Dawn of the Golden Age

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Lately I've been depressed, so I finished up a story that I've been working on for a while. It's kind of a look at the future of Makai. Please let me know how you think this story ends; it was meant to be a bit ambiguous, so I would like to know what impression it gives you.

"Dawn of the Golden Age"

There weren't enough beds for all of the Tournament's casualties.

They sat in long lines against the walls of the hospital, waiting for beds and medical attention. Healers in white uniforms and nurses in pink ran up and down the halls, occasionally stopping to tend to one of the wounded. Some had been hurt so badly that they were beyond saving; in these cases the healers could only make them more comfortable while they waited for an executioner.

Yukina kneeled by one such youkai, showering him with snowflakes as she forced soothing ki into his body. The poor boy wasn't even a hundred years old, Yukina thought sadly. Just a child…

"Where is he? Rinku, where are you? Rinku!"

Yukina glanced up, seeing a girl dodging nurses and leaping over outstretched legs. The girl gasped and covered her mouth with both hands when she saw Yukina's patient.

"Rinku!" the girl cried. She lunged forward, but a muscular arm wrapped around her middle and held her back. "Chu, let me go!"

"Come on Sasuga, you shouldn't see this," Chu said quietly.

"But she's healing him! Look, see!" Sasuga pointed at Yukina wildly. "He'll be fine!"

"Sasu, she's not healing him."

"Of course she is! She's a healer, what else would she be—"

"He's ready now," Yukina interrupted. The frozen glow around her hands dimmed, and she gently tucked a few strands of the boy's hair behind his ear before rising to her feet. She glanced at Chu. "Are you sure you want to do this? I can call someone else if you prefer."

"No, it ought to be me," Chu said heavily. "Just… Could you take Sasuga out of here? She doesn't need to see this."

"Of course." Yukina turned to the girl. "Come with me, please."

Sasuga's lower lip trembled. Yukina sighed, placing an arm around the girl's shoulders and leading her away. The other healers stepped aside and gave quick bows when they saw her coming, easily identifying their head of staff by her light blue kimono.

Yukina led Sasuga into the waiting room and gently pushed her down into a chair. She considered holding Sasuga's hand, but she somehow didn't think her icy touch would be very comforting. Sighing, Yukina tucked her arms inside her sleeves and glanced around. Almost every eye in the room was riveted to the television. Torn between distress and morbid curiosity, it was a full minute before Yukina finally looked up at the screen.

"Ooh, that looked painful!" Koto's familiar voice rang out. "After an impressive exchange of blows, Kinshou has ripped Enki's arm right out of its socket! I haven't seen this kind of bloody brutality since… Well, never!"

The camera zoomed in as Kinshou strode through a rainy, battle-ravaged forest. He was a tall creature, deceptively slim, with pale skin and golden hair that fell around his shoulders. His clothes were black, which was only practical—with the number of people he had dismembered in the past few days, he was probably covered with blood.

"It looks like Kinshou's going to win," said Suzuki in a dull voice unfitting of his grandiose nature.

"Like hell he is!" Shishiwakamaru tensely gripped the hilt of his broken katana. Yukina had been sitting with him earlier, consoling him over the loss of his mate. Like all of Kinshou's female challengers, she had been raped during the fight while the world looked on in horror, and like many of the others she had committed seppuku right there on the battlefield. "That beast will not get away with this! Someone will defeat him!"

"The only one left is Yusuke Urameshi," Suzuki reminded him.

"Urameshi…" Shishiwakamaru wrinkled his nose, his ingrained prejudices roiling at the thought of someone born and raised as a human winning sovereignty over all youkai. But then he shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. Even Urameshi is better than him."

Yukina blinked in surprise and allowed herself a tiny smile. So, youkai really could overcome their hatred with common sense. That was comforting.

"Yukina-sama!"

One of the nurses entered the waiting room. Yukina sat up a little straighter as the woman approached.

"Yes?" Yukina asked. "What is it?"

"Your brother, Yukina-sama. With your permission, we would like to take him off the sedatives."

Yukina breathed a small sigh. "Yes, of course. You may do so."

The nurse bowed respectfully and hurried off. Yukina watched her go. In all honesty, she had been expecting the request since yesterday. That was when they had started running out of medicine—when the casualties had become overwhelming.

The Makai Tournament had been created nearly a hundred years ago in order to choose the ruler of all youkai. It had replaced the bloody wars of old with a triennial tournament, the winner of which was awarded dominion over Makai. The first rule that had been set down forbade fighters from killing their opponents. Naturally, this meant that the fights weren't very bloody; after all, if you were disqualified you lost your chance at the throne.

But no one had foreseen Kinshou's army of followers. The black goat youkai had followed the golden-haired warrior up from the bowels of Makai and made up nearly half of the competitors. Their only desires were to serve Kinshou and to eliminate their master's enemies. They maimed, killed, devoured… Whenever one was removed from the Tournament, Kinshou merely smiled and waved his hand, confident that he still had hundreds at his command. The worst part was that Kinshou was acting entirely within the law. He crippled his own opponents so they couldn't rise against him, but he never killed them. He abided by the letter of the law even as he desecrated its spirit—and beating the youkai by their own rules brought Kinshou more pleasure than anything else.

"Was your brother fighting?"

Yukina gave a little start and looked down at Sasuga. The girl's teary eyes shone with compassion.

"He'll survive," Yukina assured her. "But is it all right if I go see him?"

"Oh—yes," Sasuga wavered. "Y-you should go. If he's hurt, you should…spend time with him…"

The girl started to cry and Yukina patted her on the shoulder soothingly. Ruka entered the room at that moment, and Yukina motioned for her to help. The nurse hurried to comfort the distraught girl, leaving Yukina to take a deep breath and begin the lonely walk to Hiei's room.

Perhaps it had been selfish of Yukina to put her brother in one of the private rooms while others didn't even have a bed. On the other hand, Hiei had been admitted to the hospital long before all the beds had filled up. He had been unfortunate enough to face Kinshou in the opening match two days ago, and he had been unconscious ever since.

Pushing the door open, Yukina stepped inside the room. The nurse had just taken the sedative away and hastily ducked her head in a bow before retreating with the precious packet in her hands.

Yukina moved out of the nurse's way and walked toward the bed, sitting down in the chair beside it. The chair had been used by such strong youkai that she felt their presence lingering around it still. There was Yusuke's dual soul, blue and red ki swirling like whirlwinds; traces of Kirin and other retainers who had become Hiei's when Mukuro had died two Tournaments ago; even a bit of Yomi's royal air, the blind king having come to see if the Jaganshi now shared his own disability. But the one whose spirit should have been there was absent, and as Yukina waited for her brother to wake she couldn't help wondering if he would notice.

"Uhnn…" Hiei moaned faintly as he began to stir. "Yukina?"

"How did you know?"

"Because the room's dropped about ten degrees," Hiei muttered, pushing himself into a sitting position. He raised a hand and touched the bandages that had been wrapped over his eyes. "Did you think I knew you only by sight?"

"Hn," Yukina snorted.

Hiei smiled wryly, clearly taking Yukina's teasing as a sign that he needn't worry. Then he sniffed the air delicately and his face sobered.

"The air is thick with blood," Hiei noted. "How many injured?"

Yukina dipped her head, a regretful smile curving her pale lips. "More than we can treat. That's why you're awake now—we had to take you off sedatives so we could give them to someone else."

Hiei nodded. He wasn't surprised or offended by her decision because he knew how dire the circumstances must be for her to have made it. Yukina felt a swell of affection for her brother; she knew he would understand. He was always so practical.

"Is the Tournament over?" Hiei asked.

"Not yet," Yukina murmured. "There's still one more match left."

"Who?"

"Yusuke and Kinshou."

"No one's beaten him yet, then?"

"I'm afraid not."

Hiei frowned deeply. Despite his own loss to Kinshou, he clearly hadn't expected the golden-haired fighter to get so far in the Tournament. Yukina paused so Hiei could absorb this troubling news before he had to hear the rest.

"And…"

"What?" Hiei demanded. "And what? What's happened?"

"Kurama fought him."

Hiei went very still. "No…"

"Two matches after you did," Yukina confirmed. Then she said quickly, "But he's still alive."

"He—he is?" Hiei sounded so surprised and hopeful that Yukina felt her heart nearly break.

"Yes, he is," Yukina said uneasily.

"Where is he then? Take me to him," Hiei said quickly, pushing his feet out from under the blankets and onto the floor. As soon as he tried to stand he lost his balance, and Yukina hurriedly moved forward so that he landed against her shoulder rather than on the floor.

"This is foolish, Oniisan," Yukina scolded. "You shouldn't be trying to walk yet. You're wounded and you can't even see."

"Then bring Kurama to me, if he's in such better shape," Hiei scoffed.

Yukina hesitated. Then, slowly, she dragged her brother's arm over her shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to take you to Kurama."

The lower half of Hiei's face paled to match the bandages of the upper half. As they began to walk, Hiei asked, "I thought you said he was okay?"

"He…" Yukina bit her lip, unable to tell Hiei what had happened. "He can't walk. Not right now. We haven't had a chance to heal him yet."

"Hn. Well, it serves the idiot right. He saw what Kinshou did to me, he should have known to forfeit the match before it began."

There was no concern in Hiei's voice. He sounded disdainful, as if Kurama had made a foolish but reparable mistake. He thought Kurama would be fine as soon as he was able to walk again—that he had suffered only bodily harm. Hiei had not seen any of the matches after his own, had no idea of the depths of Kinshou's cruelty. But the entire world had watched Kurama's forsaken fight, and it was only a matter of time before Hiei found out the truth.

"He did see what Kinshou did to you," Yukina said softly. "I think that is why he fought."

"Idiot," Hiei said, this time with fondness in his voice.

They continued walking until they reached the part of the hospital to which Kurama had been taken for healing. Yukina saw Hiei's ears perk up at the higher-pitched voices, saw him raise his nose and sniff warily at the air.

"Females?" Hiei frowned in confusion. He turned his head toward Yukina as if he could see through the bandages. "Why are we in the women's ward?"

"Because—" Yukina swallowed the lump in her throat and composed herself. "Because the healers here are more adept at treating the damage Kurama received."

Hiei's frown deepened, but before he could ask what that meant another healer ran up to them.

"Yukina-sama! We need your help!"

"What's happened?" she asked, welcoming this new distraction.

"Kurama-sama, he's—he's woken up."

"Good," Hiei said, pleased. "Let's hurry and see him then."

Yukina feared the worst as she nodded. "Yes, let's hurry."

The healer quickly led them down a distressingly familiar hall. Yukina felt Hiei's muscles tense as the sounds of argument echoed from a room. They were barely five feet from the open doorway when a male healer was thrown out of it, crashing into the wall outside with a metal tray of syringes clanging after him.

"Keep that away from me! I'll have none of it!"

Hiei raised his head a little at the sound of Kurama's angry voice. Yukina paused, handing her brother off to the female healer for a moment so she could scoop up the tray and syringes that had rolled across the floor. She replaced the needles on the tray and turned.

"If you don't mind, I'd like it if my brother and I could speak to him alone," Yukina murmured. She handed over the tray of medicine. "And I'll be healing him myself, so he won't be needing these. See that they're put to good use."

The male healer nodded as he accepted the tray. The female returned Hiei to Yukina, and then the two healers both scampered away, clearly not sorry to be leaving. Yukina sighed and went to carry her brother the rest of the way.

"I said no! Leave me—"

Kurama faltered when he saw who stood in the doorway. His eyes went wide with horror, darting between Yukina and Hiei as if these were the last people he wanted to see—or the last people by whom he wanted to be seen. Yukina's heart ached with pity as she looked at him. His long, beautiful silver mane hung in filthy tangles around his face, and there were tracks of dried tears down his dirty cheeks. Even his clothes, his pure white shirt and tunic, were in bloody tatters.

"Good afternoon," Yukina greeted him. "I see you're awake."

"You brought Hiei?" Kurama croaked. Fire appeared in his eyes, turning them to molten gold. When he spoke again his voice was reinforced by righteous fury. "Why? What made you think I would want him here? Am I not disgraced enough? Have you no mercy?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Hiei growled.

"Oh, you don't know?" Kurama shouted back. "You must be the only person in the world who doesn't!"

A blue-white flash shone through the window at that moment, and a small earthquake rattled the room. All three of the youkai turned their heads toward the blast.

"It seems the final battle has begun," Yukina said softly. Kurama's intense eyes snapped to her, and Yukina gave him a mildly appraising look. "Yusuke is the last. Our only hope."

The anger in Kurama's eyes drained away at this news.

"Yusuke won't beat him either. It's over…" Kurama bit his lip. "Kinshou is really going to get away with what he did. With everything he has done…"

Kurama took in a sharp, shuddery breath. Then another. And suddenly the shaking breaths turned into gasping sobs, and he covered his eyes with both hands in hopes of blocking out the world. For nearly a minute this carried on, Yukina respecting Kurama's need for an emotional catharsis and Hiei simply too stunned by his friend's behavior to respond. Finally, Hiei once again turned his face to Yukina as if he could see her.

"What did Kinshou do?" Neither Yukina nor Kurama answered. Hiei gritted his teeth. "Yukina, take these bandages off."

"But—"

"Take them off!"

"I can't do that, Oniisan."

Hiei snarled angrily and broke away from her, stumbling deeper into the room. He held out his hands for balance and, taking slow and careful steps, made his way toward the sound of Kurama's crying. When his knee connected with the bedframe he hissed in pain, but then he felt for the obstruction with his hands. It was awful to watch, but at the same time… As Hiei used the metal rail as a guide so he could reach the head of the bed, Yukina couldn't help marveling at his force of will.

"Kurama?" Hiei sat down on the edge of the bed. "Tell me what happened."

Kurama shook his head with a mournful moan. Hiei frowned and leaned over his friend's body, reaching out. His hands made contact with Kurama's tearsoaked cheeks and slipped under the hands that had hidden his eyes. He took those hands in his own, pushed them away and backward. Kurama was forced to lean back to keep from hurting his wrists.

"Stop—" Kurama's voice broke. "Hiei, stop. Please stop…"

Hiei didn't respond. He just kept pushing until Kurama lay with his hands pinned above his head. Kurama flushed darkly and turned his face away as Hiei leaned in, delicately sniffing at the youko's skin. It was all too easy for Hiei to pick out the lingering scents of blood, sweat, tears—saliva—semen—urine… Hiei's mouth twitched with revulsion.

"He raped you," Hiei said quietly.

A few seconds passed in such fragile silence that Yukina didn't dare move. Kurama took a tiny, hitched breath. Hiei met the little gasp with a soothing "shh," and with that Kurama broke down.

"Oh Hiei!" Kurama cried, throwing his arms about his friend's neck. He buried his face against Hiei's shoulder and began to weep. "It was terrible… I couldn't stop him—I fought so hard, but I couldn't—h-he was so strong…"

Hiei seemed to be at a loss for what to do. He was not at all used to offering comfort. He had helped care for his niece and proven he had surprisingly good instincts for soothing children, but it had been decades since he had needed those skills, and the person in his arms now was not a child. This was Youko Kurama, known throughout the three worlds for his poise and cool intellect. But Kinshou had stripped away Kurama's mental strength as surely as he had ripped Hiei's Jagan from its socket, and this frail, battered beauty was all that remained. Just as all that remained of the great Jaganshi was a blind youkai who could barely stand on his own…

Hesitant as he was, Hiei reached up and wrapped one arm around Kurama's shoulders. The youko curled in around the smaller youkai, shuddering at the touch. Hiei, understanding that he had done something right, reached his other hand up to Kurama's bloodstained hair and carefully stroked through the disheveled locks.

"Shh," Hiei whispered. "Shh, it's all right."

"No it isn't," Kurama wept. "It will never be all right. Everyone was watching—oh Inari, Hiei, the whole world was watching. And he said—th-the things he said…"

"Whatever he said, it wasn't true," Hiei promised.

"I didn't want it. I never wanted it."

"I know you didn't want it."

"I never wanted…"

"I know."

Hiei slipped his hands from behind Kurama's neck so that they were cupped around his damp cheeks instead. He angled Kurama's face upward, and once again it was like he could see through his bandages…like he could see the hurt and shame engraved in every feature of his very best friend's face.

"It wasn't your fault," Hiei said, voice slightly shaky. "I swear to you, it wasn't your fault."

Kurama whimpered, a few more tears slipping down. Hiei wiped them away with his thumbs. Then, very slowly, he leaned in and touched his lips against Kurama's cheek, following the path of the tears. Hiei lingered at the corner of his mouth before changing course…softly, timidly, tenderly brushing across Kurama's lips.

Almost as soon as the kiss was given, Hiei pulled away and took in a shaky breath. For a second Yukina thought he had finally worked up the courage to confess his feelings to his beloved friend, but then she saw the grim set of his mouth and knew he couldn't do it. Hiei couldn't put Kurama through another emotional upheaval, not now when he was already so vulnerable. So he would do the practical thing and act the part of a steadfast friend, even though he himself needed much more than a friend now.

Hiei gave a weak attempt at a smile and tried to pull away, to put a more respectable distance between himself and Kurama. He grunted in confusion when Kurama forcibly drew him back.

"Don't go," Kurama said. Some strength had returned to his voice. He leaned his forehead against Hiei's and closed his eyes. "Please… Don't leave me."

Then Kurama tipped his face up and kissed Hiei's cheek.

Hiei held very still. He seemed to think he had imagined it—that perhaps he had slipped into one of his daydreams by mistake. Kurama sighed softly, feeling a bit more comfortable now that he had given that first kiss, and placed another at the corner of his friend's mouth. Hiei made a small choking sound as he realized this wasn't a dream. Kurama kissed him again and again, and soon Hiei began to cry as the longing he had spent so many years repressing surged through him, revealed at last. And now Kurama was the one comforting Hiei, shushing him, running his hands through the Jaganshi's hair and holding him close.

A scream from outside and a spike of youki abruptly tore Yukina's attention from the beautifully tragic scene. The pair on the bed showed no sign that they had heard, too absorbed in each other. Yukina bit her lip as a second scream sounded. Praying that her brother and Kurama would be all right without her, she ran from the room.

Yukina followed the screams down the hall, finally catching sight of a slim, dark-haired woman as she rounded a corner. One of Kinshou's servants was in hot pursuit, chasing her down with a spear in hand. Yukina watched with shock as the youkai stabbed the young woman through the back, spraying Yukina with droplets of blood. The goat youkai tugged the spear back out, screeching as it did so. It turned its mad red eyes on Yukina.

"Tengoku no shinju!"

White mist burst from the floor. It shrouded the entire hall, and for a long minute all that could be heard were pelting sounds and shrieks. Yukina held her position, her right hand stretched out to her side, and watched the faint glints of ice through the cloud cover. When the mist dissipated, the goat youkai was encased in a block of ice and the floor was scattered with pearl-like hailstones.

Yukina pressed a hand to her fluttering heart and breathed a sigh of relief before crouching down. Wrapping an arm around the woman's slender shoulders, she angled the brunette upward.

"Emi-chan?" Yukina murmured. She shook the woman gently. "Emi-chan, wake up."

Eyes like dark rubies opened up to the familiar sound.

"K-Kaasan?"

"That's right. Hold on, I'll have you healed up in no time." Yukina pressed her free hand to Emi's stomach, where the spear had penetrated. Emi raised her shaking hands and clasped them around her mother's wrists, eyes welling with tears as the koorime began to work her magic.

"Kaasan… I'm s-scared…"

"I know," Yukina said soothingly, pouring her ki through the wound. "We all are."

"What if Tousan doesn't win?"

"Don't think about that. Have faith in him. That's all you can do."

There was another earthquake that shook the plaster dust from the walls. Yukina bent over Emi in hopes of shielding her. She heard more shouting down the hall and wondered how much ki she could expend if more of Kinshou's servants attacked. She had healed so many in the past few days, she didn't have much to spare…

"Mateki sandansha!"

"Shura sempu-ken!"

There was a roar of wind and shrieks. Yukina looked up curiously. Down the hall, several goat youkai were caught up in a whirlwind of sleet and hail. The goats were tossed through the air, some sliced to ribbons by the hail and others smashed against walls and thrown out of windows. When the whirlwind had died down, Jin flew down the hall with Touya in his arms.

"Are they dead?" Touya asked weakly as they landed. Jin poked one of the goats' bodies with his toe.

"Looks like," Jin said. Touya breathed a sigh of relief and dropped his head back against Jin's shoulder. The wind master glanced down at his friend worriedly. "You shouldn't have wasted your ki like that. I could have taken 'em myself."

"I'll be fine, Jin," Touya replied. His eyelids fluttered, trying to stay open, but he soon gave up. "Just…let me rest for…a moment…"

Jin's eyes widened with alarm when Touya's closed.

"T-Touya! Hey, wake up! Don't you dare die on me…!" He glanced up and down the hall wildly, finally catching sight of Yukina and Emi. "Hey Touya, wake up! Look! It's your friend Yukina! You'll be all right now!"

Touya let out a pained groan as Jin started to carry him over to Yukina, swaying about as he always did when he walked on land.

"Please, stay where you are! You might make the wounds worse if you jostle him around like that."

Jin stopped dead in his tracks and looked down at Touya again. "Sorry about that, I didn't know…! I'm not so used to walking…"

Touya gave no response, and Jin's brow crinkled with distress. Yukina quickly sealed up the skin around Emi's wound.

"I have work to do, Emi," she murmured. "I know this isn't the most comfortable place, but please try to rest now."

Emi nodded, smiling feebly, and closed her eyes. Yukina lay the girl down on the floor and hurried over to where Jin was setting Touya down on the ground. Now Yukina could see the ice master fully, including the teeth-shaped chunks of flesh missing from his abdomen.

"You'll be okay," Jin whispered, brushing Touya's bangs away from his eyes. "Just hang in there."

Yukina pressed her hands to Touya's stomach and drew from the drying wells of her spirit energy. She pushed as much as she could into the raw, bleeding wounds, but her ki soon dimmed.

"I—" Yukina trembled. "I don't have enough!"

Jin pushed her hand aside and replaced it with his own rougher, larger ones. Yukina saw the white ki that glowed around him and froze. There was only one kind of energy that pale and bright… Yukina glanced up at Jin sharply, questioningly. The wind master just gave her a lopsided little smile.

"Me and him share our lives with each other every day," he said simply. "This isn't so different."

Yukina blinked and turned her eyes back to Touya. Jin's life energy was quickly surging through the ice master's skin, forming shining new flesh over the wounds.

A third flash of light shone through the windows, blue and brilliant and beautiful. Yet no one in the hospital seemed to notice. Not in the hospital's waiting room, where comrades consoled each other over their losses; not in the room down the hall, where two fighters embraced each other as lovers for the first time; not in the corridor, where one friend cracked his eyes open confusedly while the other pitched forward, comatose.

As the hospital began to shake apart, Yukina attempted to walk across the quaking floor, her steps swaying. Soon she lost her footing and fell to her knees, unable to stand. She crawled across the uneven floor, gathered Emi into her arms and hugged her close—wondering, as everything turned to light around them, if the world was about to enter its darkest age or its most golden.