Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Coming Clean ❯ Escape ( Chapter 15 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: This story was written by me, mhmartini, for enjoyment purposes only. All characters taken from a show/series/book/etc. are property of their respective creators; I am only borrowing them. Original characters are mine. The storyline is mine. I am making no money from this endeavor. The only �profit� involved is the joy of writing and the reviews of my readers. No copyright infringement is intended.

Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 11.25.2004 | Updated On: 06.03.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 925 | Status: Completed

"Damn. They should at least come out to see what blew up," Yusuke remarked, staring at the smoldering rubble of what used to be a wall. He and Kuwabara had trailed the abductors to their stronghold, an old, decrepit castle. The dilapidated building was practically rotting away. It had taken very little of Yusuke's energy to blast a gaping hole in the outer wall.

"Maybe they're hard of hearing," Kuwabara added, forming his rei ken. He approached the front gate, and in three swift slices cut through the columns to either side of the entrance. The whole structure crashed loudly to the ground, causing a tremor as it landed. "Bet they heard that," he boasted.

"Yeah, brilliant. Now how do we get inside?" Yusuke jibed.

"Through the big hole you made in the wall, Urameshi. Jeez," Kuwabara retorted, as the two teens began to pick their way through the debris and into the keep.

Silence hung heavily between the two figures sitting on the floor of the dark, cold dungeon. Hiei looked at his sister, completely at a loss for what to say to her. He had intended to keep their relationship a secret forever. Strangely enough, these thoughts were on the fringe of his mind, like a fly, buzzing around, but not the focus of his attention. His focus was on his fox. He clutched the hireuseki necklace he had given Kurama tightly, desperately, in his hand. The loss he felt when his kitsune had been attacked in the street was mild compared to what he was feeling now. His whole body shook. The sound of the final, anguished scream echoing down the hallway replayed over and over in his mind.

Yukina saw the pain on her brother's face. She wanted to ask him so many questions, but she knew that now was a very bad time. She also clung to a dark tear gem, the one that had divulged Hiei's true identity to her. Every time she tried to ask a question, the memory of the tear sliding down his face, and the hollow look in his eyes caused her to remain silent. Finally, she decided that they could no longer sit and stare at each other. Rising to her feet, she took a hold of Hiei's arm, and began to pull him into a standing position.

"Get up, Hiei. We have to get out of here and find Kurama." At the sound of the fox's name, Hiei shuddered violently, but it seemed to have the desired effect of dragging him back to reality.

"How? The door is warded; I cannot touch it. The walls are warded. I have some power, but not enough to get us out of here. As my...sister...the wards have the same effect on you," He stated, stumbling slightly over the word "sister." Yukina thought for a moment. Finally she looked at her brother, hope in her eyes.

"You are my twin. We control opposite elements," she began.

"Yes. But what..." Hiei trailed off, seeing what she meant. "It may work, if we can gather enough energy."

The twins turned to the door and each began to focus. They did not combine their powers, but rather focused their powers near enough to each other to have them overlap slightly. The wards restrained their energy dramatically, but they only needed a bit to make their plan work. The door before them was old. Their captor relied on the strength of the wards to contain them, not the physical strength of the rickety wood. Under normal circumstances, this would have been very effective.

Hiei focused his energy to the left of the door. He raised the temperature in that area, causing the air to flicker and waver as the heat grew more and more intense. Even this small fraction of his power was able to change the atmosphere in the small space. The dry air began to crackle.

Yukina focused her energy to the right of the door. She, too, was vastly inhibited by the wards on the door, but she harbored more strength than most people gave her credit. The air there grew frosty and humid, with some small snowflakes forming.

The space between their focal points, directly in front of the old door, grew unstable. The air began to rush around madly as the hot, dry air on the left collided with the frigid, moist air on the right. Eddies of current began to shake the door slightly. At this, both twins redoubled their efforts, causing the door to buck violently against the forces of nature assailing it. Finally, after a small eternity, the door gave a final creak, and split in two under the force of a particularly strong gust of tornado-like air. Exhausted, both demons dropped to their knees, sweating and gasping.

After only a few moments rest, Hiei dragged himself to his feet. Reaching out to Yukina, he helped her up as well, and both stepped through the remains of the door to find the kitsune.

Kurama lay on the cold floor. He was bleeding badly, and his vision was dark and blurry. He could feel the side of his face swelling, making it more difficult to breathe. Not that it was easy in the first place, with the number of broken ribs he had. He tried to move onto his side more, but found that he could not. The only movement of which he was capable was the violent shivering and convulsing his body was experiencing. He lay on his stomach, cheek to the floor, waiting for something to happen. He would have cringed, if he were able to, when the sound of footsteps approached him. He heard some voices, but he could not recognize or understand the words. Fear raced through his fevered mind as the footsteps halted beside him. Gentle hands reached down, and very carefully turned his broken form to face the newcomers.

Hiei led the way. Using the ever-growing scent of Kurama's blood, he found the dungeon quickly. As he entered, he quickly scanned the room for threats. It was empty...almost. A limp form lay near the wall, in a puddle of blood. As he approached, Hiei realized that the form had long hair, hair so red it blended almost perfectly with the crimson puddle. "Yukina, here," he called softly. The ice maiden rushed to join her brother, kneeling beside the body. Gently, carefully, Hiei grasped Kurama and slowly turned him over.

The bruised, bloody form of the fox spirit nearly caused Hiei to wretch. Although he had tortured before, to see the effects on someone he loved hurt him worse than if he had received the torment himself. "Fox?" he asked, in barely a squeak. The body in his arms shuddered slightly, and drew a shallow, ragged breath.

"Put him down, quickly," Yukina directed. Hiei, still shocked did not respond. "Now! Do you want me to try to save his life?" she asked more insistently. Hiei reacted. He gingerly lowered the fox to the floor, and leaned away to give Yukina room.

The koorime placed her hands on Kurama's chest and began to focus her energy. Freed from the wards, her healing power flared immediately, and the gashes on the kitsune's body began to fade. Audible cracks were heard as bones mended. After a few minutes, even the discolored lumps on Kurama's face regressed and faded. Finally, the red head took a deeper breath, and opened his eyes. He was still shaking, but more from cold, exhaustion, and fear than from the pain. He looked around. When his gaze landed on the fire demon, he whispered hoarsely, "Hiei?"

At this word, Hiei gathered the kitsune into his arms in a fierce hug. "My fox," he murmured. "My fox. I thought you were dead. My fox. My fox." For some reason, he could not bring himself to admit the love and the fear he felt at the moment he saw the body. He just held his beloved, rocking back and forth, repeating "my fox" and "you're alive."

Kurama weakly wrapped his arms around Hiei, touched by the hiyoukai's display of raw emotion. "Hiei. I thought I would never see you again. I love you," he whispered. Hiei tried to reply, but the words got caught in his throat. He sputtered a bit, until finally Kurama placed a finger over the small demon's lips. "I know, Love. It's hard to admit it. I can wait. But know this, I do love you." With that, the fox drew Hiei closer, and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

Yukina watched in silence. She had realized that the two had feelings for each other when Hiei had refused to leave Kurama during his hospital stay, but she had not guessed how deeply these feelings ran. As relieved as she was that the kitsune was alive, and that her brother found someone to care for him, she knew that their captor may be returning any moment. "We need to go, Brother," she said softly.

Kurama broke the kiss, and stared at Yukina. "You know?"

"Yes. We can talk about it later. Now we have to escape," she urged. Reluctantly, Hiei released his treasure, and the two demons stood. Although healed, Kurama was still weak. His clothing was torn away, except for a small scrap of his pants that could barely pass as decent. He shivered in the cold air. Hiei immediately removed his cloak, and draped it over the taller boy's shoulders. Although it was too small for Kurama to wear properly, it was spacious enough for him to hold the front closed, and long enough to allow him some modesty. The three left the torture room, searching for a way out.

The black-cloaked figure stalked the hallways in a rage. "What the hell is the Spirit Detective doing here? Master Intaro told me to make the kitsune suffer, but never said anything about the human!" he muttered to the servant that trailed meekly at his heels. He had been enjoying his "quality time" with his prey, and was interrupted at what he considered the best part. Fuming, he exited the front archway of the castle to address his meager army.

Facing his band of fighters, he directed them in a loud and confident tone, "Destroy the humans! They are a weak race, and will fall easily to you. Go!" With that brief, inaccurate, and uninspiring speech, he turned and retreated into his castle. He knew that his troops would not be able to protect him. He was right. The fight was brief. Soon, Yusuke and Kuwabara stood in the castle keep, surrounded by bits and pieces of demons that they had either cut up or blown up. The two teens turned towards the castle in search of their friends.

Before the tortuous figure got very far, two sets of hands grabbed him from behind. "Nice little welcome party you left us outside," Yusuke said. "I heard your 'pep-talk.' Did you give lessons in motivational speaking to my teachers? They're just as boring as you, and just as dumb. Now where are our friends?" The black figure was turned around, none too gently, to face the angry humans.

"Dead. Your precious friends are dead, Detective," he spat venomously.

"Hardly," a weak voice from further down the dark hallway called. Hiei and Yukina stepped into the dim light of the corridor, followed by a shaky looking Kurama. The fox continued, "As you can see, we are all quite alive."

The dark demon looked at his prey in fear. He had left this person, this human body, on the brink of death, yet here he was, staring at his tormentor with a look so cold it could freeze the blood right in his veins. Brushing aside his trepidation, the dark one retorted cockily, "You may be alive now, but Master Intaro will see that you beg for death. You will suffer, Youko Kurama."

"Why? What is this Intaro after? Why does he hate me so?" Kurama asked, never breaking his icy stare.

"You took it away from him. His treasure, his dream, his fantasy, all destroyed by you."

"What did I take?" the kitsune pressed on, anger rising in his voice.

"His intimacy. He wanted to be the one to share that exquisite pain. Instead, it became yours. When you ki..." The last words ended in a bubble of blood. The companions looked around, trying to find the source of the unseen attack. A cruel laugh behind them drew their attention. A demon, more commanding than any they had faced on this assignment so far, stood tall before them.

"That fool. Some secrets are mine to share, and mine alone," a deep voice resounded from the stranger. "Greetings humans, demons, and Youko Kurama. Although this encounter is brief, we shall meet again. I will see to it." With this pronouncement, the tall demon turned and left. As Yusuke lurched forward to attack, a horde of demons crowded into the hallway, blocking him from his intended target. These demons were much stronger than those they had faced in the keep. These were too strong, their power obviously increased from its natural state. Yusuke took aim with his index finger, but Hiei's soft voice cut his attack short.

"We cannot win here, Detective. We must retreat."

"What? You're running away? I don't think you've ever run away before in your life!" Yusuke blurted in surprise.

"I have not. But now I am guarding two other lives, lives that make my own worth living. We will destroy this enemy. But we must do it on our own terms, not trapped in his castle, facing his army, engorged on his power-increasing capabilities. We must go." Seeing Kurama leaning heavily against a wall added urgency to Hiei's voice. Reluctantly, Yusuke agreed, and the five began their retreat.

They had made it out of the castle and into the surrounding forest as the sun began to sink below the horizon. They could still feel the energy of the creatures pursuing them. The forest inhibited their progress. The plants were ever shifting, making travel very difficult. The only good side of this was that it was impossible to track anything by relying on footprints or trails. Only by sensing energy could the predator pursue its prey here.

They had been running for about two hours when Kurama tripped. He managed to catch himself before he fell completely, but his strength was gone. Yukina had healed him as much as time had permitted, but he was far from recovered. Instantly, Hiei was at his side. "We need to rest," the hiyoukai called to his companions. Gasping for air from the laborious trek, none disagreed.

"Where can we spend the night that they won't find us?" Kuwabara asked when he could find enough air to do so. Using the remainder of his spirit energy, Kurama closed his eyes and felt the area around them through the plants.

"That way," he rasped, pointing weakly to his right. The group moved in that general direction, until the came upon a mound covered with plant life. The plants seemed to part for them, revealing a cave. The tired group made their way inside, and the foliage closed again, hiding them completely. Feeling at least relatively safe for the time being, the entire group sank to the floor.

After a few minutes, Yukina got up and moved next to Kurama. The fox was breathing heavily with his eyes closed. Softly, she laid her hand on his arm, and began healing him the rest of the way. Surprised, he opened his eyes to look at her. "Yukina, you're healing me? I thought you were angry with me," he whispered.

"No. I knew you had a reason for not telling me about my brother. I didn't realize that reason was love. I cannot dispute that. Now relax, and let me heal you," she replied softly. Kurama just nodded, and leaned his head back against the wall. He was tired. Even as the healing energy repaired his body, he knew he would need quite a bit of sleep to fully recover. After a few more minutes, Yukina withdrew her hands. "I have done what I can. You need to rest, and then you will be as good as new," she whispered.

"Thank you," he replied.

Yukina moved away, and began to settle herself in for the night. A shadow moved beside the fox, revealing Hiei. "Kurama, are you alright?" he asked softly.

"Yes. Yukina healed me. I just need some rest," the fox replied.

"I'm glad, but are you okay? What did that freak do to you?" Hiei prompted.

Kurama shuddered as he replied, "He didn't get a chance to finish. Yusuke and Kuwabara's entrance distracted him before he could...before he could continue." The soft alto had grown even quieter. Hiei slid closer to the red head.

"It's okay, Fox. Rest now. I'm here."

Kurama nodded, and closed his eyes to sleep. The only movement was his slight shivering. Seeing this, Hiei raised the temperature around them slightly. It was not enough energy to draw their enemies to them, but it did provide some comfort to the rest of the group. Kurama smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

Kuwabara felt the temperature rise a bit, but it was still chilly in the cave. Yukina sat up, unable to sleep yet. Swallowing nervously, Kuwabara approached the ice maiden. "Are you cold, Yukina? I can put my arm around you to keep you warm," he volunteered.

"Thank you, Kazuma. But Koorime are ice apparitions, we don't get cold." At the crushed look on the human's face, Yukina continued, "But you can put your arm around me anyway. If you would like to, that is." Kuwabara's face lit up at this, and he settled himself next to the small girl. Very gently, tentatively, he slipped his arm around her shoulders. The ice maiden blushed slightly, and then leaned into him. Kuwabara curled his arm around her in a warm embrace, and the two sat like that the rest of the night.

Yusuke was asleep long before any of this had taken place. He was blessed with the ability to sleep pretty much anywhere, and did not waste this talent. The only thing that happened to him that night was the dream he had. He was running through Makai, searching for his friends, and Keiko was running after him, a book open in her hands, calling out the review questions for their literature class.