Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho © Yoshihiro Togashi.

Note: Alternate Universe turns one this July!

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Alternate Universe

By Zelia Theb


All of this time I have been a fool. As usual. My humanity is always my weakness. So what is this? Why am I running as if I were still the four-legged fox? Weaving between the trees to catch this ebon blur of moonlight?

Do I love Hiei as well? No… but he must love me. And freely, he nearly admitted it in front of Yusuke; someone who he would have previously claimed that he needed no love to. He normally does that. He can never admit his weakness to those he respects (1).

The blur becomes lucid now. Is he weak? Is he…?

"Look out, Kurama!" he shouts at me. I feel it now; we are being ambushed. But by who? I do a handspring on my right hand, and land back to back with Hiei; who leaps forward with his sword as soon as I regain my composure.

A bruised ogre a mite taller than Kuwabara lunges for me. I focus my energy into the grass, waiting for the precise moment…

These are weak creatures. Are they twins? That would account for their synchronization; however, they are still not worthy of being our foes.

Neon sunlight splatters across the mud and bamboo shoots of the forest as Hiei slays the second ogre. My opponent lands and faces me, a look of despair and rage upon his face.

Merely pawns. It's a shame that they must die. Go.

"Arrggh!" he lets out as leaves burst out through his ankles and knees. Die. I will the mutated plant to race through his heart, and sprout through his ribcage as he falls face forward; as a corpse.

No sooner can I get to the purpose of my pursuit does Hiei remark, "It's beginning. You should go back to him."

"What do you mean, Hiei?" I ask in a frenzy.

"They've set a trap for the two of you." He paces away from me slowly, and I follow him from the bloodied mess as he rests against one of the trees. I seat myself next to him, in face of the urgency within my heart to run back to Yusuke, and wait for him to explain.

Ruby meets coal as he stares up into the calm of the night. I actually hear him sigh in a slip of vulnerability as he says, "They're taking advantage of you. The Detective is in danger."

I make a move to leap, however; Hiei has stopped my by the wrist. He continues, changing the subject; "I don't care, Kurama." Can Yusuke take care of himself? Perhaps…Kuwabara and Botan are there as well; and I don't sense anything else in the area. Hiei must have noticed my concern, and he says, "Not yet. Perhaps they underestimated the Detective, and these louts were actually the ones sent to capture him."

I ask him a question that I should have asked long ago; "Are you angry with me?"

His eyes shift to the side and greet me quickly, before gazing back up into the sky. He replies calmly, "Yes."

A breeze courses through the forest, sending our hair into waves. It calms my nerves and now I can think rationally again. An enveloping sense of clairvoyance takes me by force when I realize that perhaps Hiei did not feel as he thought he did. I need not even request him to explain; he already knows. Perhaps it was this sort of conversation; this lack of explanation through dialogue through which he confused himself.

"I want to go home, Kurama." He crosses his arms over his katana and looks down; "It's not the same as what you described to that boy." Recalling what he said the first time we had ever met, he remarks, "Here's me looking stupid."

Humans are not so unlike demons. I realize now that perhaps it is a demon prejudice to think that being human is disgusting, when all in all our traits, thoughts, and feelings are the same. There are kind demons just as there are evil ones. Hiei…he is just naïve. Mistaken.

"Yusuke and I are not seeing each other, Hiei," I inform him, "He does not feel as I thought. So in a sense, perhaps I should be saying the same." Another thought crosses my mind. Hiei knows much more about Anduromida than the rest of us, and his words lead me to believe that there is an easy way home.

"Hiei," I begin, "Is there something between the two of you?" He knows who I mean, and that is the half-breed, Mairaku.

He chuckles and remarks, "Feh. He wishes." He stands and I follow the motion, pacing ourselves into a steady walk back to the commandeered temple.

"So you'll not betray us?"

"I was going to go alone. If the rest of you weren't around, then it would have been betrayal." My friend grunts as he shoves a hand into his pocket; "Hn. Only to have Koenma send another group after me. It's not worth the annoyance."

This time I am smiling. Hiei doesn't speak so often, but when he does, he can often do it without thinking first; using his emotions as a leader instead of his mind. While I want to tease him for the friendly remark, I realize that he has said something very interesting, leading me to question, "Hiei? What is it that Mairaku has told you? Is there only one method home?"

"Yes."

I'm in shock. Hiei was clearly asked what he knew earlier, and if there was anything else. Maybe it wasn't his emotion that lead him to his treacherous thoughts. Even so, I am thankful to know that his feelings for me were false; for if I was someone as dear as Yukina the circumstance would be different. However…

"I did think of telling you, fox," Hiei quips bitterly, "But at the time those idiots couldn't stop annoying me."

I want to say something. I want to analyze the situation. I want to-

"Go!" Hiei shouts to me, breaking into a full-fledged sprint toward the temple. I begin following, my pace hastening when I hear Botan's scream floating on the winds. I knew it! I should have just left earlier! This cursed Shuichi is getting far too annoying to deal with. Who needs closure?

"If it's opened in the Demon World, that's where you land," Hiei shouts to me, making sure to get out every last detail of information in case we need to split up.

I ruthlessly tear a branch from a tree as I bound though the forest, "Which is why they need to ritual summon the beasts. Why haven't you slain Mairaku yet?"

The demon jumps over a fallen tree as we reach the clearing and answers, "Hn. Shows how logical you're thinking, Kurama." What?

It is then that Yusuke leaps out of a window, tumbling into the grass and then aiming his Spirit Gun as if waiting for his pursuer. The most pallid of their triad follows soon after, followed by a small legion of bat-like minions. There is commotion from within the dwelling; it is most certainly Kuwabara staving off more of the lesser demons.

It is unusual. The toxic mutation of our surroundings and the tree limb I hold in my hand…Just what happened here to create this?


Damn it. Damn it. DAMN IT.

Hiei bolts into the place just as this blue freak conveniently binds me in some sort of energy binds. The least the guy could've done was help me break them! I mean, he knows what they are, right? And Kurama…

Why are you standing there like that? What is that look in your eyes?

Stupid move, Yusuke. Get distracted for one second and he tightens up on you. I feel like (and probably look like) a dog on a giant energy leash. Alpheratz tugs down really quick, slamming my body into the ground. Ugh. What the hell is this? I feel like my insides have been shattered.

"Yusuke!" Kurama exclaims in a deeper voice. …The hell? Blood fills my mouth and I start coughing so that I don't drown. Why am I always coughing up blood?

Alpheratz let's out an evilly low and malevolent laugh. Shy guy no more, that's for sure. He chuckles on and on until he says, "I had thought of just making a simple exchange, but this is just too much fun!" With that, he picks me up and slams me down again. I hear footsteps through the tough grass and then feel his foot kick hard into my ribs.

I can do nothing. It's like my aura is restricted, or something. I can't even get up; I can only see Kurama through the blades of grass. It's like I'm in some sorta green barred jail cell. The beating of the bats' wings are starting to go in synch with my heart. And him! Alpheratz keeps laughing…laughing…and laughing! He's mocking Kurama, I just know it. And all I can sit here and do is act like a chick tied to the railroad tracks.

The redhead stares straight into him, gripping tightly to the branch he ran back with. It's jagged at the ends, but fresh and not burnt; like he violently ripped it off of a tree in anger.

Just what are you thinking, Kurama?

To Be Continued…

(1) Mukuro. That's not to say that this story is on a timeline. Since clearly, it isn't!


Author's Note

Not much to say here. My goal for this chapter was to do three things.

1) Eliminate the reason I hate this story so much. Which is; and I quote from my own website "Artificial Robot":

"The sad news about story status is that I am discontinuing Alternate Universe. Some of you will hate me. Some of you will rejoice. Let's just say this...It isn't a way for me to get out of updating it by May. I just seriously hate that fic. I hate the Hiei-Kurama pairing...well, writing about it that is. I'll read it. When I had written that, I basically made Hiei be in love with Kurama, but not the other way around, because I just wanted to add some tension. I had thought of nothing to back up why Hiei would love Kurama, because there is nothing in the series that proves this or can even give back up to THAT (Now, there's minor evidence that Kurama loves Hiei, but not for Hiei to Kurama). I have a hard time writing the boys out of character."

2) Progress the story to the actual plot; which is for the boys to basically find their way home.

3) Give the small number of fans their well deserved update. Since this is an incredibly unpopular story.

Goal accomplished!

Unusual tidbit about #3. I tend to compare chapter reviews vs chapters to get an average. This story is about as "popular" as Black Suicide, however, I seem to think that Black Suicide has more fans. But the fans of this fic actually get what's going on.

That's it for this story. I just want to clarify one more thing. Fans of Hiei's Textbook Dates seem to think that it had a happy ending. It didn't; it only had a resolution. So go back and reread it with that knowledge, and you'll understand just what I mean!

Zelia