First of all HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I don't want to offend anyone by saying Merry Xmas xD
Anyway, second, I would like to say sorry any grammatical errors in the fight! I find it very hard to try to keep past tense when i'm writing fighting scenes. Present tense really flows with fights so i'm sorry if that really annoys or bothers everyone, i try to go through every chapter to make sure it sounds right but i'm only one person :(
Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and please review!
Kuwabara looked down the field. Yuu stood in front of him, his long flowing robes slightly moving as he circled Kuwabara. His fan of feathers hiding his face partly. Kuwabara felt his body tense up, remembering the advice Naota told him before his fight.
"Remember from our mission Kuwabara that Yuu is a master of illusion, all he needs is a catalyst. Don't give him the opportunity to mess with your head, just try to finish this as fast as you can. If you think you're in an illusion, use your dimensional sword, that will break it."
As they stare each other down, in the tournament grounds, the Urameshi group watched on. Everyone on the tip of their toes, except for Shuichi and Hiei who are watching on calmly.
"Do you think he might lose Yusuke?" Naota asked.
"Well this guy was already beaten by Kuwabara, so I don't think we should worry too much." Yusuke said, calming down. Naota didn't look reassured.
"Do not worry Naota, Yuu has one fatal weakness." Yasu said, coming behind the group.
"And which is that?" Shuichi spat out.
"His ego."
Back on the battle grounds Kuwabara is getting irritated. He couldn't find a way to break Yuu's defenses. He must be careful on his attacks, any one of them Yuu can use to make his illusion. 'I can't take any risks. I gotta defeat him, but how?'
"Is this how the battle will play out? Us circling each other like wild animals? Why don't we just sit down and talk like gentlemen?" Yuu said, dropping his fan and pointing Kuwabara to some flat rocks off in the distance.
"No way, I'm not letting you get into my head. You're gonna play a trick on me!" Kuwabara said.
"What's the point on using my illusions on you if you can just break them? Do you really think I'd waste my precious energy on a tactic that I know won't work? No I'm smarter than that." Yuu said. "But this waiting has gone on long enough. You and your group will interfere with the leader's plan. I cannot allow you to interfere." Yuu said. He grabbed his hand around his fan and it started to drip blood onto the ground.
'What the hell is this guy doing? He just cut himself!' Kuwabara said, tensing up for an attack. Yuu held up his fan above the ground that held his blood. His fan glowed with different energies. A wave of energy shot from his fan to the ground.
"Arise Vanity." The ground started to mold itself upward until a silhouette of a person came forth. The person took one step and the earth surrounding him fell revealing his body. He dusted off his yellow trench coat with his gloved hands and readjusted his red visors, his blond hair hugging his face. Kuwabara summoned his dimensional sword and charged. Vanity grabbed Yuu and evaded his attack.
"I thought you said you weren't gonna use your illusion!" Kuwabara shouted.
"I didn't. This is Vanity. A part of me personified, my pride, my vanity, my strongest warrior. As long as there is earth, all I need to do is offer my blood and energy to call him forth. Now Vanity, defeat this sad excuse for a human and let us be on our way." Yuu said. Vanity smirked and nodded, charging at Kuwabara. He flicked his wrists and out came long needles. He threw them at Kuwabara but he evaded them easily.
"Huh, is that all you got!" Kuwabara taunted him. Vanity chuckled.
"You remind me of a girl I once fought. I didn't fight her at pull power and she defeated me, but now I see I don't have to hold back." Vanity took off his gloves and coat, leaving him with his turtle neck. Energy traveled down to his hands and from the center of his palms, long sharp spikes appeared.
"Eww! How the hell do you have those in your body?" Kuwabara said, disgusted. Vanity charged at him using the spikes he summoned as double swords. Kuwabara kept dodging, trying to do attacks here and there but Vanity was too agile. Suddenly Kuwabara felt his back exploded. He staggered forward. Behind him was Yuu, holding his fan horizontally. Yuu has just shot a blast of energy at Kuwabara, allowing Vanity to come in and attack Kuwabara. He suffered many cuts, but with his intuition he was able to avoid any major wounds. He retreated into the forest, trying to gain some cover between him and Yuu.
Yusuke gritted his teeth, watching Kuwabara trying to flee from Yuu. Naota held her hands in front of herself, not being able to tear her eyes away from the fighting.
"Damn it, Kuwabara." Yusuke muttered underneath his breath, not being able to stop worrying for his friend. "Hey! Why didn't you tell us any of this!" Yusuke yelled at Yasu.
"Out of all the generals, only Yuu and the leader kept their fighting prowess to themselves. I only knew of his illusions, but nothing more." Yasu said.
"What's the use of you gathering information when you can't bring us something that'll help us." Yusuke said, clenching his fists. Yasu said nothing and instead looked to the screen.
Kuwabara leaned against a tree, panting hard, trying to figure out a strategy to defeat Yuu. 'I can't even get close to the damn guy because of Vanity.' Kuwabara got up and he heard something. Looking back he sees needles where he once sat. He looked around, his senses heightened. More needles come from the canopy and Kuwabara cursed, trying to avoid them. Vanity looked at his prey and chuckled to himself.
Kuwabara ran through the forest, trying to do his best to avoid the needles but some managed to find him, but none hit any fatal points. As he ran he stumbles and rolled down a ravine, suffering scrapes and bruises. His once white uniform was torn from the various needles and ruined by dirt and grime, he felt his energy starting to wane from the exertion to try to escape.
'I can't keep doing this. I have to find the damn guy.' Kuwabara said. He walked with a slight limp, his ankle sprained from the fall. He saw something in the corner of his eye and barely avoided another blast but in avoiding it, he falls off a cliff into a clearing. He struggled to get up and found himself in front of Vanity.
"You know," Vanity started as he crouched down to Kuwabara's level, "You can't run for an eternity. I will kill you, but I am not one to kill someone who can't fight back. So I'll just wait here until you can get up." Vanity said, sitting down on a rock nearby. Kuwabara started to laugh causing Vanity to frown.
"You really think you're gonna win?" Kuwabara taunted. Vanity frowns. "Sorry blondie, but I'm winning this fight! Spirit sword get long!" Vanity stands but it's too late. His spirit sword comes from underground and pierces him through his heart. Blood comes from his mouth and he smiles.
"Good job." Vanity said before disappearing into mud. Yuu, who was taking shelter in a nearby tree, fell to the ground, holding his chest and taking short shallow breaths. Kuwabara shook as he tried to stand.
"Heh, what do you think of that you robed freak?" Kuwabara said.
"You little foolish worm! How dare you defeat my Vanity! I will kill you!" Yuu said, raising his fan and coating it with his energy, and charged at Kuwabara. He also summoned his spirit sword and they both go at it with their weapons. Yuu and Kuwabara seemed evenly matched, his summoning of Vanity taking a toll on his energy. Kuwabara tried to go for a finishing blow but Yuu evaded. He summoned another orb of energy and flung it towards Kuwabara, but that was a mistake.
"Batter up!" Kuwabara said, grabbing his sword like a bat and sending the orb back at Yuu. It hit him square in the chest, flinging him towards a tree. He hit the tree with enough force to crack the trunk. He crumpled to the floor, his face in a grimace as he was knocked out.
"And it's outta here!" Kuwabara shouted, giving the announcer who was recording the fight a thumbs up. She started the count of ten and Kuwabara felt good taking down an enemy supposedly stronger than him. Yuu opened his eyes just as he heard the ten, he lost. Kuwabara was laughing like an idiot, preparing to go back using the announcers platform.
'No! I can't lose here!' Yuu thought. He retrieved a small dagger from the inside of his robe and launched himself at Kuwabara. The female announcer shrieked. Kuwabara looked behind him and Yuu was slashed behind his back by Kiyoshi.
"Who the hell are you?" Kuwabara said, taken back from the sudden appearance of this man. 'This isn't good. Who is this guy? If he picks a fight with me I'm a goner!'
"Do not worry, I am not your enemy, for now." He stood in front of the camera and took the microphone from the girl. At the stadium, all the screens show his face.
"It's that one guy!" Yusuke shouted.
"Hello all fighters. My name is Kiyoshi. There are many who take my orders but have never seen my face. Today I introduce myself to all of you. I am Kiyoshi and I am the leader of the Revolutionaries." Kiyoshi stated. Many demons started talking amongst themselves.
"You know him Yusuke?" Shuichi asked.
"Yea I bumped into him earlier. I couldn't really sense him so I didn't know if he was weak or not." Yusuke explained. All of them stared at the screen. Naota couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with this demon, as if she knew him. 'Where would I know him from?' Naota thought.
Kiyoshi tossed the microphone back to the announcer. He took his small sword and flicked off some of the blood from it. He glared at the body of Yuu.
"How can you do that to your friend!" Kuwabara shouted at him.
"Friend? He was an expendable ally. He failed to kill you, so I killed him. I do not tolerate failures in my army. If you'll excuse me, I have more business to attend to." Kiyoshi said. Kuwabara gathered the rest of his energy and made a last ditch effort to try to cut down Kiyoshi. He sidestepped and kneed him in the gut. Kuwabara fell to the ground, unconscious and Kiyoshi left
00000
Kuwabara woke up with a start. He found himself in a simple bed, his wounds all bandaged up.
"About time you woke up!" Yusuke said, sitting in a chair with Shuichi behind him. Yukina by his side.
"Guys...hey wait! What happened? Where's that one guy Kiyoshi? How'd I get here?" Kuwabara rambled.
"Geez, one question at a time! You don't remember?" Yusuke said.
"I remember that Kiyoshi guy. I tried fighting him and the next thing I know, I'm right here." Kuwabara answered.
"Sounds about right. Kiyoshi delivered a swift kick to your abdomen, knocking you unconscious We brought you here and Yukina has been tending to your wounds. You have been asleep for nearly 24 hours." Shuichi explained.
"A day! That means-"
"Yep, I'm up next in like an hour or so." Yusuke said.
"I gotta get up and-" Kuwabara started before holding his abdomen in pain.
"Please Kazuma, you still need rest. I'm not done healing you yet." Yukina said, lightly touching his arm.
"Don't worry Yukina, I'll be fine. You've done enough, you need your rest too." Kuwabara said, laying his hand over hers. She blushed slightly and Yusuke and Shuichi took that as their cue to leave. Yusuke stretched, getting all the kinks out of his muscles before the big fight, and started walking towards the stadium.
"So, now we know what he looks like." Yusuke commented.
"Indeed." Shuichi said.
"What do you think we should do now?" Yusuke asked.
"That I am not sure. Now that he has announced himself, there is no doubt he won't be showing himself any time soon." Shuichi said.
"You're going against him. You sure you'll be ok?" Yusuke asked. Shuichi chuckled.
"Don't worry Yusuke. I won't let myself die just yet." As they reached the stadium, they see Naota in front of them. She seemed to be deep in thought and shrieked when Yusuke patted her on the back.
"Geez, you trying to give me a heart attack?" Naota asked.
"Didn't know you'd be so focused, what are you thinking about?" Yusuke asked. Naota looked toward the screen, the fighting still going on.
"Kiyoshi, call me crazy but for some reason he seemed very familiar to me, like I know him." Naota said.
"But this was your first time seeing him right? How can you know him?" Yusuke wondered.
"I don't know, but I can't shake the feeling that I know him from somewhere. It's hard to explain really." Naota said. "Are you nervous about your fight?"
"Not really. I'll just have to work some of my magic and kick his ass." Yusuke said with confidence.
"Although your confidence is reassuring, you should be careful Yusuke." Shuichi said.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Anyways, I gotta go. It's about to start." Yusuke said, walking over to where the transporters where. Naota sighed, the feeling of knowing Kiyoshi from somewhere bothering her. An awkward silence continued between Shuichi and Naota.
"Um, are you worried? About fighting Kiyoshi?" Naota said.
"No." Shuichi said. Naota scowled, she didn't want things to be awkward between her and Shuichi.
"Shuichi, I think it's been a tough year between us. I have your answer and it was no, but even then I don't want our relationship to be like this. Even if you won't reciprocate my feelings, I still want to be your friend. Can we at least still have that?" Naota said. Shuichi smiled faintly.
"Of course." Shuichi said.
Naota smiled to herself, feeling a load of her shoulders but her heart still hurt knowing that nothing between them will ever come to fruition. She looked up at the monitors getting ready for Yusuke's fight before she sees Kiyoshi in the corner of her eye. She walked towards where he was but he wasn't there. She sees him again, walking in a crowd and decided to follow him. Every time she catches his figure in the corner of her eye he seemed to always move by the time she gets there.
By the time Naota stopped following him, Naota noticed that she's all alone outside the stadium. She sighed and crossed her arms, feeling she was sent on a wild goose chase. As she goes back in she sees Chu in the distance, carrying a woman with brown wild hair, and behind him was everyone that has disappeared.
"Chu!" Naota shouted as she goes up to him.
"Hey little Sheila..." Chu said weakly. His clothes had many burn marks around them. Everyone that was following him was in the same condition, their faces sullen and their bodies small as if they were being starved. "Just call for someone, everyone here needs help." Chu said before finally fainting. Naota ran off into the stadium, going for help, not noticing Kiyoshi hiding out behind a tree.
The second battle is getting underway between Yusuke and Inugami, who will win? And how did Chu find all of the missing demons? What is the reason why they were missing? And is this the end of Naota and Shuichi's chances of ever being together? Why does Kiyoshi help Naota find Chu? And is it me or is this a lot of questions for the next chapter? Find all this and more in the next installment of Someone I can love!