_,.-*'`'*-.,_,.-*'`'*-.,_,.-*'`'*-.,_,.-*'Conspiracy of the Dead*-.,_,.-*'`'*-.,_,.-*'`'*-.,_,.-*'`'*-.,_
,.-*'`'*-.,_,.-*'`'*-.,_,.-*'The First Tale of the Circles of Fate'*-.,_,.-*'`'*-.,_,.-*'`'*-.,_
"Contradictory as it seems,
I cannot find myself again.
The shadows it hides,
Endless, unbridled,
Waiting to unleash the darkness."
"Beneath the surface I'm falling.
Darkness, insanity, turmoil within;
Whirling into destruction's wake...
Chaos, destruction, turmoil within."
******
Hello! WELCOME TO CONSPIRACY OF THE DEAD ^____________^
First off, I know that note down there looks tedious, *points below* but if you want to understand some things, I recommend you at least read the "Heh, too much..." paragraph, but if you want to know how long this'll be, go look at the "For once, I plan to have..." paragraph. Gotcha? *looks down* Heck, my friends are right, I talk too much...
Author's Notes: ^_^ HI! I'm the new kid on the block... sort of. I've been lookin' 'round the YuGiOh section for nearly a year now, read a bit of Pokemon (so stereotype, and no one complains 'bout the OCs, either! Way strange!), and I got a bad impression on Digimon, so I didn't venture there much. Golden Sun was decent, but I'm way too lazy to do research. (I don't own the game, I just watched Maya Kaiba [now her penname is 'Violette Ice'] play it.) I have a recent obsession with Yu Yu Hakusho, (got a good impression, thank ryquest, Arigatomina, and Dream Fox!) and alas, I'm STILL info-dry. -_- So any info on characters or the Makai region would be greatly appreciated! I know the basic storyline and I'm pretty stocked-up with Kurama info, but I need some background information on Hiei and the living conditions and sights of the Makai region. I don't need it for now, but I will later.
For those of you who know me in the YuGiOh section, note this: This fic will have a much different mood than my continuing YuGiOh fics! You might be able to relate this to my one-shot, "A Waste of Heart" or the soon-to-come one-shot, "You Never Said Goodbye," but that's about it. This is much darker and more descriptive than my other fics, possibly making a few people cry... (okay, some people cried on my other romance one-shots, but that's not the average. I DIDN'T for one thing, and I think I'm the average crier.) And besides that's my one-shots!
For once, I plan to have a consistent dark air for a... medium-sized fic. If you haven't read my other fics, that's around 13 chapters with about 1200-3000 words each, depending how pissed the world makes me. For you reviewers, the pissier the better, 'cause I write dark, angsty fics when I'm depressed/in a bad mood. So this has random updates.
Heh, too much 'bout me and not enough 'bout the fic. Okay, this is one of those little one-thing-changes-in-the-series-and-the-future-goes-kaboom! fics. ^^;; In this case, as you probably read in the summary, that one episode where Yusuke tries to retrieve the Shadow Sword goes slightly twisted. (Kurama gets killed from blocking the stab.) More info and detail later in the fic.
For now, enjoy my first Yu Yu Hakusho fic!
Warnings: VERY BLOODY, murder, profanity. And that's it, for now. Later, there MAY be shounen-ai, mentions of rape, (nothing graphic, really, they're just barely hinting! And that's only if you're a pervet!) genocide, suicide, body mutilation, and generally, things Hiei would do without a second thought. (Quote Botan: Hiei is powerful, and completely ruthless!) Eh, that wasn't pointing toward the suicide thing, but whatever.
NEW UPDATE: 9/13/03: I have removed the 'giant holes' and fixed italics. This applies to chapter two and three as well.
NEW UPDATE: 10/17/03: Added the 'part' divider and poem thingy. *snarls* THE POEM'S MINE! NO STEAL! Oh, and it's the longest poem you're going to get for this whole trilogy. Savor it.
*~*~*Oblivion*~*~*
The world bows to my feet. No one can agree to less than that. The world of the living is mine to dominate.
The spirit detectives are a thing of the past. For the single week, Koenma dished out dozens of them, allowing me to destroy them all. With the return of King Enma, the world was just sooner put to its fate... the Earth's largest volcanoes erupted, earthquakes of the greatest intensity were triggered... the ocean itself was lashing, the mix of a tidal wave and lava wasn't the prettiest sight. For a moment Japan was a bustling land of population... and in an instant, there was chaos, and the island was destroyed by an onslaught of typhoons.
After that, there was blood. Blood, running into the Pacific Ocean, blood bathing shards of wood from the splintered wrecks, blood running between my fingers as I cackled wildly; there were boats from China investigating the fall of their nearby country, and I laughed, laughed when they saw me licking the red liquid, and laughed as they saw their own. Contorting agony spread across their faces, their wounds critical and incurable without Youki. And more bodies collapsed as the massive ship sunk, lights flailing and its giant mast sinking, waving at me hopelessly to be saved. I watched, calmly licking more blood off my fingers. Relatives and ones that held the dead beloved came to mourn... practically begging at my feet to be killed. And that I did.
"How could you have been so ruthless?!" Botan hollered at me, whacking me with her oar. Pity she was in spirit form, or I would've added some irony by killing the blue-haired Grim Reaper. But all I could do is blast some spirit energy at her, knocking her out for the count. After that, she didn't bother interfering... too much.
"It's a wonder they agreed to your scheme at all!"
Yusuke's final words... well, Goki and Kurama did, didn't they? If they were defeated, it wasn't my fault, nor is it mine that I killed one.
"Defeat him... the fate of the world rests on it...."
Kurama was foolish to believe Yusuke could come close. He was no match... if they had forgotten about Keiko, and Kurama had bound me with his famous Rose Whip instead of blocking my slash, Yusuke would die sooner, true, but I also would've been defeated. Human's morals are their flaw....
"I hate boys...."
Love is such a paradox, isn't it? But I find it best not to worry about it, it will save you pain... and your life.
Now the world is mine, yet no more than a giant stretch of ocean and wasteland... with one portal to the Makai. Yet somehow in the midst of my domination, I had lost its location. My Jagan has yet to heal from that searing stab that Yusuke managed to inflict while I was still flinching over Kurama's final punch. I finger my third eye. It's still closed, pulsing... how long I must remain on this small island, I have no idea. The sea is vast, stretching endlessly, or as far as I could see.
I have no fear of intruders. There is no one left to intrude, unless they came from the portal, and then they'd still be on another landmass. Yet if they made it to me, I could work something out... their life in return of the location of the portal. Then the revelation hits me. I nearly smack myself, they'd be able to kill me if they ever make it here. I can feel my Jagan still pulsing, and my aura is less than it has been before; there is no food or pure water. Humans are weak, they'd only be able to last about a week... but I can last longer. Still, I can't live indefinitely.
I grab my sword and stand. The artifacts won't be of any use if I can't even use them! If there were souls on Earth, perhaps I could use them... somehow. But there are none left. Damn, I should've created a demon assistant. The Forlorn Hope is no use to me, as I don't have two lives. I sometimes wish I were a human-style Youkai cat. Nine lives currently sound rather appealing.
For now, though, one is what I'll have to work with. I have no clue where I am, except it's a rather small island... I'd say around 50 square miles. No life exists, just an indefinite desert; it'd be foolish to wander... especially since I could use Youki to remove particles from the ocean water. In my mind, I know how... I just can't remember. Years of not using survival tactics have tarnished my abilities....
~*~
I sense a familiar aura behind me. "So Botan, you still dare to follow me?" I feel her stiffen, inching slightly farther away. "What priest-like qualities have you come to bestow now?" I mock her, drawing my shadow sword and holding the Orb of Baast in the other hand. I turn around, to find not Botan, but Kurama's ghost. I narrow my eyes; my powers have been greatly reduced through the cutting of my Jagan, it seems. "Shuichi Minamino. That's who you truly are. You were never so... sympathetic... when you were still Youko. It seems your fox-induced instincts of survival were crushed by something far less useful, was it not?" He didn't bother to reply, glaring at me. "You are lucky my Jagan has not yet healed, or I could blast you into oblivion right now!"
He laughs, eerily. I swing my sword, but the image simply disappears, turning out to be nothing more than a hallucination of my mind. I must be lacking more water than I thought. I turn around and stare at the sea. I see a boat, and I sense demons. Deciding my mind has tampered enough with my process of thought for the day, I spin my back on it and leave.
Suddenly, I'm surrounded. Yusuke is in front of me, glaring daggers, Kuwabara and Kurama on either side of him. All the mortals I've killed surround me in a giant circle. It's certainly not a hallucination, I can feel Yusuke's aura, much stronger than it was last. Botan arrives, hovering above me. Even King Enma and Koenma bother to appear, directly above Yusuke.
"Far less useful?" Kurama taunts tantalizingly, staring at me with no emotion in his eyes. "You've lost your mind, Hiei. See what uncaring attitudes have done for you? You're stranded, Hiei... trapped here for the rest of your life."
I released my limiters, letting my aura flare as I raise my sword.
"Are you sure I'm not a hallucination?" he mocks again, letting the sword simply go through his form as I fall from my momentum into the hoard of ghosts behind him, who all swarm to trample me beneath their nightmares.
Then I realize something. "You have to be! No one living can see ghosts!" Did I just contradict myself? I thought I sensed Yusuke's aura flaring around him...
Botan smiles. "Exactly... are you dead?"
*~*
Startled, I jerk awake. I really have to stop passing out, stupid ghosts never fail to take advantage of it. I stare as the lapping ocean rises. Splash. Drip. Splash. It's evil. It's licking my feet, daring me to attempt to destroy it like I attempted to destroy everything else. I yell as I bring down my sword, slicing it harmlessly as it simply whooshes back in recovery when I take my sword out. The chilly water's hugging my feet again. Simply creepy. Wait, am I aiming it at the water, or at Botan's last statement in that dream thing? I growl; I must be insane.
Bored stiff, I waste some more precious Youki by evaporating that evil water I swear is alive... though I know there's no point 'cause it's just going to rain again.
Yukina... is that you? I feel her familiar essence and I slowly turn around, hoping this isn't a dream. I can't see her, yet I know she's there. And she hates me like everyone else....
Somewhat, I feel my domination isn't going to last.
*~*~*TBC
Endnote: Okay, I scared myself. I have never written anything so dark. As for the dream thing... I was really going to have that happen in real life, but then I realized the ghost thing. AND I STILL SWEAR PIGEONSKI'S INSANITY IS RUBBING OFF ON ME! Eh? Who's Pigeonski, you ask? -_- You don't want to know. Okies, leave a nice review to help nurse a great Yu Yu Hakusho fic into being! ^_^
Hiei: *destroys my ego*
T_________T WAHH! I STINK!
Kurama: *blinks* evil...
Hiei: ^_^