Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Watching You ❯ The Truth, Part 1 ( Chapter 5 )

BlackRoseVixen05: Hello! Thank you once again for joining me in my newest chapter of “Watching You”. A very BIG thank you going out to all who have reviewed. Without you, none of this could be possible. I love you guys! But enough talk, on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Chapter Five

Kurama stared in shock at the person standing before him. The friend he grew up with, the one who had stuck by him all those years, the one he thought he'd lost forever, was standing a mere foot from him. Kurama couldn't believe it. Kuronue looked exactly the same--same pale skin, same midnight hair, same everything. The only real difference was that his hair was out of its ponytail, hanging freely down his back. The kitsune continued to stare as another smile crossed the bat demon's face.

Kurama's wide eyes soon began to brim with tears as Kuro slowly walked toward him. It was really him. Kurama blinked back his tears and his once confused face was now filled with curiosity. His eyes locked with Kuronue's as the komouri sat down in front of him. Then finally, Kurama found his voice again.

“Kuro, how?” he whispered. The bat demon chuckled.

“I had a feeling you'd ask that. Still a curious fox, I see,” Kuro said with a light grin. Kurama's expression didn't change. Kurama knew his partner meant well, but he felt like anything but jokes right now. Though Kuro always did have a habit of making jokes when Kurama was upset.

“Please, no jokes this time. How did you survive? Please tell me,” Kurama said, anxiously. Kuronue sighed softly at his failed attempt to lighten the mood and nodded as he prepared to explain what had really happened. Then, an idea hit him.

“I can do better. I'll show you,” Kuro said, placing two fingers against Kurama's forehead. His pendant started to glow as he began to project the memory into Kurama's mind.

Flashback in Kuronue's POV

I watched you flee from the forest as I lay on the ground. My whole body was in pain and I was losing a lot of blood. I then realized that the old saying was true. Your life really does flash before your eyes when you're about to die.

I saw it all… the village I grew up in, my clan, my family, my mother, the day our village burned, the day I met you and how we became best friends. I saw how we used to run and play in the forest, and how we promised we'd be friends forever.

I smiled bitterly as my memories subsided. After seeing all that again, I then realized how frightened I was. And how I really wasn't ready to die. I didn't want to die. I wanted to somehow magically spring to my feet and race after you. But I knew that wouldn't happen…not now.

Tears began to sting at my eyes as I glanced up at the demon holding an axe to my throat. I swallowed thickly and clutched my pendant tightly. I closed my eyes as the demon raised his axe. I knew that I would surely die.

`Yoko, take care, my friend…' I thought sadly.

“Halt!” I heard a female voice yell.

I opened my eyes to see that the demon holding the axe had backed off and a female demon was standing his place. Though she was quite beautiful, she looked down at me with sinister eyes that made me cringe.

“Take him to the castle,” she told the demon guards.

Renewed pain suddenly surged through my entire body as the guards proceeded in yanking the bamboo spears from my still bleeding form. I groaned and yelled in pain and was barely conscious by the time they were done.

When the last spear was thrown aside, I was lifted off the ground and thrown over one of the demon's shoulders. I cursed as my hat fell off in the process. We followed the female demon out of the forest and back to the castle. The castle you and I had just finished robbing.

I was taken inside the massive palace and tossed inside a large, dark room that looked some-what like a jail cell. I weakly pushed myself into a sitting position and looked at my surroundings. There were two cells, mine and one more. I wasn't sure who was in the other one, and I didn't care at the time.

As I heard the door to the room lock, I sighed and leaned against the far back wall of my cell. I would have to be still if I wanted to heal. So, I closed my eyes and tried to relax as best I could.

`Fine mess you got yourself into, Kuro,' I thought to myself before falling asleep.

Several Hours Later

I awoke as the main door leading in and out of the room opened. I slowly inched out of the corner in order to see who had entered. It was one of the demon guards, along with the female demon from earlier. A clicking/rattling noise sounded from the back of my throat as they neared my cell. This was a noise I always made when trying to defend myself or to scare off enemies. You remember? However, it obviously didn't work on them.

“You, with the wings, you're coming with us,” the female said as the large demon guard entered my cell. When I didn't move on my own, he grabbed me by my vest and pulled me to my feet. He pushed me out of the cell harshly and I stumbled forward. When I turned to face the demon guard, I felt the girl snap a metal collar around my neck.

I reached up to pull it off, but it burned my hand. I then noticed that the collar had a chain attached to it. I knew where this was going. And I was right. The guard picked up the chain and pulled on it - hard. I gagged and almost fell down, but quickly regained my footing.

As the two demons led me out of the room, I got a clear look at whom it was that currently shared my room. It was another female demon. She was an old jackal demon. Unlike most demons, who usually appeared more human, this old woman appeared to be more animal.

She wore a brown dress with a gray sweater tied around her shoulders. She had grayish-brown hair that was long and wavy. Her body was covered in a light fur coat that was also brownish gray in color. Her hands and feet were paw-like and the ends of her tail and ears had black tips.

The old woman was sitting on the floor with a wooden cane gripped tightly in her hands. She seemed to be meditating. I couldn't help wonder how long she'd been in this place. My thoughts were broken when the guard tugged on the chain again, hurrying me to keep up.

They led me down hallway after hallway inside the huge castle. We passed many cells and cages along the way, all holding demons captive, some alive and some appeared dead. And then, after I was sure we'd been walking for at least an hour, we arrived at two large black doors. While the doors were closed, I could make out the red pattern of a black widow spider.

I looked at the doors curiously as they began to open. The room following, much like the rest of the castle, was dark. Dimly lit by candles circling the ceiling, making a slight glow. At the far end of the room, there was a large black throne. I could easily see the person sitting on it. Hey, I'm a bat. I can see in the dark.

The figure was a woman. She had pale skin, green eyes, and long black hair with red highlights. She was wearing a long black strapless and backless gown and black evening gloves. Her body was very curvy and sensual. She was, bluntly put, drop-dead gorgeous, but didn't look trustworthy.

“We brought the thief, milady,” I heard the first female demon say.

“Well done, Neyla. And the other one?” the woman sitting on the throne asked.

“Forgive me, milady, but we were unable to catch the other,” the female demon, now identified as Neyla said.

“Damn that fox. He always escapes…” the woman whispered. I glared at her hatefully as she spoke of you with such disrespect. Only I was allowed to do that.

“We did manage to catch the fox's partner, though, milady,” Neyla said, motioning to me. The woman slowly stood from her seat and walked towards me. She stopped several feet away from me and seemed to be studying me closely. I ignored her, though. She then smiled at me with a combination of wickedness and seduction.

“Yes, this one is quite a catch, isn't he?” she chuckled and only earned herself a deeper glare from me. She reached out to touch my face, but pulled away as I let a low hissing snarl escaped my lips. Indeed I was chained, but I felt far from helpless. There just wasn't much I could do at the moment.

I saw that the woman was surprised by my action, but wasn't the least bit intimidated. I mentally cursed that fact. I then noticed she was speaking again.

“What is your name?” she asked me.

I said nothing and she sighed.

“Very well. Your name isn't really important anyway. However, I will tell you mine. I am Aleera Widow. Pleased to meet you,” she said politely. All she got from me in return was another glare.

“Tell me something,” she started, “Where has your friend Yoko gone to? I'm sure you know. You see, I've been after that fox for years, though he didn't know it. Every time I was sure he was mine, he managed to get away. You see my problem. But now that I have you, perhaps you could be of help,” she finished.

So that was it; she was after Yoko. My frown deepened at this. I kept quiet, and I could tell it was pissing her off. She finally snapped and lifted her hand to strike my face. She stopped suddenly, just before her blow struck. She then gave me a wicked smile. She seemed impressed by the fact that I hadn't moved an inch. I didn't flinch or blink.

“You've got a lot of nerve. You know that?” she shrugged, folding her arms. “And don't think I'm giving up an you. You will tell me where Yoko is.”

“You assume so much, but know so little,” I said calmly.

Her eyes widened slightly at my choice of words, then a cocky smirk appeared on her face.

“I'd say it was you who knows little,” she said. “That is all, Neyla. Take him away.”

“Yes, milady,” Neyla said, bowing. They then led me out of the room and back to my cell. I walked inside and sat down on the cot located at the far end of the cell. I leaned my back against the wall and pulled my knee up to my chest, resting my arm on it.

I wondered where you were, and if you were okay. I hoped that you'd listened to me and got as far away from that place as possible. The last thing I wanted was for you to end up like me. I looked down at my pendant and frowned. If only I had kept running. I felt foolish running back to get such a cheap/valueless trinket, but it meant so much to me. My mother had given it to me on the day she died. She had said that as long as I had it, she would always be with me.

`Mother, what should I have done?' I thought to myself as my eye lids slowly slid shut, letting sleep take me.

Three Weeks Later

By the third week, I was damn near stir crazy. I wanted out of that castle with a passion. I hated everything about it. I could hardly sleep at night, because of the endless screaming and yelling by the other captive demons as they took their punishment.

I too fell victim to these tortures every so often, mostly for being rebellious or for killing guards. I would also receive beatings whenever Aleera decided to hound me about where you were hiding. She could get no information out of me, that I was proud of.

On top of the noise and torture, the food was horrible. I had pretty much given up on eating all together. The first time they gave me food I was reluctant to even touch it, but ate it anyway. I sure regretted that. At least an hour after eating, I threw up everything currently in my stomach and then some.

That happened a few more times before I just decided to stay away from that crap. You had trained me to go weeks without food, but I had never gone this long. I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold out. Yoko…I needed your strength.

And for some reason, I had been having this really odd feeling in my gut. It wasn't the lack of food either. No, this was something else, something to do with you, Yoko. It had started one week after I was caught, and I couldn't get it to go away. Something was wrong, but I just didn't know what. I just hoped to Kami that you were okay.

One Day

Late one evening, my mind was made up. I had to escape. I was determined to find a way. I sat on my cot, looking out the small barred window of my cell. I was trying to memorize the shifts of the guards patrolling outside. If I could make it there, I'd be home free.

I looked away from the window as I heard the door to my sell swing open. A rather large guard stepped inside. I rolled my eyes when I noticed he was carrying that infernal collar. Damn, I hated those.

“Lady Aleera wants a word with you, thief. Let's go,” the guard said, holding up the collar as though I was just gonna walk up and put it on myself.

I crossed my legs and folded my arms over my chest. I then resumed my guard-watching mission. I grunted when the guard suddenly grabbed the base of my ponytail, pulling me off the cot.

“She wants to see you now! So move it!” the guard shouted, releasing my hair. Cursing in my own demonic language, I got to my feet and marched past the guard. I felt him snap the collar around my neck before I was fully out the cell door. I sighed as I was once again led out of the cage.

He brought me to Aleera's throne room again. Though this time, something didn't seem right. She was standing in the center of the room with a scowl on her face. As her eyes fell on me, the scowl deepened. She said nothing as I stood in front of her, and I couldn't help but wonder where this was going.

“Damn you, you retched bat thief! Damn you to hell!” she yelled, anger flooding her features.

`Okaaaaay…' I thought, watching the woman practically shake with rage.

“Why couldn't you just tell me where the fox was hiding?! He could've been mine!! But noooooooo! You just had to protect your precious friend! Now someone's gotten to him first!” the angry woman ranted.

My eyes widened slightly at her last sentence. What does she mean, “someone's gotten to him first”? Could this have something to do with this odd feeling I've been having?

“What are you talking about, Aleera? What do you mean?” I asked, almost afraid of to what the answer might be.

Aleera gave me a strange look before grinning wickedly. Her anger just seemed to disappear and was replaced with an evil grin, the type of evil grin that a serial killer has when decapitating a small child.

“Hm, it seems news travels slow when you're a prisoner,” she chuckled. I growled in impatience.

“What are you talking about?! What news?” I asked, this time louder.

“Your friend Yoko was killed two weeks ago,” she answered simply.

My eyes widened and my heart jumped into my throat at her statement. Moisture instantly began to blur my vision as my eyes trembled. I growled.

“No, no…I don't believe you, you're lying!” I yelled.

“Am I?” she said as a glass globe appeared in front of me. “This is a Rewinding Orb. It has the power to rewind time and is also able to show scenes from the past. So, if you think I'm lying, please look into the orb, and you will see that I'm not.”

I glared at her before gazing into the orb. I gasped at what I saw. I saw you. You were running from a large group of bounty hunters. I watched as you changed into your fox form to try and lose them. It worked. You stopped in a clearing to catch your breath when a single bounty hunter leaped from the bushes and cornered you.

You attempted to run, but didn't get away. The hunter fired an energy blast that earned a direct hit, sending you down. You whimpered as you tried to push yourself up again, but soon fell lifelessly to the ground with a pool of your own blood forming around you.

Tears fell from my eyes as the hunter picked you up by the scruff of your neck and threw you into a bag. He then turned and left the area proudly. The orb then went blank and disappeared.

I hung my head so that my bangs would hide my eyes. I clenched my fists as tears continued to stream down my pale cheeks, splashing onto the hard stone floor below.

“Hard to believe, I know. Even I was shocked,” Aleera spoke up.

“Shut up,” I said in a low hiss. “You would have done the same thing and you know it.”

“Yes, you have a point there,” she chuckled evilly. “Though I probably wouldn't have ruined such beautiful fur as his. I would have had him killed in the least bloody way possible, and then made myself a lovely fur scarf to-“ she was cut off as I lunged forward, my fangs bared.

I never really liked the taste of blood, but right then, I wanted nothing more than to rip out her heart with my own fangs. My attempt to murder her was cut short when the guard, who had been standing behind me, yanked hard on the chain, stopping me in my tracks.

Though I was stopped, I still had my scythe. I grabbed my pendant, and transformed it into my double bladed Kusarigama. I held onto one end while throwing the other at Aleera. A loud clang rung through the air as my weapon was batted aside, embedding in the wall a few feet away.

I stared in surprise at what she had done. Her hand and upper arm had somehow shape-shifted into a black, scythe-like blade, much like mine. I growled at how easily she countered my attack as I prepared to try again.

Just as I was about to toss my blade again, a sharp blow connected with my neck, making me dizzy. I dropped my weapon and fell to my knees, trying to fight as I went unconscious. I looked up at Aleera as she kneeled in front of me, taking hold of my chin.

“You must be drowning in frustration and sorrow at how vain your attempts to protect the fox were. You should have just told me where he was. At least that way, you would have gotten a chance to speak with him again before he died,” she taunted, letting go of my chin.

I fell completely to the ground and my tears began to return. I knew she was right about one thing: my efforts had been in vain. My last thoughts before going unconscious were, `I'm sorry, Yoko. I tried.'

End Chapter Five

BlackRoseVixen05: Well, there's chapter five! Hope you enjoyed. Please stay tuned, there is much more to come! Like how Kuro manages to escape and just what is with that old woman? Just wait and see! And as always: review!!! I am requesting ten this time!! So, please, please, please review!! The fic must live on!!