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lady_flamewingTitle: That Strange and Subtle Magic of Birthdays
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Yusuke/Kurama
Rating: Jumps up to PG-13 this time, for allusions to sexual activity of dubious consent.
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
suzu_no_hito
A/N: I love how I keep upping the final chapter count on this. As a reminder, this is an AU fic, inspired by a number of sources, but most notably the short story "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye".
He exists – or, more accurately, doesn’t – in a wide expanse of nothingness: a void with no force, no time, no dimension. An endless pocket of space in which the only constant is the comforting presence of his own magic – around and through and in him, warm and familiar. And just as he begins to adjust to these strange surroundings, there is a sharp tug at his core, and he is pulled into the light.
The first thing he knows is that his magic is bound. He can feel it, sense it pulsing along his veins and pushing against the thin barrier of his skin, but he can also feel that it is no longer his own. Though seemingly delicate, the circlets of metal at his wrists and ankles are fetters, incapable of being removed by force or magic, except –
Here, the magic falters, and a strange sense of duality cuts into him: dividing him into a part that is still Yusuke, and a part that is not. And the part that is Yusuke is carefully kept from learning just what that exception is.
– and they bind him inexorably to the will of his current Master. And as he grants wish after wish for Master after Master, his disgust for this material world only grows. He is an observer in his own body, forced to perform everything from the most mundane tasks to the completely unthinkable – murders, kidnappings, assassinations, thefts – all against his will. Powerless to resist, his utter helplessness in the face of these bindings only fuels his rage.
As he moves through time, he is forced to witness again and again the darker side of humanity. He sees the terrible things humans are capable of doing to one another, and he quickly learns to fear each new Master, to dread each new wish. He longs constantly for the soothing comfort of the void. And just as he begins to think he’s seen it all, things get worse.
He still remembers, all these years later –
The vast implication of time that accompanies this thought, this memory, staggers the part of Yusuke that is himself, driving the duality deeper.
– the Master who first dared to turn his magic against him. He remembers the long, dark hair; the pale skin; the shadowed eyes. He remembers the voice, the hands. He remembers the wish:
“I wish you desired me.”
Yusuke recoils in horror, his self finally pulling almost completely free from that of the djinn, whose only reaction is resignation. He sees the rest in a dizzying perspective that is nearly that of an observer, with only faint echoes of the djinn’s more powerful emotions. The echoes, however, are more than enough.
It’s as if the next Masters can sense the change: steadily, it becomes common for each to use at least one wish to force him into submission. They wish for him to feel lust, or desire. They wish for him to obey their every command. The worst wish for him to enjoy as they use his body for their own pleasures, and he cannot disobey.
They take everything he can give: his body, his dignity, his honor. In desperation, he clings to those overwhelming feelings of hatred and disgust and lets them consume him. He lets them fuel his own foolish pride, until he can believe that he is better than these creatures who have hurt him so.
He forgets everything he once held dear. His mind twists and warps until he becomes a creature of pride, turning to malice and deceit as a subtle kind of revenge for the pain he feels. Forced as he is to obey the desires of those he considers so far beneath him, he learns to sidestep, to trick, to deliberately misinterpret wishes.
His true self cries out quietly within him, but he pushes it aside to keep himself sane. He casts aside who he was and becomes what he has been forced to be: a djinn.
Comments and criticisms are more than welcome, as always. Enjoy!
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Yusuke/Kurama
Rating: Jumps up to PG-13 this time, for allusions to sexual activity of dubious consent.
Beta:
suzu_no_hitoA/N: I love how I keep upping the final chapter count on this. As a reminder, this is an AU fic, inspired by a number of sources, but most notably the short story "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye".
He exists – or, more accurately, doesn’t – in a wide expanse of nothingness: a void with no force, no time, no dimension. An endless pocket of space in which the only constant is the comforting presence of his own magic – around and through and in him, warm and familiar. And just as he begins to adjust to these strange surroundings, there is a sharp tug at his core, and he is pulled into the light.
The first thing he knows is that his magic is bound. He can feel it, sense it pulsing along his veins and pushing against the thin barrier of his skin, but he can also feel that it is no longer his own. Though seemingly delicate, the circlets of metal at his wrists and ankles are fetters, incapable of being removed by force or magic, except –
Here, the magic falters, and a strange sense of duality cuts into him: dividing him into a part that is still Yusuke, and a part that is not. And the part that is Yusuke is carefully kept from learning just what that exception is.
– and they bind him inexorably to the will of his current Master. And as he grants wish after wish for Master after Master, his disgust for this material world only grows. He is an observer in his own body, forced to perform everything from the most mundane tasks to the completely unthinkable – murders, kidnappings, assassinations, thefts – all against his will. Powerless to resist, his utter helplessness in the face of these bindings only fuels his rage.
As he moves through time, he is forced to witness again and again the darker side of humanity. He sees the terrible things humans are capable of doing to one another, and he quickly learns to fear each new Master, to dread each new wish. He longs constantly for the soothing comfort of the void. And just as he begins to think he’s seen it all, things get worse.
He still remembers, all these years later –
The vast implication of time that accompanies this thought, this memory, staggers the part of Yusuke that is himself, driving the duality deeper.
– the Master who first dared to turn his magic against him. He remembers the long, dark hair; the pale skin; the shadowed eyes. He remembers the voice, the hands. He remembers the wish:
“I wish you desired me.”
Yusuke recoils in horror, his self finally pulling almost completely free from that of the djinn, whose only reaction is resignation. He sees the rest in a dizzying perspective that is nearly that of an observer, with only faint echoes of the djinn’s more powerful emotions. The echoes, however, are more than enough.
It’s as if the next Masters can sense the change: steadily, it becomes common for each to use at least one wish to force him into submission. They wish for him to feel lust, or desire. They wish for him to obey their every command. The worst wish for him to enjoy as they use his body for their own pleasures, and he cannot disobey.
They take everything he can give: his body, his dignity, his honor. In desperation, he clings to those overwhelming feelings of hatred and disgust and lets them consume him. He lets them fuel his own foolish pride, until he can believe that he is better than these creatures who have hurt him so.
He forgets everything he once held dear. His mind twists and warps until he becomes a creature of pride, turning to malice and deceit as a subtle kind of revenge for the pain he feels. Forced as he is to obey the desires of those he considers so far beneath him, he learns to sidestep, to trick, to deliberately misinterpret wishes.
His true self cries out quietly within him, but he pushes it aside to keep himself sane. He casts aside who he was and becomes what he has been forced to be: a djinn.
Comments and criticisms are more than welcome, as always. Enjoy!
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-09 10:24 am (UTC)In any case, though I didn't say this before, I really do like this as a character study, working quite well to see how what might otherwise me a "normal" Kurama shifting to this Kurama, who, at least to me, eerily resembles Hiei's or the Youko's personality.
Looking forward to the next one... even if it does have explicit yaoi scenes (well, as long as there's enough other stuff that I can skip it and still count it as "reading" it.)
no subject
Date: 2008-02-09 04:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-16 06:06 am (UTC)Very Nice.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-16 06:33 am (UTC)Thank you. I'm very glad you're enjoying this.
And if anyone's up to the task, it's Yusuke.
...Even if he doesn't know it yet.