10.11.04

A/N: I FINALLY watched Lord of the Rings: Return of the King! jumps up and down It was sooooo good! LOTR has officially become my favorite movie trilogy. It's the best movie EVER! Thank YOU Peter Jackson for filming the movie! My favorite part was when Aragorn (major hotness here!) strode straight into the Path of the Dead. swoons Aragorn is the best! The scene where Aragorn withdraws Anduril from its scabbard was also just as cool. No special effects or anything happened except a crescendo in the music but the scene was just SO COOL! I can't wait until the Special Edition DVD comes out!!! I am sooo going to get it! Once I have it, then I'll have all 3 special editions! I hope there is a special edition. Ok, enough of that. Now, a few words about my story and how horrible it is. This is going to be a realllly short chapter. It's so much shorter than the rest of my other chapters. This is also the last chapter. Now for my rant about school. I hate this year of school. It's pure evil. I will die before I make it through high school! I hate my classes. I never should have taken them.

Shadow: And the Queen of Weird has spoken.

Schizo: Yup. Ok, now for chapter 7 of The Vardoulacha. Well, the last chapter, that is. I must admit, this is not my best work. Give me a few months or days and I could probably make a better chapter. Or a story. This was my salvation from my miserable life. And this was written when I couldn't concentrate on my homework. Soooo it's bad. Read at your own risk! Don't say I didn't warn you! Oh…MAJOR OOCness HERE!

Abc: thoughts

Abc: emphasis

Abc: flashback

abc: Orcus (aka the Vardoulacha)

abc: actions

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH. If you can't figure that out, something is seriously wrong with you.

Chapter 7

The End of Pain

Last Time:

Hiei was shocked and furious. For the briefest moment, he couldn't move. He was dimly aware of Kurama reacting, as well as Kuwabara and Yusuke, but he did nothing. He was just…frozen. It was as if he was trapped in a thick fog of some sort, unable to move, speak, or even think. It felt like he was trapped there for eternity until he heard Yukina, his sister, scream. That was what finally broke his trance. With a snarl on his face, Hiei ran. He ran right pass Yusuke and his anguished shouting, Kuwabara with his upraised sword, and Kurama with his shocked golden eyes and futile attempt with his Rose Whip. He Hiei ran past Shizuru, Koenma, Keiko, and Botan. He ran past all of them, ignoring their stunned states. With an extra burst of speed, he ran until he appeared directly in front of Yukina, forever protecting her from harm. With cold red eyes and movements so fast no one could see them his movements, Hiei ripped off the ward around his right arm and unleashed his most powerful attack without a second thought.

"DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME!"

Unbearable anger and hatred consumed Hiei's soul, showing in his flashing eyes. How dare Orcus attack his sister!

Nobody threatens Yukina and gets away with it! That was the last straw, Orcus! You will learn to never threaten my family!

The anger and hatred Hiei was feeling for his adversary was poured into his dragon, therefore making her stronger than ever, twisting her into a true creature of darkness. Immense hatred made the black flames burn ever more darkly, anger caused its eyes to turn red and the immense need to chill helped the dragon grow larger and much more destructive. Nothing would survive her rampage. Anything or anyone standing in her way would not survive. She was truly unstoppable and she knew it.

No one will escape.

Orcus' eyes widened as he saw the enraged dragon rush towards him. He never thought it was possible for Hiei to summon that much power into the dragon. It was unheard of. In fact, he Orcus had never felt this much power! What was currently happening should have been impossible, especially since the Crystal Chalice had just been repaired.

NO! This dragon shall not chill me. Not now, not ever. In a desperate move, Orcus fled to the real world just as the chi ball and dragon slammed full force into one another. A battle for dominance then started: the dragon with her dark flames and the energy sphere's neon green glow. A savage battle ensued, neither side giving in. Waves of energy poured off the combatants, causing even a person with the least amount of chi awareness to feel uneasy. With anger fueling the attacks, the battlefield became a dangerous place as random energy beams or flamethrowers were sent this way and that.

"Hiei! Get Yukina and you away from there!" screamed Yusuke, still in control of his upper faculties, "It's getting too dangerous over there! MOVE!"

Not needing to be told twice and very aware of the danger, Hiei tightly gripped Yukina to himself and ran towards the others. Apparently, Hiei had great timing because just as he moved a few inches away from his previous spot, a large beam of green energy created a crater in the ground.

Once Hiei reached the vicinity of his friends, Yukina was pulled from his grasp by an overly anxious blunette. "Oh my goodness! Thank Kami-sama that you can run that fast, Hiei! If you hadn't been able to, you and Yukina would've been chilled!" Botan gushed, hugging Yukina tightly. Not deigning to make any reply to the blue-haired Grim Reaper, Hiei turned his attention to the increasingly violent battle.

How will this end?

Kuwabara stared in shock as he watched Hiei appear in front of Yukina and rip off the ward covering his dragon. Coldness traveled up and down his body, causing the hairs on his arms to rise up and his body to reactively shiver. Unable to comprehend what was happening, Kuwabara stared with wide blank eyes at Yukina and the two battling energies. Useless thoughts ran through his head and his body started to drop into a shocked state – his heart rate dropped, his temperature dropped and his skin turned pallid. His pupils became mere pinpoints and were lost within the black of his irises. Kuwabara fell to his knees and terror reigned over his entire being.

Muscles tightened and loosened as Yusuke stiffly stood in place. After warning Hiei to move away from the battle, he Yusuke could only watch with anger burning his blood and alarm ringing through his mind. His finger was ever ready to back up Hiei's dragon if she should fail. Oh how he hoped that that would not be the case. If the flames of the darkest part of the Makai failed, what could his gun to do the massive chi ball Orcus had released? Since the start of the horrible chain of events, Yusuke's mind had been thrown into turmoil. All his nerves were fried and he could barely make sense of all that was happening. All he knew was that if the dragon did not win, they were all doomed. The dragon had to win.

Outwardly, Kurama knew he seemed calm, cool, and collected, but it was all just a façade. Inside, a storm was growing. Nervous energy caused his blood to race and Kurama violently whipped his tails to and fro. Damn it all! I can't do anything now! I am too far away to do any damage to Orcus. Besides, if I were to actually attempt anything, I just might cause the Dragon to lose. I hate being unable to do anything. It's a horrible feeling. His whip hand twitching, Kurama forced himself to focus solely on the fight and ignore the energy inside him that was begging to be released. This had better end soon. If it does not, I fear that I will become insane from all this stress.

Botan's mind had turned blank the minute she saw the dragon and the ball clash. Nothing but an expanse of white took up the space in her mind. All sounds had gone quiet and everyone had frozen until her mind dimly registered Yusuke's frantic shouting and Hiei's rapid movement. The ice that had frozen around her finally melted and without thinking, she hugged the little Koorime to her body, babbling nonsense. She Botan was relieved that the ice had melted and that her friend was safe.

Oh no, oh no, oh no! Were the recurring thoughts in Keiko's mind. She had come so close to losing two friends and by the looks of things, whether or not she would get to keep her friends and her life was still a mystery. From her vantage point, the battle looked like as though everything was on equal footing. I hope we won't be trapped here for an eternity. Something has to give – I hope it's the energy sphere that makes a fatal mistake. I just want this to be over with. No more chilling, no more fighting, just… no more of any of this darkness and terror, please! I don't think I can stand any more of this! Tears gathered on the edge of her eyelids but refused to fall. If only I could cry…then maybe I won't feel so scared!

Repressed energy strummed throughout his entire being, causing Koenma to want to jump, run, walk, climb, do just about anything if only to rid himself of the unbearable tension that thickened the air of Hiei's mind. No jetpack could get him out of this situation and there was no ogre he could use as a shield. He could always just leave Hiei's mind, there was always that possibility, but then he would never be free from the guilt that would hang like a black cloud over his brow for years to come. Besides, the others would never forgive him or let him leave anyway. Apparently, I've grown attached to the little guy. What a surprise. He also knew that if he were to take them all and take them out of this war zone that Hiei would still die. Yes, Hiei would lose his human part and Kami knows what would happen to the Chalice, but the demon would live on. For all the time spent in Hiei's mind, Koenma had not seen even a glimpse of the green-skinned demon. Yes, the youkai would live on, but there would be no barriers or humanity holding it back. The demon would be extremely dangerous – it could not be allowed to run free.

Shizuru shuddered as the heat and the intense cold from the two attacks washed over her filling her with a sense of foreboding. This fight would not end well, this she knew, but who would receive the bad ending? Whoever loses this fight will suffer a painful defeat. I just hope it isn't us. If only I could do something to help the Dragon! But everything is out of our hands now. We can only sit back and wait for the outcome. We're like sitting ducks here, just waiting to be shot down. Only I don't think we'll get such a clean death.

Yukina shut her eyes against the biting wind that slapped her face as Hiei moved. Finally, her feet touched on solid ground once more and she was gently put down. When she felt Hiei pull away from her, Yukina tightened her grip on her brother, wanting, no, needing to feel the warm strength that was her brother. There was a slight movement in her brother but nothing happened so Yukina just ignored it. With her brother at her side, Yukina felt safe and had a strong feeling that everything would turn out just fine. As long as Hiei was there, nothing more would go wrong and this hellish nightmare would soon be over. Sighing, Yukina leaned further into the arms that were wrapped tightly around her.

Hiei, attempting to release Yukina so she could stand on her own two feet, was surprised when she clung even tighter to him. Hesitantly, Hiei reached a hand up to rest on her head but pulled away at the last minute. Awkwardly wrapping his arms around his little sister, Hiei stood there, marveling over the feeling of being wanted. A dusky rose blush briefly covered his cheeks when Yukina leaned further into him but before Hiei could react, he felt a slight change in the Mind Realm. Looking towards the area where Orcus should have been, he only saw a faint outline of the Vardoulacha before even that fully disappeared. Angry, Hiei realized that Orcus had run like the coward he was. Without giving it a second thought, Hiei reached out towards everyone's link to the real world and pulled. Immediately, everyone found themselves to be located in their physical bodies once again.

Orcus watched in annoyance as the bodies of his enemies were suddenly flooded with life.

Damn. Looks like Hiei-kun is more perspective than I thought.

"Damn it, Hiei! Warn us next time you're going to do something like that!" Yusuke snapped, glaring at the short demon.

"Urusai, baka. Don't think you can escape, Orcus! You can hide, you can run from either worlds, but you can't escape from your fate!" Hiei snapped, glaring at Orcus.

Well, it looks like we'll have to start all over again, won't we. Orcus commented lightly.

At this, Hiei smirked, "Guess again. I brought a few…friends, along."

With growing astonishment and horror, Orcus watched as the distance separating him and Hiei start to twist in an odd manner. Continuously growing clearer, the strange writhing shapes slowly grew clearer and once they were all out in the clear, Orcus' eyes widened in dismay.

you brought the Dragon and the energy sphere!

"Obviously. Are you blind as well as stupid?"

Ignoring Hiei's scathing comment, Orcus urgently continued, the two attacks can decimate this whole area! What are you thinking?!

"I'm thinking of ending your pathetic existence. I don't care if everything around me is destroyed – you need to die and I will do anything to bring you down."

"Hiei, you can't be serious!" Kurama cried, shocked as he watched the Dragon and energy sphere continue their fight.

"I am serious." Hiei said coldly. However, he sent one reassuring thought to his friends, Stop your useless worrying. This temple is protected and warded. The old hag made sure that her temple could withstand almost anything. I have also added my own shield around this place.

Everyone almost sighed with relief but quickly caught themselves in time.

you fool! Orcus hissed, his forest-green eyes narrowing in anger. Making a sudden movement forward, he found that he could not move. what did you do to me???

"Before I left the Mind Realm, I tapped into your own mind, since you became human, and blocked all channels connected to movement. You cannot move. You can't even go back to the Mind Realm and undo my work since you stupidly severed all ties to the Mind Realm when you ran from the battle." Hiei replied, smirching.

As Orcus struggled with his newfound inability to move, the Dragon and the sphere continued to fight. Every once in awhile, the green ball would completely disappear, giving hope to everyone that the Dragon had won. Sadly, it was not to be. The menacing Sphere would always reappear to wreak more havoc upon the Dragon.

The same thing would happen to the Dragon. Whenever the Dragon disappeared beneath pulsing green energy, she would just break free of her prison. Despite all appearances, the Dragon did have its own mindset. And surprisingly, the Dragon held a great fondness for her master. Not for a thousand years had anyone been able to control her and yet this small fiery being with a heart of gold and a soul of sadness and pain had been able to master her completely. She the dragon would not let Master Hiei down. She would not let him die. It wasn't his time yet.

As if sensing his Dragon's thoughts, Hiei sent a private thought to his beloved Dragon, "I am fine. Do not give up. I know you can defeat Orcus' attack. He Orcus is not all-powerful and I have faith in you. You have never let me down and I know you won't start now. Don't worry about me – focus only on the fight in front of you. Let no small movement go unnoticed. Take advantage of every false step. Most of all do not become overconfident for that just may be your downfall. Take the bastard down!"

To this, the Dragon grinned and viciously decimated a section of the energy sphere. The sphere retaliated by pressing harder into the Dragon, trying in vain to break through her defenses.

I don't think so. You cannot break me that easily. I still have a few tricks hidden within my depths! The Dragon thought as she carefully formed thin tendrils of dark flames around the unsuspecting Sphere. You are mine to devour and annihilate!

The Sphere, as if sensing the Dragon's vicious thoughts, immediately tried to back away, but found it was unable to move. As everyone looked on, the Sphere started to spasm, trying to break free of the fiery grip its opponent had on it. As the darkness flame spread, the spasms grew more frantic and the energy level of the Sphere spiked and dropped.

As she watched, Keiko winced as the sight of the convulsing energy sphere. It reminded her of a human experiencing a seizure. The thought and the sight were too disturbing for Keiko to dwell on. For a sparse second, Keiko felt pity for the struggling green mass of energy. She knew how it felt to be trapped within darkness. It was a cold and lonely feeling. Shaking away such thoughts in her head, she watched in amazement as Hiei's Dragon suddenly released a stream of black fire from its mouth.

What the… Keiko had no time to complete the thought as the green sphere exploded into a million peaces and a great seismic wave rippled from the center of the explosion. All spectators were thrown against the wall and lay unmoving, but the Dragon of the Darkness Flame continued moving forward, in claim of her prize – the Vardoulacha.

You are mine, Being of Darkness! You cannot escape! Now, you will learn the true meaning of pain as my black fire burns you from the outside in and the inside out! Let me see the fear in your eyes, Vardoulacha. Let me see the fear!

As he slowly returned to consciousness, Hiei groaned in pain as he felt the many bruises received from slamming into the temple wall. Nani…Where, where am I? As a fresh wave a pain washed through his body, his memory slowly started to return. The fight! Am I dead then? Am I in the Spirit World? Cautiously, Hiei probed around him with his chi but found nothing. Opening his eyes until only slits of red peeked through on his face, Hiei examined his surroundings and concluded that no, he was not dead and that his mind was intact. What the hell. My dragon must have defeated Orcus after destroying his blasted attack. Carefully maneuvering himself up onto his hands and knees, Hiei stretched his aching limbs until he realized that he had been wrapped around something, or rather, someone. Yukina

"Yukina! Kuso…" Hiei swore as he frantically felt for a pulse and sighed with relief when he found a strong heartbeat. "Yokatta…" Shaking his head to clear up the cobwebs still clinging to his mind, Hiei took an assessment of his surroundings. He still couldn't believe that the Crystal Chalice was intact. "Hn. Figures. It shatters when my feelings and emotions were wrecking havoc but doesn't when a powerful ripple of energy courses through my mind. Stupid thing. Always chooses the stupidest things to make a crack."

Carefully, Hiei picked up his sister, cradling her in his arms as he walked to a pile of pillows that lay on the ground. Making several more trips, Hiei collected the rest of his friends, placing them on the pile as well. Looking around, Hiei searched for Orcus but found nothing except for a large flame pattern on the opposite wall.

Where is he? Dragon?

I have defeated him. My flames burned his body from the outside in and the inside out. He does not live. There is no part of him that remains in your world or the Mind Realm. I made sure that my flames burnt everything of him, including his soul, his essence, and his mind. Thinking that Hiei might like to see how Orcus had looked in his final death throes, the Dragon happily sent the image into Hiei's mind.

His eyes widening, Hiei was hard pressed to retain his cool composure as an image of a horribly burnt body popped into his mind. Orcus' eyes had burst, and long trails of the eye were dripping down his face. His hair had been completely burnt off and his scalp was black, blistered, and peeling. All of him was still on fire and to Hiei's disgust; he Hiei watched the boiling of Orcus' whole being. The skin began to bubble and burst while the bone cracked under the enormous heat. The metal sword that Orcus had kept by his side had melted onto and into Orcus, causing liquid steel to slide across bone, muscle, and skin. However, Hiei felt that the worse was yet to come.

Turns out, Hiei was right.

Orcus' skin began to shrivel up. Any remaining bits of skin and muscle began to contract and wrinkle, as the bodily fluids were dried out. In the last moment, right before Orcus was completely engulfed by flames and ultimately chilled, Orcus looked a grisly mess. Melted eyes and a horribly burnt and almost nonexistent mouth were wide open in a parody of a scream, and black and wrinkled skin was cinched tightly about any remaining innards and skeleton structure. The organs themselves had burst inside Orcus' body, leaving small clumps of tissue within Orcus' body cavity. The worst part was that Orcus was still alive. Hiei knew this to be true when he saw Orcus' arm lift up and reach shakily towards him as he mouthed Help me… , which only served to disintegrate said appendage.

Recoiling, Hiei forced the image out of his mind. Breathing heavily, he slowly lowered himself onto his knees as he forced himself to forget the gruesome images. In fact, he was so distracted that he did not realize someone had stirred until Kuwabara groaned and asked, "What the…am I dead???"

Regaining what his composure, Hiei said, "…Yes. You are dead, Kuwabara."

The hell? What possessed me to say such a thing?

Kuwabara's eyes comically widened as tears started to pour out and he clasped his hands together as if in prayer.

Still, it is worth it.

"NO! I CAN'T BE DEAD! I'M TOO YOUNG AND GOOD-LOOKING TO DIE! I HAVEN'T EVEN PROPOSED TO MY BELOVED YUKINA YET! I HAVEN'T EVEN CHICKED SHORTY'S BUTT YET!!! I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF ORCUS IS DEAD!!!"

I retract my earlier thought. Hiei's eye twitched as he heard the third to last sentence in Kuwabara's rather loud and dead-waking babble. Propose to Yukina? Over my dead body!

"Of course you're not dead! And Orcus would also be dead. If the resulting energy wave was that strong, I highly doubt that anyone would have been able to survive it. Don't be so stupid. Now get up and wake Urameshi up, baka." Hiei ordered, annoyed.

But Kuwabara continued as though he did not hear a word Hiei said, "I NEVER EVEN SAID GOODBYE TO MIKO! MY POOR POOR NEKO-CHAN, ALL ALONE IN THE COLD HARSH WORLD WITHOUT HER MOMMY TO TAKE CARE OF HER! OH MY POOR KIITTY!"

Completely irritated, Hiei roughly punched Kuwabara in the face, causing him to go flying. With slight amusement, Hiei watched as Kuwabara flew into the couch, knocking it over.

"OY!" Kuwabara shouted, surging to his feet, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR, SHORTY?! …WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??? OH NO! I MUST BE IN HELL IF YOU ARE HERE! OH KAMI-SAMA, WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS TORMENT???"

Angrily, Hiei's aura flared and blue flames surrounded his body. "Why would you be in hell just because I am here? Do you really have a death wish? Or are you merely begging for a taste of my blade?"

Kuwabara's eyes widened and he took a few steps back away from the enraged demon, "N-No! I didn't mean anything, I swear! No, I don't want to die! Please don't chill me! And I'm sure your blade tastes very good 'n all but I REALLY don't want to know if that's true! Please please please spare me!"

"Whatever." Hiei groused as he let his chi settle down. Instead, he boredly watched the others finally come around, in varying states of wooziness and complaints. Ignoring all their complaints, he watched as they all staggered to their feet, swaying as though drunk.

"Ungh…What happened? How are you feeling? Why do I feel so groggy? Why does Kuwabara look so scared?" Kurama asked, wincing as he gingerly touched a wound on his head.

"The battle ended. I feel fine. You were knocked unconscious by the resulting energy wave of the battle. Kuwabara always looks like that." Hiei explained shortly.

"NO I DON'T!" Kuwabara loudly protested.

"Yes, you do."

"Ugh, SHUT UP! Ohhh bad idea. Quit arguing you two. Ugh. I don't think I can move." Yusuke muttered, feeling as though he had been trampled by a stamped of African elephants. Staggering around the room, Yusuke somehow managed to latch onto someone's hand. "Whoever you are, don't talk to me. I don't care who you are. Just don't move."

"Okay…" Koenma's faint shaky voice said. Koenma carefully shook his head, only to grimace when it made the pounding in his head worse. "Does anybody have some strong painkillers?"

"No…Genkai never had the need of them. I'm very sorry. Would you like me to heal you?" Yukina asked, looking apologetic.

"No, that's quite alright Yukina. I will be fine in a moment."

"So we're in Genkai's temple? Or are we in the…'Mind Realm', was it?" Shizuru asked, being the first to regain her equilibrium.

"Genkai's temple. The Mind Realm is a realm in which everyone's minds resides. Only a few can gain entry to the place, since it is so strongly protected. There are only five who can enter. Now there are four." Hiei said, crossing his arms.

"Spare us the lecture! Tell us when we can think!" Yusuke hesitated for a second before changing his words, "Actually, scratch that. Don't bother telling us!"

"Hn," was the monosyllabic reply.

"Hiei-kun…is it over?" Yukina asked tentatively, looking around for Orcus.

Hiei was silent for a long time as he looked at the large burn on the opposite wall.

"Hiei?" Kurama asked, worried. He didn't like the look in his friend's eye. The look was one of mixed sadness, pain, remorse, and hatred. He Kurama had never seen such an unguarded look on Hiei in his entire life span. "Hiei?"

"Aa. It's over. Orcus is dead." Hiei muttered, his eyes never leaving the spot where Orcus had died. The images his Dragon had sent him continue to replay in his mind. Orcus was dead and yet he still continued to torment him Hiei. Continue in a soft voice nobody was meant to here, Hiei whispered, "Orcus is dead. Yet he still haunts me." Closing his eyes for a brief second before determinedly locking the images away in his mind, Hiei turned around to look out the window.

"Orcus is dead," Hiei repeated, "He will never bother us again."

"That…is very good news." Keiko commented, also looking out the window.

A reverent silence fell over all and for a long moment, nobody spoke. They could not believe that it was finally over. After such a long terrifying and trying time, it was finally over.

"Yokatta…I'm glad." Yukina said softly, sneaking a glance at her brother. She was relieved that they had all survived the encounter. I am very glad that Hiei is my onii-san. I would not have any other person be my brother. I am…I am proud to be his sister.

Accidentally reading Yukina's thoughts, Hiei sent her a startled look. Yukina sweetly smiled at him and in her eyes, Hiei could read no tale of deceit. A faint blush decorated his tan cheeks and a warm glow briefly appeared in his eyes.

"Same here. I'm glad everyone is still alive, especially you, Hiei." Yusuke said, grinning at Hiei.

"Hn. If you're expecting a 'thank you', you aren't going to get one, Urameshi." Hiei snapped.

"I think I just got one."

"Watch it, or you'll end up dead for the second time in your pathetic life."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Hiei. Whatever. Just make sure you take care of your Crystal Chalice, okay? I really don't want a repeat of the past few days. Next time your Chalice starts to crack, tell us. We'll help you through whatever it is, got it? Let's start with you telling us why there is a new crack in your Chalice. Don't give me that look! I – no, we are your friends Hiei. After putting the Chalice back together, I think I can tell when a new crack has appeared. No matter how much we tease and annoy you, we still care. So spill." Yusuke urged, surprising everyone with his true, if not sappy, speech.

Hiei just looked at Yusuke in silence, before deciding to speak, "I saw Orcus' last moment. That bastard still haunts me – I cannot get rid of the image of his mutilated body out of my mind."

"Oh…maybe we can help. Show us the images." Kurama instructed.

"No. That I won't do. You have enough in your memories. You don't need this image to be added to the rest of your nightmares."

"Then how can we help you?" Keiko demanded, hurt.

"I have an idea. Hiei, give me your hands." Koenma said, grabbing Hiei's hand.

"What-" Hiei began to ask.

"Just trust me. Trust that I won't hurt you, okay?" Koenma pleaded, looking into Hiei's wary eyes.

"…Fine. If you try anything bad, you'll find yourself as a spirit waiting to be placed in Heaven or Hell."

"Thank you. Everybody, gather around and grab a hold of Hiei. You can just lay a finger on his cloak and that will be enough. Everybody ready? Good. This will only take a sec." Koenma then closed his eyes and a soft green glow enveloped his and Hiei's clasped hands. Everyone gasped when they felt the crack sealing itself.

Eyes wide, Hiei demanded, "What did you do???"

"I'm not really sure, come to think of it. I just remembered suddenly this lecture my father told me. He said, 'In everyone's mind, there is one spot that can heal anything of the mind. You just have to know how to access it.' I figured, what I'm trying to do for you was a pretty decent thing. If this spot can heal anything, then it should reveal itself to me. Well, it did so I merely touched it and asked it to heal the crack. If I'm correct, whatever images that have been bothering you are now locked safely away. They should be fading from your mind's eye right now. However, if an event should occur, like your Chalice shattering again, which it had better not do, then the memories will be released."

Nodding, Hiei tried to see the images in his mind. It was true. No matter how hard he tried, Hiei could no longer see Orcus' death throes.

"No need to thank me!" Koenma grinned, reverting back to his baby form.

"I won't." Hiei said, staring at the suddenly shorter Prince.

"Hmph."

Yusuke laughed, closed his eyes and threw his arms out wide. "You know what? I'm glad I'm alive. In fact, it's damned great to be alive. I mean, after all that's happened to me in my entire life, I have never felt so alive. Once again, it's great to be alive."

Startled, everybody turned to look at him.

"Not that I'm opposing your comment, but exactly what brought that on, might I ask?" Kurama politely inquired.

"Oh, nothing much, come to think of it. I was just thinking that a few days ago, we were all having fun on a picnic, right? We felt so happy and full of life. Then we were pulled into a chaotic and freakishly dark and creepy adventure."

Hiei was suddenly flooded with a sense of deep guilt and shame. Turning his head away, he mentally berated himself for ruining his friends' fun.

"Before you go and cause yet another crack in that Chalice of yours, I'm kinda glad that we were pulled into our most recent adventure." Yusuke admitted.

Whipping his head around, Hiei could only stare at the wielder of the Rei Gun.

"No, I'm not insane. At least I hope not. But you know, despite all the bad stuff that happened, which was a lot, by the way, we finally got to know you a lot better, Hiei. Sure, we may not understand all of it completely and I'm definitely sure that there's tons more about you that we don't know about, but I feel that we're a lot closer than before, ya know?" Yusuke grinned, flushing slightly.

"That is true. Looks like some good came out of this misadventure of ours. Don't you agree, Hiei?" Kurama asked, nudging Hiei lightly.

"Hn, whatever," it looked as though that was all Hiei was going to say, until, "Don't expect that I'll just start telling you everything about me – and I don't think we're 'closer than before'."

"Don't worry about it, shorty. We'll find out on our own!" Kuwabara proclaimed, puffing out his chest. "I am the Great Kuwabara, after all! With me on the team, we'll find out everything about you!"

"I wouldn't count on it, baka. I don't think you can tell a difference between a lie and a truth. There's a reason why you aren't called on to solve actual mysteries – you'd probably mess everything up." Hiei said, smirking at the last part.

"Hey! Are you trying to get pounded into the ground?!" Kuwabara asked, raising his clenched fist.

"Are you fast enough?" Hiei taunted with a 'come and get me' look in his eyes, "Last I checked, I would be gone before you could take one step!"

Kurama was then hard-pressed to keep Kuwabara from murdering Hiei.

"Oh, stop taunting him, Hiei. Let's just enjoy ourselves, okay? Like I said before, it's great to be alive." Yusuke said, watching the first rays of sunlight peek out from behind the fading screen of night.

"Yeah…yes it is." Agreed Hiei softly. It was nice to be alive and finally have friends and a family who cared about him.

As the sun rose and the stars twinkled out of sight, the nine friends unconsciously moved closer together, blending their auras with one another, creating a beautiful electromagnetic spectrum of continuous colors.

Inwardly smiling, Hiei thoughtfully mused, From now on, I won't have to feel so lonely. I don't have to cry under cover of darkness or rain. I…I don't have to hide any more. I'm finally free.

Owari

Schizo: Wow. What a bad ending. What a bad chapter. What a bad story. This really isn't one of my better works. I had Hiei fight Orcus one too many times. Once or twice would've been enough. But nooo I had to have them fight like, for a million times! How retarded of me. sigh I'll be truly amazed if I get good reviews. o.O I edited this thing sooo many times as you can tell by the dates down below. Yes, it's true. I finished this on the 12 and continued to edit and re-write for a period of 14 days, or 2 weeks. And I still think it sucks. Oh well. yawns Back to homework! We're reading Cry, the Beloved Country in lit and well, I HATE THE BOOK! Au revoir!

10.12.04

10.26.04F