Author's Notes: Now is when it gets really scary and insane. Back out while you can. *looks around* Everyone here? YAY! Now... for Hiei's descent into insanity! MWAHAHAHA! (Like you couldn't tell from the chapter title.) Now, infocheck. It scares me. I looked on a really good info site, and a whole bunch of things are going to interfere with my Botan/Koenma subplot. *pouts* But I managed to keep it that way, with minor changes. ^.^ **SPOILER** yes, like in the actual YYH plot, Koenma will dethrone Enma. *dances* And this will actually HELP the Botan/Koenma s-p! But Ayame... EVIL.
HIEIhotsause: I think this was slightly inferred, but Hiei kinda went nuts after finally getting what he wanted, then the whole deal with Karasu went kerplooey, and now he's starting to actually feel what all the fangirls think he buried. Or did you mean that I got too deep into Hiei's head? @_@ I'm confused.
Kiyoshi-neko: *huggles Chibi Kurama plushie* EEPIES! CUTE! [Hiei: ...*steals it and runs off*] Awww... *pouts* Well, yeah, you can take the quote. Gimme credit, of course. And yeah, I liked the Yusuke scene, too. I think I was hyper when I wrote it, and I was just done from leaving a Yusuke/Kurama without reviewing, so... yeah. Oh, and I never flame. I just leave without reviewing. It's more effective ^^;;Bejiita-san: *falls over* YOU SOUND LIKE ME WHEN I WAS IN THE YUGIOH SECTION! I'm serious. You know, it's strange, whenever I start out in a series, I watch the dub and think, "cool!" Then I go watch the Japanese subtitles and think, "cool!" Then I go watch the dub again and think, "What the heck?!" But I haven't seen the Japanese subbies, so I'm not quite thinking that yet. *sweatdrops* But seriously, the dubs did a good job compared to YuGiOh. It's still slightly screwed, though. I wish it was edited like Rurouni Kenshin. But I'm glad you like my characterization. He might be a bit OOC this chapter, though, since he's insane ^^;;
Sky-Pirate-Tat: SCROLLY EVILNESS! MWAHAHAHHAHAA!!! *coughs* Fine, I'll limit the common-sense and crazy fangirl temptations. Slightly.
LadyFuzzy: ...huh? Brittany, I think I get the point with ONE 'wow' ^^;;
Maruken: Yes, this fic is evil! ^_^ MWAHAHAHA~! Wait, Evil and Good? O.o I just confused myself. But... THANKIE!
Hiei will be insane this chapter.
In other words, this fic just got a lot more psychological. Like that one YuGiOh fanfic on my laptop that never got published.
...let's just get on with the fic.
Warnings: Suicide, body mutilation, blood, claustrophobia, slight nudity(not graphic), and most of the stuff mentioned before. I just got lazier, people.
*~*~*Whitewash*~*~*
A wave of voices. Bubbling. Thrashing.
"But what about the Ningenkai?"
"For heaven's sake, can't you look away from your research papers for once?"
They're outside the cage. I'm trapped within light. Forced to reveal, to part from the protective darkness.
"I'm looking at you right now, aren't I?!"
"That's beside the point! He'll die if he's cooped up, you know it! What's in an asylum if it doesn't help him?! It's all Youkai's biological structure to be free!"
Trapped within whitewashed walls. It's suffocating; they're moving in on me. Closing in. It... it's so hard to breathe, so hard to feel, so sickening bright. And it's all so fluorescent, such a sickly, weak light. Yet the white walls... they're coming... coming....
"Well, I think he's had enough room to expand in when he took over the Ningenkai!"
"True, but cooping him up isn't exactly going to restore the balance!"
The only true sunlight is from outside The Door. The white door, at that. Other than that... a steady, aggressive light from the ball on the middle of the ceiling. Unnatural, tight.... My mouth is dry, my stomach churns, my Jagan is throbbing at the light.... Whitewash. I. Hate. Whitewash.
"Yeah, but 'cooping him up,' so to speak, is the only way we can be sure he's not going to try to take over again!"
"You mean you can't even trust him?! You trusted him with Karasu!"
~"KARASU!"~
"SHUT UP!" I yell, punching the ward-enforced window with all my might. It shatters, and I see blood again. Little crimson rivers running down my hands and arms. The pain numbs my senses, and the screaming voice of heartbreak is lost again in the incoherent jumble of confusion. I breathe heavily, clenching my fists, digging the shards of glass further into my skin. The throbbing twinge overwhelms the voices in my head, making my heartbeat rattle in my ears, deafening me to the outside world. I grit my teeth and look outside the broken window. Botan and Koenma are staring at me in shock. The edges of their faces are disoriented by the edges of glass, still clinging faithfully to the edge of the window. Disoriented, like my view on the world. Twisted, never given to me truthfully.
I... want... out....
One way or another.
I draw my gaze to the gleaming glass on the floor. Miniature razors. I slowly raise one between my fingers, and slowly bring it down upon my arm.
"SEE KOENMA?! I TOLD YOU THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!" Botan shrieks, pulling on the door, rattling the knob in dismay. "LOCKED?! LOCKED?! GEEZ, SMART MOVE! YOU'RE MORE LIKE YUSUKE EVERY SECOND!" With that, she ran off to who-knows-where-and-who-could-care.
And the razor keeps cutting.
*~*~*
I awake from that cliché darkness on a... bed, as ningens call it. In a white room. I don't think you need to be reminded that I hate white. And there's an annoying beeping that accompanies my heartbeat. On top of that, it's unusually warm. And... fluffy, somewhat. Like a lover's embrace.
~ "A fiery Youkai, sealed behind human morals..." ~
~"Why didn't you tell me you met such a pretty Kitsune-Youkai in your dreams?"~
~ "Karasu... Karasu..." ~
I glare at the whitewashed ceiling, and in my mind, it glares back. The dripping in the bag above and beside me, the beeping of the odd machine, and the pulsing of my heartbeat give background to this staring contest. I hate white. I sigh in annoyance and look away, blinking away strange wetness, admitting defeat. A dark gem rolls on the cushion.
The sunset, the sunset; the end of my soul's life.
But my body is forced to remain....
*~*~*
~*~
It's dark. So unbearably dark... and the air is so tight... the pressure... it's crushing me....
"Ah, tsk tsk, you little gullible Youkai..." a familiar voice chuckles. I turn to look and growl at the intruder of my mind, then resort to just gaping at the familiar character who steps from the shadows. I can only see a silhouette, but I recognize him immediately. "Still so weak and defenseless... and you throw your trust around carelessly. You decided to trust a stranger you didn't even know, yet you push away your 'friends,'" he sneers.
Friends? What friends? All I see is Karasu, clawing at my faith, trust, and naiveté.... His mocking face surrounds me, closing in... suffocating....
"Hiei?!" another voice says with strange concern. Kurama appears. Karasu eyes him with a lustful eye, then shifts his gaze on me.
"I suppose... this is where you leave."
Leave? I've already left. I don't need to know what happens next. I just want to go... go....
*~*
"Hiei! Wake up!" My body is being shook. It feels nauseating, and I groan in discomfort. Wearily, I turn to stare emptily at Shuuichi's face. Not Youko Kurama. Kurama would never be worried. "Karasu's spirit was hovering around you."
Karasu. KARASU.
"SO THAT'S WHAT WAS IN IT FOR YOU!" I scream, lunging at Shuuichi. Shock is evident on his face as I tackle him to the ground, grabbing the roses and seeds from his hair and setting them on fire. I snarl. "So you were just here to steal him, weren't you?!" The normally calm reincarnated Youko flinches and shakes his head. I hold the fireball in my hand, a sadistic grin gracing my lips as I hold this in front of his face. "Remember the pain that coursed through you when I stabbed you? Straight in the heart? Well, you'll feel it again." I held the fireball closer to his hair, and he squirmed underneath my grasp. "If you don't remember, I do...."
*flashback*
I can see the fear in Yusuke's eyes. "Darn you," he mutters, gritting his teeth, glaring at me, knowing it is over. I chuckles, drawing the Shadow Sword. I take a swing, and I can feel it slide through flesh and create a long, pain filled scream. But it wasn't Yusuke I hit. There was a flash of pain on my Jagan, and Kurama fell to the floor, gasping for air, blood flowing rapidly from his side as he struggled to rise. "Kurama!?"
"Defeat him... the fate of the world rests on it," he coughs, before slumping limply on the floor, dead. Yusuke watches with horror, before turning to me, hatred and fury fueling great power. I try to slay Yusuke at this moment, but my arm goes limp and I drop the Shadow Sword instead. Who knew Kurama could punch so hard?! My Jagan sears and it feels rather crippling.... And Yusuke takes the moment to steal the artifact. Just peachy.
"Okay, now I'm REALLY mad!" he rasps, rising with my sword raised. I know from my earlier observations that he's the superhero type. So Kurama was his friend. How ironic. The two goody-goodies got together. "HYAH!" he yells, aiming for my Jagan with my own sword. I attempt to kill him first with my regular katana, but he manages to pierce my Jagan first before I managed to toss him to the far end of the room with my own swipe. I kneel down,
holding my forehead where the searing pain feels like it's splitting my soul.
But when I look up, Yusuke is dead. Botan looks at me in fear, with a demon where Keiko used to be. "I suggest you take your leave," I sneer, glaring at the ferry girl. Botan nods rapidly, running out of the warehouse, tears streaming. I walk calmly over to Yusuke and slide the Shadow Sword from his grasp. I transform back into my regular form and kick Yusuke and Kurama's bodies together. Let them have their moments. Both 'superheroes' that perished from their need for peace.
Keiko-demon rises. "You may eat them," I say, gesturing to Yusuke and Kurama's bodies. She walks, zombie-like, over to their bodies. I smirk, looking over to the warehouse window. Botan rides on her oar, sorrowful eyes turned away as she flies into the sky. The sound of crunching is in the air as I pick up the Orb of Baast and Forlorn Hope before exiting the warehouse, prepared to conquer the world.
*end flashback*
"I... remember," Shuuichi splutters, tilting his head away from the fireball in my hand. "Back then, you did all that... just for the Ningenkai. And now you've given it back. Was it all just a game for you?"
~ "It was because of Karasu!"~
"No!" I roar, bringing the flame closer to his eyes. He closes them, shielding them from the light.
"If it wasn't... what did you go through all that for? Just to make people and demons alike suffer? Think about it...."
"I already have," I growl, the ignited plants flaring higher with my Youki. "My plan was... interrupted."
I sense a strong Reiki force in the room. Looking up swiftly, I find that Yusuke was planning to ambush me with his Rei-gun. I leap aside as the beam, instead, rips a hole through the wall on the far side of the room. I take this moment to fling the fireball at Yusuke, who dodges it, and it harmlessly falls on the cold floor behind him. He looks at Shuuichi, who is rising from the floor, and back at me, before hastily exiting this... chamber. Shuuichi takes a glance at me, and he, too, exits. I slam the door shut. Then I realize what I just did. My chance to escape was dashed. Unless....
I investigate the hole left by Yusuke's Rei-gun. It's just a small hole, but maybe... I can enlarge it. With this idea in mind, I start punching the wall. It cracks and splits, shattering at my third blow. To my dismay, on the other side of it is not the vast land of Reikai, but Koenma and King Enma.
"You mean Karasu was-" Koenma stops mid-sentence as the wall fragments rain down on him.
"See why it was necessary?" Enma roars, giving me a glare. I glare back, my bandages burned off as I prepare my Dragon of the Darkness Flame. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get out of here. But what Koenma said piques my interest.
"What about Karasu?!" I demand, holding my hand raised, ready to unleash the beast within me if necessary. A black glow[1] surrounds my hand, and both Enma and Koenma's eyes widen in fright.
Now more aware of my state, I can see why. My anger has boosted my Youki well beyond that of my usual state. I'm incinerating everything within a 2-meter range.
"H-h-he was sent," Koenma stutters, backing up, looking for his father for support, only to find that Enma has left.
"Sent?! SENT?! SENT TO TORTURE ME?! SENT TO BETRAY ME?!" This truly is a conspiracy. "WHO?!" I holler, enraged. I grab the toddler, preventing escape. "Tell... me who...." My voice is dangerously quiet. My Youki is high, and Koenma's clothes start to burn.
"Otou-san...."[2]
*~*~*TBC
[1] okay... so something can't really glow black. I think I mean more of an aura. Or, just imagine a black hole around Hiei's fist.
[2] Otou-san: father. King Enma in this case. :)
*~*~*
Endnote: That was longer than usual. I should listen to more things while writing. *hums along with 'Nightmare'* This chappie was written mostly out of songfic inspiration. Namely, "Crawling," "In the End," and "One Step Closer," by Linkin Park, "Desert Rose," by Sting, and "Nightmare," sung in Japanese by Ogata Megumi, Kurama's Japanese voice actor. Who I think is a girl. I'm too lazy to verify that, though.
Kurama: You're too lazy for many, many things.
R Amythest: Yup! *glomps Kurama, still humming*
Hiei: Even too lazy for a Disclaimer. I should get you sued.
R Amythest: oh yeah!:
Disclaimer: I own YYH, Nightmare, and many pretty songs. I bought it along with a slut-Kurama off of E-Bay. And he had a gold Mohawk. Also, Hiei just declared Kuwabara's Rei-ken is 1,000 times stronger than his Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Oh, and did I mention the world will explode five seconds after you review? ...I'm joking! I'm joking, okay?! Really! And if you thought I was serious... *points to a pile of Reality Checks* take one of those. And review! It won't hurt anyone! (Even if you flame! Hiei likes to burn Kurama's roses with 'em.)
*~*~*
Currently looking for information on:
Kuroune/Kuronue- Just a little summary of Youko and Kuroune's relationship. I just know a little bit about their relationship and how Youko left him behind in a trap. And a few things about his attacks. I... need... to... know... MORE! All that you can dump on me, please do so. The only website I've been to is 'Winged Darkness.' Oh, yeah, and which one is the spelling of the guy's name? I think it's the second one, but the first one looks better. Eye candy... I saw his picce. KAWAII! I need to know this by about chapter 13. But please, send it as soon as possible, so I don't make any bloop-ups in the meantime. Info could drastically change the storyline.
Yomi- All I know is Youko sent an assassin after him, who managed to blind him. And Yomi faced Yusuke in the end of the series. I know very little about the way he viewed Youko and stuffies. I need to know if they ever got close to romance, why Yomi decided to betray Youko, and that sort of thing. I need to know this by about chapter 13. But please, send it as soon as possible, so I don't make any bloop-ups in the meantime. Info could drastically change the storyline.
Hiei- yup. Still seeking info. This time, I need to know as many details as possible about his past- I already know a lot, but I still have questions such as the part where he meets Shuuichi-Kurama in Junior High. Gimme everything you know about that, or leave me a couple of sites. Also, everything possible that hints toward shounen-ai between Hiei and Kurama before episode 8. (in English dubs, "The Three Eyes of Hiei.") Technically, I saw all the episodes before that, but I'm thinking there may be flashbacks in future eppies that I never saw. Also, I only saw the DUBS. Maybe the Japanese thing has more fluff-ness? Also, I've got the Koorime tradition and the whole thing with the Hiruisekan gems, but I want to know more about how Yukina views it all. So, keep sendin' the info and sites! I need to know this by about chapter 8 or 9. But please, send it as soon as possible, so I don't make any bloop-ups in the meantime, and it WILL come sooner than you think. Info could drastically change the storyline.
Youko Kurama- More about his family. And his point of view on Kuroune and Yomi. Plus, I'd appreciate it if someone sent me the link to a picture of a baby Youko. Mostly as Eye Candy, but it will have its uses! I need to know this by about chapter 11. But please, send it as soon as possible, so I don't make any bloop-ups in the meantime. Info could drastically change the storyline.
Ages- Really, truly how old IS Youko? They say a little older than a 1000, but I wanna know as close as possible! Hiei's ago, too, will help. I think I've read from 300-600. Way too large of a range for me. I want to see what reviewers say, so I can narrow the range a tad. I need to know this by about chapter 10. But please, send it as soon as possible, so I don't make any bloop-ups in the meantime. Info could drastically change the storyline.