Chapter 26

Truly or Falsely?

Temptation reared its ugly head and pranced in front of the Koorime's eyes. He could just let them die and be free of them forever; and because it was not he that killed them, he would walk away sinless and release himself from Koenma's service. He could return to his previous life of protecting his sister at all times, and not have to worry about the fool trying to get cozy with her…

"Why?"

"Um, c-cause we're p-part of a t-t-team?" Gabriel put in, slipping into unconsciousness.

"And I could be rid of you all, by letting you all freeze to death; I would not have to get my hands dirty." Hiei pondered aloud, wiping the blood from his katana and sheathing it.

"You… l-l-little…b-bastard!" Kuwabara cried weakly.

"Cry all you want, baka. It'll be quieter when you're gone, and I'll enjoy watching you die."

"Hiei…" Kurama said, closing his eyes, leaving his sentence unfinished. Gabriel, who had her eyes closed, managed to force out two last words, "Behind…you…"

The sound of metal escaping a scabbard mixed with that of a grunt was the only thing to be heard. Phantasus stood behind the fire youkai gripping a dagger made of ice; Hiei had thrust his sword under his arm and into the mage's stomach, freezing his movements. Apparently the first blow was not enough to kill him, hence the remaining cold. Hiei made sure he was truly dead by jerking his sword upward through his ribcage and ripping out his throat. The temperature instantly snapped back to normal and the four teens on the ground stood up.

"Such a good little actor!" Yusuke caught Hiei in a headlock while rubbing his knuckles in the yokai's hair. Hiei cracked him over the head with the hilt of his katana, "Touch me like that again and I'll gut you with a rusty hook!" he snapped. Yusuke rubbed his head and laughed.

"So that was just an act… to draw Phantasus into a more vulnerable position. Very clever, Hiei." Kurama said.

"Hn,"

"Stairs are this way, guys." The blonde said over her shoulder.

As the other four ascended the stairs, Gabriel slowed behind them and was cornered by Kurama before a landing. The others went on without them, either unknowingly, or sensing the conflict between them. Kurama stepped directly in front of her, spreading his arms to keep her from going around him. She stopped, never raising her eyes to him, with her bangs hanging in her face.

"We need to talk," he said stiffly.

"There is nothing left to talk about Kurama; we parted, never to speak again."

"Then I was wrong. There is something important I think you're hiding from me. You didn't act this way when we parted back at your apartment."

She skirted around him and climbed a few steps past him. "I'm not hiding anything from you; I'm only pushing you out of my life like you did to me. We both agreed to leave each other alone," her eyes burned angrily into his as she looked over her shoulder.

He ran up the steps and stopped in front of her again. "You're holding something from me that could change all that. Please, there's something different that I have to know," he held her face with one hand as she turned away, "I feel it in my heart; you don't feel the same, and it's pulling at me. I will never know whether or not I made a mistake if you don't tell me how your spirit changed."

Gabriel jerked her chin out of his hand and went up one step, standing beside him and looking forward. "I am nothing important to you," her voice was cold and bitter, "just a face that makes you regret your own past. The only thing you and I could have shared is a bitter unknowing that eats away at our hearts; unknowing whether or not we ever experienced love or a false euphoria." She walked further up the stairs to complete their mission, denying her heart any feeling.

Kurama's own heart turned cold to her again, and he pushed it out of his mind as he rejoined his comrades.

They followed the passage into yet another dark room; fortunately there were two blazing fires on the far wall of the room, which was only a small fraction of the entire floor's area. The only thing visible other than the fires was a shape on the floor edged with the orange light around it. The shape was all too familiar to Gabriel. Without waiting for the others, she sprinted towards it and crouched by the shape.

She whispered, hoping the figure on the ground would show signs of life. "Daren…Daren, wake up." She slapped his grisly cheek gently. Dried blood had seeped from his nose, lips, cuts of his face, and an unrecognizable wound on his scalp hidden by his hair. He was lying on his left side in a half-fetal position like a dog. She pushed on his right shoulder to roll him over; restricting her gag reflex when she realized his collarbone was broken. She couldn't hold her stomach at what she saw when she looked down at his torso through the shredded fabric of his black cape, and emptied it a few staggering paces away from him.

Yusuke and the others had caught up with her and exchanged looks of confusion and horror. "Daren? Oh! Geeze…!" he turned his face away. Gabriel stumbled back to her father figure's side, tears welling up in her eyes. "Daren, wake up!" His face twisted in an expression of pain for a moment, his voice was a soft scratchy croak, but she understood the single word he said, "Pup?" His eyes remained closed in pain; his left had reached out for anything to confirm his question.

She grabbed his hand, pressing it to her cheek, "I'm right here; don't talk or try to move, I'm going to try and heal you a little." Gabriel hesitantly placed her hand on the remnants of his stomach wall, willing her reiki to flow into his body and rebuild him. She closed the skin and his organs inside, only to find the bruises on his chest indicated multiple broken ribs, and a broken left arm, and a dislocated knee. "Gabi?" Yusuke's soft voice entered her little world of grief and concentration. "Is there any way I can…?"

Her tears had long since begun to flow; she answered in a shaky whisper of anger, "Find out who did this to him; because I'm going to do worse to them."

Yusuke stood up briskly and peered into the darkness, feeling with his spirit awareness for any other life forms. He felt a flicker of something dark lash out at him; it was only a sliver, but it made him shiver fitfully in comprehension of the masked energy. "He's here," he said. The others tried to block out the almost tangible youki that now washed over them, teasing them with its darkness. Gabriel, who was focusing her energy on the bloodied man, shivered and laid her head on his chest. She couldn't block him out, and she knew he was enjoying her squirming under his energy like his hands on her bare skin.

Daren opened his eyes and felt the weight on his chest with his hand. His daughter's hair met his fingers and she looked up at him, "Daren!" she said in surprise; he should have stayed unconscious until his strength returned. He stroked her face, calming her again. Her guard dropped and his fingers curled around her slender throat.

"Hello, pup."