Pale ruby eyes opened and closed a few times, trying to take in the blurry surroundings. It was extremely dark apart from a few torches lit at random intervals. There was too much distance between them to clearly see anything else, but she could weakly sense the presence of another person, a weak demon by the feel of it. Turning her head even though she knew it would be no use, Yukina jumped slightly when she spotted the demon chained to the wall next to her.
The ice maiden didn't recognize her, for she didn't follow Demon World politics. She had bright orange hair that defied her bandanna and hung limply over her eyes. Her clothes were torn and dirty, as though she had been dragged forcefully. It startled Yukina to see that the other demon was chained to the wall, while she remained unbound. The shackles were beginning to rub sores into her wrists, wrists that were already scarred from the same treatment. She was unconscious at the moment, but Yukina surprisingly didn't feel any fear about what would happen when she woke. As far as the ice demon was concerned they were meant to work together.
A noise far off echoed to them, giving Yukina some idea of the size of the chamber they were in. The sounds, like something metal hitting stone, continued to grow louder until the ice demon thought she saw a shadow move across one of the torches. She shuddered, not knowing why. Though Yukina didn't recognize it for what it was, the cold chill that had seemed to creep into her was the most powerful demon energy she had ever felt. Her mind was playing tricks on her as she thought she saw another shadow, and instinctively she pressed closer to the wall.
There was a soft sigh, this time coming from beside her. The demon Yukina had thought to be unconscious beside her shifted and raised her head slowly. A spark of recognition flickered through the ice maiden's mind, but before she could place it a soft rasping sound distracted her. It seemed the demon was trying to speak.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, her voice harsh from the effort it took to talk. All the time she continued to stare into the darkness.
"No," Yukina answered timidly. "What's going on? Why are you chained?" she asked, the question having slipped out from her burning curiosity.
Surprisingly the demon chuckled slightly. "Do you know who I am?" she asked. The ice maiden shook her head, surprised by the question. "At one time I was one of the strongest in Demon World," she said. "I ruled a third of it. It would seem I'm still viewed as a threat." She smirked sardonically at that. "But I know who you are, Yukina. Indeed I've heard quite a bit about you."
"Really?" Yukina was puzzled, but she didn't have time to ponder it before the former ruler of Demon World spoke again.
"You have healing powers right?" she asked, not demandingly but as though she was curious.
"Yes."
"Those will come in handy." She closed her eyes, waiting for Yukina to voice her puzzlement. "There's going to be a battle," she said. "Everyone will be fighting for their lives, I included. We'll need your powers desperately when that time comes."
"I…I don't understand," Yukina said slowly, a trace of nervousness in her voice. "I don't want to be in a battle."
For the first time her companion looked up at her, and Yukina gasped softly when she saw a robotic eye and metallic parts on the far side of her face, partially covered by her hair. And then, in a flash, she recognized her. "There's a time when the line between what you want and what you have to do disappears."
As they descended farther and farther into the heavy darkness neither fighter said a word. So intent on what they were about to do, Hiei didn't notice his body heat slowly but surely rising around him. The faint fiery glow from the demon's body had scared Yusuke at first, who kept as much distance as he could without stepping out of the dim candlelight. The Spirit Detective himself was nervous, but he could tell from his aura that Hiei was almost excited. It was the prospect of battle that brought out another part of the fire demon that Yusuke rarely saw, one that scared him.
After walking for what seemed like ages in the darkness, Hiei and Yusuke found the tunnel starting to narrow around them. They were close now; both of them could feel the thick demon energy in the air and it snuffed out their candle.
It took Yusuke a moment to adjust to the new darkness, but Hiei could see perfectly, and he saw with narrowed eyes that they were coming to a door. Suddenly he felt a feeling so strong surge through him that he stopped dead, scaring Yusuke behind him. Unable to believe it, Hiei looked down at his hand that was still holding the brass candleholder, which was trembling ever so slightly. Was he actually afraid? Of course, he told himself, but this feeling of dread and exasperation was new to him. He was petrified. In all of his battles for Spirit World he'd never felt this before. Not when he fought Yusuke for the first time, not in the Dark Tournament, not even against Sensui or Mukuro's demons. Back then he'd had his dragon to give him confidence. The tattoo on his arm seemed nothing more than that as he stood looking at the wooden door in front of them and the destiny beyond it.
"Do we go in?" Yusuke asked quietly.
Hiei nodded. "We have no choice," he said bitterly. "Even if we turned back now, we've come too far for Atasu to just leave us alone." Reaching out, he grasped the door handle firmly, having a steady hand for the first time. Without waiting for indecision to set in, he pulled it open.
At least a thousand questions swamped any other thoughts Yukina might have had as she sat there in the darkness with Mukuro. Finally, she couldn't stand it and asked, "Where are we?"
The demon lord sighed and shook her arms wearily, causing the chains to rattle. "We're in my palace," she said softly. "Under it at least. This is a torture chamber. Just be glad you can't see it."
The words had the effect she intended; Yukina fell silent and stared nervously around her, trying to see through the darkness. Mukuro didn't have to see to know what was down there. Usually she avoided it, but there had been times she had even carried out some of the tortures that took place here. Thoughts of what Atasu would do to them had gone through her mind many times, but she didn't voice any of her concerns to keep Yukina calm for the time. Soon there would be no denying the reality of their situation.
The briefest flicker of a shadow moved across her vision and instantly Mukuro was alert. Yukina hadn't noticed it, but the demon lord thought she could hear the soft patter of footsteps coming toward them. In the dim light she could barely make out the outline of a demon on the other side of the chamber, and she shuddered. Yukina noticed and looked up.
"Don't say a word," Mukuro ordered before she could even open her mouth. "Don't look at him and don't say anything if you want him to keep you alive."
For the demon lord had no doubt now that the demon coming toward them was Atasu. His demon energy had a familiar tone to it, though it had changed considerably. There was no doubt he was much more powerful now. Trying her best to suppress her shaking, Mukuro followed her own orders and didn't look away as Atasu stopped in front of them and knelt before her.
"Well Mukuro, its certainly been a long time," he said amicably, but the malicious note in his voice couldn't be hidden. The dim light shadowed his glittering amber eyes, making them look even darker than normal.
Despite being extremely frightened by what was happening, Yukina couldn't help but notice the demon talking to them was rather attractive. In Human World he would have been called a samurai. The red tinted armor he wore looked harder than any metal she'd ever seen and reflected each of their faces. He was tall with fair features and long black hair. In a way she couldn't describe he reminded her of what she thought her brother's father was like.
"Not that I ever hoped we would meet again," Mukuro snapped in reply, jolting Yukina back to reality.
With a hurt look, Atasu shook his head. "It is most unfortunate we had to meet under circumstances such as these. If only this could have ended years ago. Unfortunately, my servant grew to like you and balked on his duties. Needless to say, he's no longer under my command."
Not aware of the battle that had taken place between Hiei and Khiva in the forest, this startled Mukuro. "I'm not afraid of you," she said venomously.
Atasu smiled slightly, making Mukuro tremble. "Don't tell me that Mukuro. All those guards that lay dead upstairs were put there for a purpose. You're terrified of me."
Yukina looked quickly from Atasu to Mukuro, desperately not wanting to believe him. All of her hope rested in the demon lord beside her. Despite being caught off guard by his perception, Mukuro didn't back down, and the hatred still blazed plainly in her eyes. The only strategy she had at this point was to keep firing questions in hopes Atasu would answer one, so she snapped:
"You plan to kill me in front of Hiei to enrage him."
He laughed out loud at that, a guttural sound that penetrated to her bones. "Wrong Mukuro. You were just bait to bring him here. I plan to kill Hiei in front of you…"
Before she could respond, there was a crash from some far portion of the chamber, and instantly Atasu vanished. At the same time, the torches on the walls went out, plunging them into complete darkness. Mukuro ignored Yukina leaning nervously against her arm and tried to keep herself from shaking. Though she couldn't see anything, she had enough power to sense energy, and it painted her a mental picture of what was happening. Atasu had gone back toward the entrance to the chamber, where he was about to encounter two other demons that she knew too well…
"Stay low and be quick. Rely on perception and not sight. Get them out before you do anything else. Atasu doesn't care about you personally, but he won't hesitate to kill you anyway."
The words that flew through Yusuke's mind did little to quell his anxiety, though the absolute tone Hiei used was slightly reassuring. If the fire demon didn't second-guess his plan Yusuke would just have to trust his judgement. They both knew there were more than just their lives on the line, and Yukina and Mukuro must be putting all their trust in them at the moment.
Hiei knelt and began to crawl along the wall, desperately calling to Mukuro in his mind. After a lengthy moment of silence he heard a voice that made his knees weaken
"Hiei?"
"Are you alright?" he demanded, continuing to move forward and hearing Yusuke follow at a distance.
"Yes," she lied. "Hiei be careful. Atasu's perception is uncanny," she told him. "He'll know what you're thinking almost as soon as you do."
"Is this mental connection safe?" he asked, looking around as he crouched against a wall. He suddenly felt very exposed. "Mukuro?"
But their connection broke. Swearing, Hiei jumped up and began to run toward where he had last sensed Mukuro's energy. Over and over he called to her in his mind but got no answer. Something was blocking them, and as soon as he realized that he was almost knocked off his feet.
In that next moment several things happened: Hiei fell heavily to the ground, drawing his sword as he did so; from somewhere behind him, Yusuke jumped into motion and sprinted past him; in another part of the chamber someone screamed; and behind them, the wooden door slammed shut. The same thought went through both their minds at the same time; they were trapped.
"So Hiei, we finally meet."
The voice seemed to resonate from every corner of the room so it was impossible to tell where it came from. Holding his katana tightly, the fire demon stood up. Until he could get a better idea where his opponent was it was best to keep him talking.
"Are you Atasu?" he asked. Yusuke bumped into his arm and he motioned to take the opposite direction so they could try to surround him. It was still completely dark. "Why are you hiding in the dark?" Hiei challenged.
Still bound to the wall, Mukuro shook her head. "Hiei, don't," she whispered.
Yukina's head had shot up. "It's Hiei," she breathed, and bit her tongue as Mukuro cuffed her for speaking.
"You understand nothing Hiei. I'm not hiding. This darkness is to spare you from seeing what this room really looks like. There is a pair of dead demons here that you would recognize. I'd hate to have you see that and lose the will to fight."
Yukina wanted to contradict him, but in a heart-wrenching moment she felt her breath catch in her throat and swallowed back the yell. Beside her, Mukuro felt the same.
Unknown to everyone but Hiei, Yusuke was stealing along the far wall of the chamber, every step bringing him closer to Mukuro and Yukina. He could sense them now and that the demons lord was extremely weak. Though his massive energy filled the chamber, Yusuke could sense Atasu most strongly near where he had left Hiei, but there was no way to warn the fire demon. He stopped just outside arm's length of Mukuro and waited for her to notice him.
The small flicker of her demon energy was enough, and he reached out, touching her arm. Mukuro froze, not wanting to move and rattle the chains around her wrists. Just barely touching her, Yusuke ran his fingertips up her arm until he felt the steel manacles. Then he leaned close to whisper in her ear.
"Hiei's on the other side of the chamber," he said. "Once I break these chains, you need to get to him. I'll take Yukina." Then, in an afterthought he added, "You're not strong enough to fight. Get out of the palace as fast as you can."
Before she could argue he stood up, and a well placed Spirit Gun shattered the chains around her wrists. Instantly there was a yell from the other side of the room as Atasu realized one of his prisoners was escaping, but Hiei chose this moment to jump into motion. His shout had given away his location to the fire demon. In a sweep he brought his sword around and heard it clang as it struck. The impact reverberated through the blade and echoed throughout the chamber, making Hiei wonder quickly what he had hit. He didn't have time to dwell on it though, because Atasu shot a quick blast of energy at him and he had to duck.
Petrified by the sudden burst of fighting, Yukina hung against the wall and almost screamed when Yusuke caught her arm. Anxiously the Spirit Detective pressed his hand to her mouth. "You need to get out of here now!" Yusuke said quickly. Without waiting for a response, he scooped her into his arms and began to sprint back along the wall.
"Yusuke what's going on?" Yukina begged, holding tighter to his shirt.
He didn't answer; the doorway was in sight now. With a backward glance over his shoulder to make sure Atasu was still distracted, Yusuke dropped Yukina on her feet, not waiting for her to steady herself before he started to close the door on her.
"Yusuke wait," she pleaded, tears slipping down her cheeks. "What's happening?"
"Go upstairs," he told her, in the harshest voice she'd ever heard him use. "Hiei can never beat Atasu while he's distracted by trying to protect someone else." Then he closed the door on her and smashed the handle.
"I'm sorry Yukina," Yusuke whispered. "This way you'll survive, at least."
In the middle of the room Hiei and Atasu were exchanging blows in the dark, the only indicators to their position the occasional fireballs that flew from Hiei's hands. Each one seemed to hit a certain point before it ricocheted away, and for a crazy moment Yusuke thought Atasu had a shield of some sort. Then he saw the metallic glint and understood; the demon had a sword just like Hiei and was using it to redirect the fire.
Both demons were so absorbed in the battle that Atasu didn't notice he was being approached from behind. It was impossible for Hiei to tell who it was; being so close to Atasu blocked out the weaker demon energies of everyone else. The darkness was impenetrable, and the mental effort of seeing with only his demon senses was starting to wear on Hiei.
A sudden flash of light temporarily blinded the fire demon, and he heard Atasu's shout of surprise. Seeing bright flares every time he blinked, Hiei dropped to his knees to avoid Atasu and his attacker's sporadic bursts of energy. One landed particularly close, knocking Hiei off balance. He landed in a pool of something at the same time there was a laugh of triumph and a yelp of surprise.
Immediately the torches flew to life, illuminating the area around them. Something in Hiei's stomach dropped and he swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. The floors were scattered with bones that he could only assume came from demons. Different shades of red were smeared across the floor, and Hiei realized in revulsion that what he'd fallen in had been blood. Mukuro's blood.
