Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Lifting the Darkness ❯ Lifting the Darkness ( Chapter 1 )

Lifting the Darkness

A songfic to `Falls On Me' by Fuel

Prequel (sort of) of the Relations Series

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or its characters. I don't own the lyrics to the song `Falls On Me' or the band Fuel.

Lyrics to the song are in italics.

<…> are thoughts

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Yukina drags Hiei into Genkai's temple, adamant about checking the severity of the wound on his arm. Hiei had been spending a lot of time in the Ningenkai lately- Mukuro hadn't given him a summons in over six weeks- and Yukina was taking advantage of that fact, making sure she tracked him down at least once every day- either meeting him in the park or catching him watching over her in her garden.

But the odd thing was, she hadn't asked about her brother lately. In fact, she had seemingly forgotten that everyone but Hiei existed, let alone that she was supposed to be worried about finding her long-lost twin. Not that it bothered him that she was pretty much ignoring the Fool, he was happy about that fact. Very happy.

I've seen you hangin' round

This darkness where I'm bound

And this black hole I've dug for me

Hiei watches as his twin tends to the latest of his wounds, a deep gash from the mission he was just on for Koenma with the others. The demon had thought that sneaking up on Hiei when he was sleeping was a good idea- and had paid for it. Hiei had taken the demon alone and finished the case in less than ten minutes, but the demon had managed to slash his arm in the nanosecond of surprise that Hiei suffered from. He barely even noticed the wound, but Yukina fussed over every injury he got, causing a more than adequate amount of jealousy in that carrot-topped, baka ningen.

She took the opportunity to check out the rest of his body condition after she healed his wound. She sees his defiant spirit burning strongly, but also sees the fatigue causing it to flicker ever so slightly. `You're not sleeping enough, Hiei-san,' she chides lightly, `again.' She ties off a bandage over the almost fully healed wound, and lectures him on the importance of sleeping, and the evils of his nocturnal habits- it wasn't odd to see him still awake long after midnight had passed.

But Hiei didn't mind. Since he had been spending time around his sister, the darkness that had always haunted him seemed to retreat, leaving him feeling lighter and happier.

And silently within

With hands touching skin

The shock breaks my disease

And I can breathe

Later that night Hiei and Yukina are sitting in the garden of the temple. The garden is beautiful. The grounds have flourished under his twin's gentle care and perfume the air with sweetness. Hiei has taken up his usual spot on a low branch where Yukina can still see him.

Yukina is tending to her favorite part of the garden, a design depicting a sprawling dragon in beautiful dark blooms. Only two things marred its darkness- a patch of white blooms on the forehead of the dragon and the crimson roses that made up its eyes. She smiles to herself at its progress, remembering her inspiration for it. <Hiei was so brave during the Dark Tournament, and the dragon was so darkly beautiful, I couldn't help but honor them. >

As she finishes her work, she walks over to the tree and looks up at Hiei, and asks him a surprising question. `Can I come up, too?'

Hiei, slightly shocked at her request, says yes, of course and takes her up. She smiles and laughs as she looks at her garden from above. `Oh Hiei-san! Thank you!' He nods and lightly jumps to the ground beneath her. `I've always wanted to see what it was like up here!' She looks up at the starry sky, wonder in her crimson eyes.

Hiei looks up at his sister, smiling at her happiness. Yukina is carefully walking on the branch and surveying her garden. But then a gust of wind knocks her off balance and she falls from the branch with a small scream. His brotherly instinct causing him to panic, Hiei quickly moves to catch her, but the force knocks him to the ground, also knocking the breath out of him in a `whoosh.'

And all of your weight

And all you dream

Falls on me, it falls on me

Yukina quickly gets off him and he sits up. `Gomen, Hiei-san,' she says, laughing and blushing. Seeing she's all right, Hiei smiles back and gets up.

`Gotta' be careful up there,' Hiei warns her good-naturedly, `I got a lot more than a few bruises from falling before I learned how to balance myself.' If he had been in the presence of anyone else, he probably would have acted as though he was mad and brooded, but as usual, Yukina's presence brightened his disposition. They walk back into the temple and Yukina makes him stay the night in the room next to hers. Hiei leaves in the morning, promising to return soon.

And your beautiful sky

And the light you bring

Falls on me, it falls on me.

`God have mercy on those demons,' Koenma had said as they watched Hiei burn up a whole army of guards on the jumbo-screen in his office.

Yukina had been kidnapped, taken by a group of upper A-class demons interested in making a lot of money off her tears. There were only two possibilities for why they took Yukina: either very dumb for taking someone who was under Hiei's protection and not realizing they would die a horrible death- or they just didn't know who or what Hiei was.

Apparently, since they were shocked to see the literally flaming mad fire demon walking into their hideout after burning through about 16 regiments of guards without breaking a sweat, the latter was the case.

Hiei had left as soon as he found out, not caring about what class the demons were, and had run into a little trouble. It was, after all, 7 upper A-class demons to 1 lower S-class demon. After being hit with more than a few hard attacks, he had wound up needing to summon the Dragon of Darkness Flame to kill them. This battle had left Hiei drained and considerably wounded, knocking on death's door once again. The only thing that kept him conscious until the rest of the Reikai Tantei could arrive to get them back to the Ningenkai was Yukina's encouragement and belief in his strength.

Your faith like the pain

Draws me in again.

Hiei awoke sometime later in the familiar room where he was almost every time after he summoned his dragon. He winced as he sat up, and then heard a gasp from the doorway. He looked to see Yukina bringing in her healing tools and a basin of warm water.

`Hiei-san!' Yukina urges him to lie back down. He does so and she begins to dress and heal his wounds. She praises him and thanks him profusely, each being answered by a `It was nothing' or a `Hn.' He felt the darkness over his soul lifting again and allows a smile to slip out.

She draws me in again

She washes all my wounds for me.

A few nights later, Hiei is sitting in the window of Yukina's room, watching her sleep. He smiles when he sees her peaceful face, unmarred by the nightmares he usually suffered from.

He thought about all of the times he had spent with his twin. She always treated him like family. He wondered how she would act if she knew about all of the evils he had done in the past. Or if she knew how tainted he was. He wondered if she could see the darkness that surrounded his soul, if she would still believe him a friend and treat him like she did.

The darkness in my veins

I never could explain

And I wonder if you ever see

Will you still believe?

Another day, a special day, has dawned. Today is Yukina's- and Hiei's- birthday. There was a small party at Genkai's temple, and the whole Reikai Tantei came, including Koenma and Botan- and surprisingly, even Hiei. Yukina was playing around in the tree again when Hiei showed up. She was so happy at his arrival that, once more, she lost her balance and Hiei had to rush to catch her, getting the air knocked out of him again, but this time at least he had some snow to land in.

The entire party- especially Kuwabara- laughed at the sight of a flustered Yukina sitting on top of a breathless Hiei. Yukina quickly got off him and helped him to his feet. Hiei smiled at her and wished her a happy birthday.

And all of your weight

And all you dream

Falls on me, it falls on me.

Everyone had stopped partying at his arrival and Hiei looked around, then flashed a one-fanged grin. `What's wrong with you ningens? This is a party, not a movie!' Everyone laughed and the party got in full swing.

Hiei and Yukina busied themselves in eating the entire 3-gallon ice cream container all by themselves while everyone else drank themselves silly. A game of Pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey turned into a suspicious accident where Kuwabara ended up having the tail (during Hiei's turn, by the way). Kurama was so drunk that he turned into his fox form and wound up stuck up a tree-Hiei had to go up and save him. Yusuke went home with a grand total of 767 elbows-in-the-stomach and at least 1000 glares from Keiko, who was uncharacteristically violent due to the large amount of sake she had consumed. Koenma and Botan wound up so drunk that Yukina needed to call Ogre to pick them up after they had laughed so much that they had fainted due to a lack of oxygen. Even Genkai had needed to be carried off to bed. Hiei been in a good mood all night long and had smiled and laughed just as much as the rest of the group.

The festivities continued long into the night, concluding-even without the opening of presents- at 11:00.

And your beautiful sky

And the light you bring

Falls on me, it falls on me.

At that time, Yukina took the opportunity to do her saddest yearly duty- counting the number of tear gems she had shed that year for her brother. She took the large pouch from its hiding place in a secret compartment under her bed and walked out to the snow-covered garden.

She sighed as she poured the bag out into the lap of her kimono. <So many tears.> She began to count.

The minutes began to tick by as she counted on…100…200…350… each tear a sign of her love for her brother.

Finally, she had the last handful in her hands. Suddenly a black tear gem on a silver chain fell into her handful of white gems.

`Nani…?' She put her gems down onto the snowy ground and picked up the black gem. It was exquisite- dark with what seemed like a black fire burning within it. She gasped when she realized what it meant. `Oniisan…' she breathed. <Can I face him? Am I good enough for him? >

`Before you turn around,' the familiar voice had said, `I need you to promise me you think I can be a good brother. I'm not exactly a saint.'

Am I that strong?

To carry on?

`Of course you are,' she said, happy tears already gathering in her eyes, `I always have thought you would be.' She blinks back her tears and says, `If anything, I should worry if I am good enough for you.' She heard a soft `Hn' behind her and sensed that he thought the question was unnecessary.

She turned around and, there, leaning against a tree, was a small, familiar figure dressed in black. <Could it be?>

The figure raised its lowered head and, although the figure's face was still shadowed, she could see his small smile and the warm, loving light in his eyes. `Imouto-chan…' he stepped into the light, allowing her to see him.

The koorime cried out in happiness and ran into her long-lost brother's opened arms. She cried happy tears as she brushed the spiky black hair with the shocking white starburst that had become endeared to her long before this day. `Onii-chan,' she whispered, looking into the crimson eyes that matched hers. Remembering all that he had done for her in the past.

He had saved her life countless times.

I might save your life

He had brought her out of her sheltered life and out of a life of imprisonment.

I might change your world

She understood why he didn't tell her-he wanted to protect her from his hard, painful past and give her a life of happiness.

`There is only one thing,' he said, `that I will ever ask you to do for me.' He closed his eyes momentarily. `I will do anything for you, just please,' he opened his eyes, `save me from my darkness.'

Could you save me?

`Of course,' she said, caressing her new black tear gem.

And all of your weight

And all you dream

Falls on me, it falls on me.

The twins walk to the temple together, stopping before they enter the temple to hug again.

And your beautiful sky

And the light you bring

Falls on me, it falls on me.

`Imouto-chan,' Hiei whispered, kissing her cheek, `Happy Birthday.'

`Happy Birthday, Hiei-chan, Happy Birthday.'

And with a single `clink,' two perfect gems fall to the ground.

One of black, and one of white.

--

The End

Please review. This was written to elaborate on the small scene that describes this in chapter two of Friends. I will be writing sequels to the Relations series as well as new series and one shots so I need suggestions as to what you want. Thanks in advance.