The Consequences of Power

Message to the two angry reviewers:

Thank-you for pointing out to me that I was not posting. I really hadn’t realized. Perhaps I was hallucinating the gobs of time I spent making my life revolve around this fan-fic? Or perhaps… oh my god… I have a life? I write these because I enjoy writing them. I love reviews, but no, I do not write this for anybody but myself. It is my prerogative to work on this at whatever pace I want. You are right in that I should have dropped a note of some kind as to where I was, but do not assume your chewing me out will make me work any more quickly, and certainly do not assume it is within your rights to TELL me what I need to do. If you enjoy reading my fics I take it as a compliment, and thank-you. If I irritate you with the manner in which I set my priorities… bugger off, fuck-heads. (That’s a nifty phrase!)

To the rest of you lovely patient reviewers:

I am so sorry I have delayed so long in continuing! I got caught up in finals for the spring semester, my two-week long summer break, and registering and attending my summer classes. As some of you may know, I take an overload schedule every semester, and nobody told me an overload during the summer would be THIS HARD! I just took my midterm for my 4 week Biology lecture and lab, and now I have a couple of days off before I have to delve into my work again. (four weeks in which to cover an entire biology text and a lab book is the most insane concept ever, btw.) So, I will be continuing as quickly as I can to complete this before I get distracted again. If I do lag on the story again, please keep in mind that I am GOING to finish this, and start on others! I just have to pass these classes, because I’m paying money I don’t –really- have to take them, and I consider them a slightly higher priority than my story. And if I rush to finish the story in my allotted time, I will royally screw up my story with haste, and you don’t want that, now do you? Don’t? Didn’t think so. Sooooo, enjoy! Or not, it’s up to you. Just be patient with me, please.

Disclaimer/Warning: If you survived all of the previous chapters without freaking out over sex, violence, gore, or the obscene personal use I put these characters (that aren’t mine) though, then the final chapters will be a cake-walk for you. ^_^

On with the show!


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“How many days has it been now?”

Hiei looked up at Yuusuke through reddened eyes circled with distinct bags as he spoke. The tall dark haired boy frowned with a quiet concern rarely displayed at Hiei’s state, watching with an amount of pity Hiei would slay him for giving as the small demon’s eyes moved over to look at the battered redhead. Kurama sat up in his bed, staring at the group gathered at the table; staring, but not seeing.

Yuusuke and Kuwabara had arrived the first day, ready to tease and taunt Hiei mercilessly. Even Kuwabara had the presence of mind to forget such an undertaking after taking a look at Kurama’s twisted form, at Hiei’s unblinking guardianship.

“Six days,” Hiei replied hoarsely, his eyes fixed on Kurama’s. The redhead really did look better. Six days ago he was barely recognizable; battered, torn, and broken when the dark haired demon had rushed him into Yukina’s care. Now he was just covered in the most extreme of his bruises, the gashes and breaks healed by Yukina’s powerful ki. She’d left the bruises to heal on their own, as they would leave no permanent damage, and she’d worn herself to the bone fixing the rest. The bruises left no permanent damage… but he’d not shown a single sign since then that he was in possession of his mind. Every morning he opened his eyes and Yukina would ease him into a sitting position. Every evening he closed his eyes and she would help him to lay back down. There was no way to help him now but through patience. And Hiei seemed to have an endless amount of that for Kurama.

The dark haired demon had sat at the table at the foot of the bed from the very second Kurama had been settled into it. He’d not eaten, he’d not slept, and he’d not relieved himself. He just sat there, wasting away, torturing himself by ignoring the needs of his body. Everyone had come by and tried to coax him out of the room, offering to stay in his stead. He refused every time, not even trusting his sister to guard Kurama as he could.

“If he wakes and I’m not here to tell him it’s all right now, he will slip back into this state. He might never come out. I will not leave,” he’d said adamantly every time he was asked to rest, clinging to the hope that that was true. Yukina had tried to ease his state with a supplement of her own ki to replace his depleted resources, but he always insisted she put it towards finding a way to healing Kurama’s state of mind. She watched him from across the room, wringing her hands nervously. Kuwabara stood constantly by her side, making sure she at least remembered to take care of herself despite her worries. She was grateful for his reminders, realizing that no matter what she did, her death would in no way ease the deaths of Hiei and Kurama.

Evil came every day to keep Hiei company, talking about weapons, porn, alcohol, drugs… anything to try and keep Hiei’s mind on surface thoughts, away from the deeper and darker worries of his soul. Botan had come with him the first few days, but on the third day had spent the entire time darting her gaze between Hiei and Kurama, the look in her eyes leaving no doubt in the others as to what direction their fate was heading. The grim reaper couldn’t bear to be in the room for another moment after that day.

Yuusuke was shaking his head, pushing the slicked black hair out of his face when Evil finally stood. Yuusuke, Kuwabaand and Yukina all looked up at him in surprise at his sudden movement. Evil looked down at Hier a r a moment before looking at the others. He swiftly drew Hiei’s katana and threw it across the room, snatching his wrist before he could reach for it. He held him in place, straining.

“He’s too weak to use his magic, or ki, or whatever you guys call it, but I’ll be damned if he’s not still too strong for me. He’s breaking eye contact with Kurama for at least 10 minutes or I’ll die trying. Now are you guys going to help me?” he finally managed to say, the strain of holding him in place evident by the protruding veins in his neck.

Yuusuke and Kuwabara stared for a moment, then leapt to help, grabbing parts of Hiei’s torso and lifting him into the air. He bucked and twisted to get away, but in his weakened state was no match for their three strengths combined. Yukina’s eyes were as wide as plates as she rushed to open the door for them. They hauled him out of the room and down the steps to the first level of Genkai’s temple, stopping first in a bathroom, stripping him and forcing him onto the toilet. Yukina followed them, keeping her eyes politely averted from his privates, looking her twin in the face. They were at a standstill as Hiei refused to go, fury in his eyes, until Yukina, in an astonishing act of force, stepped foreword and closed her hands around his throat, pressing painfully against his windpipe.

“You cannot help him dead. Now relieve yourself or suffocate,” she said firmly, steel in her voice and eyes as she stared straight into his eyes. He held out for a moment more, until his vision became cloudy enough to realize she wasn’t bluffing. He relieved himself. He closed his eyes against the embarrassment of having his friends clean him afterwards, not trusting him enough to let him go to do it himself. They would all die, he decided. As soon as Kurama was well, he amended.

That done, they hauled him into the kitchen and sat him down in a chair while Yukina found a length of rope. They tied him to the chair and stepped back when they were certain he would not be escaping. Yukina once again took charge, showing the steel that was necessary to heal her unwilling patience as she started to quietly cook. She handed Yuusuke a glass of tea as she spoke to her twin again.

“We are not going to allow you out of this room until you have nourished your body. While you are down here, Kurama is alone. The longer you resist the nourishment I provide, the larger the chance that he will wake without you. Kuwabara, go get his katana and hide it in the secret place I told you of. Every day we will do this to you as long as you refuse to do it yourself. You are too weak to fight back in this state. What good are you to Kurama like this? Soon you will be strong enough to retaliate again, yes. But I would hope you are as smart as I believe you to be. I would hope you see the truth in my words, see that we only do this to help you—because we all care about both of you.” She took the soup she had heated off of the stove and broke off a piece of bread to accompany it, suspecting his stomach had been too long neglected to handle anything else. Hiei allowed her to feed him, glaring the whole time, struggling in vain. Evil knew how to tie a proper knot. When he had stomached enough tea, soup, and bread to satisfy Yukina, she told Evil to let him loose. He ran to Kurama’s room, expecting to block them out, but found Kuwabara already there, watching Kurama. He grinned at Hiei, causing the small demon’s eyes to smolder.

He would, of course, never admit that he already felt ten times better thanks to their actions as he sat back in his seat, his eyes once again locked on Kurama’s distant gaze.


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“Royal flush! Beat that!” Yuusuke exclaimed triumphantly, throwing his cards on the table and grabbing the pile of coins. Kuwabara, Evil, and Koenma all groaned and let their cards fall to the table, ignoring Hiei’s growls for their noise.

It had been three weeks now. Hiei was taking care of himself on his own, and had been allowed his katana—after threatening to release his dragon on them all. Evil had somehow acquired a set of IV’s and hooked up a pouch of nourishing liquid to be drained into Kurama’s body. He’d healed almost completely thanks to the nourishment, but he still stared as blankly as ever into space. While Hiei occasionally trusted the others to watch him while he took care of his bodily functions, he still hadn’t left the building at all. Botan had regained her nerve after the two lovers were properly nourished back into health. Koenma had still had to come to visit with her to get her into the room, but now everyone was taking turns keeping Hiei company. Yukina had not had to reveal her forceful nature again after convincing Hiei to take care of himself, though everyone glanced at her occasionally, speculation in their eyes for the completely unexpected side of her personality.

The boys put up the cards, giving into the fact that Yuusuke was just better, or more stealthy, than they. Yuusuke affected a pout as they gave in, but decided smartly that he could only cheat so many times before one of them killed him upon discovering his tricks. Evil turned to face Hiei as he put the cards away.

“Kurama’s apartment has been rented out to someone new,” he said casually as he scooped up his remaining coins, pocketing them after counting them sadly. “I got all of your stuff and put it in Andy’s old room at my place.” Hiei looked up at him, frowning.

“Where will Kurama live, then?” he asked after a moment’s consideration. Evil grinned at getting a response out of the short demon and shrugged.

“My place, I’d think. His stuff’s already there, y’know. You’re welcome to stay too. Of course, somebody needs to pay rent!” Hiei nodded and stared at the ceiling contemplatively, then looked back at him.

“Do Andy and his friends still live?” he asked suddenly, causing Evil to blink. Evil frowned at him, memories of the scene coming unbidden to his mind. He could see the memories stirring in Hiei’s own mind.

“Don’t worry about them,” he said finally, deciding it was best to keep the look in Hiei’s eyes from cultivating into something more violent. Hiei scowled at him and stood up, grabbing Evil’s shirt and pulling him foreward.

“They still live, don’t they?” he asked quietly, the utter calm in his voice giving itself away for a lie. Evil looked down at the fire demon, shaking his head.

“I’ve already been told the consequences of you killing humans, Hiei. Leave it. They’ve been repaid for their acts,” he said finally, his eyes darting to the guys at the table. None of them knew what this was about. He’d bet anything Hiei didn’t want any of them to know. Why was he pushing it?

The wards on Hiei’s arm were slowly starting to smoke as Hiei lifted Evil off the ground. “Tell me where they are!” he demanded, the room growing dimmer. Their friends all jumped up at the display of anger. Evil just shook his head.

“I’m not going to be the one Kurama blames when you’ve killed humans, Hiei. And unless you can truthfully say I’ve somehow wronged you enough to warrant this attack, you’d better back off.”

Hiei growled and threw Evil against the far wall, his anger clouding his vision as the memories that he’d somehow hidden swirled angrily in his mind—the helplessness, the unwarranted attack, the merciless manner in which they’d done him over and over… much like what had been done to his Kurama. The comparison made him angrier than ever. The room filled with smoke. Yuusuke and Koenma tried to grab him, but he threw them against the wall to lay with Evil.

“I will find them myself!” he growled, about to flash out of the room when a small weak voice made him freeze midstep.

“You would leave me alone, then? You would leave me alone against these memories?” the quiet, broken tone of the familiar voice shattered Hiei’s anger, his resolve, as he whipped around to face Kurama. The redhead stared at him, a lost and despairing look in his eyes as they focused uncertainly on him. Tears were rolling silently down his cheeks, steadily, as if all of the grief he’d experienced was only now releasing itself.

“I tried… so long… so long… to find you… but all I could see was… again and again… and again…” he trailed off, his eyes starting to unfocus again until Yukina cried out softly, catching his focus and bringing him back to them. His gaze once again rested on Hiei’s. “But you are leaving… you will kill and be lost to me forever… I will be alone… with only these… memories…” he spoke slowly, brokenly, causing Hiei’s heart to pound in cold fear. Panic was starting to ebb into Kurama’s eyes; an unchecked panic that bordered on complete loss of the mind. He was trembling visibly, but Hiei couldn’t move. He’d waiting so long for this moment… and now he didn’t know what to do.

“No,” the redhead whispered, then twitched, his voice rising with each word, hysteria coating his tone. “No… No… NO! I can’t… I won’t! NO!” he screamed, covering his face, his overgrown nails digging into his flesh. Hiei’s immobility finally snapped as he leapt into the bed and pulled Kurama’s hands from his face, pinning them down so that he couldn’t hurt himself any more. Kurama was moaning in unbridled terror, his eyes flicking back and forth as he was violently overcome by the hell in his mind. Hiei took his shoulders and shook him desperately, crying out his name again and again.

“Kurama! Kurama! KURAMA! Listen to me! Kurama! You’re safe! We’re all here! I’m here! I’m not going anywhere! I killed them! I KILLED THOSE BASTARDS THAT HURT YOU! Kurama! Kurama please!”

He screamed in frustration and fear as Kurama continued to jerk and tremble. The others stood, save for Evil, at a loss as to what actions to take, by the bed, watching the scene unfold. Hiei looked at them for help, and finding none, looked back at Kurama. He finally cried out, giving up and throwing his arms around the redhead, holding him so tightly he felt he might break him, unable to make himself loosen his hold as tears slid down his cheeks, solidifying into gems as they hit the bed, chanting into his ear as he held him.

“Don’t leave me again, don’t leave me again, you’ve just come back, don’t leave me, you’re safe, I’m here, stay with me, don’t leave me, I love you, I love you, I love you,. GODDAMNIT KURAMA DON’T DO THIS TO ME I LOVE YOU!”

Kuwabara’s eyes went wide as he watched speechlessly. Yukina had hidden her face against Kuwabara’s shoulder, unwilling to waturamurama’s violent convulsions, unsure of what she would do for her poor brother if he could not save his love. Botan watched intently, sobbing quietly as she waited, knowing the fate of Kurama’s soul rested on this moment. If Hiei couldn’t help him, she’d have to take him. Evil sat up from where he’d slammed into the wall, rubbing the back of his head and blinking at the crucial scene in front of him. Yuusuke and Koenma both looked away from the two, embssedssed to witness Hiei’s confession like this, both thinking it too private to be privy to. Hiei himself had started to sob uncontrollably, an act he’d never before engaged in while in his true form. Kurama was gasping and twitching still, about to cause himself to hyperventilate. Hiei had only one more idea left to try.

He grabbed both sides of Kurama’s head, holding it as still as he could, and crushed his lips to the other’s, putting all of his love into that one kiss, passing his ki through the connection, his ki emitting a calming, loving energy. He poured all of his energy into it, one arm dropping to hold him crushingly close again, tear gems still falling freely. Kurama’s twitching turned to shaking; his shaking turned to trembling. His sobs reduced to a quiet cry as he closed his eyes, letting the ki envelop him, letting Hiei’s lips take his. His mind was reeling. Hiei was there! Hiei had not turned away permanently in disgust; he did not hate him forever as he’d thoughHieiHiei loved him! He’d said so… he’d screamed it! Hiei wasn’t gone! Bojintu wasn’t there. He was in one piece. He was not still hanging from the tentacles of… What had he been thinking? Where had his mind just been? He was safe… he was safe… he was safe… His arms cautiously slipped around Hiei’s trembling frame as he let himself become lose in the love he was emitting.

Koenma and Yuusuke watched just long enough to be sure the effect the kiss was having was not negative before making a dash for it. Botan sighed with relief and turned to help Evil up off the ground, leading him out of the room, off to find a room where he could help her work off all of the anxiety that had just built up in that moment. Kuwabara nodded, an almost thoughtful look on his face as he turned and left, holding Yukina’s hand. Yukina looked at them one last time, assuring herself that now the only people that could help them were each other, and shut the door quietly.

When Hiei finally let the kiss come to a slow end he felt exhausted, completely drained of his ki from pouring it all into Kurama. Kurama’s head was spinning with a million different thoughts and memories as he looked at Hiei. They stared into eachother’s eyes for a long moment before silently coming to an agreement and letting their bodies fall to the bed again, Hiei’s head resting on Kurama’s chest, Kurama’s arms wrapped around his shoulders as though inciincing himself Hiei was actually there, that he would not disappear like smoke. As Hiei allowed himself to slip into a deep sleep of exhaustion, Kurama’s eyes slid shut as well, his mind finally at ease now that Hiei was in his possessive embrace, protecting him while at the same time receiving the assurance and love he needed in return from Kurama. Everything was finally right…


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Weeee! I couldn’t get that last paragraph to phrase quite right, but yeah. They’ve now recognized that they need each other, that one can’t be right or safe without the other. Get my drift? Good. I’ll work on rewording that later. Another chapter--Maybe two?--to go. Patience is a virtue!

While this may seem like a short chapter... I worked hard on it *sniffsniff* I'm so sleep deprived!