May watches Kuwabara eye the masked fighter again. They haven't spoken up once and so she still has no idea who it could be.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting some shut eye." Yusuke sighs, sitting down to lean against the railing where May is dangling her feet, having taken a seat on it. He probably needs it after the training he has been through, so she just lets him do his thing.
"All things considered, this boat is pretty dismal, huh?" Hiei muses, eying the vessel boredly from his perch on top of the railing.
"We're not going sightseeing here, after all." Kurama reminds him, his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he stands there leaning on the railing in between May and Hiei.
"That's true, but they could at least give us something to eat, couldn't they? I'm starving here." Kuwabara complains, his stomach growling.
"I'm not sure I would trust anything dished out here." May speaks up.
"Meh." Kuwabara shrugs. "If I die with a full stomach, I die a happy man." he tells her, making her chuckle.
"You would." she grins.
Suddenly the captain's voice blares through the speakers, grabbing their attention. "Everyone, if you would please be quiet…. Before the boat reaches the island, and if you don't mind us calling it a replacement for the banquet, I would like to offer a little something by way of entertainment." he states.
Kuwabara leaps to his feat, getting excited, but has to real himself in quick as the captain continues; "Beginning now, we're going to 'old the preliminary tournament." he reveals, shocking them all.
Suddenly the boat starts to rock, and May has to hold on tight so she won't tumble off. To be safe she jumps down to the deck.
They watch as a ring rises from the deck after it opened up. "This is where you will fight!" the captain tells everyone. "As it 'appens, fifteen of the teams who will be appearing in the Dark Tournament 'ave already been determined and are standing by on the island. There is only one team on this boat that will be able to participate." he reveals.
"Surprise, surprise." May mutters, a scowl on her face.
"We aren't guest then?" Kuwabara wonders confused.
"This is the way they operate." Hiei tells him, undeterred. He was clearly expecting something to happen.
"Please choose who you think is the strongest contestant on your teams. They will fight atop 'ere in a battle royal. The team remaining will be given the right to enter the tournament on Kibikukuri island." the captain explains.
"Alright, let's do this!" Kuwabara states, getting pumped. "Who's going to do this?" he asks, eying his teammates. "Do we flip a coin?"
"Or let the team captain decide?" Kurama adds with a smile, receiving a glare from May.
"Knock it off. I told you to pretend like I'm not even here." she grumbles.
Luckily the issue solves itself as the masked fighter steps forward. "I'm interested to see what he can do." Hiei says, watching the figure walk up to the ring.
"You've gotta be kidding me. What are we going to do if he loses?" Kuwabara motions towards the fighter worriedly.
"If that happens, all we have to do is kill everyone on this boat. Once we do that, there will be nobody to complain." Hiei says, seeming to look forward to it. Kuwabara looks at him disturbed.
They look on, pleasantly surprised as the masked fighter takes down all the demons with one shot of their spirit energy, throwing all opponents overboard.
"Now we can see why Yusuke sleeps so soundly and without worries." Kurama states, amused.
"Unreal." May breathes.
The captain reluctantly announces their team the winners, but this news is badly received by the other teams and they look to gang up on them.
"Hey Hiei, they stole your idea." May says, backing up as they are being surrounded, seeking refuge next to Yusuke.
Hiei smirks. "They will have to pay dearly for that."
"Agreed." Kurama states before they jump into action.
As one after the other demon is slaughtered or tossed overboard, some slip passed the guys and make it to May and Yusuke.
May grits her teeth, stepping up to protect Yusuke who shows no sign of waking up anytime soon. The demons before her grin lecherously down at her. "Look what we have here; a tasty human girl. I call dibs on the legs." one says, licking his lips.
May punches the first one that leaps forward, but is not quick enough to dodge the second that comes right after. His nail scrapes a cut diagonally across her chest, making her gasp in pain as she collapses on her bum beside Yusuke.
"May!" Kuwabara calls over, having caught on, but before anything else happens to her, the demons around her are send flying. May blinks in surprise as Yusuke sprung to his feet and swings his fists around like a maniac, his eyes still closed.
"Bring it on! Don't you know how to treat a lady, you scum!" he shouts before letting his fists drop and sagging back into his previous position, sleeping away once more.
"Huh? Yusuke?" May asks, poking him once to check if he really is asleep. It seems so.
"May? Are you okay?" Kurama asks hurriedly, rushing up to them. Hiei, Kuwabara and the masked fighter follow at their own pace.
May puts a hand to the cut in her skin, flinching slightly. "It stings a little." she says, getting to her feet and noticing that no one is left alive on the ship besides the crew. "I'm going to see if I can clean this up." she states, setting off to find a bathroom or something of the sorts.
May steps into the run down bathroom after finding it, pulling paper towels from its holder. She is surprised there even are some on this shithole of a ship.
She hisses, dabbing at the crusty blood on her chest as she pulls her shirt down as far as she can. She curses as she sees the blood has run down her chest, passed underneath her bra and over her stomach, reddening the edge of her jeans.
She squeals as the door suddenly opens, revealing Kurama. "Geez, warn me next time." she scolds, letting go of her shirt, the collar snapping back in place making her wince.
"Sorry. I just wanted to see if I could help somehow." he states, inviting himself in and dumping his backpack on the edge of the sink. He quickly finds what he's looking for in there, pulling out antiseptic and a roll of compress bandages.
May takes the antiseptic from him and tries to apply it on the wound herself, but only ends up spilling it on her shirt. She can't see what she's doing. The mirror is broken, so that is no use.
With a sigh, Kurama takes it back from her hands before looking her in the eye, his face as straight as can be. "Take of your shirt." he tells her, making her gape at him.
"You aren't kidding." she states after a moment in which he only cocked his head at her impatiently.
Pursing her lips, she sucks in every bit of her courage before peeling the blood caked shirt over her head. She tries not to get it in her hair or on her face, but she can feel that something caught her cheekbone anyway.
To his credit, Kurama's gaze didn't linger at her topless body or if it did, she didn't notice at least.
He pulls out some more paper towels before stepping closer, holding them pressed just below the cut before applying the antiseptic. He mutters an apology when a little of the cold substance manages to seep past the barricade of towels and joins the trail of blood, running down her chest and leaving her to shiver for a moment.
Next, he tapes the bandages over the cut, pressing down the edges so no dirt can reach it. He doesn't even flinch when he presses down at the top of May's right breast, who herself is wondering why she hasn't fainted yet with all the blood rushing to her head.
She quickly cleans herself up a bit as Kurama rummages around in his backpack. She glances at him as he lets his pack crash to the dirty floor, her brow raised. He is looking flushed.
She eyes him as he turns to her, holding out a clean shirt of his for her to wear. He scowls at her playfully. "Cut me some slack. It's not everyday a pretty girl stands in front of me topless."
May gasps, quickly pulling the shirt out of his fingers and over her head. "Kurama!" she scolds, not believing he had to make it awkward. She looks at him like she expected better of him.
He holds up his hands, looking sheepish. "I try to be chivalrous, but I'm not a saint." he defends. He's just glad he managed to keep a straight face for as long as he did.
"I guess." May sighs, rolling her eyes. "Thanks for the help." she tells him appreciatively.
He simply nods before walking back to the others with her.
"This is exactly what I was afraid of." she states finally, a frown creasing her brow. "I knew I'd end up being a burden. I suppose that's what these people wanted when assigning me this title of team manager." she growls.
"Don't think about it too much May. It can't be helped. And we don't mind looking after you." he assures her, making her sigh. That may be so, but it still makes her feel bad.
I wanted to say a quick thank you to those who are still following the story relentlessly and who took the time to review. I appreciate it tremendously.