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Dreams and Nightmares Part 3
by Korogi
Youko Kurama tumbled back through the grass, rolling to
land expertly back on his feet, crouching heavily on the ground.
The entire left side of his chest was bleeding heavily, soaking the white
cloth of his garments in a sickening, warm red... a result of one of Karasu's
bombs. Around him, the grove of the Shinjuku park lay in complete
disaster ... threes had been splintered where they stood, huge holes burrowed
into the ground... nature around him was in complete chaos. Karasu
was killing off all the plantlife, trying to rob the two youko's of their
main source of weaponry and power.
Youko Kurama stumbled to his feet, a hand clutched tightly
to his bleeding side, coaxing the blood-flow to lessen enough so he could
form another attack. Before him, the white streak that marked his
brother's presence was still engaged heavily with the taller, violet-eyed
youkai. Explosions struck up everywhere, throwing more plant debris around
...
Kurama's vision was beginning to become cloudy as he reached
a hand back into his fine silver hair, wincing at the incredible pain that
was suddenly thrown into existence. It nearly made him sick as he
drew out two perfect roses, drawing them out into long, barbed weapons.
"Alright, Karasu ..." he seethed quietly to himself, stumbling
forward.
He poured his you-ki into healing the gaping wound at his side,
stopping the blood flow and beginning to scar-over the wound. He
took a deep breath, testing the quick healing... before taking to the air,
reeling back the roses...
Karasu saw the attack moments before, giving him enough
time to detonate a dozen of the tracker bombs, blanketing his position
in a could of dust and debris, blowing Yo-mawari from his feet back to
crash into the stump of a tree. Youko Kurama diverted his attack
in mid-air, quickly made subtle contact with the ground, reaching down
and hauling his brother to his feet. "Now's our chance .. just stick close
and follow my lead!" he ordered the mirror image.
Youko Yo-mawari nodded regaining his footing ... and a huge
vortex-cloud of energy whipped up around them, growing suddenly in intensity
as Yo-mawari dumped his you-ki...
Karasu took the cloud-cover to his advantage and
surrounded himself in the glowing green orbs, wincing at a heavily cut
and bruised shoulder. The youko's were a little tougher to deal with
than he thought ... but slowly, he was wearing them down. He had
managed to land several well-aimed bombs in the past half hour ... but
if he was to be successful, he needed to keep his attacks up.
The mist-like cloud churned around him, surrounding him
in a blanket of grey, hiding himself from the youko's and vice versa.
It didn't bother him when there was a sudden spark in the you-ki surrounding
him... the two youko's could most likely boost their power being Quest
Class as he too was.
The cloud slowly began to disperse ... dark images started
to appear through the churning .. he could pick out the two youko's from
a center of a dark mass ...
Something shot out at him through the grey dust... a large,
rounded object, brushing easily by his shoulder, knocking him back to the
ground before disappearing easily into the cloud to be lost in a churn
of grey haze..
Karasu rolled, nervous eyes scanning the grey-line.
Something was stalking him ...
One of the youko's deep laughs rolled through the cloud,
echoing around him and reverberating to his ears as if he was in a large
cavern deeo underground. For some odd reason, Karasu noticed that
the cloud wasn't thinning .. infact, it was growing .. growing into a thick,
concealing mist.
"Are you trying to frighten me, my darlings?" Karasu sneered,
smiling as he made it easily to his feet, dusting of his pants.
"Not me ..." one of the youko's voices floated in.
"But surely you remember ... 'my pet'..." the voice growled. "It
seems the sides are reversed now."
A sudden explosion whirled Karasu from the voice ... a
demonic scream came from off in the fog behind him as another bomb ripped
into existence. The creature that was stalking him moved just on
the edge of his vision, large and lumbering, swinging what looked like
a long-neck and head. Karasu quickly drew up more bombs ...
The fog suddenly whisked from existence in a large, unfelt
burst of wind, leaving Karasu's vision dotted with his green-glowing bomb
orbs. He whirled around ...
The thing towered over him like a two story house, riling
and flowing ... a gigantic demon plant equip with many razor-teeth filled
mouths, hissing and salivating as it's baset surrounded the two youko's
like a mother bear protecting her cubs.
Karasu snorted and stood slowly to his feet.
"The Makai no Ojigisou? The Mimosa plants? Oh come-come now.
You should know that there's no hope of catching me in one of those things!"
One of the youko's smiled and laughed, the other one wielding
a perfect red rose. "This is not the Mimosa ... something much more
effective ... much more deadly ... surely you know them being of Makai
yourself...." One of the youko's, possibly Yo-mawari, patted the
trunk of the towering carnivorus plant, causing it to wiggle and snarl
down on Karasu. "Shokuyou Shokubutsu, the Demon-eater."
Karasu stilled suddenly ... he had never heard
of such a plant being used by any demon of Makai. The plants themselves
were a dangerous thing to be around, seeking out demon blood and flesh
with an undying passion, devouring it a single gulp, quicker than any of
the other breeds of carnivorous plants that inhabited the Makai.
"Standing still won't save you, if that's what you're
thinking" Youko Kurama sneered, tossing off the rose.
Karasu willed a bomb to intercept ... sending off an explosion
about a meter from his face.
The Shokuyou Shokubutsu growled violently, all the living
mouths suddenly turning all attention from the youko's to Karasu.
Quickly they moed to the dying dust cloud created by the bomb, then sniffed
past it to Karasu's possition. It snarled above him, slowly stretching
out a single mouth to glare Karasu down with an eye-less node.
The youkai stood stone still, watching the plant head
survey his body, nipping at his clothes and hair. It seemed to sense
his presence, but was unsure if Karasu passed as food or not. Lightly
it nipped at the color of his shirt...
A brilliant flash of yellow light brought a Makai portal
into view, drawing the attention of the plant heads from Karasu.
In a brief strip of black wind, Hiei appeared on the destroyed terrain,
katana at the ready, crouched in an attacking position..
The red, fiery eyes caught the Makai plant seconds before
one of the snarling heads lunged for it... Hiei easily blinking from existence
to the top of a tattered tree as the powerful jaws gouged a trough through
the
earth where he once stood. Hiei snarled and crouched on the tree
limb as the head found his possition.
"Damn!" Youko Kurama spat, watching the plant begin to
chase Hiei. "Kyodai .. stay here ..."
"But ..."
Youko Kurama leapt from the center refuge of the Makai
plant ... Karasu still stood as straight as stone on the field, watching
the Shokuyou Shokubutsu try to keep tabs with Hiei. He smiled back
across the field to Youko Yo-mawari, motioning a few of the glowing bombs
to begin to close in on him.
The youko growled, reaching into the folds of his tattered
garments, calling out a barrage of the living shuriken... They flew expertly
followed quickly by a chorus of explosions.
Hiei barely dodged the last carnivorous strike, slipping
from the tree-top, correcting in midair to land steadily on the ground
below.
It was seconds later that Youko Kurama burst into view
in a brilliance of silver. "Great timing, Hiei," he spat, holding
his arms
before him, diverting one of the mouths of snarling teeth from their
path. Around them, a flurry of Karasu's bombs was closing fast, blasting
into the sides of the plant's many heads, filling the grove in a demonic
chorus of snarls and screams..
Hiei made it to his feet and leapt into the fray, ready
to take on the bombs himself ... but the bombs all shuffled back,
diverting around him as if Hiei himself was an impenetrable wall.
He narrowed red eyes and watched the display, diverting about him as he
movied.
With a snarl, the fire youkai lept forward again, slicing
through the air, trying to catch a bomb with the tip of his katana... like
frightened animals, the bombs shuffled back, circumnavigating him to go
after Kurama and Yo-mawari.
A confused glance brought his eyes down to the blue sphere
Mukuro had given him, wrapped tightly around the katana hilt. He
grunted and unwrapped it from the hilt and shoved the chain out before
him, sending the little sphere spinning and oscillating in sloppy circles.
The globes clearly avoided it.
An explosion caught his attention, turning just in time
to see Youko Kurama fall heavily to the ground, cradling his stomach,
a wave of the bombs eagerly closing in for the kill... and Hiei leapt.
... appearing in a gust of dark wind before Kurama.
The globes all haulted their approach as Hiei wielded the sphere before
him like a dangerous weapon. Amused, he watched them clear a distance
around them, waiting patiently in a large, open circle. Hiei spun
quickly down to Kurama "Here, hold this for me," he ordered, thrusting
the blue sphere into his lover's hands... and he flicked off.
The shurinkens circled the field, avoiding the teeth of
the Makai plant, detonating bombs in their path.
Youko Yo-mawari cursed. The plant wouldn't
track Karasu since he refused to move... every effort he made was met with
a bomb or diverted my Karasu's many tricks.
The shurinkens whizzed past his vision, circling with
a few of the heads of the plant following them. The youko smiled...
He reached out with his mind and pulled the shuriken in a large, glittering
arch. Perhaps, since the Makai plant decided to follow his shuriken...
They whizzed through the air as Karasu watched with subtle
amusement, keeping voilet eyes on them as they passed out of his
line of sight. Instead, he saw Youko Kurama seated on the ground,
quickly healing a wound, a cloud of the green orbs surrounding him.
'Why haven't they killed him yet?' He threw his mind to the orbs
.. meeting up with retaliation as they refused to move any closer to the
injured Youko. "This is no time to grow a conscious!" he spat out
loud to the non-living objects.
A cloud of shuriken whipped around his head quickly...
Karasu's violet eyes became wide ... he turned his head seconds before
one of the Shokuyou Shokubutsu's razor-filled mouths narrowly missed his
arm, cutting a deep gouge through his upper arm and chest.
Suddenly, the entire plant turned its attention from Hiei's
whizzing about creation to Karasu, the slight twinge of demon blood begining
down one of the mouth's throat to the base of the plant.
"K'so!" he spat, leaping back as one of the plant's many
heads dug it's teeth into the ground where he had just been standing.
They all closed in attacking like a hungry pack of wolves, each one getting
closer and closer to its mark, closing in on Karasu, brushing him, cutting
him. "Damn you, Kurama!!!"
One head caught his wrist ... another his ankle ... and
they each pulled like wolves fighting over a carcus...
Youko Yo-mawari smiled slightly, turning his eyes away from the masacre as Karasu's violent and pained screams rang through the grove. He felt Hiei's ki jump up behind him, joining him in the middle of the plant's root system, a small smile rising on his lips. One by one, the green orbs began to blink from existence as Karasu's soul began to pass from life.
Youko Kurama eyed the small sphere on the chain as he saw the
orbs begin to fade. He slipped the chain over his head, pulling his
hair out from under and stood up, watching the remaining orbs shuffle backwards
from his presence. He felt the cold chain lay silently on his neck....
Hiei blinked into view, quickly glancing over Kurama's
wounds. Behind him, Youko Yo-mawari called the Shokuyou Shokubutsu
into silence, sending it back to the Makai in a clean, vortex of negative
energy.
With quick work, Yo-mawari recalled the shuriken and quickly
ran over the destroyed glade, his hair bleeding out in long streaks of
black as he made the trek.
Sirens and alarms grew slowly to their ears... it had
taken the humans long enough to get here! But that was a good thing
.. the humans would have gotten involved and most likely killed.
The tall, slender youko form of Kurama bleed and filled
out to the human form of Minamino Shuuichi, rising slowly to his feet as
he continued to heal. Hiei reached a finger out and tugged on the tattered
sleeve of Kurama's shirt to see if he was okay.
The green eyes jerked down to him, thin and glaring as
Kurama viciously swatted the hand away. "Don't touch me," Kurama
growled, fixing a look to Hiei that threatened to tear him limbs from limb
if he tied that again.
Hiei's eyes narrowed ... a glint caught his eye and he
noticed Kurama was wearing Mukuro's light blue sphere around his
neck. "Mukuro," he growled. He reached a hand out quickly to
rip the sphere from his neck ... but Kurama's strong arms caught him...lifted
him into the air.
"I said. .. DON'T TOUCH ME!!" Kurama bellowed in the fire demon's
face, yelling inches from his nose. With unfound ease, he threw Hiei
back across the field, crashing into Yo-mawari and vanished in a flurry
of rose petals.
Mukuro leaned back comfortably in her chair, smiling keenly
at the wall. A small device blinked rapidly at her, causing her smile
to widen into that usual tone of evil she carried so nicely on her lovely
face.
She felt the presence behind her, not bothering to check
who's ki it was. "Hiei, I see you've changed your mind. Decided
to come back to me after all!"
The chair swiveled and she turned... only to stare deep
into a pair of clear green eyes surrounding a marble of pure black.
"What the... KURAMA! What in the hell..." She leapt from the
chair, temper blaring. "Where's my fire youkai!! Give him back
to me this instant before ... " her eyes lowered and found her blue sphere
dangling easily at his neck. "Aw shit. That didn't work!"
Kurama smiled seductively and seated himself on the top
of the desk, curling a slender finger at her. "Did you want
me for something?"
Mukuro groaned. "How the hell did you end up with
the sphere?" she pointed to his chest. "I gave it to Hiei!"
"He gave it to me." He pushed himself off the desk and
began towards her slowly, eyes thin and seducing.
Mukuro backed a few paces. "Don't even think about
it, ningen," she gasped slightly and held a hand out before her... then
paused. She watched him float gently across the office toward her, grinning
beautifully. 'Hmm ... perhaps I can use this to my advantage... he's not
bad looking... for a ningen ... and perhaps Hiei... '
Kurama's long arms wound around her shoulders slowly,
drawing her into the tattered clothes that hung about his perfect body.
She rose up on her tip toes, trying to match his height and turner his
chin down towards her...
... and they kissed.
"That was odd," Yo-mawari huffed, sitting on the
ground beside his master. "Kurama seemed ... seemed..."
"Mukuro," Hiei answered. Yo-mawari faltered and
hung on the name, running it through his head, placing a face to the name.
Hiei got to his feet quickly, watching the human bomb-squad begin running
frantically across the Shinjuku park. "Come on, 'Wari ... we're going
on a fields trip."
"Hai, Meijin."
The red hair spilled to the floor of the office around Mukuro as Kurama came down gently on top of her, their mouths never parting. The blue sphere tumbled on the chain to be caught between them as Mukuro began to frantically tug on the buttons of Kurama's shirt...
Hiei kicked in the door to Mukuro's main office complex,
met with frantic guards and monsters. "Uh ... Hiei-san!"
"Can it! Where's Mukuro?" he yelled to the guards,
Yo-mawari joining behind him.
"She's asked to not be disturbed by ANYONE..."
"Where the hell is she????!!!" He unsheathed the
katana and waved it threateningly at them. His eyes burned with the
red fire they possesed, the Jagan on his forhead glowing eerily green through
the white bandanna. In retaliation, half the room drew their
weapons in a clattered chorus of pinging steel, merging odd blades and
scythes into view.
Hiei seethed, the corners of his mouth twitching, reveling
his fangs.. "Idiots... think of what you're doing. Tell me
where Mukuro is... or I fry this building and everyone in it!"
Sweat beaded over Mukuro's brow as Kurama moved rhythmically
above her, her hands running smoothly down his bare back ... off in the
corner of her eye, she saw the main office complex spark into flames quickly
before engulfed in a black fire... and seconds later her office door melted
and blew in, flooding the room with an instantly burning heat.
Hiei's eyes widened at the sight... he stumbled back,
nearly plowing over Yo-mawari directly behind him. His heart shattered
in his chest, sending an aching pain throughout his entire body. It was
Kurama ... HIS Kurama... and Mukuro...
Kurama's deep green eyes shot into him from above Mukuro,
laughing at him... pulling apart his mind and soul with each blink...
The young man laughed and rolled over off the woman and quickly tugged
on his pants.
Yo-mawari gasped above Hiei, clutching the little shoulders
tightly as Kurama stood slowly to his feet, seeming to guard the space
between them and Mukuro.
"Well, Hiei... it seems I don't need YOU anymore!"
Kurama spat.
Hiei clutched his chest... fought the urge to scream as
he quickly turned and wiggled past Yo-mawari, disappearing down the hall...
The two brothers stared off at each other, Yo-mawari utterly
confused, Kurama quietly chuckling to himself. "What are YOU looking
at?" the green eyes scanned the black-clothed figure. "What
a poor excuse for a brother... I should have left you to Karasu!"
"Kurama, what in the worlds are ...."
A rose shot through the air, Yo-mawari easily dodging
it, diverting it with his blade. "I don't need either or you any
more," Kurama snarled, producing another rose from his hair.
"Kill him," Mukuro ordered silently behind him, her good
eye glaring evilly around Kurama's slim figure.
"With pleasure, my love."
Hiei sprang through the Makai woods as fast as his feet
could take him. Over and over the images dug into his mind, ripping
at his soul like snarling animals... Kurama making love to Mukuro.
"I don't need YOU any more... don't need YOU any more..."
the almost ghostly call came from Kurama's lips, edged with daggers, slicing
at every fabric of his being.
Hiei faltered, missing his footing, tumbling through the
branches to land roughly on the ground below in a dull thud. He rose
steadily to his feet, a single, black tear gem rolling off his cheek to
loose itself in the grass below.
He screamed... as loud and as strong at he could, pooling
all the anger, hurt and betrayal he found into it.. Around him, the
Makai wildlife took to their feet and wings, startled quickly from
the environment around him.
Hiei took another breath and opened his mouth... but nothing
came out but a dull, horse sob. He pounded a fist into the ground...
another tear gem pinged off his hand. "Why..." he chocked... raising
an arm and wiping it quickly across his eyes. He tried to tell himself
that it was only Mukuro's sphere that had made him do and say that small
bit that ripped his body and soul in two... he tried to convince himself
that things would be alright once he got back the sphere...
Then why was he still crying?
He collapsed to the ground in a convulsed sob, digging
his fingers into the soil underneath, clawing at it... ripping it out in
clumps. He imagined he would do the same to Mukuro as soon as he
found her again.
