Shadows and Lies Ch 12

[Kurako (夏維)]

Yuu Yuu Hakusho

Shadows and Lies

by Sionna Klassen and Kristin Huntsman

Chapter 12

Dreams of war, dreams of liars
Dreams of dragon's fire
And of things that will bite...
                --Metallica, "Enter Sandman"

        Kuwabara dug through the junk on the shelves of the storage
closet,
wondering who had thought up the law that storage closets always had to
be
dusty. He sneezed again, for at least the hundredth time since he'd come
in. He
was sure there was a law of physics somewhere that stated storage
closets were
always dusty, but he didn't remember which one. He'd failed that class
anyway.
        There wasn't anything good at all. He found so many containers
of
paper clips and string that he was almost certain they were duplicating
themselves just to annoy him, but he didn't find anything useful or even
mildly
interesting. Like ancient knickknacks that had power stored in them or
something. He figured if he could find one of those, it might be
connected
somehow to the door out of there. It was a long shot, but he was getting
desperate. Didn't evil guys always hide the key in some little worthless
statue
or something?
        But all he found were more containers. Getting angry, he started
to
ransack the closet without any care for what fell on the floor. He kept
doing
this for a little while, until he pushed a small, delicate glass vase
over and
it shattered on the floor. Kuwabara looked down at it, thinking
reflexively of
how he could clean it up so no one would notice it was gone, and
thinking of a
lie to try and cover up the disappearance. Then he remembered that
nobody cared
if the stupid thing got broken and smacked his head. "Idiot!" he
muttered to
himself.
        He noticed something in the broken glass. It looked like a bit
of
metal. He crouched down and picked it carefully out of the glass,
holding it up
to the light from the door. It was a tiny key. Kuwabara looked at the
dark back
wall of the closet, and then for no particular reason he started to walk
toward
it.
        He had to feel his way through the dark, his hands brushing
along the
edges of shelves and sides of containers. More damned containers.
Brushing off
the thought, he kept walking until his fingers hit the wall. He felt for
a
doorknob, but there wasn't any. He thought he felt a crack, though. He
scratched his head, then suddenly remembered his Rei sword. Oh, yeah!
Quickly
he called it, the power flaring up in his hand and lighting the place.
He saw a
little crack in the door, where a knob should have been. He bent down
and
looked at it, then shrugged and put the key in. To his surprise, it fit
perfectly. He turned it, and heard a click.
        Wildly excited, he pushed at the wall, and it swung open easily,
clearly revealing what lay beyond it.

        "_Urameshi_!"
        Yusuke looked up as Kuwabara came running into the room, covered
with
dust and grinning like a maniac. "What?" he asked irritably.
        "I found the way out!"
        "You _what_?" Hiei asked from the other side of the room. He
actually
sounded stunned.
        "I found the door out of here! It's in the storage closet!"
        "I don't believe it," Yusuke said.
        Kurama started to laugh. Hiei glared at him, which only made him
laugh
harder. Hiei said, "I'll believe this when I see it," and stomped out.
He came
back a moment later, looking irritated.
        "Well?" Kurama asked, trying to stifle his laughter and adopt a
more
serious expression.
        Hiei was silent for a moment, then he exploded. "Why is the
idiot the
one to find everything?!"
        Kurama burst out laughing again, and Hiei gave him a disgusted
look.

        Kurama knew he shouldn't be laughing at Hiei, but he couldn't
help it.
The expression on Hiei's normally impassive face had been priceless.
Finally he
got himself under control, still smiling. He hadn't laughed
since...since
before they'd come here, certainly. It felt good to know that there was
a way
out, even if Kuwabara had been the one to find it. Kurama smiled again.
        "So?" Kuwabara demanded impatiently. "Let's go!"
        Yusuke bounced to his feet, just as eager. "About time we found
the
way out of here!"
        Kurama pushed himself to his feet, but he almost fell as a wave
of
dizziness washed over him. Kuwabara hurriedly caught him, putting one of
Kurama's arms over his shoulders. Kurama closed his eyes and waited for
the
vertigo to pass.
        "Kurama...are you all right?" Yusuke asked, concerned. "Should
we wait
a while?"
        "No," Kurama said, shaking his head. "There's no time. It's not
going
to get any better."
        "He's right," Hiei said softly. "The sooner we find who's behind
all
this, the better chance we have of getting out of here."
        "Okay," Yusuke said. "Let's go."
        All four of them walked toward the storage closet, Kurama still
supported by Kuwabara. They squeezed past the shelves and went through
the door
in the back wall, stepping out into a huge, cavernous chamber.

        <What the hell is this place?> Yusuke wondered. The hall they
found
themselves in was like nothing he'd ever seen, unless you counted those
creepy
mansions in American horror movies. It was grand, it was opulent...it
was badly
lighted. And it appeared to defy most of the laws of physics that Yusuke
_did_
remember, from the few classes he hadn't skipped. <How the hell do you
climb
that?> he thought, eyeing a staircase that started upwards, normally
enough -
but then twisted to head straight through a wall.
        "Kurama, do you know where this is?" he asked, turning to him.
Kurama
didn't look too good, he noted. He was leaning heavily on Kuwabara, and
Yusuke
had to wonder if he would even be able to stand without the support.
Somehow,
he doubted it.
        "No," Kurama answered, shaking his head slightly. "It's no place
I've
ever been to. But it's definitely Makai-style architecture..."
        "Wonderful," Kuwabara muttered. "Out of one weird place and into
another."
        "So what do we do now?" Yusuke asked.
        Just then, all the lights went out.
        "I hate the dark," Yusuke muttered, automatically tensing for a
fight,
his eyes trying to adjust to the lack of light. When his vision failed
to be
able to pierce the absolute darkness, he growled to himself and began to
gather
his power, lighting the hall with the glow of his Rei aura.
        He felt a touch on his arm. "Don't," Hiei said from beside him.
Yusuke
looked at him questioningly. "Kurama's weak enough already," Hiei
explained.
        Yusuke looked up, over at Kurama, who was leaning even more
against
Kuwabara than he had been before, his hand over his heart. His gaze met
Yusuke's, and Yusuke saw in it that Kurama would support any decision he
chose
to make. But Yusuke read the pain there as well, and knew that Hiei was
right.
He nodded slowly, and let the blue-white glow die down.
        Leaving them in complete darkness again.
        Having no other choice, they waited.

        Eventually, though, the waiting paled, and the adrenaline wore
off. "I
wonder if we're supposed to do something..." Yusuke heard Kuwabara
mutter from
somewhere to his right.
        "Like what?" Hiei retorted.
        "No," Kurama said suddenly, cutting off Kuwabara's response. But
he
didn't say anything more.
        "...What do you mean, Kurama?" Yusuke asked.
        "I don't know," he answered from somewhere inside the darkness.
Yusuke
heard a whispering of fabric and the soft sound of shoes on the ground,
and
figured that Kurama had found the strength to stand, and had moved away
from
Kuwabara. He waited, and felt the tension rising again.
        Kurama closed his eyes, and stretched out with all of his inner
senses. Finally, he was able to use his abilities to their fullest
again. He
knew why. <A single moment of clarity before dying...> he thought to
himself.
But that wasn't important right now. He'd accepted his death, and moved
past it.
        "I know you're here," he said quietly, into the darkness. "I can
sense
you. Why don't you show yourself?" He paused, thinking, waiting. "I know
you're
the one who put us in that place. I think I know why, too. And if I'm
right,
you've already won. You see, I'm almost completely gone. Another hour,
two at
the most..." He shook his head. "You wanted me dead, you have it. The
game's
over. That is what you wanted, isn't it?" he asked. "Or was there more?
Did you
want to see me die with your own eyes? Is that why you got careless and
let us
come here, to your stronghold?" He laughed softly. "My God, and I
thought the
shadow was twisted..."
        "Kurama..." he heard Yusuke say.
        "It's all right," he reassured him. And somehow, it was.
        The lights suddenly clicked back on.
        Kurama was the only one who didn't wince and shade his eyes from
the
sudden brightness. Instead he focused on the figure in dark gray robes
that was
walking towards them.
        "Well done, Kurama," the youkai said in a smooth, even voice
that
somehow reminded Kurama of an oil slick. "But then, you always were the
clever
one, weren't you?"
        "Who the--?" Yusuke asked.
        "I am called Kuroi," he answered, bowing gracefully. "I've quite
enjoyed watching all your noble efforts to save Kurama's life, I should
say.
But he's right; this would be incomplete
without me seeing him die with my own eyes. That's why I allowed the
portal to
open."
        "You know this bastard from somewhere?" Kuwabara asked Kurama.
        "Apparently he's someone I've managed to offend," Kurama replied
casually. "Regrettably, I can't remember how or when."
        A flash of anger showed in Kuroi's narrow lavender eyes, then
calmed
itself. "You would forget me so easily, Kurama?" he asked.
        "No, I just honestly can't remember you," Kurama replied, making
an
effort to place the name, the face, the voice - anything. He came up
blank.
        "Have you forgotten Eitaru, as well?" Kuroi asked him.
        "Eitaru?" Kurama asked, smiling as sudden good remembrances
flooded
his mind. "How could I forget Eitaru? God, that name brings back some
memories..." He saw his friends looking at him, and elaborated for their
benefit. "When I was sixteen - _really_ sixteen - I became apprenticed
to the
Master Fox-Thief. I learned my trade from him. I was Eitaru's last pupil
before
his death. I had some of the best times of my life during the twenty or
so
years I was studying under him..."
        "Twenty _years_?!" Kuwabara asked. "Isn't that a little long
just to
learn how to steal things?"
        "Not in the Makai," Kurama answered. "That doesn't explain how I
should know who you are, however," he said, turning back to Kuroi.
        Kuroi seemed to be struggling to keep his temper in check. "I
can't
believe you've forgotten who I am! After what you did to me..."
        Kurama gave him a puzzled look. "What did I do?"
        Kuroi said, "At least tell me that you remember that I was
Eitaru's
pupil before _you_ came along."
        "Yes..." Kurama said slowly, "but I still don't understand..."
        "Let me finish!" Kuroi said. "You ruined my chance to become a
master
thief! Eitaru canceled his contract with me because of you!"
        Kurama blinked, still puzzled. "Me...?" Then he remembered.
        "_What_?!" he demanded, making his friends look at him in
surprise at
his sudden change of tone. "That wasn't my fault! You brought that on
yourself!"
        "You were always trying to outdo me!" Kuroi said. "If you hadn't
always been showing off and kissing up to Eitaru, _I_ would have been
his star
pupil, not you!"
        "Excuse me," Yusuke interrupted, "but what the hell are you
talking
about?"
        Kurama explained. "Kuroi was apprenticed to Eitaru before me.
But he
was stupid enough to not only steal something he wasn't supposed to, but
also
to steal it from Eitaru. Eitaru canceled Kuroi's contract, and I stole
the
object from Kuroi and gave it back to Eitaru. I can't believe you blame
_me_
for that!" he said, returning his attention to Kuroi.
        Kuroi was starting to turn purple. "Shut up!" he yelled, then
got
himself back under control again. "I've been planning my revenge for
hundreds
of years," he said. "I've saved all my power, every favor I was owed,
_everything_...all for this one moment, and I'm going to enjoy it!"
        "This is ridiculous," Kurama said, shaking his head.
        "You mean you've devoted your life to this," Yusuke said to
Kuroi.
"You've been doing nothing else but preparing for your revenge?"
        "Yes!"
        "My God, that's pathetic."
        "Who asked you?!" Kuroi demanded, starting to turn interesting
colors
again. "The only reason any of you are here is to die!"
        "You haven't been doing a very good job of that so far," Yusuke
observed.
        "I've barely started!" Kuroi snarled, and suddenly vanished.
        "Huh?" Yusuke looked around. "Is he going to fight us, or what?"
        Kurama turned his head, looking for Kuroi. The lights went out
again,
plunging them into total darkness. Again. Yusuke groaned. "Oh, come on!"
        The sound of a door slamming echoed incredibly loud in the
chamber.
Kuroi's voice called out, "Now you're trapped in my domain - you can't
even go
back to where you came from! None of you is going to leave this place
alive!"
        Something struck Kurama's shoulder. He fell to his knees as his
arm
went numb from the impact. "Yusuke!" he gasped. "We need to see!"
        "No," Hiei's voice said, just before flames roared up around
him. By
their flickering light, Kurama saw a book lying next to him on the
floor.
        "What the--?" Kurama picked it up and looked at it. There was
nothing
on the cover, and when he opened it the pages were blank.
        "A book?" Yusuke said, not understanding. "Why a book?"
        "I don't know," Kurama said, touching a page. The book suddenly
bucked, the edges of the pages slicing into his hand. Kurama dropped the
book,
and it fell open on the floor, letters of blood appearing on the page.
        _The final chapter of your lives ends here_
        "Cheap theatrics," Hiei said, clenching his fist. The book burst
into
flame and burned away to ashes.
        "Nice haunted house, Kuroi," Yusuke called. "It might scare a
five-year-old!"
        Kuroi responded, "You asked for it!"

        The floor fell out from under Hiei's feet.
        "Hiei!" he heard Kurama cry, even as he tried to prepare himself
for
the impact of landing. But it was completely dark beneath him, and he
couldn't
see the floor -
        All at once something snagged his arm, the force almost
dislocating
his shoulder. Hiei clenched his teeth on a cry of pain and hissed a
curse
instead, feeling threads touch his other arm, his legs. All at once they
thickened, strengthened, and Hiei struggled wildly as an invisible web
wrapped
itself around him and held him helpless. He twisted, trying to free
himself,
but the threads of the web stuck to his body and wouldn't let go. They
pulled
apart, and tried to pull him apart with them. He gasped and fought
fiercely,
but the web had pulled so tight that he could barely move.
        Suddenly he looked up as he heard yells that sounded like his
friends'
voices. "Kurama!" he cried, just before the light flared up and he
squinted to
try and see. He saw blurs of motion, and then he looked down - far down,
to a
giant nest of silky threads far below. His friends had fallen into it.
As he
looked up, Hiei could see sliding panels closing above him. The floor of
the
room above had slid into the wall, dumping all four of them into this
room. It
was only his misfortune that he'd fallen first.
        Hiei looked down again. Yusuke and Kuwabara struggled to the
surface
of the silky mess without much difficulty, but Kurama had more trouble
fighting
his way free. Yusuke looked up. "Hiei!" he yelled. "Are you all right?"
        Hiei looked around, at the web that held him helpless. The web
was
made up of the same silky stuff as the mess down below, but these
threads were
sticky and he had an unpleasant feeling that he knew why. The threads
were
tangled around his body, holding him fast.
        A tremor in the threads alerted him to the danger. As he twisted
his
head to look behind him, a set of glowing red eyes appeared in the
darkness of
the upper corner of the room. Then the threads trembled again as a giant
spider
started moving toward him.
        "Hiei!" Kurama shouted.
        Hiei stared at the spider. It was at least thirty feet long,
which
made it the perfect size to see him as a light snack. It opened its jaws
and
saliva dribbled from them. Hiei gave a last, frantic wrench at the
threads,
realized he wasn't getting anywhere, and drew on his reserves of power,
grabbing for as much energy as he could handle. Black fire flared up
around him
with a roar.
        The spider didn't even hesitate. It plunged its head straight
through
the flames and sank its fangs into Hiei's shoulder.
        Hiei jerked against the threads that held him, releasing the
energy in
a rush. The black flames surged outward from his body and burned the
threads to
ash. The spider yanked its head back, the sharp edges of its jaws
tearing free
of Hiei's skin. It made an ear-splitting keening noise as it scuttled
away into
its dark corner. Hiei plunged downwards as the last few threads snapped
beneath
his weight.
        He felt himself hit something that felt like arms instead of
spider
silk. He opened his eyes and saw a blur of blue, then felt the muffled
impact
as whoever was holding him landed in the mess of silk on the floor.
        "Hiei!"
        <Kurama.>
        Hiei opened his eyes again and realized that the arms holding
him
belonged to Kuwabara. <Oh, the humiliation,> he thought, looking up at
Kuwabara's face. It had a puzzled expression on it, as if Kuwabara
couldn't
quite figure out why he'd done that.
        "Idiot," Hiei whispered. "Who asked you to help?"
        Kuwabara gave him a disgusted look. "Why the hell did I bother?"
he
muttered. Then he frowned, looking at Hiei's face. Hiei hoped he wasn't
using
those damned psychic powers of his again.
        Whatever Kuwabara was going to say, the arrival of Yusuke and
Kurama
prevented it. They were staggering across the mounds of spider silk,
trying to
keep their balance on the shifting surface. Kurama should have been
better at
it than Yusuke, but he was doing much worse; proof of how drained he
was.
"Hiei," Kurama gasped, out of breath from the minor exertion.
        Hiei tried to move, to get out of the embarrassing position of
being
held like a baby, but the pain in his shoulder surged up and made him
almost
cry out. He closed his eyes tightly as Kuwabara put him down carefully,
onto
the soft mounds of silk threads. Someone else started holding him, and
then he
felt hair touch his face and decided it was Kurama. He opened his eyes
again,
looking up into the darkness at the top of the cavernous room. He felt
hot,
dizzy -
        He saw the glowing eyes suddenly reappear. He tried to speak,
but his
throat felt constricted and no sound would come out. But his friends got
the
idea anyway and looked up, just as the spider dropped toward them.
        Kurama grabbed up Hiei and stumbled out of the way as the spider
crashed down where he had been sitting. Yusuke and Kuwabara leaped back,
out of
range of its fangs. It turned, looking at all of its targets, then
started
after Kurama and Hiei, somehow knowing that they were the most
vulnerable.
Kurama backed up, trying to keep out of range. Kuwabara let out a yell
as he
lunged at the spider with Rei sword outstretched, but the spider turned
and
spat web at him, tangling him in a huge mass of the stuff. Kuwabara fell
into
the silk and struggled with the sticky threads, to no avail. The spider
turned
back to Kurama.
        "Oh no you don't!" Yusuke yelled. Blue-white light flared up
around
him and then blasted at the spider from his finger. "Rei gun!"
        Kurama crumpled into the silk threads as the spider screeched
again
and dissolved in the blinding light. Hiei went sprawling in the silk and
gasped
as the threads dug into the gaping wound in his shoulder. He tried to
sit up,
pulling the red-stained threads from his shoulder, but his muscles
spasmed and
wouldn't obey him. He collapsed again, trembling.
        Yusuke staggered over and fell to his knees next to Kurama. "I'm
sorry," he panted, listening to Kurama's labored breathing. "I had to."
        Kurama's hair was full of spider silk, mixing silver strands in
with
the red. He levered himself up painfully. "I know." He looked at Hiei.
"Hiei?"
        Hiei wanted to move, but his muscles were all tensed and he
couldn't
make himself unlock from his curled position. His vision blurred. He
gasped for
breath past the tightness in his throat.
        "Hiei?" Kurama asked, worried. He reached out and touched Hiei's
face.
His fingers felt freezing cold against Hiei's burning skin. Quickly he
drew
back. "No!"
        "What? What is it?" Yusuke asked.
        "Spiders have poison in their fangs," Kurama said, despairing.
He
turned away from Hiei and yelled at the wall, "Damn you, Kuroi, it's me
you
want!"
        "It's not _my_ fault they're following you around out of some
kind of
misguided loyalty," Kuroi's disembodied voice replied carelessly.
        "Bastard," Kurama whispered, trembling with fury.
        "Come on," Yusuke said, putting a hand on Kurama's shoulder. "We
can't
stay here."
        Kurama nodded and stood up. He reached for Hiei, but Yusuke
stopped
him. "I'll take him." He bent and picked up Hiei's trembling body,
surprised at
how light he was. Then he turned as a door opened, bright white light
flooding
from it and making it impossible to see what lay beyond. Kuwabara strode
ahead
and went through the door first, Kurama following. Yusuke brought up the
rear,
listening to Hiei's shuddering breath. He bent his head and whispered,
so no
one else could hear, "You'd better not die, you jerk."
        Hiei coughed weakly and replied in a raspy whisper, sarcasm
still
evident in his voice. "I'll see what I can do."
        Yusuke walked into the light and the world vanished around him.