Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Unbalanced Pendulum ❯ And the Screams just before you Wake ( Chapter 10 )

A Great Big Thanks to the Support from my REVIEWERS!!

 

I can no longer list out everyone who is reviewing each chapter as that is beginning to take up entire pages! I can't tell you how excited that makes me so don't think that I've forgotten or am not grateful to any just because your username is not included here.

 

What2CallMyself - “Hiei shouldn't be that disgusted with a sign of fear, after all, didn't

he have his own?” What Hiei experienced wasn't exactly fear. But, that aside,

Kurama helped him during his time of weakness so seeing Kurama be driven to

such a state is even more repulsive than normal because, previously, Hiei had

been inferior to him. Anyone with pride doesn't like seeing someone “greater”

than them be reduced to such a “pathetic” and “pitiful” state since it suggests that

they are even weaker.

 

Kodaijin Hiei - Don't apologize for reviewing by any means. I love all the feedback.

 

Shinigami Chlyde - What's this? Are you telling me to discontinue my fanfiction in lieu

of a personal writing career? I'm flattered (a little surprised honestly) but

flattered nonetheless.

 

KB - I'm not sure where you got the impression about Hiei being taller than Youko

Kurama, but Hiei is his normal height in this story.

 

Flamingol0 - Thanks for the review, but I was a little confused by it. To whom were you

referring to by “Y and OC in the beginning?”

 

Mr. Fine - I don't know about working Yomi in here, but it makes sense to do so when I

think about it. So keep your fingers crossed, he might just make an appearance

yet, thanks for the suggestion. Also, about me being too wordy, I agree that I'm not exactly an action writer, but I'll work on it.

 

A/N: To everyone who tried to visit my web page, I'd like to apologize for sending you on a wild goose chase. Lycos deleted my page and I wasn't able to recover the code for it. (See my profile for more ranting)

 

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Beta: Kooriya Yui

 

Unbalanced Pendulum

Chapter 10: And the Screams just before you Wake

 

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Hiei's POV

 

I kept flicking my eyes from side to side, wary. “The First” may want to deal with me, but he gave no promise as to Kurama's safety. And Kurama wasn't going to die or be captured on my watch, not after so much effort had already been put in to capturing him. That would be such an utter waste of energy, reputation, and (not by far the least important) money.

 

Kurama had regained his composure - that previous display was just embarrassing. Though because of it, I now knew that Kurama was no longer completely sane. He hadn't been since stepping within this forest. For him to be able to see what I could not even with my jagan meant that the ghouls (or so Kurama had called them) were not merely appearing *to* him within his mind, but were coalescing *from* his mind. Forced hallucinations, I surmised. And if I was any judge, they hadn't left him alone yet…not by far.

 

Kurama was nervous and tense, his body taught and stiff. The lithe glide of his movements had been forsaken for a less controlled, halting step. He would often glance suddenly to the side or flinch away from nothing. And every once in a while he would look at me - never mind that he could not actually see me. We stood side by side. If I walked ahead he might lag behind and if I walked behind he could be assaulted before I could have time to react. I was no fool; besides the visions, he could see no more than was necessary to place one foot in front of the other. This wasn't a natural dark. But I could see. And the emotions evident in his face and eyes each glance evolved nearly faster than I could follow. First he was almost grateful, then scared, then angry, then pleading. I didn't know what to do for him…or why I should even (want to) do anything.

 

I wanted to feel smug and I came close to convincing myself that I was. That I was happy he was approaching madness. It “proved” my previous convictions about his “love” and “trust.” However, the ghouls were forcefully ripping his sanity from him at these very moments. And there was no pleasure I could honestly attain from this.

 

No, he wasn't in his right mind. I was watching him break. Then again, I had to wonder with morbid distaste, how sane were any of us demons? With shame I recalled *my* breakdown only less than a week past. Could my actions have been considered temporary madness? Perhaps… Why, then, was it so difficult for me to relinquish my hatred over the incidents (both mine and his)?

 

My steadfast, black and white resolve was bleeding. The inkwell had broken and the liquid was seeping into the imperfections of the paper. Things that should not be combined were fusing together. I was bleeding and Kurama was breaking…all right before my helpless eyes. I couldn't do anything. I was too fascinated by the images to stop the show.

 

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The path came to a gradual stop, fading into the dense forest. What little dark gray-green color I had been able to see along the path ceased and was replaced with blacks, browns, and dark, dark grays. It was strange, to see in only duotone.

 

I stuck out my arm and laid a firm hand upon Kurama's abdomen to assure his stopping. I wasn't positive whether or not he would be too distracted and just continue on into the gloom. He placed a cold hand atop mine, easily covering it completely, and looked my way with something akin to surprised understanding and acceptance. It bothered me that he likely couldn't see more than my outline. I found I didn't mind the touch of his hand. Though I was disturbed by its chill. Our interactions seemed natural, not worth a second thought. And *that* did deserve a second thought.

 

The air within the forest was becoming painfully dense. I hadn't consciously registered the changing pressure upon my lungs. I recognized it now through the labored rise and fall of Kurama's stomach beneath my hand and realized that my own chest must be heaving just as heavily. How odd that I could not hear the sound of breath. Even our footsteps had been muffled…a perfect silence. Broken suddenly by harsh rustling. I couldn't discern if it was heard or felt - the scraping of sandpaper against my ears.

 

I spun around, unconsciously putting Kurama at my back with my hand now protectively upon his side. He had turned his back to me as well. We had automatically covered each other's blindside.

 

My head twisted and turned from side to side. I couldn't pinpoint the sound. After the long muffled silence the sudden dry noise was painfully disorienting. I was dizzy, soon nauseous. I could taste bile rising in the back of my throat and swallowed hard. Kurama and I fought to stay on our feet, refusing to be driven to our knees in submission. A liquid that could only be blood trickled out of my ears, burning down my jaw and neck to be absorbed in my no-longer-white scarf.

 

Something blunt hit me across the chest, knocking the wind out of me. I tried to breathe but found myself smothered. My hands shot to my face desperately racing over its surface trying to locate the weapon. But they found nothing. The air itself had become too thick to breathe.

 

My jagan closed of its own accord, shying away behind its eyelid from the invisible film. Unadjusted, my two natural eyes could see nothing on their own. I must have fallen because I felt the slimy, slippery mulch all along my side. My sight was too raw to be of any use for orienting myself. My hands gripped and released in desperation over and over again. They gained nothing but handfuls of rotting leaves and old plant skeletons. Then they found thin fabric, Kurama's clothing. I clung on with everything I had.

 

My last thought was incredulous.

 

`The trees.' The noise had been made by the trees.

 

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Kurama's POV

 

“Hiei! Hiei!” I screamed in vain. Even I couldn't hear my words over the amplified rustling of the leaves and branches.

 

I was crouched on one knee at his side, grasping the arm that clung to me with iron force even in unconsciousness. My hair was being whipped around and tugged at tauntingly by the ghouls surrounding us. They must be the ones who inhabited the trees that marked the boundary to The First's thrown. It stung terribly, my own hair biting into my skin with the speed at which they passed and tearing out when they pulled too hard in malicious fascination.

 

Laughter. They mocked me, mocked my efforts to fight them off. The energy it drained from me was too great. Agonizing gashes were splitting open in ancient patterns along my skin. My body was trying to release my trapped energy directly through my blood and skin. It had no other way to leave my body!

 

“You can't kill him, you bastards! The First wants him! Take us to The First now or he will die!” I yelled out desperately to the white shadows among the trees. Hoping beyond hope that they would understand…and have the sense to heed.

 

My spiritual nature, the same thing that made me vulnerable to the ghouls' trickery also gave me strength enough to survive these attacks. I could transcend the physical and survive within the dense atmosphere. Though I refused to relinquish my body and so could only last so long. Hiei could not. Hiei would die. But I needed him if I was to escape this forest. So I would not let him die here. It would be suicide.

 

“Release him!” I growled with more authority than I felt.

 

I had to speak to the images within my head. My eyes were hopelessly blinded by my hair and blood and the impossibly dense blackness. There was no point in even keeping them open.

 

Numbness began creeping up my limbs, slowly robbing me of my body, replacing my overwhelming agony with nothingness. The physical pain of my tortured avatar and the force with which my energy was trying to escape it was tearing my spirit free. Tears fell shamelessly from my tightly shut eyes. I would not be overcome. I would not!

 

I could hear their laughter all around me: jeering at my feebleness, cheering at my coming defeat, ultimately insane.

 

“NO!” and then I took the gravest gamble I'd ever taken. I had no option left. “I invoke The First! You have no power over me because I INVOKE THE FIRST!”

 

And then…I felt nothing. Such a sudden change that I was robbed of any response. I felt absolutely nothing. All around me was swirling white energy, warm and soft. I was comforted. Then I remembered my eyes had been closed, but when I tried to open them I found that I no longer had eyes to open.

 

“No. No, no, no, no, no… NO!” Of course I only thought this. I had no voice, only thoughts. I didn't know where I was. I was simply a spirit now (that, at least, I knew), but this wasn't the spirits' plane. This was a cage.

 

The First had to have heard my invocation and come. Was I imprisoned by him now? I felt so helpless.

 

“Hiei…where are you?” and then… “Hiei…help me, please.”

 

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Hiei's POV

 

I awoke slowly. First to my attention was how light my body felt. Air came easier than it had since first entering the territory. Next was the wet earth beneath me and wedged underneath my fingernails. It was devoid of any leaves, creatures, or grass. And then the light… I never thought I'd ever miss light. But even this dull, gray-orange air was uplifting to my soul. A buzzing sound of electricity combined with cotton rubbing against glass or a similar substance caught my attention. I looked for the source. And when I found it, all previous relief vanished.

 

Kurama's body lay crumpled upon the ground looking as if he'd traversed through the terrors of Hell. There was no purple from bruising, only red and brown. Dried blood encrusted most of his body and horrific runes decorated his deathly pale skin. Here and there crimson paths still trickled wetly from the massive but exact slices to the sticky earth he laid upon. Above him floated an orb of gray mist crackling with golden energy surrounded by a vibrating wide net of black. Every few minutes a fox shape would momentarily be distinguishable within the swirling orb.

 

This was the source of the sound and light.

 

To the left of the cage was a throne of twisted black trees. And upon it was a bulbous, weeping, flesh colored mass that had once been a humanoid body. I could see discolored streams oozing off the sides of the throne's seat. I was grateful that the air was apparently too thick for smell. Rising from it was a transparent gray spirit's torso and head weaving unstably from side to side.

 

The First.

 

I tried to rise. My arms were unsteady underneath me and my legs were not even yet an option. Overcome by wave after wave of motion-induced dizziness, I froze in position. I was trembling upon my forearms with my legs folded limply underneath me. I gritted my teeth, snarling and growling in angry frustration and pain. Each wave dragged acidic bile up into my mouth. I coughed and spit it out as best I could, while still trying to breathe through wide-mouthed gasps.

 

Orientation and stability returned within a few long moments. I sat back on my knees and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand in disgust. I waited for my breathing to calm before trying to cautiously stand again. Swaying unsteadily at first, I stumbled once before regaining my balance and straightening fully and glaring at the cause of all this misery. Perfectly ready to destroy him with the most horrific means I could devise. …after he returned Kurama to his physical state and to me.

 

It appeared as if The First was perpetually sad. His face was elongated and crooked. The lips, eyes, and eyebrows pulled down at the outside corners because of it. He had a gaping black mouth with thick, protruding lips surrounding it. No tongue could be seen, only blackness. I was captivated by its absolute lack of light and did not right away notice that he was speaking. A slow voice like gurgling tar carried upon the wind. Just from listening, I felt as if I were drowning.

 

“Hiei of the jagan eye. You come bearing gifts. Wise to do. Wise to do.”

 

“What gifts?” My voice was tense and my throat tight.

 

“Why, the eye. And the pretty one. So much spirit. So much body.”

 

“What?” He was enviously gazing upon Kurama's caged spirit and abused body. A specific low lilt to his voice triggered the rise of revolted anger within me. He was sick, the source of the madness that had ensnared all of the creatures of this territory.

 

“Wise to do. Leave the eye and the pretty one. Then go free.”

 

I stared. I could not accept, but could I afford to refuse? He would only propose the offer if he needed the jagan from my living flesh. Or if he feared me…and the jagan…alive…together… But I had no idea how to put this to use or to test. I could try nothing while Kurama was rendered so vulnerable. Damn it. Why couldn't I just kill Kurama and be done with it?

 

“No way in Hell!”

 

His ghostly half recoiled as if struck by a strong wind. Then he thrust forward and screamed with a voice now of boiling, spitting, and popping tar. It made me feel as if I were boiling alive.

 

“You are not in Hell! This is my world! I am no Devil! I am God! You cannot defy! Give them to me!”

 

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Oh thank goodness that's done.