AN: Thank you to kimmico who noticed that this website removed my line breaks for some reason.
Just over two months had gone by since Yukina's rescue, and, today, we were meeting at the boat that would take us to fight in the Dark Tournament. Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara and I were literally surrounded by demons who would be boarding the tiny ship with us. All that's missing now is a certain boneheaded spirit detective.
Just as the captain was calling for everybody to board the ship, the arrogant, loveable, imbecile arrives with Master Genkai in tow. "Hey guys!" He hollered over the raucous voices of the hoard of nearby demons. Before he could get close to us, Hiei drew his sword and attacks Yusuke with a ferocity that I had forgotten that he possessed. It was difficult for my eyes to keep up with the lighting-fast mock battle, but I could tell right off the bat that neither fighter's heart was really into it. If it were a true battle, I imagine that there would already be blood. It was more like a mutual test- a test that left a secret part of me hoping for more.
When the pissing contest was finally over, both fighters were unscathed and breathing heavily. "Not bad, detective." Hiei said in an even voice despite the subtle rise and fall of his chest indicating that he was more winded than he was letting on. If you knew him well, you could tell that he was impressed. Hell, I was simply flabbergasted that I was able to follow it at all. Although I spent the last few months training heavily, I still had to take my final exams a week ago, and I had to split my time between the two. Until now, I hadn't thought that I'd improved all that much.
Shortly thereafter, Team Urameshi boarded the stomach churning vessel to Hanging Neck Island. Yusuke decided that getting onto the veritable dinghy meant that it was naptime, and nobody on our team ventured to dissuade him of that fact, either. Genkai stood off to his side with a knowing smirk, and I shuddered at the thought of training with her for a full two months like Yusuke had. One week of almost no rest was more than enough for me. I inwardly cringed at the forced training that I had been given. Between Yoko's ambition and Genkai's… tenacity, I would be having nightmares for years.
The captain of the ship announced that the Dark Tournament's preliminaries would be held en route to the event. Just moments after this announcement, pieces of the deck began to move in order to create a ring with actual bleachers on the boat. I was impressed by the engineering that must've gone into that, but I can't even imagine how much such a thing cost, all for the visceral entertainment that is blood sport.
Hiei volunteered himself to be our team's fighter, and nobody bothered to argue. If we lost, we would just dispatch everybody else on the ship, and the tournament committee would be forced to accept us as the final team. They had to have the extra team, or else their little game couldn't be held after all.
In a flash of light, the blink of an eye, really, Hiei defeated the first round of demons, but it was clear to see that the other teams had the same idea as we did in case their chosen fighter lost. Soon, we were swarmed by a horde of demons. Our ragtag team hacked, slashed, punched, and kicked our way to through their bodies. The sick, demonic side of me enjoyed the blood and gore too much while the miko cringed at the loss of life even if it was a demon that was being killed. Yoko once surmised that, one day, my two sides would merge together harmoniously within me, and I could not wait for that day to come. In the meantime, I would have to constantly be at war with my very nature.
When a demon tried to sneak up on a sleeping Yusuke, he even pitched in for a full thirty seconds with his own punches! What really got to me was that Genkai didn't even try to defend her pupil. She just knew that he would do so on his own. Now, that's confidence, and part of me secretly wondered what would have happened if Yusuke hadn't been sleep punching. Would Master Genkai have protected him, or would Yusuke have become dinner? Soon, we were the only remaining team, docking at our final destination after only a brief rest.
A humanoid demon with a large red nose led us to a very nice hotel, and showed us to our room. He made a point of ignoring the sleeping Yusuke being carried on Kuwabara's back. The man brought us tea as we settled into our new surroundings. I could sense that there were two 'visitors' in the room, but I kept my mouth shut, hoping for a good show from Kuwabara and his mouth. Kurama was the first to outwardly acknowledge the appearance of the two strangers by alerting us to a missing cup of tea. Then, the hilarity began.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing here, kid?" Kuwabara shrieked like a girl. Now, I've met Kuwabara's sister, and I'm positive that even she doesn't sound like that. So, it can't possibly be hereditary. This was uniquely Kazuma, and it's why we love the big galoof.
The boy that the rambunctious redhead was yelling at seemed to be just a young boy. He had star tattoos and brown hair, and he was wearing an outrageous pink and yellow outfit that just barely passed as clothing and not a costume. He quickly yelled back in a defensive tone. "Don't call me a kid you Neanderthal! I could beat you with both hands tied behind my back. In fact, maybe tomorrow, I will. We are your first opponents, after all."
"We?" Kuwabara asked making me seriously question his spirit awareness. Wasn't sensing apparitions supposed to be his 'thing'? The only reason that I sensed the two with any ease is because he had helped me work to develop that sense tirelessly over the past few months. Did he forget everything that he'd taught me in such a short time? Maybe I should be concerned about his mental health or something.
The second guest in our room was an intimidatingly tall man with blonde hair and a muscular build. If you could sense his energy, you could easily tell that he was dangerous, but he masked it well with nothing more than an impassive face and monotone voice. It would be interesting to see his true strength tomorrow. I wondered idly who he would end up fighting. Glancing around the room at my teammates, I decided that Hiei seemed the most eager of the bunch. After we banished the two intruders from our suite, I sighed and walked into the sleeping area and found my suitcase, which was stored in front of my bed. Grabbing a change of clothes and my toiletries, I walked through the common area with my belongings.
Noticing my belongings, the boys, yet again, asked if I wanted a room to myself. I smiled and shook my head. "I wouldn't get a wink of sleep around here if you made me. Then, what good would I be to the team?" I paused for a moment, distracted as my miko instincts kicked in. "Oh, well, that's not fair! You guys aren't going to let me fight until the second round. Oh well, I get to have a really cool first fight against three people at once. Nobody'll want to fuck with me after that."
I barked a laugh. "I'm going to take a nice long shower. You all enjoy your tea." I announced as I skipped off. My inner demon loved messing with them sometimes, and I chuckled under my breath as I shut the shared bathroom door behind me. I would love to be a fly on the wall in that room while I'm in the shower.
Hiei looked at me significantly, looking beyond the flesh and directly at Yoko. "She certainly does have her charm doesn't she?" He asked with a smirk.
I smiled and awkwardly scratched my head. "Well, she keeps us on our toes that's for sure. I wonder what she was saying about our next opponents. She can't possibly know who they are already, can she?" I asked glancing at Master Genkai.
Genkai shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm just an old hag. I don't have the instincts of a miko. She seemed rather confident in our next two victories, though, didn't she?"
"I'm more concerned about the fact that she thinks that we're going to let her fight three people at once. Wasn't the plan to only have her fight in a pinch?" Kuwabara grumbled, clearly still irritated by the intrusion into our private rooms.
"Hn. She may demand it. She's not going to be content with being carried through this like a weakling. She is here because she had as much of a part in all of the spirit detective missions as you or Yusuke, so don't sell her short. She can hold her own just as well as any man on this team."
I couldn't help but draw attention to the minor miracle that had just occurred. "Hiei, I think that is the most words that you've said in one sitting since I've known you, and to imagine that they were so complimentary towards another being. Consider me stunned."
In another shocking turn of events, he actually graced that comment with an answer. "At least I've gotten laid since I've known you, fox."
Kuwabara almost drew me out of my embarrassment with his enthusiasm. "Oooh, sick burn, Hiei!" I'm not entirely sure that Hiei understood his meaning, but the fire demon acknowledge the compliment with as much grace as could be expected.
Genkai actually chimed in on the subject. "I'm surprised that a girl her age has waited so long, especially after she found out that Yoko is her soul mate."
My face must have been redder than my hair. "Um, well, yes. There was actually a discussion that none of you were privy to some months back. She wants to wait until Shuichi and I are no longer Shuichi and I."
"I guess I could understand that." Kuwabara gawked. "The door is opening! Act natural." He commanded before deciding to lay down on Hiei's lap. It's easy to act natural when you're laughing at Kuwabara's antics… and Hiei's rage.
I turned my head to Kagome, and acknowledged her presence. "That was quicker than expected. Everything okay?"
She shrugged her shoulders while biting a fingernail. Nasty habit. "Now that we're here, my instincts are going wild. I barely got shampoo and conditioner in my hair before I got fed up with them all."
"Kagome, I need you to come over here, please." Genkai commanded in a stern voice that put me on edge. Kagome did as the older woman asked, and the master placed her fingertips on the girl's forehead. For a brief moment, the room was still and silent. In the next, Kagome was screaming in pain and I lost any semblance of control that I had to Yoko.
"Stop it!" I commanded at the top of my voice. I was instantly on my feet, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation at the elderly woman despite my usual trust in her judgement.
"Hold Yoko down." The old woman gave me an irritated look and barked an order before going back to concentrating on her task.
I struggled against the hands that clambered to hold me, but I found no success. Meanwhile, my mate, my Kagome's, shrieking continued, and Yusuke managed to sleep through the whole ordeal. Help her damn it! Inwardly raging at the sleeping boy, I mused, "That must have been quite some training that he received."
After about five minutes of successfully holding my struggling body to the floor, Kuwabara spoke up, shouting over the din of my growls and Kagome's screams. "What are you doing?"
Genkai didn't answer right away. "Attempting to speed along the binding of her demon and priestess natures. She has been experiencing increased foresight. If the two natures were more at harmony, she would be unlikely to have miko instincts any longer. They seem to be negatively effecting her character."
"What are you talking about?" Kuwabara asked with a tilt of his head to the side, like a puppy.
"Hiei, you're a forbidden. You explain while I focus." Genkai barked, closing her eyes in concentration once again.
Hiei frowned, not liking the spotlight to be put on him. "Kagome has essentially been turned into a forbidden child by becoming a demon in a miko's body. Her very natures are at war within her body. It can literally be painful if both sides are completely equal, neither able to stay dominant for long. In order to remain sane and whole, one must be stronger than the other. I think," Hiei grumbled, hating that he didn't know for certain. "Genkai is attempting to bind a part of her more controllable miko side in order to allow the demon to take over more fully."
"Why do this now? Why submit her to this while she is in earshot of hundreds of demons?" I asked from my place on the floor, renewing my struggles. Kagome must remain whole and unharmed, or I could not live with myself.
"It was never an issue until now. You can't tell me that you haven't noticed the changes? She enjoyed leaving us to stew over her predictions. Months ago, she would have kept them to herself." Kagome became silent an instant later, a sure sign that whatever Genkai had been doing was now over. "I'm done here. You can let him go now."
The hands that held me to the ground were now picking me up, and I pushed myself from the floor, flinging myself to the side of my beloved. Her eyes were closed in sleep and her cheeks streaked with fresh tears. I lifted her into my arms, and brought her to a bed for rest. I spent the rest of my night at her bedside falling in and out of sleep.
There was electricity in the air the morning of the first round. We were slated to fight against Team Rokuyukai, and the crowd chanted, "Kill Yusuke" in their excitement. Our team was brought out first to the sounds of jeering and boos. I knew that there were hundreds of thousands, if not, millions of demons bound within their own realm, but the magnitude of the gleeful roar among the crowd at the mere thought of our collective deaths sent chills down my spine.
Kurama and Hiei walked into the arena at the front of our group. They received the most heckling since both were known demons who fought, whether they liked it or not, at the direction of Spirit World. Kuwabara followed with a, somehow, still sleeping Yusuke draped over one shoulder. The crowd absolutely roared at them in loathing, and I could tell already that the chants of, "Kill Yusuke," would soon grow old. When Genkai and I walked out, a stillness and eerie quiet suddenly washed over the stadium, and I knew the silence wasn't on my account. Demon world's boogieman had just stepped out of the shadows in front of hundreds of demons.
It was unlikely that there was a demon here today that didn't know who Master Genkai was. I now knew why Genkai had insisted that I walk out at her side today. She wanted to show these demons that she was as much the coach as she was a part of the team. Also, a show of solidarity between two women in a male dominated realm wouldn't hurt either.
After the initial shock of the tournament's special guest coach slash alternate fighter wore off, Team Rokuyukai was announced to be entering the ring to the general approval of the crowd. The "Kill Yusuke" chant started up again with more vigor than before, if you can believe that. If only Yusuke were awake to witness the near riot he had inadvertently induced. He would probably make some sort of awesome quip about how the chant was unoriginal or something. Like, what do you want them to chant? "Urameshi, hey, hey! Urameshi, ho, ho!"
The spunky, fox tailed announcer with a fetish for violence explained the rules of the tournament for the few that were unaware of them (the vast majority of the teams had already attended a meeting about the rules a day prior- our team, as the guests of the tournament, was not invited as we are not expected to win). The team captains would be asked to determine the terms of the match at the beginning of each round. If no decision could be reached, the rules would default to one on one anything goes matches. Best of five wins. With that, Koto, the announcer, officially began the Dark Tournament.
Since our team captain, Yusuke, was not conscious, Kuwabara was calling the shots today. When Rinku, the boy with the star tattoos from the hotel room breaking and entering debacle, appeared to be our first opponent, he decided that a little payback was in order.
Stepping into the ring with shaking knees is not your typical 'Kuwabara' move, but nerves do crazy things to people. They make me a little punch drunk and make my spirit energy go wild and crazy. Well, less now than it did before. Nerves make Yusuke say impulsive, stupid things more often, which is saying a lot. I had yet to figure out what they did to Hiei and Kurama. I don't think I've ever seen either of them ever looking nervous, and I doubt that I ever will. They both had years of experience and training under their belt that gives them a one up on any of us normal humans. From what I've surmised, Kurama, having gained experience through Yoko's hundreds of years' worth of knowledge, was even more put together than Hiei, but I am still trying to figure out how old Hiei and Yukina are. I kind of feel rude asking… intrusive. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Hiei is not yet one hundred years old because Yukina, being an ice apparition, would have a child by now if she were fully matured.
With little fanfare, the fight began, and Kuwabara started out strong by beating the snot out of the kid with nothing but his fists as weapons. Unfortunately, Rinku had the upper hand because Kuwabara is, above all, kindhearted. When Rinku busted out the mournful, teary eyes, my heart fell into the pit of my stomach, and I stepped over to Kurama and Hiei to speak candidly. "Are you both prepared for him to lose this? We're going to need three wins."
Kuwabara took a devastating blow to the jaw from some demon aura infused yoyos, and I flinched involuntarily. That looked like it hurt. "We don't expect Kuwabara to defeat any of the enemies that we will face at the tournament." Shuichi spoke clinically, ready for anything. "He is a fine fighter, but his morals will keep him from doing what must be done. The less noble demons will take advantage of that fact."
"Hn. Well put, fox." Hiei grunted while still watching the match closely. He had given Kuwabara some pointers during our two months of training. They definitely paid off, but it wasn't going to be enough for him to win this match. We could only hope that Rinku would leave enough pieces of Kuwabara for him to effectively fight in the next rounds, not that he would even be involved in the next round according to my recently defunct premonitions.
I sighed a bit too heavily; it drew Kurama's attention. "What's that sigh for?" He asked curiously. It sounded too innocent, like Yoko had given him the words.
I looked up as Kuwabara was lifted into the sky by Rinku's yoyos, screaming obscenities all the way. "I'm just, thinking, I guess. Things change so quickly with us. Here I am, on the other side of the most recent change, and I'm not sure how to handle it. I feel like half of myself right now. I guess I'm just adjusting to what Genkai did yesterday."
Kurama nodded, and I noticed that Hiei was listening intently. "We'll just have to find a new normal, now. Won't we? Just like we had to after the saint beasts battle, and just like we had to after the incident at Tarukane's compound." He turned to me just as Koto was beginning a ten count in Rinku's favor. The young demon was holding the boisterous redhead outside of the ring with his yoyos in a last ditch effort to pull out a victory. Kuwabara can do a lot of things, but forcibly untangle himself from the childish demon's youki? Not so much. "You've got a lot of people worried about you, Kagome. It's time to show them that they're worrying for no reason. Find your new normal in trying to show everybody that nothing has changed."
"Eight… Nine… Ten!" Koto announced. "The winner of this fight is Rinku for Team Rokuyukai." With that, our conversation ended.
Genkai and I ran to the injured Kuwabara's aid while Hiei urged Kurama, whom we'd decided would be fighting next, to go for a quick kill. We needed a win on our docket. Kurama's response was both disturbing and wonderfully Yoko at the same time. "Naturally." He spoke softly before steadily stepping into the ring with a determination I'd never seen in him before. I must have imagined a little something else sparkling in his eyes as he turned himself away from my vision
I wish that I'd been able to pay more attention to this fight, but Rinku and Kuwabara really had, had quite the match. Both of them were worse for the wear. Genkai had given me Kuwabara, the most beaten and battered of the two, to heal. I did, however, listen to the sounds coming from behind me as attentively as possible. At first, Kurama had the upper hand. Then, there was some quiet talking that I couldn't quite make out. Was that a threat I just heard? Now, Koto is announcing that Kurama is taking the blue-skinned, wacky-haired Roto's punches and obeying his opponent's commands? What the hell is going on back there?
By the time Kuwabara was passably patched up, Kurama had won the battle, somehow. I walked to him swiftly, with as much authority as possible. I was on a mission. "I missed literally the whole match while tending to Kuwabara. Which plant did you use?"
Kurama's face was battered and bruised. A wound on his left cheek was bleeding slowly. "The death seed. He didn't even feel it hit him with a distraction from a simple pebble. It just took too long to take root. He wasn't the ideal foe for that plant, unfortunately."
I laughed. "So, he didn't have enough demon energy? Huh. I wonder why they thought they could bother with having him on the team if he was so weak." Once we'd made our way to the edge of the arena, I pushed him into a seated position against the wall and placed my hands over his wound. "This is going to leave a rather impressive scar unless I do this just right. Try not to fidget too much, okay?"
He nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry in advance if I doze off. I didn't sleep well last night." I decided to entirely ignore the subject of yesterday's incident, and jumped into healing Kurama. "What is it with you and getting injured during battle, anyway?" I laughed, trying to keep the conversation light despite the skirmish beginning behind me once again.
He shrugged and then winced painfully from an injury I couldn't see. "Just lucky, I guess."
I was working on a particularly painful area, so I tried to distract him while keeping my concentration on the wound. "How's Hiei's fight going, Skys?"
He smiled at my nickname for him like he always did. "Zeru is practically a rabid dog fighting in his anger for Hiei's supposed abandonment of the demon race. His attacks are savage in their brutality, and Hiei has taken his fair share of hits." He paused as he watched the match intently for a moment. "However, Hiei is decidedly the stronger of the two. Zeru hasn't even properly damaged Hiei at this point."
I nodded, sure that wrinkles of deep concentration were marring my face. When the most delicate part of the healing was over, I spoke again. "Hiei's going to do something stupid, isn't he?"
Kurama grunted as he readjusted slightly, still uncomfortable, although out of the weeds. "That itches very badly, Kagome." He said in the most atypical Shuichi tone I've ever heard. I sped through my current task in an effort to help with his discomfort. He would most definitely have a subtle scar on his face, but, it wouldn't mar his features. In fact, if you were into the pretty boy thing, it would bring some mystery to him once Yoko had separated from his avatar's body. "Hiei isn't normally the first to jump to his most audacious move, but he does seem to be of the mind that we need to make a statement during this first round. I suspect that we will be seeing Hiei's strongest technique whether he actually needs it during this match or not."
I paused in my healing for a moment in order to watch the remainder of the match. There was a silent and very scary moment where it looked like Hiei had been taken down by Zeru's flames, but he stood up quickly and began to power up for an attack with the aid of his jagan. When he said the name of the attack, Kurama's jaw nearly hit the ground. "What is it?" I asked, completely baffled.
Kurama shook his head subtly in his awe. "He is going to attempt the darkness technique. I didn't think that anybody could actually perform it. It's a move that requires an unparalleled amount of demon energy. Only a demon such as Hiei with the power of the jagan would have a chance of harnessing the power of the dragon successfully. This move is beyond anything that you'll see in this tournament." He paused as if trying to decide to continue. He must have decided that it was okay to do so. "He will use his spirit energy to lure the dragon from the pits of the underworld into the human plane, likely sacrificing a part of his body in order to control it for a split second longer before it runs rampant. We can only hope that Hiei knows what he's doing. Otherwise, you are going to need that protective orb technique sooner rather than later."
When the dragon was released, there was dead silence in the arena, except for the screams from Zeru and screeches from the dragon itself. When the dust cleared, it became apparent that Zeru was nothing but a memory, an outline of cinders on the stadium wall, the demons of the stadium shook in fear. Meanwhile, Kuwabara agonized over the fact that Hiei could take anybody out with that move.
"You needn't worry." Hiei told Kuwabara. "We've entered into an alliance, and I'm not the type to dissolve it. Of course, after we've won the tournament, I can't guarantee a thing." He walked casually from the ring with his charred right hand in his pants pocket. I noticed his subtle flinch of pain. He must have fried a ton of his nerve endings. I quietly groaned at the work that he just created for me.
I marched up to him. "You are going to need medical attention for that hand, mister." I told him sternly, trying to keep my spirit energy in check.
"Not here." He ordered harshly in a quiet voice. "I mustn't appear weak right now. You can heal me all you'd like when we are back in the hotel room."
I nodded succinctly. "Fine."
The two remaining fighters from the other team were running away in fear of the darkness technique, but the all too familiar sound of fists meeting flesh soon assaukted everyone's ears before a new fighter entered the ring with the limp bodies of the two scaredy-cat teammates thrown over his shoulder. The man, who sported a blue Mohawk and red war stipes on his face, drunkenly staggered and snarled his way to center stage. Loudly demanding that, as alternate, he be allowed fight the next match. Ultimately, it was decided that he would do so.
There was a moment of scuffle between our team when it was time to decide who would fight this new opponent. Nobody was particularly game at this point. Hiei was crippled. Kurama was tired, and Kuwabara had taken the worst beating of the bunch. I was about to volunteer despite my now depleted energy, much to the consternation of the other three when, suddenly, we noticed that Yusuke was missing from his napping place.
When we looked back to the ring, there he was, standing tall and proud, stretching his muscles after his day and a half long cat nap. The crowds chants began with renewed vigor; this time, fists were being pumped in the air in their zeal. Kill Yusuke. "Aiya." I whispered in a voice only loud enough for my teammates to hear. My fingers found my temples, and I rubbed them, briefly staving off the oncoming headache.
The drunkard, finally announced himself to be named Chu, and swiped the mic from the announcer, explaining why he was the alternate for team Rokuyukai. "I'm a really ace person an' all, an' the only thing I suck at is paper, rock, scissors!"
Great. We're drunk to the point of almost indiscernible speech. Translation please?
Koto must've read those thoughts from the audience because she quickly explained. "What Chu is, I think, trying to say is that Team Rokuyukai chose their main roster via a rock, paper, scissors tournament among their group. He lost miserably and became the alternate, but he wants you to forget all that because Chu is actually the strongest member of Team Rokuyukai."
A heckle from the crowd caused hilarity when Chu decided to strangle the guy for calling him a pathetic drunk. When Chu made it back to the ring, Yusuke was complaining about not stretching his muscles yet before Chu started to stumble into his drunken daze. It turns out that the idiot is actually master of the drunken fist. Coupled with his demon energy, it could prove to be a lethal combination. Let's hope that Yusuke can take him and pull out a win because I don't want to be the one to fight him.
Chu began the match by stumbling around Yusuke at breakneck speeds. He left all sorts of crazy after images to most, and some didn't see the five devastating punches to Yusuke's gut until Koto asked for a slow motion instant replay. Yusuke was only down for a few seconds before jumping back up, ready to fight until the bitter end. He started throwing wild punches, still missing his target by a wide margin. When he finally packed Chu one good wallop, the demon fought back again with flying fists of his own, pushing Yusuke back.
Yusuke immediately charged forward again, it seemed like all his punches would miss another time, but, after yelling at a back seat fighting Kuwabara, he landed one devastating punch to Chu's jaw that sent the drunken, Aussie-sounding, barbarian flying backwards. Anybody who has ever taken one of Yusuke's right hooks knows that there is almost no getting up from one of them (unless you're Kuwabara, but we already know that the guy's got a death wish). Chu, however, proved to be of a different breed entirely. Not only did he take the jaw shattering punch, but he was bolting around the ring immediately afterwards. One kick from Chu sent Yusuke flying into the wall of the stadium and soaring into the crowd. With Yusuke covered in a pile of rubble for the time being, Chu asked the crowd to stick with him while he became more… fit to fight (drunk off his ass, more like).
Koto began her ten count and the crowd was silent for a moment. There were a bleak few seconds where it looked like Yusuke was not going to emerge from the rubble, but, on the count of eight, he jumped out in a blaze of glory mentioning that things would have been much different if he hadn't blocked.
He and Chu bonded over how they both liked this life or death kind of match, and how Chu had shown Yusuke his move without actually causing any damage a moment before. After their moment was over, Yusuke began to charge the spirit gun at point blank range. In a dramatic moment, Yusuke suddenly redirected his aim instead firing the blast into the upper decks, causing the crowd to scatter and run from the giant boulder sized rubble that was now falling from the ceiling. What the hell is up with these two? Showing one another their moves like gentlemen? Where is the spirit that makes the Dark Tournament dark? Okay, shut the fuck up, inner demon.
Finally, Chu decided to make another move. He put his hand behind his back and took an unfamiliar stance. Instead of charging or building up his power, he pulled out a silver flask. "The strongest alchy eva' made. They call it ogre killer back home." He announced.
The announcer agreed with his assessment. "Just one large gulp of that stuff, and you'll be waking up in an alley with a demon you really don't want to know." Everybody watched with wide eyes as Chu chugged the whole thing. Chu dropped the flask and his demon energy levels went through the roof- literally. It was like we were all surrounded by his aura while Chu's muscles became beefed out in their strain to keep from vomiting. Finally, his stomach gave in and the whole stadium full of people practically fell over in the anticlimax of the moment. Would somebody get this guy a bucket, please?
Yusuke stood by, confused, as Chu shook off the terrible taste in his mouth, and Rinku announced that the blue-mohawked wonder was becoming invincible. His words. Not mine. Vomiting didn't seem very invincible to me.
When Chu had recovered, he started charging up energy equally into his hands. It was almost the size of a soccer ball, but Chu chose to throw it like a baseball instead. Yusuke matched it with his spirit gun, and the two forces duked it out in midair to no avail. A stalemate. Go figure. There was no clear winner based on the battle of energies alone. The two fighters didn't seem to care, though. Instead, they charged at each other and began an all-out war with fists and feet. Not a single cheap shot was taken, making this truly the most exciting and ferocious battle that I'd witnessed since my time in the feudal era.
My comrades were commenting on the fact that neither fighter was properly using their brain at the moment just when Chu landed another huge punch that knocked Yusuke backwards. Yusuke easily broke his fall while Chu began charging up his next orb of energy. This one was even larger than the last one, and it didn't seem like Yusuke could defend himself against it.
I gasped when Yusuke surprised us all by firing his final two spirit gun shots in rapid fire to help the blast dissipate. Both attacks still managed to hit their marks, and it was hard to see if there was a clear winner until the dust began to clear and both fighters were entirely absent from the ring.
Both men unexpectedly landed firmly on their feet inside the ring, panting hard. Their shirts have gone missing due to the enormity of the blasts that just occurred, and I fought the reaction to face palm at the jocularity of it all. Both fighters began to laugh manically, commenting about their defenselessness. It seems that both had used all of their energy in that last blast. Chu announced that he has an idea to end this for good, and, for some reason, Yusuke and the whole stadium were all ears.
Chu suggested a knife edge death match and even pulled out two knives in order to elaborate. He sunk them into the ground in one easy movement a few feet apart and removed his worn shoes with two swift kicks. He quickly asked Yusuke to do the same. Both men took a stance with their heel mere inches from hitting the knife behind their foot. Yes, this would be a painful and bloody way to decide the fight. Unfortunately, the throng of Tournament goers would love it.
The rules were simple. The fighters do not cross the line made by the knives, and there were no weapons allowed. The loser is the person who stepped or fell out of that boundary first, and the loser would accept death at the hands of their opponent (and, likely, the blade that their heel currently resided against). Hearing this alone made the crowd burst into an uproar. The tournament committee soon announced that they had to approve of the new rules first, though.
After an inhumane wait, the match was blessedly approved, and the punches started flying. I'm not going to lie, from the moment the first punch struck Yusuke's jaw, it was absolutely the most brutal thing I've ever witnessed. I almost couldn't watch, but I also couldn't look away, either. Somehow, I could tell that Yusuke was enjoying this blow for blow fight almost as much as the horde of demons was. It was polarizing. After hundreds of punches and far too long in the ring, everything came down to a single head-butt. Chu and Yusuke's hard heads met in one final, shocking, skull shattering blow. The ring and all that surrounded it were silent, and, finally, a winner was chosen when Chu fell. A ten count decided our team's collective fate. Three wins. We were moving on to the next round.
When Chu came to, he looked at Yusuke and asked for the death that he had agreed to when they began the death match. Yusuke just smiled and told him that they would fight again one day. He walked away, having earned a new friend in Chu.
The spectators quickly turned on all involved, yelling for Yusuke to finish Chu off. Finally, Yusuke lost his patience (not that there was much to begin with). "SHUT UP!" He hollered. "If you idiots got something to say, say it, but say it to my face! Or else, say it to my fist."
This, once again, made the stadium quiet. In that moment, younger Toguro's eyes met Yusuke's from his position in the crowd, and Yusuke busted out the classy moves by flipping him off. I laughed in the tense moment. Yup, that's one hundred percent classic Yusuke. You've got to love him.
With that, we left the arena. Half of our team was badly injured, but we made it through the first round. Tomorrow, we would spend the day waiting for the next brackets to compete. Let's hope that my fight is less eventful than Yusuke's.
