The Heart of the Sad-Eyed

by Dark Youko

The Reikai Tantei are called in to investigate a kidnapping and meet up with more than they expected. Contains yaoi and some profanity

1. Reaching for the Sun

The Heart of The Sad-Eyed: Part 1
Written by: Dark Youko

Regular disclaimers apply. Yu Yu Hakusho characters are not my
property,but rather the property of Yoshihiro Togashi, but as always I
stake my claim to The Sad-Eyed and all other characters not affiliated
with YYH. Please feel free to read and review, your criticism is
welcome. =)


~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

~~It's hard looking up at the stars sometimes.... Sometimes their
brightness burns with the intensity of the sun for me....sometimes I
can't see them, and it makes me think there isn't anything out there for
me..... Maybe there isn't. Maybe I'm by myself in a room of wandering
shades, listening as the hours and minutes of my life just tick tock
away. How depressing.... I really have to find something more
interesting to do other than stare out an iron-bar window.~~

The words scrawled slowly across the cold gray surface of his
cell, and for a moment he sat back, contemplating them with bright
prismatic eyes.After a moment he crumbled the bit of burned wood he'd
used to write the words with in his fist and with a gutteral growl he
viciously wiped his forearm along the delicate black scratches...marring
them beyond comprehension. He closed his eyes for a moment, and heard
the sound of his wings shifting unconsciously in response to his
meloncholy emotions. How long had he been locked in this place? He
thought for a moment, unable to recall a day when he'd felt wind on his
face, or sun on his back. Finally, though the stars were painful, he
looked up and out of the barred circular opening high above him. He
could see the edge of the moon peeking from the barred space like a
smile and he smiled back before turning away from his little circle of
light and curling into a comfortable, familiar dark corner.
For a moment he continued looking up at the opening from his
corner, and he only caught the barest glimpse of the moon's smile before
he settled back and sighed. Then with a slow weariness like that of an
old man, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

Botan was waiting for them just as school ended, and Yusuke had to
supress a sigh of disappointment. He was hoping that he would manage to
have a break this weekend, but from the look of the blue-haired spirit-
guide there was no such luck of that. Suddenly Kurama sidled up next to
him and he looked at the redhead curiously. Kurama was looking in
Botan's direction with a sort of bemused smile on his face as he carried
his bookbag over one shoulder. "I wonder what's up now." Kurama sighed
with a hint of amusement behind the words.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. He'd been wondering what was up with
Kurama all week. For some ungodly reason the redhead seemed impossibly
more friendly and amiable. And whenever Yusuke saw the half-youko he
had the impression that the only way to get that smile off Kurama's face
was to pry it off with a spatula. Now, there again, Yusuke saw that
infectious smile on the redhead's face and he only shrugged as the two
of them went to meet Botan.
"Oi, Botan-chan." Yusuke greeted, recieving a cheerful wave in
return. "What's up?"
Botan's smile fell a bit then she sweatdropped and said, "It's
probably something best heard from Koenma...."
Both Reikai Tantai raised an eyebrow at her. She'd never
hesitated to give details about ANYTHING before..... But nevertheless
they only looked at each other questioningly before shrugging and
looking back at her. She quickly summoned her oar and hopped on,
hovering in midair as she said, "I've already managed to get
Kuwabara and Hiei informed....now all we have to do is pick up the big
guy and we're off!"
Kurama nodded. "I'll meet you there." He said and turned to
follow the street. Yusuke sent him a thumbs up and quickly hopped up on
the oar behind Botan. He knew that Kurama would be waiting for them
long before they even got to Koenma's office. They met with Kuwabara
not long after and by the time they got to Koenma's office, sure enough,
Kurama and the Prince of the Dead both waited for them. But there was
someone else there too.
It looked like a young female youkai, with long dark hair
decorated by numerous braids braided randomly throughout, while a pair
of gold-green eyes shined like jems in her fine features. She had long
tapering elf ears, neatly accented by her hair, and they could tell
right off she wasn't exactly like many of the destitude youkai that
they'd met before...it was obvious that she was pretty well off in the
world. Her clothes were well made and looked very noble on her, and it
was apparent immediately that she wasn't really used to being told "no."
When she looked at them her eyes were as cold as ice and blank of all emotion, she only flicked her eyes to them, once, as if bored, then she
turned back to look at Koenma.
"Are these all of them?" She asked.
Koenma gave a start at the cold edge of demand in her voice...like
her, he wasn't used to hearing that tone....he'd only heard Enma himself
use that tone, and he had a right to. Finally he nodded and the woman
looked around the room, taking in each of the Reikai Tantei with a
critical gold-green gaze. Only then did Yusuke notice that Hiei now
stood behind them, not far away, like a small shadow of black with
blazing crimson eyes. When did he get there? Yusuke wondered
momentarily before returning to look at the woman. She only sighed.
"I hope they are enough to retrieve Pa'Tien." She whispered,
closing her eyes as if disappointed. "If not then my people are lost."
Kurama frowned slightly. "What do you mean your people are lost?"
She only looked up at him impassively and there was a low rumble
as if Hiei had growled. Then she suddenly turned to Koenma and said
shortly, "Tell them."
"This is Sha'veda. She is looking for a long-lost clanmember. Her
Fiance' Pa'Tien. She says that he was kidnapped by evil youkai and she
hasn't been able to find him since....she decided to come to us."
Koenma answered. "NOW. The reason this is a job for you lot is because
if Pa'Tien is not returned to his station in the temple of their god,
then he'll throw a godly tantrum and destroy all of them. I'm not
altogether sure if that will happen, but it's better not to try our
luck."
"I see." Yusuke said in a low whisper. "But if she couldn't find
him how are we supposed to?" Kuwabara nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! after all...there are three worlds to look in...." He said
and both the friends nodded to each other.
"I did not say that I COULD not find him...." The woman answered,
removing a compass-like pendant from her throat. "It is more that when
I did find him....I could go nowhere near the area of his imprisonment.
I am strong...but not strong enough. I need help." She said softly then
lifted the pendant to drape it around Yusuke's neck. "Take this....it
will lead you to him. Like is pulled to like. Like me and Pa' Tien,
this pendant is forever searching for it's counterpart, which Pa'Tien
wears. It will help you. The slower the light blinks...the farther
away he is... the faster the closer. It's not much, but it will lead
you, nonetheless."
"Right." Yusuke said, examining the silver gadget curiously.
"Any other tips? You've gotten pretty close to finding him already,
haven't you?"
"Yes." She answered. "Make sure you always follow the
moon....even as it sets. The days will be long for you, but
remember....hours are just tickings on a clock....True time is when you
believe you are ready to be where you should be."
Yusuke looked at her for a long moment as the cryptic words took
root, then finally he smiled and gave a nod as he lowered the pendant
into his tank top collar. She gave a slight upturning of her lips then
turned away and gave a bow to Koenma before turning to the door and
disappearing into the hall. Yusuke followed her as she left, as did
most of the Urameshi team, and as soon as she was gone they looked back
at Koenma. "So." Kurama said finally. "We have to find this 'Pa'Tien'
and bring him back? What exactly are we up against?"
"Something that is obviously powerful...maybe an A-class. We
couldn't afford to take any chances on this." Koenma answered and
Kurama nodded. "I'll give you guys a day to rest before you get on the
job. You all may want to find some way to get safely away from your
lives for a while without raising suspicion." They all nodded at that
except for Hiei who gave a low snort before disappearing in a flash of
dark movement. Koenma dismissed them and Botan transported them back to
the Nigenkai. Yusuke gave his mother a half-ass story about how he was
going with his friends out of town on a road trip, and Kurama told his
mother that he was going to spend some time with a sick friend in a town
not far away to make sure things were going well.
When she asked of this person's illness he gave her a somewhat sad
look as he explained his friend was VERY ill and had requested he come
to visit for a few days. She only hugged him kindly and said, "Well,
when you see your friend tell them that I wish them the best of luck and
that they get well soon, ne? And you be careful, Shuuichi...make sure
you don't forget me in all the excitement, alright?"
Shuuichi "Kurama" Minamino only smiled back at her and said, "Of
course I won't Okasaan...and I'll bring back some nice flowers for the
living room when I get back, okay?"
She smiled delightedly and sent him off to rest and pack as she
continued doing dishes, humming softly to herself.

A day later, the Reikai Tantai met with Botan once again in their
normal meeting place, the park, and they soon began wondering just how
they were supposed to make out the slowly blinking compass. Finally
Yusuke scratched his head and said, "Well there's no way to tell even
which of the three worlds he's on.... It doesn't reallyhave anything to
tell...."
"Maybe if we tried all three of them...." Kurama suggested. "She
said it would blink faster the closer we got, maybe it will speed up if
we're on the right world." He reasoned, spreading his hands slightly.
"Good idea!" Yusuke answered then suddenly it hit him.
"Well...last I remember, it wasn't blinking any faster than this
when we were in Koenma's office in the spirit world....so we'll try the
Makai first. It stands to reason it should be faster there, ne?" Botan
chimed suddenly, summoning her oar into her fist with a smile
Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara nodded in agreement while Hiei only
stood a little ways away from the group with his arms crossed over his
chest. He gave a low grunt of agreement and soon Botan had transfered
Yusuke and Kuwabara into the Makai forest, where Kurama and Hiei already
awaited them. Once more the fox looked much like the cat that had
caught the canary and Yusuke pursed his lips slightly in curiosity.
~Just how does he do that?~ He thought momentarily before giving a
momentary shrug and lifting the pendant from under his shirt. Sure
enough the blinking had sped up slightly and he gave a small smile
"Well, seems this is right." He said finally and then looked up. "She
said to follow the moon...so where's the moon?"
Hiei remained silent as he lifted one finger to point towards the
western horizon where a lazy half moon lit the sky.
"Oh." Yusuke mumbled and turned towards it. "Well, let's get
going...we've got a ways to go....."

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

~~The rain feels good somedays.... Clean and quiet. But today the
rain was angry, and spoke to me in the booming voice of thunder. But I
don't mind...I like it I think. At least SOMEONE is talking to
me...even if I can't really talk back....I don't think the rain would
hear me....he is so high up after all.~~

He scrawled the words in a slow trembling hand, for the rain
poured down on him mercilessly through the opening above. There was
hardly any light today, but the feel of the rain on his skin felt good.
As soon as the words were written he lifted his face up to the opening,
letting the cool raindrops touch his face and wash his cheeks. ~Falling
forgiveness....~ He thought, smiling up at the storm cloud above that
was blocking the moon. Who could ever hate the rain? He wondered,
sudden calm filling him. For a moment he forgot that he was
hungry....that he was tired.... he only remembered that he simply was
and that it was a good day to be. He could smell damp earth outside,
and the smell was heavenly as he forgot the damp musty smell of his
cell. He was able to remember again that there was a world outside the
sky above...that there was man and earth, beast and sea. It made him
happy to remember it again.
Then suddenly a flash of light caught his eye and he looked to his
cellmate. He remembered the man had once told him stories of the trees
and the forest...of a temple built to sadness and a woman with eyes like
a hurricane. He'd loved the stories, but they'd gone away quickly,
leaving him to remember the man fondly. For years he'd left the man as
he was, curled in the corner and he remembered the man's final story.
The story of the phoenix loving a rose. It was a beautiful story
of a phoenix who loved a rose as white as snow, for there was only the
white rose when these two lovers lived, and the rose that loved him, but
could not open her petals to him for fear of his beauty. Then the day
came when the phoenix returned to ash, calling out his love of her with
his final breath as he slowly burned himself to ash. He remembered his
happiness when the rose heard the words and opened her petals at last,
allowing the ash to drape on her. "And that pairing, my sad-eyed
friend," said the man in his thoughts, "Was what led to the birth of
the red rose...."
He smiled in memory of the words and slowly went to crouch beside
the skeletal remains of his one friend. There were no stories in him
now, save for the question of the pendant around his thin neck. It
flashed dimly in lazy intervals and he tilted his head at it for a
moment. He knew that the pendant had been very precious to his friend
so he didn't remove it as he was inclined to, but simply lifted the
cloth of his dead friend's shirt very carefully and let the pendant
slowly fall beneath it's folds.
~What a wonderful rainy day....~ He thought as he settled into a
seat beside the withered corpse. Now he remembered his friend and the
stories again. He'd almost forgotten them. He wasn't sure who to
credit for this wonderful memory, so he simply gave the credit to the
rain. It seemed to please the rain, for it wept with joy for the rest
of the night, putting aside angry tears for a darker day.

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

Kurama huddled low into his makeshift umbrella (A heavy blanket
that he'd brought). It was his turn to be on watch and he sat beside
the campfire, making sure that nothing nasty came after them in the
middle of the night. The rain had made them all miserable when if began
coming down in sheets. Finally they had to stop because the moon wasn't
visible anymore and if they took another step they would likely sink in
mud. He looked around the camp and saw that Yusuke was sprawled in the
tent that he shared with poor Botan who had shrank as far away from
Urameshi as she could get. She'd yelp almost everytime Yusuke shifted,
for he would inevitably kick or knee her without knowing. Kuwabara was
large enough to have a tent to himself, while Kurama's tent was leaned
up against a tree, looking rather inviting in contrast to the soak he
was recieving. ~And no doubt Hiei is already warm and happy as a clam
in there....~ He grumbled mentally. Then suddenly the blanket shifted
and when he looked to see what it was he saw a pair of bright ruby
colored eyes staring at him impassively.
"I was cold." Hiei grunted unhappily. Kurama knew immediately
that it was a lie because as a fire demon Hiei COULDN'T get cold. It
seemed to be the fire demon's nonchalant way of saying that he missed
the half-youko's company.
Kurama smiled, and gently wrapped his arms around the smaller
demon's waist to pull him closer. "I guess I'll warm you up then, ne?"
Hiei gave a shadow of a smile, just a brief turn of his lips, then
shifted so that his cheek rested on Kurama's chest. Kurama sighed
happily, nuzzling his nose in the soft spikey hair as he was warmed by
the fire demon's own heat. The hair smelled like pine, and beneath it
all was the softly inticing musky smell that was all Hiei. It had been
a week since he'd confessed his love for the fire demon, and half of
that week had been in the pursuit of getting the demon to believe him.
But eventually his persistance had paid off...and now he had in his
arms the one person who'd stirred his interest in ages. Whatever it
was people said he'd have to sacrifice for love was already a small
price to pay for the gifts he'd already recieved...who would want
anything more than the key to a beautiful youkai's heart?
Hiei gave a low huff and Kurama looked down at him. "I hate being
wet." The half-koorime said shortly, giving him a meaningful look. "Go
wake Stupid up and come to bed." He gave the equivolent of a wry smile
then as he said, "There's nothing worse than the smell of a damp fox,
so you may as well dry off before you kill us all."
Kurama looked at him with mock-indignance and said, "I do not
smell!" He then tugged a bit of the fire demon's spikey hair and
grumbled, "And who cares if I'm wet.... that just means you have the joy
of trying to dry me off."
Hiei grunted and rolled his eyes skyward. "'Ch. That's all you
think about."
Kurama grinned and lightly kissed the tip of the fire-demon's
nose. "Well, can you think of anything else I should think of?"
"Hn." Hiei answered, and Kurama chuckled. Hiei then went back to
their shared tent and Kurama stood with the damp blanket still draped
over his head. He walked in the mush and went to nudge Kuwabara's
protruding foot. "Oi, Kuwabara-kun..." He called in an insistent
whisper and the other redhead poked out his head to look at him with
bleary eyes. "Hi." Kurama answered with a smile and a slight wave.
"It's your turn on watch. I don't think I can keep awake much longer
anyhow."
Kuwabara grunted sleepily with a nod and his feet moved as he
shifted the tent so he could look outside. "Gotcha Kurama. Go on to
bed. I'm wide awake now."
"Okay, thanks." Kurama said and sloshed over to his tent. As
soon as he was in the tent he felt a wave of comfortable warmth fill his
dampened skin and gave a sigh. Hiei was curled into the comforter and
the demon only peeked a single blood red eye at him as he opened the
tent flap. He smiled widely and Hiei grunted slightly as he moved to
make a spot for the fox to rest. Kurama stepped into the tent,
crouching down slightly to do so and began to peel off his dampened
clothes. Hiei kept his gaze on the fox as the clothes slowly made their
way off then finally when Kurama was pretty much bare Hiei shifted
again, moving the comforter aside. Kurama's smile only brightened a bit
and he slid down into the covers, taking Hiei into his arms lovingly,
reveling in the warmth of his lover's embrace. It felt good to have him
near on days like this, Kurama hated to be alone on rainy days.
"Warm yet, fox?" Hiei rumbled as Kurama nuzzled his chest
happily.
"Mm hm." He answered and purred slightly when he felt Hiei's hand
run through his hair. He was rewarded by a rich deep chuckle that he
felt rumble out of his lover's chest like thunder and a light kiss on
his forehead. He lifted up slightly, looking at Hiei with a
mischievious light in his eyes as he grinned and said, "Now....
care to try and dry me off, koibito?"
Hiei only shook his head in amazement then lifted one hand to
lightly run it across Kurama's fair cheek on back to cup his chin. "I'd
love to." He answered, then leaned in to give Kurama a light almost
chaste kiss as his rather damp partner curled both arms over his
shoulders. He only took a brief moment to slid a blood red eye towards
the lantern hanging not far away and with a though he extinguished the
annoying light before he leaned Kurama back slowly. It was then he
began his enjoyable task of drying the fox off with all the heat that
the two of them could muster between them.
Kuwabara in the meantime, was oblivious to it all as he only
yawned and continued waiting for nasties to strike in the night.

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

~~I wonder sometimes if anyone knows that I'm down here. Did they
forget me when I didn't eat the last thing they threw down here? It
doesn't really matter anyway...maybe if I'm lucky I'll be gone soon.
Maybe I'll fly where the sky is always blue and there is never an angry
raincloud. Only the nice ones that keep my skin cool on dark days.
Maybe I'll feel the wind on my shoulders again...maybe I'll remember if
I have a name. Yes...I think that would be a very good day....~~

These words he carved into the wall with thin scratches he made
with his long claws. He was tired, and lonely. He missed the rain's
presence, and he missed his friend who still sat dead beside him. He
finished his scratchings with a sigh and looked once more at the body
beside him. The light under the threadbare tunic had continued flashing
throughout the last two days, speeding up slightly as the days passed.
He wondered what the flashing met with a growing curiousness, but he
never moved to remove it nor even look at it from out of the dusty folds
of his friend's tunic. He looked up at the dead features, staring into
the hollow eyes as if searching for yet another story, and strangely
enough, he found one.
He remembered his friend telling him the story of one called The
Sad-Eyed, who had known all the stories of the world and wove them into
the tapestries of history. People came to call her The Sad-Eyed was
named such for she could never leave her tower, lest she forget all that
she had known. Then one day she saw in the bright Sight of her mind the
valiant figure of a powerful warrior, whom she had loved as a child.
She'd watched as he married and carried his strong children on his
shoulders, and each day she longed for him to come to her. He never
did. She then watched as her warrior-love's family fell to disease and
she mourned with him. She saw her own sadness mirrored in his eyes, so
she finally decided to leave her tower to comfort him. But as soon as
she stepped from the tower, she did not remember him, or herself, or why
she'd ever left the tower. She spent the rest of her days wandering the
world, wondering what exactly it was she was looking for.
He blinked slightly and saw again in his mind the face of his
young, sickly friend. "You are somewhat like her I think..." He'd said
with a somewhat strained smile. "I think I'll call you The Sad-Eyed. I
hope you don't mind." He remembers shaking his head, no he didn't mind.
He had a name now. What a wonderful day that had been!
He sighed sadly, looking away from the hollow eyes as he turned to
stare at the dark slick walls around him. Perhaps he was the Sad-
Eyed...waiting for something to summon him out of his inverted tower.

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

Three days after the Reikai Tantai had set out for their journey
they came upon a huge decrepid castle. Some of the walls were crumbling
with age while others had already collapsed under the weight of time.
And the pendant was blinking steadily faster with every step they took.
"That must be it." Yusuke whispered, crouching in a hedge of bushes not
far from the withered compound.
Kurama nodded, crouched not far away. Hiei hadn't bothered with
the crouching and simply settled for looking on from a tree branch
overhead. "The security seems lax." Kurama said quietly.
"They weren't expecting anyone to find the place." Hiei
concluded. "It would have been impossible for the woman to get in, but
it should be no problem for us." They all nodded and soon they were
making their way to where the wall was crumbled in and there was a
cover of trees nearby as Botan waited for them in the cover of the
trees. It was late in the night and no one saw anything in the way of
guards, but there was still an aura of uneasiness about the place. Hiei
knew automatically it was some type of fear-barrier that normally was
strong enough to keep people away with an oppressive fear-aura. Too bad
that sort of thing didn't really phaze the Reikai Tantai that
much. As soon as they stepped from out of the barrier the fear bearing
down on them lifted abruptly like a weight off their shoulders and
Yusuke and Kuwabara sighed with relief. Kurama and Hiei snapped to
automatic wariness, wondering just what had caused the sudden lift.
There was something else in the air, something heated like flame with a
sweet scent like that of decay. The scent finally hit Yusuke and
Kuwabara who both groaned, covering their noses and mouths from the
rancid scent. "Oh my god...!" Kuwabara gagged. "What the hell is
that?!"
Hiei only narrowed his eyes at the passage in front of them.
There was a sound like shuffling feet and he quickly unsheathed his
sword while Kurama snapped out his rosewhip. A few moments later a
crowd of zombies shuffled out of the crumbling archway, flapping their
useless tounges mindlessly as they lifted gnarled, fleshless hands
towards them. One flopped it's head in Yusuke's direction and began
lurching forward as it gazed at him with dead fish-like eyes and moved
forward on legs that gave grotesque creeks when the kneecap occasionally
slid out of place. Yusuke grimaced and lifted his hands into the rei
gun. Kuwabara was already ready with Rei Ken, looking back and forth at
the zombies with wide but alert eyes.
Suddenly one of the zombies lurched at Yusuke and he yelled before
taking off the zombie's head as well as that of the zombie behind it
with a blinding blast from the Rei gun. It was then that the rest of
them pounced like cats on particularly insistent mice. Kurama gasped as
one of them flung itself onto him as he sliced one in half with the
rosewhip. He felt teeth sink deep into his shoulder and growled as he
flung the thing back, simulteously flinging a handful of razor-sharp
leaf darts which thudded deep into the creature's skull and torso
and causing it to fall back with a yowl. Hiei was a blinding blur of
black heat, slicing and scorching wantonly through the numbers of the
zombies, but the more he killed the numbers only seemed to increase.
Only the ones he'd burned or beheaded stayed down while the others rose
from fatal wounds to crawl or limp towards him again.
He noticed that Yusuke was injured with an ugly wound that left
one arm useless at his side, while Kuwabara continued slicing down the
creatures for a while until he was suddenly drowned in a sea of decaying
bodies. But he couldn't see Kurama. "KURAMA!" He called, looking
around as he continued to cut down zombies left and right. Then finally
he saw that the fox had been flung against a wall and there was a thin
trickle of blood falling down his neck and from his hairline as he lay
crumpled against the wall. There was a group of shuffling dead about
him and Hiei saw automatically there was no way for him to get there in
time. "NO!" He cried, flinging out one hand as he concentrated his ki
into a white-hot rage. Black flame filled his palm and just as he was
about to strike he saw a shadow loom over him.
He paid it no mind as he unleashed the black flame, scorching the
group of zombies around Kurama into ash before they could even take a
step nearer to the fox. But it had cost him. He'd lost a good amount
of ki in focusing his power into such a wide spread and as he turned to
the shadow looming over him he felt his blood run cold. It was a wolf.
That was the nearest description he had of the 13 foot THING that loomed
over him. It's fur was as black as night, flowing with a grace like
flame across the thing's skin, and the wolf-thing's eyes were burning
pools of crimson as it bared huge tusk-like fangs at him. The only
thing that threw off the wolf's typical appearance was it's size and the
pair of huge brass horns crowning it's head as well as the trailing of
brass spikes that began at the thing's forehead and ended at the
creature's hindquarters. "oh, sh--" He began but was cut off as the
thing lunged forward, opening it's jaws wide to take most of his
shoulder into it's fangs. His blood splattered across his face and he
screamed as pain lanced down his body.
"HIEI!" Someone cried....Yusuke? Then suddenly he was flung
aside like a sack of potatoes as the thing lumbered towards Yusuke and
Kuwabara. Towards the meat. Hiei tried to stand but he felt a sudden
numbness fill his limbs and he fell almost as soon as he'd managed to
get up. He looked up with dimming vision and saw the greenish ooze
falling from the creature's mouth like saliva. ~Poison...?~ He thought
just as his vision faltered again. Then all he could see was Kurama for
a moment, still in the wolf-creature's path. "K....Ku...Kurama....."
He managed slowly, fighting to regain consciousness but inevitably
failing just as the creature lunged for Yusuke.
Yusuke saw Hiei fall again and narrowed his eyes at the grinning
creature. There was no turning back now. Koenma had definitely gotten
them into one hell of a situation this time. He was only hoping that
his luck would hold out long enough for him to survive all this. When
the creature lunged he jumped back, narrowly avoiding the snap of it's
teeth. He then lifted on hand, hoping this would work and sited down
his arm at the creature as he called, "REI GUN!" And then fired.
The ball of spirit energy went just as it was aimed, taking out
the creature's eye with a dull explosion of wetness. The creature
howled in pain and Yusuke saw Kurama stir. The half-youko's eyes opened
slowly and then widened in horror at the sight of Hiei. Suddenly the
emerald eyes narrowed with rage and Kurama slowly got to his feet, his
eyes hard and his jaw tight with anger. Then he gave an enraged cry and
he was laced by a blue-white glow as his ki surged, lifting his hair as
if blown by undercurrents of wind. The hair lengthened and bleached
pale silver as a pair of fox-ears unfurled from the mane and Kurama's
emerald eyes lightened to a gold that shone like the sun. Yusuke took a
step back as Youko Kurama stretched to his full height, his eyes shining
with anger and his sharp teeth bared in a hiss of rage.
Suddenly the youko lept forward, throwing a handful of seeds
towards the creature. The seeds took root as soon as they touched flesh
and when Youko Kurama fell back to the ground he snarled wordlessly,
prompting the roots further into the wolf-creature's body with an abrupt
surge of ki. The seeds exploded into thorned vines beneath the huge
wolf's skin, sending the creature into fits of high-pitched squeals as
the thorn vines punched through soft flesh to root the writhing animal
to the ground. It twitched a few times, whimpering pathetically, then
died on it's feet as Youko Kurama watched the thing die with a
disturbing smile of satisfaction on his beautific, blood-streaked face.
"Geez, Kurama...." Yusuke whispered. He'd never seen the youko
THAT pissed before! Then before they could take another step to help
any of their comrades a wave of power-ridden fear hit them. Yusuke fell
to his knees from the sudden weakness in his limbs and when he looked he
saw Youko Kurama also falling, seeming rather surprised by the fact.
"Now THAT wasn't nice...." Said a voice from above. "You
shouldn't have killed poor Baiden. He was just a pup after all...."
"Who's there?!" Youko Kurama snarled. "Show yourself!!"
The voice chuckled then a tall thin figure appeared in front of
them. It was a young faintly elven man that stood there, looking at
them both with a look of amusement on his stunningly beautiful features.
"Now, now...no need to get testy." He said lightly, keeping his arms
crossed over his chest calmly. His whole body radiated an aura of fear
and Yusuke suddenly found himself shivering, though he wasn't at all
cold.
"Fuck off." Youko Kurama hissed, using language that Shuuichi
would have paled at, but the man before them only laughed in amusement
then calmly walked to stand before the youko.
"Oh, you hate me don't you?" The elf chuckled. Youko Kurama
shuddered down to his bones and lowered his head. The fear was swimming
just behind his eyes, though he fought with all his might. "Is it
because I hurt the pretty little koorime? Because I may have killed
your little fuck-buddy just as easily as swatting a fly?"
Sudden rage allowed him to look up, but the fear washing over him
from the elven man's aura kept him rooted to the spot, only able to
glare up at that beautiful face in rage. He silently wished he could
smash in that lovely face. The elf chuckled and lifted a hand to touch
the youko's face. Youko Kurama shivered violently and turned away,
bringing yet another chuckle from the strange elven man.
"Just who are you?" Yusuke finally managed.
The elf smiled beautifully and in a lovely voice said, "I am Shyr.
Keeper of this castle and follower of the Hand of Daiyn."
"Daiyn?" Yusuke gasped, feeling another wave of fear hit him
alongside the ache of many hurts along his body.
"Yes..." Shyr answered matter-of-factly. "Daiyn is the opposite
of Ra'daiyn, whom you obviously serve."
"What gives you that idea?" Yusuke grumbled irritably.
At that Shyr swept forward in a flow of graceful movement and took
the pendant that was draped around the human's neck into his palm. "You
carry his symbol. Like pulls to like. So therefore you either serve
the god, or you serve his people, which is just as offensive to me. No
doubt you were given this by Sha'veda, the whore of Pa'Tien. She still
searches for him? One would have thought she'd have gotten the clue by
now."
"Love isn't easily forgotten, demon." Yusuke growled.
Shyr tilted back his head and gave a rich laugh. "Love?! Is that
honestly what she told you?!? Oh, my she is more conniving than I
thought!" He then looked down at Yusuke with a patient patronizing look
as he said, "She loves him no more than she would love the stepping
stone in her garden path. He is but a way for her to meet an end. With
him there she is once again the regal whore, the queenly vagabond. She
has no real purpose in life other than to leech off of those who will
let her. Poor Pa'Tien was one of those." He then straightened and
flipped back a strand of dark hair from over his shoulder, hid pale blue
eyes laughing cruelly. "You should be glad I spared him from having to
meet such a fate."
"Is he dead?" Youko asked.
Shyr only grinned widely and said, "Perhaps you'd like to see for
yourself?"
Youko Kurama glared at him in return and Shyr only gave a slight
nod.
"I'll take that as a yes." He said, then suddenly Kurama gasped
as he was slammed with an almost tangible wave of fear that sent his
blood running cold. He was frozen in time as Shyr only laughed and
slammed a fisted backhanded blow into his cheek, sending him reeling
back as he tasted blood in his mouth. Suddenly a knee was jammed into
his stomach while an elbow cracked down on the back of his neck with a
blow that hammered down to the ground. He could hear Yusuke screaming
behind the dull ringing in his ears and when he ventured his eyes open
he saw that the human was still relatively unhurt while Shyr was moving
in for another crack at him. He stood, wanting to avoid the attack, but
found that his reflexes were slow when Shyr drove an elbow into his
ribs, no doubt cracking a few, before he lifted his fist up to connect
with the youko's jaw.
He was momentarily blinded and stumbled back clumsily, reaching
into his hair for the rosewhip, but before he could even get there,
Shyr's foot snapped out of nowhere, connecting with the side of his head
and sending him flying back into a wall a few feet away. He was
unconscious before he even hit the wall.

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

~~I'm starting to get restless....and that's not a good thing. I
can feel the Beast hiding somewhere behind my eyes, just waiting.....
waiting.... and I keep remembering words that I'm not sure where they
come from....~~

The Sad-Eyed abruptly lowered his hand from scratching on the
wall, and leaned with an almost breathless sigh against the cool stones.
The air seemed thinner, and somewhere he could feel something cold and
harsh in him beginning to stir. He didn't like that part of him...it
made him angry. Somedays he would feel it shift and wonder if there
would ever be a day when he would be without it....he wondered if there
ever was a day without The Beast. Then suddenly before his thoughts
could wonder more the grate on the opening above was opened and
something heavy was flung down into the darkness of his cell.
It was a person, with long red hair and pale beautiful skin that
seemed all the paler for the dark blue chinese tunic he was wearing.
The redhead cursed angrily as he came to a stand and began looking into
the darkness around him. The Sad-Eyed was certain that he couldn't be
seen for the redhead hadn't had time to adjust to the sudden darkness.
He shifted away from the wall he was leaning on and croutched so that he
could better investigate this newcomer. He was nothing like Storyteller
had been. His eyes were large, but wary and his fair face was marred by
dark bruises that spoke of an earlier quarrel. The new redhaired
stranger intrigued him beyond comprehension, for he'd never seen anyone
like this one, and he found himself moving closer and closer until he
saw the redhaired human's emerald eyes widen with a gasp of surprise.
He didn't let it bother him as he watched the redhead with curious
storm-cloud gray eyes. He wasn't sure what to make of this new thing
from far away, so what else could he do but go closer?

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

Kurama gave a gasp of surprise as his eyes slowly adjusted,
allowing him to see the pair of storm-cloud eyes gazing at him as well
as the lean winged figure crouched down to look at him curiously. His
captors had delighted in telling them all of the Beast that lived in
this hole, and how it would eat anything thrown to it for they starved
it for months before tossing some poor bastard down to it. From the
looks on their faces as they related the tale they got a kick out of the
whole deal. He began to slowly inch back from the creature, moving from
out of the circle of light he'd been seated in.
The creature moved calmly around the light and Kurama immediately
got the sense that he'd done the wrong thing. It apparently didn't like
the light, so he probably should have stayed there.... ~Too late now...~
He thought, inching further back. The creature continued approaching
and gave a low sound like a growl before moving forward quicker, causing
him to lose his balance and fall ungracefully on his rear. The creature
gave a grunt and he winced from the pain the sudden landing caused.
When he looked up he saw that the figure was directly in front of him,
looking at him with eyes that were now a swirling blue-green. He choked
out a yelp and tried to scoot again, but suddenly felt a solid heaviness
on his chest that pushed him flat to the floor. He gave a gasp of pain
when the forceful collision of stone-floor and bruised back pushed the
air from his lungs, and he closed his eyes, pretty certain that he was
about to die. The cut on his eyebrow had leaked blood into his eyes,
which stung, but he didn't really care that much. He was about to die
after all.
Suddenly to his surprise he heard the sound of quick intakes of
breath above him. Sniffing...the creature was sniffing him. The
realization shocked him and when he looked up he felt the weight on his
chest ease slightly. "Human?" A rough voice asked and Kurama gave a
start of surprise. The creature's face then moved closer so that it
could sniff him more thoroughly and he could feel it's breath on his
face as it sniffed at him. He gulped slightly and was taken completely
aback when something wet lightly touched the cut on his eyebrow followed
by a sting of pain. It was lapping blood from the wound to taste him
now...what kind of Beast was this? "But not Human." It concluded and
lifted it's weight from his chest, allowing him to sit up. "What are
you?" It asked curiously.
"I could ask the same. I'm Kurama. Who are you?" He answered,
his apprehension lifting a great deal.
There was a momentary pause before the "Beast" finally said, "I
cannot remember what my name was." Was the somewhat sad answer. "But I
remember him calling me The Sad-Eyed."
"'Him?'" Kurama repeated, feeling sympathy for this poor
creature. "Who is 'him?'"
He saw The Sad-Eyed lift a clawed finger in the direction of a
corner where a huddled body sat, looking very thin and also very dead.
Kurama blinked in surprise and crawled towards the body, noticing the
rapid blinking light beneath the aged cloth. He lifted the cloth away
and heard The Sad-Eyed give a low growl of protectiveness. It was the
Compass Pendant that counterparted the pendant that Sha'veda had given
them. He sighed sadly and lowered the pendant back into it's proper
place beneath the dead man's shirt. The Sad-Eyed gave a grunt of
approval. "Pa'Tien." He concluded, looking at the body as if to
communicate his "how dare you be dead" to the dead man's spirit.
"Pa'Tien?" The Sad-Eyed echoed in confusion. "What is that? A
name? Are you a Giver of Names?"
Kurama looked at him with pity. "No, I can't give names. I was
sent to find your friend...we'd been hoping he'd still be alive though."
"He is alive." The Sad-Eyed answered. "He lives in the
Tapestries of my mind's eye, and in the land of his god where he feels
the sun and the wind as he soars through skies bluer than the Eye of the
World."
Kurama blinked. ~What kind of Beast indeed!~ He thought in
amazement. Then finally he said, "Would you mind letting me see you? I
can't really make you out in all this dark."
The Sad-Eyed gave a low grumble of a noise, then slowly moved
within the circle of light in the center of the room. Kurama gulped
slightly as The Sad-Eyed raised up on two feet, stretching to a height
near that of 7 and a half feet. On his shoulders were a pair of huge
black leather wings that were folded close to his body, and strangely
there was a long graceful tail twitching slightly behind him while his
long fingers were tipped by long talons. His hair was an incredibly
long mane of black that fell almost to his calves while his face was
somewhat feline, but incredibly beautiful save for all the dirt and the
single scar arching up his right jaw up towards his eye. And oddly
enough, there was a pair of delicate black-furred cat-ears perched on
his head, swiveled forward towards Kurama as the half-youko gaped in
shock. The eyes that watched him were prismatic, shifting colors each
time The Sad-Eyed moved his head, and though more beautiful than most
anything Kurama had seen in his life, his eyes held the sadness of the
world. ~Great Inari....I've stumbled on a fallen god!~ Kurama mentally
sputtered just as The Sad-Eyed fell back into a seeming habitual crouch
and moved towards him.
"You stare at me as if you've seen a ghost." The Sad-Eyed
commented curiously. Only then did Kurama notice the purr in The Sad-
Eyed's voice. Whatever he was, he'd once been a nekojin, cat demon.
Now the only question was: What had changed him?
"I...I...." Kurama stammered, still in shock. "I was expecting
something else...."
The Sad-Eyed gave a low chuckling sound. "Oh? A Beast?" He
said, his eyes suddenly a bright gold like the sun and twinkling with
amusement.
Kurama blinked at him. "Well....yes...."
The sadness returned slowly to The Sad-Eyed's features, giving his
eyes a dark silvery gray color. "There is a beast here, you know." He
whispered and Kurama started. "He's here.....sleeping in the caverns of
my thoughts...hiding behind my eyes...."
Kurama gulped. "Do you know of any way out of here, Sad-Eyed?"
"For you or for me?" Was the reply.
"Well....for both of us, of course." He answered and the Sad-Eyed
grunted.
"There is no way out for me..." The Sad-Eyed replied. "But for
you there may be...if we are very careful, and you can learn to trust me
in but a few moments."
Kurama blinked slightly and saw the look of complete seriousness
in the Sad-Eyed's silvery gaze. "How?" He asked.
For a moment the Sad-Eyed contemplated him then finally shifted to
point to the only flat wall in an otherwise circular room. "That is a
door. Whenever they throw someone or something down here, and the Beast
takes it, the door opens. Usually when both the Beast and I are asleep.
The Others come in and take the thing that the Beast killed, and drag it
away. I don't know why they do this, but everytime, for as long as I
have been here, what was killed is always taken away when I wake up
again."
Kurama continued looking at the door all through the explaination.
"So.....I basically play dead?" He said finally and The Sad-Eyed turned
to look at him.
"Something like that." He answered. "This is where you must
trust me."
Kurama stared at him for a long moment then said, "Go on."
The Sad-Eyed nodded and said, "The Beast has taught me things.
He's taught me that I can take the breath of another and take their
life...but in time I can give it back. That is if I am awake in time
and the body is still in good enough condition...."
"You mean...you want to take my breath and basically kill me?
Then bring me back?" Kurama gasped, his eyes wide with shock. He'd
heard very powerful and very old nekojins could do such things, but he'd
never met one that had survived long enough to gain such a power. That
meant that Sad-Eyed was well over a thousand years old.... He gulped
slightly as the Sad-Eyed continued looking at him patiently. Then
finally he said, "Alright...A slim chance is better than no chance."
"Then let us begin." Sad-Eyed said calmly, then took a few steps
back. Suddenly his eyes colored to bright crimson and burned with inner
fire as his lips drew back in a snarl and his cat-ears flipped back.
Kurama scrabbled back to a wall with a gasped yell and turned back in
time to see the Sad-Eyed dig his claws into the stone floor, leaving a
score of deep rends just before he pounced at the half-youko. Kurama
felt sudden fear slid up his spine and he closed his eyes, screaming as
sudden pain tore into his shoulders. He heard the sounds of yowls and
tearing cloth and the sound of someone screaming from very far
away...wait...that was his voice.... That was his screaming as The Sad-
Eyed Beast tore him apart.

(*Author Note: No doubt I'm way off my mark about nekojins in general,
but I based MY idea of nekojins on the cat-demons in Stephen King's
Sleepwalkers. I found them extremely interesting, so I simply evolved
them a bit and made them prettier. ^^ *)

Part Two Coming Soon!
Give me some Reviews to tell me ya want it! =D
~Dark Youko