Previously:
Hiei realized in revulsion what he'd fallen in was blood. Mukuro's blood.
Chapter 13: "Shattered"
"Kuwabara, do you remember what you did in the battle with Toguro?"
"Then why don't we just kill Kuwabara again?"
"No he's maxed out; we're the untapped ones. We have the power, but not the strength of mind to reach it. He plans to bring it out."
"Only this time, he won't be faking."
The demon lord was lying close by.Somewhere Atasu was laughing and Yusuke was yelling, but it all sounded so far off. Suddenly everything was falling into place in Hiei's mind. It had been Mukuro, not Yusuke, that had attacked Atasu from behind. Had this been the demon's plan the entire time? The strategy was obvious to Hiei but he didn't know what he could do. Mukuro was dead; he had no need to fight anymore. If Atasu killed him he would willing go to Spirit World with Botan.
Though this had also worked out well, Atasu was slightly disappointed. He had wanted things to go the opposite way and been able to kill Hiei first. Now the fire demon would either be enraged or lose all his fighting spirit, and Atasu was betting on the second. He frowned; this fight wouldn't last much longer.
"Hiei!" Yusuke shouted again, this time catching the fire demon's attention but wishing he hadn't. The look in Hiei's eyes scared him more than anything he'd ever seen. It was different even from the first time he'd fought him; this was a demon with no regard for anything but killing.
Ducking against the wall, there was nothing Yusuke could do but watch as Hiei threw himself headlong into the fight. The fire demon had little concept of friend or foe at this point, and Yusuke knew that if he got involved it was just as likely Hiei would turn on him. His side was throbbing warmly and the Spirit Detective felt blood beginning to soak into his shirt. In the flurry of the moment he hadn't realized he'd been hit. Anxiously he pressed his hand to his side to apply pressure to the wound and turned to watch the fight in front of him.
In a blind charge Hiei ran at Atasu, not remembering the demon's sword until the last minute, and he rolled to the side to avoid it. The red glint of his opponent's armor reflected in the katana in Hiei's hand, and in a rare moment of logical thought he realized he would have to get rid of it for his attacks to have any success. Looking closely, the fire demon noticed the ties beneath his arms and smiled slightly. He could cut his armor off, or he could just smash Atasu's helmet in with his scabbard and crush his skull.
"What will you do?" Atasu asked mockingly, not yet noticing Hiei's change of mindset. "You don't have a clue do you? I'll take my armor off for you if you want."
"Don't," Hiei growled. "I'll have more fun bludgeoning your body inside it."
Yusuke shuddered, petrified by Hiei's words. With every fiber of his being the fire demon meant what he said. It seemed even for a moment that Atasu was caught off guard. "Big words Hiei," he said finally, clapping in praise. "I like a demon that can talk. If they all could fight as well as they talked this world wouldn't be such a rotting place with demon lords like your friend Mukuro."
He expected to get a violent reaction and was all the more surprised when Hiei just smirked at him. It was a dark smirk, making traces of doubt slip into the demon's mind for the first time. The change in his opponent's demeanor was starting to become apparent, and the situation was slowly slipping out of Atasu's dominance. The tables could turn in an instant, the demon lord realized, and he couldn't let that happen. He would have to finish the battle quickly before Hiei realized the new potential his anger unleashed.
"Come on Hiei," Atasu taunted, leaning casually on his sword but still obviously ready for a surprise. A plan was forming in his mind that featured his specialty. After all, they were in a torture chamber.
Glancing around, Atasu spotted what he was looking for near the wall farthest Hiei, and without any hesitance ran toward it, directly across the fire demon's path. Puzzled, Hiei watched him, though he wasn't foolish enough to let the demon lord reach his destination unscathed. Who knew what he was planning? A few small fires flared under his feet, causing Atasu to jump slightly but not lose face. Hiei wasn't willing to attack him until he knew what he was planning.
"Do you know where we are?" Atasu asked, staring at Hiei from across the chamber. Unknown to the fire demon, he slipped his hand into his sash and stashed the steel cuffs he had found.
"We're in a hellhole torture chamber," Hiei replied darkly, unable to keep the burn of sarcasm out of his voice. "Leave it to a demon like you to use a place like this."
Atasu laughed. "Petty insults? You sound like a demon weighing his options."
Swearing, Hiei didn't answer. Atasu was treading a very fine line, but while he was so far away there was nothing the fire demon could do. He was also reading the fire demon's emotions very well, perhaps the only one that could do so. It made him feel dangerously exposed. There was only one solution then; Hiei would just have to kill him. The answer was simple, but he knew the means would not be. Atasu had the upper hand at the moment and wouldn't give it up without a fight. There was already a certain amount of brutality to their battle, but it was nothing compared to the savagery necessary to end it for good. Just killing the other would satisfy neither demon.
Folding his arms, Atasu called to Hiei, "Won't you come over here? It's easier to have a discussion when both parties aren't shouting across the chamber at each other."
"Go to hell," Hiei shot back, not willing for a moment to comply with the demon lord's demands.
With a small shrug Atasu said, mostly to himself, "That's okay. I'll just go there."
In a flash he was gone, appearing by Hiei's side just as the fire demon jumped out of the way. The steel hidden in Atasu's sash rattled ominously, but Hiei didn't notice. All his concentration was on keeping his distance, though he was not eager to test Atasu's speed. It just might match his own. Going along with it, Atasu made sure to gradually increase his pace so, though it appeared to Hiei they were moving the same speed, he was always a little bit faster as to wear the fire demon down.
It took a long time, but Atasu's plan was finally successful as Hiei misjudged a distance and Atasu nearly landed on top of him. Pinning the fire demon to the ground, the demon lord didn't hesitate as he fitted the cuffs he had found to Hiei's wrists. They were like a cross between handcuffs and a thumbscrew, with the ability to be drilled into the veins on the underside of the wrist. Just the thought made Atasu shudder.
"Are you going to kill me?" Hiei asked mockingly. Atasu ignored him, knowing a response was exactly what the fire demon wanted, and continued to tighten the cuffs around his wrists. "I don't think you're going to kill me," Hiei continued. "I don't think you have the nerve."
"You don't?" Atasu questioned mildly, giving the cuffs a final tug with a smile of satisfaction. "That is where you are mistaken my friend."
The demon lord's smooth talking when it was obvious –-to Hiei at least—that he was at the disadvantage made the fire demon's blood boil. As Atasu studied him from a distance, as though contemplating the best way to carve him, Hiei felt himself starting to shake with anger and allowed it to swell. How stupidly presumptuous of Atasu to think this would subdue him! The metal bonds around his wrists and neck seemed to soften as his body temperature continued to soar, fueled by his anger, until Hiei felt something begin to drip down the side of his hand like hot wax.
"What will you do now?" the fire demon asked, landing on his feet with the molten steel pooling beneath him.
Too stunned to even swear, Atasu stared in disbelief at Hiei, a new sense of fear gripping him. The fiery anger blazing in the fire demon's eyes was only a small reflection of the anger surging inside him. To melt the bonds his body temperature must have soared to at least that of a furnace. Even from a distance there was no mistaking the heat radiating from him.
Hiei knelt down and scooped some of the liquid metal into his hand, frowning as it ran through his fingers. "Well that won't do." For the first time he had a practical reason to rein in his anger, and gradually the astounding heat emanating from his body began to fade. In his cooler hand the steel began to harden again so it was malleable but still solid. This brought a smile to the fire demon's face.
"What are you doing?" Atasu asked with a mixture of anxiety and incredulity. Briefly he wondered if the extreme heat had fried the fire demon's brain.
In a blinding motion Hiei was alongside the demon lord, pining him to the wall despite his smaller size. In a panic, Atasu felt a searing heat against his neck as Hiei's temperature began to surge once again, and the metal in the fire demon's hand was just barely caught between a liquid and solid form. There was nothing Atasu could do, and his piercing scream as Hiei molded the steel around his neck make Yusuke's heart jolt. Then, just as quickly as their temperature had risen, the fire demon cooled his hands, hardening the metal into a collar around Atasu's burned neck.
"In Human World," Hiei whispered dangerously, "this is considered too barbaric, though I'm sure it's quite acceptable by Demon World standards. You probably know what's going to happen next."
The collar was too tightly placed for Atasu to speak, though the fear in his eyes answered clearly enough. Still standing petrified against the wall, Yusuke felt his heart pounding in his dry throat. It would be a deadly understatement to say Hiei wasn't scaring him. He was afraid the fire demon had lost all sense of reason, and once he was done with Atasu he would turn on the next person he saw.
"So how do you want this to end?" Hiei asked. "I could make it easy and just snap your neck, but I don't really like that as much as letting you suffocate."
Still with an ounce of bravery, Atasu kicked the fire demon's shin, making Hiei swear and jump backward. Fire blazed in the small demon's eyes. Knowing he had just signed his death sentence, Atasu spit at him but missed, much to his disappointment. Coming closer again, Hiei slapped him as hard as he could, causing a red spot to appear almost instantly.
"Your first mistake was to threaten me," Hiei growled. "Your second was to think you could win this fight. What you did to Mukuro is unforgivable." He made to turn away, only to spin around and throw all his weight against Atasu's body, sending the demon crashing against the wall. The steel around his neck rang from the impact, and Hiei would have sworn he heard his neck snap.
"Is he dead?" Yusuke asked nervously, taking a staggering step closer.
Hiei didn't answer, and in a swift stroke he cut Atasu's head off. Breathing heavily, the fire demon watched the blood trickle from his enemy's severed neck. It wasn't enough. Temporarily blinded by a flash of anger, he stabbed and slashed at the demon's body, carving it into pieces. With a lurch Yusuke felt the meager contents of his stomach come up, and he retched. Hiei ignored him. What he wanted know was to see Atasu bleed.
"Hiei stop it! That won't bring her back!" Yusuke shouted.
With a grief-stricken howl the fire demon sank to his knees, catching himself on his sword. His body trembled with the force of his raking breaths. A new feeling of disgust filled Yusuke as he realized his companion's cuts hadn't been random. He'd carved out Atasu's heart.
"Hiei, please, look at your-AAH!" The Spirit Detective jumped back as Hiei swung at him, forcing him back. Startled but not put off, he tried again. "Yukina's upstairs, we can have her look…"
"Do you not understand?" Hiei snapped. "She's dead Yusuke. Dead. Does death not seem real to you since you've avoided it all this time?"
There was nothing he could say to that. Smart enough this time not to stop him, Yusuke let Hiei pass as he crossed over to where Mukuro's body lay. The fire demon knelt beside her, fumbling with something Yusuke couldn't see. Despite his wounds and her size Hiei picked her up bridal-style and began to walk toward the door. Not seeing anything else he could do, Yusuke followed at a distance, wincing as Hiei blasted open the door. This would probably be the last time he would see Hiei. The fire demon would disappear into shadow and eventually become a legend to everyone but the few that knew the truth.
When he finally managed to clamber up the stairs the trapdoor was waiting to be put back in place. Next to it Yusuke saw a padlock, and he understood. The door was never to be opened again. Doing as he knew Hiei wished, Yusuke looked around, and his gaze fell on the futon in the center of the room. Almost sure of what he was going to see, the Spirit Detective hesitated before going over.
Mukuro's body had been set gracefully on the futon. Beside her, Yusuke recognized Hiei's sword, splattered with what he knew to be the fire demon's blood that he had spilt in tribute. The sight made his heart heavy, and just before he turned away something bright caught the Spirit Detective's eye; hanging around her neck was the tear gem that Hiei always wore. Looking closer, Yusuke saw it was lined with bold white cracks. It had shattered.
