Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Behind Demon Doors ❯ the Truth hurts ( Chapter 6 )

Hiei's eyes opened slowly and he gradually became aware of where he was. The hospital wing of the castle was unusually quiet, and white, a clean white that made everything twice as bright. Hiei propped himself up on one arm as he looked around, squinting at the luminosity of the room. He was even wearing white silk, something he had never thought to wear in his life, and yet as he looked around for his normal clothes, he could find no other colors. The nurse in the room looked down at him, a gentle caring look across her face. Hiei only glared back, wondering how this angelic atmosphere could possible be within his own gloomy fortress. The nurse only smiled as she wheeled over a tray of medicines, and an assortment of tools, which the sight of them made Hiei withdraw defensively. The nurse cheerfully picked up a syringe and filled it with a yellowish liquid that evoked another cringe from her patient. Hiei pulled away as she turned toward him, but he had not recovered enough to resist her, and found himself unable to speak. It was only a split second before the needle was jabbed into his arm and Hiei found himself drifting away from consciousness as he cursed at everyone that came to mind.

 

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A deep thud rang out through the dungeon as the large door was slammed in frustration. Yes, she enjoyed torturing her prisoner, but there was something that was keeping her from her satisfaction. The clack of Mukuro's heels against the stone floor reverberated through the hallway and raised Shuichi's head toward the menace.

Keys jangled and the lock rattled as Mukuro once again dragged Shuichi from his cell. This time though, he was not brought to the dark room, but chained to a wall, arms spread on either side of him. The room was empty, as the last one seemed, except in one corner, stood a mysterious box where Mukuro sat.

“Why are you here anyways?” Mukuro asked, glaring at the man who kept her from contentment.

“Well,” Shuichi replied smartly, “I believe it was yourself that dragged me here.” Mukuro sneered at his comment, but asked him again.

“Why did you come to this castle?”

A battle between their gazes persisted as they each sneered and glared disliking each other more with the time that passed.

“I came to avenge my mother, to kill your lord.” Mukuro collapsed onto the floor, her cackling loud and taunting as Shuichi wondered what had made her so hysterical. When Mukuro was finally able to support herself, she strode over to Shuichi and stroked his soft cheek.

“You just made my day kid,” she muttered as Shuichi cringed away from her touch. She walked arrogantly toward the door then turned back abruptly. “I'm not quite finished with you though.”

Mukuro searched through her pockets for something she had retrieved the last time they had gone hunting and smiled as she pulled out a pack of stolen cigarettes. She had taken up the habit when looking for a way to take her mind off her troubles and find they were perfectly legal for humans, and therefore, easy to retrieve. Taking one from the pack, she held it in her mouth as she searched the black box for matches. Pleased when she found an abundant supply, Mukuro extended her search, curious to see what else was in it.

Lighting the cigarette that hung from her lips, Mukuro pulled out a gleaming silver stake.

“I believe this was once yours?” she asked rhetorically walking back to him calmly. Shuichi coughed as the smoke from her cigarette choked and dizzied him. His eyes burned, but he didn't close them, instead he stared at Mukuro, eyes watering and she looked at him and laughed. Holding the stake lightly in one hand, she ran it over the scar on his chest, re-opening the wound from days before, watching as a bright cherry liquid ran down the stake and dripped onto the floor. The patter of the blood dripping could be heard clearly, as Shuichi made no sound still glaring at Mukuro as she chuckled softly.

“What's so funny?” he finally growled, and Mukuro looked up from the growing puddle.

“Don't you know? Fraternizing with the enemy and you don't even see it?”

“What are you talking about?” Shuichi spat angrily, the pain only aiding Mukuro's irritating voice.

“Hiei is our Lord!” Mukuro's grip on the stake suddenly tightened, driving the silver into one of Shuichi's ribs. He cringed as the pain overcame him, yet when he recovered, he had not heard what Mukuro had said. She drew the stake away and looked him in the eyes. “Hiei never tortured you,” Mukuro muttered in an audible whisper. “You're as spoiled a prisoner as I've ever seen. What did he do down here?” Shuichi stared back, looking at her as if she was a lunatic, talking to herself. “Didn't you hear me? Hiei is the Demon Lord, the Lord of the Jaganshi castle! Is not that who you came here to kill?”

Mukuro ripped the chains from the wall and let Shuichi fall to the ground. He was limp, lifeless. Mukuro smiled and threw the stake back into the open box. The cigarette in her hand smoked calmly and Mukuro glanced at it. Ashes fell to the floor as the cigarette waned away and Mukuro bent down to look at Shuichi's face. She took one last drag of the cigarette, then shoved the butt into his cheek, making him cringe. Mukuro kicked him over as she stood, and walked over to the box, picking it up and taking it from the room, leaving Shuichi locked in the room with only the puddle of blood. Shuichi lay on the floor in the exact position Mukuro had left him in. He refused to move or pay any attention to anything that went on around him. The only thing he wanted to concentrate on was his head. Buzzing with a voice of a room full of people, Shuichi's mind couldn't rest for a second. He couldn't make out anything that he was thinking; all he could do was sit there, numb and lifeless.

It seemed like hours or even days before the voiced died, and when they did, Shuichi could feel nothing but sadness. How could Hiei be the one he was there to kill? Hiei had been the only one who had talked to him, and he seemed like a normal person. Shuichi mulled over his troubles as he thought back on their conversations. Hiei didn't like the castle; he seemed so lonely. Shuichi always listened calmly as he talked. He talked about everything, about killing, how he didn't like it much, about the other vampires, how they all avoided him, about the castle, how cold and lonely it was. Shuichi stared at the red hair sprawled around him. The veil of red that covered his face made him feel secluded from the world and allowed him to listen to his emotions. He closed his eyes as he pictured Hiei, sitting outside the cell door, talking about important things as if they were nothing more than an insignificant trouble. Shuichi felt his breath catch in his chest as warm tears ran over his soft cheeks. Not a sound came from his lips, but his heart cried out as another puddle formed on the ground, a salty lagoon in a red forest.