Ashes VIII Chapter 22 : Ryu-Hiei It hurt - a lot. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Hiei held on to consciousness, staving off the urge to lie down and die. He was sure his arm was broken… if he could fracture a limb in this limbo world he was trapped in. The Kokuryuha stood over him, Hiei’s familiar smirk playing on its lips. The eyes were his, but colder…inhuman. " You shouldn’t have stopped me," it kicked him in ribs. Hiei rolled away, bearing the pain without crying out. He would not give it the satisfaction of knowing that it had hurt him. " You bastard, you tried to kill Kurama." " Yes," it told him, its voice slightly more reptilian than the fire demon’s deep baritone. " You shouldn’t have stopped me…when you’re dead and I own this body, I’ll kill them at my own leisure." He grinned in that dreadful reflection. " Maybe I’ll keep the fox alive, ne? Does it matter to him who occupies this body? I am you, I know everything that you know…maybe he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, or maybe he wouldn’t care." " What did I ever do to you?" " You *enslaved* me!" It kicked the helpless fire demon again. " Kokuryuha, roll over…destroy the bad guy…play dead. Always at your beck and call. Never a free moment, chained to your arm like some pet dog." He ground his foot down. " I_didn’t_know." " If you did, would it have mattered?" " Yes!" Horrified, he watched his hand fade in and out of reality. Ryu-Hiei laughed at the expression on his face. " You’re disappearing. It’s only a matter of time now." " Drop dead." Moving swiftly, he slammed the fist of his unbroken arm into Ryu-Hiei’s side. It doubled over, hissing with pain - he had never heard a more welcomed sound. Hiei kicked it in the leg for good measure, wishing he had his katana so that he could sever the black strand that linked them both, the one that allowed the Kokuryuha to control his body. He heard chanting…a voice that he didn’t recognise. For a moment, both of them stilled - listening, watching for the unseen enemy. " What’s going on? No one is supposed to be able to enter here," Ryu-Hiei snarled. " What have you done?" " How dare it?" his dragon doppelganger growled. " It will die!" In his mind’s eye, Hiei saw a youkai, standing at the entrance of one of the tunnels - the one with the steel mask covering most of his face. He held a medallion in his hands and his lips moved in unison with the incantation that echoed in the dreamscape. Something about him stirred the fire demon’s warning systems. The image rushed towards him, he realised he was looking through the dragon’s eyes. Ryu-Hiei was going to attack… Hitoare! " NO!" Hiei shouted the warning. Too late. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kurama stirred, opening his eyes. The first thing that greeted his eyes was the sight of Ryu-Hiei lunging towards some unfortunate youkai standing near the tunnel openings. A few feet from the scarred youkai, it suddenly reared back, its burning orbs widening. Blue lightning crackled in the air, arching from him to the black dragon. The medallion in his hand erupted into white flames. " Hitoare," Rian murmured. " What is he doing?" The youkai lord was smiling, at least that was what Kurama imagined - only seeing half of his face uncovered by the steel mask. Triumph, pure unlaced exultation…what was happening? The dragon screamed in rage and pain as the lightning surrounded its sinewy form, thickening with each heartbeat and causing the blinding flames around Hitoare to blaze brightly. Its aura flared wildly like a wild creature cornered, weakening…lessening, until Kurama could once again see traces of Hiei’s own youki that had been hidden under the Kokuryuha’s overwhelming one. Hitoare was leeching the Kokuryuha from Hiei’s body. Ryu-Hiei was still screaming, a penetrating sound that nearly split his eardrums. Underlying the sharp pitch - Kurama blinked, removing his hands from his ears - he heard another voice, one that he recognised…the colour drained from his face. Hiei was still alive. Chapter 23 : Compromise " What is happening?" " Hitoare’s draining your youki." He stared in frustration at the link that bound the both of them together. Even as he spoke, he could feel part of his own energy trickle away. " You can’t break it," Ryu-Hiei said smugly from where it sat. " The strand is too strong. If I die, I’ll take you down with me." Its taunting smile indicated that it found something supremely ironic about the entire situation. " You bastard, I ought to kill you myself - just for the satisfaction of slitting your throat." Then, something it said clicked inside Hiei’s mind. " You said that I would die if you died too - doesn’t that work both ways? You lied about…everything." He yanked at the strand, jerking his doppelganger forward. " So sue me." It smirked. " You don’t have to die for me to claim your body. There’re other ways to bury that obnoxious attitude of yours so deep that you’ll need a map to find your way back out." " You were trying to weaken my will so that I would just lie down and let you walk all over me." Apparently, he had guessed correctly from the disgruntled look in its crimson eyes. " That’s why you wanted to kill Kurama - no one left to care for me and I’d be easy prey." He noticed that Ryu-Hiei was beginning to unravel at the edges, blurring at the dark outlines of its form. His own youki was draining away faster than before. " Is it worth dying for?" " Death before slavery…" Its face twisted with contempt - Hiei shivered, it was like looking into a distorted mirror of himself. " At least, this way will be quick, if not, painless." " Sometimes, you’re an embarrassment to our mutual likeness. I can’t believe anything that looks like me would be so weak-willed." " Do you think you could goad me into action? Sorry, but I know you better than that. What does it matter if I live or die? There’s nothing in it for me but a lifetime of slavery as your pet. Unlike you, I don’t even have a Kurama to go back to." Hiei froze as an idea occurred to him… Kurama. Minamino Shuuichi. Two parts of a whole. A youko and a ningen - not exactly a match made in heaven, but born of desperate circumstances… like this. If Kurama could do it, then what was stopping him? Leaning forward, Hiei pulled his doppelganger towards him, courtesy of their bond. " What if you could have all you wanted…and more?" A flicker of interest, a slow smile. " Tell me more…" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fading… The black dragon was disappearing, its form dissipating into coiling tendrils of black flames…and with it, any chance they might have had for rescuing Hiei from the Kokuryuha’s clutches. The bluish lightning ate into the flames like a starving creature, tearing away huge chunks of the dragon’s flesh. " Yuusuke, we have to stop him. He’s killing Hiei." " I know." His eyes lit up in a familiar way. " I have a plan - " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ " Hitoare!" Rian waved, assuming her most vapid, empty expression. " Dahling, you’re not only ugly but stupid too!" She giggled breathlessly, and then shifted into her kitsune form. With her three tails flashing, she dashed off towards the youkai lord. Waiting a moment for Hiotare’s attention to shift to their direction, her siblings followed her to torment him. " That’s a distraction?" " Don’t be fussy. It’s working, ne?" Hitoare was using the stolen Kokuryuha’s youki to blow up huge chunks of the ground in an attempt to rid himself of those youko pests once and for all. Agile and quick, the three foxes darted nearer and nearer towards him, moving in for an occasional annoying nip on his ankles. " Get away from me, you little plague-bringers!" He stomped down on Fox-Rian but only caught the edge of one of her tails. Fox-Jian bit him sharply in retaliation. " ENOUGH!" He lifted the medallion, the arching lightning intensified as he gathered his youki. " Die!" An irresistible force surged from him, sweeping outwards and throwing the foxes away from him. Yelping, Fox-Lian struck the cavern wall and slid to the ground in the limp mass of honey-coloured fur. " Rei-Ken!" Summoning him spirit-sword, Kuwabara leapt to the umbilical cord that joined Hitoare and the dying black dragon - the one that the Kokuryuha’s youki was being drained away from. Bringing it down upon the twisting blue lightning, Kuwabara’s sword sliced through the cord, releasing enough energy to sent him whip-lashing to the ground. As soon as the link was broken, Ryu-Hiei dissolved into a fireball of swirling energy. Kurama could not see where Hiei’s youki began and where the Kokuryuha’s ended - he feared the worst, that both had lost so much energy to Hitoare that none would survive. The sudden lost of his new-found powers had a shocking effect on the former youkai lord. He staggered back as the energy whiplash hit him squarely on the chest, his face distorted by rage… " You - " " Rei-Gan!" Yuusuke aimed and fired off a single blast, striking the medallion from Hitoare’s hands. The blinding white flames protecting him flickered and died. " Kurama!" Reaching into his blood-red hair, the half-youko drew out a few of his most precious seeds - the carnivorous Shokyou Shokubutsu plant that had a ferocious appetite… for youkai. The seeds scattered at Hitoare’s feet - with an accompanying surge of youki, they exploded into a tangle of hungry mouths and desperate vines that immediately latched on to the unfortunate youkai. Yuusuke made a face as the plants did short work of Hitoare - he never did like him. The cradle of flames surrounding what used to be Ryu-Hiei slowly lessened, finally dying out to reveal a small figure, lying in the dirt and dressed in atrocious clothing that was at least a few sizes too big. " Hiei!" A broad smile lit up Kurama’s face. The problem was - which one? Prologue - Part I The figure stirred…slowly sitting upright, holding his head between his hands with painful grimace. Very slowly, Yuusuke raised his trigger finger - if this was really Ryu-Hiei, then this would be his only chance to kill it, while it was weakened and in the fire demon’s form. His hand trembled ever so slightly as he watched Hiei’s crimson eyes open - he couldn’t tell if it was really his team mate or the Kokuryuha’s spirit in those eyes. They looked vague, glazed with confusion…hell! Which one was it? Kurama was already running forward, ignoring Kuwabara’s warning cry. Stopping just within reach of the fire-demon, he crouched down, smiling into those familiar eyes. " Hiei, are you alright?" He blinked, wincing. " You damned fox," he growled, " are you trying to get yourself killed? What if I had been Kokuryuha?" Heaving a sigh of relief, Yuusuke let his arm fall away. Laughing, the half youko threw his arms exuberantly around the youkai’s waist and dragged him to his feet. " My little fire demon, I was so worried about you." " Stop being so sappy. I’m all right." However, he swayed lightly on his feet and sagged heavily in Kurama’s arms. The fox didn’t seem to mind - in fact, he looked like he was enjoying it. " You’re shameless," Hiei told him, looking slightly piqued as he felt Kurama run his hands caressingly over him. " Just making sure you’re all in one piece," he replied brightly. " What happened?" Yuusuke asked. " Where’s the Kokuryuha?" " It’s no longer a threat." The fire demon seemed reluctant to talk about it. " Can we get out of this place first?" He looked over to the remains of Hitoare, smiling evilly. " I like what you did to him. The bastard nearly ripped my youki in half." " What about the medallion?" Kuwabara asked, staring at the innocuous-looking disc lying by his foot. " Throw it into the lava," Rian suggested. She and her siblings had shifted back to their youko forms - Lian was examining herself for new bruises acquired when she was knocked into the stone wall while Jian stood by, wincing in sympathy. " I’m not touching it…" No one else wanted to do it, so they left it there on the ground. None of them looked back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The dreary sunlight that greeted them outside wasn’t much to look at - no one had never seen anything more welcomed. Kuwabara fell to his knees, lifted his arms upward and cried out ecstatically, " A sky, at last!" It was a sentiment shared by all of them - the closed atmosphere inside the labyrinth had made everyone claustrophobic. They moved slowly through Hitoare’s territory - there was no rush since most of the youkai lord’s army had fled or been killed by Ryu-Hiei. The unhurried pace allowed those of them who were exhausted, bruised or battered to catch up on their healing. Lian bandaged up Kurama’s injuries, but told him he would need to see a healer when he got back to the Ningenkai. Of Hiei’s chest injury, there was nothing left but a puckered scar to the left of his heart. Later that evening, they made camp by a stream which gave everyone a chance to get rid of three days of sweat and grime. Relaxing by their cheerfully burning camp-fire, Hiei was already half-asleep, curled up in his fox’s lap. Yuusuke and Kuwabara joked around while the youko siblings exchanged stories; Jian’s capture, and then Lian and Rian told him about their trip to the Ningenkai. A flash of black. Shurei, looking slightly dishevelled, appeared at the very edge of their camp site. The fire demon tensed in Kurama’s protective embrace - this was the youkai who had tried twice to kill him, nearly succeeding both times. " Here, I think this belongs to you." She tossed something to him. His inhuman reflexes kicked in, snatching it out of the air before it hit the ground. Frowning, Hiei looked down at what lay in his hand. It was the fire demons’ medallion. Prologue - Part II " It seems appropriate somehow for you to keep it. It’s too dangerous to leave lying about in that labyrinth - that’s where Hitoare found it in the first place." He fingered the dragon etchings on the metallic face absently. " Why didn’t you take it for yourself? You could have used it to try to kill me the third time." " I’m no longer interested in killing you," Shurei replied with a cold smile. " Have you told them what *really* happened to the Kokuryuha?" " It doesn’t matter now. Ryu-Hiei no longer exists." " True. That’s the only reason why I’m longer yearning to end your life. No offence, but I had no interest in killing *you* , only the Kokuryuha." She appeared remarkable philosophical about the entire thing. " I guess Koenma is going to be rather pissed at me anyway." " You know Koenma?" Shurei laughed, a strangely eerie sound. " My father was a Renkai detective." A hundred little small things fell into place in Kurama’s mind. " Nuryko murdered your father." " Yes, that’s why I couldn’t allow the Kokuryuha to live through Hiei - I know first-hand the kind of damage they can do." Her eyes darkened. " She killed him with the same callousness one would destroy an insect under a rock." A small smile quirked the corner of her lips. " It seems that I underestimated you, Hiei." She turned to leave. " Perhaps we’ll meet again one day, under better circumstances." Then she disappeared into the night. Hiei stroked the medallion again, thoughtfully. Then coming to a decision, he draped the necklace around his neck. In the flickering fire light, it gleamed like a new moon. " What happened to Kokuryuha?" Lian asked. " I thought it was dead." " Not quite. I had been badly injured in the struggle with the Kokuryuha while it was slowly dying from having its youki drained by this," he tapped the metallic edge on his chest. " We could not survive apart, and yet, neither one of us was willing to let the other gain control of this body…a compromise was reached. For lack of a better way to put it, the Kokuryuha is to me what Shuuichi is to Kurama, two sides of the same coin." They gaped at him. " You’re half-Ryu?" " No, I’ve lost part of the Kokuryuha’s powers - it had already been too greatly weakened when we merged. I *probably* wouldn’t be able to turn into a dragon, but I can control its black fires." " What does it get in return?" Kuwabara asked suspiciously. " Freedom - there is no Kokuryuha anymore, just me - Hiei." He leaned back into Kurama’s slack embrace, the fox’s shock was evident. Smirking up at Kuwabara, he said sneering, " Do you have a problem with that, fool?" The tall human blustered helplessly and tried to lunge at him but Yuusuke tripped him up. " Not now, Kuwabara." Turning to Hiei, he asked, " So you wouldn’t go insane like Nuryko?" " Hn." Evidently, he thought the question was beneath him. " Are *you* alright, Hiei?" Kurama asked worriedly. He didn’t know what to make of this - who exactly was he love with? The fire demon snuggled up to him. " I could ask you the same thing - which one of your lives do you prefer, Shuuichi or Kurama?" He made a face. " Don’t be ridiculous. I have no preference, they’re both *me* …" he trailed off. " Oh." he added, finally understanding. Then, he hugged Hiei, possessively. " I was afraid that I had lost you…" " I don’t think Ryu-Hiei was interested in me in *that* way." He sensed that the fox was smiling. " Do you know," he murmured softly in a delicately curved ear, " they’re a lot more of *us* in this relationship than I first imagined…I like it, it’s kinky." Hiei did not bother to answer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They woke up to an equally dismay morning. Clearing away their makeshift camp, they were preparing to head back home; for the team - the Ningenkai, for the youko siblings - their den a few leagues away. Just as they were leaving, small, greyish flakes began descending… " It hasn’t snowed in this part of the Makai for almost a hundred years," Rian exclaimed. " How wonderful!" She reached out to catch a few. " I hate snow," Hiei grumbled, however lacking his usual gruffness. Teasingly, the half-youko reached out and tugged on his ear. " Mukuro will be really ticked off to wake and find this stuff blanketing most of her territories." Kurama grinned and reached out to catch a few flakes. Rubbing the dirty slivers between his fingers, he began laugh. " It’s not snow. Apparently we did more to that old volcano than we realised." Curious, the fire demon held out his hand, catching a few flakes. It felt like smooth powder and was a pale greyish colour. His mouth curved upwards, a barely noticeable half-smile… " Ashes." ---Finis?---