Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ I Dream of Demons ❯ Even In Death ( Chapter 3 )

Priestess Aishisu: Thanks again to all reviewers, and I'm not trying to torture you by not telling you what you want me to—I'll tell you what you want to know.
Eventually.
But just remember this one detail: reviews=updates and updates=answers! I'll say no more.
The song is another Evanescence one called Even In Death. I know Hiei isn't dead, but otherwise it fit—in a twisted way.
Also, Hiei shows up in this chapter. Yay! He's my second favorite character! (My favorite is Kurama)

Give me a reason to believe that you're gone
I see your shadow so I know they're all wrong

“Please, Yusuke, Kuwabara,” moaned Kurama, knuckling his forehead. “Enough with all the conspiracies already! Also, if you speak any louder, then it doesn't matter if he's here—he'll be gone before you can finish your threats…if you ever decide to finish.”

“Come on, Kurama!” cried Kuwabara, punching the table so hard it trembled. “When did you lose your sense of revenge?”

The usually-calm Kurama scowled at him, painfully aware of a migraine coming on. “I'm not sure, but I think it was somewhere around the time when you started talking about arteries.”

Yusuke scowled as well, recalling a discussion he and Kurama had had about a week ago about the Forbidden Child that he and Kuwabara had just been planning to mutilate.

Kurama was a friend of his, a good friend, and it pissed him off that he hadn't seemed the same since Hiei's betrayal. He and Kuwabara had been upset as well, but they were used to turning any negative emotions into rage. It seemed that Kurama was not, though Yusuke had seen him do as much before.

Maybe because he was his best friend, Yusuke thought, frowning. He didn't enjoy watching his friends in pain, and idiotic Kuwabara didn't even realize what was going on.

Though he didn't either—he just didn't know it.

Moonlight on the soft brown earth it leads me to where you lay
They took you away from me but now I'm taking you home

The night was almost completely silent, broken only by the sound of somebody walking—and, clearly, somebody with one broken leg.

The only light came from the moon and the stars, and the leaves were stained with blood. Every several steps, one might find a small shining black thing—but other than that there was just soft brown earth and fallen bloody leaves, illuminated by gentle white light.

Soft gasps of pain fell from bleeding lips as the mutilated crimson-eyed demon dragged his lacerated leg across the leaf-strewn ground. Every step was an effort, and it was all he could do to convince himself he could survive another step.

And then another, and then another. Twice he fell—as if he weren't bruised enough already!—and it was almost impossible to get back up.

But he had to, didn't he? His body clearly didn't think that the next step would be worth it, but he had to take that step. And then the next one. And the one after that.

There was, after all, nothing else that he could do—nothing but keep walking, and convince himself he was still alive.

I will stay forever here with you, my love
The softly spoken words you give me
Even in death our love goes on

Kurama groaned as he entered the empty house, head throbbing from a mixture of frustration and lack of sleep—frustration, because Kuwabara and Yusuke seemed determined to find and murder Hiei. Lack of sleep, for obvious reasons—at least if you've read any of the other chapters.

He tugged off his shoes, let his coat fall from his shoulders, and went upstairs to his room. Sitting on the bed, he reached under his pillow and extracted a small thing that looked almost like a plain wooden version of a box you would put jewelry in—but there wasn't

Cupping his hands around it, he sent his energy flowing through and murmured a spell. A crack appeared, running all the way around the middle, and he removed what was now the lid.

There, cushioned in shreds of blood-stained silk (actually the remains of one of his shirts) was a small, shining black stone. To most, it would simply look like a very pretty jewel—perhaps obsidian, or a black pearl. To somebody who knew about jewelry, it was a rare treasure—probably one-of-a-kind.

To Kurama, it was even more precious than that. In fact, it might very well have been the most precious thing that he owned—and not because of its material value, either.

Can you guess what it was?

Some say I'm crazy for my love, oh my love
But no bonds can hold me from your side, oh my love

“Hey, Urameshi,” said Kuwabara. “This is gunnu sound weird…but I think there might be something wrong with Kurama.”

Yusuke lifted his eyebrows, not quite sure whether to be astounded or infuriated by Kuwabara's stupidity. “No, really? Did you figure that out all by yourself?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. But what is it?” Kuwabara asked, completely missing the insult. “And why doesn't he want to beat the crap out of Hiei like any normal person would? Didn't Hiei hurt him a lot more than he did us?”

“That's what I said!” Yusuke cried, then heaved a sigh. “Maybe he's just less aggressive than us. And besides, Hiei was his best friend before we even met him.”

“Yeah,” Kuwabara agreed dejectedly. “He hasn't really seemed the same since that three-eyed black-dragon bastard betrayed all of us.” (I dare you to say `black dragon bastard betrayed' ten times fast!)

“Well, if he's around somewhere, we'll hunt him down, and then we can make him pay for everything that happened to us and Kurama.”

“Great!” said Kuwabara happily. But his smile slipped suddenly. “But we need to find him first.”

They don't know you can't leave me
They don't hear you singing to me

Kurama blinked and looked down at his hand. The stone in his hand, cool a moment ago, was suddenly as warm as a baby sun in his palm—so hot it burned. He yelped and dropped it, and looked at its imprint in his hand. The scar on his chest, as well, was feeling unusually warm.

Blinking, he reached down and picked up the stone—very gingerly, for it singed his fingertips before he even touched it. Running to his window, he flung it open and breathed deeply.

There it was—faint, but there. Had he been in his true form, he could have told exactly where he was and how hurt he was—as it was, he knew only that he was hurt.

Turning around, he ran out of his room and out the door.

I will stay forever here with you, my love
The softly spoken words you give me
Even in death our love goes on

The forest was dark, the trees blocking most of the moonlight. The light which streamed between the branches gave the entire place a mysterious air, the utter silence made the night feel ominous—even to Kurama, who feared nothing.

But really, he barely noticed these feelings as he dashed through the wood, crushing branches and dried leaves under his feet, causing still-awake animals to flee. The stone and his scar seemed to be pulling him, his legs had no control over what was happening.

Suddenly he heard something and forced himself to a halt. The stone burned even hotter than before, and he dropped it with a yelp. Gripping his wrist, he strained his ears. What was that? Thumps, like somebody was walking with a broken leg, and soft gasps of pain.

Soft, familiar gasps of pain.

Experimentally, he sniffed the air and gasped in spite of himself. The smell was strong now—his smell. But with it was the smell of sweat and blood, of pain and fear.

Picking up the stone, he started walking. He didn't let himself run—he didn't want to be heard. He walked until he saw what he was looking for.

A dark figure, slumped in pain, staggered from the shadows of the trees, looking as if it was about to lose consciousness. Tortured garnet eyes gazed into Kurama's emerald ones, filled with pain and sorrow.

“Kurama…” a familiar voice whispered, choked with pain. “Please…help…me…”

Those were the last words Hiei spoke before falling insensate to the leaf-strewn ground.

And I can't love you any more than I do
I will die, but love is forever