Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Right Here Waiting For You ❯ Chapter 37 ( Chapter 37 )

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

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


I let out a sigh of relief, my eyes set on the strangely beautiful sight before me. The plant that had consumed all of Karasu's blood had turned into something I never thought it would. A large rose had budded, the red petals glistening with sparkles as the artificial lights washed over it. As Kurama had said before, 'What irony. Such beauty sprung from such an ugly soil.' Oh, how that phrase was poetic and insulting, the best kind of phrases. However, that bad feeling came back, and that made my wide smile fall from my lips, my eyes narrowing at Juri's form. Why was she saying 'Um...hold on'? I swear to fucking god if the news she's going to give us is going to piss me off, I was going to scream and punch someone in the face! Preferably on Team Toguro's side of course.


"And the winner by total gross out is Kurama and the folks of Team Urameshi!" Koto shouted, bringing me out of my very annoyed thoughts. Even if this was good news, that didn't really seem to help all that much. Sadly.


"We did it! In your face!" Kuwabara shouted, punching his fist in the air.


Yusuke smirked at the red haired kitsune in the ring. "You made a nice flower pot out of him, Kurama!" He said with a laugh, jumping into the ring, heading towards Kurama.


"Yes, good fun all around." Koenma said, although his tone was very...bland.


"Well that sounded very enthusiastic." I said sarcastically, giving Koenma a blank look as I looked up at him. Geez, considering this is 'his' team, you would think he'd be more excited than this. Stupid Reikai stuck ups and their big castles and jewels...


Koenma looked down at me. "Thank you." He said smirking.


I opened my mouth to shout, but seeing him in this form made it kind of hard, calm me a sucker if you want. "...I swear, if you weren't in your teenage form right now I'd hurt you." I said/lied giving him a glare, while ignoring the one that I got on my back, where the hell is that coming from!?


Koenma smirked wider. "Maybe I SHOULD stay in this form, you seem to be more compliant, Kira." He said leaning closer to me, ignoring the glare on his back now. That made me blush slightly and back up, way too close for my liking, thank you!


"Shut up..." I mumbled, looking away in embarrassment. NO! I don't like him, I've just never been so close to a boy's face before...


"What? Now you're going after Koenma?! Pick someone already!" Kuwabara suddenly shouted, making me bristle in annoyance, by the time this Tournament is over, Kuwabara is going to be in a world of pain. I'll make sure of it.


I turned to him with an irk mark. "Why do you always say that I'm in love with someone?! I don't love Kurama in a romantic way, he's my brother!" Looking at Koenma, despite his form, I shivered in disgust. Ew. "And Koenma...that's...that's just no. No." I said as I shook my head, only smirking when Koenma glared at me. Ha.


"Then who do you like?" Kuwabara asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.


I blushed deeply, trying my hardest not to look at Hiei. "Wouldn't you like to know?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, closing my eyes.


"Yes, I would." Kuwabara retorted, copying my gesture. Jerk.


"Well, I'm not going to tell you, so you better shut up before I hit you in spots that shouldn't be hit, Kuwabara." I threatened dangerously, an irk mark on my temple, making the red haired ningen laugh nervously and move away.


Hiei, despite himself, let that peak his interest. "You seem very defensive, Onna."


My blush darkened, damn you pale cheeks, you'll ruin everything! "Shut up, Hiei, no-one was talking to you." I said, shooting him a look, scowling slightly.


"That may be true, but I don't really care." Hiei said smoothly, and I glared.


"Dick!"


"Baka."


"Asshole! "


"Brat."


"Jerk-ass!"


Koenma held his aching head, shooting us both a glare which wasn't very affective. "All right! We get it!" He shouted, an irk mark of his own on his temple, and that was a wrong move.


"Stay out of this, Koenma." Hiei and I hissed, glares in our eyes.


Kuwabara sweat dropped, watching the prince move away. "Yeah, when they get like this we usually let them work it out. It's a lot less painful that way." He advised.


"I see..." Koenma mumbled, watching us wearily.


However, when our moment of randomness was over, I realized that we never really did have a specific verdict despite Koto, and she wasn't even a referee anymore since she got 'promoted'. But I was probably over thinking things, I shouldn't be too worried, right? Turning away from Koenma, I glanced at Hiei, seeing that he also realized that something wasn't right. Well thanks me for not being too worried... But I stopped my sarcastic thoughts when I saw the narrowed look appearing in Hiei's eyes as he glared at Team Toguro, and that unnerved me, I never liked it when something troubled Hiei. Nothing really does unless it's important.


*Hiei?* I asked cautiously. *What's wrong?*


Hiei glanced at me, his glare deepening when he looked back at the team before us. {They don't look like a team that just lost a match. What do they know that we don't?} He asked rhetorically, and that made me frown.


*Great, I can see us being screwed in the near future.* I groaned sadly.


Hiei sighed. {Nicely put, Onna.} He said sarcastically.


*I try.* I mumbled.


I heard a sudden soft chuckle come from Toguro's team making Hiei and I cease our conversation, and my eyes narrowed on Sakyo. "I wonder how the Committee will rule?" He asked Toguro, the sarcasm thick in his voice, and I glared.


"Yep, we're fucked." I mumbled lowly to Hiei, clenching my fists tightly.


Yusuke's running, however, brought me out of my angered thoughts, and I saw him stop next to Kurama's form. "How you feelin' there, champ?" He asked, smirking.


"Fine." Kurama said weakly, but fell to his knees with a grunt.


Yusuke's eyes widened, dropping to his knees. "Hey, be careful." He said worried, grabbing Kurama's shoulders.


"I'm sorry, Yusuke." Kurama said.


Yusuke narrowed his eyes. "Why?" He asked.


Kurama frowned, looking away from the boy. "If only I could have lifted myself a fraction of a second sooner." He said, gritting his teeth in pain as he talked. I frowned at that, remembering that his wounds were deep, but what could you expect when a fucking blond haired fuck-tard decides to throw bombs at you? Thank god he's dead or I would be SO pissed!


"Who cares? You won!" Yusuke said, and I bit my lip. Shit.


Kurama shook his head slightly at the teenaged ningen next to him. "It's unwise to be so confident before an official announcement." He warned seriously, closing his eyes as he looked down.


I frowned. "I don't like the sound of that." I mumbled.


Juri suddenly rose her left hand, and all of us looked up at her. "And the official announcement says the winner of match two is Karasu!" She announced, smiling while she didn't even seem to notice or care about how we felt about that, and I know understood why I had such a bad feeling about this match. Dammit all!


"What?!" Yusuke shouted, jumping/recoiling to his feet out of shock.


All of us stared at Juri with a confused and shocked look on our faces. Even Hiei was on the same level of shock as us, and that was NOT good. My mouth was open and I couldn't help but shake my head slightly at the ruling. That couldn't be right, how the hell was KARASU the winner?! That doesn't make any fucking sense! A sudden feeling of fear ran through me as a thought came to mind, was this going to be like the match we had with Team Masho? Was the Committee going to try and make us lose again? Oh, I did NOT like the sound of that, I just saved the boys from certain death -aside from the one from Toguro-, I didn't want our death threat to be a 100% definite one! I swear to every being up there that if they screw with us anymore I'm going to kick their asses and spit in their faces!


Snapping out of my thoughts, I glared heatedly. "But he's dead!" I snapped/hissed.


Koto was now confused, which somehow surprised me. “Huh?! And now the fair and impartial Juri is saying that the winner was the late Karasu? I could have sworn I saw Kurama destroy him with my own eyes!” She said, cocking her head to the side for added affect.


“It's not fair!” Kuwabara clenched his fists angrily. “These judges have had it out for us since the first day!” He snapped, his eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare.


“I've seen wrestling matches less rigged.” Koenma added, eyes glaring as well.


I threw my hands into the air, wincing slightly at the wound in my side, but for the most part ignored it. “Dammit! Is it too much to ask to have one fucking day without getting cheated?!” I shouted angrily


“Hey! You with the big fish ears, I've got a bone to pick with you!” Yusuke stomped up to Juri, grabbing her roughly. “How does a dead guy win?!” He shouted with a growl.


“Hold it, I'd like it if you removed your hand.” Juri said calmly, but I saw it was fake.


Yusuke's glare deepened a that. “I'd like you to removed your head from your ass, but I don't see that happening any time soon!” He shouted, not listening to her, and I let out a 'Ha!' from behind them, ignoring the sweat drops from the other boys.


Juri glared at him, smacking his hand away. “I won't talk to you until you learn to keep your grimy fingers to yourself.” She said calmly, closing her eyes.


Yusuke, however, balled his hand into a fist, making Juri open her eyes and tense up at the gesture. “I'll put these grimy fingers through your face if you don't tell me how the hell a breathing guy losses!” He shouted/threatened seriously, and I smirked, Yusuke is so awesome.


“Fine!” Juri glared making Yusuke blink. “Your friend lost the dumb match because he was down for ten seconds after I started counting!” She shouted angrily.


“Oh.” Yusuke mumbled. “Well, why didn't you say so?” He asked confused.


“Jerk ass!” Juri shouted with an irk mark on her temple.


My right eye twitched when I heard MY word being used. “Oh hell no, don't you even dare take my word! I used it way before you even got your little prep ass in this fucking stadium!” I growled with an anime made face, about to punch her in the head.


“Hm, apparently she's the weak youkai now, huh Onna?” Hiei asked, smirking at me.


My anger dissipated instantly. “Yep!” I said smiling.


Yusuke suddenly turned around, causing Hiei and I to turn to him. “Hey, Kurama, you know what she's talking about?” He asked, looking down at the kneeling red haired kitsune.


“Yes, I'm afraid.” Kurama said, frowning deeply.


Koto tried to simmer the two in the ring down as well as the crowd. “Oh, what probably happened here is Juri confused Karasu with Kurama because both have long hair and both their names start with 'K'. Which is an easy mistake to make if you're not a very experience referee who got promoted from serving cocktails at the-.” She was suddenly cut off from someone off screen.


“I get it now, she's a whore.” I said with a smirk, it all makes sense :D.


But I stopped when I looked back at Koto, seeing her holding a tape. “I've just been handed a mysterious unmarked video tape, so without any further a due lets go to the movies.” All of us turned to the screen, seeing a slow motion video of Kurama being pelted by those floating green orbs, and I winced at the blood that flew. “So far this rerun has yet to reveal anything we didn't already know, though it is cool to watch the blood splatter in slow-mo.” She said with a smile in her voice. Ugh.


“There it is.” Juri smirked, watching the video as Kurama fell to the ground, it showing her and the timer as they counted the seconds. “As you can see I began the count like a responsible ref once Kurama hit the ground. He is the one with the red hair, right Koto?” She asked sarcastically, the whole 'cocktail' thing probably got under her skin.


I smirked even wider now, despite the tape. “And a bitch.”


“Onna, hush.” Hiei said, sweat dropping.


I pouted slightly. “Fine.” I mumbled, crossing my arms.


Looking back at the video once again, I grew serious. It showed the footage of Kurama power up his last attack, and I grew anxious when I saw the timer was now at seven seconds while the attack wasn't even close to hitting Karasu. And the video finally came to a close when the plant stuck itself into Karasu's chest, the clock stopping at 10.28 seconds. My mouth dropped open, .28 fucking seconds and that's how they're going to base the match on?! I glared heatedly at the screen, my fists clenching tightly, that's just fucking stupid, how could they do that?! Oh wait, I forgot, this fucking Tournament is run by stuck up rich ningens who couldn't give a fuck about other people's lives as long as they got money.


“10.28 seconds.” Juri said smugly.


“Gee whiz, .28 seconds, huh?" Koto frowned. "But because Kurama stayed down for that much longer than the count it didn't hit Karasu until after the fight was technically over. We have for the first time in history of this Tournament a winner whose dead and a loser whose...not.” She said utterly surprised by this, but I was happy with that outcome, at least Kurama was safe.


Kuwabara glared at that. “He's...not a loser!” He shouted.


“We know who really won!” Botan suddenly shouted angrily from the stands.


I wanted to punch something very badly, but I couldn't find anything at all, and that pissed me off even more. “Stupid fucking dumb ass rules, this whole thing is fixed!” I shouted/shrieked in anger, my body shaking with almost uncontrolled rage.


"Calm yourself, Onna." Hiei said lowly, noticing my breath quickening slightly.


I did as he said, starting to feel a bit dizzy from getting worked up, and let out a slow, steady breath. Turning back to the ring, I couldn't help but frown when I saw Kurama close his eyes, looking at the ground as if...ashamed. And my frown deepened when I heard the crowd erupt in cheers, and shouts of how the 'ningen team' were cheaters that shouldn't be trusted, pff, like trusting lower class youkai was any better. However, I kept my anger in check, not wanting to render myself unconscious because I was acting like a raging idiot.


"Three more to go! Three more to go!" I heard a youkai shout from the stands.


All around us the crowd began to chant those four words over and over again, making it REALLY hard for me to keep my anger in check. An irk mark was beginning to form on my temple, but I kept myself quiet, trying to revert back to the 'Kira' that was facing off against Kane at the beginning of our match, not the one that went ape shit, mind you. But I focused my attention on Yusuke, seeing him shake in almost uncontrolled rage as well, frowning at him. He was hating this as much as I was, but at least he controlled himself better than I did. And as I said that, I watched Yusuke close his eyes, the shaking stop. I pouted slightly, maybe I should take control lessons from YUSUKE the boy who didn't know what that word meant. Good going me! Not...


Yusuke turned, glaring at Juri, making the girl tense up. "You keep living by your stupid rules, next time we'll win." He said walking away, making Juri let out a sigh of relief, actually think he was going to punch her. Which he would have.


*Lets hope when we win none of us gets that hurt...* I thought worriedly, looking at Kurama.


Yusuke walked over to Kurama, kneeling down next to him. "Can you walk?" He asked, putting a hand on the red haired kitsune's shoulder, thinking he would fall over any second now.


Kurama looked up at Yusuke and nodded, letting Yusuke take his arm and put it over his shoulder. Standing up slowly, Yusuke and Kurama walked over towards us with cautious steps, not wanting to irritate Kurama's wounds anymore than they were by just moving him. Seeing that he was at least still conscious and that he as alive made me let out a breath of relief, but I still hated the look of his wounds and the large stains of blood on his clothing. His blood. I hated seeing him hurt, as well as any of the other boys of course, but he was like my brother too, so it was even worse if that was possible.


"Shut up! That's not even a clever chant!" Kuwabara suddenly glared at the crowd, finally having enough of those four words. "No one seems to be taking in our moral victory here! At least everyone on our team is alive." He said crossing his arm, and I frowned, despite what he thought he wasn't right.


"You just don't get it."


I tensed up at the sound of that voice, and I noticed the crowd instantly quieted down, hearing it too. My eyes snapped to the team across from us, and they found their way to a small, white skinned, amber eyed, short 'ningen' that was draped on Toguro's shoulders. Elder Toguro. Just looking at the fucker gave me chills, even more chills than Kane and that seemed pretty hard to beat. I didn't know why, but something was VERY off about him, not just because he was strong, but something else entirely. I didn't know what it was, but I wanted to, not liking the feeling I was getting from him at all.


Kuwabara noticed the silence, growing annoyed. "Oh, you all shut up for the shoulder monkey!" He shouted.


"Because they know whenever I open my mouth I have something of importance to say." Elder Toguro insulted easily, smirking at the red haired ningen.


"Or they have a sick fascination with the deformed." I snapped venomously.


"Ah, little miss Akira, you're still alive. What a pity." Elder Toguro smirked sadistically, not caring for the glare that was now in my eyes. "I was so hoping your loving big brother had taken you with him. Things would have been much more bearable without your annoying voice." He said, his smirk never leaving, it only growing at the sight of my anger.


I stepped forward, unfortunately with the wrong leg. "You bastar-!" The word died as pain erupted from my side, blood falling from my lips as I coughed into my hand.


Koenma put a hand on my shoulder, his brown eyes looking down at me narrowly. "Kira, don't push yourself." He advised seriously, and I only glanced at him with a small nod, not noticing a gaze resting on my form.


"Hopefully you'll be joining your brother soon." Elder Toguro said laughing, not caring for another glare that was sent his way. But not from me.


*Bastard.*I hissed in my head, the pain in my side now a dull throb. Dammit.


"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Elder Toguro glanced at me briefly before turning to Kuwabara once again. "Your observations is as usual short sided and quite incorrect." He insulted with large words that I couldn't help but think that Kuwabara wouldn't get.


"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?" Kuwabara asked, making me sweat drop. -_-;


Elder Toguro smirked even wider at that. "Even if by cruel cosmic joke you survive your matches you forget the champions are each granted a wish. Once our team wins and ours are awarded, I'll wish for the death of all your friends." He said pointing at us, his eyes glowing an eery red color, making me tense up once again.


Yusuke, having stopped to listen to Elder Toguro's words, cautiously stepped down from the ring, resting Kurama against the ring wall like he had done during our fight with Team Masho. However this time Kurama was actually awake, didn't have a Death Plant in him, and didn't get the shit beaten out of him while he was unconscious. But by looking at the severity of his wound, it looked like all of that had just happened to him, which made me frown deeply. Some of his wounds were even sill bleeding, like mine, and that wasn't good. For obvious reasons of course.


The crowd, knowing Elder Toguro was down talking, began to chant once again, grating on Kuwabara's nerves. "I've had it up to here with this moronic chanting!" He shouted, shaking his fist at the crowd angrily.


"Forget world peace, now I'll just wish for muscles!" Yusuke growled, standing up.


I clenched my fist, turning towards Toguro's team. "I'll wish for the painful death of those bastards, IF they're even alive after the Finals that is." I snapped.


"Want to know what I'll wish for when we beat them?" All of us turned to Hiei, the crowd growing quiet, and I couldn't help but smirk at that. "The bloody death of every member of that corrupt Tournament Committee so I'll never be pulled into one of their 'carnivals' again." He said darkly, narrowing his eyes at the team before us.


"And even to the loser go the spoils." Sakyo smirked, glancing at Toguro. "We've already granted his wish, haven't we Toguro?" He asked sadistically.


Toguro even smirked as well, something that he rarely did considering he was an emotionless bastard. "I seriously doubt Hiei would've been invited to return anyway after we tear his body into sections." He said, and that made me glare dangerously.


Elder Toguro laughed slightly, jumping into the ring so fast I had to double take to make sure I wasn't mistaken. Shit. "But before my wish can be fulfilled, I'm going to enjoy very much beginning the annihilation of you personally. Go ahead, I'll graciously allow you to pick your first martyr." He said mockingly, but also seriously, and I didn't like that at all.


However, before any of us could do anything, the stadium began to rumble slightly, catching me off guard. My eyes snapped behind Elder Toguro's form, falling on Bui's tall form, and I swallowed thickly, despite not sensing his power I could still feel how strong he was. I narrowed my eyes at the tall man that stood behind Elder Toguro silently, not liking the feeling I was getting off of him either. However his wasn't as nearly as bad as Elder Toguro's, that's for sure. But I wouldn't go as for as to say that I would be completely fine with one of the boys going up against, I may not have seen him fight at all, but I could tell that he was a formidable opponent. Great, I'm worrying myself again, I can practically feel the gray hairs growing! Thanks me, thanks a lot.


"Oh Bui, I wasn't expecting you to step forward so soon." Elder Toguro turned to us, smirking even wider now. "You must be special, he rarely shows this much initiative. This should be dandy, whichever one of you gets to fight Bui is in for quite the treat. He has the strength of a thousand oxen." He said, while I scoffed.


"Oh yeah?" Kuwabara smirked, holding up his arm. "Well take a look at these big guns I got here! Let me go with this guy!" He said smirking, while I stared at him blankly.


"So you wanna be buried in that or something descent?" Koenma asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow at the ningen next to him.


I laughed, smiling at Koenma. "Nice." I said happily, not noticing a glare on me.


Kuwabara, however, didn't find Koenma to be so funny as I did. "Now that you're close my height 'Jr' why don't you say it to my face?!" He shouted, grabbing Koenma by his robes, shaking him back and forth.


"You wanna grave or a tomb?" Koenma asked again, smirking.


"Yusuke." Hiei glanced at the black haired Spirit Detective. "I planned on taking the thug with the sunglasses for myself, but after he what he did to Genkai, I believe vengeance belongs to you." He said with a smirk on his lips, despite the hard subject for said boy.


"Thank you." Yusuke said sincerely, looking down at the fire youkai.


Hiei let out a small 'hn' before he suddenly appeared in front of us in the ring, his back towards us. I smiled despite how I didn't want him fighting Bui, happy to see that he was really starting to think of us as friends, which is something even Hiei doesn't want to admit to himself. However I didn't care, just seeing that he was showing it was good enough for me, and I could tell Yusuke was thinking the same thing.


"Hiei?" I heard Kuwabara mumble, keeping his hold on Koenma.


Hiei ignored him, a smirk lighting his face. "But this thug will do just as well." He said, staring at Bui with a glint in his eyes, and I knew it was there despite not seeing it. Scary? Yes, very much so.


*Hiei.* Upon hearing his name, the fire youkai glanced at me over his shoulder. *Please be careful.*I thought, my worry filled eyes locked on his.


Hiei only smirked at me, and that was all I needed.


Kuwabara frowned, watching Hiei as he walked towards the taller man, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "But hey, I thought I had the big guy?" He asked a little dejectedly, having already been stopped three times. Poor, poor Kuwabara.


Koenma smirked. "What about burial flowers? Do you like roses?" He asked laughing hysterically, and I sweat dropped. Boys.


"Will you please be quiet?!" Kuwabara shook Koenma violently as the prince kept laughing, an irk mark now on his temple. "I'm trying to think here!" He shouted.


Yusuke and I ignored the two as our gazes were now fixed on the two fighters that were currently walking towards the center of the ring. My eyes were set on Hiei's back, my hands pulled together and wringing themselves out of nervousness. Sure I knew Hiei could handle himself more than anybody, but...I still didn't want him to get hurt. Bui seemed like a merciless fighter and thanks to his size he might hold a lot of power for all I know. I...didn't want to see Hiei get hurt by him. I bit my lip slightly, trying to sooth my nervous and guarded nerves, each step that Bui made making me jump ever so slightly. His steps even held a lot of power, who knew what his punches felt like. Dammit me, stop worrying! Hiei can handle this, and he'll win! I know he will, he's won all of his matches so far and he's going to win this one! My negative thoughts now quiet and my shoulders relaxed, I watched with a serious gaze as both fighters came to a stop.


"Measuring at 4 ft 10 without his hair, Hiei." Juri gestured to the calm -and slightly annoyed- fire youkai, while I almost laughed. "At 9 ft, Bui." She said, pointing to the tall man that made me stare at him wide eyed. 9 FT?!


Koto stared at Bui with wide eyes. "Wow! 9 ft, that's tall and that's more than enough man to go around ladies! Then again, Hiei has proven on numerous occasions kick-ass things come in short packages, too!" She said making sure to give the fire youkai some kind of praise, and I smirked.


"I agree completely!" I shouted smiling, ignoring the sweat drops.


"I have absolutely no idea whose gonna win this one people, but I can state with certainty that it's gonna be exciting!" Koto shouted happily, ignoring my comment.


Without any warning, Bui held out his right hand, red Youkai Energy formed an 'X' shape across his palm as a red orb began to take shape. Clenching the orb tightly in his hand, the Energy turned into a long cylindrical shape, and Bui held it above his head. Out of the top of the cylindrical shaped Energy a large head of an ax appeared, and the rest of the ax turned Solid, the handle a yellowish color, while half of the blade was black, the rest silver. I stared wide eyed at the size of it, it was TALLER than Bui, and the blade of the axe was actually WIDER than him. And I noticed as Bui swiped the axe down that it went with ease, like it wasn't even heavy to him, while his feet sunk into the tile at the massive weight the axe gave off. Oh fuck...


Koto stared at the axe with wide eyes. "Oh my! Is it my imagination or has Bui's axe gotten even bigger since the last time he formed it from thin air? I can't wait to see how he wields it in this go-round!" She said happily, her blood lust showing once again. Sigh.


"Serves Hiei right!" Kuwabara crossed his arms with a glare, but I stomped on his foot painfully. "OW! What the heck, Kira?!" He shouted with an irk, but I only ignored him, keeping my gaze on Hiei.


"Why is there never a sling-shot when you need it?" Koenma mumbled to himself, which confused me a bit.


"Chop the shorty down to size!" A green youkai shouted from the stand.


Another green skinned youkai decided to put in his two scents. "Why don't you start by knocking off that ugly little head of his?!" He shouted with a smirk.


I rose an eyebrow at that. *HIEI ugly? Pff!* I thought with a laugh.


Hiei, however, had ignored all the shouts from the crowd, his gaze only on his opponent. "Heh, not a bad weapon you've got there, Bui. But with all due respect I must say I still prefer my own." He said with a dark smirk, grabbing his robe, tossing it into the air.


All of us instantly looked at the binding that was around Hiei's right arm, while Kurama and I were the only ones that really knew why it was there, and not for the 'seemingly' obviously one. His arm was bandaged tightly by multiple feet of the white fabric, being tied off numerous times. Around his forearm was a brown belt looking piece, and around his wrist was a rope looking restraint that had a metal ball attached to it by a chain. On his knuckles was a seal, probably to keep the Dragon at bay. I bit my lip, not liking where he was going with this, even if he had all of his Spirit Energy back that didn't mean that the Dragon couldn't hurt him! I swear if he dies I'M going to kill him...


Kuwabara narrowed his eyes. “Man look at how tight Hiei has those bandages wrapped around his arm, his injuries must not be anywhere close to healing for real.” He said, his tone could almost be called worried.


“No, you've misunderstood Hiei's true motives.” All of us looked at Kurama, although I already knew that. “The purpose of this particular binding is not to repair.” He explained.


“What the hell? So it's just there to look pretty?” Yusuke asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.


“Not exactly.” Kurama mumbled.


Kuwabara was now confused at that. “Why use a bandage if it doesn't make your hurty-spots better?” He asked, and the worst part was I could tell that he actually was serious about the question. Oh Kuwabara you poor, poor ningen child.


“Kuwabara? Exactly how OLD are you?” I asked sweat dropping.


“15, why?” Kuwabara asked curiously.


OK Kira, calm down, don’t hurt him. “...I want you to think real hard about what you just said.” I said with an irk mark, ignoring the sweat drops I got from Yusuke and Koenma.


“And now the third match of the Final round of the Dark Tournament! Read, set, go!” Juri shouted.


My eyes quickly darted to the ring, not particularly liking how Juri just said that too quickly for me to really fully understand what she just said. However, I was happy to see I didn't miss anything, although if I was just a second late on looking I would have missed a whole lot. Bui was the first one to attack, and my eyes widened as he ran at a surprising speed despite the huge battle axe in his hand. He was in front of Hiei almost instantly and he jumped into the air with ease, and I followed him with wide eyes.


“Check out Bui's hang time!” Koto shouted in awe.


Bui held his large axe above his head, somehow still managing to stay in the air, but a second later he had disappeared, and my eyes snapped to Hiei's form instantly. I was able to make it in time to see Bui's axe cut through 'Hiei', but I sighed in relief when I saw him disappear before the axe hit the ground with a loud crack. Rocks flew from the ground, cracks appearing in the tile as the axe slid through it easily and I couldn't help but flinch, picturing how that would have felt. Ow. But I quickly composed myself, turning serious when I saw Hiei appear on the other side of the ring, looking completely fine. That made me feel a bit better, but I knew that this match wouldn't end quickly considering nothing ever likes to go my way.


“Your aim is as broad as your axe.” Bui slowly looked over at Hiei's smirking form. “Could you at least try to hit me next time?” He asked mockingly, and I couldn't help but smirk at that. Ha. Hiei's awesome :D.


Too bad Bui couldn't have found that as funny as I did. Bui got to his feet and lifted his axe up, not even trying to dislodge the tile that came with it. My mouth fell open, seeing the completely square piece of tile hold onto the axe that was easily being lifted, how the hell is this even possible!? I swear the people up there are really trying to make me have a heart attack, or they just want to see me look absolutely scared for my friend/crush/love interest type person! ...I was knocked out of my thoughts when I heard a grunt like shout come from Bui, seeing him throw the tile at a break neck speed at Hiei, and before I could shout for him to look out, Hiei had already dodged it. Show off... However, when Hiei landed another tile came his way, and it kept repeating until I saw at least twenty pieces of tile flying at Hiei, almost all of them flying into the stadiums so Bui's attacks didn't go without any casualties. Hiei, thankfully, wasn't apart of the crowd when it came to that category.


“Nobody can explain to my why the combatants keep attacking the audience, though it does make the pain much more wide-spread and I do love that!” Koto announced, out of her seat out of excitement.


Sakyo let out a chuckle. “Bui certainly knows how to involve the crowd.” He said in amusement.


Toguro matched Sakyo's expression, watching the fight. “He's certainly gotten a lot stronger since I first fought him. He never could have taken Hiei back then.” He said, making me glare.


Elder Toguro smirked at that. “You see, Brother, never underestimate the power of one's hatred for us.” He said with a sick twisted laugh that sent chills up my spine, and I didn't like the feel of that, thank you very much.


“If I were a betting man, I'd wager Hiei starts resorting to his desperate measures soon.” Sakyo said.


“If?” Toguro asked.


Sakyo's smirk returned. “Well, I killed all my betting partners.” He said casually.


I tried to ignore them as best as I could, keeping my gaze on the fight, or Hiei's dodging battle considering that was more appropriate. Hiei dodged another set of tiles, landing on the ground with an annoyed look on his face. “I may be a small target, but this is sad.” He said, his tone matching his expression perfectly, and I sweat dropped at him. Oh Hiei, always going for the low blows.


I watched Hiei hold out his left hand, not even trying to move when Bui shot another tile at him. Before I could shout an insult at him in worry, I saw a red glow appear from under his white headband where his Jagan Eye was. In a flash of light and most likely power, the headband disintegrated as Hiei clenched his hand into a fist tightly. Flames erupted from his enclosed hand, the fire flickering and licking the air dangerously. I remembered that technique and crossed my arms over my chest, a pout on my lips. I still say that's MY Shadow Fists Technique which pisses me off, I was actually being original for once!


“Prepare yourself for the Fist of the Mortal Flame!” Hiei shouted, eyes narrowed.


Hiei let out a shout as he pulled back his fist, slamming it into the oncoming tile, breaking through it with ease, shattering it into pieces of dust and pebbles. However more came at him, but when I saw that Hiei was still perfectly confident in himself, I just watched as the ningen flame destroyed the other blocks, leaving one to continue it descent towards him. Letting out a shout as he pulled back his fist once again, the block became the same thing that it's predecessor did before it. Shatter into into nothing but thin air and rocks. I was about to smile, but before I could I saw Hiei's eyes widen, which they did for a good reason. Before Hiei, as he looked through the dust and rocks, was Bui his axe held above his head and it aimed towards the little fire youkai.


My eyes widened as Hiei wasn't moving. "Hiei move!" I shouted almost urgently.


"Look out!" Kuwabara added, eyes wide as well.


I heard a small laugh come from Toguro, and I glared at him heatedly, but Elder Toguro was the one to speak. "Game over." He said sadistically, making me clench my fists together tightly.


Hiei, however, didn't take our shouts into consideration, his eyes narrowed on the axe coming towards him. Pulling back his fist as it burned with a renewed flame, he slammed it against the sharp edge of the blade and I stared at him like he was an idiot. Damn him! He was seriously going to scare me have to death, wasn't he?! Once his match is over I'm going to kick his ass! However, I continued to watch, seeing the lower half of the axe begin to crack as Hiei put more Energy and pressure into the attack, the silver part of the blade even glowing red from the fire's intensity. Yellow lightning crackled around as a short, tense second passed and the axe split in half, the top part with the blade flying pass Juri and into the crowd behind her, causing the girl to let out a very delayed squeal when she heard it crash. I rolled my eyes at her scared expression. Baby.


Looking away from her, I watched as Bui conjured up another axe, it larger than the one before it, while Hiei stared at it annoyed. "At least you are consistent. Consistently foolish if you believe this axe will have anymore impact than the last." He said, the tone in his voice clearly telling all of us he was now bored.


I let out a sigh as I shook my head, a smile on my lips, at least he was having the upper hand in this fight, that's good. I watched, now relaxed, as Bui threw his axe full speed at Hiei, not taking his words seriously. I smirked, seeing Hiei's red Youkai Energy appear around him, and he caught the axe between his fingers with ease, it stopping on a dime. Putting some of his Energy into the blade, it disintegrated into nothing but wind and fire before both those elements dissipated into air once again. Hiei is such a bad ass xD.


"But that's amazing!" Koto's jaw dropped in surprise. "Hiei not only stopped the blade with his bare hands, he then incinerated it to boot!" She shouted in awe at the sight before her.


Kuwabara stared at Hiei with a horrified expression on his face, his eyes wide and filled with fear. "Remind me to never let Hiei touch me again any time soon, or like, ever!" He shouted while I sweat dropped at him, like Hiei would WANT to touch him.


"Right, I'll make a note." Koenma said sarcastically, not even looking at the red haired ningen next to him, his eyes narrowed.


"I was just about to ask when Hiei ever touched you." I asked, face blank.


Kuwabara got an annoyed look on his face and glared at me. "Shut up, Kira." He mumbled to himself, crossing his arms over his chest.


I rose an eyebrow at that, not exactly sure if I heard him right. "Excuse me?" I asked with a look, while in reality I was just having fun, and why not? Hiei was going to kill Bui and come back to us safely! :D


"Nothing!" Kuwabara squeaked in fear, while I smirked. Ha.


I turned away from Kuwabara, having my fill, and set my gaze on Hiei's now annoyed form. "I warned you, that was a foolish maneuver, but you refused to listen much to your disadvantage and to my boredom. And that is not forgivable." He said, his tone holding more than just irritation in it. Well, Bui's fucked.


"Now is the time, Brother." Toguro said smirking, making mine drop instantly.


Elder Toguro nodded, a sadistic smirk on his lips sending another shiver up my spine. "Sooner than I expected." He said, laughing darkly under his breath.


I began to raise an eyebrow at that, but I stopped when I heard a very low and deep chuckle come from Bui's form, and I saw red 'eyes' appear under his helmet. I hid an irk mark, really?! Why can't we have just ONE nice, easy match?! Considering the smirks that were on Team Toguro's faces, and the very bad feeling I was getting from Bui, that was an obvious no. No we could not. I can foresee death in all their futures, even if they weren't by me. Fucking bastards.


"Sorry to bore you, I'll remove my armor." Bui's low, deep voice said emotionlessly.


My eyes widened at the sound, and I wasn't the only one. "Did you here that? Bui spoke for the first time in this Tournament! His timbering voice so richly deep that my two little cat ears are tingling! In fact, my whole body's got shivers!" She said putting a hand to her cheek.


I grimaced. "Way too much information." I mumbled, slightly freaked out.


"You should know two things, Hiei the Swordsman, I was saving this for someone else." Bui took off one of his rock-like gauntlets, his gaze on Hiei the entire time. "And this is the highest compliment I give." He said seriously, despite no emotion.


"Hm, I am honored, really I am." Hiei smirked. "But are you sure you're strong enough to take a direct hit from me without any armor?" He asked mockingly.


Bui just stared at him. "I'll handle it." He said lowly.


I smirked at that, obviously seeing that Bui didn't like to be looked down upon. "Kick his cocky ass, Hiei!" I shouted, punching my left fist in the air, not wanting to hurt myself yet again in this chapter. I'm lucky I'm even conscious right now.


"Kira!" Yusuke suddenly shouted, tugging me towards him.


I let out a squeak as I fell into his chest, about to shout at him for the pain in my side, but I stopped. A strong rumble shook the ground, and my eyes darted to the spot where I had been just seconds before. My eyes landed on Bui's gauntlet, it embedded deeply into the ground. It took me a minute to see what had just transpired, and when I played the scenario in my head, I came with a conclusion. That gauntlet could have just been embedded into my HEAD if it wasn't for Yusuke. Looking I Yusuke I gave him a smile of thanks, but that dropped when I looked back at the strong rock-like armor before me.


I stared at it blankly. "...Really kick his ass now! Fucker almost killed me!" I shouted, turning to Hiei with an irk mark on my temple, my heart beating rapidly.


"Whoa that's heavy!" Kuwabara stared at the gauntlet with his mouth agape. "And that's ONE of his arm things?! How did he ever manage to fight in all that stuff, let alone stand up straight in it?!" He shouted, looking at Bui as if the guy was insane, and considering I almost was killed by him I was doing the same thing. Damn bastard!


"Are you all right, Kira?" Kurama asked looking down at me, the worry easily heard under the pain that coated his voice.


"Yeah," I smiled up at him, seeing him standing up next to us, at least he was gaining some of his strength back. "Thanks Yusuke." I said happily, turning to the black haired ningen savoir of mine. A lot of people are saving me today, huh?


"No problem, just don't do that again, OK?" Yusuke asked, giving me a look.


I gave him a thumbs up. "Deal." I grinned.


"Most fighters wear armor to protect themselves from their opponent." Bui took off his helmet, making the boys and I instantly look at him when he dropped it, it doing the same thing as his gauntlet. "But I'm the opposite." He said, taking off the mouth guard while Hiei only glared at him coldly.


All of us stared slightly surprise at Bui's appearance as the mouth guard dropped. Bui actually looked like he was human, having short, bluish-green hair and a knuckle-shaped scar on his forehead, just above the bridge of his eyes. He was a well built, and a quite handsome, young adult, who looked no older then at least thirty years of age. Underneath his armor, Bui wore a skin tight, blue shirt, with grey colored chest and abdomen regions, and orange wrist bands. His pants were also blue and of the same form fitting material, with orange heel straps, and a long orange tunic, wrapped around his waist.


"I actually wear this armor to protect my opponent from myself." Bui's scar above his eyes glowed a bright red. "My powers are so great I can't control them on my own." He said with a narrowed gaze, however, it wasn't even close to Hiei's.


Hiei only scoffed, his arms crossed over his chest, and I noticed his mocking attitude had turned to annoyance. But I didn't have time to dwell on that, and for good reason. A large amount of bright green Youkai Energy burst from Bui's body, it making me take a step back, not use to feeling so much at once before. The Energy flickered largely as it moved like smoke around Bui's body, yet even that didn't seem to bring a smirk to Hiei's face, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but considering he didn't look shocked I took the first one. And I narrowed my eyes on Bui's form as he slowly rose into the air, his arms spread out beside him.


"Whoa! How did I not pick up on this guy's Energy?!" Kuwabara asked in shock.


Kurama narrowed his jade-hued eyes on the man that lingered in the air. "Because of his armor, it contains his power." He explained seriously, and I gaped at that, what?!


Yusuke glared at the green haired man as well. "If it contains it, then why the hell would he take it off him?" He asked, confused.


Kurama shook his head at the black haired ningen. "No that's- what I meant by contains is that his armor keeps his power from escaping, definition number two." He said, choosing his words carefully.


"He's got a shit load of Energy though, how the hell could those little pieces of armor contain all THAT?!" I asked, pointing at Bui with an anime face. Damn!


"No kidding." Koenma mumbled, wide eyed.


Bui smirked down at the little fire youkai from his spot in the air. "I call this Battle Aura, I'd like to see you try and top it." He said, causing all of us to look back at him, and I rose an eyebrow. It's not wise to challenge Hiei. I should know, I've tried.


Hiei let a small smirk form at the challenge. "And so would I, but I doubt I'll have to try." He said, and I had to stop myself from laughing. Hiei rhymed :D.


Bright red Youkai Energy formed around Hiei's body in an instant, and he dropped his arms back to his sides. Without any warning, Hiei jumped into the air, sending a strong punch at Bui's body. However, it was reflected. Hiei narrowed his eyes, flipping back down towards the ring, and my eyes widened. Bui's AURA stopped Hiei?! But I stopped my surprised thoughts, watching as Bui suddenly raced down towards Hiei's form, only to be met by a spiraling circle of fire as it flew from Hiei's fist, resulting in flames erupting around him almost instantly.


Hiei smirked cruelly up at Bui's body as the fires licked the air, but that dropped when he saw Bui let out a shout, raising his Battle Aura Energy up, dispelling the flames completely. Holding out his palms, Bui sent a large meteor shaped ball of Aura towards Hiei, who matched it with a stream of fire from his fist. Once it hit the Aura, the ball exploded, sending multiple 'pieces' of the Energy around the stadium, hitting numerous sections of the crowd, making me smirk slightly. Ha.


"Look out below!" Bui shouted, throwing his palms down towards the fire youkai.


An green Aura shaped cross flew around the ring, heading towards Hiei's form at a surprising speed, and I could easily tell that it was only going to go after him until it hit him or something else. I rolled my eyes boredly, Hiei knew how to dodge that thing easily thanks to my Lightning Orb. Crossing my arms, I watched Hiei evade the cross easily, appearing behind Bui as he let out a dark chuckle before disappearing once again, leaving Bui to get the full impact of his own attack. Bui let out a shout of pain as the cross slammed into him, sending the green haired man down to the ring, creating a large crater in the middle of the ring, and a large blast of light. All of us covered our eyes, the light becoming almost blinding. But when it dimmed and we looked at the ring, we saw a thick cloud of smoke around it, and I smirked. Fucking awesome!


"Not bad." Yusuke said, dropping his arms down with a smirk.


Kuwabara let out his trademark goofy laugh. "Getting beat by your own attack, man that must be pretty gosh-darn humiliating!" He said with a big grin on his lips, and despite the 'gosh-darn' thing I was with him.


"That was fucking awesome, go Hiei!" I shouted, punching my left fist into the air.


"Yes." Koenma nodded, his eyes wide once again "All I can say after watching that move is: I'm glad Hiei's on our side." He said with a bit of fear in his voice. Ha.


The smoke began to dissipate, letting us see Hiei's form as it dropped back into the ring before the large crater where Bui's body obviously was. However, I didn't see the smirk that I was so sure would be on his lips, and that made me grow very worried. His eyes widened slightly, and I swear I saw him take a step back. I was this - close to getting on my knees and cursing every single Deity and God I could think of for them constantly making the boy's lives, and mine a living Hell. I mean, did we really do anything wrong?! ...Besides the thieving, killing, and all the people we beat up, I mean.


"No." Hiei said under his breath in disbelief.


A large burst of Battle Aura appeared once again in the large green tower-like form of it's. The smoke that had lingered around the stadium instantly disappeared, letting us see the two in the ring clearly again. Bui lifted himself into the air once again, and I couldn't help but frown at his appearance. Not only because he was still alive, but because it looked like not even a SCRATCH was on this guy! How tough was he?! I swear to whoever is listening, if this match does NOT go in the way I want it to, I'm killing someone. I'm serious.


"I told you, you'd have to try and top me, Hiei. Maybe now you'll begin to take me more seriously, and show me the respect I deserve." Bui's scare glowed once again as he touched the ground. "My attacks are designed to be only as strong as necessary to take out my opponent. As you can see, that's not even enough to put a dent in me. Take that anyway you like." He said, rising into the air once again.


*What other way can he take it?* I rolled my eyes. *Dumb ass.* I thought.


"So, it takes a lot more than that to bang you up." Hiei's smirk turned dark, darker than I had hoped. "Here comes a lot more." He said, holding up his right arm, unraveling the bindings, and my mouth fell open.


*Is he serious?!* I thought wide eyed.


Kuwabara blinked at that, looking at Kurama as he pointed at Hiei. "Hey, Hiei's taking off that bandage you were talking about, you know the one that doesn't do what it's suppose to do." He said, confusing in his voice.


"It seems you misunderstood," Kurama frowned, "on the contrary Kuwabara, that binding has accomplished precisely what it was intended to do. Which for Hiei is similar to Bui's armor, though in Hiei's case it's not just his own Energy that's trapped in that arm." His eyes suddenly widened, and I didn't like the look of that. "Wait. Neither fighter can control his Energy. If they clash, the stadium could crumble." He said, and I blanched even paler than I already was. Great!


"Oh, now isn't THAT perfect!" I glared up at the sky, an irk mark on my temple. "Thank you God, I hope you're happy!" I shouted, ignoring the sweat drops.


However, I grew serious when I saw the last of Hiei's bandages drop to the ground, it coiling in a mass of white at his feet. But that wasn't what had my attention, it was what those bandages had been hiding, and my eyes widened at it. Coiling around his arm was a black dragon, the tail starting from his forearm from where the head of it rested on the back of his hand. Black and purple flame-like Energy burst around Hiei's form almost instantly as the bandages came off, and I almost wolf-whistled at the sight, despite this being serious I had to admit that this was hot. ...Sorry. No. Wait, I'm not :D.


Hiei smirked wider, his deadly gaze resting on Bui. "Once your own doom has been unraveled, I assure you there's no turning back!" He warned, but despite how it sounded he was being serious, and I only smirked.


Ending it here! Sorry this took me so long, but I started another story so that took up some time, but don't worry I'll still be making chapters as quickly as I usually do, I'll make sure of it! Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter, and I hope you'll like the next one! Bye!
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