Acts of Sacrifice

Title: Acts of Sacrifice

Author: Ryukotsusei

Rating: NC-17

Spoilers: Some for the Dark Tournament.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Yu Yu Hakusho

Yusuke couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips as he tried to move. Turning a sidelong glance towards the window he could just make out the beginning of daybreak. For better or worse, he had finally made it through this night of personal hell though he couldn't quite say he was intact. His injuries from the earlier confrontation had finally stopped bleeding but their were new ones to contend with and he knew that unless he managed to find someone who could heal him no questions asked, he was going to be virtually useless in the ring that day.


"If I didn't know better I'd say you are inviting me to come join you once more." Karasu's voice was thick with amusement as he stared at the teen on the bed. Truly he hadn't thought the human would be so.. accommodating in bed, even if the majority of it was coerced. Had they more time he would have greatly enjoyed pushing Yusuke's limits even further, testing to see just how much he could indeed take but it was not to be. The hateful glare that was thrown his way made him chuckle in amusement once more, yes he would have enjoyed a continuation. Glancing at the clock however he sighed in disappointment, time was not on his side this day it seemed. "As enjoyable as I would find hearing your screams once more, if you are going to fight today then you need to see to those injuries. Toguro would be most displeased if you were to forfeit so early in the game."


Fingers clenched in the bedsheets, damning the owner of that voice to hell. Yusuke was well aware of the time frame he was operating under, he didn't need it to be pointed out to him. Explaining his absence to the others was going to be difficult enough, impossible if he didn't get these wounds taken care of. "Fuck off Karasu." Wincing as he pulled himself into a sitting position, he tried to ignore the way his skin pulled beneath the dried blood that covered his chest and legs. While it would be painful, he knew that for the moment anyway he'd be able to walk out of there provided none of Karasu's team mates were up and in the mood to pick a fight. Of course, leaving the room presented another problem all together. Namely the fact that the demented freak sitting across from him had destroyed his clothes. "What the hell am I going to wear?"


Karasu shrugged his shoulders lazily before leaning further back in his chair, his own body still nude from their earlier activities. "What you wear is of little concern to me Detective. " He would have taken great amusement in the great Yusuke Urameshi parading around adorned with nothing but the scowl he was currently wearing, he might have to escort him back to his room personally if that was the case. There would be no doubts in anyones mind then on just who had subdued the Detective.


He knew he should have expected as much, really he did but the comment only further added to Yusuke's surly mood. There was no way in hell he would go back like this, the questions that would follow was something he wanted to put off for as long as possible. It would be hard enough to admit the deal that he had agreed to but somehow he knew that it wouldn't stop there and he feared his friend's reactions if they were to find out he had enjoyed any part of the fucking that had taken place. His eyes landed on the closed doorway that lead to a bathroom. Assuming that the rooms were the same, there was one option available to him and he'd be damned if he listened to any of Karasu's objections. Pulling himself to his feet he felt some of his wounds reopen but he ignored them and walked into the bathroom. He could feel Karasu's gaze trailing over his body and it was a slight relief when he found what he was looking for. A robe, courtesy of hotel management. It would suit his needs perfectly. Yusuke began to walk back out but paused, looking at the shower hesitantly. He needed to get cleaned up but the longer he prolonged his departure the more likely his secret would be revealed. Deciding to hurry back to the suite, he pulled the robe on and tied it closed.


Sighing in mock disappointment, Karasu gestured towards the door in a clear dismissal. His fun for the moment might have come to an end but he was going to get a great deal of enjoyment out of watching Kurama's face when the kitsune learned of what transpired here, assuming that the teen didn't outright tell them. Somehow he doubted Yusuke would, his team mates were notoriously unforgiving under most circumstances and it would be foolish to think that the Detective wasn't aware of this. Still, Kurama and Hiei had been surprising him on a great many instances as of late. Perhaps they would overlook this indiscretion considering the circumstances. It was all pointless to contemplate though he knew, regardless of what they would or would not act the fact remained that they would all be dead soon.


Yusuke paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. He was almost free of the insanity that had reigned in this room, yet he needed to reaffirm their agreement. "You got what you wanted Karasu. Leave Kurama alone." While he was powerless to do anything at this very moment, he knew that his abilities would return sooner or later. If the demon so much as looked at Kurama wrong before their upcoming match he'd send Karasu straight to hell himself.


"As per our agreement Detective. I will not seek him out. However...." Karasu narrowed his eyes at him in warning, letting him know exactly how serious he was. "If the Kitsune should come to me, you will not interfere." It would be entirely up to Yusuke at this point in time if Kurama were to approach him. If the Kitsune learned of what had transpired Karasu knew that he would react as his ruthless nature demanded.


Nodding once Yusuke opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the main room. Thankfully the only one present at the moment was Bui who stared impassively at him. Ignoring the demon Yusuke walked across the room, proud that he was able to keep most of the pain he was experiencing from showing. Once he was out into the hallway he allowed that mask to drop slightly though he was careful about just how much he allowed to show. While the corridors were not heavily occupied, there were a few people out but they seemed to pay him little attention.


As he walked he allowed his mind to wander towards the things that Karasu had said. The details that he pointed out as to Hiei's behavior, the covetous looks, the way his aura would flare ever so slightly when another demon ventured too near. Yusuke frowned as he walked, he couldn't explain the looks since he hadn't seen them. But the aura flare was easy, they'd need every member of their team in order to make it to the final round. Hiei was just doing what he deemed was necessary to assure their advancement, nothing more. Of course, he had said as much to Karasu but the demon had laughed at him and looked at him as if he were too stupid to comprehend demonic behavior.


Perhaps he was, but the idea that Hiei would ever be interested in him as anything other than a team mate seemed highly unlikely. He stood a greater chance with Kurama, but for all the attentiveness the fox displayed towards him there was always a barrier between them. A distant politeness that Yusuke wasn't sure how to breech, assuming he even could. Sighing heavily, he punched in his floor number once he stepped into the elevator. His take charge, take what you want attitude wasn't likely to work in this instance and he knew it. Of course, he might have been willing to chance it if the objects of his affections couldn't express their displeasure in ways that would guarantee he'd end up dead before he could explain himself. No, he stood firm in his decision. It was pointless for him to even consider what he might have had with either of them.


As the elevator began to move Yusuke swayed on his feet slightly. Exhaustion was hitting him hard but he knew that he couldn't give in to his fatigue just yet. It was a fight to even keep his eyes open at this point, he knew if he closed them sleep would follow quickly. A snort escaped him at the thought of just how he'd explain being found as he was asleep in the elevator. Finally arriving at his own floor, he slipped out and made his way down the halls. As he found himself staring at the suite door it struck him then that his passkey had been in his pants which Karasu had destroyed. "Great how in the hell am I supposed to get back in now?"


Without warning the door slowly opened to reveal the Masked Fighter standing there looking up at him. Narrowing her eyes critically, she took in his appearance. No wonder she almost missed his presence, he had been incredibly drained by someone. "Get inside here and shut the hell up. You'll wake the others." As Yusuke moved past her she felt the ki that overlapped him so heavily. Recognizing it immediately she sighed, realizing what was likely to have happened.


Yusuke barely made a sound of protest as the smaller woman shut the door quietly and then propelled him into his own bedroom. Waking the others meant that either Hiei or Kurama had returned sometime during the night. He didn't want to face either of them at the moment so he allowed himself to be shoved into the smaller room. Abruptly he found a clean towel and a wash cloth shoved into his hand.


When Yusuke continued to stand there, she sighed. "Look there isn't much time. Get cleaned up and then come back out. We'll talk once that is done." The Masked Fighter stared at his retreating back, noticing how carefully he walked. "Don't dawdle either unless you plan to fight like that. With your injuries I wouldn't bet that you'd last ten minutes."

"Fine." Yusuke took the opportunity to disappear into the bathroom. Shutting the door he turned the shower on and waited for it to warm as he shrugged the robe off of his shoulders. Turning to stare into the mirror he was shocked to see just how pale he looked. It'd be near impossible to hide this, he looked like death warmed over with the numerous gashes that adorned his body. Some he was certain needed stitches which would make things even more uncomfortable to explain. His fists clenched and it took all of his remaining willpower not to shatter the mirror in front of him. Disgust was written all over his features and self loathing welled up from deep within him once more. How had he fallen so far as to become a plaything to a sadistic demon? Being helpless was not a feeling he was accustomed to and it made him feel all the more pathetic. Turning from the mirror he stepped into the shower, ignoring the way his body screamed in protest at the movement and the harsh sting of the water.


The Masked Fighter waited patiently for her pupil to get done. She was actually a bit surprised when the water shut off as quickly as it did. She'd half anticipated that he'd insist on staying in there longer and she'd end up dragging him out of the bathroom. When he stepped out with a towel around his waist he looked slightly better but he still appeared to have been dragged through hell face first. Motioning to the bed, she directed him to sit down ignoring the startled look he threw at her. "Calm down Yusuke, I'm going to heal some of that damage." Her heart ached for the guy as he moved towards the bed warily. If those other two managed to figure out what the hell they wanted they certainly had their work cut out for them to overcome the damage that had been done.


Sitting on the edge of the bed gingerly, Yusuke watched her approach cautiously. Normally he wouldn't have thought anything of such a thing but things were different now. He'd had more than enough of people he didn't trust putting their hands on him. "So what do you need to do?" He couldn't stop his body from tensing when she laid her hand upon his shoulder, a soft blue glow beginning to envelope it.


"All I need to do is to touch you like I am doing now." Moving her hand to his chest she concentrated on a rather ugly gash that was one of the worst injuries. No doubt this was done by one of Karasu's bombs, the edges were ragged and burned. Left to heal on its own would lead to major scarring, something she was trying to avoid. The less reminders he had of this the better in her opinion. It might help him recover faster than he would otherwise."I know who did this Yusuke and I have a feeling there is more. I'll be honest, I'm hoping you'll tell me I'm wrong in this but I need to know if I am to be able to help you. Are there any other injuries that I cannot see? They'll need to be tended to as well."


The look in her eyes and the way they glanced down to the towel let him know exactly what she meant. Shame rose up once more and he turned his head, unwilling to look at her while nodding slightly. After Karasu had gotten what he wanted the first time the crow had not been nearly do careful with his attentions. There was almost certainly tearing to deal with, if the pain when he moved as well as the blood that had coated the backs of his thighs were any indication.


"I thought as much." She was silent as she continued to work on his visible injuries, wanting to put the others off for last. Anger filled her at seeing the man look so despondent. In the months she had known him, even during the harshest of her lessons he had never looked so defeated. "You probably don't want to hear this but I'm going to say it anyway. You need to let Kurama take care of his own problems, he would not thank you for interfering as you have done today. I can only imagine how he is going to take learning of what Karasu did to you, as well as the fact that you willingly confronted him."


Yusuke turned his head then to glare at her, he knew he had been taking a risk going down there but it was necessary. If no one else gave a damn about what could happen then it fell to him to make sure things didn't happen. "I didn't have a choice, or should I remind you everyone brushed it off as unimportant. I'd do it again to if it meant keeping that bastard away from him." True, it was likely that Kurama would be pissed at him for interfering in his problems but it was something that any friend that gave half a damn would do.


"You should have left the choice to Kurama." The Masked Fighter gave a heavy sigh and pushed back on his chest gently, encouraging him to lie back. After a long moment of reluctance, he finally did so only to jerk when he hand laid gently over his groin area. Granted, she hadn't removed the towel, wishing to preserve at least the shreds of his modesty but she knew it was likely he had injuries there as well. "Relax Yusuke, this is no different than when I healed the rest of you. I'm just doing it through the towel this time. As much as I hate to say it, for now this would be best kept to yourself. Telling the others about what happened will distract them from the fights which could kill us all."


Eyeing every move she made warily, Yusuke snorted at the woman's words. "You're stupid if you think I'm ever going to tell anyone about this. They don't need to know." That was the last thing he wanted to have happen. He didn't need the looks of pity or worse, the looks of superiority that might come from being overpowered by a demon so easily.


"Make no mistake Yusuke, this isn't something you'll be able to hide forever. Neither of those two are idiots and they are going to notice the changes in your behavior. It's inevitable. You're also forgetting Hiei has the Jagan, even if you don't tell him it can easily pick up on broadcasted thoughts. When you watch Kurama fight Karasu, what do you think will be on your mind then? One way or another he's going to know and once he does, Kurama will soon follow. That is of course assuming Karasu doesn't say something to him before that which would be something that bastard would do." The glow died from her hands and she spared him a sympathetic look, even if her mask hid it from him. She truly didn't envy the position he was in. "I need you to turn over. I'll be done soon and then you can decide on how you want to handle this."


Slowly he moved further up the bed and rolled over onto his stomach, making sure the towel stayed in place. Once again he felt her hands rest lightly upon his body and he closed his eyes, wishing he could forget the whole damned tournament. "Is there... any way that you could shield my mind so I won't project?" If she could, that would give him at least a few more days where he wouldn't have to face what he had done. Even scouring his body hadn't taken away the way his skin continued to crawl, remembering Karasu's touch.


Pulling her hands away, the Masked Fighter allowed her healing energy to disappear and sighed. "I'm afraid not Yusuke and even if I could, I doubt it would stand up to the Jagan if he decided to use it anyway. Once this is over I think you should tell them. Granted, Kurama won't be happy you chose the path that you did but I think his reactions towards you may be different than you are fearing. Hiei's as well." She watched him carefully as he sat up, no longer wincing with every movement. There was no mistaking the haggard look in his eyes though. “Despite how it sometimes appears, I believe they both genuinely care about you on some level."


Abruptly he stood, not wanting her to see the look of pain that crossed his face when she mentioned the two demon's feelings. Laughing weakly he made his way over to the dresser and began yanking clean clothes out, he needed to get ready for the matches today sooner or later. "You know Karasu said the same thing. I didn't believe it from him, what makes you think I'll believe you either?"


Staring hard at him, the Masked Fighter seemed to be looking into his very soul, trying to unlock some secret that only she knew about. The depths of Yusuke's feelings had yet to be revealed, but if last night was any indication it was clear to her that for Kurama at least, he'd be willing to sacrifice his own life in order to save the kitsune. "That demon is nothing if not observant, if he threw that at you it is more than likely true. He wanted to see what your reaction was to the knowledge, using it as a way to hurt you. What else did Karasu say to you Yusuke?"


Clenching the shirt tightly in his hands he turned from the dresser to look at her. Dredging up what exactly had been said wasn't high on his list of things to do for the day. Assuming what Karasu had said about the two were true, it was likely everything else he said was as well. Especially the part where eventually they would tire of him and discard him like the human trash that he was. The crow had been quick to point out that a demon's loyalty was a fleeting thing, and they would remain for only as long as he continued to amuse them. "It doesn't matter, none of it does. I'll go out there today like nothing happened. The final rounds will come soon and I'll kick Toguro's ass . Afterwards I'll go home and forget about this entire fucked up trip."


Standing silently, she merely shook her head. Closing himself off wasn't the best of things and eventually it would wear him down. If nothing else, she could grant him a small amount of time to compose himself however, the day would be difficult enough without her adding to his stress. "Alright Yusuke, I'll leave it alone for now. But if you ever want to talk about it, you know where to find me." Praying that he would come to her, if not one of the two demons in question she walked out of the room leaving him to get dressed in peace.

Yusuke watched her go and then dropped the towel to the floor carelessly. Housekeeping could come and pick it up later, he wasn't going to worry about it. Pulling the pants on he then yanked his shirt over his head. He could hear signs of life out in the main room now and to be honest he didn't know if he could maintain that cocky, screw the world attitude around them at the moment. Glancing at the closed door he wondered just how long it would be before someone pounded on it, wanting to know when he planned on getting his ass up and out of bed. Throwing himself down on the bed he closed his eyes and tried to block out the image of Karasu looming over him.


In the main room the Masked Fighter looked to Yusuke's door once more, an action that did not go unnoticed between the two demons. Kurama followed her gaze, wondering what had her so interested in Yusuke at the moment. "Is there a problem we should know about?" The fact that Yusuke had not made an appearance yet was bothersome but not necessarily unexpected. It was quite likely that Yusuke was irritated with him for ignoring his warning last night but as the morning had proven there had been nothing to worry about. He had gone to the appointed "kidnapping" place and waited, fully prepared to show Karasu how unwise it was to hunt a kitsune. Yet there had been no sign of the crow and eventually he made his way back to the hotel room. Just to be safe though, once Yusuke did choose to appear he intended on refraining from saying 'I told you so.'


Shaking her head slightly she turned from the closed door, ignoring the suspicious looks being thrown her way. "Yusuke just had a rough night, that's all. Give him a few minutes to get his act together, he'll be ready when we need him." She wasn't about to elaborate on his rough night, if they wanted to think he had been out drinking or something then so much the better. At least that would explain his absence from the suit all night.


"Leave it to Urameshi to slack off once again. We'll probably be stuck taking over his fights too. What'd he do, go on a bender all night?" Kuwabara walked into the room carrying a soda, ignoring the bland looks being thrown his way. He was a bit irritated with the man, he could have at least invited him to come along to wherever he had disappeared to but no, he'd been left out once again.


"Shut up fool or do I need to remind you that you lost to a child. If anyone is slacking here it's you." Checking to make sure his katana was secure by his side Hiei threw Kuwabara a disgusted look. He was almost certain that no matter what condition Yusuke happened to be in at the moment he'd be of more use than the human standing before him.


"Shut up shorty, at least I have two good arms! We'll see who needs help by the time this day is out!" Clenching his fists he stared down at the irritated demon, more than willing to take out some early morning energy fighting with the apparition. However it wasn't to be as Kurama took control of the situation, ensuring that there would be no fighting between them that morning. He huffed, they could always finish this later.


"I think it's best if we leave now, we'll meet you at ringside. I trust you'll be able to get Yusuke there in time for the first match." Looking down at his partner, Kurama grabbed his attention before walking out the door, unaware that an ambush had been prepared for them by the team they were set to fight first. Throwing one last look over his shoulder, he wondered exactly what it was the Masked Fighter had been hiding. While he couldn't smell any deceit on her, he was certain she was hiding something from him. One way or another, he would find out what the secret was but first they had to survive the day.