Because of Small Things
Chapter 21

The stare down between Noriko and Hiei was pretty intense. I could feel the energy bubbling up between them as Noriko tossed her fire ball up and down on her palm. The crowd seemed restless, screaming and yelling out. Noriko chuckled and let the flame spread over her hand and up her forearm. Her clothes seemed to be flame retardant but her sleeves seemed to turn transparent when her flames licked at them. Hiei glared at her and pulled out his katana, pointing it at her. "Hm, are you one of those fire demons who just have the warmth, speed, smarts, and anger and no ability once so ever to manipulate?" Noriko taunted and I narrowed my eyes. I almost wanted to give her pointers to not taunt Hiei. He tended to get angrier when people taunted him.

Hiei charged toward Noriko and she spread her arms, a long Naginata appearing. The blade glinted as she blocked Hiei's katana with excellence. She smirked and spun her Naginata around Hiei's katana, making him have to step back a few steps. She smiled and flipped the weapon around her shoulders, holding out her palm and blowing. A large flame raced toward Hiei and he held his sword forward, blocking the flames that tickled at his skin and scorched his shirt. I blushed when I saw him shirtless, his muscles tense under his skin. For an annoying little prick, he had a nice body (to me anyways).

Hiei rushed forward and their blades clashed in a whirl of sparks as they began predicting each other's moves. They were more like ballerinas, moving along each other. I was surprised these girls were this strong. They didn't appear to be and I figure that if I had watched their previous fight, I would've learned a lot more about them. I should've done that so I wouldn't be so clueless on them. Hiei was suddenly thrown, his back slamming into the stadium with a cloud of dust but he jumped up, landing gracefully and holding his sword out. His back was bright red from the skidding and I winced. I could only imagine the pain of that concrete burn.

Hiei's arm began to have swirls of beautiful purple and black flames and Noriko's eyes narrowed. "Stupid onna," Hiei mumbled before vanishing. I had a hard time focusing on him but he was running around Noriko, causing an immense confusion in her eyes. Hiei reappeared behind her and slammed his ignited fist into her back. She screamed, stumbling forward and she turned around, palm facing Hiei, blasting a swirl of orange, yellow, and red toward him. He dodged and vanished once more. He really was fast, I had to admit.

Noriko, however, caught on and turned around, a large fire type blast toward Hiei. Hiei was blast back and he landed hard against the stage, but he stood up instantly, bending over a bit as a burn showed over his entire body. Noriko smirked and I couldn't help but notice that fire yokai liked to smirk. I sighed and wanted to stand, but my tired body wouldn't let me as Hiei glared up at Noriko. Poor guy; the only girl shorter than him was me and I bet that wasn't anything he wanted to admit anytime soon. Noriko conjured another fire ball and Hiei jumped out of the way as she threw it toward him. She studied the blurs before turning and firing another blast of fire but Hiei wasn't there. She stared around, confused and she backed in a circle. I couldn't even see Hiei he was moving so fast and I can always see his little black blurs when he stopped to kick off.

Suddenly, he reappeared beside Noriko and slammed his fist into her face, causing her to fall down before he quickly unsheathed his sword and her entire body froze as Hiei sheathed his sword once more, glaring down at her. In a second, multiple cuts appeared along her body, oozing red blood, and her body seemed to fall apart. I cringed and shook my head, trying to rid myself of that. He was just showing off since I ripped a girl's head off. The announcer cheered and announced Hiei the winner before saying, "The judges would like to have a small intermission to…clean up!"

I walked with the boys to the small room in the dome that consisted of only a small couch, a table, and a vending machine. I walked to the vending machine and picked a small snack to munch on, trying to gain my energy back. I plopped onto the couch and a large yawn muttered from my lips as I began snacking. Hiei sat on the opposite couch and I eyed him. "Just because I rip a girl's head off doesn't mean you have to do something just as gruesome, Hiei," I stated softly in a minor joking voice.

Surprisingly, he smirked over at me and I seemed to stumble, sitting down. He was actually giving me a nice look. It was…something that could literally give me a heart attack. "Hn… Don't think you'll get it often, onna," he stated and I scowled, glaring slightly at him. Nothing lasted too long with this yokai. He'd only be nice to you for a split millisecond and that's about it. He's so…bizarre.

The intermission was over after a while and we walked out to see they had fixed the stadium and no blood was staining it anymore, which I was thankful for. I felt bad for the next matches if they kept the blood there. They'd be landing in it and that's gross. I don't think I'd be able to handle that.

"Alright, we're back! Team Sakura had chosen their next member, which is Kayko… Team Urameshi?" the announcer stated, looking at us. Kurama nodded and walked forward, earning a respectful look from Yusuke. I smiled at him encouragingly and he jumped onto the stadium, facing his opponent with one arm resting on his lower back while the other dangled at his side. "It's Kurama for Team Urameshi!" the announcer screamed into the mic before jumping from the stage and backing away.

Kayko had a glare on her face, still, and I knew that she was the meanest one. Her outfit was just like the others with the same skirt and boots (color coordinated) but her cleavage was ridiculous. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the girls popped out in the midst of the fight, which would be embarrassing for Kurama. I would get so grossed out if she came charging at me… I shuddered and dismissed that thought, focusing on the fight which began.

Kayko was charging toward Kurama, her fists clenched at her hips as Kurama reached up, pulling his whip out and slashing it toward her. She reached up and allowed it to wrap around her forearm as she jumped up and quickly slamming her fist into Kurama's face. Kurama fell hard to the ground, shocked, and jumped up, retracting his whip and eyeing Kayko. She was insane. Her forearm was bleeding badly and dripping to the stage as she held it up, smirking. Her palm began leaking water and it dripped over her forearm, soothing the cuts and healing them. Kurama grit his teeth and began rushing toward her. He knew this fight would be a little harder since the girl obviously had the ability to use water to heal her.

Kayko jumped out of his attack and swung her leg out, but Kurama grabbed her ankle, slamming her into the ground and pulling his whip back, snapping it toward her and catching her across the face. She yelled out and grabbed at her cheek before rushing toward Kurama, her cut bleeding slightly. Kurama dodged her attack and appeared behind her, jabbing the hard point of his whip into the back of her skull with a loud crack. Kayko stumbled forward, grasping her head and turned, growling. She kicked off the stage and she rammed into Kurama's stomach. They tumbled along the stage and Kurama flipped, kicking off her back and flipping once, landing on his feet gracefully, his whip relaxing at his side.

Kayko stood and turned to him, her face contorted in pure anger. She wiped her mouth and smirked as the cuts began healing. Kurama sighed and nodded to himself. I was confused at that portion, but kept watching, interested. I was wondering how Kurama would defeat this Kayko girl; she was healing herself in the middle of this fight. Kurama raised his hand and smiled, yelling, "Poisonous whip!" He slashed it toward Kayko when the thorns began bleeding red and it slashed Kayko over and over again. Her yells were clear over the stadium and she fell to her knees, panting as the cuts began healing. Kurama smirked dangerously and Kayko glared over at him.

"Poison doesn't hurt me, you idiot…" she mumbled and Kurama kept smirking, retracting his whip into the rose and tucking it into his hair. "Are you stupid or just deaf?" Her voice was real hoarse and Kurama just seemed to be waiting. Kayko stood and glared at him. "Are you even listening, pretty boy?" Kurama rushed toward her and slammed his fist hard into Kayko's face, her body smacking hard into the stadium. Kayko grunted and pushed herself up, but I noticed it was a little more difficult.

Kayko stared at her and her eyes widened. "The poison I inserted wasn't meant to kill you… Instead, it increases the iron in your body to the point where you have too many red blood cells so they start pouring from your pores or attacking your insides since they become foreign to the newly created iron!" Kurama explained. "I heard it to be very painful." Kayko began screaming as her arms and head and revealed skin began soaking in thick, red blood. Kurama stepped back some and Kayko thrashed around, her body arching in very painful looking ways. I had to admit, these fights are pretty disgusting. First I tear a girl's head off; second Hiei slices a girl to pieces; and now Kurama is causing this girl to bleed from every pore in her body. I was wondering what Yusuke was going to do…

I was hoping for something sane…

Kayko's screaming stopped soon and she fell to her knees, gasping and falling hard, her eyes finally leaking the red blood cells as well. Kurama bowed and walked from the stage as the announcer announced him the winner. I eyed Kurama and he smiled at me, nervously almost. "I wasn't expecting a finish quite like that from you…" I whispered and he chuckled.

"I figured I wouldn't have any way to kill her unless I attacked her from the inside, where her water technique couldn't heal," he stated and I nodded.

"It was still disgusting, although smart," I remarked and he smiled, walking to the bench and sitting, sighing. I glanced at him and then Yusuke, who was eyeing the captain of the other team.

"Team Urameshi is on a roll! Undefeated so far…" the announcer yelled. "This is the last fight, between captains! Jesse for Team Sakura and Yusuke for Team Urameshi!" Yusuke walked forward as the blond walked forward, her face emotionless. It was probably going to be an easy win figuring Yusuke was a complete savage when it came to fighting and this girl was probably just like her sisters, or friends. Whatever they were to each other. Kayko's body was removed from the stage without my seeing and I blinked, wondering just where they put the dead carcasses.

Yusuke hopped onto the stage and Jesse did as well, walking forward, smiling and holding her hand out. Yusuke narrowed his eyes but being the gentleman he was, he shook her hand and she smirked. "Your team has proved most exponential… I congratulate you on your wins… I doubt you will be able to defeat me as simply, ningen!" Yusuke smirked.

"We'll see," he stated and they stood back as the announcer glanced between them and jumped from the stage, backing away like usual. I watched and the captains didn't move. Yusuke flexed his fingers before straining them into fists and assuming a defensive pose. Jesse smirked and assumed the same position before they both charged at each other, their energies sky rocketing just before their fists collided with a loud bang that echoed off the walls and their ki shot up high, like colored winds. My eyes widened. Jesse had a lot more energy than her sisters. They didn't have as much as this girl did. It was real bad how weak those three other girls looked compared to Jesse, whose face was stoic at this point.

This fight…looked like it was going to be a long, yet interesting one.