Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Right Here Waiting For You ❯ Chapter 53 ( Chapter 53 )

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

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


“That's a start I like! One - us, Brat King - zero!” Yusuke shouted with a smirk, Mitarai walking over to us once again.


I smirked at that, crossing my arms over my chest as I leaned more against the wall behind me. This doesn't seem so hard, they made this seem a whole lot harder than it really was earlier by saying that Amanuma was 'stronger than the real Goblin King' or whatever the hell he's suppose to be called in this damn Territory. However, a frown set itself on my lips as I watched Amanuma's expression. He seemed...bored. Huh...well fuck that didn't seem good, now did it? I swallowed thickly at the thoughts that swarmed through my mind, my eyes traveling towards the floor as a worried look crossed my face. If this kid was bored then he was obviously not threatened by our win at all. I bit my lip, trying keep my mind off of the bad feeling that I was beginning to get.


“Yeah, yeah, lets just see how you do on this next one,” Amanuma said, turning to the slot machine.


Hearing the brats voice through my thoughts I looked up from the ground and looked towards the machine as well, wondering who was the next to face one of those...weird goblins. I just really hope that this next one isn't wearing a speedo, because I really do not want to see that again, thank you. I shuttered a the thought of the Sports Goblin, sticking my tongue out in disgust. I mean, who the fuck came up with the idea of a speedo?! Who thought that was a good idea?! Who would even want to WEAR them?! Nothing made sense! However, my confused and annoyed thoughts were cut off as the goblin next to the slot machine pulled the lever that was on the side of it, making the pictures flash across the three screens once again. All of us watched them as they went passed in a blur before they all came to a stop.


From what I saw it was a flight shooter game, level 6. I rose an eyebrow at the game, what was a flight shooter? All I could get out of it was that there would be guns and I had to shutter at the thought of those goddamn things, those fuckers really hurt. However, I stopped when I saw lightning hid the ground before Amanuma like it had done before, and a new goblin appeared. This one was a lighter color than the sports goblin and had a pointed mustache that  was pointed on the ends. He was wearing a blue uniform with a beige cape over his shoulders, a gray helmet with build in shades and an “S” on the front, white gloves and black boots. I let out a sigh of relief, at least this one has clothes on.


“You cannot defeat, Heavy Foots, for I am the greatest fighter pilot in the world!” the goblin announced, laughing loudly, making me roll my eyes. Sure.


Genkai smirked at that, obviously taking on the goblin's challenge. Oh hell yeah, Genkai is going to fuck this guy up! “A classic flight shooter, I could clear out this game with one hand stuck in a vice. I'm calling this one,” she said, everyone turning to look down at her.


“You go, Genkai! Show this guy whose boss!” I shouted punching my fist in the air, making her smirk. Yes!


“Please take care, Genkai,” Kurama said in concern. Aw.


Yusuke, however, wasn't as nice as Kurama was. “Yeah, show us your skills, old lady,” he said, watching her with the rest of us as she walked towards the controls like Mitarai had done.


Genkai ignored Yusuke all together, placing her hand on the joy stick as the screen before her showed an ocean with a blue sky and clouds. In the distance there was rumbling and a dot coming closer towards the screen, turning into a purple helicopter. In red letters it read “Battle Heli” and it flashed “Push Start” on the bottom. Next thing we all knew Genkai inside of the helicopter, and I widened my eyes at the size of the machine before us. I sat up straighter, my interest peaked at the sight of this game, and I could tell it was going to be a lot more interesting than the tennis one. Well, this is Genkai so thats a given...


Genkai sat in the helicopter chair as it rose up and took a hold of the control, the strong winds from the blade swarming around the room making her and our hair fly slightly. There was a smirk on Genkai's lips, and I knew we had another win under our belt despite the game not even starting yet, but once again this IS Genkai we're talking about. Everyone watched with tense looks on their faces, their shoulders rigid, and I wasn't sure why. Its not like Genkai was going to lose, so they didn't have to worry. However, when I looked at the guns that were attached to the helicopter, I had to worry myself. Who was to know if the bullets were real or not? If Genkai got hit and they were real...well. Fuck! Dammit guys, now they made me worry, too!


“Each player has three lives, you must take out your opponent's base and helicopter before losing all lives or you will have failed your mission. Now, hit the skies!” the computerized voice announced.


Water suddenly began to bubble on the ground, and filling the room. The helicopter went under the rising water before it crashed through the surface and rose into the air, while the rest of the water swept below us, although it wasn't wet. The boys didn't give it much thought, their eyes focused on Genkai's helicopter as it raised through the skies heading towards the goblin's base that laid behind many enemy ships in the distance. I, however, was looking at the ground beneath me, my fingers lightly touching it to see if I could feel the crystal waves, but it was nothing but solid ground despite it's looks.


“Whoa!” I shouted, a smile on my face. That's so cool!


The boys gave me blank looks.


I rose a hand to my head, a sweat drop going down it. “Oh! Uh...Sorry,” I said, smiling sheepishly at them. Guess its time to get serious. Hurray...


{Baka,} Hiei insulted with a smirk in his tone.


I shot him a look from the corner of my eye. *Shut up.*


I turned my attention back to Genkai, watching as the helicopter raised towards three large battle ships, huge guns aimed towards her. Bullets of different shapes and sizes flew through the air, making me flinch at each boom that met my ears as the guns fired. Genkai, however, wasn't worried in the least. She dodged the bullets like they were nothing, heading towards the first battle ship, firing bullets into the side as she went along before flying away just seconds before it exploded into nothing but scrap metal and smoke. She aimed for the second battle ship, firing bullets onto the deck, hitting the guns that sat on top, each of them bursting into flames and exploding the ship like the first one.


All of us stared in slight shock, but my mouth was hanging open and my eyes were wide as hell. This was...absolutely amazing! An excited smile found itself on my lips as I watched Genkai shoot a line of bullets onto the front deck of the last ship, another explosion lighting up the blue sky, dark clouds lifting into the air. Genkai just turned around in her seat to look at the damage that she caused in little under a minute, just letting out a 'hmph'. I couldn't help but laugh at that, the fear that had clung to me completely gone with that perfect display that she had just showed us. There was absolutely no reason for me to have worried at all, I mean look at that! She blew those fuckers up!


“That's incredible!” Kaito said in awe.  “She cleared out the first level without a single mistake!”


I punched my fist in the air. “Woo! Go Genkai!”


Amanuma had a wide smile on his lips, leaning forward in his seat.


My eyes didn't miss that at all, and I lowered my hand as I turned to look at the 'Goblin King'. I found myself staring at something that made me feel very disturb. Amanuma didn't have a look of killer intent or anything like that on his face or in his eyes. He looked like he was just having fun, like we really were just playing another game. A frown replaced my smile, now concerned for this boy. Did he even know what was going on? Did he even know what the hell was at stake here for us, and for him? Something told me that he didn't, and that he was just innocently seeing this as nothing but a game. A sickening feeling filled in the pit of my stomach, but I tried to push that into the back of my mind. For now.


I turned my gaze back to Genkai, where she was flying through a rainbow colored city, heading towards a looming black base in the distance that was slowly coming closer with each passing second. Suddenly, guns appeared from the buildings, shooting multiple bullets at her helicopter. Genkai dodged every single one of them, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She wasn't even breaking a sweat, she was completely in control, and I found myself smiling once again as I watched her. I could only hope that one day I could be like her, cause fuck man that would be awesome! I would be goddamn bad ass just like her! However, I stopped those thoughts as Genkai left the rainbow city and headed towards the large base that was now shooting at Genkai, the target inside of a tower that was surrounded by rapidly spinning, tall pieces of metal.


Yusuke stepped forward, clenching his fists. “There's no way she'll make it!” he shouted, eyes narrowed.


“She's attacking the base directly, she'll have to be flawless to survive that,” Kaito added in agreement, and I shot him a look of annoyance. God, that was a great pep talk now wasn't it? Pff.


Genkai glared over her shoulder at the two boys in annoyance as well, and I had to smirk at that. Hell. Yeah. “Thanks for the real boost of confidence! You two should be cheerleaders, you'd look cute in skirts!” she shouted sarcastically at them before facing forward.


My smirk widened. “You tell them, Genkai!” I shouted.


Genkai, however, ignored me, but I saw that coming. She was now in front of the tower, the red light in the middle of the tall building staring her in the face. The tall, spinning pillars of metal sped around in a fast circle, and I bit my lip, watching as she stopped and hovered before it, waiting for the right moment. Genkai quickly pushed forward on the control, her helicopter easily passing between the pillars like this was nothing, making me smile smugly at Amanuma, despite the sick feeling still sitting in my stomach.


“Did you see that move?!” Kaito asked, eyes wide.


None of us said anything, looking at Genkai once again as she shot four or five bullets at the red light before it shattered. Quickly, and effortlessly, she flew away from the base just seconds before all of the buildings exploded in bright blue light as black smoke lifted into the air like many times before since this whole game started. I cheered loudly, throwing my hands into the air above my head, not caring if I looked like a child right now as I sat on the ground. All the others, besides Yusuke, just stared with slightly wide eyes, while Yusuke was smirking widely along with me. I swear we're related or something, we have too much in common.


“Geez, Grandma!” Yusuke shouted towards his mentor, his smirk widening a bit more. “Hide some skills in that witch hair?”


Genkai smirked over her shoulder. “Had to have something to do on rainy days,” she retorted.


However, Yusuke and I stopped smiling when we heard another sound of a helicopter heading towards Genkai. I looked at the black clouds that rose from the remains of the enemies base, and I saw a blue helicopter rise into the air, guns aimed for Genkai. He looked positively pissed off at what had just happened in less than five minutes, and I couldn't help but smile smugly once again as I crossed my arms over my chest. Ah, I just love to watch the bad guys get so angry, it makes winning so much more enjoyable. Yes, I'm mean, leave me alone!


“You're going to pay for that, Land Scum!” the goblin shouted angrily.


Genkai turned forward, a smirk on her lips. “Bring all you got, Fly Boy!” she challenged confidently.


The goblin didn't take that too lightly, and I watched with a yawn of boredom passing through my lips as he shot blue bullets at her, but they were just dodged easily by Genkai. As usual. It was clear to see that this game was going to end in just a few seconds, so I just crossed my arms behind my head and leaned against the invisible wall, getting myself comfortable. The goblin moved his helicopter behind Genkai's quickly, putting some distance between the two of them, and I had to roll my eyes. Whatever plan he had wasn't going to do any good.


“This calls for evasive action,” Genkai mumbled to herself, laughing slightly.


The goblin turned back around and raced passed Genkai's helicopter, making me get a 'what the fuck did that just do' expression on my face, a sweat drop going down the back of my head. That was pointless! However, I said nothing and watched as the two criss-crossed in front of the other as they raced through the sky, but it wasn't long before Genkai got away from the goblin and appeared on his right side. Genkai let out a smirk before she fired rapid bullets at his helicopter. The goblin's eyes widened and he let out a shouted before he blew up along with his machine, signaling the end of the game. I looked around, seeing the water and the sky fade back into the game room, and I pouted slightly. Aw, it looked cool!


“Game over,” the computerized voice said, Genkai's helicopter now on the ground once again and disappearing. “Winner, Genkai!”


Genkai just smirked.


Amanuma learned forward once again, that same disturbing innocent look appearing in his eyes once again, making me frown. “Hey, you really are good for a nobody,” he complimented and insulted, making me sweat drop at him.


“Nobody my ass,” I mumbled, looking off to the side.

Yusuke let out a scoff, glaring at Amanuma. “You always this cheerful when someone kicks your ass?” he asked in annoyance.


“Oh, you betcha!” Amanuma smirked at him. “Especially when you just wasted your most talented player on the easiest game that I've got here,” he said cockily, but despite that I couldn't find myself getting mad at him like earlier. He...was just a little ningen boy who got swayed into a battle he shouldn't even know existed.


“Take your dunce horns and put yourself in time out!” Yusuke snapped, glaring harder.


The goblin next to the slot machine pulled the lever on the side when Amanuma gave him the okay to go. After a few seconds the slots stopped. “Action Battle. King of the Mountain. Level 1,” Amanuma read off, and I rose an eyebrow, a fighting game for Yusuke? Yep, we're winning again.


Gray swirls of wind suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, forming into a tall blue light, and it was obvious that was the new goblin coming to introduce himself. How exciting. Pff. I looked through bored, half-lidded eyes as the bright blue light dimmed and the wind died away a darker tan colored goblin stood in their place. He was wearing a white martial arts outfit, a dark blue-green vest, and a pink sash tied around his waist. He had black hair in a long pony-tail, giving a monk-like feel to him, but all I did was blink slowly and tiredly at him. This was really starting to get boring now, is the game almost over?


“Are you ready for a whooping? Come fight me!” the goblin shouted, laughing loudly as well.


Yusuke got a cocky smirk on his lips, obviously knowing the advantage. “Aw, yeah! Wouldn't you know, it's a fighting game when my turns comes up. I'm feeling lucky old lady, fortune tapping on my elbow,” he said as he cracked his knuckles, heading towards the controls.


“That was me telling you not to be stupid,” Genkai said, eyes narrowing at him.


“Hey, it's me,” he said, grabbing the joystick.


I stared at his back blankly. “Which is why she's telling you not to be stupid, dumb ass” I said rather bluntly, a smirk falling on my lips when one came onto Hiei's. I love making him smirk. :3


“Shut up, Kira,” Yusuke growled, an irk mark on his temple. Ha.


I just smiled cutely.


However, I stopped when I heard Amanuma laughing darkly under his breath, but even then I couldn't sense a killer intent in him at all. I did NOT like this feeling that I was getting, and I could tell by the end of this game that something bad was going to happen. Who it was going to happen to...I wasn't really sure.


I shook my head of those thoughts, looking at the screen as it showed four ninja goblins. I rose an eyebrow at them, seeing their rather colorful get-ups. Each one of the ninja goblins had bandages covering their faces and their abdomens, the bandages one color each: Blue, yellow, green and pink. They wore gray fur shirts that disappeared beneath the bandages and black pants. Their skin was a lighter tan color with red, yellow, green and purple eyes and pointy ears. On each shirt I saw a red bulls eye, and I instantly knew what the objective for this game was. All Yusuke had to do was hit those bulls eye, and they'll be defeat. Man, this was going to end faster than Genkai's game!


“A tournament of monsters in a forgotten realm, all fighters clash at once in a battle royal. The last one standing becomes King of the Mountain, you have three lives,” the computerized voice explained.


Suddenly the area changed once again, but this time we were in a world that I couldn't help but frown at. It looked way too much like Makai for my liking. Even if it was my home world, I still hated it very much. I looked around despite that, seeing dark clouded skies that had unnatural green and blue glows breaking through the clouds, tall red and purple mountains in the distance and green grass beneath us that swayed as the wind blew. In the distance there were many youkai looking creatures in similar outfits as the ninja goblins, their shirts holding the bulls eyes. They were running towards Yusuke, their footsteps growing louder as they neared him.


Yusuke didn't waste any time, his Spirit Energy forming around his fist as he ran towards them, and the next thing we knew all the creatures were on their knees in slumped over fashions after his quick assault. “Group discounts,” he said with a smirk on his lips, getting out of his fighting stance.


The goblins and creatures, however, let out dark laughter and I wasn't at all surprised. Yusuke hit them all in the face, none of his punches landing on the targets. They took Yusuke's off guard form to their advantage, all of them punching Yusuke in the chest. Yusuke's eyes widened as he let out a grunt of pain, flying backwards from the force of their combined strength. He landed on the ground with a loud thud, making me cringe and sit up immediately, my eyes watching his form nervously. He just lost a goddamn live, and he only had two more. Shit, he better not make this a too close to call kind of match like all his other fights or I'm so going to kick his ass!


“Player one has died, two lives remaining,” the computerized voice informed.


A small little ghost of Yusuke rose from his body, a little halo on his head before he faded into the air. Yusuke's body also faded, and my eyes widened in alarm when I saw that and I was this – close to jumping to my feet and going to him, but when I saw Yusuke reappear standing up a second later I let out a sigh of relief. Fucking game scaring the shit out of me, this thing needs to go to Hell. Or better yet, since Yusuke is fucking standing there with a confused look on his face I think maybe I should beat him up right now instead of later, the goddamn dumb ass!


“Dimwit!” Genkai shouted angrily as more enemies appeared. “You see the targets on their chest? You have to hit them for real damage!”


I threw my hands up. “Thank you, Genkai!” I looked at Yusuke, an irk mark on my temple. “Dammit Yusuke, I don't understand what the hell games are, but at least I got that part! I'm suppose to be an idiot, but what the hell feel free to take that title!” I shouted, an anime mad face present.


“Sorry, I thought they were just wearing big red bulls eyes to be festival!” Yusuke shouted sarcastically, punching them all in the targets when he ran past them, all of them disappearing.


Again, I got an irk mark. “Oh, shut up!”


Yusuke got a smirk on his face when he stopped, looking at where the creatures had been. “Don't stand there looking pretty, get the Power Potion!” Genkai shouted, knocking Yusuke out of his inner gloating party, and I snorted in contempt. Dumb ass.


Blinking, Yusuke saw one of the creatures disappear with a light blue bottle in his place, and he didn't waste any time running over to it. He knelt down and grabbed it off the ground, but I took my eyes off of Yusuke when I felt something make the ground rumble beneath me. I looked behind him, my eyes widening when I saw the game goblin from earlier appear there. However, there was something different about him. I couldn't quiet put my finger on it but-- all right fuck it, he was fucking huge as shit! He stood up, easily towering over Yusuke's form, his shadow practically covering up the mountains behind him. Oh shit...


“Yusuke! Behind you!” I shouted urgently.


Yusuke quickly got to his feet and did as I said, but when he did the goblin had already thrown his bare foot towards Yusuke's small form in a kick. The man's large big toe slammed into Yusuke's stomach and I stuck my tongue out in disgust, my skin crawling at the idea of someone's foot hitting me that close to the face. Gag. Yusuke let out a yell of pain, flying backwards and an extreme speed, and when his body hit the ground a huge wall of dust flew into the air. All of us let out a gasps as our widened, our bodies tensing up nervously, even if some of us didn't like to admit it...


“Shit, this is not good,” I mumbled, my fist at my chest in concern.  


Yusuke laid in a pile of rubble, bruises and cuts littering his skin while dirt covered his clothes. A movement appeared out of my peripheral vision, and I looked up to see the Power Potion flying towards Yusuke, the neck landing in his mouth. I sweat dropped, my nervous look now gone and replaced with a blank expression. Fuck. This. Game. Yusuke chugged the potion, and before we knew it Yusuke was standing and continuing to drink to potion, his bruises and cuts now gone. Yusuke opened his eyes and turned towards the goblin who was staring at him with a fear-filled look. A smirk formed on Yusuke's lips,  revenge flashing through his brown eyes.


“They should sell this stuff at the gas station,” Yusuke said sarcastically, his smirk widening.


His body began to glow a light blue, and he slowly got taller and taller before he was the same height as the goblin. The extra weight that Yusuke now gave off caused the ground below him to crack and break, rocks flying from all sides. The goblin had sweat trickling down his temple, but clenched hiss teeth as he narrowed his eyes, trying to look intimidating. However, that was all ruined when the goblin took an involuntary step backwards.


Yusuke rose his fists, his smirk turning wicked. “Hey, where's your bulls eye?” he asked mockingly, and I couldn't help but smirk at that, shaking my head.


The goblin didn't take his words well and let out a battle cry, pulling back his fist before throwing it forward at Yusuke. Yusuke did the same thing, and because of Yusuke's better skills his punch connected with goblin's face before he could even try and get his fist any closer than it had been. The goblin flew back with a shout of pain, his face now covered with a red mark left by Yusuke's fist. His form grew smaller as it flew towards the mountain behind him, and when he connected the top of the mountain exploding in a blue light, black smoking mixing in as it reached towards the mis-colored sky above.


“When in doubt blow up a mountain,” Yusuke said as he shrunk back down to his original size.


The screen changed as well as the room, everything returning to normal, and the screen read “GAME OVER” in red letters. “Game over. Winner: Yusuke,” the computerized voice said, breaking the silence.


Genkai smirked -or gave a small smile?- at her apprentice.


“Please.” Yusuke turned away from the screen, punching his fist into his palm, that cocky attitude of his shining through like predicted. “I've had crazier fights in real life,” he said gloatingly, walking back towards our small little group of six.


“A.I. is so disappointing,” Amanuma said with a sigh, getting off his throne as he took off his costume/robe, a smirk on his lips now as well. “But that just means its the Goblin King's turn!”


Yusuke and the rest of us looked at Amanuma, watching his form as he stared at all seven of us. The robe in his hand disappeared into thin air, and I was really beginning to hate this disappearing and reappearing stuff that was going on today. However, I swallowed thickly, still not seeing any killer intent in him. I was hating this feeling, something bad was going to happen when this game ends and I wasn't sure who would be hurt or...dead. Amanuma didn't look like he was going to kill anyone, he didn't have the eyes of a killer, he was still innocent and pure child. Like he should be. So...none of us was going to die, right? By why was this bad feeling still lingering around...?


“It would be much more authentic if he kept the robe on,” Kaito said annoyed, pushing up his glasses.


I was knocked out of my thoughts, turning towards the boys, seeing their grim faces. “He's so eager,” Mitarai mumbled with a frown on his lips, sweat trickling down his temple.


“Yes, the first three rounds were to follow the game's script, but this is what he's been waiting for,” Kurama explained to all of us, his eyes narrowing at the boy, and I bit my lip at the sound of that. I was really starting to hate this whole game thing.


Hiei only narrowed his eyes in annoyance.


I frowned at him, but decided not to ask him about it, it would only annoy him even more. I turned my head towards Kurama, seeing him stop at Yusuke's right. “Yusuke, you'll need a Plan B.” Yusuke rose an eyebrow at that, while Kurama turned to look at Amanuma as he took off green cloth from his shoes. “If the Game Master is equal in skill to the Goblin King in the game, it is most likely that either Kaito or I will defeat him allowing the rest of our group to move on. But I fear this child is far superior to even the computer's highest difficulty. Why else would he choose this specific game to bring to life?” he asked seriously.


“Yeah, unless he's got some fetish for losing that's a pretty good point,” Yusuke said, eyes narrowing.


“So, in case Kaito and I...” Kurama said slowly, glancing over at Yusuke sideways. “...don't make it you need to start looking for another way out of this Territory, outside of the game.”


Yusuke's eyes widened, turning to him. “In case you don't....?”


Kurama nodded gravely, his eyes closed for a brief second before he opened them, looking at Amanuma.


“Lets give it a spin!”


All of us looked at the slot machine when we heard Amanuma's voice, seeing him pulling down the lever on its side. The slots spun rapidly, different pictures flashing through randomly. I swallowed thickly, not liking any of what Kurama had said a few moments ago. Was Amanuma really that good? Does he really have a good chance at beating us? What happens if we lose? Will we all die? Will our souls be taken? I paled considerably at all of those negative thoughts as they swarmed around in my head like angry bees, and I could feel myself slowly getting myself worked up. God today sucks ass.


“I hope we get an action one, I want to beat you in style!” Amanuma said with a big grin on his lips, he then turned to the slots when they stopped, and he frowned at the results. “Aw, son of a gun! Not the Master Quiz game! That's like my least favorite game of all of 'em!”


Yusuke smirked confidently. “Good news for the good guys!” he said, punching his fist into his palm.


Kaito stepped forward, looking at Kurama. “I trust you'll let me play?” he asked, and I decided to just focus on the game, distracting myself by rolling my eyes at Kaito's mocking question. He annoys me...


“Please,” Kurama said with nod.


Yusuke looked at Kaito. “You better play it smart, Kaito, Kurama thinks this kid's pretty dangerous,” he said.


Kaito didn't say anything, just brushed the tip of his nose with his knuckle with a 'hmph' and walked towards the controls on the left. Amanuma let out a laugh as he walked towards the controls on the right with his arms behind his head, a big, happy grin on his lips. I frowned again at that, he was still happy despite this being his least favorite game out of all the other ones. At first I had thought that maybe he wasn't good at this one, but that smile instantly told me I was wrong. He was very good at this game, he just found this game to be boring. Fuck.


Kurama narrowed his eyes, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. “He just said this is his least favorite game, yet he's still happy and at ease.” He walked over to Mitarai, looking down at the blond when he turned his questioning  blue gaze towards him. “Now, Mitarai, what can you tell me about the workings of the Game Master's power?” he asked.


“I don't know, I never saw him practicing it really. I just know he can bring games to life,” Mitarai said, looking at the two as they stood in front of the screen, a little cartoon man on it with a pink background. “I don't think he's used his power much, Mr. Sensui didn't really want him to.”


Amanuma walked to Kaito, his grin still there. “Good luck shake?” he asked laughing, holding out his hand.


“Don't spoil the part, the real Goblin King wouldn't ask for a handshake,” Kaito refused bluntly.


“Yeah, yeah, 'spoil the part', you just spoil the fun.” Amanuma put his pinky to his ear with an amused smile, not hurt at all by Kaito's cold attitude, and right now I'm rooting for Game Master. ...Sorry, I just don't like Kaito. “This is a multiple choice quiz where you buzz in your answer. Each right answer gets a point, and the first to ten wins. If you answer something wrong you won't lose points, but if you make three mistakes you're disqualified,” he explained walking back to his controls.


“I know,” was Kaito's slightly annoyed reply.


Amanuma grabbed his joy stick and gave thumbs up. “May the smartest brain win the game!” he said happily.


Kaito just got ready.


“Welcome to the Master Quiz, are you ready to play?” the cartoon man asked, and we waited for one of them to “Push Start” as the screen requested, it blinking at us. “First to ten points wins. Game Start!”


Kaito grabbed his joystick, but noticed Amanuma didn't.  “Lose your nerve, Goblin King?” he asked.


“I'll just stand back and let you get the points, if you even know any answers,” Amanuma answered with a confident smirk on his lips, arms crossed over his chest.


Kaito didn't spare him a glance.  “That's generous, I think I might know a few.”


“Quiz Question #1: In the Ama--”


Kaito hit the button, making a strange sound go off and I blinked in surprise. He didn't even have to wait for the rest of the question to be said, and Yusuke let out a confused noise, raising an eyebrow. Even if I didn't want to admit it, Kaito was rather smart and if he got this right then I'll really be impressed. Fuck. Four answers appeared, each having a number next to them. A little arrow appeared next to “C” and all of a sudden the cartoon man appeared with a smile on his face and little fireworks going off in the pink background.


“You are right, Kaito! One point!” the cartoon man congratulated.


“But he just read the first word of the question,” Yusuke said in shock, his eyes wide. “That's why I failed six grade science!”


Kaito didn't turn towards us, just kept his gaze on the screen. “Well, mine wasn't an act of ignorance. There are a total of seventeen thousand questions in the Battle Quiz database, of those only three begin with “In the A-M-A” which, if allowed to finish, would have spelled “Amazon”. The answers are: “Paroca”, “Piranha” and “Amazon Highway”. They are always lettered the same. “Paroca” is always C,” he said in a matter-of-factly kind of way.


“So, you've memorized seventeen thousand questions and answers?” I asked, staring at him incredulously, my eyebrow raised at him in question. “My god, you really don't have a life, do you?”


Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk, and I wasn't sure if it was mockingly or if he was really impressed by Kaito's explanation. “He's a video game expert, you should see how smooth he is with the ladies,” he said sarcastically, his smirk still there, and I rolled my eyes at him.


I coughed into my hand. “Bullshit!”


“Question #1 was: In the Amazon the Araguaia River has a world famous, natural phenomenon that causes water to flow up stream, what is this called?” the cartoon man asked, showing the full question now.


Kaito looked at Amanuma. “Did I mention? I don't need a handicap,” he said bluntly.


“Concentrate, Question 2 is coming up,” Amanuma advised.


Kaito looked looked away from Amanuma, slightly annoyed that the little boy wasn't intimidated by his superior intellect, and I had to roll my eyes at him once again. However, I kept my mouth shut and continued to watch as Kaito answered the second question, getting it right like we all expected. Then he got the third one right, and then the fourth. I was really beginning to grow bored with this game, I would rather watch everyone play tennis for the rest of the day then have to listen to all these stupid questions and that annoying goddamn music that goes off whenever you guess the right answer. As if a deity of some kind heard me Kaito got the five question right, and that fucking song went off in the silent room. Fucking. Perfect.


“You are right! Five in a row. Kaito – 5 points. Goblin King – 0,” the cartoon man reminded.


“All right, five more and it's over!” Yusuke said with a  grin.


I slumped further down in my sitting position, my eyes dull with boredom and have closed with exhaustion. “Thank you, God,” I mumbled in annoyance.


Kurama, however, had is eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Amanuma continue to stare at the screen with his hand to his chin, in deep thought. “Notice how intensely Amanuma is watching the questions on the monitor, I have to wonder if this is a handicap after all,” he said, and that caught my attention. Now what?


“Kaito is too good, that's just a deer in the video game headlights look,” Yusuke said cockily, smirking.


Genkai glanced at him with a frown. “You're wrong, Yusuke, get a good look at the boy's eyes.”  Yusuke did as he was told, and we all did the same and my eyes widened at the confidence in his eyes. “He's fearless, still confident of victory,” she explained, making my eyes widen as something was beginning to click in my mind.


“But how come? Kaito's answering right at the start of the question, how can anyone be faster?” Mitarai asked in confusion.


“Wait...” I mumbled to myself, it beginning to dawn on me now. Holy shit...


Amanuma snapped his fingers, a big smile on his lips. “Got it! Ready to play!” He grabbed the joystick, rotating his right arm. “Aw yeah! With a come-from-behind victory!” he announced happily.


An annoyed look passed over Kaito's face, and I couldn't help but smirk at that. “A little arrogant don't you agree, King? Considering you haven't answered a question yet. What have you been doing? Gauging my skill?” he asked with a  glare in his eyes and a frown on his lips.


Amanuma stuck out his tongue at him, a mocking smirk on his lips now, making me almost laugh. I was starting to like this kid! “I've known dorks like you, guys who think they're better at games than me just because they're older. Well, for your info what I've been looking at has nothing to do with you. After this next one you'll know what I mean” he said, turning his attention back towards the screen, smirking widely.


“Quiz Question #6--”


Amanuma pressed the button before the first word could even begin to be uttered, and I swallowed thickly, knowing that what had dawned on me earlier was right. Amanuma hadn't been just letting Kaito get answers just for a handicap, but because he was looking at the order of the questions.  I bit my lip, looking at the young boy before me, how in the world could he know seventeen thousand questions and answers, and know what order they were in after only five questions? What was this boy? Even I know that is something a normal ningen couldn't accomplish unless they were extremely gifted intellectually. I bet even Kaito can't do what this boy is doing right now. I hated to admit it, but we were going to lose this round.


The sound of the answers appearing on the screen met my ears and I turned back to the screen, seeing the question not there and no answers next to “A”, “B”, “C” or “D”. That must have been the punishment for pressing the button before the question could be read out. Everyone around me was confused, and I was surprised that I was the only one who figured that out, I thought maybe everyone else already did and I was the last one like always. However, they would all soon find out what was going on anyway.


“You realize what Amanuma's done now.” Kurama frowned. “If a player presses his buzzer before the question begins he will not be allowed to see the question choices,” he explained, proving me right.


“So, he's just gonna guess “A” through “D”? But that's my trick,” Yusuke mumbled, eyebrow raised.


“Question #6, this is an awesome one!” Amanuma smirked confidently. “'In the year 2000 a group of respectable scientists predicted an asteroid would crash into the Earth, what was the asteroid's name'? The answer's “B” for Taltadis,” he answered.


The music went off. “You're right! Goblin King, one point!” the cartoon man shouted.


Yusuke stepped forward, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Either he's got the longest cheat sheet hidden somewhere, or he's memorized that whole damn question verbatim. But we already know he's a psychic, maybe he can see into a video game's future,” he guessed, but I shook my head at him, he was completely looking at this the wrong way.


“Wrong,” I spoke up.


“Oh, and you know whats going on?” Yusuke asked blankly, making me stick my tongue out at him.


Kurama stepped forward, breaking up our childish fight. “I believe the answer is more down to Earth, not only has he memorized the questions like Kaito, he's memorized their order,” he explained, frowning.


I smirked smugly at Yusuke. “Told you~,” I sang.


“Shut up, Kira,” Yusuke growled, an irk mark on his temple. Ha.


I grinned.


Kaito slammed his hand on the stand, making me jump. “Impossible! No-one can ever memorize the order in this game! They're suppose to be asked at random!” he shouted angrily.


“Not exactly, Mr. Know-It-All,” Amanuma spoke up, a matter-of-fact tone in his voice. “It looks random, but it actually goes by a pretty complicated formula. It takes me the first five questions to figure out which track its on, but now that I've got it down I'll be impossible to beat.”


“Quiz Question--”


Amanuma hit the buzzer.


“You're right! Two in a row! Goblin King two points!” the cartoon man announced.


Kaito only stood there, his body frozen in shock.


“Kaito has given up all hope,” Genkai spoke up, looking at the younger boy's pink clad back, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. “He's sure that he'll lose this way.”


Kurama nodded. “Sadly, he's right.”


Hiei suddenly walked forward, his hands in his pocket, instantly catching all of our attention. I sat up straighter, my eyes curiously following his form. *Hiei? What are you doing?* I asked, confusion filling my thoughts.


{You'll see in a moment, Onna,} was his reply.


“Hey, Hiei, where you going? This isn't a tag team,” Yusuke said, that song going off in the background.


Hiei looked over his shoulder at the Spirit Detective. “I'm going to turn this game off,” he replied rather bluntly, and I rose an eyebrow at that. How the hell was he suppose to make that happen?


“Oh?” Yusuke copied my expression. “And how? You see a power strip somewhere?” he asked.


“Please, don't try anything reckless,” Mitarai pleaded, looking at Hiei with a worried expression on his face. “We're inside Amanuma's Territory so...every action we're allowed to take it dictated by the rules he set. He could punish us for doing it wrong.”


“What?!” My eyes widened in fear. “Hiei don't, what happens if he takes your soul?” I asked worriedly.


I couldn't stop the shiver that went through my body, remembering how scared I was when Hiei had turned to stone in the House of Four Dimensions. He had been so cold and I couldn't do anything to help him, I did NOT want him to be in that situation ever again. I looked over at Hiei with a plead in my eyes, and Hiei turned his gaze away from me, looking forward once again. I frowned deeply, my hands gripping my legs in fear, I can't believe he's going to do something like this again. What if Amanuma kills him for disobeying his rules? I shook my head of those thoughts, just thinking about that outcome was too much.


“Then at least I'll know I tried,” was Hiei's reply.


I bit my lip. “Dumb ass,” I mumbled.


Hiei unsheathed his sword and ran towards the screen, slicing his blade through the large screen that was now congratulating Amanuma once again for a correct answer. The screen split down the middle, and electricity sparked from the broken wires before the screen exploded, gray dust spilling out along with a blinding white light. Hiei front flipped away from the screen landing on his left knee, his back faced towards the screen. I kept my wide eyes on him, waiting for that damn green mist to come out of nowhere and cover him like it had done before. Please, don't hurt him...


“Nice one!” Yusuke shouted with a smile, pumping his fist.


I let out a sigh of relief, seeing him still fine. “Thank god, nearly gave me a heart attack,” I breathed out.


“You're right! Five in a row! Tie game!”


The rest of us looked towards the screen in shock, hearing the cartoon man congratulate Amanuma. The screen was perfectly fine, not even a trace of smoke or the cut anywhere. Hiei's eyes widened slightly as he looked over his shoulder, seeing the same thing as we did. A look of annoyance came onto his features, standing up from his crouched position, sliding his sword back into its sheath. He was not happy, and I couldn't blame him. I want to get out of this damn place already, but that wasn't going to happen. We really had to beat this game if we wanted to ever get out of here. Dammit, this really sucks.


“Not even a flinch,” Kurama observed with a frown.


Genkai placed her hands behind her back. “We knew as much, you and Hiei should be study partners Yusuke,” she said mockingly as Hiei put his hands in his pockets and began walking towards us once again.


“Shut up,” Yusuke growled, throwing her a glare.


Amanuma turned to us with a frown, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Could you guys not be so noisy? I'm trying to enjoy my big triumph here,” he said in annoyance, catching our attention. Hell, he even made Hiei stop and look at him for a second before he walked back to his original spot.


“I think this kid is far too young to have control over us,” Genkai said annoyed.


“Yeah,” Yusuke started, putting his hand to his chin. “He's probably still doing the Velcro shoe-thing.”


I nodded, even if I didn't understand the last part.


Kurama frowned deeply, not taking his eyes off the boy. “It certainly seems that the only way to beat him is through the clearing of the game,” he stated, making me groan silently, I really wanted this to end.


“Quiz Question--”


This time, it was Kaito who pushed the button, and that made me blink out of surprise.


“What do you think you're doing?” Amanuma asked, slightly annoyed at the older boy. “You don't know the questions like I do! You'll just be making random guesses!”


Kaito didn't look at him. “I'll have a 25% chance of victory, that's much better than watching you win.”


The four letters appeared on the screen, showing that Kaito had picked B, however, the cartoon man appeared crying with a bunch of X's behind him in the green background. “Sorry, but that's wrong. Kaito has one bad mark,” the cartoon man announced.


It was then a race to the buzzer, the two boys trying to be faster than the other. With each passing second, and each time that Kaito hit his buzzer before Amanuma, tension filled the air. Sure it would be a miracle to win like this but we all knew that no matter what that wouldn't happen, Amanuma knew the answers and would get them right the moment he hits that button. It wasn't long before Amanuma had nine right answers, and Kaito had two bad marks. All of us stared at the two intently, our bodies tensed up as Kaito got the buzzer before Amanuma did. It was now Question #17, and we all waited in silence for the result.


A buzzer went off. He lost.


“Sorry, that's wrong. Kaito has three bad marks. Kaito, game over,” the cartoon man declared.


Kaito gritted his teeth in anger, sweat trickling down his temple as he glared down at the controls before him. “There's nothing I hate more than the pain of defeat, but its all my fault for not noticing the pattern,” he growled to himself, self-loathing radiating off of him in waves.


“Come on, don't be so hard on yourself,” Amanuma said to Kaito with a friendly smile. “You played a good round and it was fun, maybe we can play a game you're better at later on, we'll have time!”


I smiled softly at Amanuma. Yep, he's just an innocent child.


“As far as gaming goes that makes Kurama our last hope.” Yusuke frowned bringing me back to the matter at hand, putting a hand to his chin as he looked forward in thought. “You know, I haven't been too worried since we won the first three so easily, but what happens if we lose Goblin City in this kid's Territory? Arcades do get pretty creative with their death scenes,” he mumbled, making me flinch. Ooh...


“Lovely,” I said sarcastically.


Kaito stopped before us a second later, catching our attention. “Sorry for the loss, but really, the game wasn't as disturbing as what happened just now. There's something different about that kid, he acted...chummy. Does he even realize what he's involved in?” he asked, and I knew he didn't.


“Think Kaito,” Kurama spoke with concern. “Do you feel any different physically?”


“No.” Kaito shook his head. “That's party why it seems so strange. I thought he'd take my soul for losing in his Territory, but I almost feel better,” he answered.


Kurama frowned. “Yes, that would fit the pattern,” he said unclearly.


“Huh?” I rose an eyebrow.  


“All right, I'm gonna start charging you money for being vague,” Yusuke said in annoyance, looking at him.


Kurama copied the Spirit Detective's action. “I now suspect that even if we failed every game none of us would lose our lives., not as long as we keep playing,” he explained.


Yusuke frowned in confusion. “Yeah, but I'm sure you die in the video game.”


“Yes, but only when you're finished completely,” Kurama corrected, making me narrow my eyes in confusion as well. “When you fail in Goblin City you're given a choice to either give up or continue, paying more quarters in the arcade version or pressing Start at home. As long as you choose to continue you can begin again without going through the introductory sequence, but if give up the words “The End” appear in red on the screen above the graves of your fallen heroes.”


An image of all of us dead on the floor flashed in my mind, making me shutter. “Fuck,” I mumbled.


Yusuke eyes widened. “You mean unless we beat this kid at the game that's probably been his babysitter most of his life we'll have to keep playing, and playing if we want to live? But we don't have time for that,” he said, uncertainty filling his tone.


“That is precisely our enemy's point,” Kurama said, eyes closed. “To trap us inside this Territory until the tunnel to Makai can be completed. Its not a matter of fighting for our lives here, but for our time.”


All of us turned when we heard the lever on the slot machine being pulled down.


Amanuma stood with a smirk on his lips, the slot machine's pictures going by rapidly. “Pretty smart, you figured out Sensui's awesome plan. I'm gonna let you out of the game as soon as they're done digging, so come on, we still have a few hours to have some fun,” he said.


Fun, huh?


Sure.


~*~*~*~*


Ending it here! I am SO sorry! I really hate myself for leaving you guys for so long! Dx I just had so much homework like you wouldn't believe, and I had to study or I'll be failing this quarter, and I will NOT have that. I hope you all liked this chapter, and I am completely, and truly sorry! I really am!
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