For Love of a "Pet"
Chapter Eighteen
Loki led Kurama and Hiei to a building that was a cross between a Roman temple and a palace. The entire structure seemed to be made of white marble that was brilliant even at night. Artfully carved columns held up the roof above the entrance, and from what the two demon spirit detectives could see, beautiful stain glass windows adorned the sides. The walls had images of clouds, wind, water, and other types of weather chiseled into them. Overall, the building was the grandest structure Kurama and Hiei had ever seen.
The kitsune studied the building with the calmest expression he could muster. Kaline was inside; he could sense it. Just where inside, he didn't know, but she was in the beautiful structure. That he was sure of. 'Don't worry, Kaline. I'm coming.'
Hiei glared at the back of Loki's head, planning the green demon's destruction and searching for Cassie with his Jagan. He found her. She was inside the white marble building without a doubt. 'I could kill him now and easily find her.'
"I wouldn't recommend that," Loki stated, turning around and leering at the fire demon. "If you kill me, Cassie and Kaline will end up dead as well. My friends inside will kill the girls before you could even reach them."
The black-haired demon growled at his adversary, wanting nothing more than to cut his ugly head off. 'Stupid bastard is threatening Cassie,' he mentally snarled as visions of Loki's death danced through his head.
The four-armed demon didn't reply; he merely turned around and went into the building. Kurama and Hiei followed.
They went down a number of corridors, quickly finding out that the place was a labyrinth. While the three demons went left and right, Hiei continued to picture gruesome deaths that he had planned for his enemy. Kurama had similar images in his mind, and using the janen ju, the evil thoughts tree, sounded incredibly good to him at the moment. To him, Loki deserved an eternity of hallucinating whatever he feared the most.
Loki finally stopped outside a door, turning to face the other two demons. "They're in here. Now, give me the vial."
Kurama glanced at Hiei, and the fire demon nodded. So, the kitsune gave Loki the vial of water. 'I'll get it back later,' the redhead thought, keeping one eye on his opponent as he went for the door.
"I don't think so." An evil smile on his face, Loki vanished with the water.
Deciding to deal with Loki later, the two spirit detectives opened the door and stepped into the room.
The first thing Hiei noticed was that the room was the wrong color. When Cassie had shown him the room, it had been white, light blue, and gold. The room he was in looked the same, except it was a reddish brown, the color of dried blood. The Roman style pool was filled with pink water, and even the ceiling was speckled with the new color.
In the corner, the fire demon saw Kaline and Cassie both naked and curled in the fetal position. Cassie was covered in hundreds of cuts, some more recent than others. It was then that he realized the reason for the room's new color. It had been painted with blood... the girls' blood.
Kurama had noticed all the blood, but he ignored it as he raced over to Kaline, stopping just short of her so he could kneel down and make sure she hadn't been wounded. "Kaline?" She looked fine, but he couldn't be sure.
"Kurama...?" Kaline whispered as she looked at the redhead through blurry eyes.
He nodded his head. "Yes. It's me, and everything's going to be alright now, I promise." He reached out to touch her, but stopped in mid-motion, remembering what Hiei had told him. 'If Cassie can't touch her, then I won't be able to either.'
She stared at him, blinking as she tried to recall more than just his name. 'Green eyes... red hair... so handsome... It is Kurama... I remember him from all my dreams. He protected me from the demon in one of them. He'll protect me from him now.' Suddenly, the girl flung herself into Kurama's arms, clinging to him for all she was worth. Sobbing, she buried her head in his chest, her whole body shaking. "I thought you would never come..."
"Shhhh... It'll be okay, just you wait and see." The kitsune held her nude body tightly, stroking her hair in soothing motions.
As Kurama interacted with Kaline, Hiei approached Cassie, worry filling him. When he crouched down in front of her, she finally looked up, a haunted look in her eyes. He almost couldn't believe what had happened to her. She looked beaten and scared, something he had never thought he would see in her eyes. He had always seen Cassie as a strong person, and the change in her almost scared him.
"Cassie..." the fire demon whispered, sitting down Indian style. He pulled her into his lap, cradling her in his arms. She didn't fight him, merely snuggled close to his body.
"Can I go home now?" Cassie pleaded, voice shaky and partially choked. She was trying not to cry.
Hiei nodded. "Yes."
Loki gingerly rolled the vial of water in his hands as he glanced over at Derek and Jormungand, a giant humanoid snake demon with black scaly skin and narrow yellow eyes. "Kill them," he ordered with an evil grin on his face.
Derek nodded, his eyes shifting to black upon his mental command. After running his hands through his black hair, he went with Jormungand down the hall.
Smiling, Loki walked down a different corridor to a special room where his mistress awaited him. She was a hard taskmistress, to be sure, but she was powerful, far more powerful than he would ever be. He adored her, worshipped her. She was practically a goddess; her powers were great and varied, making her unstoppable.
He loved her.
Taking a deep breath, he entered the special room that only he was allowed to go into. The room was ornate, every inch of it covered with tapestries, artwork, and beautiful rugs. In the center of it all stood a single black marble statue, gleaming in the torch light.
The statue was of a beautiful woman, her long hair falling all around her like a waterfall. Her eyes were slightly slanted; her gaze was penetrating. A long-sleeved and high-collared dress clung to her like a second skin from her shoulders to her waist, where it promptly spread out, practically flowing around her. In one of her delicate hands she held a lightning bolt, and in the other hand she held a tornado. Wonderfully carved clouds seemed to swirl around her feet, so perfectly designed that they almost seemed fluffy.
"I have the vial of water from the Fountain of Dragons, Mistress," Loki stated, kneeling before the statue. He had to show his mistress respect.
'Very good,' a voice only he could hear replied. 'Now, pour it on the statue.'
Nodding his head, Loki stood up and did exactly that.
Kurama looked down sadly at Kaline as she clung to him, her whole body shaking. She was wearing his Chinese tunic, which covered her pretty well despite the fact it was too big on her. Only the high slits on each side revealed her legs.
Cassie was in Hiei's black cape with the white collar, the garment falling down to her feet and fully covering her. The cape looked more like a dress than anything, which she would have been thankful for in a normal situation. As it was, she was just happy to have some clothes on again, and the fact that it was Hiei's was just a big added bonus.
Hiei wrapped one of his arms around the dark brunette as she snuggled close to him. The girls seemed to be as physically ready to leave as they were going to get. Psychologically, he knew that they had to be yearning to flee their prison.
"Time to go," the redhead told Kaline softly, beginning to lead her to the door. Hiei followed suit.
Right as Kurama touched the door, it exploded, sending him and Kaline flying back. He pulled Kaline to his chest, taking the brunt of the impact with the floor himself.
Hiei picked up Cassie and jumped to the side the instant the door had exploded, completely avoiding being thrown backwards. He didn't watch his friend go flying; instead, he gazed at the open doorway, finding two demons there--a snake demon and an ice demon, both of which were rather weak.
"Derek," Kaline whispered as the fox demon helped her stand up.
"That's Derek?" Kurama frowned. He had wanted to kill Loki, but he figured that the annoyance of Kaline's life would just have to do.
"Hello, Kaline," the black-eyed demon stated with an evil smile. "I've a bone to pick with you. You nearly killed me back at the pond."
"He was the one who tried to drown me?" she wondered, voice so soft that only the kitsune could hear it.
At those words, the redhead decided that Derek would die by his hands and his hands alone. "Hiei, the snake demon is all yours."
The koorime nodded, easily seeing in his friend's eyes that the kitsune had a personal vendetta with the ice demon. Of course, he had no problem settling for the snake demon, who was the stronger of the two. Hiei wanted to kill and destroy, and the snake demon was the closest target. If he hadn't been so angry, he almost could have felt sorry for his opponent... almost.
Kurama placed something in Kaline's right hand. "If someone attacks you, throw this at his bare skin," he stated. "You can also press it into his skin. Either way, it'll burrow in. Then, just shout for me. I'll trigger the seed."
She nodded, gently closing her hand around the seed--her only weapon. It felt nice to have something, but all her thoughts died out and she began to panic when Kurama released his arm from around her waist and stepped away from her. "No..." she whimpered, drawing in on herself.
"It'll be fine," he informed her. "Just give me a few seconds to kill him, and then we can go home."
That reassured Kaline a little, but only a little. She didn't want to be alone again. She wanted Kurama's comforting touch, which subconsciously made her feel safe. She didn't want him to leave her side.
Hiei squeezed Cassie's hand before leaving her side. She didn't react like Kaline did, but she too hated being separated from the fire demon.
"Stay back," the koorime advised her, drawing his sword. He had a feeling he wouldn't even have to use his spirit energy to kill the snake demon. The enemy just wasn't powerful enough for him to use his power.
Cassie took Hiei's advice, stepping back. She didn't want to fight; she didn't have the strength or will to fight at the moment. So, she opted for letting the fire demon do it.
His face expressionless, the koorime ran at the snake demon, swinging his sword twenty times in one millisecond before sheathing his sword and walking back to Cassie. Behind him, the snake demon collapsed into a pile of raw, well-diced meat.
Kurama pulled out his rose, using his spirit energy to turn it into a thorned whip. Taking a few more steps towards his opponent, he let his anger finally break free.
"So... you're the bitch's protector, huh?" Derek inquired, sneering. "Kinda pathetic, isn't she... not that you aren't as well." He hated the redhead, only because the kitsune was allied with Kaline. He had always hated Kaline for her pathetically sweet attitude, her innocence, her love for animals, and her inability to do anything with her demon powers. Of course, there were times that she could access her powers, but those were rare and fleeting. They were so rare, that he had only witnessed it once--the day he had tried to drown her and freeze her blood at the same time.
"Shut up." Kurama glared at the enemy demon, his body radiating fury. He couldn't believe how the black-eyed demon had just insulted Kaline. It was infuriating how Derek had just called Kaline a bitch.
"Why? Is she your bitch or something?" the ice demon taunted.
The kitsune didn't answer verbally. He just used his whip to cut off Derek's head. More blood coated the floor, but he didn't care. It wasn't his house, and it wasn't like the room wasn't filthy already.
Kurama went back to Kaline, briefly noting that Hiei was holding Cassie. The redhead picked Kaline up in his arms bridal-style, planning on carrying her out of the building and taking her home. He knew without a doubt that the exact same thing was on Hiei's mind.
Kaline and Cassie let the men carry them, finally allowing themselves to relax a small fraction. They were still inside the much hated room, but they were as safe as they were going to get. They were with Kurama and Hiei.
Right as the guys stepped out of the room, they were hit with a sense of overwhelming power. Something much bigger was happening, but neither could figure out what. Whatever it was, though, had to be bad. The power was reeking of evil and so strong that even Kaline and Cassie could sense it.
Cassie's eye became wide with fear. "Shit."
CotA: WOOHOO! Good bye stupid 12 pg english paper! I'm so freaken done! YES! *cheers* I'm done; I'm done. *dances around the room* *suddenly realizes that she's being watched* Ummm... *clears throat* I'm done now.
Sigmund: Thank goodness. You were scaring me.
CotA: Ohhhh... shut up. I'm just happy. That stupid paper took forever to write.
Sess-chan: It's a good thing I helped you, or you would have never gotten done.
CotA: *hugs Sess-chan* Yes, I know, and I really appreciate it. I also have Bug to thank for reading through my paper for errors and getting it back to me so quickly.
Sigmund: Are you finished talking yet?
CotA: No. I have a question for everyone. I've started writing a new YYH story, but I'm not too sure about it. I would love a second opinion on it. So, if anyone would like me to send them some of it, just ask. The only condition is that you tell me what you think. Okay? Coolie.
Sess-chan: *rolls his eyes* Indeed. Now, on to more important things.
CotA: Like what?
Sess-chan: The review responses, which are below.
Purple Witchy Angel: Sad? I don't think they're sad. I think they've gone passed mad, passed pissed, passed everything I know into an uncharted realm when it comes to their level of anger. What exactly about Cassie and Kaline has you confused? I'll try my best to answer any questions you have.
Luraia Soul: Relax! But I do find it funny how you want Kurama to kill Loki, and then you add that Hiei can help as a kind of after thought. *laughs* very cute.
Bijin-chan: Don't ask about the Columbian necktie. But here's the good news. Most of my homework is done for the moment... including my stupid big long paper for english. 12 stupid pages. *grumbles* But I'm done, so I feel a lot better.
Yanou: Killing you? Sorry about that. Okay... and one vote for the prequel. Gotcha. Considering that's the one I'm leaning towards at the moment... *grins* It should be fun to write.
Midknight: Trust me on this one... I'm not known for writing sad endings. For heaven's sake, the one story I wrote that did have a sad ending I went back to and continued just so I could give it a happy one. Everything should be fine in the end... I think.
kittykat89: Good. I'm glad you like this story. I've been working really hard on it.
spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: I don't have a clue what a Columbian Necktie is. And I have to agree with you. Koenma honestly should have been smart enough that Kurama and Hiei would get the vial any way they could. Seriously, the toddler should have moved the vial somewhere else, for safe-keeping.
Lady Rose Jade: Thanks. ^_^ I can't wait to write the next one. And as for your story ideas... (WARNING! SPOILERS FOR FUTURE YYH EPISODES!) Hiei and Yukina are twins anyways. They have the same mom (Hina), and they were born at the same time. Hiei was just thrown off of the koorime island b/c he was a boy. Koorimes usually reproduce by making exact copies of themselves and giving birth to the copies, and all koorimes (except for Hiei, of course) are females. The koorimes on the floating island considered Hiei to be a forbidden child, since he was male. I feel so sorry for him. It's no wonder he's so cold, distant, and easily angered. He had a rough childhood.
