The Raven

Both of the boys could not believe their eyes, as they walked hastily down the path crossing the gardens around Kurama's building. All plants have withered, their flowers and buds had fallen, filling the floor with dyed-colored petals and brown leaves. Yusuke stuck forcefully his hands into his jacket's pockets, strecthing a bit to try to poke at the neighboors talk...

"..the little boy disappeared and his mother is just insane..."

"It's not his mother! Shuuichi Minamino is a man! They're a gay couple, didn't you know?"

"Oh... What a shame... Right in our neighborhood?"

"And how old is the other? Must be a kid! Shouldn't we call the police to take away that pervert?"

Yusuke exchanged a brief, angry look with Kuwabara, who frowned, almost the exact way Hiei would.

"Narrow-minded people..." The tall redhead said.

Yusuke just nodded, clenching fists not to be tempted to release his Shot-gun to shut up that bunch of prejudiced idiots. Imagine if they knew that more than living together, they are demons. All neighborhood would claim about burying or burning them alive.

"Sometimes I feel Hiei is just right - Stupid Ningen!" Yusuke added them, as they started running up the stairs, fast, although paying all attention to the surroundings, trying to be aware of any enemy You-ki nearby.

Living just blocks one from the other, both for friendship and self-protection, they would usually spend many evenings together. They had seen about the strange appearance at the Hatanaka building on TV during dinner. It was said to be a terrorist disguised as a Youko mithological being, that had released a gas bomb and ran away, disappearing and leaving the police investigators without any trace or evidence.

The news, added to Hiei and Kurama's absence, plus the fact they had not exchanged a single phone call during the entire day was alarming.

All of them had stared blankly at the flickering silver screen for long instances. And the girls were the first ones to break astonishment. Yukina went to the kitchen prepare some tea to calm all of them down, and Keiko ran to the phone, to try to contact Kurama.

What could have happened to shake Kurama's usual calm and balanced mind to such an extreme? What did the Youko want? To be chased down by an Spiritual Hunter again, for letting his identity and powers out in the open in the middle of Ningenkai?

They had awaited anxiously, till Keiko informed them the phone was just ringing endlessly at Kurama's, with no reply at all.

So there they were, running the whole distance as fast as they could, ready to get into a fight, rushing upstairs, pushing way in the idiotic neighbors who roamed along hallways, gossiping lots of idiotic crap, not minding anything but to reach their friend as fast as possible.

The rose shrub at Kurama's door had not merely writhered as other plants nearby - It had been burned down, exploded into tiny bits and shreds, and let in place, as a warning sign.

Kuwabara held still for a moment, his face tense as he sensed the surroundings.

"It's a very powerful You-ki; A-class, no less. And I have the strong impression we already know this one."

"So what is it? Some Youkai left-over calling on vengeance?"

Kuwabara just nodded.

Yusuke shrugged, with a derisive half -smile, totally confident.

"Then we better make sure we kill the bastard this time!"

The door was closed, but not locked.

They entered, Yusuke first, already pointing out his Rei-gun in all directions, ready to fire it at any susppicious move around.

"Baka! This is not a Western movie! Let the real man take care of things!" Kuwabara exclaimed, pushing Yusuke a bit to the side, and stepping on. "I know this you-ki trace... I just can't..."

Yusuke tugged at his friend, shushing him briskly. They had listened a low, muffled sobbing coming from the bedroom, and rushed into the narrow corridor, jamming together thorough the doorway in. 

"Gods!" Yusuke exclaimed, as they found a scene apparently taken from a nightmare.

Kuwabara stared at all, his fists clenched, on guard, his narrow eyes wildly observing the grotesque, aberrant interior.

All four walls were scribbled with the weirdest designs, painted with something which resembled blood. By all they knew, and by Kuwabara's spiritual perception, they were sure some old, powerful type of magic had been summoned. The misterious inscriptions were not only Japanese kanji, but also hebrew and greek letters, added to symbols and strange hyerogliphs. They turned their eyes to the double bed near just across the door, and were shocked.

Kurama was lying in fetal position, hands covering his face as he sobbed and cried mildly. He was still and pale as a corpse, prostrated in the middle of a pool of dry blood which stained the pink sheets.

Both voices cried out the fox's name, and Yusuke reached out at once to hold the redhead in his arms, eager to help, too afraid to find his Ningen-youko friend to be deadly injured.

Yusuke held his redhead friend dearly in his arms, bringing him up, trying to get a reaction from him. Kurama was in shock, really in need of medical care. Only his lips moved, as he cried. Watching the slight tremor upon those velvet-like lips, Yusuke could read what was in Kurama's mind at the moment... There was a single only word crossing those lips. A short, daintly-blown name, whispered repeatedly - Hiei. It was all the redhead could articulate..

Kuwabara breathed deeply, finally realizing they had just been worried about the wrong person. He tugged at Yusuke's shoulder, and they faced each other, somberly.

"It's not Kurama's blood. It's Hiei's..."

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

For a long time Hiei just laid there, feeling his naked body rest on a cold, rocky surface. Heavy walls surrounded him. Darkness and quiescence around were so intense, he felt as he were just buried alive. He tried to move but he was so weak... It had taken Hiei a long time till he could just open his eyes.

Empty - That's how he felt. Emptied and totally drained. He shivered, and a long, aching sensation filled his limbs and chest with a razor-like, trembling sensation. Soon he realized it was just coldness; a sensation which he, on being a Fire Demon, bearer of his own heat, had never experimented. Deprived of energy, he was feeble, feeling lost, unable to move a single muscle. He felt totally forgotten within that dark, dead-air space.

He let a innarticulate moan out. He had never been so bad.

He tried to open his Jagan. All he could feel was a nauseating headache. He tried to command his jagan to unfurl, but everytime he tried a sudden pain seemed to cut through his skull, carving its way in like a long, blunt blade.

His right arm was useless, laying along his side like a corpse's cold, rigid limb. He tried to change position a little, but as he did, pain ran forth along his arm bones, from fist to shoulder. His arm was still bandaged, but a whole series of magic symbols had been painted alongside the wards. And he could not be mistaken, by smell and color - They had been painted on with his own blood used as a wicked type of ink. And judging from the odd angle his wrist formed with the forearm, and from the weird torsion at his elbow, his arm was not merely broken - It had been grinded.

He winced with the extreme pain, but kept his lips sealed. Neither sigh nor even the smallest cry was uttered.

He carefully listened to muffled, slow steps, coming around him, getting nearer in closing circles, as a predator just watching its wounded prey fade to death. Hiei's small body tried to react. His muscles were taken by a sudden seizure, as he involuntarily tried to fight paralysis, but had no energy to feed his will.

He could not even crawl. It took him the greatest effort to merely try to rise his head a bit and stare the dark, tall sillhouette.

The shadowy stranger came towards him calmly. He knelt down, sitting elegantly on the floor, facing Hiei then. The FireYoukai sensed a light touch caressing his spiky-hair. He wanted badly to be able to shake his head away of the repulsive touch, but could just gnash his teeth, feebly.

The slender, tall one just chuckled softly at Hiei's reaction. A hard touch grabbed the Fire-youkai's chin, forcing his face up.

"Do you remember me?"

Hiei blinked, experimenting his vision still blurred by weakness and long oblivion. But as he felt alien hands insistently touching his hair, playing at the white starburst, and focused on the slant. evil eyes, he could remember it...

"Karasu..." Hiei whispered, a soft, faint blow of air, almost inaudible."You're not dead?" He continued, his dry, scraped throat, letting out just a trace of voice.

The contentment of the slender demon sparkled on his clear, sadistic smile.

"Dead? Oh, no... I was tossed into a pit filled with youkai corpses, body parts and rottening shreds of youkai entrails, but I was not dead. My combustible ki reacted against the deadly plant Kurama had summoned against me. It soon withered and died, after feeding on a bit of my explosive, powder-like energy. However, I still got some nice battle scars..."

On saying this, Karasu unfolded his shirt a bit, revealing the wide spot on the very middle of his lean, pale chest. And he still smiled, devilishly.

"Now I'm gonna give you and Kurama some beautiful decorative scars in return." His eyes twinkled then, as a perverse expression came to his unmasked face. He offered Hiei a twisted half-smile. "It took me days to crawl back from within that open-grave. Everytime I broke my nails, scraped my fingertips and hurt my delicate palms against the rocks and hard soil, as I climbed up, I vowed to myself I'd grow strong enough to seek revenge.

Hiei trembled, as a particularly intense spasm took his body. Repulse, pain, aprehension, and waryness, all packed up into one strong, vanquishing feeling.

"Kurama... What did you do to..."

Karasu snapped him silent, gently placing his long fingers on his lips. Hiei immediately felt his insides revolted against the touch, nausea and anger coming up. He tried to move away, but could not...

"I think he must be very worried about you by now. " Karasu commented in a soft, tranquil tone, tilting his head and charmingly letting his long mass of black, straight hair cascade down his shoulders and chest. He smiled, and his violet eyes sparkled with a deep, long born wickedness "I haven't done anything to him yet. I think I should better focus on you first."

Hiei's hand twitched, as he tried to clench his fists. But he lacked coordination and strenght. To say the truth, he could not even move his right arm, which remained paralized, crippled, along his side.

"Don't you dare, don't hurt Kurama, or..."

Karazu giggled loudly, madly.

"You're my prey already. From now on I shall raven on your beautiful redhead, and do to him whatever I feel like doing. You won't be able to move a muscle to stop me!" The evilish youkai winked then, as a twisted parody of Kurama's lively ways, and tickled Hiei's nape. Hiei retreated, as much as his weakness allowed him to, but the tall youkai grabbed him by his neck, pressing muscles and nerves under his grip, painfully pinning the small Fire demon down to imobility once more. "You're within a magic circle - A earth circle spell. You're a fire youkai, and also an ice koorime. Earth can block both fire and water. You're locked in this basement, and all walls are covered with magic seals I made especially to lock your ki inside these boundaries. You're too weak, I know; I had to drain you up in order to catch you. But soon you'll be stronger, and will be able to savor better all the torture and pain I have planned to offer you.

Hiei felt those clammy hands touching him, playing with his spiky wisps of hair, patting his head as one would do to a puppy. He gnashed his teeth feebly, trying to dodge the long fingers, but Karasu got a handful of his hair, pulling it, keeping him in place and twisting the short threads till Hiei huffed off in pain.

"There are three things I want to do to Kurama. I'm gonna torture him, fuck him and kill him; not necessarily in this order..." Karasu laughed then, a long, histerical laughter, which made Hiei's stomach clench in painful nausea. "I can torture, kill him and fuck his beautiful corpse, or fuck and torture him at the same time. I could even fuck him first, then kill him, and torture his demonic spirit for ever."

Hiei felt hands on his back, touching his forms, coming down along his spine, till the small of his back, and then running along the roundness of his buttocks. He flinched and a sudden, shameful flush reached his cheeks.

"However, now I'm gonna occupy myself with you. You're not my type of youkai, but I'll do it just to have something nice to tell Kurama when he asks about you."

Hiei listened to the rustling sounds, and a long shiver ran up his back, as he understood what was bound to happen.

He chewed his lips and shut his eyes, resting his brow against the hard floor. He breathed in deeply, stricken by shame, offended by the extreme cowardice, although unable to stop the fiend. Karasu spread Hiei's thighs apart, placing himself behind him, and the youkai's small body was shaken by a long, shivering sensation of repulse.

"I'm gonna do this to you, and after I shall meet your beautiful Kurama. And I'll tell him about this, in all details. I won't forget to mention a single one of your shivers and cries."

"You won't take a single sound from me, you filthy youkai scum!"

"Ah... We shall see..."

Two sets of claws were grasped to his shoulders, the nails biting skin and flesh, drawing blood. The scrapping touch ripped his flesh open in long, burning wounds when both of Karasu's hands, like claws, were pushed all down his back, deeply, slowly cutting passage along his curves.

Hiei quivered, but fought against himself, still silent.

Then ten pinching nails carved cuts around his waist, tightly bringing his rear up, as Karasu inclined over him, reaching out.

"You're just a small opening show. I must rehearse all I have planned to my beloved Kurama before killing him!"

One word echoed in Hiei 's mind, louder and louder. The word was a plain, despaired "No!". He contracted all his muscles, as much as possible, even though he knew he could never prevent the raping intrusion to take place. He shut his eyes and the loud "NO!" echoed in his mind again. He wanted to scream, as he heard the wooshing sound of the zipper being pulled downwards, and the disgusting, hard warmth pressing against his crack.

He really spoke it aloud - "No!" He protested, just once, as he felt the tainted, filthy member forcing passage through his constricted ring.

He winced, and held up inside a long cry as he felt his edge and menbranes being ripped apart as Karasu forced himself into him. It was a single, direct blow, splitting his hole wide. Hiei felt like being pierced by a shaft covered with tiny, sharp pieces of broken glass, reaching deeper, causing the hurting to grow more and more.

Karasu let all his weight fall upon his smaller, weakened oponent, and Hiei could barely breathe, suffocated by pressure, but also too revolted by shame and disgust. How could such happen? He was Kurama's... His fox was the only one he should share such intimacy with... And he could do nothing to stop that dirty youkai to rape him. He had been attacked, assailed in both body and spirit...

Hiei huffed as the violent sting pressed the deepest, smashing his resistence, causing a deep shock to raise from his middle up to his heart, which thumped stronger, faster, altered by the tormenting emotions. A nauseating upheaval started on is estomach, as the intruding hardness was pulled out, and then back in. Karasu's hands lay on each side of his buttocks, his nails fastened his roundness, hurting as Hiei was spread further apart. The hardness punched his entrails, sprawling pain and shame, and he grinded his teeth, panting, wanting to scream out his outrage and deepest sorrow. However, he resisted, managing to keep his lips still mute. Hiei would rather die than give that dirty, vile offender the sadistic pleasure of listening even to the lowest whisper coming from his lips.

The assault continued, faster and faster. He felt his limits being pushed up too far, the sore skin being stretched painfully under the invasion. Strong, impactating strokes hit him, the pressure pulling and pushing, causing a slow, liquid warmth to flow along his crack, sliding down his inner thighs. Hiei knew it was his own blood coming forth as violence ripped his sensitive tissues all apart. And yet, he just gulped, and his whole body tensed, tight and taut, unvoluntarily trying to repel the undesired penetration, but being painfully defeated as thrusts reached deeper in.

Hiei was shaken, his body hitting the rocky soil violently under the heavy pounding of Karasu's hips, causing new ripping sores to be rubbed open upon the previously torn wounds. It was as if he had been impaled on a thick bar of thorns. It hurted like never before. Pain throbbed deep within him, as a growing tumor, raising higher with every rocking move, everytime the torturing shaft was pushed out and back into him.

The red-eyed youkai's face was writhered in pain. His lips had been sliced by his fangs as he chewed hard his own flesh not to allow any crying out. He would never give that dirty rat the satisfaction of seeing him moan, cry or plead... No... Never.

He sobbed, unable to stand the pressure grinding his body from within. A cold hand, like a tight iron claw, pressed his weakened body down against the floor. Then a final thrust was viciously pushed into his painfully carved butthole. Hiei breathed in, deeper as he could, trying to evoke the image of his soft, warm lover to his mind; only Kurama's beauty, and the memory of the love they shared could save him from insanity when he felt the disgusting, stinky semen being pushed into his anus, mingling with his own blood. Hiei's lips moved slowly, forming one single word, as a soundless pray... Kurama... It was all he could think of, all that filled his mind, all he could use to help him fight angst and dishonor as Karasu's nauseating seed was spread within him.

A deep, sore hollowness seemed to burst in his interior, and Hiei felt at once the immediate urge to cry, almost on the verge to give up all the thin remnants of resistence and just bend to pain and disgrace. Gods... How could he face Kurama after such outrage?

He felt a liquid warmth starting to blur his vision, but sniffed his tears, sucking air in with a sigh. The invading, enemy shaft was pulled off his insides, and a sudden blow hit his body as Karasu forced the small youkai to roll to his side, grabbing his starbursted hair to bring his face up.

Hiei frowned, using the last of his resistence and self control to command his expression, showing a brave, unnaffected face to the violet-eyed youkai.

"Despicable coward! Shitty youkai! You're just small fry! Gimme back my strenght and I'll shove a better lesson up this dirty, stinky hole of yours!" Hiei shouted out, violently, despise his weakness, making use of every bit of his faint energy to act out his revolt.

Karasu chuckled, amusingly, patting a fingertip on Hiei's button nose. The youkai had just been raped, and Karasu had made sure it were painful; He was weak, with no means to fight, broke, humiliated and yet the shortie showed up a face...

"Now I see why Kurama loves you. Beautiful and bold, hn? It's hard to see one so brave and pretty... But I have plenty of time to try to break you. You'll see..."

Hiei felt a strong pull, which bit at his neck as the silk thread where he kept his mother's tear gem was stretched and torn off.

"Gimme back..." He spoke, irefully."Gimme back you rotten piece of shit!", Hiei continued, making his best effort to roll to his side and try to reach his precious relic back. But the youkai had stood up, too far from his reach, and kept swinging the shiny gem to one side and the other, right in front of Hiei's eyes, smiling with the most derisive expression ever.

"This is just to proof Kurama I really got you in my hands so that I can fuck your ass till you bleed everytime I want."

A deep, hollow pain started inside his chest, as Hiei imagined how Kurama would feel... His lips moved softly, but no sound was uttered, as he thought on his beautiful, delicate redheaded lover, who would arrive to an empty home, and have no explanation, no comfort to ease his doubts and worries. His own suffering was nothing; Hiei could handle the torture, the ache, but he would not stand to know his foxy-lover would be in such tormentous, hurting distress...

"Wanna know when you're gonna be back to your lover's arms?", Karasu continued, showing Hiei a broad, satisfied grin, as he fitted his pants, zipping up. "Nevermore!"

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

Alone at last...

Hiei whispered sadly, sobbing, pain being the only sensation his cold, weak body could perceive. Pain reached his every limb, dizziness seemed to unfocus his mind and a sharp, piercing sore cut his insides. He felt dirty, filthy, in a way he was not sure he could ever overcome. And the worse part was to be sure soon Karasu would be back to jab into him that painful, shameful act again.

A heavy weight compressed his youkai heart, filling him with the bitterest misery as he knew there was nothing he could do but try to fight tortures with silence and bravery as much as he could bear.

He cuddled to himself, his lean, naked body marked by reddish scratches, as a long trace of his own blood slid down his crevice and along his thighs. Hiei's face was deadly pale, stricken with extreme anguish for the deplorable insult to his honor. He had never felt so wretched...

And what about his lovely fox?

The recollection echoed in his mind, slowly being drained up from the dark recesses of dream into his drowry, dizzy conscience.

They were memories of not long ago. Memories of one dark, stormy night as they met in the Makai wilderness. Hiei and Kurama rested, one tenderly wrapped into the arms of another, sated by some particularly intense love making, when Kurama started sobbing, in a very low, muffed tone.

When asked, the redhead hesitated a bit, but soon let out his feelings, nuzzling the youkai's chest, as Hiei fondled his hair with light, careful touches. He felt his ningen-youko hands touch the bandage he had wrapped around his waist. He had been hurt the day before, by a powerful youkai, a ruffian trying to challenge Mukuro's warriors and frontiers. Many of Mukuro's followers had been slashed, until Hiei came to put an end to the dispute. However, it had not been an easy fight.

"If you ever need to defy death again, summon me in your mind, and I'll come to help you."

"Hn?"

"Hiei, I have another life. If I die as Shuuchi, I can come back as Youko. And if I ever die as Youko, I still have my Ningen body to keep me alive for at least some 50 years. Don't ever risk yourself again. You have only one precious life, and I can't exist without you."

"But I should protect you. I'm stronger even when you're Youko."

"No. I should watch over you. I have two chances, you don't. Don't you ever try to sacrifice yourself for me."

The discussion was soon let aside as they re-started exchanging kisses and caresses which soon caused they to make love one more time. Such topic had never been recalled; up to now... Hiei felt a deep, fearful pain in his youkai heart. The kind of ache which would easily surpass any physical discomfort. Wounds of the soul and heart were the hardest to heal; The Fire Youkai knew that too well.

Kurama would do anything, would risk everything...

If he could just stop him from trying it. If he could tell him of the danger...

He felt a cold trail slide down his cheek. He winced a bit, too weak to try accomodate better along the stony floor. He blinked then, waiting for the tinkling sound of the tear gem hiting the pavement.

He waited longly, in vain. There was nothing coming from his eyes but salty water.

Hiei closed his eyes, trying to forget the pain inside him. He was so damned weak that even his ancestral ki was failing.

If Karasu deprived him of just a little more of his lifeforce, Hiei would soon be unable to speak, open his eyes, and even breathe.

There would be the end...

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

Karasu took hold of his best prize. A few strands of red, silky hair which he had collected from a forgotten hairbrush, somewhere at Kurama's place. Each tiny strand had in itself a bit of the redheaded demon's ki. He had also picked up some of the fox-demon's clothes; these were a wonderful depository of personal ki. He could do an excellent controlling spell with that material and Kurama would become defenseless.

He had the bait. Now he just had to build the fox-trap...

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

Characters are proprierty of Yoshihiro Togashi, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Jump Comics, and Studio Pierrot. The events portrayed are not necessarilly present in the original series Yu Yu Hakusho