Disclaimer: I do not own YYH or its characters
Bui
Slave, that was the word that described me. A slave to my own power and to my desire. I was born with a natural aura that protected me but also kept the ones I loved at bay. I thought it best to isolate myself so I would not hurt anyone. My sanctuary was deep in the mountains where I trained in the hopes of discovering a way to control my aura but it only seemed to grow stronger and more unmanageable. It seemed like a cruel device created by whatever god to raise me up from the standards of mortal beings to something a kin to a demigod. A slave to my aura.
Then he appeared and challenged me, the fool. At least that was my first thought; my reputation for being unbeatable had surpassed me before I even left my home behind. Stories that I did not even have to lift a finger to defeat my opponents were widespread and not completely false. But still, the man arrived with such a confident attitude I could not wait to see him fall. His eyes remained hidden by a pair of sunglasses; at the time I thought they were to hide his true self. Now I know they served a similar, if not darker, purpose.
"You defeat me now or you become my slave!" His voice ripped through my mind as I lied broken at his feet. Harsh reality kicked in: I may have been unbeatable but that did not mean I was invincible. If I truly was a demigod then that must have made Toguro a god. The humiliation would have been bad enough if not for the mark he left on my forehead, a true sign of my enslavement. My aura had finally been tamed but not in the way I had wanted.
For years I followed him around and trained so I could become stronger and end my enslavement, but it was not to be. All those years I grew stronger, he became the invincible one. I was not the only one he had kept but the other man, Karasu, was only an ally to me. He had his own standards that I did not agree with but I knew if I needed help defeating the Toguro brothers he would be there.
I thought my chance of freedom had finally arrived during the Dark Tournament, I was pitted against a boy who claimed to have tamed a dragon. Part of me pitied him, he was oblivious to the power I held. If I defeated the wielder of the dragon then there had to be a chance I could defeat Toguro. I took my time with Hiei, trying to exercise restraint in an effort to not destroy him. But the child proved to be resilient, especially since he had experienced a great amount of energy loss from the first summoning. I was forced to remove my armor which trapped my aura inside. The dragon was unleashed and I stared into the pits of absolute oblivion, I am still unsure if I remained sane.
I wrestled the underworld beast until it turned on its handler. The child was devoured and it seemed like I had won, not only the competition but also the shred of hope. The price of hope was the life of a young boy but he had brought it upon himself by playing with fire. My victory was short lived as Hiei reemerged from thin air and our fight continued.
"Kill me," I begged. He looked into my eyes and said, "No." I laid bare all of my emotions, trying to convey just how hollow I was and that there was no point in keeping me alive. I was defeated, by Toguro and this boy. There was no honor in being a slave and I wanted it to end. But Hiei refused to take my life and suggested if I wanted to die then I should do it myself. To take my own life would remove what little honor I had left, I could not do it.
The Toguros were dead and I had finally been freed. I was all that remained of our team: Karasu had been killed by his own obsession, Elder had been defeated by the more mundane fighter and destroyed by his brother for his treachery, and Younger Toguro was killed by the student of his former love. I saw what the glasses had hidden, it was his true self. Madness, nothing but madness. It seemed the master was also a slave.
Now I stand here, in the midst of a crumbling arena, contemplating whether to escape or not. What would be the point? I was still a slave to my own power. I could wear the armor but then I would still be isolated like before. As the clock runs down, I'm in no hurry to make a decision. I start walking toward the exit everyone is running to, spotting the team who freed me and even catching a glance from the boy I fought. His expression was blank but I sensed there was pity.
The timer reads one minute as I make it to the corridors leading to the exit. A few stragglers pass me by. Will I ever be free? My whole life I lived in seclusion so others would not suffer. It was my choice but I was never happy with the decision. I reach the exit and walk out of the building as the timer reads twenty seconds. I imagine the blast radius would be pretty wide so I'm not safe yet.
All of the spectators who managed to live to see the finale and the winning team are all several yards away. I bet none of them have ever been forced to live like a hermit. The clock starts counting down from ten. I stand at the edge, staring at my second chance to live but glancing back at my possible demise. Would it be so bad? In the afterlife they might judge me for all the terrible things I've done since joining Toguro but one could argue I had no choice. Well, now I choose: continue living like a slave for the rest of my life or facing possible eternal damnation. Whichever does not have me causing any more harm.
