Title: Erased In a Moment
Author: Ryukotsusei
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Hiei/Kagome
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. I merely borrow the characters for my own twisted amusement.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter :)
Chapter Two
Pain coursed through her body but still she fought on. Kagome wasn't about to give these bastards an inch, not when she knew exactly what they had planned for her. Viciously she lashed out at the blue haired man who was attempting to restrain her. Shouts for Hiei to aid them had been ignored, the apparition telling them plainly he wanted no part in this idiocy. He'd brought her as requested, that was enough.
Blood spewing from his nose, the medical assistant stumbled away from the girl as she brought her elbow up into another man's ribs. Cracking could be heard from the impact followed by a harsh grunt. Kagome didn't wast any breath screaming at them, it was taking all of her concentration to keep the four men at bay.
"Stupid girl! Quit fighting!" Roughly the doctor grabbed her arm, locking it in place as the other three men wrestled the girl to the floor. Hastily he reached into his pocket and withdrew a syringe filled with a clear liquid. "Hold her still!" Never had he met a patient so difficult but orders were orders, she would fall in line and accept what was happening.
Kagome thrashed, managing to wrench her arm free and began to escape the hold the others had on her. Kicking out, her foot connected with one of the assistant's face and she took pleasure in the shout of pain that soon followed. Before she could make good on her escape however the final man had grabbed her by the hair, slamming her head roughly into the marble floor. Blackness threatened to overwhelm her as pain exploded through her head, her movements stilling as she tried to fight off unconsciousness. From a distance she could feel her arm being jerked roughly once more and then the stinging sensation of the needle being inserted beneath her skin.
Hiei watched Kagome slump limply in the medical teams hold. Frowning he surveyed the damage that had been sustained by all parties and truthfully he was not pleased. She was merely a human girl, they should not have had to resort to such tactics in order to subdue her. Blood littered the once pristine conditions of the room, only a small portion of it the miko's. The first time she had been brought to this room he had not been present, Koenma had chosen to make an appearance once more. Surprisingly enough Kagome had been compliant, following him easily enough which led to his dismissal for the duration of her examination. He had not been pleased to see her carried back into the room, bloodied and unconscious.
To that end he had resolved to come with her to the next 'examination' to see just what they were doing to her. Now he understood as he watched them place her on the metal table none too gently. Moments later she was strapped down with thick leather restraints and they began to remove her shirt, giving little thought to their audience. "What are you doing?" Hiei wasn't sure of just what this procedure entailed but if it involved touching the girl in some inappropriate manner they would find themselves headless. While he might not have any attachments to the girl in question it went against his honor to stand by and watch something of that nature be done.
"Our jobs now I suggest you stand there and do yours. Your assistance is not required." The doctor looked down his nose at the short youkai, displeased that the man even had to be there but it was Lord Koenma's orders. Roughly he poked the reddened skin from the incision site. The jewel had become quite the problem, it had been thought that once they removed it that they'd be free to examine it at their leisure. Much to their dismay however the Shikon had decided the safest place was inside of it's guardian once more and returned to her body despite their best efforts to prevent it from doing so. Any thoughts they might have had about locking it away and releasing her turned to dust in light of this new development.
While his assistants were busy hooking the priestess up to oxygen the doctor was busy swabbing down the incision site with iodine. He knew that while Koenma would be able to revive the girl should she die it became a problem and the last thing he wanted was to put up with the Prince of Hell breathing down his neck over mistreatment of the girl. Already he was certain he was going to hear it over the fight they had just had with her but if the apparition had cooperated it could have been avoided completely.
Hiei watched with irritation as the man began cutting through the stitches that held her wound shut. It wasn't long after that he reached inside and pulled out a blood covered object, no doubt the fabled Shikon no Tama. 'All this trouble for that?' He didn't bother to hide his disgust. The Reikai had stooped so low as to torture a priestess, all for some pink jewel that wasn't even easily detected while it was in the girl's body. In his opinion they should have left it as it was, maybe giving the girl a body guard. There was no need to resort to such drastic measures.
Immediately the jewel's color began to darken, the crimson covering it doing nothing to conceal the taint that was taking place. Quickly the Dctor placed it in one of Kagome's open hands which allowed her powers to instinctively purify it. Time was of the essence now, they had fifteen minutes at most to run their tests on the artifact before it would once more return to her body. Attempting to remove it afterwards would continue to be a problem since the jewel fought off their efforts to contain it and eventually they would be forced to allow the girl to return to her quarters to recover.
Curiosity got the better of Hiei as he moved closer, waiting to see just what it was they were doing to the jewel. Once in Kagome's grasp it had reverted back to a blinding pink as had been expected. His gaze trailed along her exposed upper body, taking note of the various scars that adorned her skin. She had indeed been through hell and back it would seem and the journey only promised to get worse as time passed if this was any indication. Blood dripped to the floor from her limp fingers even as they clutched at the Shikon jewel.
"Step back, you are in the way." The doctor snapped at Hiei as he moved into position with an open spell book perched precariously on one hand. Once he was certain that he had room to move he began to chant, following the spell exactly. A dark mist surrounded the jewel, pulsating in time with his words. As if in protest the jewel flared violently, trying to repel the darkness before it shattered into dust. A stunned silence followed, the medical team staring in disbelief before a shout went up."We did it!"
Somehow Hiei knew it was not going to be so easy as he stared at the floating particles in the air. Apparently those fools were so caught up in their so called victory that hadn't noticed they way they softly glowed, swirling around it's Guardian. Every so slowly the fragments began to condense, reforming into the orb that had supposedly been destroyed. Hiei shook his head when the fools finally noticed what was happening. "As you were saying?"
"That's impossible!" King Enma had been so certain that the spell would work and demanded the destruction of the jewel take place immediately. How would he go before his Lord and explain their failure? The doctor trembled at the thought, knowing how violent King Enma could be when he was displeased. The experiment was a complete failure and even now the jewel was returning to the girl's body.
"Fool, you should know by know when dealing with anything mystical nothing is impossible. Your experiment failed, shouldn't you be concerned with healing her now?" Hiei glared at the man who sat there fuming as the miko continued to bleed. He resolved to speak to Koenma about the idiocy he had just witnessed. Surely there had to be a better way than this.
Given the circumstances the doctor was of half a mind to attempt ripping the damned thing out of her once more and try again. Surely the spell had to work! However taking one look at the demon who watched his every move he knew that to do so would be risking his own life. He wasn't sure why the apparition was so concerned over what was happening to her. According to his sources the man had no prior connections with her and had been said to detest the very thought of looking after her and as far as he was aware the entire staff that had been chosen for the girl had been selected because they were willing to do anything necessary to get the desired results. Ignoring the way the hybrid was glaring at him he moved to pick up a needle and thread choosing to ponder the question later. After cleaning the wound he stitched her up quickly and made a mental note to try again in a weeks time.
"Why not heal her instead?" Hiei knew that there were several beings in the Reikai that had the ability, it would be nothing to eliminate the wound that had been created. No doubt the girl would be grateful that some thought had been given to her comfort at least and it prevented the risk that it would get infected. Perhaps then she'd be more cooperative.
Turning to the sink the Doctor began washing his hands while the assistants disconnected her from the breathing apparatus and redressed her. "Don't you think we tried that? Something about her energy prevents us from doing so, it's quite possibly a side effect from the jewel attempting to protect the girl from foreign energies. There is nothing we can do, she'll have to heal on her own." That way just another detail that continued to irritate him, having to allow her to heal on her own meant setbacks in their schedules. Setbacks meant uncomfortable questions from King Enma.
"Interesting." Hiei gazed down at the girl as her restraints were removed. It wasn't something he had anticipated but he couldn't say he was surprised. To his consternation the girl was becoming more and more of an enigma as the days passed. "How long will the drugs last?" He knew that he'd be the one to carry her back to the room, that was a given. While the team could transport her back he didn't want to be in their presence any longer than necessary. However once he got her back there he wasn't sure about leaving her alone afterwards. Disorientation was sure to follow and the last thing they needed was for her to tear her stitches if she happened to panic. With his luck she'd bleed to death before anyone noticed.
"Another hour at most. I want her back in a week, one of my assistants will inform you of the specific time. I'm assuming I don't need to tell you how to tend her incision should she fail to do so herself." At the moment the Doctor would put nothing past the girl, if it meant making his life a living hell she was likely to do so.
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the question Hiei picked Kagome up carefully, being mindful of her injuries. He disliked the idea that they would come for her again so soon but it wasn't up to him to make these decisions. The most he could do would be mention it to Koenma and see if it made any difference. The demigod had his hands just as tied by his father, there was little that they could do for the girl.
Without waiting for any further instructions Hiei walked from the room and down an empty corridor. Thankfully Kagome was of a comparable size and it didn't cause him any difficulty in carrying her to her quarters. A few ogres passed by, their eyes lingering over her limp and bloodied form. Tales of her struggles has spread through the palace and there were few who would chance being near her even when she was behind the barriers much less out of them.
Once he reached her door Hiei placed his palm on the slick panel of the sensor. A tingling sensation raced across his skin as it tested him for clearance before the door slid open to admit them both. He debated as to whether to place her on the bed in her bloodied condition before deciding he had no where else to put her. Briefly he wondered again why he was the one to be assigned to her as he began the process of unclothing her. The shirt would have been salvageable since it had been removed prior to the procedure if it hadn't been torn and bloodied in the skirmish. Likewise the pants were also a lost cause. He ignored the fact that he had a mostly naked female in bed as he stripped them from her legs.
He wasn't about to lie to himself, she was pretty but taking advantage of an injured priestess who had been kidnapped had never been something he had ever thought about doing and he wasn't about to entertain such thoughts now. Removing himself from the edge of the bed he walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of sleeping pants and a pullover shirt They would be adequate for now, she could change again later if she liked. Working quickly he redressed her and then pulled a sheet up over her still form. Retreating to his normal position at the table, he waited for her to awaken.
It was the sound of the storm raging outside that finally pulled her out of the darkness. Slowly she attempted to sit up but stopped as a searing pain engulfed her side. It would figure the bastards wouldn't give her any pain medication, they hadn't the last time either. And they wondered why she put up such a fight? 'The idiots.' Her eyes drifted shut once more even though sleep eluded her. It hurt to even breathe at the moment but that didn't stop her from whispering out into the darkness. "It didn't work did it?"
"No." Even from this distance he could see the disappointment crash down on her. She would be a fool to believe something like the Shikon could be destroyed so easily. "Enma is displeased, the storm is the result of his anger." A bolt of lightning raced through the sky as if to emphasize his point. He could only imagine how bad things were down in the Ningenkai as compared to the Spirit World.
Kagome sighed then, it had all been in vain and there was no use in fooling herself. They would be back, she didn't know if it'd be tomorrow or the next day but there was no denying they would return. "Damn." Slowly she opened her eyes and stared at the apparition who had yet to look away from her. "How long do I have?" If nothing else she'd learned that he was honest about what he knew.
"A week unless Koenma can get an extension." He stared at her, analyzing every pain line in her face. So far she'd manage to impress him with her endurance but how long would she be able to keep it up. He'd seen demons give up the fight long before she had in similar circumstances. "Will you continue to struggle? If you become more compliant they may make things easier on you."
"As if." She snorted weakly. It'd be a cold day in hell before she let them do whatever they wanted without a fight. "I'm not going to just lay there while they try to cut me open for some stupid reason. I might agree that the jewel needs to be destroyed but I didn't volunteer for this crap." The memory of a man's nose being crushed from her kick made her smile slightly, at least she'd been able to give as good as she got until the one bastard tried to bash her head in.
Hiei nodded his approval, so far she was not disappointing him. The girl had more guts than a lot of apparition's he knew. At this rate she'd easily give Yusuke a run for his money as far as being stubborn went. Of course, the two would probably get along great he realized, even if he wasn't sure how he would manage to retain his sanity around the both of them should they ever meet.
Raising an eyebrow at Hiei's expression, Kagome wondered at what had amused him. To date she had never seen him smile. Smirk yes, which usually meant nothing good for the one it was directed it. But now, an actual smile graced his face even if it was a small one and she got the distinct impression that he wasn't even paying attention to her anymore. "What's so funny?" At the moment she could see nothing humerus about the situation.
As his attention returned to the girl Hiei had to shake his head. Even the expression of bewilderment on her face was so similar to the Detective's it was uncanny. Perhaps it was for that reason he had managed to relax around her so quickly. "A passing thought, nothing more."
"Fine be that way you jerk." There was no heat in her words as she closed her eyes once more but not before seeing the look of surprise on his face. It was as if he wasn't used to people speaking to him like that, which was entirely possible. The few visitors she had tended to look at him warily, as if he'd lop their heads off with the slightest provocation.
Leaning back he had decided he had indeed pegged her right. She had the same spark to her that the Detective did yet at the same time an innocence about her that he doubted Yusuke had ever possessed. In that respect she seemed to be very much like Yukina, someone who tried to see the good in everyone. It was an interesting combination, one that had him intrigued and wanting to learn more.
