Ashes V Chapter 13 : Always An Unlucky Number Jian ran harder and faster than he ever had in his entire life. Stumbling often, he noticed that the ground was becoming more and more uneven. A thick layer of dust covered the floor of the corridor, having laid undisturbed for at least a century. The good news was it meant the youkai never patrolled this area. The bad news was there was probably a very good reason why they did not. Where the hell am I? The oppressive darkness made him claustrophobic. He used his hands to feel the curving walls as he moved through the corridor, trying to ignore the tiny voice inside his head that told him to go back - better to have a chance of living in a prison than to throw one’s life away in the shadows. Nothing compared to moment when he realised that he could see a faint reddish light at the end of the tunnel. Staggering forward, he stepped on something that crunched when he put his full weight on it. Jian shuddered and tried not to imagine what it could be. Blinking, he stepped into the light and gaped. Before him was an elaborate, intricate maze that stretched as far as the eye could see… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a few more days Shurei would greet her 200th year - more than half of her life had been spent in Hitoare’s service. She knew him better than anyone alive, had loved him once when she was a young, idealistic female youkai who had never been beyond the boundaries of her village. That had been a long time ago…when her father was still alive, and she had a family to call her own. She surveyed her chamber with a faintly critical eye. It was small and functional - her only luxuries were the elegant tapestries that decorated the otherwise bare walls, and the thick luxurious carpeting that she had claimed from a raid. It was still much better that what she had been used to. Had it really been almost fifty years since she last returned home? She felt an odd sense of loss for that little youkai girl she had once been… Now, she was Shurei…whose very name struck fear in the hearts of people. She commanded a small army of youkai warriors and was answerable to only one - her lord and master…Hitoare. Closing her silver-blue eyes, Shurei considered the greatest problem that plagued her mind these days. She knew of Hitoare’s plan to use the Kokuryuha’s powers to conquer all of the Makai - it was a fine plan…theoretical. But she had been to the Ankoku Bujuutsukai, had seen first hand the kind of raw power they were facing. The three-eyed fire demon - Hiei - had only managed to summon the shadow of the Kokuryuha, not the dragon itself. And now, the dragon inhabited his body. Even without the Kokuryuha, she considered him dangerous…with it, he was a threat. She knew first-hand what a dragon spirit was capable of… It was madness. " Lady Shurei," one of her lieutenants interrupted her thoughts. He sounded hesitant, fearful. " Yes?" " Umm…the youko has escaped." " What?!!" Whirling around, she fixed her deadly gaze on the trembling officer. " How did this happen?" " He picked the lock of his cell, mistress." He cleared his throat. " The wolf-hounds have tracked him to the edge of the sacred grounds." " That’s good." The labyrinth would slow him down enough for them to catch up, unless of course, if one of the traps killed him first. " Order the youkai to go after him." The lieutenant exchanged nervous looks with his fellow officer. " They…they refuse to go into the labyrinth, mistress." " Then kill a few of them. The others should suddenly develop an urge to follow my orders." " Yes, mistress." He bowed and left hurriedly. " You." She gestured towards one of the cringing youkai that she particularly despised. " Inform Lord Hitoare of this new development." She knew, as well as anyone else present, it was a death sentence. She never did like that fawning, back-stabbing slug. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. If Jian died, his sisters would never hand over the Kokuryuha - Lian was too sharp to give Hitoare anything without the reassurance that her brother still lived. Maybe she had a chance to stop this madness before it destroyed them all. " I will be going after the youko myself," she told them, coldly. Then, something occurred to her. " Oh yes, I almost forgot. Who was on guard duty when the youko escaped?" The other officers discreetly edged away from one of their own. Shurei watched as the colour drained from his face leaving it pasty white - that was all the answer she needed. A flash of steel… The youkai was dead even before his body hit the ground. Sheathing her katana, Shurei stared distastefully at the spreading pool of blood soaking into her prized carpet. " Damn, I forgot. Have someone clean that up," she ordered. Pulling on her gloves, she strode to the door and prepared to face Hitoare. She had to find a way to stop this madness. Chapter 14 : This Place Is Not Big Enough For All of Us How they are moving : < Lian < Yuusuke < Rian < Kuwabara < Kurama < Hiei They were almost there…just a few more twists and turns through the narrow tunnels and over some swaying bridges. After some time in the depressing darkness and sweltering heat, the mind tended to shut down. Nevertheless, they plodded along, the awkward silence punctuated by occasional encouraging remarks from Youko Lian. Kuwabara kept his eyes trained on the ground, careful to test each board before he placed he full weight on it. He was mindful of the fact that he was the heaviest among all of them and that these bridges had been built a few centuries ago. It was a very nervous time for him. Kurama and Hiei trailed behind the rest of them, sometimes speaking in low tones so that the others could not catch the gist of their conversation. Even Kuwabara knew that something was upsetting the half-youko - Yuusuke looked guilty whenever Kurama looked his way and Hiei was giving everyone his best imitation of I’m-hating-the-world. It wasn’t like no one knew about their relationship, Kuwabara blushed at the thought - uncomfortable with the idea that anyone could like Hiei *that* much. Well, it’s none of my business what those two get up to in their spare time… Lian was about as uncomfortable as the big human but for different reasons - she had been trekking around this monstrosity for more than a day, her sweat-damp clothes stuck to her and her eyes strained to read the book in the minimal light. A flicker of moment in the far corner of the labyrinth caught her eye. Yuusuke apparently saw the same thing because his head jerked up in surprise. Immediately, their single-file line stopped dead in its tracks. " Company," he warned the others. A line of youkai emerged from one of the side tunnels led by a very attractive, dark-haired female who walked like she owned the place. *Their* line stumbled to a halt as soon as she caught sight of them. For quite awhile, they gaped at each other, thankfully separated by a good forty feet of empty space and lava below. Lian offered up another quick prayer to Inari. " Whoops?" She laughed weakly. " Imagine meeting you here…" The female youkai’s eyes widened, her hand clenched at the hilt of her katana. Yuusuke watched with a sinking heart as she took them all in - Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, the youko sisters and himself. Their planned sneak attack on Hitoare’s fortress was lost in that instant of recognition. " YOU!" She hissed impotently at them, glaring at the empty space between that lay in between. Whipping a dagger from her belt, she threw it at the nearest, most convenient target - Hiei. The warding runes under his shirt flared to life…the fire demon did not even blink as the dagger struck something solid inches from his face. It fell onto the bridge with a loud *clank* and Kurama picked it up, staring curiously at its bent tip. Shrugging, he tossed the ruined dagger away and watched it disappear into the lava. " Kokuryuha…" Shurei breathed, remembering the fire demon from the tournament. They had brought *him* here… " You’re famous, Hiei," Yuusuke quipped. There was another brief battle of lethal looks, but no one - not even Hiei, could hold it forever. Lian broke first, scrambling forwards as she dashed to the end of the bridge. In a split moment, everyone - human and youkai - was running… Chaos reigned supreme as Shurei’s side tried to reach them and Yuusuke’s team fled in the opposite direction. They were helped by the fact no one could make sense of the intricacy of the labyrinth. " Do you think we lost them?" Kuwabara panted, glancing over his shoulder. He could not see any of the enemy youkai - they had all disappeared into one of the tunnels. His question was answered almost immediately when a tiny, lethal-looking dart flew past his left shoulder and imbedded itself into the rope. He looked around, clenching his teeth in frustration, the bridge was too narrow for more than one person to stand on it - that it made fighting almost impossible. " Rei Ken!" He swung his spirit sword, almost taking off Kurama’s head. " Umm…sorry." " Idiot!" Hiei snarled. " Just RUN!" Their hurried footsteps made the bridge sway violently back and forth, some of its planks creaking ominously. Swallowing his nausea, Kuwabara jerked to one side as another dart struck the plank under his foot. The rain of darts stopped when Hiei used his newly-found Kokuryuha powers to set fire to the unfortunate youkai. Not to be left out, Kurama fed a few of them - the ones in front - to a carnivorous Makai plant. As soon as Yuusuke had reached the relative safety of the other side, he turned back to pull Rian over the last few steps. Looking up, he saw something that made the breath catch in his throat and his heart contract with fear. With her katana raised, Shurei looked into his eyes and gave him a cold, determined smile. She stood at the other end of the bridge, at the very place where the rope supports were pegged into the ground… Chapter 15 : Death of a Beloved Twang! Half-turning, Kurama felt the bridge give way underneath his feet. What the hell?…he gripped the rope as the bridge swayed like a drunken sailor out on his first night in a port. The silvery blue-eyed female youkai - Shurei raised her katana again, the edge of the steel blade gleaming in the faint light. There was a coldly determined look on her face - her gaze firmly fixed on Hiei. She had evidently recognised him. Why was she trying to kill them? Didn’t Hitoare want the fire demon alive in order to retrieve the Kokuryuha? Twang! The last supporting rope holding the bridge to her side of the ledge gave way under a flash of steel. Feeling the air rush pass his face, the half-youko tightened his hold on the rope. He tried to twist around in order to see how Hiei was hanging on but could not glimpse anything more than a flash of black behind him. They struck the side of the cliff with incredible force, sending small chunks of the bridge into the lava river below. As his hand slipped from the rope, Kurama slid a few metres before he jammed his arm between the planks and just held on for dear life. Gritting his teeth against the pain as the slivers of wood cut into his flesh, Kurama realised that there was no way the remaining supports on their side would be able to hold up the bridge and the three of them still hanging on. " Hiei, are you alright?" he yelled, pulling away enough to look down. The fire demon had lost his katana when the bridge slammed into the rocky cliff-side, sending the weapon spinning into the fiery abyss like a sliver of silver. However, that wasn’t the worst of his problems… Dangling upside-down, hanging on by a foot tangled up in the ropes, Hiei was attempting to pull himself upright. Each movement he made caused the unstable structure to sway unevenly. " Are you guys still there?" Kurama heard Yuusuke call out, worriedly. He looked up just in time to see Kuwabara’s feet disappearing over the ledge. A moment later Yuusuke’s anxious face appeared, staring down. " We’re going to form a human chain - it should be able to reach you. Can you grab Hiei?" Staring down past his feet, Kurama looked down at the fire demon, who was now mostly upright and holding on to one of the ropes as he tried to untangle his foot. Because Kurama had slid quite a ways down, he could almost reach out and touch Hiei’s spiky hair. " Hiei, take my hand." " K’so," he swore, tugging at the ropes. " Let me get loose first." " Burn it off," Kurama suggested. " Stupid fire retardant…" " Then, cut it off." He reached for his thorn dagger…belatedly realising that he had lost it when they hit the side. " Damn it. Hurry up, Hiei." Looking back up, he saw Yuusuke slowly being lowered, head first, over the side of the ledge. The reddish glow of the fiery death that awaited them below was reflected in his eyes. " Yuusuke," he heard Rian’s high pitch voice call out in panic. Twang! The first of the last two supports snapped out of its peg. The entire bridge sagged to one side, almost sending Yuusuke plunging into the inferno below. The human yelled out in fright, the colour draining from his handsome features. Luckily, whoever was holding onto his ankles did not let go. " Hiei." The fear was very real now. " Hurry up!" There was no answer from below as the unstable bridge shook with each tug and pull that Hiei made. " Grab my hand," Yuusuke gritted out. The blood pooling in his head was making him dizzy and his legs were becoming numb. Taking it, the half-youko twisted backwards, holding out his own hand to the struggling fire demon. " Are you ready?" He could hear Kuwabara panting from the exertion of holding him up. " Hurry up, I don’t think the ropes will hold much longer." With a shiver of foreboding, Kurama noticed that the bridge no longer shook from Hiei’s attempts to free himself. Looking down, he found the fire demon staring up at him with the strangest expression in his crimson eyes - one that Kurama had never seen before… " Grab my hand," Kurama told him. " We don’t have much time left." Reaching out, Hiei let his fingers curve around the half-youko’s wrist. Eyes darkening, he stroked a gentle thumb across Kurama’s palm. His touch was oddly tender, like a lover’s caress…saying goodbye. Realising now that something was very wrong, Kurama felt his heart skip a beat as he lifted his emerald eyes to stare at his lover’s oddly resigned face - as if he had accepted something that he could not hope to change… As that moment in time stretched to an eternity, Kurama’s desperate gaze was held by the fire demon’s calm blood-red ones. In that instant, Hiei tried convey, with a single glance, every thought and feeling he had for that infuriating, annoying…loveable creature that had claimed his heart long before he had ever realised that he *had* a heart to lose. Then, regretfully, he released the fox’s hand and leaned away so that he was out of his reach. " No," Kurama breathed. " No…" Hiei’s foot was still entangled in the ropes. Twang! Lunging, Kurama made a wild grab…not caring whether he lived or died, only knowing that he could not continue without the best thing to ever come into both his lives…and caught nothing but the breath of butterfly wings - Hiei’s hair, brushing against his fingertips. And then, he was gone.