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Um .... tissue, anyone?? Perhaps two????
YOMATSU HARA-SAKAI: THE BOUNDS
OF NIGHT: PART 8
by Korogi
Japanese vocabulary:
akuma - an evil spirit, devil
Hoseki no Yami - the Jewel of Life
kappa - demons resembling scally monkeys
ningen - humans
yokai - demon
Yo-mawari - night watchman, guardian
Yomatsu Hara-Sakai - in Japanese legends, it's
the boundaries of
the Lands of Night
------
The forest seemed to stretch on forever
in every direction around them as Yo-mawari placed Yusuke carefully down
to stand in the forest floor in a section he seemed to pick out from memory.
Yusuke glared up at the man, feeling embarrassed at having to have been
carried. He gathered his ego and took a step forward, much to confidently.
Without warning, his legs gave way beneath him, sending him tumbling down
on Hiei.
The little youkai easily caught
him before he was flatened, helping him down to the ground with a grumble,
glaring him down.
"Well ... now that THAT'S all over
with, would you mind explaining who you are and why you're helping us?"
Kurama asked, turning accusing eyes to the man. He looked the man
over carefully ... long black hair, mysterious black eyes ... if it wasn't
for the obvious demon characteristics, the two could pose as brothers.
They stood equally as tall and held each on with the same, equal glare.
"I am Yo-mawari, the guardian of
Yomatsu Bounds." He smiled, bowing his head from Kurama's glaring
eyes ... a sort of
crooked smile escaping his mouth as he did.
"Now, I helped you, so it's only right that you help me." He snapped his
fingers as he rose . "I am the keeper of the Hoseki no Yami..." Heglanced
over to Yusuke. "...that gem you have that was stolen from me by
the tengu." Yusuke reached into his pocket and pulled out the glowing
jewel, looking it over.
"Defender? There's only one
of you?" Kuwabara asked.
"Yomatsu only NEEDS one. As
you saw from the yosei, Yomatsu people can very much fend for themselves.
Unlike the ningens."
Yusuke turned the jewel over in
his hand, feeling the radiant ki it put out. He looked up and tossed
it over to the man. "Then
take it ... and stay the hell out of Ningenkai,
okay!"
Something growled off behind them
and the group turned to see two figures .. a kappa and an akuma, each blocking
escapes
into the forest. The akuma was ghastly
in form, occassionaly blinking transparent ... and the kappa stood hunched
on scally legs, looking like a large fur-less monkey.
... And Kurama recognized the forest
plot ... the same circular field where he was attacked and poisoned by
the tengu earlier in the journey.
Yo-mawari pocketed the gem
carefully with a smile, looking around at his demon followers. "I
suppose you want to go back to your own realms now, ne?"
"Would be nice," Koenma put in.
"We gave you what you wanted .. now, give us what we want."
"But why? ... when I can have so
much more!" The group all stopped in their various possitions, turning
to stare theman down. He smiled, leaning up against a tree.
" Here, I have the son of the great King Enma ... I'm sure to be paid handsomely
for you!" Koenma met him with a glare and
tightened. "And your female friends back in Ningenkai," he motioned
to Yusuke
and Kuwabara " ... I'm sure they would
.... "
"COWARD!!" Kuwabara hissed, stepping
forward, menacingly.
"I'm just doing my job." He
motioned to the two demons in back of the group. "Finish them off."
"Great, not again," Kuwabara groaned,
calling up the spirit sword, joining ranks with the others. Behind
them, Yusuke shuffled to his feet, only to go stumbling backwards back
to the ground.
And a new battle commenced...
"This is so damn ridiculous!"
Yusuke cursed to himself as he once again struggled to gain painful balance,
steadying himself on his knees. His body felt like flimsy rubber
as he made attempts to stand, bending at odd places. He settled
to regain his composure, watching Kuwabara and Kurama team up against the
kappa, neither one producing more than a few scrapes.
He cursed as his chest ached, watching
the battle go on equally matched between the two sides. How could
this be? They had NEVER come up against beings that possessed
so much power and energy. Not since Joto.
Hiei flew past his vision, engaged
in full combat with the akuma. The little body shot around
like a black lightning bolt,
Yusuke's eye's refusing to follow his flights.
Yusuke's eyes caught Yo-mawari, leaned up casually on a tree, watching
the
battle with a grin. Slowly and painfully,
Yusuke picked himself to his feet, forcing his body to obey, and stumbled
across the battlefield, watching the man in black watching him.
Yo-mawari smiled slightly as Yusuke
staggered over and cornered him on the tree. "What the hell are you
doing this for? It was YOU who invaded Ningenkai and opened the demon-world
doors."
He shrugged. "So? What,
do you want an apology? HA!! Ningen hybrid that you are ...
I know your histories ... I've
followed your conquests throughout the realms.
But it's not YOU I came for," he pointed a long slender finger down to
Yusuke's nose.
Yusuke stood puzzled, trying to
gather what little ki he had. "I don't understand."
Yo-mawari pointed from Yusuke's
scratched nose to the akuma in fierce competition with Hiei and Koenma.
"The little youkai ... he's quite an interesting character, and quite adorable
to boot. Someone with speed and power such as him can be
very useful to me ... so I intend to have him."
Yusuke glared the man down. "Not
only will you have to get past me, you'll have to get by Kurama, too."
"The woman?" he tossed his
head back to the tree trunk and laughed. "I think She'll pose no
threat."
" 'She's ' no 'she' at all ... nor
is 'she' completely ningen."
"You mean the kitsune?" He snorted,
watching Yusuke's expression. "I know her powers ... Don't make me
laugh!" Yo-
mawari pushed himself away from the tree, motioning
Yusuke back. He snapped his fingers and the kappa and akuma disappeared
in a flurry of dark energy, leaving the team stumbling at the sudden loss
of opponents.
"Nani ... OI!
Where'd he go?" Kuwabara yelled, scanning nervously around the make-shift
arena.
All eyes turned instantly to Yo-mawari
and the gang all rushed over.
"You ... " Yo-mawari pointed to
Hiei as they all converged. "I challenge you .. and only you to a
duel. Win, and you and your friends leave and I never step foot out of
Yomatsu Hara-Sakai for all eternity. Lose ... and the consequences
are unimaginable by your standards.
"WHAT??" Kurama paniced, reaching
out to grap Hiei by the shoulder. The little shoulder wiggled from
his grasp quickly,
facing Yo-mawari.
"Bastard!" Kuwabara yelled.
"That's why you sent your goons on us .. to wear us down for an easy victory!"
Hiei stood stone still, not a hint
of expression on his face. He stared back at Yo-mawari flatly.
"If you think we're going to agree
to this ridiculous deal ... "
"It matters not if YOU agree, woman
... it matter if the youkai agree's." he glanced over to Hiei, smiling.
"Well, little one?"
Hiei growled deeply, still no expression
on his face. His brow twitched slightly as he rolled the words through
his head,
checking his own power levels. He knew,
as well as all the others, that he couldn't hope to win a battle with his
energy nearly gone. But it was more pride and honor he concerned
himself with now.
"Your answer?"
"Hiei," Yusuke said, tapping him
on the shoulder. "We can find our own way out. Botan's gathering
back-up as we speak."
"He's right," Kurama added.
"You don't need to do this ..."
"I accept," the youkai said boldly.
Botan flew right threw Koenma's
office and right into George, plowing the monster into the wall.
"Where's the fire, Death?" he cursed,
removing his rear end from a trash can.
"It's the guys!!!!" she yelled in
his face.
Hiei moved quickly ...
but Yo-mawari blocked every attempt easily, smiling and exiting a playful
yawn, easily sidestepping
every blow like child's play. He made his
first attack, throwing out one of the shuriken at the youkai.
Hiei dodged easily, blinking to
a nearby tree ... then quickly whipping around the circle of trees, the
shuriken following him at every juncture. Hiei's body somehow refused
to obey the simple laws of physics and gravity as he whipped around, appearing
crouched upside, hanging under branches, possitioned horizontally in the
trunks of the trees ... Slowly the shuriken
began to tire as the chase continued, finally
clammering helplessly to the hard ground below, exhausted.
Hiei needed more time ... more time
to gather his energy for a full assault. He would need at least an
hour ... an hour he had no chance of getting.
Yo-mawari laughed loudly, tossing
off a smile. "Don't wear yourself down too much, little one.
Than I can't have my fun with you."
"SHUT UP!!" Hiei boomed, his deep
bass rattling the forest. With spead of the wind, he zig-zagged from
tree to tree, disorienting Yo-mawari. The man turned in circles,
trying to keep frantic eyes on Hiei.
And the youkai found his opening...
Hiei lept from a nearby tree and
planted the katana firmly in the man's upper leg, leaping back to safety
before Yo-mawari
could react.
The tall man cursed loudly, stumbling
back, immediately planting a healing spell on his leg. "Damn
you, demon! I'm loosing patience here!" he yelled to the tree-tops,
holding his leg. The rest of the shurikens exploded from his pockets,
Hiei once again easily leading them on a wild goose-chase around the circle
of trees.
Kurama clenched the colar of
his tattered shirt, a red light spilling out between his fingers.
"He can't keep this up much longer," he whispered, more to himself.
Aside from him, Yusuke leaned heavily
on Koenma's shoulders. "You're right ... but there's nothing we can
do!"
Hiei's ki-blast echoed through the
forest as the field before them erupted into sporadic rasps of fire, leaving
intricate patterns on the dead grass, spilling a burnt smell into the atmosphere.
Kurama felt it before Yusuke ...
the sudden drop in you-ki that radiated from the battle. "Oh no ..
he's out of energy."
Hiei reeled back, drained completely.
Above him, Yo-mawari smiled, wiping a single drop of sweat from his forehead.
"Give up, little one?"
Hiei growled his response, being
inaudible to the man. But the just of it was an obvious 'no', and
he leapt, fangs barred and
temper raging.
... the rest knew plain well to keep their distance
as they watched helplessly as the battle began again.
"He's going to kill himself," Kurama
whined, chewing on a fingernail. "Why is he doing this?"
"Need you ask?" Yusuke put
in , leaning over. "He's doing this for you," he whispered.
"He couldn't give a rats ass about
the rest of us."
Kurama shot him a look. "I .. I
know ... but ... but ... "
The heavy clang of swords
and Hiei's fearsome yells floated back up to them as Hiei leapt back and
planted his feet firmly in
the earth. He stood stone-still, fists
clenched and eyes closed, seeking out the ki around him.
"He's not ... " Kurama whispered,
stumbling forward to watch the small figure. Nothing changed ...
no rises in ki level could be detected ... such an attack without proper
reserves could level the boy, and possibly the entire team as well.
"He can't .. he'll kill himself." Kurama whispered. He felt his heart
race as he looked on, bringing his hands up to his face. "HIEI!!
DON'T!!!"
Yo-mawari walked calmly forward.
"It looks like you and your friends are now mine to do with as I see fit."
He smiled playfully down to the yokai as the red eyes opened on him ...
it was the same playful smile Kurama had always given him on
those cold nights he would sneak into Kurama's
bedroom ... the same smile he saw when Hiei would royally screw up and
make a random fool out of himself... that same, beautifull smile that made
his non-existent heart beat like ...
Hiei's rage grew, watching the man
before him. His very skin began to burn with an unseen fire ... a
new level of anger
emerging. He felt the heat draw power back
into his body ... it was an odd sort of power he had never felt before,
but he didn't care if his body could cope with it or not.
"Hit a nerve, did I?" Yo-mawari
mused, twirling his long black hair about his finger, childishly.
Hiei's mind flashed ... seeing himself
standing over a large fountain in a park he had just destroyed in one of
his fits of rage.
Kurama stood tall aside from him, twirling a
lock of red hair around his finger and smiling to keep from laughing.
"Struck a nerve, did I?" Kurama's voice floated in ...
Hiei's rage grew again and
the aura surrounding him roared as the man stopped to stand over him, reaching
out to stroke the
soft skin of the yokai's face.
Kurama stumbled forward, almost
reading Hiei's thoughts. "Idiot .. you'll kill yourself!" he screamed.
"Hiei! Don't do it! Hiei! I swear to the gods if you
..."
"JAOH-ENSATSU-RENGOKU SHOU!" Hiei
drew back his arms and punched the man full-force in the stomach before
him, a raging fire sparking immediately to engulf half the field in and
instant, hiding all view of the attack given by the yokai.
The team was blown back from the
sudden dump of non-existent energy, landing in a huge pile just at its
rim.
"What the hell was that!!!" Yusuke
yelled, shielding his face from the raging column of fire that rose skyward
in the center of
the field. Out of the corner of his eye
he saw Kurama recover and turn to the field ...
"HIEI!!!! NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"
he bellowed, trying to climb franctically to his feet.
Yusuke reached over and wrestled
the tall man back to the ground, pining him down to the green grass below.
"You can't
go out there ... you'll be fried in an instant!"
"I don't care .. let me go!!"
A second blast leveled the trees
behind them, flattening them to the ground as they all ducked. The
wave burnt the very air
above them and anything else it came in contact
with ... but never so much as singed the group. Instead it pushed
down on top of them, like a giant load of sand.
And all fell silent in a sudden
burst of nothingness, leaving a slowly dying column of fire in the center
of the field.
Silence.
Kurama staggered to his feet breaking
from Yusuke's hold and began toward the dying column, feeling the tears
begin to well
up in his eyes. The heat made his skin
ache and crawl as he raised his hands to shield his face, the last column
dying off in wisps of fire and smoke.
Before him, a perfectly circular
patch of charred earth and grass cut the field ... and laying in the middle
was a small, burnt
body, lying completely motionless.
Kurama was to the circle and on
his knees in an instant, staring down at the burnt, char-streaked face
of Hiei, a single tear
escaping Kurama's face to ping on the boy's noise.
The red eyes opened on him, blood
shot and almost lifeless, staring back up at Kurama in a blank stare, totally
without emotion.
Kurama gently took the boy up in
his arms, drawing Hiei's body to him. "What happened?" Kurama whispered,
wiping back tears.
"... don't know ..." Hiei choked,
still unmoving.
"Don't leave me," he sobbed quietly,
burying his face down into the charred, black hair. "Please, don't
leave me."
Hiei groaned, but said nothing,
going limp in the mans arms. He felt himself slipping from this existence,
though it was taking
alot longer than he thought it would. "I'm
.. sorry ..." he added feebly, his heated breath running down Kurama's
neck to chill
him to the bone.
"Hiei, no ... no ..." Kurama squeezed
the frail shoulders tightly. "Hiei, you're stronger than this.
Don't give up. Don't go."
"I have to."
"NO YOU DON'T!!" Kurama screamed,
bursting and convulsing as he began to cry, gathering Hiei up further in
his arms, trying to steal him away from the inevitable. Like a tattered
rag doll, Hiei hung in the arms, searching through his mind to put order
to the chaos that these new emotions started bringing him. He tried
to raise his arms ... to fling them around Kurama's shoulders ... but this
body rebelled painfully, shooting waves of suffering through the broken
body.
Yusuke was the first of the group
to get to Kurama, reaching forward and wrapping his arms around Kurama's
shoulders. Between the four of them, they couldn't hope to gather
enough energy to keep Hiei alive. Instead he tried to comfort Kurama,
looking past the red hair to the tiny body he
coveted close to his heart. He stared up at the tree tops, looking
completly dead.
The only sign that there would still be life
in the tiny body was an occasional gasp for air, or the fluttering of the
blood-shot eyes.
Kuwabara bend down, he too
wrapping his arms around Kurama, as did Koenma, forming a network of arms
wrapped around the two.
Kurama choked and sobbed under the
cradling arms, tears streaming in great rivers down to mingle and clear
out flesh-
toned paths on Hiei's lifeless face. "Why
... " he whispered. "Why him?" his voice cracked into another sob.
Hiei's eyes fluttered shut for a
moment, blinking the burning from them. With his body crushed, his
life burned and his soul
escaping into the abyss, he could do nothing
but lie there, paralyzed, despite every effort he put into it. He forced
his eyes
back open only to stare back at Kuwabara's face,
his eyes pressed shut, crying over Hiei's broken body.
"Kurama ... " Hiei managed, feeling
his body being shifted as Kurama turned to look down to his red, wild eyes
... though
now, they seemed like lonly rubies shinning vacant
and cold through a red-streaked background. Kurama forced back
another sob, looking down on Hiei with what ever
smile he could manage. Hiei stared back up at the brilliant green
eyes,
searching confused at the man's expression.
"Why ... why are your faces wet?"
Kurama broke down, collapsing down
on Hiei, digging his fingers into the tiny, torn shirt. The body
began to go
transparent as Hiei began to die off from existence,
clothing and all ... He heard Hiei whisper through his mind ... a whisper
only
he could hear. " ... I love you ... " it
echoed softly and sweetly despite the deep, bass-tone ... and Hiei's body
disappeared.
Kurama's arms folded in on himself
as he reached to grasp anything to hold onto. Instead, he found Yusuke's
shoulders and
collapsed ... passing out of consciousness,
heart crushed, mind screaming into the blackness for any hope that Hiei
could still be alive.
He found none.
In a flash, the group disappeared
from the Yomatsu forest ....
.... and landed who knows where.
"OH MY GOD!!!!"
Karyn, Yukina and Keiko sat over
them in the middle of a bed back in New York, dusk streaking the sky to
a fiery red outside the bedroom windows..
---To be continued ---
(c) 1997 by Jiminy Cricket Presses
