Here's chapter two…I hope you enjoy it! Now read on, my friends, read on!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.
As I stepped out the front door on my way home, the same rush of cool air greeted me, but this time it wasn't refreshing, it was chilling. I felt the courage I had only moments ago escape me like water from and open hand. The dim lights from the streetlamps cast yellow circles on the cement, shrouding the surrounding areas in darkness. I could smell rain on the air and heard the wind whisper through the trees nearby. I forced my eyes to focus on the dark corners and shadowed alleys as I began to walk quickly toward my house. The streets were deserted and I became aware of my muffled footsteps echoing quietly around me.
I stopped dead in my tracks. It was almost inaudible, but I had certainly heard it…a second set of footsteps. They had stopped the moment I did. I looked around behind me, somewhere out of sight, somewhere in the darkest shadows, someone stood, watching me. I could feel it, their eyes watching me, watching me watching them, straining so hard to see. Then I turned and ran, hoping that my sudden movement would catch them off guard and I could possibly get a few seconds head start. But whoever my pursuer was, he was not human. He caught up with me even before I heard him take chase. He was only feet behind me now, his ragged breath on the back of my neck. I felt a searing pain as razor sharp claws dug into my side, and the last thing I can remember is falling to the cold ground as cruel yellow eyes watched me slip into unconsciousness, my crimson blood pooling around my limp body.
Darkness pressed in upon my eyelids and I forced my eyes open, but the effect was the same. Wherever I was, I could see nothing but darkness so thick it almost seemed tangible. I tried to move, but regretted the decision at once as my body screamed in pain. The deep gashes on my side oozed warm blood, and my head pounded, a deep cut throbbed where I had hit my head on the cement. I could feel smaller cuts and bruises on other parts of my body too, probably from when I fell. My hands were linked together with thick, metal shackles that dug into my frail wrists, aside from that, I could tell nothing else about my situation.
I decided against trying to walk around as I had no idea what was around me or if I would even be able to stand due to my loss of blood. So I waited, sat there on the cold stone floor and let hot tears pour down my face. A sense of panic rose inside of me as I thought about my predicament. How long had I been unconscious? Who, or more precisely, what had hunted me down? Who would come looking for me? Certainly not my parents, they wouldn't even be home to realize I was gone for another week or so. My friends perhaps, but how would they know where to look when even I didn't know where I was? Be optimistic, I told myself. But from every angle, the situation looked hopeless.
A clanking of metal on metal disrupted my thoughts. I turned toward the sound, it seemed to be coming from in front of me, I steeled myself against whatever was opening the door. As the heavy door was shoved open I was momentarily blinded by the bright light that flooded, what I now saw to be, a small, dirty, stone cell. I opened my eyes slowly, squinting in the direction of the intruder. He was a tall, heavily built man with dark features and an air of superiority and power. He was flanked on either side by two demons, one I recognized as the one who had attacked me, those same yellow eyes bore into my own and he let out another deep, throaty growl.
The tall man approached me, and I forced myself to stand. I glared daggers at him, he just looked down at me and smirked. I felt my anger rise, how dare he give me that look!
"Now, now, settle down…Raina." He spoke with a deep, rumbling voice.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?" my feeble voice cracked from hours of disuse. I sounded pitiful, but I stood my ground none the less.
"You're a smart girl, surely you could have figured that out by now?"
I glared at him. Stupid man.
"No? Hm, clearly I overestimated you. You see, you are very valuable, very sought after, you would fetch a hefty price on the Black market, a rare demon like you. Yes, very valuable indeed…in more ways than one…"
He trailed his hand down the side of my face, and I heard his demon bodyguards snicker and hiss with approval. I jerked my head away from him, he smirked again, but not the kind of smirk as before, this one was more sinister, more crazed.
"You will learn that it is better to let me do what I wish than to defy me." He stated calmly, then I felt his hand connect with the side of my head as he hit me. I stumbled and fell, reopening wounds that had barely begun to heal. I did not look at him again, but instead I spoke to the ground, "I am no demon, you have the wrong person. Let me go!"
But my plea went unanswered as he turned away, laughing. He gave me one last cold glance as he slammed the door, leaving me in darkness and silence.
For days, weeks, months even, this went on. I had no idea how long it had been since I was brought here, no idea when night ended and day began. They were all the same to me, all filled with torture and pain and confusion. I learned to fear that man, Black was his name, but I would not show it to his face, instead I endured endless pain for reasons that I did not understand.
Again, the sound of metal on metal, the key in the door, the blinding light, this time though, I did not stand. I was so tired, so weak. I stared at the door, trying desperately to hide the fear in my now dull violet eyes. But the man silhouetted against the light was not the one I had come to fear, he was different. My ears picked up the sound of a distant alarm, of hurried footsteps and shouts. I looked back at this unknown person, suspicious and afraid.
"Come on, get up. Can you move?"
His voice was kind and calm despite the chaos occurring elsewhere. He approached me, and I shrank back toward the wall. He bent down, his eyes were a striking green and his hair was long and red, I felt like I could trust him.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Here," and he helped me gently to my feet, his eyes surveying my injuries. I wobbled slightly as I began to walk toward the door, he steadied me immediately. This was the first time I had ever been out of my tiny prison cell, and I saw that we were in a hallway, with doors like mine at intervals along both walls. We headed toward a staircase at the far end of the hallway and began to climb, the sounds of the alarms and shouting grew louder.
"Who are you? Why are you helping me?" it was a stupid time to ask such questions, I know, but I was curious and to be honest, a little hesitant to trust anyone at this point.
"There will be time to explain everything soon enough. For now, let's just concentrate on getting you out of here." He answered in the same kind voice as before, and I continued to let him lead me out of the large mansion that had been my prison for so long. We passed many bodies on the ground, as the alarm continued to blare a warning to anyone who was still alive to heed it. Finally, we reached what appeared to be the main entrance and made a quick exit.
It was wonderful, I don't remember the last time I was so happy to feel the wind, to hear the birds and to let the sun kiss my pale, dirty skin. I looked around, there were three other boys, apparently waiting for our arrival. I looked at each of them in turn, one had slicked back black hair and was wearing a green school uniform. Another, the tallest, was wearing a blue uniform and had orange hair, and the last was short with spiky black hair with a white starburst and had an expression of aloofness and uncaring. I stared at him for a moment, before one of them spoke,
"Hey Kurama, about time! Is this the girl? Poor thing, she looks horrible!" the one in blue said as he approached us, looking me up and down.
"Now now, Kuwabara, where are your manners?" the boy in green said.
I gave this Kuwabara guy the best glare I could muster at the moment, considering I was about to collapse from pain, hunger, and exhaustion.
"Well, let's not waste time. We should get her to Genkai, she has some serious injuries and I'm sure she's very tired."
I felt a surge of gratitude toward Kurama, as he scooped me up bridal style and began to walk toward the others. I looked over his shoulder at the receding mansion, my former prison. There were still so many things I didn't understand, so many questions I wanted answered. But those could wait, I thought, as I slowly closed my eyes, listening contently to the meaningless chatter of my four rescuers.
Well there's chapter two!! Hope you liked it, finally she meets the YYH gang, huh? Anywayz, the next chapter will be a lil more info about Raina's mysterious identity and past and much more character interaction, so that's good, yeah? Chapter three will be up ASAP…pretty please leave me a review and let me know how I'm doing, or if you like it at all so i know if i should continue with the story or not. Thanks!