Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. I only own the story line and maybe later on a few original characters but that is later. Until then, it is only about our favorite demons and the hard times that they face, especially Hiei. When he makes a mistake and kills a human that was about to kill Kurama, what will be his punishment? And what will Kurama do about it? Maybe a little Yaoi later on in the story, but mostly friendships and all. Enjoy.
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Koenma sighed heavily as he paced the floor in front of the group. A medical doctor for his staff was tending to wounds that Kurama had endured in the Human World, some that were life threatening if not treated. He winced as the doctor wrapped his shoulder. He shook his head and looked at the one in the middle. Hiei stood in the middle of the group, his hands in handcuffs behind him and he was staring down at the floor.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Hiei? After all these years? You broke your contract with me!" Koenma snapped harshly.
Hiei looked up and frowned. "I will not take back what I did. There would be one less to your team if I didn't step in."
Kurama groaned as the doctor wrapped his chest. Koenma glanced at the demon being treated then to the defiant demon before him. Yusuke and Kuwabara were sitting nearby wishing that there was something that they could do, something that they could say to get their teammate out of this mess.
"So... you DO NOT regret what you did?" Koenma looked at him.
Hiei shook his head. "I didn't say that. I do regret having to break my contract to kill a human, but I will not take it back. Not when a friend is the brunt of his anger. Not when that bastard raised a gun and shot him!"
Koenma shook his head. "Despite what was happening, Hiei. You simply can't kill a human! It makes too much of a mess when the police from the Human World start to snoop around a homicide!"
Hiei looked down, he knew that, but if he hadn't stepped in when he did, Kurama would have been shot a third time, and that time, even he wouldn't have been able to survive it. Koenma walked to his desk and picked up the contract in which Hiei had signed at the bottom. He shook his head and tore the contract in half, then in half again. Hiei flinched, he knew what the demi-god was tearing up, and that wasn't good.
"You have left me with no choice, Hiei," Koenma began as he turned to him. "It pains me to have to do this, after all the progress that you have made... but I simply cannot ignore treason. I have no choice but to take back my deal with you, and you will serve out the remainder of your sentence in prison. Three years on top, for treason. That totals out to seven years in all. Without the possibility of parole."
The guards came and started to lead him away. Kurama pushed the doctor away and stood up. "Koenma, please there has to be something that you can do!"
Koenma ignored the fox as the guards closed the door behind them, Hiei between them as they walked to the transport car. Kuwabara and Yusuke stood up to make a move to the door but Koenma's warning stopped them both. "You will join him, if you walk through that door."
Yusuke stopped and turned to the demi-god. "You are the lord here! You can stop this!"
Koenma shook his head. "The contract that Hiei signed stated very clearly that he was bound by the law to PROTECT the humans. If he hurt one, it could be overlooked with an added year to his sentence. But if he killed one, then his contract was null and void and he would serve the rest of his sentence in prison. He signed it knowing full well the consiquences of his actions."
Kurama sat back down as the dizziness returned. "Koenma, you would have let one of your own go, just so that a human could live?"
Koenma turned to him. "If your human form had been killed, Kurama. Then you would have returned to the Demon World as the demon that you were meant to be. Your time in the Human World would have been over, and though your mother would have mourned you, she was going to be alright. You can't make rash decisions, for everything in the universe happens for a reason."
Kurama blinked. "Not everything happens for a reason, Koenma. We are all living proof of that!"
Yusuke nodded. "Going into the Dark Tournaments there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that we were going to win..."
"Actually... you were all destined to win," Koenma stated. "That is why I asked you to fight. If you hadn't fought, then the Demon World and the Spirit World would have fallen into chaos."
Again, Kurama shook his head. "We only won..."
"Because it was the Fate's plan," Koenma said. "Believe in them or not, Kurama, but they guide us through life, making our decisions for us. They simply give us the choice. If we follow their path, then the world goes on, if not, then everything turns chaotic. That is just the way things are. Now... enough of this. It is done and there is nothing that can be done."
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Hiei looked down in his cell. Because of his strength and the fact that he had put many of the demons here himself, he was kept in solitary confinement. He shrugged his shoulders, it could be worse... Kurama could be dead and he would still be out there walking around hating himself for letting his friend die at the hands of a human. He shook his head and leaned back against the tiny cot's pillows. At least he didn't have to do anything for Koenma anymore. Once his time was done here, he could go back to doing what he wanted, when he wanted and not having to worry about weather the brat was going to call or not. Hiei looked at the ceiling, seven years wasn't that bad... at least he had a roof over his head, three meals a day, and all the time in the world to think. That was what scared him the most though. He hated when there was nothing to do. He could let his thoughts wonder and they would take him to darker times in his life that he didn't like to think about.
But then again, the whole point of going to prison in the Demon World was to think about the shit that got you there in the first place. It was a time to look back and reflect on what decisions had been made to get you here. Hiei shrugged. Kurama was alive and there was nothing that he would have done differently. He closed his eyes and frowned as the scene began to play back in his mind...
_Flashback_
Kurama groaned as the human hit him in the stomach. He fell to the cold pavement and coughed lightly, the force of the human's blow knocking the air from his lungs. Hiei stood back, hoping that Kurama would at least fight back. But his contract stated the same thing as his did, and was bound by law to protect the miserable race. Kurama looked up at his assailant. The man chuckled darkly and demanded his wallet. "I told you... I don't have it on me..." Kurama said again.
Kurama struggled to push himself up off the concrete, but the ice around him made the task nearly impossible. The attacker didn't like his answer and with a single kick, hit the fox in his side and turned him so that he was facing him again. The man grew tired of the boy's reluctance and reached into his pocket. He drew a pistol from the depth of his pocket and pulled back the hammer as he aimed it at Kurama.
"Give. Me. Your. Fucking. Wallet!" the man bit out each word through gritted teeth.
Kurama put his hands up. "I am a student... I don't carry it with me!" Kurama insisted. "Please..."
The man fired a single shot and it hit him in the stomach, causing Kurama to curl to the side with an agonizing yelp. The man pushed his shoulder so that he was on his back once again. He demanded that the boy stop lying to him and aimed the pistol again. When Kurama's tears began to flow, the man growled and pulled the trigger once more, the bullet burying itself into the left shoulder. Kurama cried out and again, curled up to get rid of the pain. As a demon, there were things he could do to get rid of pain, but it was against the laws of the Demon World to ever show your powers to a human. Kurama shuddered as he heard the man cock the gun again and closed his eyes and waited for the kill shot... but it never came. When he turned his head to look, he seen Hiei standing there, his sword through the man's chest and the gun fell lifelessly to the ground.
"Hiei!" Kurama said. "What have you done!"
Hiei let the lifeless human fall to the ground, and sheathed his sword. He turned to the fox and crouched by his side. Kurama groaned in pain as his blood was seen forming a pool above his shoulder. Hiei's eyes widened and took his right arm. "Come on, Fox. We have to get you out of here..."
Kurama was lifted to his feet and cried out, the pain in his shoulder was almost unbearable. Hiei helped him walk towards the nearest portal to the Demon World. He was stunned when there were four guards on the other side. Two of them took Kurama from his arms, the other two took him by the forearms and pulled his arms behind his back. They informed him that he was under arrest for the murder of a human. They cuffed him and the six of them traveled to the office, where Hiei received his sentence...
_End Flashback_
Hiei opened his eyes and sat up. He frowned and looked around, for the hall was dark. It was dark outside and the guards had turned off the hall lights for the night. He sighed lightly, this was a dark that was quite unnerving. You couldn't see anything. There wasn't even the glow of an exit sign to be seen. Hiei shrugged. He deserved to be here. He had purposely killed a human and now he was going to have to face the time.
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Kurama sighed lightly as he slowly walked through the portal to the Human World. He limped lightly as he held his stomach to stop the pain, but it didn't help. He was going to have a hard time explaining to his mother what was taking him so long to get home that night. He sighed lightly. He couldn't let her see the bandages. She would freak, and that wasn't a good thing. He hated seeing her upset and so he figured he would have to tell her, a slight truth. His wallet was indeed missing, but it was most likely in the Demon World somewhere. He would simply tell her that he was mugged and that the man had hit him pretty hard, which was true. He winced at the thought of how hard that man really did hit him. It had been a long time since someone had knocked the air from his lungs with just a single punch. And yet, looking at the man now, he was built like a Mack Truck.
He unlocked the door and walked into the peaceful home. "Mother, I'm home."
Shiori came out of the kitchen with her arms folded over her chest. "Do you realize what time it is Shuiichi? It is almost ten o clock! I was so worried about you!"
She stopped dead in her tracks when she seen him holding his stomach... what... She came forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, Kurama wincing, wishing it was his right shoulder. She gasped lightly as she took her hand away. "Son... what happened?"
Kurama smiled lightly and she walked him to the couch. "Nothing, mother..."
"Do not lie to me, Shuiichi," she snapped and he looked at her. "Tell me, son... what happened?"
Kurama sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch. "I was mugged..."
She gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. "Dear God, no... Are you hurt? Where is he? Who did this?"
He put a hand up and shook his head. "I'm fine... just a bit bruised. I will be alright in a few days."
In truth, he would be fully recovered in a few days. Though he knew that he was going to be sore tomorrow. His back was hurting from being thrown to the ground so roughly. The ice made the concrete colder and more hurtful for someone that fell upon it. She stood up and walked to the kitchen. She began to mess around in the kitchen and Kurama knew that she was trying to calm herself down by fussing over tea. He smiled, that actually sounded good at the moment. But a painful pang in his shoulder made him suck in a breath through clenched teeth, god it hurt. He had never actually been shot before... not in Youko's form and not in this one... and GEEZ it was painful! Now he could see why most gunshot victims would either parish or else turn to prescription pain killers. He almost wish he had one now...
"Shuiichi..." Shiori said lightly from his side. She was holding out her hand, with two odd looking pills. "Take these, they will help with the pain."
That scared him sometimes how he could be thinking of something and it would magically appear with his mother. He shook his head and turned away. Her stern voice told him to listen to her and he frowned. "What are they?"
She gently pushed her hand towards him and he took the two pills from her hand. "They are just a stronger Tylenol. Prescription strength. Please, take them."
Kurama sighed lightly and took the glass of water that she was holding, wincing as he lifted the pills to his mouth. He swallowed the pills as the water helped them down and sighed heavily as she took the glass from him. She smiled lightly, she had been able to trick him. They were in fact Vicodin. She smiled again as she walked out of the living room and into the kitchen to make some tea. When she left the room, Kurama looked and shook his head. He spit out one of the pills, frowning that one had actually slipped down his throat. He reached over and got a tissue from the box. "Nice try, mother."
He sighed as he put the extra pill in his pocket and frowned as he knew that the other pill was still going to affect him. It was going to mix with the shot that the doctor in the Demon World had given him for the pain. He had been warned that it would take at least forty five minutes to take full effect and that he should try to relax as soon as he could get home. The shot was going to make him dizzy and he glanced up the stairs to his room. He groaned and doubted that he was going to be able to make it up there tonight. He really needed a shower though... he could smell the blood that had soaked the edges of his hair. He just hoped that his mother didn't catch the smell.
Shiori came into the room with a smile and sat a cup of tea within his reach. He smiled and picked up the cup. With a sigh he sipped the warm tea, content as it seemed to warm him through. Shiori smiled as he seemed to enjoy the tea. She looked up to his room and frowned. "Do you want me to help you upstairs?"
Kurama shook his head. "I don't think that is a good idea." Kurama nodded to the spare room to the side of the living room. "I think I am going to take a bath and stay down here tonight."
Shiori frowned. "A bath? Perhaps that can wait until tomorrow... don't want you to fall asleep in there..."
Kurama seen her stop herself and smirked as she had almost given herself away. "What's wrong, mother? Think a few Tylenol are going to make me so drowsy that I can't get back out?"
She frowned again. "Not at all, sweetheart. Just... want you to take it easy, that's all."
He smiled. He knew that she wasn't going to admit that she had tricked him into taking something other than what she said they were. She smiled lightly as she stood up and walked into the spare room. He shook his head, his mother was slick, and he had to admit, that made him proud. He was one of the sneakiest demons in the world, and yet, she could sometimes trick him into things that he wouldn't have caught unless she had given herself away. She was able to trick him in the smoothest of ways, and she smiled brightly while doing it, every time.
Kurama stood up cautiously and knew that he only had about ten to fifteen minutes to get into the bath and clean himself up before the shot was going to start taking effect. Shiori came to his side but he told her that he was fine and walked into the room. Once in the room, he sighed heavily, pretending he wasn't as hurt as he really was, that was truly exhausting. He walked to the bathroom and turned on the water. He adjusted the temp and used his energy to cover all the bandages, keeping them from getting wet. He stepped into the tub after stripping down and sighed softly as the warm waters swirled around him. After soaking for a few minutes, he washed his hair, wincing as he had to lift his sore shoulder. After his hair was washed he let the water out of the tub and stood up, grabbing a towel from the rack next to the bathtub. He wrapped one of them around his shoulders and the other around his waist. If his mother decided to look in on him, she wouldn't see the bandages.
About ten minutes later, Kurama was dressed in clean clothes that his mother had placed on the end of his bed and smiled lightly as he pulled back the blankets. He seen that his cup of tea had been transferred to the nightstand next to the bed and smiled again. He sat against the soft pillows and leaned back. He sipped his tea, until he felt the drowsiness begin to kick in. He felt dizzy, and sat the cup down, a soft clank against the wooden dresser. He groaned and turned out the light and laid down. He fell asleep and knew that the next morning, he was going to have to fight to suppress the pain again, and that was a fight that he doubted that he was going to win that battle.
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The End of Chapter One. Alright, I hope you enjoyed so far. Things will get better, I promise. I can't help but be so descriptive some times. But then again, who can? So leave me a comment, review, and requests and I will try to get to them quickly. Ta Ta For Now.
