Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Crushed Petals ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 2 )

Author's Note: Okay, paragraphs in italics are part of a dream sequence, also, a warning...

Warning: This fic contains dark material dealing with rape. Please read at your own risk.

Crushed Petals

- Chapter 1 -

Kurama stared at the empty doorway for a few seconds, his mind spinning at the drastic turn his night had taken so suddenly. One minute he was sitting quietly in his mother's chair reading, the next, one of his friends appears on his doorstep, brutally beaten and raped, her life inwardly ebbing away from her as she lay in his arms. Thankfully, Hiei had shown up. He doubted he could have gotten Keiko to Genkai's before it was too late. Before she was beyond even that type of healing. Silently, Kurama prayed that the fire demon would make it there in time. Now there was nothing left for him to do but call Yusuke and inform him of the situation.

Inwardly, Kurama winced as he could already predict the hot headed Spirit Detective's reaction easily.~*~

Hiei sailed swiftly from treetop to treetop, making sure each jump went as smooth as possible, so as not to jostle the damaged bundle he carried. He scoffed to himself, wondering why he was taking such care when it was obvious that speed was a necessity. In the short time he had been in flight, he had made much the same assessment of the girl's condition as the fox had. She had been beaten and raped, multiple times, by two different demons. And she had internal injuries that, if not treated soon, could lead to her demise. With that in mind, the fire demon wondered again why he was being so careful. After all, it didn't matter to him whether the human died or not.

The slight shifting in his arms caught Hiei's attention and he glanced down. Keiko's eyes were moving behind her eyelids, causing them to flutter rapidly and her head was shaking from side to side a bit, as if she were in the midst of a troubling dream. Her lips parted and an agonized moan escaped, causing a flicker of curiosity to ignite in Hiei's mind. Was she dreaming? And if so, what was she dreaming about?~*~

"Did you do very well on that test today, Keiko-chan?" The dark haired girl asked her classmate as they walked together down the sidewalk.

"I think so, Ayume-chan. Most of the questions that were on it were ones I pretty much knew. How do you think you did?" Keiko replied.

"Don't ask.." Ayume grumbled, flicking a strand of black locks over her shoulder before looking ahead and freezing in her tracks.

Keiko paused as well, "What is it, Ayume-chan?"

"Hey, Keiko, nice skirt."

Keiko sighed, glancing over to see Yusuke and Kuwabara approaching. She turned back just as Ayume took a few steps backward and began to stutter. "I-I'm sorry, Keiko-chan... I forgot I was s-s-supposed to stop by the m-market for my mom on the way home. I'll see you tomorrow at school, right? Right. Okay then, bye!" and the girl dashed off before Keiko even had a chance to utter a syllable.

"Huh, what's up with her?" Kuwabara asked as he and Yusuke reached where Keiko now stood alone on the sidewalk.

Keiko shook her head and sighed, turning to face her two friends and crossed her arms. "You two should really be ashamed, you know how all the other students are afraid of you."

Yusuke rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair which normally was slicked back. Today it hung loosely, and Keiko felt her heart flutter at the softened effect the style gave Yusuke's face... an almost innocent countenance. "Oh, come on. We didn't even do anything." he said, then smiled. "Hey, Keiko, me and Kuwabara have something to show you. Come with us."

Keiko smiled, her expression showing nothing but curiosity of what Kuwabara and Yusuke had to show her as she followed the boys. They lead her a few blocks away before suddenly taking a detour into a darkened alley.

Keiko stopped just outside, "Uh.. guys? Why are we going in here?" Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Don't worry, Keiko. Ain't nothing gonna get you while I, the great Kazuma Kuwabara, is here to protect you."

Yusuke whacked Kuwabara on the head. "Baka..." he then turned back to Keiko, "It's okay, Keiko. What we wanted to show you is just down here." he reassured her, his normal goofy smile in its rightful place.

Keiko returned the smile as she chuckled at the pair's usual antics. "Okay," she said, and proceeded to follow them. "What is it you want to show me, anyway?"

"It's a surprise," was her only answer.~*~

"She's been WHAT?!"

Kurama winced, being forced to hold the reciever away from his sensitive ears, as Yusuke continued to scream on the other end.

"What the fuck, Kurama? You'd better tell me this is some kind of sick joke!"

Kurama sighed; he'd been expecting this sort of reaction. "I am sorry, Yusuke, but I can't. She is still alive, though. In fact, Hiei is on his way with her to Genkai's temple as we speak. She will be getting treatment very soon."

"How could this have happened... Dammit, I should have been there to protect her!" the expected moan of despair was heard and Kurama sighed again.

"Yusuke, it's not your fault, you can't protect her 24/7. Besides, now is not the time to worry about that, you need to get to Genkai's. Keiko needs you to support her, not blame yourself."

There was a stretch of silence at the other end as Yusuke reigned in his anger and frustration. "You're right, Kurama. Thanks for calling and filling me in. Hey, do me a favor and call Kuwabara for me? I think he has a right to know, after all, he kinda thinks of Keiko as a younger sister or something like that."

An soft, unseen smile crept onto the kitsune's lips, "No problem, Yusuke. I'll call Kuwabara and then meet you at Genkai's."

"Yeah... see you there."

There was a click indicating the line's disconnection before Kurama quickly dialed Kuwabara's number. After numerous rings, someone finally picked up.

"Hello," said a gruff sounding voice, made even gruffer by the evidence of being awakened from sleep.

"Kuwabara, I am sorry to disturb you this late at night." Kurama apologized sincerely.

"Kurama?" surprised crept into Kuwabara's voice at the sound of the kitsune's voice. "Oh, uh, that's okay, I guess.. what can I do for you?"

"Yusuke wanted me to inform you of a situation that has arose."

"Uh-oh, that don't sound good." Kuwabara said, the sleepy sound to his voice disappearing almost instantly.

"Indeed," Kurama replied, "In fact, it's not good at all."

"Yeah, it's gotta be pretty bad for you to call this late at night, so what's going on Kurama?"

Kurama closed his eyes as he recounted the events he had previously relayed to Yusuke, once again easily predicting his orange haired partner's reaction.

"WHAT?! Oh man, is Keiko alright? Never mind, I'll find out myself. Thanks Kurama, I really appreciate you fillin' me in." Kuwabara's words spilled forth in his haste to end the conversation quickly, his mind now focused solely on reaching Genkai's temple and his "little sis".

Kurama was about to reply, but was cut off by a sudden click and then was greeted by the sound of a dead line. "Well, I suppose that should have been expected as well." He sighed, replacing the receiver back in its cradle before going to fetch his jacket and exiting the house.~*~

The flying shadow landed silently outside the entrance to the temple, the moaning bundle continuing to thrash weakly in his arms. As if sensing his presence despite the late hour, the shrine's door was opened, revealing a feminine form nearly as diminutive as Hiei himself.

"Ah, Hiei-san! What happened?" Yukina exclaimed, her eyes widening at the sight of one of her friends so badly injured.

"She has been hurt, Yukina-san, and is in need of healing. Would you please fetch Genkai?"

The Ice demoness wasted no time in fetching the old healer, who appeared in the temple's doorway and ushered Hiei inside. Directing him to one of the rooms in the back, Genkai instructed him to place Keiko onto the futon and to wait outside while she and Yukina began treatment. Hiei complied, leaving the room to allow the two women to work.

Genkai examined Keiko, a deep frown marring her already weary features. "Yukina," she motioned the Koorime closer. "I am sure that you can tell Keiko is hurt very badly hurt. It will more than likely take both our powers to heal all of her wounds completely."

Yukina nodded, then moved to kneel alongside Genkai as the older woman held her arms outstretched over Keiko's prone body. A look of deep concentration appeared on her aged face as her hands began to glow, allowing the healing energy to drift down and envelop Keiko. One by one, all the surface wounds and bruises began to disappear as they healed. Once that was done, Genkai focused even harder as Yukina proceeded to place her own hands atop her mentor's, adding her healing powers. A long, tedious moment dragged by before both women finally withdrew their hands, the powerful energy receding.

Genkai released a pent up sigh before rising to her feet. "There are some extra yukatas in the wardrobe. Please clean her up, Yukina."

Yukina nodded, rising to do as she'd been bidden as Genkai turned and quietly exited the room. She entered the hallway to find Hiei leaning against wall opposite the doorway, nearly concealed in the shadows.

"As I'm sure you expected, the wounds were bad. But Yukina and I were able to heal them. The emotional wounds, however, we do not have the power to heal. That will be up to her when she awakens." The elderly psychic glanced over her shoulder at the door to the room she'd just exited.

Hiei didn't look at Genkai, or anything for that matter. He stood there, silent as the shadows he was in as her words sank in, knowing every word was true and not liking it one bit.

"Hn," Was all he responded.~*~

She followed Yusuke and Kuwabara into the dank alley, though in the back of her mind she had a strange feeling of wrongness that she could not rid herself of no matter how hard she tried. It was ridiculous, why should she feel this way? It's only Kuwabara and Yusuke...

She continued to follow, so trusting in her friends that they would allow nothing to hurt her. They reached a point in the alley, somewhat secluded from view of passers by, and again an unease settle over her. And again, she pushed it away.

Yusuke turned, gesturing with a quick jerk of his head, for her to come closer. She complied, smiling, though hesitant and moved to stand beside her childhood friend and evident crush.

He moved to stand behind her, his hands falling to rest on her shoulders and she blushed. "Y-Yusuke... what are you doing? I thought you and Kuwabara wanted to show me something."

"Oh, yeah... that's right." His voice sounded softly, right next to her ear and she jumped. Had he just licked her?

She began to tremble. This wasn't right.

And then, Kuwabara stood before her, his normally friendly eyes and goofy smile replaced by a look that was foreign to her. Something that frightened her beyond anything she'd ever witnessed before. She involuntarily stepped back, bumping into Yusuke as she did so.

His grip tightened, spinning her around to reveal that he too had that look on his face. She gasped.

"Yusuke, what are you-"

"Shut up, bitch!"

The slap that followed was brutal and carried enough strength to cause split the flesh covering her cheekbone. Blood trickled down the side of her face as she was knocked back into Kuwabara, who caught her, pulling her indecently close. She froze. Her eyes widening in fear as her mind reeled from the insanity of it all.

"No..." she whispered, and then... "NO!"

She stomped down hard on the foot of Kuwabara, hoping to gain release, but to no avail. He simply chuckled.

"Hehe. Hey, Urameshi, looks like your girl wants to play rough."

"Yeah.. I always figured she'd be into that type of thing. Hey, Keiko, let's have some fun."

With those words, they converged on her.

She began to struggle, to bite, scratch, kick and slap. She hit them with all her might. That is, until they started hitting back...

And kicking. Once she was down on the ground, she was easy prey...

Her voice froze in her throat with such fear that she was unable to scream. Or perhaps it was just the shock...

A hand snagged her shirt, the buttons sent flying as it ripped. She felt pain. Her sides and back ached. She was pretty sure she'd felt some bones break while they were slamming her against the walls. It was getting harder to breath...

Rough hands were on her. Familiar hands. Hands that were not meant to be in the places that they were. She sobbed. Yusuke's face hovered above her as she felt her legs forced apart.

"No... please, Yusuke..."

A scream pierced the night. Violating the silence with the same brutality in which the owner of the scream was violated. With no preparation at all, she was taken. Her dry channel causing even more resistance than her maidenhead, hindering the intrusion and drawing even greater torture.

There was pain. An ever present searing throb of pain which grew greater with each thrust... And they were numerous.

Her eyes clenched, not wishing to see the look of maniacal bliss on her best frie- on his face. Stars exploded behind her eyes, however, as pain accompanied the blow she was dealt.

"Keep your eyes open, Keiko. I want to see you. I want you to see me. Trust me, it's more fun that way."

She opened her eyes, but she still couldn't see. Thank Kami... Her tears obscured everything, causing her vision to blur. All she could hear were his grunts, could feel his muscles tense, his iron clad grip, a mock caress as it bruised her tender flesh. She felt a sudden gush of warmth which spilled forth from the part of him buried so deeply (so painfully) within her. Sticky blood dripped down her legs amongst the seed.

And he collapsed. His heavy weight crushing her even more, causing her insides to burn with protested agony.

"No fair, Urameshi... You don't get to have all the fun." And the familiar chuckle came. Oh, how she used to love that sound.

Now, it made her want to throw up.

His weight left her, his invading member retreated, the remnants of his seed mixed with her innocent blood somewhat lubricating the rended flesh, thus soothing the withdrawal, but...

Kuwabara's face came into view.

'Kami, no... Please, no...'

And it started again...~*~

"Damn it!"

The panting curse reverberating throughout the silent forest surrounding the set of steps that three figures now climbed.

"I keep forgetting how much I hate these steps!" Yusuke grumbled, though his pace did not slow.

Neither did his companions; all three were focused solely on reaching the shrine at the top of the seemingly endless stone steps in order to assure themselves of Keiko's well being.

"Just a few more, Yusuke. I can see the top coming into view now." Kurama stated, gesturing in front of them.

"I swear, I'm gonna tell Genkai to invest in an escalator as soon as she's done healing Keiko." Kuwabara grumbled from the other side of Yusuke.

Kurama let out a half-hearted chuckle as he kept up his pace. "I agree that would be nice, but very unlikely."

'Damn, I hope Hiei arrived in time for Genkai and Yukina to help her.'

~Stop worrying, Shuichi, and move~ Youko mentally growled, worried about Keiko as well.

Finally, at last, they reached the top. All three fought the urge to collapse onto the concreted ground in order to continue on toward the building which served as hospice for their injured friend. Before they even reached the door, it opened, revealing the form of Genkai.

"Took you long enough, dimwit. Hurry up and get in here, all of you."

"Sorry it took us so long, Genkai." Kurama apologized as he followed her inside the temple; Yusuke and Kuwabara followed closely behind.

Once inside, Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara spotted Hiei still leaning against the wall. Genkai moved to the door of the room Keiko was in, glancing over her shoulder and gesturing for Yusuke. The teen detective eagerly followed.

"You may see her, Yusuke, but do not wake her." Genkai whispered as she gestured to the cracked door. "She needs rest; after what she must have went through, she will more than likely need her strength...both physically and emotionally."

Yusuke nodded in agreement and went in. His heart all but stopped when he saw her, her many cuts and bruises were gone, but she was still pale and worn. He moved up to the side of her futon, his eyes slowly starting to tear up as he looked down on his best friend.

"Keiko..." he whispered softly, his voice full of worry. He closed his eyes in frustration, "What the hell happened? Who could do this to you?" A single tear rolled down his face, falling on the bedding he knelt beside.

Keiko let out a soft moan in her sleep, her closed eyes squinted closed even tighter as she thrashed a moment before settling back down. Yusuke's expression grew worried as--after only a moment--she began thrashing again, only this time it didn't appear she would be stopping.

Thinking she would hurt herself, Yusuke reached out to gently grasp her arms, intending on reassuring her with his touch as he whispered to her gently. "Shhh, it's alright, Keiko. I'm here, now... I've got you."

His words didn't appear to have the affect he was hoping for, however. As soon as the last three left his lips, Keiko's eyes shot open, going even wider in sheer terror as the first thing they focused on was Yusuke's face, which was only a couple feet from hers. With a sharp, piercing scream, Keiko shot up from the futon, her right fist connecting solidly with Yusuke's jaw in the process.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!!"

The sound of the door being shoved open frantically went unheard over Keiko's continuous screams as Kuwabara, Kurama, Genkai and Yukina all rushed in. Hiei remained in the doorway, observing the scene with barely concealed worry.

Yusuke still knelt beside the disheveled and empty futon, holding his cheek in confusion. Looking over at Keiko, who had climbed to her knees; he saw her crawl backwards, away from Yusuke. Her slight form was shaking in fear, new tears running down her face.

'What the...'

Hiei growled unconsciously, "Idiot, what did you do?"

Kuwabara was making his way toward Keiko, his hand outstretched toward her. "Keiko? It's me, Kuwabara..." He spoke, trying to make his voice as soothing as possible.

Keiko blinked, her terror-stricken eyes darting towards him and she screamed again. "NO! Get away from me! Don't touch me!!" She managed to scramble around Kuwabara, racing toward Kurama, who stood with a shocked look on his face as the terrified girl dove behind him, her arms going around his waist in an iron-clad hold as she sobbed into his back. "Please... don't let him touch me... don't... don't let them hurt me again. PLEASE!" she begged, her grip never loosening.

'Hn.. I only smelled demons on her, yet she is reacting to the two detectives as if they were the ones who raped her. How... odd.'

"Perhaps you two should leave," the dark voice came from the doorway, causing everyone but Keiko--who was still latched desperately onto Kurama--to stare at Hiei.

Yusuke was just about to voice his protest at the fire demon's firm suggestion when Genkai placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hiei is right, Yusuke. You and Kuwabara seem to be the cause of Keiko's distress. Remember what I said earlier, she does not need this. Not right now."

Yusuke uttered a long, drawn out sigh of defeat before allowing himself to be ushered out of the room. Kuwabara followed in a similar reluctant fashion, his head lowered in total dejection, as Yukina tried to soothe him.

"It's okay, Kazuma-san, I am sure Keiko-chan didn't mean it..."

Kurama watched as Hiei trailed behind the group, leaving only himself and Keiko in the room. He gently untangled Keiko's arms from his waist, then turned around to embrace her, making sure to avoid any sudden movements that might frighten her further. "Okay, Keiko, they are gone. They cannot touch you now." Rubbing a hand soothingly over her back, he continued to speak soft words of comfort to her. He didn't know why she had reacted that way to Yusuke and Kuwabara, but he did know that she would not be able to give any coherent answers until she was calmed down and felt safe again.

Keiko remained as she was, her face buried into Kurama's chest as she sobbed uncontrollably, her tears dampening the front of his fucshia colored uniform. After a moment, she seemed to calm a bit, though she still clung to him and sniffled every once in awhile. His hand rose from her back unconsciously and began petting her hair.

Sensing her body relax against his own, Kurama pulled her away from him slightly so that he could see her face. Her eyes remained closed for a moment longer before her dark eyelashes, made even darker by the tears that still clung to them, fluttered open and her head rose up hesitantly. Their gazes locked and Kurama gave an encouraging smile before he spoke softly.

"Keiko..." he began, but found his voice faltering as words seemed to desert him. He was left with no other option but to hold her gaze as he sought to say something... anything.

"I know this is hard for you, but...Why did you react as you did to Yusuke and Kuwabara just now?"

Keiko turned her head away from Kurama in shame, the memories of what had happened passed through her mind once again, made even more horrific in the light of day. Tears started to fall from her eyes again as she tried to speak; to force the words from her lips. For another moment, nothing came out. But then, with a voice so filled with sadness and utter despair, she spoke.

"It...It w-was them..."

Kurama blinked, trying to understand what she was saying, but with little success.

'No.. she couldn't possibly mean them.'

"Them who, Keiko? Who hurt you.. do you know who they were?"

Keiko remained silent again, her muted tears rolling down her cheeks as she nodded her head slightly in agreement. Kurama stared down at her, waiting for her to continue. Time passed slowly as he waited. Patiently, he waited.

"I-it was.... It was..." her voice dropped below a whisper. If it hadn't been for Kurama's keep hearing, he would not have heard her at all. "Yusuke and K-Kuwabara."

Kurama's eyes widened in shock. 'No, they couldn't....'

~Those bastards!~

Kurama's eyes flashed gold momentarily, before he shook it off. He stared in disbelief a moment longer before he shook his head. "Keiko.... you're wrong. Yusuke and Kuwabara could not have done this." he began, only to be cut off by her irrational laughter... it was bordering on psychotic.

"How do you know, Kurama? You weren't even there!"

"Okay.. okay, shh... alright." Kurama soothed, his arms drawing her back against him, her bitter tears once again staining the front of his shirt. "We will sort this out Keiko, I promise you." he said into her hair and he felt her nod slightly as her arms tightened around his waist.

His mouth drew up in a taunt line as his thoughts turned inward. 'What do you think, Youko? It couldn't have possibly been Yusuke and Kuwabara... could it?'

~I would not have believed so, but...we were not there when she was attacked...and her reaction to them...it all fits.~

Kurama considered, then mentally shook his head. 'No... it was demons who did this, I am sure of it. There has to be some other explanation.'

~Obviously, Shuichi... But the question is, what is it?~

'I guess the only way to find out, is to go to the source of the problem.' Kurama leaned away from Keiko, "I will be back in a moment, Keiko." he said softly, pausing when she whimpered and attempted to clutch him again. He held firm, however. "Don't worry. I will not let them back in here. I only wish to speak with them for a moment. I will be back."

With that, Kurama led Keiko back to her futon and left the room, determined to find out what was going on.~*~

TBC...