Hikisaka

Hikisaka

He felt cold but at the same time warm. He felt the bullet wound in his heart, it was sharp, agonisingly so…but strangely…bearable. His eyes were closed, nothing could convince them to open. He recognised this feeling, this despicable feeling that meant only one thing. He had been reduced to the weakness of a newborn kit.

After his youth he had decided it would never happen again, he would rather be dead than feel so pitiful again! Dependant. He listened hard. There were sounds, demons squabbling nearby…hunters celebrating their kill. He would have bared his teeth if his mouth felt able to move. Disgusting creatures, barbaric and cruel. Under normal circumstances he’d delight in it, participate even…he’d get his revenge. Even as weak as he was, their scent flooded his senses. He’d find them at a later date and make them wish they had never laid eyes on him.

A game. That’s what it had been. A game that had gone so awry. It was his own error, he had not been up to the game. He could have stayed in hiding until he had been free. It was then he realised he was floating. A spirit perhaps? A creature not of death or of life. “Youko Kurama.” He tensed as a monotonous voice spoke behind him.

“I am here to take you to be judged.” The voice spoke. Female. Unsympathetic. Possibly the demon ferry girl Ayame. He had heard of this wench from the taverns. Lord Koenma was awaiting him. He turned his head, surprised that he was able. If the Death God was waiting for him, then he’d have to wait a little longer! He managed to twist himself into a ball of spiritual mass, a transformation in spirit form, how many apparitions could attest their abilities to this?

In this ball he found it easier to move. He was still weak as a newborn but he could move more freely. As he blindly pushed himself away from the ferry girl he realised that he was moving fast, the hunters’ scents had already vanished from his nose. He could no longer hear their voices. A barrier stopped him. He didn’t know where he was but the air was fresh, sweet…human world.

Lord Koenma would miss him. He had to hide. In his weakened form he would not be able to fight his way free. He would be condemned to hell, a place he longed to reach, his dearly beloved awaited him there, but his sense of preservation refused to allow him to accept it willingly. He was a fighter, a fox. One who had escaped from tighter situations. Who was he to be caged now?

The barrier seemed weaker to him. His frustrations had grown while he was in demon form but now… He pressed himself against the barrier, it was difficult, even as weak as he was he was still strong enough to be resisted. But no…he was no longer demon…he was spirit. With this thought the barrier seemed to crumble and let him through.

A small victory, but the barrier left him drained of energy. Spirits were not meant to cross plains without the aid of a ferry girl, he understood that now. His spirit was crumbling. He didn’t have much time. He pressed forward, it seemed endless. The scent of humans was so close yet so far away.

It seemed an age before he finally reached the open air of the city. Blind as he was the sound, the smell, the feel…humans active as bees, working, moving…it was a hive. But he was far from them. There was a heat that was below him, human pollution…it was a barrier, but even so the air was that much richer than demon world.

“Youko Kurama…you shouldn’t be here.” A voice scolded, also female but brighter…warmer… “Come here. Let me help you before you do even more damage to your soul.” The wind shifted around him and he felt a body next to him. “You’re already fracturing.” The woman spoke again, reaching out and touching him.

At the touch he moved away. “Youko Kurama.” The woman was alarmed. If he had been capable, or in the right form, he would have backed up, hackles raised. He was being cornered and no fox was cornered! “Now calm yourself.” The woman chirped, “I want to help you but I can’t if you don’t come with me.”

“I wouldn’t try and reason with him.” The monotonous female spoke from behind him. “He is a demon.”

At the sudden appearance of Ayame he started and sank down, the only way he knew. “Youko Kurama wait!” The warmer voice cried, obviously panicking as he sank down deep into the depths of the city. An argument was breaking out, a rather one sided if his hearing was accurate. But even that was beginning to fade. The woman was right. He was fracturing.

He had no aim, no idea where he was going…if only he could bond with a host…but everything around him was full of life, life would reject a foreign soul. The exception was of a woman, pregnant. He could feel her heartbeat, could feel the child…it was cold…dead…it would be stillborn or destroyed before it could be born.

That would be no good. A sharp pain filled him as more energy tore from him. He had minutes left, he had left the sanctity of hell and would dissolve into nothingness if he didn’t hurry. Despite the pain he moved forwards, slowly, sluggishly. Had the ferry girls abandoned him as a lost cause? It wouldn’t surprise him, heavenly bodies and the like thought they were so much better than demons!

A flicker of life caught his waning attention. It was almost as though it was beckoning to him. Another woman, pregnant. A baby in it’s first trimester. A soul attempting to attach. He struggled towards it and hovered over the woman’s head. A baby was easy to push aside but something stopped him. It was determined…

He used the last bit of his strength to push forwards, pushing the soul and his own into the baby, it had life but even if it rejected him he would have an energy boost, steal some of the babes life and resume his search for a suitable host.

It was strange. As soon as they both swam inside the baby the other soul reached out and entangled itself in his own broken soul. It was disconcerting but at this point he had power to resist. Was this really the fate of Youko Kurama? To be consumed by a human soul?

Instead of the sharpness he expected to feel…he began to feel warm. The pain subsiding. He felt the human shift into him as he shifted into the human. It appeared both souls had merged inside this life form…their thoughts and feelings intermingled. He was weak, but he felt strong. Warmth and the feeling of safety flooded him.

His power was diminished. The urge to rest overflowed as the vessel relaxed, filled with two souls slowly becoming one. The other had been cleansed of memories from previous lives, it was empty…infantile…he would remain dormant, his soul and power was meshing with the child, it wouldn’t be completely helpless, it would be powerful…given time. And when the time was done, he would come forth, return to his former glory…but for now…it was time to rest, gather his strength.

The body seemed to read his mind as at that moment he felt it give a hard kick to the mother. A firm pressure was placed over it, the mother doubtlessly in pain. He would be free of the prison, which he had had no choice but to flee, and then he would get his revenge! With that he settled and drifted into a state of hibernation, waiting until that moment when he would breathe air once more.


ardentes – I have to admit, there will be a pairing, but I’ve not quite decided what pairing it’s going to be…might compromise and make it a threesome pairing between Hiei/Kurama/Yusuke…thoughts? And thanks for the review!

NyteKit – Thanks for the review! Not sure how people will react to this, I’m trying to portray Youko’s malicious nature while he’s afraid. It probably doesn’t work lol!