In all honesty I don't know of Hiei's true origin, I've just kind of tied what I think could've happen with my story. If you don't like it well...sorry.
LAST TIME
Koenma lowered his head and rubbed the back of it. "That's because…we don't know what she is. We can't find a file on her. We can't find any file on her. Human or demon."
"You mean to tell me you sent us to capture this girl-demon-whatever the fuck she is and you don't have a damn file on her to even tell us what her name is!" Yusuke screamed to his boss.
"Her name's Arika."
Yusuke and the others, including Koenma, turned toward Hiei's direction. He was perched at the base of a tree gazing at the ground.
"What was that?" Koenma asked him.
"Her name's Arika Twin," Hiei repeated himself.
"How do you know this?" Kurama asked, realizing there was something between the two.
"Because," Hiei looked back at his teammates, "I grew up with her."
NOW
Hiei's three teammates stared at him and with puzzled looks, Koenma's expression was the same as theirs.
"Wait a minute! You know her?" Kuwabara asked.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Yusuke followed the previous question.
"I thought she was…someone else," Hiei explained, leaving his comrades confused and skeptical in the choice of his words.
"So why are you so sure she is Arika?" Kurama questioned, giving the girl her name.
"I'd know that voice anywhere. Especially if she says my name." Hiei added that last part to himself.
"Still! You could've given us a heads up on her powers," Yusuke yelled.
Hiei merely turned from them, all he said was 'hn.' This act confused Yusuke and Kuwabara but Kurama was not easily fooled and he pressed his next suspicion, "You didn't know she had powers, did you?"
"No…" was the whisper that barely left Hiei's lips.
"Ahem," Koenma interrupted the silence, "Hiei, I'd like you to come back to my office. The information you know about her will be enough to create a file."
The small demon regained his mask and nodded toward the screen.
"The rest of you find her," Koenma gave them their new duties and ended the televised conversation. Yusuke returned the walkie talkie to his pocket.
"All right, let's try this again," Yusuke said.
"You'll need this," Kurama said as he pulled a strange bulb from its hiding place within his hair.
"How does he do that?" the action, although he became accustom to, still baffled Yusuke. Yusuke looked at the strange seed. It was orange with a small but noticeable green stem or root growing out of it. "What is it?" the brown eyed boy asked.
"It's one of my own," Kurama smiled at his creation, "I was experimenting with the mixing of Makai and Ningenkai plants. All you need to do is break the green stem here and throw it at her. It'll release a gas like substance that'll put her to sleep within seconds. She should be out for at least half a day, more than enough time for you two to bring her back to the Reikai." Kurama explained.
"Wait, us two?" Kuwabara asked repeating Kurama's words. Kurama nodded at his question.
"Aren't you coming with us?" Yusuke questioned.
"After what happened when she…changed?" Kurama paused at his choice of words, "No, the risk is to high, I could seriously harm you if she controls me again. I think her little trick has no affect on you three, for some reason. Due to that I can't assist you this time. So, I'll join Hiei back to the Reikai and wait for you all there. Unless…" Kurama lingered with his words, "you two don't think you can handle a girl." A smile came onto his face from his comment.
"Say what!" Yusuke and Kuwabara said almost simultaneously.
"No, girl pushes Yusuke Urameshi around!" Yusuke declared.
"Except Keiko," Kurama corrected him.
Yusuke glared at him. He wanted to put a fist in his friend's face but instead ran off toward the direction that Arika disappeared to. Kuwabara followed shortly after.
"So…" Kurama looked at his small companion, "how long do you think it'll take us to get back?"
"How fast can you run?" Hiei pressed.
"Fast enough."
"A few hours, if you can keep up." Hiei vanished into the woods leaving a gust of wind where he stood. Kurama changed into his fox form, it was his only form that could decently keep up with Hiei.
Wind blowing. The forest a blur of green and brown colors. Shadows coming and going as she ran through the woods. The battle she just went through replayed in her mind for the hundredth time. The one with fire colored hair and the manipulator of the plants. "Clever one, only a demon can control plants like that." The large human with strong spirit sense, his punch left her without air for a few seconds. She remembered how he cheered when he believed he defeated her. "Fool. Strong…fool." Was all she concluded as she reached her stomach that was still aching from it's abuse of punches and vines. "The leader." She assumed was the dark haired one she embarrassed before he could do anything. "Powerful. No ordinary human could've gotten up that quickly." And the last one…
She stopped. Panting as she leaned against a tree for support. She recalled the boy's face as she revealed a form of her spirit weapons. Dark hair, crimson eyes, white star burst on his head. "Hiei…" She fell to her knees. She couldn't believe it. "No…he's dead…they said he was…"
She placed her hand over her heart and breathed slowly. She reached into her tank top and pulled out her necklace. She held in her hand a simple black pearl, it was partly melted onto the chain it hung from. Only once did someone actually succeeded in "slipping" it off her neck. She remembered his look of shock when she opened his cold fingers that held her necklace. He didn't even have a chance to yell when she stabbed him in the heart with her lilac shaded knife. She frowned when she remembered that demon. "Asshole cost me a lot of trouble." At that time she was hiding and her act of retrieving what was hers resulted in being hunted for a few years.
A few? She was always hunted. Never safe, not even for a moment. She always ran and grew tired of it every day. She never had to hunt someone down, but now she discovered what she believed was true for years was a lie. "He's alive." Her look of confusion was replaced with anger. "Baruko…" her lips hissed the name vilely.
The black pearl was now tightly clutched in her fist. She returned it to its usual spot and stood to her feet. No more, no more running. This time she wanted to be the predator and her prey was an old memory. She darted back toward the direction she left the boys. As she ran she remembered that Hiei and his teammates were hunting her. "Hiei…please don't leave me…" A tear formed at the corner of her eye. She ran faster to make it fly off her face. "…everyone else has…" She ran faster, blood came from her fists because her nails were digging into her palms. She could only ignore her physical pain.
It had nearly been over an hour when Hiei decided Kurama deserved a chance to catch his breath. He didn't hesitate to walk beside his red headed friend when he changed back to his human form. The two walked silently through the forest. Hiei deep in thought and Kurama regaining his breath. Kurama's patience finally wore out and he asked, "What happened between you two?" He didn't have to specify who he was referring to, Hiei knew he was asking about Arika.
Hiei merely sighed. Kurama waited. Although he knew Hiei wasn't one to talk much but there were some things he talked about. And unlike the others Hiei would confide in him over the others any day.
"I'll tell you as long as you tell Koenma," he ask nicely, as nice as Hiei gets. Kurama nodded in agreement, Koenma might not be to pleased but it's hard enough to get this fire demon to say anything.
"When I was young," he started, "very young. I don't even remember how old I was. I was caught stealing a golden ring from this demon, ugly looking thing. To my…luck, he was part of a band of demons who wandered the Makai stealing what they pleased and abusing anything they could get a hold of. When someone was caught stealing from them they were promised a quick death aside from their slower fashions of killing."
"Why were you spared?" Kurama cut him off. He regretted opening his mouth when Hiei glared at him.
"Their leader, a demon by the name Baruko, was impressed that I pick pocketed one of his best men. Due to that reason he personally took me in and trained me. I found out later he wanted me to be his heir when and if he was killed to take over the band. I never planned to do such a thing. I only wanted to get stronger then leave on my own."
"Did you?" again Kurama interrupted him. He feared Hiei was going to cut his tongue off at this point.
"Not for years," Hiei paused. Kurama didn't want to speak in fear of his friend's anger releasing on him.
"It didn't take me long to discover what Baruko's valued treasures were. His band consisted of nothing but male demons, except for the two human girls that travel with us."
"Humans?" Hiei ignored the fact that Kurama opened his mouth again.
"Yes. Rumor was that he kidnapped them from the Ningenkai and kept them as entertainment," Hiei didn't like saying that last word. "I never found out if it was true or not. They were young humans at that point I was the only one close to their age and the only one not capable of killing them in a heartbeat. They weren't just ordinary humans, no, they were twins. Baruko was proud of that fact and he always referred to them as The Twins, but when he called to them individually he called the younger one Narika and the older one Arika. They looked alike eyes, built, faces," Hiei paused in remembrance, "Hells! They both had that strip of white in their hair." He laughed, slightly. "They looked alike but they were very different. Narika loved Baruko, she looked at him with high remarks, you could say. She was always doing dangerous stuff, near death situations. Especially towards Arika, I came to the suspicion that Narika wanted to kill her. I wouldn't allow this and neither would Baruko, but he even though he wanted Arika alive he always treated her cruel, "he broke his story again, this time for whatever memory he had. He shrugged it off and continued, "Unlike her twin, Arika remained quiet and kind, if she could have she would have avoided contact with anyone of them, except me. Above everyone in the group she hated Narika and Baruko the most. Why, I never knew, I just presumed it was because of how they treated her."
Hiei stopped his story and looked at his partner. Kurama was watching him with an attentive expression. He went on, "Within the first few weeks I was there I got into a brawl with one of the men. I was still young and weak, he beat me up pretty good that night. I remember soft hands caressing me while I was on the floor. I opened my eyes and found Arika holding me. I knew it was her because her sister didn't move from her usual spot next to Baruko; however, he did. He got up and grabbed Arika by the throat, I noticed she couldn't breath, but I was in too much pain to do anything. He yelled at her, telling her I had to deal with my suffering and that she was forbidden to help me. He then threw her towards one of the walls of the inn we were 'staying' at. No one helped her up. Narika just sat there and smiled at what our leader did to her own flesh and blood, that's when I discovered there was no love between The Twins. I looked over at where Arika was tossed. She was knocked unconscious but alive, I could still see her breathing. The rest of the group cheered at the show and threw foul food and spat at her if they were close enough. Right then and there I vowed to myself to never let that happen to her again. Since then I trained myself to the limit, picking a fight with one of them every week until I was one of the strongest ones. In the beginning, when my injuries were the worst Arika was always there during the nights, sneaking into my tent and dressing my wounds. In those moments alone with her I learned of the two things she only allowed me to see, her smiles and her tears. She wore a mask whenever someone else was around. She never showed fear and she never cried in front of them, no matter how bad they treated her. Watching her do that taught me how to never show my emotions."
He stopped again, lost in his memories. He sighed and continued, "Then one day, I left." These words actually came to a shock to Kurama. He was use to Hiei coming and going but after listening to the "connection" he had with Arika he didn't understand why Hiei would even considered leaving.
Noticing the confusion in Kurama's face Hiei responded with one word, "Yukina."
Kurama stopped walking, taking a moment to registered what was just told to him. When it did he ran after Hiei and asked, "What?"
"We came across a land that helped me find out who my mother was and informed me that I had a sister. I was shocked and had to go find her; however, I didn't want to leave. I couldn't leave Arika alone, but I couldn't take her with me either. She at least had a chance of surviving with Baruko's band. With me, I knew I couldn't fight and defend her at the same time. I didn't leave until she told me to," he paused gazing at the trees before him. "Arika and I made a promise. We swore that as long as I came back she wouldn't let herself be killed. I knew she could survive, she had grown strong over the years and she improved at even some of my moves. For a human she was fast and that speed was enough to defend herself or at least flee."
He broke off his words and stopped his pace. Kurama mimicked his movements staring at his comrade. Hiei inhaled deeply and released his breath as if it hurt to do so. "That was the last day I ever saw her. I left the next day in search of Yukina and after months of searching I found her, I found my sister. When I did I returned to find the only other girl I ever cared about, at that time." Hiei clenched his fists together. "When I grabbed one of Baruko's men and asked where she was he said she was gone. He told me that she ran away one day and never returned. Apparently Baruko was pissed at this information, he was in search of her since the day she disappeared. I didn't care much for anyone in the group but her and since she wasn't there, I had to go find her. Within my years of searching I gained both my Jagan and my black dragon. I grew more and more powerful each day. Finally, I stopped searching. Baruko became so desperate in his search he sent bounty hunters on her, so long as I knew that, I knew she was still alive. One day I overheard a conversation about her...they said she was dead. By that point it had been years since I began looking for her and since I thought she was human it made sense, there was no way she was alive, not after that much time. I didn't look back since, I killed many and now I'm here with you and those two." He started walking again, Kurama followed.
"Hiei?" Kurama asked after a few moments of silence.
"Hn?"
"You said that she 'was' human. Is she?" Kurama questioned.
Hiei stopped walking, Kurama did as well. Kurama saw the confusion rising in Hiei's expression. Hiei looked at Kurama and frowned, he wasn't angry at him but at something Kurama couldn't identify at the moment.
"When I knew her she was said to be human. There were no indications of anything different, but there's no doubt in my mind that she isn't in some way a demon. No human could change forms like she did. I don't think no one then knew she was a demon. Whoever knew was keeping it a secret. I'm sure she knew and for whatever reason she didn't tell anyone. Only one being could've known she was a demon and that had to have been Baruko. For some reason he valued those two and wanted to keep them near him and alive at all times."
"Two?" Kurama whispered out loud. His eyes grew wide and he then grabbed at Hiei's shoulder. Hiei stared at the hand on him but didn't do much about it.
"Hiei?" Kurama asked, Hiei wasn't pleased but was attentive none the less. "If she's a demon then is her sister as well?"
Hiei's eyes widened as much as Kurama's did. He didn't say anything he just shook his head yes, coming to the conclusion himself. If they're twins they must be the same in every way, so if one's a demon so is the other.
"But…" Kurama released his friend still looking at him, "that's impossible. You and I both know demon twins don't exist."
The two stared at one another. They both knew the facts, demons can't reproduce twins, it's genetically impossible. But here they were talking about a set of demon twins.
Hiei finally broke the moment and said, "We're wasting time." He jumped back up into the trees and started running. Kurama changed his form and followed after him. "Twins?" Kurama questioned himself. "How can that be? She shouldn't exist, neither of them should."
Yusuke and Kuwabara had been running for nearly two hours when Kuwabara had abruptly stopped in his tracks. Yusuke did a few seconds later when he noticed his partner was no longer by his side.
"Hey! What are you waiting for? Her to come to us?" Yusuke yelled at his orange haired friend.
"I think that's just what she did," Kuwabara responded as he pointed in front of them.
Yusuke suddenly felt that familiar spirit energy of hers. He turned and waited for her to appear.
Arika stopped running a few feet in front of them. She looked at the two of them, both in fighting positions. She blinked at them oddly then asked, "Where's Hiei?"
"Your old pal had to go take care of something else," Yusuke explained to her.
"And the other?" not fully believing what she was just told.
"None of your business!" Kuwabara snapped, childishly.
"Great! They left me the dumb ones." She rolled her eyes then said, "I want Hiei."
"Sorry toots, but your shit out of luck. The only way you can see him is to come with us," Yusuke explained.
"To your boss you mean?" she wasn't trusting them. Not one bit. She grew up never trusting anyone. Human, demon, male, female, child, adult, it didn't matter she lost all trust in anyone. There was only one being she would ever trust and these two weren't him.
"Forget my boss!" Yusuke yelled at her. She became slightly confused then thought it was just a trick. "You know you're getting on my last nerve."
"You actually have something in that hollow head of yours?" Arika asked sarcastically.
"That's it! Girl or not I'm gonna kick your ass this time!" Yusuke declared.
"Oh really?" Arika held a stance, waiting.
"We won't underestimate you this time," Kuwabara explained.
"Oh, is that your excuse for losing to me last time?" she mocked them.
"Oh, fuck it!" Yusuke yelled, "Koenma said he wanted you alive in one piece." Yusuke lifted his finger in the position of a gun. "He never said anything about you still being conscious."
Arika became highly confused at what he was doing.
Yusuke gathered his spirit energy and then yelled, "Shot Gun!"
Oh dear! Will our mysterious Arika be able to defeat Yusuke and Kuwabara again? According to Kurama and Hiei, how is it possible that she exists? What will Koenma think of all this? 'Til next time...