Ch. 15 – Blood lust for the dead

Konton just glares at the demon in front of her. A silence fills the air for a few minutes until it is suddenly broken by the sound of someone screaming from inside breaks through it. Konton's eyes widen slightly as the house starts to fade in and out of reality. "KAGOME!" She turns to the demon still standing in her way. "I don't have time for this!" She quickly beheads him and smashes, head first, through the door.

( Koenma's)

"The screen's gone blank!" Koenma yells. "No!"

"Where are they!?" Kurama becomes concerned. "Koenma what's happening!?"

"I don't know!!! Just before Konton got there the screen started to flicker and now it's gone!"

"So is my sister." Hiei mutters under his breath.

"What did you say!?" Kurama turns into Youko and he starts to strangle Hiei. "Don't you DARE tell me that the love of my life is gone! I will not allow it!"

( The torture house)

"Ka… gome… Ow, that hurt." Konton shakes herself out of a daze.

A male demon runs over to her. "You're too late." He states.

"You!" Konton pins him to a nearby wall. "… You're Tori."

"Yes. But you have to put me down now Konton."

"Why should I you –" Another scream pierces through the air. The house fades in and out again. "Kagome!" Konton tightens her grip on Tori's neck threateningly. "If you value your life you will tell me where Kagome is and what's happening. Now."

"Let me remind you, Konton, that as long as this house exists, you can't kill me."

"Tell me where the hell Kagome is right now damn you!" Konton shakes him violently.

"My Lady is at the center of this house. She is cuffed to the circle in that place, just like we have all been before. It is the place where we are brought in the beginning… where we are consumed by evil."

( Koenma's)

"How could you just let her go like that!?!" Youko continues to strangle Hiei. "You're overprotective over Yukina! Why is it not the same with Kagome!?!"

"You don't know everything, fox." Hiei glares at him.

"… He told me… well, he threatened me." Koenma speaks up.

"With what?" Youko questions him.

"Earlier he held me at blade point and said that for putting Kagome in danger I would pay the price."

"And?" He drops Hiei.

"He killed 482of my ogres, said that if there was anyone who lived in that house that survived he would kill them immediately and that he'd take my life as well should she not return alive."

"So that's why there was no one in any of the hallways before. I thought you might've lost your mind and given everyone the day off. Guess I was wrong."

( The torture house)

"Did you bring her there?"

"Well, you see -"

"DID YOU BRING HER THERE!?!"

"Yes! I did! Geez!"

"Take me there."

"What? Are you crazy! No way!"

"You will take me there." She starts to slowly deprive him of oxygen. "Now."

"I… can't…"

She picks him up off the floor and slams him into the wall. "You will."

"O… k…"

She drops him. "Now get up and start running."

"You must understand –" Another scream fills the air and the house flickers once again.

"I understand that you're not moving." She boots him down the hall. "Get going or I'll rip your head off. You got that?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Tori takes off down another hallway, Konton in pursuit.

( Koenma's)

Without warning Hiei falls to the floor, holding onto his arm. "Hiei!" Youko turns back into Kurama. "Hiei what's wrong!?"

"Ow… pain…" Hiei manages to mumble through gritted teeth.

"Hiei!" Kurama becomes very concerned. "Here, let me see!" He removes Hiei's hand off his arm to find the mark of an arrow and sword crossed glowing and burning. "What's happening to you!?" Kurama attempts to stop the burning with healing powers.

"She's… dying… I'll… kill him… AAA!" Hiei loses consciousness.

"Koenma what's going on!?"

"That mark that they gave each other… they will feel a small portion of what the other is feeling when a near death experience occurs."

"How much do you figure; is that small portion?"

"Somewhere between a quarter and half."

"If Hiei can't handle this much, Kagome has no chance of surviving this! How could you condemn her to this!?!" Kurama turns into Youko for the second time. Koenma is immediately pinned to the wall with thorns as a result of the fox's rising anger. "How could you do that to my beautiful kitsune!?! She's supposed to be my mate you damn toddler!!!"

( The torture house)

A scream echoes through the empty corridors and the house fades for the 5th time. "Are we there yet?" Konton starts to lose patience with Tori, this being the 12th hallway he's led her down.

"Almost. There's one more hallway."

"There better be only one more…"

"Here we are. See? I told you there was only one more hallway. I didn't lie. You're the one who will die if you go in there." He points to the door at the end of the hall. 16 demons appear in front of them, blocking their path to the door. The screams coming from inside the room start to become more frequent, the house fading every time. Konton gets ready to fight when the door to the room is blown off its hinges. The demons are immediately purified as bright blue light floods the entire house. There is one final scream, before darkness takes Konton.

(A Koenma's)

"Now should I take pity on you and kill you with one shot, or should I make you suffer and kill you slowly…" A killer fox with a blood lust in his eyes glares at the now teenaged form of Koenma.

"Youko, settle down. Now is not the time. You should be spending your energy worrying about Kagome, not debating how to kill me. Now we should settle this in a calm manner –" The tv screen explodes, pieces of debris covering the room. Youko moves quickly to block Hiei from sharp pieces flying through the air. He glares at Koenma afterwards.

"Why did that just happen?"

"Well, considering I had it locked on the torture house –"

"Tell me what the hell it means right now."

"It is a definite sign that the torture house no longer exists."

"You mean…"

"Yes." Koenma smirks triumphantly. "Our goal has been accomplished."

"Is there… any chance… of survivors?"

"Did you witness all the power that flew through this room when the tv blew up? No way in all 3 worlds could someone have lived through that if they were anywhere near the source of it."

Youko is immediately in front of Koenma, slowly choking him. "You… this is all your fault! You made her agree to this! You made her go there! That display of fireworks had her life energy weaved into it! You made her sacrifice herself to fix a problem you couldn't handle yourself!"

"Calm down… Youko… this is… a win… situation…"

"You killed her! YOU SENT THE LOVE OF MY LIFE TO DIE!!!"

"Youko… you… have… to… understand…"

"NO!! YOU UNDERSTAND! YOU KILLED HER!!!" Youko's eyes turn red as he throws Koenma across the room.

Koenma turns back into his toddler form and crawls under the desk. "HELP!"

"I'll KILL you!" Several demons come running into the room as Youko attacks Koenma. He manages to rip 2 of them to shreds before he is wrapped in spirit chains from different directions and dragged out of Koenma's office.

"Sir." One of the demons stay in the room for a brief moment. "What do you want us to do with him?"

"Keep him downstairs and guarded at all times! He's gone insane! I want guards patrolling the hallway to his cell non-stop!"

"Yes Sir." The demon leaves, following after those dragging Youko away.

(Later, that night)

Youko stares out his barred window at the rising moon. "I'm sorry Kagome, I wasn't there to help. You." A single tear finds itself falling to the floor as he falls asleep.

In the Dream World

Youko opens his eyes to see someone sitting under a tree on a hill. Curious he runs over to them, as he gets closer he sees Kagome and quickens his running pace. He drops to the ground beside her and pulls her over, holding onto her tightly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there…" His voice wavers.

"Shh... its ok." She holds him. "You had no part in what happened."

"How did you get here?" He looks over at her. "This is my dreamscape."

"You called me."

"How?"

"You requested my broken heart remember?"

His face brightens and he smiles. "Will you watch the sunset with me? Please?" He gestures to the scene before them, the sun starting to go down.

"As you wish." She smiles.

(In Konton's office)

Boton paces in front of the door. "This is so boring…. I wish something fun would happen." She looks over at the door. "I wonder if Ronin is doing ok…" She slowly opens the door and looks across the room. "Ronin?" She shuts off the lasers and walks across the room. "Where did he go? There's no way he could possibly have gotten out of here." She finds a note sitting on the chair.

Geez your idea of security really sucks. Thanks for opening the door by the way.

Ronin

"What! How the hell -!" The door shuts. "NO!" Boton screams. She starts to run over to the door but the lasers come back on and she stops just before she hits one. "Ronin! Let me out of here!"

"You were going to hit me with a metal bat." Ronin's voice is heard from the other side of the door. "Hell no."

"Let me out!!!"

"Where did Konton and Kagome go?"

"That's classified information!"

"Then I guess you're not leaving that room. Have fun with those lasers Boton."

"Don't you dare leave me stranded in here!"
"But that's what you did to me!"

"Only because Koenma ordered it!"

"You could've not listened to him. Konton doesn't."

"I'm not Konton!"

"Then maybe you should hang out with her more often, you'd learn a few things. Like maybe, not plan to hit me with a metal bat."

"That's my job!"

"Your job is to take care of the dead. NOT keep me away from Konton, cause you will lose that battle, I have blackmail material."

"You wouldn't…"

He pulls out a tape labeled 'Boton and Koenma'. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. This tape labels me right and you wrong."

"Prove it."

"Ok." A screen comes down from the ceiling. "Enjoy the show. I'm leaving. Oh yeah, keep in mind that I have another copy of this. Later." He starts to leave.

"You're just as bad as Konton!" She screams.

"I learn from the best." He walks off. Ronin walks down different flights of stairs until he reaches the last floor, the dungeon floor. "So…" He walks down the hallway until he comes to the cell with the most locks and a few guards. "You guys can leave now."

"We cannot leave. Lord Koenma has ordered that this cell be guarded at all times.

"Well he says that you guys can have a break now."

"He was clear when he said to guard non-stop."

"And I'm clearly telling you to leave. I have to talk to him, without you people here."

"We –"

"Are going to leave right now. Or do I get to test out my new set of various weaponry?"

"…"

"You're leaving…" Ronin grabs hold of the demon's shoulder and steers him a few feet down the hallway. "Now." He pulls out a rather sharp dagger to emphasize his point.

"Let's go get a drink guys." The demon suggests. The other demons nod their heads in agreement and follow him down the hallway.

Ronin rips the door off its hinges. "Geez, they really should get their security measures checked. Hello Youko." He looks over to the fox's sleeping form. "Ok, time to wake up." He nudges Youko in his sleep after pulling out a tape recorder. "I'm sure Konton would enjoy this. Now get up." He quickly hides the tape recorder as Youko starts to wake up.

"Ronin… what are you doing here?"

"Getting you out. Duh. Now let's go."

"What did you do with the guards?"

"I persuaded them to leave for a few minutes." Ronin walks over to the window and rips the bars out.

"What are you doing?"

"Making an escape route. Now let's go find the girls."

"...They're dead… both of them… Kagome is gone…"

"No they're not."

"How do you know?"

"Boton would've had to go get them. And I know for a fact that Boton is still in the palace, particularly in Konton's office."

"Then what are we waiting for!? Let's go find them!" Youko is immediately on his feet. Both escape through the window just as the guards can be heard returning to their posts and panicking.