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Dreams and Nightmares Part 7
by Korogi
It was amazing that any part of Mukuro's once grand complex
even stood at all... but leave it to her to have some utterly brilliant
plan up her sleeves. She seemed to excel in such things lately...
and had become quite a good swindler on the side, using her deep voice
and brilliant flare to her own will.
And that would have been where the fortress came about
from.
Set back in the forest of Makai, Mukuro had acquired the
use of a sturdy, impenetrable and well fortified fortress owned by one
of the many powerful demons living in the Underworlds. It was a tall
and black thing, slicking out of the canopied greenery of the forest like
a horrid, black silhouette, looming to the clouds.
The sky itself parted ways when passing by the black structure's
tip, creating a black void around it, sucking up the light and parting
the clouds as they meandered by. It was indeed the fortress of a
great magician, one whom Mukuro had seen only once since she was granted
full use of it. The idea of him being so secretive gave her the chills,
sparking her even more on her guard... and she didn't even know his name!
Kuraihana tagged along at a sultry pace behind the Makai
witch, rubbing a healing hand over the leather burn on her neck and shoulder,
healing it slowly to keep her mind focused and straight. The trip
had took a mere 20 minutes from her house... she shivered slightly thinking
that such a desolate and black place loomed beyond her lands. It
chilled her to the bone and made her feel more lonely than she thought
she could ever feel.
Mukuro walked calmly ahead swaying gently, occasionally
laughing silently to herself, twirling a hand through the rich, purple
cloak encasing her body. A light and unfamiliar tune hummed softly
from her lips as she tossed open the main, black-iron gate with a simple
flick of her wrists.
The sheer light-heartedness around the witch made Kuraihana's
skin crawl... it was either that, or the sudden cloak of darkness that
fell around her. The once bright and hot sun of the Makai was suddenly
replaced by a deep gloom, the vortex of black swirling around the fortress
top ate at all light around.
"Cheerful, ne?" Mukuro laughed quietly, flipping one end of
the clock back over her shoulder.
Just beyond, a small tower sat aside from a set of tall,
thick iron gates, four vicious looking creatures snarling behind it.
They were an awful breed of dog... half dog, half un-nameable beast with
glowing red eyes and inky-green skin. Their snarling intensified
as the two grew closer, barking and clawing at the gates, sending sparks
of fire from their wrath.
"Oi! Who goes here?" a ragged voice growled from
the tower, a pair of thin, blue eyes sparking into existence in the black
depths of the tower gallery.
"It's just me, Mon-motsu-san," Mukuro answered easily.
She strode confidently past the tower and bent down at the gate, reaching
a hand out to pat one of the dog-creatures on the head.
Kuraihana took a deep breath, stepping forward a bit,
trying to keep tabs with Mukuro. This place scared her more than
she could remember... it scared her more than the demon Shokubatsu that
hunted down and preyed on travelers... scared her more than listening to
Kurama tell about what horrors her father could have faced being taken
prisoner by the Treasure House hordes if he was still live... more than
losing a loved one...
She closed her eyes tight and brought a hand to her face.
She would give anything to be back with Kurama-ojisan and his brother,
as long as they were far away from this place. Some place safe...
Kurama's green eyes floated into existence, grinning back at her as he
had done all those nights he had been teaching her his healing techniques.
She saw Hiei, off in the shadows, keeping a close eye on everything that
went on... especially on Kurama.
Kurama's eyes smiled again, reaching a hand out and pinched
her little cheeks lovingly, laughing. He closed his eyes and sat
back, laughing again... his entire body shaking under the heave.
He seemed bright and beautiful... until a great shadow fell on him, drowning
out the rich color of his hair and clothing, staining them wickedly
black. The figure continued to laugh, sitting forward, spilling black
hair everywhere...
The shadow passed... but Kurama's eyes never came back.
Instead they were replaced by huge, bottomless black ones, nervously laughing,
red flushes coming to the skin underneath them, bashfully raising a hand
to cup the back of the black-haired head.
Kuraihana burst her eyes open suddenly, staring off into
the dark recesses of the main gate... Mukuro was talking with the guard,
gesturing about with her hands, pointing back to the young healer.
Kuraihana suddenly felt very cold and abandoned, lost in a world she had
no hope of escaping. She shuddered and wrapped her arms over her
shoulder, resting her chin in the crook they made. "Yo-mawari..."
she whispered, seeing the black eyes float into her view, still laughing,
the strange dark tone they normal held exploding in embarrassment.
"Where the hell are you?"
"What was that!?" Mukuro called back. "D'you say
something?"
The healer sighed heavily, lowering her arms and eyes
to the ground. "Iee," she answered quietly. "Just talking to
myself."
"Okay, then," the witch shrugged. She whirled from the
small tower and the odd man, the thunderous drone and creek of the iron
door beginning to roll open spilling around her. "Come along.
It's another 5 minutes to the front door... and we'd better get a move
on it. The hunting parties are getting ready to leave... and you
DON'T want to get stuck in one of those!" Mukuro slid quickly over,
taking a wrist and pulling roughly. "Come on, you."
The three darted quickly through the forest, Hiei's
tracking skills in the lead, bouncing his compact body from limb to limb
as he followed the fading sensations of Kuraihana's aura. "It's just
ahead," he called back, flicking to a stop on a tree limb overlooking the
drop-off to a valley beneath.
Kurama and Yo-mawari made it through the underbrush shortly
after, sliding to their respective halts in clouds of dust and dirt.
"By the gods..." Kurama whispered... eyes wide.
"Nani?" the black twin put in, dragging his body relentlessly
up to flank. The black eyes too widened, staring out over the valley
rim and to the forest.. to what lay amidst it.
A black, stone structure towered to the sky in a demonic
shadowed-facade, splitting through the trees and the sky above,
choking a large portion of the valley forest into sickly shades of
grey and black. It seemed everything for a good 1/4 of a mile around
the black tower was dead or completely lifeless.
Hiei growled from the tree top, jumping down with graceful
ease to the side of the valley. He probed the air with his face and
hands, feeling the light aura's and ki sift through them like fine grains
of sand. "That's where Mukuro's heading. What in Meikai does
she have planned?"
Kurama faltered, stumbling for words as he stared in disbelief.
"What... who owns that monstrosity! I've never seen it in the Makai
before!"
Hiei never answered... instead, he leapt down the cliff
face, forcing the twins to follow, darting to outcroppings like a stray
whisp. Behind him, he heard the youko's beginning down after him,
not with nearly the graceful accuracy he held. His speed and agility
would have made any cat or experienced climber jealous instantly, the almost
effortless whipping and whisking leaving black streaks crossing the youkos'
vision.
"Oi! Meijin-san! You didn't answer!"
"That's because I don't know," the deep voice boomed back,
halfway down the cliff. "Some sort of wizard..." Hiei finished, sliding
to the valley floor beneath in a thin cloud of dust and falling rocks.
"I could have guessed that much myself!" Yo-mawari shot
back, sliding a bit clumsily to join him.
"You're getting testy, 'Wari... why's that?"
Yo-mawari choked and stepped back as he gained his footing.
The black eyes stared widely back at his master, searching over the little,
thin face. "What do you mean, Meijin?"
"You've been a pest ever since we left Kuraihana's house...
complaining and snapping like a scorned ningen shojo..." He watched as
Yo-mawari squeaked in astonishment ever so slightly, stumbling back another
step, Yo-mawari muttering a curse under his breath.
Kurama slid to a beautiful dismount aside his brother,
a cascade of rocks tinkling around him, interrupting the two in the beginnings
of what could have easily turned into an argument. "We need to reach
that fortress quickly..."
The fortress was not nearly as gloomy on the inside...
infact, walking through the corridor, you would think you had stepped into
a royal palace. Intricate wall hangings and tapestry covered nearly
every foot of the walls, a thin, brocaded rug running down the middle of
the large halls and corridors Mukuro lead her. Pictures and trophied
heads of Makai animals were spaced in regular intervals along the hall
like some great adventurer's guild hall.
Cool breezes flowed through the dim halls, creating a
perfect atmosphere throughout the fortress. Kuraihana tried to memorize
her way through the labyrinth that was much of the castle... though it
seemed they were going in circles; as if Mukuro was leading her on a wild
goose chase to purposely loose her. And she was doing a good job
of it.
Suddenly a great, voice- roar rolled through the fortress,
shaking the halls in their foundations... the sounds of a horde of some
unseen kaibatsu running through the corridors below them. shaking and raising
a ruckus as best as they could.
Mukuro smiled slightly, holding up her pace to wait for
Kuraihana to stumble up beside her. "The hunting parties... in about
an hour or so, make sure you're ready for dinner." She pointed simply to
a large oak door situated across from them. "That's your room...
I'm in the next one down the hall."
The Makai witch swirled without another word from Kuraihana's
side and floated gracefully down the hall. "And Kuraihana.... don't
even think of trying anything stupid like signaling your uncle or trying
to escape. There are ruthless youkai roaming all over this fortress,
not to mention the hunting dogs. Do you realize how long it's been
since alot of these men have had the company of a woman?" She gave
a simple flick of her first finger and Kuraihana heard the lock fall on
the oak door beside her. "See you in an hour," she sang back, laughing
deeply to herself.
Mukuro disappeared quickly into the next door in
succession, leaving Kuraihana alone in the hall. She sighed heavily
and leaned her back against the large wooden door, glancing up and down
the hall. "Now what..." she whispered, more to keep herself company
with the sound of her own voice.
The last of the hordes had left the fortress, their
dull moaning and cheers barely audible through the thick stone walls, leaving
everything in an eerie quiet, almost dead.
She looked around the hall... the tapestry across from
her was bright and cheerful, despite the overall dark theme of the
rest of the fortress. It depicted a group of three youko kits frolicking
in a leafy bush like small little dogs, one pinning the other... another
one chewing playfully on one of their ears.
Kuraihana smiled and let her attention flow to the tapestry,
momentarily taking her mind off the situation she was in... until a firm
grunt startled her out of everything.
Her vision whirled to a tall and plump youko grinning
widely back at her, a large scar running down the left cheek and onto his
neck. The youko twirled a thick strand of dull grey hair around his
finger, stepping forward slightly, humming to himself in a deep, bass tone.
"New here?" he spoke, his voice dull and raspy, smiling
back at her through thin, gold eyes.
Kuraihana frowned, reaching slowly for the door handle
behind her back as he took another step... but towards the tapestry instead
of her. It caught her slightly off guard, faltering her concentration
for a moment as the stare turned to the tapestry.
"It's my family..." he pointed to each one with a thin
finger and rattled off a name Kuraihana didn't recognize nor care to remember.
"They stay with me in the fortress. Would you like to meet them?"
He smiled softer this time, running a hand over the tapestry as he turned
to look back at her. He looked her over... and paused... stretching
a hand out to a bangle at her wrist.
She watched him carefully as he stretched a finger to
it, gently pulling back the sleeve of her shirt and exposing the thin,
silver metal
"Who gave this to you?" he whispered, raising dull, golden
eyes to her questioning into her dark blue ones.
"My uncle," she answered silently and quickly, gathering
her courage back into her soul.
"A youko, ne?"
Kuraihana's eyes widened and she looked back at him, leaning
in slightly to watch his face. "How did you know?"
The youko turned the bangle around her wrist, coming up
with a delicate porcelain rose embedded on the forward portion, it's green
leaves wrapping around the tiny bangle to disappear into the silver.
"It's embodied with a thin aura of a Quest-class youko... almost like..."
he trailed off and looked up at her. "Like a ki-tracker."
She looked at him strangely, pulling the bangle back under
her sleeve, coveting it off. "What do you mean?"
The youko smiled and rubbed his head. "I almost
couldn't sense it until I touched it... very skillful." He laughed deeply
and twirled a few times in the hall, the greying hair fanning out around
him. "Your youko uncle can track you through his ki, but only at
a short radius.. maybe half a kilometer or so." He suddenly frowned,
stopping his twirling, waiting as his hair circled back around and wrapped
about his neck. He took a nervous breath and stepped up closer to
her, resting his hands on her shoulders. He looked deep into her
eyes with an urgent pleading, grasping at her shoulders. "Why are
you here?"
"I was kidnapped. A Makai woman named
Mukuro's using me to get to my uncle, his brother and his lover..."
"Mukuro..." the youko hissed softly, lowering his face
from hers, gripping tighter on the shoulders. "I see. That damn witch,
she seems to be involved in everything these days." He looked from
Kuraihana and scanned the hall up and down, his tattered ears twitching.
"If she see's me talking to you we're both in big trouble. She's
a powerful little rat... even around the fortress she uses her power to
get what she wants. I've no doubt that your uncle and his company
are in grave danger even coming to search for you." He drew back
into the middle of the hall, scanning nervously again. "I will save
two places at the table for diner tonight. Sit by me... I have something
which may help you." and in a flash of brilliant silver he was gone, disappearing
into the dim corridors and out of sight.
Kuraihana watched down the hall after him, watching the
tapestries flutter in the wind he left behind... and turned the door to
her room, taking one last look at the youko kit tapestry before firmly
locking herself in her room.
The fortress loomed just beyond the edge of the forest,
the first set of unguarded, heavy iron gates flying suddenly open as the
three youkai slid to their respective stops.
Youko Kurama's ears twitched nervously, scanning the dusty
path before them... joined quickly by Youko Yo-mawari. The two surveyed
together, joining their minds to create a great amplified voice of what
was happening.
Just beyond the gate, an angry horde of howling and yelling
youkai and kaibatsu were swarming quickly toward them, the thunder of their
many foot-falls shaking the plant life around them.
Hiei leapt to a tall tree branch, positioning himself
steadily, leaning forward. He parted the leaves, sticking his head
out into the dying Makai sun, emerging from the greenery. A large
dust cloud was moving at an uncouth pace up toward the gate, hiding all
evidence of their origin through the thick cloud. Hiei ripped the
bandanna from his forehead, forcing open the Jagan in a brilliance of green
light.
The countryside flowed to him as the Jagan flew through
around him, past the front gate and quickly to the second, watching it
open before him.
The swarm beyond teamed with every sort of demon ever
imaginable... oni, youkai, youko...
"It's a hunting party," all three of them grumbled at
once from their respective positions.
Kurama and Yo-mawari quickly jumped to the tree tops,
the three together joining up and rising up higher and higher into the
trees, loosing themselves in the canopy as the vanguards of the horde stormed
quickly through.
The gathering of you-ki was incredible, everything from
D-class to high A-class mixed within, screaming and yelling, spooking absolutely
every animal for miles. Dust flew up to the canopy serving as the
hiding place for the three, threatening to choke them and reveal their
location.
Kurama brought the tree to simple life, fluttering the
leaves around them into a mild wind, swirling the dust from their faces
and sending it back down to the horde below.
As quickly as they all appeared, they had passed and gone
quicker than they had seen any other swarm pass, disappearing into the
woods, leaving only their yelling to float back. The hunting party
had left a thick film of dust on everything, but neither stepping upon
a single blade of grass or turning a single leaf off the path in their
great exodus.
Yo-mawari jumped down from the tree-top first, crouching
on the ground, shaking the dust from his hair and clothing in his own mini
dust storm. A few of the little shuriken poked out from the folds
of the white cloth, glimmering quickly before dismounting.
"Not yet... we wait to see what Mukuro has planned," he
answered the unheard question as Hiei met with the ground before him in
a large cloud of dust, shaking dirt from his hair.
Kurama was last, mimicking a dog as he shook off, perched
on all fours in the tree above before floating gracefully down to the ground
below, landing in a small cloud, brushing a hand over his clothing.
"The fortress is too heavily guarded for us all to go
in at once,"Hiei announced, closing the Jagan back to silence, rubbing
dust from about it. "We'll have to go in one at a time... I'm going
first, " Hiei put in quickly, looking back to the twin, taking a few moments
to distinguish Kurama from the two. "Remember, Mukuro's expecting
me and ONLY me to appear. You give me ten minutes... " and he was
gone in a gentle flutter of displaced air, bounding into the trees and
out of sight.
The two watched on as Hiei was gone before they knew it,
Kurama gingerly rubbing at his temple, looking nervously to the fortress.
"I don't think Hiei knows how long ten minutes is," he grumbled, taking
careful steps forward, continuing to rub at his temple.
Yo-mawari flipped the silver hair behind his shoulders
and picked up pace to join at Kurama's side. "Are you hurt?" he leaned
in, almost nose to nose with his brother, staring back into equally gold
eyes.
Youko Kurama snorted out a laugh and shoved his brother
playful in the chest, sending him stumbling back wards, falling onto his
rear in a burst of dust. "Nope," he smiled. "I was just waiting
for Chibi-hana's ki to hit me..." he frowned and looked up to the fortress
top, dropping his hand. "There must be a heavy ward over the fortress
if I can't feel her yet."
Yo-mawari brought himself back to his feet and sauntered
proudly over, knocking and elbow into Kurama's side, smiling. "So...
are we going in or what?"
Kurama smiled back over, swishing his tails around behind
him. "Race you to the second gate!"
The first gate was no problem. A simple barrier-spell
surrounded it preventing outside animals from wandering in... enough to
just jump over. Hiei kept himself well concealed as he flicked along
the edge of the path, coming closer to the second gate.
A handful of odd half-breed dogs snarled behind the gate
before him, suddenly aroused by his presence. They growled and began
digging at the heavy iron bars, drawing sparks to the ground, joining voices
in a deadly howl.
"Quiet you mongrels!" a deep voice snarled out of a tower
situated beside the gate, a pair of thin blue eyes sparking into
existence through the darkness of the tower kept neatly off to the side.
"Quiet now! There's no one there!"
Hiei crouched and waited, the gatekeeper quieting down
the dogs with a few long chains of sausage and meat scraps. He could
easily get past the horrid looking dogs... but the unseen figure in the
tower possessed a lot of power, surrounded by a tough, hard casing around
his entire body that blocked Hiei's senses, and even the Jagan from seeing
into his power reserves. He would be a bit more difficult to deal
with if the time came.
Easily, Hiei flicked to the other side of the path, drawing
out the katana... opening the Jagan. Quietly and undetected, he stepped
out onto the path and began forward, setting his glare on the tower.
Slowly, the tower crept forward as Hiei walked... shifting
the katana over and over in his hand. One of the dogs snarled loudly,
rising up to begin clawing at the gate viscously, barking and growling..
soon joined by the others.
"I said quiet! Be quiet you mangy..." the blue eyes
slid once again into view, fixing on Hiei and pausing roughly. "Who
are you! What do you want!!" he bellowed.
"I want in," Hiei spoke forcefully and lowly, growling
out the words in a more deadly tone that the dogs could muster. "You
have a woman staying here... Mukuro."
The blue eyes blinked and widened slightly. "Ahh..
you must be Hiei," the eyes laughed. "Hai.. the lady is expecting
you." The eyes slid closed and growled something to the dogs. They
quickly parted from the path as the gates swung open slightly allowing
just enough space for Hiei to pass. "Go right in. Guards will
take you to the lady's bed chamber.
Yeah, just what he wanted. Mukuro couldn't pick
someplace like an open hall or something to meet in... her bed chambers.
The little youkai kept a close eye on the dark recess of the tower as he
slipped in, quickly disappearing into the distance as he flicked along
the road and out of sight.
The man in the tower house laughed to himself as the gates
closed, throwing another chain of sausages to the dogs. "Good boys,"
he congratulated.
"NO FAIR!!! You got a head start!!!" someone
yelled beyond, a small dust cloud running quickly up the path to the main
gate.
The gateman slid his head out of the darkness, a wrinkled
and scaly thing, green and thin with age, the blue eyes glowing with fury
set deep within the face. The gates cracked open, the 6 or so half-breed
dogs running out and setting into position on the road.
"You whine too much, Kyodai-kun!" another voice floated
in.
Suddenly two youko's appeared out of the dark foliage,
hopping quickly onto the path and running, laughing and playing, darting
around trying to knock the other off their feet.
"HALT!!!" the gate keeper bellowed. "Halt or, I
send the dogs on you!"
The two youko's slid to a halt, bumping into each other,
stumbling around as they gained their footing, laughing silently.
One of them threw their arms around the other's shoulders, giggling and
trying to wrestle him down to the ground.
"Gods... more damn youkos," the gatekeeper snarled, retreating
back into the darkness. He shook his head and sighed. "What do you want?"
"Uh... well.." one of them laughed, fighting off the other
youko. "Actually, we were looking for a friend who just came through.
A little youkai, about so high," the youko held his hand up chest level
before swinging it around to swat at the twin at his side.
The other swatted back, hip-checking him, sending him
sprawling into a bush at the side of the path landing in a dull, dusty
plop, disappearing into the bush. "Yo-ma!"
"Heh... gomen nasai... I thought you'd have more balance
than that, Kyodai-san!!"
The gatekeeper groaned. "Stupids. Fine.
If you want to be that way... Get 'em, boys!"
Kurama leapt from the bush to his twin's side, and
the two continued to play around as the dogs closed in on them.... before
a sudden shower of rose petals shot out and surrounded the two youko's,
hanging obediently in the air.
"Fuuka Enbu-jin!" one of them yelled, tackling the other
flat to the ground, rolling him in the dust.
The rose petals swirled around them as they wrestled around,
slicing through the ground, the stone tower and whatever else they came
in contact with, namely the dogs. Quick work was made of them, showering
dying howls and whisps of blood around, slicing through the bodies time
and time again, shredding them to small, bloody pieces about the path.
Kurama rolled Yo-mawari... got him in a head lock...
"Are you two quite finished?" a raspy voice growled down
to them.
The green-skinned gatekeeper growled down at them, a giant
reaping scythe perched over his shoulder, the rose petals deflecting off
his body. He was clearly a golem... his sickening skin held the shimmer
of stone, scaley and impenetrable as the rose petals broke into pieces
on his skin.
"Uh oh... I think we're in trouble," Yo-mawari growled,
wiggling in the head-lock. "Think we should finish this later?"
"Remember... I was winning!"
"WERE NOT!!"
"WAS TOO!!"
"Shut up! Both of you!!
