Dragon's Sacrifice:
Explanation
He lay on the ground, singed, battered, bleeding and amazingly still breathing. Dark purple bruises decorated his chest and his clothes were burnt to a crisp in some areas. Blood leaked from the side of his mouth and his head wounds, getting into his eyes as it trickled down the side of his face. He could feel his entire being throbbing with pain and his breath was harder to catch than usual. Slowly, he pushed himself off the ground to sit up facing Mukuro; he knew that she would not let him rest too long between sustaining hits from her. It was a simple action, but his world spun even harder, he had to squint to focus on her.
She on the other hand, sat on her wide, comfortably cushioned chair, with her legs crossed and arms folded, watching his every move. Still appearing to be unscathed, the only evidence of her exertion due to battle was her slightly accelerated breathing, and even then, it was not that obvious. Frowning slightly, she finally decided that the test had come to an end.
" I tire of this aimless spar. It's obvious that you have not reached my level of ability. And do not have the answer to the question I have posed. Why don't you just go on and look for Koenma, get the answer and tell me after that?" the last question being more rhetorical than query, was coupled with a wave of her hand, dismissing him. But quietly, to herself, she noted that he had improved tremendously. In fact, he never failed to surprise her with how much faster or more skilled he had become since the last spar. He just won't rest till he's proven himself…looks like I've finally found the perfect heir for my third of Makai…
She continued to watch him pick himself off the ground and stumble slightly as he limped out of her chamber. Her sensitive hearing also picked up a string of rather colourful expletives, at which she just had to chuckle…always the expressive one.
He dropped by the chamber allocated to him in her immense fortress to get himself cleaned up as best as he could. Throwing on some new clean clothes, he left for Reikai with his trusty katana strapped at his side and a limp.
~*~
The blue-capped toddler paced the length of his table in frustration. The only day his workload was cleared, he had to spend waiting for a fire youkai who did not know the value of punctuality. Grinding down hard on his pacifier, he willed himself not to yell at Hiei as the wooden doors opened to admit the demon. He observed that Hiei, though clean, controlled and calm, did show signs of stiffness in his movement. There can be no other explanation, he must have gotten into another fight with Mukuro…nobody else can thrash him like that.
Almost as though he could read Koenma's mind, he glared hard at the toddler, daring him to court death by passing a quick quip. Of course it never came because Koenma, as much as he shared everybody else's like for teasing Hiei, was not stupid. Instead, he adjusted his cap one more time before clearing his throat to signify the start of the briefing.
"Ahem…Hiei, tell me what you know about the Aoryuha."
At this, Hiei was caught by surprise, almond shaped eyes widening questioningly. He thought about it a while before finally offering an answer.
"It's like my Black Dragon Wave attack. Except that it's rarely seen and attacks deal with the elements of water and ice. There is also no known way of acquiring it. Is there a point to this discussion? And does the point have anything to so with Yukiko?"
Koenma nodded his head gravely. Eyebrows furrowed in thought, he walked over to the edge of the table to climb back into his seat. Once he had settled in comfortably, he continued,
"You are correct. This has everything to do with Yukiko, and there is no known way of acquiring the technique because you can't, it's a birthright," pausing slightly to make sure he got Hiei's attention, he continued, "Would you care to hear a story?"
Hiei cocked his head to one side, it was not a 'yes' but he was curious now as to just what Koenma was getting at. Koenma took this as a signal to proceed with his storytelling. Resting his arms on the armrests, he touched tips of his fingers and stared into the pyramid it created, before looking straight at Hiei to begin his tale.
" You've no doubt heard about the reign of the Makai Dragons that existed long before the tri-balance that now keeps order in your world? [Hiei gave a slight nod, refraining from interrupting Koenma's story.] The Dragons were noble creatures that had earned the respect of my father, Enma Daioh. As a show of his favour to them, he had blessed two of the un-hatched young of the *Grand Emerald. At that time, Meikai was still in existence, under the rule of Yakumo. [Hiei's eyes grew dark as he recalled the Reikai Tantei's recent skirmish with the Dark Lord.] It wasn't many months later that under the cover of dark, these two precious children were stolen. Of course Makai was thrown into a panic. Every inch of Makai was scoured, no rock was left unturned and no cave undiscovered. But the Royal Eggs weren't in Makai. They were already in the hands of the Ruler of Meikai, Yakumo, and nobody knew better. The eggs were never recovered. Over a few decades the search lost its vigor and they were mourned as one of the lost. During those years, Yakumo had reared them as his own, harnessing every last ounce of use he could from them. You must know that dragons possess immense strength, both physical and ki likewise. [Hiei gave a nod to convey silently that he knew this and that Koenma still had his attention.] However, Yakumo discovered something else. Having been blessed by a God, the twin young of the Grand Emerald were bestowed with the gift of immortality; they were made into Demi-Gods."
Koenma paused here to drink a bit of water by his table-side. Hiei just shifted uncomfortably, the history lesson had an ominous undertone, and its close relation with his current situation was not making the story any more light-hearted for him. Not liking the awkward silence, he prompted the progression of the conversation,
" And then what happened?"
Koenma just had to smirk, it was not often that you see Hiei so concerned over an ending of a story that did not have some immediate benefit to him. But he too wanted to get this discussion over and done with.
"Well, he had turned them into the perfect instruments of death- smart, swift and deadly. Exactly 500 years after their abduction, he unleashed them on Makai. In one foul swoop, with only the two of them backed up with no more than 1000 of his own minions, he wiped out the entire race of Dragons and captured Makai."
"But all that is just a history lesson. What's the real point of your story?"
"Sharp as always, Hiei. You are, again, correct. That was just to give you a rough back ground and introduction to the people you'll be dealing with, or should I say creatures? [Hiei's brows furrowed as his eyes narrowed warily.] The siblings were named after their attributes, Hotaryu and Mizuryu."
"Fire and water…", Hiei breathed out.
Koenma nodded to acknowledge that Hiei had once again arrived at the right answer.
"Both Hotaryu and Mizuryu were subdued by Reikai forces after the fall of Yakumo to my Father Enma Diaoh. They were both brought back to Reikai to be judged. It was then decided that they be allowed to exist and work under Reikai's will for various reasons. Firstly, it was obvious that since they could not be killed, something other punishment had to be meted out. Secondly, they were the last of the species that Enma had shown favour to and even went as far as to bless, to kill them would have been a mockery. However, the problem arose when Hotaryu, true to the chaotic nature of fire, refused to be chained to us against his will, so he rebelled. He seeked to re-establish the Draconic rule in Makai by conquering it entirely. And ensuring the continuity of his species with the help of his sister Mizuryu. His sister on the other hand, Mizuryu, was of a more peace-loving nature, but in truth was the stronger of the two because she had greater control of her powers and a rational mind behind her actions. It was she who proposed the idea that helped us solve our problem."
"Get on with it already, you're wasting my time with all these dramatic statements of yours." Hiei stated coldly. It was hard to distinguish if he was interested of impatient, but either reaction to his story meant that Koenma had to speed up his storytelling if he were to escape Hiei tearing up his office in anger.
"Her brother, she felt, should be imprisoned at five hundred year intervals. After each duration he would be given the opportunity to realize his dream, should he succeed in passing the test, he would be allowed to have his way, if he failed, he would have to wait another five centuries. When we questioned her what test would be strong enough to prevent such a catastrophe as his freedom, she sacrificed herself. She was willing to reduce herself from the majesty of her true form to a fleeting spirit-mark allowed into Makai to possess any soul she choses in order to counter her brother when he was awakens. Reikai agreed because we understood that Hotaryu would never be stronger than his sister. He possesses control over neither his emotions nor power, which means the only chance he has of beating her, is to learn her control. By which time, they would see eye to eye, and he would abandon his cause. Perhaps the only drawback of this solutions is that Reikai no longer has a say in the dragon affairs since they are used to control one another." The last line was said more to himself than to Hiei.
Koenma spied a smirk form on Hiei's lips but as long as he could not read his mind, he would never know what the fire demon was thinking.
Just like water in a stream that runs into a boulder, knowing it cannot pass through it, it flows around it. She never wanted to be your lackey, this five hundred year game of hers is to entertain herself and avoid bending to Reikai's will…Shaking his head in amusement, Hiei decided to bring the conversation to a close,
"So I'm to assume that the Spirit-mark is the Aoryuha and that Yukiko is actually Mizuryu, the most powerful being in Makai right now?" Hiei's incredulous tone could have led one to believe he was really impressed or merely being sarcastic.
"Yes but the power is not without sacrifice. You were chosen because you know this best. The same way you had to sacrifice your Demon Class to get your Jagan and your right arm initially to learn the Kokuryuha, the power of Mizuryu bestowed on Yukiko through Aoryuha will be paid for with her life."
Hiei turned to leave Koenma's office, signaling that he had heard enough, hence the end of the conversation. Hiei's lack of response or promise unsettled Koenma somewhat, feeling the need to reassure himself. He called out one last time,
"At the risk of sounding cheesy, the fate of Makai rests in your hands Hiei, I hope you know what to do!"
As he walked out of Reikai, Hiei thought of theTri-Balance, and for some strange reason, Mukuro seemed to loom over all his thoughts.
Author's ramblings:
Woah! I did like more than half of this fic in like one sitting! Well I'm really sorry about the long wait pple but I've been very busy just trying to cope with the suffocating workload from school + studies + CCA responsibilities. So I needed to unwind so I decided to finish up this fic. I can't believe I've reduced myself to such a state where I write to relieve stress. Anyway, thank you for taking time to read this. If it's not up to your reading standard please feel free to drop me a review to blast me to kingdom come or give me the shelling of my life. I'll appreciate it either ways. If there are any queries or if I left out anything feel free to drop me an email and I'll answer all your questions.
O! And please tell me if it's a believable plot. Thx!
*Grand Emerald = the dragon ruler of that time.