Mukuro & Hiei
by Morgan
D.
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This was written
to my dear friend Ryoma around May 2000. She was then starting her
fanfic "Black Flame",
and asked me for detailed info regarding Mukuro's personality.
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This "essay" is based solely in the anime version of Yu Yu Hakusho, as presented in Brazil, dubbed in Portuguese by Audio News. Since the original dialogues were in Japanese, and I'm now retranslating them to English, it is very possible that a lot might have been lost (and added) along the way.
Mukuro invited Hiei to go back to Makai and join her forces. For six months the Jaganshi stays in her fortress's underground fighting her commandos, until he defeats them all. Then Mukuro makes a deal with Hiei: if he wins the next fight, she (though Hiei still thinks Mukuro is a man under her mask) promises to show her body to him, and grant him the title of "warrior" (that's the Portuguese word translated literally; Sandy Youko, who's also Brazilian and saw the same version I did, prefers to call it "general"; he would be one of her 77 generals).
Hiei says he's not interested in any title, but seems to be curious about Mukuro's identity. He insists: "You mean that all I have to do is winning?" The sentence has a double meaning to me (and the actor who dubbed Hiei did put a certain edge to it). He only has to win. "Surviving" is not mentioned. This is important when you understand Hiei is definitely and literally in a suicidal mood.
When Mukuro brings Shigure and Hiei recognizes the surgeon who implanted the Jagan in his brow, he thinks: "There's no reason to prolong this fight. My chances will be better if I use the power of the flames." (The Jaou Ensatsu Ken is called 'the mortal dark flames doctrine' by the dubbing.) Mukuro is thinking along the same line: "If this fight was held only by swords, perhaps Shigure might have a chance."
But seemingly, Hiei has no intention of surviving. He thinks: "Before, I only thought about fighting, but now I have no reason to live anymore. So I should die." And he strikes using only his sword, and none of his frightful powers. After a faster-than-eye battle, both Hiei and Shigure are mortally wounded, but the Fire Demon is the last one standing on his feet (I guess that means he's the winner ^^;;;).
Mukuro doesn't understand why Hiei acted like that, she asks: "Hiei, why did you search for this kind of death?" And she touches the body of the fallen (and unconscious) youkai, and uses her powers to see all his memories. She sees him being thrown overboard the Koorime Floating Island, being 'adopted' by a gang of thieves, his loneliness, his taste for blood, the moment when that same gang rejected him and he got tired of his life as an assassin. The decision of looking for the Ice World, the loss of the teargem, finding his mother's tomb and giving up of his plan of killing all the Koorime, going to the Human World in search for Yukina, the meeting with Kurama, joining him to steal the Reikai Treasure, meeting Yusuke and the changes he passed through after that meeting. Then, the time when he decided to leave the Human World and understood he had no objectives anymore, no reason to go on, and felt he was ready to die. Mukuro sees it all.
Mukuro is moved by what she sees: "Hiei, I didn't know about this story. Among all cores I ever met, you are the one I feel more comfortable with. Rest in peace." (I wrote 'core', but I don't know how to translate it; literally would be 'sense'. Also, if you want to know why I think that the polemic theory about Hiei actually having died after the fight against Shigure might be right, the sentence 'rest in peace' has a lot to do with it...)
Mukuro heals Hiei's body and fulfills her promise. She undresses before him (whose normal eyes are closed, but the Jagan is open) and tells him all about her past. Rejection at birth, growing up in pain, surviving by sheer hate and stubbornness, achieving unbelievable power (sounds familiar?).
So, Mukuro and Hiei have TONS in common. And they know everything about each other. It's like they look at each other and see themselves in a mirror. Imagine you are this very reserved person who always hid your past under a veil of secrecy, and is not really proud of that past anyway. Now imagine you have someone just beside you who knows everything about it. Uncomfortable, right? That's the point, I think. They are comfortable with each other because, being so much alike, there cannot be much recrimination between them. On the other hand, looking at a mirror of your soul might be pretty scary, if it forces you to be constantly reminded of all that stuff you really don't want to think about.
Hiei: (using the Jagan) Yusuke is going to meet Yomi.
Mukuro: I know. What do you think he's planning?
Hiei: (shrugs) I don't know. He's a normal guy, but sometimes he surprises everyone. I still don't know what he's up to. But often his plans are only frivolous things of no importance.
Mukuro: This time I believe you.
Hiei: What do you mean by that?
Mukuro: I know you're often a liar.
Hiei: Hn.
Mukuro: Would you fight against Yusuke if you met him?
Hiei: Of course I would. We are on the same level [of energy]. Therefore I can fight him. But still we both are going to grow a lot yet, so if you're thinking about killing us, do it now, and think very well about this.
Mukuro: You are right.
Hiei: Stop trying my patience! [literally, stop grilling my patience! ^^]
Mukuro: Whose side would you be if Yusuke and I fought?
Hiei: I won't take anybody's side. I'm going to fight against the winner. And if you want to know, if the fight was to happen now, you would be the winner.
Mukuro: There's some of a lie in that. Because if I win, you will join Yusuke. However, if my power and Yusuke's are leveled, you won't interfere. [pause] I envy that guy.
The dialogue above is one example of their constant banter. See Hiei's annoyance having his lies and his way of thinking out in the open (he would never admit his loyalty to Yusuke aloud). On the other hand, Mukuro's play is straightforward (probably the reason why Raizen told Yusuke he could trust her): she recognizes Hiei's dubious game, she tells him she knows about it, but she doesn't reprehend him for it. On the contrary, she admits her envy (or jealousy).
About Hiei admitting Mukuro is the strongest of them all, I'm not sure if that is still an attempt of having himself killed, or if he's testing her to see if she was capable of betraying him. Either way, her cool reply ("you are right") answers none of these questions. No wonder Hiei gets so pissed off.
In my opinion, Mukuro and Hiei keep playing a game against each other. Something like *I will show you that I know more about you than you know about me* ^_^ Or maybe it's even worse, it's *I will show you I know more about you than you know about yourself!* After Hiei's flunked attempt of suicide, he tries not to think about his life anymore, for obvious reasons. But Mukuro keeps bringing the subject back:
Mukuro: Hiei, have you found your answer yet? You told me you had no reason to go on living.
Hiei: I don't need the answer, nothing matters to me anymore.
Mukuro: You really mean that?
So Hiei will try to turn the question against her:
Hiei: What's your goal in life? Maybe you didn't free yourself of your miserable past yet, you pitiful creature?
He recognizes the similarities between them. But he thinks there's nothing to his life than thoughtless fighting, so he tries to bring Mukuro to the same position (or else, he will go back to finding a reason to live again):
Hiei: Both you and me don't know what love is. We never received it from anyone. We have only cold eyes staring at us. We go on living among all that aversion. I don't know why we hit it off. The two of us, the TWO OF US, we live only for the fight, you hear me? YOU HEAR ME?
But when they face each other in the Makai Tournament, she's visibly a lot stronger than he is. She only keeps avoiding Hiei's strikes, never counterattacking. She was supposed to live only for the fight, but she is not fighting. Let's say Hiei gets a little pissed off about that...
Hiei: (in a mocking tone) Mukuro. Why don't you use all your strength against me? Haven't you freed yourself from captivity exclusively to fight? That's something you should be proud of. If you can't, it's because there's something holding you.
Mukuro: Enough.
Hiei: You don't have any magic art of attack. All you have is a woman's core. I pity you. You mean nothing!
Of course now Mukuro had the pride of all womankind to defend ^_^, so her next strike went right through Hiei's chest (very painfully) and sent him flying against a mountain's pick. Well, he deserved it ^_~
Anyway, now Mukuro is pissed too, so that's when the *I know your secret inner truth* game really begins:
(Hiei summons the power of the flames)
Mukuro: The flame attack. If you came from the Ice Country, it is ironic that you were born with energy provided by fire.
Hiei: My magic secret is having being born with a different nature. I will transfer my hatred to melt the ice with my fire.
Mukuro: Hatred? But that's not it. You already proved you don't keep hard feelings. What you carry is a great longing for your birthland, isn't it, Hiei?
(Mukuro manages to deflect Hiei's fire)
Mukuro: If you can't get me with your two eyes, why don't you use the demonic eye, the eye conceived by Shigure's hands? You implanted the jagan to look for your teargem? Or to look for something else that you won't reveal? What you are looking for is something that is inside you. Isn't it, Hiei?
Mukuro is so powerful she can cut the space. She makes several cuts in the space around Hiei, and he can't touch the lines where the space was cut or his body will be destroyed. He's totally surrounded with little space to move around. Mukuro thinks: "Let's get over with this. I don't wanna fight you anymore. The more you insist in the fight, the narrower your space will get. What are you going to do?" I love the double meaning of that thought. As long as Hiei insists in living just for fighting, there will be no chance of him ever seeing other possibilities.
Hiei has no alternative but unleashing the Black Dragon. He does it a little regretfully: "I sincerely didn't want to use this trick against you." But Mukuro simply tears the Dragon in twice, as if it was made of thin paper (one of the most agonizing scenes I ever saw...).
Mukuro: Are you satisfied, Hiei? That trick is too cruel for you, who were born in the Ice Country. It's too heavy a burden for your body. [pause] Hiei, you lost.
Hiei: Hn. I acknowledge my defeat.
Mukuro: (softly) Hiei, I really don't want to hear that this defeat is an incentive to beat me someday. This is very sad.
Hiei: I know it is, and I don't want to fight you anymore.
(Mukuro's shackles crack and fall to the ground, broken by the Dragon's fangs)
Hiei: All hatred is water under the bridge now. You have no need to have those. It's still too soon for us to throw everything away. What do you think of that?
Mukuro: I know.
I'm sorry if this is soooo long, but I imagined that the best way of describing Mukuro's personality was letting her talk by herself. She is the one who, after Raizen's death, went to Yusuke and handed him a simple purplish flower, saying: "Please, put this flower on Raizen's tomb, and tell him he's a fool." That's Mukuro-sama for you. Whatever I could say, she explains it better.
Love,
Morgan D.