InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Heart Within ❯ Chapter Forty ( Chapter 42 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: YoukaiFate 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.06.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 435 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.06.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 435 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, etc., of Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit.THE HEART WITHINSummary: She has carried vengeance in her shadowed heart for 500 years, sacrificing her self for that dream. Now, Sango just might get her chance… (IY/YYH crossover) A/N: A rather short chapter, and I should warn that there are very dark allusions, and that I have twisted away from the anime (haha, like I haven’t done THAT already!) Again, bolded words are not mine, but the anime’s, etc. (Fate)
WARNING! SPOILERS FOR YYH CHAPTER BLACK, THE THREE KINGS SAGA! VERY DARK IMAGERY AND RUN-ON SENTENCES, LOL
WORDS
sakura - cherry blossom
Chapter Forty
Hiei eyed the giant sakura tree that had erupted from the okininju stalk next to the one he stood awaiting the former king’s arrival for the start of their match. He wondered what that explosion of growth meant to the fox whose awareness, at least, had finally returned to normal. Kurama’s personality now dominated Youko’s---though there was a subtle difference he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Youko had seemed to emerge there for a tense moment as the battle closed between the fox and the surgeon.
He cursed the distance, and wished he might use the Jagan to see for himself. But Mukuro was even now approaching as one of those annoying camera-demons flew up behind her.
Hiei studied the copper-haired woman. She was slender, her compact frame firmly muscled yet still distinctly feminine. She was rather short by demon standards---though he was hardly one to judge the height of others. In his opinion, the taller you were, the harder you fell. Hiei often made it his mission to ensure that maxim.
With the scars across her face and body, many would not consider Mukuro beautiful, though the draw of her considerable aura was unmistakable to any demon. Mukuro’s power was formidable, her mastery over jyaki lending a flare to her astral aura that was as appealing in its way as the dark Dragon who ever seethed across the back of his mind. He was not the only demon to have reacted to that. Unveiling her true self, the former king had opened herself to all the petty ambitions of any male demon who thought himself worthy of her. Thankfully, there were few stupid enough to try, or foolish enough to let their desire be known.
Hiei scowled. Let lesser demons quiver in fear at the thought of Mukuro’s wrath. This fight had been foreordained since the day he agreed to take up the king’s training. And now the questions between them might be resolved.
This was the only way to know.
*No, not Kurama. But Youko.*
And supported by the former king Yomi, no less. The white-haired fox had sustained a nasty injury on both shoulder and midsection, as Shigure had not gone down without a fight. There was no way, however, the surgeon could stave off the thousands of wooden spears that continually pierced his body. His screams had echoed over the stadium, who watched his slow death in eerie silence, awed by the fact that none of the spears were hitting a vital point to end the demon’s awful suffering as he slowly bled to death.
It was a terrible way to die, even for one like Shigure, and so typical of the cruel kitsune. Sango shuddered, and closed her eyes as the tears burned behind her lids. The weight of knowledge lay like a lump inside her stomach, and she suddenly felt sick.
“Gods, you look like you need a drink.” Sango shied as a heavy arm dropped over her shoulders and a bottle was thrust right in her face. She incredulously stared up into the gleaming yellow eyes as the blonde waggled the bottle invitingly. “Go on, honey, take a good swig.”
“Koku!” Enki hurried to intercept his wife, but she swung at him, nearly whirling around and falling back on her butt.
“Getter ’way from me, you big lug! Can’t you see I’m making friends?” Koku shouted, and nearly threw the bottle at him---until the slosh of liquid checked her. She turned back to Sango. “Well? You gonna take that drink or not? ’Cause if you aren’t, I’m gonna finish this.”
Of all the most ridiculous situations she had ever found herself…
“Aren’t we going to be fighting soon?” she asked the crazy woman.
“So? Scared you can’t take me, girl?” Her sneer was downright arrogant, the glint in her yellow eyes challenging.
“Oh, I’m not worried.” Sango swiped the bottle out of the demoness’s hand and took a healthy pull. Pure fire burned down her throat and straight to her belly, and her eyes watered at the potent liquor. Oh, shit, maybe that hadn’t been such a good idea.
Koku laughed and helpfully pounded her on the back. “Taken like a real woman! You’re all right, honey.” Reclaiming the bottle, the demoness finished it in one quaff, even tapping the bottom to get the last few droplets out before flinging it behind her. There was a muffled oath and a scurry to get out of the way as the bottle shattered against the wall.
“Whew! I tell ya, ain’t nothing like a good drink to clear one’s head, no?” Koku said, smile knowing. Sango blinked, for suddenly the blurriness was gone from her eyes and everything stood out in razor sharpness---from the booze on the woman’s breath to the way the screen showed a short, dark figure facing off against the formidable king she’d once mistakenly believed was Naraku.
The heavily anticipated third match of Group C had begun.
Kurama chuckled at the heavy irony in the former king’s voice. He was grateful for Yomi’s support, as the wound in his side was deep and he had drained quite a bit of his energy in growing the demonic cherry tree. It had been worth it, in the end. He’d gotten what he’d wanted.
What they both---he and Youko---had wanted, truth be told. They were whole.
He felt his body dissolving back into his human form as his friends raced down the hill, Jin flying through the air like some crazy bird as Yusuke easily kept up with the wind master’s speed on his own two feet. The others were not far behind, and Yomi surrendered Kurama to them without a backward glance. Yusuke gave the proud demon a piercing look which he then turned back on Kurama, who was propped up by Jin and Touya.
“Looks like you resolved something.” The detective threw his thumb toward the departing king, and Kurama’s mouth quirked.
“Heh. Yes, I have. In more ways than one.”
Yusuke studied him critically, and then nodded sharply in understanding.
“Well, then, let’s get your ass to the hospital. You look like shit.” Yusuke took Touya’s place at his left side. Draping Kurama’s arm over his wide shoulders, he cocked a grin at his friend. “Though that doctor-dude looks a bit worse.”
“Riddled, he be,” Jin said with a shake of his tousled head. “Don’t you think you went a little hard on the fellow, Kurama?”
“No,” Kurama said bluntly, and the wind apparition whistled softly through his teeth.
“My. Well, I dunno what the bugger did to ye, lad, but you don’t get that look for anything less than a blood-debt.”
Touya raised a pale brow, and they all grew quiet. They understood. If not the reason, or the motive, still they respected the fox’s silent claim of a debt of honor between him and Shigure that could only be settled by the death of one or the other. By Demon World standards, that was just.
“Okay.” Yusuke marshaled their forces. “Let’s get going. We still got a long way to hobble to that hospital...”
“Wait---” Kurama said, his bowed head rising as he felt a thunderous burst of jyaki pierce the sky above the okininju stalk on their right. “That feels like Hiei’s energy.”
“It is.” Yusuke grinned. “While you were poking that doctor full of holes, Hiei’s match started against Mukuro.”
“Mukuro.” Kurama stiffened. His steady green eyes met the brown sienna ones of his friend. “I have to watch.”
Yusuke frowned, but finally nodded. “Fine, but as soon as it’s over, you’re bleeding ass is going to the ICU.”
“I won’t need the ICU,” Kurama told the detective, his gaze on the ominous clouds forming above Group C’s okininju stalk.
The two adversaries finally dropped back to the ground and faced one another. There was certainly a lot of conversation between their eyes. Hiei’s were narrowed, his look cold. The former king’s were measuring, as if waiting or wanting something. Sango felt her throat catch as the fire demon stepped forward, his blade glinting maliciously. The next exchange was like a calculated scrimmage, as Hiei checked his blows and Mukuro easily dodged. It was as if they taunted each other, almost as if…
“After all, we are both only capable of expressing ourselves through our violence.”
Sango’s heart stopped as the fire demon’s harsh growl came over the video feed, the volume having been fixed. She felt it then, felt the tension between the two demons who were basically challenging each other to open up their isolated hearts.
*She loves him,* Sango thought numbly, as the woman pulled her blow at the last moment, flipping away from the fire demon, who snarled after her. Mukuro’s single blue eye softened, and Hiei growled, daring her to attack him like only she could.
Mukuro’s expression hardened, and she let all the dark passion built up inside of her out in one strike of her glowing fist, which sent raw jyaki flaring through the shorter apparition. The strike hurled him back several yards to slam bodily into a rocky hillside, the sword falling from his hand as he rolled down the slope to lie for a second at the bottom before gingerly getting back on his feet. Sango sucked in her breath at the raw burns revealed across his muscled chest as Hiei impatiently tore the rags of his shirt away with a smirk.
His right fist tightened, and he slowly brought it up to bear. Sango’s eyes widened. *No. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame against Mukuro! He cannot control it once unleashed---*
But he was already summoning the dark flames around him, which seared across her astral senses as they abruptly leapt out of his braced fist, his flare of dark jyaki met by the demoness’s own fuchsia-tinged power. The energies snapped like static electricity as they collided, drowning out the next exchange of words between the two protagonists as they forced their bodies closer. The energy abruptly dissolved in a flicker of black lightning, and suddenly Hiei was attacking Mukuro with just his fists.
“This is pathetic.” Koku crossed her arms and glared at the screen. “I was sure that crazy bitch would have his little punk ass cut in half by now with her dimensional technique.”
“There’s more going on in that ring than just another fight, dearest,” Enki said softly.
“Think I don’t know that?” Koku growled. “It’s obvious the two just need to fuck each other and be done with it. All that unreleased sexual tension is making this one sucky fight. I expected more out of Mukuro, at least. Her little flirting up there is costing me quite a bit of money. God, I need a drink.”
She went stalking after one as Enki indulgently shook his head.
Sango had missed the next exchange of words between Hiei and Mukuro as she stared stupidly after Koku. But the demoness’s final demand just before she split the sky in half with a piercing light burned across the taiji-ya’s mind as her attention snapped back to the screen.
“End your search, Hiei! The real one. And find your self!”
The clouds above were split by a growing web of piercing lines as the demoness shot rays of light from her graceful hands. Trapping Hiei beneath a web of deadly energy, the gleaming lines bit into his skin when he brushed against one, leaving a deep slash across his right shoulder as a hoarse cry was torn from his lips.
Koku was suddenly back, a bottle of Jack tilted towards her open mouth as she hooted. “Now, this is getting good! I told you, you big brick, that that crazy bitch could split the very dimensional fabric of our world with just a wave of her hand!”
Realizing he was cornered, Hiei finally stood. He stared at the slender figure who stared so serenely back at him, and Sango watched as the fire demon calmly, deliberately, ripped the bandage from around his forehead, exposing his Jagan Eye.
*He’s really going to use it. He’s really going to use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.* Sango couldn’t bear it, that he felt so compelled, and her eyes closed as she felt the restless stir of that chilling, ever hungering darkness ghost a low growl across her memory. The Dragon was pulled from the very Abyss, and her one witness to its raw fury and seething hatred had snatched her awareness up so thoroughly in the seething hatred she’d felt for Naraku she couldn’t bear the reminder of it. For she had no need for that hatred now, and the anger that was rising inside of her wasn’t the anger of vengeance, but the anger that Hiei could use the dragon so easily, that the darkness that lurked inside his very soul fed the Dragon’s existence.
She was running from the room before she knew it, her fury at Hiei’s callous use of such darkness making her eyes bleed as she burst out from the fire exit, the heavy door slamming back open in her wake. There were gasps of astonishment as she raced across the main stage, leaping off the far edge and bolting for the okininju stalk that towered so far away across the grassy plain.
Half of her mind was on her pumping legs, automatically adding the wind to speed her step and keep the harsh breaths from burning inside her lungs. The rest of her was there, with him, up on the plateau as she threw open her mind for all she was worth.
*Hiei! No!*
But she was already too late---for the Dragon came with a chilling shriek, erupting above the okininju stalk as a seething shadow of raging hate and darkness. Sango tripped and fell to her knees in the dirt as she stared up in shock as the Dragon’s purple-black form snaked up into the roiling sky, the small form of Mukuro caught in its steely jaws.
Her voice called to him, despair etched in her single word of denial. He jerked, and suddenly he knew. Knew the stark truth that had always been before him, staring him right in the face. What he had always denied behind a contemptible fear of what it might do to him.
Knew now what it did do to him. And knew now what he had to do.
He growled, feeding his jyaki into the raging Dragon with uncaring abandon, who screamed in such fury. He reveled in that feeling of rage and hunger and darkness even as he strove against it, turning it to his will. Mukuro cried his name as her flaring power shone like a fuchsia beacon against the purple-black flames of his summoned hate. Suddenly, her light burned brighter than his darkness as he called her name, and his fury unleashed hers, setting them both free from it as the Dragon split in half beneath that dual unleashing.
And then the Dragon came for him, and the world went black.
Mukuro had managed to defeat the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.
Which could only mean one thing. For the dragon fed on the very intentions of its summoner.
Which could only mean Hiei had spared the former king’s life.
Because he loved her too much to lose her.
Sango’s heart felt like lead. She could barely raise her eyes as a camera-girl on her flying eyeball suddenly dove her way.
“Yoo-hoo! Up here! Aren’t you # 5184? We’ve been looking for you! You need to hurry---the third match of Group D is about to start! Come on, or you’re going to miss your very own fight!”
Sango blinked in confusion.
The girl neatly parked her winged demon beside the taiji-ya and chivied her up behind her, saying with a grin, “Now hold on tight! Up we go!”
They rapidly climbed to a dizzying height, and Sango had to hang on to the girl’s bare waist as they swooped past the okininju stalk for Group C on her way to Group D’s.
“Oh, isn’t that just sweet! Why, look how they’re holding each other! Oh, that is just adorable!” the girl italicized, and Sango stared down at the sight of Hiei slumping into a kneeling Mukuro’s waiting arms. She numbly watched as the fire demon’s red eyes slowly closed as the two demons leaned into each other, and then deliberately turned her burning eyes away.
Hiei was right. There were things worth living for, for both of them. And gods, did she love him, like she had loved no other. Loved him for the darkness of his heart, the strength of his spirit, the bitterness of his pain and the fortitude that saw him through. They understood each other so completely, would always have that understanding. And she would always have the pain of knowing and understanding him so thoroughly that while he returned her love, he could not love her as she loved him for there---
*Is another.* His thoughts blended with hers, their contact so achingly close even as they both had to carefully put the distance back between them.
*And more than just another,* she added lightly, and he nodded, a faint movement of his chin against her shoulder, his spiky black hair brushing along her cheek. She loved him for the regret in his voice, for the gentle apology as his strong arms came up to hug her lightly to him before he finally, resolutely, let her go.
She felt empty, bereft.
*Not empty,* he said as he lurched back to his feet, exhaustion written in every line of him. He cast a significant look behind her, and Mukuro turned in surprise to catch the stolid presence of her ever-loyal commander behind her.
Kirin.
He nodded once to Hiei, and then bent solicitously over her. Mukuro took his calloused hand in dawning wonder as the strong muscles of his arm firmed beneath her light touch to help her back up on her feet. She stared up at him, at the intensity of feeling and respect in his eyes.
No. Not empty at all…
WARNING! SPOILERS FOR YYH CHAPTER BLACK, THE THREE KINGS SAGA! VERY DARK IMAGERY AND RUN-ON SENTENCES, LOL
WORDS
sakura - cherry blossom
Chapter Forty
Hiei eyed the giant sakura tree that had erupted from the okininju stalk next to the one he stood awaiting the former king’s arrival for the start of their match. He wondered what that explosion of growth meant to the fox whose awareness, at least, had finally returned to normal. Kurama’s personality now dominated Youko’s---though there was a subtle difference he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Youko had seemed to emerge there for a tense moment as the battle closed between the fox and the surgeon.
He cursed the distance, and wished he might use the Jagan to see for himself. But Mukuro was even now approaching as one of those annoying camera-demons flew up behind her.
Hiei studied the copper-haired woman. She was slender, her compact frame firmly muscled yet still distinctly feminine. She was rather short by demon standards---though he was hardly one to judge the height of others. In his opinion, the taller you were, the harder you fell. Hiei often made it his mission to ensure that maxim.
With the scars across her face and body, many would not consider Mukuro beautiful, though the draw of her considerable aura was unmistakable to any demon. Mukuro’s power was formidable, her mastery over jyaki lending a flare to her astral aura that was as appealing in its way as the dark Dragon who ever seethed across the back of his mind. He was not the only demon to have reacted to that. Unveiling her true self, the former king had opened herself to all the petty ambitions of any male demon who thought himself worthy of her. Thankfully, there were few stupid enough to try, or foolish enough to let their desire be known.
Hiei scowled. Let lesser demons quiver in fear at the thought of Mukuro’s wrath. This fight had been foreordained since the day he agreed to take up the king’s training. And now the questions between them might be resolved.
This was the only way to know.
ooOOOoo
The program suddenly tore in her sweaty grip, and Sango stared down in surprise at the two pieces she now held in her hands. She trembled, and looked back up at the screen to see Kurama finally emerging from among the gently falling cherry blossoms.*No, not Kurama. But Youko.*
And supported by the former king Yomi, no less. The white-haired fox had sustained a nasty injury on both shoulder and midsection, as Shigure had not gone down without a fight. There was no way, however, the surgeon could stave off the thousands of wooden spears that continually pierced his body. His screams had echoed over the stadium, who watched his slow death in eerie silence, awed by the fact that none of the spears were hitting a vital point to end the demon’s awful suffering as he slowly bled to death.
It was a terrible way to die, even for one like Shigure, and so typical of the cruel kitsune. Sango shuddered, and closed her eyes as the tears burned behind her lids. The weight of knowledge lay like a lump inside her stomach, and she suddenly felt sick.
“Gods, you look like you need a drink.” Sango shied as a heavy arm dropped over her shoulders and a bottle was thrust right in her face. She incredulously stared up into the gleaming yellow eyes as the blonde waggled the bottle invitingly. “Go on, honey, take a good swig.”
“Koku!” Enki hurried to intercept his wife, but she swung at him, nearly whirling around and falling back on her butt.
“Getter ’way from me, you big lug! Can’t you see I’m making friends?” Koku shouted, and nearly threw the bottle at him---until the slosh of liquid checked her. She turned back to Sango. “Well? You gonna take that drink or not? ’Cause if you aren’t, I’m gonna finish this.”
Of all the most ridiculous situations she had ever found herself…
“Aren’t we going to be fighting soon?” she asked the crazy woman.
“So? Scared you can’t take me, girl?” Her sneer was downright arrogant, the glint in her yellow eyes challenging.
“Oh, I’m not worried.” Sango swiped the bottle out of the demoness’s hand and took a healthy pull. Pure fire burned down her throat and straight to her belly, and her eyes watered at the potent liquor. Oh, shit, maybe that hadn’t been such a good idea.
Koku laughed and helpfully pounded her on the back. “Taken like a real woman! You’re all right, honey.” Reclaiming the bottle, the demoness finished it in one quaff, even tapping the bottom to get the last few droplets out before flinging it behind her. There was a muffled oath and a scurry to get out of the way as the bottle shattered against the wall.
“Whew! I tell ya, ain’t nothing like a good drink to clear one’s head, no?” Koku said, smile knowing. Sango blinked, for suddenly the blurriness was gone from her eyes and everything stood out in razor sharpness---from the booze on the woman’s breath to the way the screen showed a short, dark figure facing off against the formidable king she’d once mistakenly believed was Naraku.
The heavily anticipated third match of Group C had begun.
ooOOOoo
“To be honest, it’s not exactly what I expected. But then, you’ve always managed to surprise me, Kurama.” The blind demon raised his horned head, his ears twitching. “It seems as if your friends have arrived to take you from me once again.”Kurama chuckled at the heavy irony in the former king’s voice. He was grateful for Yomi’s support, as the wound in his side was deep and he had drained quite a bit of his energy in growing the demonic cherry tree. It had been worth it, in the end. He’d gotten what he’d wanted.
What they both---he and Youko---had wanted, truth be told. They were whole.
He felt his body dissolving back into his human form as his friends raced down the hill, Jin flying through the air like some crazy bird as Yusuke easily kept up with the wind master’s speed on his own two feet. The others were not far behind, and Yomi surrendered Kurama to them without a backward glance. Yusuke gave the proud demon a piercing look which he then turned back on Kurama, who was propped up by Jin and Touya.
“Looks like you resolved something.” The detective threw his thumb toward the departing king, and Kurama’s mouth quirked.
“Heh. Yes, I have. In more ways than one.”
Yusuke studied him critically, and then nodded sharply in understanding.
“Well, then, let’s get your ass to the hospital. You look like shit.” Yusuke took Touya’s place at his left side. Draping Kurama’s arm over his wide shoulders, he cocked a grin at his friend. “Though that doctor-dude looks a bit worse.”
“Riddled, he be,” Jin said with a shake of his tousled head. “Don’t you think you went a little hard on the fellow, Kurama?”
“No,” Kurama said bluntly, and the wind apparition whistled softly through his teeth.
“My. Well, I dunno what the bugger did to ye, lad, but you don’t get that look for anything less than a blood-debt.”
Touya raised a pale brow, and they all grew quiet. They understood. If not the reason, or the motive, still they respected the fox’s silent claim of a debt of honor between him and Shigure that could only be settled by the death of one or the other. By Demon World standards, that was just.
“Okay.” Yusuke marshaled their forces. “Let’s get going. We still got a long way to hobble to that hospital...”
“Wait---” Kurama said, his bowed head rising as he felt a thunderous burst of jyaki pierce the sky above the okininju stalk on their right. “That feels like Hiei’s energy.”
“It is.” Yusuke grinned. “While you were poking that doctor full of holes, Hiei’s match started against Mukuro.”
“Mukuro.” Kurama stiffened. His steady green eyes met the brown sienna ones of his friend. “I have to watch.”
Yusuke frowned, but finally nodded. “Fine, but as soon as it’s over, you’re bleeding ass is going to the ICU.”
“I won’t need the ICU,” Kurama told the detective, his gaze on the ominous clouds forming above Group C’s okininju stalk.
ooOOOoo
Light glittered along the razor edge of Hiei’s sword as he pointed it toward the former king. Their words were lost in the white noise of the whistling back draft of the flying camera, and Koto’s irritated voice came over the video feed, demanding the volume be adjusted so they could hear what was being said. By then the two fighters had joined in earnest, Mukuro easily dodging each swipe of the fire demon’s deadly sword. They moved so fast the camera could barely keep up, and the grumbles from the fascinated demons around her made Sango frown as she strained to follow.The two adversaries finally dropped back to the ground and faced one another. There was certainly a lot of conversation between their eyes. Hiei’s were narrowed, his look cold. The former king’s were measuring, as if waiting or wanting something. Sango felt her throat catch as the fire demon stepped forward, his blade glinting maliciously. The next exchange was like a calculated scrimmage, as Hiei checked his blows and Mukuro easily dodged. It was as if they taunted each other, almost as if…
“After all, we are both only capable of expressing ourselves through our violence.”
Sango’s heart stopped as the fire demon’s harsh growl came over the video feed, the volume having been fixed. She felt it then, felt the tension between the two demons who were basically challenging each other to open up their isolated hearts.
*She loves him,* Sango thought numbly, as the woman pulled her blow at the last moment, flipping away from the fire demon, who snarled after her. Mukuro’s single blue eye softened, and Hiei growled, daring her to attack him like only she could.
Mukuro’s expression hardened, and she let all the dark passion built up inside of her out in one strike of her glowing fist, which sent raw jyaki flaring through the shorter apparition. The strike hurled him back several yards to slam bodily into a rocky hillside, the sword falling from his hand as he rolled down the slope to lie for a second at the bottom before gingerly getting back on his feet. Sango sucked in her breath at the raw burns revealed across his muscled chest as Hiei impatiently tore the rags of his shirt away with a smirk.
His right fist tightened, and he slowly brought it up to bear. Sango’s eyes widened. *No. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame against Mukuro! He cannot control it once unleashed---*
But he was already summoning the dark flames around him, which seared across her astral senses as they abruptly leapt out of his braced fist, his flare of dark jyaki met by the demoness’s own fuchsia-tinged power. The energies snapped like static electricity as they collided, drowning out the next exchange of words between the two protagonists as they forced their bodies closer. The energy abruptly dissolved in a flicker of black lightning, and suddenly Hiei was attacking Mukuro with just his fists.
“This is pathetic.” Koku crossed her arms and glared at the screen. “I was sure that crazy bitch would have his little punk ass cut in half by now with her dimensional technique.”
“There’s more going on in that ring than just another fight, dearest,” Enki said softly.
“Think I don’t know that?” Koku growled. “It’s obvious the two just need to fuck each other and be done with it. All that unreleased sexual tension is making this one sucky fight. I expected more out of Mukuro, at least. Her little flirting up there is costing me quite a bit of money. God, I need a drink.”
She went stalking after one as Enki indulgently shook his head.
Sango had missed the next exchange of words between Hiei and Mukuro as she stared stupidly after Koku. But the demoness’s final demand just before she split the sky in half with a piercing light burned across the taiji-ya’s mind as her attention snapped back to the screen.
“End your search, Hiei! The real one. And find your self!”
The clouds above were split by a growing web of piercing lines as the demoness shot rays of light from her graceful hands. Trapping Hiei beneath a web of deadly energy, the gleaming lines bit into his skin when he brushed against one, leaving a deep slash across his right shoulder as a hoarse cry was torn from his lips.
Koku was suddenly back, a bottle of Jack tilted towards her open mouth as she hooted. “Now, this is getting good! I told you, you big brick, that that crazy bitch could split the very dimensional fabric of our world with just a wave of her hand!”
Realizing he was cornered, Hiei finally stood. He stared at the slender figure who stared so serenely back at him, and Sango watched as the fire demon calmly, deliberately, ripped the bandage from around his forehead, exposing his Jagan Eye.
*He’s really going to use it. He’s really going to use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.* Sango couldn’t bear it, that he felt so compelled, and her eyes closed as she felt the restless stir of that chilling, ever hungering darkness ghost a low growl across her memory. The Dragon was pulled from the very Abyss, and her one witness to its raw fury and seething hatred had snatched her awareness up so thoroughly in the seething hatred she’d felt for Naraku she couldn’t bear the reminder of it. For she had no need for that hatred now, and the anger that was rising inside of her wasn’t the anger of vengeance, but the anger that Hiei could use the dragon so easily, that the darkness that lurked inside his very soul fed the Dragon’s existence.
She was running from the room before she knew it, her fury at Hiei’s callous use of such darkness making her eyes bleed as she burst out from the fire exit, the heavy door slamming back open in her wake. There were gasps of astonishment as she raced across the main stage, leaping off the far edge and bolting for the okininju stalk that towered so far away across the grassy plain.
Half of her mind was on her pumping legs, automatically adding the wind to speed her step and keep the harsh breaths from burning inside her lungs. The rest of her was there, with him, up on the plateau as she threw open her mind for all she was worth.
*Hiei! No!*
But she was already too late---for the Dragon came with a chilling shriek, erupting above the okininju stalk as a seething shadow of raging hate and darkness. Sango tripped and fell to her knees in the dirt as she stared up in shock as the Dragon’s purple-black form snaked up into the roiling sky, the small form of Mukuro caught in its steely jaws.
ooOOOoo
Hiei jerked, his red eyes widening as the Jagan burned between them.Her voice called to him, despair etched in her single word of denial. He jerked, and suddenly he knew. Knew the stark truth that had always been before him, staring him right in the face. What he had always denied behind a contemptible fear of what it might do to him.
Knew now what it did do to him. And knew now what he had to do.
He growled, feeding his jyaki into the raging Dragon with uncaring abandon, who screamed in such fury. He reveled in that feeling of rage and hunger and darkness even as he strove against it, turning it to his will. Mukuro cried his name as her flaring power shone like a fuchsia beacon against the purple-black flames of his summoned hate. Suddenly, her light burned brighter than his darkness as he called her name, and his fury unleashed hers, setting them both free from it as the Dragon split in half beneath that dual unleashing.
And then the Dragon came for him, and the world went black.
ooOOOoo
The ominous darkness was gone as suddenly as it had come. Sango stared up at the storm-wracked sky in complete bewilderment.Mukuro had managed to defeat the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.
Which could only mean one thing. For the dragon fed on the very intentions of its summoner.
Which could only mean Hiei had spared the former king’s life.
Because he loved her too much to lose her.
Sango’s heart felt like lead. She could barely raise her eyes as a camera-girl on her flying eyeball suddenly dove her way.
“Yoo-hoo! Up here! Aren’t you # 5184? We’ve been looking for you! You need to hurry---the third match of Group D is about to start! Come on, or you’re going to miss your very own fight!”
Sango blinked in confusion.
The girl neatly parked her winged demon beside the taiji-ya and chivied her up behind her, saying with a grin, “Now hold on tight! Up we go!”
They rapidly climbed to a dizzying height, and Sango had to hang on to the girl’s bare waist as they swooped past the okininju stalk for Group C on her way to Group D’s.
“Oh, isn’t that just sweet! Why, look how they’re holding each other! Oh, that is just adorable!” the girl italicized, and Sango stared down at the sight of Hiei slumping into a kneeling Mukuro’s waiting arms. She numbly watched as the fire demon’s red eyes slowly closed as the two demons leaned into each other, and then deliberately turned her burning eyes away.
ooOOOoo
Mukuro hugged the short demon to her, her heart full as the heady joy spread over her at the freedom he had just given her. Hiei had broken through the metal shackles---both physically and metaphorically---that had chained her for so long to the past, and she could never repay the demon’s gift to her.Hiei was right. There were things worth living for, for both of them. And gods, did she love him, like she had loved no other. Loved him for the darkness of his heart, the strength of his spirit, the bitterness of his pain and the fortitude that saw him through. They understood each other so completely, would always have that understanding. And she would always have the pain of knowing and understanding him so thoroughly that while he returned her love, he could not love her as she loved him for there---
*Is another.* His thoughts blended with hers, their contact so achingly close even as they both had to carefully put the distance back between them.
*And more than just another,* she added lightly, and he nodded, a faint movement of his chin against her shoulder, his spiky black hair brushing along her cheek. She loved him for the regret in his voice, for the gentle apology as his strong arms came up to hug her lightly to him before he finally, resolutely, let her go.
She felt empty, bereft.
*Not empty,* he said as he lurched back to his feet, exhaustion written in every line of him. He cast a significant look behind her, and Mukuro turned in surprise to catch the stolid presence of her ever-loyal commander behind her.
Kirin.
He nodded once to Hiei, and then bent solicitously over her. Mukuro took his calloused hand in dawning wonder as the strong muscles of his arm firmed beneath her light touch to help her back up on her feet. She stared up at him, at the intensity of feeling and respect in his eyes.
No. Not empty at all…