He can hear them. They're smothering...Oh God. He's going to die down here.
Character(s): Main four
Turn right.
I'll rip you. I'll tear into your flesh and taste your meat!
RUN. RUN! RUN! RUN! RIGHT NOW! GOGOGOGOGO-
How does that rhyme go? The one mommy taught us?
Mister...hey mister. This way.
Don't listen. Keep walking.
Turn right I tell you! My bones are this way!
"Enough!" Kuwabara rasped collapsing hard against the cavern wall before he slid to the ground, whimpering as the voices rattled on inside his head.
Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke could only watch helplessly as Kuwabara collapsed. The lumbering man let out a low whine, and Yusuke took a step closer to his friend longing to help. Hiei caught Yusuke's wrist firmly shaking his head.
"Don't touch him. You'll only make it worse..."
"This is all my fault..." Kurama whispered voice laden with guilt, "I should have never brought you all here."
"...We had no choice..." Yusuke admitted, his fists curled in to tight balls, but his shoulders were tense and his voice was terse. He watched Kuwabara with unblinking eyes, and when Kuwabara flinched at some unknown thing, Yusuke turned and punched his fist hard into a stalagmite. It gave way like butter, debris flying several feet away from the force of the strike.
"GOD DAMMIT!"
"...I'm okay..."
All eyes were back on Kuwabara. He was rising to his feet, eyes narrowed into thin slits as if he was straining against intense light. "I can take this. Come on...lets...lets get out of here."
The four reikai had found themselves in demon world on a simple task for Koenma. Retrieve a stolen artifact, and oh - good news! - Koenma knew exactly where it was. This should have been an easy mission. No one mentioned the demon horde waiting for them, one that was so vast even Yusuke, on his rowdiest of days, couldn't expect to beat them all. The four had had no choice but to run, and as they fled Kurama led them to a mountain. Against the mountain wall, was a perfectly square cut entrance.
"Here! The Tunnel of Songs! It leads to Yomi's territory! We'll be safe here! The demons won't follow us," Kurama had cried.
Yusuke and Kuwabara had whooped, and made to enter the mouth of the tunnel, but Hiei's hand had shout out and grabbed Kuwabara's wrist. The force of the Hiri's grip caught Kwuabara off guard and he fell on his ass grunting loudly. Too surprised by the grab, Kuwabara only looked up at Hiei, brows raised in question.
"Kurama! We can't take Kuwabara in there! You know what they say that tunnel does to clairvoyants!"
"Wait, what? What does it do?" Yusuke asked, his eyes darting from the advancing demons, and then to the inconspicuous looking tunnel.
"It's said to be so haunted by the dead, that they'll drive a psychic to madness. Kuwabara will be completely opened up in there! We won't even be able to touch him with out making matters worse. Every thought that is in out heads will rattle in his skull, not to mention the voices of the dead. It's dangerous."
"I know, I know!" Kurama said regretfully, urgency creeping into his tone, "We are outnumbered...and this cave is dangerous, but there is no other way. We'll be overtaken if we head over the mountain-the easiest way is to go through this tunnel! And the dangers are only what we've heard."
"Meaning it could be worse!" Hiei snorted.
"Or it could be nothing," Kurama quipped back, but as he argued, even he seemed to be loosing faith in what he was saying.
"I don't know Kurama... Hiei may be right. This doesn't sound good."
"They're almost here..."
"We better figure this out now! We can help Kuwabara through the tunnel...but it is risky-"
"I don't like you talking about something being risky when it's not you takin' the risk!"
"Easy Yusuke. Kurama has a point...this tunnel is the best way but there are dangers-"
"Enough arguing about what I can and can't do!" Kuwabara roared, the sound of the demon army approaching behind them. "Don't doubt what I can't and can't take! You guys ain't me!" Kuwabara's face set stubbornly, "I'll be fine, but if we stay here a moment longer we'll all be screwed! Let's go!" And with a wave of his arm, Kuwabara broke ahead of his friends and sprinted towards the cave, leaving his friends no choice but to follow him.
Kuwabara was able to run for 15 minutes inside before he collapsed. As his friends surrounded them, they knew then, that entering the cave had been a bad idea. Yusuke made the mistake of taking Kuwabara's arm, and at his touch Kuwabara began shrieking and howling. Kuwabara's eyes rolled in the back of his head and a voice not his own exploded from Kuwabara's body.
"Filthy piss-boy! I know you! I KNOW YOU!"
Yusuke released Kuwabara horrified, and Kuwabara stilled before throwing up. Kuwabara blinked his eyes, and managed to focus on his friends. It was clear he was hearing something, and what ever it was was filling him to the brim with fright. At this point, Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke thought they should be heading back.
"No...no," Kuwabara had panted as his friends argued. "The demons are waiting for us back there. Just...just...we gotta keep going. We gotta get out of here. Gotta move forward. I can take it. I can take it. It's just noise. I can take it."
Weakly Kuwabara got to his feet, and shakily headed down the cave's path.
Kuwabara was now on his 6th collapse, each collapse worse than the last, and it took longer for him to recover after every mistep. The voices were so loud. It was like he was being attacked from the inside. There were wild, terrible moments when he thought of attacking his friends. And in longer moments he thought of killing himself. He was going to lose it here.
Yusuke punched another stalagmite, cursing at his own helplessness.
"Kuwabara...Kuwabara...is there anything...anything we can do for you?" Kurama whispered, just hovering near Kuwabara, worry etched deep in Kurama's face.
Kuwabara closed his eyes tight.
"Filthy, filthy, filthy, filthy!"
"Twinkle twinkle little star-"
"Pigs scream and cry just like mankind. Scream and scream, and eat, and eat..."
"Don't listen. You'll drown here."
"Mom! Dad! I'm lost!"
"Here little girly...come over here. Let me make you feel nice."
"...Kazuma...kill them Kazuma. It's the only way..."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Kuwabara roared, palms pressed painfully over his ears.
Kurama flinched away from Kuwabara, guilt heavy in his eyes.
Kuwabara opened his eyes his vision swimming with the concerned faces of his friends. Damm...if he could just block these voices out.
"T-talk to me..." Kuwabara wheezed, suddenly rising to his feet. "Talk to me as we walk...just...lets talk. Anything. Good stuff. Just...just anchor me."
Kuwabara took one weary step, and Yusuke immediately began to talk. "So Keiko is in to spanking."
"Its heavy isn't it. The burden of it all. You can make it stop you know. Why should you suffer?"
"N-no Urameshi-no. I don't need to hear this. That's not what I meant by t-talking!"
"They're coming. Coming!"
"Now wait a minute...this sounds educational..."
"Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake..."
"You're kidd...kidding me right? I don't wanna hear a-about spankings and Keiko right now."
"DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE-"
"How do you know she's in to spanking Yusuke? I thought you two hadn't...well...taken that step."
"I'm gonna eat you up. Soul and body...devour your piss riddled brain."
"I come over to her house right? And she's watching a spank video-I shit you not! She knocked me out with a roller blade."
"They're in the walls."
"You deserve it...sh-shouldn't barge in on Keiko like that! Ladies need privacy."
And so it went. Kuwabara tried to focus on his friends voices over the bombardment of screams in his head. He still collapsed, and he threw up a couple more times, and in a tense terrifying moment, Kuwabara actually drew his sword and looked at his friends with wild angry eyes but... nothing happened. It took a moment, but Kuwabara put his sword away, and asked when the next group get together with Jin and the others would be. The conversations were working. His friends voices overpowered the screams enough for Kuwabara to just focus on his friends.
Kuwabara was arguing about the cutest breed of cat when he finally stepped outside the toxic tavern. The instant he was outside, the silence overwhelmed him and swallowed him whole. For a moment he was plunged in darkness, and the next thing Kuwabara knew he was waking up in Yusuke's arms.
"Hey! Kuwabara! Are you alright!? We're out now! Come on man...say something!"
Kuwabara blinked slowly eyes dragging from Yusuke's face to Hiei's, and then Kurama's.
"Are you alright? Speak to us Kuwabara, " Kurama implored, guilt still making his voice thick.
Hiei said nothing, but his jaw was set tight as he waited for Kuwabara to speak.
Kuwabara closed his eyes, letting his body completely go limp against Yusuke. The three demons immediately swooped in closer to their ailing comrade. Three separate hands shot out and rested their palms against their friend, silently giving their support as they waited for Kuwabara to speak.
"...I don't know why that tunnel is called, 'Tunnel of Songs." That's a really inaccurate fucking name," Kuwabara finally moaned, his words slurring as he spoke.
The tension in the air instantly broke, and peals of laughter were soon washing over the quartet.
Kuwabara smiled, his eyes closed in relaxation, and went to sleep.
End