Summary:
Hiei acts on a bad tip about Yukina's whereabouts and meets Yarika, who puts up with none of his usual gremlin BS.
Notes:
***** If you have NOT seen the entire YYH series be warned that this fic has HEAVY spoilers and you will miss out on a LOT of background in the setting. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!*****
This chapter takes place shortly after Two Shots. Two shots is the story of how Hiei and Kurama met during Hiei's search for Yukina, one year before the YYH series proper. This is a short chapter, just to introduce Yarika. Chapters 1-6 take place during canon events and 7 and up are after the characters become adults. It gets way better after they're adults since I am not constrained by canon events.
Although the main couple is M/F (both are bi) the Bridges series contains LGBT+ themes and relationships so if you cannot handle that, hit that back button. Again I remind EVERYONE that this fic takes place in the early 1990s-early 2000s and due to values dissonance and cultural differences there will be insensitive treatment of LGBT+ and non-Japanese characters because that's what happened in 1990s Japan. (like Episode 24's treatment of Miyuki, although Togashi has become more enlightened with the times) What is OK in fiction (when it wasn't censored) was not OK IRL in Japan, which is a very conservative country with strictly defined gender roles (albeit without the western Judeo-Christian brand of bigotry) Please refrain from sending me hate because 1990s Japan is not like 2010s or 2020s North America. I did a lot of research into 1990s Japan (including their LGBT+ community) for this one and tried to avert/subvert common fanfiction tropes to deliver an enjoyable and accurate 1990s Japan experience and not North America masquerading as Japan.
This work does contain some sexual content but nothing is depicted on screen until they become adults, since in fiction as do real life teenagers do grow up into adults and they get interested in each other. Any potentially triggering content warnings will be in the chapter header. If I miss anything please let me know!
Dear FFN readers: Please consider reading the version on AO3, it is better formatted AND it is illustrated.
The sequel to this fic is posted! See my profile.
AO3 url is: /works/28772289/chapters/70554834 (paste it after AO3's url)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
The search for Yukina was going badly. In all the time Hiei had been living among those pathetic humans he'd heard naught but rumors of his estranged sibling, usually from low-class apparitions seeking to taunt him. The demon Yatsude was the only real challenge, the others were laughably easy to dispatch. Today, he was acting on another of these rumors. He had heard that there was a humanoid young female apparition living in a suburb adjacent to Sarayashiki and was compelled to investigate. He couldn't afford to leave a single stone unturned, as something was blocking him from directly sensing her.
He arrived in the afternoon, and set up camp in a handy tree, observing the passersby and searching for any trace of demonic energy. He picked up some youki but further investigation with his Jagan eye revealed that these were a gang of low class male apparitions; he decided to separate a straggler from the group to see what he knew about the girl.
In an instant, Hiei had his sword against the demon's throat.
"Tell me what I want to know, and I may allow you to escape with your anatomy fully intact" growled Hiei, his eyes cold.
"Anything!" gasped the frightened demon.
"What do you know of a female apparition that lives around here? She looks about my age or so."
The demon's eyes brightened with recognition.
"Oh, her? Some of my gang want to capture her. She's one of those rare female breeds, and quite pretty. I don't know if they intend to sell her, or eat her, or fuck her, or any combination of the three. I've no interest in broads, for food or otherwise."
Hiei released his grip on the demon's ragged shirt. "If you're wise, you will flee. This girl is mine, and you may be caught in the crossfire when I go to take her away from them."
"Duly noted, sir!" The grateful apparition turned tail and scurried out of sight.
Hiei trailed the remainder of the group into the evening, ignoring the clusters of schoolkids, housewives with shopping bags, and salarymen making their way home.
"There she is!" a demon rasped.
Hiei was unable to see the "she" yet but he shifted his stance for easy access to his sword.
"She's not alone. There's a human with her, should we go for it?" another spoke.
"Of course, the human will be an appetizer," growled what was presumably the leader.
Unseen, Hiei crept up behind, while the clutch of males made a start around a corner to grab a slender, small figure.
"Rin, run!" cried a female voice.
"No, I will protect you, like a man should!" shouted a somewhat deeper voice.
"Don't be stupid! You're a human! Get away!"
When Hiei rounded the corner to join the party, his eyes widened in shock. The petite girl clad in a human school uniform was definitely an apparition, but was most certainly not Yukina. She was currently engaged in using her school bag as a bludgeon on her attackers, while a tall, thin, androgynous human stood back a bit out of the way of that school bag. For a weak demon, she wasn't bad, but clearly not a combat expert. Hiei noted her instinct and reflexes showed some promise. She was certainly strong enough to take down the weaker two of the gang with that bloodied leather bag.
The leader of demon gang loomed, his fangs dripping with saliva. "give me a bite of the human girl, and then I will taste you at my leisure!"
"As if!" cried the girl, her eyes shining fiercely. "And he is a boy, you won't touch him!"
The demon thug made to snap his jaws around the lanky, terrified human. At the last second, the girl shoved her companion out of the way, and its teeth sunk into her.
"Yarika!" the human called Rin screamed. The demon let go, the girl's blood on his fangs and lips.
"Foolish girl!" the demon hissed. "humans are worthless!" Then he started to sputter and stagger.
Yarika smiled. "you've signed your death warrant, my friend."
"What did you do to me, you bitch!?" the dying demon lurched for her, but missed and fell onto Hiei, who had hidden himself in the shadows to watch the show. For the first time, the girl gasped. "don't let him get my blood on you!" Too late. Hiei had shoved the demon off, but the blood had touched bare skin.
Within a minute, Hiei's vision started to go fuzzy and he began to stagger.
"You've poisoned me..." the grip on his sword loosened as he lost his balance and fell. Everything quickly went dark.
"Oh good, you're awake." said the girl sitting beside him.
Hiei groaned and shifted to look at his surroundings. He was laid out in a bed, his coat, sword and boots nearby. His head pounded and he was parched, but he seemed to be okay. The sky outside was dark, so he had likely been out for a few hours. He had a flashback to the day he had met Kurama under similar circumstances. The girl from earlier had apparently taken him home and nursed him back to health after his collapse. The room he was in was likely hers, going by the feminine taste in décor. They seemed to be alone. Yarika, the human had called her. Odd girl. An apparition who lived in a normal human dwelling.
He sat up and turned toward her.
The girl was about his age, petite, with short red hair. Her violet eyes seemed relieved that he was still alive. There was a pleasant scent about her, but no perfume he recognized. Something about her reminded him of Yukina, probably in that she possessed a degree of kindness unusual for an apparition. A black cat on her lap stared at him reproachfully, as if commenting on the impropriety of having a strange male in the house.
His irritated voice escaped his parched throat. "You poisoned me."
Her tone was apologetic. "It wasn't intentional. You didn't seem to be one of those guys, so I gave you an antidote on the off chance you weren't interested in harming me." She gave him a half-smile. "I warned you not to touch my blood, I can create poison from my body fluids. It is helpful for dealing with the local demon population who won't take no for an answer. Don't blame me for failing to heed my words."
"I could kill you now..." growled Hiei.
Her gaze was defiant. "Then quit jawing about it and do it. I have to get ready for when my father comes home, I'm already behind after dragging your ungrateful ass home with me. Don't waste any more of my time."
This was a new one for Hiei. No one, especially a frail-looking girl, had ever sassed him like this. He could snap her like a twig, but she showed no outward fear. Very unwise, he was a notorious killer. "How about I cut off your tongue, bitch?" he hissed. Hiei never dreamed that a weak demon wench he met by accident would almost kill him and then give him lip. He was livid.
"I am not 'bitch.' My name is Yarika." Her gaze softened. "And frankly, I don't think you will. My gut tells me you're not the sort of guy who would harm someone who went out of their way to assist him in crisis. I'm not expecting any more gratitude than that." She pressed a glass of water into his hands. "Drink, it'll help."
Hiei's irritation ebbed. He drank it, studying her as he quenched his thirst. His curiosity got the better of him when he finished. "How long have you been living among the humans?"
"My entire life. I was born here. I am registered as a citizen of this country as a human, and I want to keep off Spirit World's radar. I heard that they hire so-called Spirit detectives to hunt demons living here."
"That explains a lot." Clearly she was used to masquerading as a human and picked up some bad habits from them, like Kurama. "I pity your having to live among them."
Yarika chuckled. "It's a mixed blessing." She took his cup and set it on the desk, where the cat promptly knocked it over. "By the way, who is Yukina? A friend of yours?"
Hiei stiffened, aghast that he'd cried her name out in his sleep again. He glanced at Yarika, her expression was gentle curiosity. He decided to tell her the bare minimum. "Someone I am searching for."
Yarika seemed satisfied with that. "Is that why you are hanging around my neighborhood?" Hiei nodded. "You've got the wrong girl, obviously. I'm sure you will find her, assuming it is a her, just not here. I'm the only female apparition living here, to my knowledge."
Hiei got up and donned his shed articles. He felt a grudging respect for the girl; clearly she was brave and honorable. She had done him a service after accidentally harming him, despite the risk to her person. He would honor her faith in him not to harm her. "I shall take my leave." He opened the window above the desk.
"May I ask your name?"
He glanced back. "Hiei." without another word, he leapt into the night.
As he fled the area to renew his search, he thought about what had just occurred. He supposed he would never encounter her again. He was wrong.
Notes:
The sequel Footbridges Between Worlds has character bios and pictures of every OC that has a significant role in the story. (AO3 version ONLY)