Story Title: Consumed by Hellfire

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH.

Author's Notes: Ah! What a wonderful winter break…but it's time to return to work. Very well. Enjoy.

Chapter Three: Clear Vision Through Blurry Eyes

The house was quiet with his parents out on a date and his younger brother asleep in bed as Kurama walked up the stairs and carefully avoided to put pressure on any creaky boards. Hiei lay over his shoulder, still shivering and softly gasping for air. It will be okay, Kurama thought and rested his hand on Hiei's back, you'll be fine, 'kay? Gently he laid Hiei in his bed and drew the covers around him.

"What's that?" Kurama heard his brother ask from the doorway.

The older brother quickly pulled the blanket fully over Hiei and spun around to face Shuuichi. Awkwardly laughing and waving his hands in front of him, Kurama scrambled to come up with something to pacify his curiosity. "Uhh…I found…outside on my walk…a cat. It's sick." A cat? Kurama covered his mouth with one hand. A cat! That's the best you could come up with? He'll never believe that. You blew it.

Shuuichi leaned to the side as Kurama tried to stand and block his view from the large lump on Kurama's bed. "That's too big to be a cat."

"Oh I meant a dog. It's a Labrador, I think." Kurama had no idea if Hiei's measurements were even closely comparable.

Shuuichi's face lit up,"Can I pet it?"

"No. No. No." He grabbed his brother by the shoulders, "It has rabies."

The boy stared and blinked at his older brother. Unable to keep a straight face, Shuuichi broke out into a fit of laughter. "You're a horrible liar."

Kurama hung his head and silently agreed. Normally he wasn't…normally he was persuasive and collected in his thoughts. But for some reason tonight, his mind was filled with buzzing television static. He didn't have time to weave a convincing lie—there were more pressing issues fluttering for his attention. Forcing his brother to turn around, Kurama pushed him toward the door. Shuuichi verbally and physically protested but his brother would not yield.

Accidently shoved onto the hallway floor, Shuuichi glared up at Kurama. With a gentle expression, his brother crouched down to his level and apologized. "Just trust me. Trust that I would never bring anything in this house that would harm you. Okay?"

His dark-colored eyes staring downcast to the floor, Shuuichi paused and thought about his words. With a reluctant nod, he had to agree to that logic. Kurama closed the door behind him, leaned against it, and exhaled a long sigh. Now that mess was through, he could tend to Hiei. He was still sleeping and breathing laboriously, as if the act itself was painful. Comfortable with the hope that Shuuichi would stay away, he left Hiei alone and returned with a small towel and large bowl of ice water with noisy clinking ice cubes floating on the surface. Soaking and wringing out the towel, he gently wiped the sweat from Hiei's face and neck, and after cooling the towel again, he laid it on Hiei's forehead over the headband. Drawing a chair to his bedside, Kurama took a seat and ran his hand though his hair. Already he was becoming sleepy and the night had not even begun. Cupping his hands and dipping them into the bowl, the cold water shocked and revived his senses. Ah…better now, he thought and leaned back into the chair.

A small glint on Hiei's face caught his attention and he leaned forward for a better view. Water had gathered near the left corner of his lips and just remained there in a fat droplet. At any moment, with any breath, it could have fallen into Hiei's slightly open mouth…and yet it was remaining in place. Strangely the young man was fascinated by this small, trivial thing. As he gulped, Kurama discovered that his entire mouth and throat had gone dry. His heart was beating faster now. Oblivious to his body leaning closer and closer, he tried to wet his lips with his tongue but had nothing of which to wet with. Everything, his surroundings, his thoughts, his normal senses, were numb and totally engrossed in the presence of this simple drop of water.

He wanted to drink it.

With slightly parted lips and his eyes closing, Kurama hovered above the droplet…so near Hiei's lips…until something within his mind shrieked and pierced his trance. Retching back, a blush of shame inflamed his cheeks and spread over his face and proceeded down his neck. Kurama stood with his head shaking from side to side and paced about his room. His eyes fell upon the framed picture on his desk. It was a family picture. Seizing it in his trembling hands, he held it away from himself.

I'm sorry…the words screamed in his mind as his face twisted into an expression of pain and fear…I wasn't. I swear I wasn't! I don't know what came over…please don't think lesser of me. This, you wouldn't approve and I know—my emotions need to be kept in check. He laid the picture back, face down this time.

Fortunately, Hiei was still asleep and was unaware of what just occurred. Calming his racing heart with deep breaths, he reminded himself that Hiei needed his focus right now and to ignore his own selfish desires. From beneath his bed, the young man produced a wide suitcase. Inside were many small clear boxes and bottles filled with various parts of various plants. Some were from the human world and some from Makai, but every container was labeled. Kurama began mixing a blend of herbs for a tea remedy he knew was sure fire to quickly break a fever. There was peppermint, elder flowers, and white yarrow in this blend, all of which were traditional herbs used in traditional human remedies, but the Makai herbs were the key. The blend soon was ready for seeping, and Kurama left the room and clomped down the stairs.

Hearing his brother leave the room, Shuuichi pressed himself against the wall and slowly made his way down the stairs. Peeking in the doorway of the kitchen, he watched his brother set a small pan of water onto the stove top to boil. Not knowing how long he had, Shuuichi made his way back up the steps and stood in front of his brother's open door. What he saw was not too shocking…it was just some sick midget in his bed. Why was his brother making such a big deal out of this? Really, all he had to say was that it was a friend and he would have been fine with that. No, he had to make up some corny lie and tempt his curious nature. Shuuichi sighed. His older brother was so strange sometimes. He liked to disappear and worry their mother for days, even weeks, on end, and he would come back and explain that a friend needed him or it was just business. Somehow their mother always believed his excuses and never questioned him, though of lately, Shuuichi's father had been pressing his stepbrother for more of an explanation of his behavior and whereabouts, which caused friction between them.

Careful to not wake him, Shuuichi stood by the bed and watched his brother's guest. Hmm, if he was seriously sick, why wasn't he going to a hospital? To Shuuichi, he looked bad enough. If you could barely breathe, wouldn't you go get a doctor? More of his brother's strange ways of doing things, he guessed. Shuuichi felt sorry for the poor young man…or kid…whichever, it didn't really matter. Removing the slightly damp towel from his forehead, Shuuichi wet it in the cold water and wrung it out. However, he paused when he saw the white headband around the boy's head. Sure he had seen people wear headbands like this before, but something was always written on them. This one was plain. Shuuichi had a feeling that it wasn't just a decoration for fashion, that there was a reason for it being there.

Shuuichi cursed his curious nature.

Cautiously untying the knot behind the young man's head, the fact that he was able to so easily do surprised Shuuichi. Discarding the band onto the floor, the curious boy was disappointed when he found nothing behind it. No scar, no tattoo, nothing but flesh. Sighing as he bent down to pick up the white ribbon, a line appeared on the young man's flesh.

"Wha?" Shuuichi said with his mouth slightly agape.

Shuuichi's eyes widened and the breath left his lips as the flesh began to part wider and revealed an eye. The eye, it stared unblinking into nothing. What kind of…what the…Shuuichi didn't know what to make of this. Now it made sense why his brother wanted him not to see…not to see the genetic freak. How could he…what kind of people did his stepbrother associate with? Shuuichi uttered a noise, which made the eye turn and stare at him. The scream remained in his throat. His legs, though he desperately wanted to use them, remained frozen. Shuuichi closed his eyes and prayed that this was all just a horrible nightmare.

It couldn't get worse, right? He thought as he heard low groans and mumbles coming from the young man's lips. Oh no, he was moving. Go back to sleep, go back to sleep, go back…Shuuichi chanted in his mind. The chants were unheard as the young man sat up and groggily stared directly at him…with all three eyes. Hiei's mind was still a fuzzy mass of confusion and the fever had yet to yield the slightest bit. The room spun and faded between what it really was and a hallucination of Hiei's creation.

Shuuichi remembered his stepbrother's words…I would never bring anything in this house that would harm you. He put his faith into his brother that he was telling the truth. He…he wouldn't lie about something like that. Little lies, occasionally yes. But on something like his life, his stepbrother would never let anything happen to him. Shuuichi gulped. Right?

"Hello, I am Shuuichi Hatanaka, Shuuichi's brother," he introduced himself.

"Liar!" Hiei shouted. "Don't toy with me, you molten demon." Standing on the bed, Hiei drew his sword, which was resting on the end of the bed. "Answer wisely, truthfully, are you here to kill Kurama? Or just me? Answer!"

"I-I am not lying," Shuuichi peered down the blade pointed in front of his face. "I'm Shuuichi's stepbrother! Please don't kill me…"

Hiei jumped down and grabbed the boy by the throat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't," he spoke in a smoldering tone through clenched teeth.

He didn't know how to reply. All he could think about was his brother…his gentle, smiling brother…and the lie he forced Shuuichi to believe.

I would never bring anything in this house that would harm you.

Hiei released him. As the sword was raised above his head, Shuuichi managed to crawl away and brace himself against the wall. Whether the three-eyed boy let him, he did not know. Slowly, Hiei walked toward Shuuichi with his sword raised. He was going to die. Sure of it, he was going to die. But…perhaps there was some hope for Shuuichi. His voice returned and he was able to perform his best defense against death.

Shuuichi screamed.

"Please tell me the way to the sky…" Kurama mumbled the lyrics to an old song he had heard on one of Kuwabara's mix CDs. It had been a while, a very long while, since he had heard it but for some reason, he started humming the melody to it. The kitchen was clean, except for the few dishes in the sink Kurama was washing. The tea was almost ready as Kurama rinsed and dried the last plate. Just as he was putting away the plate, he heard Shuuichi's scream and rushed out the room and up the stairs. The plate crashed and shattered on the floor, but that didn't matter to him.

His brother was in danger.

There was little time to waste. Hiei had his little brother against the wall with a sword poised at any second to fall. Kurama slipped into the room and grabbed the hilt from behind Hiei.

"Run, Shuuichi!" his stepbrother screamed as he wrestled with the three-eyed boy on the floor. He obeyed and ran down the stairs, praying that he would be okay until help could arrive. Kurama released Hiei and swiftly dodged his strike. Hiei couldn't see that Kurama was before him. He was just another molten demon to him.

Reaching with both hands into his hair, he clutched several seeds in the palm of his hand. Drawing his hands forward, he manipulated them with his spirit and long vines shot out from the spaces between his fingers. They wrapped around the sword and Hiei and subdued him.

Hiei struggled and forced the vines to tighten. Kurama winced," Hiei, stop it. Don't fight it. You're only making things worse. You see?"

The vines were crushing his ribs. With any more pressure, his lungs would collapse and suffocate him. Hiei did not appear to be listening to him. His eyes filled with such hate toward him. It was the fever talking. The fires of sickness inflamed a fire of hate and blurred his eyes. Kurama stepped back and slapped Hiei hard on the cheek. He lay on the floor, still for a moment, but slowly he sat up.

"Kurama…what the—" he was shocked by the vines as Kurama released him.

"Get back in bed," Hiei obeyed. "I'll be back with something for that fever."

Things were a still little strange. Blanking out in the street, waking up to demons in Kurama's room, now his friend had him tied up and released him with little explanation. Gah, Hiei hated being sick. He had only been sick once before, a long time ago.

Taking the towel in his hand, he wiped the sweat from his face and neck. Sighing, Hiei let his arm fall into his lap in bored gesture. There was little he could do but look around the room. Nothing had changed. Same desk in the corner beside the small bookshelf crammed with books. There were no posters on the walls and nothing was out of place. Hiei's eyes fell toward the floor. His heart skipped a beat upon seeing his headband on the floor. No! His mind screamed as he launched forward for it. The Jagan sensed it and shot pain throughout Hiei's body, paralyzing him. Fingers inches away from stroking the band, Hiei could barely breathe and could only lightly quiver his body. The eye…Hiei had mastered it, or so he thought. No, things like the Jagan you never fully tame. It merely lets you borrow itself for a while until it gets fed up with you and decides to cause trouble. Since the blood moon, the Jagan decided to fight and until Hiei could quiet it, the headband was his only defense.

Now it was free.

His eyes rolled back in his head and his eyelids fluttered rapidly. What was the Jagan doing now? It didn't make sense to Hiei. All color in the room ceased to exist, but soon, black and white became only black. Falling, the demon felt a sense of falling down into a spiral. His eyes were useless, so blurred by shadow. Noise like the wave of chatter in the busy streets filled with shoppers, tourists, high-school students, and business men and women commuting home rang in his ears, soon the voices became more familiar of demon chatter in busy streets. Thumping on the dusty, dry ground, Hiei groaned and slowly sat up. White light penetrated his eyes and soon it scattered into seven colors. Hiei's eyesight was restored.

Both surprised and yet familiar with being in Makai, what interested him more was how in the world did he arrive before the Southern Gate…and why did none of the guards notice him? Armored lizard demons stood with swords in their belts and spears in their claws and a look of boredom on their faces. Few ever traveled into the southern territory and few ever left. The two guards were left with the graveyard post—the most distant, lonely, boring post in all of Makai. They sighed. Their wives and children would have to wait months before the alternates arrived for their shift.

Hiei tried to gain their attention but failed. The gate itself was very primitive. It was still an old wooden gate with what seemed to be no braces or locks anywhere. Other gates like the Northern Gate were now made out of steel and were mechanically locked and bolstered. Hiei pushed on the gate door. As it slowly opened, the guards looked on in horror and shakily pointed their spears.

"It…it opened on its own," one guard managed to mutter as Hiei rolled his eyes and walked through.

This was his first time travelling in the southern territory of Makai. The desert landscape was barren and never-ending, and yet in this savage land, there was beauty in the sea of rose-orange sand sparkling against the blackness of Hiei's cloak. Setting in the horizon, the sun was painting the sky with a soft deepening lavender fading into the dark blue of night. Like tiny white grains of sand, the stars twinkled. Wind lightly brushed a mist of sand across the ground and past Hiei. Haunting chimes whispered in the blowing wind, a phenomenon of the sands, and sang for him as he wandered forward, guided silently by the Jagan. He knew little of where he was or where he was going, but he trusted, to an extent, the Jagan.

He wandered for hours, seemingly in an endless loop of desert. The night air was chill. To think, a desert becomes so hot in the morning that one would pray for coolness such as now, but when night falls, the prayer reverses and now that hot, dry air doesn't seem that hot or dry anymore. So tired, yet sleep was not an option, unless he wished not to wake up. Where was the Jagan taking him? Where?

A shrill shriek pierced the night and blanketed the sweet chiming lullaby. Hiei turned in time to watch a gigantic black winged beast snatch him it its talons. A part dragon, part eagle, the bird flapped its massive long wings and soared through the air with impressive speed. The landscape became a mere blur as Hiei passed towns alive with demonic residents and travelers and merchant roads where pickpockets waited to steal from passersby and from fellow thieves. Forests, the few surviving, held shadowed secrets and ruins of times long ago. Where this monster was taking him, Hiei did not know but it was certainly quicker than wandering with the Jagan.

The air grew hotter and drier as the flight continued. The landscape was changing rapidly...moving toward a volcanic landscape. The bird slowed in its speed, giving Hiei a chance to observe his surroundings below his feet. So this was the world of those molten creatures, a Land of Fire. The winged monster briefly increased its speed and blurred Hiei's vision. When it finally slowed, Hiei saw an enormous black castle. What surrounded it however put fear into Hiei.

An army of demons as far as Hiei's eyes could see surrounded the castle. They were armed and roared for battle. So this was what the human world would be up against. In that case, it was doomed to fall. But really, what army could stand up to a force of this magnitude? Could Reikai? More importantly, could Hiei even stand a chance to protect the human world? Hiei sighed. Images of his friends…Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara (though he would never admit that) and his sister, Yukina, filled his mind and scattered his feelings of hopelessness. There had to be a way...things were never really hopeless, were they?

The black bird flew into the castle's courtyard where Hiei saw him…the devil upon horseback…standing. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the bird as it descended and grinned. The talons loosened as Hiei dropped into the air. Falling…falling toward the one-eyed man, he drew his sword. Laughing deeply in this throat, the King swiftly grabbed Hiei out of the air by the throat. His strength shocked Hiei. With one hand, he completely wrapped his throat and closed it off with his grip. After plucking him from midair, the King turned and slammed him into the ground with such focus, the cobblestone broke and scattered in large chunks. From his numb fingers, his sword was pried and cast aside. The King laid his boot on Hiei's chest and put light pressure on it. Hiei could barely breathe.

"I've been waiting…so long. So very long indeed. How does it feel to be a speck of dust at the mercy of a violent storm? Hmm, little boy?" he laughed aloud and lightly stomped on Hiei's chest. "Why so quiet? Are you finding it hard to find the right words to say?"

"Poor, poor warrior child, in your final moments you cannot fight. It must be maddening that all these years of honing your body, turning yourself into the perfect soldier cannot help you when Death stares in your face. It is the truth. We are born to die. It is a matter of when and how, my dear boy. Yours happens to be now."

His hand inflamed. Hiei closed his eyes as the fist fell. So it seemed it was his time…

"Hiei! Hiei, wake up!" Kurama shouted and gently shook Hiei by the shoulders. When he began to stir and return to normal, the young man rested his hand on his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, you gave me a scare. Your eyes were fluttering…I thought you were having a seizure or something."

"I had a vision. I was in Makai. A demonic bird lifted me in the desert of the southern lands and took me to a land of fire—" Hiei hurriedly explains as Kurama ties his headband over the Jagan, which slowly closes as the magic draws nearer and takes effect.

Kurama silenced Hiei," You have a fever. It was a hallucination."

"No, it wasn't. There is an army. A demon king…he wants to destroy the human world. It's a prediction, I tell you."

Kurama chuckled," So my Japanese Cassandra, get back into bed." He held a cup of hot tea. "Drink it."

Hiei raised an eyebrow," Japanese Cassandra? Do I look like a girl?"

"It's from Greek mythology. Cassandra was a woman who could predict the future, typically disasters, but was cursed so that no one ever believed her." Kurama explained and showed Hiei a picture of her from a book on Greek mythology.

Sipping the tea, Hiei winced at its bitter taste but forced it down anyway. It must have been very frustrating for that girl…to have such a gift and the potential to save many lives, yet no one would ever listen to her. He believed he was getting a taste of what Cassandra may have felt. He knew what he saw…it was a vision of either the now or the here to come. Yet Kurama did not believe him. True, he may have a fever. True, he had been seeing many things of lately, but damn it, not everything could be written off as a…hallucination.

"Drink it all, 'kay?" Kurama smiled. "I've got to check up on some things."

He found Shuuichi sobbing in the corner of his room. Upon seeing his stepbrother, he tried to wipe and cover up the fact that he was crying but Kurama already knew and Shuuichi sensed that. Crouching down beside his younger brother, he laid his hand on Shuuichi's knee. Kurama gestured with a nod for the two of them to sit on Shuuichi's bed.

"I'm sorry…it's my fault. You never should have gone through that." Kurama hung his head.

Now unafraid to cry, Shuuichi clenched his fists and stared hard with blurry eyes at his brother," You-you said you'd never bring anything in this house that would harm me. You lied! You're a fake! All you ever do is lie—"

"Don't say that Shuuichi!" Kurama's voice rose in anger as he crumpled Shuuichi's bed sheet in his hands. "You think I meant that to happen?"

"You lie to Mom. You lie to Dad. You lie to me. Do you just spend your life lying to people?" Shuuichi bit his lip and turned his head away from Kurama. "All those strange disappearances and now hanging out with monsters…who are you really, Brother?"

"Shuuichi…" Kurama said and his brother turned to face him. As he was turning, Kurama raised his outstretched palm and blew a puff of orange-yellow pollen into his stepbrother's face.

"But…why…why…brother?" Shuuichi slurred as his eyes grew heavy and his body began to fall. Kurama caught his brother and gently laid him in his bed. The pollen would both calm him and erase his memories of Hiei and their conversation. It was for the best. The less he knew about him, the more Kurama could protect him. It was for the best. Before he left, Kurama smiled and ran his hand across brother's head through his hair.

"How is the tea?" Kurama asked upon returning to his room.

"It's horrible," Hiei replied and tilted the cup to drain it.

Kurama laughed. "Give an hour or two and that fever will be gone though."

"Then, it's delicious," Hiei smiled.

A knock on the front door surprised the two, especially Kurama. It was very late, almost midnight. Who in the world would be at the door at this hour? It was a police officer. Apparently when Shuuichi ran out of his room, he called the police for help.

"I got a call that a…" the officer looked down as his notes," three-eyed katana-wielding monster attacked a young boy and that his older stepbrother was wrestling with it."

"No. No. Officer, there aren't any three-eyed monsters here," shakily he laughed. "You see my brother was watching a monster movie and must have called you as a practical joke. You know how mischievous young boys can be…"

The officer nodded and laughed. "Ah, I see. I've got boys of my own. So everything is fine here? No ghosts or a wayward kappa?"

"No, sir. I've already dealt with my brother accordingly. Have a good night, sir," he began to close the door as the officer turned to leave.

"Very well. You have a good night too, son." The door clicked and locked. Walking up the steps, Kurama sighed and detoured into the upstairs bathroom. So much happened in so few hours…he thought as he raised his arm to open the medicine cabinet. Popping in two aspirin, he cupped his hands in the running faucet and washed the pills down. All this and he still had to go on Reikai's mission in the morning. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. Shuuichi's words still were raw inside him. Maybe he did spend his life lying to people…creating a false reality in his own little world. Kurama splashed cold water in his eyes.

"I hate you sometimes…no…I hate being you, Kurama," he muttered to his reflection. "You always get in the way of me being Shuuichi Minamino. But we both know there's nothing we can do nor it is anyone's fault. Who I am is who I am…even if I have to lie to preserve myself."

He smiled in the mirror and returned to his room, only to find Hiei gone. Searching the house, the demon was nowhere to be found. The cup lay on his bed with his messed up bed sheets. His sword was gone and the window was open. A breeze lightly swayed the curtain. Kurama touched the spot where Hiei had laid.

Already it was cold.

After turning off the lights, the young man laid down in his bed. He would be fine, he told himself. The fever would die soon, but what if it came back? And Kurama was away? Shaking his head to dispel such thoughts, Kurama assured himself he was just worrying too much. Kurama closed his eyes. However, his real concern wasn't the fever…but something else out there. He didn't know how to describe it—it was just a concern he couldn't explain.

Nor could he dispel.

The King stood on the balcony and stared at the few stars visible through the smoke. Just hours earlier, he had sensed a familiar energy. He longed for it…he had to reclaim what he had lost. His shaking fingers touched the empty socket. It was alive somewhere, not in Reikai, but somewhere closer. So close, yet so distant from his grasp. It wanted to come home. That is why it sent a flash of energy to alert him. These years…the King shook and screamed with joy…all these years of waiting and things were so easily falling into place.

His Generals had sent word that they were coming with their armies. The General of the South, Lady Hanabi had already arrived with her army. The South was a territory of hundreds of volcanic islands scattered in the Karai Ocean. Most of her population lived on Ichijima Island, the largest island and the mainland of the Southern territory, so her army had not far to travel to the Heart.

A young messenger demon disturbed him and broke his thoughts. Out of breath, he stood hunched over for quite some time. "I have come with a message from General Lord Maki. Well…not really a message but information on his whereabouts. He has gone missing but his army is on their way, led by Lord Takigimaru."

The King stroked his beard. Maki gone missing? Heh, that was just like him. "Did he provide any details for an explanation?"

"Only that he would remain in his territory, the North. And not to worry." The King dismissed the messenger with the flick of his wrist.

Feh, him…worry about a minion? Was that Maki's idea of a joke? It would not surprise the King. He must have his reasons for staying behind, reasons that would only benefit the King. Maki was young like Hanabi but was not as rash or impulsive as her. It was quite typical of him to be reclusive and to keep his plans only to himself. Often he would refuse to tell him of his plans, such as now, a quality that in the beginning greatly aggravated him. But in time, he learned that Maki has his own ways, as peculiar and stressing as they were.

The King left for his bedchambers. Almost silently he chucked in his throat. Life is swell when everything goes your way, isn't it?

–end Chapter Three

Author's notes: Ah, thank you for reading. I hope you remain for the subsequent chapters. Now I'm rambling, so goodbye until chapter four.