{Disclaimer}
All Yu Yu Hakusho characters are owned by Togashi Yoshihiro/Sheisha, Fuji TV,
Pierrot, and FUNimation.
Real Bout High School © 2000 Reiji Saiga/Sora Inou. First published in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo. English translation rights arranged with Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., LTD., Tokyo through Tuttle-Mori Agency, INC., Tokyo.
"Just because I-"
"Quit whining, human!"
"Shut up, shortie! It's just that-"
"Don't tell me what to-"
"Argh! You two 'r goina drive th' rest o' us nuts!" Shizuma cried as Hiei and Megumi finally turned away from their argument.
"But this isn't
ethical!"
"Suck it up!"
Hiei snapped, but shot a look at the poor girl's predicament. She was running
with the rest of them up the flights of stairs, keeping good pace, since she
was carrying another person, particularly Kurama, on her back. Everyone had
voted, since she had done the damage, that she would carry him. Of course, she
naturally objected.
"He's a guy! Come on, what'll he say when he wakes up?!"
"'Don't know, but you'll be the first to hear it!"
"Shut up, Yusuke! You're not helping!"
"A door, finally!" Xiaoxing cried, pointing. Megumi smiled happily, /I can finally put the bishounen down!/
"Looks like the electricity bill wasn't paid. There isn't a light at the end o' this tunnel," Yusuke remarked sarcastically as Azumi, who happened to be in front, pushed the door open. Outside, on the top of a tower, more storm clouds had gathered, leaving a dreary looking walkway and another tower as the only thing you could see through the rain. Megumi sighed and slid down the wall to the ground, dropping off her load. The others, though, looked unwelcomingly at their opponent.
"Ha! So you finally arrive!" Byakko called at the troupe. Megumi looked up, surprised, at a large, white, tiger, who stood upwards like a man, with a fur toga, but was definitely a tiger.
"Hiei…Kurama…you, traitors, will die with the rest of the leech humans you work with!" Byakko called, standing upright a bit more, and roaring.
"He obviously likes hearing himself talk…" Yusuke grumbled as the rocks shook from the noise. After a moment the tiger smiled.
"Who will be the first to die?" Byakko called as everyone made it too their feet. Hiei started foreword, before being pushed back by Kuwabara.
"Didn't I say I'd take the next one?" He snapped, before starting to walk across the narrowed bridge.
"But, you didn't…" Shizuma noted simply.
"Shut up!"
"You're not scared?" Ryoko asked as he started to walk across. Kuwabara turned around.
"Of course not!"
"So your knees are shaking out of anticipation, then?" Yusuke asked coldly.
"Shut up Urameshi! I'm just scared of heights!" Kuwabara then turned and made his way to the larger section of the walkway.
"This is my first challenger? HA! You're a fool!"
"Come down here and face me like a man!" Kuwabara shouted as he thought to himself /He's huge!/
"Why bother? You can't even stand up to one of my hairs!" Byakko called, before proving that he was correct. Taking four hairs from his mane, he threw them all at Kuwabara, not caring about aim much. Kuwabara dodged the best he could, barely being scraped.
"Ha! That wasn't that much…" His words died on his lips as the four hairs took shape as demons.
"See what I mean?"
"This is useless. He's swinging his sword around like a flyswatter. Hopeless." Hiei murmured as they all watched Kuwabara being ripped to shreds.
"Yes, lovely. Now, when can we get in on it?" Megumi asked, pounding one fist into the other. Hiei shot her a dark look.
"You really think you can handle it?"
"This calls for a weapon of sorts, which narrows it down to Ryoko, Xiaoxing, Hiei, Aoi, and me," Azumi calmly stated, looking out at the fight. Kuwabara shot a look over his shoulder, before turning and running towards his comrades.
"He's running away? Foolish…" Ryoko stated calmly. Kurama stiffened visibly, "He's not going to make it!"
"Ha! I knew the fool would run away like that!" Byakko cried, triumphant. Kuwabara turned on his heel, halfway down the path.
"Who ever said anything about running away?" He snapped as he turned to the lined up hair monsters. Ryoko raised her hand in the background, and everyone sweat dropped. Kuwabara smirked, elongating his sword and letting it drive through the hairs. "This is what I call a monster shish kabob!" He cried happily. Hiei furrowed his brow.
"Stupid."
"I don't know. I kind of like it…" Kurama noted, firmly ticking Hiei off. He dug his nails into his sword hilt. Suddenly, the monsters started to glow.
"Wh-what?!?"
"Just because they are no longer attached, does not mean that they are unable to draw power from me! Ha!" (He laughs a lot, don't you think?) Byakko howled as his monsters pushed Kuwabara onwards. He ran through a gap in the crowd and around the tower.
"Does he know it's round?" Hiei asked as Kuwabara came around again, latching his end of the sword to the other end.
"Monster donut!" He cried. Yusuke smirked and turned to Byakko.
"I don't like this one, sir. Do you have one with chocolate?" Everyone smirked happily as Byakko raged silently, before striking the tower with a large lightning bolt. A single stone fell from the top, knocking poor Kurama out yet again.
"Um, well, no donuts it is, then…"
"Now we fight!" Shizuma cried happily, running forward.
"What does that Neanderthal think he's doing?" Ryoko snapped, glaring after the eager Shizuma. Hiei commented as usual ("Baka.") and Kuwabara turned on his heel.
"How dare he?! This is my fight!" he cried, running after Shizuma full force. Tackling Shizuma from behind, he ran up past him to the now impatient Byakko. Shizuma, grumbling unrepeatable profanities, ran after him, knocked him to the ground, and ran on. This continued until they both gave up on running and started to fight each other. At this point, Byakko was rolling with laughter.
"I*tear of laughter*had no idea*tears*that you humans*laughs, snorts* were such comedians!" He finally gave up and full out laughed, ignoring Shizuma's and Kuwabara's Deadly Gaze.
"He's mine."
"No. He's mine. He was mine first."
"*****"
"***** ******"
"*-"
"Shut up already! Sheesh, you are such children!" Ryoko called over her shoulder as she walked ahead of them. Smiling, she turned her full attention on Byakko. She leaned over slightly, took a stance, braced her legs, leaped, and-
-was caught around the middle by Shizuma.
"Why, you! Let go!"
"He's mine!"
"No I-"
"Hmph." And with that metaphorical statement of the year, Hiei rammed Byakko full-force, before blowing over the stonework with a few moves of his katana. Byakko fell to his knees as Hiei sheathed his sword. He turned around, about to open his mouth, as Byakko spoke.
"Die, traitor!" He cried, aiming a pounce at the unsuspecting Koorime. Hiei looked around, surprised, as his claws extended. Fortunately for Hiei, Azumi came prepared.
"Kiribayashi mode nineteen, made for the singular purpose of pushing a large opponent off of a cliff!" She cried, using the kiribayashi as a vault to kick Byakko in the side of the face, knocking him off the platform. She turned, "v" sign ready. *SMIRK* Kuwabara ran up, looking over the side, and sighed heavily.
"Now I can't fight him…"
"Come on, we still have two more beasties, right?" Yusuke asked as he walked past them to the stairway. Hiei jumped up the side of the tower, waiting patiently as everyone took the long way, except Azumi, who vaulted up. The two of them gave each other a dark look, before moving on down the hallway. Everyone caught up as a voice rang through the tunnel.
"You think you had killed me, humans? Fools! All that is different is that I now have a score to settle! Bwa-HA! Come, fight me in my lair!" The voice came from a doorway at the end of the tunnel, where the troupe began towards.