Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Just Outside the Light ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Notes: Well, there's some new plot developments and I can type faster than I can think. That is directly related to how tired I am.

Disclaimer: I have to get up and go to work tomorrow at seven. It's 1:14 right now. On the plus side, I finally got my raise! Even if it WAS five months late. To get to the point, I'm a blue collar worker. I doubt I'd own the rights to any tv show. Then again, I don't know everything.

Author: Letta

Rating: Probably R.

Warnings: Violence, slight OOC, yaoi, possibly AU- it's up to you, a loosely strung together `plot,' a little goofy in some parts- redundancy or confusion

Pairings: Hiei/Kurama? Any others?

"speaking"

/thoughts/

Title: Just Outside the Light

Genkai tapped her cigarette, watching the loose ashes flutter to the ground. She knew Hiei was standing impatiently behind her. The light breeze announcing his sudden presence was enough for anyone observant enough, psychic or no.

Hiei knew she knew. She knew he knew she knew. So on and so forth. There was a silent contest daring each other to speak first, to acknowledge the other's presence. This carried on as long as was seemly, both realizing the stupidity on dragging it out too long.

"Hiei," Genkai conceded, growing impatient in light of the heavy subject matter.

"Hn."

The psychic took another drag from her lighted stick, inhaling the smoke, so accustomed to the feeling of it sticking to her insides that she no more noticed it than she did anything else comparatively insignificant.

It was cold out. Neither seemed particularly concerned about the weather.

"Have you seen Kurama yet?" she asked, almost disinterestedly.

"Since I got here?"

She nodded.

"No."

"He's tied down," she said, nonchalantly. The psychic could almost hear the jaganshi bristle.

"Did you have a point or are you just wasting my time?" Hiei spat, growing increasingly impatient. Conversing with the psychic was trying. Yet, the masochistic streak in him took an odd sort of joy. She was a relief from the idiocy he usually seemed to surround him with, albeit a damn annoying one.

"That knot on his head is causing this, but I suppose you already figured that out. It was pretty obvious."

"Hn."

"Specifically, the cause is inside the knot."

"Just say it," Hiei growled. Suspense was never a good thing. In his experience, it made things go from bad to worse.

"The necklace you found, do you still have it?" Genkai asked, finally turning around to regard the youkai.

Hiei's face was carefully neutral as he reached inside his cloak to grab the necklace, tossing it to the aged fighter. Genkai caught it deftly, immediately bringing it up to her face to inspect it.

Hiei waited. There was a piece of the puzzle he was missing.

"Did you notice the chain is missing a link?" Genkai asked.

The jaganshi narrowed his eyes, refusing a verbal answer. He hadn't noticed.

"The missing link is inside Kurama's gash. It's what's causing his lapse in judgement."

Hiei would hardly consider it a lapse in judgment. One thing was still escaping him, though. If they knew what was the source of all this, why the need to restrain the youko? Hadn't they removed the link?

Genkai looked at him solemnly.

"If we remove it, we'll kill him."

Hiei could've swore. He should have known it was something like this. It always was.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" he asked, testily.

"Find the owner of the necklace and ask them," Genkai shrugged. She glanced down at the chained jewel, fingering it absently. Her advice was similar to finding a needle in a haystack, she knew that. She also knew there was little else she could offer.

Drawing in another breath of smoke, she tossed the piece of jewelry back.

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Hiei didn't bother to acknowledge Yusuke, standing in the corner looking sick, as he entered the small room. Sunlight cast thin rectangles on the floor. Dimly, Hiei couldn't help but be nagged by the seeming gray world he had stepped into. Its oppressiveness was something he steadfastly ignored.

The room itself was constructed from the same wood as the rest of the temple, but it looked gray. Never before had a color reeked so much.

The background was retracted in light of the room's centralized object. A limp, silver-haired kitsune. Almost hesitantly, he strode forward, stopping just in front of the youko.

He stared down at the creature, bound by warded ropes from Makai, stuck in a chair of wood and stone, unbreakable in the sorcery that had created it. He couldn't say where Genkai had gotten hold of such a thing, or why the psychic even had it. It was effective though, his jagan was practically burning through his headband in its efforts to tell him.

He heard scuffling behind him.

"I'm going to get some air," Yusuke announced gruffly, both knowing how miserably he failed at trying to sound unaffected.

Hiei waited until the retreating footsteps had faded from his hearing.

"Idiot boy. Cares too much."

He didn't dare admit he was afflicted by the same problem. The image before his eyes was enough of a reminder.

Carefully, as if he was afraid the kitsune would shatter at the contact, he placed a finger under the lowered chin, lifting it, his other fingers quickly cradling the silver-haired head.

The youko looked so undeniably peaceful, nothing compared to the maniacal abomination he had knocked out.

How he wanted his kitsune back. The one he knew, the calm, unflinching tactical genius he had come to rely on, as dangerous a thing as that was. Reliance would get you killed.

Or save you.

He studied the blank face before him. Yes, this reliance he had developed had saved him, saved him from himself.

It wasn't just Kurama, though. Yusuke, the leader of, sorts, had also managed to rob a certain dependence away from him. Begrudgingly he admitted, at least to himself, that even the idiot doting on his sister had wrested away a small pillar of his own self-empowered stability.

Obviously he would never admit this anyone, living or dead.

Kurama though, Kurama was something special.

The first person to ever trust him, even if that trust was unsteady and guarded originally, was Kurama. Yusuke had been the second. The detective had put all his trust in the fire youkai so suddenly, so blindly faithful. He hadn't understand how someone could believe in him so openly, so unabashedly completely trust him. He was at an even bigger loss to explain how two people could do it. He wouldn't even bother with how that number had grown.

Kurama was the first to ever so him any sort of kindness, gentleness, even compassion. Then of course, Yusuke had followed suit, though conveniently forgetting the gentle part. Hiei couldn't picture the brash tantei being gentle. Then, once again, the total grew, albeit it was always a few steps behind.

Kurama always paved the way, always opened new doors leading to previously unexplored avenues.

Yusuke busted down those doors. Then the remaining group would trundle through the wooden splinters.

Kurama was his closest, most prized friend. Yusuke was some idiot human who had sworn to kill, yet knew he never would. Yusuke was different from Kurama. The detective was such a highly valued friend that he would do anything for, but Yusuke didn't compare.

No one compared to Kurama.

Hiei leaned in, gently pressing against soft, pliant lips, reverently beholding the kitsune. Silently, he withdrew, reaching up to press against a smooth forehead, leaving a moist promise on the pale skin.

He drew back again, peering into carefully unexpressive golden eyes.

The jaganshi was not surprised. He had sensed that the kitsune woke up.

For a moment, the two stared at each other.

"I see you're awake."

"Yes."

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A/N: That took much longer than I'd have thought. Oh well.