Yuu Yuu Hakusho

Shadows and Lies

by Sionna Klassen and Kristin Huntsman

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are the property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shonen Jump Weekly, Studio Pierrot, and Fuji Television. No infringements of their rights are intended, etc.

Chapter 3

Have you ever felt that somehow you were not yourself That your body was the same But everything around you wasn't right... --Oingo Boingo, "Good For Your Soul"

A shape flickered outside the open window, then flashed into the room, visible only as a black-and-white blur. Hiei slashed with his sword, and the leaf-sword Kurama had created fell apart into shreds. Hiei stood in front of Yusuke, sword still out. "Kurama - what are you doing?" Kurama lunged. Hiei blurred out of the way, then leaped forward and grabbed hold of Kurama, trying to stop him. Kurama threw him off without effort and attacked Yusuke again. There was no logic to his movements, no sense. He was only striking repeatedly, like an enraged animal. Yusuke found the blows easy to dodge, especially compared to Hiei's blinding speed, but he didn't want to hit back. Kuwabara opened the door, rubbing his eyes. "Hey, Urameshi, what's all the yelling about--?" He broke off as he saw Kurama attacking Yusuke. "Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled. "Help us knock him down!" Kuwabara gamely ran at Kurama, always eager to fight. Kurama whipped around and brushed him aside. Kuwabara went flying into the wall, but he promptly got up again. Kurama snapped a kick at him, and Kuwabara caught the outstretched foot and flung Kurama to the floor. But before any of them could tackle him, he was up again, with short blades of grass in his hand. He flung them at Yusuke, and in the moonlight they were impossible to see or dodge. He yelped as they embedded themselves in the skin of his chest. Kuwabara tackled Kurama from the side, taking advantage of Kurama's distraction. Kurama fell hard on the floor, and Hiei joined Kuwabara an instant later, the two of them holding Kurama down with difficulty. Yusuke pulled out some of the blades of grass, then ran to help. He and Hiei managed to pin Kurama's arms, holding on grimly as he struggled wildly against them. Kurama's back arched, fighting Yusuke and Hiei with all his strength. Hiei was almost thrown off again, but he managed to hold on. Then without warning Kurama went limp, and Yusuke loosened his hold slightly. When Kurama didn't take advantage of it, he relaxed a little more. Kurama lay still, his eyes closed, breathing heavily. Yusuke and Hiei glanced at each other. "Kurama?" Yusuke asked cautiously. Kurama opened his eyes and looked at both of them, his expression puzzled. He tried to move, discovered that his arms were pinned, and gave up the effort. "Yusuke...Hiei?" He saw the blood lacing Yusuke's wrist and the punctured holes in his shirt, some grass blades still lodged in, and his eyes widened. "What...what happened?" "You tried to kill me!" Yusuke said indignantly. Kurama stared, horrified. Hiei and Yusuke released him, confident that he'd regained his senses and he wasn't going to try and attack Yusuke again. Kurama sat up slowly, staring at his hands. Finally he looked up, his eyes filled with shock and self-hatred. "I'm sorry," was all he said, but his tone conveyed far more than his words.

Kurama sat cross-legged on the floor, looking down. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" Yusuke asked. "Do you remember why you attacked me?" Kurama frowned, an expression more of pain than anger. "I've been having...dreams, lately," he admitted. "Or nightmares." "Like what?" Yusuke asked. "I dreamed I was surrounded by ice," Kurama told them, feeling the coldness still inside his heart as he spoke. "Then I dreamed my death again - and I woke up, or thought I did, and you attacked me." He pointed at Yusuke. "So you tried to kill _me_ instead?" "I don't remember that!" Kurama cried in agonized frustration. Hiei spoke, and they all looked at him. "No dream alone would make you attack any of us. It has to be something else influencing you." "Some force outside that we don't know about?" Yusuke asked. He looked at Kurama sharply. "In the forest, maybe?" "Yeah, what happened to you in there, anyway?" Kuwabara asked. "You still haven't told us." "I - I--" Kurama pressed his hands against his head. "I can't remember! I don't remember a thing from when I went into the forest until I woke up in the stream!" "Damn," Yusuke muttered. "If we knew what happened, it might tell us what to do about it." Kuwabara yawned hugely and complained, "Why does this kind of thing always have to happen in the middle of the night?" Kurama shivered again as another cold whisper of air from the open window brushed icy fingers against his face. He picked up his blankets and wrapped himself in them, trying to stay warm. None of the others seemed cold at all. Kuwabara finally got up, after a long moment of silence. "I'm going back to bed," he said, waving. "Wake me up if he goes nuts again..." He left the room, ignoring Kurama completely. Kurama looked steadfastly at his feet, flushed with shame. Yusuke grumbled, "Jerk!" He looked at Kurama, seemed about to say something, then changed his mind. Hiei got up and paced a few steps toward the window. He half-turned, looking back. There was an expression on his face that looked suspiciously like concern. "Will you be all right?" he asked Kurama, almost reluctantly. Kurama smiled. "I'm fine," he said quietly. Hiei nodded shortly and vanished through the open window, somehow closing it behind him. Kurama smiled again and shook his head. Yusuke fetched his own blankets and stretched out on the floor, unable to repress a yawn of his own. "Hey, Kurama...are you going to sit there all night?" Kurama glanced at him. "I'm not going to risk going back to sleep," he said. Yusuke looked up at him soberly. "What are you going to do?" Kurama stared at the wall. "I don't know," he said. "I don't know if I can stay with you." "What?" "I can't risk hurting any of you again," Kurama said. "But I don't know if I can prevent it if I stay. I could always go into the forest, I suppose..." "You can't do that!" Yusuke protested sleepily. "There's nothing to live on there. You'll starve." "I'm a youko, remember? I think I can live on my own." Kurama stared off into the distance, through the wall. "And even if I die...maybe that would be better anyway. It would be safer for certain..." He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. "I wonder if it would _let_ me kill myself." He glanced at Yusuke as he heard a soft sigh. Yusuke had fallen asleep. Kurama smiled softly. He doubted that Yusuke had heard the last few sentences. <But that's probably for the best.> Kurama spent the rest of his sleepless night thinking, but when dawn arrived he found himself no closer to a solution.

The meadow was dotted with wildflowers, making tiny, bright spots of color in the long grass. The grass shimmered in waves of movement, pushed by the breeze. The air still _smelled_ like summer, but it wasn't quite hot enough. And there was no buzzing of insects. Something just seemed wrong with the whole place. It was indefinable, except by the little things that were off-center. Why weren't there any animals in the forest? Why would a house in the middle of nowhere have running water and electricity? It did - Kuwabara hadn't even thought twice about that the night before while cooking dinner, but it had occurred to Yusuke when Kuwabara flipped on a light switch without thinking and the lights actually turned on. Yusuke frowned, staring off into the distance, at the forest. He didn't turn as Hiei dropped off the roof and landed lightly next to him. "Are you going to stand here all day?" Hiei inquired. "Have you got any ideas?" Yusuke retorted. Hiei shrugged and stretched, the movement almost liquid. "We could practice." Yusuke thought. The idea had appeal. "Okay," he agreed, and the two of them moved out into the grass, away from the house. Hiei pulled off his shirt, and Yusuke followed suit. They faced off, eyes narrowed as they scrutinized each other. Kurama opened the door, spotted Yusuke and Hiei in the grass, and came out to watch. He stood quietly outside the invisible boundaries of the practice area, looking tired. Yusuke finally got sick of waiting and made the first move. The silence of the meadow was filled with the sounds of battle.

Kurama watched Yusuke and Hiei fight. They seemed to be going at each other all-out, to an untrained eye; but Kurama knew that if they kept going at this rate, they wouldn't even work up a sweat. "Hey," he called. "You're going too easy on him, Hiei!" "I've only started!" Hiei retorted, without a single catch in his movement. "That's good," Kurama replied. "I was getting worried, because I can still see you move." Hiei refrained from making a reply. Kurama smiled, but his good humor faded as he glanced at the dark mass of the forest. He looked away, back to the fight, but he felt as if the forest was watching him. When Yusuke got a little too close, Kurama quickly shifted his position, drawing back. He felt tired, even after only one night with too little sleep. That meant he'd have to be twice as careful; he couldn't afford to let his guard slip. Kuwabara came out of the house, having seen the practice going on through the open window. He had cans of soda in his hands. "Hey, Kurama." He tossed one, and Kurama caught it easily, but didn't open it. Kuwabara came closer, and Kurama stepped away. Kuwabara got the idea that Kurama didn't want him near and stopped, scratching his head. "Hey," Kuwabara asked, "Are you okay?"

Kurama glanced at him, and Kuwabara elaborated. "You look tired." "I didn't sleep," Kurama said by way of explanation. He looked down at the ground. "Yeah...Urameshi told me." Kuwabara looked worried. Kurama gave a small, bitter smile. "I wonder how long I can stay awake..."

Yusuke caught a brief glimpse of Kurama near the house, standing alone, the walls he'd put around himself practically visible. "Damn!" he muttered, and made a brief gesture to Hiei to take the fight elsewhere. Hiei promptly leaped up onto the roof, and Yusuke followed, pretending that it was only part of the practice. Once on the other side of the meadow, as near as they could get to the trees without actually so much as touching their shade, Yusuke asked, "What are we going to do about Kurama?" "I was wondering when you were going to bring that up." They continued fighting, not bothered at all by having a conversation at the same time. Hiei blocked a blow Yusuke aimed at him, then continued. "It's obvious something here is out to get us. It's just starting with Kurama first." "Oh, great! So we're all as good as dead!" "So what else is new?" Hiei returned. "We have to find it first and figure out how to get rid of it, that's all." "And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Hiei frowned. "I don't know. We'll think of something...but in the meantime..." He frowned again, but Yusuke could almost swear he saw concern behind it. "Kurama can't go on like this. He's got to sleep eventually." "We'd better get back to the house," Yusuke said. "I don't know if Kurama fell for it." Hiei shrugged and flitted across the meadow, forcing Yusuke to push his speed to his limit to keep up. Hiei grinned at him and completely vanished. Yusuke growled as he leaped up onto the roof. Then he slipped, lost his balance, and fell off the roof.

He fell right next to Kurama, who was so startled by Yusuke's arrival that he nearly jumped out of his skin. "That isn't like you," Hiei said, suddenly appearing in the grass. Kurama moved away from Yusuke, not meeting Hiei's gaze. He folded his arms and glanced at Yusuke, picking himself up from the ground. "I'm more tired than I thought I would be," he said, stating a fact rather than trying to make an excuse. Kuwabara tossed a can of soda in Yusuke's direction, then offered one to Hiei. But Hiei refused it. He watched Kurama intently. Kurama couldn't meet his eyes. Yusuke drank thirstily, then looked at Kurama. The breeze suddenly strengthened, and Kurama started shivering again. This time he couldn't stop. "Kurama?" Yusuke asked, sounding worried. "I'm so cold..." Kurama's voice came out so weakly it was almost a whisper. The ice inside his chest was spreading, making it almost painful to breathe. He glanced at the trees almost involuntarily, then turned violently away. "Are you sure you can't remember what happened to you in there?" Yusuke asked. Kurama lifted his head and forced himself to stare directly at the trees, racking his mind. Flashes of what might have been the right memory passed in front of his mind's eye, but the actions were so familiar that they could have been from almost any point in his life. "I was...running. Falling." He shook his head in frustration. "I can't remember!" Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei all looked at the trees. Their darkness seemed openly hostile. Hiei found his hand drifting to his sword hilt automatically. Yusuke cursed, staring at the forest. Kurama looked up, at the trees again, then turned and fled into the house. "Hey--Kurama--" Kuwabara followed him, and found him crumpled on the floor, shivering uncontrollably. His face was hidden behind his hair. Kuwabara hesitated, then ran to the bedroom and picked up the blankets from the floor. He brought them all back in and threw them over Kurama. Yusuke came in. "Where's Hiei?" Kuwabara asked. "Vanished - as usual!" Yusuke sounded annoyed. He stood uncertainly, looking down at Kurama. He looked at Kuwabara, a glance that said clearly, <What are we going to do?>

Hours later, Kuwabara sat in the grass, staring at the forest and thinking. Kurama had recovered - sort of. At least he wasn't shivering so much. He and Yusuke were taking their turn cooking dinner tonight. Kuwabara thought of Hiei's disparaging comments toward the food _he'd_ made and grumbled. The forest seemed more inviting, somehow, than it had earlier. The deep green shade didn't look quite so hostile. He felt as though he wanted to go in and explore it. But his stomach growled, and he decided to let it wait until tomorrow. There was no way he was going to miss dinner.

Hiei stood on the other side of the meadow, also staring at the trees. He felt no inclination to go anywhere near them. A thought occurred to him, and he removed the headband from his forehead and used his Jagan to pierce the darkness underneath the trees. The third eye opened, glowing faintly purple. Hiei turned his head sharply to follow something that he could almost see at the edge of his vision, but the flicker of movement was gone. Hiei waited for a long moment, but he didn't see anything else. He turned away and started walking back toward the house, tying his headband back on. In the forest behind him, something dark and slimy dribbled down a tree trunk.