AN: Busy week ahead, so I'm posting early. As usual, thank you for reading, reviewing, and all that jazz. It gets more exposure to the story. We are officially at the half way point since my word document is 23 chapters long. Thanks for sticking with me.
Much love,
MrsA
I glanced from Hiei to Genkai to Botan seriously. We were all in the team's hotel suite alone this morning. I had kicked everybody else out. Hiei is a very private person, and, no doubt, he wouldn't want everybody to know that he was struggling to use his dominant hand right now. "Well, you've done quite the number on your arm, Hiei." I finally said after assessing it as thoroughly as I dared, unsure whether he would be willing to let me touch him for any sort of extended period of time, and unwilling to test his patience given his condition. "Even if we heal it every day for the rest of the tournament, you are still very likely to have problems. You've pretty much fried all of the nerve endings, and most of the normal connections have been broken. We'll heal this, but it's going to be your job to train your body to use those newly created connections." I paused for a moment in deliberation, but I decided to say it any way. "If you use that attack again, you may permanently lose mobility in your arm, and, unfortunately, I suspect that you're going to try it again all too soon."
Botan and Genkai both sat off to my side, nodding. Helpful, aren't they? "I agree with every word Kagome has said. My background in healing is not as strong as hers, but I can tell that your arm will need a lot of work to get back into proper working order." Botan jumped in, in a cheery voice that didn't at all fit the situation. I rolled my eyes in aggravation. I could hardly the last time that I felt like an optimist. Did I piss off other people too?
Hiei grunted painfully as his arm twitched uselessly when he tried to move it. "Fine. Do what you can. Daily, if you have to. I'll take care of the rest. I can't guarantee that I won't use the dragon again, but I promise you that I won't come crawling back for your help if I do."
I moved my hands to his arm in order to heal it, but Genkai stopped me. "No, Kagome. I know that you've been working hard for your spirit energy to recover more quickly, but you have a fight tomorrow. Botan and I will take care of this. You go scout the competition at the arena. I know that Kurama will be there." She winked at me, knowingly. Am I really that transparent?
"You drive a hard bargain." I smiled. Then, I looked back at Hiei threateningly, throwing as much menace and authority into my voice as possible. "Let them take care of you no matter how much they annoy you. They're not trying to slow you down. I promise. Then, you can go train and writhe in agony alone like you planned to do."
With those words and a quick hug from Master Genkai, I flounced out of the room with as much excitement as I could muster. I mourned my former sanguine human personality, but found that I favored the more tepid moods of demonhood. I just had to remember myself and try not to come off as caustic like Hiei often does.
As I walked out of the room, I could hear the briefest moment of quiet conversation between my teammates before the door shut behind me. "It seems that she's once again found her old self." Hiei grumbled lowly.
Genkai nodded sagely. "Yes. Unfortunately, the more cutthroat Kagome is what we needed in this tournament. I can only hope that she can find that part of herself when she needs to tomorrow."
I found Kurama easily enough after I'd made my way to the arena. There are very few humans here, and his red hair isn't exactly subtle. "Are these our next opponents?" I asked, unbidden enthusiasm eking its way into my voice. These would be my first opponents in the tournament, and I was beginning to become restless with the need for action- a feeling that I would have to grow used to over time. I wanted to stretch my muscles and my spirit energy so badly that I could practically feel my energy rolling off of me in waves. I'm surprised that I haven't thrown hordes of nearby demons in hysterics in my over eagerness.
Kurama's stoic silence was enough of an indicator for me. "Yes. Dr. Ichigaki's team. They're quite the formidable opponents. You will make quite the splash when you defeat them single handedly."
I did a double take. "Wait. What are you talking about?" I asked, feeling stunned at the fox avatar's proclamation. I couldn't possibly fight three at once, could I? I mean, they're all super close quarters combat heavy fighters. I prefer ranged attacks. How am I supposed to deal with that?
Kurama looked at me in confusion. "You alluded to your victory in a three on one handicap match when we first arrived in our suite. You indicated that you wouldn't fight in the first round of the tournament, but you would defeat three opponents at once in the next round." He paused for a moment, waiting for the realization to dawn on me. It didn't. When the fuck did I say that? Was I possessed by some lunatic or what? "I assume that those three will be your opponents. Watch them closely."
My eyes were wide. "Their energy is so pure that it's hard to see or sense. No human's energy is like that naturally. What the hell did that doctor do to them?"
It was a rhetorical question, but he answered anyhow. "I suspect that it has to do with the organic devices on their backs. I'm not sure how we can safely remove them, and, in the worst case, it would kill the host to do so.."
My eyes narrowed in determination. "I think that I know what I need to do." With those words, I sprinted back to the hotel to find Master Genkai. I literally ran into her in the doorway to our room. "Whoops! Sorry Genkai but, I'm going to need your help for tomorrow."
The next morning found only half of our team at the arena. For some reason, Hiei and Kurama were both missing. This seemed to make the evil Dr. Ichigaki far too happy, and I had to agree with Yusuke's earlier comment. Ugly people shouldn't be allowed to smile as much as he was.
Our team all met in the center of the ring with the doctor, and we debated the terms of our fight. "Since my team is missing two and your team is missing two, why don't we fight for best of three?" He asked with a cackle of excitement. Eww. Major halitosis there, buddy. Eat a tic tac!
We had decided earlier that Genkai, being the more discerning of the two, would speak for us instead of Yusuke. She smiled a tired smile. "We can agree to that, but Kagome didn't get to fight in our last match. She'd like to take on all three of your boys at once."
Doctor Ichigaki smiled widely and typed a few things in on his overrated calculator. Apparently assured that it was not possible for me to defeat three opponents at once, he agreed. Koto announced the terms of our battle, and, while my team walked off to the sidelines, the three men possessed by Dr. Ichigaki's devices moved into the ring in front of me. I breathed a sigh of relief that they did not surround me. Although I had a contingency plan for that possibility, it was not my ideal choice. I didn't want to waste any energy during the tournament. Koto announced for the battle to begin and the three men charged. Their battle cries were almost intimidating, but I sensed no actual feelings behind them. The "good" doctor had certainly done a number on these poor human boys, and boys there were. Not one of them could even be a day older than eighteen.
With a calming breath, I put the plans I had lain with Genkai yesterday into action. On the fly, I created one large demon energy orb that I ensconced my three opponents. With them now immobile, I began the incantation that Genkai had taught me. "Mei In Metsu Jyu Retsai Ko Ki Ki Kyo Chou Chin Kon Mei Ei Kyaku." I poured spirit energy into the incantation, which caused my eyes to glow the same pinkish color of my spirit energy, and I surrounded the demonic orb in the power from the spell. Unbidden, the orb began to levitate off the ground. "Kou." I added in the strongest voice that I could muster while dropping the demonic orb now that the enemy was surrounded in full by my spirit energy. The orb began to glow the same color as my eyes. "Jyou." I incanted, and long tendrils of my spirit energy made their way into the sphere piercing each fighter in a specific spot near their heart. "Sai." I finished, and the remaining spirit energy dissipated after having dropped the men carefully to the ground.
The crowd, once cheering for the Ichigaki team and jeering at me, was silent as Koto stuttered through her speech. "In a shocking turn of events, the only woman on Team Urameshi has rendered her three opponents incapacitated. I don't know what exactly just happened, but it looks like I can start counting. One."
Soon, the peppy fox demon reached her ten count, and the doctor gawked. "What have you done to my creations?" He cried in outrage.
Genkai stepped forward to explain. "It is an advanced healing technique that I've taught her- the spirit wave. It is one of five trials of self, and, after the initial activation, is powered by the target's own spirit energy. If you look closely, you'll see that those organic mind control devices that you implanted on them have been removed and all three men are still breathing."
Koto began to move towards the three fighters, but, suddenly, one of the conveniently missing Doctor Ichigaki team members' fe1l from the sky and a giant robot crashed through a portion of the rafters, causing debris to fall into the crowd once again. When the dust cleared, there stood Kurama and Hiei on the remains of the mechanical beast. They looked a bit shocked at the state of the arena, but also pleasantly surprised. I assumed that was because everybody was still intact.
"I see that you all have things under control here. What a pleasant surprise given that this cowardly leopard demon seemed to believe that the doctor had calculated your odds of survival at two percent." Kurama smirked. I wasn't close enough to see his eyes, but I could somehow tell that this was Yoko and not Shuichi.
"You clearly didn't anticipate me fighting, then." I quipped at the now-cowering doctor while moving to block his exit from the stadium.
Ichigaki shook as he spoke, mind clearly searching for some sort of exit strategy. "Yusuke and Kuwabara were supposed to take the first two rounds. I thought that you would only fight of you had to, and, even if you did, you wouldn't be able to defeat any of my men. I measured your power level..."
"That is your first mistake." I interrupted his monologue. "I have both human spirit and demon energies, so my power level is difficult to measure at best." That, and Hiei had shown me how to hide my aura from detection. It'd obviously become a helpful habit to institute.
Kurama made his way to my side and muttered only for my ears. "Near impossible to investigate accurately at worst."
I spoke lowly to Kurama without turning my gaze from Doctor Ichigaki. "What did you guys have to do to defeat that robot? I have been wrapped up in my own thing since yesterday after watching this team's fight, and hearing about Kuwabara's creepy psychic empathy for them made me even more focused."
With a smirk, Kurama explained tricking the machine to hit itself in order to break its impenetrable armor. Sounds like the end of the Incredibles movie to me, but who am I to judge?
"A simple task." The modest fox explained. I think that he was downplaying the actual danger that he was in. My fight was calculated; I knew that I was going to win. I was prepared for my fight. He was not. I'm surprised that he was not injured during the battle at all. He had a tendency to do so. I sometimes think that he likes it when I worry about him. Damn fox and his tricks.
Yusuke got pissed when he was finally filled in on the truth of what was going on with those poor, human puppets of Ichigaki's. That's when his fists started flying. Before long, there was nothing left but a beaten pulp on the ground where Ichigaki was once standing, and the three men that I had used the spirit wave on were reuniting with their "sickly" master. Ichigaki was a fucked up dude, poisoning an otherwise healthy man in order to trick his students into fighting unwillingly and under the influence of a mind control device on his tournament team. Blood research my ass. Fucking doctor.
A loud ping over the overhead speaker brought all voices to silence and ears to attention. "May I have your attention, please?" There was a short pause from the female voice overhead. "The tournament committee has decided that the next round of the dark tournament will occur immediately in the order that it appears on the on the program." She let the ramifications of this sink in for a moment before continuing. "Therefore, the next match will be between team Masho and team Urameshi. Team Masho please report to the ring immediately. Thank you."
"We just had a round." I pouted. I wouldn't say out loud that I used too much spirit energy.
Kurama moved with me to our side of the ring with a kind smile. He knew that I had managed to drain myself without asking. "The good news is that you have three and a half teammates as fresh as daisies, so you are likely going to be able to relax."
Another ping came over the loud speaker. "May I have your attention, please? The tournament committee will be instituting a medical examination before the next round due to the Urameshi team fighting without rest. Team Urameshi, please report to the medical tent."
A beautiful, scarlet haired nurse appeared from within the tent and chose to evaluate Hiei and I before the match would begin. Things seemed okay for a while with her asking seemingly pertinent questions until, finally, the nefarious ones seemed to eek their way in. "Do you have any fatigue or sharp, reoccurring pains?"
"No." I answered quickly.
"And you, Hiei? Surely, that last attack (the dragon) had some effect on you. It must be difficult to fight with your arm in excruciating pain." She dug deeper, hoping to get a rise out of us, I think.
"If you must know, our team has no less than three healers. All of us have been working in tandem on Hiei's arm. I've promised him a full recovery by the end of the tournament should he follow our plan as prescribed. Thank you for your time, miss. We're leaving."
When we turned to leave, Hiei and I suddenly ran into an invisible, electric wall, and the nurse began tittering. "I think that you two ought to remain in here for a while to rest. It isn't healthy to use too much energy too quickly." She smirked, walking out of the tent without another word. Yusuke tried to get to us, but his efforts were easily deflected by the woman who was now revealed to be anything but a medical professional.
Hiei's teeth were gritted in anger. "She is a special class of demon. She has no attack power, but her defense is so strong that nothing can break through it." He elaborated for my benefit. "We best relax. It may be a while before she lets us go free."
The team captains were brought to the center of the ring to decide the terms of the match. The opposing side's captain, Jin, was the first to propose an idea. This guy's accent was both beautiful and ridiculous. It reminded me of an estimation of an Irish brogue with a splash of Scottish added in for good measure. The wind master with brilliant, fire engine red hair proposed a series of one on one matches. The first team to four wins would move on. Yusuke agreed with a cocky smile.
I watched as Kurama walked into the ring. "I will fight for as long as I can." He told Yusuke before the match began. When Koto shouted begin, I watched in horror as the other demon, an artist, plastered blood infused paint on Kurama's body, causing him to feel as if he was chained down by thousands of pounds of weight. Things looked bleak for a moment when Kurama realized that he couldn't move normally. Of course, he certainly tried, but it was relatively useless compared to his usual foxlike reflexes and above average speed. His opponent was now much quicker than Kurama.
Luckily, Kurama thought quickly and used his demon energy to make the rose whip grow while still in his hair (not unlike my fight against the first "deadly triad" member in Tarukane's compound). He whipped his hair around, and defeated the demon in one, bloody slash. Then, his dying opponent started to laugh and explained that, although he would die in this fight, he had literally sealed Kurama's fate. His blood would trap Kurama's energy inside of him for the next fight, making things even more difficult on the fox demon's avatar.
The next round began immediately, and Kurama chose to fight on. Dammit, I love that idiot sometimes, and the rose whip in the hair thing- I liked it more than I probably should. Just as the match begins and Kurama's new opponent, Touya, attacks, the weight from Gama's initial evil paint application wears off; Kurama is able to move. The problem is that, while Kurama can move, he still can't access his own spirit energy. It is completely bound within him still. "Oh, no." I said with sudden realization as Kurama fought on.
Hiei acknowledged me by tilting his head minutely and replying. "Hn?"
"He's going to have to do something stupid in order to access his spirit energy." I explained. "Eventually, he is going to realize that it is within him- in his blood."
No sooner had I said that than Kurama was being pierced by an ice sword created by Touya. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand in shock and fear. Please don't let him be too badly injured. He has to be okay. Thankfully, Kurama continues on in the fight without taking any more injury, but, eventually, he will grow tired because of all of this running. There has to be a way for him to defeat Touya- and soon.
Kurama stumbles to the ground and looks like he is otherwise defeated with Touya about to run him through with a final blow of his sword. Instead, Kurama swings at Touya with… Is that a damn plant? How the hell did he…? Oh no.
"That's the death plant coming out of his arm." I gaped. "If he didn't just expend all of his energy, we could have a serious problem. I have to remove it as soon as possible."
Hiei was as stoic as ever as he spoke what were supposed to be calming words. "He did what had to be done to win the battle. He's smart. He'll be fine."
The match was called in Kurama's favor, but something was wrong. He was standing, but he hadn't moved an inch since the first count. "It seems that Kurama was so dedicated to continuing the fight that he's fallen asleep at the center of the ring, people." Koto announced with far too much excitement laced into her voice.
Yusuke was chomping at the bit and ready to jump into the ring, but a sudden ping from the loud speakers stopped him short. "May I have your attention, please?" The familiar woman's voice sounds overhead, grating on my ears. I just knew that nothing good could come of this announcement. "Given that Kurama is still on his feet, he must continue to fight in the next match, which will begin immediately. Thank you."
I nearly cried when I saw the next competitor climb into the ring. He was a big, muscle bound brute named Baken. With a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, he demands that Koto begin the match. When she does, he begins to pummel the defenseless redhead to a pulp. Everyone could sense that the general consensus throughout the arena is that this needed to stop, but Baken never allowed Kurama to stay down for a ten count before picking him back up and continuing to brutalize him. It was literally painful to watch, and the tears were now streaming down my face. It's moments like that that I count myself lucky that I do not have the same affliction as Yukina, and, assumably, Hiei that would cause my tears to become precious gems.
Finally, as Baken is about to land the fatal blow, one of his teammates stops him short. "If you want to live, you'll stop that right now." The man said before gesturing to Yusuke who was charging up his spirit gun from the sidelines. With the threat of being blown away by the spirit gun, Baken finally dropped Kurama and let Koto reach a ten count, but the damage had been done. Kurama had been beaten to a bloody pulp. I tried to rush forward to help him, but I hit the woman's electrified barrier which threw me backwards onto the ground.
Sobbing, I watched as Yusuke carried Kurama out of the ring, grimacing at the severe injuries that were inflicted upon his friend. "He has to be okay, Hiei. He just has to."
Hiei wasn't generally one for showing emotions, but he did try to ease my mind a little. "He's alive, and the old bat is at ringside. No doubt, she'll fix him up for you."
"This needs to end soon. I won't relax until I can sense his injuries for myself." I worried aloud, biting my nails.
"You don't even have enough spirit energy to heal him right now." Hiei stated cockily, knowing, for some reason, that I had given my all to keep those three boys alive, but unaware of the benefit in being trapped within the female enchantress's snares.
I lifted my head as Yusuke's fight against Baken began, and I watched with rapt attention. Replying only when I could tell that the fight would be an easy one. "You can't sense it. Can you?"
"Sense what?" Hiei asked defensively.
"This barrier has some healing properties after all." I answered smoothly, trying not to sound as if I was rubbing in the knowledge. "Despite my recent fight, I'll be back to full strength in no time, and your demon energy has finally reached its normal, pre dragon of the darkness flame, levels once again."
I was drawn away from the conversation when I heard Koto's voice say, "Ten. The winner of this match is Yusuke Urameshi."
"That was fast." I smiled and looked towards Kurama whose eyes were just now opening. He was grimacing in pain, but I would take that over unconscious any day. Yusuke checked in on him before beginnings the next round, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "I wish that I could tell what they are saying." I mused.
Hiei stepped forward slightly and translated. "Kurama's just apologized for not being able to win three matches." He paused before putting his two cents in. "Idiot."
"How can you be so sure?" I inquired, looking back at the diminuative, black haired demon.
He shrugged. "One of the many abilities the jagan enables me to do- lip reading."
I was drawn out of the moment by the red headed demon, Jin, walking into the ring once again. Apparently, he would be Yusuke's next opponent. Both Jin and Yusuke enjoyed the battle immensely. Things went back and forth for quite a while with Jin taking some jaw shattering punches from Yusuke and vice versa. At one point, both Yusuke and Jin were outside of the ring at the same time, and a ten count looked like it might decide the battle. Both men, however, met in the ring for another confrontation. Yusuke managed to shock everybody by pulling off the spirit wave attack in which he uses his entire body as a conduit for his spirit energy. Ultimately, the epic match was called in our favor until... "May I have your attention, please?" The overhead voice said again. I groaned involuntarily. This cannot be good. "Due to a delayed ten count during the last match, Yusuke Urameshi is disqualified, and the point for last round will be given to Team Masho."
"Great. That means that our fate lies in the hands of the idiot." Hiei deadpanned. His outburst nearly made me bust up laughing. He may seem serious, but his sarcastic sense of humor got to me.
Kuwabara scrambled to center stage, determined to win the match for us, but the final fighter of Team Masho was the true captain, Risho. He was a demon with power over earth, and, at first, it seems like he has the upper hand. Kuwabara took several devastating punches before even being able to summon his spirit sword. When he did, finally, use the sword, his strength was invigorated by strength from the sudden appearance of Yukina at ringside. He had to show her how strong he was, of course. It was all downhill after that, with Risho being pummeled so hard that he may as well have been a pile of earthen rumble on the ground.
With that, the enchantress that had trapped Hiei and me in the medical tent released us, and I ran directly to Kurama's side, kneeling next to him with my hands in place to heal in an instant. "How are you feeling? Do you need help, Master Genkai?" I asked both of them anxiously, fussing more than necessary over the clearly healing man.
"I am mending slowly, but rather well considering the extent of my injuries. I assume that this means you had a chance to regain your energy?" Kurama smiled privately for me with a glint in his eyes that told me all I needed to know.
I nodded with a smile. "The barrier actually had some healing properties, so I am back up to snuff." I looked up at Genkai. "I'll take it from here, Genkai. You can rest."
"Thank you." The psychic whispered tiredly before moving to meet her pupil who was with the girls, Keiko, Shizuru, Botan, Atsuko, and Yukina.
"She's more tired than usual." I commented. "Hasn't she done this for hours at a time before?" I asked my intuitive fox demon.
"Indeed, she has. I suspect that she intends to pass on the bulk of her power to Yusuke soon. She may be trying to make do with a daily allotment." Kurama answered.
After taking a moment to sense Kurama's injuries, I opened my eyes. "Well, she's healed you well enough for me to finish up at the hotel. Are you able to walk, or is Hiei going to be carrying you out of here?"
He shook his head and pushed himself up on shaky legs. "I do not wish to show that kind of weakness to our future opponents or the audience. I will walk."
I pulled his arm around my shoulders to give him some more stability, and he was able to stand up normally. Along with our entire group, we made our way out of the ring alive and whole despite the Tournament Committee's best efforts, ready to fight another day.
