Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Eternity ❯ Intermission ( Chapter 22 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: rain00205 
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.01.2012 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 156 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.01.2012 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 156 | Status: Completed
The dragon was released. Who knew that it would turn out like this though? Hiei was impressive, his pursuit for power taking him to lengths most youki only dreamed about. While he was not the strongest out there, he was definitely two classes higher than when they had first met. To rise like that was truly something, something San would be sure to remember in the off chance she must fight him. She didn't foresee such a thing, but wow.
"It's even more than before, without control he could kill us all," said Kurama.
"That's cool," said Yusuke.
"Please don't eat me, please don't eat me," Kuwabara chanted. Koenma just looked as if he was ready to take off on his jet pack. San turned her focus back to the match. The energy, it was spectacular, yet very unstable. The air itself smelled of Hiei's uncontrollable power, and the ring began crumble under it. Kurama held onto her tighter, knowing that they should try and take cover. Kuwabara seemed to pick up on it.
"Shouldn't we hide or something?" he asked nervously.
"Wait, give him his due time, it could be advantageous after all," said Kurama.
"Hold on, you said it'd kill all of us if he lost control like last time?" questioned Koenma.
"Yes, but it appears in the short training since then he has learned to master it better."
"Oh better? That's reassuring, yeah..." said Yusuke, words filled with sarcasm.
"Yusuke, shut up," Koenma told him. Kurama was right though, while this was much more powerful than the first time, that was only because Hiei had mastered it more, or completely. Hiei ran at Bui and finally released it. Bui was screaming at it flew towards him, but his resistance was truly impressive. His energy stopped the dragon from devouring him, yet it continued to pursue him, trying to break thru the aura.
"Damn, who is this Bui bastard?" said Yusuke.
Kurama gasped, "He's actually stopped it, I didn't think it was possible!"
"I'm not scared, but we should at least find a rock to get under!" yelled Kuwabara.
"What an amazing thing..." San trailed, her comment being ignored for once.
"I hope you don't think that dragon is completed!" Hiei yelled to Bui, powering up again. San widened her eyes, feeling as if she spoke too soon. Hiei unleashed the rest of his power, "completing" the dragon. The sheer force of the attack was surely enough to defeat her, and Bui was resisting it. The dragon drove him all around the stadium, destroying everything in its wake. The power made made the ground shake, the weaker demons dying off completely from just the power. The stage was leveled as Hiei jumped up to watch his dragon devour Bui. San couldn't see what was going on, but then she gasped when she saw the dragon heading back towards Hiei. It swallowed Hiei, Bui's laughter faint, and then it disappeared. San was frozen, she couldn't believe he had actually deflected the dragon. Something was strangely off though. How in the hell...?
"Do you... feel that...?" she asked Kurama. He looked at her confused, wondering what she was talking about. She took a few steps forward, and he watched her. She was staring up at where Hiei was last seen. Juri was just getting up to announce Bui the winner, when the dragon had started to re-appear. It then burst with power once more.
"San!" said Kurama, pulling her back to him. It was Hiei, she knew he was still alive. Amazing, he had devoured the dragon instead of vise versa. This would make him even more powerful than he hoped to be, San was sure. He was glowing blue as he stood in front of his enemy.
"This brings up my next attack," said Hiei, menacingly, "It's a little different," Bui was started, as he should be as Hiei's glow began to fade.
"Now that's cool," said Yusuke.
"Yes, truly an amazing thing..." trailed San, and this time, everyone had to agree with her.
"Explain this!" demanded Bui.
"A new attack? Wait, did he just do what I think he did?" asked Yusuke, as he watched Hiei and Bui.
"It's true. Hiei has consumed the Darkness technique," explained Kurama.
"You mean he ate the dragon?" asked Kuwabara.
"Apparently he's learned what no one before him has. The only way to gain real control of the Darkness Flame is to trap it within. Now the dragon is inside him, and at his full disposal. Even Bui must accept what that means. You must've sensed that earlier?" he asked San. She nodded, her eyes glued to the fighters on the destroyed ring. Hiei's power began to charge yet again.
"Countless centuries, countless masters trying to harness the power of the Darkness Flame..." began Hiei, his powers getting stronger by the minute, "...only I have had the courage and the strength to realize it's glorious potential. I have the power of the black dragon, because now I AM THE DRAGON!" declared Hiei. Bui jumped into the air, charging his energy and attacking Hiei. It was no use, the fire apparition was too strong now. It seemed the enemy was doing his best to try and hurt him, but Hiei took everything and felt nothing. He was toying with Bui it seemed like. Bui sent a spirit charged punch at Hiei, and he simply stopped the punch easily. Finally, Bui leapt into the air again and Hiei followed. He used the Darkness to defeat Bui. Hiei landed and the two of them were sharing words while Juri began her count. At the number eight Hiei was back in the ring, making the small fire demon the winner. The crowd cheered surprisingly, maybe out of fear and San smiled.
"Yeah! Do you hear that Toguro? We're lookin' at a tie ball game!" yelled Yusuke. Hiei jumped from the stage and headed towards them.
"Wait, this is a no dragon zone okay?" said Kuwabara. San smiled at his antics.
"Really awesome Hiei," Yusuke complimented.
"Yeah, awesome, why don't you go about 20 yards that way and fight the rest of them," said Kuwabara.
"That's against the rules now you cretin. Besides, my attack expired," said Hiei, and San noticed that he was shaking.
"Expired?" questioned Yusuke and Kuwabara.
"I don't know if your brains can imagine it, but this attack drained a good deal of my energy..." and he yawned, "...I'll require some hibernation to get it back. Think you can manage finding a safe place for my body so it won't get stepped on?" he was looking at San for this one, and she was surprised.
"Did you say hibernate?" asked Yusuke.
"Fancy word for being lazy ," said Kuwabara.
"Listen to me as closely as you can you two, I'm trusting you against my better instincts only because I have no other choice. Take care of the Toguro brothers. If I wake up and you've lost, I swear I'll kill... you... all," and Hiei began to fall. San was there, lowering him to the ground. She was smiling widely as she laid his head on a rock and then walked back to her mate, who was openly laughing. Yusuke was also laughing, as she watched Kuwabara observe the sleeping demon.
"That's Hiei for ya, he faints but he still has time for threats," said Yusuke.
"Hold on, so nothing we do will wake him up?" asked Kuwabara.
"Not long ago he was on a streak of terror. If he had this power then it would've been disastrous, now, it's our asset," San heard Koenma mutter to himself.
"Can I give him a mustache?" asked Kuwabara, holding a marker in his hand. San smiled while Kurama and Yusuke continued to laugh. She walked up to Kuwabara and took the marker away, shaking her head no. The fact that Hiei trusted her with his body was saying something, and she wasn't going to let anything happen to him. The laughter had stopped and Kurama brought them both to sit. He leaned against some rubble, still weak from his match and pulled her back to lean on his chest, his arms wrapping around her securely. Her wound wouldn't open again, and she was stronger now, feeding more energy into it.
"You've got to hand it to him, when Hiei's feeling serious, he really lets you know," said Yusuke, observing the stadium. It was destroyed, they would need a new ring in order to continue the finals. There were only two battles left, and they would determine everything.
"With this technique mastered, his power is overwhelming indeed. We'll have to stay on his good side," said Kurama.
"Hell, he didn't say how long he'd hibernate. Maybe we'll all be dead and it won't be an issue."
"I don't think we'll have to worry about that," said San.
"That's a nice way to think Yusuke, I can see you've dealt with all of your problems," said Koenma.
"Yeah... Anyway, what are they going to do with the ring? It looks like a graveyard," said Yusuke, once again observing the damage.
"Hey, why are you worried? The ring's not your problem, all we got to do is think about smashing those Toguro's and get things back to normal," said Kuwabara, walking up to Yusuke. After that the elder Toguro was trying to play mind games, with all of them San assumed. Kuwabara was going to be the one to fight him, and San was sure that he was afraid. It was stupid that he tried doing that.
"Hm. He's pulling some stupid intimidation. What a joke," it seemed that Yusuke was thinking along the same lines as she was.
"Yeah, can you believe how silly he is, I mean, what kind of person would get scared over some dumb red eye trick? I'm going beat him so fast."
"I've received word that we'll have a long intermission while the new ring is brought in," began Koto, but San stopped listening after that. Intermission, it would give Hiei, Kurama and herself time to recover. She had a bad feeling about the rest of the finals, the vision about Kuwabara bothering her. If all went like it was supposed to, he would win against the elder Toguro, but die unless he did something when Yusuke fought his match. She did not wish for this to happen, knowing that Kurama would be completely vexed with her if she told him her plan. If only there was a way to stop this without a casualty. There was, it would be easy, so long as she had the energy to do so. It would weaken her considerably, and she might die, but if it would save his life, she knew it was worth it.
Kuwabara sighed, "This conversations putting me down. I'm going to the locker room to relax. Got to get into my fighting groove," and he began to walk away.
"Tell them why you're really leaving. You're frightened because you're about to die," the elder Toguro was just suddenly there, standing in front of Yusuke. San gasped and Kurama glared after looking startled, tightening his hold on her.
"Hey, you got no business over here!"
"You have improved your strength remarkably over the few months Kuwabara, but there's still an abyss of difference separating you and I, so say the appropriate prayers... Because I don't like painless endings," though he tried to hide it, San could tell that he was afraid, "Lucky for you, you're execution's been postponed. Why don't you go enjoy your life for a while? I wouldn't want you to have any of those sickly regrets," concluded the elder Toguro, laughing as he walked away. Bastard. Mind games were one thing that always helped during a battle, and Kuwabara was not the greatest enemy when it came to those.
...
Her world becomes black as she falls. The last thing she remembers seeing is her lover, falling away from her, and her last thought is her young, who she fears are injured along with her, the last thing she feels is unexplainable pain, hitting the earth with tremendous force. She is ready to accept death, whimpering in attempt to howl one last time. There is a light, and she opens her eyes, seeing a pink haired old woman above her. The pain is gone, but how? She was dying, that was for sure. She realizes that this old woman has cured her, and she is grateful.
-One thanks you for your kindness- she speaks into the mind of the old woman, knowing no other way to communicate with her.
-Forget it. Who are you? I've never known a wolf that could speak to me- the woman replies. She would never reveal herself, but she was in debt to this woman.
-I am called Moriko Chie, former ruler..-
-Yeah, save it, I know your story. Where is your mate?-
-He would have merged with a human by now, regaining his strength-
-So I'm stuck with you until then huh? Fine, but if you're going to stay here, you live by my rules, and we'll begin training immediately-
-May I know your name?-
The old woman grunts -Genkai-
-Truly? The psychic with a vendetta against demons?-
-I hold no grudge against demons, only the ones that stand in my way-
-Stories often do become embellished-
-First we'll see if you an even walk, otherwise you'll be useless to me- She rises, and walks to the other side of the room. Her strength for movement works, and she sniffs at her belly. She realizes in that moment, her young are no longer with her. She breaths in and releases a long and sorrowful howl, in tribute.
...
The team was sitting in the locker room. Hiei was still sleeping on the bench, Kurama sitting with San's head in his lap. Kuwabara, Yusuke and Koenma stood, waiting. San was dozing while the others sat silently. The girls had been to see them, but left after the others had run towards the earth shaking foot steps of the younger Toguro carrying the ring from the other arena on his back. It was truly something, and still not his full power. San wasn't interested in that though, she was too tired. It wouldn't be long before the next battle was to begin.
"Screw this, I'm going for a walk," declared Yusuke.
"Hey Urameshi, wait up!" Kuwabara called after him. They were bored, and Koenma left without a word. Kurama was left with San and the sleeping Hiei. He looked down at her, moving hair out of her face. His finger lightly went over the cut on her cheek. She flinched from it, and opened her tawny eyes to look into his green ones.
"Thats very irritating you know," she told him, rolling onto her side and using his hand to hide her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I did not wish to wake you," he replied.
"You didn't, I wasn't really sleeping."
"You snore even while you're awake? That's impressive."
"I do not snore!" she said, looking at him surprised. He only smiled, and then bent down and kissed her. She welcomed it, missing the feeling of him. She sat up after they broke, resting her head on his chest his arm coming around her absent-mindedly. The room was quiet, and she could hear something just then, a rhythmic sound coming from inside of his chest. What was it? Why had she never noticed it before? "Kurama?"
"Yes?"
"What is that sound I'm hearing?"
He looked confused, "I don't hear anything..." She grabbed his hand and placed it where her head just was.
"Do you feel that?"
"That's what you're talking about?"
"Yes, what is it?"
He laughed, "It's just my heart beat."
"What?"
"Heart beat. The beating of my heart, it keeps me alive."
"I don't get it."
"Humans have hearts, thats one major thing that separates them from demons. You once told me that you felt pain in your heart from losing me and our young. It's a natural human reaction, since you were a live wolf and not a spirit one, you would have a heart. The brain naturally affects our emotions and our hearts become more than just a muscle. You never knew?"
"No."
"Have you never felt your heart rate rise once? Felt a pounding in your chest?"
"Well yeah, but I didn't really think much of it considering the events happening."
"What about when you've gone for your runs?"
"How did you know I still went on runs?"
Kurama laughed again, "Trust me San, there is nothing that I don't remember about you, be you human or demon. You are a wolf, you like to run when you can."
"It's quite exhilarating sir, I suggest you try it."
"I could never keep up with you... remember?"
She smirked, "Yes. Anyway, about the heart thing..."
"Yes?"
She smiled, leaning her head there once more, "I like it."
He smiled, kissing the top of her head, "I hope so, because if you were to remove it, I would die."
"Wow, you'd think with all the time I've spend with you recently I might have rubbed off."
"Not at all."
The room was silent again. Kurama stood, grabbing a book and sitting again. This was a human trait for sure, one that she even picked up. Reading was a favourite pass time, especially being isolated at the temple for years. She smiled and stuck her head back on his lap, over top of his book. He looked at her expectantly, knowing that she probably wanted something if she was interrupting him. That was the only time she ever did anything of the sort, "I was wondering... What do we do now? Like... where do we go from here?"
He knew this question was going to come up eventually, and he was hoping she would be happy with his decision, "I wish to live out my human life before returning to the Makai with you. You see, my human mother, Shiori, whom you will meet one day, saved my life, and I do not wish to make her sad by leaving her."
"I understand, I planned on doing the same with Genkai."
It was tough, she was close to Genkai, "What will you do now that she has passed?"
"Take care of the temple, I can't just leave it the way it is, she'd rise from the grave just to whip me into shape!"
Kurama chuckled, "Yes, I'm sure she would. I can come visit you often at the temple."
She smiled, "That would be nice," she lifted her head so he could pull his book out from under it. She occupied one leg so he could continue to read and began dozing again. Her wound was healed enough to even be able to run for a short period of time, and she had just enough energy to save Kuwabara if necessary. She was sad that she had to hide this from Kurama, but she knew that telling him would benefit neither of them. Koenma walked back into the room, standing behind Kurama. Hiei began to stir not too long after that.
"Ah, you're finally awake," said Kurama.
"Where am I? How long have I been out?" Hiei questioned, sitting up.
"We're in the locker room, and you've been hibernating for little over six hours."
"Six hours? Well who won the tournament?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that one, nothing's changed since you were out. Yusuke and Kuwabara got bored and went for a walk."
"You're not making sense!" yelled Hiei getting to his feet.
"Will you shut up! Just cause you got six hours of sleep doesn't mean we all did!" said San rubbing her eyes and nuzzling back into Kurama's leg. Kurama put a hand to her head without noticing.
"It's taken time to organize since you leveled half the stadium. I hear they were going to fly in a carrier from the mainland to bring the old ring, but Toguro carried it on his back from the old stadium, so we can begin shortly," Kurama explained.
"What?" but then Koto announced that the next match was going to begin. Kurama shook San slightly and she rose to her feet.
"Shall we go then?"
"Yeah," said Hiei, San and Koenma nodding. The four of them made their way back to the ring, preparing to watch Kuwabara face off with the elder Toguro. Yusuke and Kuwabara were already there.
"Isn't that nice, Genkai really didn't show up for her battle," San could hear Kuwabara say.
"No, you pull your own weight from now on!" Hiei yelled to him.
"Oh even Hiei's back, well then she must really be sick."
Kurama walked up to Yusuke, whispering, "I'm sorry Yusuke, but this might be a good time for you to tell Kuwabara the truth about Genkai."
"Yep, you're definitely still pale Kuwabara. How do we know you're not going to bail on us?" asked Koenma.
"Would you please shut up about that? I'm a real man okay? The only way I'm leaving that ring is if he's beaten or I'm dead!" declared Kuwabara. Koto was speaking again, but San couldn't hear over the impatient cries of the crowd. She watched as he pulled something out of his pocket. A hilt? What good would that do for him? He began walking to the ring, "Hm, I guess if I don't make it, take care of my cat," were his words. The elder Toguro jumped onto the ring, the two combatants getting ready to face off for the second last match. It was Juri's call for them to begin, as this battle had San scared. She finally declared the match to begin. Here we go...
Converting /tmp/phpqNBrcF to /dev/stdout
"It's even more than before, without control he could kill us all," said Kurama.
"That's cool," said Yusuke.
"Please don't eat me, please don't eat me," Kuwabara chanted. Koenma just looked as if he was ready to take off on his jet pack. San turned her focus back to the match. The energy, it was spectacular, yet very unstable. The air itself smelled of Hiei's uncontrollable power, and the ring began crumble under it. Kurama held onto her tighter, knowing that they should try and take cover. Kuwabara seemed to pick up on it.
"Shouldn't we hide or something?" he asked nervously.
"Wait, give him his due time, it could be advantageous after all," said Kurama.
"Hold on, you said it'd kill all of us if he lost control like last time?" questioned Koenma.
"Yes, but it appears in the short training since then he has learned to master it better."
"Oh better? That's reassuring, yeah..." said Yusuke, words filled with sarcasm.
"Yusuke, shut up," Koenma told him. Kurama was right though, while this was much more powerful than the first time, that was only because Hiei had mastered it more, or completely. Hiei ran at Bui and finally released it. Bui was screaming at it flew towards him, but his resistance was truly impressive. His energy stopped the dragon from devouring him, yet it continued to pursue him, trying to break thru the aura.
"Damn, who is this Bui bastard?" said Yusuke.
Kurama gasped, "He's actually stopped it, I didn't think it was possible!"
"I'm not scared, but we should at least find a rock to get under!" yelled Kuwabara.
"What an amazing thing..." San trailed, her comment being ignored for once.
"I hope you don't think that dragon is completed!" Hiei yelled to Bui, powering up again. San widened her eyes, feeling as if she spoke too soon. Hiei unleashed the rest of his power, "completing" the dragon. The sheer force of the attack was surely enough to defeat her, and Bui was resisting it. The dragon drove him all around the stadium, destroying everything in its wake. The power made made the ground shake, the weaker demons dying off completely from just the power. The stage was leveled as Hiei jumped up to watch his dragon devour Bui. San couldn't see what was going on, but then she gasped when she saw the dragon heading back towards Hiei. It swallowed Hiei, Bui's laughter faint, and then it disappeared. San was frozen, she couldn't believe he had actually deflected the dragon. Something was strangely off though. How in the hell...?
"Do you... feel that...?" she asked Kurama. He looked at her confused, wondering what she was talking about. She took a few steps forward, and he watched her. She was staring up at where Hiei was last seen. Juri was just getting up to announce Bui the winner, when the dragon had started to re-appear. It then burst with power once more.
"San!" said Kurama, pulling her back to him. It was Hiei, she knew he was still alive. Amazing, he had devoured the dragon instead of vise versa. This would make him even more powerful than he hoped to be, San was sure. He was glowing blue as he stood in front of his enemy.
"This brings up my next attack," said Hiei, menacingly, "It's a little different," Bui was started, as he should be as Hiei's glow began to fade.
"Now that's cool," said Yusuke.
"Yes, truly an amazing thing..." trailed San, and this time, everyone had to agree with her.
"Explain this!" demanded Bui.
"A new attack? Wait, did he just do what I think he did?" asked Yusuke, as he watched Hiei and Bui.
"It's true. Hiei has consumed the Darkness technique," explained Kurama.
"You mean he ate the dragon?" asked Kuwabara.
"Apparently he's learned what no one before him has. The only way to gain real control of the Darkness Flame is to trap it within. Now the dragon is inside him, and at his full disposal. Even Bui must accept what that means. You must've sensed that earlier?" he asked San. She nodded, her eyes glued to the fighters on the destroyed ring. Hiei's power began to charge yet again.
"Countless centuries, countless masters trying to harness the power of the Darkness Flame..." began Hiei, his powers getting stronger by the minute, "...only I have had the courage and the strength to realize it's glorious potential. I have the power of the black dragon, because now I AM THE DRAGON!" declared Hiei. Bui jumped into the air, charging his energy and attacking Hiei. It was no use, the fire apparition was too strong now. It seemed the enemy was doing his best to try and hurt him, but Hiei took everything and felt nothing. He was toying with Bui it seemed like. Bui sent a spirit charged punch at Hiei, and he simply stopped the punch easily. Finally, Bui leapt into the air again and Hiei followed. He used the Darkness to defeat Bui. Hiei landed and the two of them were sharing words while Juri began her count. At the number eight Hiei was back in the ring, making the small fire demon the winner. The crowd cheered surprisingly, maybe out of fear and San smiled.
"Yeah! Do you hear that Toguro? We're lookin' at a tie ball game!" yelled Yusuke. Hiei jumped from the stage and headed towards them.
"Wait, this is a no dragon zone okay?" said Kuwabara. San smiled at his antics.
"Really awesome Hiei," Yusuke complimented.
"Yeah, awesome, why don't you go about 20 yards that way and fight the rest of them," said Kuwabara.
"That's against the rules now you cretin. Besides, my attack expired," said Hiei, and San noticed that he was shaking.
"Expired?" questioned Yusuke and Kuwabara.
"I don't know if your brains can imagine it, but this attack drained a good deal of my energy..." and he yawned, "...I'll require some hibernation to get it back. Think you can manage finding a safe place for my body so it won't get stepped on?" he was looking at San for this one, and she was surprised.
"Did you say hibernate?" asked Yusuke.
"Fancy word for being lazy ," said Kuwabara.
"Listen to me as closely as you can you two, I'm trusting you against my better instincts only because I have no other choice. Take care of the Toguro brothers. If I wake up and you've lost, I swear I'll kill... you... all," and Hiei began to fall. San was there, lowering him to the ground. She was smiling widely as she laid his head on a rock and then walked back to her mate, who was openly laughing. Yusuke was also laughing, as she watched Kuwabara observe the sleeping demon.
"That's Hiei for ya, he faints but he still has time for threats," said Yusuke.
"Hold on, so nothing we do will wake him up?" asked Kuwabara.
"Not long ago he was on a streak of terror. If he had this power then it would've been disastrous, now, it's our asset," San heard Koenma mutter to himself.
"Can I give him a mustache?" asked Kuwabara, holding a marker in his hand. San smiled while Kurama and Yusuke continued to laugh. She walked up to Kuwabara and took the marker away, shaking her head no. The fact that Hiei trusted her with his body was saying something, and she wasn't going to let anything happen to him. The laughter had stopped and Kurama brought them both to sit. He leaned against some rubble, still weak from his match and pulled her back to lean on his chest, his arms wrapping around her securely. Her wound wouldn't open again, and she was stronger now, feeding more energy into it.
"You've got to hand it to him, when Hiei's feeling serious, he really lets you know," said Yusuke, observing the stadium. It was destroyed, they would need a new ring in order to continue the finals. There were only two battles left, and they would determine everything.
"With this technique mastered, his power is overwhelming indeed. We'll have to stay on his good side," said Kurama.
"Hell, he didn't say how long he'd hibernate. Maybe we'll all be dead and it won't be an issue."
"I don't think we'll have to worry about that," said San.
"That's a nice way to think Yusuke, I can see you've dealt with all of your problems," said Koenma.
"Yeah... Anyway, what are they going to do with the ring? It looks like a graveyard," said Yusuke, once again observing the damage.
"Hey, why are you worried? The ring's not your problem, all we got to do is think about smashing those Toguro's and get things back to normal," said Kuwabara, walking up to Yusuke. After that the elder Toguro was trying to play mind games, with all of them San assumed. Kuwabara was going to be the one to fight him, and San was sure that he was afraid. It was stupid that he tried doing that.
"Hm. He's pulling some stupid intimidation. What a joke," it seemed that Yusuke was thinking along the same lines as she was.
"Yeah, can you believe how silly he is, I mean, what kind of person would get scared over some dumb red eye trick? I'm going beat him so fast."
"I've received word that we'll have a long intermission while the new ring is brought in," began Koto, but San stopped listening after that. Intermission, it would give Hiei, Kurama and herself time to recover. She had a bad feeling about the rest of the finals, the vision about Kuwabara bothering her. If all went like it was supposed to, he would win against the elder Toguro, but die unless he did something when Yusuke fought his match. She did not wish for this to happen, knowing that Kurama would be completely vexed with her if she told him her plan. If only there was a way to stop this without a casualty. There was, it would be easy, so long as she had the energy to do so. It would weaken her considerably, and she might die, but if it would save his life, she knew it was worth it.
Kuwabara sighed, "This conversations putting me down. I'm going to the locker room to relax. Got to get into my fighting groove," and he began to walk away.
"Tell them why you're really leaving. You're frightened because you're about to die," the elder Toguro was just suddenly there, standing in front of Yusuke. San gasped and Kurama glared after looking startled, tightening his hold on her.
"Hey, you got no business over here!"
"You have improved your strength remarkably over the few months Kuwabara, but there's still an abyss of difference separating you and I, so say the appropriate prayers... Because I don't like painless endings," though he tried to hide it, San could tell that he was afraid, "Lucky for you, you're execution's been postponed. Why don't you go enjoy your life for a while? I wouldn't want you to have any of those sickly regrets," concluded the elder Toguro, laughing as he walked away. Bastard. Mind games were one thing that always helped during a battle, and Kuwabara was not the greatest enemy when it came to those.
...
Her world becomes black as she falls. The last thing she remembers seeing is her lover, falling away from her, and her last thought is her young, who she fears are injured along with her, the last thing she feels is unexplainable pain, hitting the earth with tremendous force. She is ready to accept death, whimpering in attempt to howl one last time. There is a light, and she opens her eyes, seeing a pink haired old woman above her. The pain is gone, but how? She was dying, that was for sure. She realizes that this old woman has cured her, and she is grateful.
-One thanks you for your kindness- she speaks into the mind of the old woman, knowing no other way to communicate with her.
-Forget it. Who are you? I've never known a wolf that could speak to me- the woman replies. She would never reveal herself, but she was in debt to this woman.
-I am called Moriko Chie, former ruler..-
-Yeah, save it, I know your story. Where is your mate?-
-He would have merged with a human by now, regaining his strength-
-So I'm stuck with you until then huh? Fine, but if you're going to stay here, you live by my rules, and we'll begin training immediately-
-May I know your name?-
The old woman grunts -Genkai-
-Truly? The psychic with a vendetta against demons?-
-I hold no grudge against demons, only the ones that stand in my way-
-Stories often do become embellished-
-First we'll see if you an even walk, otherwise you'll be useless to me- She rises, and walks to the other side of the room. Her strength for movement works, and she sniffs at her belly. She realizes in that moment, her young are no longer with her. She breaths in and releases a long and sorrowful howl, in tribute.
...
The team was sitting in the locker room. Hiei was still sleeping on the bench, Kurama sitting with San's head in his lap. Kuwabara, Yusuke and Koenma stood, waiting. San was dozing while the others sat silently. The girls had been to see them, but left after the others had run towards the earth shaking foot steps of the younger Toguro carrying the ring from the other arena on his back. It was truly something, and still not his full power. San wasn't interested in that though, she was too tired. It wouldn't be long before the next battle was to begin.
"Screw this, I'm going for a walk," declared Yusuke.
"Hey Urameshi, wait up!" Kuwabara called after him. They were bored, and Koenma left without a word. Kurama was left with San and the sleeping Hiei. He looked down at her, moving hair out of her face. His finger lightly went over the cut on her cheek. She flinched from it, and opened her tawny eyes to look into his green ones.
"Thats very irritating you know," she told him, rolling onto her side and using his hand to hide her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I did not wish to wake you," he replied.
"You didn't, I wasn't really sleeping."
"You snore even while you're awake? That's impressive."
"I do not snore!" she said, looking at him surprised. He only smiled, and then bent down and kissed her. She welcomed it, missing the feeling of him. She sat up after they broke, resting her head on his chest his arm coming around her absent-mindedly. The room was quiet, and she could hear something just then, a rhythmic sound coming from inside of his chest. What was it? Why had she never noticed it before? "Kurama?"
"Yes?"
"What is that sound I'm hearing?"
He looked confused, "I don't hear anything..." She grabbed his hand and placed it where her head just was.
"Do you feel that?"
"That's what you're talking about?"
"Yes, what is it?"
He laughed, "It's just my heart beat."
"What?"
"Heart beat. The beating of my heart, it keeps me alive."
"I don't get it."
"Humans have hearts, thats one major thing that separates them from demons. You once told me that you felt pain in your heart from losing me and our young. It's a natural human reaction, since you were a live wolf and not a spirit one, you would have a heart. The brain naturally affects our emotions and our hearts become more than just a muscle. You never knew?"
"No."
"Have you never felt your heart rate rise once? Felt a pounding in your chest?"
"Well yeah, but I didn't really think much of it considering the events happening."
"What about when you've gone for your runs?"
"How did you know I still went on runs?"
Kurama laughed again, "Trust me San, there is nothing that I don't remember about you, be you human or demon. You are a wolf, you like to run when you can."
"It's quite exhilarating sir, I suggest you try it."
"I could never keep up with you... remember?"
She smirked, "Yes. Anyway, about the heart thing..."
"Yes?"
She smiled, leaning her head there once more, "I like it."
He smiled, kissing the top of her head, "I hope so, because if you were to remove it, I would die."
"Wow, you'd think with all the time I've spend with you recently I might have rubbed off."
"Not at all."
The room was silent again. Kurama stood, grabbing a book and sitting again. This was a human trait for sure, one that she even picked up. Reading was a favourite pass time, especially being isolated at the temple for years. She smiled and stuck her head back on his lap, over top of his book. He looked at her expectantly, knowing that she probably wanted something if she was interrupting him. That was the only time she ever did anything of the sort, "I was wondering... What do we do now? Like... where do we go from here?"
He knew this question was going to come up eventually, and he was hoping she would be happy with his decision, "I wish to live out my human life before returning to the Makai with you. You see, my human mother, Shiori, whom you will meet one day, saved my life, and I do not wish to make her sad by leaving her."
"I understand, I planned on doing the same with Genkai."
It was tough, she was close to Genkai, "What will you do now that she has passed?"
"Take care of the temple, I can't just leave it the way it is, she'd rise from the grave just to whip me into shape!"
Kurama chuckled, "Yes, I'm sure she would. I can come visit you often at the temple."
She smiled, "That would be nice," she lifted her head so he could pull his book out from under it. She occupied one leg so he could continue to read and began dozing again. Her wound was healed enough to even be able to run for a short period of time, and she had just enough energy to save Kuwabara if necessary. She was sad that she had to hide this from Kurama, but she knew that telling him would benefit neither of them. Koenma walked back into the room, standing behind Kurama. Hiei began to stir not too long after that.
"Ah, you're finally awake," said Kurama.
"Where am I? How long have I been out?" Hiei questioned, sitting up.
"We're in the locker room, and you've been hibernating for little over six hours."
"Six hours? Well who won the tournament?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that one, nothing's changed since you were out. Yusuke and Kuwabara got bored and went for a walk."
"You're not making sense!" yelled Hiei getting to his feet.
"Will you shut up! Just cause you got six hours of sleep doesn't mean we all did!" said San rubbing her eyes and nuzzling back into Kurama's leg. Kurama put a hand to her head without noticing.
"It's taken time to organize since you leveled half the stadium. I hear they were going to fly in a carrier from the mainland to bring the old ring, but Toguro carried it on his back from the old stadium, so we can begin shortly," Kurama explained.
"What?" but then Koto announced that the next match was going to begin. Kurama shook San slightly and she rose to her feet.
"Shall we go then?"
"Yeah," said Hiei, San and Koenma nodding. The four of them made their way back to the ring, preparing to watch Kuwabara face off with the elder Toguro. Yusuke and Kuwabara were already there.
"Isn't that nice, Genkai really didn't show up for her battle," San could hear Kuwabara say.
"No, you pull your own weight from now on!" Hiei yelled to him.
"Oh even Hiei's back, well then she must really be sick."
Kurama walked up to Yusuke, whispering, "I'm sorry Yusuke, but this might be a good time for you to tell Kuwabara the truth about Genkai."
"Yep, you're definitely still pale Kuwabara. How do we know you're not going to bail on us?" asked Koenma.
"Would you please shut up about that? I'm a real man okay? The only way I'm leaving that ring is if he's beaten or I'm dead!" declared Kuwabara. Koto was speaking again, but San couldn't hear over the impatient cries of the crowd. She watched as he pulled something out of his pocket. A hilt? What good would that do for him? He began walking to the ring, "Hm, I guess if I don't make it, take care of my cat," were his words. The elder Toguro jumped onto the ring, the two combatants getting ready to face off for the second last match. It was Juri's call for them to begin, as this battle had San scared. She finally declared the match to begin. Here we go...
Converting /tmp/phpqNBrcF to /dev/stdout