Chapter 91

The next day, early in the morning, Koenma had gotten himself ready before leaving for his sisters' suite as he was worried about Etsu. George, however, was still sleeping in his sleeping bag on the floor which Koenma had noticed and woke him up by yanking the sleeping bag from him.

"Ogre, didn't I tell you that it was time to get up?!" Koenma exclaimed, George sprawled on the floor from Koenma yanking the sleeping bag from underneath him. "We have important things to do today!"

"What's so important that we need to do today?" asked George. "I mean, the finals aren't until tomorrow."

"That's the problem!" Koenma snapped. "I need to get Yusuke's focus back to the tournament or there won't be a final tomorrow. If Yusuke doesn't shape up, Toguro's team will win by default and that'll be disaster for everyone involved!"

"That does sound bad," George agreed.

"First, we're stopping by my sisters' suite," said Koenma. "I'll ask Etsu to come with me so Kiyoko wouldn't have to be the only one keeping an eye on her."

"Why does Etsu need to be kept an eye on for?" asked George.

"Stupid! I told you last night!" Koenma snapped. "Etsu had lost her pregnancy, and it likely had a negative impact on her!"

"Oh, I must have forgotten," said George. "I was half asleep when you told me."

Koenma rolled his eyes in response as George had put on a brown trench coat, and they both left to the sisters' suite a moment later.

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Kiyoko had just gotten up as she had gotten dressed into a lavender tank top, a pair of blue jeans, and put on a pair of brown ankle boots. She had quickly brushed her hair, tied her hair back into a low ponytail, put on a brown beret hat, and left her room to check on Etsu.

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Etsu was already awake but was still in bed as she still felt depressed about her miscarriage. She knew that she should pick herself up and carry on like Genkai's ghost had told her to do the night before, but she felt that it was easier said than done. It wasn't until she heard knocking on her bedroom door when she forced herself out of bed and went to answer the door to see that it was obviously Kiyoko who had a worried expression on her face.

"Are you alright, Etsu?" asked Kiyoko, knowing it was a stupid question. "I mean, do you feel any better after sleeping?"

'Can I ask anything dumber?' thought Kiyoko, feeling embarrassed. 'Asking her these obviously stupid questions isn't going to make her feel any better!'

"A little," Etsu replied, knowing that Kiyoko was trying to help. "Still feel crappy, though."

"I understand what you mean," said Kiyoko. "It sucks, but things will be okay."

Etsu nodded in response.

"I'm going to order us some breakfast," said Kiyoko. "What do you want me to order for you?"

"I'm not very hungry," Etsu replied.

Etsu's growling stomach suggested otherwise.

"You need to eat something to help you to recover, Etsu," Kiyoko stated.

"I guess some eggs, toast, and red raspberry tea," said Etsu, knowing that her sister was right. "I'll be getting dressed, okay?"

Kiyoko nodded and went to call room service as Etsu shut her bedroom door so she could get dressed, looking at the small white box on the end table.

'No matter how painful this is, I have to get through this the best I can,' thought Etsu.

Etsu had gotten dressed into a white tank top, a pair of black jeans, and put on a pair of black ankle boots. She then brushed her hair, tied it back into a low ponytail, put on her necklace and bracelet, and put on a black velvet beret hat.

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Just when Kiyoko was finishing up ordering breakfast from room service, there was a knocking on the on the suite's front door as Etsu came out of her room.

"I'll get it," said Etsu.

While Kiyoko finished up her call to room service, Etsu had answered the door to discover that it was Koenma in his teen form and George.

"Good morning, Etsu," said Koenma. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," Etsu replied. "Anyway, come in."

Koenma and George came in a moment later as Etsu had shut the door behind them. Kiyoko had finally gotten off the phone to look at Koenma sitting down while George stood behind him.

"Morning, Koenma," Kiyoko greeted. "What bring you here this early?"

"I just wanted to check up on you girls," Koenma replied.

"I'm doing okay," said Kiyoko. "But Etsu... not so much."

Kiyoko, Koenma, and George looked over at Etsu who was hiding how she was feeling by looking out the curtain drawn window. Koenma had suddenly noticed of how Etsu was dressed similarly to Hiei and had brought it up to Kiyoko.

"Kiyoko, is it normal for couples to dress in a similar fashion?" asked Koenma.

"Um, yeah," Kiyoko replied. "It's pretty common, Koenma."

"So, does that mean you dress similar to Kurama, too, Kiyoko?" asked Koenma.

"Yeah, sometimes I do," Kiyoko replied. "So what?"

"I was just curious," said Koenma.

"You need to get out more," Kiyoko remarked. "Then, maybe you can meet someone."

"It's not like I have a lot of free time, Kiyoko," Koenma remarked. "With all of the paperwork and everything."

"Excuses, excuses," Kiyoko remarked. "You can make free time if you tried."

Koenma groaned and changed the subject a moment later.

"Anyway, I came by because I wanted to know if Etsu could come with me to help Yusuke get past Genkai's passing so he can focus on the finals that'll be tomorrow," said Koenma. "Because as far as I know, he's sitting in front of a cave where Genkai gave Yusuke her Spirit Wave Orb and is most likely waiting for her to comeback."

"Yusuke may act like a tough guy and a smart-ass, but he's still just an adolescent kid," said Kiyoko. "It's most likely a lot more tougher on him than it is on us."

"Obviously, but there's little time for mourning when there's so much at stake right now," said Koenma.

"You do have a point, but it's not me you should be asking," Kiyoko pointed out. "If you want Etsu to go with you to help Yusuke, you should ask her yourself."

"I was thinking out loud," said Koenma, suddenly addressing Etsu. "What do you say, Etsu? Do you think you're up to it?"

'She should be able to be up to it,' thought Koenma. 'Even though she lost some energy from her loss yesterday and is recovering, she's plenty strong enough to be out and about.'

Etsu didn't say anything at first, but then took a deep breath as she had finally replied.

"Yeah, I'll go with you to help Yusuke," Etsu agreed. "But there's something I need to do first."

"If it's about a burial for what you lost, then that's understandable," said Koenma.

"But you have to wait until Etsu and I eat our breakfast first," said Kiyoko.

"There's a couple of things I need to do anyway," said Koenma. "I'll be back a little later. Let's go, Ogre."

"Yes, sir," George obeyed.

Shortly after Koenma and George left, Etsu went to sit down on the sofa across from Kiyoko and didn't say anything, afraid that she'd start crying again if she did. Kiyoko knew her sister felt miserable and wanted to comfort her, but knew that the best thing she could do was to not say anything about it as it would make her feel worse than she was. When their room service came, Kiyoko had placed their breakfast on the coffee table and sat back down afterwards. Etsu picked at her breakfast which didn't surprise Kiyoko as she had eaten her own breakfast, the sisters hearing knocking at the door.

"I'll go get it," said Kiyoko.

When going to answer the door, Kiyoko had suddenly stopped in her tracks as she sensed that she shouldn't answer the door. Instead, she quietly walked up to the door while suppressing her Spirit Energy and looked through the door viewer to discover that it was Karasu.

'Shit!' thought Kiyoko.

"I know you're in there," said Karasu. "Open the door. I won't bite... yet."

Etsu was too preoccupied to notice what was going on as she continued to pick at her food, not sensing Kiyoko's fear as she was currently numb.

"Piss off!" Kiyoko hissed.

Karasu chuckled in response.

"Just so that you'll know, today is the day when I start my fun with you," said Karasu. "But the question is: who will I pick first and when will it be?"

Kiyoko couldn't help but shudder. She then noticed that Karasu looked to his side to a seemly distance and took off in a hurry a moment later. She finally stepped back from the door and was about to let out a sigh of relief until she noticed an envelope that was slipped underneath the door. She picked it up, opened it, and took out a note.

"Soon," it read.

Turning to see Etsu still picking at her breakfast, Kiyoko decided to discard of the note as she didn't want add more stress to her sister, leaving the room to discard it. Another knock at the door had snapped Etsu out of herself as it was pretty loud. Etsu noticed that Kiyoko was gone, but assumed that she went to the bathroom or something as she got up and went to answer the door. Once opening the door, Etsu realized that it was Y. Toguro.

"My condolences," said Y. Toguro.

Etsu's numbness turned into intense rage and slammed the door in Y. Toguro's face, Y. Toguro expecting it as he had left. While going back to the sofa to sit down, Etsu had forced herself to stay calm the best she could so she wouldn't be tempted to tear the room up and sat down, not touching the rest of her breakfast. Kiyoko had finally came back into the room after discarding the note to discover Etsu trembling all over, rushing over to her.

"Etsu, everything's-" started Kiyoko.

Kiyoko was going to say that everything was going to be alright, but stopped herself to realize that Etsu wasn't trembling in sorrow. She was trembling in intense anger as her eyes were a molten color.

'I haven't seen her like this in quite awhile,' thought Kiyoko. 'She's obviously near her breaking point right now.'

Kiyoko was about to try to calm Etsu down until there was knocking at the door again. She went to answer the door to see that Koenma and George were back and let them in. Kiyoko was about to warn Koenma about Etsu's current mood, but Koenma raised a hand to let her know that he had noticed. He went over to Etsu and placed a hand on her shoulder as George kept his distance just in case Koenma decided to use him as a shield again.

"Etsu, I know you're going through a tough time right now, but you need to get a hold of yourself," said Koenma. "You're most likely thinking that I don't understand and you're right, I don't."

"At least you admitted it," Kiyoko remarked. "Seriously though, telling Etsu that she needs to get a hold of herself isn't going to help."

"Well, excuse me if there's no time to wallow in self pity," Koenma remarked.

"Now you're just being an insensitive asshole," Kiyoko retorted. "Grieving over a loss is completely different than wallowing in self pity!"

Koenma was about to say something when Etsu had gotten up as she was no longer immensely angry. No, now she was completely annoyed and rather than to complain about Kiyoko's and Koenma's bickering, she decided to go get the small white box from her bedroom.

'It would've been better if I was left alone for a few minutes,' thought Etsu, picking up the little white box. 'Anyway, maybe I'll feel a little better after I get this done and over with.'

After getting the small white box on her nightstand, Etsu put her communication mirror into her pocket and went back into the other room.

"Let's go, Koenma," said Etsu "I want to get this over with so I can put it behind me."

"You want me to come along?" asked Kiyoko.

"Nah, I'll be fine, but thanks anyway," Etsu replied. "Besides, I know you might want to do something else."

Kiyoko wanted to ask Etsu if she'll be alright, but knew that she'd be fine as she nodded. Etsu was about to leave with Koenma and George until she remembered something and turned to Kiyoko.

"There's something that I need to talk to you about later," said Etsu. "Genkai told me something yesterday that concerns both of us."

"Okay," said Kiyoko.

After Etsu left with Koenma and George, Kiyoko went to her room, got her communication mirror, put it into her pocket, left the suite, and got herself a soda from the vending machines in the lobby. After drinking the soda and throwing away the can, she left the hotel and went to find Kurama to see if he wanted her to train with him.

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While looking for a spot to lay her losses to rest, Etsu had kept herself guarded as Koenma and George followed behind her.

"This doesn't feel right," said Koenma.

"What do you mean, sir?" asked George.

"I mean that I'm not the one who should be helping her with this," Koenma replied. "But since the finals are tomorrow... he can't afford to put his training on hold even for a minute."

George realized that Koenma was talking about Hiei, but before he got the chance to speak, Etsu had finally found a place to take care of her business. The spot was isolated and quiet which seemed very peaceful to Etsu. Once she had made a decent sized hole in the ground, Etsu had placed the small white box into the hole, and started to light it on fire.

"What's she doing, Koenma sir?!" George exclaimed.

"Taking precaution," Koenma replied. "And for good reason."

"I don't understand, sir," said George.

"Let's just say it's for peace of mind," Koenma explained. "Especially since this island's currently populated by crooked humans and demons until the tournament's over."

Etsu made a silent prayer as the little white box burned and placed some dirt into the hole once the flames burned out, putting some flowers onto the same spot a moment later. She stood up a moment later and left with Koenma and George to where Yusuke was, but wasn't feeling any better.

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On her way to find Kurama, Kiyoko had bumped into Kuwabara as he was trying to look for Yusuke again, but wasn't having much luck.

"Oh, hey, Kiyoko," Kuwabara greeted.

"Hey, Kuwabara," said Kiyoko. "Still trying to look for Yusuke?"

"Yeah, but it seems like this place doesn't want me to find'im," Kuwabara replied. "He didn't even come back to the hotel last night and neither did Genkai. I wonder what the heck is going on around here, because everything's been weird lately."

That's when Kiyoko realized Kuwabara must've not sensed Genkai's passing and was about to tell him about it until he changed the subject.

"Anyway, how's Etsu doing?" asked Kuwabara.

"Still upset, but she's coping," Kiyoko replied. "She's currently taking care of unfinished business."

"You sure she'll be okay by herself?" asked Kuwabara.

"Etsu will be fine and she can take care of herself," Kiyoko replied. "Besides, she's not by herself. Koenma's with her."

Kuwabara wanted to say that Hiei should've been with Etsu instead of Koenma, but knew it wouldn't have been possible since the finals were the following day. Kiyoko had excused herself so she could continue looking for Kurama.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Kuwabara.

"I'm going to see if Kurama needs any help training," Kiyoko replied. "You know, since the finals are tomorrow. See you later."

"Wait, let me go with you," said Kuwabara. "Maybe Kurama's seen Urameshi."

Kiyoko knew that she could just tell Kuwabara where Yusuke was, but knew that it would only complicate things so she agreed to let him tag along.

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Hiei had continued training ever since after taking Etsu back to hers and Kiyoko's suite the night before, but occasionally checked up on her with his Jagan eye. He felt that he should've been the one to go with her for the burial of what they had lost instead of Koenma, but promised her to keep training so the finals would be won. He was now at the huge crater Y. Toguro had made the day before and decided to make his own crater to discover that it was nothing compared to Y. Toguro's.

"Damn it, I still need more training," said Hiei. "If this is the best my punch can do I might as well get a new arm."

Hiei leapt out from his crater and went back to Y. Toguro's a moment later. It was so unbelievable to him as he stared down at it, but decided to not waste time gawking and went to continue his training once again.

'Don't worry, Etsu,' thought Hiei. 'I won't let Toguro's team get their hands on you!'

He had taken off his bandages as he continued to train for the finals.

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By the time Kiyoko and Kuwabara found Kurama, they saw that he was kneeling on the ground as he seemed to be deep in thought. Kuwabara was about to call out to him and run over to him until Kiyoko had stopped him by grabbing a hold of his arm, speaking up before he could protest.

"Don't," said Kiyoko. "He's in a mood."

"How can you tell?" asked Kuwabara.

"He's like that sometimes," Kiyoko replied. "But he'll just get mildly annoyed if he's bothered."

"Huh, I didn't think Kurama would get annoyed," said Kuwabara. "Or that he'd get moody."

"You most likely never noticed, but I assure you that you've annoyed him once or twice already," said Kiyoko. "He'll often just keep it to himself, because he cares."

Kuwabara was puzzled as he crossed his arms and wondered when it was when he annoyed Kurama. He snapped out of thought when he noticed Kiyoko approaching the kneeling Kurama and followed her. Kurama didn't know what to do as he knew that image training wouldn't help him nor would he be able to defeat Karasu as he currently was. He wanted to be able to win not only for the team, but for Kiyoko as well since he didn't want Toguro's team to win and get their hands on Kiyoko.

'I have to find a way to successfully to hold my own against Karasu,' thought Kurama. 'Kiyoko's counting on me to-'

Kurama had snapped out of thought as he noticed Kiyoko and Kuwabara approaching him and got up from the ground.

"Are you alright, Kurama?" asked Kiyoko. "You need any help training?"

Kurama smiled in response and was about to accept Kiyoko's offer as he knew that she would help him get ready for the finals until Kuwabara had spoken up.

"I'm sure that Kurama doesn't want to fight his girlfriend," said Kuwabara. "I mean, a guy shouldn't hit girls whether or not they're fighters."

"Dumbass! Kurama knows as well as I do that when it comes to combat, the gender of the opponent doesn't matter!" Kiyoko lectured, continuing when Kuwabara was about to react. "We get what you're saying about mistreatment being wrong and we agree, but it's not the same thing when it comes to fighting against someone under certain circumstances."

Kurama was about to agree with Kiyoko until Kuwabara responded.

"That sounds like something Urameshi would say, but with less words," said Kuwabara, Kiyoko throwing her hands up in the air in annoyance. "Speaking of Urameshi, have you seen him run by recently, Kurama?"

"No," Kurama replied.

"This is like one of those wild goose thingies!" Kuwabara complained. "I was following some huge mega energy and then it all vanished! Genkai said some weird things and Yusuke wouldn't say nothin' when he got up and followed her, he was angry."

Kurama recalled what Karasu had said to him the day before and knew that his senses were correct that it was Genkai's power that disappeared when Kuwabara continued.

"I even went back to the hotel to wait for them to come back, but they never did!" Kuwabara continued. "Well, that was after I went with Kiyoko and Koenma when Hiei took Etsu to the hospital."

"Etsu went to the hospital?" asked Kurama, concerned. "Is she alright?"

Kiyoko had explained to Kurama about Etsu's miscarriage and how they went ahead with their appointment that they were scheduled to have.

"Etsu's coping, but she's still upset and I don't blame her," said Kiyoko. "She went to have a burial for what she and Hiei lost, and Koenma volunteered to go with her since Hiei couldn't."

"I'm sure Hiei wished that he could spare some time so he could be the one to go with her," said Kurama. "Will you please send her my condolences?"

"Yes, I will," Kiyoko replied.

"Well, the finals are tomorrow so of course shorty wouldn't be able to go with her," said Kuwabara, suddenly changing the subject. "Anyway, you'd tell me if Urameshi was hiding from me, right?"

Kiyoko, Kurama, and Kuwabara suddenly heard a noise close by.

"Who's there?" Kurama demanded.

Suzuki had showed himself as he stepped out from the trees and bushes.

"The exact two guys I wanted to see," said Suzuki. "Lucky me."

Before he approached Kurama and Kuwabara, he noticed that Kiyoko was also with them and cracked a small smile as he had walked up to them.

"You better answer his question!" Kuwabara demanded.

Suzuki stopped and responded to Kuwabara as he frowned.

"But don't you recognize The Beautiful Suzuki?" Suzuki remarked.

"Suzuki?" asked Kuwabara.

"Suzuki, the guy Genkai beat up in the semi-finals yesterday," Kiyoko reminded. "He was disguised as Onji before he transformed."

Kiyoko reminding Kuwabara had suddenly jogged his memory. While Kuwabara recalled Suzuki at the semi-finals, Kiyoko couldn't shake the feeling that he was familiar now that he wasn't dressed as a pompous clown.

"Oh hey, that's right. I see the resemblance now," Kuwabara recalled. "You're the "I got my face turned into pudding by Genkai" Suzuki- Yeah yeah, I remember you, nice clown suit!"

"Better watch yourself simple human boy- it's against Spirit World law to say my name without putting a "Beautiful" in front!" Suzuki warned.

Kurama and Kuwabara weren't amused, but to Kiyoko, Suzuki's attitude was also very familiar when he suddenly closed his eyes and smiled.

"I've learned from my last fight that my body isn't meant for fighting the way you do," Suzuki confessed. "And all my gifted techniques can't compete with your brute strength. You must think of me as an absolute clown."

'Much less now than in your earlier performance, I would say,' thought Kurama.

Suzuki gave Kurama an inquisitive look, but before Kurama could say anything, Kiyoko had blurted something out that surprised Kurama, Kuwabara, and Suzuki.

"Tanaka?!" Kiyoko exclaimed. "I recognize that attitude anywhere!"

Suzuki's surprise turned into a smile.

"So you do remember me," said Suzuki. "Though, I guess it was difficult to remember me because of my old man and clown disguises, huh?"

"Well, obviously!" Kiyoko replied. "Not to mention that it's been a long time since Etsu and I saw you, too."

"You know this guy?" asked Kuwabara.

"Yeah, it was several years before Etsu and I left Spirit World when we met him," Kiyoko replied. "He tried fighting us, but we sensed that he wasn't capable to fight us at the time. So we told him to improve himself first and gave him a little advice, too."

"I've idolized you both ever since that day," Suzuki confessed "Even though I've changed my name to Beautiful Suzuki, it won't bother me if you don't put a "Beautiful" before my name."

Kiyoko was about to respond until Kurama had addressed Suzuki with an irked expression on his face.

"Our patience grows short, my friend," said Kurama. "You must tell us why you're here."

Suzuki didn't respond right away as Kiyoko had turned to Kurama with puzzled expression on her face.

"What's your problem, Kurama?" asked Kiyoko. "Why do you seem threatened all of a sudden?"

"I didn't realize that I was," Kurama replied. "I suppose it's because he's being a little too friendly around you."

"How is he being too friendly?" asked Kiyoko. "He was just expressing his respect for me and Etsu."

"His last comment was flirty, Kiyoko!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "How can you not know that?!"

"Hm, maybe because it didn't strike me as flirty," Kiyoko remarked. "As ridiculous as it is of how he legally changed his name with a "Beautiful" in front, it still has to be respected. Despite that, he expressed out of respect for Etsu and I that we don't have to put a "Beautiful" before his name."

'Finally, someone gets it,' thought Suzuki. 'But was the "ridiculous" comment necessary?'

"Kiyoko does seem to have a point, Kuwabara," Kurama agreed. "However, I still think Suzuki's overstepping his boundaries."

Kiyoko didn't like Kurama's attitude as she suddenly crossed her arms.

"He clearly came all of this way for a reason even though he's apparently still injured from getting his ass kicked by Genkai at the semi-finals yesterday and you think he's overstepping his boundaries by being friendly with me?!" Kiyoko exclaimed. "Do you even know how utterly ridiculous that sounds?! I came to check if you want me to help you train for the finals tomorrow and you're acting like this?!"

Suzuki became uncomfortable as he never intended to cause an argument between Kiyoko and Kurama, but didn't dare to leave since he was aware of how Kiyoko's temper was.

"I didn't come here to cause an argument," said Suzuki. "I'll get to the point of why I'm here, and a I'll be on my way."

"You don't have to apologize for anything, Suzuki," said Kiyoko. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Kiyoko, I'm sorry for upsetting you, but-" started Kurama.

"But nothing," Kiyoko interrupted. "It's obvious that you're being insecure right now because of what happened at the semi-finals yesterday, but we both know that you and your former self are the same person so there's no reason to be jealous of yourself or anyone else. I know that you have a lot to worry about right now, but remember that I'm always by your side no matter what."

"Kiyoko," said Kurama. "I-"

Before Kurama could apologize for upsetting Kiyoko, she had decided to excuse herself so she could have a few minutes to herself and calm down. Once Kiyoko was gone from sight, Suzuki had addressed Kurama.

"I admit that I'm a ladies man, but I'm not a homewrecker," said Suzuki. "It's possible that you're stressed out because of the tournament, the finals being tomorrow, and it's getting the best of you."

Kurama didn't respond, but could sense that Suzuki was being sincere.

"Are you gonna finally tell us what you're doing here?" asked Kuwabara.

"Just settle down," Suzuki replied. "I'm getting to that."