Replies to Reviews for Chapter Four:

Dream x Spirit: Thanks. Imagery is important to stories.

Sanji and Katsume: Yes, I tried to make Kiharu as far from a mary-sue as possible because Hiei and a mary-sue are a big no-no

Yu Yu Ninja Sakura: Thanks. I also like your OC, Saiyuri, in By the Moon and the Stars. She deals with her emotions sort-of like Kiharu so that's pretty cool.

STORY TIME!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Only Kiharu, daughter of Yomi.

Violet Haze
Chapter Five: Get out of my head, dwarf-man!

Key:

Location

Kiharu's Thoughts

-Hiei's Telepathic Thoughts-

Noise

Demon World Stadium

8: 42 AM

A small building with twin chrome doors was the infirmary. With an unconscious bleeding Touya hoisted onto her shoulder, Kiharu allowed herself inside to find a wolf demon nurse. Two furry black ears poked through silky blue hair; a slit in the back of her nurse outfit allowed a swishing black tail to be seen. The nurse gasped when she saw the Ice Master limply lying atop Kiharu's shoulder.

"Is he still alive?" she questioned tentatively.

Kiharu raised an eyebrow and said, "You're the nurse and you can't tell?" She sighed, using the flat of her hand to brush strands of dark green hair out of her eyes. Touya's blood was being absorbed by her black tank top but Kiharu paid no mind. She glanced at her left arm. The silver armlet was being lubricated with the aid of Touya's trickling blood, causing it to slip from near her shoulder to her elbow.

Kiharu glanced to the side on saw a bed. She stepped over to it and gingerly placed the Ice Master onto it. Kiharu turned to face the nurse. "Make sure you take good care of him," she muttered seriously. "This one isn't ready to die yet."

"R-Right," piped the nurse, a bit intimidated by Kiharu. The nurse immediately began to close up Touya's wounds. Without a single word, Kiharu exited the infirmary.

Wiping away at the blood on her arm, Kiharu adjusted her armlet so it was restored to its original position. The armlet had no significance. It was a mere trinket, a novelty item she just wore. The armlet did not at all benefit her but for an odd reason Yomi insisted that she wore it during her fights. She looked at the silver adornment and shrugged. Kiharu knew well enough there was no real point in wearing the stupid thing. It was just there. It had no purpose. Kiharu had to wonder why Yomi would want her to wear such a thing if it was not going to benefit her.

Waves of cheering and heckling erupted throughout the stadium. Kiharu took it as a sign the next fighters had stepped up. Kiharu walked over to the side of Yomi, who was still in the presence of Mukuro. Kiharu noticed, however, that Hiei had gone.

"I must question, Kiharu, why you spared the Ice Master?" said Mukuro blandly. "Surely you have no affiliation with him?"

Kiharu shrugged. "I . . . I just didn't feel like it," she murmured. Yomi chuckled and placed a hand on Kiharu's blood-soaked shoulder. He took his hand back and then sniffed the blood. He grinned.

"So," said Yomi in an all-knowing voice, "you took sympathy on the young lad. That is very odd of you, seeing as how you brutal massacred your competition in the preliminaries."

"What's it matter to you what I do?" snarled Kiharu.

"Well, I for one was rather impressed with your victory," Mukuro confessed lightly. Kiharu glanced at the bionic woman with her violet eyes. Mukuro smirked. "You had the opportunity to finish your opponent, yet you let him live." Kiharu rubbed the back of her neck in minor embarrassment. Mukuro pursed her lips as she thought of what to say next. "You fight with honor. You fight with the desire to win, yet you do not seem to think that your aspiration of becoming the sole ruler of Demon World justifies killing someone who, like you, fights with honor."

Yomi smirked. "I understand." He placed his hand atop Kiharu's head proudly. "Kiharu had no qualms with slaughtering the mindless demons in the preliminaries since they fought with no dignity." He peered at his daughter. "You do not see the need to kill; rather, you see the need to win. You are odd, Kiharu, for you would rather go through this tournament without killing anyone who fought with dignity."

Gee, don't I feel special.

Mukuro chuckled softly to herself. "Kiharu, you honestly would prefer not to kill?"

Kiharu bit down on her lip, sighed heavily, and nodded.

I'd rather just win the thing without having to kill anyone. Touya fought with honor and dignity. He was a great man who fought passionately and I did not deserve to be the one to take his life. I respect him. I respect all fighters who have their dignity and who put their hearts into their battles. Those are the people I do not wish to have die by my hands.

"You're quite like Hiei," murmured Mukuro. That statement piqued Kiharu's interest.

"How so?" she questioned.

"According to Hiei, it's a kill or be killed world. He may say that is his philosophy, but I'm sure certain people are . . . exceptions to his belief. For you Kiharu, it isn't about choosing your life over another's. It is about fighting 'till the end, while sparing those who fight as noble as you. The same can be said about Hiei."

"I don't understand. Correct me if I am mistaken, but did you not say that Hiei believes it's a kill or be killed world?"

Mukuro smiled humorously. "That is what he says with his mouth, but his heart says different. If Hiei is fighting someone he can respect, he will not kill them. He may defeat them but he would not lay them to rest. In that category, you and Hiei are most alike."

"They both have a certain stubbornness as well," pointed out Yomi.

Kiharu glared at him then looked up at the monitor. There he was. There was Hiei. Hiei was fighting against some sort of water demon with beady black eyes and scaly green skin. The water demon opened its mouth widely and a huge blast of water headed for Hiei. Before Kiharu could even blink, Hiei had dodged to attack and landed on the shoulder of the demon, who immediately panicked. "Game over," said Hiei in a dark voice.

Slash!

The demon was beheaded and a fountain of blood shot up into the sky. Hiei leapt of the body of the freshly killed demon and landed on his feet.

"That one was over quick folks! With a single move Hiei managed to slaughter his opponent!" rang Koto's voice through the P.A. system. "Hiei's obviously brought his A-game to the tournament! Now, onto the next match!"

Hiei soon joined Mukuro, Yomi, and Kiharu. His face had been speckled a bit with blood but other than that, Hiei appeared just as he had before Kiharu went to her fight. Hiei turned to face her and Kiharu tensed up.

"So, you managed to defeat Touya . . ." he said lowly.

"What of it?" said Kiharu, being the little spitfire she was.

Hiei smirked. "I hadn't expected you to even make it through the preliminaries. Touya was an elite Shinobi of Demon World and an Ice Master no less. It's truly remarkable someone with minuscule talent was able to defeat him without any fatal wounds. Just color me impressed."

"I'll color you black and blue if you don't stop insulting me!" she flared.

Damn it! I have a soft spot for the guy but he's always trying to bring me down. Still, it is delicious fun to provoke him. He's a stubborn jackass but for some reason that's one of my favorite qualities about him. Well, at least he admitted he was impressed with my fight, even if he did admit it through insult.

"If you so much as give me a paper cut, I'll faint in shock."

"I'd kick you in the balls if you were two feet taller!"

Mukuro and Yomi laughed as Hiei and Kiharu glared at each other, sparks of heated anger in their eyes. The intensity of their glares would've frightened small demon children. Even though she was glaring at him, Kiharu knew that she felt some attraction toward Hiei. The animosity and insults directed at him were Kiharu's odd ways of showing him affection.

This is the only way I can even talk to him. The only way I can speak to him is if we're bickering.

-Hn, that's interesting-

Kiharu recoiled in shock, her hand over her rapidly beating heart. Yomi looked at her questionably. "Are you all right, Kiharu?" he asked.

"Fine," she lied.

Yomi gave a slight nod and then resumed talking with Mukuro. They found it fascinating how their heirs had an inclination to want to insult the other. Their petty quarrels were similar to the ones between siblings, which kept Mukuro and Yomi most amused.

What the hell was that? I thought . . . I thought I heard Hiei's voice in my mind.

-You did, stupid-

Hiei! Get out of my head, dwarf-man!

-Hn-

Why are you in my head anyway?

-I have nothing better to do-

Oh, great reason. In case you can't tell, I'm using sarcasm

-Sarcasm? Never heard of it-

You're a regular comedian, Hiei. How much of my thoughts did you hear?

-When you said you can only talk to me through bickering. Might I ask why you care?-

None of your business

-Seeing as how I'm involved, I believe it IS my business-

Fuck off.

Kiharu prevented any further thoughts. Hiei tried to probe her mind, but saw that she thought of nothing and left it at that. After the end of the day, the tournament had been narrowed down the thirty-two fighters. Mukuro, Yomi, Hiei, and Kiharu were all still in the tournament. Kiharu wondered what were the chances she'd fight against Hiei, since he was the one she wanted to fight the most.

Kiharu asked if she could go out training again and Yomi recommended she change into another outfit, since it would be cold that night. He told her their were clothes for her in her hotel room. Before entering it, Kiharu asked Yomi a question.

"Why do I have to wear this armlet thing?" she asked curiously.

"Why do you ask?" said Yomi dully.

Kiharu released an aggravated sigh. "Because . . . I want to know why you insist on me wearing it to all my fights? It's of no significance."

Yomi stroked his chin pensively. "Oh . . . well, you right. There is no true reason for you to have to wear it."

Heh, I knew it.

"Do you remember who I told you your namesake was?"

Kiharu recalled the conversation she shared with Yomi the day she burst from the incubation tank and beheaded Shura, her older brother.

"Some princess, right?" said Kiharu with dull interest.

Yomi nodded. He pointed to the silver armlet. "That armlet belonged to her. I only made you wear it in honor of your namesake. You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Good." Kiharu slid off the armlet and shoved it into Yomi's arms. Kiharu inserted her key in the lock and turned it. "I'm gonna change then go out to train again."

"As you will."

Kiharu changed from her bloody clothes into an entirely different outfit. She put on a long-sleeved dark purple shirt and tight black shorts that hugged her thighs. With that done, she fled for the forested area she had trained in the previous night.

Kiharu did many exercises, from push-ups to leaping through the treetops. Once her training had finished, she decided once again to rinse her sweaty body off. She stripped off her clothing and stood directly beneath the cascading waterfall. She winced as the cold water pelted against her aching bruises but endured it well enough. Kiharu groomed herself to be as clean as she could, washing off any traces of dirt of dried blood.

Once she decided she was clean enough, Kiharu decided that maybe the heat of her aura could dry her off. She allowed herself to become enveloped in her energy, but once her body was dried she was worn out. Kiharu slipped back into her clothes and decided to sleep in the cavern once again. She closed her eyes and allowed the lulling sound of lapping water to soothe her.

Damn that Hiei . . . she thoughtbitterly. He can read my mind. Now I have to be really careful around him. Or else he might find out that I . . . that I'm attracted to him. And that would just be chaos and then I'd hear him say how he'd never love a weakling like me and blah, blah, blah.

Banishing any further thoughts of the handsome, crimson-eyed demon, Kiharu fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.