HEY GUYS! Epic battle and a great segue into the next battle with a surprise from Team Urameshi! Find out what happens!
STILL ACCEPTING OC'S! Can never have too many until the end of the tournament!
ENJOY AND COMMENT NICELY!
Team Yukimura was the first to fight in the Black Lotus Tournament versus Team Kayeshu, a group of mismatched demons and humans. Micki and Lilly won their matches, somewhat unfairly, and Shizuru barely escaped her match with her life. Now Keiko, the team leader of Team Yukimura, steps up to battle Clavela, the leader of Team Kayeshu. As the battle begins, Yusuke watches in fear of his girlfriend in a battle.
-
"BEGIN!"
Clavela instantly bum-rushed for Keiko, locking eyes with her. Keiko gasped a bit before dodging and rolling to the side. Keiko rolled onto her feet and watched Clavela stop and turn to Keiko's direction. Keiko could feel adrenaline rush through her body like a wild rush of wind against her skin. Was this what Yusuke felt in battle? Keiko's thoughts ran wild as she kept her eyes on Clavela, but her thoughts were stopped by Clavela going for another bull-rush. Keiko braced herself instead, putting up her fists. Somehow, she felt as if she was in Yusuke's position with her fists up.
'Why am I thinking about him?' Keiko thought, bracing for the contact. Clavela stopped right in front of her and jabbed her foot at Keiko's head. Keiko brought her arms up and blocked, wincing at the force behind the kick.
Yusuke, up in the balcony, thrashed and squirmed as Kuwabara and Koenma kept hold of Yusuke's body and covered his mouth from screaming. Yusuke was going wild over the fact that Keiko was getting attacked, but Kuwabara and Koenma knew better and avoided distracting Keiko.
Clavela became ruthless with her kicks. With the same leg, she kept kicking at Keiko, who kept blocking in response. Keiko winced, feeling the power behind each kick, but kept her feet grounded, unmoving. Clavela growled and backflipped away, landing on her two feet and looking to Keiko in slight anger.
"Why don't you fight back?" Clavela snapped. Keiko lowered her arms before smirking a bit.
"Because I needed some energy to kick your ass!" Keiko responded, speeding at Clavela with a new found arrogant energy she had stolen from Clavela. Micki smirked, crossing her arms.
"She remembered her ability to steal energy.." Micki muttered, making Tasha cheer and laugh.
The Urameshi team froze and stared at Keiko in shock at what she had said (each of them having acute hearing). Yusuke broke away from the hold he was in and leaned against the railings, staring at Keiko with new eyes. Keiko wasn't a helpless human girlfriend anymore; she had become bad-ass just like him.
Keiko's speed was incredible. She soon was face to face with Clavela within a matter of seconds and a punch was slamming into Clavela's face right after. Keiko's fists came flying at Clavela in large flurries as Keiko kept up her battle cries. Tasha cheered her on as Lilly only slightly smirked. Yusuke was shocked even more at the speed of her punches. Clavela, however, growled in-between and swung her leg at Keiko again, knocking her back. Keiko rolled and quickly got up, wincing from the flight and landing. Clavela cracked her neck and looked to Keiko in anger.
"You're really loud, you know.." Clavela said before bum-rushing at Keiko once again. Keiko, however, glared and bum-rushed towards Clavela at the same time. They both stopped and delivered blows and kicks at each other in massive speeds. The Urameshi Team, minus Kurama and Hiei, gripped to the railings, leaning over it and trying to keep up. Suddenly, Clavela and Keiko jumped away from each other, landing on the platform floor and gasping for air. Keiko wiped her lips of a little blood and smiled a bit at Clavela.
"You're really good, Clavela. Those kicks of yours are killer." Keiko complemented. Clavela just stood up straight and glared.
"How can you say that with such confidence?" Clavela questioned. Keiko smiled.
"It's easy, really. Just be positive. Things are more likely to come your way." Keiko replied. Clavela stared in slight wonderment at Keiko. Clavela closed her eyes and sighed before looking to Keiko again.
"Positivity can only get you so far before you have to claw for what you need." Clavela responded. Clavela then rushed at Keiko again, who rushed at Clavela in return. Both swung blows, Keiko with her fists and Clavela with her feet, growing faster and faster until their hits were lightning fast.
As the fight continued, Keiko's thoughts were clouded with thoughts of her feelings. She kept feeling rushes of adrenaline crash through her body and her moves almost seem like they were going on their own. What if Clavela was right?
But then, Keiko became lost in a memory.
-
Back in the training mansion, Keiko remembered going upside down over a small spike the size of her toes. The only thing that stood between her and the spike was a ball of energy the size of a baseball between the tip of the spike and the tip of her finger. Her breath was heavy and quick, slightly fearful to fall on the spike and lose a finger. Micki, her trainer, stood by and watched Keiko struggle.
"Talk to me, Keiko." Micki instructed. Keiko gulped in a mouthful of saliva and looked to Micki.
"W-what do you w-want to talk about?" Keiko asked.
"What's running through your mind?" Micki questioned.
"Not falling on this spike and losing my finger." Keiko repeated her thoughts aloud. Micki smiled slightly.
"This was one of Yusuke's first tests with Master Genkai. Don't tell me you regret wanting to train like him."
"That's not true! I want to do every bit of training he has done!"
"Are you sure? They are all works of art and pain within themselves."
Keiko looked to Micki with a lost expression. It blended shock and fear with determination and pride. Suddenly, Micki pushed Keiko back, letting Keiko hit the floor and lose wind. Keiko gasped and coughed for air, looking at Micki in confusion and slight anger.
"You're letting negativity run through your mind. Negativity will only drain your energy faster. If you had continued the way you were on that spike, you would have lost the energy and lost that finger you care about." Micki explained. "Fear and uncertainty always feed on the person's mind and soul, taking energy away from positive usage."
Keiko began to understand Micki a little more.
"So... I should be more positive?" Keiko asked. Micki shook her head.
"You should be your determined self. When you walked into this place, there was no fear in your heart, thus led your heart here training to be better." Micki replied. "That Keiko will, no doubt, rule this tournament."
-
Keiko was quickly snapped out of the memory by a kick to the head. Keiko flew and rolled on the platform, stopping on the very edge. Keiko slowly stood and wiped her lip, looking to Clavela.
"Let's just get this done.." Clavela muttered to herself. She then gathered a large amount of light blue spirit energy and fan kicked her leg up before slamming it and the energy into the floor. It began to barrel across the platform towards Keiko, making her step back a bit. Within a second, it reached her and exploded, lighting up the arena. Everyone blocked their face from the tremendous amount of light.
"KEIKO!" Yusuke screamed, absolutely terrified that her girlfriend was dead. No one heard him, however, from the noise of the explosion. As the dust and air began to clear and the light faded away, everyone turned to see only Clavela on the platform. The Urameshi Team frantically looked around for Keiko. The Yukimura Team, however, locked their eyes to the air above the platform.
"Missed me!" Keiko shouted, causing Clavela and everyone else to look up as well. In the air, Keiko held her bow and arrow, aiming at Clavela. "Lights out, Clavela!"
Clavela glared as Keiko shot the arrow at her, widening her stance and preparing for the impact. The Urameshi Team stared wide eyed at Keiko's attack. Yusuke was completely dumbfounded and stuck with both awe and shock. Clavela dodged the arrow easily, but was met with Keiko's face right after the dodge. Keiko's fist slammed into Clavela's face and sent her flying off of the platform onto the grass. Clavela bounced a few ties and ricocheted off the wall before falling fully onto the grass on her front side. Keiko rubbed her fist and let out a couple breaths of exhaustion.
"You're an amazing fighter!" Keiko complemented again, cracking her neck and shoulders as she looked to Clavela. Clavela began to slowly rise as Alex started the ten-count. Clavela looked up at Keiko with shock, still trying to decipher the puzzle that is Keiko Yukimura. As Alex reached the halfway point of his ten-count, Clavela jumped and landed on the platform, stopping him. Clavela then looked to Keiko with a serious face, not even touching the bruise on her face.
"Why? You seem to be too pure to be fighting in a tournament like this." Clavela asked. Keiko smiled.
"It's to prove I'm not worthless." Keiko responded, surprising Clavela and Yusuke. "For years, now, I've been just the girlfriend. I'd always be left in the dark about everything that my boyfriend and my friends would do, just because I'm human. This is my one chance to prove I'm not as worthless as everyone takes me to be. I don't want to be the helpless girlfriend anymore."
Clavela stared wide-eyed at her, lost for words. Clavela has entered the tournament to prove she was strong as well, but it seemed to be completely different for Keiko. Clavela was always pushed around and left behind, leading her to the tournament as well, but Keiko's intentions seemed purer than her own. Keiko simply smiled as Clavela's silence.
Yusuke, as well, was silent, but not in shock. He was silent in guilt. Yusuke knew that he left her behind a lot during his missions and adventures, but he felt the need to protect her above all else. His heart was in the right place, but from Keiko's words, his intentions seemed to turn into cruel gestures of insult towards her. The rest of the Urameshi Team turned to Yusuke, concerned and guilt-filled as well.
"I guess that's why this tournament was so important that Keiko had to lie to me..." Yusuke muttered aloud. The others nodded in agreement. Kuwabara placed his hand on Yusuke's back, trying to console his soul, but Yusuke remained lost in his guilt.
Clavela felt a surge of positivity run through her body. Keiko's words inspired her internally.
"Come on, Keiko. Let's finish this and show everyone what we're made of!" Clavela said with a smile. Keiko grinned and nodded, getting instantly into a fighting stance. Clavela did the same, smiling like Keiko. Micki smiled, crossing her arms.
"Well damn, Keiko. A true leader.." Micki muttered. Tasha began to jump up and down, cheering like a maniac.
"You got this, Keiko! Go girl! You too, Clavelalalala! WOO!" Tasha cheered. Yukina and Shizuru, after a while of healing, cheered as well.
Finally, Keiko and Clavela ran for each other again, engaging in a multitude of fist/foot flurries versus each other. This time, however, pink and blue energy began to collide in the air around them, as if their fists and feet were intensified and blown up for people to see the strikes.
"Wow! It's like a light show!" Kuwabara said, a wide smile on his face from the entertainment. Yusuke, surprisingly, found himself smiling as well.
"Go Keiko..." Yusuke muttered, feeling the need to compress his new-found excitement from screaming and cheering.
Keiko and Clavela struck once more at each other, sending each other flying towards opposite sides of the platform. Keiko drew her bow and arrow again, aiming at Clevela. Clavela summoned her burst of energy to her foot and sent it barreling at Keiko in response. Keiko shouted a battle cry loudly and let go of a large arrow, letting it fly towards Clavela. In the impact of both energies, light exploded and air knocked the competitors off of the platform.
"KEIKO!" The Yukimura team, besides Lilly, shouted simultaneously as they all, including Lilly, covered themselves from the blast. Team Urameshi took cover as well, Kuwabara and Koenma forcing Yusuke down for his protection. The explosion lasted for a while before slowly subsiding, revealing both Keiko and Clavela laying down on the ground, both badly bruised and damaged and unconscious. Micki and Tasha looked up to see Keiko and gasped, causing their teammates to look as well. Alex, who had seen the blast coming, fell from the air and landed back where he stood on the platform gracefully. He looked at both competitors and nodded before starting a ten-count.
"ONE!"
The Yukimura Team stared anxiously, hoping that Keiko would stand.
"TWO!"
Yusuke and the others stood and looked as well, Yusuke internally freaking out at the sight of Keiko badly hurt.
"THREE!"
Suddenly, Keiko and Clavela began to move and awaken at the same time, causing the teams to gasp in shock.
"FOUR!"
Keiko slowly and painfully got up, wincing from the pain and looking to Clavela's body.
"FIVE!"
Clavela sat up and felt aches run through her beaten-up body. She then looked back to Keiko, who was still getting up.
"SIX!"
"T-that was... awesome.." Keiko said, smiling just like her boyfriend after a good fight.
"SEVEN!"
Clavela smiled and nodded in agreement slightly, wincing from the pain.
"EIGHT!"
"Come on... Let's keep going.." Keiko said with a happy smile. Clavela just chuckled softly.
"NINE!"
"Nah... you won, Keiko... good job..." Clavela said before passing out again onto the platform. Keiko and the teams stared in shock, not expecting Clavela to give up and pass out.
"TEN! The winner, from Team Yukimura, Keiko! With three wins from the rule-set four primary matches, Team Yukimura Wins!" Alex announced, gesturing towards Keiko. The crowds began to cheer wildly. Yukina and Shizuru clapped and cheered as Tasha bounced around happily in happiness. Micki smiled at Keiko as Lilly closed her eyes and let out a simple 'hn.' Keiko, however, was confused. She then looked to Alex.
"Four primary rounds?" Keiko asked. Alex pushed up his glasses, letting the lights of the arena fill them and reflect Keiko's image.
"Each round, only four battles are fought. Best three wins. If the primary four battles end with two wins per team, there is a fifth battle. The six competitor is usually a healer or a replacement, thus each team requires six members in the tournament where there is a match with four primary battles." Alex replied. "It's more complicated than the Dark Tournament, Miss Yukimura."
Keiko looked at Alex and nodded in understanding. She then walked over to Clavela and knelt by her, checking to see if she was okay.
"She'll be fine." A voice interrupted Keiko's examination. Keiko looked up to see the remaining two robed-competitors. "We'll take her."
Keiko stepped back and let the two gently bring Clavela up onto their shoulders. They then left, being careful with Clavela, and exited the arena with Cauldron. Keiko looked to the remaining deceased members of the Kayeshu Team and saw Micki gently laying black lotuses over their bodies in respect. Micki looked to Keiko and smiled with a nod, ushering her to go to her team. Keiko nodded back with a smile and ran to her teammates, hugging each one (Even Lilly).
"Up next, Team Sircus versus Team Phoresa!" Alex announced. The Yukimura team then left to the resting room.
Upon arriving, however, they were met with a very tense Team Urameshi. Keiko, Yukina, Shizuru, and Botan stood frozen at the doorway, blocking Micki, Tasha, and Lilly from the eyes of the Urameshi Team.
Kuwabara and Koenma glared at Botan, Shizuru, and Yukina (Kuwabara not so much with Yukina) as Hiei looked at Lilly through the girls. Tasha looked at Kurama as Kurama kept his blank stare upon his recently marked mate, Micki.
Yusuke, the closest to the Yukimura team, kept his eyes on Keiko. Keiko suddenly felt like hopeless jelly under his eyes. Maybe it was because of her fear of his reaction and her wounds mixed together. Yusuke gently walked towards Keiko, stopping in front of her. The rest of the Yukimura team gently took a step back, leaving the two space to breath.
Keiko kept her eyes on his, chocolate eyes meeting chocolate eyes in a battle of silence. Yusuke kept looking to Keiko, leaving heavy tension between them.
"So..." Yusuke began quietly. Keiko remained silent and frozen. She was majorly afraid of what he was going to do with her and the team. Yusuke then did the most surprising thing she didn't expect him to do.
He gently caressed her cheek and smiled.
"You better have a room set for us so we can watch the next fight you guys are in." Yusuke finished with a toothy grin. Keiko's eyes went wide as she stared at Yusuke in shock. Koenma's and Kuwabara's faces softened to smiles as well, letting the rest of the Yukimura team gasp in shock as well. Keiko then tackled Yusuke, locking lips with him in gratefulness. Yusuke stared at Keiko in surprise before gently wrapping his arms around her, smiling against her lips.
Team Yukimura won the first round of the Tournament versus Team Kayeshu! With the Urameshi Team in understanding, they now move on to wait for their next round and heal their wounds. How will the Yukimura team deal with their next competitors? Find out on the next episode of The Spirit Girls!
