Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Spirit Torture ❯ Chapter 1

Sleep.

It sounded heavenly. But this state of semiconsciousness could not be considered sleep by any stretch of the imagination. Sleep alluded to rest. This was definitely not restful. Only a brief escape, at best. Almost a kind of suspended animation that never lasted long enough for either mind or body to relax.

Bright lights.

"Name!"

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"Age!"

"16."

"Place of origin!"

"Human world."

"Occupation!"

"Spirit detective."

"Mission!"

A brief pause.

"MISSION!"

"Um. . .vacation?"

The pain was excruciating. Then the blessed darkness returned.

The physical pain and discomfort were not the easiest things to endure, but the mental torture was becoming a problem. A brain without rest - being constantly bombarded with questions - tends to begin to work on its own no matter how strong a person's willpower was to begin with. It switches over to automatic pilot and threatens to betray its owner just to survive. If only there was a way to sleep.

Sleep was not the only deprivation. There was also the lack of food and water; the lack of light, except during interrogation; the lack of circulation from being bound for so long; and, most bothersome, the lack of freedom. The freedom to control your own destiny is something a person doesn't really appreciate until it is stripped from them. After that happens, there are only two choices - survive or die.

Bright lights.

"Name!"

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"Age!"

"16."

"Place of origin!"

"Human world."

"Occupation!"

"Spirit detective."

"Mission!"

Pause.

"MISSION!"

"Looking for a date?"

More pain, then darkness again.

The pain was not caused by any physical object. Demons don't work that way. These wardens have made their business of torture into an art form. Their rei daggers never touch the face. If a face is injured, the swelling may obscure vision. If that were to happen, then the constant barrage of light and dark would not be as effective. The mouth and throat were also left alone so information could be heard clearly. Instead, they attack the outer limbs, gradually moving inward as the nerves become deadened. They had already worked themselves as far in as the knees and elbows.

If only if were possible to slip into unconsciousness. But that was not an option. The wardens made sure of that. Somehow they were able to detect a body's limits of pain and hunger and stop just short of it. They were also extremely thorough with the bindings so there was no chance of a person knocking themselves unconscious. Even the head was retrained and immobile. All in all, a very efficient process. The art of torture.

Lights again.

"Name!"

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"Age!"

"16."

"Place of origin!"

"Human world."

"Occupation!"

"Spirit detective."

"MISSION!"

"To go where no man has gone before."

Pain. Darkness.

The ability to make jokes when in unfathomable pain is not always an asset. The floating voices behind the bright lights were not amused in the slightest. They were after information. The fact that it was being withheld from them after countless days of interrogation only irritated them. Their brainwashing technique had never taken this long before. Usually they were able to break a spirit in a matter of hours.

Since there was no way of telling time, there was no way to comprehend just how long the torture had been going on. The fact that so much information had already been extracted still was no indicator of how many days they had been trying. Each answer they retrieved had taken several dozens of treatments, and each interrogation was the same, slowly breaking down the willpower.

Lights..

"Name!"

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"Age!"

"16."

"Place of origin!"

"Human world."

"Occupation!"

"Spirit detective."

"Mission!"

Silence.

"MISSION!"

"I can't remember."

Pain and darkness.

They wanted to know who this cocky boy was. They wanted to know how a human got into the spirit world. They wanted to know what he was doing in their territory. They wanted to know why a spirit detective was snooping around their operation and what he already knew. They had hired the best in the business to do it.

The fact that they had succeeded in weakening the mind enough to find out who he was, only made them more determined to find out the rest. If they were able to break this last bout of stubbornness, they would know if they could dispose of the menace or not. Until then, they would continue the 'Pavlov's dog' treatment. Conditioned response until there was no individual control.

Light.

"Name!"

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"Age!"

"16."

"Place of origin!"

"Human world."

"Occupation!"

"Spirit detective."

"Mission!"

No response.

"MISSION!"

No response.

"MISSION!!"

Silence.

This time the rei blasts were accompanied by sadistic laughter before the lights disappeared. The lack of retort signaled that the spirit was near its breaking point. Once the mission was finally revealed, they would be free to move on to the next question.

It was always the same. As soon as one question was answered to their satisfaction, another was added. And another. And another. Each response becoming more and more automatic, almost to the point where the answer was spoken before the question even finished.

Bright light.

"Name!" "Yusuke Urameshi."

"Age!" "16."

"Place of origin!" "Human world."

"Occupation!" "Spirit detective."

"Mission."

"To. . ."

"MISSION!"

"To. . ." Silence.

Cries of pain. Darkness.

The body was broken and the mind was finally beginning to follow. Each successfully answered question earned a reward of water and a brief rest. Not long enough to sleep, of course, but by this point any respite from pain was greedily accepted. The body understood this and tried to convince the mind to give in.

Willpower is a strong ally, but once the body and mind turns, it begins to falter. What good is willpower if the body is destroyed? Every will can be broken. The wardens knew it was just a matter of time.

Brightness.

"Name!" "Yusuke Urameshi."

"Age!" "16."

"Place of origin!" "Human world."

"Occupation!" "Spirit detective."

"Mission."

"To. . .to. . ."

"MISSION!"

"I was. . .to. . ."

"MISSION!!"

"I was to. . .to. . .um. . ."

Silence.

Daggers and dark.

It was time. Time to give in. Time to give them what they wanted and earn some rest. A stupid mission wasn't worth all this pain and suffering. Who cared about what demons did anyway? Who cared if they found a way into the human world? Who cared who they killed when they got there?

Who cared? Yusuke Urameshi. . .16. . .human world. . .spirit detective. . .that's who cared! This wasn't just any mission, this was a mission to save the entire human world! Especially the people who lived there! One in particular.

The bright lights shone again.

"Name!"

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"Age!"

"16."

"Place of origin!"

"Human world."

"Occupation!"

"Spirit detective."

"Mission."

Willpower may be able to be broken by demon torture, but the deepest feelings of the heart can never be.

"To kick your. . .!"

Finally. . .blessed darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yusuke! Yusuke!"

"Yusuke Urameshi!"

"Yusuke! Can you hear me?"

"16!"

"Oh, Yusuke! What have they done to you?"

"Human world!"

"Kurama! Take Yusuke for me."

"Spirit detective!"

"I think it would be better if he weren't conscious for this, Botan."

Deep sleep. But this time, a healing one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How are you feeling now, Yusuke?"

"Oh, it's you, Botan. Better, I guess. I've got feeling in my legs now."

"You know I can arrange to have all this erased from your memory, don't you?"

"I know."

"The longer you wait, the deeper the memory will become and the harder it will be to wipe it away."

"I know."

"Then why won't you let me do it? No one deserves to remember everything you've been through!"

"But the point that I survived it IS something to remember."