Pairings are revealed. So is part of the conspiracy. But, because this is a suspense fic, I have every intention of keeping even more pairings and conspiracies secret until the next chapter as well. Tee hee.
Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho © Yoshihiro Togashi.
The Seibu Project
By Zelia Theb; © Zelia Theb.
The throbbing pain in my side had subsided. Kurama insisted that I used him as a crutch, much to my own protests, but I guess it wasn't really time to act like a big man, when it was obvious I was just a weak boy with absolutely no military training and a gigantic stab wound in my side.
We had gone back to taking pictures of our voyage into the depths of the base. I stress the word deep, because not only had we descended a few stair cases here and there, but the lights themselves acted as if they were being drained of their luminosity. On one rather short lived floor, we had even come upon the classic flickering bulb, swaying to and fro like a skull detached from its body and hanging by its spinal cord.
The air was more putrid than ever. It was clear to us that this part of the facility had not been seen by humans in years, possibly decades. Webs of dust and silk filled whatever corners they could, harboring the crusted exoskeletons of insects and spiders. Kuwabara found himself jealous of Hiei, because he was tired of getting sticky dead bugs in his face.
I heard Kurama's voice whisper next to me, "It's rather unusual that a pathway this useless would exist in this sort of establishment." He was right. Ever since I started walking again, we hadn't come across a single door, hatchway, or even fork in the road. Either this place was designed by an extremely sadistic five year old, it was done purposely to trap intruders, or worse, deter whatever was at the end of our tunnel from escaping.
"Guys, I'm not getting a very good vibe from this place." Kuwabara, coming through with one of his warnings. One would suggest that he pull his head out of the clouds and realize that the whole time we'd been there it was no cakewalk. But…
"I just got some sorta vision," he continued, ducking here and there to avoid more cobwebs. "There was this guy…I dunno, strapped into this chair. At first he was sleeping, being studied by a bunch of…I think…scientists? And then he was screaming…and then, that was it."
"Foreboding," Hiei muttered. His footsteps slowed to a sudden stop, their delayed echo reminding us of just how damn long the hallway was. He stared blankly ahead, and said nothing more than, "Kurama."
"Yes, unusual indeed Hiei," he replied. It took me a few seconds to get it, and Kuwabara another few after that. The cobwebs had gone from old, to new. With fresh spiders, might I add.
"What the hell are they eating to survive?" wondered Hiei for all of us.
"Beats me. Maybe we're close to an exit or something." My friend turned to me, looking for an answer. "Whaddya think, Urameshi?"
"Let's keep moving," I ordered them, hoping that perhaps we could end our boring walk and find some sort of answer to our living spider question. I faltered in Kurama's arms; where had my balance gone? He caught me before I even came close to hitting the ground. The anesthesia was overwhelming. I felt no pain, and could barely feel his hands.
"What the hell did you give him, fox?" I heard Hiei scorn at my left. We continued walking as Kurama tried to explain exactly what it was that I was drugged with. Hiei had a right to be concerned; the hour delay in the strong effect of the painkiller was unorthodox to say the least.
"I'm sorry, Yusuke," he whispered dejectedly. "It was the only one I had prepared…" Hiei let out a grunt then, I could swear that he was even more angry about it than anyone else, even though it was me who was drugged up and unable to walk straight. After some back and forth bantering, I found out that Kurama had given me Demon World's version of morphine. He even admitted that he might have messed up the dosage, and he sounded so hurt that he had made such a mistake. Personally, I was a bit pissed that I still needed to be babied and couldn't walk on my own, but not feeling any pain was bliss. Still, feeling my world swell around me when only moments ago everything was clear made my brain dizzy.
"I could give him something to counteract it, at least enough so…"
"Shut up fox. Your idiocy is only slowing us down. Just do it now before we split up." I remember looking up then. Split up? We finally found a junction, and Hiei was right; splitting up was going to be necessary. That was apparent when Kurama read the signs for us once more.
"Archive, left, and laboratory, right." He passed me on to Hiei, as if to challenge the demon to do better than he was doing. He also dropped crushed leaves, looking more like the ingredients to tea than a pain-giving drug, into the guy's hand, and instructed, "Just put this on the wound. It'll enter his bloodstream painlessly, and give him the ability to focus and walk. It acts fast, but then he will be able to feel a slight ache in his injury, if that's what you want."
Hiei set me down then, obviously disturbed by Kurama's insinuation. Kuwabara and I said nothing, we were bystanders as Kurama suggested that he and my classmate head toward the lab, while Hiei and I scour the archive. If we found anything, we were to come back to this exact point, and not travel in deeper.
With our plan laid out, our two bright haired allies departed with us. I didn't much like it, nor did I appreciate the pain that had set inside of me once Hiei had followed Kurama's instructions. I writhed a bit, trying to adjust to it again, and wondering why Hiei hadn't pressed me to hurry up and deal with it. Instead, once the footsteps of our companions faded, he actually loaned a hand for me to brace myself on when I stood.
"They're numerous, but weak," he stated as we walked, the anger induced from Kurama leaving his voice. "I could handle them easily if you want to search for Koenma's documents." If…normally I would have expected Hiei to just tell me what I was going to do, instead of ask.
"Or vice versa," I suggested with a grin. "You're so fast that you'd be able to snag anything and still have time left to fight. We'll both get some action that way, right?" I flashed him the Urameshi charm, which had no effect on him anyway, but I felt like I had to show him that I was okay. I recall sensing worry from him.
"Indeed, Detective."
We heard nothing for the next four minutes. The webs returned to housing dust and dead, and the stench of wood rot was prominent. Opening a door, we came upon the archive. It was littered with stacks of folders and documents, strewn across the floor in some instances, but for the most part they were guarding the top of desks. Disregarding the dust, it truly looked like someone was constantly cleaning up the mess of papers; the organization seemed very out of place.
"Prepare yourself, Yusuke," my ally warned. I knew that I had to; however, not only could I not see anything, this time I couldn't even feel it. Hiei must have understood this, and added, "I'll reveal them with the Jagan." I studied the area before us, waiting for something to materialize in front of my eyes. In my peripheral I caught sight of the implanted eye exuding a green aura, and as the glow faded out, our enemies faded in.
Only two, though. One was the spirit of an Asian man, dressed in some sort of uniform which appeared to be a cross between a doctor and a soldier. The other man had dark skin. I assumed that maybe he was one of those Native Americans that Keiko told me about, and he was dressed nearly the same as the commandos that had attacked us earlier. They were apprehensive, making no move to attack but ready to at any instant.
I felt it; the invisible insects grooming my body hair, the brittleness in the air, and my spirit energy being tapped. It wasn't like I was going to run out, no. I'd seen something once on TV back before I was a Spirit Detective. It stated that in order for ghosts to function, they have to draw off of the psychic energy around them to exist, but not necessarily feed upon it. Obviously, from the look of the papers in the room, there was something else around for them to exist. But for them to do what they did next, yes, that was definitely due to our presence.
"You're not authorized to be here," the scientist said. He said it in such a way that I could understand it. He was Japanese. His voice commanded not only our attention, but seemed to cue the dust at his feet to swirl around him tornadically, also giving the lights a strobing effect.
"Hn," remarked Hiei arrogantly. "Looks like we got lucky, Yusuke. He'll actually be able to understand what we say as we erase his existence." The soldier immediately shifted into an attack stance; it was like they didn't know that they were dead. The funny part? Not once had we seen a skeleton.
The soldier went at ease, and the other poltergeist began communicating with us again, and stated, "I cannot die. I am in the center of a time vortex. I cannot die. You're not authorized to be here."
"Tch." I agreed with Hiei's remark wholeheartedly; I wanted the guy to either explain what was going on at this hellishly haunted place, or get out of our damn way. But he insisted on repetition. I found myself dizzied just as I was earlier.
"I cannot die. I am in the center of a time vortex."
Resonating between my temples, suffocating me.
"I cannot die. You're not authorized to be here."
And then I heard it, it was loud, deafening, clear, frightening…
"I CANNOT DIE. YOU WILL DIE. I CANNOT DIE. YOU WILL DIE. YOU'RE NOT AUTHORIZED TO BE HERE."
I fell to my knees instantly, forced down against my will, unable to comprehend the actions taking place. I could not focus on my location, Hiei, or our opponents. My eyes were shut so tightly that the black faded into a dull yet neon rouge, perhaps strained so much that they had become bloodshot. I was lifted again, still in my trance-like state of misery and vertigo, and back into that military grip.
Overcoming my vulnerability, I had grown the courage to open my eyes, which I did slowly but surely. It was like my eyes controlled my eardrums; I could now hear everything just as if it were normal, no ghastly powers attached. The Japanese man was speaking with Hiei, an air of power over him. He knew that Hiei could probably kill him instantly, and he also knew that Hiei was not human. But still, a smirk rested upon his face, which was opaque now instead of transparent, just as my captor was, like he knew something the rest of the room did not.
"It intrigues me…" the man stated. "Until now I had no knowledge of true alternate planes of existence. I had thought that the underworld was merely a myth, and that demons were conceived from the brains of humans. In fact, I was one who had created a demon just by imagining it, yet before me I see one that is able to exist without being attached to his own world. It's incredible."
"No one cares for your scientific nonsense. You'll have but one moment to release the detective." Hiei's warning was stern; serious. I continued to concentrate on their conversation, despite the fact that I had just discovered my wound had burst open during my hypnotic state, leaving warm trails of blood down my side.
"I am a psychic, demon. Powerful, at that. I do not exist in this time, and you cannot kill me. You won't even try until I release the boy. Funny…"
"You're sadistic!" I yelled out, only to have a large callused hand clasp my mouth shut. It smelled of gunpowder and machinery.
"You're guessing. You're no psychic," Hiei retorted caustically.
"It is you who is mistaken, demon," the Asian taunted. I had known that he was hiding something, aside from the big secret of the base, and it was then that I found out. "I can feel your emotions, your aura…I can feel it all. You simply won't try to attack me because you fear that I will harm him."
"Idiot. Let's say that I don't hope, for your sake, that you're trying to call my bluff."
"What bluff? Have you not become attached to this boy? Do you not have feelings for him?"
"That is none of your concern," he warned it. "What you should be worried about now is your very existence." It was kinda weird, to hear that Kurama liked one of his buddies. I mean, I guess he's pretty girly and all, but I never really expected that him being a demon and all that he would be in love with one of us, especially a dude. I never knew any dudes that liked dudes, well I guess I do now, but before then I didn't.
Their little spat in the hallway before we split with Urameshi was startin' to make a lot more sense too. I wondered if it was 'cause Urameshi gave his life…or I guess was gonna give his life, to save his mom. Anyway, I knew that it wasn't time to think of stuff like that! I had to help Kurama fight this thing, or at least shut it up.
It wasn't like I was overly surprised or anything. I mean, it was Hiei and all, but I guess all the signs were there. I wished that it hadn't come out like that. I know how embarrassing that must have been for him. Especially for a guy so guarded. But it didn't phase him, not one bit. He was angry, and didn't have time to think about his other emotions. In fact, he already had a plan in his head, that I could tell just from knowing him. He was waiting, a tactic more commonly used by Kurama, for that perfect chance.
"We'll have to sanction you. Imprison you. Kill you," the man taunted on. "You're not authorized to be here. You're trespassing on U.S. Government property." He wasn't fooling. The man holding me shifted, and I felt another pain course through my body as he jabbed a knife into my leg. Looking back now, I knew that this guy was crazy, probably from the work of the project. Otherwise, why else would someone want to torture a teenage kid?
The man laughed, filling my senses again, but this time around I managed to ignore it and focus on Hiei again. Red and violet flames danced around the edges of his blade; which was no longer concealed on his back. Upon further inspection I saw that he actually took Koenma's knife into his left hand, dual wielding the weapons. It was obvious that neither my captor nor the insane scientist could see the sheer amount of demon energy flowing off of him, although that Asian guy probably felt it.
Maybe it was a scientific revelation. It was like everything I learned in school…when I went to school, was clicking in. I knew that the two men were both dead, yet not dead, but not undead like a zombie either. In this time, they may have been deceased, but they were actually communicating to us from their time. Kurama would have been astute enough to figure that out off the bat, just by their overall physical appearance alone. Unfortunately, I think they underestimate us, and Hiei the most. He had already figured the time vortex out himself. They weren't transparent anymore; they were solid and clearly living in this time. They could die.
Only problem is I didn't want a human death on my hands, nor was I really ready to see someone killed. Not only that, if those guys were still alive in our time, then their old-age selves could die or explode or something.
"You're too slow, demon." The man gestured at my captor again, and his machete wrapped around me and struck my other thigh. If it weren't for the traces of Kurama's demon morphine, I probably would've cried.
Hiei still stayed in his position. He knew that I wasn't going to kill anyone, no matter what the case. In a slight moment I caught him smirking. He was going to take advantage of the maniacal scientist's beliefs. We had both read into his statement. He believed that Hiei was slow, possibly because his own demon was slow. It could only run at human speeds, most likely due to the fact that it was conceived by an atheist. The guy had no idea what he was in for.
I formulated a plan of my own. The least I could was try and figure out how to get away from this guy. We knew that the two of them couldn't visually see our energy. I was going to need my Spirit Gun. Putting the awkwardness of our personal life aside, we signaled to each other so slightly that it probably went unnoticed. I let my aura flow into my fingertips, which I still had slack at my side to avoid bringing attention to our scheme. Warmth circulated throughout my body, focusing into my index finger, and then finally throbbed as it waited impatiently to be released.
Before the man could cackle again, I aimed at his chest and fired a portion of my Spirit Energy at him. I felt a stinging in my limbs as I fell to the floor, released from the soldier's grip when Hiei slashed at him with his left hand. Blood was sent across the floor, mixing in with puddles of my own. I was confident when I looked upon the body that Hiei had in fact, not killed the man, but left him very close to it. Instinctively, I went to check for a pulse on the Asian man, but Hiei stopped me.
"Don't, Yusuke. They're not alive as we had thought. They are ghosts."
Unable to understand how our earlier conclusion had been wrong, I protested, "The guy stabbed me twice, Hiei."
"And so did the commando we fought in the lobby. They were spirits. They've been dispatched."
I argued back. I wanted to understand how what might have been my only scientific conclusion wasn't matching up. Hiei continued on and informed me, "There is a technique that is used frequently in the Demon World, known as sensory overload. It was a front, Detective. They wanted to make you vulnerable and kill you." Sensory overload…it made sense. The echoes, the dizzying trance, the inclusion of pain. These military guys didn't mess around, in life or death. However, that still didn't explain the blood. Then again, there have been cases of hauntings where blood mysteriously appeared. I decided not to question it much, it was time to sift through the documents since the bodies of our opponents had disappeared into nothingness.
We scoured the area, and it was too difficult to find anything at all, mostly because the English that I knew came from random Japanese advertisements and song titles. Kurama would have been better suited in this case.
"Take pictures, Detective." Hiei's suggestion had done it again. He knew what I was thinking and he found a solution to my problem without dancing around it. Soon we were opening folders and spreading documents around, taking photographs that we hoped were going through to Koenma. Unfortunately, the documents on the floor were soiled. I had neglected to tend to my three wounds, having forgotten them due to the strength of Kurama's herbs.
"Yusuke," Hiei said, a tone softer than I have ever heard him speak in, "let's go back." He had a document in his hand that looked unlike any other we had seen. It read 'TOP SECRET' in English. I was ecstatic, perhaps I wasn't as dumb as I believed.
"Yusuke…" Hiei prodded on, still in his concerned tone. "We will meet up with Kurama, and then tell Koenma that we will never return to this place." He extended a hand out, offering to help me walk. I took it, and we stopped at the door of the hallway where he set me down.
"Hold still," he commanded. His hand reached for my side, taking my clean knife and then using that to cut a larger opening in the dark-stained fabric near my leg wounds. Placing the blade in his teeth, he then tore off both of his sleeves, and used his energy to sanitize them, at least I think that is why I saw his aura.
"Hiei," I found myself muttering, knowing that I shouldn't be bring the topic up but doing it anyway, "is it true?" Curiosity killed the cat, as they say, but I wasn't afraid of asking Hiei about his feelings for once.
His eyes pierced into me during that split second he gazed away from my wound dressing to my own eyes. He pulled my knife from his teeth, and warned, "This is going to burn." His energy went through the blade again, heating it up a bright magma red, and he brought it down upon each wound, burning the flesh to prevent infection. I winced, knowing that I would feel the full amount of pain later.
He proceeded with the rest of my treatment, and tightly wrapped one of his sleeves around my right thigh. Tying the ends secure, he finally answered, "It's true." He made no move to look at me this time. I was wrong to have brought it up, it would have been better in a much more convenient setting, like Japan. But to err is human.
"Why?" I pushed.
His hands carried on with their work, tying the final knot on my left leg. Standing, he loaned me another hand, and responded, "Not now." I complied, taking his hand again and propping myself on his shoulder. We began our trek back to the destined meeting spot, hoping to find Kurama and Kuwabara alive and well.
To Be Continued…