Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A Well Too Deep ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

Sorry for the long absence, thank you to everyone who stayed with this story. I hope this chapter makes up for things even just the smallest bit. I'll do my best.

 

P.S. Yu Yu Hakusho is not mine so do what you will with that, but please respect me by not stealing my original ideas, characters, and concepts (at least not without asking first). Thank you.

 

A/N: All right, I know I said that this was going to be a gory chapter, but, guess what, it's not. I really wanted to get that section done in this chapter, but I realized that I hadn't yet begun it at page 7 and it's not exactly a minor piece that I mean to address. So I'm posting this as a stand alone, filler chapter. Besides, I really wanted to get a chapter out this week so I apologize, but please don't complain about the missing action. That will be coming shortly (I promise). I gave a short little teaser at the end just to let you all know that I do actually know what I'm doing with chapter 12. Enjoy.

 

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A Well Too Deep: Chapter 11

 

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The ceiling lights filled the palace hallways with a glaring light that chased away all shadows, even the ones they should have cast behind the two figures walking with the confident swaggers of teenage males capable of failing every school subject without batting an eye. Each one was slightly different, though. Yusuke's natural gait was relaxed and arrogant in its blatant openness: hands casually drooping from his pockets and elbows spread wide. Kuwabara unconsciously had his chest puffed out and chin pointing up and out. His body language was that of someone who always had something to prove to the world. Kuwabara was like to the one security guard who constantly carried his gun in full view but would never keep it fully loaded or take the safety off for fear that he would shoot himself in the foot. Yet, isn't it always that one slightly awkward person who would be the first to chase down a thief or throw himself between the nearest damsel in distress and the villain? That is, if he could find them

 

Yukina had walked with them for a short while before announcing that she wanted to visit with Botan. Only then did the two boys realize that Botan had been curiously absent from that morning's rendezvous. Kuwabara had readily agreed to accompany her, but she had gently refused. Apparently this was to be a girls-only hangout.

 

Yusuke and Kuwabara paused as they came upon a floor-to-ceiling window on their left. The world outside the essentially walled in city was a pastel shade of fuchsia. Thin clouds drifted past, level with the window's vantage point. The ground was a barren shade of tan without the slightest hint of vegetation. Yusuke thought that it looked like an old western movie set in the land of Rainbow Brite, while Kuwabara just thought it looked like chalk. On the horizon were dark ominous shapes brooding in their purples, blues, and blacks. A storm was brewing. Wind only blew from the east in the Reikai, following the sun, and so both boys knew that the storm was coming their way. But that could take either hours or months. The storm would lose none of its power or momentum in the meantime, sweeping from one end of the Reikai to the other until it would come full circle and find itself back where it started. That was if the storm stayed on this level of Reikai. If it accidentally wandered into the lower levels of the true afterworlds then it would never be seen again because those worlds are straight and have no end, ever expanding to compensate for the incoming dead. In that case, it could be a relative millennia until enough energy had built up on this plain to begin the storm pattern anew.

 

Neither Yusuke nor Kuwabara knew any of this. They simply saw a dark sky and predicted that a storm was coming.

 

Kuwabara looked at Yusuke, “You gonna tell me what's going on with our team now? I mean, I don't actually care about Hiei, but Kurama has saved my butt more than once so I want to know what's wrong. Maybe it's something that I can help with.”

 

Yusuke continued to stare out the window, three-quarters thinking over his reply and one-quarter amusedly watching Kuwabara grow more and more impatient. “It's really not something you should hear from me. I mean, I don't really know, either. Hiei isn't the talkative type and Kurama, if you haven't noticed, hasn't exactly been his normal self lately.” Yusuke finally turned to face Kuwabara. “I don't like this, being left in the dark anymore than you do, but there isn't much we can do about it. Every time I've asked, it's been made very clear that this is demon business.”

 

“That's bullshit!”

 

“Well, duh!” Yusuke returned to staring out the window. For a moment neither said anything. “What have you noticed about those two recently?”

 

“You mean Hiei and Kurama?” Yusuke nodded in answer. “I've noticed that Kurama's energy is going crazy. He doesn't even feel like him anymore. But the weird thing is that his energy is stronger than it used to be. If he's stronger then why is he so tired all the time? Two, Kurama looks like Hell. Three, there was a link between his and Hiei's energy this morning that I'd never seen before. Four, there was - what?” Kuwabara had just noticed Yusuke's incredulous expression. “My psychic powers are much stronger than yours. It's my innate ability to be able to feel and read people's auras,” Kuwabara said indignantly. He folded his arms in a minor pout.

 

“Hey, sorry man. I'm just not used to you spewing anything but spit” Yusuke laughed.

 

“Anyway, want to tell me what's going on now?” Kuwabara was determined not to let Yusuke get a rise out of him.

 

“Yeah, yeah. I might as well tell you now before you get a very shocking awakening,” Yusuke winced, he had almost said `again.' “Hiei and Kurama are…involved. You know, in a relationship with each other.”

 

Kuwabara paled but, besides that, remained stoically unaffected. Yusuke continued.

 

“But because of some stupid rule they can't actually do anything with each other or else Hiei is cursed for all eternity, or something like that. It's because Hiei is a demon and Kurama is technically a human. Last night, Kurama did some type of god summoning so that the two of them could be together. That's all I know”

 

Yusuke looked up at Kuwabara. Kuwabara's eyes had suddenly become incredibly large in horror and the stress lines on his forehead stood out with a terribly shadowed clarity. “Yukina's a demon too….”

 

---

 

Humming was coming from just inside the main door leading to Botan's miniature suite. It opened directly into a living and guest receiving area that was plain yet comfortable. Another door across the room led into Botan's large sleeping quarters, which connected to her personal bath. Officially, she wasn't entitled to any of these things. She and Koenma had yet to confront his father about the possibility of marriage, promoting her to the princess of Reikai and firmly securing Koenma's position in line to the kingship in the case of King Yama ever being rendered unable to lead. There would be no more interfering personal guards or separate jurisdictions. Koenma would become second in command of the Spirit World, though he would retain his current post of guarding the gates of Hell. However, neither of the pair was ready to face Koenma's terrifying father. So everything was kept very hush-hush; no matter that everyone under Koenma's command knew and approved of the relationship. Koenma couldn't afford to move Botan into his quarters, but he could and did grant her modest living conditions that, nonetheless, were much better than most within the palace were allowed.

 

Yukina knocked lightly upon the normal purple door, “Botan. It's Yukina. I was hoping to talk to you.”

 

The humming ceased and soon Botan was ushering Yukina inside with her normal bubbly attitude. “Yukina! I'm so glad to see you! Come to think of it, I haven't seen you in a long time. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it this morning. How's Hiei doing? He's tough, I'm sure everything went fine. It did, didn't it? Please sit down. Is there anything I can get for you? Tea perhaps?”

 

“Tea would be wonderful, thank you. Do you have anything sweet? I'm afraid, as wonderful as Healer's Hall is, they only serve mint teas.”

 

“Certainly! Hinageshi has a thing for European drinks. Let's see, where did I put them?” Botan began rummaging in a one of the many cupboards lining the corner to the left and farthest away from the main door. She stood up triumphantly (“Found it.”) and pulled a thin teacup from another cupboard. There were two red pipes running straight down the walls and stopping at about waist level. Each one had an up-down lever with a miniature ball and chain hanging from their ends. Botan put a filter full of tea leaves and other things above the teacup and under one of the pipes and then gave a light downwards tug to the ball of the right pipe and steaming hot water dribbled out without much conviction. Had she pulled much harder, the water would have poured forth and probably overflowed the cup within seconds, scalding her hands. She was used to this old fashioned contraption by now. When the cup was full, Botan released the ball and the lever sprung back up, stopping the flow of water. The filter was set aside to be emptied later.

 

“Here you go. I hope you like it. It's supposed to be a sweet orange flavor, according to Hinageshi. I've never really liked the stuff myself.”

 

“Thank you.” Yukina blew a chilling breath across the tea's surface, instantly cooling it to drinkable temperatures then took a delicate sip. The taste was not exactly like the orange fruits she had tasted before, spicier but not unpleasant.

 

“Is it ok?”

 

“It's wonderful. Thank you Botan.” Yukina took another sip before setting the cup down on the low, rectangular table that was the centerpiece of the room. “Hiei is doing well. The healers here are truly gifted. I would like to thank them myself for taking such good care of him. Hiei has always been very kind to me.”

 

“Oh, heh, that's good to hear. I-I knew he'd pull through.” Her voice was a little too cheerful.

 

“Are you alright, Botan? You seem unsettled about something. Please, tell me what is wrong with Kurama. You must know more than I do. Please, as a friend, tell me.” Yukina's hands were clasped tightly in her lap and her eyes were adamant. “Please Botan, I care for them just as much as everyone else.”

 

Botan was stunned into inaction then she sighed and slumped back into the couch beside Yukina. “I really shouldn't be telling you this, but you deserve to know.” Hiei is her brother, Botan thought to herself. “Kurama and Hiei have challenged a demon and human relations taboo.”

 

Yukina gasped, reaching out to Botan and clasping hands with the other woman. Botan's eyes focused on their hands, avoiding looking Yukina in the face as she continued.

 

“Something terrible happened to Kurama during the last mission. He was fused with one of the foreign and unnatural spirits within the talismans they were searching for. It is slowly draining him of his power, but normally it wouldn't kill him.”

 

“Normally? This situation…is not normal?” The despair in Botan's voice was bleeding into Yukina's fear, her question full of apprehension.

 

Botan nodded. “To defeat the demon that managed to collect 23 of the 24 Halokkos talismans, Koenma will need Kurama to awaken the spirit that lodged itself within him during its brief manifestation. Kurama will have to let go entirely, relinquish all control he has over the stag's spirit. He won't be able to tolerate it for long and eventually both spirits will burn out from the strain, permanently.”

 

“No!”

 

Botan finally looked up. Her eyes were shaky and wet. A single tear slipped free from each of her eyes, one right after the other. Each one was the drop of water that overflows a river's banks. The individual tears fell faster each time.

 

“In two weeks, Hiei's jagan will have healed entirely and the four of them will set out for Morana's territory once more.”

 

“Only two weeks?” Yukina's voice was horrified but passionate.

 

“Kurama initiated the ceremony last night.”

 

“So that's why….” Yukina noticed Botan's confused expression. “This morning, Kurama was exhausted, sprawled across Hiei's bed. He said he was fine, but it was obvious that his exhaustion was more than mortal sleep deprivation. His spirit was weak. I wanted to examine him, but he said `no.”

 

“Kurama spoke?” Botan's tears momentarily ceased in surprise.

 

“Yes. Botan, why are you so surprised?”

 

“Kurama hasn't made a sound since our return from Morana's territory…. We were all very worried. I wonder why he would speak now?”

 

“Maybe it has something to do with the ceremony. It is times like this that I feel so ashamed of my people,” Yukina looked downward, fisting her hands in her kimono. “To be a demon and yet know so little about demonkind; it embarrasses me.”

 

Botan pulled Yukina into a tight hug, exactly what they both needed, her tears flowing again. “Oh Yukina, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You left your people to be with us in the world! What more can you ask of yourself?”

 

Yukina pulled gently back from the embrace. “Thank you Botan. I sense there is more to your sadness than what you have told me, though it is hard for me to imagine what else could be happening.”

 

“You are right,” Botan chuckle-sobbed; frustrated with tears she could not seem to still. She was supposed to be strong for Koenma. “A ceremony like the one Kurama and Hiei performed requires a powerful bond to be broken so that their love can take its place. Equivalent exchange, or something awful and bureaucratic like that. Because they appealed to Koenma, he must sacrifice something he holds dear.” (Yukina, for one horrified moment, thought that Botan was going to be the one sacrificed.) “And he has chosen to give up Hinako.”

 

Yukina was unsure at first whom Botan was referring to. Then she remembered the girl who had so carefully tended to Hiei's wounds. They had met once before at Healer's Hall as well. They did not know each other well, but Yukina did remember her as having the most beautifully pure aura she had ever seen. She at once felt guilty for her relief upon hearing that Botan was not the chosen. She remained still, unsure of how to react. “What will happen to her?”

 

“Koenma refuses to tell me.”

 

Both girls were glad they didn't know.

 

---

 

Hiei's room was quiet. The rustling of sheets each time Kurama, still atop the comforter, shifted in his anxiousness had been the only sound for many minutes. The room's other occupant sat still with his knees pulled up to chest underneath the bed covers. Both were engrossed in their own thoughts, secure in simply knowing that the other was there. Finally, Hiei laid a hand upon Kurama's head, running fingers through his hair in a stilling gesture.

 

“Stop it. If you refuse sleep, then at least lie still.”

 

Kurama stilled immediately, turning sheepish and weary eyes upon his beloved. “Sorry Hiei.”

 

“I'm concerned too. If he refuses, will you stop talking again?”

 

“Yes. I am relying on your strength now. If Koenma refuses, I will no longer be shielded by your untainted power. Without it, I cannot prevent its voice from using my mouth. The others must not know of my condition until they have to. They may try and save me,” Kurama smiled. It would have been wry if it hadn't been so genuine and sorrowful. He reached out and held Hiei's closest arm. A frown graced his lips - his grip was unsteady. Seeing this, Hiei pulled Kurama up next to him. They shifted briefly so that Kurama could comfortably lay his head on Hiei's chest.

 

“I will miss hearing your voice.” Hiei whispered.

 

“Are you sure? You'll miss my `incessant and annoying prattle?” Kurama teased lightly, quoting Hiei.

 

“Yes…. Has Koenma contacted you about any of this?”

 

“No, there is no need. I've read his thoughts. When Koenma approached me in the library I invaded his mind. He had caught me at a bad time,” Kurama added as an after thought. “Apparently there are 23 other pendants like this one, and together they make up a single entity. Morana possesses those other 23, but without this final one her power barely surpasses what mine could be were I to embrace it. Nevertheless, not a single one of us are a match for her. That is why he will demand that I give up my life in order to release the potential power that the stag's spirit grants me.”

 

Hiei tensed. “What else did you see?”

 

“I saw that young healer whom has so carefully tended to you. Her name is Hanako. This is whom Koenma will sacrifice for us. Before learning this, I had feared he would choose Botan if I dared summon him. I couldn't risk her life after saving it so many times.”

 

“Hanako,” Hiei tested the word upon his tongue. “Why?”

 

“He loves her as a daughter, mother, sister, and lover. Beyond all else, Koenma is drawn to her purity - I know you sensed it as well as I. This is her soul's first life. Koenma rescued her and has sheltered her from everything, preserving her innocence as perfectly as a god is able. Because of it, she is utterly loyal to him. He probably chooses her for death as much to preserve her faultlessness as to protect Botan, though that is only a presumption on my part.”

 

“Hn.”

 

“So how do you feel, Hiei, about ordering the death of your little healer?” It was a cruel question uncharacteristic of Kurama's more humanized personality.

 

Hiei liked the edge in Kurama's voice, but it was also unnerving. “Her death will give our bond unimaginable strength.” He would not be outmatched. “You are also hoping to draw energy from her.”

 

It was a correct statement, so Kurama did not bother to respond. His mind had already wandered. One of his hands drifted up to brush against the warded bandages covering the jagan eye. A tremor of dark spiritual power rose up in reaction to the touch, but it was but a shadow of its usual ferocity. “Two weeks….”

 

“What?”

 

“Two weeks until he will thrust us back into the Makai and our hunt for Morana. Why does he bother?” Kurama's voice became distant and his eyes focused inward. Hiei didn't know whether to respond to the question or not. “She is content in her isolation; a little girl with too much power only. Besides, what can she do while the Reikai safeguards this last pendant? They are scared of her,” Kurama's voice became acerbic. “They would rather destroy me in split-second reaction to their unexpected good fortune than wait until their victory was more assured. It is an impatient plan.”

 

“Kurama?”

 

Hiei reached across his body to cup the smooth cheek of his love, turning the face to look at him. Foggy green eyes came back in to focus upon the most beautiful sight Kurama believed to exist. Kurama smiled in what was meant to be a reassuring expression, “But I will do as I must no matter.”

 

“When will Koenma come?” Hiei asked.

 

“Tonight.”

 

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Chapter 12 preview:

 

Her body hung in time, suspended atop the point like a magician's trick. It pierced her skin with slow and eerie clarity. Suddenly, her grace no longer held and she plunged down its metal spine.

 

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A/N: When Yusuke winced and “almost said `again” he was thinking back to how Kuwabara first learned of Genkai's death in the tournament ring.