A/N: I'm loving this, even though I kinda tend to focus on the Artifact Arc and Black Tournament Arc in the manga for some reason I find it fun writing about the Saint Beasts. I haven't read it in a while so they might be OOC. Thanks for favoriting and reviewing for this story, I appreciate it! :3
Chapter 10: Masters
3rd POV
The day of the semifinals Team Urameshi was wondering where Storm was. "We haven't seen him in two days. You don't think something happened do ya?" Kuwabara asks worriedly. "He's fine, he's still sleeping." Hiei says, dragging Storm's sleeping body on the floor. "I don't think that's comfortable." Kurama says, glaring at Hiei. "Then he shouldn't have slept in." Hiei says coldly. Kuwabara took pity on the sleeping Storm and lifted him over his shoulder. "Man he's light!" Kuwabara commented. Hiei shrugged, figuring that the huge oaf could carry Storm. Two members of their team were currently missing, Yusuke and the Masked Fighter so they couldn't afford to be missing another member. Before the semifinals Kurama and Hiei had watched the matches to see what they could find out about the next team they were facing. The matches had been finished in the five minutes it took the others to reach the arena. This team seemed to be made of some worthy opponents.
As they made their way into the arena Hiei, Kuwabara and Kurama felt a wave of dread wash over them. There were several familiar energy signatures that shouldn't have been there. They shouldn't have even been in the realm of the living. "What are the Saint Beasts doing here?" Kuwabara asks worriedly. Kurama and Hiei personally had no clue and stayed silent. "Hey kid! We didn't come here to watch you sleep through all the matches, wake up!" Byakko roared, making the other demons nearby go deaf. Storm twitched slightly and began to open his eyes, yawning. He blinked a few times then his face turned red. "Why the hell is my head above your ass? Let me down!" He yells angrily. All the Saint Beasts were amused with his outburst, even Seiryuu had the corners of his mouth twitch upwards briefly. Storm landed on the ground feet first and looked into the crowd to spot his teachers. "About time you woke up brat! You better mutilate someone on that team!" Byakko roared, making Storm flinch as his ears rang. Then again the seats that the Saint Beasts had weren't that close to where they were fighting and he had to roar to be heard. "No promises!" Storm shouted back.
All three of the boys looked in shock at the casual exchange of words between Storm and Byakko. "You know those guys? They're evil!" Kuwabara shrieked. Storm rolled his eyes at the idiot. "Of course I know them; they were the ones that taught me how to fight. Koenma pulled some strings in the Underworld." He explained calmly. Kuwabara was gasping like a fish in need of water so Storm gave up on explaining further. When the other team walked into the arena he recognized the team right away. There was one thing in these matches that hadn't escaped his memory. During these matches Kurama would be reverted back to his demon self for a brief while. Storm grinned; he was looking forward to it.
POV Angel
"Team captains will now decide the mode of the competition!" Juri announces. The captain of our team wasn't here so I was wondering what we were going to do for that. "It doesn't matter." Hiei commented. "Let's just fight." I nearly groaned when he said that. He sounded like he was in a bad mood and when that happened the demon side of him reared its ugly head. "We'll let these decide." Shishiwakamaru says holding up dice that had the names of all the people on our teams. "Your dice would have had choice on it but because of your extra he'll be filling that space." Shishiwakamaru says, looking at me with a smirk. "Less arguments on our team that way then." Kurama says coolly. "You may fight as often as your name comes up as long as you're still breathing." I rolled my eyes; did he really have to make this so dramatic? I wondered. "Fine, I'll fill in for the Masked Fighter and Yusuke." Hiei says cockily. "As you like. There's no fame in winning by default that's for sure." Shishiwakamaru says, tossing the dice.
When the dice landed it showed Hiei and Makintarou names. "So I'm first anyways." Hiei comments with a smirk. "Too bad for you shrimp." Makintarou says. "This match is going to be easy for Hiei to win." I comment. "Storm, why didn't you tell us that your teachers were the Saint Beasts?" Kurama asked, the expression on his face made me feel guilty for hiding this fact. "Well the Saint Beasts aren't exactly the type of teachers I would want to brag about. I also heard from them that you guys were the ones that killed them in the first place and that there would still be tension between all of you." I answered honestly. "But they're not as bad as they used to be. I think at least two of them ended up gaining this weird fascination with humans after I started training with them. The only one that was good for conversation was Suzaku surprisingly." I mused. "You were taught by all of them?" Kuwabara asks. I was surprised when he started questioning me too but I nodded. "I needed to defeat Genbu and Byakko before Seiryuu would even consider helping me with my ice powers. I'm surprised I defeated those two without knowing how to fight in the first place." I comment.
"You not fight? I don't think I can picture that." Kuwabara snorts. He could believe whatever he wanted; I wasn't going to correct him. "So how long do you think it will take for Hiei to take out this Makintarou guy?" I asked. "He doesn't look very powerful." Kurama muses. "But that guy is huge!" "Size doesn't usually reflect a person's strength. If it did then you would be stronger than I am." I say smugly. Hiei ran towards Makintarou quicker than his eyes could register and then he stopped in the same position he was in before. "Well that was quick." I comment. "I agree." Kuwabara just looked at us clueless, not realizing what just happened. Hiei hadn't sheathed his katanna yet and Makintarou still didn't know Hiei had already made his first move. "So are you going to use that or just continue sweating blood?" Makintarou taunts. "It was no sweat at all." Hiei says, holding up one of Makintarou arms. Finally the demon realized what it was missing and charged at Hiei, turning his other hand into an axe shape. He slashed into Hiei's after image not feeling the weight of Hiei on his back as he hunched over. "Nailed 'em!" He said proudly. "That was just my after image." Hiei said, stabbing Makintarou in the head.
Kuwabara was left speechless; Kurama and I however had already seen everything that happened. Makintarou was completely outclasses by Hiei. "Roll the dice again; I'm itching for another fight." Hiei says with a smirk. "You really need to work on your anger issues." I comment, earning a glare from Hiei. Last minute training that you've done with weaklings won't have made you stronger than me. Hiei comments in my head as I glared at him. It was true that in terms of strength everyone on the Urameshi team was now stronger than the Four Saint Beasts but I still took the insult to heart. Don't say things like that about my teachers. They're actually stronger than they used to be. The only reason they weren't stronger before was because they didn't have any worthy opponents. I said. Sounds like an excuse. Hiei says. The dice rolled and I was surprised what it landed on next: Kuromomotaru and Storm.
I need to make this a quick match. I thought, remembering what his ability was. As long as he didn't die from an attack his body could make him immune to it after one hit. I clasped my pendant in my hand and I scowled. I wouldn't be able to kill him in one shot without taking off the pendant. The only option I could think of was to use as much energy as I could without breaking the pendant after taking him by surprise. "The match between Kuromomotaru and Storm is ready to begin!" I stepped into the ring and the demon looked down at me. "I'm somewhat disappointed that I didn't get to fight the other shrimp but you'll do." He says, chewing on his gum. "Don't underestimate me. I know every move that you could possibly use against me." I say, keeping my distance from him while I formed a plan within my head.
"You won't have much time to think now!" He rushed at me and I moved backwards, opening two of the compartments in my gloves. Inside were two wires that were made of a metal found in the Makai world with two blades on their ends. "Come on brat! Kick his ass!" Genbu yelled. Still not used to the Saint Beasts being in the peanut gallery. I thought. The wires shot out of the gloves, snaking around Kuromomotaru's waist. "I like close combat but I find long range combat more suitable for what I can do." I comment, lifting him high above the ground. I channeled my energy through the wires, freezing Kuromomotaru in midair and making his body crash to the ground, scattering him into dozens of pieces. "Come on, that was boring!" Byakko complained. Suzaku sighed, probably wondering why he bothered associating himself with Genbu and Byakko. "That doesn't matter you moron, it's still a win." Suzaku says, giving me a smile of encouragement. Hiei scowled and I wondered what caused him to be in such a bad mood.
Once again everyone gathered around to see who the next two people would be to fight. Hiei was still itching for a fight, Kuwabara didn't look ready for one and I couldn't tell exactly what Kurama was thinking. When the dice landed on Uraurashima and Kurama I almost gave in to the wave of excitement that washed over me. I was going to see Youko Kurama in the flesh! Inwardly I squealed like the fangirl I was. They both stepped up to the ring, Uraurashima holding his fishing rod while Kurama already had his rose whip out. As the fight began they both began striking at each other but the attacks from both sides looked half-hearted. Uraurashima pretended to go down and attacked Kurama, who was completely unaware. That bastard took advantage of Kurama's kindness! I thought darkly, wanting to kill the demon myself. The entire ring was filled with smoke and we couldn't see anything. "Oh come on! I wanted to see what happened!" I yell.
Suddenly I felt a large amount of energy appear and I was desperately hoping that somehow I could get x-ray vision. "What was that?!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "That's Kurama. That fool must have triggered his resurrection." Hiei says with a smirk. Although we couldn't see anything at the moment that demon was probably begging for mercy by now. Shishiwakamaru threw his sword and it cut through the smoke, going straight into Uraurashima. The smoke began to dissipate and before all the smoke disappeared we got to see Kurama's other form. He was tall and had grey fox ears on top of his silver hair. His eyes were gold and he had a bushy tail and wore what looked to be a white robe. I think I just became a Kurama fangirl again. "Yes! We're on a roll!" I cheered. "Shut up idiot, now things are going to be even more difficult." Hiei says. "Why do you have to be such a downer?" I mutter. "I'm a realist." "Well how real is this fist punching your head?" I surprised everyone by actually hitting him in the head lightly. Hiei sent a heated glare at me and my face paled considerably. "I don't wanna die!" I yelp, running as far as I could from Hiei.
The dice were rolled once again, landing on Shishiwakamaru and Kuwabara. (I know that it was a free spot but in this the choice space no longer exists.) All the female demons in the crowd started cheering and swooning over Shishiwakamaru. "Shut up already! You'd think since they were demons they wouldn't act like high school girls." I muttered. "Oh yeah! It's time to show them what Kuwabara can do. I can't lose with Yukina in the stands!" Kuwabara says proudly. I almost laughed; the girls hadn't even arrived in the arena yet. I didn't have the heart to tell him that she was still at the hotel. The fight didn't even last a second, Kuwabara was covered by a sheet and he was gone. "Are you kidding me? He barely lasted a second!" I laughed. The dice rolled: it landed on The Mask Fighter and Free. "I'll go." Shishiwakamaru says, stepping up to the ring. Hiei was about to step up as well and the Masked Fighter came. "No, this is my fight." She says, stopping Hiei. "Our masked fighter was strong but she contained it. I don't sense the same power from you." Hiei says. "I gave most of my energy to Yusuke." Genkai explained.
"I have a feeling I got screwed over." Shishiwakamaru growls. The fight commenced and straight away Shishiwakamaru went to rip Genkai's mask off. She was surprised at her opponent's speed and the mask was slashed off by Shishiwakamaru's sword. "That's not the girl!" The crowd roared. "They used a mask to change the contestant." Shishiwakamaru says. "It looks like Team Urameshi is being charged by the opposing team for illegally switching team members." "Death! Death!" The crowd chanted. "All you wusses shut up already!" Byakko roared, standing up. "I find myself agreeing with you for once. You imbeciles be silent." Seiryuu says, making an example of some of the demons by freezing them. "HQ has ruled that the match shall continue without any penalties." The spokeswoman of HQ announces.
"What? That's not fair!" "Cheaters!" "They're in league with the management!" "That couldn't be any farther from the truth." I muttered. Toguro soon stepped out to explain his reasoning. "That woman is the same girl that was fighting earlier. Using a strong amount of energy she is able to revert back to her prime. Don't assume that everyone on their team is in their original form." Toguro says, looking directly at me. My eyes narrowed and Kuwabara looked confused, looking between me and Toguro. He looked as if he was about to ask me something but then our concentration was back onto the match. I fumbled with my pendant nervously as I continued to watch the match, trying to go back to my façade.
"My opponent is Genkai? Fortune seems to be smiling down on me today!" Shishiwakamaru says, laughing maniacally. The pretty boys are always either gay or psychotic. I thought with a sigh."I suppose that now I should take this match seriously." He says, extending his sword into what he called the Banshee Blade. "This sword has such a destructive power inside of it that it can even harm the user for it summons the Grim Reaper." Shishiwakamaru says proudly. He began swinging the sword and suddenly there were loud wails and shrieks that were echoing through the stadium. While everyone on our team just thought that the sound was irritating it seemed like the crowd wasn't handling the noise very well. Not everyone was affected by the sound in the crowd though and I was glad that the girls weren't in the stadium. Shishiwakamaru swung downwards at Genkai, several skulls being released as the sword struck the ground. The skulls scattered everywhere, going for people's heads. When the skulls headed towards our team we easily defeated them. Genkai dodged the attack and turned Shishiwakamaru's own energy against him. Thankfully the sword was also destroyed so we no longer had to worry about that factor. "One left." Hiei comments.
"Would you still like the dice to decide?" Onji asks. "Fine with us." Hiei comments. When the dice landed it was on Kuwabara's name. They were about to give the dice another roll but he appeared in the arena before they could. "This isn't going to be good." I muttered. Once again the idiot was sucked into what looked like a black hole and was teleported out of the arena once again. "I wonder who will be up next." The old man says, glancing at our team. The dice landed on the ground, showing my name. "Me?" I yelp, surprised. "Someone had to go twice, not including the oaf." Hiei says. "This will be interesting. I suppose you're more intelligent than that buffoon." Onji says. I glanced at him curiously; surely he wasn't suspicious because of Toguro's earlier comment was he?
I frowned; I didn't remember anything about this guy named Onji. In fact I didn't even know that he could actually fight. All I could remember was that they had a guy fighting named Suzuki. In my head I suddenly connected the dots. "You're not really an old man are you?" I comment. Onji looked at me and sneered. "Well this is an interesting development. Using disguises has always been a hobby of mine. Might as well unveil." Onji says, taking off a mask that came off of his face like a snake skin. I had always known that people used these in movies but it still looked disgusting. Underneath his face was covered with what looked like clown make up, he even had a red clown nose to hide his natural one. "I am Suzuki, the beautiful fighter." Suzuki says proudly. At first it began as a chuckle deep in my throat, then I started laughing aloud. "Shouldn't it be Suzuki the clown? Because it seems as if you're making yourself into a joke." After that comment I heard at least two people on my team that snorted to keep from laughing. Though I really can't see Kurama as someone that would snort.
This unfortunately pissed Suzuki off and he started shooting at me with multiple types of energy. I still wasn't at Genkai's level yet and I was starting to become irritated just dodging. I began to counter attack, getting so close to Suzuki that it took him by surprise. I accidentally punched him in the nose, sending the red nose flying. Whatever his nose looked like underneath that red thing wasn't the same, as soon as my fist made contact I heard it snap. I actually broke something with my fist that wasn't something I was going to eat. Seriously, I thought I could only break hardboiled eggs with my knuckles. Suzuki glared at me angrily and with a strong energy blast knocked me out of the arena AND broke my pendant off. That was when I realized that I was starting to change again and the energy coming off me increased greatly.
The crowd gasped, surprised at this new twist that they found in the team. You'd think that after everything that happened that they would be used to this type of thing. Not that I blamed them, not really. It isn't everyday that one of the fiercest competitors in a group of humans ends up being a teenage girl. At least Genkai was well known and they accepted her as being the powerful woman she is but me? My confidence was slowly starting to deplete. "Ladies and gentlemen it seems that Team Urameshi's extra is a teenage girl!" Koto announces. Like they couldn't see that for themselves. I thought sarcastically. This guy probably made the worst mistake of his life. "Angel! That's no fair that you got to fight!" Jewel yells angrily, barely being restrained by Tyler. "Be quiet! Do you want them to try killing us?" She hissed. "Let 'em try!" Jewel brags.
"It just wouldn't be gentlemanly for me to fight a girl. I suggest that you forfeit." Suzuki says. "I'm not going to do that." I stated. I began molding my energy around my fist to take Suzuki out once and for all. "I'll make this quick." I comment. I punched him several times, not sure if he would go down with just one punch. Unfortunately for Suzuki I punched his face a little too much, it was swelled and I couldn't see any of his facial features. I even had to squint to see where his eyes were. He fell to the ground unconscious and unfortunately I actually felt sorry for the demon. "I am so sorry!" I apologized as Juri reached the end of the ten count and I was declared the winner. When I walked over to the others Kuwabara was staring at me in surprise and Genkai only smirked. "It's about time you lost that stupid disguise." She commented. "B-but… You were him?!" Kuwabara exclaims. I clasped the pendant in one of my hands and shrugged. "Yep. But remind me to visit that guy in the hospital. I think what I did to him was a little too much." I comment, watching him get taken out of the arena by stretcher. "He deserved it, I would have done the same." Genkai says with a shrug. That's exactly what you'd do. I thought and sighed.
I met with the Saint Beasts and Byakko put one of his huge hands on my shoulder, nearly weighing me down. "Nice job kid. You didn't even have ta use any energy. That clown will never be able to live it down!" Byakko laughs. "I feel horrible for doing it." I mutter; Seiryuu glared at me. "You're not supposed to have mercy towards your enemy." He states. "But he's not my enemy anymore, I've already defeated him!" I protest. "Just let the topic rest Seiryuu. What's important is that her team won." Suzaku says. Byakko growled. "I'd love to skin that swords man." "Yes, I wouldn't mind a rematch either." Seiryuu says coldly. Why can't everyone just get along? I thought with a groan, face palming. "Genbu, you've been oddly quiet." Suzaku comments, seconds later we realized that he was snoring. "You slept through the entire match! You're gonna pay!" I growl angrily, my cold energy gathering around me. Genbu opened his eyes and saw that I was extremely pissed off. "Don't hit any important parts!" He yelps.