Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Right Here Waiting For You ❯ Chapter 36 ( Chapter 36 )

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

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


The first thing I felt was something that I really didn't want to feel after such a nice peaceful unconsciousness that I had just experienced. Pain. My wounds ached and screamed at me once I regained consciousness, and I scowled to myself. Dammit me, why could you wake up AFTER you were healed? Even moving an inch hurt like a bitch, and trying to open my eyes made me wish that I would just knock back out. However as the seconds passed, I felt myself wake up more and more, making me hold back the frustrated tears that were beginning to build. Sucking up my discomfort, I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the familiar blurriness great me. Grimacing at the sight of that, I slowly brought my hands up, rubbing my eyes 'til they actually let me distinguish shapes. However, when they finally did, that wasn't the right time for them to do it.


A bright flash of light flashed, making my eyes instantly close and tear up. *The fuck?! Did I piss someone off or something?! God damn that hurt!* I hissed in my head, rubbing my burning eyes


But I stopped my annoyed thoughts as my mind finally allowed me to pick up the sounds of explosions. My eyes snapped open in fear, what was happening to the boys?! I looked before me, seeing the boys standing before the ring, and once again Kurama wasn't there so he must have been fighting. Why do I always pass out and wake up in the middle of Kurama's fights? ...Anyway, I put my hand onto the wall that I was currently leaning against, locking my eyes on the dust clouded ring. Karasu was standing before the smoke, his purple eyes narrowed like they always were. Pushing myself up, but biting back a shout of pain as my side screamed in protest, I stood against the wall, panting heavily. Nothing was going on, so I took the opportunity to look at the wound that -the now dead- Kane had given me probably a few minutes before.


I lifted my shirt and tank-top, and almost gagged at the severity of the wound. I was right, the skin was jagged and splintered, and it was bleeding heavily, anymore and I would pass out again from blood loss. Grabbing and ripping my tank-top off -I still had a shirt on so shut up-, I made it into bandages. Circling my stomach and back, I wrapped the 'bandages' tightly around my wound before tying it off and let my cut shirt fall over it once again. It would stop the bleeding slightly, but as long as I didn't move around to much, I wouldn't cause that much damage to myself. Walking forward slowly with a limp, I locked my gaze onto the ring, the cloud still thick at the center of the ring. As I neared the boys I felt gazes suddenly snap to me, but I ignored them and stopped beside them, making sure to keep the look of pain off my face. Which was rather hard, thank you.


“Kira! What the heck are you doing?!” Kuwabara shouted with wide eyes, a look of panic on his face.


I glanced at him, raising a tired eyebrow at him, my breathing still slightly deep. “I'm watching Kurama's match, what does it look like?” I asked with a blank look, I hate being worried about!


Koenma gave me an annoyed look. “He means why are you up? You do remember you have severe wounds, don't you?” He asked as if I was stupid, and I resisted the urge to shout and hit him, mostly because that would only hurt me more than it would him.


“I already took care of that, now shut up.” I mumbled.


“You gave us a hell of a scare, Kira, we thought you died when you collapsed. That wound looks pretty nasty though, you sure you wanna move?” Yusuke asked, narrowing his eyes at my right side, and I scowled damn you shirt for not being darker!


I gave him a small smile, giving a thumbs up. “I'm perfectly fine,” but with my hand covered in blood, I sweat dropped. Ooh... “Ignore that.” I said giving them all a blank look, and they sighed.


However, before either of them could tell me to sit down, a flicker went off in our peripheral vision, our eyes snapping back to the ring. The dark mass of clouds that had spread over the ring began to slowly dissipate, and the first thing I saw was dark purple, spider like plants. I narrowed my eyes at them, well that's not something you see every day... or it is? I don't really care, anyway, back to the story. I watched as the smoke slowly misted away, leaving me to stare wide eyed at a certain silver haired fox. Yoko was standing there with his arms crossed, blood was on his left shoulder and and falling over his left eye, but that didn't seem to bother him at all. A dark smirk was on his lips, and I swear my heart stopped when I saw him, and a wide smile appeared on my lips. Yoko's back out?! Fuck yeah, thank you body for waking me up :D!


“Hi Yoko!” I shouted loudly, waving my hand energetically above my head. However, after I did that I winced in pain, and clutched my side. “Ow...that hurt!” I hissed through clenched teeth, damn you side for being wounded, you ruin everything!


The others sweat dropped at me, their expressions blank. However, Kuwabara and Hiei were the only ones who knew how bad I got when it came to Yoko, but Koenma and Yusuke were getting the idea pretty quickly. Especially when I kept trying to wave, only making my side bleed even more through my bandages. They knew they should tell me to calm down and take it easy, but as they watched me hurt myself for something like this...they really didn't want to. A bit of pain will do me good, even if it might kill me. ...They're so nice, aren't they? They would let me kill myself. Jerks.


“Careful, Onna, don't get too excited or you'll kill yourself.” A familiar annoyed sounding voice spoke up, causing all of us to turn to the fire youkai, and I shot him a look even if he wasn't looking at me.


“Nice to see you too, Hiei.” I rolled my eyes sarcastically, before turning to the others. “So, anyone want to explain what the hell happened after I passed out? How many matches did I miss?” I asked, cocking my head to the side curiously.


Yusuke looked up in thought, trying to find anything that would be useful information. "You actually only passed out for a good five minutes, you didn't miss much except for Karasu throwing a few bombs and Kurama changing into Yoko Kurama." He explained, turning to me with a shrug of his shoulders.


I stared at him blankly. "Thank you, Yusuke, I'm up to speed now." I said sarcastically.


"Hey! Don't think I won't hit you because you're hurt!" Yusuke shouted with an irk mark on his temple, while I yawned boredly.


Wrong move. "Ow!" I held my head, anime tears sitting in my eyes as I stared at Yusuke in horror. "You asshole, why would you hit me?! I could die, you know!" I shouted, a 'hurt' tone in my voice. Jerk! >=(


Yusuke didn't look at me, arms crossed. "You deserved it." He said, the irk mark still present.


"Of course, I did." I shot him a look. "Dic-"


"Kira." Koenma warned in a similar fashion that reminded me of Kurama.


I stopped, reluctantly, and crossed my arms over my chest, turning to the ring with a pout. "Fine, only because I think you're cute right now." I said, glancing at Koenma, who flushed once again and threw me a glare, and I didn't notice the other one on me.


"The Ojigi is a truly gifted species of plant."


All of us turned our gazes back to the ring, seeing that it was Yoko who had spoken. I instantly remembered that he was back out and sparkles appeared in my eyes. Oh, how could I forget about him?! I quickly grew quiet, my eyes fixated on the silver kitsune in front of me, and the boys sweat dropped, while one rolled their eyes, at my behavior. I bet some were even wondering if they should have Yoko come out more just to make me more compliant to keeping my mouth shut. However, I ignored them, not wanting to miss a second of seeing my role model in action, it was an honor to see him fighting, especially this is the first time I'll be able to see him fight, so shut up!


"It can sense the smallest amount of movement, even something as insignificant as a muscle spasm." Yoko's Ojigi plants let out a scream, their mouths open and saliva spilling from their sharp fangs. Ouch... "So you see it's useless to run, it will only make you easier to catch." He warned, his eyes narrowed and serious once again.


The Ojigi plants lunged at the man clad in black, screams escaping their mouths as they darted towards him. However, Karasu ignored Yoko's warning and jumped away, letting them fall the floor and make large cracks at the impact. But as Karasu landed, each time there would be more plants to come and try to sink their sharp claws into his flesh. I was fixated on the fight, always getting my hopes up when they would come down at him, but I only got disappointed when he would jump away, unharmed. Dammit, come on plants! Kill the bastard! I know you guys are hungry! Now do it! ...Sorry, I just want Yoko to win very badly, I want this damn tournament over with,and with two wins, that will surely get us to our goal faster, now wouldn't it? Yeah, I thought so :D.


Koto's eyes widened, a smile on her lips. "Oh wow folks! Things are really starting to heat up, it's dinner time and Karasu's the catch of the day!" She announced happily.


Kuwabara clenched his fists, a large, goofy smile on his lips. "This is it! He's plant food!" He shouted, but he wasn't the only one who was happy.


"Kick his ass, Kurama!" Yusuke shouted.


"Make his death painful, Yoko! You know he deserves it!" I shouted, punching my fist into the air.


Yoko, however, didn't seem to notice our shouts at all, which was understandable, and something that made me pout. "It must be hard for you to lose control." He mocked, watching Karasu flit around the ring.


Karasu ignored him, continuing to run around dodging the plants. But as he came to an open part of the ring, three large Spirit Energies flew from the ground, turning into the dark red stems of the Ojigi plants. Their faces opened up and they charged at Karasu, making him dodge and run back the way he came. As he did this, Karasu couldn't help but glare at Yoko's direction, while Yoko only watched him with a blank expression on his face. Dodging two Ojigi plants, Karasu jumped into the air, a green orb appearing in his hand before taking the shape of a grenade. Throwing it at an advancing plant, it was engulfed in red flames, making it fall to the ground.


Karasu, however, wasn't done yet, and that made me frown, I want this fucker dead! But I quickly grew relaxed when I saw the Ojigi had a trick up their sleeves as well, black and red streams of fire shot out of their mouths and onto the floor, heading towards Karasu. However, Karasu jumped into the air again, making another grenade appear in his hand as he ran onto one of the plant's stem, throwing it in another's face. Green flames emerged and engulfed the fire, killing it instantly. Dammit, come on plants, work your magic!


"The Ojigi also responds to aggression, so it will be all the more vicious ones you attack." Yoko warned with a small smirk.


The Ojigi shrieked and screamed, flying at Karasu with an incredible speed. Karasu having jumped away after shooting his grenade, however, wasn't able to get up in time once he landed. His eyes widened slightly, watching the Ojigi come at him. I smirked darkly, my arms crossed over my chest, finally the damn bastard was going to die. I haven't even seen him fight or even heard him talk, but that doesn't matter, I still don't like him. Although he apparently threatened Kurama after the Semi-Finals, so that's enough for me!


"You're going to have to come up with with a smart way to kill it, or else..." Yoko brought his hand up to his temple in the shape of a gun. "'Bang'." He whispered, a smile on his lips.


I squealed. "My god, he's so awesome!" I shouted, covering my mouth with my hand, they don't need to hear my squeals.


"Are you sure you're not in love with him?" Kuwabara asked blankly.


An irk mark appeared on my temple, and I turned to Kuwabara with darkened eyes, making the ningen shrink at the sight. "Yes, Kuwabara, I'm sure." I growled, my right eye twitching, ignoring the sweat drops.


With another shriek from the Ojigi, all of us turned our gazes back to the ring, our eyes narrowing seriously. We watched as one of the Ojigi slammed into Karasu, it's spider-like face gripping Karasu's chest tightly, lifting him into the air. The other Ojigi appeared around him, 'watching' as the one that held him began to tighten its grip, making Karasu grunt in pain. However, the Ojigi wouldn't stop there, and I smiled when I saw the mask that had been around Karasu's mouth suddenly fly from his lips, blood following it a second later. It fell to the floor with a clang, but it was instantly forgotten when we all watched the other Ojigi tightly wrap themselves around Karasu,


Yoko stared at the large ball of plants before him. "I thought it was going to last much longer than that, I would have liked to have toyed with him a little before he died." He said with a smirk.


"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! Kurama's plant has grabbed Karasu and juiced him like a fresh orange! I never would have thought gardening could be so viciously gruesome!" Koto shouted happily, her eyes bright and wide at the sight before her.


"Kurama sure showed that punk what was up, and he closed the deal in a measly five minutes! Eat that, Toguro!" Kuwabara shouted with a smirk, looking over at Team Toguro.


Yusuke balled his hand into a fist. "Yes! Two more wins and it's done!" He said, a cocky smirk on his lips as well.


I let out a laugh, pointing at the team before me. "Take that, you fuckers! You're not as tough as you made yourselves out to be!" I shouted with another laugh, but that proved to be the wrong move. The pain in my side escalated at my laughter, and I stifled a cough, holding my side with a groan. Dammit...


{Onna, you really do want to kill yourself, don't you?} Hiei's annoyed voice suddenly asked, raising an eyebrow at me.


I shot him a look. *No! I just get...very excited, that's all!* I defended.


{Of course you do.} Hiei rolled his eyes sarcastically.


*Why are you so mean to me?!* I kept myself from shouting out loud, crossing my arms with a pout. I don't do anything and he has to act like everything I do is stupid. ...Jerk.


Hiei glanced at me blankly. {Because you're acting like a child.}


I got out of my pout. *Well, why not? Kane is dead, so I'm free, right? I don't have to afraid anymore, you guys are safe now.* I thought back, a small smile on my lips at the thought. Kane...was gone.


{Is that the only reason your happy? We're alive?} Hiei asked, suddenly.


I stopped myself from nodding noticeably. *Yeah, you guys are important to me.* I said happily, giving him a smile.


Hiei looked away. {You're too soft, Onna.} He mumbled, annoyed.


"Holy Toledo, I didn't know that Kurama could do that." Koenma's voice brought Hiei and I out of our conversation, coming back to reality once again. "Remind me never to make that guy mad." He mumbled to himself, staring at the ring with wide, fear-filled eyes. Not even noticing a large puff of smoke went off in front of him.


"Oh! Koenma, Sir! Koenma, Sir! Look up!" George's voice suddenly yelled from the stands, sounding panicked.


"What?!" Koenma shouted, turning around, annoyed.


George would have flinched back, but something stopped him. "I'm sorry, Sir, but your face is leaking!" He shouted, hands cupping around his mouth.


"...Uh, what?" I asked Hiei with a sweat drop, slightly freaked out. Leaking?!


Hiei shook his head. "I don't want to know." He mumbled.


I nodded. "Agreed."


However, despite how I didn't really want to look, I had to. Looking over at Koenma, I saw his face had turned back to his baby one, and I busted out laughing, despite my side. "Crap! This is always so embarrassing!" He shouted to himself, a blush of embarrassment on his cheeks at my laughter. However, when he brought down his hat and rubbed it enthusiastically before taking it off, his teenage face was back again. Ha.


"Th-That wa-was so awe-awesome!" I shouted in between laughter, but stopped at another shock of pain. "Ow..."


{Baka Onna.}


I shot Hiei a look, an irk mark on my temple. *Shut up, Otoko.*


Turning away from him, I looked back at the ring, seeing Yoko walk past a dazed looking Juri. "Hey Juri, get the lead out! It's time to tell us whose won!" Koto's voice suddenly shouted, waking the green haired youkai from her stupor.


"O-Oh...right!" Juri got up from the ground, putting on a fake smile. "Um, it looks like Karasu's been soundly defeated and the winner of the second match is Team Urameshi's Kurama!" However, before I could shout with joy, the Ojigi plant began to move, heading towards Juri. "H-Hey! Stay back!" She shouted backing away, making Yoko stop in his tracks.


Yoko turned around, just in time to see the Ojigi suddenly explode, a thick gray smoke appearing around it as Juri fell to her knees, screaming, holding her head. I narrowed my eyes, my teeth gritting together in anger, oh come on! Seriously?! THAT didn't kill him?! The fuck?! The boys next to me narrowed their eyes and tensed up, seeing the Ojigi plants suddenly fly away from the smoke, and we all knew what that meant. As the smoke began to clear, I saw the outline of a very familiar person that I didn't want to see alive. I hate this fucking tournament, it has to be so complicated, doesn't it?!


"I wouldn't count me out just yet." Karasu said, hands in his pockets.


Juri stepped away, a nervous smile on her lips. "Oh, I'm so, so, so sorry! It was entirely my fault, everyone forget what I just said, the fight will now continue, okay? This is insane..." She got off the ring as quickly as she could, and let out an annoyed sigh. "I don't know how much more of THIS I can take!" She scowled, glaring over her shoulder at the ring.


Karasu smirked, seeing the narrowed look appear in Yoko's eyes. "You looked surprised, Yoko, did you think that was the last you'd see of me?" He asked mockingly, his eyes getting a deadly glint.


"Karasu has lost his dear old mask." Elder Toguro said, his tone bored.


Toguro didn't not, but I swear I saw his eyebrows narrow ever so slightly. "Indeed he did. Take a few steps back Sakyo, things are about to get hazardous." He advised seriously.


"Oh?" Sakyo mumbled, stepping back as instructed.


I didn't like the sound of that at all, for obvious reasons of course. All of us watched with narrowed eyes, seeing Karasu suddenly suck in air, it turning into a visible funnel in front of his fair. Green lightning-like Energy began to crackle around him dangerously, and the next thing we knew, we were staring at a now bright blond headed Karasu. Despite the situation right now, I couldn't help but sweat drop and stare at him blankly. Were we suppose to be intimidated by THAT? Ooh, he changed his hair color, ooh. Pff. I crossed my arms, letting out a soft scoff, this was going to be easy, what could blond hair do? This wasn't Dragon Ball Z where all the Saiyans go absolute ape shit -no pun intended- and become completely unstoppable.


"Brace yourself people, Karasu's back and he's not too happy! His hair has also changed from jet black to hyper-glow blond! To follow the stereotype, that means he's popular and more aggressive!" Koto advised with a bright smile on her face, almost crawling over her desk to get close to the action.


"Can someone fill me in here, what's going on with his hair?!" Kuwabara asked.


Hiei stared at Karasu with an indifferent look, unfazed as well. "It's an explicit sign that he's internalizing his power, which means the bombs he creates are now inside of him, virtually making him one giant explosive." He explained.


Yusuke, Kuwabara, Koenma and I stared at Hiei with wide eyes. The others did because of how bad that sounded, but I was doing it for a whole other reason. How the fuck could he act so calm about something like that?! Would he be so calm if he was fighting Karasu?! ...Well considering that this IS Hiei we're talking about here, than I guess the answer would be a yes, but you understand where I'm going with this. Picture yourself fighting Karasu -which is rather freaky if I do say so myself- and the fucking bastard just decided to be a fucking explosive bomb that could explode in a second flat, would you be calm?! NO! Dear god, Kurama better be ok or I'll give myself a heart attack before I bleed to death!


"Are you serious?!" Yusuke finally asked, staring at the fire youkai with wide eyes.


Hiei glanced at him briefly. "Of course I am. If my assumptions are correct he's about to detonate, if you're wise you'll take cover now." Hiei -ignoring the three horrified figures behind him- glanced at me, seeing my panting and shaky form. "That goes for you too, Onna, I don't think you're fit to dodge any falling debris in your state." He said, his tone emotionless.


"I'm fine." I mumbled, forcing a smile.


"If that's true, then why you're bleeding profusely?" Hiei asked, raising an eyebrow at me, seeing the dark stain on my side darken slightly.


"Since when did you care?" I asked annoyed, an irk mark pulsing.


Silence fell around us and everyone was now staring at Hiei, waiting to hear his comeback for that one. Hiei, however, didn't say anything, he just shot me a glare before turning back to the fight. While I, on the other hand, had to hide a smile that desperately wanted to be seen in that moment. I knew he cared :D.


Kuwabara got a wide smile on his lips, pointing at Hiei. "Haha, looks like she got you, Shorty!" He shouted, laughing loudly.


Hiei glared at him dangerously."Watch it, Baka." He growled coldly.


Before any of us had to go and break up a fight that would definitely end up with Kuwabara unconscious, we heard a sound that really freaked us out. Karasu chuckling. I tensed up at that sound, mostly because it was freaky as hell, considering it was coming from him. We all looked, seeing a large amount of green Spirit Energy around his form, his hands clasped together only to be pulled apart with green lightning appearing between them. His eyes were freaky as hell, making him look almost insane, or insane for that matter, you couldn't be 'almost' at all with that. Holding out his hands in front of him, a large green orb began to form, casting a bright green light over the whole stadium. Yoko and pretty much all of us held our hands in front of our faces, the light becoming too intense.


"I think you should know Karasu has no loyalties, he'll kill everyone in this stadium if he think it'll help." Toguro spoke up, making Sakyo move further away, while I glared, well that's perfect!


All of a sudden, the large green orb that was in Karasu's hand grew too large and completely enveloped him, and it went up into the sky. All of us watched it hover above the ring, and Yoko narrowed his eyes, seeing the orb shrink, allowing us to see Karasu in the middle of it. He was laughing instantly, his arms and legs spread out as if he was holding the orb around him to keep it from growing smaller. Laughing harder, Karasu suddenly faced Yoko, racing down towards him, his speed making me very scared. Then everything went silent as Karasu 'landed' on Yoko, the green orb appearing over both of them.


Then it exploded.


My hands went to my eyes out of instinct, hearing the loud explosion go off in my ears a split second later. However, before I could even think of trying to jump out of the way, and fail considering my state, I was pulled into someone's warm, strong arms once again. The next thing I knew, I was in the air, seeing debris flying past my savior and I, the other boys right beside us, albeit sloppily. Ha. But as I looked at the boys, I knew I didn't see Hiei, and I knew he was the one holding me. A dark blush was on my cheeks as I held onto him tighter, not wanting to slip from his arms and become even more injured than I already was. ...And because I liked being close to him like this... (*Coughs awkwardly*)


I felt Hiei and I land on something solid, and I let out a sigh of relief. Looking around, keeping my hold on Hiei, I tried to find the other boys. I saw Kuwabara laid about on the ground, but he was still alive, which was good. I saw below Hiei and I to our right was Koenma, seeing him laying on a nice sharp bed of rocks, looking alive and very much in pain, which made me hide a smirk. However, I continued to look and I for the live of me could not find Yusuke and that was really starting to scare me. I was about to jump off the wall that separated the audience from the ring, and search for him, but I stopped when I heard a familiar grunt. Looking directly below Hiei and I, I saw the familiar Spirit Detective kick a huge rock off of him, it landing on the ground with a cloud of dust and a loud thump.


Yusuke got up, his eyes narrowed as he looked around. "Hey, is everyone all right?" He called, and I narrowed my eyes, his voice sounding very different. The hell happened?!


"Yusuke what the hell happened to your voice?" I asked, making him look at Hiei and I.


"What are you talking about?" Yusuke asked, giving me a confused look.


I blinked at the sound of his now completely fine voice, and I stared at him blankly, thank you ears for making me look like an idiot. "Never mind..."


"That idiot almost killed me, I should have him arrested." I suddenly heard Koenma groan from my right, and I turned to see him rub his head, a pain-filled look on his face. Oh that poor, poor boy. Pff. I had more injuries than him.


"Ow, you guys hear singing?" Kuwabara asked/whined, getting to his feet as he held his head as well.


Letting out a sigh of relief when I saw that everyone was conscious and alive, I let go of Hiei, turning to him with a warm smile on my lips."Thanks Hiei." I said as his arms slipped away from my waist.


Hiei gave me a blank look, desperately trying to hold in his annoyance. "Don't make me push you off this, Onna." He threatened calmly and seriously.


I glared at him. "You wouldn't dare." I said lowly. Dick.


The next thing I knew, I was suddenly being pushed off the wall, and I let out a yelp. But as I closed my eyes, I felt myself land into another pair of arms, but they weren't nearly as warm or nearly as strong as Hiei's, and that made me frown. But I was glad that I didn't hit the ground nonetheless. Opening my eyes slowly, I saw that I was above the ground by a good few feet or so, and that made me look around confused. Who the hell caught me now? I swear to god I better be placed gently on the ground, or someone is going to pay very dearly. However, my dark thoughts were interrupted when I heard an irritated 'ahem' from behind me.


I blinked, and I smiled up when I saw an annoyed looking teenage prince. "Koenma, you're my hero! Thank you!" I shouted, hugging him tightly around his neck, hiding a smirk as I felt a glare on my back. Take that, asshole!


"Get off." Koenma said with a blush, pushing me to the ground.


I landed with a groan, my side aching painfully. "What the hell?! I have very deep WOUND in my side, you know! Does anyone understand I could easily die from blood loss right now?!" The boys ignored me, Hiei jumping off the wall landing next to me, ignoring me as well. "I hate you all!" I huffed with an anime mad face, see if I worry about them again!


Before Yusuke could laugh, he suddenly gasped. "Where's Kurama?!"


All of us looked to the ring that was currently being filled with dark smoke, and fear gripped my heart. *Shit! He better not be dead, or I swear castration is in Karasu's future!* I thought darkly, but my voice was shaking slightly, Kurama better NOT be dead!


The smoke covering the dissipated slightly, letting us see some parts of the ring. Craters both from this fight and mine littered the ground, cracks and scorch marks were present, and I was desperately trying to find Kurama, hoping that he was all right. However, all I saw standing in the ring was Karasu, while the other half of the ring was shrouded by that thick smoke, and I knew Kurama was going to be there. Sweat trickled down my temple as I swallowed thickly, my hands wringing themselves as nervousness began to fill me. Please be okay...


Koto poked her head above her desk, and her eyes widened. "Now that's devastation! A significant portion of the ring has been completely wiped out! There's corpses everywhere and Kurama's no where to be seen!" She announced happily, god I want to punch her sometimes.


However, before I could make that a reality, I suddenly heard the sound of Karasu laughing once again. My eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare, my hands clenching tightly into fists. Scratch that, I wanted to punch HIM and castrate him, the fucking bastard! But a sudden sound of moving rocks alerted the boys and I, making us look to our rights, seeing a pile of rocks begin to move. Hearing another round of rocks falling, we all let out gasps of surprise and or not at all considering Hiei, seeing Kurama stand there, Yoko going back inside of him once again. I smiled at him, letting out a sigh of relief, my hand over my heart. Thank god...


"Oh, wow! That Kurama's like a nasty virus! You just can't get rid of him! However, it does look like this last explosion has taken it's toll, because now he's back to his original ningen form!" Koto shouted with a smile.


Yusuke narrowed his eyes. "Aw, crap! That potion wore off now he's really gonna have to wing it!" He growled, clenching his fists tightly at his sides.


"Wha-?!" Kuwabara turned to us with a confused expression on his face. "I don't get it! He said that stuffs suppose to last fifteen minutes! That's it, the next time I see Suzuka I'm wiping the floor with his face!" He shouted, a glare in his eyes.


*Potion?* I thought confused.


I suddenly felt a weird sensation in my head. {Suzuka gave Kurama a potion that had the same effects as the Idunn Box a few days ago, Onna.} Hiei explained monotonously.


*Ooh, okay.* I thought with a smile, short and sweet, how I liked explanations.


{No thank you?} Hiei asked sarcastically.


I got a blank look on my face. *Considering how you take your 'thank yous', I've decided I'll save myself the trouble and not get hurt.* I said bluntly.


{Good your learning.} Hiei smirked.


That's it! *Thank you!* I 'chirped happily'. I still don't chirp.


Hiei only rolled his eyes, an irk mark on his temple. He hated my 'chirps'.


Ending our conversation, Hiei and I looked at Kurama when we heard him stumble out of the rubble, his breath slightly ragged. However before Kurama could go further, he suddenly stopped, confusion in his jade-hued eyes. He was probably wondering what was going on like Yusuke and Kuwabara, and I frowned at that, well this is completely awesome now isn't it? And to make things even better, Kurama and I looked at the ring, hearing Karasu's footsteps draw closer to the edge, in front of the red haired kitsune.


"Forgive me for disturbing your train of thought, but shouldn't you take this time to pray? After all you are about to meet your creator!" Karasu began to laugh insanely once again. "You can ask him why he flawed with you!" He shouted through his laughs, Kurama glaring at him all the while.


Kurama held his narrowed gaze at Karasu, reaching to his hair, grabbing a single red rose out from behind it. Holding out his arm, red Spirit Energy began to swirl towards the perfect red rose, but nothing goes as we plan. A second later, the rose glowed a bright red before it flickered, breaking into noting but red Spirit Energy fragments. Kurama gasped, his eyes wide as he looked at the lone stem between his fingers. I stared at it wide eyed as well, fear gripping my heart again. If Kurama couldn't even make his Rose Whip, how was he going to defend himself against Karasu?! I really hate this Tournament, come on body make me pass out so I don't have to watch this! ...I can't watch him get hurt...he's my brother...


"You're too weak Kurama, you can't even control the most basic of your attacks." Karasu smirked at Kurama mockingly, making me glare at him heatedly. "Make this easier on both of us and give in, I promise it won't hurt too much." He said, his tone matching his expression to a tee.


Yusuke gritted his teeth. "Kurama!" He shouted, worry in his voice.


"Well, fight fans the suspense is in the air here at the Dark Tournament, because everybody knows that one more solid attack by Karasu means curtains for you-know-who!" Koto announced, gushing at the thought of death once again. Ugh.


Karasu smirked at Kurama's narrowed gaze. "If you think about it, death really isn't so frightening, who knows you might actually enjoy it." He said mockingly.


"Kill the fucker, Kurama!" I shouted, a growl in my voice. I hate him!


Yusuke and Kuwabara stared at me with a shocked look on their faces. "Kira!" They both shouted, looking at me as if I lost my mind. I turned to them with a raised eyebrow.


"What? Do you want me to start acting like Kurama doesn't have a chance?" I asked, a narrowed look in my eyes. I wasnt going to act like Kurama was dead.


"Well no..." Yusuke mumbled.


I nodded. "Good, now don't any of you do it either!" I said, giving everyone a look, Kurama was going to win this.


With everyone seeing to get the picture, I locked my gaze on Kurama's form, my eyes narrowing at him with determination, and I smirked when I saw his eyes narrow into the same look as he threw the rose stem away. Watching him suddenly jump into the air, I heard Yusuke and Kuwabara let out gasps of surprise when they saw that. Karasu even looked at Kurama with a widened gaze, watching the red haired kitsune land in front of him before kicking off into a run. Running around Karasu, Kurama sent out a swift kick, making Karasu seek refuge in the air. However, Kurama followed, throwing a chop towards Karasu's head, but was only able to cut off a few strands of blond hair as Karasu tilted his head back at the last moment.


Both fighters landed opposite each other, but Kurama was already running at Karasu once again, throwing a few punches towards the blond. However, Karasu disappeared to Kurama's right, only to have Kurama turn on his heal, dealing blows faster than I could blink. Kurama would throw punches, kicks, anything and he would do it, while Karasu was flipping, dodging, jumping, doing everything he could to get away from them. They were going about the ring in a haze of red and yellows, making my eyes dart back and forth just to find them when they would disappear to other sides of the rings. I was practically bouncing on my feet out of anticipation, wanting Kurama to land a deadly blow and leave Karasu dead on the floor, just so he would be back with us. Safe.


"Oh man! Kurama's launching a full blown assault on Karasu! But so far it's completely useless! Blondie's dodging each punch and I can't take it anymore, I need some blood!" Koto shouted, smacking the desk with a wide smile.


Hiei narrowed his eyes. "He has a plan, it's obvious in the way that he moves."


I only nodded.


Karasu was dodging every jab, punch and kick sent his way. "I think you've lost your mind, if you come any closer you're a dead man." He said, smirking sadistically down at the red haired kitsune.


Holding up his right hand, Karasu smirked deadly when an orb of yellow and blue Spirit Energy mixed, creating that same neon green light appear in his hand. I clenched my fists tightly, I hated those fucking bombs of his, I haven't even been awake for most of the fight, but I was still fed up with seeing them. If one of them hit Kurama, then who knows, he could die and he could live. Not knowing was what pissed me off the most, he needed to live. Dammit, I want this match over with!


"I will not be afraid of something that I cannot see!" Kurama shouted, his jade-hued eyes narrowed determinedly.


Running at full speed towards Karasu, Kurama jumped into the air as the large green orb fired, exploding behind him. Landing on his feet, he was in front of Karasu, who was now wide eyed. Holding out his palms towards Karasu, Kurama sent a wave of Energy at Karasu, pushing the taller man backwards, his feet sliding against the ring. The smoke that came from the slide appeared around Karasu as he kept his balance, managing to keep on his feet despite how powerful that was. Watching Karasu come to a stop a few feet away, Kurama let his arms fall into a guarded position, pants falling from his lips.


"You're just full of surprises, but I thought you'd be more original." Karasu grabbed something from his chest, letting a line of blood fall as he held out the Seed of the Death Plant between his fingers. "You really thought this would work. It's called tact, Kurama, you should really consider using some." He said with slight annoyance in his voice, and I glared. Great.


Kuwabara growled under his breath, his eyes in a dangerous glare. "This stupid jerk is really starting to tick me off." He said, clenching his fists tightly.


"He knows what Kurama's gonna do before he does it." Yusuke added angrily.


"Uh guys," Koenma swallowed thickly, eyes wide with worry. "I don't think he's gonna make it." He said nervously.


I sent him a glare. "Excuse me?" I asked coldly.


"N-Nothing!" Koenma said frightened, his eyes wide as he moved away.


I looked back at the ring, my arms crossed over my chest. "That's what I thought." I mumbled, I don't need to be more worried than I already am, thank you very much!


It was a good thing I looked back, seeing a smirk light Karasu's face once again, I wish he kept that fucking mask on. "I must congratulate you though, you've injured me more than once, and that's practically unheard of." He said, throwing the Seed into the air, it exploding into red smoke.


Kurama narrowed his eyes at that, and he took a step away, getting into a guarded position once again. However, when he did that, metal suddenly flew from the ground, five of the metal fingers clamping down on his ankle. Kurama let out a gasp of pain, looking down at the thing that now kept him immobile. I did as well, seeing a small purple, round ball like-thing suddenly appear from the ground, a purple stem coming out of it, a large yellow eye on the front of it's small, round body. It had a mouth, it's sharp teeth set into a wicked smile, and I didn't like the look of that little thing.


"Hahaha! It's time to say 'bombs away'!" It laughed, it's voice distorted.


Karasu stared at Kurama with a calm gaze, but I saw a sadistic glint appear in his eyes. "That's what I call my Mad Bomb." He said monotonously.


"How original." I spat sarcastically with a glare.


The Mad Bomb suddenly laughed looking up at Kurama as the wick began to burn away, and he said something in a language I couldn't even begin to identify, just as the wick burned out. An explosion went off a second latter, the smoke compiled of greens and gray, and I gasped when I heard Kurama let out a shout of pain, flying forward. As he did, we saw blood fly from his left leg, a large amount of it. My eyes widened, seeing the torn skin and the muscle that was revealed thanks to that explosion. I watched with my mouth open in shock, seeing Kurama fall to the ground with a loud thump, his eyes closed. Shit.


"No, Kurama!" Yusuke and I shouted worriedly.


But as second later, we all heard the sound of Kurama's pain-filled grunts. I let out a sigh of relief, happy that he was still conscious...until I saw the multiple things of bombs floating around Kurama's body. I wasn't able to say anything as I watched Kurama shakily get up, stumbling to his feet as he hit his bad leg. However, before I had a chance to even open my mouth to warn him, Yusuke suddenly ran towards the ring, his eyes wide with panic, obviously seeing the same thing that I had moments before.


"Don't move another inch, Kurama! You're surrounded by bombs!" Yusuke shouted urgently, sweat trickling down his temple.


Kurama gasped, his body instantly freezing as his jade-hued eyes caught sight of the glowing, egg shaped bombs around him. "Didn't you say you choose not to be afraid of things you could not see?" Kurama glared, turning to Karasu as he walked towards him. "Well, here's a better look. You know that this entire battle has been an exercise in futility. You're weak. You're tired. You're powerless. You're pathetic. Yet it seems you have a masochistic streak that needs indulging. So here it goes." Karasu said as he stopping before Kurama.


Karasu rose his right hand, and one of the green, egg shaped bombs flew towards Kurama's side, exploding on impact. Kurama let out shouts of pain, more bombs coming and exploding on different parts of his body. His shoulders, his back, his legs, his side, his chest, where ever the bombs could go they went, and they only caused Kurama to shout louder. It was horrible. I never wanted to hear any of my friends scream like that. Tears of anger and sadness pooled in my eyes, but they didn't fall, as I watched the pained look that was on Kurama's face. His clothes were becoming stained with blood, leaving his once white pants and sleeves almost completely crimson, and the same went for the yellow robe and green sash around his waist, also becoming stained. Each time Kurama would move thanks to the pain being afflicted on him, he would step too close to the bombs making more go off until he finally forced himself to stay still. But he fell to his knees, panting heavily, his eyes shadowed by his bangs. Kurama...


"Is he done yet?" Sakyo asked, a bored look on his face.


Toguro didn't look at him, his face as emotionless as always, but I couldn't really be surprised. The bastard. "Probably not, he enjoys the suffering of others." He said bluntly, his eyebrows narrowing beneath his sunglasses.


"Hmm." Sakyo smirked, lighting a cigarette. "Well, I suppose the two of us have more in common than I thought." He said, while I glared, but said nothing.


I looked away from the two, my eyes softening once they landed on Kurama's form. Blood was flowing freely down his arm, making five different rivulets down his fingers, drenching the floor. However, from the twitching of his fingers, I knew he was still conscious. Right now, I didn't even know if that was a good thing or not. I wanted us to win, but if it meant that Kurama was going to die, then I would want him to lose. I clenched my fists tightly, not liking where this was going at all. I swear to all the holy beings up there, if Kurama didn't make it out of this alive, I was going to head to Reikai and spit in their faces for letting that happen! However, I calmed down -slightly- when I saw Kurama look up with a glare in his eyes, his gaze on Karasu, especially when he began to chuckle.


"Your red hair is perfect for that that fiery spirit that I admire. You know that's why I've decided to leave your beautiful face unharmed. I may not be able to keep you, but I'll always have the memory of your face to give me comfort." Karasu said with a smirk, and I shivered at that. Okay, that's creepy!


Kurama glared up at Karasu despite how creepy that was, especially considering that was said to him, and he got to his feet shakily. His eyes were narrowed, and in this moment I wish that I had Hiei's ability to read people's mind so I could hear what he was thinking. I knew he was thinking something, considering he turned his face completely emotionless, not wanting to let his emotions betray him for some kind of attack that he laid out. Letting out a slow breath, I began to feel a little dizzy, having worried myself and shouted way too much for my body to handle in my current state. I wasn't going to pass out, but if I kept moving around, well then that was another story.


"All right, let's end this." Karasu suddenly said, raising his right hand again.


My eyes widened, and they darted over to Kurama's form, I knew what was going to come next. Kurama did as well, his eyes snapping over to the last of the green bombs that were around him, watching as they attached themselves to his back, chest, stomach and legs, all exploding on impact. Blood sprayed everywhere as Kurama let out screams of pain, his whole body and clothes being drenched in blood. I had to close my eyes, hearing his screams and seeing him in so much pain hurt, and I almost let out tears, but kept them inside despite how hard that was. But when the explosions finally stopped, I opened my eyes -reluctantly-, seeing Kurama standing in the middle of the ring. His body was completely stained with blood, his clothes only having small patches of their actual color poking through the blood. Smoke rose from the wounded areas, and I flinched at the severity of the wounds. His eyes were shadowed over, making it look like he was unconscious, but I knew he wasn't.


"No!" Yusuke shouted, his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched tightly.


The rest of us watched in shocked silence as Kurama's body fell forward, landing on the floor in a bloody heap, the blood splattering against the tile as he did. Silence passed for a second before the crowd erupted in cheers, making me almost unleash one of my techniques onto a random part of the stands, but controlled myself. I could hit Keiko, Shizuru, Botan and Yukina if I did, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I did. So I just watched in silent rage and shock with the rest of the boys who were staring wide eyed at Kurama's bloody body that laid in a heap just a few feet away from us. We stood frozen, unable to move.


Koto was smiling brightly. "The crowd is going wild here and rightly so! Kurama's down and I don't think he's getting back up!" She shouted happily.


"Just do it! We don't have all day!" A blue youkai shouted, taking her mike.


"Give me back you big oaf!" Koto glared as she grabbed her microphone back, only to be jumped on by a green youkai that had his tone pressed against her cheek and hair. "Juri count! Please for the love of good hygiene, count!" She shouted with tears in her eyes, not liking the position she was in at all.


Juri suddenly appeared, running onto the ring, raising her left hand. "Okay! He has til the count of ten, if he stays down, Karasu wins! 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7!" She counted, and my heart was beating loudly in my ears. No...


However, the boys and I watched in silence despite the raging crowd behind us. Watching as Kurama began to shakily get to his knees, blood spraying from his wounds as he did. Getting up higher on his knees, Kurama glared at Karasu with such a deadly look it even scared me. But seeing that look in his eyes made me relax, knowing that this would end in Karasu's death. Despite that, I couldn't help but feel that something bad was going to happen, not in a life threatening way, but something bad. I didn't like that, so I pushed that thought to the back of my mind, watching with a small smirk on my lips, waiting for the moment that Karasu would finally lay down and die. The fucking bastard.


"You should have stayed down. But I guess it's not your style." Karasu said, holding up his right hand once again.


A green orb began to form in his palm, and I glared at that, knowing another strong bomb would be coming Kurama's way. But my eyes snapped away from Karasu, switching over to Kurama's. Purple Energy formed around Kurama's body, and from the strength of it, it rose his hair up, wiping it in different directions. His eyes becoming consumed by a light that wasn't nature, that was for sure. And the boys and I watched with wide eyes when we saw green Energy fly from Karasu's hand, while thousands of plants suddenly appeared from Kurama's Energy. As the plants grew in number, Kurama suddenly fell to the floor, his eyes closing almost instantly. The dark purple plants lunging at Karasu's chest, heading towards the wound that had appeared when Kurama threw his Seed of the Death Plant, it's mouths sticking into the wound and sucking the blood out in huge gulps. All of our eyes widened, seeing Karasu's complexion grow paler as the blood was being sucked away.


"It...can't be...when did he find the strength to do this?" Karasu asked, looking at Kurama for a brief second.


But when he did, he let out his last breath, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he fell backwards. The dark purple plant began to crawl over his body, making the now completely white skinned man vanish from our sights. Everything was silent for a few seconds, none of us able to comprehend what had just happened. Confused and angered talk began to rise from the crowd, but the boys and I didn't care. We were all staring at Kurama's body as it laid motionless, and fear began to fill me. He's not...dead...is he?


"His life!" Yusuke shouted, his eyes widening as he stepped forward.


Kuwabara did the same, fear showing in his eyes as well. 'It's draining!" He added, disbelieve in his voice as he looked at teh sight before him.


"But Kurama can't...be...dead right?" I asked softly.


None of them were able to answer me, and it wasn't like I expected them to. But I was glad, mostly because when I looked back at Kurama, I suddenly saw one of his fingers twitch, and my heart almost stopped. Freezing, I watched as Kurama's eyes slowly opened, and he slowly and shakily began to lift himself to his feet, making the boys around me gasp. A bright smile spread across my lips, happy tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. The boys beside me smiled widely as well -besides Hiei who only smirked and gave a 'hmph'-, watching the red haired kitsune get to his feet. Alive.


"Kurama!" I shouted happily, the fear instantly lifting from my heart.


Yusuke punched a fist into the air. "And that's how we win this, yeah!" He shouted, his brown eyes now out of their narrowed gaze, his smirk getting wider.


"He's a little jacked up, but I'd say he won!" Kuwabara added, copying Yusuke's motion and facial expression.


Juri, however, wasn't happy. "Um...hold on." She said hesitantly.


My smile instantly dropped when I heard that, and my eyes narrowed into a glare as I turned to Juri, seeing the look that was on her face. I did NOT like the sound or the looks of this at all.


Ending it here! Sorry for the late update! But I hope you all liked this chapter! Bye!
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