Born of Blood: Chapter Six
by: Kawaii Kitsune

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and all the characters in the wonderful show do not belong to me, blah, blah, blah. You get the point. No money, don't sue, blah, blah, blah. Moving on.

Note: italics indicate thoughts.


Damn it! I've searched everywhere and there's still no trace of that fox. An angry and frustrated Hiei paused in his exercise. Due to his feeling of helplessness, he had built up great amounts of anger, which he released by brutally mutilating a poor maple tree. Where is he? It's been more than twenty-four hours since Kurama has be abducted and none of the Reikai Tantei has been able to find a trace of the kitsune. Koenma had ordered most of the Reikai staff to search for Kurama's whereabouts, but as of the moment, nothing. Where could Hikoku be holding him? Then it hit Hiei. Of course! That bastard loves mountains. Why didn't I think of it before? His hideout must be at a nearby mountain.

Ironically, the closest mountain was Mount Hiei. It was almost like a signal beckoning Hiei closer and closer to the prize: Kurama. He tore off his bandana and opened his Jagan to scan the area. What he found was a gigantic void near the base of the mountain. The little fire demon burst into a full run towards the mountain, hoping that his analysis was correct. I'll find you, Kurama.

* * * * *

"Dr. Sumari, someone or something is approaching our area," a female voice reported.

The aforementioned man stepped forward and looked through the periscope-like object, staring into the wilderness. The speaker, Akuma, stood behind him in silence.

"It would appear so, but it's moving at a very fast speed," replied the doctor. "I don't know how we can get its attention."

After Evangeline #20010 was proved successful, Hikoku, as to prevent them from creating something stronger to use against him and Evangeline, captured all the scientists and assistants of the experiment. Hikoku could not risk them exposing any of Evangeline's little weaknesses and secrets. They were also an immediate source of knowledge, if anything should go wrong with their creation. Shinji Yamamoto, Koga Sumari, Sazuki Yuuto, and Akuma Shineko were all rounded up and put into a dungeon below a secluded area on Hikoku's property. They were left alone there, only given food and water three times a day. Since they were only four lowly, weak ningens, they needed no guards or supervision. That was Hikoku's mistake. The four of them banded together to plan a way out. They built the periscope object and slowly punctured a hole in the ceiling, allowing them to look at the outside world. A month after their capture they discovered that there was a disabled trapdoor ten feet from their cell. All they needed was to attract a passerby to go down the trapdoor and release them. The four knew of the slim possibility that their plan would be successful, but it was their only ray of hope. They were getting weaker by the day and slowing dying.

"Doctor, we must get its attention: it may be our only hope," said Sazuki, "I don't know how much longer Dr. Yamamoto can last down here. His pulse is already weak and it's getting weaker by the second."

"I know!" yelled Koga, "But how?"

The weakened body lying on the dungeon floor shifted a little, reaching for something in the bag serving as a pillow. His hand scrambled to find something inside the bag and his eyes lit up when his hand found it. When his hand came back from underneath the pouch it held a flare gun. "Heh, I never thought I'd have to use this," said the man.

"Doctor Yamamoto!" exclaimed Sazuki. "This could very well save us!"

"Hurry, Sazuki. We have to fire the flare before the figure gets away."

"Hai."

The three standing figures took the periscope down from the hole they punctured and replaced it with the flare gun. They waited a few seconds and then fired it. It made a resonating bang and then the flare flew up to the sky. They all watched through the little hole, praying that the mysterious figure would see it and come to their rescue.

* * * * *

Hiei slowed down when he heard the bang and saw the flare flying through the air. He immediately ran towards the origin of the flare, hoping that it was Kurama trying to send a signal. He arrived to the place where the flare was fired but he only found trees and plants. He looked around and saw no people and no buildings. What's more important: no Kurama. He turned to leave and continue his run towards Mount Hiei.

"Hey, down here! Down here!" Voices started screaming from the vicinity. Hiei turned back again when he heard the voices. The fire demon looked down and found a hole the size of a CD. He crouched down to get a closer look and upon inspection, he could see figures on the other side of the hole. "Who's there?" Hiei asked.

"Oh, thank goodness you saw us!" spoke one of the voices, a female one.

"Answer my question: who's there?" repeated the Jaganshi.

"We are human scientists, kept prisoner here by Lord Hikoku," answered another voice, this time a male one.

"And why would Hikoku want to imprison a bunch of ningen scientist?" asked Hiei.

"He needed us to create him a weapon, a genetic weapon," answered another female voice, different from the first.

"We were wondering if you could perhaps release us?" the male voice spoke, Koga, again. "We are weak and dying. One of us can't last any longer." "And why should I care whether you die or not?" the demon brutally asked.

"Do you wish to find Hikoku's hideout?" asked the second female voice, Akuma.

"I already know where it is," answered Hiei.

"Then do you wish to know Evangeline's weaknesses?" asked Akuma. "I'm assuming you're after Hikoku, but you'll never defeat Evangeline without knowing her secrets. She's perfect."

"Speak, woman! Tell me her secrets."

"Not before you release us."

"And how, exactly, am I supposed to do that? Blast a bigger hole and crush you all?"

"There's a trapdoor about ten feet away from this opening. You can use that to get down here."

"And how am I supposed to get out with all of you alive? I assume this prison is monitored."

"You're a demon, aren't you?" asked Sazuki, "Can't you just use your powers or something?"

"Hn, typical ningen," Hiei snorted, "I'm a demon, not a god. I can't just wave my hand and make things happen magically."

It was Shinji Yamamoto who spoke next. "There are no guards down here but there are indeed monitors. However, I believe I can disable them, giving us a period of time before they realize our trick. It will hopefully be long enough for you to rescue us." He stopped to await Hiei's answers.

"And if I can't rescue you all in the allotted time?"

"Then we'll die. It's as simple as that," answered Koga.

"Che, fine," agreed the fire demon, "but if you betray me, you'll die a much more painful death than you would face in the dungeon."

"We understand," said Shinji, "Thank you."

That said, the scientist went to work, following Dr. Yamamoto's every command. The technology Hikoku used to monitor them was ancient, for the demon lord spent the majority of his wealth creating Evangeline. The cameras stilled used simple VHS cassettes to record everything, rewinding when it has reached the end of the tape. When that happens, the viewing screens being watched by Hikoku's henchmen will turn blank. Shinji planned to use that to their advantage.

It was not difficult to override the system. They simply waited to hear the hum of the tape rewinding and then covered the camera lens with black paint. It was a primitive method but it got the job done. As soon as the paint covered the lens, Hiei sprung into action. He slid down the chute, into the cell, and grabbed the captives, two at a time, and ran up the chute again. It was a laborious task, as Hiei was not the strongest of demons. With his short stature, he had trouble carrying two humans at his side while running up a narrow, slippery passage. Fortunately, the chute was just wide enough to fit three decent-sized people. Hiei managed to bring all of them to the surface within five minutes.

All the ex-captives breathed a lung full of the fresh air of freedom, but Hiei, being the impatient demon that he was, did not give them the time to enjoy their newfound freedom. "Now, speak, ningen. I want to know all of Evangeline's secrets." He slowly unsheathed his katana, reminding them the consequences of betrayal.

"We will not say a word until we are absolutely safe," retorted Sazuki.

"You do realize that I don't need all of you alive to tell me her secrets; all I need is one." He checked the sharpness of his sword to emphasize his point.

Akuma stepped forward. "I'll stay here and hold our end of the bargain," she said, "All I ask is that you find them a safe place to stay until this nightmare is over."

"Very well. Go two miles south-east of here and you will find a temple with an old woman and a young girl. Tell them Hiei sent you and they won't hurt you."

"Thank you." Akuma watched as her colleagues departed for the temple. Only when they disappeared from eyesight did she turn to face Hiei. "Now, where should I begin? You probably want to know who she is, don't you?"

"That's a good place to start."

"First of all, Evangeline was not born; she was created."

"Created? What do you mean?"

"Just that. She did not have a mother or father; she was born of blood." Akuma paused to prepare for the long story ahead of her. "We group of scientists were "hired" to undergo this highly secretive project. We were given specific guidelines to follow and follow them we must. Our lives were not the only ones on the line."

Hiei stopped her with a look but then looked away. "So far, your story seems plausible, except for one thing: what's a shape-shifter like you doing here in the Ningenkai, working for a dangerous youkai criminal?" The fire demon did not need to turn his head to picture the shocked expression on Akuma's face. "There's no need for you to mask your youki anymore; it was already leaking out when I arrived at the dungeon."

The female sighed and did as she was told. "I suppose my secret is out." Hiei nodded, indicating for her to continue. "I'm a spy nicknamed "Little Devil". I was supposed to infiltrate the project and sabotage it."

"You mean destroy it?"

"Yes, if it was absolutely necessary. My mission was to steal the weapon named Evangeline, but if I was not successful, I was to destroy everything that was at all connected to the project. As you can see, I failed."

"Hn, no kidding," snorted Hiei, "Is this all you have for me?'

"Oh no, this is only the beginning."

End of Chapter Six


It's a pretty boring chapter but something had to happen for Hiei. It'd be too easy if he just went and magically defeated Hikoku.