Trails of Eros

I've had this chapter finished for a long time... I just forgot to post it :p

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Kuwabara sat there for a long time holding the small tormented demon in his arms. Hiei continued to have episodes that ranged from quiet whimpering to violent thrashing. Kuwabara had wrapped a blanket around the demon but Hiei's claws had easily shredded the thick fabric and had embedded themselves in the human's pale skin. Kuwabara did nothing to stop him, he only grit his teeth as the nails dug deeper. The last time he had tried to restrain Hiei's hands the demon had only become more distressed and panicked. Soon blood was soaking the front of Kuwabara's robe and he had to do his best to ignore it. Instead he focused on Hiei by rubbing the trembling demon's back and combing his fingers through the demon soft black hair. A small whimper escaped Hiei's lips and Kuwabara frowned. It scared him to see the demon in such a weakened state, especially when the demon was usually so powerful.



"Shh it's going to be alright Hiei." Kuwabara whispered; he didn't know how many times he had repeated that sentence.



He looked up at the clock. Hours had passed with no signs of improvement. The only time Kuwabara had moved was to phone room service and cancel their food order. They had still brought back the clean clothing and an envelope stuffed full of pictures from the matchmaking program. He found it funny that Hiei had already attracted plenty of attention while staying in the hotel room all night.



Kuwabara sighed in relief as Hiei finally removed the razor sharp claws from his flesh. The demon then relaxed before curling into Kuwabara's chest and inhaling deeply. Kuwabara chuckled lightly as he was reminded of waking up with the small demon lying on top of him with his nose buried in his shirt. He brushed some of the bangs away from Hiei's face before yawning and checking the clock again.



"Kurama should be here soon." Kuwabara muttered before yet another yawn overtook him.



He knew he had to stay awake but he could feel his energy slowly slipping away. It wasn't the same tiredness that Kuwabara was used to, and his psychic awareness told him that it was best to lie down. He sighed in annoyance before bringing Hiei over to the bed and tucking the demon in firmly with the many layers of blankets. He knew it would do little help of keeping the demon from thrashing since Hiei had easily shredded the other blanket but he still hoped that it would at least keep the demon from rolling onto the floor. Kuwabara lied down on his side of the bed before he felt a very sudden drain on his energy that caused him to black out.



~*~





The first thing Kuwabara noticed when he woke up was the feeling of dread that had settled in his stomach. The second thing he noticed was the cold damp air that clung to his skin. Kuwabara sat up slowly and shook his head before opening his eyes. What he saw shocked him.



A vast swamp surrounded by a densely packed forest stretched out before him. Most of it was either covered in moss or a fog that drifted slowly in the cold breeze that made Kuwabara pull his jacket closer. It struck him that he didn't remember putting it on and when he looked down he was wearing the same dark blue jacket, white t-shirt, and light blue jeans that he had been wearing at the beginning of the mission. He wondered when he had changed and realized that the last thing he remembered before waking up was when he blacked out at the hotel room. A dull pounding had started in his left temple and Kuwabara groaned as he tried to remember anything before he had woke up. He remembered taking Hiei to Aromai, the receptionist had been grouchy for some reason, he had carried Hiei to room 1314, they had fought and Hiei had collapsed. Kuwabara's eyes widened in panic.



"Hiei!"



"What in the hell are you doing here?" Kuwabara spun around to look at the small demon.



"What do ya mean 'what the hell are you doing here' I just woke up here!" He shouted, instantly irritated at Hiei's accusing tone.



"Hn, that's highly unlikely." The demon replied with an eye roll before turning and walking away.



"Hey wait a second I don't even know where 'here' is!"



Kuwabara ran after Hiei, who had stopped paying any attention to the human. Just as Kuwabara reached out to grab the demons cloak, he tripped over a moss covered log and was sent sprawling across the muddy ground. Hiei looked down at the human in complete bewilderment.



"You lack of grace is alarming." Was his only remark before he kept walking.



Kuwabara grumbled back something unintelligible before getting up and brushing himself off.



They continued walking before resting at the bottom of a steep hill where a river ran through. Kuwabara sighed before lying down on a patch of dry earth. The atmosphere of the swamp was dark and gloomy; he could feel that something horrible had happened there. Briefly Kuwabara wondered what that something was before he realized that he really didn't want to know. He looked over at Hiei who was glancing around the area nervously before glancing at him and quickly looking away. Kuwabara frowned; if he didn't know better he'd say that him being there was making Hiei nervous. A sudden scream made both boys jump to their feet.



A pack of five demons burst through the trees, following their small prey. Even though it was running fast enough to be a blur Kuwabara could tell it was limping and low on energy. The small creature tripped over a tree root and screamed as it toppled over into the forest rough under brush. Instantly Kuwabara was running at the demons at top speed. He knew, just from the scream, that the creature was a child.



"Hang on kid, we're coming!" He yelled before a barrier suddenly appeared in front of him, crackling with energy.



The air was knocked of his lungs as Kuwabara was sent flying backwards, skipping and sliding over the wet ground. Hiei looked on in pity; he really wished the human wasn't there.



"There's no use human, you can't break that barrier." He spoke gravely.



"Like hell I can't!" Kuwabara yelled before taking his stance. "Spirit Swor- what the?" He looked down at his hands in shock; not a single spark had appeared, yet alone his sword. His shock turned to fear when he found that he felt no spirit energy coursing through his veins.



"Aw man, Hiei there's something with my spirit energy so you got to try and break the barrier."



"I can't." The small demon replied coldly.



"What do you mean you can't, there's a kid in there damn it!" Hiei growled in exasperation.



"I meant that I've tried before fool and it never works!" He then reached out for the barrier while keeping his eyes locked with the humans.



Kuwabara watched as Hiei's fingers brushed against the barrier. Almost instantly a shower of sparks blinded the both of them before Hiei collapsed. Before he knew it, Kuwabara was by the demon's side and checking for injuries. Hiei's gaze was unfocused and his body stayed limp in the humans grasp. Kuwabara tried to shake the demon back into focus but no matter what he tried the demon didn't wake.



The child's pain filled screams echoed over the swamp as it was beaten. Kuwabara grit his teeth and stood, fully determined to break the barrier. He called upon his spirit energy and imagined the smooth barrier slicing sword forming in his hands, but nothing happened, he didn't even feel a charge. Kuwabara swore in frustration while pounding his fists against the barrier. He only stopped when the sound of a familiar whimper reached his ears and he looked over. Hiei lay on the ground with his hands pressed firmly over his ears and eyes stretched wide in an unfocused and feral stare.



Kuwabara was quick to place his hands over Hiei's when he remembered how much more sensitive the demons hearing was to his own. The demon didn't struggle as Kazuma pulled him close to muffle any noise from the scene happening behind them. The barrier crackled behind them but Kuwabara knew that without his spirit energy he had no hope of breaking it. All he could was cover Hiei up and hope that it helped the demon.



After a long while the demons left the child alone, wandering off in different directions before disappearing. A short time after Kuwabara heard the crackling of the barrier stop. He blinked in surprise and reached out a hesitant hand. When he didn't feel the barrier he gently lay Hiei (who seemed to have fainted) against a boulder by a small river before getting up to run and check on the kid. A small tug on his pant leg made him stop. He crouched beside Hiei and gave the demon a comforting pat on the shoulder.



"I don't want you going there; you'll be disgusted by what you see." Kazuma took a long look in Hiei's pleading eyes before sighing.



"Hiei… someone has to help that kid, I don't care what I see I just know that they're hurting right now and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just left them there." He stood and took a step back from the small demon. "I promise to be back as quick as I can okay." And with that said he turned and ran to the child in the forest.



The first thing Kuwabara saw was the blood. It lie everywhere, on the grass, on the trees, and in the mud that coated the child's body. Kuwabara gagged at the site but tried to remain calm. He checked the child's vitals and was relieved to find that it was still breathing and still had a pulse. Kurama had showed him how to detect a demons heartbeat after their fight with Sensui; demon heartbeats were much more subtle than humans and harder to find. He also found that the child was male and that his ankle had become tangled in some tree roots, twisting it until Kuwabara was sure it had snapped. He carefully broke the roots free of the ankle when he froze. A fresh wave of nausea hit him as he saw the extent of the child's injuries.



"O- Oh god." Fell from Kuwabara's lips as a shutter shook through his body.



He gently lifted the child and cradled him close as he brought it down to the river. Hiei watched in silence as Kuwabara took a cloth out of his jacket and set to cleaning the child. He started with the child's face noting that one side was bruised and swelling. It took a long time to wash away all the mud and grime. Kuwabara often had to dip the cloth in the river water, sometimes after just one wipe on the child's skin. After he was finished washing, Kazuma took some bandages and a tube of disinfectant from his pockets before he started to clean and bandage the wounds. He worked swiftly and carefully, using the skills he had learned over the years to quickly patch all the boys' wounds. The child had begun to shiver with cold and Kuwabara knew that the red cloak tied around the child's neck would provide very little warmth.



"Hiei come here for a minute!" The demon seemed to be in a daze as he walked over to Kuwabara.



"What do you want human?"



"The kid is freezing could you make a campfire for him?" He then covered the boy with his jacket but the demon didn't move. "Please Hiei… he's lost a lot of blood after… after what they did to him." Kuwabara choked.



"After they raped him."



Kazuma flinched at the demons harsh words. He had known what had happened to the child. How the child was abused. The cruelty that was inflicted on him. But even though he knew, it had sounded so much worse when it was said out loud.



"Y-yeah, I've patched his wounds but he needs to warm up or he might get pneumonia and I don't think he could survive that."



"Hn exactly why do you want to help that wretch?" He said before lighting a stack of logs between them on fire.



"How can you say that Hiei? He's just a baby… I-I couldn't leave him to die." Kuwabara spoke sadly; it had honestly hurt him that Hiei thought so low of the child.



"Then do you plan on adopting him? He would only be a burden for you to take care of."



"Shut up Hiei! I don't care if he'd be difficult to take care of, he's a kid! A kid that's been hurt and I refuse to let him die!"



"Why the hell would you waste your time on something that was too weak to defend himself?"



"God damn it Hiei! Everyone has their moments of weakness and no one is born strong!" Kuwabara slumped and sighed before he let his voice soften. "We all need someone there for us once and awhile… and I don't think it's a burden to be there for someone."



Hiei stayed quiet and sat on the other side of the campfire. To Kuwabara, he seemed to looking for something within the flames, though he couldn't guess what that was. It confused him as much as the swamp did.



"Hiei, where are we?"



"The sinking swamp, a dismal wasteland located beside the forest of fools in demon world."



"Why are we here?"



"That should be obvious human, especially with your psychic abilities. Perhaps you've been neglecting your training over the years?"



Kuwabara grit his teeth in frustration. He had never even once neglected his training. Every day he practiced with his abilities, pushing himself to his limits and asking Genkai for advice when he needed it. His psychic abilities had grown greatly over the past three years; he just hadn't had the chance to show them off yet. Sudden realization dawned on the human just then and he laughed. Hiei stared at him with a questioning annoyance.



"Jeez Hiei, you call me a fool when you're the one making stupid assumptions about how I live. Let me tell you something, I never neglect my training. I'm not that stupid okay, after all the demons we fought I know that plenty of 'em would like to take a chunk out of my hide. And I'll also have you know that I just figured out what this swamp thing is about. Ya see in one of Urameshi's first missions he had to fight this demon called Rando. Things didn't go so well and I couldn't move when he ran into some trouble. I don't know how I did it and I still don't know but I somehow disconnected from my body to contact him. It's like I became a ghost without dying, Kurama called it astral projection. And that's what's happening here, I'm communicating with you like a ghost would, through one of your dreams!"



Hiei snorted dismissively.



"Oh good job human it only took you forever to figure it out." He said with a roll of his eyes.



"Screw you shrimp, at least I don't dream up this creepy crap!"



Hiei growled loudly and jumped to his feet before pointing an accusing finger at Kuwabara.



"You bastard! I didn't choose to dream this and I sure as hell didn't wish for you to see it! If I had my way I would have never seen this swamp after that night!" Then he stopped, his eyes wide, realizing what he had just said.



Kuwabara sat there with his mouth agape. He couldn't believe what he had heard. His eyes traveled down from the demon standing in front of him, to the demon in his arms. The swelling on the child's face had gone down and Kuwabara could finally see it. There, under all the bruises and freshly bleeding cuts, was a very young Hiei.

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Yeah, I'm not exactly kind to the characters in this story :/ Anyways, Astral Projection isn't something I myself made up, it's a real world beleif that is tied in with Japanese folklore, it has a wiki page if you want to look it up. You see Astral Projection is basically an out of body experience when someone's spirit separates from their body. For those who remember the fight with Rando; Kuwabara separated from his body to contact Yusuke. Basically Kuwabara did the same thing in this chapter except that he wound up in Hiei's dream scape which happened to be replaying one of Hiei's memories as a nightmare.



Now that the explanation done, I'll go back to writing stories :)