Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Scientific Corruption ❯ Betrayal ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 3
Betrayal

Hiei is lightly slumbering on the couch as Kurama prepares lunch. The koorime hasn't slept for three days, ever since peeking in on Kurama's last dream... attacking Yomi. He didn't say as much, but Kurama is sure that the dream is a little to real for Hiei; he has been even quieter than usual. They both understand that something must seriously be wrong here; something needing resolution.

To that light, Kurama had left a message for his Mother and Kazuya. He told them he is going to political conferences in Makai and will be gone for an extended period of time, so much for not lying to Shori anymore. There is no point in worrying her. Hiei had sent word to Mukuro, telling her he wouldn't be back for a while. He explained it as a possible uprising plot in the Ningenkai. Kurama has to wonder if Hiei actually thinks she will believe him. Mukuro is too smart for that, but at the very least she will suspect something with Yukina and Meiyo instead of their current situation.

Hopefully.

Kurama turns off the stove and sets the eggs in the microwave for Hiei when he wakes up. The fox just isn't feeling very hungry, images of those dreams still fresh in his mind. The Jagan had sensed no outside influences on Kurama's mind, he himself didn't feel controlled; spending hours probing his own mind long after Hiei had closed the Jagan. He had found nothing out of the ordinary.

Hiei looks at peace, the way he looks only while resting. Kurama is thankful that he can provide a place for Hiei to feel comfortable enough to actually rest. He grabs a soft blanket and pulls it over Hiei slowly, quietly as he can, so as not to wake his friend.

Friend? A very kitsune grin appears. Hiei scoffs at the word, a wonder really; considering he understands the word better than most. Gruff and rough, rude and sarcastic, unapproachable and hostile... yet so much passion hidden in those icy eyes. The way he protects Yukina is proof enough. Just because Hiei doesn't... or doesn't know how to show it doesn't mean that it isn't there. Shiori knows it too, he has to stifle a laugh every time the woman sweeps the irritable fire demon into a loving embrace. Hiei never pushes her away, although he looks decisively uncomfortable. If only Kazuya could see what his Mother can. They man highly disapproves of Hiei and anything to do with Kurama's demon life. How Kazuya and Suu-chan can be so completely different astounds him. But that's how things work; perhaps his step-father will come around someday.

He leans against the couch, breathing in Hiei's scent deep. A spicy sort of musk that permeates the entire area. Strange how comforting scents have become lately. He misses his Mother so much, and he saw her only last week, yet the scent of a sweater she had given him... one she had worn for so long, is enough to calm him. The scent of home, Hiei's musk, even his roses seem to have more fragrance.

No, not more, just as though he weren't really noticing before. But scents have always been so very important to him, kitsune are that way. However, scents haven't been this important since he was full blooded demon.

Kurama's eyes widen, this had started a week ago, about the same time as the dreams; getting worse from there. Are his senses reacting to something his conscious mind isn't aware of? Highly possible. A serious threat then, one that puts Yoko on edge. But what can his subconscious know that he himself cannot?

Time to find out. He places an arm over his eyes and flops his head back. He lets everything around him fade away and taps around reaching out, back, deep into his mind... brushing something seemingly a part of him... yet so different.

It explodes into life.

***
The scene has switched... dramatically. Where have Yukina and the temple, the detective and the oaf, Meiyo and the fox all gone?

A dream.

But why in all three worlds would he dream about them? Surely he doesn't enjoy their antics when to together... not at all. Something brushes his shoulder... a hand; clawed with long slender fingers that edge up to a flawless white tunic, silky white hair, and glowing gold eyes. Yoko.

He blinks and instead of the towering figure he finds a snow white fox. They start to run, full speed. Dust clouds rise ahead of them, leaving gashes that scour the earth behind. A huge... rather monstrously sized thing they are chasing. It isn't long before both are enveloped in the dust, he can no longer really see Yoko, a mere glimpse or two between the waves of dust. He jumps, landing on something hard. He shakes the dust from his hair and feels Yoko do the same beside him. Now free of the cloud, Hiei looks around.

Alaric, he is on the Keep; the gigantic hollowed out bug that Mukuro calls home. Hiei and Yoko separate; Yoko to the left, Hiei to the right. He moves through the halls he knows so well, but seems to be avoiding his own men, the ones he usually enjoyed to catch slacking off... just for the pleasure of 'setting them straight'. The door before him is Mukuro's. He had never been inside her room before.

Hiei mentally flinches as he barges right in, instead of knocking in a more respectable fashion... Mukuro is going to kill him.

She is staring out the window when he closes the door behind him. As it closes she rounds on him. Her eyes glowing in a way he hasn't seen... ever.

"Your behavior is unacceptable Hiei. Absconding for days without notice, barging into my room unannounced, and now I here reports that you are involved in the attack on Yomi. I did not order that! Just what exactly is going on?" Her tone is cold, icy, venomous, and dangerous. Much in the same way that Kurama's can be. He says nothing as he approaches her. She stands her ground, now having to look him in the eye instead of looking down at him.

Silence reigns. He feels her anger rise.

"Explain yourself." A statement, a command. He tries to ask what she's talking about... tries to excuse himself, but his mouth won't form the words his body won't move away from the extremely dangerous woman. Not that he ever actually backs down from her, but here he has crossed some line... for her to be so pissed. Why oh why can't he move?

Then it hits him. The dreams... this is one of those dreams the fox was having... but this is his dream!

The flash of silver behind her is his only warning... she didn't get one. Hiei didn't know the fox could be so impossibly sneaky. There wasn't even a hint of him before he'd slipped into the widow... the skills of a master thief. The vines wrap around Mukuro tightly, her eyes flash surprise for just a moment before she starts to struggle, keeping her eyes locked with his. She knows just as he does that he has been a distraction for the fox to catch her in his web of vines. He wants to cut them, wants to free her, but his body won't move, he can't even look away from her hate filled eyes. She should be able to free herself... why can't she?

The vines! A very special breed he didn't know the fox had. They are only located in the lowest parts of Makai... where Hiei had been raised. People that wander into those vines never escape... not a fully mature one anyway. A killer plant that absorbs the ki of their victim until they are no more, sometimes the plant moves on only leaving the victim unconscious and near death. However, in Makai, that is as good as a death sentence. Any struggles only feed it faster. Under the fox's control it is even more deadly, healing quickly any wounds that she does manage to get in on it. Still she stares him down. Those eyes captivate him. Even as his face and body show nothing, he can feel something inside of him breaking. Her anger and hatred burn him deep without an ounce of mercy, then it slowly shifts and changes... sorrow and perhaps... fear? That hurts worse. He cannot move, cannot free her.

Minutes pass before Mukuro slumps, defeat showing in her eyes. She is near completely out of energy, but it has steadied. She isn't loosing or gaining any. That is not the way of this plant. It feeds until its victim is dead or damn near, but Mukuro is still conscious, even if she doesn't struggle. Then this is the Fox's doing?

Yoko is waiting for something, Hiei realizes the move is his own. His body moves forward of its own volition, still looking Mukuro directly in the eye. He cups her face in his hands... never expecting it to be so smooth, soft on one side, metallic on the other, both estranged to the callouses that cover his palms. She is confused, confused and angry and fearful. Something he has never seen from this woman. He feels his lips twitch upward into a malicious smirk.

"Do you remember why you burned your body so Mukuro? To keep those bastards from being attracted to you of course. But it has never been thus between us. Merely a power struggle. Your burns will not protect you from me."

Her eyes flash and he feels the burn increase painfully, but it is not hatred in her eyes as he expected. Pain, pure and simple hurt that has nothing to do with her physical state. The weight of her eyes finally breaks him and he screams, confined within his own mind and unable to do anything. Lashes out but does not move; throws everything he has against the situation... to no avail. His mind simply isn't strong enough, and the Jagan is not responding.

Her face catches his attention, it has changed. Recognition instead of pain.

"Screaming without a sound..." His brain stalls for a moment, the burning turns into an enveloping warmth. The familiar brush is slow and comforting, the calm before the storm. Slowly it is trapped, trapped with him. Hiei realizes that it is Mukuro's mind brushing against his, the way it so often does.

The shift in the air is palpable, his energy surges forward as hers retreats. His hands grip her cheeks roughly and force her chin up, hot sticky breath washes over her skin. She trembles, unable to stop herself. Her eyes are strangely steady; angry... hurt... but steady. He leans forward and brushes his lips against hers, the rough dry skin snagging her softer ones. He moves forward and crushes them, the force driving them back into her teeth, slicing the fleshy underside. The rusty taste of her own blood fills her mouth and the blood leaks from the corner of her lips. His movement smears it; blood is sticky as it dries, rubbing in an entirely putrid way... his skin against hers.

Pain, fierce, unyielding pain erupts in his chest. Yet there is no wound. Every brush of her skin, every cut that bleeds red, every angry bruise or dent to her form makes it worse. He cannot stop, the assault on his mind or the assault on her body. Hiei feels himself split wide open, not knowing if it was his own emotions...

... or the echo of Mukuro's.
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A/N: Ok. Probably the darkest chapter I've ever written, but then, Hiei and Mukuro are the two darkest and complicated characters in the series. Well, other than maybe Kurama. Yes, he does rape her in this particular dream of his. I, however, do not write even lemons, let alone that kind of scene. I am not even sure I could. Something like that is far to overwhelming. I cannot possibly comprehend what that sort of thing feels like, so I defiantly tried to stay away from Mukuro's feelings here. I know that she poured acid over her body to stop it before, so it must be one of her greater fears. She is a magnificent character and it hurt a great deal to write this one.

The vines used in this one are completely possible. After all, it is essentially what the sin-eating tree does, only without the hallucinations. Kurama is a very old Fox and would have strange plants like this one. I do not believe that either Mukuro or Yomi could be so easily defeated by straight forward tactics... dream or not. The most disturbing part of these dreams is that they are entirely possible and realistic, except for the fact that Hiei and Kurama would never willingly participate in such acts. Each one is specifically hurtful toward the victim.

Hiei has a hard time trusting people. It his dear friend and partner that attacks him, after he has dropped his guard because he trusts Kurama. Yomi is made to feel his blindness, his so called 'handicap' by his oldest friend, the one he has forgiven, that is responsible for his blindness in the first place. Most recently, we have Mukuro, tortured and raped throughout her life until she is bitter, spiteful, hate-filled, and unable to trust. She goes to drastic lengths - pouring acid over half her body - to escape. Once she finally learns to trust again, the most trusted and respected person in her life is the one to turn on her and make her relive her atrocious past.

Cruelty at its most malevolent.

If you will excuse me now I need to go be damned to hell. By that I mean I need to cry. This really hurt to write.

Please review!!!

-san: Mr. or Mrs.
-sama: Lord
-kun: Young man that is a friend
-chan: Female, young boy, or lover
Makai: Demon world
Reikai: Spirit world
Ningenkai: Human world
Kitsune: Fox spirit
Baka: idiot
Ningen: Human
Mazaku: Type of demon that Yusuke is
Sakura Tree: cherry tree
Jagan: Hiei's 3rd eye
Hiruseki: tear gem

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho nor any of its characters. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. The plot and original characters of this fic, are however, mine.