Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi, Shonen Jump, FUNimation, etc. However, I do own the idea for this story. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Warning(s): This story contains utter horror. I myself had to have help writing a few of the scenes for lack of nerves. I highly suggest that if you can't handle something like this, then you don't read it at all. I will not be held accountable for anything that happens to someone if they do not read this and act without thinking of consequences.

Opening Notes: I have to say, I'm thrilled that so many people like this. n.n; Thanks for the reviews, everyone!

Yep, Rujutoshi, I'd have to say that Hiei seemed paranoid at the end, but hey, he just had a mental breakdown... What can you expect? (Even if he's the Jaganshi Hiei... Eh heh.) Besides, being paranoid is fun! Especially when it happens to bishounen! n.n

Celestial Paladin, hiyasan, Jade-chan, and Silverwinged-Raven! You all were absolutely correct as to what the Creature is! Thank God, my readers aren't completely stupid! ( 'Kidding, kidding...) Nice try, Raynin and Kousuke, but... nope. n.n;

Jade-chan: I haven't really thought about if Koenma's watching or not... It's not likely, though. But don't worry... Reikai's going to have to check up on him sometime, ne?

Jennifer, deary, the basement is the most terrifying place in any horror movie. Would I really use that so soon, or leave it until the end of the story? n.n;

Anyway! Onto the story, ne? This chapter seems rather rushed... Hm...

Proceed with caution.


Shadow House

Chapter Five: Blood Room

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As soon as the final word was engraved, the door swung open. However, Hiei remained where he was for several minutes, still trembling violently. His claws had dug into the palms of his hands, leaving many crescent-shaped cuts along them from which blood leaked out of. He whined again, resisting the urge to bury his head in his arms while he gazed at the open door.

'Hurry... There's an escape! Take it, quickly! Before it disappears!'

Wasting no time, Hiei leapt to his feet, shaking as he stumbled to the exit. His mind was clouded, unable to comprehend anything until he stopped, hearing the door close behind him softly.

He collapsed against the wall across from it, sweat dripping down his pale face as the terror began to leave him, just enough to let him think clearly. He glanced back to the battered door, whimpering under his breath.

'What's happening to me...?'

.-.-.

Hiei bit down on his lip, his eyes shutting for the moment as he tried to calm down. 'I've screwed up too many times... First, I was trapped in here... I let my guard down while that... thing... was attacking me, therefore letting it shatter my katana... I lost control up there, too... And I just had a breakdown...'

A small groan escaped him while he banged his head against the wall, causing a few bits of plaster and dust to fall from the ceiling. He paid no mind to them, instead glancing around the shadowed hallway. 'This place... This House... There's something... strange... about it, even if it's because of an illusion. No demon, no matter how insane they were, would be able to create this... It's too bizarre...'

The Jaganshi took a deep breath before pulling himself up, using the wall behind him for support. After steadying himself, he began to stumble back down the hall, continuing towards the next door that had a ki signature around it. (After all, the sooner he completed this mission, the sooner he would be able to get out of this Hell House.) It was near the end of the floor, almost appearing to be 'excluded' from the rest...

Hiei shook his head. Once again, he was being stupid. With a soft, rather dark chuckle, he strode over to the handle before throwing the door open, letting it crash into the wall beside it.

The room was slightly the same as the one before it. No furnishing or paint, and the floor was made of simple wood. The hiyoukai walked inside, finding that the floorboards were unusually thin, and that they would flex every few steps.

Two of the major differences in the room was that the ceiling was much higher up, and one of the walls was made up of a large bay window. Hiei made his way over to it, looking through the scratched glass. After several seconds he realized that he was gazing at a graveyard, and a very unkempt one at that. Weeds seemed to dominate everything, even having upturned many of the gravestones. Even so, the half-Koorime found that he preferred this room greatly to the one before it. 'How fitting...'

Hiei had been expecting for the door to slam behind him, but when it did, he couldn't help but jump a bit. With a heavy sigh, he turned around to look at the back of it only to see that there were words carved on this one as well; apparently, it was some sort of 'theme', in a way. He wouldn't have been surprised if there had been writing on the attic's trapdoor, too.

Welcome to the Blood Room.
We hope that you can swim.
But knowing you, you can't,
So your future's looking grim!

The Jaganshi read the 'poem' over quickly. His gaze widened for a moment before narrowing. The words were exactly right... He couldn't swim. He despised the water for obvious reasons, as he was a hiyoukai. A lot of water could severely damage a fire apparition, if not worse. For example, just being caught in the rain for a few minutes could lead to hypothermia, among other illnesses. He'd always made sure to keep away from it...

Hiei paused before deciding to speak. The apparent spell placed over these rooms had responded to his scream, after all. "Swimming is of no difficult task. Even a simpering fool such as you can do it..."

Just as he had predicted, several words appeared on one of the other walls, though it was not in the form of a poem or a chant this time; just a simple phrase...

We think that you're lying.

Hiei didn't have time to react due to the strange scent that suddenly filled his senses. It was metallic, and very heavy...

Blood.

The fire youkai looked around warily, trying to find the source. Nothing was dying, from what he could tell, and he wasn't wounded enough to have it come from him...

His gaze flickered up to the ceiling only to widen considerably. The garnet liquid was cascading from it, dripping down the walls and splattering down overhead. His blinked as a few drops landed on his nose before trickling into his mouth. He quickly spat it out while running over to the door.

As he had thought, it didn't open. Instead, Hiei leapt over to the window, pounding on it as hard as he could. It made no move to give way, and he eventually forced himself to stop, for it was rather pointless.

The blood was beginning to pool around Hiei's feet, and soon it reached up to his knees when the flow increased. It soaked into his cloak, causing the thick material to cling to his skin. He shivered involuntarily; the blood was unnaturally cold, when it should've been heated...

The Jaganshi growled darkly before dashing over to the nearest wall. Without hesitation, he dug his talons into the plaster while kicking the toe of his boot into it as well to create a foothold. He quickly began to climb, wincing as the blood ran over his hands and down his arms. He reached the ceiling soon enough, letting a sigh of relief escape him when he saw that the 'water' level was still far below him.

However, as soon as that thought crossed his mind, the blood began to spill down faster, and before Hiei knew it, the crimson had filled nearly to the top of the window. He looked above him, wondering if there was any way to escape by breaking back into the attic, while subconsciously becoming aware of the panic that started to well up inside of him.

All of a sudden, a jet of blood sprayed into his face, seemingly coming from no where. He yelped as it got into his eyes, causing them to sting horribly. It filled his mouth and overwhelmed his senses; and before he knew what was happened, he had released his grip on the wall.

With a deafening splash, the Jaganshi plummeted to the bottom of the pool of blood, his screams drowned out by the smothering liquid. The garnet was frigid enough that it seemed like it could sear the very flesh off his bones, like a collection of insanely sharp knifes. Shuddering, he tried to kick back to the surface, but his lack of swimming skills and fear seemed to weigh him down.

'...I-I'm going to drown...! Dammit, think of something!'

Swearing mentally as his feet brushed the floor, he kicked off, and attempted flailing his arms again. He needed to know how far he was from the surface... Reluctantly, he peeked his eyes open, wincing as the blood burned them. From what he could see, everywhere around him was an ocean of crimson. It was clouded and dense; he couldn't make out anything beyond it.

The hiyoukai started to choke over the blood, his air supply decreasing rapidly, his lungs pleading for oxygen. He squinted, hoping to keep his glare in place as dizziness threatened to consume him.

He began to feel a searing numbness as his mind grew fuzzy and prickling. He found it hard to breathe, and harder to stay awake. With each stroke of his arms, he found it strenuous and difficult to lift them back up. He gasped for air, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest, like a wild bird attempting to break free of the child's hands that bind its wings.

Instantaneously, Hiei fell limp as realization hit him. He hadn't made any progress at all; he was still at the bottom of the room, beneath a lake of blood... The Jaganshi whimpered, paralyzed with fear. He was going to die here... by drowning...

His lungs and heart felt as if they were close to exploding due to the stress on his body. The garnet liquid seemed to be pressing in on him from all sides, trying to crush him into nothing as if he were merely an annoying insect...

Suddenly, a terrible groaning noise filled his ears, somehow traveling through the crimson. The level seemed to drop while a creaking sound came from below the Jaganshi, followed by the sound of splintering wood.

Hiei realized what was happening a second too late, though he quickly tried to scramble sideways in an attempt to grab onto something.

Yet his efforts proved to be in vain, and the floor gave way beneath him and the many gallons of blood.


Ending Notes: Wow, is it just me, or were last two chapters rather short? o.o; Oh well. It's a short story; what can you expect?

I'd like to thank a friend of mine (you know who you are) for help with the drowning scene. n.n; I ran out of things to have Hiei do halfway through, and she helped, so... yeah!