I do not own any of the characters that I choose to use in this fanfiction…

"Are you ready?"

Hiei sighed at his uncle's words. "As ready as I'll ever be."

They were currently flying over China, and were quickly approaching the home of one Master Roshi. Apparently Vegeta had informed his friend, Goku, that he was finally heading home, and bringing with him the fire demon. Though the small apparition sincerely hoped not, his uncle had assured him that, knowing Goku, they would undoubtedly have to endure yet another party; only this one was welcoming them home. The demon felt his heart flip at the word, home. He had never had the pleasure of calling any place home. He knew the Makai was his home dimension, but he had never actually had a dwelling with people in it that he had considered home. The closest he came was with Yusuke and the others, but with keeping the secret from Yukina, and constantly traveling back and forth between the living realm and the makai, Hiei could never be sure just where he belonged. But he was about to find out.

"We're here," Vegeta smirked in pleasure. "Try not to feel too overwhelmed. I admit that these people are hard to get used to at first, but they are great warriors, and good people."

Hiei nodded as he felt an unexplainable nervousness infect his body. "Right, I'll be fine."

Vegeta laughed at the boy's discomfort, and then pointed at a small island occupied by only an obnoxious pink house. Hiei felt a snort of disbelief erupt from his lips. This was where a master of martial arts called home? Suddenly he felt very thankful for the relative sanity Genkai had offered.

"Right," the fire demon coughed as he struggled not to laugh. "Let's go meet Ken and Barbie."

The Saiyan threw back his head in laughter, and then landed outside the house with his young charge. Walking up to the screen door, the prince sent a raised eyebrow towards his nephew that clearly said 'Get ready for insanity' and then opened the door with a bellowed, "We're back!"

Suddenly a wave of people rushed the duo, enveloping them with chatter, and greetings. Hiei felt like he had been swallowed by something far more dangerous than his dragon, and even though he felt the power from the truly mighty warriors surrounding him, he could not help but feel amused at the colorful characters that housed these immense powers.

"Welcome!" said a large man with just as large muscles, black hair rising towards the heavens. "My name is Goku, and I assume that you're Hiei?"

"Y-yes," the fire demon stammered, nearly bowled over by the energy emitted from the warrior greeting him. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Wow!" a man with three eyes laughed out loud. "He's not like you at all Vegeta, this little guy's got manners!" Sticking his hand out the man declared, "I'm Tien."

With a snarl, Hiei pointedly ignored the hand and glared at the man. "Little?" he hissed with a frown, but it quickly turned to a smirk full of mischief. With a showy toss, the small apparition ripped his headband off his head, and activated his Jagan.

"Whoa!" Tien exclaimed. "Are you a descendant of the three eyed people too?"

"No," Hiei purred. "This is a demon eye that I had surgically implanted into my head for purposes that are my own to know, and its power is more immense than you can imagine. So if you wish to keep all those embarrassing secrets that you hold deep within your mind unknown to the rest of the room, I suggest you not remark about my height."

A green skinned man with pointy ears laughed on the other side of the room. "I disagree Tien," he chuckled. "He is most definitely related to Vegeta, and a Saiyan to boot."

Walking up to the young warrior, the man stuck out his hand, a hand which Hiei shook while sending a smug glare at Tien, and introduced himself. "You may call me Piccolo."

"And my name's Krillin!"

Hiei turned to see a fighter even smaller than him, and quickly turned towards Tien. Pointing comically at the small fighter, the fire demon asked with an incredulous eyebrow raised towards the ceiling. "And you think I'm short?!"

The room filled with laughter as Krillin wilted from the joke, but quickly recovered enough to ask, "So Hiei, you any good in a fight?"

"That's a dumb question!" Tien laughed.

"No kidding!" Goku joined in. "If he's Vegeta's nephew and has been training with him for the past three months, then he has to be pretty strong."

"Ha!" Vegeta barked. "Strong is an understatement! This kid actually forged my Galick Gun with the power of a black dragon that he summoned from the pits of Hell! If that's not a move worthy of a Saiyan warrior, then we need to have our brain's checked!"

Appreciative murmurs rang out in agreement with Vegeta's sentiment, and Hiei felt himself slowly sinking into a comfortable groove with these strange new people. Yeah, they were most definitely weird, but he felt different here. While the Saiyan prince started telling stories about Hiei's accomplishments in training, and bragging about how superior the royal line was, the fire demon leaned back in his chair with a barely noticeable smile. He never knew that having a family, having people to brag about him, and support him felt so good.

Later that night, Vegeta brought him home to the Capsule Corp estate, but they barely had time to walk up to the door before Vegeta was tackled by a blue haired woman. She hugged him around the neck, shouting about how much she had missed him, but quickly quieted when she noticed the small young man standing behind her husband. Letting go of the prince, she walked over to the boy, and stroked his face with a gentle hand. Hiei tenses at her touch, gulping apprehensively at the way she looked at him. He couldn't stop the way his mind was reeling. She had blue hair, and even though he knew that if they were standing side by side she wouldn't, he couldn't stop the thought that she looked like his mother. Unaware of the boy's inner turmoil, the woman continued cooing over him.

"Oh my," she said in a hushed voice. "He looks just like you, Vegeta."

Kneeling down in front of the young warrior, the woman smiled brightly. "My name is Bulma," she said gently, taking his hands in hers while looking him in the eyes, "and we are so happy that you came to live with us. You are more than welcome to stay as long as you want."

"Mom?"

A purple haired boy, and blue haired girl walked out of the front door with confused looks on their faces, but they quickly turned to smiles when the young people noticed Hiei and Vegeta. "Dad!"

The two quickly rushed forward to greet their father, the girl hugging her dad much in the way her mother had, and the boy settling with a clap on the shoulder from his sire. Turning them towards his nephew, the Saiyan prince held his hand out towards the new arrival.

"This is Hiei," he said. "Hiei, this is my son, Trunks, and my daughter, Bra. They are your cousins, and they live here as well."

Gulping nervously, the boy stepped up, and then gave a formal bow of greeting. "Thank you for inviting me into your home."

Trunks laughed, and then slapped his hand on the bowed boy's shoulder. "No need to be so formal, we're all family here."

"Yeah!" Bra joined in with an enthusiastic smile. "You live with us now."

Hiei's breath hitched as he inhaled, but he quickly cleared his throat. "Thank you."

…

Vegeta lay in bed, his arms curled around his wife, breathing in the sweet scent of her soft hair. But he was not to stay in dreamland forever as he was woken from his slumber by a jostling. With a moan of playful irritation, he pulled his wife's soft curves back against his body, growling into her neck, but was shocked out of his sleep when she pushed him away. Sitting up, he gazed at her in confusion, watching her throw a robe around her body, until he noticed why she was up. Someone was crying.

Both of them walking briskly from the room, and towards the source of the pitiful cries, they found themselves outside the bedroom of the fire demon. Turning the knob, they entered as one, only to find the boy thrashing in his bed, and crying out in his sleep.

"No…" he moaned. "Stop…. It hurts…. Please, I'm begging you, no more…. Someone make it stop, please…. Mother… Mother please don't let them do this… MOTHER!"

Running to his side, Bulma grasped his shoulders, and shook him firmly, rescuing him from whatever nightmare was tormenting the boy. Hiei awoke with a start, pulling air into his lungs as if he had been drowning. Gasping for breath, the boy cast bleary confused eyes on the woman standing over him, and then let out a small wail.

"NOOO!"

Trying to wiggle from her grasp, he cried out, still half inside his dream. "Let me go! Don't throw me away!"

"Hiei," Bulma said calmly, but saw that he didn't hear her, and then yelled loudly, "HIEI!"

The boy stopped thrashing as his eyes cleared and he gained full wakefulness. "Bulma?"

"You were having a nightmare," Vegeta said softly, sitting down on the end of his mattress.

Pulling him into a sitting position, Bulma sat behind the boy, turning him onto his side so she could rub comforting circles on his back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She half expected him to say "no," and as the silence was drawn out into minutes, she had accepted that he would not tell her his dream, but suddenly a small voice whispered in her arms.

"I was born to a demon race of ice apparitions who hated men," he began in a pained whisper. "Because I was male, and a fire apparition I was thrown away. Condemning me as the worst kind of filth to ever enter the world not even twenty four hours after being born, I was ripped from my mother and they threw me off a cliff claiming it as an act of mercy, saying it was better if I die and never taint the world with my impurity."

Bulma felt her heart clench as she fought the urge to gag in disgust. Clutching the boy even tighter her arms, the woman rocked him back and forth as if she was trying to dispel the horrible circumstances that had created him.

"You," she said forcefully, voice filled with conviction, "are not disgusting. You are not trash, and you are not something impure that deserves to die. I've met creeps like that, and you are not even close to being like them. Whether those witches admit that or not is not important. What is important is that you are our family, and my nephew. We love you, and we will never hurt you like that, not ever."

As she spoke, the small demon began to tremble as a torrent of emotions crashed through him. "You don't understand," he gasped. "I've done terrible things, things you would hate me for if you knew."

"I don't care about the past," Bulma whispered softly. "I know the you that is here right now, and I love that version of you, and nothing I hear about your past will change that."

"But I'm not good enough…"

The woman's heart twisted at the pleading for love in that small weak voice, and gave him a gentle hug, squeezing him against her. "You're good enough for me."

Suddenly the walls that had held his emotions in check for so many years crumbled and the fire demon found himself crying into the chest of the woman who had accepted him with her whole heart. His body shook with the violent wracking sobs that convulsed through him, years of torment and pain finally being poured out and scrubbed away through the cleansing that only a good cry can bring. Bulma held him through it all, whispering words of encouragement, letting him know that she wouldn't judge him or reject him. Hiei clung to her like she was a life preserver in the middle of a storm. He knew that he was displaying a disgusting amount of weakness in front of his uncle, but he didn't care. He craved the love and acceptance radiating from his aunt as she cradled him in her arms. So much so that he allowed her to hold him like one would a baby, and let her see all his pain, all the bitterness, and let it be washed away by his tears. How long he stayed like that he couldn't know, but finally as his sobs calmed to shuddering gasps, he felt his eyes drooping shut, and he fell asleep but this time he would not be haunted by ghosts from the past.

Bulma sat like that, holding the boy in her arms, gently stroking his sleeping face, caressing his neck, and tracing his features with a tender finger. "He's just like you when we first met," she murmured absently without looking up from her precious armful. "You had nightmares too, and had so many tears that you didn't cry until we were alone."

"Hmph," Vegeta scoffed, but it quickly turned to a sigh as his gaze took in the tormented figure of his nephew.

"Vegeta…"

The Saiyan looked up at his wife, and was startled by the intensity of her blue eyes. Concern and grief was etched across her beautiful face as she pleaded wordlessly with her husband.

"Vegeta, he needs a family," she said softly, one hand covering his ear so not to wake him. "He needs us."

"I know," the Saiyan prince answered.

Suddenly feeling very awkward, Vegeta picked up the boy's tail stroking it absently, his eyes on the floor in an embarrassed silence. "Um… I was thinking…"

"What?" Bulma said softly.

"What do you…What I mean to say is," the Saiyan stumbled, before finally meeting her eyes and saying firmly. "What do you think about adopting him?"

Bulma gave a brilliant smile, once again snuggling the boy in her arms close. "I think that's a great idea."

….

Two Months Later…

"I got a letter!"

The entire team at Genkai temple looked up to see the koorime jumping up and down ecstatically as she ran towards the temple, an envelope in her upraised hand.

"From who?" Kuwabara asked lamely before being slapped across the back of the head by Yusuke.

"From Hiei you dork!" the team leader sighed with feigned longsuffering.

Kurama laughed, and turned to the ice apparition who just arrived and plopped down beside him. "That's wonderful!" he smiled. "What does it say"

With excited motions, the ice maiden opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. "'My dear sister,'" she began, giggling in delight at the greeting, "'It's been two months since I arrived, and I can say that our uncle was not lying. There are many warriors that are very powerful and worthy adversaries living here, and I have been training with them daily. Make sure to tell Yusuke that a rematch is coming once I finish my first round of training, and to be prepared to lose.'"

"Yeah right!" Yusuke laughed. "Like Hiei can beat this?"

"The way you've been slacking off on your training, he very well could."

Laughing at Genkai's retort, Yukina continued with the letter. "'I hope everyone is doing as well as I am. The people here are interesting, and I can't help but wonder how team Urameshi would fare during one of their martial arts tournaments. Be that as it may, I'm sure you're wondering if I'm ever coming back. I cannot answer that I will be back permanently, but I will visit from time to time in order to try out my new strength on Yusuke and Kurama (no need including the oaf since his strength is so pathetic even the children around here could easily defeat him)."

"Hey!" Kuwabara yelled in an indignant pout. "I resemble that remark!"

"I think you mean resent…" Kurama murmured with a soft chuckle.

"Kazuma, hush!" Yukina said in playful anger then swiftly turned back to the piece of paper in her hands. "'But I guess the real news is that our uncle and his wife have decided to officially adopt me as their son. It will take some getting used to having parents, so keep me in your thoughts as I start this new life. With all my heart, Hiei.'"

"That's so great!" Yusuke exclaimed. "He's getting a real family after all!"

"Looks like that Vegeta kept his promise!" Kuwabara agreed equally enthused.

"And it looks like we have something to celebrate too." Kurama said with exuberance.

And after that was said, they indeed did begin to have their own party celebrating new beginnings, and hopes long buried finally being rewarded with joy.

…..

Somewhere on a beach in China, a lone figure trained in the water. He had been learning a new technique from Goku, and was eager to try it out. Putting both fists behind him on his right side, the small fire demon yelled;

"Ka…Me….Ha…Me….HAAA!"

A large beam of energy shot from his fists as he thrust them forward creating a tunnel of water ten miles long. A grin of satisfaction filled his face, and wearily Hiei walked back up onto the beach to towel himself off.

"Hey Super Saiyan!"

Looking up, the small apparition saw his new brother floating above him, his hands casually in his pockets as he grinned at his younger brother.

"What?" Hiei growled playfully. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Mom told me to tell you dinner's ready," the purple haired boy shrugged, "but with the way you fly, you probably would barely arrive in time to help wash dishes."

"You saying I'm slow?" the fire demon asked his face stretching with a grin at a new challenge.

"Maaay-be," Trunks laughed, and then whirling around he yelled down to his new little brother. "Last one home get's kitchen duty!"

"Oh you're on!"

With a blast both brothers shot off into the sunset, towards home, family, and a new beginning.

The End…