Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Two Hearts, Two Minds, One Soul ❯ Kurama's Fight to the Death ( Chapter 25 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Mitsukai no Awai 
the beginning of the finals; Kurama versus Karasu.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Romance / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.03.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 288 | Status: Completed
the beginning of the finals; Kurama versus Karasu.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Romance / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.03.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 288 | Status: Completed
Well... I'm sorry... I didn't know that it would take that long! T_T Also... my graduation fish, Fishy, which I got on Banquet night, the night before Graduation night, died a couple of days ago. My poor Fishy! Now since my Fishy has died, I come to the realization that my celebration of graduting has come to an end.
Everyone stands around a hole where my beta fish, Fishy, lies in.
Kurama: We are forced here to watch a stupid fish's funeral. Mitsukai, anything you would like to say?
MNA: *weeping* I DON'T OWN Yu Yu Hakusho! *cries* WHY? WHY? WHY?
Hiei: Must...resist killing...baka ningens... Don't want to go... to Spirit Jail...
Yusuke: *annoyed* R&R.
MNA: *hugs Hiei to death* WHY!? WHY!? WHY!!!!!!!!????????
Hiei: *eye twitching* Can't control urge to kill....
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Two Hearts, Two Minds, One Soul
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kurama's Fight to the Death
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Kurama immediately took on a fighting pose, but Karasu only turned slightly. "You're sure you're...okay like that?" he asked softly. Kurama's eyes sharpened as Karasu continued. "You must have gotten a glimpse of my power earlier... Knowing that, you haven't come here to be killed without putting up a fight, right?"
"I'll change soon enough," Kurama assured bitterly. "If it's to defeat you...I'll become anything I have to!"
Karasu only laughed. "I'll count on that."
Then the fighting began.
"Fuuka Enbujin!" Kurama shouted as innumerable flower petals swirled around him. Karasu walked toward him calmly, ignoring a petal as it sliced across his cheek, opening a narrow cut. Kurama glared.
Crouching slightly, Kurama sent the entire flood of petals directly at Karasu, gasping when they suddenly began exploding on their own.
'He's not touching them?!'
"You've got my power all wrong, haven't you?" Karasu asked conversationally. He rushed at Kurama, fists flying as the redhead urgently dodged, drawing a seed from his hair.
"Rose Whip!"
Karasu held out his hand, and the whip exploded, leaving in Kurama's hand nothing more than a stem. Leaping up, the vile crow sent himself plummeting toward the earth and toward Kurama, hand outstretched and nails growing bright red. As Kurama leapt to the side, confident he had avoided a hit, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left arm.
Karasu laughed as they saw it had been a bomb explosion that caused the wound. "I did not touch you just now," he reminded Kurama.
~I know what it is,~ Carnation proclaimed.
"What? Invisible bombs?" Gwen asked as she looked on, worried about Kurama.
~Well, that's what I'm assuming.~
Gwen turned to the girls, seeing Botan getting worried as well.
'She doesn't want our friends to die. I don't blame her,' Gwen thought, turning back to Kurama.
Holding his arm, Kurama ran off to the side, stopping short when Karasu leapt over him and landed before him. Another bomb exploded on Kurama's right leg.
Karasu laughed again. "Alright, I'll give you a hint. Just as you are able to control plants with your youki, I am also able to control a certain thing. What's more, I am able to create it. It's in my right hand at this moment. Even so, you are probably unable to see it."
Gwen gripped the edge of her seat. 'Kurama...'
"I've grown tired of all this talking," Karasu said loudly. "Are you just about ready to die? Lastly, I will take this spiritual object that I control and intensify its manifestation even further so that you can see it."
A bomb suddenly formed in Karasu's hand, and he threw it to the startled kitsune.
~I knew it!~ Carnation exclaimed.
"Oh no! Kurama!!!!!!" Gwen shouted as she stood up.
The smoke glittered and sparked an electric blue, emitting blue flames and black lightning. Koto, at an announcer's desk in the front row, shouted something about the Uraotogi battle as the form of a large silver kitsune appeared in the smoke.
It cleared, revealing a very bitter looking Youko.
'That was a close one. Had this been Minamino Shuiichi's body, it would have been blown to bits.'
Youko turned his head to face Gwen, watching her reaction. Her eyes were glittering and she seemed to be in a dream state. When she noticed that he was looking at her, she blushed. He smirked and turned back to face his opponent.
"Is that...Youko Kurama?" Gwen asked, still looking at the silver fox.
"I think so. I never saw him in his youko form during the semifinals..." Botan mumbled as the girls watched.
"Go get him, Youko," Gwen said, smiling.
"You create bombs, huh?" Youko Kurama asked casually. "I am pleased to meet someone from the class among youkai with the ability to control things, the Quest Class...but I am still going to kill you."
Karasu's eyes narrowed. "It is you who is going to die!" he shouted, summoning two small bombs shaped like little heads consisting of mouths and overly large eyes. Youko merely laughed, throwing a rose into each and exploding it.
"Now I see..." said Karasu with an air of sudden understanding. "You cannot beat me, even as you are now... Would you like to try?"
Karasu sent out more bombs, these shaped like eyes with wings.
"Trace-eye homing bombs," he said bitterly. "They are subordinate beings, made from my youki."
Youko laughed as he ran from the trace-eyes. "Do you know of the plant known as the Ojigi weed? It's a perennial from South America, which reacts to vibrations, to being touched, or to flammables by closing its leaves."
Karasu's eyes narrowed even further. "I'm not interested in horticulture."
Youko landed on the surface of the ring to find himself bordered on every side by trace-eyes.
Karasu shifted his posture confidently. "You're surrounded! This is what you might call a desperate situation."
"I'm not so sure about that," Youko retorted.
Karasu seemed to smirk behind his mask as the bombs closed in on their target. Youko, in turn, muttered something in Hebrew and was surrounded by a vortex of bright white-blue light, exploding the bombs a safe distance from himself. When all things cleared, he was surrounded by a purple plant with thick, sharply spiked vines and enormous leaves, each topped with a small mouth. He laughed to himself.
"The Makai variety is a bit different," he said calmly. "It attacks anything that moves or is laden with flammables on its own." The plants twitched, winding around in midair above Youko and opening themselves threateningly at Karasu. "It appears it identified you as its target," Youko told him loudly as Karasu leapt out of the way of an incoming vine.
Dodging swiftly, Karasu reared back to throw a bomb at one of the vines, sending it up in flames as another came to take its place. Youko continued to stand by and laugh.
Gwenevere watched the fight, seeing Youko clearly gain the upper hand.
"Go Youko! You can win this!" Gwen cheered as the other girls watched the fight, but not nearly as excited as Gwen was.
A head of leaves erupted from the flames bathing the background of the ring, snaring Karasu successfully and carrying him up to the air. More joined it quickly, and soon Karasu was being held tightly enough that his mask flew off, accompanied by a thin trickle of blood.
Completely engulfed in a ball of leaves, Karasu's form was presumably nipped at by the plant's mouths as they cut off his air supply. Youko turned, walking off towards the edge of the ring as Juri began to announce him as the winner.
"And the winner - ahhh!"
Youko stopped, looking over his shoulder. The plants had been blown back and Karasu was standing there, breathing in deeply, his hair turning from stringy black to stringy yellow. Youko gasped under his breath. "Nani..."
Gwen stared at Karasu. 'He's stronger...' She turned toward Youko. 'Be careful, Youko...'
Karasu laughed, clasping his hands before him. "Shineh!"
A ball of sickly green youki formed around his hands, growing to surround him completely. He leapt into the air, laughing maniacally. Soaring towards the ground, he crashed into Youko, blowing up much of the ring and knocking bystanders askew.
"Yusuke!" Keiko screamed.
"Don't worry. They're all safe. See?" Shizuru said, pointing to the boys who were fine, and Hiei standing on the top of the wall.
"But... Where's Kurama!?" Gwen asked.
Koto shouted something about Kurama no longer being in the ring, but Team Urameshi was too preoccupied with their own recovery to notice.
To Karasu's great surprise, Kurama pushed his way out from under a pile of rubble, standing before them looking confused and angry.
"Kurama!" Yusuke shouted. "He's back to normal! The effects of the drug have worn off!"
"T-that's ridiculous!" Kuwabara stuttered. "It's only been five or six minutes! He should be able to stay Youko for fifteen minutes!"
Karasu stepped forward, looking down at his opponent with an eerie sort of happiness. "Sorry to interrupt you while your lost in thought," he said, "but it's time to say your prayers. That you may at least die an easy death..." His laugh was wicked and cold.
Kurama withdrew a rose from his hair, holding it out to side as he glared at Karasu. Hand trembling, he tried to form his rose whip, but the blossom only shattered. Karasu's smirk was in his voice. "It would appear you don't even have enough youki left to make a plant into a weapon. You are no longer up to being able to see my youki either, are you?" Kurama shivered, and Karasu glared. "Announce that you give up," he advised. "I will kill you in such a way that you will not suffer."
"Ch." Kurama charged, taking vicious swings at Karasu as Koto announced that these were the first signs of fisticuffs Kurama had exhibited all tournament. Finally landing in a good attack, he sent Karasu skidding backwards, only to have the crow stop himself and stand upright.
"That was a pretty good thrust, or so I'd like to say," he commented casually. Feeling around his chest, he withdrew what appeared to be a seed from a wound there. "This is what you were after, right? Shimaneki Sou. (Grass of Death)"
'What'll Kurama do now?' Gwen thought as she watched Kurama anxiously.
"Let me commend you for injuring me not only once, but twice now," said Karasu with a cocky smile. Kurama stepped back, tensing, and the ring erupted around his leg - a small bomb clamped him in place and emerged, laughing. "Caught you!" it said happily.
"My underground explosive, the Muddy Bomb," Karasu explained as the bomb laughed. "Just a little longer..." it said, suddenly sending the last of a spark down its wick and exploding. Kurama screamed, falling to the ground.
Standing shakily after much effort, Kurama wavered in place. Yusuke ran towards the ring urgently. "Kurama," he shouted, "don't move! You're surrounded!"
Karasu stepped forward, smirking. "Even if you can't move," he said, "it must be all you can do just to stand up, right? There's nothing you can do. You can't call on any plants from the Makai. You can no longer make a plant into a weapon, either. Am I wrong?"
Kurama grimaced.
"It would be a simple matter for me to blow you to bits," Karasu continued. "But I'm not going to do so!"
The bombs surrounding Kurama moved in, exploding on his shoulder and several around his leg.
Gwen sat back down, trembling with fright. "Kurama..." She turned to Yukina, who was sitting beside her and broke down. "Kurama can't die..."
Yukina hugged her, forcing Canation off onto Shizuru's lap. "Don't worry, Gwen. He'll be fine."
Karasu laughed again. "You've done well to put me to this much trouble. I wish I could place you at my side forever... As your reward, I will let your beautiful face remain just as pretty as it is." (YOU SICK GAY CROW! I'm glad you died!!!!!)
Kurama stood, wavering.
"Now then, shall we move on?" Karasu asked. More bombs hit Kurama, in the stomach, the arm, the side... Blood spurted forth around him and his tunic was soaked. He fell to the ring floor.
The crowds shouted excitedly at Karasu to kill Kurama. Juri ran forward, beginning a count. "1...2...3...4...5...6..."
Kurama raised himself above the ring, glaring at Karasu furiously. "I don't need you to count!" Karasu shouted. "It's who lives and who dies!"
'No, it's not!'
"Shineh!"
'You're dying too!'
With a furious roar, Kurama summoned a large plant which flew forward, nailing Karasu right where he was bleeding, by his heart. It began sucking his blood eagerly, covering his soon-to-be corpse.
Kurama rose above the ring slowly, barely managing the kneel, hands pushing him up. He stood on shaky legs as Juri looked on nervously.
Botan jumped for joy. "Gwen! Gwen! Kurama won! He's alright!"
Gwen looked up, seeing Kurama up on his feet. 'Kurama...' She wiped her tears and hugged Yukina, laughing and cheering with the other girls.
Koto commented on Kurama's great victory. Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Koenma celebrated, but Hiei was very serious and quiet, watching Team Toguro.
'They don't look like a team who just lost... What do they know that we don't?'
Yusuke entered the ring, walking toward Kurama.
"Are you alright, Kurama?"
Still weak, Kurama falls back on his knees. "I'm sorry, Yusuke. I only had enough power to kill at that moment. I lost the fight." Juri announced Karasu as the winner of the fight.
"Nani!? How could that be!" Gwen shouted in anger at Juri. Everyone was surprised, including Koto.
"Hey! Kurama won!" Yusuke shouted at the referee.
"I finished the countdown and Kurama was still down," Juri simply explained.
"I don't believe this!"
"But, Yusuke, it's true," Kurama comfirmed.
Koto received the tape of the fight and played it on a large screen television, watching as Juri's countdown hit "10" just as Kurama first summoned his Kyuuketsu Shokubutsu (Bloodsucker Plant).
Yusuke was fuming by now, but didn't argue back. He helped Kurama out of the ring while the crowds hooted and whistled.
"He's dead and still the winner?! The most important is survival," Kuwabara shouted at the crowds of youkai.
"What's the use of surviving if your fate is settled? The gates of Hell are already open to receive you. Remember that the winning team will receive a prize, and know that my deepest wish is the death of all of you," Toguro Ani proclaimed.
The crowds applauded at Toguro Ani's speech. Shizuru smacked the head of a cheering youkai nearby.
"Do something, Kazuma!" Shizuru yelled at her little brother.
George glanced at Yukina and shouted, "Yukina's crying!"
The girls snapped their heads at her as Yukina blinked. "But I'm not crying."
They smirked, including Carnation. "Never mind."
Yusuke laid Kurama on the ground against the ring, turning to the hooting crowd. "Shut up!"
"You want to know what my wish will be?" Hiei finally spoke up. Everyone fell silent and Gwen looked at him, wondering what his wish was. "I will wish for the bloody deaths of every puppet master behind this tournament, so that I may never be brought into it again."
Sayko grinned, remembering what Toguro Otouto did to the sponsors.
"It seems we've already granted his wish, free of charge," laughed Otouto.
Toguro Ani stepped into the ring. "Who's gonna be my first victim?" However, Bui stepped in as well. "What, you want to go first? I'm surprised with such a categorical decision," Ani said mockingly. Bui didn't reply, only walked towards the center of the ring, every step shaking the ground. "All right, then, Bui," Ani agreed. "Go and show them what death means."
Seeing Bui's approach, Kurabara said that he would be next to fight. "I'll show my courage to Yukina!"
"I'll be praying for you, Kuwabara," Koenma said.
Kuwabara shook Koenma's collar as Hiei spoke to Yusuke. "I intended to fight that bastard with the sunglasses, but in consideration to Genkai, I'll leave him to you." He blurred away and appeared standing in the ring. "I'll be content with fighting this bastard."
Seeing Hiei taking the initiative, Koenma said, "Look, Kuwabara, Hiei's saving your skin." With that, the ruler was shaken by the collar once more.
"The next match in the finals is Hiei versus Bui," Juri announced as the two met in the center of the ring; Hiei's full height, including his hair, only reached Bui's waist. (*runs away from Hiei as fast as I can* Hiei: How dare you insult my stature!)
Bui formed a gigantic axe in his right hand; the blade alone was bigger than Hiei. (*giggles as I type* Hiei: Must...resist...killing...onna) Hiei wasn't impressed, though. He took off his cloak, revealing his right arm covered by tight bandages. A small ball shaped bell hung from his wrist, and another strip of ward was slapped over his knuckles.
"The bandages are a ward. They contain the power of the Kokuryuuha within. I'm impressed at how quickly Hiei had mastered the technique," Kurama said, answering Yusuke and Kuwabara's confusion.
Juri looked at both fighters. "Begin!"
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Ta da! I have decided to post up a stupid pic that I drew about Gwen! The only problem is that her hair looks orange... T_T
*I, fortunately for Hiei, am not latched onto Hiei anymore. We continue the funeral.*
*In my mind* Kurama: Blah blah blah blah blah.
Yusuke: oink oink oink moo moo.
Kuwabara: I'm stupid. I'm stupid. I'm stupid.
*In reality, they are complaining how stupid this is*
Carnation, sneaky as she is, jumps into the hole and eats the fish.
MNA: You stupid cat! I'll kill you!
Carnation: *looking innocent* Meow?
Girls except me: AWWWWWWWW!
MNA: -_-UUU Stupid cat... *watches Carnation get attention from the other girls*
MNA grins evilly as she thinks of Carnation's demise. Hiei looks at her confused and read her mind. MNA walks away... and surprisingly, Hiei follows her with a smirk.
Kuwabara: Uh...
Kurama: You have to say Review.
Kuwabara: Why?
Yusuke: So they can make fun of you!
Kuwabara punches Yusuke, and they start another fight.
Kurama: Review please.
Everyone stands around a hole where my beta fish, Fishy, lies in.
Kurama: We are forced here to watch a stupid fish's funeral. Mitsukai, anything you would like to say?
MNA: *weeping* I DON'T OWN Yu Yu Hakusho! *cries* WHY? WHY? WHY?
Hiei: Must...resist killing...baka ningens... Don't want to go... to Spirit Jail...
Yusuke: *annoyed* R&R.
MNA: *hugs Hiei to death* WHY!? WHY!? WHY!!!!!!!!????????
Hiei: *eye twitching* Can't control urge to kill....
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Two Hearts, Two Minds, One Soul
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kurama's Fight to the Death
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Kurama immediately took on a fighting pose, but Karasu only turned slightly. "You're sure you're...okay like that?" he asked softly. Kurama's eyes sharpened as Karasu continued. "You must have gotten a glimpse of my power earlier... Knowing that, you haven't come here to be killed without putting up a fight, right?"
"I'll change soon enough," Kurama assured bitterly. "If it's to defeat you...I'll become anything I have to!"
Karasu only laughed. "I'll count on that."
Then the fighting began.
"Fuuka Enbujin!" Kurama shouted as innumerable flower petals swirled around him. Karasu walked toward him calmly, ignoring a petal as it sliced across his cheek, opening a narrow cut. Kurama glared.
Crouching slightly, Kurama sent the entire flood of petals directly at Karasu, gasping when they suddenly began exploding on their own.
'He's not touching them?!'
"You've got my power all wrong, haven't you?" Karasu asked conversationally. He rushed at Kurama, fists flying as the redhead urgently dodged, drawing a seed from his hair.
"Rose Whip!"
Karasu held out his hand, and the whip exploded, leaving in Kurama's hand nothing more than a stem. Leaping up, the vile crow sent himself plummeting toward the earth and toward Kurama, hand outstretched and nails growing bright red. As Kurama leapt to the side, confident he had avoided a hit, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left arm.
Karasu laughed as they saw it had been a bomb explosion that caused the wound. "I did not touch you just now," he reminded Kurama.
~I know what it is,~ Carnation proclaimed.
"What? Invisible bombs?" Gwen asked as she looked on, worried about Kurama.
~Well, that's what I'm assuming.~
Gwen turned to the girls, seeing Botan getting worried as well.
'She doesn't want our friends to die. I don't blame her,' Gwen thought, turning back to Kurama.
Holding his arm, Kurama ran off to the side, stopping short when Karasu leapt over him and landed before him. Another bomb exploded on Kurama's right leg.
Karasu laughed again. "Alright, I'll give you a hint. Just as you are able to control plants with your youki, I am also able to control a certain thing. What's more, I am able to create it. It's in my right hand at this moment. Even so, you are probably unable to see it."
Gwen gripped the edge of her seat. 'Kurama...'
"I've grown tired of all this talking," Karasu said loudly. "Are you just about ready to die? Lastly, I will take this spiritual object that I control and intensify its manifestation even further so that you can see it."
A bomb suddenly formed in Karasu's hand, and he threw it to the startled kitsune.
~I knew it!~ Carnation exclaimed.
"Oh no! Kurama!!!!!!" Gwen shouted as she stood up.
The smoke glittered and sparked an electric blue, emitting blue flames and black lightning. Koto, at an announcer's desk in the front row, shouted something about the Uraotogi battle as the form of a large silver kitsune appeared in the smoke.
It cleared, revealing a very bitter looking Youko.
'That was a close one. Had this been Minamino Shuiichi's body, it would have been blown to bits.'
Youko turned his head to face Gwen, watching her reaction. Her eyes were glittering and she seemed to be in a dream state. When she noticed that he was looking at her, she blushed. He smirked and turned back to face his opponent.
"Is that...Youko Kurama?" Gwen asked, still looking at the silver fox.
"I think so. I never saw him in his youko form during the semifinals..." Botan mumbled as the girls watched.
"Go get him, Youko," Gwen said, smiling.
"You create bombs, huh?" Youko Kurama asked casually. "I am pleased to meet someone from the class among youkai with the ability to control things, the Quest Class...but I am still going to kill you."
Karasu's eyes narrowed. "It is you who is going to die!" he shouted, summoning two small bombs shaped like little heads consisting of mouths and overly large eyes. Youko merely laughed, throwing a rose into each and exploding it.
"Now I see..." said Karasu with an air of sudden understanding. "You cannot beat me, even as you are now... Would you like to try?"
Karasu sent out more bombs, these shaped like eyes with wings.
"Trace-eye homing bombs," he said bitterly. "They are subordinate beings, made from my youki."
Youko laughed as he ran from the trace-eyes. "Do you know of the plant known as the Ojigi weed? It's a perennial from South America, which reacts to vibrations, to being touched, or to flammables by closing its leaves."
Karasu's eyes narrowed even further. "I'm not interested in horticulture."
Youko landed on the surface of the ring to find himself bordered on every side by trace-eyes.
Karasu shifted his posture confidently. "You're surrounded! This is what you might call a desperate situation."
"I'm not so sure about that," Youko retorted.
Karasu seemed to smirk behind his mask as the bombs closed in on their target. Youko, in turn, muttered something in Hebrew and was surrounded by a vortex of bright white-blue light, exploding the bombs a safe distance from himself. When all things cleared, he was surrounded by a purple plant with thick, sharply spiked vines and enormous leaves, each topped with a small mouth. He laughed to himself.
"The Makai variety is a bit different," he said calmly. "It attacks anything that moves or is laden with flammables on its own." The plants twitched, winding around in midair above Youko and opening themselves threateningly at Karasu. "It appears it identified you as its target," Youko told him loudly as Karasu leapt out of the way of an incoming vine.
Dodging swiftly, Karasu reared back to throw a bomb at one of the vines, sending it up in flames as another came to take its place. Youko continued to stand by and laugh.
Gwenevere watched the fight, seeing Youko clearly gain the upper hand.
"Go Youko! You can win this!" Gwen cheered as the other girls watched the fight, but not nearly as excited as Gwen was.
A head of leaves erupted from the flames bathing the background of the ring, snaring Karasu successfully and carrying him up to the air. More joined it quickly, and soon Karasu was being held tightly enough that his mask flew off, accompanied by a thin trickle of blood.
Completely engulfed in a ball of leaves, Karasu's form was presumably nipped at by the plant's mouths as they cut off his air supply. Youko turned, walking off towards the edge of the ring as Juri began to announce him as the winner.
"And the winner - ahhh!"
Youko stopped, looking over his shoulder. The plants had been blown back and Karasu was standing there, breathing in deeply, his hair turning from stringy black to stringy yellow. Youko gasped under his breath. "Nani..."
Gwen stared at Karasu. 'He's stronger...' She turned toward Youko. 'Be careful, Youko...'
Karasu laughed, clasping his hands before him. "Shineh!"
A ball of sickly green youki formed around his hands, growing to surround him completely. He leapt into the air, laughing maniacally. Soaring towards the ground, he crashed into Youko, blowing up much of the ring and knocking bystanders askew.
"Yusuke!" Keiko screamed.
"Don't worry. They're all safe. See?" Shizuru said, pointing to the boys who were fine, and Hiei standing on the top of the wall.
"But... Where's Kurama!?" Gwen asked.
Koto shouted something about Kurama no longer being in the ring, but Team Urameshi was too preoccupied with their own recovery to notice.
To Karasu's great surprise, Kurama pushed his way out from under a pile of rubble, standing before them looking confused and angry.
"Kurama!" Yusuke shouted. "He's back to normal! The effects of the drug have worn off!"
"T-that's ridiculous!" Kuwabara stuttered. "It's only been five or six minutes! He should be able to stay Youko for fifteen minutes!"
Karasu stepped forward, looking down at his opponent with an eerie sort of happiness. "Sorry to interrupt you while your lost in thought," he said, "but it's time to say your prayers. That you may at least die an easy death..." His laugh was wicked and cold.
Kurama withdrew a rose from his hair, holding it out to side as he glared at Karasu. Hand trembling, he tried to form his rose whip, but the blossom only shattered. Karasu's smirk was in his voice. "It would appear you don't even have enough youki left to make a plant into a weapon. You are no longer up to being able to see my youki either, are you?" Kurama shivered, and Karasu glared. "Announce that you give up," he advised. "I will kill you in such a way that you will not suffer."
"Ch." Kurama charged, taking vicious swings at Karasu as Koto announced that these were the first signs of fisticuffs Kurama had exhibited all tournament. Finally landing in a good attack, he sent Karasu skidding backwards, only to have the crow stop himself and stand upright.
"That was a pretty good thrust, or so I'd like to say," he commented casually. Feeling around his chest, he withdrew what appeared to be a seed from a wound there. "This is what you were after, right? Shimaneki Sou. (Grass of Death)"
'What'll Kurama do now?' Gwen thought as she watched Kurama anxiously.
"Let me commend you for injuring me not only once, but twice now," said Karasu with a cocky smile. Kurama stepped back, tensing, and the ring erupted around his leg - a small bomb clamped him in place and emerged, laughing. "Caught you!" it said happily.
"My underground explosive, the Muddy Bomb," Karasu explained as the bomb laughed. "Just a little longer..." it said, suddenly sending the last of a spark down its wick and exploding. Kurama screamed, falling to the ground.
Standing shakily after much effort, Kurama wavered in place. Yusuke ran towards the ring urgently. "Kurama," he shouted, "don't move! You're surrounded!"
Karasu stepped forward, smirking. "Even if you can't move," he said, "it must be all you can do just to stand up, right? There's nothing you can do. You can't call on any plants from the Makai. You can no longer make a plant into a weapon, either. Am I wrong?"
Kurama grimaced.
"It would be a simple matter for me to blow you to bits," Karasu continued. "But I'm not going to do so!"
The bombs surrounding Kurama moved in, exploding on his shoulder and several around his leg.
Gwen sat back down, trembling with fright. "Kurama..." She turned to Yukina, who was sitting beside her and broke down. "Kurama can't die..."
Yukina hugged her, forcing Canation off onto Shizuru's lap. "Don't worry, Gwen. He'll be fine."
Karasu laughed again. "You've done well to put me to this much trouble. I wish I could place you at my side forever... As your reward, I will let your beautiful face remain just as pretty as it is." (YOU SICK GAY CROW! I'm glad you died!!!!!)
Kurama stood, wavering.
"Now then, shall we move on?" Karasu asked. More bombs hit Kurama, in the stomach, the arm, the side... Blood spurted forth around him and his tunic was soaked. He fell to the ring floor.
The crowds shouted excitedly at Karasu to kill Kurama. Juri ran forward, beginning a count. "1...2...3...4...5...6..."
Kurama raised himself above the ring, glaring at Karasu furiously. "I don't need you to count!" Karasu shouted. "It's who lives and who dies!"
'No, it's not!'
"Shineh!"
'You're dying too!'
With a furious roar, Kurama summoned a large plant which flew forward, nailing Karasu right where he was bleeding, by his heart. It began sucking his blood eagerly, covering his soon-to-be corpse.
Kurama rose above the ring slowly, barely managing the kneel, hands pushing him up. He stood on shaky legs as Juri looked on nervously.
Botan jumped for joy. "Gwen! Gwen! Kurama won! He's alright!"
Gwen looked up, seeing Kurama up on his feet. 'Kurama...' She wiped her tears and hugged Yukina, laughing and cheering with the other girls.
Koto commented on Kurama's great victory. Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Koenma celebrated, but Hiei was very serious and quiet, watching Team Toguro.
'They don't look like a team who just lost... What do they know that we don't?'
Yusuke entered the ring, walking toward Kurama.
"Are you alright, Kurama?"
Still weak, Kurama falls back on his knees. "I'm sorry, Yusuke. I only had enough power to kill at that moment. I lost the fight." Juri announced Karasu as the winner of the fight.
"Nani!? How could that be!" Gwen shouted in anger at Juri. Everyone was surprised, including Koto.
"Hey! Kurama won!" Yusuke shouted at the referee.
"I finished the countdown and Kurama was still down," Juri simply explained.
"I don't believe this!"
"But, Yusuke, it's true," Kurama comfirmed.
Koto received the tape of the fight and played it on a large screen television, watching as Juri's countdown hit "10" just as Kurama first summoned his Kyuuketsu Shokubutsu (Bloodsucker Plant).
Yusuke was fuming by now, but didn't argue back. He helped Kurama out of the ring while the crowds hooted and whistled.
"He's dead and still the winner?! The most important is survival," Kuwabara shouted at the crowds of youkai.
"What's the use of surviving if your fate is settled? The gates of Hell are already open to receive you. Remember that the winning team will receive a prize, and know that my deepest wish is the death of all of you," Toguro Ani proclaimed.
The crowds applauded at Toguro Ani's speech. Shizuru smacked the head of a cheering youkai nearby.
"Do something, Kazuma!" Shizuru yelled at her little brother.
George glanced at Yukina and shouted, "Yukina's crying!"
The girls snapped their heads at her as Yukina blinked. "But I'm not crying."
They smirked, including Carnation. "Never mind."
Yusuke laid Kurama on the ground against the ring, turning to the hooting crowd. "Shut up!"
"You want to know what my wish will be?" Hiei finally spoke up. Everyone fell silent and Gwen looked at him, wondering what his wish was. "I will wish for the bloody deaths of every puppet master behind this tournament, so that I may never be brought into it again."
Sayko grinned, remembering what Toguro Otouto did to the sponsors.
"It seems we've already granted his wish, free of charge," laughed Otouto.
Toguro Ani stepped into the ring. "Who's gonna be my first victim?" However, Bui stepped in as well. "What, you want to go first? I'm surprised with such a categorical decision," Ani said mockingly. Bui didn't reply, only walked towards the center of the ring, every step shaking the ground. "All right, then, Bui," Ani agreed. "Go and show them what death means."
Seeing Bui's approach, Kurabara said that he would be next to fight. "I'll show my courage to Yukina!"
"I'll be praying for you, Kuwabara," Koenma said.
Kuwabara shook Koenma's collar as Hiei spoke to Yusuke. "I intended to fight that bastard with the sunglasses, but in consideration to Genkai, I'll leave him to you." He blurred away and appeared standing in the ring. "I'll be content with fighting this bastard."
Seeing Hiei taking the initiative, Koenma said, "Look, Kuwabara, Hiei's saving your skin." With that, the ruler was shaken by the collar once more.
"The next match in the finals is Hiei versus Bui," Juri announced as the two met in the center of the ring; Hiei's full height, including his hair, only reached Bui's waist. (*runs away from Hiei as fast as I can* Hiei: How dare you insult my stature!)
Bui formed a gigantic axe in his right hand; the blade alone was bigger than Hiei. (*giggles as I type* Hiei: Must...resist...killing...onna) Hiei wasn't impressed, though. He took off his cloak, revealing his right arm covered by tight bandages. A small ball shaped bell hung from his wrist, and another strip of ward was slapped over his knuckles.
"The bandages are a ward. They contain the power of the Kokuryuuha within. I'm impressed at how quickly Hiei had mastered the technique," Kurama said, answering Yusuke and Kuwabara's confusion.
Juri looked at both fighters. "Begin!"
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
Ta da! I have decided to post up a stupid pic that I drew about Gwen! The only problem is that her hair looks orange... T_T
*I, fortunately for Hiei, am not latched onto Hiei anymore. We continue the funeral.*
*In my mind* Kurama: Blah blah blah blah blah.
Yusuke: oink oink oink moo moo.
Kuwabara: I'm stupid. I'm stupid. I'm stupid.
*In reality, they are complaining how stupid this is*
Carnation, sneaky as she is, jumps into the hole and eats the fish.
MNA: You stupid cat! I'll kill you!
Carnation: *looking innocent* Meow?
Girls except me: AWWWWWWWW!
MNA: -_-UUU Stupid cat... *watches Carnation get attention from the other girls*
MNA grins evilly as she thinks of Carnation's demise. Hiei looks at her confused and read her mind. MNA walks away... and surprisingly, Hiei follows her with a smirk.
Kuwabara: Uh...
Kurama: You have to say Review.
Kuwabara: Why?
Yusuke: So they can make fun of you!
Kuwabara punches Yusuke, and they start another fight.
Kurama: Review please.