Chapter 1: Overture


     Two figures stood beneath a monumental oak tree. In the shadows of the 
leaves and branches they watched an image of two youths. One of the youths was 
tall, with long red hair and eyes the colour of spring leaves, the other was 
short and dark haired, with blood red eyes and a bandanna covering his pale 
forehead. The watchers frowned as the red haired youth turned to pull the other 
into the circle of his arms and whisper, "I love you Hiei".
     One of the watchers, a tall man with long black hair and a mask covering 
the lower half of his face, grimaced and said "It seems our Kurama has taken 
another lover". 
     "Yes, something will have to be done about that before we can do what we 
have planned" replied the other watcher, a slim man with long silver hair and 
golden eyes. His fox ears twitched, and he hissed to the dark-haired man 
"Someone approaches, we must be gone from here." The two watchers then stepped 
into the trunk of the oak and disappeared. The image in the shadows wavered and 
blurred, the dark youth named Hiei faded first, leaving Kurama alone before he 
too vanished from sight. 

*****

     "Hn. Stupid fox. Hugging me in front of everyone! That dumbass Kuwabara 
laughed for twenty minutes! Stupid, stupid fox!" Hiei paced back and forth on 
the tree branch where he habitually spent the night. So distracted was he that 
he barely had the time to say "Where's that youki coming fro....erk" before the 
branches of the tree encircled him and pulled him into the massive trunk behind 
him. 
     The first thing Hiei noticed when he awoke was that there was no light at 
all around him.  He tried to move and realised that there was no space around 
him either. His knees and elbows were pulled in to his chest and he barely had 
space to move his head, much less anything else. 
     "I will not panic, I can get out of this, just call a little fire, see 
where I am" Hiei thought, trying to stay calm. Then he discovered that he was 
unable to make even the tiniest spark. 
     "Okay, I'm warded, I can't see and I can't move. Someone put me here, 
eventually they'll have to let me out or say something.... they wouldn't just 
leave me here. Would they?"
     Time crawled for Hiei as he fought down panic. He had never liked being 
trapped, and as the hours passed he began to feel more and more helpless. 
     After what seemed like centuries had passed, Hiei lost his battle for 
control. The pain from his muscles cramping combined with the severe hunger and 
thirst he was beginning to feel sapped his will and courage, and Hiei cried out 
"Let me out of here you bastards! Damn you! I'll kill you! Let me out! Let me 
ouuuuuuuuut!" No reply came. As more time passed, Hiei's howls became wordless 
screams. 
     The two figures standing outside the cell looked at each other for a 
moment. The youko said "Two days. Damn but he's a tough one. Most people start 
screaming within hours. I was starting to worry that we'd have to take him out 
of there or risk losing him to dehydration."
     "So then, we move on to the next stage?" 
     "Yes, it only gets better from here on in. We'll break the little bastard 
so badly, even his precious Kurama won't be able to put the pieces of his mind 
back together again!"

*****

     In a house in Ningenkai, three friends meet to discuss the disappearance of 
the fourth member of their group. Kurama sat on his bed, his head in his hands, 
while Yuusuke and Kuwabara paced across the room. 
     "Don't worry Kurama, we'll find Hiei. Somehow, we'll find out where he is. 
Botan is on her way to see Koenma now, he'll be able to help."
     "Somehow, Yuusuke, I don't think it'll be that easy." Sighed Kurama, grief 
and worry evident on his face. 
     Kuwabara and Yuusuke exchanged looks. They needn't say anything, because 
despite their attempts to be positive, neither of them believed it would be easy 
either.

*****

     In a castle in Makai, a beautiful young woman writhed in agony as a hot 
iron was applied to the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. After long moments of 
searing hot torment, she passed out and her soul detached itself from her pain-
wracked body. Her astral self looked at the battered body, and said "Girl, you 
have had better days. Ah well, you've also had worse. I need a break from Yomi's 
attention, let's see who else is around. Hmmmm. Someone else seems to be having 
a bad day as well, and nearby too. A fire spirit from the looks of things. Maybe 
I'll go and see how he's holding up, if it's his first time being tortured he 
might not know how to deal with it,  and he might need all the help he can 
get...."

Chapter 2: Meetings


     Moisture dripped down the walls of the cell, and Hiei's breath steamed in 
the frigid air. A single small, barred window was set high in the wall and a 
thick steel door was positioned directly opposite the captive fire demon. Hiei's 
hands were chained together and the chains were attached to the wall above his 
head. His feet were also chained together, and that chain was run through a 
metal ring in the floor. Every muscle in Hiei's compact body ached and burned 
after all those hours in that accursed box, and the cold air of the cell wasn't 
helping matters. The wards sealing in his powers remained unbreakable.
     He had tried again and again to figure out just what was going on, but he 
had yet to see the face of his tormentor, or even hear him speak. He had passed 
out in that damn box, and woken up here. Worse yet, it seemed that somehow his 
friends couldn't find him, or at least couldn't get to him, or help would surely 
have come by now. But to prevent even Koenma from finding him would take a lot 
of power, and he didn't know anyone who was that strong.  Eventually exhaustion 
pulled Hiei down into a deep sleep. 

******

     Hiei stood on a vast, rolling plain of grass. Sweet-smelling wildflowers, 
of many colours and shapes, filled the air with their perfume. Off in the 
distance a small hill rose above the plain, and a silver shimmering could be 
seen at the peak of the hill. Seeing nothing else of any particular interest, 
Hiei decided to head off in the direction of the oddly glowing mound. As soon as 
he reached that decision, he found himself standing at the base of the little 
hill. 
     Somehow, against all odds, Hiei could not bring himself to be suspicious or 
even surprised at this development. There was something about this serene place, 
something that set one at ease, no matter what may have previously preyed upon 
one's mind. Hiei started up the mound at a leisurely pace; the peaceful aura of 
this place seemed to discourage haste.
     When he reached the top of the hill, Hiei discovered that the strange 
silver glow was generated by a startlingly beautiful naked  young woman. The 
girl stood before him, a friendly smile on her angular face. She was short, 
approximately the same height as Hiei, and her limbs were well muscled and 
shapely. Her lips were full, but rather pale, and her ears were lobeless and 
pointed at the tips. She had eyes the colour of spring grass, greener even than 
Kurama's eyes, which seemed to burn with an inner fire. Her eyes were half again 
as large as human eyes and slanted sharply upwards. On her hip was a tattoo of a 
silver rose that seemed almost to be a living rose embedded in her flesh. Her 
hair fell down to her ankles in a shimmering curtain of silver and was held back 
from her face by a thin circlet of a silvery metal. Hiei stared in utter 
amazement, for in all his years he had never seen anyone quite like this. The 
tranquil silence was broken as the girl before him suddenly burst out into 
musical sounding laughter. 
     "What's so funny?" snarled Hiei, the peaceful atmosphere dissipating before 
his sudden irritation.
     "The look on your face is priceless, kid" said the girl, a crooked smile on 
her face "you look like you stumbled into an unguarded treasure vault." 
     "Hn." Hiei crossed his arms across his chest and tried to ignore the 
grinning young woman in front of him. He looked around him, once more taking in 
his surroundings. Something nagged at his mind, something was out of place here. 
What was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be somewhere else? Somewhere 
decidedly less pleasant? Finally, he decided to ask the girl, galling though 
that may be to do.
     "Is this real, or am I dreaming?" Hiei asked, trying very hard to sound 
pleasant.
     "Well, both really. You are currently dreaming, but this place, and myself, 
are real as can be. I'm actually an astral projection, that is, I've separated 
my soul from my body to come visit your dreams. Wait, don't ask why, I'll 
explain. Right now, your body is locked in a cold, damp cell awaiting further 
torture. I couldn't just let you deal with it on your own. That would be 
heartless, and would go against my principles too. Unfortunately, it took longer 
to get you here than I thought it would, so I don't have much time left before I 
have to go back to my body. So I'll just tell you this, what I have done 
tonight, you too can do. It's not easy the first time, but if you concentrate 
and envision a separation between your soul and your body, you should be able to 
do it. Having that Jagan will be a great help too. But remember this, don't stay 
away from your body too long, or both body and soul will become too weak and 
*both* will die. That means no reincarnation, no after life, no nothing. Just 
death. A good way to tell when you've been away for too long is when your 
lifeline starts dimming. Your lifeline is what connects your soul and body 
together while you're alive, and you can see it only when the two are separated. 
See, mine is starting to dim already." gasped the girl, in a breathless rush to 
finish what she needed to say. 
     For the first time, Hiei noticed the silver line stretching from the girl's 
back off into the distance, and it was indeed looking rather dim. As the girl 
started to fade from sight, Hiei suddenly blurted out: "Wait! What if I need to 
find you? How can I do that?" 
     The girl looked surprised for a second, then said "There are several ways, 
but I don't have time to explain most of them right now.... here..." she seemed 
to turn and grasp her lifeline in her hands, and then suddenly a faintly glowing 
silver strand came away in her hands and she turned back to Hiei. "I'll use this 
piece of my lifeline to make a connection between us, just follow it and you'll 
find me... now I really gotta go, or there won't be anything of me left to 
find." and with that she disappeared. 
     Hiei looked down at his chest, where a faint silver strand now stretched 
off into the distance. When he concentrated on it he could faintly sense the 
girl at the other end. He smiled his usual half-smile, and said to the now-empty 
air "Arigato" before he willed himself awake. 
     
******
     And found himself back in a cold cell, where moisture dripped down the 
walls and wan sunlight leaked in through the small window placed high in the 
wall. He stared at the door in front of him and wondered about his strange 
dream. Would he really be able to detach his soul from his body? He hoped he 
never had to find out, but if the experience with the box was any indication, he 
feared that he would find the ability to escape his body quite useful in the 
near future.
     The steel door creaked on rusty hinges, and two tall figures were outlined 
in the light coming from the doorway. The first stepped forward into the cell, 
and Hiei gasped. "Karasu! But, I saw you *die*!" and then his attention was 
drawn to the second figure, and he gasped again "Kurama?! What?"
     "No, brat, I am not your precious Kurama" the youko that Hiei had a first 
mistaken for Kurama growled, making the name sound like a curse, "I am Kuromori, 
and you will rue the day you ever heard my name." Kuromori began laughing 
harshly, and Karasu soon joined in, both youkai glaring at Hiei balefully. 
     "Kuromori? Black Forest? Isn't that a kind of.... what is that ningen 
word... chocolate cake? And could you go easy on the maniacal laughter? It's 
kinda annoying." Hiei said, the innocent look on his face marred only by the 
fact that he was obviously struggling not to laugh.
     "SHUT UP!" Shrieked Kuromori, and he backhanded Hiei across the face hard 
enough to snap his head back against the wall. 
     Hiei felt the blood trickling down the back of his neck, and thought to 
himself "Oh yeah, this is definitely going to suck." Then he was roughly grabbed 
by two sets of hands and his chains were detached from the wall and floor. As 
they dragged him off, Hiei wondered again if he would be able to master astral 
projection. He hoped to all the gods that he would, because he didn't think that 
he was in for a very pleasant experience. 

Chapter 3: Torture


     Hiei's back and legs scraped against the rough floor as he was dragged down 
a dark hallway. He struggled to lift himself off the floor at least a bit, but 
his wards had been set to keep him immobile. He tried to figure out where he 
was, but all he saw around him was metre after metre of blank stone walls. 
Eventually they reached a huge cavern, perhaps a dozen metres high at the 
highest point. In the very centre of the chamber a hook hung on a long, thick 
chain. As he was pulled closer to the chain, Hiei noticed that set in the floor 
were two metal rings, like the one his legs chains had been run through in the 
cell, spaced more than thrice his shoulder width apart.
     Karasu grabbed Hiei under the arms and lifted him up, while Kuromori 
attached the chains around Hiei's wrists to the hook that dangled about two 
metres off the ground. When Karasu let go, Hiei's arms were nearly jerked out of 
their sockets as all his weight was suddenly hanging on his shoulders. Then 
Karasu pulled one of Hiei's legs to the side and attached his ankle chain to one 
of the metal rings in the floor while Kuromori did the same for the other leg. 
When they were done, Hiei hung painfully suspended at about eye level with the 
tall youko. 
     Then his wards were reset to seal in his powers, but to allow him to move 
as freely as was possible. Hiei squirmed for a few moments, testing the strength 
of his chains, trying to relieve the pressure on his shoulders, but soon gave 
up, as he realized that he was getting nowhere, and that his tormentors were 
thoroughly enjoying themselves. The angry koorime glared at Karasu, who was 
standing directly in front of him, and craned his neck, trying to see where 
Kuromori had disappeared to. 
     Suddenly Hiei's head snapped back as a sharp crack sounded, and a line of 
fire seemed to burn down his back. Hiei felt warm blood trickle down his back 
and heard Kuromori's harsh laughter as the whip struck again. Hiei gritted his 
teeth and strained not to cry out as the lash fell again and again on his small 
back. He could feel the blood running down his back and legs from a score of  
open cuts, and his sweat burned as it ran into the gaping wounds. After what 
seemed like an eternity, the crack of the whip stopped and Hiei sagged 
bonelessly in his chains; the pain in his shoulders all but forgotten in the 
pain radiating from his battered back. The laughter of Karasu and Kuromori 
seemed like a distant buzzing to his ears, and his vision was fogged and dim. 
     Through the pain, Hiei tried to concentrate on separating his soul from his 
pain-wracked body, but again and again he failed. Eventually, the pain seemed to 
fade a bit, and Hiei returned from the brink of unconsciousness to find himself 
staring at a grinning Kuromori. He looked for Karasu, and when he failed to find 
him, he braced himself for another onslaught. But instead of the lash of a whip, 
Hiei felt cool, soothing fingers running down his back.
     Hiei felt Karasu's hot breath on the back of his neck as Karasu leaned 
close to whisper "It's really no fun at all if we wear you out quickly. You'll 
last sooooo much longer if we take proper care of you." Then he continued to 
apply salve to Hiei's burning back. 
     Karasu's fingers stroked over Hiei's now nearly numb back, and then his 
arms slid around Hiei's chest. Karasu ran his fingers over the hard ridges of 
Hiei's stomach, all the while planting light kisses on Hiei's neck and 
shoulders. He moved his hands slowly upwards, until he reached Hiei's nipples. 
He stroked and pinched, and Hiei squirmed and twisted, trying to evade Karasu's
touch. Hiei felt himself growing hard as Karasu continued his ministrations. 
Karasu kissed along Hiei's jawbone, then down the column of his throat, bit 
gently at Hiei's shoulder blades, then leaned around to lick at Hiei's left 
nipple. The little youkai twitched violently, arching his back, trying to escape 
from Karasu, while he grew harder and harder with each passing moment. Then 
Karasu slipped his hands down, down to Hiei's fully erect penis, and began 
stroking; gently at first, then with more force as Hiei's breath began to come 
in gasps, his back arching and his hips thrusting of their own volition. Hiei's 
mind screamed in denial as his body was overcome with pleasure. Hiei tried 
desperately to make the pleasure stop, to put an end to what felt like a 
betrayal of the worst kind. Then his mind went blank and his body stilled as his 
seed was pumped violently out, all over his chest and Karasu's hands. 
     A thousand images bombarded his mind as the orgasm faded, images of Kurama 
looking dreamily at him after they had finished for the night, Kurama's body 
intertwined with his own, both men just happy to lie together in silence, Kurama 
smiling and laughing at Hiei's embarrassment, Kurama's red hair splayed out on 
the pillow as he looked into Hiei's eyes and they came together. Then he saw 
Karasu smiling as he battled with Kurama, he saw Kurama fall to the ground in a 
spray of blood, and he saw Karasu smiling that same damn smile as he brought 
Hiei to climax. Hiei screamed in horror that his body could betray him so, that 
*Karasu* could get this same reaction from him, that *Karasu* could do to him 
what only Kurama had done before.  Hiei tried desperately to stop screaming, to 
stop himself from giving those sadistic bastards what they wanted, but he 
couldn't stop. He screamed until his voice faded, and longer, and he wished 
desperately that he was anywhere else but here, that he could get away from the 
body that had betrayed him. 
     Then suddenly he was looking down at a scene which seemed oddly familiar, 
and yet somehow divorced from what he knew. He saw Karasu and Kuromori grinning 
in pleasure, and he saw a small, beaten form hanging from a thick chain set in 
the ceiling of an immense cavern. He blinked once, then again, trying to 
comprehend just what had happened. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a 
shimmering black line stretching from his back to the limp body hanging from the 
chain. "I did it?! I separated my soul from my body? How in..?" Hiei took one 
last look at his unconscious body, then willed himself to follow the silver 
strand that connected him to the mysterious girl who had helped him in his 
dream. 

******

     Hiei looked down at the scene below him and gasped in shock. A young girl 
with sharply pointed ears and long silver hair was writhing on a bed. A figure 
he recognized as Yomi lay atop her, thrusting viciously into her as he bit and 
slashed at her face and chest. The girl was bleeding from a hundred minor 
wounds, and between her legs a pool of blood was gathering. Her face was twisted 
in pleasure and pain combined, and her teeth were bared in a feral snarl. Then 
Yomi stilled as he came into her, and after a few last thrusts he pulled out of 
her and sat straddled across her hips. The girl glared up at him with hate in 
her eyes and Yomi laughed cruelly, checking to see that the chains which bound 
her wrists to the headboard and her ankles to corners of the bed were secure 
before he got up and sauntered out of the room. 
     The girl sighed in a tired-sounding voice, then suddenly looked up at Hiei. 
She gasped in recognition and then, before Hiei could speak, her eyes closed and 
Hiei found that her spirit floated in the air beside him. He cleared his throat 
and started to speak, but instead looked away, a faint blush staining his 
cheeks. 
     "Don't worry about me, I've been through that before, and worse besides. 
How are you faring?" the girl asked as she guided Hiei out of the room and to a 
high tower of Yomi's city. 
     "Not good." Hiei replied stiffly, not wanting to discuss his fit of 
weakness. He looked at the girl and was forced to look quickly away again as he 
noticed that she still didn't have any clothes on. It hadn't bothered him in the 
dream, but for some reason it did now. He cleared his throat again and asked 
"Couldn't you, uh, put some clothes on or something?"
     "What? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even notice. Is this better?" she said, her 
form shimmering and suddenly re-appearing. Now she was wearing a short, flared 
skirt with a mini tank top and a black leather jacket. The tattoo on her hip was 
still visible, and her legs seemed to be unduly exposed, but Hiei could easily 
ignore that. 
     "Yeah. Uh, thanks." Hiei muttered, quickly looking down to make sure that 
*he* was clothed, as he hadn't bothered to check. He was relieved to note that 
he was dressed in his usual black trousers and tank top. 
     The two spirits leaned back against the tower and looked around at the city 
beneath them, sitting side by side in companionable silence. They sat like that 
for some time, both absorbed in their own dark thoughts, though feeling somewhat 
better that at least they weren't alone. After about forty-five minutes had 
passed, the girl frowned and looked up at the sky. Hiei followed her gaze and 
started when he noticed a strange, green, shimmering dome covering the city and 
the surrounding area. "What's that?" he gasped, looking at the girl. 
     "*That* is what's keeping both of us from getting out of this hell hole. 
Yomi was bragging about it a few days ago when he first captured me. It's a 
spell that he cast with the help of those two losers who are torturing you. 
They're anchoring the spell, so if it goes down, so do they, but the chances of 
breaking through that thing are slim to none. It prevents anything, physical or 
spiritual, from getting in to or out of the area it covers. A hundred youkai 
were sacrificed to make it, and the only way to break it is with a sacrifice of 
equal power." the girl turned to look at Hiei and said "I don't really want to 
dwell on this, so why don't you tell me about yourself to pass the time?"
     Hiei took a few moments to digest all that he had been told, then asked 
"What do you want to know?" in a slightly suspicious tone of voice. 
     The girl laughed again and said "Well, for starters, you name would be 
nice. Mine's Briseis."
     Hiei looked at her for a moment, then smiled ruefully "Mine's Hiei." 
     "Hiei. It suits you. Well, now that I know your name, how about telling me 
about yourself. Like, what you do with your spare time, who you hang out with, 
your favourite colour, anything you feel like talking about. Then, next time we 
meet I'll tell you a bit about myself. It'll pass the time and get our minds off 
of.... less pleasant topics. Deal?" she said, extending her hand.
     Hiei frowned, not liking the idea of talking about himself, but decided 
that he did need something to distract him, then he took Briseis' hand and shook 
it, saying "Deal." Then he looked over Briseis' shoulder and noted that her 
lifeline was beginning to dim. She followed his gaze and then looked behind him 
and said "Yours is starting to fade too. We had better get going. You can tell 
me about yourself next time." 
     "When can I next do this? I mean, how long will it take for my lifeline to 
get strong enough again?" Hiei asked, as Briseis stood to leave. 
     "Oh, well, that depends, but you won't be able to separate from your body 
at all until your lifeline is strong enough again, so don't worry about doing it 
before you're ready. So, I'll see you later. If I don't come to see you by the 
time you're able to separate again, come see me. Bye!" Briseis rapidly faded 
from sight, and Hiei willed himself back to his body....

******

     ...and discovered that he was back in the damp cell, his back bandaged and 
a dish of water sitting in front of him. His hands were free, but his legs were 
still chained to the floor. He sighed and leaned slowly forward to get a drink 
of water, his aching back protesting at the movement.  He drank the lukewarm 
water slowly, not wanting to make himself sick and tried to relax, knowing that 
this brief moment of peace would not last long, and dreading what would come 
next. 

Chapter 4: Pain


     Once again Hiei was suspended from a chain in the centre of the large 
cavern. Karasu and Kuromori had hung him here and then had left the room; Hiei 
assumed that they had methods of watching him, even while not in the chamber. 
Hiei wondered what they were up to this time. His hands and arms had long since 
gone numb as gravity forced the flow of his blood away from them. His shoulders 
still hurt like Hell and his legs were beginning to ache from being stretched 
out in such an unnatural position for so long.
      Miraculously, his back hardly hurt at all; whatever salve they had used on 
it had healed the slashes in record time. Though the pain was gone, Hiei was 
still quite conscious of the cuts, since every time he shifted he felt the 
tightness of new scar tissue on his back. "I wouldn't be surprised if Kuromori 
had put some herb in that salve that'll prevent those damn scars from ever 
fading" Hiei speculated morosely.
      "I'll probably have stripes on my back for the rest of my life. Damn, 
Kurama always said he loved the smoothness of my skin." Hiei realised what an 
inane thought that was soon after it popped into his head. Here he was, in 
deadly danger, and he was worried about what Kurama would think of his scarred 
back! Hiei began to chuckle softly. All these years he had looked down on 
Yuusuke's vanity, and *he* was worrying about scars! His quiet chuckle built in 
strength until his loud, deep laughter resounded through the cavern. Tears 
streamed down his face as he let loose all his dread and frustration in one 
self-mocking outburst.
     Then his head snapped back forcefully as Karasu's open hand hit his face. 
Karasu and Kuromori glared daggers at the gasping koorime and Karasu hissed 
"Just what do find so funny, you little shit?"
     Hiei stared at the tall, dark youkai standing before him and a devilish 
thought formed in his mind. He smiled maliciously as he said "Well, I was 
thinking that these scars on my back will really turn Kurama off, but then I 
realised that, despite the scars, at least Kurama will still love me more than 
*you*!"
     Karasu stared for a moment, eyes wide with surprise. Then his eyes narrowed 
and he growled angrily. A glowing sphere formed between his hands. Just as Hiei 
was seriously starting to worry, Kuromori grabbed Karasu's wrists and snapped 
"If you kill him now, it'll be all over, but if we just continue on with what we 
have planned, his pain will last much longer." Karasu seemed mollified by this, 
and he let the deadly energies dissipate. Then he looked at Hiei and an insane, 
cruel light gleamed in his violet eyes. 
     Kuromori crossed his arms across his chest and smiled slightly as Karasu 
went to pull something down off one of the cavern wall. Karasu came back to 
stand before his captive, and Hiei noticed that the tall youkai held a metal bar 
in his hands. Again a cruel light gleamed in Karasu's eyes as he used one of his 
bombs to heat the tip of the bar. The metal gleamed red in the dimness of the 
chamber, and Hiei's eyes widened as he anticipated Karasu's intentions. 
     Hiei gritted his teeth and refused to scream as Karasu lightly dragged the 
hot metal across his stomach. Wherever the glowing bar passed, blisters rose and 
skin reddened. Through the haze of pain, Hiei was dimly aware that Karasu was 
writing his name on Hiei's abdomen. As he completed the last stroke, Karasu 
stepped back to admire his handiwork. Sweat coated Hiei's entire body, and his 
breath came in short, painful gasps. 
     Karasu re-heated the rapidly cooling metal and approached Hiei again. He 
raised the hot iron and lightly grazed Hiei's left nipple. Hiei bit through his 
lower lip as he stifled a scream.  Needles of pain raced through his chest as 
Karasu repeated his action, this time on the other nipple. Hiei's back arched 
and blood ran down his chin as he again bit through his lip. The edges of his 
vision began to dim and black spots danced in front of his eyes. He tried to 
escape from the pain, but found that his spirit was bound fast to his agonized 
body. 
     His vision cleared after a few endless moments of suffering and the pain 
lessened somewhat. Hiei looked up and noticed that Karasu now stood a metre or 
so away, and Kuromori was nowhere to be found. Hiei cursed silently, knowing 
that some new torment was soon to begin. Then silver hair brushed against his 
neck and lips as soft as rose petals caressed his aching shoulder. Hiei fought 
down nausea as Kuromori kissed his shoulders and neck. Kuromori chuckled as Hiei 
flinched from his touch and he moved his mouth close to Hiei's ear and whispered 
"Last time Karasu got a taste of you, now it's my turn."
     Kuromori's tongue darted into Hiei's ear briefly, then he returned to 
kissing Hiei's shoulder blades. Then, without warning, Kuromori's sharp fangs 
sank into Hiei's flesh. Blood ran from the wound and the youko lapped gently at 
the crimson stream. Hiei hissed and tried to squirm away from Kuromori's tongue. 
     Kuromori laughed and moved his mouth to Hiei's back. He traced each of the 
scars there with his tongue, pausing briefly at each point where two lashes 
intersected. Hiei shivered as a chill wind blew through the cavern, drying the 
saliva on his back. 
     For a moment all was still, then rough hands spread Hiei's cheeks and 
Kuromori thrust violently into Hiei's anus. Hiei's slender form was thrown 
forward as Kuromori rammed his length into Hiei. Again and again Kuromori pulled 
out almost completely before thrusting again.  Hiei moaned as the much larger 
man pounded into him mercilessly. Hiei was no virgin, but Kurama had always been 
gentle, especially when in youko form, and this sort of brutality was more than 
Hiei's diminutive body could handle. Blood ran down Hiei's legs and down 
Kuromori's length, and Hiei began to whimper softly. Hiei hung completely limp 
in his bonds as Kuromori stiffened and pumped his seed into the small Forbidden 
Child. Hiei's eyes were glazed and his breathing was laboured. He was dimly 
aware of Kuromori pulling out of him and heard, as if from a great distance, 
Karasu laughing cruelly. Then the black spots in his vision ran together and 
swallowed him whole. 
     
******

     When Hiei awoke he was once again in the damp, uncomfortable cell that was 
rapidly becoming a welcome sight. His head ached fiercely and his abdomen and 
chest burned faintly. He looked down to see that the strange salve had again 
been applied to his injuries and the blisters had already disappeared. Then he 
moved to sit up and a sharp pain ran from the base of his spine to his head. He 
groaned and lay back down. His ass hurt like nothing he had ever felt before.  
After his first time, with Kurama, he had been sore, but not like this. The pain 
thrummed through him, radiating from that ripped and torn ring of muscle. His 
insides felt pulverized and blood still seeped slowly from his brutalized anus. 
     Hiei closed his eyes and tried to concentrate through the pain. When he 
opened his eyes again the pain had vanished and he was once again staring down 
at his own body. "Hn. I look like shit." He muttered as he noticed the dark 
circles under his almond shaped eyes and the unnatural pallor of his skin. 
     "No, hon, you look a lot worse than shit" chirped a voice from behind him.
     Hiei whirled around to find that Briseis was leaning against the wall of 
his cell, a mischievous smile on her beautiful face. She was dressed in a forest 
green outfit that looked like what Kurama called a "school uniform". Though Hiei 
was pretty sure that the skirt wasn't supposed to be that short. Her green eyes 
twinkled merrily, and her silver hair glinted metallically in the wan sunlight. 
She laughed and said "Lets get out of this dreary pit,  cause you owe me a 
story!". Then she flitted out through the tiny window, and Hiei followed 
sullenly. 
     Once outside the cell, Hiei looked around, trying to figure out where he 
was. He looked beneath him at row after row of buildings that seemed familiar, 
then he looked up at Briseis to ask why he almost recognized this place and he 
stared in surprise. Looming in front of him was Yomi's keep. He was in Yomi's 
city! Briseis laughed and turned to him, saying "Why the look of shock? I told 
you that Yomi cast that spell with the help of your charming hosts, you should 
have realized that their little dungeon would be somewhere in Yomi's city. The 
barrier only covers the city, they have to stay here!"
     Hiei glared at Briseis. She was so damn cheerful about everything. Not much 
seemed to faze her. She was a lot like Kurama that way, but she somehow managed 
to be even more fox-like than the kitsune. He could practically see her lashing 
her tail the way Kurama did when he was feeling particularly mischievous. True, 
he should have made the connection between what she told him about the kekkai 
and his location, but did she have to be so smug? 
     They reached the tower where they had sat during their last meeting and 
Briseis sat down, her legs dangling over the edge. Hiei did the same. After a 
few minutes of silence, Briseis said "Well, you promised that you'd tell me 
about yourself, and I'm not gonna let you back out, so start talking Hiei!"
     Hiei glared at her again and asked "What do you want to know?"
     Briseis tilted her head to the side and looked thoughtfully at the little 
koorime. Then she said "Well, usually when I first meet someone and want to know 
all about them I ask stuff like  Where were you born?' and  What's your family 
like?', but I don't think those are the kinda questions I want to ask a 
Forbidden Child. Sooooooo, how about we skip over the ancient history stuff and 
get right to your recent past. Tell me about what you've been doing for the last 
few years or so.... then if I have any additional questions, I'll ask."
     Hiei sat in silence for a moment. He thought about refusing to honour his 
promise, but dismissed that idea and started to speak. He told Briseis of his 
first meeting with Kurama and of his recruitment as a Reikai Investigator. When 
prompted, he told her about Yuusuke and Kuwabara, about Keiko and Shizuru. He 
told her about Yukina and, before he even realised he was doing it, he told her 
about his relationship with Kurama. Once he started talking, he found that the 
words just spilled out of him in an endless torrent. Briseis listened in silence 
for the most part, asking only a few succinct questions. For the first time in 
his short life, Hiei spoke of himself and his thoughts, for an instant letting 
someone past his walls of sarcasm and isolation. Even as he continued to speak, 
Hiei wondered what it was that had loosened his tongue. It was then that he 
realised that deep within him was the certainty that he would soon die at the 
hands of Kurama's enemies, and that he wanted someone, somewhere, to know these 
things after he was gone. When this realisation hit him, Hiei's voice faltered 
and trailed off. 
     Briseis smiled sadly, guessing what Hiei was thinking. She said "Hiei, it 
sounds to me like there are a lot of people back in the Ningenkai who care about 
you. You've got a lot of really nice friends who will be very upset if you don't 
return."
     Hiei looked up at Briseis, a slightly confused look in his eyes, and asked 
"A lot of people who care about me? What do you mean?"
     Briseis laughed and said "Well, there's Kurama of course. And though you 
never quite said it, I can tell that you love him at least as much as he loves 
you. He'll be devastated if you don't return to him. As for your sister, she may 
not know that you are the brother she's been searching for, but she cares about 
you very much. I think she probably sees you as a sort of substitute for her  
missing' brother. Then there's Yuusuke. He sounds like a decent guy, and I'm 
sure that, even though he doesn't say so, he thinks of you as a good friend. 
From what you've said he doesn't have so many friends that he can afford to lose 
one. Even  that idiot Kuwabara' would probably be upset if you died. If you 
can't believe that he would be sad over you, then at least believe that he would 
be sad over the pain that your death would cause Yukina. Keiko and Shizuru would 
also mourn your passing. And, of course Koenma would not be pleased if you died. 
So, you see, there are too many people counting on you to return for you to just 
give up like this. I know what they say about  those who live on Hope alone', 
but I think that  they' are pessimists who should have kept their mouths shut. 
You should at least try to believe that you'll get out of this and return to 
your friends."
     Hiei stared wide-eyed at Briseis. He had *never* thought about it that way. 
He wasn't sure if he believed her, she might just be trying to cheer him up. But 
what she said almost made a kind of sense. Of course, that didn't change the 
fact that he would probably die soon, but at least now he had reason to make it 
as hard as possible for those two bastards to kill him. A fierce smile spread 
across Hiei's face. He *would* survive as long as possible, no matter what. He 
saw a flicker out of the corner of his eye and realised that he and Briseis had 
been sitting here for quite a while. He turned to glance at his lifeline and 
winced at how dim and pale it had gotten.
     Briseis' eyes widened when she followed Hiei's gaze. She checked her own 
lifeline and saw that it was as painfully weak as Hiei's. She shook her head 
ruefully and said "Damn you Hiei!  You tell such a good story that I lost track 
of time! That hasn't happened in over nine hundred years!" then she stood and 
faded from sight, fleeing back to her body. 
     Hiei almost laughed at the thought of being a good story teller. Well, as 
the ningen seemed to like saying,  there's a first time for everything'. Then he 
too fled back to his body. 

******

     Hiei lay on his back, staring at the stone ceiling of his cell. The stone 
floor was uncomfortably hard against his back. As he stared up at the ceiling, 
he thought of what Briseis had said. She had given him a lot to think about. The 
only thing he knew for sure was that he would do everything he could to stay 
alive and sane. He wouldn't let Karasu and Kuromori beat him. A faint spark of 
hope flickered in Hiei's stone heart. Maybe, just maybe he would find a way out 
of here, maybe somehow he would find a way back to the Ningenkai, and to his 
friends. 

******

     Briseis lay on her back, staring at the red silk canopy of her bed. The 
silk sheets were mercifully soft against the scrapes and bruises Yomi had 
inflicted during his last visit. As she stared up at the canopy, she thought of 
a pair of deep ruby-coloured eyes and struggled to hold back her tears. She 
tried to hate the youko who had won Hiei's heart, but then she would recall how 
the little youkai's beautiful eyes had lit up when he spoke of Kurama, and she 
couldn't bring herself to dislike someone who made Hiei so happy. She laughed 
bitterly and said aloud "I've been alone for a thousand years, what's a few more 
centuries here or there?"
      Despite her best efforts, tears soon started to spill down Briseis' pale 
cheeks. She rolled over onto her chest and sobbed into her pillow, her tears 
leaving silver tracks down her angular face and a hard knot of pain forming in 
her lonely heart.

Chapter 5: Delirium


     Hiei awoke when he heard the sound of his cell door creaking as it opened. 
He looked up to see that Kuromori had entered the small, damp chamber. Hiei 
frowned slightly at this deviation from the routine. Karasu and Kuromori had 
always come together to drag him into that chamber of horrors. Why was Kuromori 
here alone? Then Hiei noticed that Kuromori was holding a syringe in his hand. 
The tall youko leaned over the koorime's supine body and jabbed the needle into 
Hiei's upper arm. Hiei gritted his teeth as a burning sensation ran through his 
veins. Whatever was in that syringe had hurt going in. Then Kuromori left and 
the door creaked shut again.     As soon as the door was closed, Hiei felt the 
wards that immobilized him loosen. He sat up and examined the small puncture 
wound on his right bicep. The surrounding area was faintly pink, but Hiei 
noticed no other abnormalities. What was Kuromori up to? Then a powerful wave of 
nausea hit him. Hiei doubled over, vomiting violently all over the cell floor. 
     Hiei collapsed against the wall, feeling dizzy and weak. The room was
spinning around him sickeningly. Hiei tried to think through the fog that filled 
his mind, but the tattered threads of his consciousness kept slipping through 
his fingers. Another wave of nausea hit him and Hiei vomited again, barely 
noticing that this time he had thrown up bile and blood along with the remains 
of his last meal. Hiei sank to the floor, not knowing or caring that his hair 
dangled in the mess he had made. Hiei began to shudder violently as wave after 
wave of dizziness and nausea washed over him. Again and again his stomach 
heaved, though there was nothing left in it. Blood dribbled down Hiei's chin and 
a weak  moan escaped from his lips.
     Bright colours and strange shapes began to swirl before Hiei's eyes.
Voices seemed to shout at him from a distance and his body seemed to float in 
the air. Brief snatches of memory came unbidden into Hiei's mind. Memories of 
Kurama, of his friends; Hiei smiled faintly as the visions floated through his 
mind. Less happy memories of his childhood followed, some making Hiei cry out in 
fear and pain, others making him weep softly. The walls of the cell seemed to
change shape and colour rapidly. For a moment the small cell seemed as large as 
a palace, then the walls closed in and Hiei felt as if he were back in the box. 
The walls ran red with blood, then melted like wax. Snow froze Hiei, and fire 
burned him. Light blinded him and darkness closed in on him. A thousand images 
and sensations battered at Hiei's mind.
     Gradually, the hallucinations and the nausea began to subside. After they 
had faded entirely Hiei lay on the cell floor, unable to so much as lift his 
head. The smell of his own vomit sickened him, but he hadn't the strength to 
move from where he lay. His abdominal muscles ached and burned and his throat 
felt raw.
     The cell door once again creaked open and Hiei could see Kuromori leaning 
casually against the doorframe. The youko son of a bitch was laughing. Hiei 
tried to snarl, but it came out sounding more like a groan. Kuromori laughed 
again and said "My, my, my. You are quite a mess. You definitely need to be 
cleaned up. Come along now." As he spoke he began walking carefully across the 
small cell, avoiding the pools of vomit and blood. He grabbed Hiei by the ankle 
and hauled the helpless youkai into the hallway.
     Hiei's head banged painfully against the floor as he was dragged down the 
stone corridor. After a while Kuromori began to veer off of the usual route. 
Hiei nearly moaned aloud when he realised that they were going to a part of the 
dungeon that he was not familiar with. They reached the end of the tunnel and 
Kuromori dragged Hiei into another large, circular chamber. 
     In this chamber was a vast subterranean lake. Droplets of water splashed 
down into the still surface of the lake from dozens of stalactites. The faint 
dripping sound echoed throughout the cavern. Kuromori dragged Hiei to the very 
edge of the lake and then stopped. Kuromori pulled his shirt over his head and 
slipped out of his trousers. The youko looked down at Hiei, picked up the 
smaller man and with one toss of his powerful arms, he heaved Hiei into the 
chill water of the lake. 
     Panic nearly overcame Hiei as he sank into the freezing water. He struggled 
to keep his head above water, but was still too weak to move. His lungs burned 
and the chill of the water was seeping into his bones. Just as fear nearly 
overwhelmed the fire spirit he felt a strong pair of arms grab him and pull him 
to the surface of the lake. Kuromori treaded water easily as he held Hiei 
tightly to his chest. Hiei gasped for air and leaned back against his rescuer, 
his panic fading very slowly. 
     As soon as his mind cleared, Hiei realised whose chest it was he was 
leaning against, and began to struggle weakly. Kuromori only laughed and 
tightened his grip on Hiei. "Well, that's hardly any way to thank me for saving 
you. And now you're all cleaned up again." purred the youko as Hiei tried to 
kick him. Hiei's only response was to his and struggle more violently.  Kuromori 
smiled as he said "Really now, it's for your own good. If you keep that up, I 
might drop you, and then you'll likely drown. Is that what you want? Hmmm?" Hiei 
cursed silently and stopped struggling, hanging limp in Kuromori's arms. 
Kuromori nipped once at Hiei's ear and whispered "Good boy, Hiei-chan." Hiei 
growled, but remained passive in Kuromori's strong grip.  Kuromori shifted his 
grip slightly and began lazily moving back towards the shore. 
     Kuromori lifted Hiei out of the water and lay him down on the cavern floor. 
As Kuromori turned towards  his clothes, Hiei rolled over onto his stomach and 
pushed himself up with his arms. He tried to get his legs under him and stand 
up, but his arms trembled with the effort and he collapsed back onto the floor. 
He rolled onto his back again and found that Kuromori was looking down at him, 
smirking. "You aren't anywhere near strong enough to get away, even if this room 
weren't heavily guarded."
     Hiei was about to retort, but stopped when he noticed that Kuromori held 
another syringe in his hand. Kuromori saw Hiei's eyes widen and said "Don't 
worry, little one. This won't make you sick. This is something infinitely 
more... pleasant.... than the last little concoction." He jabbed the needle into 
Hiei's arm, then stepped back.
     Hiei rubbed at his arm and wondered what in Hell Kuromori had put in him 
this time. Then a wave of pleasure rushed over him and he sat up gasping. His 
sex hardened with lightning quickness and his back arched.  His entire body 
throbbed with pleasure. It danced along every nerve, drowned out all other 
sensations. Seemingly of their own volition, his hands moved down to his 
painfully erect penis, but another pair of hands intercepted them. Kuromori 
grabbed Hiei's arms and pinned them behind his back, preventing Hiei from 
relieving the aching arousal that tormented him. "Yarou! Let me go!" growled 
Hiei, struggling to break Kuromori's grip.
     "Gladly. All you have to do is beg me" purred the youko, his hot breath 
tickling Hiei's ear. Hiei hissed angrily. He did *not* beg, especially not to 
satisfy Kuromori's twisted sense of pleasure. Hiei's back arched again and he 
squirmed and thrashed, trying desperately to escape Kuromori's grasp. He needed 
release badly, he would go insane otherwise, but though desperation lent him 
strength, Hiei was much weaker than Kuromori. Hiei stopped struggling as the 
need for release overwhelmed his senses. His hips thrust at nothing and he 
arched back against Kuromori, his head resting on the youko's shoulder. Hiei 
shuddered and gasped and his erection went from red to a deep shade of purple. 
His thoughts lost all cohesion, he know only desire and need. A tear squeezed 
out of the corner of his eye as he gasped "I, I.... please...." 
     Hiei felt Kuromori's hands encircle his aching, throbbing sex and begin to 
stroke powerfully. He thrust his hips up, matching the hands' rhythm. He half- 
moaned, half-screamed as he felt himself reaching climax, then he stiffened and 
semen spurted out in a thick stream. Hiei's mind went blank and his hips thrust 
a few last times, then all his bones seemed to turn to water and he collapsed 
against Kuromori, exhausted. Hiei fought to keep his eyes open as he felt 
Kuromori lift him and carry him out of the chamber, but each eyelid seemed to 
weigh a ton and sleep dragged at his dazed mind. By the time they reached the 
cell, Hiei had passed out. 

******

     Kuromori and Karasu watched the sleeping koorime from one of their hidden 
observatories. Kuromori turned to the blond-haired youkai and asked "Well, did 
you enjoy watching that?"
     "I did, but I'd wager you enjoyed it far more than I did." Karasu answered 
lightly, a lustful look in his violet eyes. 
     "Hmmm. He is quite the handsome little brat isn't he? Not as pretty as 
Kurama, but not bad at all."
     "Shit yeah. Watching you play with him did get me rather... worked up." 
Karasu glanced sideways at Kuromori, a small smile on his lips.
     "Is that so? Well, I think I can help you out with that little problem..." 
Kuromori growled as he pulled Karasu to him and kissed him fiercely on the lips. 
Karasu responded with equal force and soon the two youkai lay on the floor, 
limbs intertwined, the sweat of passion on their brows. 

******

     Briseis was sitting on her bed, trying to bandage a long gash in her arm. 
She had torn strips from the silk sheets and had bound the deep wound. Blood 
seeped through the crimson silk, and Briseis hissed in frustration. She tore 
another strip of silk, knowing that Yomi would  punish' her for it later, and 
wound it tightly around her arm, on top of the first bandage. After a few 
minutes the bleeding seemed to stop and Briseis sighed in relief. She brushed a 
few stray strands of hair out of her face and looked wistfully out the window. 
She started and nearly fell off the bed when she noticed that Hiei was perched 
on the window sill, watching her silently. 
     "Good field dressing, you've obviously done this before." Noted Hiei as he 
came over to the side of the bed and examined Briseis' bandage.
     "Yeah, well, nine hundred years of fighting will teach one certain 
necessary skills." Briseis shrugged, then added "Nine hundred years of fighting, 
or one week in Yomi's bed." 
     "Hn. Well, today it's your turn to tell me about yourself, so let's get 
going." Hiei turned and left, while Briseis detached her spirit from her body 
and followed after him.  
     The two spirits sat on the tower top, watching the sun set on Yomi's city. 
Once darkness had fallen, Hiei turned to Briseis and said "All right, the deal 
was that I tell you about myself, then you tell me about yourself, so start 
talking."
     "What do you want to know?" asked Briseis, her tone slightly mocking as she 
parroted Hiei's words from the day before.
     Hiei snorted and chose to ignore the joke. "For starters, what are you?"
     "Oh, that's real polite" snorted Briseis, "but I get what you mean." She 
stood up, her form shimmering slightly. When she had resolidified, her clothing 
had changed. She was wearing a high-necked shirt that left her midriff bare and 
which was made out of a shimmering, dark green fabric.  Her skirt was made of 
the same fabric, and flowed gracefully from her hips down to the floor. Her hair 
was done up in dozens of thin braids, which were gathered in a complicated 
arrangement atop her head, then left to hang down her back. The rose tattoo on 
her hip gleamed metallically in the moonlight, and a silver circlet was adorned 
her head. Her entire bearing had changed with her clothing; she now seemed regal 
and powerful. When she spoke, her voice was musical and strong, "I am Aridehl 
Briseis Silverfire, first Lady of the Silver Rose. I am High Princess of Faery, 
and I am the last of the sidhe." 
     Hiei sat stunned for a moment, then asked "What do you mean  the last of 
the sidhe'? Who are the sidhe?"
     Briseis sat back down, arranging her skirt around her. Her expression had 
softened,  and she once again seemed to be nothing more than a mischievous young 
girl. "The sidhe are, were, the beings that resided in the land of Faery. Faery 
is a realm unto itself, like the Ningenkai, or the Makai. The word  sidhe' means  
Fair Folk' and is used to describe all of the dozens of races that inhabited 
Faery, among them the fairies, pixies, dwarves, leprechauns, unicorns and many 
others. The race that ruled Faery was known as the elves. I am of that race, and 
directly descended from the last king of Faery. But, a long time ago, the sidhe 
were exterminated, and I am now the last of my kind. There is no life left in 
Faery, save for the trees and flowers."
     Hiei took a few minutes to absorb this information, then said "I don't 
think I want to hear about your past right now. It seems to me that it must be a 
very sad story, and this is not the time for sad stories. So, I want to change 
our deal. When we get out of this, we'll meet again and then you can tell me all 
about the sidhe and your life. Deal?" Hiei extended his hand to Briseis. 
     Briseis looked at Hiei for a moment, then shook his hand and said "Deal, 
but I notice that you said  when we get out of this'. Does that mean that you've 
decided against committing suicide?"
     "Yeah, well, I thought about what you said, and you were right. There are a 
lot of people back in the Ningenkai who are important to me. I mean, what I'm 
going through is Hell, and I wouldn't mind dying to get away from it, but then I 
think about what you said and I realised that if I die, people will be upset, 
especially Kurama. I don't want to do anything to hurt Kurama."
     Briseis smiled said:" Tir'd with all this, for restful death I cry:
                     As to behold desert a beggar born, 
                     And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity,
                     And purest faith unhappily forsworn,
                     And gilded honour shamefully misplac'd
                     And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted,
                     And right perfection wrongfully disgrac'd,
                     And strength by limping sway disabled,
                     And art made tongue-tied by authority,
                     And folly, doctor-like, controlling skill,
                     And simple truth miscall'd simplicity,
                     And captive good attending captain ill-
                     Tir'd with all these, from these I would be gone,
                     Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.'"  
     Hiei blinked a few times and said "That, that, was... very pretty. I didn't 
understand all of it, but for some reason I liked it. What was it?"      
"Shakespeare. Sonnet 66."
     "Shakespeare? What's that?"
     Briseis laughed and replied "Shakespeare was a ningen poet who lived 
several hundred years ago. He understood a lot about life, especially love, and 
he knew a lot about despair too. If you want to understand humans, Shakespeare 
is a good place to start."
     Hiei frowned and asked "A ningen said that? But how could a ningen know 
what it's like to want death? Their lives are so simple and peaceful? And 
boring..."
     Briseis laughed again "It may seem that way, but they have troubles too. 
Different kinds of troubles, but if you look closely at ningen history you'll 
find a lot of things that seem more appropriate for the Makai. Wars. Plagues. 
Famines. Injustice. Corruption. And the humans deal with it all without any 
powers. I have a lot of respect for the ningen."
     "Hn. Well, I still think they're weak and helpless."
     "Well, of course they are! I respect them because, even though they are 
weak, they try to do what they can with what they have. Humans can be very 
resourceful."
     "Hn." Hiei snorted and turned to look out over Yomi's city. The lights from 
the buildings glowed in the night, and Hiei found himself thinking of how Tokyo 
looked at night. Full of light and movement, not enough shadows to lurk in. 
Hateful place, full of ningen. But Kurama was in Tokyo, so that was where Hiei 
wanted to be. He lay back against the tower and thought idly that he'd have to 
ask Kurama if he knew anything about  Shakespeare'. That crazy fox was always 
reading silly ningen books, maybe some of them were by this  Shakespeare'. Maybe 
Kurama could read some of them to him. 
     As he lay in the darkness, Hiei thought of how Kurama's gentle voice would 
wrap itself around the beautiful words as he read, and he smiled. 

"The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is 
joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see, and to see, 
we have only to look."
                        
                  -Fra Giovanni

Chapter 6: Finale


     Hiei was really starting to get sick of this place. He was hanging 
suspended from a chain in the centre of a large cavern.  Again. Karasu and 
Kuromori stood off to the side, talking quietly to each other. Hiei couldn't 
quite hear what they were saying, but whatever it was, it did not bode well for 
him. The two men fell silent and walked towards Hiei. Karasu grabbed Hiei's 
chin, looked into Hiei's crimson eyes and said: "We have decided to give you one 
chance. We are willing to let you go free, on one condition. All you have to do 
is forsake Kurama, and you can go home now, without any further harm coming to 
you."
     Hiei stared at Karasu in shock. The scars on his back and stomach seemed to 
tighten, reminding him of their presence. His battered anus seemed to ache more 
fiercely and a brief memory of sickness and hallucinations prodded at his mind. 
Then he saw a pair of brilliant green eyes, and a pale face framed by fiery red 
hair, and he smiled sadly. He looked from Karasu to Kuromori, and back again. He 
took a deep breath and said:
      "You say that if I forsake Kurama, I can go home without any further harm 
coming to me?" Karasu and Kuromori nodded, their eyes gleaming in anticipation 
of victory. Then Hiei laughed.  "You are both morons. You don't understand 
anything. I can't go home if I forsake Kurama, because without Kurama, I have no 
home to go to. Kurama is to me all the things that a home is to others. He is 
the hearth that warms me, the walls that shelter and protect me. He is my 
comfort, my ease and my refuge.  He is my life, he is my love, he is my soul. 
Kurama is everything to me, and nothing you can do will change that." Hiei spat 
on Karasu and glared defiantly at his tormentors.
     Karasu's violet eyes widened and he struck Hiei across the face. Blood 
trickled from the corner of Hiei's mouth, and his ears rang with the force of 
the blow. Kuromori came over to stand by Karasu, and glared hatefully at the 
little koorime. The youko punched Hiei in the stomach and snapped "You stupid 
little bastard.  We gave you a chance, and you refused it. Now you have to die, 
and it's all your own fault."
     Hiei felt a rib break as Karasu hit him again. A sharp pain stabbed through 
his back as Kuromori pounded his kidneys. His nose was pulped by Karasu's next 
blow, and Kuromori's next hit broke his jaw. Three more ribs snapped under the 
barrage of punches and kicks that the two youkai delivered. A well placed kick 
shattered Hiei's left knee, and he screamed in agony. His arms, legs, back and 
chest were soon one large bruise, and Hiei's handsome face was swollen beyond 
recognition. Hiei could feel consciousness starting to slip from his grasp. Even 
after Hiei had passed out, Karasu and Kuromori continued to beat him, determined 
to wring the life out of Hiei's tiny body. 

******
     
     Briseis hummed quietly to herself as she flitted into Hiei's cell. She 
looked around, and noticing that the fire spirit was not around, decided to peek 
into the torture chamber and see if Hiei was there.
     Briseis looked down on the scene at the centre of the cavern and screamed. 
They were killing him! She floated down to the floor and tried desperately to 
stop the two youkai. Her hands passed through Karasu's arm, and she almost 
cried. Hiei seemed to look straight at her in the moment before he lost 
consciousness, and Briseis felt her heart stop beating. She had to do something! 
But what? She was a spirit, a ghost, she couldn't even touch the bastards. If 
only that damn kekkai weren't there, she could go get help! "The kekkai...." 
Briseis gasped aloud. Memories ran through her head as she contemplated the 
impossible. 

------------------
     
     Yomi slapped her hard enough to make her nose bleed, and Briseis glared at 
him balefully. He laughed and stroked her cheek.  He smiled savagely and said "I 
will so enjoy having you as my guest for the next few centuries. There will be 
no help coming for you, so don't hope that you can escape. The spell that 
Karasu, Kuromori and I cast is impenetrable. A hundred youkai were sacrificed to 
build it, and only a sacrifice of equal power can destroy it. You could do it, 
of course, you have more than enough power, but that would involve dying, and we 
both know that you're not about to do that. You love life too much to throw it 
away. Maybe a hundred years or so will change that, but for now, you haven't the 
courage to die."

-----------------

     Briseis' mother rocked the small elvan girl back and forth, humming quietly 
to soothe the crying child.  Briseis looked up at her mother and sobbed: "But 
mother, why did Airgiod have to die? I thought that we elves were immortal?"
     "We are sweetling. The only way for an elf to die is by his or her own 
will, or by the will of another elf. Any elf could live forever if they chose 
to, but most give up their lives after a time."
     "Why? Why would anyone want to die?"
     "Well, for most elves, it's that they live for so long that they eventually 
begin to think that there is nothing left worth living for, that they have seen 
and done everything. But, a very, very few elves discover that, not only are 
there things worth living for, but there are things worth dying for as well. 
Airgiod was one of those fortunate few."
     "Something worth dying for?"
     "Yes, Airgiod found something that he felt was worth more to the world than 
his own life, and he gave up his life to protect it."
     "How will I know if I find something worth dying for?" The tearful child 
asked. 
     "Oh child, you'll know. Believe me, you'll know."

------------------

     "Something worth dying for" Briseis whispered softly, looking down at 
Hiei's battered body. She remembered a pair of crimson eyes, and the small smile 
that would appear on Hiei's face whenever he spoke of Kurama. Her heart ached 
and she stared up at the stone ceiling. Then she vanished from sight and 
reappeared outside the building, floating within arms reach of the glowing 
barrier that surrounded the city. She slowly reached out to touch the kekkai, 
and whispered "Hiei, ai shiteru."
     With a loud crack the barrier shattered, raining glowing pieces down on 
Yomi's city. 

******

     Yomi cried out in pain and fell unconscious on the floor, the backlash from 
the destruction of the kekkai knocking him senseless. 

******

     Karasu and Kuromori screamed shrilly and fell to the floor. Unlike Yomi, 
they were not S-class, thus when the powerful backlash hit them, they weren't 
able to survive. The two bodies lay on the stone floor of the cavern, lifeless 
and cold. The only sound that could be heard in the chamber was the ragged 
breathing of a small, broken koorime. 

******

     In the Reikai, the youkai responsible for monitoring the kekkai over Yomi's 
city shouted out and ran to get his boss. As soon as Koenma heard the news, he 
sent for Botan and ordered her to take Yuusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama to Yomi's 
city as quickly as possible. 

******

     Briseis sat on the windowsill of her room, staring at the body that lay 
still on the bed. She ran her fingers through the empty air where her lifeline 
used to be, and silver tears trailed down her face. She turned and left the 
room, not once looking back at the silver-haired figure that had been her body 
for more than a millennium. 

******

     Hiei moaned softly as he felt ki flow into his body, healing the worst of 
his injuries. His eyes fluttered open and he found himself looking up at a pair 
of brilliant green eyes, and a pale face framed by fiery red hair. Tears trailed 
down Kurama's face as he gently held Hiei and whispered "Oh Hiei, I'm so sorry, 
I'm so sorry."
     Hiei brought his hand up to brush the hair away from Kurama's face. He 
tried to speak, but no words came out. He tried a second time and managed to 
croak "How? The kekkai..."
     Kurama shook his head and said "I don't know, one minute it was there and 
the next it shattered. No one knows for sure quite what happened. But that 
doesn't matter. Nothing matters except that you're alive. Oh, Hiei."
     Hiei frowned and said "But Briseis said that.... oh no..." Hiei's eyes 
widened and he felt frantically for the strand of lifeline that linked him to 
Briseis. He felt the faintest flicker of a connection, but it was fading 
rapidly. Hiei felt his heart sink and he mentally grabbed on to the fading 
thread of silver and.... he yanked. 
     Kurama, Kuwabara and Yuusuke all gasped as a semi-transparent form appeared 
in the room. Hiei looked up at Briseis and whispered "Why?"
     Briseis smiled and looked at the boys gathered protectively around Hiei. 
She looked long and hard at Kurama, then shifted her gaze to look into Hiei's 
eyes. "Because, anyone who would have mourned for me is a thousand years dead. 
You have a lot of life left ahead of you, with your friends, and the one you 
love." she smiled sadly at Kurama "Live long, little ceallach, and try not to 
get into any more trouble." Briseis stood to leave, saying "My time is up, and I 
think your friend Botan is likely waiting for me. Sayonara, Hiei."
     As Briseis started to float away, Hiei gasped "No! I won't let you!" He 
grabbed frantically at the nearly gone link between him and the elf and held on 
tightly. Briseis stopped short and turned to stare at Hiei. "Hiei, what are 
you..." Then every person in the room gasped as an indistinct silver line 
appeared in the space between Hiei and Briseis. As everyone stood gaping a faint 
flicker of black wrapped around the silver thread. The black grew and 
intensified, filling in the gaps and spaces that had begun to appear in the 
silver.  Then, Hiei's eyes snapped open and the black and silver line glowed 
fiercely. The line shot into Briseis' chest and reappeared from her back, 
glowing fiercely silver in the dim cavern. As Briseis' form solidified and 
strengthened, Hiei sighed and collapsed back into Kurama's arms.
     Briseis looked down at herself, looked back at the silver thread that now 
stretched out of her back off into the distance, and looked down at the empty 
space where her link to Hiei had been.  She stared at Hiei, her eyes wide with 
shock, her mouth open but no sound coming out. Eventually she pulled herself 
together enough to ask "How? Why?"
     Hiei's eyes fluttered open and he whispered "I remembered that you used a 
piece of your lifeline to link us together, and I thought that maybe if I 
strengthened that little piece with my lifeline that maybe I could fix it, and 
you wouldn't have to die."
     "You idiot! That could have killed you!" Briseis shouted, her eyes 
narrowing in anger.
     "Well, it didn't, okay." Hiei huffed, looking cutely annoyed despite the 
bruises marring his face.
     "But why would you do such a stupid thing?" Briseis asked.
     "Because, I don't have so many friends that I can afford to lose one." Hiei 
answered, looking straight into Briseis' leaf green eyes. Briseis stared for a 
moment, then started to chuckle softly.  She shook her head and said:
     "You do have a way of throwing one's own words back in one's face, Hiei. 
But I do believe that I said that about *Yuusuke*, not you."
     "Yeah, well, it applies in both cases I guess." muttered Hiei, discomfited 
that Briseis was laughing at such a serious moment.  Briseis smiled happily and 
said:
     "Thank you Hiei, for everything." then her face became serious and she said 
"May your spirit always burn brightly and may your sword arm never weaken." Hiei 
understood that this was a formal farewell, and nodded briefly. Briseis' spirit 
faded away, returning to the body that she had thought lost forever. 
     Kurama pulled Hiei tightly to him and whispered "Hiei, I think you have 
some explaining to do."
     Hiei looked up Kurama and kissed him gently on the lips.  As Kurama's eyes 
widened in shock, Hiei said "I know, love, but I think I'd rather explain 
everything when we get home." he looked over at the still forms of Karasu and 
Kuromori and shuddered "This place holds too many memories." Kurama nodded and 
picked Hiei up and carried him from the gloomy chamber, Yuusuke and Kuwabara 
trailing after them. 
     Yuusuke paused outside the door of the cavern and turned to look back at 
the chain hanging from the ceiling and the blood stains on the floor. He looked 
again at his friend's scars and raised his index finger. Pointing into the 
chamber, Yuusuke shouted "REI GUN!!!!!". The blast of blue light hit the far 
wall, making a huge indentation. The room began to shake and bits of rock fell 
from the ceiling. Soon there was nothing left of the torture chamber but a pile 
of smoking rubble. Hiei looked at Yuusuke and smiled, saying 
"Arigato, Yuusuke." 
     A shimmering circle appeared before the four boys, and they stepped through 
into the Ningenkai. Hiei smiled when he saw the familiar walls of Kurama's 
apartment. He looked around at the small room and said quietly "I'm home."

The End!!


"The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is 
joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see, and to            
see, we have only to look."
                           -Fra Giovanni


Epilogue 1: Shadows


     Sun streamed in through the small window; the light caressing the small 
figure on the bed. Kurama stood in the doorway, looking intently at Hiei's 
sleeping face. For the first time in days Hiei's sleep seemed to be untroubled 
by nightmares; his face was peaceful and angelic and his lips were curved in a 
half smile. Kurama sighed happily; he hated to see Hiei upset and the last few 
days had been difficult on both of them. Perhaps today Hiei would at last be 
able to talk about his ordeal and the pain he had suffered at the hands of 
Karasu and Kuromori. 
     At that thought Kurama frowned. He still didn't quite know how Karasu had 
returned from the dead and he worried about the possibility of it happening 
again. Koenma was trying to figure out just how Karasu did it and was carefully 
monitoring the youkai's soul, but Kurama still couldn't shake the thought that 
Karasu could well return again. Then there was Kuromori. Kurama had thought him 
dead as well. 
     Kuromori had been an old acquaintance of Kurama's. The youko had 
aspirations of being Kurama's partner, both in thieving and in bed, but Kurama 
steadfastly refused. Eventually Kuromori  became desperate. One night he came to 
Kurama and threatened to kill him if he didn't agree to become his partner. They 
fought and Kurama won, barely. He had thought that Kuromori died in that battle, 
but now he wasn't so sure. Was it possible that both Karasu and Kuromori had 
returned from the dead?  Kurama doubted it. That meant that Kuromori had somehow 
survived.  Kurama's pondering was cut short as Hiei stirred and his eyelids 
fluttered open. 
     Hiei sat up and blinked at the bright light of the sun. He looked out the 
window and asked "What time is it? Why did you let me sleep so late?"
     "It's 9:00. You need all the rest you can get, and you just looked so sweet 
when you were asleep. I couldn't bear to wake you." Kurama said with a dreamy 
smile on his face.
     "Hn." Hiei slipped out of bed and padded over to Kurama's side. He stood up 
on his tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on Kurama's pale cheek. Without another 
word he slipped into the bathroom and closed the door.
     A huge grin spread across Kurama's face. He still hadn't adjusted to Hiei's 
new openness about his emotions. In public Hiei was still silent and hostile, 
but when he was alone with Kurama he seemed almost a different person. The grin 
faded as Kurama thought that, though the little things like that kiss were nice, 
he was disturbed by the fact that Hiei seemed to be avoiding any close physical 
contact. Even though they slept in the same bed Kurama felt like there was a 
glass wall between them, allowing him to see but not touch the little koorime. 
     He didn't know what Karasu and Kuromori had done to Hiei, but considering 
the effects, he could guess. And he wasn't happy. If they weren't already dead 
he would have hunted them down and ripped out their throats for hurting Hiei 
like this. Kurama shook his head to clear it of such unpleasant thoughts and 
went out into the kitchen to fix breakfast. 
     As he sat at the table across from Hiei, Kurama wondered if now would be 
the right time to ask Hiei what had happened during his captivity.  Hiei seemed 
to be in a good mood ( at least for him it was a good mood, he wasn't snarling 
or threatening to kill anyone) and Kurama didn't want to ruin it, but he also 
wanted to know exactly what had happened so that he could find a way to help. He 
sipped his coffee and wondered. Eventually he decided. 
     He looked up at Hiei and said "Hiei, I think it's time that we talked about 
what happened to you." He braced himself for Hiei's explosion of temper, and was 
rather surprised when it didn't come. Hiei just sat with his cup of coffee in 
his hands and stared down at the table top. The little koorime rubbed his thumb 
up and down the side of the cup and refused to meet Kurama's eyes. The silence 
in the room stretched and Kurama began to worry that he had seriously offended 
Hiei by pushing him to speak. 
     "Alright." Hiei muttered. He looked up and Kurama nearly wept when he saw 
the deep pain in Hiei's blood red eyes. As the tale unfolded,  all Kurama could 
think was "It's my fault, it's all my fault. They hated *me*!! They should have 
come after me!" Throughout the day Hiei spoke, pausing only when his voice gave 
out. Eventually, as the setting sun transformed the glass and metal of Tokyo 
into fire and light, the story came to an end. The red light streamed in through 
the window an the tears flowing down Kurama's perfect face turned to trails of 
blood. 
     The silence that followed Hiei's long recitation was broken suddenly by the 
last sound Kurama had expected to hear. A laugh. Kurama stared, uncomprehending,  
as Hiei began to laugh, his baritone voice harsh and raspy after such a long 
speech. The laughter slowly died and Hiei looked up at Kurama. The crimson eyes 
that captured his gaze and pinned him in place like a deer caught in headlights 
were still filled with pain, but it was somehow less than it had been before. 
     "Thank you Kurama."
     "Wha... Hiei, I... I don't understand." Kurama said, a wondering look on 
his face. 
     "Talking about it helped a bit, but what helped most is that I saw that 
what happened to me was hurting you... when I saw you crying I thought of all 
the things Briseis said, about me and you, and I thought that maybe if I could 
make it stop hurting me, it would stop hurting you. For some reason that helped. 
Then I thought about what Briseis would say now and I decided that she would 
probably laugh at me for being so... what's the word... melodramatic. That's why 
I laughed." Hiei looked at Kurama, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so 
slightly. 
     Kurama shook his head in wonder and pulled Hiei into a tight hug.  The 
koorime stiffened for a moment, but gradually relaxed and leaned against 
Kurama's chest. The two sat frozen for a long while, silently enjoying each 
other's company. Then Hiei looked up at Kurama with a strange expression on his 
face and asked "Kurama, do you know any Shakespeare?" carefully pronouncing 
every syllable of the last word, making sure he got it right. 
     A very puzzled Kurama looked down at Hiei and replied "Well, a little. 
English is not my first language. Why?"
     "Well, do you think that maybe one day you could read some to me?" Hiei 
asked, fidgeting and avoiding Kurama's eyes. 
     "Hiei, for you I would learn to read Sanskrit."
     "What's a Sanskrit?"
     "Never mind. But yes, I will read some Shakespeare for you." And with that 
Kurama picked Hiei up and carried him to the bedroom. They lay down on the bed 
together and Kurama gently cupped Hiei's face in his hands. He stared long and 
hard into Hiei's eyes, looking for some sign that Hiei really would be okay. 
Finding what he sought, Kurama leaned close and kissed Hiei firmly on the lips.
     Kurama broke off the kiss and pulled Hiei closer to him. He sighed and 
buried his face in Hiei's spiky hair, content for the moment just to hold his 
lover close. Kurama smiled softly, for while darkness had descended outside he 
knew that the shadows lingering in both their hearts would soon be dispelled. 
Hiei snuggled closer and Kurama's smile grew, for in that moment he swore that 
he heard the tinkling sound of a glass wall shattering. 
     

Epilogue one... end.