{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.
"Whoa!" Yusuke noted firmly. "Lair? More like a preheated oven! What's he trying to do, cook us?" In front of them was a large cave, and where the floor would be, was a lava pit. All around the interior there were large pillars of stone, with a flat piece on top. Byakko stood on one towards the center, but closer to the other side, where there was another doorway. Kuwabara smirked.
"This fight's mine! Because, I've got this thing called an honor code, and it will not let me run from a fight!" He immediately jumped to the nearest pillar, landing on the edge. The platform broke, making Kuwabara scramble for a finger hold. Once he had pulled himself up, he shook his head.
"You're welcome to it…" Megumi mumbled as she placed the still unconscious Kurama down again.
"A human with an honor code. That's new…" Hiei grumbled. Everyone else, Kunugi included, glared heavily at him.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" Yusuke called as Kuwabara struggled. Kuwabara waved a hand at him.
"I started this fight, and I'll finish it alone."
"Of course, in between, it really doesn't matter," Azumi noted coldly.
"But you can't make all the jumps!" Yusuke pushed further, watching as Kuwabara thought momentarily.
"That's only because it's so freaking hot in here," and with that, Kuwabara threw down his over jacket, exposing wardings and (gasp) muscle. Yusuke rolled his eyes.
"He's just showing off for the ladies." Kuwabara, meantime, prepared his sword as Byakko coughed a large green, glowing ball at him.
"Wait, don't touch it!" Kurama, miraculously revived, called from his seat next to the exhausted Megumi.
Kuwabara, thoroughly confused, jumped to the nearest platform anyways. The ball immediately incinerated the stone.
"My jacket!"
"Just as I thought. I really didn't think I'd ever get to see one." Hiei remarked as Kurama struggled to his feet. "An attack with the owner's voice alone, using sound waves to obliterate an object. Tiger Scream."
For a while longer, Kuwabara dodged these until he was only one away from Byakko.
"Ha! You missed again!" Kuwabara called happily as he made the final jump. Pointing his sword at Byakko, he called, "YOU'RE MINE!"
"Just like all the others, the Tiger Scream has proved too much for you! You have fallen into my trap!"
"What do you mean? You've missed every time."
"True, but as you'll notice, there is only one more place to jump. Here. And I truly doubt that you could make it! But of course, there is always that chance."
"Hiei, could you get to him in time?" Kurama asked softly as they realized their friend's predicament.
"If need be."
"Shut up! I can hear you guys whispering about how you're going to save me! I'm not taking anyone's help!" Kuwabara shouted over one shoulder as Yusuke's face fell a little.
"Doesn't he realize he's about to die?"
"Probably not," all the girls, Shizuma, Taiho, and Kunugi answered in unison. The four guys glared at them.
"Alright, human, HERE!" Byakko called as he sent a Tiger Scream to where Kuwabara just stood. Jumping as high as possible, he started falling a quarter of the way. "I lied. You could never had made it!"
"He's not going to-" Kurama's words died mid-sentence as Kuwabara's sword lengthened, catching hold on a small, nearby, base. Using the sword as a vault, he swung forward, slamming his fist into Byakko.
"Eat this!" The momentum carried Byakko over the edge, and brought Kuwabara with him.
"Let's go to hell together!" He cried as they both fell over the side. All that could be seen, after that, was a large splash, and a few lava noises. Yusuke fell to his knees.
"He's… dead. This is so stupid! We're protecting the world, but who's protecting us?" He let his head fall forward, not caring who saw. Kuwabara was…
"…alive!" Taiho cried, pointing. Yusuke looked up instantly as Kuwabara waved slightly, hanging from a thread of his wardings. Yusuke's eyes dried instantly.
"Human beginner's luck," Hiei noted softly.
A few minutes later, they all stood on the platform where Kuwabara hung.
"Interesting strategy, Kuwabara." Kurama noted as he looked over the edge at his friend. Kuwabara swung hopelessly. Hiei smirked slightly.
"Yes. Maybe we should let you fight the next two beasts as well."
"Uh-uh. No way. I've done my part. You take the next one…Now, please, help me up! I feel something slipping!"