ive often seen people write that hiei got his name from the bandits he grew up with- which makes sense, "flying shadow" doesnt feel like something his mother would have chosen to me. i couldnt recall if there was any canon information about where he got his name from, and was thinking- but what if the koorime called him that?
well i checked back on the three kings arc of the dub to refresh myself- and turns out, hiei himself said that the koorime gave him that name. but why the hell would they be calling him that? where could "flying shadow" possibly have come from while he was just a little baby wrapped in flame-preventing wards on hyouga?
and well, this now gets to my original purpose for making this post before i had even refreshed myself on that bit- wouldnt it have been fucked up if one of the koorime mockingly called him that as he was falling from hyouga, looking like a little shadow flying away? and hiei, with his somehow exceptional hearing and memory since he came out the pussy, HEARS AND REMEMBERS THAT.
also for some more Name Angst for him, i do really wonder what his mom WOULD have called him. did she already have a name planned from the beginning? did she come up with one once he was born? did she not have one in mind because she was already afraid she wouldnt be able to name him? did she even get to utter her chosen name for him before he was taken from her arms?
i want someone to know hieis original chosen name, and tell it to him. rui, maybe? or yukina, having been told it by rui? regardless, theres absolutely no way he would accept the name under any means, but the emotions it would cause from him just hearing it- a representation of what his mother saw in him, what couldve been- would be deliciously painful.
then from this, i spent Way Fucking Too Long thinking about and looking into possibilities for what kinda name hina may have picked for hiei (which i did not at all plan to be doing when i started this post), and so heres some more thoughts and headcanons:
to start with i looked at hinas (氷菜) and yukinas (雪菜) names- 氷 means ice, 雪 means snow, while the shared 菜 means vegetables (togashi likely chose it for sound over meaning, using 菜 to end a girls name with "na" is fairly common). with this i could decipher a few small things about hinas way of picking a name:
Potentially fine with commonality, could value the sound of a name more than the entire meaning. (if she picked 菜 just for the "na" syllable)
Wanted to pass on part of her name. (菜 was, imo, much more likely chosen to reflect her own name)
Obvious, straightforward meanings. (self explanatory... shes already named "ice" and still decided to call her daughter "snow" when theyre ice maidens in the glacial village on the "ice river" floating island covered in snow. girl cmon)
(also while doing my searching around on japanese names, i discovered seimei handan (divination based on the number of strokes in a name), which is an interesting concept but i ultimately disregarded it as a potential influence since theres no particular indicator to it. i think itd be fun to see what that sorta thing would say about the various characters tho!)
then i have some ideas in mind for hieis dad- in my quick search to refresh i couldnt find canon info that said anything about the kind of demon his dad was, nor did i see anything stating if the imiko "curse" would specifically make hiei a fire demon or not- but nonetheless, i DO headcanon hiei got his fire abilities from his dad, who i hc as some kind of fire cat demon- i havent decided the type yet, but im thinking a black serval or a king cheetah (king cheetah as in the type that has larger/more concentrated black spots, not an Actual king). i like to think he passed on cat mannerisms to both hiei and yukina, along with slit pupils, red eyes (ik some official art outside of the show has hina with red eyes but fuck it i want yukina to partially have some genetic connection to the guy too), and short height- in addition to hieis general visual traits obv.
and so with that, i made some inferences on routes hina could go for choosing a name for hiei:
fire related - something obvious and to the point, if she figures her son would likely take after his dad. fits a temperature/elemental theme with yukinas name as well.
a sound-based choice, potentially common for boy names - i considered the latter less likely, as hina probably doesnt know much about mens names, unless she just put something that literally just means "man/boy."
pass on part of her name - most likely id see her passing on the "hi" sound rather than any kanji. alternatively she could pass on the "na" sound or the 菜 kanji itself- even if its more typical for a girls name, she may not know that, or potentially not care
naturey/plant related - instead of passing on 菜, she could give him something similar in meaning just to keep a theme.
雪 or alternate kanji pronounced "yuki" - so the siblings could match :) a potential for this could be 幸 meaning good luck/happiness, which has a nanori pronounciation in names as "yuki" (im not entirely sure what origins/rules there are to nanori pronounciations, but i saw this as a potential variation, at least)
pass on part of the fathers name or a meaning related to him - likely for her to do i think, but who tf knows what that guy could be called. would have to go off headcanons here.
and now to my decision for what hina had planned to call hiei: Hitora (陽彪)
陽 means sun and its kun'yomi pronounciation is "hi"
this passes on the sound from hinas name and has the obvious fire component - in addition, 陽 holds positive and masculine connotations due to meaning the yang half of yin and yang
彪 means tiger cub or small tiger and one of its nanori pronounciations is "tora"
this would either pass on part of his fathers name or refer to his fathers cat nature - while hes not a tiger in my headcanon, there doesnt seem to be singular kanji for servals or cheetahs, and so i picked the tiger meaning moreso for also being a kind of wild cat, in addition to the symbolism it has- power, bravery, and protection against evil. the small tiger meaning would fit his fathers short stature, while the cub meaning would fit for hiei being his child
also some fun additional bits about hitora that i realized after i was already heavily considering the name:
陽 means yang, while tigers represent yin
yang is represented by white on the yin and yang symbol- while hieis hair and overall design is primarily black with a tiny bit of white, matching with the yin half of the symbol
tigers and dragons represent yin and yang respectively
if any of the koorime knew hina intended to call her son hitora, they couldve been mocking that choice when calling him hiei, echoing the "hi" sound but calling him a shadow instead of the sun
side note: i think ive decided to go with hieis fathers name being Yukitora (幸彪), inspired by my joke post about "figuring out" his dads name to be yukiei. because honestly, hina making her childrens names being just two mixtures of her and her lovers names seems like something shed do, considering just the fact that she made part of yukinas name mean "snow" while they live where they live and are the demons that they are LOL
|| Kirishimi, Warrior of Light and Darkness, and a nomadic stray. What a feeling of elation to discover where home truly is.
The peace and serenity of an evening in Doma was without match. The Rising Stones, home as it was, left her feeling anxious at night. The halls were either bustling with adventurers or not at all, and in those silent evenings, she felt particularly haunted. Memories of those who had walked at her side, laughed with her and put their faith in her. No, she never found herself sleeping there. The other city states of Eorzea were always busy and crowded as well, adventurers beginning their fresh start or calling it a night after a particularly challenging day.
But here in Doma, with only the gentle babbling river filling the nights silence, she found that sleep could be had at last.
Of course, it helped having a certain prince at her side as she drifted off. For hours she would listen to the beat of his heart just below her ear, feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath her hand and cheek, the warmth of his breath caught in her hair. There was comfort to be had in the arms of another; such a feeling she hadn’t known still existed in the last couple years of her life.
He had reintroduced her to so much in their time spent together. Remembering how to breathe, to fill your lungs with clean air rather than ash and brimstone. To allow yourself a moment of respite and simply admire the world around you. The weight on her shoulders was a burden indeed, a challenge she faced with conviction, but it was pleasant in lost but treasured moments like this. A gentle reminder that she was more than a weapon to be used. That she too was alive.
Moments before her heavy eyes slid shut, she felt the man beneath her quake. A light, airy chuckle rose in his chest. His hand, tangled in her moonlight hair, pulled away and dropped to his face.
Kiri lifted her head, a sloppy, exhausted smile on her lips. “Go back to sleep-”
“How can I when your son is outside causing a commotion?” There was such music in his laughter, amused despite having been woken up so abruptly.
The dragoon arched a brow and sat up, pulling their blankets high against her chest. Over the gentle hum of his breathing and the near serenade of his heart beating against her temple, she hadn’t heard it until now. A soft whine and a rattling of the door.
As Hien rose from their shared futon to answer the call, Kiri flopped down in his place and nuzzled her cheek against his still warm pillow. “What a good father you are,” She returned with a laugh of her own.
The door slid open and Hien dramatically bowed while tiny feet padded into the room. The eager little clicks of claws against floorboards helped Kiri determine exactly where the tiger cub was before pouncing at her feet beneath the covers. Hien closed the door quickly but quietly, picking up the cub on his return trip to bed.
“Panglossian as always, eh Yun-yun?” The prince, rolling his eyes at the Warrior of Light now in his spot, sat beside her with the little kitten in his arms. Of course he squirmed, peering over Hien’s shoulder with bright golden eyes at Kirishimi, but a scratching behind his ear had him purring for the samurai lord instead.
“Yun-yun?” Kiri mused, pulling the blankets over her head. “His name is Yukitora.”
“And your name is Kirishimi, yet I find myself calling you Kiri more often.” Hien teased.
“Hmm... Should I call you Shun then? Since we all have nicknames except you?”
“I rather like when you call out my name.” Carefully he set aside Yukitora, who rampaged across the blankets regardless in search for Kiri, pawing here and there in an attempt to weasel himself beneath the blankets as well. Hien laid on his side next to her, pulling her in a bundle against his chest. She squirmed and flailed playfully before he yanked the covers from her head, revealing surprised mismatched eyes and snowy hair standing on end from static. “‘Oh Hien!’” The prince mimicked in an overly high pitched voice, kissing her forehead.
“O-oi! I don’t sound anythin’ like that!” Her cheeks were a wildfire of color and heat.
Another kiss, this time to her cheek; his beard tickling and scratching her own skin. “Hm... And how would you know?”
He pulled her closer still, searching for a kiss to place on her lips. But all he found instead were Kiri’s fingertips as she tried to escape his teasing. Nips and kisses were showered upon her fingers while she hummed with laughter.
“I-... W-Well-... Whatever! You silly prince!” Kiri huffed.
A tiny creature soon wiggled between the couple, a loud mew interrupting them.
“’Twould seem Yun-yun is ready for bed.” As if on cue the tiger cub flopped onto its side, curled in a near perfect ball of stripes that fit perfectly against Kiri’s stomach.
Kiri reached for Yukitora, gently stroking her fingertips between the cubs ears. Ever so tender and motherly to the little kitten she had rescued only weeks prior. With every touch, Yukitora grew closer to closing his eyes, purring noisily while his head sunk to rest on his paws.
She could feel Hien’s eyes on her while she watched Yukitora fall asleep. There was always such a loving smile that graced his lips when he stared at her in these moments, his eyes almost distant as his mind dreamed with thoughts of a future with her. All the dragoon could do was allow her features to burn brightly beneath his gaze and return his smile with one of her own.
