Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, I do, however, own my characters and plot.
"talking", -thinking-, /telepathic/
*The Next Day, Exam Two: Strength, Exam Three: Stamina*
(Gang's POV)
The second exam was being held in the exact same clearing at the exact same time. The figure in black was still there, mysterious and distant as usual. This time they had to hit some sort of punching bag that could measure their strength. It was similar to the one that Genkai had used in her competition to pick out her apprentice.
It was simple enough. The boys did well and scored the highest, right after the masked figure in black, much to their frustration.
"Argghhh, I don't get it. How does that little guy keep beating us?!"
"I'm not sure. It is obvious now that he must be hiding his energy, so that we can't sense him." Kuwabara still fumed after Kurama's statement, muttering about how someone so small could be so strong.
"Well at least there's somebody shorter than you Hiei, now I can't call you a shrimp." He laughed hysterically, only to be cut short by Yusuke punching him in the face.
"We don't have time for this. They're getting ready to announce the rules for the third test. So shut up, so we can listen!"
The crowd was silent and had been thinned out quite a bit, many had not passed the first two tests so were sent home empty-handed. The boys stayed clustered together on the left side of the field, near the podium where a small lizard-like demon with green scales and tail, with yellow eyes and a white mohawk was making the announcements.
"The third test will be taking place shortly. We have to finish setting up the course and then we will announce the rules."
"Awww, jeez! Are these guys ever gonna be done? I wanna get on with this thing!!"
"Shut up Kuwabara, you're obnoxious voice is embarrassing us." Yusuke was correct; many demons were glaring and growling at Kuwabara in a very menacing way.
Yusuke glared at them and they quickly turned away, fearing the wrath of the Spirit Detective. He then glanced around before resting his eyes on the figure dressed all in black. He was leaning against the wall nonchalantly and alone. –Somethin' just isn't right about that guy. He's passed these tests with ease, but I still don't sense any energy from him. Just who is this guy?-
"Uh, Yusuke? You might want to stop glaring; he's noticed you and doesn't seem pleased."
"I don't know how you can tell how he's feeling, Kurama. He's got that mask thing covering his face; you can't even see his ugly face."
"Trust me, I can tell."
Glancing back after turning away, Yusuke saw that the figure still appeared to be staring straight at him before physically turning his entire body away and moving farther into the demon crowd. The announcer piped back up with his high pitched, raspy voice before any further discussion about the stranger could be held.
"Now, the third test is about stamina. We have set up a five-mile long course in which you will face many different obstacles that you must pass to get through. You each will be given a necklace that will allow us to track your whereabouts and if you decide during the course that you cannot do it or are gravely injured, you shall touch the necklace with your right hand and it will tell us that you have given up and need to be rescued."
A series of nods and grunts showed the contestants agreements and several different demons were weeding their way through the crowd to pass out the necklaces.
"There is also a time limit of twelve hours, if anyone is still in the course after that time, they will have failed the test and be retrieved. That is all." There was a lengthy pause as the final necklaces were handed out and demons were struggling to put them on or tying them on in some cases, before the announcer spoke again. "The twelve-hour time period begins in….FIVE---FOUR---THREE---TWO---ONE!!!"
A mound of demons surged forward and rushed into the start of the course located at the fringe of the forest. The boys stood back and waited to see what would happen, as did several others, including the masked stranger. No cries of dismay or pain were heard, so the gang moved forward cautiously. They didn't notice that the cloaked figure had disappeared quickly into the forest seconds before they got there.
*Moira's POV*
-The announcer took long enough. This thing is ridiculously easy. It was a good thing I read the rule book and looked over courses from previous tournaments.- I outwardly smirked at my cunning, it could be conceived as cheating by other contestants, but the rules had never stated that one couldn't look over previous tournaments, and I had used that to its fullest ability. I picked my way through a rather disgusting swamp and chuckled silently as I heard stupider demons behind me falling into the murky water.
The trek was quick, easy; I made it through in less than 30 minutes, with much exclamation and surprise from the judges at the other end. Smirking underneath my mask, I strode up to their table to tell them my information.
"Moira, number 3275."
"Excellent. You have passed three out of four tests which is all that is required. It is not necessary for you to attend the fourth exam tomorrow. You are free to participate if you like or you can remain outside the testing arena. The choice is yours, after the fourth test tomorrow, the individual competition will proceed, do you wish to register for this?"
All this came from a short, plump demon with fading blue skin and green curly hair with black glasses perched precariously on his long thin demon nose. He was typing rapidly on a small laptop, sighing indignantly about all this work.
"Yes, as a matter-of-fact I will be entering that competition."
"Alright, you will be informed when you are competing and with whom. Will you also be competing in the team competition?"
"That hasn't been decided as of yet."
"Alright, you will have to inform us by the end of the individual tournament."
"That won't be an issue; I just need some strong teammates. I'll let you know."
And with that I stalked off towards the hotel to get my weapons. I needed to practice before I got out of shape, even though none of these low-ranks were worth my time. The front door to the hotel swung open noiselessly. The lobby was virtually empty, a few females dressed up as maids were scurrying around cleaning up after last night's rowdy escapades. Most demons who had had their exams earlier had either gone back to bed or were roaming around the island somewhere. I was choosing to avoid all of them at any cost.
-Damn ingrates. They're too weak and they're all so annoying.- I was thinking to myself as I rode the elevator all the way up. Since it was early afternoon, I was expecting everyone to be gone, but alas, I was wrong. The elevator doors slid open to reveal Yukina staring up at me with those bright red eyes. I froze in shock as she peered up at me expectantly, I barely even registered the fact that those other girls, her friends I assumed, where standing behind her. The human with the short brown hair, seemed to be getting impatient as Yukina and I had a staring contest. –If there are gods out there, please don't let her know it's me, please! She can't know, she can't find out.- I made an attempt to regain my composure and shook myself visibly. The girls' eyes were wide as they stared at my doings. I straightened out and then sidestepped around what had been my closest and most dear friend. I shouldered my way through the gaggle of females and advanced down the small hallway to my room, slamming the door in behind. I crumpled on the other side, leaning against the door for support and sliding to the floor, breathing hard. –God, what have I gotten myself into.-
*Yukina's POV*
It was the masked figure who appeared when the doors slid open, we were headed to the beach while the boys were at their exams for the day. I stared up at the demon; I knew that I recognized him. The stranger stared back down at me, shocked and startled. He looked scared of me, though I didn't know why. We held our gaze that way for what seemed like eternity, before the demon shook himself and regained composure. He stepped around me and shoved through my friends without a glance back, I watched him leave. He was familiar, no, she was familiar. I could not quite tell for sure if I was correct or not in my assumption just yet, but I was beginning to feel that I was. –What has brought her here? Why won't she speak to me?- I broke out of my thoughts abruptly to the girls gently leading me into the elevator. They had already forgotten about the stranger and were excitedly talking about the beach. I listened to be polite, but could not rid myself of the hope that it was Moira underneath that mask.
*Back to the Boys*
Hiei and Kurama had emerged from the course after wading through countless swamps, fighting demon insects and struggling through a pitch-black cave. It had only taken them about five hours or so and were now waiting expectantly at the end of the course for Yusuke and Kuwabara. They had gotten separated in a rather deep and dark swamp.
"I wonder what could be taking them so long? It is unlike Yusuke to have taken so much time."
"Hn. Those two idiots couldn't find their way out of a paper bag."
"Hiei, you should not be so harsh on them. They have saved the human and demon worlds on more than one occasion."
"Only with our help, fox."
"Hey guys, I lost you in there. Hey, where's Kuwabara?" Yusuke had stridden up covered in mud and sticks; he'd been in there for ten hours straight.
"We thought he was with, you Yusuke."
"You mean Kuwabara is in there by himself!! Great, just great. Now he'll never make it out."
"We'll just have to wait and see Yusuke; he does have another two hours to make it out."
And so they waited. Hiei lounging up in a tree, Kurama leaning against it and Yusuke sprawled out on the grass staring up at the sky. Two hours went by slowly and still no sign of Kuwabara. From behind the judges' table a loud pinging sound erupted, sounding the end of the exam, with Kuwabara nowhere in sight. Yusuke was frustrated, Hiei was blank and Kurama looked slightly worried. A floating platform hovered over the course, somehow picking up the remaining contestants; Kuwabara was one of the last ones picked up. He had been stuck in the middle of a swamp, unable to move his legs which were covered in thick, slimy goo. He looked extremely angry, but immediately became embarrassed upon seeing his team waiting for him. Yusuke was tapping his foot and Hiei just smirked at the foolish human.
"God Kuwabara!! How could you fail that exam?!?! Now you have to take that stupid power-show test thing and we have no idea how to pass that!" Yusuke whacked him on the head and grumbled as he headed towards the hotel. Kurama and Hiei were close behind, leaving Kuwabara alone on the ground with a shiner already forming on his eye.
"Urameshi!!! Wait up!!" He scrambled to his feet and ran off after them.
The rest of the night was fairly uneventful, besides Yusuke constantly berating Kuwabara about failing the third exam. The girls had chattered away about the beach and their day, while Yukina sat quiet next to Kuwabara, not speaking and only replying when required. Her change in behavior was barely noticed, she usually sat quietly anyway. Hiei registered that she was quite unlike herself and paid close attention to her all evening. When the girls finally left for the night and the boys had gone to their rooms, Hiei used his Jagan eye to see into Yukina's mind to decipher what was troubling his little sister.
*In Yukina's Mind, from Hiei's POV*
He saw her standing in a green meadow dotted with flowers. A strong wind gusted across the little haven blowing Yukina's blue kimono. She stood beneath the tree with a girl. She was a bit shorter than he and he had grown a few inches. She had chin-length white hair, shocking ice blue eyes and lightly tanned skin. She wore a pair of black shoes, black capri pants with a matching black three-quarter length shirt that wrapped around her waist and ended just above her belly button. Her face looked sad as she spoke to Yukina, her face etched with pain. She was saying good-bye he realized. Yukina was doing her best not to cry as she watched the girl turn away and walk off into darkness.
*Back to Hiei*
He pulled out of Yukina's mind, feeling guilty about entering her dreams. He wondered who the girl was and why it had gotten Yukina so upset now. He decided to put it to rest until the next day. He then went to his own room and fell asleep on his windowsill.
*The Next Day (Day Four), Exam Four: Power Abilities*
The boys were woken up early when a loud knocking came from the front room. There were grumbles coming from Yusuke and Kuwabara, leaving Kurama to answer the door politely. He opened the door to a tall demon with yellow hair and violet eyes.
"Is there a contestant here by the name Kazuma Kuwabara in this room?"
Kurama nodded and moved from the doorway to reveal a still very much asleep Kuwabara lying on the sofa. The demon looked at him disgustedly as Kuwabara snored and muttered in his sleep. Sighing, he handed Kurama an envelope and walked away, muttering about the indecency and rudeness of humans. Kurama chuckled and shut the door behind him. Yusuke was beating Kuwabara awake and Hiei sat annoyed looking on the windowsill.
"Kuwabara, you need to read the rules regarding the final exam. You must pass or you won't be able to compete with us."
He awoke at that and scrambled over to Kurama, grabbing for his letter. The letter was simple, he had to show off some of his talent and if it was received well by the judges he would allowed to compete. It seemed as though Kuwabara's future within the competition depended on whether or not the judges liked him. They hurriedly dressed and flew downstairs so they could get to the arena on time for the testing. There were quite a few people there; apparently Kuwabara was not the only one depending on generosity from the judges. The masked figure was nowhere to be seen.
"I guess our little masked friend didn't need to come today." Yusuke growled, obviously annoyed. He had wanted to see that demon's powers, so had the rest of the team.
Kuwabara didn't have to wait long, he was number ten on the line-up and so far out of the nine before him, five had passed, the other four had failed. He walked nervously up onto the center stage and waited for the judges to tell him to begin. They did so and Kuwabara summoned his Spirit Sword, doing different moves with it, making it both longer and shorter in an attempt to please the judges. He stopped after they abruptly held up their hands. They deliberated for what seemed like eternity before announcing….that he had passed, though barely. He jumped for joy as Yusuke yelled triumphantly, receiving many glares from demons in the arena. They then retreated back to their room, to inform the girls of Kuwabara's triumph.
"Oh Kazuma, I'm so proud of you!" said Yukina, upon hearing his victory with Kuwabara blushing madly at her praise.
They decided to spend the rest of the day exploring around the island to pass the time. They weren't competing in the individual competition, though they were going to watch, to try and find a fifth member. The day was uneventful after that and they never did see the masked figure.
*Moira's POV*
I slumped against the door for hours, in shock I suppose. I hoped that she wouldn't realize it was me. She couldn't realize it was me. I had left her alone for two days and she had gotten captured by that dirty human who wanted her to cry for him. I didn't go to save her; I had had a vision about her brother saving her. So, I had never gone after her, never even looked to see how she was. That hurt me the most, I had found out through the grape vine about her treatment. I was disgusted with myself for not going to save her, I had thought it for the best, it was her brother coming to save her and he was the one she was searching for. I did my best to recompose myself, but was unable to. I decided a long hot shower would help ease my pain. It barely helped and I threw myself on the couch, remembering everything about Yukina and mine's past. A drink was the next course of action, before I knew it there were two empty bottles of vodka by myside. I drifted to sleep that way, not caring about what the next day held, only that the pain of today was gone.
*Day Five, Individual Competition Start* *Still Moira's POV*
I awoke the next day, groggy and hung over. I tripped over the empty bottles on my way to the shower, not bothering to stop and pick them up. I turned on the cold water and stepped in. The water was icy and I was covered in goose bumps, but it woke me from my stupor. I walked into my room, more awake and alert than I had been last night. I dressed in my usual attire and made sure the mask was tightly in place. –She cannot know it is me, she just can't have figured it out. She doesn't know. I'll win this tournament and never see her again, ever.- I strode out of my room without bothering to lock my door. I walked past the Urameshi room and heard them inside eating breakfast.
The arena was a short walk away and the competition didn't begin for another hour, but it was best to get there early. I walked in and found myself to not be the only one with the idea. There were at least twenty demons in front of me. Sighing, I stood to wait in line and find out who and when I would fight. It didn't take long surprisingly; I was to fight third against a demon by the name of Yurani. I didn't know who he was, but I knew I would beat him. The stadium was filling up rapidly; I was used to fighting in crowds, so this would be no problem. It was then that I saw the Urameshi team and the girls sitting in the front row with the best view of the fighting platform. Yukina was sitting right there, sandwiched in-between Kuwabara and Botan, looking nervous and excited all at the same time. The first two fights were taking forever thankfully, so I thought I had time to gain some composure and control over myself. I meditated on the green around the platform among other fighters doing the same. I was knocked abruptly out of my mind when I heard my name bellowed over the intercom. I strolled over to the platform sullenly, wondering who exactly this Yurani was.
He stood there already in the ring. He was quite tall, with skin so pale one could see the veins running beneath it, his eyes were sunk into his head and shone with a cruel, yellow sheen. He had a shock of dark brown hair along with matching claws and fangs that appeared deadly sharp.
*Gang's POV*
"Hey look guys, it's our mystery man. Finally we'll get to see what this guy's all about." Yusuke couldn't help but look excited; he was always looking for a challenge. Kurama and Hiei looked just as interested, but Kuwabara couldn't care less, he was too busy trying to capture Yukina's attention. It had been stolen by the mystery figure on the platform. She stared at him unwaveringly.
*Back to Moira's POV*
I stood in the center as was dictated to shake hands with my opponent and decide the terms on the fight. He wanted a death match. I gave him what he wanted, he was far too overconfident. We stepped back and he took a fighting stance. The announcer and referee, a small female cat demon with blue ears and tail and scanty clothes, yelled FIGHT and it began among a roar from the crowd. He immediately came at me with his claws unsheathed. I dodged him easily, deciding that the crowd should get some entertainment before I cut him down. This went on for a couple of minutes. I had managed to ignore the front row that entire time, until he moved out of my line of sight, unblocking my view of the row. I saw her in front of, momentarily stunned at her face. She gazed at me, watching every move I made. I was so enraptured by her eyes' gaze that Yurani caught me off guard.
He swiped fast and I didn't manage to dodge it completely. His claws ripped my mask and hood off, and left three small scratches on my face. I didn't register the audible gasp from the crowd, as my white hair cascaded around my face, revealing me as the female I was. Yukina saw, the Urameshi team saw, everyone saw, and that demon had scratched my cheek. That was unacceptable. I touched my cheek and my hand revealed blood. That was even more unacceptable. I ran at him with such speed that he barely saw it. I broke his nose with a swift right kick to the face, and then followed up by sweeping his legs out from underneath him. As he fell I kicked him in the gut, sending him skyward at least a hundred or so feet. I met him again in the sky, with a double-handed hit to the back sending him back to earth. I was faster than his fall and was back on the platform before he was. He met another of my punches, this one killed him by completely shattering his skull. I stopped then as the announcer reported my win and I stepped off-stage. –Things just got bad, they better not get worse.- I vanished into the door that led out of the stadium, I was done fighting for the day. It was too late for me, she knew now, everyone knew. I shook my head and went to the cliff overhanging the ocean for some peace and quiet.
*Gang's POV*
They had just seen the masked fighter's face revealed and were more than shocked when they saw it was a girl. A girl Hiei recognized as the one from Yukina's dream. They watched as the girl beat the demon mercilessly and then disappear out of the arena.
"Moira. I can't believe it's really you." The gang and girls looked at Yukina stunned.
"You know who that girl is!?!?"