Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Torn Apart ❯ Torn Apart ( Chapter 12 )

Torn Apart by: Sakura

 

A/N Can you believe that this is actually going better than I thought it would? Yeah, I've already started the final chapter (though I have no idea when it will take place), and of course, I'm nowhere near finished, but it's five pages long and only two things have happened so far. Isn't that great?

 

The last chapter's gonna be a killer, I know it. I really hope you all will like it as much I do, but unfortunately for you guys, you'll have to wait until I finish this chapter (and maybe a few others). Okay, well, I think this is a long enough author's note, so I'm going to stop and actually write the chapter. Ciao!

 

- - -

 

“How could I have had an allergic reaction?” Hiei asked, trying to pull his arm away from the nearest machine.

 

“Your body just wasn't used to it, and so the strain could have caused you to have some sort of reaction.”

 

“Raizen and I have been connected for months now. Surely, he still can't put that big of a strain on my body.”

 

Kuyo thought about this for a moment, and then continued picking dirt from under his long fingernails. His hair was still wet and sticking to his neck, but from what Hiei could tell, he was no longer worried, not that he was sure that his father was worried to begin with.

 

Hiei waved his arms animatedly, trying to free himself from the many wires. After a few tries, he gave up.

 

“Free me,” he said oddly.

 

Kuyo looked up, “Excuse me?”

 

“Unhook me from these things! I need to have a word with Raizen.”

 

“Of course,” Kuyo smirked. He raised his arm majestically; a small flame emitted from his fingertip where it was sent out, cutting the ties Hiei had to the machines.

 

Hiei shivered. It was then that he realized that he had been de-cloaked and booted. He jumped off the cold metal table, slipped on his boots, and grabbed his cloak on his way out of the room.

 

He stopped dead upon entering the hallway. Raizen had obviously placed him in some medical chamber and now he didn't know where to go. This new place was dark and gloomy, and it smelled horribly of alcohol.

 

At the end of the hallway, he came to another door. It appeared to be the only way out, but Hiei had no way of knowing where exactly it led. Reaching for the knob, he realized that it was a demon. With a hint of curiosity, he poked at it, just to see what it would do.

 

It stared at him with dark yellow eyes, and then it sneezed. Not expecting this, Hiei jumped back in surprise. Seeing the look on his face, the doorknob smirked, turning its head slowly to allow the Jaganshi entrance. Ignoring the sniggers from it, Hiei pressed on, leaving the door to close behind him.

 

That door, he was sure, had led him to the main entranceway, where he had first met his father. Raizen was sure to be here; he had many a time discussed plans with Hiei here as well.

 

Even from here, Hiei could tell there was a storm brewing outside. And it wasn't just a thick rain cloud. No, he was sure this dark feeling within him was foretelling his biggest battle to come (damn, I feel like a promo).

 

“Come out, Raizen,” Hiei said to the dark, empty-looking room.

 

Of course and as if on cue, Raizen stepped out of the shadows behind his throne that would have been. He was just as rugged-looking—if not more—than Kuyo had been when Hiei had awoken.

 

“Talk to me,” Hiei said, sitting on the remnants of a large boulder.

 

“It isn't over.”

 

“What?”

 

“Your allergy; it's only just begun.”

 

Raizen smirked, running a clawed hand through his tousled hair. He leaned himself against the wall, brushing his hair back some more. He let out a howl of laughter, while lightning cracked in the distance.

 

- - -

 

Yusuke stopped, a cold shiver running down his spine.

 

“There it is,” Seika said, pointing over the clumps of rocks used as their temporary hiding place.

 

The castle looked nothing of what it had when Yusuke first encountered his father; there was no more obvious-looking throne room to the right of it. Instead, it seemed more medieval. There was actually a sort of airiness to it, but only from the outside.

 

“It sure looks different than when I last saw it,” he said.

 

“It's strange that he would change the entire exterior of this place after just two years,” Kurama agreed.

 

“A lot of wars have been going on,” Seika responded. “There hasn't been a week where some gang hasn't tried to demolish this place.”

 

Yusuke frowned. His father had been a terrible man upon their first encounter, but he had obviously worsened during his heir's absence from the Makai; everyone seemed to hate him now.

 

- - -

 

His stomach churned and his muscles tightened with the strain inflicted upon him. Bones popped as he leaned back from agony; his head was fit to burst. After a few moments, the pain ceased. Hiei fell on all fours, vomiting all over himself.

 

“That's disgusting,” Raizen said, looking away.

 

“No s-shit,” Hiei replied, coughing as the last of his previous meal rose up his esophagus.

 

“Well, don't just sit there, Hiei. Clean it up,” Raizen said mockingly.

 

Hiei leaned back to sit on his rump. “I can't, I'm sick.”

 

“I told you that your allergy wasn't over yet,” Raizen sighed. “But don't fret, little one. Give it a few more hours and you'll be fine.”

 

Hiei stood up, and then sat back down on his boulder. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a loose piece of white cloth, his headband. He stared at it, remembering everything that had happened within the last few months; he then tied it around his exposed Jagan eye.

 

“Yusuke will be here soon,” he said.

 

“Where is he now?” Raizen asked, watching the dim glow under Hiei's bandana.

 

“Just below the castle.”

 

“Excellent....”

 

- - -

 

“Does anyone have any idea how we're going to get up there?” Kuwabara asked.

 

“That's easy,” Seika began. “When I married Haku, he and Yomiko taught me a lot of their techniques. Anything they as bandits can do, I can do too.”

 

“So, you know martial arts from me and you know how to be a bandit too?” Kurama said crossly.

 

Yusuke and Kuwabara stopped walking and watched the two kitsunes. Kurama had just sounded like he was jealous.

 

“Yeah,” Seika said, matching his tone. “It was the only way for me to live—marry Yomiko's son and learn their ways and customs.”

 

“You could have run. Your Grim Reaper would have been more than enough to take care of them.”

 

“Quit being selfish, Kurama!”

 

Kurama said nothing, but began playing with the thorns from a nearby rosebush.

 

“I could have gone looking for you too, and I did. But when I got to your hut, your family was already dead and you had abandoned them...abandoned me! Do you know how hard that was for me? My family, your family, Tai...they were all gone! And then you ditched me!”

 

“Tai died? Hmph, that's no surprise; she was ever a very good combatant.”

 

“How could you say that? Aside from you, Tai was my best friend!”

 

Kurama's cold stare softened immediately. It was almost as if he had been in some sort of trance.

 

“I was your best...friend?” he asked cautiously.

 

“Kurama, I loved you!” Seika cried, tears forming at the brims of her eyes.

 

Seika gasped, horrified. It was true that she had been in love with Kurama before she got married to Haku, but that was a secret she hadn't told anyone but Tai. She took a step back, hesitantly.

 

Kurama frowned. He was such an idiot. He had no idea what had made him jealous at Haku or made him snap at Seika. Now, he felt even worse, since Seika had admitted her feelings to him while he had been a jerk. Even though, he knew these emotions had expired, and that he had never felt that way about Seika before, that fact that he had made her cry really tore him up inside.

 

“Come here,” he said.

 

Cautiously, Seika took a couple steps forward, planting herself in Kurama's arms as he embraced her tightly. This time, she let her tears fall freely. Though she had been rough as a child, she was still a girl and needed to vent her emotions sometimes. And so she cried and cried, just letting it all flow throw her. She was going to be fine—she no longer harbored these feelings for Kurama and she still had Haku.

 

“This is all very touching,” Yusuke began. “But aren't we on a mission?”

 

- - -

 

“And what mission is that? Do you plan on taking my puppet away from me?”

 

“What pup—? Of course we do!”

 

“Oh, but I don't think so, Yusuke,” Raizen said. “You see, Hiei thinks differently of you now then he did before he joined me.”

 

“How can he? I haven't done anything wrong!”

 

Hiei stood from his boulder. He removed his bandana, which revealed his Jagan eye.

 

“That's where you're wrong,” he said smirking.

 

“You know, this just gets better and better. Well, friends, it's been lovely seeing you all again, but I think we ought to finish this fray at a later date,” Raizen smirked.

 

“Running away, Raizen?” Kurama hissed, turning to Hiei.

 

Raizen looked surprised. “Enma, no! I just thought the four of you would like some time to think of a battle strategy and get a night's rest before you defeat me.”

 

“Cockiness killed the demon,” Kuwabara said under his breath.

 

“Why indeed it did,” Raizen chuckled. “Hiei, do me a favor and show our enemies to their quarters.”

 

Hiei nodded and led the other four out the door and through the alcohol-smelling corridor. This time though, he went through a door on the left side of the wall; another demon was there as a doorknob. No one bothered to speak to each other on the way there.

 

“This is ridiculous,” Seika said after Hiei left them to their quarters. “That bastard Raizen's just toying with us.”

 

Kurama sighed, “That's true, but now it looks like Hiei's been brainwashed to believe whatever Raizen says to be spot on. Not literally brainwashed, mind you.”

 

“Maybe not literally,” Kuwabara jumped in. “But did you see how he looked? He looked pale and kinda sickly.”

 

“I noticed that too,” Seika said.

 

“On our way down here, I managed to eavesdrop on a conversation between two of the guards outside the first door we went through,” Kurama explained. “They mentioned something about Hiei having an allergic reaction to Raizen's telekinesis.”

 

“Do know anything about this?” Seika asked Yusuke.

 

Yusuke turned and sat down on one of the five beds in the room, staring down at the floor.

 

“I can't take this anymore,” he said. “Raizen is taking everything away from me. He took me away from my mom and now he's taken my friend. Next, he'll probably take my life.”

 

“Don't say that!” Kuwabara yelled. “Where's the Urameshi who had a cocky attitude and used to beat me up all the time?”

 

“He's gone; he's given up all hope.”

 

“You can't just want to sit here and die,” Kurama said dejectedly.

 

“You don't understand what it's like!” Yusuke said, jumping up. “You've never been torn apart from your family and friends like this.”

 

“I understand perfectly,” Kurama replied calmly. “I was forced to leave Seika and my village behind, forced to be reborn as a human. And I allowed Hiei to be taken away from Raizen. But now, I'm being forced to get you to understand that you're not alone in this, Yusuke.”

 

- - -

 

A/N Nice place for me to end it, huh? No seriously, because it was starting to get boring and I didn't want you to lose interest. But now, you'll be all pumped and ready for the next update that will come in the millennium, if you're lucky.

 

Okay, before everyone jumps the gun, I don't know why I added that fight in between Seika and Kurama. It was really there to fill some space. So, don't start complain' to me that Kurama's a snotty little punk, because he's not. And don't ask why Yusuke was acting like a baby at the end either, because I can't tell you that either; I just needed an excuse to put “torn apart” in there.

 

Back to work: I've finally decided where to place the last and final chapter, but unfortunately, it won't be next. See, my goal was to make it to at least 15 chapters, but I've decided to cut it back to only 14; muses and ideas are limited these days.

 

Chapter 13 will be the big battle chapter, but you'll have to bear with me because my battle-writing skills are kind of low. Also in that chapter, Kuyo will finally get a major part. Hiei might even chance sides...dun, dun, dun! Guess you'll just have to wait and see. ;)