The Girl, The God, and The Demons
Chapter Thirteen: The Defeat
Hiei felt his consciousness slip from his grasp and was able to mumble only one thing before the blackness of night overtook his mind:
"Sorry..." And with that, his vine casket closed, blocking out both his light and his thinking conscious.
Sadly, neither Kurama nor Artemis heard his final apology, Artemis' triumphant laughter ringing in the crisp early morning air. Chills once more went down Kurama's bound form, forcing his rose whip to wrap tighter around him. He unsuccessfully stifled a gasp of pain as the puddle of his own blood and sweat grew larger beneath him, now more like a pool than a puddle. After finishing her spiteful mirth, the brown-haired, freckled goddess approached the cocoon of the restraining vines.
Artemis, fierce satisfaction a flame in her turquoise irises, gave what used to be Hiei a hard kick with one moccasin-shod foot, sending him flying. The goddess and Kurama heard a loud 'bang'; Hiei, it seemed, had hit a tree, thus stopping his flight. Kurama felt anger rise in his chest, and then felt it sink as he realized whose fault it was: his, and maybe some of Hiei's.
"I'd say he's dead, wouldn't you?" Kurama stared into Artemis' eyes, emerald meeting emerald in a weak confrontation. The goddess, tunic swaying, made her way back toward her remaining captor, grinning sadistically. "Suicide vines, Grecian specialty." - She indicated somewhere in the distance, presumably where Hiei's body was located - "Well, now I suppose I shall have to play with you..." Her grin widened and the teenager's fear grew tenfold. Now a few feet away from his vine-bound form, the Goddess raised her hands, holding in them an orb of crimson energy. "This is an orb of torture, reserved for the worst of those who offend me. And guess what? You've fit perfectly into that category." Then, without another boast, the tall woman threw the orb forcefully at the fox demon's chest. It sunk through the whip and the red-head's ripped, sweaty, and blood-soaked shirt, directly sinking into the boy's skin.
One tense, suspenseful minute passed. Kurama closed his eyes and hung his head, hoping that this punishment was his last and that death would offer a grateful reprieve. His hopes were dashed as he felt a shock more powerful than anything he had ever felt course through his system. It stopped, leaving the boy more and more exhausted with each second that passed; his very breathing became tiresome. What Kurama wanted more than anything was just to die, or at least lose consciousness; sadly, he stayed wide awake.
Angry, the boy raised his head a scant centimeter and spat spitefully on Artemis' moccasin, eyes still closed. He could sense rather than see the woman wrinkle her freckled, delicate nose in disgust.
"You make me sick." He heard the goddess of the hunt say nastily, hanging his head once more. "I've tired of your defiance, Kurama. Now die!"
Another shock coursed through the demon's system, but this time did not stop. He again uttered a scream of pure torture, one which shook the very forest around them. The boy's shirt disintegrated. Watching interestedly, Artemis leaned against a tree parallel to her captor's. After the shock subsided, Kurama hung limp, looking for all the world like his was dead. Artemis knew better.
"I know you're still alive, Kurama. I'm not stupid. Think you're so clever; think just because every other girl in that damn school likes you, Diana would too. Well, guess what? She doesn't! She may think she does, but she's sadly mistaken. All men do is trick women, and we're all better off without them. In fact, since I've been revived, and I won't revert back to your precious girlfriend until I run out of energy or am defeated - neither of which will happen - I stay in control of this teenager's body. As such, I will definitely help her to amend her life. Because I am nice, and I don't trick people!
"In fact, I have an idea. As a goddess and a feminist, I consider it my duty to protect all women with my powers. Being dormant as I was for who knows how long, I could not do that. Now, however, I shall make up for that. Rather than wait for the select few brilliantly intelligent woman in this new world, I'll give them salvation. No longer will they have to worry about rape, molestation, divorce or break-up due to cheating, rotten men." Her grin was impossibly wide as she continued her monologue, explaining her ultimate plan to the barely conscious boy just because she could. "I'll just eliminate them all. No. More. Men. Period." Suddenly, she realized what she had been doing for the past twenty minutes or so. "Oh, poo. I've allowed myself a monologue." She shrugged her slim, tunic-covered shoulders. "Oh, well. Must get on with it, I s'pose. Hiei was first, and you, my dear, will be second."
Artemis waited fro a reaction to her long speech, and frowned when she received none. I didn't think I did it that bad... She thought sadly, regretful that she had missed the fun of seeing Kurama's blood-streaked face in absolute panic. Instead, a shock of fried, blood-matted red hair flopped over the boy's dirty face, dripping onto his slim, bare, burnt and cut chest. His injuries were severe enough to kill him, yet he would not die, much to Artemis' disappointment.
"Well, you're no fun. I guess I'll just kill you, since I won't get a reaction anyway. I'm sure you'd rather be dead as it is." She shrugged spitefully, hands surrounded in crimson energy. The energy formed itself into a masterfully crafted silver bow and a few griffin-fletched silver arrows with tips sharper than those of the discarded sword which lay behind the goddess' hourglass figure. She nocked one, aimed, and loosed; it landed precisely a centimeter to the side of Kurama's neck, just below his jaw line.
Kurama, too weary to even care, did not respond; indeed, the only consequence to the arrow's strike was a long red lock falling into the pool of blood and sweat at the boy's feet. A frown once again besmirched the goddess' other perfect face. She tried this tactic twice more, this aim-and-miss-on-purpose, but without avail; the fox demon still did not stir. Finally, the goddess sighed.
"I give up. You won't respond to my attacks, and I've prolonged your death long enough." She nocked for one last time, fully intending to hit. "I guess this is goodbye, Kurama. Diana won't miss you, I'm sure." With that, she loosed, the arrow heading straight for the boy's heart.
A/N: I'm so cruel! A cliffy! Sorry, really, I am, but I have to keep your interest, y'know? And, to reviewers, if you don't like my story/character/writing style, please, just don't even bother writing a review. Unless it's got some constructive criticism, it's not really worth your time or mine. Thanks a bunch.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to YYH. I own Diana, but that's about it.