13.
Kuwabara stood with Kurama and Hiei as they waited for the rest of the team to assemble for the trip. He was nervous and a little agitated that Yusuke was yet to show for something as important as this, which was typical for him.
"When is Urameshi supposed to be here anyway and he better have that fifth guy with him, were going to miss the boat because of him!"
"Kuwabara, have patience, he will be here."
"Hard to be patient, standing here with all these demons looking like they want to kick my ass."
"You should worry about them trying to eat you."
"Zoie?! What are you doing here?" The dog sighed, frustrated but unwilling to interfere.
"It's a long and very exasperating story, but to make it short, I'm here with my mistress." It was as he finished his sentence that Kuwabara felt the intense amount of energy fill the area but it wasn't overbearing like Toguro's, this spirit energy rolled in like a thick fog, endurable but unbearably noticeable but this was normal spirit energy. No, this felt dark and violent like pure rage melded with mischief; but inside it he could feel something else. Pain, indignance and insecurity; whoever this was approaching was hurting and willing to take any unfortunate soul along with them.
"Now Zoie, why so melancholy?" She was standing next to them and they hadn't noticed, never even saw her approach it was a little frightening. She was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans but something about her body language read of elegance and poise, even bewitchment; the surrounding demons took notice of the girl and whispered among themselves. She demanded attention of the room so to speak and she received it forthwith.
"What exactly do you think you're doing here girl; I was under the impression that you had gotten the hint that you were not invited. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and with Kuwabara already here we cannot afford any weaker links." Siera merely swiped her right hand like she was shooing a fly and Hiei stood stunned for a moment as the four large oaks adjacent to him slid and fell as they were cut. Everyone had eyes on her now, but what was more intimidating than the swift action was her calm, even nonchalant demeanor as she looked at her nails in boredom.
"And I was under the impression that we established that when you address me, you use my name. Also, I'm not here for you; I am entering the tournament myself with my own team."
"You can't be serious; where did you get a team from in such short notice?" she smiled as she pointed to the array of beings beyond.
"Some of them have bound to be good candidates." The demons however looked none too happy to oblige. She casually walked to the toughest looking group.
"I require a team, you bunch will do."
"Little girl, maybe you're a little lacking in manners but even if we weren't about to rip your body apart and eat your flesh for your insolence; we already have the members we need!" they glowered at her drooling at the opportunity of a meal before the ride. The guys watched on in curiosity of what it was that she planned to do. She counted the apparitions and came to six, five main members and a substitute.
"I see; well simple, just pick which one of you stays here and I will go in your place." Their leader who stood a good two feet over her charged forward having enough of her disrespect.
"Stupid bitch, I'll rip your head off!" Siera landed a punch square in his midsection with her fight hand, the force of which ripped him in half spraying entrails over the rest of them. She licked the demon's blood from her hand with a wicked smile, her eyes burning their trademark blue. Another team member tried to rush her from behind, she swiped his feet out from under him before kicking him upward in the chin, causing his head to go flying.
"Dear me, it seems there are two openings now; so how about it?" The rest of them complied to her request for fear they would meet the same fate.
"Seems she's gotten even stronger since I last saw her, as much as I hate to say it I'm impressed."
"You're impressed, didn't you guys feel that? So much malice…I know you felt how close she was o striking you directly Hiei, that was a warning shot if I ever saw one and she took those guys out without hesitation or remorse; it was like she enjoyed it." Kuwabara shivered, he felt something was very wrong with her, and what's worse he feared the repercussions of having this much ill intent with that much power.
"The thing that bothers me most isn't how quickly she took them out but how calm she was about it. It was like she was prepared to kill everyone here until they agreed to be on her team before she even arrived."
"She has something to prove, I know that much; and she won't stop until she does so." A high pitched whistle sounded and the dog padded away to that direction leaving the team with more to think about.
Siera just witnessed the show of her so called friends slaughtering nearly everyone on board the ship; well, except her team of course. She wouldn't allow it, she knew what they were capable of and even still she wasn't going to send anyone to harm them either.
"Come on boss, I really think together we can take em, especially after what you did to Ryo and Ki, you cn dispose of them easy."
"No, we are staying here; one, they will slaughter you in mere seconds just like the rest of them, two, even if only one of you is lost it will mean we forfeit the tournament. I don't know about you but those stakes are too high for me." They grumbled but fell back regardless; she continued to watch them, ecstatic at how strong they all had become.
"Alright now I didn't fight you on getting here, the least you can do is tell me what your plan is. You do realize that they don't have a choice but to fight in this thing, if you are trying to beat them and Toguro then you are idiotic as well as being childish."
"Why should I tell you? You'll just snitch on me."
"You have my word."
"I don't plan on winning this tournament, or fighting Toguro; I just want to fight and I want them to see it."
"And how long will this go on?"
Until I lose, or until they die making my team lose, they aren't that strong so I don't have a lot of faith in them; I just want them to see that I'm not weak I want to be equal to them. If it gets too bad I will secede; it would be foolish to lose my life over something like this."
"Bu what if you meet that opponent that wants you dead?!"
"This is the first round, I hope that by that time my team either dies off or I step down. Overall I want to fight at least three times."
"And what if in the off chance your team goes against them?"
"Then I will back out, I don't want to fight them; I don't want to win this thing I just want to be respected for once."
"This is a lot just to prove a point."
"If he had respected my feelings enough to tell me the truth I wouldn't have to. The answer was no from the beginning they didn't even consider me. But instead of telling me the truth he put on this elaborate lie."
"He just wanted you safe." She sat in silence; she could feel her anger ebbing away. No, she didn't want to fight them; she just wanted them to see that she could have been of use to them. Hiei referred to her as a weak link in the chain and that hurt her feelings, she wasn't weak, she just didn't have a chance to show them what she could do. Once she did that she would gracefully back down, and they would think twice before calling her weak again.
The ship arrived at Hanging Neck Island and what was left of the passengers quickly departed to the hotel. Siera paid for the room and handed her team the key card.
"Go freshen up, I ordered some food I will be up there soon."
"Uh, thanks. I mean the way you killed the last boss…"
"You seem pretty nice now is what we mean."
"But we don't take it for weakness at all!"
"No, not at all boss!"
"My name is Siera, and I don't want you to be afraid of me, but best believe you better respect me. Now go, and we will discuss our strategy for tomorrows fights." They left to the hotel room as she stayed to look around; she spotted the rich people in their private party. She read their thoughts and listened to their conversations and felt disgusted. Her friends were risking everything, fighting against their will and these assholes are not only making bets but reveling in their coming pain like they were animals. The more she thought about it the more she wanted to talk to them and apologize. She decided to go to her room to change clothes before facing them, but saw an exceptional silk cheongsam dress in a deep blue that happened to be on an exceptionally rich and privileged girl who was also betting on her friend's deaths. She followed the girl to that bathroom and with her power of persuasion switched clothes with her. Siera pulled her hair into an up do and she was all set, she looked like she was worth a few words at least, Bu she was still too nervous to face them, knowing she had been a fool. She walked to her room to check on her team first; when she opened the door she nearly tripped over the bodies of the apparitions she grew to almost like. They were slaughtered shortly before coming into the room, the food wasn't even touched. She quickly scanned the entryway for traps and she smelled it before she even saw it, lilacs. She caught the vine as it slithered back into the ventilation system and she knew what direction they had to go to.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" She swung the door open so hard it nearly flew off the hinges making them all jump, except Yusuke who was sleeping. Kurama stood, knowing he was in for quite the tongue lashing as Zoie sat up in apprehension.
"You killed them; you killed all of them so that I didn't even have a chance! You completely overlook me when I want to fight by your side, then when I make it here without you; you snatch it away from me without a second thought!"
"You and I know they were expendable to you, and you wouldn't have made it far anyway, they were weak."
"That was not your call to make! I'm tired of you dictating where I go and what I do! If I want to go off and fight some demons for reasons that are my own and I get hurt or killed that is my mistake to make! I'm tired of you taking any opportunity I have to find something outside of this shithole we call normal away from me!"
"I was just-"
"Trying to keep me safe, yeah that's all you ever say, that you want me safe! You want me so safe that you remind me to make lower grades and blend in with the rest of the class and stay home and twiddle my fucking thumbs! I don't have a family remember so I don't answer to you or anyone else you are not my damned father!"
"If that were the case you sure as hell wouldn't be standing here now would you?" She slapped him hard across the face without even thinking about it and instantly regretted it. She flashed back to the promise she made to him that she would never hurt him out of malice and she felt her heart break yet again. This time she was the one who forfeited their friendship; she had sworn that if she ever hurt him through ill intentions that they would no longer be friends. She trembled as tears filled her eyes and overflowed, coursing down her cheeks; it was rare that anyone see her cry. She looked up at him just one more time, there were visible scratches on his face and he was bleeding; she could only imagine the damage she would have inflicted if he hadn't dodged the bulk of it. She was so tired of feeling manipulated by him; even now she realized that he said that just to get this reaction so that she would have to go by her own oath to him and that brought her to a lowest low.
"I fucking hate you, you know that?" It was all she could manage to whisper to him before running away.
"That was not cool, how dare you speak to her that way?!" Zoie was now yelling at Kurama furious at his words, his lips curled in a vicious snarl.
"Hey what's going on, I don't get it; he only said that he was her dad she wouldn't be here!"
"That's because her father tried to kill her!" Kuwabara balked and looked to Kurama who looked downward.
"Her father killed her mother and came after her too, she killed him in self-defense; she was so emotionally distraught that she caused the quake that collapsed the building but they were dead before the first tremor. And you were the only other person who knew that; it was your arms she ran into and you she confided in and you had the gall to turn that onto her, I should kill you!"
"Careful with your threats dog." Hiei unsheathed his sword and the air filled with thick tension Kuwabara stood stunned as he stared at Kurama who said and did nothing.
"You aren't worth it." Zoie turned to the door and left without another word.
"You have to apologize to her right now! You have to fix this, that wasn't right but you had your reasons! She will understand-"
"Kuwabara, just stop; it's over between us. She will either make me her enemy or simply despise me from afar for the rest of her life. Either one she chooses is fine; I will be ready when she makes her decision."
"You had to have felt that energy, it's like a volcano; when she erupts I can only imagine how horrible it will be for everyone involved. It's bad enough we have Toguro to deal with we don't need to fight amongst ourselves too!"
"There is nothing we can do about it now. We just prepare for tomorrow." The guys went to sleep apprehensive about what tomorrow will bring.