Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ One Last Wish ❯ The Escape ( Chapter 7 )

One Last Wish

Chapter 7: The Escape

Heaven Sent Tenshi

 

Kurama looked up. “You're Myleen, am I correct?” She nodded, very stiffly. He nodded in response. “Then you are the one we have been searching for.”

 

Myleen's head tilted to the side. Her mouth continued to hang open slightly in her perpetual shock. She blinked. She closed her mouth and made to say something, but nothing would come out.

 

Kuwabara leaned forward a bit and waved his hand in front of her face. “Hey, you still in there?”

 

Myleen blinked again. “I…”

 

A rapid beeping rang out from one of the small monitors. Kurama's eyes widened instantly; he knew exactly what it was. The others looked over, confused and a bit shocked. They knew the noise would alert the nurses. As they investigated the monitor, Kurama rushed forward and placed his hands on Myleen's shoulders.

 

“Myleen, please, don't worry… I know this is stressful for you… but don't let your heart rate increase as it is. Please, I know of your condition, as do you; you cannot be stressed, it will only serve to delay what must be done.”

 

It was then that Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei realized that the beeping was a signal for Myleen's heart rate. They looked back at her. She was barely breathing in her shock as she sat stock still and gazed at the red head before her.

 

“Please, Myleen,” Kurama continued, “take deep breaths; we need you to slow your heart…”

 

Myleen nodded. She faltered and then took a breath. She then closed her eyes as she continued to take in air. The beeping slowed. The group heaved a collective sigh as Kurama thanked her. After a few moments, Myleen looked up.

 

“… Why…?” She shook her head, “How…?”

 

Kurama looked back at the other three as he backed away from Myleen, who was now quite sure that she had somehow fallen asleep and was in a dream. “Should I?” he asked. The others nodded. Kurama sighed, turning back to Myleen. “Well, this is a bit hard to explain; though, I'm sure it will be harder to understand…” He sighed. “We're here to help you. You're in immense danger, Myleen. We came here from a sister dimension looking for you, as will a great threat. It has been determined that, for your safety, we must take you with us to our dimension.”

 

Now she was absolutely sure she was dreaming; no more reading before bed. “But… how did you get here? And why am I in danger? And why does Kuwabara have a black eye?”

 

Kuwabara's eyes narrowed as he glared at Yusuke. “I told you,” Yusuke hissed, “I didn't mean to hit you that hard.”

 

Myleen was a bit confused by this, but she managed to ignore it as Kurama continued his explanation. “There is currently a portal open between our two dimensions. As for your being in danger… there is someone after you.”

 

“Alright…” Myleen chewed over his words. “So… you want to take me to your dimension to keep me away from this person…?” The group nodded. This was going to be easier than they thought. “Ok… so what sort of dream am I having, now?” The group faltered.

 

“This isn't a dream,” Hiei grumbled, “You're in real danger, whether your puny human mind can comprehend it or not.”

 

“No,” Myleen shook her head, “this has to be a dream… you guys aren't real…”

 

“If we weren't real,” Yusuke began, “don't you think we'd just barge in here and take the hospital by storm, like we normally could…” Yusuke shot Kurama a glare as he said this.

 

The girl frowned. “I have an active imagination; for all I know, you snuck in here using Kuwabara as a dummy and admitting him to the hospital. I'm assuming that's what the black eye is for… You hit him, didn't you, Yusuke?”

 

The group was quite shocked at this answer. “How'd you…?” Kuwabara wasn't able to finish his sentence.

 

“A lucky guess,” Hiei sneered.

 

“See?” Myleen shrugged. “If this wasn't a dream, I wouldn't have known that.”

 

Kurama pondered her statement. “Not necessarily. If you've read the stories created about us, which I assume you have,” he motioned to the manga on the nightstand, “then it's plausible that you would be able to second-guess our tactics… Since you already knew that we hadn't just stormed in, you were able to compile what evidence you saw and combine it with what evidence you already knew to come up with your hypothesis. Am I correct?”

 

Myleen paused. She took a deep breath. “Alright… I'll give you that… I think the most disturbing thing was that I wouldn't have thought of such eloquent speech…” She paused again, blinking several times. “Maybe that was just a fluke…”

 

“Please, Myleen,” Kurama continued, “You must believe us… we're running short on time… We need to get you to safety…”

 

“Now,” Myleen held up a finger, “I don't see why you're so worried about me… You said you know about my condition, right? Well, then, you already know I'm gonna die soon…” She shook her head. “If this person is just going to come here to cause me harm, or kill me even, then… I'm not scared.”

 

Kurama frowned. “That is very brave of you… However, it is not just your life at stake… The lives of all of humanity would be in danger if you were to fall into Kargon's hands… We cannot let this happen…”

 

The girl sighed. “Why doesn't it surprise me that you'd say something like that…?”

 

Yusuke shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he grew impatient. “Look, like Kurama said, we're running out of time… We have to get you out of here.”

 

Myleen looked over. “Wait, one more question… Why am I being hunted down?”

 

At this, the door behind them crashed open. A nurse with blue hair pulled back into a pony tail stood in the doorway as she shut the door again, hurriedly. Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei whipped around. Kurama's hand went to his hair, Yusuke pointed his finger at the door, Kuwabara stood ready to charge up his Spirit Sword, and Hiei had partially unsheathed his katana. As the nurse spun around, she swallowed with difficulty.

 

“It's ok, guys!” Botan squeaked, holding up her hands in her defense, “It's just me!”

 

The boys sighed and returned to a more relaxed position. Myleen, meanwhile, leaned around the group to see between the bodies. She frowned. “Who's gonna show up next, Koenma?”

 

Yusuke, growing annoyed in his impatience, ignored her comment. “Botan, what're you doing here?”

 

Botan started, as though she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, there's been a change of plans, boys. The portal can't hold too much longer, we need to get moving.”

 

“Now?” Kuwabara gaped, “I thought we had more time?”

 

“Apparently not. Genkai says the portal will cave in on itself in about fifteen minutes.”

 

Yusuke's eyes widened. “Fifteen minutes?!” He spoke the others' minds, besides Myleen's, who was growing slightly confused. The black haired teen growled under his breath before spinning around, facing the weakened girl in the hospital bed. “Ok, Myleen, look, here's the deal: You're the missing link to a big threat that's gonna be unleashed on the human race, and if Kargon finds you, he's gonna feed you to this big monster thing, so we need to take you back to our dimension and keep you safe. Got it?”

 

“… You just said a mouthful of stuff I didn't catch.”

 

Yusuke growled again. “We can talk about it later. Will you just agree to come with us?”

 

Kurama's eyes narrowed. “Yusuke, that isn't the way to go about this…”

 

“Yeah, well,” he spun around to face Kurama, “I'm starting to not care. We've got ten minutes to sneak her out of here, take her back to that apartment, and get her through that portal, and frankly, I don't think we're gonna make it in time if she doesn't start cooperating soon!”

 

“I'll go.”

 

Quiet struck the group as they turned to look at Myleen, who sat up in her bed, watching them bicker. Botan suddenly clapped her hands together, her eyes shut and a smile plastered on her face.

 

“Good! Problem solved!”

 

But Hiei wasn't quite convinced. He looked at her inquisitively. “Suddenly you're so willing to go… What is it that's changed your mind?”

 

Myleen paused. “Well, you guys don't have much time. And since this is just some weird, manga-induced dream, I may as well as just go along with it.” She shrugged.

 

Kuwabara frowned. “But, this isn't a—” Kurama promptly placed his hand over his mouth.

 

“At this point, there seems to be no way of shaking her from this explanation,” he murmured to the group, “we should just let her think what she wants until we are able to get her to safety.”

 

Yusuke whispered the word “hypocrite” beneath his breath as he turned toward Myleen again. Kurama's eyes narrowed upon hearing the Spirit Detective, pulling his hand away from Kuwabara.

 

“Alright, Myleen, if you're coming with us, you have to stay calm and not freak out, got it?” She nodded. “Good, then let's get you outta here.”

 

With this said, the boys helped Myleen out of bed and into a wheelchair, her safest means of transportation. As they did so, Kuwabara looked at the liquids contained in small plastic bags, hanging from metallic hooks and poles, which were arranged around Myleen's bed with an inquisitive glance. “You don't need these, do ya?”

 

Myleen looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Yes and no; only when I have fits. Doctor Galen has started asking that I use them when I sleep, though, just in case…”

 

Botan, clad in a nurse's uniform, was decided to be the one to wheel Myleen, who was bundled up in a pair of her blankets, to mask and warm her, out of her room and down the hall. They timed things just perfectly; the nurses on the nightshift were being let off to lunch. One stayed behind, as always, and watched the monitors and various other tools behind the nurses' station to be sure nothing went wrong with any of the patients while the others lunched. She sat back and stared at the ceiling when a light went out on a switchboard. The switchboard was used to check in on patients when there was no one around to check them personally, namely their heart rate monitors. The light, one with the name Banji written beneath it, began flashing erratically as a nurse passed the station, blue hair swaying. Botan's eyes were darting here and there as her brow perspired a bit. She hurriedly pushed Myleen down the hall and away from the station just as the nurse spied the light.

 

Her eyes went wide as she sprang out of her chair, the small muffin in her lap, which she had been nibbling at for the last ten minutes, crashed down to the floor. She leaned down over the switchboard and gaped at the name. Without a second thought, she grabbed the radio on the wrap-around counter and called the nurses out of the lunch room.

 

Botan looked back around the corner she had rounded and grimaced at the sound of the woman calling for help. She looked down at Myleen, who had the blankets held tightly in her hands, which hovered about her jaw. A small amount of her mouth was still visible, and it was that bit of flesh and lip that Botan could see was moving to the syllables of “Keep going”. And so they did.

 

They were gone and in the elevator by the time the nurses and several doctors exited theirs and were headed toward the Nursing Station. They wouldn't stay long, however, and soon, as a mass of rushing bodies, they would descend upon the hospital room of Myleen Banji, who was no longer confined within its white, stale walls.

 

The boys met up with the two girls just outside the hospital. They began to ponder the luck they had had in all the time they had spent in this new dimension, and ultimately the intelligence its inhabitants.

 

Myleen sighed and peered up at the pitch black sky that hovered above them, just out of reach of any outstretched fingers, yet closer to hers than it had ever been since her admittance to the hospital. She hadn't been outside in the dark in what seemed the longest time.

 

Botan turned from the sickly girl to the group of four that stood beside her. She pulled back her sleeve and revealed a small watch. “About ten minutes before the portal closes. How long will it take to get back to the apartment?”

 

A ghastly look befell the faces of the group.

 

“It took us twenty minutes to find this place,” Kuwabara commented, eyes wider than normal.

 

“If we miss the portal, I have a sinking feeling we won't be going home,” pondered Kurama. He put his hand to his mouth in thought.

 

Yusuke groaned. “We've gotta get Myleen out of here, no matter what…”

 

“Even if that means that we stay behind,” Kurama nodded.

 

“What??” Kuwabara spun around, and faced the redhead, “We can't stay here!”

 

Kurama closed his eyes and crossed his arms, bowing his head slightly. “We can if it means keeping Myleen out of harm's reach.”

 

“Well, how would we get Myleen out of here and have us stay behind?” Kuwabara now crossed his arms.

 

“Simple,” Kurama looked up, “Hiei will take her. He can make it.”

 

“I have a better idea.” The group turned to find Myleen staring up at them from her wheelchair. “Why don't you just get me there and stop arguing about it? The longer you argue, the less time you have to take me there in the first place. If you have to, then run.”

 

“Running might be dangerous,” Yusuke frowned, “we can't risk it.”

 

“Yes you can,” Myleen pursed her lips, “Besides, you don't have a choice. If you don't, you'll never make it in time, with me or not.”

 

“And risk—?”

 

Botan looked up from her watch again. “Nine minutes, boys. If we're going to make it to the portal in time, I suggest we go.”

 

A growl escaped Yusuke's throat. They had no choice. He took hold of Myleen's wheelchair and turned her around, facing the direction they would head in. “Just don't have a heart attack on the way there!” And with that, they began to run.

 

Myleen hadn't moved this fast, it seemed to her, in her entire life. The wind grabbed hold of what stray pieces of her shiny, black hair that it could and tossed them back at Yusuke as he and the others pressed on.

 

A sensation of flight suddenly gripped Myleen's thoughts and a dream she had had the night before washed over her. She didn't realize that she had had this dream until now, now that she was being propelled forward faster than she had ever gone. It was one of those dreams you have without remembering it the next day and which can only be triggered by similar events; it was as though she had had a premonition of that moment and was forced to forget, until the scene unfolded in a spectacle reminiscent of déjà vu.

 

Myleen shut her eyes. She was looking down at the street as the group ran beneath her. Great white wings had sprung from her shoulder blades and were beating at the wind, allowing her to defy gravity in the most elegant way. White feathers and sparkling dust left trails of rainbow beauty behind her as she soared overhead.

 

Myleen opened her eyes again to find herself snuggled into a pair of blankets and securely nestled into a wheelchair being pushed by a peeved Spirit Detective, with his friends and allies following close behind. A fine dream she had had. She frowned. A fine dream she was having.

 

They turned a corner as Botan breathed, “Five!” Yusuke pushed his body harder, trying to run at least a little faster. Hiei seemed to be the only one who hadn't even broken a sweat. He rushed behind them, black hair pressing against his scalp as air resistance caught it. Kuwabara looked to be having a few difficulties, but he was managing very well, being the tallest and heaviest built. Kurama was fairing fine, as was Botan. They all, however, had a mental strain that Myleen was far from experiencing. She knew she would never again have a chance to watch the scenery pass by so quickly and was savoring every short, fleeting moment, praying beyond hope that this was all real, and yet, wasn't; she knew this intense excitement could very well shorten three months to three seconds.

 

A building came into view very shortly after. Kurama shoved his hand into his pocket and produced the set of keys they had found a little over a half an hour earlier. As they neared the building, Kurama did his best to get ahead of Yusuke and Myleen to unlock the front gate, allowing for a much faster transition. Yusuke barely broke his gait and wheeled the sickly girl through the gate and into the courtyard, followed by the others. However, he did screech to a halt upon reaching locked door leading to the main building. Kurama made quick work of the door and soon they filed in as quickly as they could. Upon stepping over the freshly vacuumed threshold of the cleanly apartment building, Botan checked her watch again.

 

“Three and a half!”

 

Yusuke glared at her as he approached the elevator. “Not helping Botan!”

 

“We're not gonna make it!” Kuwabara huffed, leaning against the wall, “We're gonna get stuck here!”

 

“No we're not!” Yusuke hissed, slamming his hand down on the call button for the elevator. He looked up. One elevator was ten floors up, the other was seven. “Damn this elevator! How do we get her up there?!”

 

“The stairs, Detective,” Hiei ordered. He stood at the entrance to the stairwell, propping the door open with his foot.

 

Yusuke hissed a string of curse words as he looked down at Myleen. She was staring around her in wonder. The chaos of the apartment building was beginning to take a toll on her. “C'mon,” he murmured, bending down slightly, taking Myleen into his arms. The girl blinked several times.

 

“Whoa, Urameshi,” Kuwabara pushed away from the wall, “I'll take her, you just pushed her all the way here.”

 

“I can do it, Kuwabara.”

 

The larger boy took Myleen in his arms. “Stop arguing, you're wasting time!” Yusuke was breathing hard, and had been, just as the others had been, as he bowed his head slightly, then nodded reluctantly. With this “go-ahead” sign, Kuwabara took off up the stairs, carrying a surprisingly light bundle.

 

They burst through the door of the stairwell on the fourth floor. Kuwabara skid around the corner, Myleen holding tightly to his jacket, her head pounding painfully. Botan couldn't help but steal another glance at her watch.

 

“One minute!” she shrieked, looking up with fear in her deep purple eyes.

 

“Go!” Yusuke cried, nudging her forward after she had stopped in her shock. The group ran as fast as they could as Kurama fumbled for the final key.

 

They reached the door and the red-head shoved the key in the lock. In his haste, he snapped the key half. He held it up in shock for a moment before tossing the snapped piece away. He flipped the other keys around the key ring and thanked the fact that there was a spare. He quickly and carefully unlocked the door and threw it open.

 

The chest was open. It shook with a ferocity compared only to that of an angered lion. Wind rushed by them at speeds too high to stand up to. They all stumbled as the door slammed shut behind them, nearly busting it off its hinges. All six fell to the floor; Kuwabara desperately shielded Myleen against the fall, but it didn't help.

 

Myleen's eyes had grown wide, her heart rate had increased, she was gasping for air and pain tore through her body. She opened her mouth in an inaudible cry as she clutched desperately at Kuwabara for security. Her air came to her in wheezed gulps, oxygen was becoming harder and harder to collect. Kuwabara looked down at her after they hit the wooden plank floor. His frown deepened as a drive to protect this helpless girl kicked in; something about her reminded him of Yukina; he had to help her.

 

The wind continued to pull the scattered bodies toward the rift between the dimensions. Even if they didn't want to be pulled in, they surely would in a moment. As they slid toward the portal, the four boys and Botan began to stand up. Kuwabara did so and nearly fell again, but caught himself, steadied his body and soon, the five who could were back on their feet.

 

“Five seconds!” Botan screamed over the rush of the wind.

 

“Everyone go!” Yusuke cried, turning to them, “I'll go last! Kuwabara, you're first!”

 

They had no choice but to listen now. Kuwabara held tighter to Myleen and leapt at the portal, being swept up by the wind and swallowed by the colorless void. Yusuke ticked off the seconds in his mind; four. Hiei dove in next, three, followed by Botan, two, and then Kurama, one.

 

Yusuke looked on in horror for just a split second. The diameter of the portal was shrinking like mad. The void had barely been large enough for Kurama to fit. He rushed forward. The wind had died down considerably, though the focused energy of the air was stronger than it was when the wind filled the whole room. The portal had shrunken down to the size of a fox hole. He leapt forward, as though he were diving through a hoop suspended in the air. He could feel the portal closing in around his feet as he tucked his legs to his chest.

 

The lid of the ancient box snapped shut, closed by the sudden pressure shift as the portal closed. The rusty locks clicked into place and the room became as silent as it had been just before the boys had even arrived. It was as though nothing had ever happened to the small apartment.

 

~~~~~

 

A small demon stood hunched at his master's feet.

 

“What have you to tell me?” Kargon drawled, sitting up in his throne, looming ominously. His fingers tapped the arm impatiently. “This better be very good news…”

 

“It is, Master!” the demon cried, “Oh, wonderful news!” It grinned, rubbing its hands together. “Soon, my lord, soon. The portal requires two more days of your patience.”

 

“Good.” Kargon leaned back, his hands disappearing beneath his sleeves as he forced them to meet. He tipped his head down and smiled, his ears pushed back menacingly. “Soon, Miryn… Very soon, I will have your twin… and your body…” From under his breath a bone-chilling laughter began to crescendo, and at its peak, every demon within a thirty-mile radius shuddered.