Imploring Hearts, Unspoken Vows | By : RoseBudNRiomi Category: Yuyu Hakusho > Het - Male/Female Views: 3456 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Title: Imploring Hearts, Unspoken Vows
Disclaimer: We do not own the characters mentioned within this fic. They belong to their creator who is, sadly, not us.
Rose: Here be a one shot collaboration between myself and my good friend Riomi. Enjoy and review!
Riomi: Please be sure to keep an eye open for other fics by us!
WARNING! There is extreme violence and character death held within this fic! You have been warned...(Riomi) It's extremely long too so make sure you have time..we promise its worth it though!
The sound of pounding footsteps echoing throughout the white walled corridor of the hospital's psychiatric ward caused the young brunette at the nurses' station to look up from the book she had been so intently reading. She arched an eyebrow at the four young men rushing toward the station, each wearing varying expressions of concern and worry.
"May I help you?" she asked, her tone as polite as she could make it despite her aggravation at being interrupted during the best part of her novel.
"You sure can, lady," the teen with the slicked back, black hair began a bit rudely, but was cut off by another who had long red hair so beautiful that the nurse felt a hint of jealousy.
"What he means is, we would be grateful if you could give us Keiko Yukimura's room number, please."
The nurse snapped a glare at the greasy haired boy, then tilted her head to the soft spoken one with pliant eyes. "I'll need to know your relationships with the young lady, I can't just let anyone in, you know."
This caused the rude young man to lose the trivial amount of patience he had left, because before she had a chance to stop him, he had left down the patient corridor and began swinging open doors in search of the girl named Keiko.
"Please handle your friend, I cannot permit him disturbing the other patients." she scolded in a high-pitched voice in hopes that one of her colleague's would bear assistance.
"I'll take care of Urameshi, you guys give her the information she needs." the taller, gruff-looking boy voiced and followed the trail of havoc that the boy deemed Urameshi left behind.
It was the shortest of the bunch that spoke up this time, "Hn, forgive our friend, his relationship with the girl is somewhat beyond friendship and he is truly worried for her. Tell us how to gain the rights of passage to see Yukimura-san." his voice was cool but, his eyes held a tinge of impatience.
The nurse soon understood and reluctantly showed them the way. She lead them down a hall opposite the one that Urameshi had gone down during his rampage, causing the young man to blush slightly in embarrassment. They finally reached a room marked 323 and the nurse knocked softly once before opening the door. tur turned to the others, giving them a stern glance.
"I can only allow one person at a time, so you need to take turns. She's unresponsive at the moment though... has been since they brought her in. But feel free to speak to her normally when you do go in. You never know, it might help." she stated. The other three young men instinctively stepped back, allowing Yusuke Urameshi to be the first to enter.
Yusuke attempted to swallow back the lump which rose into his throat as soon as he saw Keiko's condition. She lay on the pristine sheets of the hospital bed, her mahogany hair spread about her, laying across her pillow in disarray, in striking contrast to her pale, sweat-sheened skin. Her light brown eyes, which were sunken in slightly, held a dullness to them as they stared up at the ceiling in such a way that it was obvious that she wasn't seeing it at all. Her gaze was turned inward, shutting out all surroundings and other presences.
Images began to assault Yusuke's mind as the memory of the last time he had seen Keiko emerged. It had been before she'd left to go on vacation with her family, only a few days ago.
Yusuke sat atop the roof of Sarayashiki high school with Botan. Despite his better judgement and lack of tact, he chose that spot for he and his assistant to meet in order for them to share, yet again, another private moment. He had just drawn the blue haired girl close, their lips meeting in a heated kiss, when the exit door flew open, allowing Keiko to emerge from the opening. They had jerked apart quickly, but not quick enough. He'd seen the hurt and betrayal in her brown eyes, and knowing he should have done this sooner, resolved himself to straighten gs ogs out once and for all.
Botan left in a daze while he chased after Keiko, who, as before, had begun stumbling toward the door with tear-filled eyes. He'd finally caught up, grabbing her shoulder to spin her around. Once again, he should have saw it coming, but instead went blissfully unaware until the moment Keiko turned on him viciously. Her open palm made familiar contact with the flesh of his cheek, turning his head with its force. Yusuke stood, stunned, as he rubbed his cheek gingerly. He'd deserved it, he knew, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch.
"K-Keiko, I.... I-" Yusuke began.
"DON'T!" Keiko cut off his stumbled attempt to explain, turning her head from him in a dismissive manner. "Just... don't, Yusuke. Let's just.... forget this ever happened and put it behind us." Her voice had a note of finality in it that was unmistakable.
Yusuke nodded in acceptance, knowing that if he pushed the subject, he would wind up losing her altogether. Things had been awkward between them for the following days, each one barely speaking to the other if not simply avoiding them altogether. Until she'd come up to his house the day before she'd left, telling him that she and her family were going on vacation for a few days.
"Listen, I know we can't be more... but I'd really appreciate it if we could at least be the friends that we were, Yusuke." she whispered softly, her soft brown eyes pleading in such a wayt itt it left him with no other choice but to comply.
How could he not? She was, after all, his best friend.
"Keiko.." Yusuke's voice left him as he stared miserably at the empty shell before him.
Closing the distance between himself and the bed, he lowered himself down onto the edge, catching Keiko's limp hand into his own. He noted with a wince, how clammy it felt, like it didn't belong to a living being at all, but a corpse instead.
This couldn't be Keiko. At least, not the Keiko he knew. The Keiko who would berate him for being late for class or for not being totally honest. The Keiko who had enough energy to rival his own if she were put under his circumstances...no, this couldn't be her.
Out of sheer discomfort, he hesitantly ceased contact with the lifeless extremity that belonged to the unrecognizable girl. He rose to his feet and eyed a clipboard that was bluntly placed out of contrast with the ivory walls next to the exit. He stepped towards it and quickly skimmed through the hastily-jotted doctor's notes.
'Yukimura, Keiko...17 years of age...traumatic encounter...post-dramatic stress...unresponsive to surroundings...'
He quickly averted his gaze to the inanimate floor, feeling as if he had looked at something too personal to continue. The clipboard notes had proven his wave of uncertainty to be false. This girl was Keiko, or more so, what was left of Keiko. He scurried to to her bedside and reclaimed her lax hand, his eyes full of shame, of not being there to stop whatever had emptied one of his dearest friends.
"Who did this to you, Keiko?" he whispered brokenly. "What happened? Please, tell me. It's okay, it's me, Yusuke."
His pleas went unanswered, the girl didn't even flinch when his hand gripped hers tighter in building fury. Yet the spark of life in her eyes that passed swiftly when his name was mentioned went unnoticed due to a heavy knock on the door.
"I'm sorry, but visiting hours are about up. If you want to give your other friends some time to see her, you'll have to leave." the nurse said after she had slid open the door.
Yusuke nodded numbly, rising up from his kneeling position to reluctantly cross the room. Glancing back once at the motionless figure, Yusuke sighed deeply before exiting. Stepping out of the room, regret tugged at his heart. 'Maybe', he thought, 'just maybe, if I were still with Keiko, this would have never happened...but, Botan...' inwardly he tried his best to shake away hislms.lms.
He turned to the nurse just as Kuwabara passed by to enter into the room, closing the door behind him.
"What happened to her?" His voice held a hardened edge that caused the nurse to become nervous.
Meanwhile, the sharp click of the heavy hospital door closing behind the Spirit Detective's sidekick, caused Kuwabara's heart to skip a beat in panic. This place gave him the heebie jeebies. Outside of the room, dozens of spirits were running amuck, but the second he stepped into this room, there was nothing but an unnatural silence. That could only mean that even the ghosts that flowed freely through the hospital corridors were too frightened to haunt this very room. This was very odd and more than obvious to the simple Kazuma Kuwabara.
He scaled the room, almost believing it was empty due to the lack of any life energy, until his gaze landed on the inert form of Keiko. His body tensed at the perception of her deathly pale figure and darkened eyes that stared upward with no particular motive.
Slowly, he crept to her bedside, almost feeling like he was invading her personal space and didn't belong there. Standing over her unmoving body, he began to fidget, unsure of what to say or do.
"Keiko..? It's me, Kuwabara..."
No verbal answer was given by the fragile looking girl. Hastily he removed his gaze, but by doing that he missed the small tick of life that passed through the pale girl's eyes when his name was mentioned. This was too much for him to bear, this girl looked dead. Her essence of life was utterly diminished and it was hard to grasp that this girl, once overflowing with nothing but the purest of energy, lay there like a cadaver waiting to be mourned over. Kuwabara took another glance at Keiko and immediately his eyes brimmed with tears, he, he, for once, didn't allow them to fall.
He tightened his fist to gain control of his emotions and voiced an unwavering promise, "You'll get better, Keiko. If I can't help you myself, then Urameshi will."
The only reaction he received was the light uneven breaths that gave proof that there were indeed two life forms in the room. His heart sank in grief and he sullenly took his leave.
Meanwhile, outside of Keiko's hospital room...
"What do you mean, you can't tell me anything!?"
"I'm sorry, but I cannot give out that information. I'm only allowed to speak with close family members or- " the nurse began, but suddenly broke off as if she had remembered something important that contradicted what she had just said. Instead, the woman's eyes took on a pity-filled expression before continuing. "You will have to wait until the doctor comes back through. He normally makes his rounds every Tuesday between six and twelve o'clock. I'm sure he will be able to fill you in more on what is wrong with your friend."
"It's quite alright," the red head politely injected, "We understand. Thank you for your help."
The nurse nodded, turning from the boy who was obviously seething due to her lack of cooperation in the information department, before making her way back to her desk and her neglected novel. Kuwabara reemerged from Keiko's room then, his eyes seeming a bit shiny and red-rimmed.
The next to enter was Kurama, and he remained inside for his allotted time to visit the unresponsive girl who had made such an impression upon him with her fiery spirit, kindness and loyalty.
The red haired kitsune stood at Keiko's bedside, his hands tucked into the pockets of his fuchsia colored uniform. His emerald green eyes shone with such sadness at the lack of the familiar aura of life which he'd found always seemed to surround this particular human. She exuded so much kindness and loyalty that Kurama often wondered how her energy level could be so low, with a spirit so immense. Shaking the idle thought aside, he returned his attention to the girl lying motionless on the bed. As Yusuke and Kuwabara before him, Kurama was struck at the drastic change which had come over the girl since last he saw her. Her eyes had been shimmering with such happiness that just the sight of those soft brown orbs had warmed his soul... both of them.
It was no secret to Kurama that his Youko side had taken an interest in Keiko. He himself had a soft spot for the lithe brunette. But Kurama knew of her feelings toward Yusuke, even though they were broken up as of late, and as a result, Shuichi, the human side of Kurama, always had hinds nds full at keeping the fox spirit in check. He would chide his demon half, questioning why he had such an interest in the girl. Youko would simply scoff each time, replying that she was cute.
Sighing deeply, Kurama retracted one of his hands from deep within his pants pocket, and reaching out, cupped a cold, clammy cheek with his palm. A wave of emotion overwhelmed the normally calm and collected red head, and Kurama felt the pricklings of wetness at the corners of his eyes. Drawing back his slender hand, he reached beneath the fiery mane of his hair, and with a quick flick of the wrist, withdrew a single white rose.
He twirled the perfect flower between his fingers, silently contemplating the intimacy of the gesture, before reaching down and gently tucking the short stem behind Keiko's ear so that the soft petals nestled within the mahogany curls. With a slight smile, he withdrew his hand and turned to leave, glancing over his shoulder briefly to softly say, "From Kurama...." before continuing toward the exit.
Thus, he too, missed the flickering recognition of his name in Keiko's eyes...
When he returned, everyone turned to look at the final member of their group who had yet to go in.
"Hn. No, thanks, the present smell in this facility is sickening," the fire demon stated cooly. Inclining his head slightly, he continued, "And seeing as how that baka nurse said visting hours are almost over we should leave now and be done with this place."
With that said, Hiei turned around before he could see their expressions. 'So predictable...,' he thought. The baka would be glaring at him, fists clenched. The detective would be ready to punch him, at the first sign of movement. The loss of the woman was something he wouldn't take lightly. Kurama.... ah, Kurama was harder to predict, at times, impossible. He decided to turn around, and see the kitsune's reaction.
'Ah, yes, the look of contemplation. I should have known.'
The silence was broken by the enraged growl bursting forth from Yusuke's throat as the teen threw himself bodily at the fire demon. He was abruptly pulled up short, however, as Kurama latched onto one arm, and surprisingly, Kuwabara grabbed the other.
Hiei's expression remained blank, not wishing to contemplate the power the human girl could have over such powerful beings. With one last "Hn." he disappeared down the corridor.
~*~Darkness crept along the halls, allowing shadows to invade every nook and crany of the hospital. Every room was devoid of lights as they had been all extinguished for the night with the exception of the one at the nurse's station. In room 323, the presence of shadows were increasingly more so. They moved along the floor and walls, ascending to the very ceiling, all seeming to converge upon the small form on the bed, kept at bay only by the shaft of moonlight which spilled through a single window and fell upon the lone bed.
Then, from the bowels of silence, a soft click emerged, signifying the release of a latch. The window which lead to the outside world swung open soonafter, allowing yet another shadow to enter the room. This shadow, however, had a purpose.
The new shadow crept forward, also being drawn toward the girl lying on the bed, its stealth and grace putting all the rest to shame. But unlike the others, which were driven back by the moonbeams that streamed into the room from the window and bathed the girl in its silvery light, this shadow advanced steadily. Closer it crept, until it reached the ring of natural light before hesitating for just one instant. Then, in one step, the shadow drew apart from the others, revealing itself to not be a shadow at all.
With the moonlight at his back, Hiei closed the distance between himself and the bed, until he stood beside it, looking down upon Keiko's body, his eyes filled with something that if Kuama--or any of ttherther spirit detectives for that matter--been present, they would have been astonished to see such emotion never before witnessed within the fire demon's red eyes.
The eyes trailed over the inert form slowly, never wavering at the pitiful sight before them. His eyes moved until finally settling upon the pale rose still perched in her hair where Kurama had placed it earlier.
"Hn, baka, fox." Hiei murmured, his lips turning upward in the slightest of smiles.
Absently, he brushed his fingertips against her flaccid, yet clammy cheek. "What is it about you that has captured the hearts of so many?"
He didn't get an answer, hadn't expected one. He didn't even know what had possessed him to ask such an inane question. What should he care about her methods of manipulation? She was half dead anyway, his only intent of coming here was to give his proper respects.
Earlier he could smell death lurking in the area, ready to take the souls of those nearly lost, and it seemed that it was making a point to come here last, but inevitably it would come. It would have only been right for him to say his farewell, but he would be damned if he were to show weakness for this human in front of his inferiors.
He removed his pliant touch from her hollowed features and put his hands behind his back, diminishing the urge to reach out again. Hiei narrowed his eyes and tried to look at the girl with disgust but found the only outcome to be pity. It was always obvious, the shell that now lay before him once had a spirit so immense that it looked as if she held an angelic glow, even he couldn't deny that. Either way, this girl was on the brink of death and there was nothing he could do about it. Not that he wanted to do anything about it. She was a human girl and death was a natural occurance for mortals such as her.
Feeling he had spent more than enough time deploring for what was left of the girl name Keiko he turned away ready to take his leave, but the most unexpected thing happened.
'Where is he?'
It was a faint feminine voice smothered in anguish and fright, but it wasn't verbally voiced, it was echoing in his thoughts, almost as if someone was using telepathy. He turned back around to face the girl who remained unmoving, nothing changed in her features but he was more than sure that he felt a slight change in her aura. While he continued to stare at the girl's still form he failed to notice the shadows of the room become darker and all light slowly fade away, neither did he acknowledge the slight tug of his own soul being pulled from his body... until it was too late...
~*~An eeire sense of wrongness assaulted Hiei as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. A sense of something being out of place, of not being as it was the last time hd sed seen it. The fire demon could not fathom what it could be, but his wariness kept him on his toes. Everything seemed to be the same; the human female still lay motionless upon the bed, enveloped in moonbeams and surrounde the the darkness of the hospital room. And yet, there was still something odd about the normalcy of it all. As if it were all a hoax, a cleverly set ruse in order to distract him, to submerge him in a false sense of security.
He smirked. Well, it wasn't going to work.
The image of Keiko's body suddenly began to unweave, deteriorating in front of the fire demon's cautious gaze, like a spool of unraveling thread. The figure faded away into nothingness, leaving the apprehensive Hiei in utter darkness. Suddenly, some unseen entity, disclosed by the inky blackness that surrounded him, took hold and began forcing Hiei downward. And though he attempted to struggle, he found the force was overwhelming, resulting in him kneeling on the ground.
Eyes narrowing dangerously, he attempted to speak, "Who is behind this sorcery? Show yourself!" his mouth formed the words, yet no sound emerged.
As if in response to his inaudible demand, a scene appeared before him, as if he were sitting within a darkened theatre and the main attraction had just begun...
A beam of light appeared in the middle of the obscurity, piercing the enveloping blackness and expanded until it revealed the inside of a dwelling. Two middle aged humans, one male and one female, sat at a table in front of a large window. The scenery beyond depicted a vision of vast forest and a shimmering lake in the distance. The male was reading a papeile ile the female flipped through a magazine idly.
As he observed, Hiei couldn't help but notice the distinct similarity between them and the human girl, Keiko. He continued to watch as soon another person came into view wearing a swimsuit with a towel wrapped around their dainty waist. It was Keiko, her eyes having regained their original exuberance, and she smiled as she expressed her desire to go to the lake for a swim. The parents nodded, continuing with their activities. All seemed normal. But Hiei could sense something very wrong, as his view automatically followed Keiko to the lake.
She walked out onto the small dock, untucking the towel from her waist and letting it drop to the hardwood surface. Hiei found he could not turn his eyes away, nor did he want to, and he allowed his gaze to take in the subtle dips and curves of Keiko's body. She stood, poised in a way that indicated she was about to dive in. But at that moment a piercing scream split the pleasant silence. He could visibly see Keiko's body tense up, her head snapping back in the direction of the cabin she had just left. The direction in which the scream had emerged.
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