February 26, 2000
Here it is, finally. ^_^  A little bit of a snow theme this time, at least on our title page and in one story. This is in honor of all the truly horrible weather we've been suffering lately.

New to both sides is 'Snow Walk,' by Seono Shou. Although not really a sequel to 'Home Sweet Home 2,' which we put up last time, it's being posted directly after it because we'd already done the stories in between. And this is nice, because it shows the youko's changed attitude toward Piiko, who now not only interrupts without being punished but sneezes full in the youko's face without getting turned into an african violet or something. Ah, the power of Yukina!

The Short of the Week is 'First Kiss,' a little tiny sequel to 'Dumb Stubborn Kiss,' our first Slam Dunk story. We got a lot of feedback on that story--surprised us! All we can say is, we'd love to do more stories in the series, but we don't have them. We have a number of other stories by Fujiyama Hyota (who now has an entry in the Djka Info section) but no continuation of 'Master of Mistakes,' which seems to be the name of this series. If you have any further stories in the series, please let us know.

And, yes, we'll do some more Slam Dunk stories--we have a couple of nice Fujiyama's planned and several more mature stories already translated.

New to the member's side is the next installment of Hiyaku. Hiei fights the youko to find out what is going to happen to human Kurama...and loses. Yes, he's in a world of trouble now. "We need a punishment suited to one who would raise his hand to me..." Now I wonder what that would be?

The manga chapter this week is Volume 3, Part 9: Devilish Forest, and it's the end of Volume 3! A whole volume of translated manga scans! This time Yuusuke and Kuwabara have to complete more of Genkai-shihan's crazy pupil selection trials, and Genkai realizes that Yuusuke is smarter than the average bear...well, no. But he's stronger than the average delinquent.

Plus, we have an extra treat this week! A text translation of Fuji Shinichi's 'I Can Grant You Three Wishes,' the first story in the wonderful series about Sei the university student and Gatten Shouchi-nosuke (or Suke for short), the best cat in the world who changes into a human (with ears and tail) in order to be with Sei-chan more. And more. And...um, m-more... ^_^;;;  Anyway, here it is, an inducement to get the manga if there ever was one.

That's it. Enjoy!

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February 22, 2000
Sorrysorrysorry! Due to real life pressures this week's update will be delayed a bit. Please look for it around Friday, which may become the regular day for updates from now on.

We're truly sorry for the delay, but trying to make regular updates can be rather grueling at times and we are only human. (Po: "I'm not, but that's beside the point."  Panthea: "No, you're a changeling. I forgot."   Po: <sharply> "I'm in mourning is what I am. The last episode of Iron Chef aired on the local access channel this week. The very last ever." Panthea: "I know. You cried."   Po: "I'm still crying. I'm never going to get over it. Allez cuisine!" <she holds a yellow pepper aloft, weeping quietly>)

Thanks for your patience. ^_^

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February 8, 2000
Happy Valentine's Day, minna! The lovely picture of Angel Kurama embracing a sleeping Hiei that we've used for the title this week is from a cover by Nankin Gureko (famous for her adorable Wild Hieis). The words on the cover were very kindly cloned out for us by Michelle Nolan--thank you, Michelle! (And if you're reading this--please send us your current email addy, because we've managed to lose it. ^_^;;;)

The YYH Valentine's Day card above was put together by Po, from pics by Arina Toshimi, Fuji Shinichi, Azumi Touru, and Seono Shou.

Let's see...lots of sweet presents this week. Rather than doing an actual Valentine's story, we decided to just give you a bouquet of nice tales by our favorite djka. And if you want to read about a real, true Valentine's Day in Japan, then you might look back at 'Valentine Kiss' by Mizushima Yui, which really can't be topped anyway.

The Short of the Week is by Fuji Shinichi, a genuine Lively Little Hiei-chan story! 'Hiei-chan Wanted It' is funniest if you know the true history of the Dark Chapter, but a cuddly romp even if you don't.

'Home Sweet Home 2,' by Seono Shou, is the long story for both sides. A sweet tale for all true lovers, it sees the reappearance of Piiko the Chibi Karasu and features some rare footage of Yukina putting down the smack on a seven foot youko.

The manga chapter this week is Volume 3, Part 8: Beginning of the Undercover Investigation. Yuusuke is sent on a new mission and meets the woman who is going to change his life forever: Genkai-shihan, mistress of Rei Kou Hadou Ken. Somehow, though, he isn't impressed by the first sight of her....

And now, something special for each side individually. For the general side...it took us a while, but we finally managed to come up with an edited version of the first story in the Hiyaku series. 'A Space Closed in Secrecy' by Arina Toshimi is over 40 pages long, extremely intense, and very good. It's also highly spicy even in the edited format, so please read the warning before proceeding with it.

For the member's side we present the long-awaited beginning of Hiyaku itself. The first 20 pages of Act 1: Separation are now up. The state of Kurama's mind is such that even he is getting frightened and he makes one desperate attempt to save Hiei from what's coming. (Of course he fails, or there wouldn't be a trilogy, but the trying is nice. After this things are gonna go downhill fast. ^_^;;;;) If you've been waiting for Arina's masterpiece, don't miss the start. (Click here to go to the story without going to the Hiyaku page, which has Java.)

If you're wondering if we'll be able to bring more of Hiyaku to the general side...we're looking at it. It involves a degree of editing that makes us a little queasy, so all we can do is promise to try. For now, the best we can offer is a peek at the beautiful title page of Hiyaku 1, which you can see by clicking on the thumbnail above. If that seems unkind, well, it is the Cruelest Love Story in the World.... ^_-

That's it! (And we're exhausted.) Please enjoy, and have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your special person...or at least with a manga and a box of chocolates. Actually...it could all amount to the same thing, couldn't it...?

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January 25, 2000
Aah! What weather! Hope everybody affected by winter is keeping reasonably safe and warm.

This week's Short of the Week is in keeping with the season: 'Morning Scenes Special' by Seono Shou. It's the first snow Hii-chan and Chibiko have ever seen and they have diametrically opposite reactions to it.

The long story this week is...not Yu*Yu*Hakusho. It's Slam Dunk. But before anybody panics (or gets overly hopeful), we're not planning to do many Slam Dunk djs. We just really like the show, and this story struck us as being particularly nice. For those who have never encountered Slam Dunk there is a little tiny explanation of the characters included on the first page.

'Dumb Stubborn Kiss' by Fujiyama Hyota. Sakuragi and Rukawa are stuck with clean-up together, which gives Sakuragi a chance to start speculating on why Rukawa is so indifferent to girls. A tale of great sweetness and simplicity, with lots of hitting and one kiss.

The manga chapter this week is Volume 3, Chapter 7: Imprisoning Spell of Terror. It's the showdown for Hiei and Yuusuke, and it seems clear that Yuusuke is outmatched...until Kurama turns up to lend a hand. Very nice.

The title for the main index page this time comes from a pair of black and white drawings Arina Toshimi used to illustrate one of her Hiyaku editorials. We sort of put them together on top of an enlargement of one...it just goes to show how everything that comes out of Arina-san's pen is magical. If you'd like to see the full pic, click here.

By the way, we hear from Aya Hisaki that she accepts international postal money orders (make it in yen) for her djs, which makes things easy on those who'd like to order from her. Lucky!

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January 10, 2000
Well, we just couldn't help it...we couldn't put up Fuji's manga section without putting up Arina's too. So here it is, before the next update.

Special Update: Arina Toshimi
If you love Arina as much as we do you may already own her professional works--but if you've missed them somehow, here's all the info you need. The Arina Toshimi Manga section gives pics, ISBNs, and tips on where to buy them, as well as synopses by M.J. Johnson so you can follow along. Support Arina and indulge yourself by getting hold of these gorgeous, angst-packed volumes!

Also, we're going to be getting our own domain name soon. Please look for the change so you can update your bookmarks!

January 9, 2000
Hope everybody had a nice holiday! Fortunately no Y2K glitches showed up on any of our computers...did anybody, anywhere have them?

We had a lovely letter from Hisaki Aya, who said very kind things about YYH Djs in English. She said she's glad to see YYH fandom alive in the West, since it has pretty much faded away in Japan. Well, the flame is certainly still burning in our hearts. ^_^

Hisaki-san now has an email address, [email protected] and an English translation program, so that anyone who appreciates her stories can write to her directly and tell her so. You can also write to her in English to order from her (she told us that somebody had already done this!)

She's a very gracious and talented djka, so if you like her work, please support her by ordering directly from her.

We've also updated the Hisaki Aya section with her newest dj, Poison. It's a great addition to Crystal Wing's line, so check it out.

Plus, we've updated the Tide/Real Dj section with the three newest djs: Real Time 2, Sweet Fruit, and Rainbow Moon. They're all excellent volumes, and they may not be available for long. Don't miss these!

General housekeeping note: We've straightened out a number of things on the site that we've been meaning to get to, including a new intro on the Main Index page and a reshuffling of the story section entrances so that they now match the order on the navigation bar.

Special Update: Fuji Shinichi
Attention Fuji fans! We'd like to introduce a new wing in the YYH Djka Guide, the Fuji Shinichi Pro Manga section. Here you'll find pics and ISBN numbers for Fuji's professional works, as well as suggestions on where to buy them...and synopses! Detailed synopses by our own M.J. Johnson (with comments by Panthea and Po) which should allow you to follow each of the stories in these excellent anthologies. Please do buy the books and use the synopses to follow along, because we will not be putting up the translated manga on the Web. This is Fuji's career, folks, and these books are available right now, and you can help her make a living by buying them. They also happen to be excellent manga in their own right, with great art and very funny, very spicy stories. We recommend them all very highly.

Support Fuji and show her how much you love her! Don't make Lively Little Hiei-chan hurt you!

Now for this week's offerings. All the stories are new to both sides.

Special Day by Seono Shou. Kurama seems intent on spoiling Hiei even more than usual. Is something strange going on? A sweet and funny story in the best Tide/Real tradition.

With Hiei by Fuji Shinichi. This is the Short of the Week, and although it's not a Lively Little Hiei-chan story, it's close. 'Nuff said.

Volume 3, Chapter 6: The Jagan Master, Hiei!! This week's manga chapter is a groundbreaking one: Yuusuke comes up for the first time against the little gnome in the black dress--er, coat. There are even some cute pictures of Hiei, especially if you kind of squint past the hair.

That's it! Please enjoy.

December 20, 1999
Happy Holidays to all! This is a small update, but a nice one (we think). All stories are new to both sides, although the Arina short has been slightly censored on the general side.

By the way, if you liked the title picture on the index page this week (Kurama as Santa in a sleigh) click here to see it with Java enhanced snow. Cute, huh?

YYH Djs Christmas Letters. Now complete with answers to the puzzles! Take a look at the pictures of the letter writers and make sure all your guesses were correct. ^_^

How to Spend Christmas by Mikoyan Nakajou. A sweet little story about Kurama and Hiei on Christmas Eve. Also includes some nice color pics of the YYH boyz at Christmas.

Mean Drunk by Arina Toshimi. The Short of the Week, and a story that you could imagine happens on New Year's Eve.... Rated R, although one page has been edited for the general side.

YYH Volume 3, Part 5: The Bond Between Mother and Child. An ultra-special manga chapter, the one which introduces Kurama and his mother. Don't miss this!

That's it! Thanks to everyone who wrote to say they liked the Xmas letters. (We got some funny suggestions, too--thanks! ^_-) Please have a wonderful holiday season, and be very careful with those computers on January 1. ^_^

We're off to our own homes for vacation, and we'll see you in January...certainly before mid-January, although we're not making any promises. ^_^;;;;

December 7, 1999
It's that time of year again. We're all rather busy with holiday preparations, so the December updates will be a little smaller than usual. We're sure you understand...um, right? You're all so busy yourselves.... <running and hiding>

In the spirit of the season, we have a new addition to the Gallery. It's a section of YYH Djs Christmas Letters--letters to Santa written by characters featured in these djs. You have to guess which character wrote each letter...and be specific! Thanks to Po for working hard to make the letters look realistic.

New to both sides this week is 'Morning Scenes 2' by Seono Shou. Remember back in 'Morning Scenes 1' when Yukina brought a strange purple stone to show Kurama and Hiei? When they wake up the next morning the stone is affixed to Kurama's forehead--and he's still the youko. It's the Purple Stone of Passion and it's meant to probe the depth of his love for Hiei. A long, funny, and rather sweet Tide story.

New to the member's side is 'The Black Dragon Goes Home,' third in the Life with the Black Dragon series. Ryuutarou goes to visit his parents, leaving Kurama all alone with Hiei. But the wily dragon is coming back...with a big surprise.

The Short of the Week is 'Call' by Nankin Gureko, who draws those adorable undomesticated Hieis. In this story Kurama helps the clueless Yukina make a phone call, and then has an idea about how to reunite her with her lost brother. A cute story that made us burst out laughing.

There won't be a manga chapter this week (Po was very busy with the Christmas letters, and we need a little rest every so often, you know! ^_^). But next update will feature the very special and touching chapter about Kurama trying to sacrifice his own life to save his mom's. It's worth waiting for.

That's it! We'll see you again before Xmas, and we hope everyone gets their shopping done early. Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Solstice, New Year's Greetings, Good Kwanza, Meri Kurisumusu, and best wishes for any other holiday we've missed!

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November 21, 1999
Yes, we're a couple days early this week, due to the upcoming holiday. ^_^  Happy Thanksgiving to all American visitors! And to everyone else, may you have lots to be thankful for, in an informal sort of way. ^_^

This update sees the opening of the Hiyaku section. Hiyaku is Arina Toshimi's epic trilogy of spice and angst, which also encompasses the three stories that are prequels to the Hiyaku djs, and the Hisoka djs which come after. In other words, a very, very loooong epic.

We're offering 'Dream Crime,' which is the very first story in Psycho Kurama's voyage of destruction, to both sides. We have also (at the expense of fairly great time and effort, since one of 'em is 43 pages long) redone the two stories which follow it, 'A Space Closed in Secrecy' and 'A Space Closed in Secrecy 2' with better FX and a nicer font, 600 pixel size, more notes, and some changes in translation.

At the moment we're pondering if there is any way to censor these stories and offer them on the general side. We can't quite see how to do it right now--and certainly if we find a way it would involve a good deal of creative censoring. Although two thirds of 'Space Closed' is perfectly presentable, the third that's left is not only quite explicit but quite necessary to understand what's going on in the story. How to get across the necessary information without being indelicate....well, that's the problem.

We wouldn't even be thinking of it if Hiyaku weren't so good. It's the exact opposite of a PWP. It's a story that uses sexual situations and conflicts as the basis of a complicated, gripping, and very psychological drama. And, of course, it's beautifully drawn and poetically written.

In any case, please enjoy 'Dream Crime,' and let us know if the Java on the Hiyaku page crashes your computer. We like the little applet, but if it causes trouble for your browsers we'll replace it with a static title. Meanwhile, if you don't want to go near the Hiyaku page because of the Java, you can access the stories through the Arina Toshimi section (and through the links above).

The Short of the Week is a bit of fluff from Azumi Touru that doesn't even have a title. Wittily, we've dubbed it 'Jin X Yuusuke.'

The manga chapter is Volume 3, Part 4: The Soul-Eating Man. Yuusuke has to fight Gouki, a demon with a hide like forged steel and a penchant for eating the souls of little kiddies. A dokabaki story, as Kame would say, meaning it's one big battle. (With lots and lots of sound effects. >,< --Po.)

That's it! Enjoy those fall leaves crunching on the ground--or, um, the rain or snow squishing under your feet. By the way, the title on the index page connects to a very pretty (if rather sad) Arina picture, from the back of Hiyaku 3. This really has to be the nicest rendition of Kurama's terrible school uniform we've ever seen.

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November 9, 1999
Two new sections open this week. One is the Links section, which, thanks to Moerae's help, we have finally completed! Please let us know if we've gotten anything wrong about your site. And...one final desperate plea from Panthea...if you're linking to this site, please link to it directly at: http://www.aestheticism.net/yyhdjs/general/g_frames.html

...and please call it YYH Djs in English. >.<  Please? Because that's its name, but so many people don't use it..... ^_^   

Special Update: Nakagawa Ao
The other new page is the Nakagawa Ao story section. Nakagawa-san is the talented artist who brought us 'Hatching,' the story about Yuusuke hatching a Chibi Hiei from an egg, while Hiei hatches another. She's bright and funny and her stories have given us a lot of enjoyment.

So here's what's new:

Hatching: The Collector's Edition. We've redone the story that started the Piyo Piyo craze. Now scanned at a better resolution, with the sound effects in English, and at 600 pixel wide size, it should be lots easier to read--and to admire those cute little Chibi Hieis. We've made a few corrections to the translation, too.

Plus One. The next story in the Piyo Piyo babies series. Yuusuke's sweet kid and Hiei's nasty one are growing up just as expected--but now Kurama gets hold of an egg. What's the youko gonna hatch out?

Piyo Piyo Portrait Table. Just so everybody can keep these kids straight, a table with pics of the babies as kids and grown up. With five babies, you can understand the need for such tactics... ^_^

For the general side, there are two stories in the Nakagawa Ao section that haven't been seen before. We've censored the pics. ^_^

The Unknown World. A short about what goes on in between Hatchings.

I Guess It Could Happen. Not a Piyo Piyo story, but a very funny short about how Yuusuke deals with Hiei's sharp little demon nails.

The manga chapter this week is Volume 3, Part 3: Three Youkai. (Just had to get all those threes in at once...) And here at last, we see what many will consider the true beginning of the story: the introduction of Kurama and Hiei. ^_^

We've also added brief descriptions of each chapter to the YYH Manga in English page. This way if (for some odd reason) you want to read only that chapter where Yuusuke takes over Kuwabara's body, you can locate it more easily.

The Short of the Week is a parody of this week's manga chapter, which we've titled Volume 3, pp. 48-50. It's by Fuji Shinichi, and it's cute.

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October 26, 1999
Happy Halloween (soon)! No, obviously we don't have any Halloween stories, but this whole series is about horrid demons and black magic, so we figure it's all appropriate. ^_-

This is an all-Tide update, so if you don't like that...you'd better come back in November. ^_^   If you do, well, so do we, and we have a lot of Tide/ Real coming in the near future. There's nothing like a challenge, and compiling a guide to the eighty or so volumes of Tide and Real has kept us busy for a while, and also given us renewed interest in tackling that pile of Tide chibi kiddies stories we'd accumulated.

Special Update: Tide Dj Guide
This guide to Seono Shou's stories is a bit different from our previous djka guides. While we may someday be able to list and review every story in every Tide and Real dj, that time is not now. What we've done instead is to provide a list of the stories about Chibiko and Hii-chan (the Ike Ike Youko stories, to give them their proper name), and to give a brief synopsis of each and show which djs they come from. These are the stories that begin with 'Present' in the Tide story section, and include the 'Hiei's Revenge' series, the 'Welcome, Newlyweds' series, and the rest of those stories about Kurama and Hiei and their strange little babies. We've put up twenty of them before this update, and be damned if we don't plan to eventually do them ALL. Yes, be very afraid.

And, to get a little bit of a rant in here for anyone who hasn't checked them out yet, these aren't just cutesy stories about tiny adorable chibi Hieis and youkos that do funny things. These are cutesy stories about tiny adorable chibi Hieis and youkos that do funny things and their parents, who actually have a pretty complex (Horrifyingly complex, actually. --Po) relationship. And that relationship definitely progresses over time as Hiei's attitude toward Kurama, the kids, and even the youko changes considerably.

Anyway, check out the guide to see pictures of most of Shou-san's djs, and to get information on how to order them directly from Real (her currrent circle). This is another chance to support someone who is publishing Yu*Yu*Hakusho djs right NOW, in the present, even as we speak.

Special Update: Tide Art Gallery
We've also added a new page to the Tide Art Gallery, so you can see more of the lovely pictures that Shou-san does. Some very nice covers from Tide and Real here.

And now the stories. The reason we're giving you so many Tide stories at once (aside from the fact that we're really into them at the moment) is that we're trying to fill in the gaps we'd left in the series up till now. After this, we'll present them strictly in order, so you can follow the lives of this odd little family as they actually unfold.

Present 4. This is the Short of the Week, even though it's six pages. ^_^  It's the last of the 'Present' stories and shows what happens when Kurama finally runs out of Fruit of Past Life. After this, 'Hiei's Revenge' begins, and one can quite easily see why revenge was necessary. ^_^

Love Machine. This is a song story, which means it's a bit of a PWP (okay, okay, it's completely a PWP). We debated a little but finally decided to put it up uncensored on the general side, with the rationale being that everything you can see in it you can also see in the Tide stories already up...it's just that there are more pages of it at one time. We won't be able to put all the Tide/Real song stories up on the general side; some of them are simply too explicit. But this one isn't, and it's Hiei and Kurama's wedding night, after all. We didn't want you to miss such an important event. ^_-

Moonless Night 2. After a week of rain, Kurama asks Hiei if he isn't getting just a bit frustrated. Of course not, Hiei insists, but it's strange how he can't seem to sleep....

Morning Scenes 1. The first of the 'Morning Scenes' series, which features the family waking up to surprising events. This time they wake to find Chibiko has reverted to Chibi Kurama form. How odd. How come? Then Yukina arrives with an unusual purple stone that will lead to trouble in the soon-to-come 'Morning Scenes 2.'

This week's manga chapter is Volume 3, Part 2: Emergence! And it's Kurama and Hiei emerging! Don't miss the first glimpse of them, as Yuusuke is assigned his biggest case yet. All pictures.

Enjoy! And don't eat too much Halloween candy.

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October 12, 1999
First of all, an apology to anybody who's written within the last few weeks and hasn't gotten an answer. Panthea's laptop, which is the computer we use for all the email, has been in the shop for over a week now...and unfortunately she was already (ahem!) just a bit behind with the email anyway. Which means that it was already taken off the server, read, and waiting to be answered when the computer decided not to recognize any power source, be it battery, electricity, or youki. The messages should all be safe but until she gets the computer back she can't access them. So if you said something very urgent to us in the last couple of weeks and we haven't replied, um, perhaps you could say it again now? ^_^;;;;;;;;;;;;

Second, a special thanks to M.J. Johnson for answering our interminable questions about obscure things. What would we do without you?

Now for the update. We have stories from the big four this month: Arina, Fuji, Kame, and Seono Shou. Plus, the first part of Volume 3 of the manga (the volume where things start to get exciting), by that guy Togashi Yoshihiro.

All the stories below are new to both sides. Before the computer went belly-up we were able to read quite a few responses to our experiment with 'Magic Stone' last week and it was clear that everyone who answered was enthusiastically in favor of us continuing. So this week we have two stories, one by Fuji and one by Arina, which each had exactly one panel requiring censorship. We thought they were good candidates, and we're offering them to see what you think.

Please remember, though, that even with those panels nuked, these stories are still pretty spicy. They're clearly labeled that way, too. So please, please respect the over-18 rating and don't read them unless you're of age.

With Me Chapter 2 by Kame. The long-awaited missing chapter of Kame's With Me series. A little bit gross (you'll see when you get to the end) but charming and sweet withal.

The True Prospect by Fuji Shinichi. Kurama has a problem caused by the difference between his height and that of the little tiny cross pixie he's in love with. Vintage Fuji humor.

Rough Waters by Arina Toshimi. Kurama announces that he doesn't want to outlive Hiei. Vintage Arina chills.

Moonless Night by Seono Shou. Hiei hopes that with the moon covered by clouds he'll get at least one good night's sleep undisturbed by the youko. Fat chance. A nice little character piece, which also introduces Chibi Pics (TM) .

The Short of the Week is also by Seono Shou, 'Let's Name Them!'  Cute.

And this week we begin Volume 3 of the Yu*Yu*Hakusho manga with Part 1: A New Mission! Yuusuke is alive again and just starting to enjoy himself when Botan arrives to tell him he's got a new job: Reikai Tantei.

There. That ought to keep everyone busy for an hour or so. <collapses> ^_^

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September 28, 1999
New to both sides is...a Hiei X Kurama story. Yes, it's true! It's called 'Magic Stone' and it's by Hisaki Aya, a talented artist whose djs are available now, so if you like them you can actually order them from her.

For those on the general side, an explanation is in order. 'Magic Stone' is one of those stories that is highly spicy in places and complex, fascinating, and not at all spicy in others. Normally this would mean that it would go on the member's side, and nobody else would get a look. However, we've decided to try something new this week: we're including the dj on the general side, but with the spicy pics censored. The story is all there, but the pictures that don't conform to general side standards are pixelated.

This is an experiment. If it works we may do the same with other djs, like 'Towa no Toki,' that have a lot of excellent story interspersed with a few adult pictures. So please let us know what you think of the technique; if the trouble of downloading those censored pages is properly offset by the benefit of getting a story you wouldn't otherwise see, and so on.

Incidentally, we'd like to repeat a couple of things, just for the record.

1) We don't like censorship, and we always spend a long time debating before resorting to it. The reason we end up doing it is simple: if we didn't, people on the general side wouldn't see the story in question at all.

2) We don't make a penny off this site. The reason that spicy stories are only available to members of Aestheticism is that it has an age verification system, so we can be sure that people viewing them are really 18. Aesthe rents us space on their server at half price in return for the privilege of allowing their members access to the complete site. If they didn't, we couldn't afford to keep YYH Djs in English online; even now it's an incredibly expensive hobby. (And if you're interested, we do it because it's fun, because we want to share the marvelous world of YYH djs with others, and because we're crazy...not necessarily in that order.)

For those who don't want to join Aesthe, all the stories on the member's side will eventually appear on the free (but still adult restricted) YYH Djs in English Highlights site in Virtual City. It's just that since space there is more expensive we have to rotate the stories, so they're not all up at once.

<whew!> Thanks for listening to all that. It isn't that anybody has been giving us a hard time; it's just that every so often we feel it's necessary to explain the situation to newbies. Just in case somebody doesn't understand. ^_^

Special Update: Hisaki Aya
If you enjoy Hisaki Aya's work, you might want to check out the brand new Hisaki Aya Dj section, which has pictures, synopses, and reviews of her djs, as well as information on how to order them. Hiei X Kurama fans, take note!

Also new to both sides is 'Lively Little Hiei-chan's Book: The Collector's Edition.' Hey, they can do it with Star Wars, so why can't we with Hiei-chan? The truth is that we adapted this story a loooong time ago, and our techniques have improved considerably since then. We felt that Hiei-chan deserved our best, so here it is at 600 pixel width, with the sound FX in English. We've also left up the old chapter, so you can see the difference between the two if you like. ^_-

This week's manga selection is Volume 2, Part 9: The Golden Awakening. At last, Yuusuke has the chance to return to his body for good--but will Keiko be able to kiss him back to life in time? This crucial chapter--the last of Volume 2--is all in pictures, so please enjoy. Next week: Volume 3!

The Short of the Week is actually two shorts by Fuji Shinichi: Double Sister and Your Eyes Speak Volumes. It's been a while since we've had some Fuji one-pagers, and these are both particularly funny.

Enjoy it all, please!

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September 14, 1999
First of all, YYH Djs in English Highlights has been updated. To those on the member's side, well, that doesn't mean much to you. ^_^

New to both sides, a lucious offering from Arina Toshimi: 'The Secret Minamino Fan Club.' No, it's not wild and spicy, but the plot is definitely piquant, the art is gorgeous, and the end has a twist. Don't miss this one.

Also new to both sides is 'Meet Again,' a charming Chibi Hiei story by Yidash, another online djka. On the tragic day the Ice Maidens dump Hiei off their floating island, Youko Kurama just happens to be lunching underneath....and thus begins a tale of Hiei's early years. Funny and really cute (you know what suckers we are for Chibi Hiei tales!). What we're presenting comprises the first three chapters of a series, so write to Yidash and bother her to do more and more!

New to the member's side is 'Life with the Black Dragon,' the beginning of Mizushima Yui's series about Hiei and Kurama and...the Kokuryuu? Yep, it's true. Remember 'Sex with the Black Dragon'? Now you can find out what happened before and after.

The Short of the Week is 'Yuki Onna,' another twisted fairy tale from Fuji Shinichi. Typical Fuji weirdness and black humnor. ^_^

This week's manga chapter is Volume 2, Part Six: Into the Fire...!! Keiko is trapped in Yuusuke's burning apartment and there's nothing he can do to help...or is there? We liked this story so much we did lots of pictures. It's different from the anime version. Better.

And now the results of our Burning Question contest. Thanks to everybody who sent in answers; you came up with some great ideas and we had lots of fun reading them!

The Burning Question was: What does 'Quest Class' (the term used by Youko Kurama to refer to Karasu during the final battle of the Ankoku Bujutsukai) mean?

The reason we wanted to know was that Togashi seemed to introduce this idea of Quest Class and then leave it hanging, never integrating it with his other power hierarchy, the alphabetical rating of youkai by power: A Class, B Class, S Class, etc. (For anybody who wants to read what Togashi said about these classes, here's the excerpt from our translation of Volume 13.)

As we said before, we realized fairly quickly that there doesn't seem to be any hard information on the subject of Quest Class, and we announced that we'd award the prize on the basis of creativity and internal logic. We got a number of very interesting and creative answers, but we had to pick just one of them. This was made even more difficult by the fact that a handful of people sent answers with the same basic (winning) idea, so we decided to give it to the one of these that was most thoroughly developed (and which coincidentally also happened to be the first we received with that idea). Therefore, the winner is....

Shin, from aol.com. Basically, her idea was that youkai like Kurama and Karasu have achieved 'Quest Class' through the complete con-QUEST (heh) of a certain element. (Element is being used rather loosely, here, and can include things like 'the plant kingdom' or 'explosives') In other words, Karasu has completely mastered the single element bombs/gunpowder and can do anything his heart desires with them. Youko Kurama had completely mastered the element plants -- a fact quite separate from his alphabetical class ranking (which measures raw power as opposed to learned skill). Shin suggests that it's like a 'summoning' ability in an RPG game: you have to conquer the element in order to make it obey you. She adds that you could actually call Hiei a Quest Class youkai, too, once he's completely mastered his fire.

It's interesting, it has internal logic, and it doesn't interfere with anything we know about Togashi's other hierarchy of classes. Besides, it just has a sort of nice feel to it.

We'll contact Shin by email with a list of djs so she can choose her prize. Thanks again to all who participated, and we'll have another Burning Question soon.

That's it. Please enjoy this week's offerings!

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August 31, 1999
Some minor fiddling this time: Po's done new titles for the Tide and Shorts & Fluff pages, as well as this page, and we've spiffed up the Arina page a bit. We really hated that old wallpaper. ^_^

Many thanks to Jacque Koh, who sent us the Chinese Fairy Tale upon which 'Hiei-chan the Milk Thief' was based. It explains much in the story and it's quite entertaining on its own. (And this is really the way she sent it to us, honest! Clearly a natural storyteller. ^_^)

Also for Lively Little Hiei-chan fans--and anyone who is feeling sentimental about the end of summer--we offer two new pictures from Pretty in the Chibi Hiei Gallery. <sniff> It always goes by so fast....

New to both sides is the conclusion of the 'Don't Take Off My Sailor Fuku' series, including all-new lost chapters and new color pages.

Also new to both sides is 'Snow Falling on Water,' a lovely long story by Fuji Shinichi. We almost consigned this to the member's side only, but it's such a serious, thoughtful tale that we wanted everyone to be able to share it. While it's definitely for mature readers, it's less spicy than a lot of what we see on early evening TV, so we're offering it uncensored here.

The new manga chapter this week is 'Volume 2, Part 5: Conditions for A Lover,' another story which is similar but not identical to its anime counterpart. While Sayaka-chan is deciding whether Yuusuke and Keiko belong together, an arsonist sets fire to the room where Yuusuke's sleeping body lies.

The Short of the Week is 'Good Morning Again,' the first of many sequels to Nakagawa Ao's 'Hatching.'

Oh, yes, and because of some last minute entries, we'll announce the 'Quest Class Question' winner next update.

Enjoy!

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August 17, 1999
We've done some reorganization. The reason for it is probably all too apparent to those (especially on the member's side) who've noticed that the Main Index page has been loading more and more slowly as this site has grown. Every time we added another thumbnail or special section entrance, the download time would rise...and, well, the addition of the Tsuta & Yui section was the last straw. Something had to go.

So now all the stories by djka who don't have their own special section are on the Misc. Stories page, and the Main Index page is just for story section entrances and descriptions. This leaves us more room to grow. ^_^

Also Ikuko-chan has fiddled with the navigation frame, adding pop-up descriptions and making it easier to click on what you're aiming for. Probably.

Thanks to those of you who wrote in about our current Burning Question: 'What (specifically) is a Quest Class youkai? How does this 'class' fit in with Togashi's power hierarchy of A class, B class, etc.? Did Togashi or any other official source ever provide any information about Quest Class or is Youko Kurama's line to Karasu the beginning and end of it?'

We're beginning to suspect that the answer to the last question is Yes. ^_^  We have, however, received several entertaining and creative theories, and if we don't hear from somebody with solid proof by the next update, we're gonna give the free dj to one of those. :-P

What's that? Stuff? New stuff? You mean after reading all this way you actually want some new material this week?

Okay. Here's the stuff.

New to both sides is a buncha stuff in the Tsuta & Yui section. Go there and look at it; everything is explained. ^_^

New to the member's side is the Tsuta Hiroko story 'The Inequalities of Love.' Spicy and funny.

New to both sides is the next chapter of the manga, Volume 2: Part 2: The Forbidden Game. One of our favorite of Yuusuke's cases, although we don't know why exactly. It introduces Sayaka-chan, who was portrayed in a very different way in the anime.

The Short of the Week is by Nakagawa Ao, another 'Hatching' prequel: 'Good Night.' Hiei is very cute in it. For the member's side there's also a spicy little addition to this called 'The Unknown World.'

Please let us know if links are broken or pics don't load or fonts look weird. We try to check things, but we are constantly amazed by what we miss. If something is broken that means we don't know about it, because if we knew about it we'd have fixed it.

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August 2, 1999
Reminder: we have a new email address. Please use it from now on! And, once again, forgive us if we're late in responding to your email. We got really backed up last week because we were doing lots of stories for this update. ^_^  Also, our real life schedules are trying to kill us at the moment--and from now on updates will probably take place on Tuesday nights instead of Monday nights. That seems to be the best time for us right now.

We really do have lots of stories this week, and spiffy stories, too! New to both sides is a sweet and angsty tale by Utopian Trunks, another of our precious Western djka. It's called 'Frost.' Bring your hankie.

Also new to both sides is a Lively Little Hiei-chan story by Fuji Shinichi: 'Hiei-chan the Milk Thief.' It's from Pretty, which we finally acquired and which is deadly cute. <gloat gloat>

New to the member's side is an Arina Toshimi story (have we got the good stuff this week or what?) called 'Apathy.' Youko and Karasu fans take note--this one's spicy and psychological.

Also, Arina fans take note: We have finally scanned all three volumes of Hiyaku, plus its sequel Hisoka, and they're on the way to the translator. We plan to bring Arina's masterpiece of spice and angst to you on the installment plan so you don't have to wait a year for us to finish it.

B. a. B v. a.*

The Short of the Week is a Tide story, 'Present 3.5.' Another view of Karasu and Youko Kurama, this one with tongue firmly in cheek.

Finally, we've put up the next chapter of the YYH manga. This marks the beginning of Volume 2: and is titled 'The Momentary Resurrection (Conclusion).' A rather harrowing story, with a PG-16 rating from us.

That's it! Many hugs and kisses, and Hapi Basudei to P-chan this week. Let's all enjoy the end of summer!

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* a = afraid.

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July 19, 1999
First, a housekeeping note: we have a new email address. From now on, please address your comments there. Thanks! Also, if we're slow in answering email, please forgive us. Doing the stories and maintaining the site takes a lot of time (not to mention our real-life jobs) so we sometimes get behind.

Since this is still Azumi Touru month, we have an Azumi Short of the Week: 'The World's Strangest Story.' Definitely strange...definitely funny.

Plus, we have two new pages of the Azumi Touru Art Gallery: one of her beautiful YYH pictures and one of her non-YYH work, including some nice Samurai Spirits pieces.

And please check out the new Azumi Touru Dj Guide, which has pictures and reviews of Azumi's YYH djs.

We also have two special treats from the Western world. On the member's side, a story by our own M.J. Johnson: 'This Thing Called Love' (garnished with pics Po Photoshopped). And for both sides, an English YYH dj by the talented team of Kitsune and Whitecat: 'Memories.' Keep up the great work, you guys!

Finally, we offer the last chapter of Volume 1 of the YYH Manga: 'The Momentary Resurrection.' It's the first part of a pretty harrowing tale which has Keiko kidnapped by an evil gang leader--while Yuusuke gets to return to his body for one day. Enjoy!

Oh, yes, and for the people who were kind enough to vote on whether we should go to larger pages for our stories--well, it seems most of you either like the idea of bigger pages or said we should do it on a case-by-case basis. So that's what we'll do: use the big pages when we feel it's warranted and use the 500 if everything will be clear at that size. Thanks again for responding; we really appreciate the input!

July 5, 1999
Lots of announcements and notes and treats this week, so please bear with us and read down to the asterisks. If you do, there's a special note at the end.

First, the YYH Highlights section in Virtual City is also being updated today, so please check there if you've been following it. The entire Towa no Toki series is up, as well as some spicy stories by Moriyama Yumi.

Second, housekeeping details. The Tide sections in both the general and the member's sides have been...well, tidied. Links between the stories have been updated, stories put in the proper order, frames cleaned up, notes corrected or added. Plus an observation on the last page of 'Sweet Life' sent in by Meefos. Thanks, Meefos!

Other cool stuff sent in by talented people:

* a dress-him-up-and-do-what-you-gotta KiSS Chibi Hiei doll, by Akuma-chan. It's offered in the Chibi Hiei Gallery. (She even made his little black outfit...)

* a Yu*Yu*Hakusho Winamp skin and screen cap with a lovely picture from 'Rain,' made by Scorpio. It's featured in the Main Gallery.

Also, the Djka Guide has been divided into several pages and linked by an alphabetical index. This ought to shorten the download time there considerably. ^_^;;  Plus we've put the old updates from the Info page on their own page, which ought to help the download time here.

Finally, we've added a link to the YYH Manga in English page to the navigation bar on the left. It was about time.

Whew! And besides all that, we have stories and stuff. Read on:

We're officially declaring July Azumi Touru month! This week we have:

'Angel's Bite Side Story.' Our Short of the Week is the sequel to 'Angel's Bite,' in which Youko Kurama accidentally reduced Yuusuke to chibi-hood and then had to face the consequences. The new short is cute and features the same adorable art.

'I Have No Confidence.' New to both sides, in which Hiei decides to get revenge on Yuusuke for teasing him about being short. It's funny--and if these pics don't make you like Yuusuke, nothing will.

The Azumi Touru Art Gallery. A whole new gallery (it's on the navigator bar, too!) of all-new, all-gorgeous Azumi Touru pictures. Some haunting Hiei and Kurama portraits here, including the one we've used for our current main page title. Check these out...she's good.

'Promise!' from the YYH Manga in English page. Not by Azumi Touru, but we hope you'll like it anyway. A very nice chapter of the manga by Togashi-san, and almost the end of Volume 1. All pictures.

If you've actually read this far down, you're obviously a very thoughtful and discerning person, so we'll ask you to vote on our Burning Question of the nonce. You'll notice that our two new Azumi stories aren't in our regular 500 pixel wide format, but 550 pixels wide. This should make only a few seconds difference to the download time, but a lot of difference in how easy it is to read the small print. We're thinking of going to 550 size...or maybe even 600 pixel size (the size of the YYH Manga in English pictures) for all our new stories. This will allow us to present the pages looking more like the original djs (less enlarging of speech bubbles, for one thing) and allow you to see more of the graphics. If you have a preference, please let us know! 550 pix wide? 600? Or should we do it on an individual basis, depending on the needs of the story? Let us know what you think.

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June 21, 1999
New to both sides is a really, really nice chapter of the manga. We're mentioning it first because it's one of our favorite tales in all the YYH canon and fanwork. 'Part 6: Journey of Solitude' is about a tanuki who wants to repay his debt to a grumpy old man, and it shouldn't be missed, at least not by anybody who's sentimental enough to enjoy YYH in the first place.

Also on both sides is 'Present 2,' the second story of the famous prequel to 'Hiei's Revenge.' Hiei walks in on Youko Kurama and gets what you would expect. Next time he'll be more careful about opening doors.

The Short of the Week is another prequel, this one by Nakagawa Ao. If you liked 'Hatching,' this is for you: the unabridged 'Good Morning' in which Hiei lays his first fertilized eggs. Cute, funny and sort of horrible...and, yes, we will be brining the sequel to 'Hatching,' too.

There are also five new pictures in the Chibi Hiei Gallery: all from Puti by Fuji Shinichi, all cute enough to kill at fifty paces. Enjoy them responsibly, please.

New to the member's section is Maya Kaoruko's 'Time to Eat,' which has nothing whatever to do with eating, but is another Hiei-conjures-up-a-Kurama-made-of-dark-fire PWP.

And the Links section will probably never be done. Especially since the time for summer holidays draws nigh. ^_-

June 7, 1999
New to both sides is a groundbreaking story from Tide: 'Home Sweet Home.' Not only do we find out that it was Koenma who started the whole saga of Hiei's revenge, but Hiei and Kurama get divorced. ^_^ It's one of our favorites, and it's loooong.

Also new to both sides is the next chapter of the manga: Part 5: Anniversary Christmas. Yuusuke has to deal with an earthbound spirit, a girl who's been waiting a year for her boyfriend to show up. It shows an unexpectedly nice side of Yuusuke

The Short of the Week is another Lively Little Hiei-chan story, which we've dubbed 'Hiei-chan and the Hole' (the actual title is very long and strange). It's a parody of events in Volume 14 of the manga, and of course it's cute.

New to the member's side is Arina Toshimi's 'Grooming.' Short, spicy, and rather sweet. We like it a lot.

And the links section still isn't done! Gomen, gomen. We've been working intensively on the manga, so as to get more quickly to Volume 3 where Hiei and Kurama show up. ^_-

May 24, 1999
Lots of new things, lots of changes. First, you'll notice that the blue navigator frame to your left is a bit different: we've added the new Kame section and a link to the Short of the Week page, plus, for the general side, a link to YYH Djs in English Highlights.

Which is now open! Which means that if you're over 18, you can read the YYH Djs spicy stories. All you need to do is send in proof of your age--for details go to Aestheticism's Visitor's site, then to the Information page, then to 'Cybershoppe and Virtual City' info.

There are seven stories on Highlights right now, and we'll be changing them about every month, so please visit.

Special Update: Spirits Dance: Also, we've opened another page of YYH dj reviews. This one is for the Spirits Dance anthologies, complete with pics and ISBN numbers.

New to both sections is a nice story by Kame, 'With Me, Part 3.' You'll find it in the just-opened KAME section, where we've gathered all the other Kame tales for your enjoyment.

New to the member's section is a story by Maya Kaoruko--it's been a while since we featured one of Maya's stories, so we're happy to bring this one. It's called 'Ashes and Diamonds' and it's strange and poetic and spicy like all Maya's stuff.

The Short of the Week this week is a special one, our first by Anayu, an online artist. It's called 'Kurama vs. Kenshin' and it's cute! If you know an online djka, let us know!

Finally, we have another chapter of the manga: Volume 1, Part 4: A Boy and his Old Dog. It's done in text and pictures, so it should load quickly. We're doing some of the chapters this way so we can get to the best part of the story (meaning the parts with Kurama and Hiei ^_^) faster. But some of Yuusuke's solo adventures are quite touching, and this one's terribly sweet, so please check it out.

Ohhhh, also we've added liner notes to all the YYH Volume 1 manga pages we have up. We figure the 600 pix size pages take a while to load, so you can read the notes while you wait....right? ^_^

By the way, the new Links section isn't quite ready yet, so clicking on it won't take you anywhere. Gomen! We're so busyyyyyy!

May 12, 1999
Thank you for being patient! The hard drive is at the doctor's, and we have an extra story to make up for being late. ^_^

New to the member's side this week is 'Crazy Cloud,' the first story we've brought by an extremely talented and prolific djka, Narushima Yuri. It's angsty, spicy, and extremely good...and please don't boycott it because of the pairing, eh?

New to both sections is an endearing Tide mystery, 'Sweet Life.' Hii-chan is hiding under the bed and Kurama and Hiei can't get him out. What could be wrong with the little guy? You'll probably figure out the mystery before the end, but we didn't.

Also new to both sections is the next installment of the YYH manga, Volume 1, Part 3 (end), pages 81-93. In order to communicate with Keiko, Yuusuke is forced to possess the body of Kuwabara--but how is he going to convince her that it's really him? A different solution than you've seen in the anime. ^_^

And...are you ready? The Short of the Week is Lively Little Hiei-chan! Yes! The real thing, at last! He's back and he's adorable, and...well, he's just Hiei-chan. In 'What Class is Hiei-chan?' he wonders about something we've often pondered ourselves: just how strong is he? S class, A class...come on, he's gotta rank in there somewhere.

The extra story is for the member's side, the compact but angsty-spicy-amusing 'The Best Time of Spring is Dawn.'

May 10, 1999
A! Today's update is going to be a day or two late, due to Panthea's hard drive making a reeeaaaally loud noise last night and then announcing that it was unformatted. @_@;;; Thank god for laptops. Fortunately everything is backed up and we'll bring an extra story or something to make up for the delay.

April 26, 1999
Let's see, lots of different things this week, so please be patient through a long update list.  ^_^

First, we're very happy to bring to you 'Present, Act 1' by Tide. For a long time we've had 'Present Act 3' up, which leads into the 'Hiei's Revenge' stories, which lead into all the other wonderful stories about Kurama and Hiei and the Evil Twin Tree babies. We'd almost despaired of getting the earlier 'Present' stories because they were in old and hard-to-obtain djs. But we recently found a reprint with the early stories compiled, so now we can offer them all (there's also an Act 2, Act 3.5, and Act 4, already translated!). These tales offer a nice peek into Seono Shou's earliest work, when all the craziness was just beginning. And the Hiei she drew back then was such a babe. ^_^

Also new to both sides is the next segment of the Yu*Yu*Hakusho manga, Volume 1, pages 66-80. In this episode, Yuusuke appears to Keiko in a dream, and is told that he'll have one chance to contact her in person and tell her good-bye. Rather touching, actually.

New to the member's side is the short but highly spicy 'What Do You Want?' by Miyabi Yutaka. Kurama asks the stock question, and gets an unusual answer.

The Short of the Week is a pair of related shorts by Fuji Shinichi, 'Hiei-chan's Slip of the Tongue 3 / What Kind of Flowers Would Grow on Hiei-chan?' Typical Fuji wit and weirdness about how old Kurama is.

Special Update: Arina Toshimi: Finally, we've been updating the Guide to YYH Djka and Circles. It's now on its own page, and you should see it listed as 'Djka Guide' on the dark blue navigation bar to your left, underneath News / Info. We've been filling in the missing djka's names/circles in Japanese and have a few more translations of circles. More importantly, we've started to add pages with reviews of individual djka's work, including pictures of their djs and descriptions of the stories inside. This week we bring you the Arina Toshimi Dj Review page. Please enjoy; it was lots of work!! ^_^;;;;;

April 12, 1999
Yatta! We got 'Ghost Legend IV,' so we're removing our plea for it from the Gallery. Now that we have all five parts, we'll begin translating this long (and very spicy) story.

And..Spring cleaning is underway! The 350-pixel-wide pages are going, going, gone. Please let us know if you find any broken links to them--we've done our best to tidy everything up, but mistakes always happen (to us, anyway ^_^;;). Now that we have some more space, we can bring new stories in the future!

As for the present, in honor of Cherry Blossom time we offer 'King of the Party' by Tide/Real. The gang goes cherry-blossom-watching, but alcohol turns the quiet celebration into a karaoke fest and Youko Kurama into a party animal.

We've also added something special to the Story and Author List, the new . We've put up the djka and circle names in Japanese, some info on our favorites, and lists of their art featured on our site. This will be an ongoing project that we'll keep expanding-- it's a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Our goal is to identify and classify the best-known artists of YYH doujinshi, and to help people find or make decisions about their work. We hope it'll be useful to someone.

On the spicy side, we have 'The New Thumbelina,' a modern fairy tale by Tsuta Hiroko. Mad scientist Kurama finds a tiny Hiei growing in his garden.

The Short of the Week is by Arina Toshimi! It's a nice little bit of fluff called 'Kiss,' and you can see the second kiss from it full-size in the Great Kisses Gallery.

March 28, 1999
Happy Easter!  For your seasonal enjoyment, we present 'Fox and Banny,' by Mikoyan Nakajo, a tale of animal life in which Hiei is Puipui-chan the black bunny, who lives with his friend the fox in a little house shaped like a teapot...and, no, we're not kidding. ^_^   

You may object that Easter isn't a big Japanese holiday (okay, we couldn't find any real Easter stories at all) but we've got that covered. This is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit, which means that stories about bunnies are not only appropriate but practically required reading.

For those who prefer their bunnies cooked, or at least stories about fatal attractions, we offer 'Date.' Yes, it's a new Arina Toshimi tale, and a long one! Believe me, this spicy sequel to 'Purification' isn't about conventional dating. For the complete side only.

This week's short is 'Kurokichi's Family Situation 3'--a new Kurokichi story! (If we're ever able to track down 'Kurokichi 2' we'll bring that, too, of course.) Our favorite little black dragon is back, courtesy of Toba Iori, and his father (Kurama-papa) is having some problems with a traveling salesman named Karasu.

On the art side, there are four new pictures in the Tide Gallery, including a Youko Kurama to drool or die for. Enjoy!

And finally, wet 'em if you've got 'em!   In honor of 1999, a truly terrifying addition to the Chibi Hiei Gallery. It's a whole page full of Hiei-bunny Art. That means pictures of Hiei dressed in bunny costumes, as well as a treatise on why anybody would draw him that way. Be very afraid.

March 16, 1999
Well, we've had lots of announcements lately, so we decided to put this one on its own. For the forseeable future (meaning at least until Po gets back), we'll update every two weeks instead of every week. That means the next update will be around March 29. Thanks!

March 15, 1999
First and foremost, the Main Gallery has been updated--it's full of entirely new pictures! Yep, we replaced all of them! For the old pictures that used to be there, please see Fruit of Past Gallery. ^_^

And we've added 15 more pages of the YYH manga; the beginning of Part 2 of Volume 1. Yuusuke decides to undergo the Trial of Resurrection, and meets Koenma for the first time.

Also new to both sections is 'Little Red Riding Hood,' a rather spicy version of the traditional fairy tale. Warning: dark humor!

New to the General section is the beautifully drawn 'Angel's Bite' by Azumi Touru. Yuusuke runs afoul of Youko Kurama and a vial of Fruit of Past Life--uh oh! Slightly edited to conform to general section standards.

Finally, the Short of the Week is a two-page offering by Fuji Shinichi: 'The Chef / Splatter Video.' For the member's side, there's also a naughty short, 'Zeru's Insolent Attitude,' to be found on the Fuji page.

And now, an announcement. Please say goodbye to the 350-pixel-width pages, because they're going away forever.

There are two reasons for this. One is simply that we've run out of space. Although we're not affiliated with Aestheticism, we buy space on their server at a rate lower than most other commercial servers. We've got 200 MB, but at the moment we're full up, and we just can't afford any more (between buying djs, paying translators, and buying Web space, we're already broke! Remember, we don't make a penny off this site; never have and never will. ^_^;;). So if we want to add new stories or pictures in the future, we've got to get rid of something.

The second reason is that because we maintain the general and complete versions of this site, each and every story page we do has to actually be created (or copied and relinked to all its various links: home section, FX, smaller or larger version) four times: one members 500 size, one members 350 size, one general 500 size and one general 350 size. You can imagine how much work this is. ^_^;;;   Now that we're also trying to put together a YYH djs in English Highlights section for yaoi city, we've realized that it's just impossible to keep up the smaller versions.

Actually, there's a third reason, too, that we've been aware of all along. About 90 percent of the stories are unreadable at the smaller size. Since often there's only a few seconds of difference in the download time between the smaller and larger versions, it's really kind of silly to keep the 350 size pictures just so people can see the graphics.

In any case, soon they'll all be gone from the site, so please say goodbye to them now! We'll miss them (well, no, we won't, but someone might) but they're going to Silicon Heaven in a few weeks. ^_^

March 14, 1999
There'll be a special update tomorrow, including lots of new pics in the gallery. Please check back!

March 7, 1999
Sorry, but the update for this week will be delayed, and those for the next few weeks may be sporadic. Po-chan has a family emergency which is going to require most of her attention for a while, and the other two of us are overloaded with work. But please keep checking--we've got lots of new translations and we'll keep putting things up whenever we're able. Hang in there, Po-chan!

February 28, 1999
Thanks for the kind feedback on the manga translations. ^_^ We love encouragement, and this week we've added another 15 pages of Yu*Yu*Hakusho Volume 1. That finishes up Part 1, and we plan to continue. We're not going to do every chapter of every volume, but we'd like to do selected parts this way.

We've also added Kame's playful 'Let's Go to the Hot Springs' to both sections.

The Short of the Week is actually a pair shorts by Fuji Shinichi: 'Pollen Alert / Cooking Kurama-kun.' Enjoy!

February 21, 1999
New to both sections is the next 15 pages of Yu*Yu*Hakusho Volume 1, Part 1 (the manga). New to the member's section is a rather subtle Yuusuke X Kurama story by Kobayashi Sato, Words of Love.

The Short of the Week is Chibi Days 2, which shows how Hiei and Kurama spend their time. ^_^

February 15, 1999
Hope everybody had a nice Valentine's Day. For anyone suffering from post-chocolate depression, we present Icha Icha, by Kame. Icha icha or ichakura ichakura means acting lovingly in public (shame!) and this is one of the sweetest and most touching stories in the 'With Me' series.

We've also opened the Fuji Shinichi section. You'll notice the new section title on the blue navigation frame and the new entrance on the Main Index page. All the Fuji Shinichi stories we've put up lately are now in this section, and it's where new ones will go.

The Shorts of the Week are also by Fuji: Bath and Breakfast / Flower-making Kurama-kun.

Finally, something completely different. Not another dj story, but a bit of the real McCoy, the Yu*Yu*Hakusho manga. The first 20 pages of Volume 1, Part 1, which shows how it all began. We found the Yuusuke of the manga quite likeable--he's even worse than his anime counterpart. ^_^  Anyway, we hope you enjoy it.

February 14, 1999
Hope everybody had/is having a nice Valentine's Day! We usually update on Sunday night, but this time we'll do it on Monday instead. ^_^

February 7, 1999
One week to Valentine's Day! In honor of the holiday, we have a special update. New to the complete section is Fuji Shinichi's delightful and deeply romantic 'Hiei & Kurama Love Coloring Book.' This is the entire dj, translated from cover to cover--so you get exactly what we have, plus answers to the puzzles and lots of interesting footnotes from Jeanne. ^_^  New to the general section is a slightly edited version of the 'Coloring Book.' Not as spicy, but still very funny, and, of course, educational. As Fuji says, "My Kurahi Coloring Book is of use to the world and the people in it, and kind to the earth itself."

The Short of the Week is brief but cute: 'Chibi Days,' starring Kurama and Hiei's babies from the Evil Twin Tree. Enjoy!

January 31, 1999
New to both sections this week is our first Kuwabara X Yuusuke story, 'Tokyo Love Specialist' by Kido Wataru. It's properly a New Year's story, but at least we managed to get it in the right month. ^_^  New to the complete section is 'The Cruelty of Adolescence' by Mizushima Yui, a quickie about teasing Hiei. The new Short of the Week is actually three shorts by Kame, 'Boy / Kudaranai / Sweet Tooth.' Kame likes teasing Hiei, too, but much more mildly.

January 24, 1999
Many thanks to the people who let us know that the links to the pictures on this and the Short of the Week page were broken. We fondly hope they're fixed now. Anyway, this week there's a looong story for the complete side, 'Lustful Heart' by Miyabi Yutaka. And the new Short of the Week is by Fuji Shinichi, 'Hiei-chan at the Sentou (Bath).'

January 17, 1999
New to the general section is 'Present,' the prequel to the 'Hiei's Revenge' series and all the weirdness that comes after it. New to the complete section is 'Kurama's Summer Diary,' by Fuji Shinichi, which contains Kurama's observations after he catches a wild Hiei. And the Short of the Week is 'Housesitting Plan' by Nankin Gureko.

January 10, 1999
Fixed about a dozen minor links that erroneously joined the general and complete sections. Oops. ^_^   If you've tried to go somewhere and gotten an error message, it should be all right now. If you get an error message now, try refreshing the screen to make sure you get the corrected page.

Added a new Arina Toshimi story, 'In the Fishbowl' (sorry, too spicy for the general side). Also a new Tide story, 'Hiei's Happiness,' in which Hiei gets a chance to turn back the clock to before he and Kurama met. The new Short of the Week is by Fuji Shinichi, 'Hiei-chan at McDonald's.' Sadly, it's not a Lively Little Hiei-chan story; it's one of Fuji's earlier works, but it's cute.

January 3, 1999
Whoa, it feels so strange to write '1999.' Happy New Year, everyone! And thanks for the lovely e-mails of support. I've only just gotten back from my Christmas vacation, so I've just begun to answer them, but we all appreciate them very much. We're so glad people like the site. Please let us know if you find broken links or anything like that.

We've added a new story to the Tide section, 'Morning Scenes 3.' More adventures of the cute-beyond-belief Chibi Hiei and Chibi Youko.

Also, there's a new Short of the Week, 'Hometown Package' by Nankin Gureko.

December 14, 1998
Instead of a Halloween present, this site is now a Christmas present. ^_^;;  It's entirely our fault; we've been fixing little glitches for the past couple weeks. Anyway, we're up at last. Best wishes for the holiday season to everyone!

December 1, 1998
Added several parodies to the general side: 'Kiss!' by Tsuta Hiroko (it includes 3 pages of the actual manga to explain it) and 'Body Mechanism' / 'Kurama's Secret' / 'All a Put-On' by Fuji Shinichi (with one page of manga).

November 16, 1998
We've added a new fairy tale to the general side of the YYH Fairy Tales section: 'The Little Mermaid' by Tsuta Hiroko.

October 28, 1998
We've just finished the general version of this site, so at this point everything's new. Welcome! We had lots of fun making this page, and we hope you have fun reading it.

We've also added 'Anatomy of a story page.' This shows what the various links on a story page mean. 'Next' and 'Previous' may be obvious, but for anyone who wants to know what 'Home,' 'Index,' and 'FX' mean, now there's a guide.

  The other new items are the Sitemap and Story List, which have enough info that everything else here is probably unnecessary. ^_-

General information:
The stories are provided in two sizes, 350 and 500 pixels wide, so you have a choice between scale and download time. The text on the 350 size may not be entirely legible (especially if your resolution is higher than 800 X 600), but it should give an idea of the graphics. The text on the 500 should all be readable; if any of it isn't, please let us know. ^_^;

Where You Can Go:
There are three main areas: the Index, Shorts & Fluff, and the Main Art Gallery.

Main Index is the main story section. Stories that are longer than eight pages go here. The index also leads to the following special interest sections (the full sections are on the member's side):

Arina Toshimi stories
stories from the circle Tide
Lively Little Hiei-chan's Adventures by Fuji Shinichi
YYH Fairy Tales.

If none of these sound familiar, there are descriptions of each on the Index page.

Shorts & Fluff is for stories under eight pages long. Most of these stories are purely humorous, but there are several spicy PWPs as well (on the member's side--gomen).

The Main Art Gallery has pictures we've scanned from djs and framed or made transparent or otherwise interfered with. There are some drop-dead-gorgeous covers there. Special interest sections off the main Gallery are:

Arina Toshimi Art
Chibi Hiei pictures (kawaii!)
art from the Towa no Toki series
our collection of Great YYH Kisses
art from the circle Tide.

Just added to the Gallery is The Lineup, where you can compare and contrast how various djka view the characters. You can also go from the thumbnails there to any story that catches your fancy.

Our other recent addition is the FX page, where you can find not just sound effects translated, but definitions of Japanese and YYH words from the stories. If you see any collection of syllables you don't understand, give this page a try.

And now for: Thanks!   Many, many thanks to the kind people who have helped us with this project: A-ko for emergency research, Tim-kun for web tips, and Po's Sis and Karen ("Runs with Bunnies") G. for scanning, checking and emotional support.

Eternal thanks to our wonderful translators, without whom there would be no project. Each of them provided so much more than the mechanical translation of words, drawing on her own cultural insight, humor, and sense of poetry to bring home the true meaning of the stories.

Very special thanks to Susan, Mimi, and Kevin for providing the administration and security for this site, not to mention the kickoff and original materials for it. Also to Mary Kennard, the source of much of this wonderful stuff. Absolutely endless thanks to the multitalented M.J. Johnson,* who went far beyond the call of duty with her linguistic, philosophical and cultural tips. Her literary gifts were invaluable to us.

Finally, the most heartfelt of thanks to the inspired people who created these stories, the doujinshika. Some of the stories made us laugh out loud, others made us blink away tears. All of them brought us pleasure. We hope to be forgiven if anything we've done in translating and rendering them here causes offense. We did all of this out of love, have not made and never will make any kind of profit from it, and did our best to treat their wonderful works with the awe and respect they deserve. If we did anything stupid or clumsy in the process we apologize deeply.

* AKA Jeanne, the author of those wonderful Papuwa and Eroica stories, and of many of the interesting footnotes to be found in these pages.

A bunch of little notes to try to explain the things we know someone is going to ask:

Why are some of the sound effects translated in footnotes? And others aren't? And some stories have lots of footnotes, and others don't?
Well, different people edited different stories, and what one person thought was obvious, another thought needed explaining. For the most part, we tried to include translations of sound FX that aren't just onomatopoeia: for instance, kaaa = blush, nuru = greasing, kara = empty, etc. If you have suggestions or corrections, we'd love to hear them.

 Again, we've recently added a list of Common Sound FX Translated, which might help with the sounds we haven't explained in the stories. There are not only sounds but Japanese and Yu*Yu*Hakusho words defined here. Many thanks to Jeanne, Masae, K-san, and W-san for all their help in creating it.

What about those little scribbly comments in the stories? Did you write any of them, or are they all the djka's?
Anything within the page proper of a story is a comment by the djka. At times, we've tried to make this clear by putting the djka's initials afterward, or putting the note in parentheses, but whether you see those things or not, they're still the author's comments.

(It's called Twenty.) Or else they're typed, in Times Roman, as footnotes below the page itself. Almost always they're simply translations of sound FX or short explanations of something in the story. If anybody is saying, 'Don't get childishly jealous, Kurama' or 'This picture didn't turn out right,' it's not us, it's the djka. ^_^     By smacking each other frequently, we managed not to editorialize. Much.

How come you translated those little scribbles by the djka at all?
Whimsy. Plus we wanted to know what they said. If they were really, really boring, like long rants about what kind of toner was used, we left them out of the version posted here.

Are you going to do any Hiei X Kurama stories?
We've only just laid hands on some djs with Hiei X Kurama stories, and we're eager to get them translated. Meanwhile, there's 'Midnight Illusion' in the shorts section, and 'Silent Call' in the main djs section. ^_^;;

Where can I get printed copies of the stories?
Um, right at the moment, you can't. For now, they're online only. And yes, we realize that the files here don't print well. That's because they're sized for viewing on a computer screen, not for printing.

Did you know you made a mistake?
We're sure we've made lots of mistakes, of all kinds. If you find one, please let us know--we appreciate any help, suggestions, corrections or general kibbitzing! And if you like something, let us know that, too. ^_^

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Note on the images to be found here: please don't take them and post them publicly without permission. Not that you ever would, but we have to say this just in case.

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That's it. Enjoy!

Panthea, Po, and Ikuko

Panthea, Editor in Chief             Po, Artist in Chief            Ikuko, Technician in Chief

...and the word is dithering. As you may know, dithering is the thing that can make graphics look all grainy, and it happens because Internet browsers support only 256 colors (and not even all the same 256) and/or because many graphics cards can't do 16- or 24-bit color. The computer tries to put pixels of different colors adjacent to each other to 'simulate' colors it doesn't support...and the result can look terrible. Arina Toshimi's gorgeous satiny fleshtones come out looking as if Kurama's got the measles. We've tried hard to minimize dither, but <weep, gnash teeth> we can't get rid of it entirely unless we make all the pics into giant non-dithering gifs that would take years to download. Between the three of us we have five computers utilizing three different browsers, and we have discovered that some pictures look awful on at least one of them, no matter what we do.