Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Freedom ❯ Chapter Fourteen ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter Fourteen

 

When Kurama woke for the second time he was having a lot less trouble thinking. The pain in his head had become nothing more then a dull throb and no longer interfered in his thought process.

 

Youko was still silent, but now Kurama could feel the ward that caused his other half's silence. What remained unknown was whether or not that was the intended purpose of the ward or if that was merely an unintended side effect.

 

He tried the door again and it still did not budge. Perhaps the ward was also draining his strength. It would account for his inability to open a simple wooden door, but his weakness could also be a result of his injuries. It was hard to tell.

 

Kurama ran his hands over his body as best he could in that confined space. He had to remove the ward if he could do it. Without it he might have a chance to escape. With it still attached, he was not much better off then a sitting duck.

 

He found it on his leg, tucked inside a rip in his pants. It burned his fingers, but he kept them there until he had managed to find the edge and pull it almost all the way off. The pain was almost worse then his head injury but he forced himself to grab hold of it again and pull it the rest of the way off. It hurt. Oh Inari, did it hurt but now it was over with and it had been worth it.

 

Youko poured back into him, filling him up with the strength that the ward had sealed away. The pain in his fingers faded as Youko's demonic healing began to kick in at an accelerated rate. Youko was angry that his other half had been treated as he had and even more angry with those who had caused his injuries. It was that anger that fueled the healing process and because of its magnitude Kurama's injuries had finished healing in a matter of minutes.

 

The door that had proven itself to be such an obstacle on previous occasions now opened easily even if its screech was still painfully shrill to his ears. He would learn what he could on his way out of this place, wreaking his vengeance on whomever he met. When that was done he would seek out Jin and warn the wind Shinobi of the possible danger that was heading his way, that is if he reached him in time.

 

It was possible that Kagura and Kana, if those were even the right names, were weaklings who had already been defeated by Jin. Kurama just did not know enough about their powers or abilities to know anything for certain. Besides the wind Shinobi would want to hear about the fate that had befallen Yusuke. They were good friends after all.

 

~*~

 

It was raining in the Ningenkai. Not so much a heavy rain as a light, persistent drizzle. A sharp wind drove the damp, cold air through clothing as though it was not there at all. The Ningenkai had seen better days and it was just their luck that this was not one of those days.

 

Genkai had been waiting on her temple's porch for Ariana, Yusuke, and Hiei when they had exited the portal from the Reikei. She was shorter then Ariana had expected her to be, but the Saiyan princess did not let that show on her face. This was the woman who had pounded most of Yusuke's training into him and, based on the results, she had done a damned good job.

 

“She a friend of yours, Dimwit?” Asked Genkai.

 

Yusuke fidgeted under Genkai's gaze for several seconds before coming up with an answer, that while true, avoided several uncomfortable truths that Yusuke did not feel he was up to discussing.

 

“Ariana wants to teach Hiei and me some stuff.” Said Yusuke. “But it means that we'll be spending quite a bit of time in the dimension she comes from.”

 

“And what does she know of fighting?” asked Genkai.

 

Yusuke started fidgeting again. Genkai would want answers, real answers and Yusuke just was not up to that in-depth conversation. It was also a conversation that they did not have time for unless they cut to the chase which would be even harder on Yusuke. Then again, this was Genkai and if anyone knew how to talk to Yusuke it would be her.

 

“Wouldn't it be a better idea to just ask me?” asked Ariana.

 

Genkai ignored her, still being focused on her former student.

 

“Hiei and I sparred with her earlier today. It was two on one and she defeated both of us as though we were nothing.” Said Yusuke.

 

“I'm finding that hard to believe.” Said Genkai. “Unless of course you've been slacking off again, Dimwit.”

 

“Even if he had been slacking off it wouldn't have mattered. The training that he has received so far is solid, but if Yusuke is going to kick it up to the next level then he's going to need someone powerful enough to push him to his limits and beyond.” Said Ariana.

 

“And you believe that you can do that?” Asked Genkai. “Or is he just going to wind up surpassing you as well?”

 

“I doubt it, especially with the way that my father will having me work my own ass off.” Said Ariana.

 

“So it'll be your father who is in charge, won't it?” Asked Genkai.

 

“No. He won't. Father wouldn't put forth any effort in training someone who isn't even part Saiyan.” Said Ariana. “His focus will be as it has always been and that will be on his own training and that of his children.”

 

“There is something that you're not telling me.” Said Genkai. “Something important. Why are you doing this? And why now?”

 

“Do you want me to tell her, Yusuke?” asked Ariana. “She doesn't have to know if you don't want her to.”

 

“No, I'll tell her myself.” Said Yusuke. His voice was trembling but he did exactly as he had said. He told her almost everything. He did not tell her what had happened in the bathtub earlier that day and he kept the details of what Mukuro's soldiers and Ariel had done to him to the bare minimum.

 

By the time that he finished Yusuke was on the verge of tears, not that anyone would or could blame him after all that he had been through. Even Hiei had been moved by the story despite the fact that he had seen most of it in Yusuke's own memories. He had moved behind the Yusuke and placed a hand on his back where Genkai would not see it.

 

Yusuke gave Genkai no chance to respond running towards the thick forest that surrounded the temple before his words had a chance to sink in. Ariana wanted to run after him, but knew that right now she would only be a further reminder of everything that he had gone through.

 

 

Hiei shot a rather nasty glare in Ariana's direction. As obvious as his anger was the cause of it was even more obvious. It was a well-known fact that the woods surrounding Genkai's temple were infested with low-level demons. Under normal circumstances, none of them would pose even the slightest risk to Yusuke, but these were not normal circumstances and, as he was, Yusuke was almost defenseless. There was no one watching Yusuke's back in a forest of demons that would be more then happy to slaughter him. That was the source of Hiei's anger.

 

There was only one way to solve that problem.

 

“Go on, Hiei. Make sure he doesn't get himself into anything he can't handle.” Said Ariana.

 

Hiei did not hesitate before flitting off in the direction that Yusuke had run.

 

“You're not going after him yourself?” Asked Genkai.

 

“Yusuke is in good hands.” Said Ariana. “He'll be just fine.”

 

Genkai tried to say something, but Puu drowned her words out as he burst through the doors of the large barn that had sheltered him from the bad weather and took to the sky, flying in the direction that both Yusuke and Hiei had gone.

 

“How can you say that he'll be fine after what's happened to him?” Asked Genkai.

 

“I did not mean to imply that it would be an overnight process, but give it some time and there will be a day when it will come to pass.” Said Ariana.

 

“You still haven't told me why you're doing any of this.” Said Genkai.

 

Ariana shrugged her shoulders.

 

“You're not the only one who wants to know the answer to that question. Sometimes I try to tell myself that the reason I'm doing any of this is the potential that I sense within both Yusuke and Hiei, but I know that I am lying to myself and that not even I know what the real reason is.” Said Ariana.

 

It was at that moment that Hiei emerged from the woods with Yusuke. The brown-eyed man looked as though he had been crying, but he did look calmer then he did when he ran off. He would not be up to any more stops anywhere else. This one had been too much to ask of him and Ariana would not compound that problem by asking for even more.

 

The problem was that she had all but promised Hiei the chance to pick up his spare katana at Kurama's house. The answer appeared in her mind almost as soon as she realized that there was a problem. Hiei would just have to retrieve the katana on his own. She and Yusuke would just wait here until he returned which he would do. Hiei was not the kind to run off on someone when that person needed him, especially when that someone was Yusuke.

 

But before any of that could happen, she needed to apologize to Yusuke. He had tried to let her know that he wasn't up to this and she had ignored him. She had placed the things that needed to be done, but could also be put off with ease, in front of his well being and that was unforgivable. She hugged him and then gave him a kiss on the cheek before she spoke.

 

“I'm sorry, Yusuke. I should have listened to you and put this off.” Said Ariana. “You can visit everyone else when you feel up to it.”

 

“But what about Hiei's katana?” Argued Yusuke. “He won't like coming all this way for nothing. And what about Puu? You were right. I can't just leave him behind.”

 

“Then Hiei will just have to go get it on his own.” Said Ariana.

 

“Hn.” Said Hiei.

 

“If you want it go get it, Hiei. I can't say when the next chance will come.” Said Ariana.

 

Less then a second had passed before Hiei was out of sight.

 

~*~

 

Hiei sped through the trees at top speed even though he was tempted to slow down and savor his first moments alone since the previous day. As he approached Kitsune's home, the rain started coming down faster as the wind picked up in speed and the temperature plummeted several degrees. As much as Hiei enjoyed the solitude, spending extra time in the rain was not worth it. He really, really hated the rain and if the trip itself had not been so important, he would have passed up the opportunity. He sped up, unwilling to spend anymore time in the rain than he absolutely had to in order to get his spare katana.

 

Part of him wanted to grab his spare katana and run off to some unknown, seldom traveled part of the Makai. He knew where a portal was and that he could get through it and be long gone before Ariana knew that anything she did not want to happen was happening. It would be freedom, but that freedom would be temporary. Ariana would be angry when she found him. Yusuke would feel like he had been abandoned and betrayed. Hiei could not do it. He could not leave Yusuke feeling as though he had been abandoned and betrayed for a freedom that would be temporary at best even if it meant willingly returning to captivity at the end of this trip.

 

Even before Hiei came to a halt on the tree branch outside the Fox's bedroom window, he knew that the plant manipulator was not home. His bedroom was dark; the window shut and locked. The few, lingering traces of the Fox's youki were all more then a day old. The Fox had not been home since the last time that Hiei had seen him.

 

Hiei entered the Fox's bedroom with ease. The lock on the window had not been much of a challenge to him because the Fox knew that his plants would and could take care of any unwelcome intruders. Hiei did not fall into the category of an unwelcome intruder and the plants that were this room's true defense ignored him.

 

Hiei grabbed his katana and left, closing the window behind him even if he was unable to lock it from the outside. The fact that the katana was gone would be all the explanation that the Fox would need for the unlocked window.