Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Right Here Waiting For You ❯ Chapter 28 ( Chapter 28 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

~*~*~*Story Start*~*~*~


That annoying cackle filled the air once again, drowning out the excited shouts from the youkai in the stands that circled around us. After this entire Tournament, they were finally seeing Hiei have a hard time in a fight, something that they thought would never happened but hoped would. It was amazing how Hiei didn't care -but why should he?-, because I know if I were him I would very fucking annoyed. However, with a guy who just turned into a 'Phoenix' I don't really think I would be paying attention to the crowd either. Especially because Kuro Momotaro was now even stronger and more invincible than he was before, which will become a problem. For obvious reasons of course.


“If you thought my Armor of the Ape was badass,” Kuro chuckled darkly, causing Hiei to narrow his eyes further, “wait 'til you see my second armor! The Armor of the Phoenix!” He shouted, his high-pitched voice grating on my ears, and everything seemed to quiet down from his shout. Well at least that takes care of ONE problem...


Koto was now standing, completely immersed in the fight. “Kuro has morphed once again! But I think the burning question is: Was there anything wrong with his original, fairly hot, muscular body?!” She shouted, breaking the silence.


“He was never hot to begin with.” I mumbled with a blank look on my face, sweat dropping.


“Man!” Kuwabara's shout brought me back to reality, causing me to turn to him. “Here we go again! If Kuro keeps this up, Hiei's finished!” He shouted, glaring angrily at Kuro's changed form, and that made me narrow my eyes at him. Why does almost everyone in our team seem to lose faith in one another? ...Never mind.


“We shall see.” Kurama said shortly, his eyes narrowed.


I nodded, at least Kurama was on my side once again. “Yeah, Hiei won't lose so easily, he'll find a way.” I said, turning my now serious gaze back on the fire youkai's form.


Hiei let out a scoff, his eyes narrowing on the youkai before him as he slid into a fighting stance. “Colorful get-up you've got there, but it doesn't look so tough.” He mocked, balling his hands into fists, getting -from what I could tell- to attack once again.


“Want to see what it can do?!” Kuro Momotaro asked, laughing loudly.


Not giving Hiei any time to say anything, Kuro flexed his claws as he jumped into the air, high above Hiei's form. All eyes -even Hiei's believe it or not- widened slightly at Kuro's new speed, our eyes darting towards the sky when he let out a high-pitched shout. And before most of us could blink or really comprehend what happened, Kuro was flying down towards Hiei's form at the same surprising speed as earlier. Hiei stared slightly surprised at Kuro's form, and wasn't able to dodge the punch that connected to his jaw, sending him into the air and across the ring.


“Poor.” Hiei said, a glare now in his eyes.


However, as Hiei neared the ground the ground, Kuro appeared at his side once again, not giving him a chance to regain his balance. Sending another strong punch into Hiei's jaw, and I swear I saw small amounts of blood fly from Hiei's lips as he was once again sent flying through the air, the impact echoing around the stadium this time. But to my slight surprise, Hiei didn't seem to discouraged from the punches and he flipped himself back into a standing position in the air, landing on his right knee as he slid back, facing Kuro once again. Hiei's eyes were set into an even deadlier glare once he came to a stop, spitting some of the blood out of his mouth as watched Kuro.


I turned my attention away from Hiei, hearing Kuro's high-pitched shout reach my ears once again, making them hurt slightly. However, all kidding aside, I watched with narrowed eyes as Kuro raced towards Hiei, holding another fist up, ready to connect with Hiei's face once again. But when Kuro was close enough and thew it, Hiei's amazing speed kicked back into gear, letting him dodge the attack just seconds before it would have landed. Leaving Kuro to stand confused and slightly irritated until his beady eyes caught sight of Hiei's form circling around him quickly. With a narrowed look in his eyes, Kuro followed Hiei's every move making me frown slightly. Kuro wasn't kidding about his forms making him invincible, even I was still having a bit of a hard time keeping up with Hiei's speed sometimes. Stupid Steaming Spheres...


“You're trying to confuse me, and it's not working!” Despite what Kuro said Hiei kept running, turning on his heel for only a second, before heading towards Kuro head on. “I can see that you are in fact, right here!” Kuro shouted, throwing another punch towards the fire youkai.


However, it missed.


Fire erupted around Hiei's form, which was just inches below Kuro's still thrown punch. A smile lit my lips when I saw the surprised look on Kuro's face. “Left yourself open.” Fires consumed Hiei's fists, reminding me of my Shadow Fists, except with fire of course. “How about Double Fist of the Mortal Flame?” He asked, eyes deadly and narrowed.


Not giving Kuro anytime to move, Hiei threw rapid punches at Kuro's stomach, each hit sounding even more painful than the first. Kuro was also an indicator of that, letting out shouts and grunts of pain each time Hiei's fist would connect with his abdomen. I could tell the two next to me, as well as myself, stare slightly shocked at the new technique, feeling that it was more powerful the first Fist of the Mortal Flame. And the shock wore off when Hiei stopped his rapid punches, throwing one more punch, and I could practically see the force that went into it once it connected with Kuro's body, almost making me wince. Especially when Kuro let out another high-pitched shout of pain, making me grimace, I really am starting to hate this guy.


Standing motionless in front of Kuro Momotaro, the flames around Hiei's fists diminished, and despite myself I couldn’t help but realize something. *Damn little prick stole my move!* I thought with an irk mark, my right eye twitching heavily. That was so my Shadow Fists technique!


Deciding to let that go -for now I mean-, I took my 'glare' from Hiei and turned back to Kuro. My eyes landed on the first thing that seemed to scream pain, his abdomen. Scorch marks were all over his chest as well, blood starting to seep out of the burns from the intense heat of the flames. Smoke actually was lifting from the burns as well, and we all could hear the skin blister from the heat as well. It almost made me grimace in disgust, but I just smirked, finally the bastard was hurt and bleeding -and not to mention blistering with smoke coming off of him-. Maybe I won't give Hiei a hard time about stealing my move...


Hiei stayed staring at Kuro with narrowed eyes, but after a few second let out a smirk, and a satisfied 'hm' could be heard. But like all good things that happen to our team, they just turn out to be shit. Kuro's once pain-filled groans stopped abruptly, and the glazed look that once covered his eyes vanished. With a sudden smirk on his lips, Kuro looked down at the fire youkai with a sadistic look in his eyes. Hiei's eyes widened slightly -as well as Kurama's, Kuwabara's and mine-, seeing the phoenix freak completely fine after the brutal onslaught just moments ago.


“What?!” Hiei shouted.


Kuro's smirk widened as he jumped into the air. “Gotcha!” He shouted, slamming his fist down towards Hiei, but only hitting the ground when Hiei dodged it, jumping away.


I watched Kuro with a surprised look on my face as well, my mouth hanging open in shock. I don't know how Kuro could be invincible to that attack considering it was stronger than the First of the Mortal Flame, but apparently he was. My wide eyes narrowed and my fists clenched tightly, dammit Hiei was running out of techniques to use and his Spirit Energy was starting to go down. If this keeps up, Hiei won't have anything left and we all know Kuro wasn't going to let Hiei lose with a ten count, he was going to kill him once he was done having his fun. Shit...


With a sudden change in the air, I was brought back into reality. My eyes darted to Kuro, but I didn't see him in the spot he was in before. Looking around quickly, my eyes darted around the ring, but kept my sights on Hiei's slightly shocked form that was still in the air. Damn Kuro Momotaro for having a fast transformed body, finding him is really starting to be a pain in the ass! But my annoyed thoughts were cut off when I saw purple and gold suddenly appear behind the fire youkai, and my eyes widened with fear.


“Hiei, behind you!” I shouted quickly.


Hearing my loud shout, Hiei turned around quickly, but despite my hopes that I was quick enough to warn him, I wasn't. Hiei let out a noise that could be counted as surprised just seconds before Kuro sent a kick into Hiei's face. Even if Hiei made no grunt or any sounds of pain, I knew that couldn't have felt to nice, despite how strong he was. But Kuro's attacks weren't over, quickly flying over to Hiei, Kuro slammed his fist down into Hiei's gut sending him towards the ring. However, as Hiei near the ground, Kuro appeared below him, pulling Hiei into a backbreaker which made me wince at the sound, hoping that his back wasn't actually broken. Tossing Hiei into the air once again, Kuro sent a kick into his gut before giving him one last punch to the face, finally letting the fire youkai to hit the ring face first, literally. Hiei let out a grunt of pain, sliding against the ring on his face before he came to a stop, the rest of his body plopping onto the floor a second later.


Kuro Momotaro landed back onto the ground, letting out a loud laugh once again. “You convinced yet?! There's nothing you can do to beat me! You might as well stay on the ground, and think of a nice way to beg!” He shouted with a sadistic look in his eyes once again, that smirk once again on his lips.


Hiei let out growl of anger, not liking the position he was in. “Never! You'll have to rip my limbs off to keep me down!” He snapped, shakily lifting himself onto his knees as he shot Kuro a cold glare.


I sweat dropped. “Very bad choice of words!” I called.


“Yes, you shouldn't give him anymore suggestions, Hiei!” Kurama added in agreement.


Kuwabara nodded, his eyes wide at what Hiei had said, as well as Kurama's and mine -which was obvious...-.“Yeah, that's a good point!” He shouted, and he says he doesn't care :D.


“It appears Hiei is simply unable to compete with the strength and power of the new and improved, Kuro! Amputation seems to be guaranteed!” Koto informed from her box, and I shot her a glare almost as cold as Hiei's, which made her squeal lightly.


Turning away from Koto, I set my narrowed gaze back onto Hiei and Kuro, seeing Hiei stand up once again. I let out a sigh of relief, at least Hiei was still able to fight, I knew he could win this. ...somehow. “This match is ours. Now Kuro's immune to both Hiei's sword and his Fists of the Mortal Flame. Hiei is far too weak now to deal with the Dragon Flame and he knows it. There is simply nothing left for him to do. It still bothers me though, no fighter should ever have to use more than one Steaming Sphere on one opponent.” Onji's voice suddenly spoke up from opposite us, and I just glared at him.


“Yes.” Shishi laughed slightly, smirking. “This Hiei character must be a pretty decent fighter to have scared Kuro into using two in one fight.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down Hiei.


I scoffed silently to myself, ignoring that I sounded like Hiei just now. *Hiei could kick your pretty boy ass.*


“I'd say more than decent.” Onji spoke up, which almost made me surprised that we agreed on something. “Make no mistake, this is still Kuro's match to lose. I have faith in those weapons, but I'd feel much better if he'd stop showing off and take care of his business.” He said, his eyes narrowing seriously for once.


Deciding to stop eavesdropping on them for the moment, I refocused on the fight. “Too bad you can't call out that little Dragon, I'd like to show the world I can beat you even with a level playing field. But then again it might just be fun to go all the way.” Kuro grabbed another Steaming Sphere, tossing it mockingly at Hiei who just stood there, panting. “Prepare yourself, for the next Kuro Momotaro! I'll take great pleasure in killing you!” He said sadistically, breaking the last Steaming Sphere in his hands.


The familiar smoke rose up once again into the air, and I was really getting sick of seeing that thing. However, considering that this was the last Steaming Sphere, that obviously meant that this was going to be his strongest form. Seeing as how he also changed from an ape to a phoenix, I was wondering what other animal he was going to change into next. It was making me a bit nervous, cause whatever it was, Kuro seemed to be very confident about it, and having an opponent be that way really was intimidating -that's how it feels to me, not Hiei of course, we all know that guy never gets intimidated-. But I was snapped out of my negative and worried thoughts when I heard the crowd erupt into cheers, making me jump slightly. Dammit, getting a new stadium was a horrible idea even if it looks awesome, there are too many obnoxious youkai screaming all at once. ...Fucking hate this Tournament.


Koto was now sitting at her seat, microphone in hand.“First he was an ape, then a phoenix, what will Kuro transform into now?! Could it possibly a purple hippopotamus?!” She asked, eyes fixated on Kuro Momotaro.


“Yeah, cause that would so be his strongest form.” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.


“Well after seeing him turn into a crazy lookin' bird, I wouldn't be too surprised to see that actually happen.” Kuwabara said with a deadpanned look on his face, crossing his arms over his chest. Hearing that made me turn towards the red haired ningen.


I sweat dropped, my face blank. “That's a good point.” I mumbled.


All of us turned back to the ring, wanting to know what kind of animal he would turn into. I just really hope that it wouldn't be a purple hippo or that would be just sad and I would feel really, really bad for Hiei if he had to fight one. Keeping that thought of my head for a bit, I watched as Kuro sucked in the purple smoke. The first change that happened to his body changed form purple feathers to brown fur, but it wasn't like the fur from his Ape Armor. The fur covered his skin entirely and the pink vest that he had been wearing was completely torn apart now thanks to so many transformations and abuse thanks to Hiei. Silver hair fell from Kuro's head to his shoulders, and his face stretched out, like he had a dog's muzzle. But once he was done transforming, I knew exactly what he was. A wolf. Well it beat the hell out of a purple hippo is all I can say, but he did get uglier, it was almost disgusting actually.


Kuro smirked evilly, his sharp fangs barred as he showed off his claws. “Now I'm protected with the third Beast Armor: The Armor of The Wolf. I'm a hell of a lot stronger than before, and as you can see I have a few sharp new toys on my hand that I'd love to share with you, if you're in the mood to play!” He shouted with a sadistic smirk on his chops.


And just like before, Kuro was a lot faster than he was in his previous transformed body. He was so fast that even Hiei's eyes widened -along with ours- when Kuro raced towards him, is claws out and ready. However, when Kuro struck his hand into the ring, Hiei had already disappeared, landing behind the huge wolf youkai. I was about to let out a sigh of relief, but when Hiei turned around, Kuro was already there. Kuro let out another cruel smirk as he swiped his claws down towards Hiei, and I let out a small gasp when I saw pieces of Hiei's shirt rip as Hiei tried to dodge the attack. Watching Hiei stumble backwards, I waited to see the blood drip from the wounds that were surely on his chest, but I was happy to see that there wasn't any. However, the glare in Hiei's eyes told me he pissed by the almost fatal attack a few seconds ago, and he stood up straighter, panting heavily.


Kuro let out a small laugh. “I promise I won't miss your flesh again, just needed a moment to get use to this body.” He said, the sinister tone in his voice made me frown. But that wasn't the only thing, it was watching Hiei begin to back up, away from Kuro's form. Shit.


“I've never known Hiei to back away from a challenger.” Kurama stated, his eyes narrowed seriously.


“Well, it does have a lot of teeth.” Kuwabara said nervously.


“And very sharp claws that would hurt like a bitch if you got cut by them.” I added, shivering at the thought of getting hit by one of those disgustingly long an sharp things attached to Kuro's hands.


We all watched anxiously as Kuro began to walk forward slowly, as if he was stalking his prey, which would fit quite well in this situation, unfortunately. Hiei narrowed his eyes, taking another step back, but stopped when something hit his foot, a soft clang sound reaching his ears. Quickly glancing down, he saw the hilt of his sword, four or five inches of blade still attached to it. I began to smirk, already knowing that Hiei was thinking of something as he continued to stare at the broken sword. Feeling surprisingly at ease, I watched with my smirk now fully on my lips, my arms crossing over my chest. Looks like Kuro isn't going to be smirking for much longer. Finally, the damn bastard deserves to get killed.


Hiei closed his eyes for a second, shrugging his shoulders lightly. “'What the hell?” He mumbled to himself, looking back at Kuro once again, his expression blank and emotionless.


“Hehehe, does that mean the 'great' Hiei is ready to quit?” Kuro asked, watching with an amused look.


Stepping on the hilt of his sword, Hiei caught the hilt when it went airborne without even looking at it, the annoyed look back on his face when he heard Kuro's chuckle. “No, you incompetent, but I will give you one last chance to.” He said calmly, but the look in his eyes told us he was being serious. He had something big in mind, I could tell -which is very obvious mind you-.


Kuro let out another dark chuckle. “That's very sporting of you, I think I'll pass however. Your memory isn't like mine, so I'll give you a hint. If your sword didn't work on my first Beast Armor, it sure won't work on the third!” He shouted with an even wider smirk. ...Ew.


“I know. I hate to use this attack, I find it totally devoid of any taste or artistry.” Hiei admitted, somewhat annoyed, and that made me confused. Was it really that bad of a move?


“That's hard to believe, there's actually a move that's too barbaric for Hiei.” Kuwabara said, surprised.


Kurama did the same as well, but his eyes weren't narrowed out of surprise or confusion like Kuwabara and I. “Then it's probably going to be very messy.” He stated.


“If it kills Kuro, then I'm all for it, I can handle a little blood.” I said with a smirk, waiting anxiously.


Kuro let out another smirk before he pointed at Hiei. That caught our attention again, and we turned to stare at him with glares in our eyes. “Don't hold back on me because something's offensive, I'm no snob! I was planning on a vulgar move myself!” He shouted, and I rolled my eyes. But what could I expect? He was a weak youkai who was using spheres to help him get stronger.


Letting out a were-wolf like howl, Kuro Momotaro jumped into the air, his eyes alight with blood lust as he drew closer to Hiei's body. I kept smirking, but it was beginning to waver when I saw Hiei not even doing anything, just standing there, he wasn't even trying to get out of the way. My eyes narrowed in confusion before I saw a flash of black and green flames, and then I saw Kuro in front of Hiei, his clawed hands holding Hiei off the ground as his sharp fangs sunk into his shoulder. And all I saw was red.


“Hiei!” I gasped to myself, my eyes wide with horror.


A fountain of blood spewed around the two fighters, and from the angle I was at, I couldn't for the live of me tell whose blood it was. My heart was 'beating' a million miles a minute against my ribcage, and I swear that was the only thing besides the blood that I could hear. Everyone was completely silent -aside from Juri who was making disgusted and scared noises at the blood-, all the youkai had stopped shouting and were just staring in shock at what they had saw, or what they didn't. And when the blood finally stopped flowing, I heard a familiar little 'hmph', and a second later something burst out of Kuro's back. It was large black and green flame shot into the air. My mouth dropped open, but I let out another sigh of relief. I swear one of these days my hair is just going to go completely gray thanks to these guys.


“Onji...” Shishi's slightly startled voice trailed off, breaking the silence.


Onji, however, ignored Shishi for the time being, already too preoccupied with staring at the two fighters in the ring in shock. “No, it couldn't be!” He shouted, his eyes wide for the first time ever. Ha, take that ya old cocky bastard.


“I'm...confused.” Kuwabara said slowly, but his tone was coated in slight fear.


I nodded ever so slightly at the ningen's statement. “Don't worry, Kuwabara, I am too.” I mumbled, keeping my eyes on Hiei's form


It was a good thing I did, because a second after I had said that, Hiei was behind Kuro's body in one quick movement. “Sword of the Darkness Flame!” Hiei shouted, straightening up from his stance as Kuro's midriff was severed from his body. A second later, his whole form was consumed in bright green flames, his limbs and torso falling to the ground and burning into nothing.


“What's...going on?” Kuwabara asked, the long silence around us broken.


I stared at the charred remains where Kuro's body use to be before I turned to Hiei, who was staring at the green flames as well. “Well for starters, Kuro is definitely dead while you and I are confused as fuck.” I answered truthfully, my face blank out of annoyance.


“Now I understand.” Kurama suddenly spoke up, making Kuwabara and I turn to him. “Hiei did summon the Darkness Flame from the pits of Reikai.” He said, staring at the black and green flames on Hiei's sword.


Kuwabara stared at him confused. “I thought you said that was impossible, cause he'd be swallowed?”


Kurama nodded and began to explain. “That's why he didn't use his arm. Hiei transferred his Energy into his sword to lure the Darkness Flame. Detaining it apart from his body, it wasn't as strong, but Hiei's weapon became powerful enough to pierce the Beast Armor. Kuro was dead even before his teeth sank in. Ingenious.” He finished.


“I'll say.” I mumbled, watching Hiei extinguish the flames with one swipe.


“I don't know about all that 'genius' business.” Kuwabara said annoyed, making me look at him with a raised eyebrow, and he took notice of that. “I mean, its not all that different from what I do with my Spirit Sword, and nobody calls that genius.”


I sweat drop, keeping the annoyed look off my face. *Hiei keeps taking our moves! First my Shadow Fists and now Kuwabara's Spirit Sword! Jerk.* I thought, an irk mark appearing as I watched Hiei.


“Hey!” Kuwabara slammed his fists on the ring, gaining all of our attention, especially Hiei's. “Wait a second! Were you saying back there that my Spirit Sword didn't have any taste or artistry?!” He shouted with a pissed look on his face, an irk mark appearing on his temple as well.


Hiei let out a scoff. “Of course I did.” He said, tossing his broken sword away.


Kuwabara clenched his fist tightly on the ring, glaring daggers at Hiei. “Ok, that's it!” He shouted angrily.


“You're so lucky that you didn't say that about MY move you stole, you ass!” I pointed at Hiei accusingly, and he stared at me with a look that I guess was suppose to be confused, but it looked more annoyed. “My Shadow Fists, remember?!” I shouted with a slight growl in my voice.


Hiei let out a 'laugh'. “That's because I made it better.” He said smirking at me.


I wasn't able to form any words, letting out an angered -but muffled- squeal as I took the same stance as Kuwabara. But I stopped, seeing Juri step up. “Since all pieces of Kuro Momotaro have stayed down for more than ten seconds, the winner of the match is Hiei!” The crowd instantly booed, making Juri falter. “I'm sorry folks, but the rules are the rules. If it makes you feel any better, Hiei looks like he hurt himself pretty bad.” She said, looking somewhat nervous.


We all ignored the crowd though, watching as Hiei walked towards us, holding his wounded shoulder as he winced. This was actually the first time I have ever seen Hiei look this beaten up before. In our spars a two months ago I never got him to look that hurt, sure I hit him a few good times but he would just knock me out before I could do real damage. Yeah he was an asshole at times... But anyway, seeing Hiei look that bad made my annoyance at him diminish. But I snapped out of my concerned thoughts when I saw said fire youkai now in front of us. Hiei ignored our stares, jumping down from the ring, holding his wound tighter as he walked towards his cloak. I would have asked if he was ok, but that would have been a stupid question. So I opted for another approach.


“I swear you, along with everyone else, love to scare me.” I said slightly annoyed. ...An approach that had absolutely nothing to do with his wounds. Good going me :D.


Hiei grabbed his discarded white collar from his cloak, tying it around his wounded shoulder. Turning back to me, he gave me a mocking smirk, making me glare at him slightly. “I thought I heard you say I wouldn't lose so easily, Onna?” He asked tauntingly, crossing his arms.


My right eye twitched, an irk mark appearing on my temple. One of these days I was going to punch that smirk off of his face. I don't know when, but I will. “You have really good hearing, don't you?” I asked.


“It's not that hard to hear you, considering you're naturally loud.” Hiei stated easily, damn him...


“Oh, shut up.” I pouted, a blush of embarrassment on my cheeks.


Kuwabara began to snicker at me, not even flinching when I shot him a glare, obviously hearing him. “I hate to say it, but I gotta agree with Hiei on that one, Kira.” He said with a smirk on his lips, staring down at me with a familiar mocking look that I usually see on the fire youkai next to me.


“Don't you dare take Hiei's side over mine, Kuwabara, if you know what's good for you.” I growled with a deadly calm voice, it never raising or lowering, just staying level. And calm anger is very scary.


Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei sweat dropped, but Kuwabara's quickly turned to fear. Turning to the red haired kitsune, he gave him a pleading look. “Help me out over here, Kurama.” He whispered, glancing back at me, while I was suppressing a wide smirk, making Hiei sweat drop even more at me. Yeah, I have that affect on people :D.


Kurama shook his head. “Sorry Kuwabara, but even I don't want to get on Kira's bad side.” He answered.


“Hey!” I shouted slightly offended, but was ignored.


“Geez, Kurama's two times stronger than you, and even he's scared!” Kuwabara said with a surprised look on his face, however, he couldn’t blame the older boy. I can be scary at times...


Kurama sweat dropped again, getting a slight blank look. “Not scared, just cautious.” He said.


“You're all mean! Kurama's even helping too!” I whined, anime tears falling down my cheeks as I gave them all a 'glare'. I never thought I'd see the day that Kurama would join Hiei over me, I just wish today wasn't that day.


A loud 'ahem' could be heard all over the stadium, causing all of us to snap our attention over to the ring. Team Uraotogi -or what was left of it I mean- and Juri were all staring at us impatiently, apparently waiting for us to get serious and join them. All of us suppressed sweat drops, but we quickly grew serious, jumping onto the ring and towards the center. All of us stopped in front of the other team, glaring at them as they did it back. It was another glare off, which I doubt was not going to stop at all with this round, seeing as how they are all over confident pricks.


“Thank you, now we can decide the next match.” Juri said, ignoring the glares in front of her.


“Shut up.” I mumbled under my breath.


Hiei, having grown rather annoyed with Shishi not moving, glared at him. “Come on, roll the dice again. I have an urge for two in a row.” He demanded, not in the mood to smirk like he would have.


Shishi seemed to ignore the pointed glare from all of us, and threw the two die between our teams. All of us watched the pentagon shaped dies fall to the floor with a surprisingly loud clatter once they made contact. As they rolled, I could feel everyone tense up out of anxiousness to see who it was. For one, I wasn't really scared to go again, and was perfectly willing to go if my name came up. Looking at the boys, I couldn't help but sweat drop at them. I could easily tell who wanted to go and who didn't, Hiei was an obvious one, Kurama wanted to go as well, but Kuwabara looked completely petrified. Turning back to the dies, I saw them slow down to a stop, landing on two people. Kurama and Ura Urashima.


“Yes.” Kurama mumbled softly.


“Yes!” Kuwabara said smiling.


“Damn.” Hiei growled lowly.


I just smirked at Hiei's annoyance as I turned on my heel, heading off the ring for the next fight to start. The boys followed me while Kurama and Ura Urashima stood there, facing off. “After rolling the dice, both fighters are in place for the third match of the Semi-Finals. Now fighting for Team Urameshi, Kurama! And for Team Uraotogi, Ura Urashima!” Juri introduced, looking between the two.


“It's nice to see that fate is cooperating with us today, Onji.” Shishi said with a smirk.


Onji nodded, how the hell was this fate's way of cooperating with them? “I admit, everything is falling into place more or less as we hoped that it would.” He agreed, eyes narrowing slightly, but he didn't smirk.


“Kuro Momotaro accomplished exactly what was intended, its a pity we couldn't tell him that he was only here to drain Hiei's Energy. And now the dies have chosen Ura Urashima, the one best suited for killing Kurama. He'll finally put our team on the board.” Shishi explained, and that made me turn to Kurama with a worried look in my eyes. This can't be good...


“By the authority of the Tournament Committee, let the third match begin! Start your fight!” Juri shouted.


Both fighters pulled out their weapons, and in unison Kurama and Ura were spinning their Fishing Line and Rose Whip, their eyes set into serious gazes. “It looks like this match is going to be a duel of lashing weapons. With Ura Urashima twirling his Fishing Line and Kurama wielding his trademark Rose Whip, this one is gonna be all about skill!” Koto commentated, a big smile on her lips.


Not even a second after Koto stopped talking did Ura go in for the first strike. However, as it neared Kurama he just knocked it away easily. Although Ura gave a confident smirk, blocking Kurama's Rose Whip, causing the two to go into a little weapon match. The Fishing Line and Rose whip smacked against each other, resulting in loud clangs that hurt my ear each time the weapons clashed. And thanks to neither of them giving up for a second, the sound just kept coming and coming. Despite the sounds, I stared at Kurama with an awed look on my face, my eyes watching the two of them go at it. Even if they weren't beating the shit out of each other, it was still awesome to see Kurama's skills. But for some reason I couldn't help but think that Kurama wasn't attacking with 100% percent of his strength yet. It was like he was waiting, studying.


“Wow, this is an incredible display of equally matched talents!” Koto smiled, see I wasn't the only one. “And while there's not blood to speak of yet, those sparks keep me hopeful!” She said with another smile. ....Uh.


...Deciding to ignore Koto's creepy infatuation with pain, I continued to watch. The two were still clashing their weapons, their eyes never leaving the others form. My eyes darted towards the two forms as they began to run, never losing their form, or the others weapon. It was really amazing, but I still couldn’t help but think that Kurama could cut Ura easily with one flick of his wrist. But he wasn't doing that at all! My eyes narrowed from their previous awed state, now going into confusion. Why was Kurama holding back?


“Whoa, this is a fight.” Kuwabara mumbled in awe.


Hiei, as usual, scoffed lightly. “Kurama needs to stop fooling around and start fighting for real.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest, an annoyed look on his face.


I brought my fist down in victory with a smirk on my face, finally I was beginning to notice things! “Hell yeah, I knew he was holding back!” I said with a smile, despite that I know that Kurama shouldn't be holding back in a fight, but I was right, so ssh!


“What?! He's whip swinging like a maniac!” Kuwabara shouted with wide eyes.


Hiei didn't look at Kuwabara, just kept looking at the fight. “Have you learned anything? Even the Onna noticed Kurama wasn't giving it his all.” He


“Why do I get the feeling that wasn't a compliment?” I asked slightly annoyed, crossing my arms.


“Because you're actually starting to use your brain.” Hiei noticed the look I gave him, and he smirked. “Slightly.” He added, and Kuwabara sweat dropped, moving away from the two of us, also noticing the look on my face. Especially when he saw my hands starting to go into a strangling position, my fingers flexing.


My right eye twitched, putting my hands down.. “I...want...to...kill...you!” I seethed out, an irk mark pulsing.


“Uh...” Kuwabara started slowly. “Before you two kill each other, can you explain why Kurama isn't really attacking? I still don't get it.” He said, looking at Kurama briefly before turning to look down at the little bastard we all know and love. Well...-////-.


“How surprising.” Hiei mumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes.


I copied Hiei's expression. “Yeah, yeah, you hate Kuwabara, blah, blah, blah.-”


“Hey!” Kuwabara shouted, offended.


“-Will you just answer the question already?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the taller youkai.


Hiei ignored me, as usual, turning his attention back to the fight, Kuwabara and I did as well. “It's Kurama's obnoxious habit, he never creates his own strategy until he fully understands his opponent's.” He explained briefly, the annoyance clear in his voice.


“Well we all can't be like you, Mr. 'I win all my matches with no strategy beforehand'.” I said defensively, still sore about what he said to me earlier. And for Kurama also, I'm not THAT mean!


Hiei, once again, ignored me and that was the end of that...nice conversation. Kuwabara and I were fine with it, especially because we didn't want to miss anything that could be happening in the fight. Turning our full attentions back to the fight in front of us, we noticed that...nothing happened at all. I sweat dropped with a blank look on my face, well this is going to get old very fast. They were just standing in the same position, hitting each others weapons, it was nothing really special at all! However, when I thought that, I noticed that Kurama almost stopped for a second, and that made me narrow my eyes. All right, that was weird... My eyes then fell on Ura Urashima, there was a VERY small smile on his lips, tears in his eyes. Narrowing my eyes further, I glared heatedly at the little fisherman, he was doing something. I could tell.


*Hiei...* I thought, my mind's voice small.


Hiei narrowed his eyes slightly at the tone. {What's wrong now?} He asked, slight annoyance in his voice.


*I have a really bad feeling all of a sudden.*


{Why?}


I wasn't able to answer, but I doubt Hiei was paying attention anymore, and for a good reason. A sudden movement came from our peripheral vision, and we both turned our eyes back to the fight once again. Ura was taking a quick step forward, but he suddenly lost his footing, falling forward. My eyes widened slightly almost in relief, but what happened next confused the fuck out of me, as well as Kuwabara and even Hiei for that matter. ...Or so I think anyway.


“Here we go!” Ura said, eyes on Kurama.


“Yes.” Kurama nodded slightly, raising his Rose Whip to strike, not even noticing the smirk on Ura's face. However, before he could get the Whip close enough, Ura vanished, making all our eyes widen.“What?!” He gasped, seeing the Fishing Line wrap around his body tightly.


Ura's smirk widened and he threw the Line down, letting them tighten even more than they were before. My eyes widened as I saw the line dig into Kurama's skin as they flew away from his body. Blood splattered from the wounds on Kurama's arms, torso, legs and back, and Kurama let out a shout of pain. I didn't even have time to glare heatedly at Ura as I watched Kurama's form slam against the rings hard stone. I winced at the sound of the impact, and I stared with my mouth open and my eyes wide.


“Kurama!” Kuwabara and I shouted worriedly.


Kurama didn't respond, just laid on the stone floor in a silent heap, making me grow nervous. I know that he wouldn't have died from such an attack, but I still was worried. Hearing a small thud near Kurama's body, I watched his Rose Whip disappear in a blue light, returning back to the simple red rose that Kurama used to create it. It was silent for a few seconds, but in those seconds it felt like an eternity. However, it wasn't because I thought he was dead, I knew he wasn't, he was far from it. I was pissed more than anything, mostly because Ura had to have done something to make Kurama lower his guard. When I saw Ura still in the air, I threw him the deadliest glare I could muster, hoping that he would die a very painful death. NO-ONE hurts my friends and does not die. Ever. (*Cough* Minus Chu, Jin, Toya, Yen, Ryo, Kai, and Rinku *Cough*)


“And he's down!” Juri shouted, running over to Kurama's form.


I looked away from Ura, letting out a sigh of relief when I saw Kurama move, lifting himself up, although not by much. However, he stopped when he saw Ura land, stepping on his rose, crushing the poor thing. He had a slight glare in his eyes when he saw Ura throw his head back as he laughed loudly, and I was with Kurama with the glare part. Stupid fucking bastard, I really hope he dies now!


Ura stopped laughing, but the smirk never disappeared. “I studied your fighting and found the only weakness is your kindness! In that regard, I suggest you change the way you live your life, but its too late now! How did you put up with this 'goody-two-shoes' crap? I had to choke back some major chunks while I was pretending to be an upstanding citizen, but does it feel good to be bad again!” Ura ignored the deepening glare Kurama was giving him. “You're gonna die just like grandma!” He shouted, raising his Fishing Line once again.


I narrowed my eyes, confused as hell. “Who the fuck is grandma?” I asked, looking at the two boys.


They only shrugged.


Rolling my eyes at there lack of response, I quickly turned back to the fight. I watched as Ura lashed at Kurama -who was still half-laying on the ground-, quickly. I was about to shout to Kurama to get up, but stopped when Kurama did just that. He was dodging all the lashes, not taking his eyes off of Ura's form for a second until he came to the edge of the ring. As he stepped towards the edge yellow electricity crackled around his foot, making him recoil it back, staring at the edge with narrowed eyes. The boys and I did as well seeing the Fishing Line stretched out around the ring, crossing over each other to block off Kurama's only means of escape. Fucking hell, I really am hating these fights!


“Come on Kurama, give me some credit here!” Kurama turned to Ura with a glare in his eyes, but he didn't seem to mind. “You didn't think I was really trying to hit you with those attack, did you?” Ura pointed his Fishing Line at Kurama, his smirk widening. “Hook, line and sinker! And you're the stupid fish!” He sneered.


Juri let out a scared noise, her eyes widening. “This was not part of my job description, isn't there anybody who could break me out of this thing?! I'm not suppose to be in here!” She shouted, looking at the crowd.


Ura ignored Juri's presence all together, keeping his gaze on Kurama. “And before you get any ideas, know that my Force Field won't be shredded nearly as easily as that enchantress Ruka's! In fact it's impossible to break out from the inside!” Grabbing his gray backpack, Ura pulled out a red box, it having some kind of symbol on the top in yellow. “So get comfortable, and let me introduce you to the Idunn Box! Anybody other than the possessor who breathes it's air will quickly return to their younger age, back to those awkward adolescent years, the terrible two's, or even infancy! Once infected you'll be so tiny and inexperienced, it'll be like taking candy from a- oh well there's no point in cliché expressions, you'll see soon enough what I mean!” He shouted sadistically, opening the box.


Out of the box came the same purple smoke that came out of Kuro Momotaro's Steaming Spheres, and I narrowed my eyes worriedly. The purple smoke was easily filling in the Force Field containing the two and I watched Kurama suck in the last of the clean air before we couldn't see him anymore. I was thinking and hoping desperately that Kurama would find a way not to return to a baby, although considering the situation that was going to be easier said than done. The boys next to me were in a guarded position, their eyes narrowed dangerously at the Force Field in front of them, and I was right along with them.


I clenched my fists tightly by my sides, my body rigid. “Oh well this is just fucking perfect!” I shouted angrily, too pissed off to care if I was making unnecessary noise at the moment. My friend was probably going to get very hurt -more importantly die- and we have to watch! ...Or hear, but you know what I mean!


“You can't hold your breath forever!” Ura's voice shouted out from the smoke, the smirk in his voice.


Kuwabara narrowed his eyes in confusion, staring at the Force Field and the purple smoke. “What isn't that stuff coming any closer, is it scared?” He asked, seeing the purple smoke staying in front of us.


Despite myself, I got a blank look. “Are you being completely serious, Kuwabara?” I asked.


“Yeah, why?” Kuwabara asked with a nod.


“Oh my fucking god.” I groaned, face-palming myself, I can't believe he's being serious right now! How the hell can he not understand that even after Botan had explained it the last time?!


Hiei didn't look at us, his eyes still on the smoke covered ring with his fists clenched as well. Aw, he's really starting to like us, before I don't think he would have really cared :D. “Maybe you don't understand the concept of 'Force Field'.” He said annoyed, and I couldn’t help but smirk at that. Man I really am mean, aren't I?


“Way to go Ura, I really did it, I can feel his Spirit Energy getting weaker. You know, maybe I've gone a bit too far this time.” Ura laughed, but suddenly stopped, looking around the smoke filled ring with a confused and alarmed look on his face. “Hold on, his Spirit Energy's completely vanished, that's not suppose to happen!” He said and took a step forward, but stopped, feeling an unbelievable power in the same ring, unlike before.


“What the?!” Kuwabara shouted, looking at the Force Field. “Do you guys feel that, too?” He asked quietly.


I swallowed thickly, the huge power slamming into me like a brick wall. “You mean that really big thing of Spirit Energy that just appeared out of no-where?” I asked, not being able to look at the ningen next to me.


“Uh...huh.” Kuwabara said, nodding slowly.


“Yeah.” I squeaked out, my voice almost being drowned out by the annoyed crowd.


Ura stood amidst the smoke that began to coil maliciously around him as the Spirit Energy got stronger, not even concerned with the loud crowd outside. He was more preoccupied with the strong Spirit Energy all around him. His body was shaking and his eyes were wide, whimpers of fear falling from his lips as he tried to desperately find the source of the power. However, thanks to his 'brilliant' idea of filling the Force Field with the Idunn Box's smoke, that made it impossible, leaving him to stand frozen in his spot at the center of the ring. Not even noticing the form of a white fox appearing out of the smoke that began to change color, black lightning crackling around it. Seeing, feeling and sensing all these things bad around him, Ura whimpered even more, looking around with sweat trickling down his temple. This wasn't good. ...For him that is :D.


Looking around even more, Ura's confusion and fear grew. “Where in the world did this power surge come from?! Could've sworn I felt his power weakening as he regressed all the way back.” He spoke aloud, letting us hear every word. However, his eyes widened and he whimpered once again when he felt a presence behind him. A strong one.


“I think, perhaps, I have regressed further than you intended, and just as I had come to accept my ningen captivity.” A gruff voice was heard, making Ura turn around slowly and shakily.


Ura's eyes widened once again when he took in the appearance of the new stranger. A very tall man was revealed as the smoke drifted away, making Ura step back slightly. The man had golden eyes, prominent silver ears that resembled those of a kitsune's, as well as a silver tail and long flowing silver hair. The man wore a white sleeveless yukata -which resembled a toga-, along with matching martial art pants and shoes.


The silver haired kitsune smirked down at Ura, and it looked...cruel. “Yoko has returned, they cry.” He said, which I heard that loud and clear, thanks to my hearing. Oh, how I love it so, especially at a time like this.


My body froze upon hearing that name, my eyes widening. *...Yoko?!* I almost screamed in my head, but made sure to block my mind, as not to hurt Hiei.


“Ah!” Ura shouted, stumbling backwards before he fell, his eyes widening with more fear than before. “Did you say Yoko?! Yoko the Spirit Kitsune, Yoko the Legendary Bandit, Yoko?! What did you do with Kurama?! I liked him a lot better!” He shouted fearfully, tears in his eyes, and even though I didn't say anything, I was thinking the same thing. What DID happen to Kurama?


“Oh, he's here, he's me.” My eyes widened even more when I heard Yoko say that. “Only now you've brought me out in full, thank you for that.” He said lowly, sending shivers up my spine.


Even if I couldn't see Yoko at all -as of yet-, but I could tell that he would be just as the stories had described him. He would be in all white with silver hair, ears and a tail, his eyes a piercing gold. From the feel of his Spirit Energy, they weren't kidding that he was an A-class youkai. And from the sound of his voice, I knew that he wasn't anything like Kurama was in personality, seeming to be more cruel, vindictive and merciless as the stories had said he was. I couldn't move, his strong Spirit Energy almost seeming to suffocate me, making me stare at the white and gray smoke that had appeared, instead of the purple from before. I never thought that I would ever be in the same room as Yoko, especially when he 'died' fifteen years ago. And I also never thought that Kurama would be Yoko either -although his name is Yoko KURAMA- you know in hindsight that should have been very obvious, but I am not a very smart person at times. But I do know one thing that even a moron would know:


When I see Yoko I am so going to flip out; he's my fucking role model! :D


Ending it here! Yes, Yoko is Kira's role model which is why she pretty much got into being a thief, poor Kurama xD. Oh, the next chapter is so going to be fun to write. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this and I hope you'll like the next one as well! Bye!
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