Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Suicide ❯ Chapter Fourteen ( Chapter 14 )
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.22.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 535 | Status: Work In Progress
by Rose Thorne
Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho is the property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perriot, Shonen Jump, et al. I do not acknowledge FUNimation with anything but the destruction of the series (with the possible exception of the Sensui Arc).
Yuusuke relaxed as the hot bathwater enveloped him. He certainly needed it. It had been several weeks since what Yuusuke was privately calling "The Volleyball Incident," and they hadn't been in P.E. since. Yuusuke hadn't exactly feared retribution--the punks couldn't manage that anyway--but he didn't feel like dealing with another incident.
"The Volleyball Incident" had, of course, shortly followed "The Keiko Incident," which Hiei had still not forgotten. Nor had Keiko, if her avoidance was any indication. Hiei encouraged it, with his glowers and, frankly, hostile body language.
Yuusuke was more than a little peeved about it. Keiko had every right to slap Hiei when she did. He'd deserved it. Hiei knew--or should have known--better than to mouth off to Keiko. After all, Kuwabara constantly teased Yuusuke about Keiko slapping him around.
It was more likely that Hiei was angry with himself. First, because he knew he deserved the slap, and second because he was a full-fledged demon and still hadn't been able to avoid Keiko's hand. Yuusuke knew better than anyone that Keiko didn't pull her slaps--she got her whole body behind them and probably any reiki she happened to have. For Hiei it had just stung in more ways than one.
But it still meant that Keiko avoided him.
On the bright side--if there was one, Yuusuke groused to himself--there hadn't been any more attacks. Or, at least, no more summons from Koenma. The little bastard was staying out of their business, as far as Yuusuke knew. Any Reikai Tantei business was being taken care of by the Reikai Special Defense Team. Not that Yuusuke had any reason to trust them.
None of this had made Yuusuke's life easier. He leaned the back of his head against the edge of the tub, relaxing in the piping-hot water. Hiei was still just as difficult to deal with as before. Yuusuke wanted to find out what was wrong--what had really made Hiei attempt suicide. Or what combination of things, anyway. Yuusuke wanted to make it better, somehow.
But it was frustrating. The little fire demon would begin to get close and open up, only to dance away and close up tighter than before. Yuusuke twisted his back until it popped, then relaxed again. The worst was that Hiei acted as though he was going to hurt him. Yuusuke couldn't help but feel insulted. He may have had to beat Hiei up the first time they'd met, but he'd trusted the sanjiyan with his life the second and ever since, and he'd never been disappointed. Why would Yuusuke want to hurt him?
Yuusuke slowly brought his arms out of the water and stretched, noticing with annoyance that his fingers were starting to look pruny. It was time to get out.
Hiei was reading, of all things, a textbook when Yuusuke got back into the bedroom. He could only shake his head in wry amusement. "Homework?"
The fire demon scowled at him, "It's interesting." It was the history book.
"Oh?"
"For propaganda, anyway." Hiei closed the book and tossed it on the floor. "Japan's the greatest nation in the world, all other nations are inferior. Yadda yadda."
Yuusuke rolled his eyes. "That's pretty typical from any school history book. I'm guessing in any country, too. The nationalism thing."
"Hn."
"Shower's open. I'm going to bed."
It was Hiei's turn to tease. "No homework?"
The teen laughed. "Since when have I done homework?"
Hiei got up. "Since when did you know what nationalism is?"
"Oi!" Yuusuke gave him a fake irritated look. The fire demon rolled his eyes and left the room.
Well, Yuusuke supposed it wasn't all bad.
The next day, on their way home from another uneventful school day, Yuusuke was still irritated that Keiko was avoiding them. He was about to mention it to Hiei, when the fire demon spoke casually.
"You realize someone's following us, right? And don't look, you idiot."
Yuusuke scowled; he wasn't stupid. "Punks from school?"
"You wish. Demon aura. And I don't think it's just one."
Yuusuke tried to sense it. "I can't feel anyone. How can you tell?"
"I've been stalked plenty of times. They're there." The fire demon shrugged. "They're masking their ki, or trying to."
The teen cursed under his breath. "Alright. We need to get away from people. Head toward Genkai's?"
Hiei nodded, and they changed direction. "The nosy fox is headed toward us, too. I think he noticed."
Yuusuke could feel Kurama, but he was pretty far off. "They won't wait for him. As soon as we stop or get into a relatively secluded area, they're going to attack." He was irritated. "So much for the Reikai Special Defense Team." He picked up his walking pace.
Hiei kept up. "As if we have any reason to trust them anyway. Didn't Enma order them to kill you?"
Yuusuke rolled his eyes. "Lots of people try to kill me, Hiei. Part of my job description, I guess."
Hiei scowled. "Wouldn't put it past them to wait until we're in real trouble before stepping in. Just like the Reikai."
Yuusuke had the impression he was talking about something different. "We can handle it."
"I don't exactly have a weapon on me, Yuusuke."
"Use your fists and ki. You don't need your sword to fight, do you?"
Hiei didn't reply to that. Instead he said, "As soon as we're away from people, we need to run."
"Right."
Kurama was nearby, and Yuusuke quickly realized they were at Genkai's. "He'll be okay." The youko frowned at him. "Do you remember what happened?"
"We were being followed and decided to head to Genkai's. We started running when we got away from people. That's all I remember." Yuusuke glanced around the room to see Hiei lying on another pallet. "What happened after that?"
"One of the attackers was a ward master. The ward he put on you rendered you unconscious. Hiei killed him."
Yuusuke groaned. "That explains the headache, anyway. Genkai removed it?"
Kurama nodded. "I got there pretty late. Kuwabara arrived right after me. By that time, Hiei was pretty battered, and completely out of ki. He saw us and passed out. He would've been killed if we hadn't stepped in."
"Shit." Yuusuke watched Hiei, noting the fresh bandages on his arm. "Did he use the kokuryuha?"
Kurama shook his head. "No. He was using the Jaou Ensatsu Ken when we showed up. He probably used Rengoku Shou as well."
Yuusuke frowned. "Then why'd he run out of youki?"
"Not sure."
Yuusuke ran a hand through his hair. "He should've kept running." Then he scowled. "But he couldn't with the barrier." Not that Hiei would have anyway.
Kurama stood. "He was protecting you when we go there, Yuusuke. Hiei wasn't going to leave you behind." The redhead left the room.
Yuusuke sighed and got up, ignoring his headache and stumbling across the room to sit next to Hiei. Upon closer examination, the bandages on his arms were more of a cast. The teen frowned as he checked Hiei's youki; it was barely there.
Yukina came in. "Ah, Yuusuke-san! You're awake!" Yukina knelt near Hiei, checking him.
"Yeah. Is he okay?"
Yukina bit her lip. "He was a lot worse when they brought him here. Kazuma-san transferred reiki to him, and that helped a lot."
"But he's still bad?"
"I healed what I could. His arm was shattered in several places, and we don't know why." She placed her hand on his arm, the palm glowing blue. "I still can't heal it all the way yet."
Yuusuke watched silently for a moment. "Any other injuries?"
Yukina shook her head. "I took care of the rest, but that arm... It's really bad."
"Permanent damage?" He hoped not.
"Not if I can help it." The Koorime frowned. "Genkai-san said that you should be resting. You were injured, too."
"Can't sleep with a headache."
Yukina smiled. "You should have said something, Yuusuke-san. Go lay down and I'll get some medicine for you."
The next time Yuusuke woke, it was dark out--so dark he could barely see anything. And he had to pee. He got up and headed toward the door, and nearly tripped over someone lying on the floor.
"Oi!" It was Kuwabara. "Watch it, Urameshi!"
"You're the one lying in the middle of the floor, idiot." Yuusuke moved for the door and a bit of light filled the room when he opened it. "What time is it anyway?"
Kuwabara looked at his watch. "Two in the morning." He stretched. "Hiei woke up a while back, but not for very long."
Yuusuke glanced toward the sleeping fire demon. "He okay, then?"
"Dunno. He was pretty out of it. Asked if you were okay, then passed out again. Yukina-chan says he's sleeping normally."
"That's probably a good thing. I need to go talk to Genkai. Stay with Hiei."
"Hiei killed the demon that set the ward on you, but I doubt it was behind the creation of that ward," Genkai told him, pushing a cup toward him and gesturing toward the teapot.
Yuusuke filled his cup and took a sip. He nearly choked. "What is this shit? It's bitter!"
"Ginseng. [1] Drink it." Yuusuke made a face, but downed it, looking slightly green as Genkai poured him another cup. "Anyway, as I was saying, the ward was designed to siphon off your ki. Not sure where it went, but a sure bet it was going to whoever designed the ward."
Yuusuke drank the second cup and then poured himself a third. "Any way we can track it?"
Genkai shook her head. "I had to destroy it to get it off you. No way to track what no longer exists."
"Shit. Was it after me or Hiei, then?"
"Like we'd know that already." Genkai rolled her eyes. "All we know is that some demon gorged on your aura."
"Great. Did Hiei get warded, too? Yukina said Kuwabara had to give him reiki because he was so low."
"Nope. He just used too much. Nearly died from it, too."
Yuusuke frowned. "But he didn't use the dragon."
"He also didn't have access to his Jagan. That might have something to do with it."
The teen cursed. "I guess I'll have to go have a chat with Koenma, if that's the case."
Genkai sipped her own tea, which Yuusuke noted was not ginseng. "It was stupid to ward it without knowing the impacts. He's really lucky to be alive right now. Had he not been warded, he may have been able to block the attack that ruined his arm."
Yuusuke winced. "Then his arm's messed up for keeps?"
"Yukina's had a hard time healing it. She'll probably get it in the end." The reiki master shrugged. "I suggest talking to Koenma soon; unwarding his Jagan might help him recover."
"I'll call Botan as soon as the sun's up." He drained his third cup and decided to go make use of the toilet again.
"You might want to call your mother in the meantime."
"Oh, fuck."
[1] Ginseng tea is an ancient Chinese remedy for illness and lack of energy. It is said to replenish "vital energy," or Chinese chi. Which is, of course, ki. It's also, apparently, quite bitter, so people lace it with anything from honey to chrysanthemum to rock sugar. Obviously, Genkai didn't do this.
Yes, Yuusuke's really in the bath in the beginning. In Japan, it's customary to shower and then use the bath to relax and stay healthy. If you're lucky enough to have a bath, anyway. Baths are good for reflection, which is what I needed after not writing this for so long.
I graduated from college. Writing a little fanfic as a form of pure relaxation is my little graduation gift to myself. Mostly because the damned thing wouldn't leave me alone.
Apparently I'll come back to fanfiction every so often or something. Hikari says not to be too worried about it. Right now I think it's because I've got no direction, and I got rejected from all the creative writing MFA programs I tried to get into (if you don't count the one that lost my application). Maybe I need a bit of a break from "real" writing. Or whatever.
Don't ask when the next update will come. If it does come, I'll be surprised myself. I think another chapter of Half-Breed's Curse is bashing me on the head, too.