Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Only Kiharu.

Violet Haze
Prologue: The New Heir

11:52 PM

Gandara,Demon World

It was nearing midnight in Demon World. A tall man was standing before a large incubation tank. The tank was filled with radiating orange fluid that surrounded a large pulsating egg. The man could not see the egg, for he was blind, but he very well knew it was there. And judging from the energy waves emitting from it, hatching was imminent.

"Youda, come forth," he announced through the darkness. A small demon with dark green skin hobbled over to the owner of the voice.

"Yes, Lord Yomi?" he asked, looking up at his lord. Yomi smirked.

"Take a look at the tank." Youda looked inside and saw the large egg shaking violently. It was even starting to crack. Youda recalled this event before, when Yomi's first creation, his "son" Shura, was about to hatch from the incubation tank.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he praised, still sensing the energy waves coming from within the tank. "I can tell this will be a much worthier heir."

"My lord, isn't that a bit harsh to say?" questioned Youda, still in awe of how close the egg was to hatching. "I mean, Shura has been trying since the last tournament to sharpen his skills and impress you."

Yomi was unmoved. "Yes, Shura has made progress but I feel I have created a much more formidable heir to challenge the heirs for the late Raizen and Mukuro."

It was almost three years ago when the first Demon World Tournament went underway. Before this new democracy brought on by the Tournament, there were three kings; Yomi, Mukuro, and Raizen. All three were powerful demons who were all stalemated when it came to fighting. That was, until Raizen fell in love with a human woman, therefore vowing to never eat humans again.

The three kings all had different conflicts with the issue of using humans as food. Raizen wanted demons to stop eating humans. Mukuro wanted to curb their appetite of humans, but their stomach could only be sufficed by consuming humans. However, Yomi thought that they should just be free to eat as many humans as they wanted.

It was this difference that made the three kings war with each other, going on for over 500 years. Finally, the three kings all decided to get a strong fighter for their side. Yomi wanted Kurama, a former ally that was known as the spirit fox theif, Yoko. Raizen wanted Yusuke Urameshi, a boy that had the blood of the Ma-zoku flowing through his veins, dubbing him a half-demon. And Mukuro wanted Hiei, a fire demon with an icy heart and a dark past.

From malnutrition, Raizen passed on, leaving Yusuke his kingdom. Yusuke then proposed a tournament to decide who would rule over Demon World. Mukuro and Yomi accepted Yusuke's terms and hence the Demon World Tournament was created. To everyone's surprise, the winner of the tournament was a noble demon by the name of Enki. The losers of the tournament were assigned to patrol around Demon World, erasing the memories of any human that happened to come across their world. For a moment, there was peace between the worlds.

However, blood has been running cold lately. Someone had assassinated Enki. No one knew who it was, though many suspected it was Mukuro or Yomi, angered by the fact that they had lost their kingdoms. Some even thought the two teamed up and overpowered him. Whatever the case, there was need for a new king. And the Demon World Tournament was coming up.

In preparation for the last tournament, Yomi had created a "son" that he named Shura to fight in the tournament. His reasons for spawning this boy were unknown to anyone but Yomi and his advisor, Youda. Shura had failed in the last tournament, losing to Yomi, and now Yomi was creating a more successful, more powerful heir.

"Father!" cried a small boy, a single horn in the middle of his forehead. "I did it! I mastered the shield technique you taught me."

Yomi grew a dark smile. "So you did, did you? Well," he chuckled darkly, "there's no need for you to practice anymore."

Shura was puzzled and stared questionably at his so-called father. "But Father, I don't get it. The tournament's coming up in a few months. I have to train!"

"Shura, you will not be training during the next few months . . . nor will you be breathing."

"Honestly, sire, can't you spare the boy?" suggested Youda tentatively.

"Silence, Youda!" barked Yomi. "It is necessary."

Shura was quivering, his whole body shaking with fear. "Father . . ."

Within the incubation tank, the egg had a long jagged crack running down the side of it. Yomi smirked darkly. He knew it was coming. The egg began to glow a bright white color before bursting into a thousand pieces. The burst was so strong, it shattered the incubation tank to pieces.

Shura stared at the radiating orange fluid that was flowing onto the floor. It was the very same fluid that had nurtured him and the same fluid Yomi used to create him. What was going on?

From the large pool of orange goo a figure stood up. The mold of the figure was that of a person. Huge clumps of the goo were fastened tightly to their skin. Yomi knew what had just happened and felt himself smile. His creation had just been birthed.

Shura saw that the slowly rising person was coming near him. He saw they had a long mane of dark green hair and their eyes were closed. It wasn't until he saw the figure's well-matured breasts that he could tell the thing that had blown up the tank was female.

"Father . . . what is going on?" asked Shura, every ounce of his voice entwined with fear and horror.

Yomi turned around to face his son. "Shura, I have no further use for you."

The woman before Shura held her right hand over her heart. Her fingernails instantly grew six inches longer. "Father . . ." Shura's heart pounded in his head loudly. He was truly afraid. He had never felt so terrified in his life.

"Goodbye, my son."

Before Shura could even blink, his head had been cleanly severed off. The woman licked his blood off her fingernails, smiling as though his blood was a delicacy. She turned to face Yomi and bowed down before him.

"Youda, fetch a kimono from the storage room," commanded Yomi. "I'd hate to have her running around nude."

"Y-Yes, sir!" Youda scuffled off quickly, in terror of what had just happened. Yomi's new creation had just decapitated his son and he was smiling about it! He knew Yomi could be cruel but this was just evil!

The young woman rose up to her feet and opened her eyes, revealing a purple shade. Like Yomi, she also bore horns on her head, though not as many. Only two on either side of her forehead, making her appear like the daughter of the devil himself.

"Welcome into the world, my daughter," he said with a grin. "Well done on killing the boy. It only took you one slice."

"I wouldn't do anything less, Father," said the young woman in serious tone.

Yomi grimaced evilly.

"Good." He glanced at the young woman and noticed something odd. With the long dark green hair and violet eyes she resembled someone he had encountered long ago. "Hmm . . . interesting," said Yomi, pursing his lips.

"What's interesting, Father?" asked the woman in response.

"When Shura was created, he resembled a much younger me. You, however, look much like someone else."

"And who would that be?"

"A princess," said Yomi. "And not just any princess. Back in your old man's thieving days, we came across a castle. There was a very lovely princess with striking features. When we tried to plunder the castle's rich treasures, the princess attacked us. She was fairly strong but I had the honor of killing her."

The young woman blinked. "I see."

"So . . . how about I grant you a name, kid?" suggested Yomi.

The young woman shrugged.

"Very well, then. Your name will be . . . Kiharu. After that princess from so long ago. My, you look just like her!"

"Kiharu . . ." she said to herself. "That is my name."

"Yes."

Youda returned to the room carrying a folded kimono in his hands. The kimono was made with black silk and had a gold dragon embroidered on both of the sleeves. Youda bowed humbly to Yomi and handed him the kimono. "Why, thank you, Youda," said Yomi, accepting the clothing. "Kiharu, why don't you head down to the showers and clean yourself off?"

"Yes, Father," she said with a nod.

"Youda, take her to the shower room, ok?"

"Yes, sir." Youda walked over to Kiharu and led her out of the room. When Youda and Kiharu had left, Yomi approached the headless body of his former son. Shura's body lie on its stomach, fresh blood still leaking from where his head once was. This was a remarkable cut.

Kiharu sliced off Shura's head so clean that the bones appeared to have been filed down. The cut was not jagged in any way, for where Shura's head had been was flat as a table, smooth all around the edges. As Yomi predicted, Kiharu was going to be a very promising heir. He still had a few months to train her up before the tournament.

Around ten minutes passed before Kiharu entered the room again, this time fully clothed. She was wearing the black kimono and the gold obi was tied around her thin frame. The kimono also had a slit to the knees, making it easier for Kiharu to move her legs.

"Did you enjoy your shower?" Yomi asked his daughter.

"It was fine," she said, tossing her dark green mane back.

"Kiharu, I noticed the splendid job you did on your brother's decapitation. What do you say to being able to fight a real challenge?"

"What do you propose?" she asked, leaning in.

"I propose you and I enter what is called the Demon World Tournament."

"Demon World Tournament . . ." Kiharu ran a hand through her wet hair. "What's that?"

"It's a tournament where demons like us all come together and duke it out to see who will become ruler of Demon World. True, we do get a few handfuls of weaklings in the tournament but some of them are real fighters, too."

"Like who, for instance?" said Kiharu, curious to learn more about this tournament. Actually, she seemed a bit more interested in the contenders than the tournament itself.

"Hmm . . . well, Yusuke Urameshi will probably be in there again," thought Yomi pensively.

"Who?"

"He's a half-demon and the heir of Raizen, a former Demon World ruler. He fought against your old man in the tournament and it nearly ended in a draw but I came out on top."

"But you didn't win," analyzed Kiharu, "for you are not the ruler of Demon World."

Yomi chuckled. "Yes, I did lose in the end but I feel that this time I'll do even better. And with my training, who knows? You may end up against Urameshi."

"Who else? Who else may fight?" Kiharu was clearly intrigued to find out what kind of demons would be fighting in this tournament.

"Well, I doubt Kurama's going to show. He's a fox demon trapped in a human body. He did fairly well last time but I don't think he's coming back. Oh, and then there's Mukuro's boy, Hiei."

"Hiei? What kind of demon is he?"

"I'm pretty sure he's a fire demon," reasoned Yomi, stroking his chin in thought, "and he's probably the heir for Mukuro. She's also a former Demon World lord who lost in the tournament. Unlike Raizen, she's still alive. Anyhow, Hiei and Mukuro eventually got matched up to fight. When those two fought, it was a pretty intense battle that had the whole stadium talking. A few spectators were gossiping that maybe those two had fallen in love, judging by how they didn't seem to be fighting to hurt each other. Even now people speak of how the two are having sexual relations."

Kiharu got a twisted look of repulse on her face. "Incest?" she said, almost gagging on the word.

"Incest? What do you mean, Kiharu?"

"Well, you said Hiei was Mukuro's boy, so he's her son, right?"

Yomi laughed, amused by Kiharu's assumption. "No, no," he said, shaking his head, "he isn't her son. When I said boy, I meant something along the lines of . . . her right-hand man."

"Oh," said Kiharu, slightly embarrassed that she drew that conclusion. "Well, these guys sound like they might be fun to beat."

"Oh, confident, are we?" Yomi chuckled at her cockiness. "Yes, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself in the tournament. If we're going to enter, we have to start training now."

Kiharu nodded. "Yes, Father. I will train up and defeat anyone who comes in my path."

Yomi paused. "Even me?"

Kiharu blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You heard me. What if you get matched up against me?"

Kiharu hesitated before giving her answer.

"Then I'll just have to take you down."

Yomi laughed and walked over to his daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, we'd better get started. That tournament's coming up pretty soon."

Yomi was very pleased with how skilled his "daughter" was. She could take a punch and give it right back. Of course, her powers weren't nearly as great as his, but with more training she'd prove to be a most worthy heir. She was filled with effrontery and temerity and refused to give up. She looked defeated with gashes that profusely leaked blood and festering burns on her arms, not to mention the fact that the sleeves of her kimono had been ripped clean off and had rips and tears in the seams all around; even her dark green hair had collected droplets of blood and dirt in it. But her face was unmoved. She wore a blank, stony face as she gazed at him with violet eyes. Miraculously, she didn't even seem short of breath.

"I think we'll stop for now," said Yomi, batting the dust off of his fighting robes. "That's enough for today."

"No," said Kiharu in a daring voice. "I want to stay here and keep going until I've knocked you flat!"

Yomi chuckled but shook his head disapprovingly. "Such cockiness is not wise. Knowing one's limits is important to training."

"Yes, but so is surpassing your limits!" she hissed vilely.

Knowing that she wasn't about to give up, Yomi quickly appeared behind her and applied pressure to a spot on the back of her neck. She inhaled sharply before falling unconscious to the ground. Like in humans, the back of the neck had a pressure point that, when pressure was applied, could possibly knock the person out. He slung the limp Kiharu over his shoulder and took her inside to heal her wounds. As he applied ointment onto her open wounds, he couldn't help but smile.

Once all her wounds had been cleaned, bandaged, or healed completely, Yomi laid her to rest a moment. It took her five minutes before she awoke, staring venomously at him. "I told you I wanted to finish the fight, old man!" she spat with anger in her eyes. Yomi chuckled. He found her short-fused temper to be most droll.

"Now, Kiharu," he began in a lecturing manner, "if you're going to be my heir I can't have you die by my hands. After all, there is a certain someone I wish to see you kill before your own death."

"And who would that be?"

"Hiei," said Yomi flatly. "Mukuro and I have been talking about pitting our heirs against each other in the next tournament. I want to witness your fight against him and I want to see a lovely fountain of his blood shower over you as you massacre the boy."

"Heh, we'll see," she said with a slight smirk. "In other words, the one I'm out to get is Hiei. He is my ultimate enemy."

"In a sense, yes."

Kiharu's lips curved into a smile that truly made her look like the daughter of Satan.

"Then he's as good as dead."

Yomi smiled in a way that would make even statues tremble.

"That's my girl."