A/N: Sorry it's been a while! I've actually had the tail end of this chapter written for months, but meeting it up with the rest of the chapter was a struggle. Many many rewrites, but I think I'm happy with it. The next update will probably be a little while in coming, so I hope this one tides you guys over. Thanks for reading!
Standing in the ring made for Yusuke's tournament, the sheer number of participants and the size of the audience is staggering. The Dark Tournament can't even compare. I'd be nervous if Yusuke wasn't crazy pumped. He starts to stretch, pounding his fist into his hand as he shouts, "Let's go!"
"You are so hyped," I say, shaking my head.
"And you aren't? You trained your ass off this week," he says, smacking my shoulder. Raizen's old friends had taken to Yusuke like he was one of their own, and after explaining my Raizen story to them, they wouldn't let me sit out on the "fun." I'm stronger now than I've ever been, and I honestly feel like I could take on the world. Which is impractical, but since when has spending time with Yusuke ever made sense?
"Yeah, I felt like a punching bag. I'd still have bruises if I couldn't heal them."
"Me too." Yusuke grins, and I laugh. After surveying the crowd, Yusuke says, "Wow, we might end up with a wacko in charge."
"You started it," I reply.
"Urameshi! Asaki!" We turn to see Chu making his way toward us, Rinku, Suzuki, Touya, Jin, and Shishi right behind. "There you are!"
"Chu!" Yusuke says as they stop in front of us.
"The moment of reckoning is almost upon us," Suzuki says.
"Uh, yeah," Yusuke replies, not looking worried.
"So, it's really true what they're saying about dropping most everybody in the preliminaries?" Jin asks.
"What?" Yusuke asks, surprised.
"Aren't you supposed to be one of the sponsors of this event, and yet you know nothing?" Touya's clearly not impressed.
"The 6,272 fighters will be divided into groupings of 49 for battle royale preliminaries.
"And only the champ from each grouping will advance to the next round."
"Simple division," Yusuke says, frowning. "Let's see, the number moving on…. Only 87 with a remainder of three."
How...how did he even come up with that?
"One hundred twenty-eight," Touya says.
"Oh. Right." Yusuke was never the brightest….
"Now, don't go bailing out til you're matched with me," Chu says.
The guys exchange some banter, but my attention is elsewhere. If these guys are here, where is Kurama?
A sudden shift in atmosphere brings me out of my search, and I take a few steps back as Yomi and Mukuro make their way toward Yusuke. Yomi has a smaller demon with him, one who looks a bit like him, with a single horn in the middle of his head. A kid? That doesn't make sense, but then where did he come from?
"It's been some time since our meeting," Mukuro says to Yusuke. "You've developed your strength and skills even more since then, haven't you? Don't worry, though. I've got a few surprises in store myself." And in a single motion, Mukuro pulls off his head wrappings to reveal...that he's a woman. Wait, what?
Her face is scarred, and she only has one real eye, but even so, there's a certain kind of beauty in her confidence. The crowd is surprised, and I wonder if maybe they're starting to think less of her. As though being a woman makes her less strong. I hope she kicks ass.
"There is no better training than the real thing," she says, her blue eye trained on Yusuke. "So, use the experience of these earlier matches to raise yourself up to my level."
Mukuro is singling out Yusuke and not Yomi? Interesting.
"A woman, eh?" Chu says. "Go figure."
"Not your type, huh?" I ask, smiling.
"Nah. I prefer 'em fiery, like you, sheila."
"Ha ha, very funny."
"This will truly be a test of Master and Kurama's training," Touya says. "Are you prepared to face us to the death?"
"No," I reply, shrugging. "But I have no qualms with incapacitating you."
"Well, aren't you two a perfect match," Jin says, making me raise an eyebrow. "Yon Fox over there said the same thing not a day ago."
I glance over at where he's looking, my heart stuttering in my chest. Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke are standing together now, talking. It's just like old times, and I can't help but feel heartened by it. When those morons put their heads together, things just have to turn out okay.
A loud buzzer sounds, and the crowd goes wild, making me stick a finger in my ear. I guess they're going to start the lottery now. An announcer introduces Koto, and I can't help but laugh as Chu shouts how much he loves her. So much for being his type, huh?
Just then, I catch Kurama's eye, and he waves me over to him. I have to refrain from skipping over, but I can't wipe the smile from my face. "Hey. Long time no see."
"Too long," he replies. "Are you ready for this? You don't have to fight, you know."
"Are you kidding? I've been working my ass off," I pout, crossing my arms. "As long as I don't get put against any of you guys right off the bat, I think I'll be fine. Besides, the more of us here the better."
"True, true. Just be careful."
"You too, Kurama."
"Kurama doesn't know the meaning of the word," Hiei butts in, making me grimace.
"You're not wrong. And it's good to see you again too. Thanks for saying goodbye a year ago."
"I wasn't aware I had to answer to you when I accepted your home to stay in."
"You didn't, but it would have been nice to know you weren't dead."
"I assumed Kurama told you."
"He did." I sigh, tugging on my braid. "But you could have made things easier on all of us."
"Hey, quit yapping," Yusuke says. "We have to line up!"
"He lacks no enthusiasm for his inevitable defeat," Hiei grumbles, turning and stalking away toward where the hoard of contestants are funneling.
I move to do the same when Kurama grabs my hand. "Kurama?" The expression on his face is inscrutable for a second, but then he releases me, smiling softly.
"We should get some ramen when we return home," he says. "There's something I'd like to tell you then." There it is again. Another ramen promise, just like the last tournament. That means we're going to come out of this okay. We can't break a promise like that.
"All right," I reply. "Me too."
…
These super tall pillars on top of which are small biomes totally baffle me. How the heck did they even have time to make these, let alone grow the plants or terraform the ground? Never underestimate the ingenuity of demons. Especially when there's potential for violence involved.
Sitting on a rock in the middle of the forest where my own group is set to fight, I lean back on my hands, looking up at the canopy of trees above me. We'd gotten pretty lucky. In this preliminary round, none of us have to fight each other. Hokushin and his men had gotten stuck in one group, and Chu ended up with Raizen's old friend, Natsume, but other than that, we're all against random demons. We ought to make it through this round mostly intact.
"Let the carnage begin!" Koto's voice echoes over the speaker system. Time to shine.
Or in my case, time to relax. If this is the easiest round, I don't figure there's much sense in me blowing all my energy right here, so instead, I'll let them fight each other. I dim my energy until it's barely detectable, a trick Hokushin taught me, and wait. It isn't long until the sound of screams reaches my ears, and I sit forward, positive that if they have any cameras on me, the audience will be disappointed that I'm not killing anyone. I just don't see the point in wasting my energy here when they can all murder each other for me.
After about ten minutes, I hear Koto say there are only two people left in my group. That means I have to find the one who's left. Or I can make him find me. Firing up, I let my energy loose, a beacon in the middle of the woods. It doesn't take long before I sense the remaining demon coming toward me.
"-hiding like a stinking coward," a nasally voice says, moving closer. When the demon comes into view, he snarls at me, revealing a lot of missing teeth. "Filthy trickster."
"That's pretty rude," I reply, getting to my feet and brushing off the seat of my pants. I'd opted for the same purple gi I'd worn in the Dark Tournament since it was so comfortable and easy to move around in.
"As if I care. You'll be dead soon enough."
"If you insist," I reply, stretching my arms high over my head. "Since you're so inclined to end me, I'll even let you have the first blow."
"You've sealed your fate!" he screams, launching himself at me. His claws are mere centimeters from my flesh when I raise a hand, sending out a plume of flame. It burns his entire body, but he manages to step out of it alive, his skin smoking, completely black.
"M-m-mercy!" the demon cries, falling to his knees and sobbing.
"Is that a surrender?" I ask, crossing my arms.
"I surrender!" he says, and I look up at the sky to see one of the judges call the match. Group 94, Asaki is the winner. Yay me.
…
The rest of the matches are more or less predictable. All of the guys win except for Chu who loses both his heart and his match to Natsume. Shishi had a close call, but he prevailed, and all of Raizen's friends made it through. We're in downtime now as they draw for the next set of matches. The preliminaries are over, so these are the real fights, the ones where things may actually get dicey.
We're broken into 4 groups, A through D, and I thank my lucky stars that I've managed to avoid being in Yusuke, Hiei, or Kurama's groups. That means I won't have to worry about offending or mangling, whether I choose to forfeit or fight. I've also managed to avoid all of the old Dark Tournament crew, grateful that I recognize none of the names of the people I'm slated to battle.
"Don't suck," Yusuke says, waving as he approaches me. "You ready for this?"
"Of course," I reply. "I have no intention of losing this early."
"What, do you wanna fight me too?" he teases, and I grin.
"Nah. I still hold that the grease in your hair would burn you up too fast."
"Ha ha. That's still not funny."
"What are you laughing about?" Shishi asks, narrowing his eyes as he and Suzuki approach. "I don't see what there is to be happy for."
"I can't think of a reason not to be," I reply. "I mean, we're all still in one piece, and none of you have to worry about getting your butts kicked by me."
"That's what I'm talking about!" Yusuke says, slapping me hard on the back. "I like the trash talk. Keep it up."
"You won't be so high and mighty when I take you down," Shishi says.
"In the name of all things beautiful, I will be the one to defeat you both," Suzuki adds.
"Aw, that means you think I'll win my group," I reply, grinning. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"I think you'll do just fine, I do indeed," Jin says, bounding over to us. "It'll be a hard set of fights, but we'll put our best foots forward, we will."
"Whatever you say, Jin," Yusuke says, laughing. "Good luck out there, guys. Don't go dying on me."
"You too."
…
Things get messy pretty fast, with Suzuki taking the first loss. Hokushin beats Shishi next, in a bout that's painful to watch. The only thing worse than that is seeing how hard Jin fights, only to be defeated while he's still on his feet. Group A's Round 1 fights are finally over, and we've already lost almost our entire team.
Group B goes at it next, and I can't tear my eyes from Touya as he fights Natusme's twin brother, Kujo. It's a close fight but only because Kujo wants it to be. He lets Touya weaken him so that things are more even. When Touya finally suffers defeat, he looks almost...happy. Maybe he won't get to fight Yusuke today, but I think he got a good battle, nevertheless.
Kurama, also in Group B, handily defeats his opponent, and I wonder how that guy made it through the preliminaries. He didn't even pose a threat to the fox demon. If my fight hadn't been immediately after Kurama's, I would have congratulated him. Instead, I beat the snot out of the ugliest demon I've ever laid eyes on, barely breaking a sweat. After Group D does their thing, round 1 is over. Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, and I have made it through to the next one.
"Good shit, Asaki!" Yusuke says, slapping me on the back when I make my way over to the group. It's Chu, Rinku, Jin, Touya, Shishi, Suzuki, Yusuke, and Kurama, all standing around talking as we wait for the second round to begin.
"You too," I tell him.
"It's up to the lot of you to represent us all now," Jin says, sighing. "I would've liked to last a little longer, I would. Getting to fight Yusuke was my goal."
"Hey, there's no saying we can't spar once this is all over," Yusuke says. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Unless one of the demons here bites off more than you can stand to lose," Shishi grumbles.
They bandy quips for a little bit, but I tune them out when I notice Kurama is looking at me. "All right?" I ask him.
"I am," he replies. "What about you? You've been doing quite well. Your time with Yusuke has made you even stronger."
"It's almost been fun," I say, smiling. "I can see why Yusuke's been training for so long. My body likes the feel of strength. Getting smacked around? Not so much."
"Have you seen your next opponent?"
"Nah. I don't exactly know a lot of demons, so the name isn't familiar. What about yours?"
"Shigure," he says, making my blood run cold.
"Kurama, that's-"
Koto's voice breaks over the speakers, interrupting our conversation. "Round 2 will begin shortly. Groups A and B, please ready yourselves for your fights."
"Wish me luck," Kurama says, smiling mildly. I can't say anything, however, fear having rooted me in place. He turns to leave, and I watch him go, my head spinning. There are some really high profile demons here; I've known that from the start. Somehow, I had convinced myself we wouldn't have to fight them. Especially not someone as brutal as the demon butcher, Shigure.
Move, dammit. And so I do. I catch up to Kurama at the exit to the stadium, calling out his name. "Kurama!" He turns at the sound of my voice, and I stop a foot from him, looking up into his eyes. They're...turbulent. He's thinking about something, and very hard. "Kurama, are you...I mean…." I tug hard on my braid, saying, "I'll be waiting for you to come back, you know. We made a promise."
"I know," he says, his voice soft and low. "I wouldn't break that promise for anything."
"Good." I fiddle with the end of my braid, silence sliding between us, heavy like a weight. "Whatever's on your mind, you know a fight isn't the best place to work it out." He blinks in surprise, like he didn't think I'd noticed. "Come on, you're my best friend," I tell him. "If I can't tell when you're upset by now, then I've not been paying attention."
"You're incredible, Asaki," he says, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, I think this fight is the only way I'll be able to think through what's bothering me."
"Don't do anything stupid. If you need to talk about anything, I'm here for you."
"I know. Thank you."
Before I chicken out, I step forward, sliding my arms around his waist and burying my face in his chest. I can feel his heart beating strong and fast, feel how warm he is. I don't want to let go, especially when he returns my embrace.
"I'll see you soon," he whispers, and I know it's time to release him. I really really don't want to, but I do, stepping back and forcing a smile.
"Good luck, Kurama."
...
Standing with the guys, I can't help but feel kind of sick. So far, I haven't had to watch Kurama fight, since our battles were concurrent. This time, however, I can't bring myself to look away. A hand falls on my shoulder, and I look up to see Chu smiling at me.
"It'll be all right, sheila." He gives me a thumbs up, and I nod, wishing I felt as confident as him. Kurama's opponent is Mukuro's old number two, and not for good reason. Even with as sheltered a life as I once lived, I know of Shigure, the Demon World Chiropractor. Kurama is so much stronger than he once was, but there's something weighing on his mind, something he doesn't feel like he can share with anyone. If he's distracted by it, I'm worried it might make things much harder than they need to be.
"Have a little faith in the guy," Yusuke says, grinning. He'd already won his fight without so much as a scratch on him. "Pretty soon, you'll be back home going on 'totally not dates' again."
"Mm." I don't even have the wherewithal to snap at him right now.
"Let's cheer for him together," Touya adds, his expression serious. "You've never given up on him before, right?"
I nod, saying, "I know he'll be okay. It's just…."
"It's starting!" Jin says, and my stomach flips.
It'll be fine. Everything is going to be fine.
So, then, why does my heart feel like it's going to explode when the screen zooms in on Kurama standing across from Shigure?
The two square off, testing the waters, Kurama with his Rose Whip and Shigure with his ring sword. The weapons bounce off of each other, Kurama's top torn and the bell on Shigure's head on the arena floor. Typical Kurama, trying to gauge his opponent. He doesn't frequently find someone who does the same.
After exchanging some words the cameras can't pick up, Shigure throws his ring at Kurama, the massive blast of energy destroying the arena. Kurama manages to dodge, but it looks like he's on his back foot, running from his opponent. I hope that means he's got a plan or is at least working on one. When he finally moves in to attack, at the last second, he falters, barely dodging Shigure's ring which is boomeranging back toward him.
The pair exchange more words, and I ball my hands into fists, wishing I knew what they were saying. Any camera that tried to get closer to them would probably be destroyed in an instant, however. Kurama looks pissed, that much I can see. He whips up a storm of petals that go flying toward Shigure who easily kicks up a whirlwind of his own to deflect them. The camera that had been honed in on them gets blown away, and all we're left to watch is Shigure's maelstrom.
"Shit, all that power is this back doctor guy's?" Yusuke asks.
"He's not a back doctor," I reply, although the title is misleading. "He's basically a surgeon who messes with demon powers."
"Well, he's trying to surgeon Kurama."
"I can see that."
The camera focuses back in, and we fall silent as we watch Shigure dive-bomb our friend. The ensuing explosion leaves a crater behind, and I swallow hard. There's no way that finished him off. He's fine. He has to be.
Silver smoke starts to wind its way through the rubble, and I let out a sigh of relief. Yoko Kurama is here. The debris begins to settle, revealing an unharmed silver-haired fox demon in its place. Where once the sight of Kurama's old form would have terrified me, now I feel glad to see it. Maybe Kurama can get the upper hand in this fight now.
The two square off again, Yoko Kurama easily dodging all of the other demon's attacks. However...that's all he's doing. There's no chance of Shigure hitting him, but he can't win like this. The demon surgeon charges toward Yoko, but then he stops, and both of them land on the ground, staring at each other as Kurama changes back into his human form. What is he thinking?
Shigure stands at the top of the crater while Kurama stands at its base. They exchange more words, and then Shigure attacks again. He's a sitting duck. I press a hand to my mouth as the ring hits the ground, sending up a massive cloud of dust. From the wreckage springs Kurama, grasping his arm, blood covering his chest and his forearm. The sight of him kicks the breath from my lungs, and I feel my body growing warmer and warmer. Fire.
"Kurama!" Yusuke growls, and I wonder how he isn't screaming right now. If I had words, I think I would be.
When Kurama lands, the earth around him splinters, roots peeking their way through. He powers up, and the arena explodes with new life. Trees grow in the span of seconds, which honestly shouldn't surprise me. Kurama always always always has some ridiculously contrived nonsense up his sleeve. My emotions are so frayed right now that it's hard to process what's going on, even as Koto announces something about how those trees take at least a thousand years to absorb enough energy to grow.
"Neat trick," Jin says.
"Mm."
"You all right, sheila?" Chu asks.
"Fine!" I growl, glaring up at him. "Why?"
"Well, you're on fire."
I blink, surprised to find that I am in fact on fire. "Sorry. I just...hate when he's like this."
"He's always like that," Yusuke says, frowning.
"Yeah. I always hate him."
"Is that a fact?"
"Mm-hm." I nod absently before looking back at the screen, not even remotely surprised to see that Shigure in that torrent of wind, diving at Kurama who is sending root after root, branch after branch, at him to little avail. Just when it looks the bleakest, Shigure's ring gets caught on one final tree that grows between him and his weapon. He's less than a centimeter from Kurama's nose, and I realize I'm biting my cheek so hard that I've drawn blood.
Shigure flash steps out from inside his ring, but the needlepoint roots find him, pinning him in place. One move, and he'll be skewered. He lowers his guard, and cherry blossom petals begin to rain from the forest around them. It looks like it's finally over. The silence in the room is almost tangible as Shigure jumps from the tree he's standing on to certain death.
Why? What honor is there in death?
Koto announces Shigure's death, Kurama's victory, and that he's lost consciousness, nearly in one breath, asking for someone to check on him. As everyone else begins to run toward him, I know I should go too. Hell, I should be the very first person at his side, but I can't move. My legs are trembling, and I can still taste blood. Spitting some out, I stare at the red at my feet, the same color as my hair, as what stains Kurama's chest.
I never want to watch him fight again, I realize. I can't keep doing this, watching from the sidelines. I roughly swipe the tears from my eyes and begin to make my way out of the arena to where everyone should be returning with the single most frustrating demon I've ever had the misfortune of caring about. How many times do I have to watch him go through all of this alone? How many times can I bear knowing he's suffering and that he won't let me in?
Zero.
I wait for everyone to return, all the guys, even Hiei included. He must have slipped away from Mukuro's side just for this. It's kind of heartening. Or, it would be if I could focus on anything except for the way Kurama's looking at me. He's bleeding, and he looks exhausted, but whatever had been clouding his eyes before his fight began is gone now, replaced with...fear? Sadness? Worry, I think.
Absolutely zero.
I walk toward him, and everyone steps to one side like they're afraid of me too. Standing in front of this man, there's only one thing I can do. He braces himself as I raise my hand, like he thinks I'm going to hit him or something. Stupid. When have I ever hurt you? My fingers slide into his hair, pulling his head toward me so I can kiss him as hard as I can. He's completely frozen, shocked, I'm sure, which means I can force all the healing into him in the two seconds our lips are touching before I release him, turn on my heel, and walk back into the arena.
No one follows me. No one calls my name, asking for me to return. I wouldn't, even if they did. I'm still a little dazed from what I just did, but at least now I know what I have to do, and soon. I have to confess, regardless of the consequences. I can't play this game anymore of being unsure where I stand with him.
The weight of my decision barely has time to settle in when a chill races up my spine. I've been so focused on my feelings and everything that's just happened that I don't notice the man who steps in front of me until he's right there, smiling for all the world like it hasn't been more than two years since I saw him last. Smiling as though he isn't the object of my every nightmare, as though his very presence here isn't killing me all over again.
"Hello, my beloved," Hide purrs, his voice sliding over my skin like oil. I freeze, my entire body stiff like it's covered in frost. Like I'm back home in my father's house, waiting to be set free. I'm in trouble again. I've done something wrong, and I have to wait to be told what it is so I can apologize. There's ice in my veins, whatever fire I might have mustered extinguished even as my pulse races, pounding in my ears. He's here. After all this time, he's here, again. It was so stupid of me to think I was safe because there was so much going on. Nowhere is safe.
"You look well." He takes a step toward me, but I can't bring myself to move away. I can't think, can't move, can't breathe. Hideaki Sato. What is he doing here? He's dressed in a loose-fitting shirt and pants, his jet-black hair cut short so it doesn't fall into his dark eyes. It used to be longer. I remember. I remember...everything about this awful man.
"I'm a bit hurt you didn't thank me for my thoughtful birthday presents to you." His eyes narrow for the briefest moment before that placid smile stretches across his face again. Despite that, I can see it. The anger in him. He can hide it from everyone else, but once I learned to read him, he couldn't keep it from me.
He looks away for a moment, sighing before recapturing me in his sights. "Speechless? I always did love when you knew to keep your mouth shut."
"What do you want?" I manage, my mouth feeling like it's full of cotton.
He smirks at me as he says, "Why, I just want us to become a happy family again. We can get married and pretend like these past two years never happened." He extends his hand to me, and I stare at it like it might bite me.
Here stands a person who wants to take my life away from me. Pretend like it never happened? But it did happen. I nearly murdered him, I ran away from home, I met some of the most amazing people in the world, fought alongside them, and fell in love. I made good friends, and I...I don't want to go back.
"I know, I know," he purrs. "It's very generous of me to offer forgiveness after the way you mistreated me. You can thank me at the wedding."
I feel like I'm going to be sick. How can he possibly think, after everything he's put me through, that I would want to come back?
"Come home with me, my beloved."
"No." The word is brittle, weak, and it's getting harder to breathe by the second. Memories flash through my mind, times he's hurt me, times he's made me feel small. I can't. I can't. I can't.
His pleasant demeanor falls in an instant, replaced by narrowed eyes and a distasteful expression, like he's looking at a particularly nasty insect. "What was that?"
"No."
He gives me a cruel smirk as he says, "Then I will subjugate you, here, in this arena, in front of all of these people. I will make you beg for my forgiveness." The mere thought is enough to make me have to swallow a sob, along with some bile. I can't. Please, no. Not again.
He extends a hand toward me, and I stiffen as he reaches around, grabbing the end of my braid. He pulls it toward himself, and I stare, dumbfounded, as he presses a kiss to the end, just above my hair tie. When he drops it, it swings down, sliding back in place as though nothing happened. As though it isn't sending awful crawling feelings across my skin.
With a slimy smile, he reaches his hand toward my face this time. I can't move, can't breathe, can't think. This isn't happening. This can't be happening. I can't-
A hand falls on Hide's shoulder, and he stops, mid-reach, irritation flickering across his face. He looks behind him, narrowing his eyes at whoever's back there. My brain vaguely registers the dark hair and warm brown eyes, glaring at my ex-fiance. "Excuse me," Hide growls. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah," Yusuke says. "You can start by stepping the hell away from her." I watch, completely in awe, as Yusuke punches Hide squarely in the face, sending him flying across the hallway and into the nearest wall so hard that it crumbles around him.
Hide gets to his feet, shoving off the rubble, his eyes wide, a hand covering what's sure to be a massive bruise marring a face I once found very handsome. Now, however, all I can see is a petty, small man with his petty, small ideals. "You'll pay for that!" he shouts, turning and stalking away. He always has to have the last word.
Tears fill my eyes as Yusuke turns to look at me. I vaguely register the entire gang, Botan included, all standing there, concern on their faces.
"Asaki?" Botan asks.
Of all things, I start laughing. As the tears flow like a waterfall, I can't help but laugh, can't even stop. Even as I choke on sobs, I fall to my knees, laughing until I can't breathe. Hide. Hide. Hide. When I do finally catch my breath again, I wipe my eyes with trembling hands, looking up at Yusuke.
"That was the best thing I've ever seen," I manage, my voice warbly. "Really. Thank you."
"Anytime," Yusuke says. "Was that...?"
I nod, swallowing hard as I say that vile name. "Hide."
"He's your next opponent," Hiei monotones, a scowl on his face.
Ah. Hisato was the registered name, I remember now. Hideaki Sato. I should have figured that out. Swallowing hard, I slowly get to my feet, my legs feeling like jelly. I almost collapse, but Kurama's there to catch me. He's always here to catch me. I lean on him for a moment, just grateful he exists, grateful that these past two years did happen. Hide can't ever take that away from me.
I pull my braid over my shoulder, careful not to touch where he did, and after taking a deep breath, I burn off the bit of my hair that he violated, watching as it falls to the ground. It was probably a foot, not much considering what's left, but for some reason, I feel lighter.
"I'm going to kill him," I say, fire trickling through my veins, slowly at first, building until it trips along my skin, melting the ice that had trapped me in that man's presence.
"You don't have to do this, Asaki." Botan's standing in front of me, her hands folded in front of her like she's praying for me.
"I really do," I tell her. "I need to end this. I made a mistake, not killing him the first time. I can't do this again. I can't live with his shadow looming over me anymore."
"I say do it." Yusuke crosses his arms, frowning. "If that asshole thinks he can hurt you anymore, he's got another thing coming. If you don't kill him, I will."
"Yusuke, you're doing a fine job of taking all the hero lines," Kurama replies, a smile on his face that doesn't quite touch his eyes. That normal bright green is dark...so very dark.
"I don't know that talking about killing someone is very heroic," Botan adds.
"It makes me feel better," I say, a manic kind of smile creeping onto my face. I dampen my flames, letting them burn just beneath my skin, keeping me warm.
"You sure you can handle this?" Hiei snaps, eyes narrowed. "You let him live once before."
"He won't be the first demon I've killed," I reply.
"No, but he'll be the first who's meant something to you. Why don't you just let someone else do it?"
My beloved. I bristle at those words, Hiei's and Hide's, hands balled into fists. "I'm not that weak-"
"It's not weakness to show mercy," Kurama interrupts, and I balk, looking up at him. "And it's not outside the realm of possibility, because of the way he affects you and the kind of person you are, that you can't do it."
Yanking hard on the end of my braid, I sigh as it starts to come unravelled. I pick up my hair tie from the ground, torching the hair that's fallen until it's nothing but ash. Without a word, I rebraid my hair before looking up at my friends. "I'm going to do what I can." And then, I turn and leave, making my way to the arena where I'll have my match.
I don't care what anyone else says. One way or another...
...
this ends today.