Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Lands of the Diamond Dolls ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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Chapter Four
Hiei jerked awake, sitting up quickly. He found himself on a bed in a weird room with a star-shaped window. Where the hell . . .?

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Hiei." Hiei blinked in surprise, turning to see Kurama seated nearby. "You've been asleep for nearly twelve hours." Hiei stared at him for a few seconds, then pushed the covers off of him to see that the crystal was gone. The fire demon's surprised look made Kurama laugh. "Rainbow saved you."

Hiei stared at the fox. "Who?"

Kurama smiled. "Rainbow Brite. The guy you fought is her enemy." Hiei suddenly realized that he was dressed in slightly-too-short red pants and a loose, blue, long-sleeved shirt. "What the hell is this?" he muttered, picking at the clothes.

"Your other clothes were ruined, Hiei. They were torn to shreds and covered with blood. Those were the only ones here that would fit you . . . Unless you want to wear a skirt?" Kurama hid a smirk and somehow managed to look innocent as Hiei glowered at him. "Are you hungry?" "Hn." Kurama chuckled. "There's some food downstairs. I'll bring it up to you."

"I'm not an invalid!" Hiei snarled, getting out of the bed. His legs immediately gave out and he fell flat on his face. The fire demon let out a string of curses from the floor.

Kurama hid a grin. As independent as ever . . . "You were saying . . .?" The redhead helped him sit on the bed, watching as the fire demon winced. "Pins and needles?"

"Shut up, Fox."

"Aren't we cranky?" Kurama sighed. "I'll go get your food."

As Kurama left, Hiei immediately regretted his rudeness. The fox had been worried about him, and he'd just snapped at him. The youkai sighed and lay back on the bed. He honestly had not expected to survive. I gave up . . . He had resigned himself to die. I'd never felt so . . . helpless . . . I spent my entire life fighting to live, but I just gave up . . . He frowned, closing his eyes as he used his ki to check his condition, noting that his ki was shockingly low. He slowly sat back up as he heard soft footsteps on the stairs.

Kurama reentered the room, grinning and carrying a tray. "I don't really know what this is, but it's good."

Hiei's stomach made itself known as he saw the food. He winced. Not eating for a few days is not a good thing . . . He took the tray from Kurama and balanced it on his lap, sitting cross-legged on the bed as he ravaged the meal. Kurama was right . . . it is good . . .

The fox took the tray and set it aside when Hiei had finished. "How are you feeling?" Kurama was no longer grinning, and his eyes were concerned.

Hiei shrugged. "Fine. Tired."

"Sleep then." Hiei glared at the redhead. "I mean it, Hiei. We're going to be here for a bit. Rainbow needs to get some things together. She said something about star sprinkles."

Hiei stared at him. "Am I hallucinating, or did you really just say what I think you said?"

Kurama shot him a weird look. "Star sprinkles."

The fire demon blinked at him. "Are you sure I'm alive?"

Kurama scowled at him, annoyed. "Yes, Hiei, you're alive. I know it sounds ridiculous, but look outside. Whatever those 'star sprinkles' are, they got rid of the crystal."

Hiei's eyes widened as he looked. We may be able to get things back to normal? "How long until we-" he failed to suppress a yawn "-leave?"

"Probably not for another day. You have plenty of time to rest."

Hiei scowled. "What if this moron finds a gate to the Ningenkai, Kurama? He found the one to the Makai. Enma's going to blow his top if that happens."

"It's a slim chance, Hiei. We'll get him. Besides, we can decrystallize everything."

The fire demon frowned. "And what about those who are only partially crystallized? Chances are, some will die before we get there."

Kurama looked away. "I know, Hiei. But it's useless going after him until everything is gathered. You remember that it was totally crystallized when we got here, right?"

Hiei nodded. "Vaguely." I was practically unconscious at the time, but yeah, I remember bits, and all of it was crystal.

"It took Rainbow five huge sacks filled of those star sprinkle things to undo all of it." The fox sighed. "We're going to need a lot of those things. Plus, we need to track down a way to cart them all through the Makai. It's not going to be easy."

"This sucks." Hiei laid back down.

The redhead blinked at him, his expression perplexed. "What's on your mind, Hiei?" Something's upsetting him . . .

The fire demon closed his eyes. "Kurama . . . I thought I was going to die--trapped in that body. I couldn't move . . ."

Kurama rose and pulled his friend up on the bed, then began straightening the blankets. "I know. You'd rather die free. Fighting." He sighed. "We thought you were going to die too, Hiei."

"It wasn't that . . ." Hiei opened hazy eyes, frowning. "I gave up, Kurama . . . I've never given up in my entire life. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to die." The youkai looked away, closing his eyes. "I've always fought against it before, but this time . . . It was like I didn't care."

The fox sat on the edge of the bed, frowning. "Hiei . . ." There's nothing I can say to him . . . Kurama realized. He ran a hand through Hiei's hair. "I don't know what to tell you . . ." The youko blinked as he saw that the fire demon was asleep, then sighed. Thank Inari . . . I have more time to think about that. He watched as his friend curled into a ball, smiling with sad fondness. I really don't know what to say to him . . . He really has never given up, despite the fact that so many people have wanted him dead since he was born . . . What's going on with him . . .? Kurama covered his friend with the untangled blankets, then grabbed the tray and went down the stairs, knowing that Hiei's statements would plague him for the rest of the day.

Lurky cringed as Murky let out a long laugh, the sound grating and wheezing. The short man was crystallizing everything in sight. Nothing was safe. Even when they left towns and proceeded through uninhabited areas, Murky continued to turn everything into solid diamond. He's gone insane . . . Lurky winced as his former friend laughed again. And he's driving me insane . . . What am I going to do? I need to stop him somehow . . . But he had to do it without destroying the crystallizer. If it crystallized, logically, it could be altered to decrystallize as well. He was unwilling to hurt Murky, though. He needs help . . .

Murky danced around on the crystallized land that had been known, according to the map he had stolen and the person he'd forced to read it, as Chugoku (1). He had crossed out the name, and written 'Murkville' over it. He had also crossed out the one that, according to the girl (whom he had crystallized afterwards), read Nihon (2), replacing that with 'Murkopolis'. He grinned at his surroundings, then turned to Lurky. "Come on, nimrod! We have more work to do."

The furry brown creature flinched and nodded. He had come to the realization that Murky needed to be stopped, and it seemed he was the one that had to do it. In the matter of a week, Lurky had matured more than Murky could ever begin to comprehend. I have to play dumb for now . . . This is all my fault for going along with him in the first place. "Whatever you say, Murky." He proceeded to silently load the crystallizer into the stolen Honda.

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(1) Japanese for "China."

(2) Japanese for "Japan."

Yes, I am continuing this series. Quake in fear. MWAHAHAHA!! Anyways, it will be continued slooooowly. I have other series that I want to pick back up too.