Chapter Seven
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Onward!
"Since he doesn't seem to be moving, you'll just have to fight around him." Genkai breaks the silence, referring to the unconscious fighter still laying on the field. Kazemaru had yet to move, to even flinch, since Yusuke had KO'ed him in the last round. "Come on you two, let's close out the semi-finals." Genkai adds impatiently, Shorin and Kuwabara staring each other down still.
'Though now we know that, that isn't Shorin at all. It's Rando. Has to be.' I frown deeply as Botan and I share a concerned look behind Kuwabara's back. The teenager wasn't ready for a fight like this, not by a long shot. My gaze turns towards Kuwabara's back once again. 'The kid has potential, and a large reserve of spiritual energy that he has yet to fully tap into. He surprised us with Muasashi, and the creation of his Spirit Sword, but I doubt that would be enough to see him through this battle.'
Kuwabara clearly has no sense of the danger that he's in, judging by the large, stupid grin that spreads across his face.
"It's ironic that out of all of the fighters, Shorin was last on my list as a suspect." Botan admits to both Yusuke and I as she stands between us.
"Yeah," Yusuke agrees, his brown eyes narrowed in suspicion at the shorter fighter, "why not look cooler?" I can't refrain from rolling by eyes at that.
"Often when you are trying to hide you are trying to blend in, not stand out." I reply dryly to the slick-haired teenager's comment. "Not all of us can have the same amount of style as you." I extend my arm behind Botan to poke Yusuke in the side as I say this, Yusuke jumping slightly and sending me a harmless glare in return.
"Rando's priorities are his powers, not to show them off, but to continue to build them for his own gain." Botan agrees, her eyes fixed on the two fighters as they faced off against one and other on the field. "And I'm afraid that if we are correct, and Shorin is Rando, then Kuwabara is way out of his league." She adds, voicing my own concerns from earlier as well. Yusuke's eyes widen in concern then as he turns sharply towards his friend.
"Hey, Kuwabara! Wait up!" Yusuke shouts, before running over towards the taller boy.
"Don't try giving me any coaching advice." Kuwabara grumbles irritably as Yusuke approaches. Yusuke snarls in annoyance, before grabbing Kuwabara by the front of his school uniform and pulling him in closer to whisper to him.
'No doubt to convince the kid to pull out of the fight.' I think to myself, frowning deeply before glancing towards Genkai. Though she seems to be watching the exchange with boredom, and maybe even a little annoyance, I can tell that her interest is peaked. 'If only she would allow me to replace Kuwabara. This could all be over with before both the kids end up being killed.' My hands clench tightly at my sides, gaze turning slowly back towards the fighter we now knew a Rando. He's staring straight back at me, face calm except for a small, cocky smirk. I feel like ice was being dumped over me in that moment, realization hitting me like a brick wall.
He knows what I am.
'He probably sensed my energy the moment I entered through Genkai's barriers.' I frown at that, nails biting into the palms of my hand as he has the audacity to wink at me.
To. Wink.
Angry and flustered, I can only find it in myself to glare back at the demon, body very well nearly vibrating with rage. 'The cocky bastard thinks this thing is in the bag.' I frown deeply. 'Genkai's rules be damned. If the worst should happen, I'll kill the fucker myself.'
There was more at stake here than Genkai's Spirit Wave technique.
"I don't care who he is!" Kuwabara's outburst was rather ill-timed in my opinion, and turning to look back at the boys, I see Kuwabara sticking his finger against Yusuke's nose, the black haired teenager glaring at Kuwabara in return. "First of all I'm going to beat this guy, and then I'm going to grind you into the dirt. So don't try and get out of it by making me scared!" Kuwabara exclaims, his pride no doubt fuelling this particular rant. I exchange an exasperated look wit the Grim Reaper next to me. "And second, you beat the last guy by luck!"
"So?! What's that got to do with this fight?!" Yusuke snaps angrily, clearly having his ego bruised by the reminder that his fight had been a fluke.
'Imagine how he'd feel if he knew I was the one that supplied him with the power.' I sigh to myself, rubbing the heel of my hand against my forehead, a stress headache coming on.
"I'm not exactly sure!" Kuwabara admits, before turning his determined gaze towards his opponent. "But I'm going to fight this guy, monster or not!"
"What's the point? You know I'm going to beat you next anyway." Yusuke states, his tone suggesting he believed his logic to be solid.
"Oh yeah? Well that would be true if it was opposite day, stupid!"
"Hey!" Botan cuts in, walking over to the boys to break up the argument. "Would you boys behave? This isn't junior high!" Both Yusuke and Kuwabara turn to the blue haired girl simultaneously.
"Shut up!"
"Please, sir, may we start?" Rando speaks up then, voice quiet and unassuming. I frown, gaze snapping back to the short fighter, already taking his fighting stance as he waits for Kuwabara's predictable reply.
"Yeah." Kuwabara agrees, stepping away from Yusuke and Botan, and turning to face Rando. I frown as I move over to stand beside the others, crossing my arms, chewing on my lower lip nervously.
'This is going to go one of two ways. Rando is going to make quick work of Kuwabara, no doubt impatient to win this entire tournament so he can take Genkai's technique, or he's going to have fun with it, draw it out. Make Kuwabara suffer.' I think to myself, stomach clenching painfully. I prayed it was the latter of the two scenarios, for Kuwabara's sake.
"Begin!" Genkai calls the match to start, both fighters quickly moving into position.
"I'll take you down in one hit!" Kuwabara claims, charging prematurely towards Rando. I wince at that, already able to predict what was about to happen.
"Too impulsive, Kuwabara." I mutter under my breath, tense. Rando meets him in the middle of the field, taking the direct hit from Kuwabara. I swallow thickly, stomach sinking as my suspicions were confirmed.
Rando was going to draw this out.
"What the…" Yusuke trails off in clear disbelief as Rando's body crashes and skids along the ground. I shake my head, glancing towards the teenager beside me.
"Don't be fooled." I caution him, Yusuke look at me sharply. "Shorin is Rando, and Rando is powerful. He's playing with Kuwabara." I explain solemnly.
"How can you be sure?" Yusuke asks, his brown eyes flickering towards Rando's form as he apparently struggles to get back up.
"Trust me."
"I see this fighter will take more strength than I thought." Rando comments, rubbing at the cheek that Kuwabara had landed his hit on. Tensing, I resist the urge to step forward, to take over.
"Gee buddy, are you alright? That was just a warm-up shot." Kuwabara states sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Rando is glaring at him, determination now set on his face.
"You needn't worry about my health, sir." He replies evenly, before rushing the larger fighter with confidence. He makes another clear show of trying to land hit after hit, Kuwabara able to easily dodge each of Rando's fake attempts. The kid lands another blow to the top of Rando's head, sending him face first into the dirt.
Kuwabara doesn't have enough awareness to see that this was all a game.
Laughing confidently down at Rando's form on the ground, he starts to boast. "I bet you didn't realize I was this strong, did you?"
'Kuwabara…' I inwardly warn, glancing towards Genkai as the older woman looks on with a tense expression herself.
She knows what is happening too.
'But she won't call off the fight.' I frown at that, feeling a rush of frustration.
"So, what are the chances of a demon being a total wuss?" Yusuke asks, sounding half serious.
"Slim to none." I reply knowingly. "Take my word on that." Botan frowns, her own gaze moving towards me now and slipping further to where my scar was hidden under my shirt.
"What if Rando has been hiding here somewhere, but not as a fighter?" Yusuke asks then, Botan's attention redirected to the small fighter still kneeling on the ground in front of Kuwabara, rubbing his head.
"Yeah…" She trails off, now also leaning towards believing that the pitiful fighter we saw now couldn't be the horrible demon we were in search for.
"Or, maybe he was one of the fighters, but already got beat?" Yusuke offers as another scenario.
"I will caution you both once again to not be deceived by what Rando is doing right now." I speak up solemnly. "Remember, he wants Genkai's technique. He can't be too obvious about his powers, or he risks the chance of her denying him the training if he does win." I had to believe that if Genkai found out what was a stake, she wouldn't knowingly give her technique over to a lunatic demon. Before either of them could comment, Kuwabara speaks up again.
"What, is that all we're going to fight?" Kuwabara asks, the gloating easily discernible in his voice. Rando rises back to his feet, a glare directed at the larger fighter.
"No. Let me try a few techniques first." Rando replies sharply, before taking his stance. He holds one hand just above the other, moving them in opposite circles in time with one and other as a deep sound vibrates from his chest.
My back stiffens as I feel the sharp rise in energy hit me like a shock.
Rando's arms lift up into a fighting stance after his surge of power, Botan leaning forward slightly beside me. "Rando's spirit energy is changing." She states, having noticed it as well.
And then…he powers up again.
"I hate being right sometimes…" I trail off, feeling my own energy rise in response to the threat, sparking at my fingertips. With a cry of effort, Rando focuses all his energy into the palm of his left hand, a fiery orb forming clenched between his fingers.
He does the same to the other hand.
"Kuwabara! MOVE!" I shout, Kuwabara clearly stunned by what he was seeing. Rando jumps into the air just after I call out to the kid.
"It can't be…" Genkai trails off next to us in shock.
"Circles of Inferno!" Rando shouts out his attack, his deadly gaze locked on Kuwabara. He sends one of the orbs directly at Kuwabara, the boy just barely managing to dodge it, and then quickly follows the first with another. Once again Kuwabara dodges, the only damage being some scorch marks on his uniform. He starts to pat down on his clothes, clearly trying to ensure that he wasn't on fire.
"You're okay, Kuwabara! Stop giving yourself a pat down and get ready for his next attack!" Yusuke snaps at his friend with worry.
"Would you shut up?!" Kuwabara snaps back. Rando, meanwhile, gets ready for another on of his attacks, focusing his energy into the now familiar orbs once more. "Fine, if you want to use your fireworks, then I'll use mine!" Kuwabara glares at his opponent, grabbing for the piece of wood that was left from Musashi's bokutō. "Spirit Sword!" He shouts, his energy focusing once again into that small fragment and forming into a sword of spirit energy. He confidently takes his stance, holding the sword high as he glares at Rando. "Alright shrimp-baby, batter's up." We all watch in fascination as Rando tosses the orb at Kuwabara, ironically much like a pitcher, the teenager catching the ball with his Spirit Sword and sending it straight back towards Rando.
Rando, this time, is genuinely caught off-guard.
His own orb hits him directly in the stomach, sending him flying back with a painful cry. For the first time since this fight started I actually felt some amount of relief.
Maybe I was wrong about Kuwabara all along? Maybe he could handle this?
"Woah, I guess that's a home-run." Yusuke jokes, though it falls a little sour with Botan and I, both of us still tense and waiting to see how Rando would retaliate.
Not if, but how.
Kuwabara laughs as Rando is hunched over in clear pain, hand pressed to his stomach. "Those pitches were pretty nasty, but nothing compared to the old batting cages back home." Kuwabara gloats, obviously confident after that hit.
'Don't get too cocky.' I frown at the boy, looking between him and Rando as he glared up at Kuwabara from his knelt position.
"Kuwabara is like a whole new fighter when he uses that Spirit Sword of his." Yusuke observes, sounding impressed. "I think he can beat this little punk, Rando or no Rando." He chuckles, obviously confident.
Botan and I were still less so.
"Anything is possible…I suppose." Botan replies, still unsure.
"He shouldn't let his guard down." I add lowly, feeling out Rando's energy along with Kuwabara's. "His Spirit Sword might be a great weapon, but he doesn't have the endurance to keep it up for long. Kuwabara's energy is depleting quickly, whilst Rando has hardly made a dent in his own reserves." I inform the both of them, frowning deeply. "This fight is far from over."
"Very surprising." Rando concedes to Kuwabara as he stands slowly. "Twice now you've managed to evade my attack and make it your own offensive."
"Don't make it sound so high-tech, I'm just trying to cream you." Kuwabara states cockily, his sword now resting on his shoulder in what I assume he thought was a cool and confident look.
"This requires a new approach." Rando states, before he clasps his hand together in front of him and begins to chant.
"Yes, I thought I recognized where that fireball attack was from." Genkai speaks up suddenly, her voice grave. We all look towards her then with interest as she continues. "Ages ago two renowned masters spent the last half of their lives perfecting the Circles of Inferno and this chant."
"What's this do?" Yusuke asks, sounding nervous.
"That isn't the point." Genkai states impatiently. "What matters is that the only ones who could have taught this boy have been dead for centuries." That all but confirmed it.
"Well, lady, you just proved something for me once and for all." Yusuke frowns, looking back towards Rando, his target, with narrowed eyes. "That chanter is definitely no boy." The chanting continues, growing louder the longer it goes on, Rando's voice echoing all about us. I could feel the hair at the back of my neck standing on end, the air charged with his building energy.
"I'm shutting you up boy, you're freaking me out!" Kuwabara exclaims, clearly having enough. He charges forward, Rando letting out a great shout as he finishes his chant.
And Kuwabara promptly shrinks to the size of a pear.
My mouth drops open in shock, having never predicted that to happen, and Kuwabara skids to a stop, frozen and looking upwards. Rando takes advantage of this, moving his foot with a great yell and trying to squash Kuwabara down with it. The teenager thankful snaps out of his daze in time, rolling out of the way before he got flattened.
"What the hell?!" Yusuke shouts out from beside Botan as Rando reaches down, picking up the miniature version of his friend. Rando raises Kuwabara up towards his face, a smirk twisting it evilly.
"Don't worry, you're still human," Rando pretends to comfort him, "just a very small and fragile one." He adds cruelly as he holds Kuwabara within his fist. I didn't have to be able to see the teenager's face to know that he was no doubt freaking out right now.
I was freaking out for him.
And then you could hear the tiniest sound of popping bones as Rando squeezing his fist around Kuwabara.
"So…does this hurt?" Rando taunts, tightening his hold further. I could near Kuwabara shouting out in pain, and hated that right now there was nothing that could be done to help.
"There's no way that he can pull out of this." Yusuke frowns, leaning forward slightly. "Kuwabara! Tell him you're backing out of the fight!" Yusuke shouts towards his friend, but I'm afraid it was too late.
'Rando wouldn't be the type of demon to do the merciful thing and let him go.' I think to myself gravely, knowing better than to voice it. It wouldn't help anyone right now to do so. Besides, as Rando turns to us, his gaze narrowed in what could only be described as a sinister manner, I knew that Yusuke and Botan would find that out soon enough directly from him.
"Oh, but that just cannot be allowed." Rando replies easily, cruel smirk still on his face. "I have to make of this power a little first." My breath catches in my throat as I watch him pinch Kuwabara's head between his index finger and thumb.
Was he about to pop it off like a fucking daisy?!
No, I quickly find out, that would of been too kind of him to end it that quickly.
Instead Rando begins to toss Kuwabara around like his personal doll, before pinching at the teenagers upper right arm. "I'm curious to know of the durability of bones once they have shrunk." He states, and my stomach lurches at what I knew was to come as Rando rips away the sleeve of Kuwabara's blue uniform shirt. He then moves Kuwabara's arm into a position to clearly snap it.
"Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouts in distress towards his friend.
"Now can we step in?! This is just insane! And cruel!" I shout towards Genkai angrily, but before she can give her answer either way, a sickening crack echoes through the valley, followed by Kuwabara's screams of pure agony.
And all Rando does is laugh as Kuwabara's arm hangs limp and twisted grotesquely, clearly broken.
"Well, that was a fun experiment." Rando chuckles in sick delight. "Now, let's see about the ribcage, shall we?" He asks, clamping both hands down around Kuwabara and squeezing.
"I can't stand this lady!" Yusuke shouts, stomping over towards Genkai. "I'm going in there!"
"No." Genkai states sharply. "I'll call the fight." She turns towards the fighters once more. "That's enough, Shorin!" Rando, clearly disguised as Shorin, laughs. For a few tense seconds I was sure he wasn't going to concede.
"Alright." He draws out, still sounding amused by what he had accomplished. Contrary to his agreement for the fight to draw to a close, however, he continues to cruelly squeeze Kuwabara with his hands, Kuwabara screaming in agony once again.
"Fuck this shit!" I shout, allowing my blades to materialize in both of my hands. I charge forward, hearing Yusuke shout as well, quickly following me in. "Let him go, Rando!"
Both of us skid to a halt, however, when Rando turns towards us and simply throws Kuwabara through the air. Helplessly we watch as his tiny body lands yards away, before I turn sharply towards Yusuke. "You take care of this asshole, I'll go and see to Kuwabara's injuries." I tell him firmly, giving Rando one last glare before allowing my blades to disappear once more. Rando, infuriatingly enough, gives me another wink.
"You wanted me to let him go, right?" Rando questions sarcastically. "Far be it from me to refuse an angel's request."
'So he did sense my energy then.' I think to myself, rage increasing as I have to force myself to do what I knew was the right thing.
Rather than tearing him apart piece by piece as my instincts begged for me to do. Rando was a prime example of why angels and demons hated one and other by nature.
I run after Botan, the Grim Reaper already getting a head start towards Kuwabara, both of us searching frantically through the grass for his tiny, battered and bruised body.
"Make Kuwabara the right size again, bastard!" Yusuke shouts at Rando, both the fighters facing off opposite to one and other. Rando smirks, before bringing his fingers up as he had before and beginning to chant. Finally, after seconds that felt like minutes passed, Kuwabara's body grew right in front of us.
"Oh my god, Kuwabara!" Botan gasps, both of us running up to his still form. I kneel down at his side, Botan on the other, and even Yusuke abandons his post in front of Rando to rush over and stand at Kuwabara's feet, looking his friend over. Anger mixed with concern in his brown eyes.
"Kuwabara…" He trails off weakly, having no doubt never seen his friend in such terrible condition before. I allow my hands to hover over his body, closing my eyes and concentrating on feeling out the teenagers injuries.
"Broken arms, obviously, along with shattered ribs. Nothing bleeding internally, none of his broken ribs punctured anything." I release a sigh of relief at that. That was a stroke of pure luck for the kid.
"So is he going to be okay?" Yusuke asks, sounding reluctant to hope his friend would actually survive after all that. Kuwabara surprisingly gains consciousness at that, his head turning slightly so he could look towards Yusuke above him.
"I won't die, not even if all my bones are broken." Kuwabara says weakly. "Remember, Urameshi, we still must fight each other." He adds, clearly delirious with the pain, before passing back out. It was the best thing for him right now, to be able to escape the agony he was no doubt in.
"Yeah, buddy, that's right." Yusuke replies, his voice and his gaze soft as he watches over his close friend. All of us stiffen and shake with rage as Rando has the gull to come near our group.
"I've always wanted to use that technique on someone, but it takes so much time to complete the chant. It's very bothersome." Rando grins cruelly down at Kuwabara, before continuing on as if he were talking to himself then, finger pointed to his forehead in thought. "The move is so complex! Imagine trying to concentrate on that while fighting fifteen people. What with the word order and the intonation…" He trails off, before looking towards Genkai then with a smirk, the old lady having come to check on Kuwabara's status as well. "But with your Spirit Wave technique you could kill one hundred people with just a simple motion and flex of energy. That is right, isn't it Master?" Rando asks, Genkai now glaring at him with disgust.
"Yes, if it's misused." Genkai answers, voice sharp as a knife.
"Of course! I wouldn't ever use it that way," Rando clearly lies, "but it's great to know the potential."
"Not so fast you freak!" Yusuke shouts angrily, turning to glare at the smaller fighter. "You have to beat me first, and in case you didn't know, I happen to be a Spirit Detective." Yusuke claims confidently. Rando actually does stiffen at that, his own glare replacing the cruel smirk on his face from moments ago.
"Let's get the final match underway, then." Genkai states, before turning to head back towards the area that the fighters had been using before, and not-so-coincidentally far away from Kuwabara to no doubt give me room to work to save his life. Yusuke looks down at his friend as Rando moves off as well, clearly hesitating.
"He'll be even better once I can start to heal him." I reassure him, having never moved my hands from hovering over his body. "But healing him will take a good deal of my energy." I lock eyes with him to let him know how seriously this situation still was. "If things go south with Rando, I may not be able to help. Not like I did with Hiei, at least." I warn him, Yusuke's face now set in cold determination.
"Believe me, I won't need help. Not with how pissed off I am." Yusuke mutters darkly, turning to look towards Rando. I frown at that, one of my hands snapping out and clamping down firmly on his wrist as he moves to step away. Yusuke's gaze turns towards me once more, his rage tinged with confusion.
"Don't let your anger blind you. Rando will take advantage of your rage at what he did to your friend. You cannot allow your emotions to interfere, not in this fight. Kuwabara will be okay, just keep a cool head." I advise him, Yusuke frowning at me before giving me a single nod. I let his wrist go then, watching as he moved back towards Rando, before turning down towards Kuwabara once more and lifting both of my hands equal distances apart over his injured body.
"Are you sure you got this?" Botan asks softly. I look up to her, realizing what she was really asking me, and nod.
"Go and be with Yusuke. He's going to need you there." I answer, Botan nodding gratefully, before standing and moving towards the battlefield as well. "Botan!" I call after the Grim Reaper. She turns towards me with a small frown on her face. "If things don't go according to plan, I'm going to need you to haul ass back here to get Kuwabara. You both will need to leave as quickly as you can manage. I should have him healed enough to at least be able to move if it comes to that. I'll stay back and jump in with Yusuke to do whatever I can with the energy I have left." Botan nods once, before moving on to be closer to Yusuke. I frown, turning and keeping my back to the scene behind me so as to not get distracted, allowing my healing energy to flow forth and into Kuwabara. My hands warm with my aura, eventually starting to glow purple in color, as they normally did when I was healing.
"Come on, kid. Don't make me out to be a liar." I mutter under my breath as I allow my energy to do it's thing.
"Let the final match begin! Shorin verses Yusuke!" Genkai's call echoes over the clearing, and I have to force myself not to look as the fighters clearly got ready to start. Tense moments of silence pass, before I can feel Yusuke's energy spiking, the wind picking on ominously as well.
'The hill is helping his energy to recover faster.' I think to myself, still concentrating on Kuwabara's injuries.
"The first one is for Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouts out suddenly, and I can't help but look over my shoulder, watching intently as Yusuke charges in. He's glaring at Rando with such hatred, that even I felt uneasy.
And he was doing exactly what I told him not to do.
I watch in facination, however, as Yusuke's right fist glows with energy as he pulls it back in preparation for the hit. Rando's own eyes widen with surprise, clearly taken aback by the sudden surge of energy that Yusuke put out. The momentary distraction allows Yusuke to land his punch directly to Rando's cheek, glowing hand sending him flying backwards against the ground.
"And I still have ninety-nine more. One for every physic's life that you stole." Yusuke states lowly, Rando recovering and looking over his shoulder towards the Spirit Detective with narrowed eyes and a frown that clearly showed he wasn't happy to have been caught. I turn back towards Kuwabara then as Yusuke goes in once more, listening to the sound of him successfully making hit after hit.
"You better stand! I'll feel bad hitting you if you're glued to the ground!" Yusuke goads after a clear pause in the fight. I frown at that, feeling my stomach twisting painfully.
'Don't get cocky, Yusuke.' I think to myself for what felt like the hundredth time during Genkai's tournament.
"Sickle and Tornado!" Rando shouts out his attack, causing me to turn my head once more to look at the battle. Chewing on my lower lip as a nervous habit, I watch as Rando powers up, Yusuke moving in for his next attack as well. As Rando lifts into the air with the influence of his energy building, Yusuke skids to a stop, looking unsure.
"Of all my techniques I enjoy this the most." Rando claims as he floats above the field, poised and ready for this new attack.
"Congratulations." Yusuke states dryly in response.
"I once knew a fighter that made quite the name for himself with this attack." Genkai informs us. "It creates a vacuum around the opponent and causes the air to escape violently from their body through cuts in the skin." My eyes widen at that.
Who would want to create such a monstrous attack?
"And with how many battle wounds you have, Yusuke, it should be very painful." Rando adds in, having obviously heard Genkai. I feel like a stone had landed directly in my stomach.
'Why hadn't I thought to heal him sooner?!' I berate myself, before looking down at Kuwabara once more, his body now glowing purple with my aura as it continued to work on him. I could hear the attack cutting through the air, looking over my shoulder just in time to see three circular blades of energy heading directly for Yusuke. With a shout the teenager braces himself for the attack, two of the blades landing on him and taking him to the ground with a painful shout. I wince as the blades finally bounce off of him and disappear into a vortex of wind in the distance. Yusuke groans, sitting up slowly.
"Ouch." He mutters sarcastically, though clearly he was in a lot of pain.
"Impressive, most would have passed out from that attack." Rando states, sounding more annoyed than impressed. He launches himself back into the air. "Shall we try it again?!" He asks rhetorically, sending more of the same pinwheel like blades of energy back towards Yusuke. Instead of bracing himself, or even dodging, the dipshit heads right for them!
"It appears your friend is a fool." Genkai speaks to Botan, though I hear it as well, and silently I can't help agreeing with what the scene looks like. Yusuke does look like an idiot in that moment, a determined idiot.
"No, he's just mad." Botan responds firmly, and I look back towards Kuwabara.
'It shows how far he'll go to defend his friends, to protect them. How much Yusuke cares, even if he acts all tough and pretends not to most of the time.' I think to myself, and despite everything I felt my respect grow for the amateur fighter.
"How dare you?!" Rando growls at Yusuke, clearly put off by the fact that Yusuke wasn't scared, and wasn't running. That wasn't the kid's style.
No, he was going to meet Rando head on.
Then Yusuke does something that even I could have never predicted, nor expected, he could do. He launches himself head-first through the blades, his arms braced in front of him and helping him to push through. With his screams of pain, it was easy to tell that doing so was like torture for him as the blades slice through his skin.
"U-Urameshi…" Kuwabara suddenly groans from in front of me on the ground. I snap down to look at him, eyes wide with surprise. Sure, I had figured I could heal him, but his injuries would still be extensive enough that I had thought he'd remain unconscious. I frown as the teenager tries to sit up to see what is happening, and quickly place my hand on his shoulder to keep him laying still.
"Stop, Kuwabara, I'm still trying to heal you. If you move too much, you could cause yourself more damage. Worse damage." I tell him truthfully. His ribs weren't all full healed yet, and one wrong move could lead to something getting punctured internally.
"The fight…" Kuwabara trails off weakly, unable to get the full question out, but I understood what he was getting at nonetheless. I turn my gaze back to the fight, just in time to see Yusuke making his way to the centre of the vortex, and taking Rando out. His wrists are crossed, Rando's neck pinned under them as Yusuke takes them both to the ground, slamming Rando down by his neck. The smaller fighter lays on the ground, still, whilst Yusuke rolls away from him and weakly moves to stand, breathing heavily still from the immense pain he had just endured.
"Yusuke's holding up." I tell him truthfully, breathing a sigh of relief that he had managed to fight through the unbearable pain to gain the upper-hand. "He's determined to avenge you." I add, looking down towards Kuwabara then.
"Avenge me? I ain't dead." Kuwabara groans, before blinking rapidly. "Wait, you said you're an angel right?" He asks, his voice suddenly panicked. I quickly knew where this was going, and what he was connecting together. "Am I dead?!" I shake my head firmly, having to refrain from laughing, finding some humorous relief in his worry at seeing me.
"No, you're very much alive. All of your ribs and both arms were shattered, though. I'm doing my best to manage your pain and to heal you, but I need you to sit still for now to do so, alright?" I tell him firmly, Kuwabara frowning deeply at that.
"I want to watch that guy get his ass kicked." He argues, clearly trying to tilt his head to look around me at the fight.
"Well, how do you like that Grandma?" Yusuke asks suddenly, and I look back to see he had walked over to stand in front of Genkai. I frown at that, eyebrows furrowed as I look back towards Rando, his energy still pulsing in the air.
Did Yusuke think he had won?
"You shouldn't have wasted your energy walking over here." Genkai replies evenly. "Your fight isn't over yet." Yusuke blinks at her in clear surprise. "Did you actually think that Rando could be defeated so easily?" She goes on impatiently. Yusuke stiffens.
"What?" He mutters in disbelief, brown eyes wide, before Rando's voice, much lower than before, echoes around us.
"You should listen the old hag, Urameshi." He chuckles lowly, voice now much more gravelly than before. It sends an unwanted shiver down my spine as I gazed at his form, unable to see anything with him laying down still on the ground. "They tend to know things. For example, that I am a demon, who will not be destroyed." He goes on, and in shock I watch Shorin's body slowly disappearing into the ground from view. "Most likely she also knows that I must kill you all, as you are all about to see my true form." Rando goes on, fully admitting now to his deception. "The only really mystery is this; how will I choose to torture you?" I could hear the sound of ripping fabric, the very ground under us beginning to shake. "Though, I already have an idea for the angel in your group."
My skin crawled with disgust at the clear implication of his words.
It was a well known fact that demons had sick, sexual fantasizes about angels. In a very twisted way, it almost seemed natural. Demons were wicked and dark, whilst angels were pure and untainted. What demon wouldn't leap at the rare opportunity to fuck an angel of any status? Even one that had fallen from Spirit World to Human World. It was so rare that demons and angels found themselves on a common plain, and there was no higher an act of corruption than to rape a being as pure as an angel. It was like a forbidden fruit to them.
The ground beneath Yusuke began to split, his feet planted on either side of the small crevice as it formed, straddling it. Where the crevice ended the land split apart into a great crater, an immense flow of demonic energy coming from the center.
And up rose Rando, in his true form.
His stature was far more intimidating than his vassal's had been. In true form, Rando was much taller, more far more muscular in physique. He had long red hair that swept down to his lower back, much longer than Kurama's.
'Not nearly as nice a red though.' The thought of comparison hit me so suddenly, and I hardly wanted to question why I was thinking of the other red-headed demon in that moment.
"What the hell is that thing?" Yusuke asks nervously, taking a step backwards as Rando chuckles coldly, looking down at the kid with glowing red eyes. It's then that I notice some sort of marking on his face that starts at the centre of his forehead and down between his eyes, spreading out over his nose, cheek and chin as the marking flows downwards.
The entire package makes him look intimidating as hell.
"I'm the one that you've been looking for." Rando openly admits, his demon energy pulsing around him. "Rando." His cold laughter echoes around us all, and I find my hands shaking, not just from exertion of my energy healing Kuwabara.
'Yusuke…please be careful.' I think to myself, frowning tensely. 'The whole of Human World is depending on you.'
Welp, there ya have it! I hope you enjoyed this update! I know it was a long time coming, but as I explained in my Mayumi story when I finally updated it, things have been a little hectic. My Grandfather passed away fairly suddenly just over a week ago, and then Christmas was right around the corner. Things are starting to slow down now, however, so hopefully I can get into more steady updates.
As always I would love to hear from you guys!
Until next time!
T.O.T.