl?" asked Yukina.
"I never felt like a girl! Ever!"
"You're not a boy." Yukina had never heard of being transgender, her experience was limited to what was on TV, so she was confused how Yuuhi could not be a girl.
"Well no, I'm not a boy. I don't feel like anything." Yuuhi revealed the source of her recent increase in violence and angst. "I don't like looking like a girl, I don't like having to dress like one. I don't want to go to middle school and have to wear a girls' uniform. And I don't want to get boobs!" Yuuhi ran off sobbing, smashing a couple of tchotchkes on the way. Kazuma followed in an attempt to comfort her. He was sometimes able to calm her when she was this agitated. Yukina was at a total loss at how to deal with this. She called Yarika and told her what had happened.
Yarika had some insight. "It's unusual, but some people are born the opposite of their biological sex, sometimes they don't feel like they're either. I won't say who, but one of my past lovers was like that. I didn't mind at all since gender doesn't figure into attraction for me. Yuuhi is still Yuuhi, the same child you have loved and raised. Try to be respectful of her wishes. You can look into getting her a binder to make her feel less upset about her chest when she develops."
Yukina took this to heart, treating Yuuhi like she wanted, no longer trying to get Yuuhi to wear feminine clothes or use feminine speech. It was just all part of the strange anomalies that happened when ice maidens had children with men, she figured. She herself was not like the others, so Yuuhi being the total opposite wasn't such a bad thing.
Kazuma was far more concerned with Yuuhi's mental state than her desire not to become a woman. He sometimes had no idea how to deal with some of Yuuhi's inhuman traits, but he loved her and wanted to help her in any way that he could. Yukina watched him from the doorway after she got done calling Yarika.
"Hey there, champ," he said, rubbing Yuuhi's shaking back as she lay face down on her bed. "I had no idea that you were so upset about going into middle school."
Yuuhi sniffled, but calmed down enough to talk about it. "I don't want to grow up and have a body that doesn't feel like mine."
"I see. I'm not sure how to help you, but me and your mom will see if there's something we can do to make it easier for you."
Yuuhi turned to look at him, brushing her shed tears off the bed. "Really?"
"Of course, we'd do anything to help you."
"Mom doesn't get it."
"There's a lot she doesn't know because of where she came from. She'll come around when she does understand."
Yuuhi smiled for the first time in weeks. If her beloved dad was okay with her not being a girl, it wasn't nearly so hard to deal with it. She dialed back the aggression, she even condescended to be nicer to her twin. Yukina was relieved, since Yuuhi's escalating aggression was becoming too much to handle. Yuuhi had even attacked her uncle Hiei over a trifle and she'd injured Yarika with ice in the same attack. Hiei had taken exception to this and took it upon himself to punish his niece for injuring his wife. Hiei was protective of his family and even extended family would face his wrath if they harmed them. Yuuhi had sulked but refrained from using her ice powers afterward, remembering the pain from the spanking she had gotten. Yukina had told her she was lucky that Hiei went so easy on her, as he was one of the most powerful demons in existence and could easily break her to pieces.
Eventually Yuuhi settled down, puberty was a little easier on her since she wore a gakuran jacket to school over her bound chest. Sarayashiki middle school had mandated that all girls wear skirts and would not budge on this, but there was no force on earth that could compel Yuuhi to wear that girly sailor top that would show off her chest. Kazuki wasn't the brightest, but he was a model student and wore the mandated uniform exactly as the handbook described. Their friend Keisuke wore a gakuran, but it was the green one that his father used to wear, so Yuuhi and Keisuke stood in solidarity against the dress code together. Yukina, taking advice from Yarika, did not try to force her to wear the sailor top and had bought her sports bras and a proper binder so Yuuhi would not injure herself with clandestine measures to give herself a flat chest. Kazuma was perfectly fine with the twins' choices, as he himself had worn a modified gakuran in middle school, much to the displeasure of the faculty.
Yukina and Yuuhi's relationship was repaired by the time she got into high school. Yuuhi had gotten into to a school with loose uniform requirements and a good field hockey team, so she was in a very good mood most of the time. Kazuki had studied hard to get into a different school, intent on becoming a veterinarian.
"I've been thinking about what I want to do after graduation," Yuuhi said one day, as Yukina mended holes in Yuuhi's team jersey.
"I'm listening," said Yukina.
"I think we should take a trip to Demon World and do the job you wanted Uncle Hiei to do on your people ourselves. They sound like heinous cunts and I want to help you get rid of them. I've been training and I'll be strong enough to take them on by then. It'll be something you and me can do to bond." Yuuhi had heard all about the place and how they had harmed her family. Being forced to be gentle and feminine and forced to kill your kids if they were boys sounded like hell to her, although she wasn't interested in men or sex, period.
Yukina considered this. She finished the repairs to the jersey. "I think that would be wonderful," she said at last. "Just don't tell your father. I think it would shock him too much."
Yuuhi grinned. "I won't tell him if you won't."
Yukina smiled, proud that her wayward little icicle had found her own way in life, happy that they now had a solid bond that had been lacking in Yuuhi's early life. Her life was so rich and full she never once missed the glacier. Hiei's life was now also rich and full, so in the end both twins had gotten their revenge by living well even before Yukina and Yuuhi set out to end their miserable lives. Yukina could not ask for more.
Notes:
The pill is hard to get in Japan so 80% of women still use condoms.
In Japan Anne of Green Gables is known as Red-Haired Anne and is taught as part of the school curriculum. After WW2 many Japanese could identify with a plucky orphan so it became a hit. The woman who first translated it did so in secret during the war itself as western literature was seen as enemy propaganda.
The Takarazuka Revue is a famous musical theater company in Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, shoujo manga, and folktales. Otokoyaku performers take on bishonen, dashing male roles, the rest musumeyaku, or feminine female roles. Ironically this is Genkai's only feminine interest in the fic.
Nadeshiko is THE girliest, most stereotypical name for Japanese women and girls. It's the basis of the Yamato Nadeshiko stereotype. Genkai is as far from one as you can get. I agree with Biz's headcanon that she is the only child of her father's dojo, the Nadeshiko thing was his idea too.
Yuuhi is fine with the pronoun "she/her" although she also uses they/them, as she's nonbinary. She just doesn't like being treated as a girl or looking like one.
The end takes place in the early 2020s and in this universe COVID never happened.