I do not own the rights to Yu Yu Hakusho or the characters portrayed here. I will therefore not make a profit off this fanfiction. Please support the official anime and manga!
I used the Slender series and 1000 Ways to Die for inspiration this time.
Yukina nodded her head again as sleep tempted her once more. This time she nearly fell forward, her tired limbs feeling so heavy. She rubbed her eyes fiercely, growling impatiently with herself.
Kurama blinked in surprise at her actions and then quickly hid his smile, biting back the humorous laugh that threatened to erupt. He always found it so amusing when Yukina displayed Hiei like emotions. Rare as it was, he would never grow tired of seeing them. Where she was sweet while Hiei was bitter, she had proven to be just as brave and quick thinking as her twin.
The silence between the two was suddenly broken, both Kurama and Yukina jumping back with a startled shout as Hiei sat bolt up-right. A black substance leaked out of the void, spilling down either side of his nose and into his mouth. His head fell backward as he coughed, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. His body shuddered as his skin reddened suddenly.
"Hiei?!" Yukina reached for him but fell back just in time, his body suddenly bursting into flames. Yukina screamed, falling to the floor to avoid his fires that engulfed him. She attempted her ice attack once more, but the frost melted away before it could even reach him. She realized with horror that Hiei was moaning painfully from within the blaze and screamed in desperation.
"Stay down, guys!"
Yusuke threw himself into the flames, pinning his friend to the floor. The flames died down immediately, Yusuke falling away from the fire demon badly burned.
"Dimwit!" Genkai cried from the door, "I told you to throw the ward at him, not your damn self!" Her expression defied the anger in her voice. Worry clearly etched into her weather-worn features.
Yusuke sat up, trying to laugh although it pained him, "Can't help bein' the hero, Grandma."
Yukina shivered from the floor. Frightened and exhausted, it wasn't until Kuwabara was helping her up that she snapped out of her shocked daze, "Is-is everyone okay?" She stuttered.
Genkai had her eyes closed as she healed Yusuke. She grunted before she spoke, "This dimwit has had worse." When she was finished she stared at Yusuke momentarily before smirking, "There's nothing I can do about your eyebrows, you know."
Yusuke slapped his hands to his forehead, "Aw, damnit!"
"It serves you right, you jackass!" She retorted.
As Genkai and Yusuke argued, Yukina allowed Kuwabara to hold her close. She rested her head against him, trembling. She could feel the strength in his arms as he helped support her and again she wished that she were stronger.
"Yukina..? Please don't cry." He tightened his grip on her but remained gentle.
Hiruseki pattered to the floor as her shoulders shook. She turned to look at the unconscious demon on the floor, her heart aching for him. What little remained of his clothing was almost entirely burned away, patches of fabric curling away around his legs.
Kuwabara nudged her, "You need to sleep, my love."
Yukina shook her head, "I can't just leave-"
"Get out of here, girl," Genkai interrupted Yukina in her gruff voice. "You can come back when you've rested. For now you'll just be in our way."
"But Genkai-" Kuwabara pulled her away from everyone else, "Kazuma, please!" She tugged helplessly, unable to free herself from him.
Kuwabara scooped her up and left Hiei's room quickly, ignoring her pleads and squirming, "I'd do anything for you, Yukina." He shook his head sadly, "But not when it endangers your wellbeing."
Yukina gave up, giving in to her tears once more with more vigor. She wanted to flail her arms and fight harder, but the fatigue was too great. As her helplessness and despair mounted, she suddenly stilled as she felt everything melt away to white. All feelings and pains left her as she slipped away into the realm of dreams. The last thing she remembered thinking was something odd.
"Can I find Hiei here?"
Botan entered the Living World, the crisp night air greeting them as they flew over the city. Koenma was kicked back, leaning into Botan's chest as he flipped through a book with a musty red cover. She had wanted to oppose the seating arrangements, but realized the situation was dire, and to delay their mission for silly reasons didn't sit well with her. She bit her lip, feeling his toddler body nestling snuggly against her. She took a deep breath, counting slowly backwards from ten as she exhaled. She smiled brightly and asked, "Have you found anything yet, Lord Koenma?"
He gave a sad sigh, turning to look at her with a worried expression, "I'm not finding much of anything. The Jagan really is quite a mystery."
Botan's eyebrow twitched as she fought to keep her bright smile, "But sir," She said in calm tones, "You only just started looking. And you have plenty more books." They both turned their gazes observing four other books, each mustier than the next, belted together and hanging from the opposite end of her oar.
"True, but the thing is I've already looked into the Jagan once before." He turned the page of his book with a tiny finger as he sighed again, "I didn't see anything in them describing anything like Yusuke said. I'd remember something like that."
She sighed and let the issue go for the moment. Botan carried with her the wards she had promised Yusuke. Hiei wasn't any normal fire demon. He housed a dragon within his body. A dragon straight from hell itself. One of these wards used against a low class demon that shot fireballs would be enough to keep it from using its attack for months up to a year. Used on something like Hiei would last maybe an hour before the fire ward burned away.
She altered the angle of her flight as she neared Genkai's temple, "I'm sure the others can help us look for answers, Lord Koenma."
"I hope you're right." He sighed.
Hiei readied his sword on instinct, but started to back away from the sound of wailing tortured souls. Once he could finally see her was when he turned to run, but ran himself and his sword through someone standing directly behind him.
"You… you stabbed me!" A familiar voice gurgled.
Hiei's hands shook as he looked into the face of his dearest friend, "Kurama!" Hiei let go of the hilt of his sword and pushed the fox demon back.
"You stabbed me..!" Kurama repeated with disbelief.
Hiei shook his head angrily, clenching his teeth in frustration, "Not Kurama too!" He growled through his grit teeth. He grabbed the other boy's arms and tried to drag him away. "Come on," He begged, "we have to get out of here!"
"Hiei, why?" Kurama groaned as he fell to his knees. The Ice Maiden was even nearer, her sword of ice now lifted from the ground. Somehow the fact that her bare feet were so silent upon the floor was far more frightening then the scrape of her blade upon the rusty metal walkway.
"No, Kurama! Come on! Get up you pathetic fool!" He pulled Kurama's arm frantically as the Ice Maiden approached them both.
Kurama was pulled to his feet, blocking the view of the coming Ice Maiden, "Hiei… Hiei, I thought I trusted you. Why, Hiei-"
Hiei jumped away as the point of the Ice Maiden's frozen blade was thrust through Kurama's neck, piercing his adams apple. Kurama's eyes widened in shock, spitting blood as he tried to speak. The Ice Maiden stayed frozen in place as Kurama's hands let go of the wound in his middle and touched the blade of ice jutting out his neck. He kept gulping for air, every up and down motion of his throat spilling more and more of his blood, slicing downwards a little more each time.
"No." Hiei stepped further back from the grizzly scene, "No." He clenched his fists yelling angrily, "NO!"
The Ice Maiden cocked her head so suddenly towards Hiei his breath caught. He dove to the floor, grabbing for his sword. Her face suddenly appeared at his left. He screamed, falling to his right and scrambling away from her. She turned towards him with her arms moving her forward like an animal. Her head still cocked sideways in an unnatural manner.
There was a clang that caught both their attentions. Unable to keep himself upright, Kurama lost balance, falling backward as the hilt of the frozen sword clanged against the metal floor. Kurama's neck slid further down the blade as he gagged, the front of his school uniform completely soaked through with his blood. His arms fell at his sides, twitching as his last moments of life left him.
The Ice Maiden was suddenly by the fox demons side. Hiei jumped to his feet and backed away from her as she grabbed hold of the boys head and pulled her sword free of him. She lifted his dead body by his hair and sliced his head off.
Hiei ran from her as fast as his speed would take him, Kurama's head suddenly flying past him and slamming into the wall ahead, leaving a bloody smear. He halted in terror as he realized suddenly that she was beneath him now, the metal panels rattling ahead of him. He turned to run in the other direction, but came face to face with her.
"Leave me alone!" He cried as he fell backwards from her.
She hefted her blade and brought it down in one fell swoop.
"Botan, you made it." Yusuke was relieved, "Do you have-?"
"Yes, I brought as many as I could," Botan nodded.
"And Ayame will be bringing more periodically," Koenma added.
"Awesome. Well, come on in. But be warned. It's hot as hell in here." Yusuke had rid himself of his shirt, and was fanning himself with a cheap paper fan.
Without needing to be asked, Kurama lifted one of the books Koenma and Botan carried and busied himself with it. Koenma shrugged and sat near Kurama and continued reading his musty red tome he had been reading on the oar ride. Genkai looked to be meditating on the situation in the furthest corner of the small room.
Botan felt strangely out of place. She looked to Hiei lying in the middle of the room with a light blanket thrown over his lower half, a single ward in the center of his chest. She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders, "Well, he's going to need more wards than that." She pulled a new white box from her kimono sleeve and sat next to him. For a moment she let the void where his Jagan should have been spook her, pausing momentarily as she shivered. She averted her gaze and lightly placed a ward on Hiei's right forearm.
Hiei groaned, his arm twitching painfully.
"I'm so sorry Hiei," Botan couldn't help apologizing, "you can yell at me all you want when you get up, okay?" She lifted the end of the blanket revealing his bare legs. She laid another ward on him, his left leg twitching violently like his arm had. Then she did the next, quickly moving away as she realized getting kicked by him would result in a serious injury.
"Have you ever seen it do that?" Yusuke asked pointing at Hiei's other arm.
"Seen wha-?" Botan cut herself off with a gasp. The dragon was suddenly zipping all around in his confines. Everyone leaned closer watching as the dragon thrashed around, pausing only to scratch at its eyes with its tiny black claws before taking off again. "I'm hurting the dragon?!" Botan cried.
"Considerable discomfort, I'll say. I doubt you can kill it." Genkai stretched with a yawn before going back to her meditation.
Botan cast a worried glance towards Kurama who only shook his head, "He's going to have to put up with it, Botan."
"Yes but-"
"Hey, hey!" Yusuke pointed at the dragon angrily, "Stop that, damnit!"
Botan gasped again, watching as the dragon started to take its fury out on Hiei. Angry purple scratches started to appear beneath his skin everywhere the dragon thrashed, "Dragon, please stop!" Botan begged him.
"It's not going to listen to you!" Yusuke poked at the dragon with his fan, "Quit it, you overgrown lizard!"
Botan shot him a glare, "And it's going to listen to you?" She waved her hands at it, "Please, dragon! Leave him alone!" When it didn't listen to her she suddenly slapped at it.
What happened next was so quick she sat there stunned as everyone else gasped and started talking over each other. She blinked and observed them all hovering close to Hiei's now blank arm, "Botan, what did you do?!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"What… I… what happened?!" She looked at each of them in turn. "I… heard the dragon. He told me to trust him."
"The dragon spoke to you?" Kurama turned to look at Hiei, "Maybe this is good?"
"Do you think he's going to help?" Yusuke asked.
Kurama closed his eyes, "I can only hope."
"What happened?" Botan shook Yusuke, "Where's the dragon?!"
Yusuke pointed to Hiei's forehead, wisps of the dark void flailing upward as they looked on. "He went inside."
Please review!
What has become of Yukina? And what is the dragon up to? Stay tuned to find out!
Please forgive me for taking a while, school started up again and it's hard to focus on both. Trust me… all I want to do is write ^^;
