Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Strings ❯ At the Mercy of an Invisible Puppetmaster ( Chapter 6 )

Me: Hey there everyone! It's that time again…this is the part of the show where I remind YOU that I in no way own YYH. *beams*

Kurama: *sighs softly* Ametank…please take your head out of that box. You aren't on TV.

Me: O.O;; Heh…yeah…*places the box on the ground and grins sheepishly at him*

Hiei: *picks it up and takes it somewhere to burn it*

At the Mercy of an Invisible Puppetmaster

You have moved from your room now, to sit in Genkai's rather large living room on a comfortably overstuffed couch. Your knees are tucked up against your chest; with your arms wrapped securely around them as you watch the strange young man curiously. HE has brown hair and eyes, and the strangest tattoo on his forehead. And you can't tear your eyes away from the blue thing bobbing up and down in his mouth as he talks with Genkai off to the side. It would take such a tiny spell to hear what they were talking about, but you don't bother. You'll find out in time.

Hiei is perched in the window, never looking anywhere but out, and you wonder if he wants to get away so badly, why doesn't he? Are they keeping him here against his will? As if he feels your eyes on him he turns to look at him, and there is nothing friendly in that gaze. You shrug and turn back to the room. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Keiko are playing cards, and the two blue haired girls Botan and Yukina had gone off to fix tea, and Kurama was leaning against the opposite arm of the couch.

Here was the one that confused you the most. He was quiet, and amazingly perceptive. You look him over, wondering what sort of secrets he's hiding behind that pretty face and emerald eyes. On the surface he would seem the least threatening of everyone here, except for Yukina may, and that's what makes you trust him least. He's been nothing but kind to you, holding your hand through this whole ordeal, and you want to know why. His question in your room earlier still haunts you, "What is it about us that scares you so much?" To be honest, you aren't exactly sure.

"Kit?" his voice breaks through your thoughts and you realize that you were staring past him.

"Huh?" He glances to your right and you turn to see Genkai and the young man called Koenma have moved over to you. Koenma's brow is knit, belying his concern.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Kit," he begins softly, "But we in Reikai have gone through your files in depth, and on the surface everything appears to be normal. Unfortunately upon closer inspection we came to discover all the information within it is false. Your elementary school doesn't exist. Your parents don't exist. None of it."

Your ears are ringing with his words, and your heart…it isn't beating faster, but louder, harder, it almost hurts. You search his face, knowing full well the disbelief is showing on yours. Half of what he's saying doesn't even make sense to you. What's an elementary school? And how does he mean your parents don't exist? That's not physically possible, if they don't exist…no it's lies. Your face flushes with a sudden surge of anger at this stranger. Who does he think he is to open his mouth and unload all of these hurtful lies all over you?

"Stop it," you murmur, "I don't want to listen anymore. I'm so SICK of lies!" You can feel the weight of tears in your eyes again, and you tilt your head back to keep them in check. You're sick of crying too. You've spent too much time your entire life doing that.

Koenma scowls petulantly at you, and for a moment he reminds you of a toddler. Fine, let him behave like a child, as long as he shuts up. But you're not so lucky this time, not that you ever were. "You're not taking this well I see," he mutters, and then sighs. "I'm sorry, Kit, but you have to understand, this is not a joke. As far as our files go you are no more real than a character in a story."

Genkai turns her own glare on him at that, "Try a little tact next time," she jeers, before turning to you again. "Do you want to be alone for a while to come to terms with this?"

You stare at the floor, trembling in an attempt to curb your anger. A character in a story? A fiction? Without thinking you reach up to touch your face, it feels cool and a soft beneath your fingers. You feel so real. Digging your fingers into your hair you bury your face in your knees, taking deep gasping breaths to stop the tears. All wrong, all lies…it can't be true you tell yourself fiercely. I know I'm real. I know it I know it! Who cares about some stupid files? Since when did sheets of paper decide whether a person existed or not?

"The important question we must deal with," purrs Kurama, his voice suddenly very close, "Is who could have the power and stealth to tamper with Reikai's files." Then you feel his arm slide across your shoulders, hugging you to him in an almost protective way. Does this mean he believes you're real? You peek up from your knees and he smiles at you. It makes you're stomach feel light and sort of fluttery.

"Kit," he asks softly, "Don't worry, we will figure this out." You are having trouble breathing suddenly. What's wrong with you? Then he reaches out and wipes away at the few runaway tears.

"Baka kitsune," Hiei growls darkly. "Cut the charm. We have enough to worry about, stay focused." Kurama turns as if to speak to him and you take his distraction to leap up, despite the intense discomfort it causes.

"I'm going to my room," you announce as blandly as you can manage and bolt before anyone can stop youYou shut the door and throw yourself into the mild comfort of your bed and clear your mind. For at least a short while you intend to sleep and not think about anything. You can only pray you don't dream.

~*~*~*~

You wake up feeling strangely good. Your aches have all abated, and you feel rested, well. Briefly you are aware that after everything that happened today you shouldn't be feeling so great. Sitting up does not produce a headache, and walking is perfectly easy. Curiosity is gnawing at you now, and you carefully remove the bandages from your arms, only to discover them smooth, not even a scar to show for your little display earlier. You know this is impossible, but you feel so amazing! Your amazingly alert, and energized, practically bouncing.

You wander about the room for a bit, but that sensation isn't enough. You feel the need to go out for a little, to run and leap, and just do something. Carefully you poke your head out the door to your room, only to hear the voices of your companions coming from the living room still. There's no way they will let you just wander off, and you don't want them to know how you're healed just yet. Instead you turn and see the shattered window that has yet to be repaired. They cleaned the glass from the floor, but that was it. You'd found it, your escape.

As you draw closer you pass the mirror and glance over. Your curiosity pulls you over to it and you pull your nightclothes open to examine your chest. The scar is no longer fresh and pink, but a pale white, like it has been there for years, instead of a month. You trace it with your fingertips for a moment, and then turn back to the window. You should be bothered by your amazing recovery, but you can't. You simply feel too amazing. And that windowsill calls, despite the bits of glass that cling to its frame you don't care.

A voice somewhere inside you is whispering…come and see what lies beyond, come and see the truth, come and find me…in me alone will you find solace…come…come…come…

You barely feel the glass ripping through your nightclothes, scratching your hands and legs. It is a passing sensation, second to the sweet kiss of the breeze on your face, the rich foresty smell of the night air, and the feel of cool moist earth beneath your bare feet. You don't know when, but you begin to run, feet pounding the ground in time to your racing heartbeat. The trees are flowing like water towards and past you, blurs of green and shadow. Your feet carry you as if guided by some unseen hand, almost an instinct but not exactly, blindly but safely through the unfamiliar forest.

And then you stop.

You hear your heartbeat so acutely that its all you can sense for a moment, throbbing through you powerfully. Then you feel something else, it's inside you but not part of you, like something powerful flowing just beneath your skin. Both solid and not you stare down at your hands in wide-eyed horror, expecting to see something indicative of this… presence. But they are just hands, your hands the same as always. But you can feel it, curled in your gut, reaching out in tendrils through your body, moving you.

It lifts your head to your surroundings. At first it seems like nothing more than a pile of rubble, overgrown with weeds. But you can't turn away; it won't let you. Something is here that it's determined for you to see, and the first cold surge of fear grips you. You stare and stare, terrified of the thing inside you, watching you with your own eyes. And then you notice something amid the debris. Very carefully you step forward, and it lets you.

You slip through the rubble, dirty remains of columns, once stark white marble now drowning in a sea of vines. The cold stone floor is cracked and broken in places where trees and small but determined plants have fought their way free from the earth below. Your feet follow their own path, but it isn't leading you anymore. Your toes bump against the bottom of a large fallen slab of onyx. You examine it more closely, the large broken chunks from when it fell, and recognize it as the remains of great doors.

You stop breathing.

You hit your knees.

***

Me: dun dun dun!!!!

Hiei: hn…

Me: look Hiei, suspense!

Hiei: If they had paid attention in chapter 4 to the dream this isn't suspenseful at all.

Me: I guess that's true…but it's still a cliffie anyhow. I'm starting to really like cliffies how bout you readers? Did you like my cliffie?

Hiei: I wish you wouldn't say cliffie. *scowl*

Me: O.O that …was…so kawaii! Say cliffie again Hiei!!

Hiei: *rolls eyes and exits*