10 Years of Waiting
by Kurohi Tatsaki
Day 16b - Coming and Going
Disclaimer - I don't own YYH, & never will. After all, I'm not Yoshihiro Togashi. Kurohi, Yamiryuinu, Shirokoori, and all the other original characters *I* and Kohaku Frost come up with are property of Beware of Mage & Tsuki Ryu Productions. Use our characters without permission and we will be pissed. Ask first; I don't think I need to tell anyone how to contact me.
I have decided to up the rating for that lemon scene, because I don't want to get in trouble. Gomen nasai...
Keaira - Glad you liked it! It was kinda hard writing from that oaf's perspective. I guess I made him kind of insightful, huh? I mean, after all, wouldn't one such as himself receive that ability after ten years?
Ramen - Yeah, I'm not used to writing from his perspective. It's okay to use the word "cute"! ^_____^ Especially over and over and over and over and over and... ...I'm hyper!!!!!!!!! Muse: "And that doesn't happen often."
JinE4 - Straight stories, I find rather boring lately, but I do read them. You could do one. Two good examples are "Sink To the Bottom With You" and "I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields." STtBWY is about 35 chapters, still going, and IKWBtSF is about 95 chapters long, still going. The first is Vincent/Yuffie, and the second is Vincent/Aeris. Both are a great read! I don't know what "sore wa himitsu desu" means... my Japanese ain't that great in fluency. Guidelines to Yaoi? Well, it can be PWP (Plot? What Plot?) or anything else. A nice Yaoi read would be the manga FAKE. The graphics aren't the best, but it's damn funny. It gets graphic in later books, though. Find a loophole (such as after an episode in an anime or whatnot, but before the next one), or find a possible pairing, or find one that you know WON'T work out, and make it work! (such as STtBWY... okay, that's it, I'm callin' it "Sink" and "I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields" "Snow Fields") That's always a fun challenge! One-shots are nice for beginners, but you have to end them right then and there, and they turn out a bit lacking. Oh, and Sandy Youko has written some very citrusy lemons out there (look for her NC-17 site: Hiei and Kurama's Den) She's very good with Hiei and Kurama lemons ON EVERY CHAPTER! Hehe. I LUV her "Homework Files"! In one chapter, Hiei runs the scabbard of his katana up Kurama's... *runs off to read it* Also, look for Bulma's Manga Mansion. She has great, lengthy yaoi fics you can use for reference! Humor is a good way to start, but let's hope your friend is open-minded. I hope this helps any! ^__^ By the way, Yaoi doesn't rot brains - it opens them up to new (and possibly improved) ideas!
//telepathy// ~~~~~~POV switch *********Flashback/End Flashback
--------------------------------
Their destination was tall, and constructed of stone, much like Maze Castle. The entrance looked like a long tunnel, that stretched just as far as the eye could see, and probably beyond that. Looking to the left and right, Kurama noted that this place was about as large as Mukuro's, which said a lot.
Yusuke and Kuwabara cracked their knuckles. "Let's get going, shall we? We've never been known to make our appearances secret!"
"For once, Kuwabara, you're right."
"OI!"
"All right, people! Let's go!"
The group marched to the entrance.
From above, a flicker of blue flashed in the corner of the demon's eye. "Baldak see dragon!! DRAGON!!!"
Seven sets of eyes darted up in alarm.
"Get DOWN HERE, dumb Dragon! I'm gonna kick yer ass!!"
The birdie creature flicked its eye down at them, holding its weapons tightly. "Rescue party, are you? You're a bit late, you know! Who knows what Master has in mind for your friends?! Run, run as fast as you can once you beat me! For the time you get to those two, it may be your last! But, before you can beat me, you have to catch me! Tag! You're it!!" With that phrase as warning, Taka shot a fire blast at the group, scattering them to several directions. Taka flew through one of the windows, vanishing from sight, cackling like a witch.
"We have no alternative! We enter through the front!" said Kurama sternly.
Yusuke nodded. "Yeah. It seems that way. Let's go!"
They dashed inside, the gate slamming shut behind them. Azura looked at the now sealed off entrance. "No turning back... This is the first time I've felt so trapped. A-Angel-chan?"
Those mystical eyes turned to her best friend. "Come on. You can be near me if you must. Come on. Be brave if you can. We need all the help in the upcoming fights that we can."
Azura nodded and strode next to her friend. Her ears were lying flat against her head, silver hair spread apart slightly by the pressure.
Hiei kept his fiery gaze rooted in front of himself, as did Kurama, Yusuke, the oaf, and Botan. Botan, though, was having an especially hard time.
'Angel-is-hot-she-is-soooo-hot-I-should-be-watching-where-I'm-going-but-I- can't-focus-much-longer-and-if-I'm-not-careful-I-could-be-the-end-of-us- all... Oh-my-god-I'm-frickin'-hard!' He blushed slightly at the thought and hissed under his breath as his hardness nearly became very painful as he imagined a naked Angel standing before him. He bopped himself on the head and shook his head clear of those thoughts... but it didn't work for very long.
Hiei flicked his gaze for a second as he heard the sound of a fist to the head. He shook his head at the lump Botan had created on his own head and eyed Kurama through the corner of one red eye. He nearly had the sudden fear of Kurama being "kidnapped" just as Kurohi had.
The fox, as if sensing his fire demon's fear, turned his head slightly and whispered into the demon's right ear, "I won't be gone from you. Never, Hiei." His nose nuzzled the lobe once or twice before he licked it lightly, making the demon shiver.
"Oi, lovebirds! You can make out and whatnot once we're outta enemy territory!"
Kurama blushed slightly and moved back. Out of instinct and comfort against the cool air, the fire demon wiped his ear with his shoulder. Botan blinked his light violet eyes and wondered what it would be like if he did that to Angel. 'Heh. She'd probably deck me...' He still marveled at the boy's body he now resided in. No more periods! No more boobs that had to be confined into the tightness of a bra! Whoopee~!
They entered an intersection. One path went left, one path went right. Hiei yanked off his white bandanna and the Jagan Eye opened, scanning the paths for a familiar Ki Signature. He detected one of Taka's older Signatures, and he pointed to the path on the right with one warded hand. "This way. Taka went this way." The group marched down the path indicated.
They walked for some time, and came to another intersection.
"Which way now, chibi?" asked Kuwabara.
Hiei growled at the insult to his height and let the Jagan stare across the three available paths, not including the one that they had come from. Silently, he marched onward as he detected the Signature.
"Hiei! Matte yo!" uttered Kurama. "Wards... Unless I can get rid of them with my Rose Whip, we should take another route."
Hiei blinked. "Funny, I don't sense anything."
"You wouldn't, because these are fire youkai wards." He pulled out his Rose Whip and shouted, "Rose Whip! Kagon-retsuzanshi!!" (A/N: Elegant, Harsh, Limb-Severing Attack)
The whip came down with a sharp noise. The ward snapped in two, and crackled before it burnt to ashes. The fox looped the whip in several circles, holding it together with one hand. Not surprisingly, the thorns didn't pierce his skin. "Let us move onward, shall we?" He dashed ahead, wary of everything around him. The fire demon led them through various and seemingly random hallways until they came to a dead end.
"Hiei, are you sure we're there?"
"Taka went past here. There must be a switch somewhere."
Kurama nodded in agreement. Azura, daringly, went up to Hiei. "I think I can figure this out. Let me try."
Hiei nodded once and stepped back. Azura ripped off her bandanna, revealing a golden Jagan Eye. Its violet glow washed over the entire wall, and Hiei felt a rush of awe flood his system for a split second.
She had an Eye! Someone who's strength could compare to his own! ...Not that Kurama couldn't do that, either.
"Here. This is it..." Azura touched a few stone bricks in a sequence, and the wall... vanished. "I smell the scents of one god and one half-god. This the right place, Hiei?"
"Half-god?" asked Hiei. "What do you mean? The only god is Koenma."
In silence, Azura unthinkingly rushed down the stairs that were revealed by the fading of the "wall".
"Azura! What have I told you?!!" demanded Angel. "Shiie..." she nearly cursed. She trotted off after her friend, and managed to run down half of the flight when she heard a yelp. She came into a room with several "tubes" with an eerie green glow.
Azura stood in the middle of all this, tears in her big eyes. She turned to her friend and embraced her black-robed middle tightly. "We're too late... They're not here...!"
"...and?"
"And I found this..." She held up a crying dragon stone pendant. It was the same stone that held Kurohi's reddish-violet Hirui-Seki. Its claw was busted off and so was part of the tail. One horn was broken as well, and the chain seemed to be hanging onto the dragon's head for dear life. "Someone must have taken the stone out of it..."
Her friend frowned. "...The Stone of Blood has been removed..." She turned her head to everyone, urgency written in her strange eyes. "We haven't much time! Kurohi's life just might end at any second!!"
Azura tugged at her friend's robe. "What's more, Koenma's gone, too. This doesn't bode well."
Angel nodded. "I believe you're right... Is there another path leading through here?"
The rabbit-eared one nodded and lead the way, stopping at a door at the far end of the room. She pulled open the door, holding the heavy mass open for everyone else with surprising strength. Her Jagan Eye glowed as it, too, exerted power.
//Hiei.//
The demon, last to go through the door, flicked his eyes to the blue-eyed one. Those blue eyes didn't waver as those piercing orbs matched hers.
//We'd better hurry up. Angel's final form does not last long. I'd say we have until tomorrow afternoon to about three days from then until she goes back into baby form.//
Hiei nodded. //What's the Blood Stone?//
//If I have to, I'll explain it to everyone once the subject is brought up or something.//
Nodding once, Hiei strode through the door.
~~~~~~ (A/N: Sorry I can't stay with Hiei and Kurama so long!)
"W-What are you g-gonna d-do with that?!!" demanded the owner of twin sapphire orbs. "And why did you demand my clothes off?!!" 'This is so embarrassing!' he thought. He was on the cold floor, the coldness creeping up his lower limbs. The only thing covering his manly parts was that long tail of his. His hands were placed against the ground and shackled together by a loose chain. His legs were left free so he could sit.
"No reason. I just wanted you to be completely and utterly ashamed. Who could like you with a body like that, anyway?"
'What...?' His eyes narrowed. His wet hair dangled into his eyes.
His half brother held the red orb in one cold fist, sending shivers throughout the other boy's body straight through his heart.
"I mean, come on... That tattoo... those scars... I think I might add one more... But, anyway, my Tsuki Ryu of a brother... oh, wait, I haven't told you yet, have I?"
"What, that I'm the sole male Tsuki Ryu? You don't need to tell me. I remember."
"Good, then. Oh, and I brought a guest. Be sure to say 'hi'."
He stepped aside, revealing a cage surrounded by high walls of energy. A mop of roan hair was the first thing Kurohi saw, and all he needed to see to recognize his lover.
"Koenma-koi!! Let him go, Shirokoori, kudasai!!" he pleaded, using his large eyes in their full-begging power.
His half brother merely blinked at this. He wore violet robes lined with golden silk. His wings were spread out, and his tail swished hovered behind him in a gentle arc. "Reduced to pleading? Do not worry about your lover. He is alive. Let me force you through pain that will eventually kill you, and I will let him go."
"If I refuse?" Always good to know other options.
"I'll kill him."
His eyes narrowed. "But, it's impossible to kill a god... especially Enma Diao's son!"
"Not with MY magic."
Kurohi hesitated, now disregarding his current state of undress. "Why are you doing this?"
"Your race should NOT be the one in power! It is the most unclean, AND we were there first!"
To the boy, he sounded like an angry kid. His eyes half closed in irritation at that thought.
"But enough talk! Die!"
The red orb was then squeezed. Tightly. Kurohi couldn't even gasp at the pain, and clutched at his chest tightly. A wrangled growl escaped his tight throat and he fell forward, injured, but far from dead.
//K...oen...ma...// He forced himself to sit up as the pain started to reside, but he flopped back like a fish out of water when the pressure against his heart came up again twice as hard.
This time, he cried out. Memories rushed into his mind and right out. None of them stuck in his mind for a second, but then...
*********
I don't really understand why they must send me away. I only lived in their world until I was old enough to run on my own. At the time, I had pretty short fangs and long claws that could cut through a lot. I only had to worry about them breaking, but that never happened. Though, it happened with all the other Tsuki Ryu.
My room is... fairly small. It is decorated in expensive silks and a very soft bed in the corner. We are an advanced race. Tsuki Ryu can become dragons and also control them. I know this because of the extensive library we have on our race. Head of that library, is Angel. I, only four years old to the eye, consider Angel as my best friend.
No one else likes me.
She treats me as an equal.
By the way, my actual age is around twenty or so right now. I've kinda lost count. Wait, yeah, I'm twenty years old. As you can tell, we age on the outside much slower than we do time-wise. When we age one year physically, we, in reality, have lived for five years.
Angel had negotiated with the Elder that I could stay with them until I could easily fend for myself. Then, I would be banished from their race forever, and deemed a Ryu Youkai. Bleah.
That would be today. Today of the new moon. Today is also the time I get my first dragon. To be honest, I'm pretty excited.
My hair is short, deep brown and bangs that go only halfway to my eyes. My hair spikes just a little, where it can. It looks like a spark, and I can't help but giggle when I think of it like that. Heheh.
For a female, Angel is very pretty. Don't ask me why I think that. I just do. I can't explain it. Though, nowadays, I have to rush to my room to deal with a slight... problem. Though, I've never gotten close to peaking, if you get my drift, you hentais! Heheheh.
"Kurohi!"
"Hm?" I reply, turning around to face a Tsuki Ryu, who gave me a cutting look.
All the females, save Angel, loathe me for who I am... a male...... and, at times, I just want to die. Why couldn't I have been born female...? I didn't even have a sister for Kami-sama's sake!
"Almost time!" she clipped.
I nodded once.
...People used to get mad at me because I always copied others' techniques for a short period of time. As you can tell, it probably started out with words. To this day, my memories slip quickly if I don't write them down or repeat them in my mind. It bites, but I get used to it. However, the most climatic or valued memories remain intact. I can even induce the smells, sounds, and touches I encountered onto myself to make myself relive the moment.
Pain included... Ick.
Today, I have to prove my worth to have their techniques...... not that they'll make it easier for me to do the same tasks that others have done before me.
In my case, being a male sucks, but, on with my story...
I dashed out the door, and ran down the hall. My footsteps echoed loudly in the semi-occupied corridors. Faces and objects flashed before my eyes. None of them made sense, but I held the image of where I am supposed to go into my mind.
My boots screech to a halt on the marble floor in front of a door. Without knocking, I enter the large room.
"You finally showed up," clipped the snotty, ignorant elder.
"Gomen na-"
"Urusei!! Let us begin! We're wasting time!"
I hate her. I never wanted to, but I ended up hating her since I was two, visibly, and ten, yearly.
I nod and get into a battle stance, claws out and sharpened. The elder summons a monster in front of me.
It's a huuuuuge dragon. It roars, snapping fangs at me and swishes its tail. Leaping forward, I slice my claws through its hide, and I hear a scream.
Growling, the dragon comes at me, fangs bared. It snaps at my arm, but I dodge to the left and slash at its shin.
Its tail hits me in the head, sending me flying into a wall. Pain soars through my spine, my head and back again. I don't scream; I don't cry as I slump against the ground. I think I'm dead, but a check of my own heartbeat says I'm very much alive.
The elder calls back the dragon and scoffs at me. "You fail! Come back when you're REALLY ready!"
What...? No "nice try" or "what you really need to do is improve your blah, blah, blah"? What am I supposed to do?
I lift my head. The painful action wrings a growl from me and I fall to the floor again. My head swims and I hiss.
"Get up, you lazy excuse for a Tsuki Ryu! You're taking up the floor!"
I'm trying, you fucking asshole...
Forcing myself to sit up, I glare with unfocused eyes about the room. The elder is in my face, glaring daggers at me.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get your carcass outta here!"
Standing up, I run out the door and slam it. The first place I go to, is my room.
I close that door calmly and lean my aching head against it. "Shit..." I close my eyes to hold back the dizziness and fuzziness of my room. I open my eyes again, and regret it immediately. My room is doing the hula, is fuzzy, and there are spots in front of my vision. I growl in irritation and pain as I clutch my head with my hands. My hands are wet, and my hands come away with blood on them. The drops do an odd thing. They fall from my hands, leaving not a trace on them.
They form a large, red-violet orb on the floor. It pulses, and my body suddenly registers the blood loss. I can't even stop myself from slumping to the floor again before it's too late. My mind goes blank, and I lose consciousness.
*********
"...Blood... Stone... Hm...ph... me... a fail...ure... damn it..." My limbs were weak. I could barely speak, let alone move. I wanted to go to sleep. So much pain... I was aware of my delirium... very aware. "...Drag..on... Ry...u... Failu..re... me...? Voices... so.. many........ Make them... stop... stop..... stop...!"
I rolled into myself, clutching at my chest even more tightly with every beat of my heart. God, how I hated the life-giving organ right now! The pain was driving my mind out, the, WINDOW! I coughed, but only managed to hack up blood. Through narrowed eyes, I gazed at the mess and limply rolled away from it. I didn't manage to move much though, but it was an improvement.
"Kurohi!"
I felt consciousness fading in and out. I weakly lifted my head, and my eyes were blessed with an untainted image of my lover.
"Koe.." My words were jerked from me as I let out a weak growl. I couldn't even use my telepathy anymore. I didn't want my love to see me like this, but I also didn't want him to be sad.
I guess, I had no more--
A scream painfully ripped its way past my throat. I couldn't call it back.
--choice in the matter.
Suddenly, death--
I felt tears come into my eyes and then swiftly glide down my face, making no audible sound as the rush hit the floor. This situation was SO unfair! I wanted to see Koenma again, but... in my current state...
--didn't sound so bad.
"...nma... ai..shi..."
Before I could finish my sentence, my mind was no longer my own, and spiraled swiftly into darkness. But I knew one thing...
...I was dying.
I just hoped I could see Koenma again one more time.
End Day 16
Waaaa~.. Did I write this? Tell me I didn't write this!! *shakes muse* You'd better not make me kill Kurohi!!
Muse: *being shaken* I may have had you write it, but what about that dream you had last night when this axe-wielding god tried to kill you like in one of those stupid horror movies?
And you call it a dream because **why**? 'Why's she tryin' to change the subject...?'
Muse: 'cuz you don't cry or nothin' in your sleep, even when nightmares plague it! My god, you seem indestructible in that department lately!
*growling sleepily*
Muse: Plus, you're a bit strange when you just wake up.
-_- Note to self: Kill this muse and get a better one! I PROMISE a happy ending! I **totally** dig happy endings!!
Muse: You'd kill a muse that looks like a cat mixed with a dragon?
NEVER MIND~! Forget I said that! *glomps muse*
Muse: O_o She is officially WeIrD!
Anyway, you will pay DEARLY if you make me kill Kurohi! I will NOT have this be one of my overly angsty I-Kill-My-Own-OC-And-Don't-Resurrect-It fics!
Read & Review!
Started 6/3/03, 7:38PM; Finished 6/7/03, 8:16AM
by Kurohi Tatsaki
Day 16b - Coming and Going
Disclaimer - I don't own YYH, & never will. After all, I'm not Yoshihiro Togashi. Kurohi, Yamiryuinu, Shirokoori, and all the other original characters *I* and Kohaku Frost come up with are property of Beware of Mage & Tsuki Ryu Productions. Use our characters without permission and we will be pissed. Ask first; I don't think I need to tell anyone how to contact me.
I have decided to up the rating for that lemon scene, because I don't want to get in trouble. Gomen nasai...
Keaira - Glad you liked it! It was kinda hard writing from that oaf's perspective. I guess I made him kind of insightful, huh? I mean, after all, wouldn't one such as himself receive that ability after ten years?
Ramen - Yeah, I'm not used to writing from his perspective. It's okay to use the word "cute"! ^_____^ Especially over and over and over and over and over and... ...I'm hyper!!!!!!!!! Muse: "And that doesn't happen often."
JinE4 - Straight stories, I find rather boring lately, but I do read them. You could do one. Two good examples are "Sink To the Bottom With You" and "I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields." STtBWY is about 35 chapters, still going, and IKWBtSF is about 95 chapters long, still going. The first is Vincent/Yuffie, and the second is Vincent/Aeris. Both are a great read! I don't know what "sore wa himitsu desu" means... my Japanese ain't that great in fluency. Guidelines to Yaoi? Well, it can be PWP (Plot? What Plot?) or anything else. A nice Yaoi read would be the manga FAKE. The graphics aren't the best, but it's damn funny. It gets graphic in later books, though. Find a loophole (such as after an episode in an anime or whatnot, but before the next one), or find a possible pairing, or find one that you know WON'T work out, and make it work! (such as STtBWY... okay, that's it, I'm callin' it "Sink" and "I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields" "Snow Fields") That's always a fun challenge! One-shots are nice for beginners, but you have to end them right then and there, and they turn out a bit lacking. Oh, and Sandy Youko has written some very citrusy lemons out there (look for her NC-17 site: Hiei and Kurama's Den) She's very good with Hiei and Kurama lemons ON EVERY CHAPTER! Hehe. I LUV her "Homework Files"! In one chapter, Hiei runs the scabbard of his katana up Kurama's... *runs off to read it* Also, look for Bulma's Manga Mansion. She has great, lengthy yaoi fics you can use for reference! Humor is a good way to start, but let's hope your friend is open-minded. I hope this helps any! ^__^ By the way, Yaoi doesn't rot brains - it opens them up to new (and possibly improved) ideas!
//telepathy// ~~~~~~POV switch *********Flashback/End Flashback
--------------------------------
Their destination was tall, and constructed of stone, much like Maze Castle. The entrance looked like a long tunnel, that stretched just as far as the eye could see, and probably beyond that. Looking to the left and right, Kurama noted that this place was about as large as Mukuro's, which said a lot.
Yusuke and Kuwabara cracked their knuckles. "Let's get going, shall we? We've never been known to make our appearances secret!"
"For once, Kuwabara, you're right."
"OI!"
"All right, people! Let's go!"
The group marched to the entrance.
From above, a flicker of blue flashed in the corner of the demon's eye. "Baldak see dragon!! DRAGON!!!"
Seven sets of eyes darted up in alarm.
"Get DOWN HERE, dumb Dragon! I'm gonna kick yer ass!!"
The birdie creature flicked its eye down at them, holding its weapons tightly. "Rescue party, are you? You're a bit late, you know! Who knows what Master has in mind for your friends?! Run, run as fast as you can once you beat me! For the time you get to those two, it may be your last! But, before you can beat me, you have to catch me! Tag! You're it!!" With that phrase as warning, Taka shot a fire blast at the group, scattering them to several directions. Taka flew through one of the windows, vanishing from sight, cackling like a witch.
"We have no alternative! We enter through the front!" said Kurama sternly.
Yusuke nodded. "Yeah. It seems that way. Let's go!"
They dashed inside, the gate slamming shut behind them. Azura looked at the now sealed off entrance. "No turning back... This is the first time I've felt so trapped. A-Angel-chan?"
Those mystical eyes turned to her best friend. "Come on. You can be near me if you must. Come on. Be brave if you can. We need all the help in the upcoming fights that we can."
Azura nodded and strode next to her friend. Her ears were lying flat against her head, silver hair spread apart slightly by the pressure.
Hiei kept his fiery gaze rooted in front of himself, as did Kurama, Yusuke, the oaf, and Botan. Botan, though, was having an especially hard time.
'Angel-is-hot-she-is-soooo-hot-I-should-be-watching-where-I'm-going-but-I- can't-focus-much-longer-and-if-I'm-not-careful-I-could-be-the-end-of-us- all... Oh-my-god-I'm-frickin'-hard!' He blushed slightly at the thought and hissed under his breath as his hardness nearly became very painful as he imagined a naked Angel standing before him. He bopped himself on the head and shook his head clear of those thoughts... but it didn't work for very long.
Hiei flicked his gaze for a second as he heard the sound of a fist to the head. He shook his head at the lump Botan had created on his own head and eyed Kurama through the corner of one red eye. He nearly had the sudden fear of Kurama being "kidnapped" just as Kurohi had.
The fox, as if sensing his fire demon's fear, turned his head slightly and whispered into the demon's right ear, "I won't be gone from you. Never, Hiei." His nose nuzzled the lobe once or twice before he licked it lightly, making the demon shiver.
"Oi, lovebirds! You can make out and whatnot once we're outta enemy territory!"
Kurama blushed slightly and moved back. Out of instinct and comfort against the cool air, the fire demon wiped his ear with his shoulder. Botan blinked his light violet eyes and wondered what it would be like if he did that to Angel. 'Heh. She'd probably deck me...' He still marveled at the boy's body he now resided in. No more periods! No more boobs that had to be confined into the tightness of a bra! Whoopee~!
They entered an intersection. One path went left, one path went right. Hiei yanked off his white bandanna and the Jagan Eye opened, scanning the paths for a familiar Ki Signature. He detected one of Taka's older Signatures, and he pointed to the path on the right with one warded hand. "This way. Taka went this way." The group marched down the path indicated.
They walked for some time, and came to another intersection.
"Which way now, chibi?" asked Kuwabara.
Hiei growled at the insult to his height and let the Jagan stare across the three available paths, not including the one that they had come from. Silently, he marched onward as he detected the Signature.
"Hiei! Matte yo!" uttered Kurama. "Wards... Unless I can get rid of them with my Rose Whip, we should take another route."
Hiei blinked. "Funny, I don't sense anything."
"You wouldn't, because these are fire youkai wards." He pulled out his Rose Whip and shouted, "Rose Whip! Kagon-retsuzanshi!!" (A/N: Elegant, Harsh, Limb-Severing Attack)
The whip came down with a sharp noise. The ward snapped in two, and crackled before it burnt to ashes. The fox looped the whip in several circles, holding it together with one hand. Not surprisingly, the thorns didn't pierce his skin. "Let us move onward, shall we?" He dashed ahead, wary of everything around him. The fire demon led them through various and seemingly random hallways until they came to a dead end.
"Hiei, are you sure we're there?"
"Taka went past here. There must be a switch somewhere."
Kurama nodded in agreement. Azura, daringly, went up to Hiei. "I think I can figure this out. Let me try."
Hiei nodded once and stepped back. Azura ripped off her bandanna, revealing a golden Jagan Eye. Its violet glow washed over the entire wall, and Hiei felt a rush of awe flood his system for a split second.
She had an Eye! Someone who's strength could compare to his own! ...Not that Kurama couldn't do that, either.
"Here. This is it..." Azura touched a few stone bricks in a sequence, and the wall... vanished. "I smell the scents of one god and one half-god. This the right place, Hiei?"
"Half-god?" asked Hiei. "What do you mean? The only god is Koenma."
In silence, Azura unthinkingly rushed down the stairs that were revealed by the fading of the "wall".
"Azura! What have I told you?!!" demanded Angel. "Shiie..." she nearly cursed. She trotted off after her friend, and managed to run down half of the flight when she heard a yelp. She came into a room with several "tubes" with an eerie green glow.
Azura stood in the middle of all this, tears in her big eyes. She turned to her friend and embraced her black-robed middle tightly. "We're too late... They're not here...!"
"...and?"
"And I found this..." She held up a crying dragon stone pendant. It was the same stone that held Kurohi's reddish-violet Hirui-Seki. Its claw was busted off and so was part of the tail. One horn was broken as well, and the chain seemed to be hanging onto the dragon's head for dear life. "Someone must have taken the stone out of it..."
Her friend frowned. "...The Stone of Blood has been removed..." She turned her head to everyone, urgency written in her strange eyes. "We haven't much time! Kurohi's life just might end at any second!!"
Azura tugged at her friend's robe. "What's more, Koenma's gone, too. This doesn't bode well."
Angel nodded. "I believe you're right... Is there another path leading through here?"
The rabbit-eared one nodded and lead the way, stopping at a door at the far end of the room. She pulled open the door, holding the heavy mass open for everyone else with surprising strength. Her Jagan Eye glowed as it, too, exerted power.
//Hiei.//
The demon, last to go through the door, flicked his eyes to the blue-eyed one. Those blue eyes didn't waver as those piercing orbs matched hers.
//We'd better hurry up. Angel's final form does not last long. I'd say we have until tomorrow afternoon to about three days from then until she goes back into baby form.//
Hiei nodded. //What's the Blood Stone?//
//If I have to, I'll explain it to everyone once the subject is brought up or something.//
Nodding once, Hiei strode through the door.
~~~~~~ (A/N: Sorry I can't stay with Hiei and Kurama so long!)
"W-What are you g-gonna d-do with that?!!" demanded the owner of twin sapphire orbs. "And why did you demand my clothes off?!!" 'This is so embarrassing!' he thought. He was on the cold floor, the coldness creeping up his lower limbs. The only thing covering his manly parts was that long tail of his. His hands were placed against the ground and shackled together by a loose chain. His legs were left free so he could sit.
"No reason. I just wanted you to be completely and utterly ashamed. Who could like you with a body like that, anyway?"
'What...?' His eyes narrowed. His wet hair dangled into his eyes.
His half brother held the red orb in one cold fist, sending shivers throughout the other boy's body straight through his heart.
"I mean, come on... That tattoo... those scars... I think I might add one more... But, anyway, my Tsuki Ryu of a brother... oh, wait, I haven't told you yet, have I?"
"What, that I'm the sole male Tsuki Ryu? You don't need to tell me. I remember."
"Good, then. Oh, and I brought a guest. Be sure to say 'hi'."
He stepped aside, revealing a cage surrounded by high walls of energy. A mop of roan hair was the first thing Kurohi saw, and all he needed to see to recognize his lover.
"Koenma-koi!! Let him go, Shirokoori, kudasai!!" he pleaded, using his large eyes in their full-begging power.
His half brother merely blinked at this. He wore violet robes lined with golden silk. His wings were spread out, and his tail swished hovered behind him in a gentle arc. "Reduced to pleading? Do not worry about your lover. He is alive. Let me force you through pain that will eventually kill you, and I will let him go."
"If I refuse?" Always good to know other options.
"I'll kill him."
His eyes narrowed. "But, it's impossible to kill a god... especially Enma Diao's son!"
"Not with MY magic."
Kurohi hesitated, now disregarding his current state of undress. "Why are you doing this?"
"Your race should NOT be the one in power! It is the most unclean, AND we were there first!"
To the boy, he sounded like an angry kid. His eyes half closed in irritation at that thought.
"But enough talk! Die!"
The red orb was then squeezed. Tightly. Kurohi couldn't even gasp at the pain, and clutched at his chest tightly. A wrangled growl escaped his tight throat and he fell forward, injured, but far from dead.
//K...oen...ma...// He forced himself to sit up as the pain started to reside, but he flopped back like a fish out of water when the pressure against his heart came up again twice as hard.
This time, he cried out. Memories rushed into his mind and right out. None of them stuck in his mind for a second, but then...
*********
I don't really understand why they must send me away. I only lived in their world until I was old enough to run on my own. At the time, I had pretty short fangs and long claws that could cut through a lot. I only had to worry about them breaking, but that never happened. Though, it happened with all the other Tsuki Ryu.
My room is... fairly small. It is decorated in expensive silks and a very soft bed in the corner. We are an advanced race. Tsuki Ryu can become dragons and also control them. I know this because of the extensive library we have on our race. Head of that library, is Angel. I, only four years old to the eye, consider Angel as my best friend.
No one else likes me.
She treats me as an equal.
By the way, my actual age is around twenty or so right now. I've kinda lost count. Wait, yeah, I'm twenty years old. As you can tell, we age on the outside much slower than we do time-wise. When we age one year physically, we, in reality, have lived for five years.
Angel had negotiated with the Elder that I could stay with them until I could easily fend for myself. Then, I would be banished from their race forever, and deemed a Ryu Youkai. Bleah.
That would be today. Today of the new moon. Today is also the time I get my first dragon. To be honest, I'm pretty excited.
My hair is short, deep brown and bangs that go only halfway to my eyes. My hair spikes just a little, where it can. It looks like a spark, and I can't help but giggle when I think of it like that. Heheh.
For a female, Angel is very pretty. Don't ask me why I think that. I just do. I can't explain it. Though, nowadays, I have to rush to my room to deal with a slight... problem. Though, I've never gotten close to peaking, if you get my drift, you hentais! Heheheh.
"Kurohi!"
"Hm?" I reply, turning around to face a Tsuki Ryu, who gave me a cutting look.
All the females, save Angel, loathe me for who I am... a male...... and, at times, I just want to die. Why couldn't I have been born female...? I didn't even have a sister for Kami-sama's sake!
"Almost time!" she clipped.
I nodded once.
...People used to get mad at me because I always copied others' techniques for a short period of time. As you can tell, it probably started out with words. To this day, my memories slip quickly if I don't write them down or repeat them in my mind. It bites, but I get used to it. However, the most climatic or valued memories remain intact. I can even induce the smells, sounds, and touches I encountered onto myself to make myself relive the moment.
Pain included... Ick.
Today, I have to prove my worth to have their techniques...... not that they'll make it easier for me to do the same tasks that others have done before me.
In my case, being a male sucks, but, on with my story...
I dashed out the door, and ran down the hall. My footsteps echoed loudly in the semi-occupied corridors. Faces and objects flashed before my eyes. None of them made sense, but I held the image of where I am supposed to go into my mind.
My boots screech to a halt on the marble floor in front of a door. Without knocking, I enter the large room.
"You finally showed up," clipped the snotty, ignorant elder.
"Gomen na-"
"Urusei!! Let us begin! We're wasting time!"
I hate her. I never wanted to, but I ended up hating her since I was two, visibly, and ten, yearly.
I nod and get into a battle stance, claws out and sharpened. The elder summons a monster in front of me.
It's a huuuuuge dragon. It roars, snapping fangs at me and swishes its tail. Leaping forward, I slice my claws through its hide, and I hear a scream.
Growling, the dragon comes at me, fangs bared. It snaps at my arm, but I dodge to the left and slash at its shin.
Its tail hits me in the head, sending me flying into a wall. Pain soars through my spine, my head and back again. I don't scream; I don't cry as I slump against the ground. I think I'm dead, but a check of my own heartbeat says I'm very much alive.
The elder calls back the dragon and scoffs at me. "You fail! Come back when you're REALLY ready!"
What...? No "nice try" or "what you really need to do is improve your blah, blah, blah"? What am I supposed to do?
I lift my head. The painful action wrings a growl from me and I fall to the floor again. My head swims and I hiss.
"Get up, you lazy excuse for a Tsuki Ryu! You're taking up the floor!"
I'm trying, you fucking asshole...
Forcing myself to sit up, I glare with unfocused eyes about the room. The elder is in my face, glaring daggers at me.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get your carcass outta here!"
Standing up, I run out the door and slam it. The first place I go to, is my room.
I close that door calmly and lean my aching head against it. "Shit..." I close my eyes to hold back the dizziness and fuzziness of my room. I open my eyes again, and regret it immediately. My room is doing the hula, is fuzzy, and there are spots in front of my vision. I growl in irritation and pain as I clutch my head with my hands. My hands are wet, and my hands come away with blood on them. The drops do an odd thing. They fall from my hands, leaving not a trace on them.
They form a large, red-violet orb on the floor. It pulses, and my body suddenly registers the blood loss. I can't even stop myself from slumping to the floor again before it's too late. My mind goes blank, and I lose consciousness.
*********
"...Blood... Stone... Hm...ph... me... a fail...ure... damn it..." My limbs were weak. I could barely speak, let alone move. I wanted to go to sleep. So much pain... I was aware of my delirium... very aware. "...Drag..on... Ry...u... Failu..re... me...? Voices... so.. many........ Make them... stop... stop..... stop...!"
I rolled into myself, clutching at my chest even more tightly with every beat of my heart. God, how I hated the life-giving organ right now! The pain was driving my mind out, the, WINDOW! I coughed, but only managed to hack up blood. Through narrowed eyes, I gazed at the mess and limply rolled away from it. I didn't manage to move much though, but it was an improvement.
"Kurohi!"
I felt consciousness fading in and out. I weakly lifted my head, and my eyes were blessed with an untainted image of my lover.
"Koe.." My words were jerked from me as I let out a weak growl. I couldn't even use my telepathy anymore. I didn't want my love to see me like this, but I also didn't want him to be sad.
I guess, I had no more--
A scream painfully ripped its way past my throat. I couldn't call it back.
--choice in the matter.
Suddenly, death--
I felt tears come into my eyes and then swiftly glide down my face, making no audible sound as the rush hit the floor. This situation was SO unfair! I wanted to see Koenma again, but... in my current state...
--didn't sound so bad.
"...nma... ai..shi..."
Before I could finish my sentence, my mind was no longer my own, and spiraled swiftly into darkness. But I knew one thing...
...I was dying.
I just hoped I could see Koenma again one more time.
End Day 16
Waaaa~.. Did I write this? Tell me I didn't write this!! *shakes muse* You'd better not make me kill Kurohi!!
Muse: *being shaken* I may have had you write it, but what about that dream you had last night when this axe-wielding god tried to kill you like in one of those stupid horror movies?
And you call it a dream because **why**? 'Why's she tryin' to change the subject...?'
Muse: 'cuz you don't cry or nothin' in your sleep, even when nightmares plague it! My god, you seem indestructible in that department lately!
*growling sleepily*
Muse: Plus, you're a bit strange when you just wake up.
-_- Note to self: Kill this muse and get a better one! I PROMISE a happy ending! I **totally** dig happy endings!!
Muse: You'd kill a muse that looks like a cat mixed with a dragon?
NEVER MIND~! Forget I said that! *glomps muse*
Muse: O_o She is officially WeIrD!
Anyway, you will pay DEARLY if you make me kill Kurohi! I will NOT have this be one of my overly angsty I-Kill-My-Own-OC-And-Don't-Resurrect-It fics!
Read & Review!
Started 6/3/03, 7:38PM; Finished 6/7/03, 8:16AM