dont own YYH

dont worry, my faithful readers, this story has a happy ending! therefor, this is not it. keep with me, it will turn out just fine.


Chapt. 55

Everlasting Trust

"Run!! Run away, Darkfire!" Hiei screams.

"I won't!" I shout back, forming a ball of fire.

"Run!"

"I can't!"

"Please, run!"

"NO!!" I cry, throwing the large ball at him. He screeches in pain as the fire incinerates his body and soul. "Hiei!!"

Darkness envelops me, casting the burning form of Hiei away.

"Hiei!!"

"Now, you die," a voice whispers. Pain, immense pain, blankets my body.

"No!" I gasp, jolting awake. I desperately try to slow my heavy breathing while wiping the sweat from my face. Once my heart stopped pounding and my breathing was normal, I stood and dusted myself off.

Ever since his death, that nightmare has plagued my sleep. But I knew that wasn't how it happened. He killed himself. I just killed other beings.

"I'm tired of this," I sigh, looking up into the blue sky. "Two years have passed and thousands have died by my claws, it's time to end this."

After the meeting and parting with my mother, another slow year of blood passed by. So, two years ago, Hiei committed seppuku. I missed that bastard, the man I loved. But I didn't expect him to return.

"Puu!!"

I look behind me and see a flying blue creature.

"Puu!!" it shrieks again. I hold out my hands and he rests in them. "Puu."

"Did Yusuke send you?" I ask him.

"Puu," he coos, shaking its body to say no.

"Can you bring him to me? Can you bring them all to me, Puu? I'll be waiting here." As if setting a bird free, I push him into the air.

"Puu!" he cries, flying away.

I sit down on the edge of the cliff and look into the valley below. It was a lush green with trees and bushes and shrubs scattered throughout its vastness. Deer and elk and rabbits lived there peacefully, living in balance with the cougars and bears and foxes that hunted them. Birds chirped blissfully through the air. A small stream ran through the middle of the valley, pooling in the center. Hawks and eagles dove towards the water and pulled up before crashing into the surface, sporting a squirming fish in their talons.

Sweet bliss.

"Darkfire!"

I turn slowly and look up at Yusuke. His brown eyes were sad, yet happy too. Looking back into the valley, I stand up on the edge.

"Don't, please!" Yusuke begs, believing me to jump at any moment.

"I'm not going to, Yusuke," I say, turning to him and the other two. "Instead, I'm giving myself up. I'm done killing." I hold out my hands and kneel on the ground.

"Stand up," Yusuke barks.

I obey slowly.

"I didn't come here to arrest you like a criminal."

"But that is what I am, Yusuke."

"Darkfire, please step from the edge," Kurama smiles, taking a small step towards me. I do as he asked. A sharp blunt pain hits the back of my neck and all goes black.


"So, this is what you're going to do again? Sleep until you have a reason to get up?" a man ridicules. "That's terribly pathetic."

A bit groggy, I open my eyes and sit up, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Hiei?" I mumble, looking around the room.

"You should know the answer to that one, Darkfire. Or have your senses diminished over these years?" the man belittles me.

My eyes rest on Yusuke, the only other person in the room. His scent was wonderfully familiar to me; I felt at home. He hadn't changed any. His hair was still long and tied back loosely, his eyes were still a soft but piercing brown, and his smile welcomed me home. I felt the love I had for him being renewed. You know, that love you get when you see the brother you thought you'd never see again.

"Yusuke, I missed you," I say sadly, looking at the purple bedding.

"And we missed you, too," he replies, standing and walking over to me. Sitting down beside me, he pulls me close to him and holds me tight. My eyes widen and my body tenses up. My mind told me to push him away and kill him, but my heart told me to accept his love.

"Yusuke, how can you trust a murderer?" I ask him, relaxing a bit. Just a bit.

"You were my friend first. Besides, I already have two friends that were killers and thieves."

I sigh, relaxing my muscles, still battling in my mind. It felt good to be held again. I missed the feeling of comfort. A feeling I wanted more of.

"Darkfire," another man sighs, opening a door. Yusuke releases me and I look up into beautiful green eyes. His fire red hair was tied back in a similar fashion as Yusuke's. He wasn't wearing a business suit or a purple school uniform, but instead gray sweatpants, a white tank top, and tennis shoes. It was an uncommon look for him.

"Kurama," I smile, eying his outfit.

"Pardon me, but I was doing a bit of running," he apologizes, sweat dripping slightly from his hair.

"Don't apologize to me. It's just good to be…" I pause, unsure of what to say.

"Home," Kurama finishes, walking to me and pulling me up into a loving hug. Again I tensed. But, again, I relaxed, taking in the sweet aroma of roses. This was another brotherly love that I felt in Kurama's arms.

"Yes, home," I whisper, leaning my head on his shoulder. I kept my hands at my sides, not letting them wrap around my friend. They were accustomed now to ripping apart flesh, they weren't used to comfort any more. Tainted hands remain tainted, no matter how many times you wash them.

"Koenma, he wants to see you," Kurama whispers in my ear after a bit.

I nod and let myself step from Kurama's loosened grip.

"Of course he does," I smile weakly, looking at the floor.

"Hey, it'll be just fine. I promise," Yusuke says, rubbing my shoulder gently.

"Hmm." I walk out into a hall, recognizing it immediately. I was in the Reikai, the same hall that Hiei lived in. Looking down the left hall, I saw the dead end door, Hiei's door.

I walk mechanically down the right hall, my mind not knowing why my footing was so sure. Soon, I reach large wooden doors, familiar as they were. Yusuke opens the door and walks through.

"Well, you ready?" Kurama asks, stopping at my side.

"I've never been more ready," I answer coolly, walking in with confidence.

"Darkfire, I never thought I'd see you again," the junior ruler, in his teen form, grins. "Welcome back."

I bow. "Koenma-sama." He touches my shoulder and I tense. My hands become fists and I struggle to keep them at my sides.

"Do you fear me?" he asks, appalled by my strange behavior, causing him to remove his hand slightly.

"No, sir. It is not you I fear, but myself. I fear for your life ending by my hands."

He rests his hands on my shoulders and squeezes gently. "If I do not fear for my life in your presence, why do you?"

I look up at him, a quizzical look on my face.

His brown eyes smile at me while his mouth remained in a firm line. He trusted me as Yusuke and Kurama did. I had killed innocent people without remorse, and these people looked at me as though I had done them a favor. I didn't understand.

"He's ready."

Koenma turns to a far door and nods. A tall man walks in. He was carrying a limp body in his arms, gently laying him on the floor. The tall man had orange hair cut into something like an army style. His hard but gentle eyes look at me with remembrance. It was a happy look.

"Darkfire," he smiles.

"Kuwabara," I smirk lightly, straightening up. I look at the man on the floor. His hair was a midnight black with blue streaks and a white starburst. There was a slight curved line cut into his forehead, slightly hidden beneath his bangs. He was wearing a black tank top and black training pants, almost like a cross between sweatpants and jeans. His feet were bare and his right arm had a black dragon tattoo spiraling down it, its head resting just above the back of his hand.

I almost cried. "Hiei…"

"He needs you now," Koenma says, looking at me.

I step towards the limp figure of Hiei, stopping just shy of him. A faint, slow heartbeat sounded. Slow, calm breathing escaped him. He looked almost peaceful. Almost.

"You have the chance to bring him back. The chance to mend wounds created by his death," Yusuke whispers.

I turn on him and glare coldly. He didn't flinch under this hard, cruel, deathly gaze. He showed no fear towards me.