A/N: This is something I've been wanting to try for sometime, and I am extremely satisfied with it. While I still plan to tackle this concept from another angle, this will suffice my imagination for now. So! You're here to read, yes? Well, read on!
Disclaimer: What? What? WHAT? I don't own this still? GEEZ! Those lawyers of mine better get on the ball! Wait a second... I don't have any money for lawyers... SHOOT. I also don't own the poem used; Sir Walter Scott's Death Chant.
She found herself cold, fingers squirming against each other. Was she bound by the wrists? She shifted, discovering this notion to be burdensomely true. Then she considered her legs – they were also forced together thanks be to the shackles that had her ankles secured tightly.
Botan, thankfully, could see her surroundings though she wasn't sure she wanted to at all. Trappings that had been poorly cared for were hanging everywhere, tattered fabrics of red and purple barely covered a nearby mantle for which atop it were skeletal remains of what she assumed were previous victims.
She resolved to not yell or attract the attention of her captor, instead choosing to observe the area better and hopefully figure out alternatives rather than reasons to panic. Calmly, she took in what she could visualize – the door was likely behind her, the windows were shuttered and nailed shut, and the fireplace beneath the mantle was smoldering only a little. There was at least an exit through the works of the chimney, but that wasn't very plausible in the state she was in.
Considering her predicament of being bound as she was, she focused her mind's attention to getting free of her confines then she would find a means of escape. Her feet were shackled, but her wrists were tied together tightly by a rope. Something would cut through those easily, she assumed, so she scanned the room for something sharp and low to the ground. The fire poker might work…
Straining and trying to stay quiet, Botan squirmed her way towards the fireplace then rolled onto her opposing side, gradually adjusting herself to be what she could figure was level with the poker. Feeling the cool iron against her forearm, she applauded herself mentally and began her work. It wouldn't be a quick process, to be sure, but it was a start towards freedom.
As she rubbed against the edge of the poker steadily, her mind wandered to just why she was here in the first place. Nothing in this room looked familiar or gave her reason to believe she knew the person who captured her, but then why was she a target at all? A grim reaper for the Spirit World was nothing of that much importance to anyone – all she did was commute souls to and from the crossroads of Koenma's judgment.
Was it possible that someone had captured her to threaten her to bring back one of the dead? Botan contemplated that notion for a moment, quickly skimming mental files of her various encounters with those moved on – no one stood out to her at all. Fortunately for her, the vast majority of her cases were easy, well-deserving spirits who were accepting of their fates. To her knowledge, she couldn't recall anyone that wanted to come back seeking revenge…
"You haven't screamed yet…"
Botan felt her body go suddenly colder – the tone she heard was distant, but still close, and definitely not one she wanted to acknowledge that she remembered. Where was it coming from? Hesitantly, she continued working on her ropes.
"Why won't you scream? You know that's all I want to hear…" Again, that voice was venomous and bone-chilling, the circumstances suddenly becoming far too clear. The fireplace wasn't an exit, but only an illusion of smoldering fire. On the other side of this secret door was a place of torture and madness.
"Scream and tell your lovely little ferry girl that you're alive, but oh-so-wonderfully in pain being with me… I'm sure she's listening."
Botan cringed, seeing the scene in her mind's eye with a great sadness weighing on her heart. Was her recently acquired lover in harm's way because of her, and at this demon's mercy, of all circumstances? They had barely been an item for a couple weeks – had trouble already found them?
She heard something crackle, followed by the faintest of whimpers that she could barely make out. But she recognized it immediately as her Kurama, most likely in the same state as she was, perhaps even worse. She wanted to tell him that she was on her way to help him and to hold on a little while longer, but she had to maintain something of an element of surprise in this instance. So in her heart, she called out to him, unsure if their connection was strong enough yet to touch him in such a fashion.
"Please hold on, Kurama… be strong! I'm trying to get out of here to help you."
Persistently, she rubbed against the poker, sensing the ropes beginning to loosen only slightly, but it was a step in the right direction. While she continued her work, she unhappily listened to the commotion on the other side of the faux fireplace.
"Don't you want to tell her that you're hurting, Kurama?" Another crackling noise again, followed by another right after. She had to go faster. "You know, it's terrible of me, but I want to hurt you more. So much more… Scream and I'll make it a little less agonizing for you."
Botan felt a tear near her eye, seeing Kurama, again struggling and writhing in pain. Was he enduring this for her safety, as well?
"I gave you the freedom earlier of removing that disgusting rag from your mouth, but you won't please me with the sound of your voice crying out for deliverance. I'm disappointed, Kurama. Guess I'll have to put it back…"
She heard the sound then of muffled cries, heavy breathing and soon gagging followed, a cloth of some kind being fashioned around his head to either stifle or encourage the cries his captor wanted so badly.
"Go on and try to breathe your way out of this, my pet." Botan heard the sound of deep inhalation, though not as muffled. "Your hair smells so wonderful with the scent of burning flesh surrounding it. I'd hate to see it burn away, but if that's what it takes to get what I want, I suppose I'll have to make that sacrifice."
Distracted by the sizzling sound followed by quiet moaning and, for a brief moment, panic in Kurama's breathing, Botan accidentally stabbed herself with the iron poker, drawing out a quick cry from her throat. She winced suddenly, hoping it wasn't heard, however when their captor chuckled, she knew her luck had changed drastically.
"So she is listening… what a fortunate day this has become! Listen, darling, Botan! Your Kurama is here, just waiting for you to rescue him. Oh… but his lovely hair… I'm afraid it's slowly withering away…"
Since her cover was already blown, Botan figured she had no need to hide her voice anymore and called out, "Karasu, you're demented and already dead! Leave Kurama alone and I won't request harsher judgment on you with the Spirit World!" She quickly worked more at the ropes, sensing her freedom drawing near – or was that the blood from her wound trickling down her hand to deceive her? "I'm already free and have contacted the necessary forces to end you and your lechery!"
Her captor merely chuckled, running his fingers through Kurama's slowly burning red locks, his prey still not screaming like previously demanded. "Oh have you? My my, I am impressed. You've done well… against a dead man. Have you forgotten that I've already been judged and am therefore immune to any force your little spirit detectives could use on me?"
Botan didn't care, trying to bluff her way out of this in time to save Kurama and get out of there somehow. "That doesn't mean we can't contain you to a prison of torture! Perhaps fire would suffice!" She then shook the ropes free and immediately set about to crawling around, looking desperately for the key that would unhinge her shackles.
While she searched, Karasu's voice echoed on the walls again, somewhat distant now that she had made her way away from the fireplace. "What was that, Botan? Did you say more fire? Oh, with pleasure, my dear!" He then snapped his fingers, triggering an explosion somewhere in her room – an energy sensitive bomb?
Botan rolled out of the way just in time before the flames engulfed her, some of the tapestries she had noted earlier now blazing with fire. This was quite a predicament now with at least a third of the room ablaze, but hopefully not where her key was. Trying not to panic, she continued her search, still listening to anything beyond the fireplace.
"Use your ears, my precious fox. Can you hear her struggling?" Karasu tried to encourage his favorite victim to crumble, but even when his Lady Death was in danger, he would not scream out. Screaming… only made it worse.
"I'm growing weary of trying to seduce you," Karasu hissed, fury evident in his tone. The embers that had been burning brightly amidst the scarlet twine of Kurama's hair had dulled to a faint, orange glow, much of his hair still remaining. Only uneven portions had been taken away, almost like the fox was protected somehow.
"They're on their way, Karasu! This is your last warning to give yourself up," Botan shouted from the other side, having sighted her precious key she so desired just inches away from her crawling frame. She snatched it up immediately and hurriedly stabbed at the lock, not caring that her struggling could be heard. She was almost free, and soon, Kurama would be, too.
Enraged already beyond any points of salvation - or damnation, for that matter - Karasu surrendered nothing except his control and unleashed a maniacal man from deep within his reserved countenance. Crimson eyes turned deadly and even frightening as he cried out in a voice more menacing than Botan had ever witnessed, "If it's not given…! I WILL TAKE IT!"
What he desired most he finally received as his nails drove deep into Kurama's chest, intangibly grabbing what he was after – the scream he longed to hear. Kurama's voice reached a deafening pitch, his cries making bones shake and hearts tremble in agony for him. Karasu had literally forced his hand to encase one of his lungs, squeezing with the bones of his ribs, and were it to receive any more pressure, the organ would be punctured and he would suffocate to death in seconds.
Botan felt every nerve in her body jump then suddenly stop hearing Kurama cry out so, sensing the pain, but not knowing it. She couldn't place the feeling, but it was terrible and this was a pain far too complex and dangerous to reach out to.
Adrenaline forced her to her feet and she grabbed the poker from earlier, his screams still encouraging her on as she beat at the faux wall. "Karasu! I swear I'm going to kill you!"
"I'M ALREADY DEAD! HAHAHAHAHA!"
She ignored his arrogance and finally found the stone that triggered the mechanism, causing the wall to rotate just enough to allow her space through. She came barreling into the room, poker in hand which she threw to the side, taking in the sight for but a moment before rage overpowered her emotions.
"Dead or not, I'll kill you again!" Botan then put her hands out, almost like she was about to make an offering, but her eyes narrowed, focused and intense. "Viewless essence, thin and bare, well nigh melted into air, still with fondness hovering near the earthly form thou didst wear…"
Still clenching the desperate for relief right lung in Kurama's chest, Karasu snarled at the ferry girl's attempts to stop him with a simple chant. "You're next, Death! I TAKE ALL THAT I DESIRE!"
Botan stayed focused and started to shift her hands up to come together. "Pause upon thy pinion's flight; be thy course to left or right, be thou doomed to soar or sink, pause upon thy awful brink…"
Kurama, pained and struggling for air, much less any sort of relief, couldn't make eye contact with her. She was using all of her energy to train on this one chant – to put this menace away for eternity.
"To avenge the deed expelling thee untimely from thy dwelling, mystic force thou shalt retain, o'er the blood and o'er the brain." She felt the energy begin to gather in her hands, now pushed firmly together in the usual form of prayer. Concentration was her ally right now…
"Wretched girl! What are you trying to accomplish!" Karasu, as if sensing the energy accumulating in her hands, was growing irritated and slightly less interested in what he had in his hand. His grip was relinquishing just enough to allow Kurama a relieving stream of air, but when he noted that his prey was growing hopeful, Karasu's rage fumed again and he squeezed tighter, the sharp bones threatening to pierce the sensitive flesh of his lungs.
"What will you do when he dies? Will you cry? Or can I make you scream, too?" Karasu grinned and reached out his other hand towards her, as if he was about to stop all of her work mid-sentence. But a barrier had been put between them, sputtering energy and sparks singing his long fingers just enough to give him a small taste of pain.
"When the form thou shalt espy that darken'd on thy closing eye, when the footstep thou shalt hear that drill'd upon thy dying ear…" Botan's hands started to part on their own, the force of what she had given birth to pushing them steadily apart, a visible white light direct in the center of her power source.
Something snapped in Karasu's mind as he stared straight into the chasm between her hands – a dark, looming vortex was within the white light, drawing him in at a rate he couldn't withstand. He fought against it, but he couldn't hold out long against these forces. Was she putting all of her life energy into this?
"Then strange sympathies shall wake…"
Karasu felt pain for the first time in his afterlife, clinging ironically now to Kurama for his salvation.
"The flesh shall thrill, the nerves shall quake…"
Kurama, sensing all that she was giving towards her spell, called out to her through his heart, screaming wildly for her to stop. "You'll die! Don't do this for me!"
"The wounds renew their clotter'd flood…"
The last thing Karasu saw before he was taken by the vortex was Botan's fully dilated violet eyes, consumed with power and doom. Was this the way death was supposed to be experienced, or was this just the way damned men like him were meant to be dealt with?
"And every drop cry blood for blood!"
A/N: I know, I have a terrible tendency to leave you guys with cliffhangers. Well, be creative and think of how you want it to end! XD This was all I saw in my mind's eye as I created it, so therefore, I didn't conjure anything beyond this point. I hope you enjoyed, and if you did, leave a review! Thank you so much for your time as always!
47th Light