Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho © Yoshihiro Togashi
Aria of the Tempest
By Zelia Theb
Prologue
Melodious drops of rain dost fall
From black pearl fingers of rebellious night
Cascading below fair pallid brow
Onto lips of crimson light
Yusuke…idiot. Why did he stay behind? Idiot. Puddles splash us as we run; as if we could soak in any more of this polluted water. The weather is terrible; even I would not sleep outside on a night like this; though if I had to, I would not choose the darkened and dirty streets of this cursed city.
My boots become even more soaked as we plod together into another abyss of rain water; sending the fiery image of stale orange streetlights into rippled circles and droplets. I'm surprised that he can keep up with me.
"You're too slow, Hiei!" he shouts between pants for air, "Just take it and go ahead!"
I glare at him as he wipes away deluges of salted water from his brow, and remark, "No!" We turn another seemingly abandoned street corner. There is a darkly dressed woman smoking under an umbrella, watching us with disinterest from across the street.
"No?" Yusuke shouts, speeding up with me as we hear our pursuer gaining on us.
"Do you have water in your ears, Detective?" I growl back, my eyes forward, "You said the same thing earlier, for the exact same reason. Now keep going!" He grunts at me in agreement and turns his own gaze ahead of us again, neither of us having the time to look back. Good. For Koenma's sake I hope the human got out of the street.
"Here!" Yusuke motions, his foot hitting the slick pavement; sending waves of water into our faces. I follow him, darting into the black alleyway, and run fast down the long straight back-walk of the buildings. Wet boxes, garbage, and empty wooden crates line the already narrow cut-through; we have to leap over most of it as if this were some sort of obstacle course.
There is a junction leading back out to the street; it's behind a tall chain link fence. Luckily it is the detective who is with me, and not that lousy oaf. He would spend most of his time attempting to climb the thing, instead of using his Spirit Sword the way that it should be used; to destroy things.
"Up we go!" he remarks as I leap over, landing a few inches from the brick wall of the blocking building. He jumps next, with far less agility but an intense amount of power, and makes it over. Rain drizzles down on our heads from ledges above as he underestimates his landing and stumbles, pushing my back heavily into the brick. I cough as my body thuds against the wall. Stupid. If only he had my own or even the fox's grace.
"Damn…" he whispers in my ear, having falling straight on top of me, "Sorry, Hiei."
"Is it safe?" I ask him as if it matters. Our pursuer is long gone, and we are close to meeting the others. He looks me in the eyes with confidence; it is a look that I know well; and pats his pocket, leaving his other hand planted on the slippery grit of rock.
"We're golden," he smiles. It fades, and I can see every detail in the dimmed light coming from various floors of the surrounding buildings. There is water everywhere, streaming from the follicles of his falling ebon locks, caressing each invisible hair on his face as it trickles over his lips. Droplets cling desperately to the tips of his eyelashes; tossed off every time he blinks.
Three seconds.
It is now that I feel the sheer exhaustion of the mission. The weight of our lives is still on our shoulders; we could die at any moment; and we almost did in the recent past. If we stay here much longer…we might just be consumed…
Four seconds.
There isn't a moment to lose. Thunder echoes across the sky, like we were trespassing on the storm's property; barking for us to leave.
Five seconds.
Rain pools at the edge of his nose; not one droplet can fall, not one.
Yusuke. You are beautiful.
Our bodies fiercely meet, crushing our drenched clothing together, and clinging our lips in a savage frenzy; like it's our last moment. I devour him; the motion is natural despite that I have never encountered this before. Our pace is fast, anxious…but there is no longer a concept of time because the only thing I know is that he is with me and that if we were to die a moment from now that I would know no pain and feel no anger.
Humans…the bastards.
Footsteps and splashes creep upon us. We find our hands entangled in our hair and clothing, then stare at each other in disbelief. Did we…truly…? Was that not a whimsical vision produced by some observed human behavior before imminent death? No…it was real. It happened. And now that we are going to live…I wish it hadn't.
"GO!" he shouts, pulling at me by my shoulders. We continue our mad dash out of the alleyway, rain pouring down so hard that we can barely see. But I need no sight to know who's ahead. Thankfully, it's time to leave.
Dancing forever in well-kept storm
They fall in tune with the harsh wind's spell
If forever an if, than never for now
They act before the coming of Hell
…To be Continued…
Author's Note
Three seconds; there were three lines. Four; two lines. And so on. Just noticed that; it came out naturally but I guess it worked.
This is the poem in whole contained in the prologue. © Zelia Theb (That's me). It probably won't be a running thing, but since it's a prologue I can do whatever the heck I want.
Melodious drops of rain dost fall
From black pearl fingers of rebellious night
Cascading below fair pallid brow
Onto lips of crimson light
Dancing forever in well-kept storm
They fall in tune with the harsh wind's spell
If forever an if, than never for now
They act before the coming of Hell
