Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Holding on Until Tomorrow ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and I'm not making any money by writing this.

Warnings: mild language.

Chapter 2

Touya was awakened by something he was not used to: heat. His entire body seemed like it was about to burst into flames. As an Ice Demon, he was used to regulating his body temperature a few degrees below a normal human's temperature. This was not normal.

A soft groan escaped his lips, though it was easily drowned out by Jin's rumbling snores. He tried to speak through dry, cracked lips.

“J…Jin,” he managed to croak at last. The Wind Master did not hear. “J…Jin!” Jin remained asleep.

Using what little strength he possessed, Touya reached up and smacked him upside the head.

“What? I'm up!” Jin yelped, bolting upright. Touya let his hand drop to the bed and struggled to remain conscious. Jin looked over at him. “Touya? You okay?”

“I'm so hot,” Touya managed to choke out.

“Ookay…” Jin was confused. He put one of his large hands on Touya's forehead and yelped again. “Lord Touya, you're burning up.” Touya glared at him icily. “Hold on. I'll go and get Kurama.”

“Hurry!”

Kurama woke to the sound of loud pounding on his door. He groaned softly and unwillingly dragged himself out of bed to answer it. He was surprised to see Jin there, looking incredibly anxious.

“Jin? What's wrong?” Kurama asked, stifling a yawn.

“Kurama, you've gotta come quick! It's Touya. He's burnin' up an' I doan know what to do!” Jin answered, bobbing up and down.

Kurama was wide awake at once. “All right. I'm coming.”

He followed the Wind Master to the infirmary. What he found when he arrived was not something he wanted to see. Touya was sweating. It seemed impossible because for all Kurama knew, Ice Demons weren't able to sweat. Wordlessly, the red-haired demon rushed forward and placed a hand on Touya's forehead. As Jin had said, Touya's skin was burning. His normally pale cheeks were flushed with fever.

“This is not good,” he muttered.

A further inspection of Touya's body yielded the source of the fever; an infection caused by the stab wound on his chest. It had not been properly taken care of right away and Kurama had not been in time to prevent an infection from growing and spreading. Kurama did what he could to wash the wound out and re-bandage it with help from Jin.

“The only thing we can do now is wait and try to break the fever. Hopefully, his body will able to fight off the infection on its own,” Kurama said once the two of them had finished. He turned to Jin. “Get some rest. You'll need to be able to stay awake tomorrow when I'm not able to be here. I'll watch over him until then.”

“Right.” Jin nodded.

He got up and stretched his long limbs. He crawled into the bed next to Touya's and minutes later, his rumbling snores filled the infirmary. Kurama smiled.

You're lucky to have a friend like him, Touya. He thought. You're very lucky, indeed.

***

Kurama stayed up all night with Touya, trying to bring his fever down. At dawn, he had to leave to watch the upcoming match that would determine who their next opponent would be. It was imperative that he watch the fight so he could get a sense of what they would be facing in the next match. He left Touya in Jin's capable hands.

Hiei arrived shortly after him and they watched the match together in silence. The others hadn't even arrived by the time the match ended. It had only taken two minutes for Team Uraotogi to completely wipe out their opponents. Kurama had a great feeling of unease at the end. The entire crowd had been shocked into silence.

One of the demons, with long light blue-violet hair said something, but Kurama and Hiei were too far away to hear what he was saying. The demon pointed at them, so Kurama got the feeling that whatever he was saying wasn't positive. He didn't get a chance to find out; the team walked off the field.

“Well, well, well, look who it is.” A voice interrupted Kurama's thoughts. Kuwabara, Yusuke, the Masked Fighter, and Botan joined the demon pair on the viewing platform. “I guess you have the same idea as us to scope out the competitions.”

“Had the same idea,” Kurama corrected mildly. “The fight ended. It only lasted for two minutes.”

“What?” It's over already?!” Kuwabara yelped. “I only took a couple minutes to brush my teeth. Can't believe we missed the whole fight because of a couple of minutes.”

“The fight has ended, which means that Team Urameshi will be facing off against Team Uraotogi in the semi-finals,” Koto announced.

“I can't believe we missed the whole thing.” Kuwabara was still in shock.

“It was impressive.” Kurama chuckled softly to himself.

“Though I'm sure your minty fresh breath was worth it,” Hiei added nastily. Kuwabara glared at him, but the demon's attention had turned to the small blue animal sitting on top of Yusuke's head. “What the hell is the ridiculous appendage growing out of your head?!”

Kurama couldn't disagree that the thing looked a bit ridiculous. It looked like a cross between a penguin and a long-eared bunny. Its fur was blue and it had a tuft of black hair on its head. When they were next to each other, the little thing and Yusuke had quite a resemblance to each other.

“Nothing, it's just a puberty thing,” Yusuke grumbled. He turned to Kurama. “So how are your wounds doing?”

“They are all right,” Kurama answered earnestly. “It took some time for me to extract the death plant from my body, but it seems as though I'll make a full recovery in time to fight tomorrow.”

“Well that's good.” Yusuke smiled. “And how is your other charge doing?” He was met by a surprised look from the red-haired demon. “Oh, come on. I know you were there this morning taking care of him again. Don't think I can't see through you, lover boy.”

A slight blush formed in Kurama's cheeks. “It isn't like that, Yusuke. I've been aiding Jin in caring for Touya because the doctor in the infirmary was not doing a good job. He left Touya to die. If I hadn't stepped in, he would have died. Even though I was able to save him, I was not in time to prevent an infection from spreading through his body so I've been caring for him and trying to bring his fever down. I couldn't just let him die.”

“Yeah, that's what you want us to think.” Yusuke grinned impishly.

His grin fell away as a sudden hush fell on the crowd. They were looking at something, or someone, standing at the top of the seats. He was almost directly across from where Yusuke and his team stood. Toguro. He was not alone and the others weren't exactly jumping for joy to see them either.

The Elder Toguro rested on his brother's back as usual and there were two others with them as well. Team Urameshi had never seen them before. Most likely, they were the other fighters. One stood covered with armor, including his face, shielding him completely from view. The other was tall, dark, and would have been handsome, had it not been for the steely glint in his eyes. He was clothed in all black, which set off his ivory skin perfectly. However, he gave Kurama a bad feeling.

No words were exchanged between the two teams because of the sheer distance between them, but no words were necessary. Threatening gestures were made, and the two teams exchanged the common knowledge that they would meet on the battlefield soon enough. Team Toguro vanished in a cloud of black smoke, emanating the masses of energy they had, up until that point, carefully masked. Kuwabara fell forward, steadying himself by grabbing the rail in front of him.

“Are you all right, Kuwabara?” Kurama asked in concern.

“I can't believe I didn't feel their power sooner. They must have been concealing it. I'm…lightheaded.” Kuwabara trembled badly.

“Let's go to the locker room,” Kurama suggested. “Do you think you can walk?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Kuwabara struggled to his feet.

The team retreated to their locker room. Kuwabara was still trembling ten minutes later. Yusuke was unaffected.

“I'm just saying that it's not that big a deal. You've gotten a lot better since we first saw Toguro. Your senses probably have improved since then,” he said, his arms crossed. He glanced carelessly down at his teammate. “Us bitching about it isn't gonna do anything to help. We can beat him. I know we can.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” said a soft, melodious voice as the door was pushed open by unseen hands. Team Uraotogi stood in the doorway. “Aren't you forgetting about someone?”

“No one of real importance,” Kurama said smoothly, glaring at the intruding team.

“Who are they?” Kuwabara wondered.

“The freak-show rejects possibly?” Yusuke smirked.

Introductions were made. The tall man with spiky blonde hair and a very weird sense of style was Kuromomotaro. He seemed to be obsessed with chewing gum. The mostly naked ox man was Makintaro. The young boy with the fishing pole and an evil glare was Uraurashima. The owner of the melodious voice was a teenage-looking boy with long blue-violet hair was Shishiwakamaru. The final member only called himself Onji, an old wrinkled man.

“What do you want?” Yusuke asked. “'Cause if you want us to go easy on you, then you're wasting your and more importantly our time.”

“Naw, it's the opposite,” Kuromomotaro drawled, spitting out his gum. “We want a good fight.” Both Kuwabara and Yusuke both `hmphed' at this.

“We will be famous and it'll take more than two minutes to obtain it,” Shishiwakamaru said. He and the other members of Team Uraotogi walked away.

“Arrogant little prick, huh?” Yusuke asked Kuwabara.

“Hell yeah.” Kuwabara nodded.

Shishiwakamaru heard and stopped walking.

“If you want to be famous, then you should start a boy band. You've already got the looks,” Yusuke called loudly.

Shishiwakamaru spun around and suddenly grew fangs and horns. Obviously, he wasn't as pretty as he first appeared.

“Things will get ugly soon enough! You'll see!” he yelled. Then, he rejoined his team.

“Those guys are complete wimps. They don't even have a quarter of the power Toguro's team was giving off,” Kuwabara grumbled.

“We could make it more interesting by wearing blindfolds. It would definitely make things more amusing, for us at least,” Yusuke said. He and Kuwabara grinned at each other.

“Don't be so conceited,” the Masked Fighter said in an even tone.

“Cut it out already,” Yusuke growled.

Kurama chose that moment to slip out of the locker room. He made his way to the infirmary to check on Touya. When he arrived, Jin was floating by Touya's bedside, a worried look on his face.

“Wow, dat was really fast,” he commented, turning when Kurama walked through the door.

“The fight lasted for two minutes. We had a bit of…confrontation in our locker room that caused us to be later than I intended. It seems as though we're going to run into some problems tomorrow…if we're not careful, that is,” Kurama said. “So, how is Touya doing?”

“I've checked on him every once in a while like you said,” Jin replied. “But there really hasn't been a change. He's as blazing hot as ever!”

Kurama sighed softly and removed the cold cloth he had put on Touya's forehead that morning. He handed it to Jin who immediately put the cloth into a bowl sitting by Touya's bed. Kurama gently placed a hand on Touya's flushed cheek. The skin burned beneath his touch.

Not a good sign. He thought grimly. His fever hasn't lessened at all since the last time I came to check on him.

Kurama motioned for Jin to hand him the cloth. The Wind Master quickly obeyed after wringing all the water out. He placed it in the waiting demon's hand and watched as Kurama began bathing Touya's sweaty face. The Ice Demon moaned quietly, but his eyes remained closed. Once Kurama had finished bathing his face, he handed the cloth back to Jin, who put it back into the bowl to let it soak until it was needed again.

“So what was the confrontation you were talkin' about?” Jin asked.

“Our next opponents stopped by to have a `friendly' chat,” Kurama answered, his back to Jin. “And then Yusuke and the Masked Fighter began their own argument. I left before the argument could escalate.”

“Urameshi's always the hot-headed one, eh?” Jin asked.

“Yes, he is.” Kurama smiled.

“You're not worried about him and the Masked Fighter?”

“No.” Kurama shook his head. “I trust her enough to not let Yusuke's anger get in the way.”

“Oh, the Masked Fighter is a she. I always be forgettin' that.” Jin chuckled.

“So do I, actually.” Kurama smiled.

“You look a wee bit tired, Kurama. Why don't you spend today restin' since you were up all of last night with Touya?” Jin said.

“I can't do that. Not with Touya the way he is.” Kurama shook his head.

“Oh come on, Kurama. I know you could use the rest. I'll watch over Touya and I promise to come get ya if somethin' happens to him or if his condition changes,” Jin protested.

Kurama smiled. There was no arguing with the Wind Master, that much was clear. His stubbornness could rival Yusuke's. “All right then. I'll be back later to check on Touya again.”

“Okay!” Jin waved cheerily as Kurama left. He hovered by Touya's bedside. “You'd better get well soon, boyo, do you hear me? I think Kurama's got a thing for you. No wonder he's been comin' to make sure you're okay. And I think he may finally be the one to melt your frozen heart. We'll just see about dat.”

***

Kurama spent the rest of the day in bed. He hadn't realized just how much he needed the rest until his head hit the pillow and he fell asleep at once. He slept for the duration of the day.

That evening, Yusuke and the Masked Fighter were missing. Kuwabara said that they had gone out after he left to “settle things” and hadn't returned yet. He started a game of cards with Kurama while Hiei sat in the windowsill (a recent habit of his) and watched the rain. Kuwabara was worried. He relayed these feelings to the red-haired demon, who was quick to reassure him.

“Don't worry. I'm sure everything is all right,” he said.

“Yeah, I guess,” Kuwabara said uncertainly. “What do you think of our chances? I mean there are only two more fights for us and then we're done.”

“Yes, that is exciting.” Kurama thoughtfully pulled a card from Kuwabara and added it to his hand. “It will be challenging, though, because we'll be in a new stadium and there will be an even rowdier crowd. Plus the tournament committee will still try and do everything they can to shut us down.”

“Well that doesn't bother me. We can handle it.” Kuwabara drew the joker card and groaned. He had just lost.

The door opened and all the girls came in with snacks, drinks, and a loud fanfare that made Hiei grit his teeth. Botan, Yukina, and Shizuru talked with Kuwabara while Keiko went directly to Kurama.

“Have you seen Yusuke?” Keiko asked rather shyly.

“He still hasn't come back yet from his business with the Masked Fighter,” Kurama answered in a kind voice, hoping to put the girl a little more at ease. “We're not sure where they are.”

“I see. I hope he's okay. Pu has been acting strange lately.” Keiko held out the little animal in her arms. He looked incredibly depressed.

“I'm sure he's fine, Keiko,” Kurama said with a smile.

“Yes,” Botan agreed. “Now let's just have some fun.”

“Okay!” Kuwabara said enthusiastically. “Who wants to play some cards?”

The girls readily agreed. Hiei stubbornly remained where he was on the windowsill. Kurama surprisingly didn't join in.

“I have some things I have to attend to,” he said politely. “If you'll excuse me…” he left.

“What's with him?” Kuwabara wondered.

“Dunno.” Botan shrugged.

You're a fool, Kurama, getting involved with those people. Hiei thought sneeringly, going back to staring out the window, though the view wasn't all that great. Who am I to stop you, though? You're too damn soft for your own good. You could use a lesson or two.

Author's Notes

Well here's chapter two at last. There aren't a lot of changes I made to the first part of the chapter. The scene where Touya wakes up to a fever and Jin goes to get Kurama is virtually the same. I just made some minor changes to the text so things sounded better, and so on. Just little changes here and there.

The same goes with the next scene at the tournament. I just kept things the way they were though I did add in a bit more about Pu because it's a really funny scene. I love Pu! He's so cute!!

Agh, I hate getting a new computer because it means that I have to add all the names to the dictionary again because Word doesn't recognize them as words. It's a long, tedious task.

I tried to keep as much of the original dialogue as possible because I wanted to be as true to the anime as I could, but I did make some minor changes where I felt it necessary.

Man, it's a pain in the ass to write Shishiwakamaru's name. He'll probably get shortened to Shishi at one point. Because he will be appearing more. You can count on that. :P

And I fail at typing. So if there are any typos, let me know right away and I'll fix them. I'm really picky about my writing so it'll be revised several times.

I forgot to mention this before so I will now: it might take me a while to get chapters posted. I live in a 12x12 room with another person, so I don't really have a lot of privacy and I really don't want to have to explain to her exactly what it is I'm writing. So…yeah. I try and get stuff done when she's not around, which isn't often. Kind of sucks.

If you're not already aware, I'm going to be screwing around with the timeline because I really hate how it is in the anime. Everything happens so fast! So I'm gonna space things out a bit (okay maybe a lot) so I can develop the plot.

I was originally going to go farther than I did, but then I decided to cut it off there and combine the next two chapters because chapter 4 was really short already. So the next chapter is going to be quite long.