Ashes VII Chapter 19 : The Dark Side of Temptation Hiei was being hunted. Ducking into a darkened corner, the fire demon tried not to trip over the overly baggy pants he had ‘appropriated’ from one of Hitoare’s men. His attention was barely concentrated on his perilous situation, but rather, on the conflicting personalities of the Kokuryuha and himself. Alien urges and instincts battled with his own as he tried to decide what to do next. …let them burn… " Shut up," he hissed. The Kokuryuha refused to be silenced. Since his plunge into the lava river, its voice was becoming insistent, more *compelling* . He remembered falling, feeling the air rush pass him and the blurring cliff sides. As he struck the surface of the liquid fire with enough force to knock him unconscious, his last thought had been one of regret…mourning the fact that he would not live long enough to see Yukina again, that he had spent only short year of his considerable life-span with that incorrigible fox of his and sadness that he had never told Kurama that he… He must have regained consciousness shortly after sinking into the lava because he awoke surrounded by the thick, swirling liquid. Unreasonable, animal panic made him kick desperately for the surface as the viscous mass tried to squeeze the air from his lungs. It was a good few moments after he reached the top, gasping for breath, that he realised he wasn’t dead - the lava felt no warmer than a cool spring. The Kokuryuha had saved him. Had he cheated death just to live the rest of his life as a living/undead puppet of the dragon spirit? Hiei avoided the disturbing question, it was enough that he was alive *now* . No matter what happened in the future, he had been given a chance and he was going to make it count. Now, if only he could find the others… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you were Hiei, where would you go?" Yuusuke posed the question to the one person who knew the fire demon best, in more ways than one. " I would go somewhere that I had already been - a place that I knew, inside and out, to avoid any traps or to lay a few for those who were hunting me." The half-youko tapped his fingers against his thigh. " That could be anywhere we passed up until the point Hiei fell into the river." The human eyed him carefully, wondering if he should broach the subject of Hiei’s last request. The very fact that he had survived the burning lava, something he could not have normally done, meant that the Kokuryuha’s hold on him was growing stronger. While Kurama clung to his fragile hope, Yuusuke secretly asked himself - who would pose the greater threat to them, Hitoare or Ryu-Hiei? The thought of facing a raging black dragon was a lot less attractive than battling a few hundred blood-thirsty youkai. " Some place he could control, manipulate easily…" Yuusuke snapped his fingers. " Remember that cavern oasis we passed - the one with a networking tunnels and lots of space." " It was the one with the stream running through it." Yuusuke added, seeing Kurama’s puzzled look. " And the weird Makai fungi growing on the banks." " Yes…" Hiei would certainly go there. The open spaces provided enough places to fight, unlike the narrow ledges and tunnels that comprised most of the labyrinth. And added bonus was the multitude of tunnels that opened into the cavern oasis on several different levels giving the fire demon plenty of chances to set his ambush as well as the familiarity of being able leap from one criss-crossing ledge to another…just like home. Kurama’s thoughts were interrupted by Jian’s tapping on his shoulder. " Nani?" " Just a thought - how do *we* get there?" The half-youko turned to Jian’s older sister with a questioning look. Lian was studying her map of the labyrinth, frowning furiously at the spidery sketchings on the paper. With a sinking heart, Kurama asked, " Just how lost are we?" " Let me put it this way - the blind are leading the blind on this one." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He watched them scurry about like insignificant insects on the sidewalk, all of them searching for him but none of them spotting him perched on a shadowed ledge just above the stream that ran through the cavern oasis. He wrinkled his nose - a faint pungent smell of rotting eggs wafted up from the numerous hot pools that dotted the rocky cavern floor. Waiting…for one of the youkai to separate from his hunting party and go off on his own. Hiei needed a weapon, something more than a crude rock, preferably sharp and made of steel. He did not want to use his youki, or the Kokuryuha’s powers - tempting fate, Kurama would call it. Nothing was going to prevent him with reuniting with his fox, not even that malevolent dragon spirit so intent in claiming sole possession of his body and mind. Leaning forward, the fire demon’s eyes were drawn to a small commotion at one of the tunnel mouths below him. A male youkai, obviously a leader of some sort - no one could mistaken all that grovelling around him or his disdainful arrogance for anything else, was speaking to one of the hunters. What had attracted Hiei’s attention was the steel mask he wore that covered half his face. Then, noticing the female youkai who stood behind him with a recently split lip, Hiei let out an angry hiss. " Shurei…" Anger filled his blood with a fiery rage - the one who had almost killed him…and Kurama. His last image of the half-youko was the nightmarish vision of Kurama as he lunged hopelessly for Hiei’s hand, uncaring of his own peril. It would haunt him for the rest of his life - how close Kurama had come to death while trying to save him… the pain in his emerald eyes, his cry of loss… The sound of hope dying. …let her burn… Unbidden, the curling, seductive flames of the Kokuryuha’s power ran up his clenched fist. …let her burn… It felt *good* . The Kokuryuha whispered dark treats to him in his mind, promising sweet retribution and the drugging rush of pure power that he had longed for all his life… …let her burn… " Yes," he whispered. Chapter 20 : Confrontation Kuwabara peered doubtfully at the dark, uncertain depths of the slow-moving stream. " Are you sure this is the only way?" he whined, giving Lian a hang-dog look. Wincing, Yuusuke stepped into the shockingly icy water. " Come on, Kuwabara, don’t be chicken. It’s just some cold water." He shivered, feeling the tiny frigid pin-pricks stab painfully at his warm flesh. " Look on the bright side, at least we don’t have to climb any more bridges." " This is the most direct way to the oasis, other than the one we took. *That’s* out of the question unless one of you can fly." The water came up to her waist, swirling around her as it sought to drag her slight form under into its murky depths. " Inari, this is damned cold. You’d expect it to be warm considering that this is a volcano." " This ‘volcano’ hasn’t made a dust cloud in over six hundred years, Lian. The stream probably comes from melted snowfall near the top." Rian let out a pained hiss as she climbed into the stream. Her twin gave her a sympathetic look as he stood in the moving water, waiting for her. " Let’s go then." Because they were moving with the natural flow of the stream, they made much better progress than Yuusuke had hoped for. Most of their energy went into keeping warm, using short bursts of youki to bring back the feeling to their cold-numbed limbs. Even with this unusual method, Rian and Jian were shivering badly before long - Kuwabara looked just as bad, even though he manfully tried to hide it. " How far left?" Yuusuke’s voice echoed eerily in the low-roofed tunnel. " About half a league." The three of them made odd whimpering sounds. Grinning, Kurama flicked his tail irritably, trying to keep it from getting wet. The fact that he was the tallest among them, about seven feet, was giving him a crick in the neck as he avoided the low-hanging stalactites. At least he was warmer in this form than he would be in Minamino Shuuichi’s human body. They travelled in companionable silence for the rest of the way, interrupted only by occasional plaintive cries of, " Are we there yet?" from the three who suffered the most. " Are we…?" Rian broke off suddenly. " Do you guys hear something?" There were faint sounds of fighting, screams of the dying and a peculiar whooshing sound that Yuusuke did not recognise. " Looks like Hiotare’s people have already found Hiei." They heard a loud splashing as two bedraggled youkai emerged from around the corner, running desperately from whatever was behind them. The fear in their glazed eyes stopped the others dead in their tracks. Uncaring of their presence, the youkai stumbled towards them. " Turn back!" one of them cried out. " There’s nothing out there but death!" " They’ve definitely met Hiei," Kuwabara mumbled to Rian. There was that strange whooshing sound again. " What the hell is that?" Jian asked, trying to peer past the sharp corner. " Death!" one of the youkai screamed. Yuusuke saw it first - the faint glow of reddish gold lighting up the dark tunnel, the surge hot air stirring his black hair, the bright sparks of flying embers…the descent of fiery death as it exploded, consuming everything in its path. " Everyone DOWN!!" Sucking in a deep breath, he plunged fully into the cold water as the fire storm swept over the entire cave, instantly incinerating the two unfortunate youkai and whoever else was unlucky enough to be in its way. In the blurry underwater world, he watched as everything disappeared in an orange flash. As quickly and as unexpectedly as it had come, the storm passed over them…and dissipated, leaving behind nothing more than a few glowing ashes and the trace of Kokuryuha’s youki in the burnt air. " Shit, what was *that* ?" Kuwabara gasped, wiping the water from his hair and eyes. " The Kokuryuha." The nightmare had begun… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When they emerged from the tunnel, a scene of carnage greeted their eyes. Hiei’s slight figure was barely visible among the hordes of youkai who circled him, their weapons were ready but their faces displayed varying expressions of uncertainty and fear. The bodies of their comrades who had led the attack on the fire demon littered the ground around him, some charred beyond recognition while others had been reduced to ashes. " Shurei, where are you? You and I have something to discuss," Hiei’s snarling voice carried to the farthermost corners of the cavern. A sudden spurt of flame reduced a nearby youkai into a walking bonfire. His eyes were wild, inhuman - more like the Kokuryuha’s glowing orbs than his usual cold look. " Get him!" someone shouted. As a single body, the youkai horde took a step forward, hoping to overwhelm this terrifying little fire demon with their advantage of sheer numbers. Hiei gave them a nasty half-smile. With a brief surge of the Kokuryuha’s youki, he sent a fan of deadly black flames to push back the encroaching youkai. Those who did not manage to jump back in time died at the feet of their luckier companions. For awhile, the battle scene was one of chaos as the youkai broke ranks and scattered like mice facing an army of cats. Hiei ignored them, coldly contemptuous of their cowardice. " Hiei!" The fire demon looked up - Yuusuke watched the rage drain away from his taut features when those familiar crimson eyes fell on Kurama. Whatever the Kokuryuha’s hold on him, it vanished as soon as he saw the half-youko… the blazing, dark flames that outlined his slender form flickered and disappeared. " Kurama…" He stood there as the youko bounded towards him, with bright eyes and a huge smile. His face had a pleasant shocked expression on it when Kurama wrapped long, slender arms around his neck and kissed him - hard, not giving a damn about their audience. Jian lifted a curious eyebrow as Kuwabara made strangling sounds in the background. While Yuusuke politely shifted his glance away, the youko sisters watched, giggling between themselves. " What was *that* for?" the fire demon asked when, at last, he could speak. " That was ‘welcome back’ and I’m glad you’re not dead. Where did you get those hideous clothes from? " " Baka. You know it’ll take more than a dip in a river of lava to kill me." Absently, Hiei flamed a youkai who was getting too close. " Actually, the Kokuryuha doesn’t seem so bad after all. I seem to be able to control…" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shurei watched their reunion, her face twisting with frustration and bitterness. To have come so far only to be thwarted at the last moment…the Kokuryuha had to die - there was no other way. Nuryko had been a child when the dragon spirit claimed her body, without training and possessed of minimal youki…wherein Hiei was a fighter, part of the team that had won the Ankoku Bujuutsukai. When combined with the Kokuryuha’s powers, he would undoubtedly conquer all the Makai and Ningenkai…if the Kokuryuha did not drive him insane first… " Mistress, what do we do now?" One shot - all she needed was one shot. Lifting the crossbow, Shurei took aim… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hiei’s body suddenly jerked forward, slamming into Kurama and sending the both of them tumbling onto the ground. " Hiei, what…" He looked from Hiei’s crouched form to where Shurei who stood on one of the ledges opposite them, lowering her empty crossbow, a cold smile playing on her face. The fire demon slowly straightened, leaving a spreading red stain on Kurama’s white robes. The crossbow bolt had gone partway through him and left a nasty gash on the half-youko’s right thigh. " Damn," Hiei murmured faintly, staring at the wicked bolt protruding from his chest, having missed his heart by scant inches. " I’ll have to kill her soon." " Don’t *move* ." His hands fluttered uselessly around the crossbow bolt, not daring to remove it but unable to bear seeing it there. " Dear Inari…don’t you *dare* die on me now." " I’m not going to die." Gasping with each painfully breath, Hiei looked at Yuusuke, reminding him of the promise he had made a few days ago. The Kokuryuha wasn’t going to let him die, it needed his body too much for allow that to happen. Already, the dark flames were licking at the edge of his boots, travelling upwards to coil about his entire frame. " Listen to me, fox." He hated seeing the unshed tears in those golden eyes. " I need to tell you something…before…I swore it wasn’t going to end like the last time…" Unable to continue, he just kissed Kurama softly, cupping his face with gentle hands, wishing he could get the words pass the lump in his throat. Then he shoved the half-youko away from him and fell to the ground. " Run…" The flickering darkness must have impaired his vision and hearing because he could have sworn he heard Kurama complete the words… The Kokuryuha rose up to claim him. Chapter 21 : The Test He never had any doubt that Ryu-Hiei would be a creature of great beauty. As it rose from the dark flickering flames that had consumed the fire demon’s smaller form, each black scale glistened like a highly polished mirror in the ruddy light of the cavern, and its perfect ruby eyes, so like Hiei’s, burned with the unnatural fire of the Kokuryuha’s youki. Slender, sinewy, infinitely graceful…it was Darkness reincarnate. Only one feature marred that all unrelieved black - a single white starburst on the dragon’s forehead, proving somehow that the fire demon was still *there* , buried under the Kokuryuha’s overwhelming personality. " We’re in very deep trouble," he heard Yuusuke mutter to himself. Limping slightly from the gash in his thigh, Kurama stumbled towards all of them, at the same time keeping a wary eye on Ryu-Hiei. It isn’t everyday your best-friend and lover turns into a fire-breathing monster of fairy tales… " I’m not leaving him here," he told the others stubbornly. " Jeez, Kurama, it’s not like there’s anything here that can actually hurt him." Kuwabara sounded horrified and fascinated at the same time - Yuusuke could relate to him, there was just something terrifying about losing your very identity to a dragon spirit and at the same time, there was an almost sickening allure to the idea of being able to shed your own form for another, especially one as majestic as that of a dragon. Whether in spirit or reality, the Kokuryuha seemed to have inherited a certain fire demon’s bad temper. As soon as it had broken free of its birthing fires, it sent a deadly throw of flames towards a bunch of fleeing youkai, melting the walls red-hot and leaving behind scattered piles of ashes. " Into the stream, everyone! It should lead out of the volcano." Lian slowly backed away from the raging Ryu-Hiei, keeping her steps measured and as unobtrusive as possible. The black dragon was finishing off the remainder of Hitoare’s forces who had not managed to get away in time. Ryu-Hiei swung away from the scurrying youkai, they were too few of them left to hold his destructive attentions…except maybe that small group of six who were evidently trying to escape by way of the stream that ran through the cavern. " I think it has noticed us…" Rian murmured fearfully. Her twin wrapped protective arms around her, remembering how the two youkai they had met in the tunnels had died. If Ryu-Hiei willed it, there would be no escaping it. The half-youko shifted back to his human form, abandoning his youko guise for the more familiar look of Minamino Shuuichi. Ryu-Hiei watched the transformation, hypnotised like a snake charmer’s victim. Taking a step forward, he placed himself in the direct path of the black dragon and his friends. " Are you insane, Kurama?" Rian hissed. " It’ll kill you." Ryu-Hiei regarded the impertinent human with a baleful gaze. Who did he think he was? Opening its maw, it exhibited rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth and let out a roar that echoed throughout the empty tunnels of the labyrinth. Then, it lowered its head until they were eye-to-eye; emerald and crimson. The human did not flinch under its burning gaze, instead his expressive face softened. Reaching out a tentative hand, he laid it against the white starburst decorating the dragon’s forehead. " Hiei, come back…" It reared back, the sudden movement causing the sharp protrusions near its head to cut into the human’s hand. Flinching slightly, Kurama watched blood well up from between his fingers and drip to the ground. " Whatever you think you’re doing…it’s not working." Horrified, Yuusuke watched Ryu-Hiei get ready to breath fire down on that stubborn youko’s head. " Dammit, Kurama! Get out of its way!" Kurama ignored him. " It doesn’t have to be this way. You can control the Kokuryuha… HIEI!" If there was some part of the fire demon still in control of the dragon, then it would respond - if not, then Kurama would die. Either way, he had nothing to lose. Ryu-Hiei dove downwards, its eyes filled with malevolent glee. The human would die…. Unafraid, the half-youko stood there, ready to die, mouthing the very words he wished that the fire demon had managed to say before the nightmare begun… Ai shiteru. I love you. " KURAMA!" Yuusuke screamed as the dragon released its deadly breath of fire. The half-youko disappeared in a fireball of black flames, the heat so intense that it drove all of them backwards and even caused the water in the stream behind them to evaporate into steam. Rian screamed out something that he couldn’t make out above the loud rushing sound that filled his ears. When the flames died down, Yuusuke opened his eyes, feeling more than a little scorched by the experience. Ryu-Hiei had turned away from them, apparently losing interest with the entire deal. And where he expected a pile of ashes to be…Kurama stood, slightly singed, but very much alive. Ryu-Hiei had spared him… Slowly, the half-youko sank to his knees, swaying from the conflicting emotions that battled viciously in his heart. He had never doubted, not for a moment…not even the Kokuryuha could completely subjugate his fire demon’s indomitable spirit. " Hiei…" Weakened from lost of blood, he crumpled to the ground.