Hiei awoke to a grating, persistent voice. "C'mon, Hiei, wake up, man. I can't exactly come over there and kick your ass for that stupid stunt you pulled," Yusuke chuckled lightly, then winced as his ribs shifted. When he caught his breath again, he continued, "So the least you can do is keep me company, dammit!" He sounded frustrated, his words thick in his throat, and Hiei frowned. It sounded almost like…
Curiosity overcoming him, Hiei twisted his head around uncomfortably to stare at Yusuke. Crimson eyes widened as he realized that Yusuke was indeed crying, the tears trickling slowly down his face, though he appeared oblivious to what was happening.
Once Yusuke realized that he had Hiei's undivided attention, he smiled painfully, and the fire demon was shocked to see the relief in those expressive brown eyes, eclipsed by worry…for him. Hiei couldn't ever remember a time when somebody had been so obviously happy to see him alive. It was a heady feeling, and Hiei swallowed, suddenly uncertain of his standing with the Detective.
Covering his hesitation behind a cool glare, Hiei remarked mildly, "I think I preferred you unconscious, Detective." Yusuke just snorted, unimpressed, though he did duck his head down. When he raised it again to stare at Hiei, his body shifting in discomfort, his tears had been dried, and Hiei found himself relaxing, more comfortable now. Wincing, he shifted in his own bonds, but like before, the chains gave him no room to move.
"Oh, man, Hiei, that's gotta be uncomfortable. How long did they have you in those before throwing you into the cage?" Yusuke asked, his voice subdued. Hiei just shook his head, not answering. After all, he didn't even know if the youkai had been telling the truth about how long they'd been here, much less how long he'd been chained and drugged.
Yusuke sighed behind, and the sound of a body being dragged forward whispered across the room. A suppressed groan, and Hiei growled harshly, "Stop it, Detective. Are you trying to kill yourself? Toushin or not, your body can't handle much more damage."
A moment of silence met his ears, then Yusuke exclaimed gleefully, "Awww! That's so sweet of you to worry, Hiei! But in case you didn't notice, these guys don't intend to let up on us until we either give them what they want or they kill us. Since they don't seem to want anything in particular, I'm going to bet on the latter. And I refuse to just sit here and take it anymore."
"Oh? And here I thought if you could have fought your way out of here, you would have," Hiei retorted irritably. He regretted the words almost immediately, but couldn't find a way to take them back that didn't sound trite. After all, he didn't know how badly Yusuke had been hurt before he was even brought here. Wherever here was.
Yusuke sighed. "Normally, yeah, but I couldn't leave without knowin', ya know?" he asked softly, his street accent returning as the pain affected his concentration. And Hiei did know. After all, the only reason he hadn't fought harder, hadn't tried to use his dragon against his captors when they finally released him from the chains, was because he had to know if any of the others had been caught.
He twisted around again as he heard Yusuke start to stand, his breath coming in short labored pants. Now Hiei was certain he had broken ribs, and they were shifting. Aware that he was out of time, that Yusuke was going to try something, Hiei growled, crimson eyes narrowing as he summoned what power his scattered focus could manage. "Don't you dare, Detective. If you die on me, Koenma will have my head."
An impatient whuff of sound from Yusuke, before he snapped back, "Like you're in any better shape, Hiei! They might not have beaten you, but those drugs had to have messed with your system. You don't look right, like you can't focus properly or something." Hiei had to give the Toushin credit; he was more observant than Hiei had thought. Still, it hardly mattered. If they didn't do something, the youkai would be back, and they might try to separate them again. They had to make their move before that happened.
A small skittering to their left distracted Hiei, and he snarled viciously at the small youkai who was aiming a dart at him. The youkai flinched away, and the dart shot past Hiei, nicking his thigh. Ignoring the stinging pain, and the lethargy that was already creeping up on him from just that small brush of the tranquilizer, Hiei opened his third eye, the one that was normally hidden behind a seal. Power flowed through him, but even Hiei knew that if he tried to use his dragon now, it would likely devour him instead of his enemies.
A small burst of power, and the youkai was slammed into the wall as Yusuke's spirit gun connected with the small menace. The Detective's knees buckled, and Hiei heard him hit the floor of the cage, hard, a pained cry escaping gritted teeth. That little stunt had cost him, and Hiei was pretty sure that the brunt of the impact had been taken by Yusuke's broken wrist. Furious at the detective, and at himself, the fire demon continued to summon power, his skin tinting green as faint sketches of eyes appeared on his body.
Still, he was too weak from the drugs and lack of sustenance to maintain the level of power he'd need to break out of his restraints, and a chuckle echoed in the room as the door opened up. The same youkai who had brought Yusuke to Hiei's cell stood there, and the fire demon wondered if they were the only ones actually in this place, or if they were just the front line. If this was it, then the others shouldn't have any problem taking them out, once they were located.
"I must admit, that was a rather impressive, if useless, attempt at escape," the lead youkai applauded them, his golden eyes glinting in amusement. "I had suspected you would try something, but I hadn't been aware that Koenma's little pet still had that much energy left in him," he commented, gesturing vaguely towards the now semi-conscious half-breed. That spirit gun had taken all the energy he had left, and the backlash had no doubt been agonizing on his broken body.
"Still," the youkai mused, drawing Hiei's attention back to him, "I suppose that we mustn't allow you another attempt, hm? Or people might get hurt," he grinned nastily, sharp teeth glinting in the dim light of the cell. He made a sharp gesture to the two lumbering youkai behind him, and they moved forward, heading straight for the cage…and the unconscious Yusuke.
Hiei thrashed, though it was a rather ineffective gesture as the chains didn't give under his writhing. "Don't touch him!" he snarled, enraged. He was furious at the Detective for wasting his energy to defend Hiei, furious at the youkai who thought they could take and torture them without consequence, and furious at himself for not being able to do a damn thing about it! He had never tolerated failure well, in himself or in others, and this was no exception. "Damn it!" he howled, feeling the darts pierce his thighs and chest. Only adrenalin kept the sedatives at bay, and Hiei was forced to watch, helplessly, as the large youkai bent over an oblivious Yusuke, intent on picking him up and taking him to who knew where.
Later, Hiei couldn't say what happened. All he knew was that there was a sudden burst of light, then dust and screams and bodies everywhere, all at once. The wall caved in, he was pretty sure of that, but he remembered very little else beyond watching the giant youkai collapse, dropping Yusuke's body to the ground. His chains fell away a moment later, cut clean through a few inches above his wrists and below his ankles, and he fell to the stone floor as well.
Bodies leapt over and around him, and he could have sworn he saw the curves of a rose whip and the bright orange flash of hair that indicated Kuwabara's presence, but his focus was on the now unconscious body just a few feet away. Let the other youkai fight amongst themselves. Kurama could take care of himself, and would watch out for his tall human teammate, and Hiei couldn't care less about the others that had come to their rescue.
Reaching the Detective, Hiei managed to grab the human under the arms and drag him outside through the gaping hole in the cell wall. The idiots hadn't even bothered to tuck them deeper inside, leaving them in a room immediately accessible to the outside.
Once outside, he propped Yusuke against the side of the building and settled in beside him, his eyes drooping shut. Kurama would grab his katana for him, and maybe some clothes, and they'd get him and Yusuke out of there, which was all he cared about. Slowly, his eyes closed, the tranquilizers finally overriding the adrenalin and anger, and he fell unconscious next to his leader.