Forlorn Labyrinth
Chapter XIV
IY/YYH Crossover
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi and Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho. This was supposed to be a contest entry for The Deadliestsin but I failed to finish it on time due to my licensure examination. I guess I'll just post this story here. Hope you like it and THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I really appreciate it ^_^
He quickly landed himself on the ground near the lake, his feet firmly rooted from where he's standing while muttering curses under his breath as he felt another wave of painful signals chewing its way inside his skull, sharply grazing at the surface of his brain, leaving a mark on it to remind him for the rest of his life.
His breathing became labored , his neck veins started to engorge, an intense feeling is starting to build up inside him once again, a feeling so violent, he can't comprehend what it would do next if he still holds on to it.
An inevitable craving for destruction gradually took over him but still, he fought to control it leaving him confined in that catatonic state with nothing but ambivalence ruling over his judgment.
His urges shook his mind vigorously trying to compete with the other.
His hand tried reaching for his sword while the other strives to draw it back, preventing him from destroying things once again. He was in a war with his own body, unable to tell who would come out victorious.
It was a decisive battle between his conscience and his desires
Will he give in to alleviate his wrath or will he control it?
'Must….maintain…calm' he can't lose control again. He can't destroy that place, his memories with that girl still lives within that serene, cerulean ambiance. Doing so would kill her along with it.
'Not here, damn it! Anywhere but here!' he pleaded to himself, still struggling with his inner turmoil.
Begging him to give in and take pleasure into this hunger for violence, an inner struggle to gratify his selfish cravings.
Thoughts started to plague his mind, sadistic thoughts that only the desperate would attempt, and he was desperate.
Thoughts such as dismembering his arm just to stop drawing his sword, cutting his head off so as to stop its throbbing, tearing his jagan eye from his head thinking that it may be the root of his suffering.
He winced at the thought but his body seems to be enthralled by it, inexplicably taking pleasure of his disturbing mental torture, loving every second of it like a masochist would with a sadist.
Images of the demons he killed flashed through his mind, watching him, laughing at him as he ran his way towards a glowing figure making its way into a brightly lit door.
"Kagome!" he called out
The glowing figure turned its head to face him. Her long raven hair concealed the sorrowful look reflecting on her eyes but he could see right through it. With one last look at him, she turned away from his gaze and walked towards the light.
His mind unexpectedly woke up from its conscious delirium. His bloodshot eyes stared into a field of nothingness, sweat and blood dripped endlessly bathing his brow.
He felt his demon energy flaring while the pain and his hallucination dissipates as though serving as his compensatory drive for releasing adrenaline and endorphins into his system to alleviate the pain.
Soon his urges started to disperse. He slowly reverted back into his calm state.
'That was close….pretty damn close…' he let out a sigh of relief as he immediately threw his sword aside
Unbeknownst to him, his energy only aggravated his condition even more as a forceful gush of warm blood started to stream down his face.
He was once again left pondering until he felt the warm liquid stinging his eyes.
'Shit' he cursed at his thoughts slightly cringing at the metallic taste that lingered in his mouth
His hand applied pressure on his jagan eye while the other searched frantically at his pocket to retrieve a long white cloth and hastily tied it tightly on his forehead.
It was rather peculiar for it to be bleeding since Shigure, the demon surgeon, performed the operation years ago. The darker days of his past, the one he tried so hard to forget.
'How the hell is this even possible?' he wondered, wiping off the scarlet stain that smeared all over his face.
As far as he could recall, he wasn't injured at all.
Luckily, the bleeding partially stopped
'Bleeding for no reason…What an honorable way to die' said his cynical thoughts
He slowly sank into his knees in exhaustion 'I must've bled a lot' he thought then he noticed the wounds on his hands, the blood had already dried up yet deep cuts could still be seen beneath it.
Remembering what made those cuts reminds him so much of the old man's fortress.
'I never should've trusted that old man' his mind said.
Things have become more peculiar ever since he entered those doors, perhaps the old man didn't trick him after all. It felt somehow different for no apparent reason, he just didn't feel the essence of it like he used to.
Sometimes he even wondered if Kagome's passing had anything to do with all of it or simply because of venturing into Old Father Time's realm. He had no clue.
He anchored himself into the ground and walked wearily to a nearby tree to sit underneath it.
He took some old remaining bandages from his other pocket to mask the injury of his hands that aided him in his journey. His teeth grasped the farther end of the bandage while his other hand firmly wrapped it around his wounded hand with ease.
He had grown to learn applying those every now and then for he had always carried those bandages with him ever since he attempted to summon the black dragon wave on the first tournament he participated.
The smoldering dark flames never spared his arm that time, its energy is too strong for him to wield but later on, he was able to absorb the dragon within him with the help of his opponent.
Since then, he became the first one to master the "Dragon of the Darkness Flame" technique. The only one who survived, the only one not devoured by the blazing behemoth of the deep.
He could still recall his arm burning into a crisp on that tournament, painful yet bearable such as the throbbing head he just had but both cannot be compared to the pain he felt when he got his Jagan eye implanted. It was the worst one he ever had. Just a mere thought of it can leave him wincing for days.
Author's notes
Jaganshing: Weee! I finally got this done ^^ Thank you for the reviews and for following the story! ^_^
Fact: Endorphins are our body's natural pain killers that is released temporarily by our body in response to pain. Adrenaline is a hormone responsible for the "fight or flight" response especially during emergencies. At Hiei's case, his demon energy acted as a catalyst in releasing these two ^^