Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Incubus ❯ Chapter 1

Incubus

by Mina Lightstar

Cold...

Wet...

It's cold.

*I'm* cold.

My fingers are numb, my clothes soaked through from the heavy rains, my limbs feel stiff... Nonetheless, I keep running, my hands swatting at the thin branches in front of me. Again, I try to fill myself with my youki; again, I find I am unable to; and again, I marvel at his strength. Not only has he shielded me, but he's managed to tie off the shield, as well - thus preventing me from using my powers no matter how far from him I get. I can't break the shield - I beat at it, pound at it, claw at it to no avail. Even though I am the victim of the attack, I can't help but feel impressed. I had always considered him more adept at offensive magic rather than defensive or effective. Once again, I've underestimated him.

I run blindly through the forest, not knowing where I am or where I'm going, and hoping to all the gods that he doesn't find me. I know he's out here somewhere, looking for me, but he could come from anywhere. I can't sense him, nor can I summon any weapon to defend myself should he decide to attack. If he comes for me... If he chooses to ambush me... I may not know until it's too late...

Something catches my foot, and the next second I am on the ground. I gasp when my teeth sink into my lower lip. Quickly, I push myself up to all fours and look behind me to see what has tripped me... My mouth opens in a silent scream. I try four times before I am able to speak.

"K...Keiko?"

I crawl back towards her, reach out hesitantly to touch her. She is lying on her back, her hips turned to the right. Her clothes are torn, wet, and muddy. It is dark in the forest, but I can make out her features. My heart aches when I see her. One side of her face is one large bruise, her other eye is open and vacant. My eyes fall on her throat, and I swallow. It has been sliced open, and blood is still seeping from the wound, trailing down her neck and onto the muddy forest floor.

"Oh, God..." I turn away, squeeze my eyes shut. I can't bear to look at her any longer. Yusuke... Has Yusuke seen this...? Does he know...? I crawl a few paces, wanting to distance myself from the smell of poor Keiko's blood. How...how could he...? Why Keiko? What had she ever done to him...?

I sit on my heels and try to compose myself. Keiko can't be helped. I have to take care of myself now. I have to...I have to get help. Yusuke... I have to get Yusuke... I have to find him...

It's drizzling again, I discover... A drop of water from the leaves falls onto my nose and trickles down over my lips. Of its own accord, my tongue sneaks out to lick it away, and I freeze in shock... I'm not tasting water...

I back away, open my eyes, glance up, and this time my scream is not so silent. If he's anywhere near me, he's sure to have heard it, but I don't care. It's not raining water...it's raining blood... Yusuke's blood...dripping from...from...

I slump forward, one hand moving to support my upper body, the other covering my mouth. Yusuke's body hangs limp and lifeless from a rope tied tight around his neck, swaying gently from side to side. In the pale moonlight I can see the lacerations that cover his half-clothed body. Parts of his skin look as though they'd been ripped off... I want to cry...but it hurts so much, the tears won't come...

Yusuke...

Keiko...

I can only hope they did not have to witness each other's deaths...

A crackling of branches breaks my trance. I had forgotten where I am. He is probably coming for me, now... I struggle to my feet and break into a run. I still don't know where I'm going, but I just want to get *away*. I don't want to be the next to fall... I know it sounds somewhat cowardly, but I don't want to suffer the same fate as my friends.

I run until my legs threaten to give out on me, and the forest doesn't seem to have any end in sight. Will he...will he catch me before I can find any help? Is he close enough to catch me? Has he perhaps forgotten all about me? Or is he simply running alongside me, reveling in the terrified expression that I know is on my face? Is he playing a game with me?

Finally, I can run no longer. I try to slow to a stop, but I have pushed myself too hard. My legs, the muscles like jelly, give out and I tumble to the wet grass. I take a moment to press my cheek against the blades and gasp for breath. How long have I been fleeing from him? I'm not certain if I should feel proud for eluding him all this time...or petrified at what he obviously has planned for me by letting me think I'm going to escape... He can catch me; he's much faster than I am... So why hasn't he done so?

I raise my head and find I'm on Genkai's property. Genkai... She'll know what to do. She'll be able to help me. Slowly, I drag myself to my feet once again and stagger toward the steps. The lights in the temple are off, but I can still see...what looks like a shadow standing by the stairs... I swallow. Is it him? Is he waiting for me?

No. No... When I get closer...I can see... I can see who... My heart breaks for a third time when I see who...who waits for me...

Kuwabara.

He is tied to one of the wooden beams by the stairs. He is naked, clad only in the binds used to keep him upright. But then I see what method of torture he has suffered, and suddenly my short fingernails and clawing at my cheeks in horror. Kuwabara was naked for a reason: so that his murderer could peel his hide off in strips. The strips are still there, even - laying in a small pile at my friend's feet.

"Kuwabara..." I choke his name, and it comes out almost as a sob. "Why...?" I climb the stairs, keeping as far from his body as I possibly can, and shake my head in utter helplessness. I can find neither words nor thoughts to suit what I feel... I just... I...

I hear a soft scuffle of feet and spin immediately to face the newcomer. My breath catches. It's him. He's here.

And so is Yukina, I realize - he's carrying her. But she...she is limp in his arms, her head tipping carelessly backwards. Did he...? Could he have...? He stops when he sees me, shifts his bundle gingerly, and cocks his head. "You're early."

I take a step back immediately. I tense in preparation for a fight, though I know very well I'm no match for him. Not like this. I have so much to say to him...so much to demand...so much...but my voice refuses to allow me more than a few words, so I settle for one that will convey what I most want to know.

"Why?"

He misunderstands me. "I thought she would want to be near Kuwabara," he explains, coming closer, his boots making soft taps against the wood.

I back up more as he nears me, but apparently it's not me he's after. He kneels at Kuwabara's body and lays Yukina at his feet. For a fourth time, my heart breaks. Yukina did not suffer a cruel fate like the others had, but the dark stain over her heart, contrasting against her light kimono, tells me she is dead, too. Again I find the strength to speak but one word.

"Why?"

This time, he understands me. "She was crying," he says softly, reaching out to brush her aqua bangs away from her brow. "When she saw what I did to Kuwabara, she ran away and started crying... I tried to make her feel better." He stares at me pointedly. "I told her who I was, just like you always told me to do...but then she only cried harder..." He leans over and brushes his lips against her forehead. "I only made it worse... I don't like it when she's sad... I couldn't let her be sad forever...so I let her be with Kuwabara." He moves her hands to let them rest over her heart, as though laying her to rest in a coffin. "See?" He gestures to her peaceful face. "She's not sad, anymore. I made it better."

And that's when I realize what has probably happened. He's snapped...he's gone off the deep end...he's lost his mind...he's touched...however you want to say it. He's insane. That must be why he... Unless...unless he...all this time...

"Why?" I croak again. It seems to be the only word in my vocabulary at the moment...

"Why?" he echoes. Something flashes in his eyes - anger, sadness, I can't tell what - but then they harden. "Why what? Kuwabara?" He sniffs. "Why not? He deserved it - always following her around like a lovesick puppy... Always interrupting our conversations... Always making her smile when I couldn't... He *deserved* it. *I* was there first."

Oh, Kuwabara...if I'd only known he felt that way about you liking Yukina... "Keiko?" I manage, slowly edging away. I need to keep him talking, to buy myself some time. Maybe I'll be able to make a hasty retreat and find someone - anyone - who could possibly help me.

"Who?" he asks, and then he seems to remember. "Ah...her... She was in the way. Wouldn't leave me alone, so I made her go away." He gives me a little grin. "She was fun to hit - not as strong as I'd thought, though. I was hoping she'd put up more of a fight... But still, it was fun. I never did like her much." He makes a face. "Always prancing around with a nice smile... Being nice to everyone and thinking she was so smart... It felt good to beat that smile off her face."

I swallow. I can't believe I'm hearing this... He likes a good battle, yes, but he does not kill children, and he does not fight women who can't fight back. "Yusuke?" I ask, inching further away. He doesn't appear to have noticed my intention to retreat yet. "Why Yusuke?"

"Yusuke..." He closes his eyes and his features harden. "I hated Yusuke. I hated him." His trembling lower lip shatters the cold mask he'd made a moment ago. "Everybody liked Yusuke... He was a loud-mouthed bastard at the best of times...but everybody liked him, anyway... What's so special about him that makes people love him no matter what?" He pauses, and then smiles, his eyes still closed. "I guess now it's 'what *was* so special about him', hm? He's not here, anymore. Now there's no more Yusuke to captivate everyone's attention and hog everyone's affection..."

I shake my head. He's...he's jealous of Yusuke...? Is that it? He killed Yusuke because he was jealous? "You..." Once again, I strike at the shield he's woven to ward me. I still can't break it. If he notices my attempt to break free, he pays it no mind.

"I was so tired of being recognized as 'Urameshi's friend.' I'm my own person - I've been my own person long before Yusuke was even born. So why was I suddenly his shadow?" His smile turns into a vicious smirk. "I decided I didn't want to be big, mighty Urameshi Yusuke's shadow any longer... He thought he was so strong and powerful...and look where he is now. I especially liked the part where I got to drop him from the tree branch and hear his neck break." He chuckles. "He was a good ally, though, so I did promise I'd bury his woman for him."

"Keiko's still in the forest," I say. I have to keep him talking. I have to keep his mind occupied until I can get away. When I find someone who can help break the shield, I'll recover and then challenge him at full strength - when I can be certain I'll have a chance at beating him.

"I know," he replies, slowly raising himself to his feet. His eyes are still closed, but his smirk is gone, replaced by that almost-sweet smile. "I was going to bury her right away, but as I said before...you were early."

My heart skips a beat. "I'm early?"

"I was hoping to have her buried before I had to deal with you... You're my closest friend, see, so I have to make a real grave for you."

I'm around the corner before the words are out of his mouth. I run toward the other end of the balcony, all the while wondering just how I'm going get out of this. He's faster than me, and now he's stronger than me...

I hesitate before turning the next corner. I glance behind me, but he's not there. He doesn't appear to have followed me... But then...is he waiting for me to turn the corner so he can intercept me? Is that what he has planned?

I quickly weigh my options. Not many are open to me. If I flee into the woods he will surely notice and cut me down immediately...if I remain on the temple grounds I'm a sitting duck, as they say.

"Ku-ra-ma..." He singsongs my name, the cheerful tone of his voice making me shudder. I can't tell where he is; the call seems to come from all around me. "What's wrong?" he continues, sounding a little hurt. "You don't want to play with me? I promise I'll play nice..."

I slip inside one of the temple's doors and slide it shut behind me. I don't understand. I've known him for years...When have I invoked his anger? Why does he suddenly hate me? ...No, I don't want to play with him. I don't want to play *anything* he may have in mind for me...

"Ku-ra-ma...! Where are you?" His voice is coming from outside. For the moment, there are walls between us. I only hope I can keep it that way.

"What's wrong, Kurama? Are you afraid of me?"

I'm not sure. I think I am, though. My heart is beating so fast...I'm sweating... I struggle to breathe calmly. If I let fear get the better of me, there is no way I'll make it out of this alive.

"Where did you go, Kurama?" He sounds almost...sad. Disappointed. "You don't want to be near me?"

I bite my lower lip and inch to the side, keeping my back against the wall beside the door. If he decides to come in this way, perhaps I can tackle him from behind. If he chooses another door, I'll be able to retreat out this one.

"You always wanted me to be more open and friendly," he continues. His voice is closer now. "But now that I want to be close to you, you're running away from me. That's not very nice."

He's nearing the door I've come through. I tense up. Part of me had been hoping he'd choose to come through another one so I could escape. I'm not entirely certain whether I'm capable of overpowering him in my condition.

"*Are* you afraid, Kurama?" He's so close I can hear the faint hiss his sword makes as it leaves its sheathe. "Maybe you should be." He pauses. "Have you ever been afraid before, Kurama? How does it feel to finally experience it?"

I press myself against the wall, waiting for him to tear through the door. My breath comes in short little huffs.

"Are you afraid because you know I'm better than you? Because you know what I'm going to do to you?

"I'm not sure what you deserve, you know... A nice, quick death like Yukina...or a slow, painful one like Kuwabara...

"It's hard to decide... I hate you more than anyone else...but you've helped me before, too... So I'm torn...

"Torn...

"Yes...that's it... That's what I'll do...

"...I'll tear you in half."

I cry out when a blade pierces the wall just above my shoulder, narrowly missing my neck. The temple wall is suddenly falling all around me. I struggle forward, trying to escape the shower of wood, but I gain only a foot or so before something heavy slams into my back. I hit the floor hard on my stomach, but I roll in time so that when he leaps on me, he lands on my midriff and not my back. I can use my arms to defend myself, at least.

He is, I notice, not armed with his sword. Part of me is greatly relieved, the other apprehensive once I realize that he intends to tear me in half with his bare hands. By reflex, one fist goes immediately to rest against my neck before his hands close around it. His grip is strong, but with my own hand between his and my neck, I can be sure he won't be able to strangle me. My other hand begins to claw at his, trying to pry them away from my throat. The temple is dark, so his features are hard to make out, but I can see his eyes. His eyes alone make me want to run home to my mother... They're wild, dangerous, and most of all...they're red - deep, sharp red, like the blood he has spilled...

I kick my legs, trying to unbalance him a little, anything to give me an upper hand. He smirks down at me. "How's it feel, Kurama, to know you aren't strong enough to beat me?" His grip tightens more, and I wince a little when my own fist presses painfully against the side of my neck. "Still think you're better than me, Kurama?"

I stop tugging at his hands and instead move my arm to reach blindly for something, anything that could help me get him to release me. "Why?" I ask for the fourth time this night.

"I hate you," he spits out. I'm not certain if he's answering my question or if he's simply saying it. "I *hate* you - always talking and laughing like you know everything...thinking you're so special just because you're so intelligent...basking in all the attention everyone gives you...reveling in believing that everybody likes and admires you..."

What is he talking about? I blink at him. "What--?" My hand closes on part of a beam from the broken section of wall.

"This might be a shock for you," he growls, "but not everybody likes you. I don't like you. I don't like you at all. But you thought I did, didn't you? You thought I was your friend, didn't you?" He glares at me and his hold strengthens yet again. "It hurts when friends betray you, doesn't it?" The last words are shouted, and I take them as my cue to act.

I swing the beam at him. He yelps when it catches him in the side of his head. His grip loosens, and that's when I shove him away and roll to my feet. I back away from him, holding the piece of wood in front of me. He grabs his sword from where it lies on the floor and stands. He touches his free hand to his head and stares at it a moment before wiping his fingers on his shirt.

"Why do you hate me?" I demand. "What did I do to you?"

"What *didn't* you do to me?!" he roars back. He lunges and swings his sword at me. I intercept it with the beam I'm holding and sidestep. The blade cuts through the wood, but thankfully misses me. However, now I am unarmed...and he is not.

I lean back, narrowly avoiding the next swipe of his sword. I continue to back away from him, evading the strikes he deals. "What do you mean?" I implore as my back touches the wall. I duck and run to dodge the stab, wincing as the blade shoves through what could have been my heart. "What have I done to you? Answer me!"

He snorts. "See? You think you're so damn perfect; you think you're so high above everyone else! You even think that I'm obligated to explain myself to you."

He lunges forward again, and I back up to avoid the swing. However, I step on debris from the wall and lose my balance. When he swings at me again, I'm not entirely stable, and so when I twist to evade the blow, I fall to the floor on my side.

Immediately, knowing that I'm easy prey, I try to crawl away, and can't stop myself from yelping when one of his hands pulls me back by my hair. I yelp again when he tugs me sharply backwards and up. Nearly on my knees, I am close to his height. I contemplate struggling, but then his sword is resting against the side of my neck, the cool metal chilling my feverish skin.

"Not so perfect now, are you, Ku-ra-ma?" he snarls in my ear. "Or do you want me to call you Shuuichi?" His pulls harder, and my head feels as though the hair will tear itself from my scalp. "Apparently, you're so important that you get to have *two* names. Do you know how many names I have, Shuu-ich-i?" He answers before I can even attempt to. "None. Apparently, I'm not even important enough to have one, but *you* can have as many as you like."

My head aches. He's hurting me... "I--"

"I bet you think you're smarter than me, too, hm? Are you proud of those 'grades' you get in your little school? You think that makes you more intelligent than me?"

His grip tightens again, and I can't stop myself from whining a little at the pain it invokes. "I never--"

"And then you have the nerve to complain to me about all the angst in your life." His sword is quivering a little against my neck, and I know his sword-arm is shaking. "Oh, poor, poor Shuuichi... His mommy's getting married and won't be able to pay as much attention to him. Poor, poor Shuuichi has to share his mommy with someone else..." He wraps the hair he's holding around his wrist and pulls me closer. "But did poor, poor Shuuichi ever think that some people don't have mommies to share?" His voice drops to a whisper. "Where's *my* mommy, Shuuichi? Why don't I get one?"

I swallow, my hands fisting my loose jeans. "I-I--"

"Oh, poor, poor Shuuichi," he continues, "people are begging him to be their leader again. It's such a shame that everybody adores poor, poor Shuuichi."

"St--"

"Oh goodness...poor, poor Shuuichi has so many options open to him. Whatever will he do? Will he keep going to school until he becomes some sort of professor? Will he stay and work to make a lot of money with his father? Will he go back to the Demon World and live as he used to as a feared and well-respected youko? Decisions, decisions..."

"Sto--"

"You're always rubbing your perfect little life in my face!" he snaps, shoving me forward until my nose is nearly touching the floorboards. "Like I'm supposed to worship the ground you walk on. But you know what, Mi-na-min-no? I'm not going to kiss your feet!" At the last words he shoves my face forward. I whimper when my nose smashes the floor. His fingers leave my hair, taking some of it with them, but I lay still. I think my nose is bleeding, but I can't tell.

"Get up," he orders. When I don't move, he stomps one of his feet hard on my lower back. I grunt in pain. "Get up!"

Slowly, shakily, I push myself to my hands and knees. I take my time, even using a moment to touch my nose and discover that it *was* bleeding a little bit.

"Hurry up!"

I hear him walk around so that he stands in front of me, but I don't move any quicker. My mind races. Am I going to die? Or do I have a chance to go for help if I can get passed him? Maybe Koenma would know what to do...?

He kneels before me and seizes my shoulder roughly. "I said--"

And then I strike; I lunge forward, using my heavier weight to push him over. He looses his grip on his sword when he falls onto his back, and I am quick to roll us away from the weapon. We wrestle for a few minutes, using nothing but our hands, feet, and weight, until I find myself pinning him. He bucks a few times, but I am able to hold on. For a moment, I believe that perhaps I have won, but then he turns his head and attacks my forearm with his sharp teeth. I cry out when they sink into my arm, but instead of relinquishing my hold, I lean down to rest my face in the crook of his neck...and bite him back.

I've pierced a more sensitive part of the body than he has. He howls, releasing my arm, and begins pounding at my back with his fists. My response is to bite harder. I can feel his blood, feel him pushing at my shoulders, and so I drag my teeth away from his skin. I crawl over him to begin making a run for the door, but his hand catches my ankle and I don't get very far before I'm on my face again.

I roll, and immediately find him atop me. He's straddling me, his thighs squeezing my waist. My hands are locked by one of his above my head, and he glares down at me. Now I know my time is up...and that it's time for me to die. He won't play with me anymore...now he just wants me dead.

"You know what I hate most about you, Ku-ra-ma?"

I can't stand the way he says my name... "...What?"

He opens his mouth, but then closes it and smiles. "No... I won't tell you. It wouldn't make a difference, anyway." His other hand reaches into one of his boots and pulls out a dagger. "What would you like inscribed on your marker, Ku-ra-ma? You're my closest friend, of course, so I'll let you pick."

I watch the gleaming dagger as it disappears under my chin to rest against my Adam's apple. I've been told that your life flashes by you when you're about to die...but instead of my life, I see my friends - the ones he has killed tonight. Keiko, beaten and cut; Yusuke, slashed and hanged; Kuwabara, stripped and skinned alive; even Yukina, stabbed. I feel a prickling sensation behind my eyes, and I know I'm about to cry. For them - not myself. I would never cry for myself. I only hope Mother won't grieve for too long... I stare at him, and give him my answer.

"Fuck you."

He smiles again. "If that's what you want, I'll be sure to inscribe it for you." He studies me for a few moments more, and blinks. "So you cry for them... You cry for them and their sufferings...but you won't cry for me or mine." Suddenly, he looks sad. "And you said I was your 'best' friend...

"...Liar."

The last word is soft, almost a whisper. He begins to slide the dagger across my throat, and I feel it begin to tear into my skin....

I awake with a gasp, sitting bolt upright. I bring a hand to my neck, and exhale with relief when I find it devoid of any slices. I look around. I'm home, I realize. I'm in my room, in my bed, in my dry pajamas. It was a dream. It was all a dream. I turn my head to glance at the clock.

3:47, it reads, in blood red letters.

Blood...

...Red...

I shudder and wrap my arms around myself. It wasn't a dream - it was a nightmare. A horrible nightmare...

A fist punches my thigh none too lightly, and I start. I look down and blink. What is he doing here...? Then I hear the howling winds and rain outside, and I remember. When the weather is harsh, I offer him half of my bed so he won't have to stay out in unpleasant conditions.

"Yes?" I ask him.

"Stop kicking me," he mumbles.

"Sorry," I offer, a mite startled that my voice is a little shaky.

He turns halfway to blink his sleepy red eyes at me. "What were you whimpering about?"

It is my turn to blink at him. I must have spoken aloud during my nightmare. "I..." I swallow, trying to steady my voice. "I had a bad dream."

He stares at me for a moment, then he snorts softly and rolls over again. "Don't expect me to hold you..."

"I don't," I reply quietly, settling down under the warm covers again, my back against his. I'm home, I'm safe, I'm dry, and everyone is all right. "It was just a dream..." The winds scream...the rains beat against my window...

...Cold...

...Wet...

...Blood...

...Death...

...Betrayal...

...Hatred...

"Just a silly dream," I breathe, snuggling into the covers.

He grunts quietly in response. "Well, don't have anymore loud dreams," he advises. "You wouldn't want to wake your *mother* up, would you...?"

"...No... Goodnight..."

He doesn't answer; sleep has probably claimed him again already. I am not so fortunate. I watch the raindrops continue to beat against my window. I listen to the howling winds as they carry the rain. And I shudder, suddenly feeling cold, wet, and sorrowful - despite the warm covers, the cozy pajamas, and the body heat of my best friend.

...My best friend...

...Betrayal...

...Hatred...

...Blood...

...Death...

...Betrayal and hatred...

"Just a silly dream," I say again, softly to myself.

But as I close my eyes to the storm and try to fall asleep once more, his last words to me repeat over and over in my mind...

And the way he emphasized "mother"...

...I can't help but wonder...