Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Shadow Fox Tale ❯ Team Shadow Fox ( Chapter 3 )

Yay, I actually got 77 visits!! Sorry for the wait, it's here now, right? Special thanks to dragonfoxloversforever (whoo~ what a long name) for reviewing my weird little ficcie.

In case you're wondering, the names 'Shuenn,' 'Yih,' and 'Shyang' DO have meanings. However, they were translated from Chinese, not Japanese. Partly because I don't speak Janpanese. <Sobs> 'Shuenn' means to follow and submit, kind of like his character around his leader don't you think? 'Yih' was the name of a legendary archer. And last but not least, 'Shyang' means to soar, which is one of his ability. (I'm a spoiler, am I ^^;)

More explanations and weird rumbling later. C&C are welcome ^ ^ And please review!!

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 Looking at the piece of garment in front of her, she smiled and nodded approvingly at the youkai known as the `dressmaker' in the Nigenkai. "I like it," Kiko stated, "Can you make some more of the same style? I'm afraid I'll tear this one in the tournament."

 "Anything for you, Kiko-sama," the youkai replied submissively.

 "How many times have I told you to call me `Kiko?' Drop the `-sama' crap, will you? You're making me uncomfortable."

 "But…"The youkai hesitated, he was considering if he should tell her that Yomi made him… But if Yomi found out… He would better remain quiet.

 "Yomi made you, didn't he?" The youkai's head snapped up, eyes wide, he wondered at how she knew that. She gave him a reassuring smile, and answered the unspoken question, "I have my sources."

 Still amazed, the `dressmaker' nodded and excused himself politely but he didn't use the `-sama' form to address her this time. And he could tell she was pleased by that. Good. He already had enough to do as it is; those min tunics were very hard to make.

 Inside the chamber, the youko was speaking to herself, "I think I'll wear this to dinner this evening. It's about time Yomi learn what's real fashion, anyways. But first thing's first, I think I'm gonna take a looonng bath."

~♪~

 For the next month, the Urmeshi team trained every day. Just because they did well in Ankoku Bujutsukai, didn't mean that they were invincible, besides, they didn't trust Koenma. So when he said they're gonna do just fine; they had to train extra hard. Which they did. Finally, there's only three days until their first match…

 "Ouch, my butt still hurts so bad…Wait until I get my hands on that stupid ferry-girl when we get back…" Yusuke complained as he rubbed his sore bottom while traveling alone with his companions.

 "Shut up, Urmeshi, you're not the only one who fell, okay?" Kuwabara groaned irritably, but instead of rubbing his bottom, his was rubbing his face.

 None of the Tanteis looked too pleased. Not that you could blame them: The portal that Botan had opened for them was five feet off the ground, so when they walked through…well, you get the picture. Simply put, it was not a pretty sight.

 "I think we're here," Kurama said, pointing at the hotel not too far away from them.

 "Finally! I thought we were lost!" Kuwabara exclaimed, very relieved.

 "None of us thought we were lost, baka nigen." Hiei spoke for the first time since they crossed the portal. He had changed his position at the last second when they were falling and was the only one that landed on his feet, however, it all happened too fast, so he didn't have time to bend his knees. Now both his legs hurt like hell. And his mood was visibly affected by it.

 Though their mood did got a little better once they've reached their room. Since they were competing, their room had a medium-sized living room, two restrooms and two cozy-looking bedrooms; guess they'll have to share. Kurama liked the arrangements very much; finally he would be able to carry out his `third idea…'(remember chapter one?) Oh no, he would not miss this chance…

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 "Can you sense it? He's here."

 "Baka. Of course I can sense him, in fact, I can smell him too. But…"

 "But…?"

 "He has someone else's scent on him. Knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised if he's just done it this morning."

 He shrugged, "I guess you're right. That fox really needs to restrain himself a little more."

 "Hn. Talk about huge understatements. But he's so damn good, and practically everybody would fall for him just like that," she snapped her fingers, "That damn kitsune."

 "I thought you love him."

 "I do!" she raised her voice so loud that she was sure the people downstairs could hear her as clear as bells.

 Yomi "looked" at her and smiled, "It's such a shame."

 "What's a shame?"

"Nothing."

Kiko "hmphed" then sat up walked to the door, stopping at it, she turned to the blind Maikai lord, "You know that I HATE you, right old goat?" Smiling he nodded. Then she walked out of his room, closing the door gently behind her.

After making sure that she was really out of earshot, he whispered ever so quietly to the air around him, "I really like you, Kiko. I like you so much that...I…I think I love you…" A tear ran down his pale cheek and dropped.

Like his heart.

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 "The fight was boring," Yusuke concluded. Which was what the rest of the Urmeshi team thought of. They've, or rather, Kuwabara had defeated the other team in ten minutes; the guy was now happy beyond measures, though Hiei begged to differ, like he always did.

 "I thought the tournament was supposed to be `challenging.' But all we ended up doing was wasting our precious time on stupid low-classed youkais."

 "But, Yusuke, this is only the fifth round, we still have…Let me see," Kurama ran his eyes over the schedule he had in his hands, "…Five…Ten…Sixteen more rounds to go before we fight the finals."

 "Well," Kuwabara said in a matter-of-fact tone, "At the rate this is going, I highly doubt even the finals are gonna be tough."

 "Don't count on it, nigen."

 "Well, how do you know, Shrimp?"

 Hiei said no more but pointed at the TV screen that was reporting the match live from the stadium. On the screen were four figures in capes. Four silver capes. Kurama immediately realized what the material was, "They're min capes!" he gasped. Hiei's almond eyes widened at the statement.

 "What's that?" Yusuke asked, very confused.

 "Are you sure?"

 "Hiei, what do you think? They made those out of me!" Nigen-youko nearly screamed, then he lowered his voice into a whisper, "Sorry, koi, I shouldn't have yelled at you." Hiei flashed him a quick "You're-Forgiven-Smile" that only the kitsune managed to catch.

 "Oi, Kurama, what the hell is `min?'"

 "Min is a type of fabric, usually used to make clothing, known for its softness that even silk can't compare. It's very expensive and rare, so just a little piece of it can be easily sold for thousands in the market. Why? Because min is made of pure silver youko hair, that's why it's silver and no one dares dye it in to other colors, afraid that they would ruin the garments. Min is very hard to make, think about it: how do you make hair into garments? It requires a huge amount of skill and experience. It's also hard to make min into clothing. Think of it as the silver youkos' version of tear gems. What I don't get is how they managed to get enough min to make long capes for FOUR people."

 "They must be rich," Yusuke said in awe.

 "Or," Hiei commented, "They have a silver youko on their team."

 "Shhh, you guys," Kuwabara hushed everyone, "It's starting."

 The screen showed one of the caped figures jumped up to the arena, at the bottom of the screen showed the figure's name: Shuenn. Shuenn gently took off his cape and handed it to one of his teammates with a charming smile, but became completely emotionless once turned back to his opponent.

 The guy was handsome all right. He had long flowing night-sky blue hair, grass-colored eyes, high cheekbones, and a slender yet well-toned frame. There were mobs of both male and female youkai screaming his name; some of them actually got a huge sign that said: ♥We LOVE Shadow Fox and Shuenn!! ♥ Kuwabara was green with envy; Hiei snorted. However, Shuenn paid no mind to any of the screaming youkais, although he did kept glancing back at his teammate that was carrying his cloak, and Kurama swore he saw Shuenn blushed each time he glanced back.

 As soon as the announcer declared the fight started, Shuenn disappeared only to appear at his opponent's back and sent a kick to the unfortunate youkai's ribs. The youkai flew across the stadium and landed on some of the audience; he was not moving.

"He defeated a B+ class just like that," Yusuke's jaw dropped. The rest of the round went pretty much the same; Shuenn beat the other three in the same way, none of the matches was more than two seconds. He definitely didn't waste time.

 When he walked back to join his teammates, the same figure that accepted his cape handed it back to him without a word, Shuenn's face turned beat red, he mumbled softly, about his gratitude no doubt. Then the figure that handed him his cape raised his hand to pat Shuenn's head, the cape slipped off the arm and showed perfectly flawless creamy skin. The hand shrank back under the cape as the caped figure turned towards the exit, leading the other three out of the stadium.

 "I'll bet he's their leader, that one that patted Shuenn on the head." Yusuke observed.

 "Shuenn acted like a puppy around him," Kuwabara exclaimed, "He must be very powerful."

 "I think there's more to it than that," Kurama said while searching though the papers in his hands, "Did you see that Shuenn kept glancing back at him as if he was scared that his leader would disappear any minute? And the way he always blushes when his leader looks at him? Personally, I think Shuenn has a crush on his boss."

 "Are you serious?!" The kitsune nodded.

 "They're the team called `Shadow Fox,'" Kurama stated, eyes on the page of the competing teams' names and their members, "There's another one named `Shyang,' one named `Yih.' And their leader…that's weird…"

 "What's weird?" Kuwabara asked anxiously. The last thing he wanted was being publicly defeated and humiliated by someone he had no clue about.

 "They didn't list their leader's name on here…It just says `Unavailable.'" Kurama frowned. Hiei snatched the piece of paper out of the fox's hands and read it for himself: The fox was right; there is no name for their leader!

 "Do you believe me now, Koi?" the redhead whispered in his ear as he took the list gently out of the smaller youkai's hands.

 "Hn."

 Yusuke put his hands behind his head, a smile on his lips, "Guess the tournament won't be too boring after all, ne?"

 "Guess not."

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P.S. I know that Yomi is really OOC in the fic. The truth is, I've never got far enough in the series to understand Yomi's character, or seen him for that matter. I only knew of him from people talking on the net. Gomen. And, yes. It was very cheesy, I know.