Here it is. For everyone that send me pleading reviews, you can stop hyperventilating now.


"Why He Chose to Stay"

Chapter 11: Darkness

It was after midnight when the guard around the palace started to relax. Since Hiei left with strict orders to protect their lord at any cost they had been alertly manning their posts. That had been almost 12 hours ago, and there hadn't been a sound. Knowing the shift would change soon and they could get some well-deserved sleep, the guards let their weapons slip in their hands and started to talk softly among themselves, something they knew was directly against their orders.

It was stupid, of course, as Hiei would say. And it cost them.

Before anyone knew what was happening, their world was dark. Demons tried to scream, but their voices were lost in the suffocating darkness. Invisible bonds pinned their arms to their sides and their swords to the ground. Biting and snapping, they struggled for all they were worth, but to no effect. This power was beyond them and anything they had ever heard of. Then, in a burst of panic, the demons began scrambling and scratching anything within reach. Without warning their breathing failed them, and they could feel the air being forced out by their collapsing lungs. No one could scream, though they wouldn't have been heard, and in the darkness they couldn't see each other, though the sight of blood and saliva trickling from their un-breathing mouths would have petrified them.

So this was what death felt like…


He couldn't stop, not yet, not until he reached the palace. And then he would only have to go faster. This thought coursed through Hiei's mind like a drug as he sprinted for all he was worth through the forest. Yusuke was ahead of him, but the Spirit Detective had no idea what they would find when they reached the palace. If he guessed right, all the guards would be slaughtered in Atasu's hunt for Mukuro. Anyone that stood in his way would be killed; that had been proven with his handling of Kyata and the village. It was all part of Atasu's plan at the most ultimate revenge.

Finally! He could see the towers of the palace on the horizon and quickened his pace. As he grew closer and the trees thinned he could see a dark mist hanging over the fortress and his eyes narrowed in confusion. That could only mean Atasu had already reached there. Feeling his breath start to catch in his throat, Hiei ignored the burning in his legs and pushed himself even faster, nothing more than a black blur through the trees.

"Yusuke! Where are you?" he screamed desperately through his mental connection with the Spirit Detective. A moment passed in silence and his racing pulse skipped a beat. Had Yusuke already been beaten…or worse…? No, he couldn't think like that. The Spirit Detective was almost unstoppable…almost…

"I'm inside," the teenager replied finally in a hurried voice, and Hiei sighed loudly in relief. "Though…Hiei I've never seen anything like this before. Get your ass up here fast!"

"I'm on it!" he said, then broke the connection, a new unease settling in the pit of his stomach. He had never heard Yusuke sound so afraid.

Leaping up into the fortress' second floor, Hiei stopped and looked around. It was deathly silent; none of the guards were at their stations, and there was no sign of Mukuro or Yusuke. Or Atasu for that matter, though it was obvious from the ominous presence hanging in the air that he was somewhere nearby. Starting to get nervous again, Hiei turned a corner and almost tripped over a pair of bodies. That answered the question of security. The guards' weapons still remained by their bodies, and Hiei grabbed a sword to replace the one he had left with Khiva. He thought nothing of finding two dead demons until he stepped in a pool of blood and winced. There were no obvious wounds on them; what had happened?

"Hiei!"

The fire demon's head shot up and he took off at a sprint, the guards instantly leaving his mind at the Spirit Detective's voice. Not far around the palace side Yusuke was standing, waiting for him with a pair of demons. Apparently these were still alive, because they were moving, though as Hiei studied them he realized they didn't move like any living thing he'd ever seen before. Yusuke keep his distance, looking extremely wary and almost panicked.

"What the hell is wrong with these guys?" the teenager asked when Hiei stopped by his side. "It's almost like they're being tortured…but what the hell is it?" It was unusual for Yusuke to swear so much unless he was extremely stressed, Hiei noted nervously. The Spirit Detective needed to keep his head or he was as good as done for.

Then, before their eyes, the two demons suddenly began to writhe uncontrollably, shrieking and scratching the floor desperately with their claws. Hiei winced and Yusuke's hands flew to cover his ears. In small streams blood began to flow from their mouths and over their lips, spilling onto the floor along with their thick saliva. Neither could scream anymore, and almost simultaneously collapsed, their lungs crushed and bodies limp. For a moment neither Yusuke nor Hiei moved, petrified by the scene. Then, slowly, their consciousness seemed to come back and they gladly turned away from the gruesome sight.

"So is that going to happen to us too?" Yusuke asked nervously, looking down at Hiei. "...Hiei?"

The fire demon ignored him and continued to stare at the wall, not seeing it. In his mind he kept watching the demons die. Then they morphed into Yukina and Mukuro, with blood spilling down their faces as the light left their eyes. He knew his body was shaking but couldn't force the image away from his mind. Neither of them had any idea at the time, but this was Atasu's greatest power, and would become their greatest weakness. Their time in Human World had dulled the ruthlessness they would need to match the demon. Would they die like that too, unable to do anything?

"Come on Hiei," Yusuke said, almost pleadingly. He needed the fire demon's level-headedness right now.

At his companion's voice the vision vanished, and Hiei looked up at the Spirit Detective with glassy eyes. "Do you know what happened to them?" he asked, surprising Yusuke with the abruptness of the question. "They were suffocated. Atasu's demon energy is so strong over the palace that it choked them."

"Then why are we okay?" Yusuke asked softly.

With a desperate look from Hiei, he knew the answer. They were both still extremely strong even compared to the high-level demons on guard that night. Hiei's look said blatantly, "Only the strongest survive." What the Spirit Detective couldn't tell from the fire demon's look was the new feeling of panic that was rising in him. Mukuro was a strong demon, once a ruler of Demon World, so she would survive the longest of any of them. He and Yusuke would hold out for quite a while as well before they succumbed to the power. But Yukina…no one knew how long she would last, if she wasn't already dead.

"We need to go, now!" Hiei said suddenly, and without waiting for a response took off. He didn't need any directions; Atasu's presence was so strong he could sense his position in the castle.

The innermost chambers of the palace were restricted only to Mukuro, her infrequent guests, and lately Hiei. As he dashed down the hallways that led deeper into the center of the palace, Yusuke in tow a few steps behind him, Hiei's emotions wavered between desperate and furious. He was almost positive he was being led to Mukuro's private chambers. It would be the perfect place to end this nightmare tale. And what would the end be? Would this be the last chapter in Hiei's life? When he thought of Yukina and Mukuro in Atasu's possession, knowing he would be fighting for more than his life against the demon, Hiei couldn't think of a better way to end it.

The ruthless strategist in Hiei begged him to think rationally. As a hostage, Yukina was only good alive. If Atasu killed her he would lose his leverage over Hiei. On the same note, he wouldn't allow her to be killed while he exterminated all the other demons in the palace.

They came to Mukuro's chambers and Hiei stopped outside. He couldn't sense anything beyond the door, but then again demon energy was always distorted this deep in the palace. The only times he had ever been in here were when Mukuro had accompanied him, and he had no idea what kind of traps she had set outside the door. Of course, Atasu would have had no problem in getting through them so long as he had her with him. As he studied the door, Yusuke paced around behind him.

"Hiei?" the Spirit Detective said tentatively.

"What?" the fire demon snapped so harshly that Yusuke winced slightly.

"I…I think we're in the wrong place," he murmured timidly. As Hiei stared at him, his glare demanding that he continue, Yusuke said, "I don't think there's anyone on the other side of that door." Now more confident, he continued, "I'm pretty sure I can sense a really powerful energy farther in."

"Pretty sure doesn't cut it Yusuke!" Hiei growled, his nerves at the breaking point. Then, as what the Spirit Detective said registered with him, his glare softened and was replaced with puzzlement. "We're in the heart of the palace," he said slowly, but as he said it he knew that wasn't true. There was one other place, somewhere he had never gone but no doubt existed.

"Come on Yusuke," Hiei shouted as he threw all his weight against the door. It was an extremely stupid maneuver, but surprisingly fate seemed to be on his side and the door flew open.

There was one other place they could be that was in the darkest bowels of the palace. As long as he had stayed there Hiei had heard horror stories about the chamber that lay beneath the ground under the palace, but he had never thought to investigate for himself. Now it would seem he had no choice in the matter. The only things that he knew for sure were that the passage underground started from a trapdoor in Mukuro's chambers, and that any demons that were taken there never returned.

"We're looking for a trapdoor," Hiei said quickly to Yusuke, who had been looking around the room in awe. "Now Yusuke," the fire demon shouted, making his companion hastily drop the cloak he had found on Mukuro's bed. Only later would he realize it was Hiei's.

Again luck was on their side and a moment later Yusuke gave a cry as he found the door hidden under a mat. Shoving past him, Hiei threw it open and was hit with such a foul stench he stepped back. The passage was dark, but there was no mistake; Atasu's demon energy hung here stronger than they had ever felt.

"This is it Yusuke," Hiei said, turning to him. The Spirit Detective wore a solemn look, knowing there would be no turning back. This was the battle they had come for, and they would battle with everything they had. "I just think you should know," Hiei added, "that for as much as a pain in the ass you are, you're not a bad guy."

In spite of their grave situation both smiled slightly, and Hiei grabbed a candle from its mount on the wall. One last look at Yusuke confirmed what he needed to know; the Spirit Detective wasn't going anywhere. They would fight, and probably die, together. It was the last battle of the strongest Spirit Detectives the worlds had ever seen. Lighting the candle with a wave of his hand, Hiei took a deep breath and stepped into the overwhelming darkness.


You know, inadvertently this is sounding a lot like Enishi's "jinchu" from the final story arc of Rurouni Kenshin. Anyone that noticed, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it that way. (Bows in apology)

And I know it's been ages since I updated, and I got this really pleading review, so I figured I couldn't hold out forever…you caught me you guys…