Chapter seven home

There will always be a way home.

Skye sat on the water, which rose and carried her up. The wind caressed her softly, and blew her hair back. It must have been a nuisance having such long hair, always in her face. Kurama turned to look behind him at a noise, and blinked.

The gentle scene was gone, replaces by mist and trees so twisted they seemed to be doubled over in unspeakable agony. Blood ran from many deep gashes in them, and dull, pitted axes dotted the ground.

Plants rose up around his knees, begging him to help them, heal them, take them away from this place.

"I am sorry, but I must find…"

"Kill the men, men to betray. Kill the women, who are betrayed. Kill the children, wretched creatures set to grow. Grow to hate. Grow to glow with hatred. Glow with blood and hatred. Blood so red, so sweet, so warm. Warm as the beating heart that stills. Kills. Kill the heart who's beating stills. Kill the heart and save the soul. Soul that runs, and runs and runs. Kill for fun, kill for fun. Kill to end the heart. End the heart that speaks to me. Speaks to me with words of glee. Unholy glee, so kill the heart. Kill the heart and end me."

Hiei, where are you?

"Hiei, come out! Look where this has taken you! Do you see this place? Come out, end this!"

"Kill the heart and save the soul. Soul that runs, and runs and run. Kill for fun, kill for fun. Kill to end the heart. End the heart that speaks to me. Speaks to me with words of glee. Unholy glee, so kill the heart. Kill the heart and end me."

"Hiei, please, listen to me! This is sick, do you hear yourself? Stop this, this isn't you!"

"END THE HEART THAT SPEAKS TO ME. SPEAKS TO ME WITH WORDS OF GLEE. UNHOLY GLEE, SO KILL THE HEART! KILL THE HEART AND END ME!"

"Listen to me…"

But no one was listening.

"LISTEN TO ME!" Kurama shouted, thrashing in his sheets, still feeling the chains that had descended at the end of the dream. But they were just sheets. Just bits of cloth, wet with sweat.

He was feverish, he should not be sweating.

Unless it had broken?

But he could still feel the fever waging war with the Pox, shook his head to clear the cobwebs of sleep, if you could call that sleep. Sleep, but not rest, never rest. He was so tired.

"Are you alright?" Hiei! He was here, and he would be able to speak with Kurama and sort it all out. But Kurama didn't know how to begin describing the terror, the words spoken with such lack of feeling that it would make most lost the contents of their stomachs.

"You were speaking. It was terrible, it wasn't you, but it was your voice. Blood so red, so sweet, so warm. Warm as the beating heart that stills…. But how could that be you? You've been known to be cold, but that wasn't cold, it was monstrous…" Hiei did not try to tell him he was right, that that wasn't him, and it terrified his feverish mind.

"Kurama, things are changing." No! That wasn't what he was supposed to say! Please, make this be part of the dream. Make him not be changing. Make things be the way they should be.

"No, don't say that. Please, don't, listen to me! I'll go to Hell with you, if that's what it takes, but don't send us both there if you can help it. Koenma allowed you to redeem yourself, you can cleanse this too. If you refuse to listen… if Yusuke and I are told to track you down…I'll stand with you, against Yusuke and all I stand for, if you force me to. But I won't lose you." The last words were said so fiercely that that alone made Hiei want to reconsider his path.

But it was too late for that.

Too late to save anyone by stopping and leaving his heart bare, to be torn.

"It's not too late. You can still turn back and save yourself, can still save the humans who you would have killed. They all have friends and family who will want to die themselves, it would hurt so terribly. Do any of them deserve to live less than me?"

"Yes, all of them put together deserve less." Hiei snapped icily. Kurama was stunned, but not so much as Hiei. What am I doing? I never snap at Kurama, he saved me from that awful…nothingness…that void I created for myself, he's been my best friend for how long now? And I'm snapping at him? We always got along!

"I didn't mean that, fox." he tried to say. But the agonized, sorrowing look on Kurama's face did not fade.

"Yes," he said softly, "You did."

They held each other's gaze for a moment, and then held each other close, knowing there was nothing more precious to either of them than each other. They were closer than brother's even, they shared a soul. And Hiei was breaking Kurama's heart.

"There is always a way back home, Hiei. Please." Kurama told him, trying not to let the tears escape him. For the first time in his entire life, as Youko or Ningen, he thought he saw a tear in Hiei's eyes. But perhaps it was a trick of the moonlight playing off the pool of water, for when he looked close, it was gone.

"I'll stop, I'll change, if that's what you really want." Hiei said finally.

A small noise came from the pool, when Kurama looked, Alut'tum was sitting there. She had finally decided to show herself to the demon she had described as full of hate.

"Alut'tum. How fare the silver waters?"

"Bright and swift. How fares the growing earth?"

"Strong and green. How fare the burning flames?"

"Just and versatile. How fare the clever winds?"

"They bear lighter news."

"May the Spirit grant us further joy."

"Hiei, this is Alut'tum, a friend." Kurama turned to Hiei, and saw his face was black with rage.

"She's a spy of Koenma's! She's here to track me down! You brought her here. Traitor. You brought her so Koenma's agents could hunt me like an animal. Always a way back home," he spat, "A way home to hell!"

"Hiei, that isn't true." Kurama whispered, horrified. How could Hiei ever, ever think that he could bring someone to kill him? After all they'd been through together? He wasn't sure how long they had been closer than brothers, but he knew it was a century or more.

"Liar! I trusted you!"

"Hiei, please, Alut'tum doesn't have anything to do with Koenma, I don't even think she belongs to Makai! Or Reikai, or Ningenkai! Have I ever lied to you? Ever?" Kurama pleaded with him not to speak like this. He had never doubted Hiei's trust in him, yet the sight of Alut'tum had sparked something in the demon.

"You have now. A friend of Skye's? And who is Skye Wingthorn anyway? Some whore from off the streets that Yusuke found to 'help'? I wonder, why hasn't she asked to be paid? Has she already been paid, not in money? I bet that's what she works for. How do I know she isn't poisoning you?"

"Skye wouldn't do that, and you know it."

"I don't know it, all I know is that she's trying to turn you away from me."

"Hiei, don't say things like that. It isn't true."

"How do I know truth even exists anymore?"

Hiei closed the door behind him when he left, and Kurama felt as though he had said goodbye, and forever this time.