Standard Disclaimer: Nope, sorry I don't own YYH. Heh, but imagine if I did… ^_~ Oh yeah…
The laughter rang in his ears it was loud and boisterous. "Hn. Baka." He could hear Kuwabara's voice rise over the others, interrupting his nap. Hiei slowly opened his eyes and found himself in Kurama's living room with everyone. Yukina laughed softly as she place her hand on Kuwabara's. Hiei looked on stunned. He began to get up and exit the room.
"Hiei, where are you going?" Kurama asked as his friend. Hiei didn't even bother to answer. He kept walking. He was surprised to say the least when Kurama didn't get up to stop him, or that Botan or Yukina mention anything about his early departure. He shook his head as he strode out of the room
*Why should they care anyways?*Hiei kept his hands in his pockets. The night was chilly, and a thick blanket of clouds concealed the stars that were probably burning as brightly. His pace slowed, waiting for someone to come chasing after him as it normally happened to occur when he left so early. But no one came. It was strange. He had become so accustomed to it, having his companions worry, having them care somewhat. But what did he care right? He didn't need anyone…right?
Hiei found a nice tree in the park and settled himself on a long branch at the top. It swayed softly in the breeze, cradling him until he was fast asleep. His dreams were confusing, a haze mixed with memories he didn't remember experiencing. He sees a casket, a flash of blue, and a barren land with nothingness. He tossed and turned, and soon it seemed to clear, like a light was shining through the storm, carving a path for him to walk. He began to run towards it. Just as the memory was about to click in his mind, he awoke.
Hiei's breath was labored and heavy, and sweat covered his face. There was no breeze to soothe him. He blinked and looked down meeting a pair of crimson eyes. "Yukina…" He breathed softly. He jumped down and looked at her.
She smiled tentatively at him. "Good morning Hiei." She greeted softly. She gazed at him, soaked from his own sweat. She watched as he tossed and turned in his sleep, and couldn't help but wonder what could trouble him so.
"Good morning." He said gruffly, but there was a note of genuine kindness found in his words, even if there was no smile paired with it. He began to walk past his sister, to find some solitude where he could sort out these foreign memories, and maybe piece together the seemingly meaningless fragments.
As he walked past Yukina, she lowered her eyes to the ground, and lowered the volume of her voice. But Hiei could hear her words, just as if she had shouted them. "I know."
And instantly Hiei froze, his legs refusing the commands that his brain was sending them. His heart skipped a beat and everything seemed to be at a standstill. Hiei could feel his heart pounding fast. He knew what she was talking about…somehow he knew. "What are you talking about?" He countered, asking the question anyway.
She gazed at him unfailingly, without quivering, without disgust in her eyes. Her look gave him hope, her words somewhat strengthened it. "I know that you're my brother Hiei."
He stared at her, and he felt lighter. It was like this huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders, and he felt he could fly. "Who told you?" He kept his outer shell placid. He was very good at it, having practiced for years.
"I knew. I have known." Her answer was simple. She gave a weak smile and stepped towards him. Then somewhere between those few steps she had taken, her voice had changed, the sweetness evaporating into thin air. "I want you to leave. I've tried to tolerate that fact, and let you be content by being close to me…considering the fact that you have saved me in the past." She looked up at him, pity mixed with contempt in her eyes. They began to glitter, and she was on the brink of crying, yet she pushed them back. "But the past is the past and I can't bear it anymore…I just want you out of my life."
Hiei just stood there. He couldn't find words, they evaded his grasp, and he stared at his sister. He had always wondered what would happen, had Yukina ever discovered his secret. He always told Kurama she would despise him, look at him with a hatred burning in her beautiful eyes, a color that matched his own. Yes, that was what he said, but he didn't mean it. He didn't want to mean it at least. Deep in his frozen heart, that was melting day-by-day, deep within his soul, he had always wanted her to tell her and be accepted. He wanted to be able to show her the affection and love he always harbored for his twin who had softened his soul by kind words and sincere smiles. But this—this was what he had always feared.
"Hiei," Yukina spoke softly, her eyes burning into his body like acid as she said his name. "Leave. Take away all our pain and leave us all. Go…please."
Hiei's head was spinning, and the world was growing dim. He could see them, each of his companions coming into view. Kurama, Yusuke, Botan, Keiko, and all the rest stepped from the darkness with a candle lit dimly. He was surrounded by fragile flames, on the edge of flickering out of existence. Each of them stepped forward and said the same thing.
"Leave. Stop making us suffer. Please save us from your darkness and go." And as they walked up and said these words, they each blew out those fragile flames they held on the candles. And as his darkness became darker, no longer lit up by the lights of companionship, his heart began rip itself apart. He even felt a small twang of pain when Kuwabara blew out the candle.
Slowly, one by one, they faded into the darkness. No embers burned on, everything seemed dead in this shadow land. Hiei walked about five paces and ran into a hard wall. He turned in the opposite direction and walked five paces only to be stopped by the same solid surface. And as he check all sides, up and down, he found himself enclosed in a small cube. The walls were smooth metal, cold to the touch, with no windows and no doors.
Hiei drew out his katana and struck the barriers with all his strength, but it didn't even leave a scratch. And so, he tried everything, until finally he was reduced to beating on the walls with his fist like a spoiled child. He was in a closed in cube, a tomb…
~A tomb of your own making…~…The fire demon looked up, finding only an empty darkness that surged through every corner.
~A darkness that has always been in your heart…~Hiei cupped his face in his hands. He was all alone…
~Again, just a shadow within shadows…~He looked up. The voices, he could hear the voices. But where are they coming from, who?
~We come from the darkest depths of your soul. We shall be the only ones with you in your solitary confinement.~
Hiei closed his eyes. It wasn't like he would have seen anything if he kept them open anyways. He sighed and took a deep breath. The voices spoke in hushed whispers as if he wasn't there.
~Hmm, look at him. See him sitting there like he doesn't feel a thing. His heart is breaking of loneliness. But it was his own fault don't you think? His heart is too cold to keep friendships for long. Soon, it begins to infect the others with its disease…~
Hiei grunted in response. " I can hear you."
~He's denying.~
"I have nothing to deny. I've been alone before."
~Yes. You have haven't you? But all your life you've been alone, until the past few years. And in those years, your heart softened, and deep within yourself, you hoped it wouldn't end didn't you? No matter what you said, secretly, you never wanted to live a solitary life again.~
"N—No…" He stuttered.
~Yes, but you drove them all away. Everything you touch withers and dies. You deserve to be alone…completely alone…forever.~
Hiei listened as the voices faded away. He sat there and listened to the silence. Hiei felt his pain resurface, and it was as if he was dying on the inside out. He crawled to a corner. He stayed there, waiting for the voices to tell him more things he knew about himself, but would never speak. He waited for light and for his solitude to end. He waited.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*Crying. Is that crying I hear? Keiko? Keiko, why are you crying?*Yusuke opened his eyes, only to see sad faces, only to see tears. They spilled out of her big brown eyes like falling rain. Yukina stood beside her, holding her hand, trying to stop the torrent of tears.
"H-How? He can't die, not again…" The young woman sunk down to her knees as her red eyes stared blankly out at the world as she grieved. Keiko lowered her head to the floor and screamed his name. "It's not fair! Why did you have to take him? Why?"
*What? Keiko? I'm right here. Look at me Keiko, I'm right here.*
Yusuke searched the room for looks of recognition but all he found were the faces that mirrored the sadness of Genkai's death, of Botan's, and…
*No, it couldn't be. Right?*
"We tried to salvage his body, but it wasn't possible. We didn't sense anything, nor did we expect an attack. Yusuke fought to the best of his abilities, but there was nothing we could do." Hiei's eyes looked straight at Keiko, tinged with remorse, telling her that he was sorry. He didn't say it with words.
"Can he come back? It happened before, can he come back again?" Keiko asked hopefully. She turned her head to look for nods, for encouragement. She only found pity.
"No. His soul…it's gone." Kurama whispered. His green eyes were hooded. He could still see the image in his mind. The beast had appeared out of thin air and killed Yusuke before he had any actual chance to defend himself. They killed it; oh did they kill it afterwards. Yusuke could see the events play through Kurama's eyes and he shivered.
*It's not me. It's a dream. It's not me.*
"Dammit Yusuke." Kuwabara muttered. "Why?!" He punched a hole in the wall, leaving his fist embedded in the hollow area. "Why did you have to die?"
*It's me. I'm dead…again.*
The years passed in such a haze and no one could see him, not Kurama, not Hiei, not even Koenma. Yusuke couldn't move on, it seemed that he was chained to Keiko.
*At least I get to be near her…*
Three years had come and gone and Yusuke was still dead, having to watch his friends mourn…having to watch Keiko fall in love with someone else. And he was always there, unable to leave her side; unable to shield himself from the pain he felt when Keiko seemed to forget him.
She had met him while at college. She was still wearing black often, still mourning him. But suddenly 'he' turned up. Making her smile, making her laugh, making her happy when Yusuke could only bring sadness to her eyes with painful memories. At first, she tried to push him away like she had everyone else. But bit-by-bit, he wore away her defenses. And she loved him, simultaneously forgetting Yusuke.
*She loves someone else. She should right? It's not like I want her to live a lonely life because I can't be there for her…*
But soon, Yusuke began to hate the new man in Keiko's life. He didn't like his hand on hers, his words echoing in her ears. But Yusuke had to watch. He had to watch them marry and exchange vows. He couldn't miss the glow in her eyes. It wasn't for him, not anymore.
*I want to disappear…It's too much. What have I done to deserve this? Dammit, won't someone help me?*
He followed the couple, as if he had a choice, down the sidewalk. Keiko was pregnant. Yusuke hung his head as he followed behind, being dragged by the invisible cord binding him to her. He still loved her, but no longer was the loved returned. Now he just followed her mindlessly. There was nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. But he didn't need to hide from anyone really, since no one knew he was even there.
A flicker of gray caught the corner of his eye and Yusuke turned. The bond to Keiko seemed cut, or had she just stopped walking on the busy sidewalk. A girl smiled at him, she seemed out of place in this mediocre atmosphere. Her gray eyes looked at him, staring him down, partially hidden beneath silky dark blue hair. She looked so young and so old at the same time.
"Look beyond your own fears and find the truth."
Then four worlds, four nightmares seemed to collide. The four
Rekai Tantei made eye contact and the words rang in their heads.
~Look beyond your own fears and find the truth.~
They could see into each other's souls for a brief moment, seeing flashes of one another's deepest fears. They felt the pain and the heartache. And they knew it wasn't real and it wasn't true. A single strand of light appeared before each of them and they held on. It was their lifeline to truth. And they pulled themselves out of a deep pool of despair they had been breathing and drowning in. Salvation, finally they had their salvation.
One by one, their eyes opened. The mist cleared, the horrific images dissipating with it. They sat up, pushing off thick black vines that had covered them. Someone had cut them apart. They looked at each other, almost frightened, still shaking from their realistic dreams.
Yusuke coughed, "Heh, some nightmare." He grinned as he received a couple of weak smiles from his companions. He tried to be calm, but they could tell it was a false façade.
"How'd we escape?" Kuwabara asked. The all stared at the ground and though about the one question that was tugging at the back of their minds.
Who was that girl?
A sound of movement shattered their train of thought and an ethereal figure moved from the shadows. Her grace was godly, without a flaw. She seemed to be a fairy or a magical princess conjured out of some forgotten fairytale. Her frailty was her strength. It was her.
"Congratulations. Not many have enough strength to see the truth. So many are too absorbed in believing in the worst that they cannot find their way back to reality. Your strong bond of friendship towards one another was a great asset also. I am honored to be in your presence. Please be assured that there was no solid truth behind what you saw when you were…'asleep'. Please follow me."
They nodded, almost overwhelmed by her presence. It wasn't her strength that humbled them, but her noble manner. As they followed dutifully behind her Kurama tried to open his mouth to speak, but was silenced when she answered his question before he could ask.
"My name is Keitaru. I am the youngest of the Fates. Please, choose your words carefully when speaking to my sisters."
Author's Note:
Hey,
Sorry if it took forever to update. My computer was down forever and I had half my chapter saved on it and I couldn't remember where I left off. Then school is majorly hectic!!!!!!!!!!!! It's just not kewl to pile on the homework to poor unsuspecting students like myself. I've partially gotten over my horrible case of writers block and I'm hoping I can get moving on this story and my other ones…(If ya wanna check 'em out… ^_~) Yep… Anyways, tell me how much you liked or hated the chapter. Sorry if Yusuke's dream was shorter than Hiei's, but I'm half asleep while I'm typing this. Tell me anything I'm doing wrong or anything you don't like. Go ahead and criticize, but try and make it constructive please!!!! ^____________^ Like I said, sorry for taking so long to update! Here's the teaser:
*~Teaser~*
Finally, the Rekai Tantei are going to meet all of the Fates. But will they even be able to move when just the youngest, Keitaru, is so overpowering? What will all three of them together be like? Will the Sisters help them out? Or will they refuse to even talk to the Rekai Tantei? …Considering that the guys will be able to talk.
Thanks for reading,
Reika