Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Kaleidoscope Syndrome ❯ City Life ( Chapter 11 )

The Kaleidoscope Syndrome

 

Part XI

 

The Ningenkai had prospered economically in the past three centuries. Scientific research was at the height of its glory and the environment had improved drastically due to newfound methods of utilizing renewable resources for energy. Indeed, it seemed like a new era of peace and affluence had finally entered the human world for there was little dissent to be found among the masses and people in general seemed healthier and brighter than they were ever before.

 

Jin snorted to himself. Or at least, that was what the humans told themselves. In reality, the fairness of the whole deal was greatly skewed to one side. There was the rich and powerful—and then there existed those who lived among dirt and the deepest end of poverty. In Jin's opinions, the humans were exactly the same as they ever were. Ignorant, naïve, and selfish.

 

“Where did you put Urameshi?” he asked when Hiei arrived beside him—as silent as ever.

 

They were situated atop a tall apartment building that overlooked Tokyo. The city was as glamorous as ever. Jin's ears wiggled excitedly over the prospect of being so close to humans. He had never harbored a particular fondness for them—but nor was he particularly hostile towards them. He just found some of their attitudes rather haughty and amused himself mentally with thoughts of deflating those egos.

 

“He has an apartment here. The same one he lived in as a human,” answered Hiei.

 

Jin looked amazed. “He managed to keep a place here for over three hundred years?” he said incredulously.

 

Hiei looked mildly amused as he overlooked the cityscape. “That's what I thought too.”

 

“He's still a little…eh…off then?”

 

The smaller youkai threw a sharp glance at Jin. “You saw him two days ago. He hasn't improved much at all except for the fact that he can actually string together coherent sentences now,” he said impassively.

 

Jin blinked, wide-eyed. It confused him so much sometimes—Hiei's behavior towards Yusuke. In general he always assumed the two got along relatively well—sure, they did like to threaten each other from time to time—but that was normal. He and Chuu exchanged such remarks with each other every day, but that did not mean they hated each other. But now Hiei's coldness puzzled Jin. Perhaps this was because he wasn't as close to him as he was to Yusuke. The smaller youkai always did intimidate him a little. In fact, Jin thought with some surprise, this was the first time they were alone together.

 

“You're not worried?” he asked.

 

“About?” The fiery youkai hadn't even flinched.

 

Jin was beginning to grow annoyed. “Yusuke, of course!” he exclaimed. “I thought you were friends?”

 

Hiei finally looked at him. Something strange was written in his eyes as he spoke. Jin was too busy attempting to understand those emotions to pay any sort of attention to what Hiei said in response. But what did it matter what he said. Jin already predicted he would make some sort of noncommittal remark—but his eyes—his eyes proved something else altogether. He was fascinated.

 

“…we should head back now. There's not much we can do without Yusuke's assistance since neither your nor I know the Ningenkai well enough to explore on our own,” came Hiei's voice as it finally filtered through Jin's mind.

 

He started. “Oi, where's your sense of adventure, huh?”

 

“We cannot leave Yusuke and I don't trust you enough to let you go off alone.”

 

Jin's ears dropped—but inwardly he was exalted. So the cold and unfeeling Hiei was concerned about Yusuke after all. He simply expressed it in such roundabout ways that it confused Jin greatly. Why couldn't Hiei just be more open about his emotions? It would have made his life so much easier—and not to mention he would have a lot more friends that way. Jin's respect for Yusuke and Kurama went up considerably. To be able to keep up tidings with Hiei was no ordinary feat.

 

“Fine, fine, but we should do something. It seems like a waste of time. Urameshi wouldn't want us to dawdle about uselessly watching him sleep.”

 

Hiei's gaze seemed to darken at Jin as he turned towards him. For a brief second, the redhead felt some fear before laughing it off.

 

“Hey, I'm just saying, Hiei. You think I'm not worried about him? Of course I am. But what good are we doing by simply watching over him?”

 

“What good can we do in a world that is foreign to us without a guide?”

 

The severity in Hiei's tone stilled Jin's flammable temper from erupting. Hiei certainly emitted a dangerous and frightening aura when he was annoyed. How in the world did Yusuke and Kurama handle him for so long without complaint? Jin was floored. Even Shishiwakamaru and Touya were not this cold. Hiei was about the most complicated person he had ever encountered. And being with him alone and experiencing all his reactions and words firsthand made it that much more obvious the difference between him and Yusuke.

 

Jin sighed wearily. Ah, he did miss Yusuke's company right about now. Without him there was no balance to his and Hiei's temperaments. It was only out of respect—and some fear—that kept him from really drilling Hiei to the ground with his usual antics. But it was such an exhausting procedure. Jin was a fun and spontaneous guy. Yusuke appreciated this because he was the same way. But with Hiei—well, quite frankly Jin wasn't suicidal. He wanted to live a long life, thank you very much.

 

“Do you have any idea who's behind this?”

 

If Hiei was in any way surprised by the sudden change in topic, he never showed it. “Yusuke said he had a good idea—but he needed to come back here to be sure. I have no idea what he was thinking—except that there is the high possibility of a magic user behind all this.”

 

Jin narrowed his eyes. “I thought they were extinct.”

 

“Not quite. They still exist. And I'm willing to bet that those skilled enough would be hiding themselves all these years from both demon and human eyes.”

 

The red-haired youkai shook his head. “What the heck did Yusuke get himself into,” he muttered to himself not for the first time since he entered this mission.

 

They entered the apartment through the balcony. It was a breezy place—much larger than what Hiei remembered. But then he recalled Yusuke telling him once that they had renovated the building a few years ago for upgrades. It was strange how Hiei paid those idle conversations no heed when he actually had them—but now they proved to be beneficial in explaining their current situation in the Ningenkai. He just hoped Kurama was having better luck in the Reikai. He was sure Koenma would not agree so easily to help them—but that was why Kurama had gone in the first place. He was the much more experienced diplomat.

 

The room in which Yusuke was situated in was the master bedroom—spacious and sparsely furnished. The other two bedrooms in the apartment were smaller, but just as elegant as the rest of the complex. Yusuke had made up a very simple and direct décor for his Ningenkai home. The floors were wooden and the walls of the house were painted black. It seemed almost too simple and abstract to associate it with Yusuke's rather loud personality—but Hiei supposed that he had just created it more for necessity than actual dwelling. He had been genuinely surprised when he found out that he still had an apartment in Japan—and almost equally shocked with himself when he remembered how to arrive here exactly. He had never been by Yusuke's home much in the distant past—but his memory proved more faithful to him than he originally thought. A good thing too, because as soon as Yusuke had told him he still possessed the same apartment in the Ningenkai, he had fainted dead away.

 

Jin immediately went into the kitchen for food. He looked at the drawers and opened the refrigerator experimentally. “Humans,” he remarked with a touch of humor. He rummaged around for a bit before pulling out a hand-wrapped sandwich bag. He held it up curiously. “Can I eat this?”

 

Without waiting for a reply, he unwrapped it and took a large bite. He chewed slowly before swallowing. “Hey…not bad!”

 

Hiei shook his head and went instead to Yusuke's room. The latter had been barely conscious over the past two days and Hiei was growing more and more disheartened by the sudden change in events. The poison that had hit Yusuke was virtually unknown to both him and Jin—and the flowers had done nothing for him. Perhaps Kurama would have been the better candidate to accompany Yusuke on this part of his quest. Hiei was sure that if the kitsune had been here there would have been an antidote whipped up without the slightest complications.

 

And now all they could was wait around. Hiei's own knowledge of poisons was fair—but this one must have been specially developed by even more knowledgeable experts. It pained him to know that there was nothing he could do but sit by and watch Yusuke whither away.

 

“Hiei.”

 

The fiery youkai had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he had not even noticed when he entered Yusuke's room. The latter was sitting up in his bed, a weary smile in place.

 

“Don't be so gloomy.”

 

Hiei paused. There were times where Yusuke's insight on his own thoughts and feelings were almost too accurate to be reassuring. He walked over to the window and gazed at the setting sun. “Jin's going to wind up eating all your food.”

 

Yusuke's laughter reached his ears. “Yeah, well he can go right on ahead. I have some servants come here every week to drop by a new supply,” he replied.

 

“I wasn't aware you came here so frequently.”

 

“Only when I'm feeling particularly sex-deprived.”

 

At this Hiei whipped around to stare at Yusuke. The latter smiled back at him cheekily. Hiei scowled deeply at being just had.

 

“There we go. I was beginning to worry there for a minute.”

 

“You're incorrigible.”

 

Yusuke laughed again. “That's a new one.”

 

Hiei studied Yusuke's face carefully. He appeared much livelier than when they first brought him in. At that time his complexion was so white and deathly that Hiei was almost sure he would be gone by the night. But somehow—fortunately—he had managed to strive through to the next day. Hiei breathed a little easier from then on.

 

“Have you heard from Kurama?”

 

“No.”

 

Yusuke's eyebrows strung together deeply. “It shouldn't take him this long. Koenma's relatively easy to persuade,” he commented before smiling fondly. “God knows how many times I had to do it.”

 

There was a brief tugging by Hiei's lips as he watched Yusuke. “I'm sure.”

 

Yusuke had reverted back to his human form. It surprised Hiei when he did this—but then he remembered that Yusuke was only holding up an illusion. A rather extraordinary illusion, but nothing more. Yusuke himself had said that he hadn't been in his actual human form since Kairi trained him—which had been a good fifty years ago.

 

“So when should we get started?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Hiei's eyebrow rose slightly at Yusuke's question. He knew it would be coming eventually, but it still surprised him. Yusuke still gave little thought to his own body and health; it was not a good trait.

 

“Investigate. Hello.”

 

The sarcasm didn't go unnoticed by Hiei. He narrowed his eyes. “Investigate. Now. You're either joking or a bigger fool than I originally thought you to be,” he replied tonelessly.

 

Yusuke went on unfazed. “Hiei. That is the reason why we came here. And besides—I'm fine now! We can go!”

 

Hiei bit back his words out of respect for his sickened companion.

 

“Oi, Urameshi, are you really that thick?” quipped Jin suddenly as he entered the room, his cheeks blushed from anger. Hiei regarded him mildly as he began his rant. “I know this is important to you and all that, but for crying out loud, you're poisoned. Does that mean anything to you, eh? You go out into the city now and who knows what the hell will happen. What if we're attacked again? We might not be able to cover for you, Yusuke! You could get hurt again or even die! What type of friends would we be to let you leave this place, eh? And don't tell me you don't care or need our help because I know for a fact that if either me or Hiei were in your place, you would never let us out of your sight too!”

 

After that, Hiei's respect and liking towards Jin rose dramatically.

 

Yusuke stared at the redhead for a long time. Then finally he shook his head, failing to suppress the grin from spreading over his face. “Well. That's the first time I've lost a debate without saying a single word whatsoever,” he said resignedly.

 

The red was gone from Jin's face as he slugged Yusuke lightly on his shoulder. “You're a real idiot sometimes, you know that, Urameshi? A real idiot!” he scolded affectionately.

 

Hiei folded his arms as he looked towards the window. “Speak of the devil,” he muttered.

 

Yusuke eyed him curiously before following his gaze. “What is…? Holy shit.”

 

Floating in the middle of the air outside of Yusuke's window was the unmistakable, undeniably transparent form of a long-time rival and best friend waving cheerfully at them. Yusuke leaned forward in his shock and blinked several times.

 

“Kuwabara?”

 

The spirit glided through the walls and stood before them—solidifying with each passing second until he finally looked corporeal and alive. “Yo, Urameshi, Hiei, Jin!” he greeted happily.

 

It had been over thee hundred years since Yusuke saw any of his old friends. Of course, that had been imposed by the rules of his bet with Koenma, but he never expected them to come to him. He shook his head in wonder.

 

“Why are you here?”

 

Kuwabara looked decidedly put out. “Well, gee, thanks, Urameshi. I come here to help you out and that's the welcoming I get. Fine. Be like that!” he replied indignantly.

 

Three hundred years and Kuwabara still hadn't matured in the slightest.

 

Yusuke laughed in amazement. “Koenma actually allowed you to come here?”

 

“'Che. We could have done it all these years if we wanted to—or at least, me and the rest of the fighters. Keiko wouldn't have been able to since she never possessed any spiritual energy in the first place. But yeah, we could've done it except Koenma said something about a bet you made with him and all that—I don't remember what it was exactly, but then Kurama came by yesterday and told us what was going on. And if you thought we would have let you go on alone then you're insane, man!”

 

Hiei watched silently as Yusuke stared at Kuwabara. “You're…really here.”

 

Kuwabara arched an eyebrow. “No, duh. Gee, did you lose some of your brains these past years, Urameshi, or what?”

 

Only Hiei could have read that unreadable look in Yusuke's eyes as he smiled back at Kuwabara wordlessly. Long ago those words would have sparked insults and curses from him, but now Yusuke had moved past those juvenile remarks. Hiei could tell that he was genuinely happy to see Kuwabara again—and genuinely moved by what the redhead had said. Even Hiei himself was warmed by the blatant sincerity in Kuwabara's tone. And he knew that despite whatever Kuwabara said about being able to leave the Reikai at will, it would never have been possible without Koenma's assent. He allowed a small smile to surface. It seemed that baby did have some good points.

 

“But what the hell did you get yourself into this time, huh? You're in an even bigger mess than that time we were facing off against Sensui! And you winded up dying that time so that's definitely saying something.”

 

Yusuke sighed. “Ah, it's a long story. And didn't you say you heard it from Kurama?”

 

Kuwabara looked somewhat dispirited. “Well…we did…but…I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. It was too serious-sounding! I couldn't help it if I lost interest! All I heard was, `Yusuke's been cursed and we have no idea who's behind it.' That was enough for me.”

 

Jin howled in laughter. “You're a good guy, Kuwabara!” he exclaimed, clapping the other man on the back.

 

Hiei studied this motion. “So you're real,” he commented idly.

 

Kuwabara jumped. “The pipsqueak's here too? I didn't even see you there! And what do you mean I'm real? You see and hear me, right? What else can I be then?”

 

It seemed, Hiei thought to himself, that Kuwabara had become sharper in the latter part of his life. And infinitely more sarcastic. But his hardheadedness was still as present as ever. “I mean you have a solid body. Did Koenma grant you this?” he pointed out coldly.

 

“Well, let's see… He is the god of death… And yeah, I don't remember ever having the ability to create bodies for myself so yes, it must have been Koenma's doing!”

 

Kuwabara caught himself just in time to catch the scathing glare Hiei was shooting at him and laughed if off jokingly. Even after all these years the little guy still scared the crap out of him. And that was no small fact. He had almost forgotten how dangerous Hiei could be when pissed off.

 

“Guys, guys, I don't have to be the mediator in all this again do I?” broke in Yusuke.

 

The latter was falling back into his bed before closing his eyes for a moment. Suddenly all the adrenaline of the situation was seeped from his system and Yusuke felt a heaviness in his limbs. He opened his eyes to see everyone's concerned looks.

 

“Urameshi…is this what the curse is doing to you?” Kuwabara asked slowly, staring at his bedridden friend in surprise. He had been too distracted in his earlier entrance and Hiei's words to really take in Yusuke's appearance. The latter looked positively ill. He had never seen Yusuke like this before. Injured and bloody from battle was one thing, but this really frightened him.

 

“No, this is from the poisoned dart that hit him two days ago,” answered Jin.

 

Kuwabara cursed to himself as he leaned over Yusuke to study his face more closely. “Jesus, man. You look more like death than Koenma himself.”

 

Yusuke smiled weakly as he moved away from Kuwabara's prying gaze. “Thanks for the compliment,” he said dryly.

 

“So where is Kurama?” inquired Hiei sharply.

 

Kuwabara finally backed away from Yusuke. “Um… He said he would be heading back here. But I was too excited so I left before him. He should be here by now, though…”

 

A worried look filled Yusuke's face. “What if something happened?”

 

“Relax, man! It's Kurama! He can take care of himself,” reassured Kuwabara brightly.

 

Yusuke's gaze hardened. “Yeah, that's what I thought about myself too,” he said blandly.

 

Hiei frowned.

 

“Dude, you're not like…depressed or anything are you?” Kuwabara questioned hesitantly.

 

“What?” asked Yusuke in obvious confusion.

 

Hiei, in an uncharacteristically physical display, placed a hand on Yusuke's forehead and his frown deepened. “You're running a fever,” he said.

 

“Man, you're just completely messed up right now, Urameshi,” remarked Kuwabara in good humor—though anyone could have detected the undertone of concern in his voice.

 

Yusuke leaned back against his pillows. “Ah, to suffer such a fate for the actions of another. Life simply isn't fair,” he said quietly.

 

Hiei froze. “What?”

 

The dark-haired man looked at him curiously. “What is it?” he asked.

 

“Those words… Where did you hear them?” Hiei queried, tone hard and unforgiving.

 

Yusuke blinked. “I don't know. It just…came out,” he answered, shaking his head. “Why, have you heard them before?”

 

“Those were the words to the song we heard after you had been struck done by that dart. Someone in the trees or bushes was just singing this weird song about you dying and, well, suffering for the actions of another,” explained Jin, a troubled look in his eyes. “It was really creepy, Yusuke.”

 

The latter sighed deeply. “This whole thing is beginning to confuse the hell out of me.”

 

Everyone jumped as Kuwabara headed towards the window just as a piercing object came flying through, spraying glass all over the floor. Yusuke looked up in alarm at his friend's back.

 

“What is it, Kuwabara?”

 

The redhead turned around slowly and they all stared at the knife embedded deeply in his chest. Yusuke looked aghast.

 

“Kuwabara! Are—?”

 

“Don't worry, Urameshi. I can't die again,” cut in Kuwabara before unceremoniously pulling out the knife from his chest, leaving not a single trace of blood or injury. He held it up to the light. “There's a note attached to the grip.”

 

Hiei took it from his hand and untied the small parchment of paper.

 

Midnight. Border between the Ningenkai and Makai. Bring only one companion. All other intruders will be detected and handled correspondingly.

 

“A trap,” he muttered darkly.

 

Jin read it speedily over his shoulder. “For sure.”

 

Hiei gave the paper to Yusuke. “You're not going,” he said.

 

The dark-haired man frowned slightly as he read the note. “I wonder what'll happen if I don't,” he remarked idly.

 

A sudden smack caught their attention. Yusuke looked up to see Kuwabara pierced through the stomach with a long katana. The redhead pulled out the weapon with some disgust. “I am not a pincushion, goddamn it!” he cursed.

 

“I take it that's their answer,” commented Jin lightly.

 

Yusuke shook his head. “How are they doing this? I couldn't even detect those weapons until the last second.”

 

“They're magic users. I'm sure they would be able to mask their presences efficiently,” remarked Hiei offhandedly. “But what's more important is this note.”

 

“Well, I have to go, Hiei. You saw what happened to Kuwabara. If it had been you or Jin, you would not have been so lucky.”

 

Hiei crossed his arms thoughtfully. It was true that whoever was behind this would probably carry out their threat if they did not go. And this was the chance they had been waiting for to find out something more about the situation. Yusuke was still in no condition to be going anywhere, but at least he would be able to have someone to look out for him. Hiei finally ceded to Yusuke's request.

 

“I will accompany you then.”

 

Yusuke smiled winningly. “Of course.”

 

Kuwabara was apoplectic. “What the hell? We don't even get a say in this, Shorty?”

 

“Say that again, Kuwabara.”

 

Yusuke watched the exchange with something akin to nostalgia. It seemed almost like the old days. And even amidst all the danger and mystery of what was happening to him, Yusuke could not help but feel happy. Then once again a flash of pain clouded his vision and he closed his eyes, forgetting everything for a single moment to cope in his own darkness.

 

TBC

 

Still more…