22. Spreading the Message part 1
"So these are the standings so far." Sakura K. marveled at the tournament standings. The two were at a table at the hotel lobby, eating breakfast. It was still early in the morning and the second day of fighting won't start until 12 noon, so Sakura decided to check out where they stood.
"What's it say?" Darrell asked. "I never got a chance to see who were on teams."
That reminded Sakura of something. She scanned the team listings. looking for Karin's team. She found her in team number 10 and gasped a bit.
"Darrell. you won't believe who is on Karin's team!"
"Who is it?" he asked while leaning over to see.
"It's Ken and Sean."
"Wow. that's completely new. And their fight is today at 1:00 P.M. I got to check this one out. By the way. who are we fighting tomorrow?"
Sakura looked at the paper some more. and after 2 seconds, found what she was looking for.
"It says here. team C-6, Sie Kensou, Bao, and Athena Asamiya. Wow. Athena's my old teammate from the Mark of the Millennium tournament. I can't wait to see how she's doing."
". how about you going to her hotel room to see for yourself?" Darrell suggested. "You could use some catching up before you pound the stuffing out of one another."
"Gee, thanks for the advice," Sakura said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. She sipped the last of her orange juice out of her cup and stood up, giving the tournament paper to Darrell.
"Listen, I'll check her out while you see the rest of the competition. See ya in a few hours."
"Yeah, sure," Darrell mouthed out his response while taking another bite out of his food. As Sakura left the table, he chewed for a few seconds before picking up the paper and reading the teams silently to himself.
"Let's see. Ryu on C-21. but those others. who where they. and what team? Wait."
Darrell stared long and hard at team C-12.
"Sho.? It couldn't be. No. unless his last name is really Shinjo. but if it is, then what is he doing here? And the other one. HYO?!? Wait. there's no last name posted. It really can't be Hyo Imawano, could it? There could be a lot more people out there named Hyo."
Darrell decided to move along, but only moved down three more slots to stop at C-15.
"Hmm. Batsu, Kyosuke, and Roy. They are here. and they actually lost their first match." Surprisingly, Darrell's tone was calm. He didn't jump in surprise like he would normally, especially considering the fighters they faced: team C-28: Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama. He didn't know anything about them, though.
He sighed as he continued scrolling down. He didn't find anyone he knew or was interested in. until he stopped at team C-24. and gasped loudly.
"I. I. It's Morrigan.! That dream wasn't lying.!"
"See you in the ring. Darrell."
Her cool words haunted him. He mumbled inside his head that he wouldn't have to face her team anytime within the tournament. but after looking at the tournament schedule, he felt like dying. He would have to fight her. in the fourth match. right after his team would face team C-22: Ellis, Kayin Amoh, and Eiji Shinjo and before they face team C-1: Kyo Kusanagi, Shingo Yabuki, and Benimaru Nikaido. All three teams won their first matches. except for Eiji's team, who lost to Ryu's team yesterday. They didn't go down without a fight, though, making Darrell sweat. This tournament wasn't going to be easy.
He closed his eyes while finishing his food off then stood up and brushed off the crumbs to his blue polo shirt.
{I guess I could start spreading the word. Maybe that first guy I saw will listen. He seems like a nice guy.}
Darrell sighed and made his way to the receptionist's desk to start his search.
------ -----
"Now then, Wangtang. Just clear your mind of all thoughts. Focus only on the energy that rests in your body. Once you have a lock on it, try to push it upwards."
Wangtang was sitting Indian-style in front of his master's watchful eyes in his hotel room. They had been working ever since dawn on Wangtang's flight training. The elderly man already had a feeling that he had a lot of energy even without the Power Stones he used to fight with. Although Wangtang's team lost their first fight (which Yun, his teammate, didn't exactly take well), Wangtang was still willing to learn how to fly like the birds. After about two minutes of relocating his vigor, he followed his master's instruction and pushed it upwards. Nothing happened for a minute. but suddenly his body lifted off the carpet. first a few millimeters. then a few inches. until Wangtang was hovering over his sensei's body.
"That's it! You're doing great!" he congratulated. "And you only have been working at it for 2 hours."
A smile crossed the kid's face. "This. is pretty cool. I'm not even in Power Fusion mode. and I'm hovering. I bet to move around I channel my energy in the way I want to go, right?"
The man nodded just as there was a knock at the door. Since no one else was awake at the time, he made his way to the front door and opened it. At the other side of the door was the dark-skinned teenager he saw fight the other day staring right into his eyes.
"Uh. excuse me. I hope I didn't interrupt anything serious. This is where Wangtang's team resides right?"
"You got the right place," he answered. "What can I help you with?"
"Uh. before I start, can I come in first? What I have to say might be hard to swallow."
"Okay."
The elder moved to the side, allowing the teenager walk though the door. As he turned to the living room portion of the hotel room, he stopped on a dime and looked up into the air. and saw Wangtang taking his new ability out for a test spin all around the room.
"He. he's. No way."
"Yep! He's flying, alright!" the martial arts elder reassured him, putting his hands on his hips. "That's the fastest person to learn that. Only 2 hours. He's really impressive."
"So. that's what he's doing."
He breathed in deeply and plopped onto the hotel couch.
"Hey, Wangtang! I've got a message for both of you."
"Huh?" Wangtang let out as he stopped right over his head, looking down at him. He never saw this teenager before, and he guessed he knew his name through that fight he had yesterday, but he had something for him...
"Master, how do I land?" he asked quizzily.
"Oh. that's easy. Just drop your energy downward."
Within a few seconds, Wangtang was staring at the kid as he started to deliver his message.
"As you might know. my name's Darrell Markis, the only guy on team C-8, not that I'm bitter. I'm here to. warn you about a huge event that's going down exactly 10 days from now at the finals. There is a very angry man that I beat in a fight a month ago and I thought I killed, but he managed to teleport just before my final attack could defeat him for good. His name is Akuma, and he has on either a black or purple gi with red hair that sort of resembles hellfire. His skin is totally dark like mine. but that's caused by the Evil Energy surging through his veins. He's insanely strong. and he'll attack me on the day of the finals. and whoever gets in his way.
"Oh, and that's not the extent of it. It turns out. that in addition to the Akuma threat, there are two other guys that will cause havoc at the same exact time. Unlike Akuma, I have NO idea what these two are or look like. All I know is that they are just as strong as Akuma. and even with my. special powers, I can't take them on by myself. That's why I'm here telling you this. I need as much help as I can get to beat them. and. let's say that a little birdie. or rose. told me that you can help me."
Darrell was met by an eerie silence from both Wangtang and his sensei. The elder's eyes weren't friendly anymore. They were totally serious, but as far as Wangtang was concerned, he had on the biggest look of disbelief on his face.
"You. you have to be kidding, right?" he asked.
"No." the other one answered for Darrell. "While he was telling us his story, I felt it in his eyes. He's totally serious about this."
"Yes, I am." the teen reiterated. "My whole team. could really use your help."
Wangtang stared into his eyes for a long moment before breathing in. "I guess I can't go through this tournament without getting into some type of mess. and I couldn't live with myself if I didn't help. Ten days from now, right?"
Darrell nodded.
"Okay," Wangtang said. "I'll tell my team about it and don't worry about a thing. We'll help."
A feeble smile appeared on Darrell's face as he got up.
"Thank you! I really appreciate it! I got to tell a few other teams about this. See ya later!"
And with that, the dark-skinned fighter jumped off the couch and walked out happily. As Wangtang watched him go, Wangtang's master looked at him and said, "This Akuma guy. by what that kid was saying, I can tell he's insanely strong. but evil. I'll need to see for myself."
Wangtang didn't respond. He was busy trying to put what Darrell said in order. In ten days, three guys, not one, will storm the tournament and unless they stop them, could run a muck all over the world. He breathed in deeply and said under his breath, "I'm really going to have to train for this one."
----- ------
Sakura K. knocked on door 206 a few times and waited. This was, according to the receptionist, the room Athena and her team was staying at. She leaned on the wall next to the door and thought about how her new friend was doing without her.
{I wonder if she still remembers me.}
"Hello?"
Sakura's attention was caught by a youthful, female voice where the door was. She spun around to see a girl her height with purple eyes and long, purple hair that ran down her back. She had on a schoolgirl fuku that resembled Sakura's school uniform a bit. Sakura stared at her for a quick second before finally remembering who she was.
"Hey, Athena! Remember me? Sakura Kasugano?"
The teen girl gazed at her with a blank expression on her face for another 3 seconds before she gasped in surprise.
"Sakura. oh! It's you, Sakura! How's it going? I didn't recognize you without your uniform on."
Sakura smiled. "Well, its summertime. Why should I wear it all-year long? I should be asking you why you have on a fuku yourself."
Athena giggled a bit. "I was just trying out some new outfits for my fight tomorrow. I think. I'm fighting your team, right?"
Sakura nodded in agreement. "Yep. Ironic, isn't it. Once time teammates going into a fight against one another."
"Yeah."
"Hey, are you going to let me in or not?"
"Oh, sure! Come right in. I'm not doing anything special."
Sakura stepped into the room, looking at everything that she could have found in her own room. She decided to sit down on the couch, accompanied by Athena.
"Hey, you don't mind if I turn on the T.V.?" Sakura asked while grabbing the remote. Athena just nodded and Sakura pressed Power. The tube instantly turned on and showcased its default channel, News Combo 7, the official broadcaster for the Millennium tournaments. not to mention this one. As the female reporter started on the measly stuff like the weather, Sakura decided to carry on with her conversation.
"So, Athena. who has everything been since I saw you in Osaka?"
"Well. I continued on with my singing career and helping Bao and Kensou on their. abilities. Unfortunately. Kensou lost his. We don't know when it will return, but he didn't seem to mind it. He has been using his fists."
"Uh. just where are they, anyway? I never saw them before."
"Don't worry, Sakura. You'll see them soon enough."
Both smiled as Athena stood up in front of Sakura, twirling her body around so she could see the back of her blue skirt.
"So. Sakura. How does this look on me? I don't want anything. to show off while I'm fighting. Honestly, I don't see how you can fight with a fuku on."
"I really don't think about it," Sakura responded while looking at her own jeans and short-sleeved shirt then looking back at Athena's uniform. "If it were up to me, I'd fight in a wedding dress if I have to."
"Hmm. a wedding dress. Hold that thought."
Sakura watched as Athena focused herself. A familiar pink aura came out of her body, causing her hair to fly up as if a gust of wind blew it. After a while, Athena's school uniform disappeared, leaving only her. unmentionables. Sakura instantly blushed at the sight of her friend as her clothes were replaced with a long, silver dress and high heels; her hair was wrapped into a fancy hairdo. When her aura disappeared, Athena looked down to see Sakura's beet red face and blushed herself.
"Uh. sorry, Sakura. I should have warned you before I changed wardrobe."
A small giggle could be heard from Sakura's mouth. "At least that with your Psycho powers you don't have to worry about carrying a lot of clothes with you. but honestly you take things too seriously. Personally, I like the fuku better."
"Oh. guess who's getting in touch with her long-lost feminine side," Athena teased as her aura shone again. Within 5 seconds, she had on the same clothes Sakura saw her wear at the door. "Normally you wouldn't care what I wear."
"What's wrong with giving a tip every once and a while? Uh. Athena? Can you do me a favor?"
"What's that?"
"Well. seeing you in that uniform. I sort of miss mine now. Can you.?"
"Yeah. Just hold still."
Once again, Athena focused her Psycho energy, but this time, both girls were covered with the aura. Just like Athena, Sakura's jeans and shirt disappeared and were replaced with her trademark Tamagawa Minami fuku, complete with the headband, red sneakers, and handguards.
"Pretty nifty," Sakura commented while getting up and inspecting her new uniform.
Athena smiled as she compared the two identical clothes to one another. The only real difference was that Sakura's scarf was yellow. Athena's was red. Before she could go any farther, Sakura interrupted her thoughts.
"So you're going to wear that when we fight, right?"
"Only if you are."
"So I guess that a yes, then. Hey, did you eat yet?"
Athena shook her head. "I only woke up a half-hour ago."
"Why don't you come down to the lobby and get some breakfast there. I didn't eat while I was down there, but Darrell, my teammate, did. He seemed to enjoy it."
"Sure! Just hold on while I wake up the sleepyheads."
Athena turned and went into the bedrooms to the right. A minute passed and Sakura heard random talk while she watched the tournament report on the T.V. The woman on the T.V. got to the tournament standing, and it was the exact same as the tournament paper she read at the diner. Her team was in 4th place, although it didn't matter since everyone in the upper half of the competition was 1-0, but tomorrow's match was going to matter. A lot.
"Okay, Sakura," Athena finally called out as she walked out of the bedroom. "They'll catch up with us. Let's get out of here."
----- ------
"I don't believe you, Botan," Yusuke said flatly. "There is no way I'm going to believe that this tournament is going to turn into a remix of the Dark Tournament. I came here for the money, not to battle another freak of nature."
"Yusuke, you'll just have to believe me," Boton pleaded. "I overheard those three talking in their hotel room. In 10 days things are going to get very messy around here."
"Don't worry about it," Yusuke cut Boton off with his statement. "I bet this guy isn't nearly as strong as Toguro, whoever he is."
"Yusuke! This isn't the time to act all proud about your abilities! The kid said that this Akuma guy was very powerful. I could sense the struggle through the tiredness of Darrell's aura. He could hide his like anyone else, but that doesn't prove the fact that his Spirit Energy is no where near full strength."
Yusuke plopped down onto his hotel room's couch and resumed his argument with Boton with, "So? He just came off a fight last night. It could come from that."
Boton sighed. "You are just stubborn."
"Yeah, whatever. Listen, I'm going to get something to eat. See ya."
Boton watched in disgust as Yusuke got off the couch just as fast as he got on it and left the room. Her face was red with frustration. Even after that tournament, Yusuke hardly ever grows up.
"So. what's the use? I'll just have to convince the others about that."
"Don't worry, woman. We're already interested in this. demon."
Boton spun around to see Hiei and Kurama staring right back at her. She jumped back, startled then regained her senses.
"You overheard?" she asked before correcting herself. "Stupid question."
"Like I said, we're already interested,' Hiei repeated coldly. "Ten days. I'll see if this guy is worth of my time."
"But the thing is. how did someone like him get through to this world without Koenma knowing? It makes no sense."
----- -----
"I don't believe it," Athena said while swallowing some of her food. "You? In love? That's the biggest surprise that I've heard throughout my life so far."
Sakura blushed a bit while answering. "Yeah, I was surprised by it myself. A lot of weird things happened to us in the last few months, but throughout it all, Darrell had me in first priority. I needed a little push from. my sister to get my feelings out in the open."
Athena stared at her friend with intensity. "Your. sister.?"
"Oh. you didn't meet her? She's on my team. I'm pretty surprised you missed her. Sakura Satsu. She looks just like me only her skin is darker. You can say that. she's a part of me."
"A part of you.? Satsu." Athena's expression was blank, putting the pieces together before she was interrupted with a yell from the main lobby.
"Sakura?"
"Looks like Hinata managed to meet me here after all," Sakura replied as her other friend ran up towards the table. As Hinata stopped, she stared at the two girls sitting down, then placed her attention on Sakura fully. Both Athena and Sakura had on identical fukus, save for the different colored scarves tied around their neck.
"Sakura. how did you get your uniform here?" Hinata asked.
"Athena gave me one, but enough about that. I know that you and my sis were eavesdropping on my conversation with Darrell last night."
Hinata's now panicky expression on her face was enough evidence that Sakura needed to confirm the crime. Now was the matter concerning how she felt about it.
"So. what do you think?"
Hinata stammered a bit as she sat down across from Sakura. "I. I. I have to be perfectly honest with you, Sakura."
"Well?"
"I think. that it's about time you got that off your chest."
The tables have turned! Sakura was the one with the confused expression. "What? You mean that you aren't mad or jealous or anything like that?"
Hinata shook her head while smiling. "Why should I? I like Darrell as a friend, but not like he likes you. and apparently how you like him. Admit it. You always had him close to your heart. Even a bit closer than Ryu. You just needed to convince yourself of that. I'm proud of you."
Sakura gave Hinata a soft look. "Thanks."
Hinata nodded then turned her attention to Athena, who took the time to eat half her breakfast while the two were talking. "You know. we didn't exactly formally meet. My name is Hinata."
"Wabaka."
"Wabaka."
Hinata stopped at the fact that Sakura said her last name along with her. She glanced at Sakura and asked, "Why did you just copy me?"
"What? I didn't say anything. I was eating."
Hinata stared at her for a second then looked back at Athena and cocked an eyebrow. Athena was looking at her as if she seen a ghost as her eyes were big and her finger was pointing to her. or rather above her. Hinata turned around and came face to face with Sakura's sister who had a mischievous grin on her face.
"You." she muttered at Sakura Satsu.
"Yep! You got that right," Sakura S. replied. She turned her attention to Athena, who still had the look of shock on her face. "Long time no see, huh, Athena?"
Athena shook her head before answering. "I take it that you're Sakura Satsu, right?"
"Yeah. That's my name, but everyone I know just calls me Sakura S. We also started calling that Sakura over there Sakura K. whenever we are together."
"Okay." Athena switched her focus on Sakura K. "How in the world did you get a twin sister? Have you been holding out on me?"
"No. I guess I can tell you. but I also have to tell you something important. "
As Sakura K. told the tale of her sister coming about, she didn't notice Ryu passing by, heading outside to clear his mind for his next bout the following day. Once he heard Sakura's voice, he turned to that direction to see Sakura, her sister, and two of her friends sitting at a table, discussing something. The little bit of dialog that he heard really surprised him.
"So this woman appeared and told us that Akuma is still alive, stronger than ever. We've got 10 days to get as much help as we can to beat him. Darrell's all over that recruiting stuff and I'll join him later."
I can't believe that he's still alive after that attack. Ryu thought to himself. But at the same time. I'm not surprised. He survived a lot of my finishing attacks. but this is serious. He must still be in his Shin Akuma state and if he's stronger in that state.
Ryu shook his head and left to carry on with his business with new purpose.
----- -----
"This sounds pretty serious." Athena said with a worried look on her face.
"It is," Hinata followed. "I was there when he supposedly was beaten. It makes no sense how he can still be alive."
"I. think I can make some sense out of it."
Everyone looked over to Sakura Satsu's direction.
"He's a being of Satsu no Hadou, but unlike Evil Ryu and me, he let his power get to the point that he's like Bison. I can understand the whole teleporting out of the way of oblivion. but the fact that Ryu beat him so many times. and he keeps coming back. He wants to be destroyed."
"I don't get it," Sakura S.'s sister responded. "Why would anyone want to be killed?"
"I guess it is that he's beaten so many others. he's probably bored or something. I really don't know his real motives, but when he saw us, I guess he saw how much power we all possess and wants us to do the job. We need to come up with a way to get his ass to get down and stay down, not just knock him down."
Sakura K. groaned slightly, her anger rising.
"I don't believe this!" she shouted a bit while kicking her legs out under the table, not knowing that she hit her sister's legs. hard.
"OW!!" she howled out in pain, catching the other girls' attention. She sucked it in before glaring at Sakura K. "What was that for?! I didn't deserve that!"
"Sorry." she apologized. "I should watch my." Suddenly, the lighter Sakura's face tightened in pain. She tried to hold her response. but it didn't work.
"YEOW!" she yelped while holding her right leg. Sakura S. got her revenge by returning her sister's kick.
"That's what you get."
"Why you.!"
"Hold on!" Athena cut in, but it was too late. Sakura K. shot out of her seat and lunged at her sister, tackling her. Both Sakura's had their little fight on the ground while Hinata and Athena just watched. Luckily, the fight lasted only 10 seconds before someone broke it up.
"You know. twins should fight each other. It just isn't right."
Both Sakuras were panting as they looked up to see two junior high students standing over them. The taller one had a few scars on his face, a blue uniform and orange hair that was silked in a way so that the front pointed straight out. The other was shorter with silked black/green hair and a green uniform.
"Oh, man," the darker twin moaned. "This is so embarrassing."
"Don't worry about anything," the shorter teen said with a smile. "We didn't see anything important." Suddenly his voice turned to a whisper as he looked to the side. "Well. not from the dark twin, anyway."
POW!!
Sakura K. got to her feet and smacked the kid so fast it seemed as if she moved in a blur.
"Wow. That was pretty bad," the orange-haired male said while smiling. "You should watch what you say to older people, Urameshi."
"Shut up. Kuwabara." the other kid answered with swirls in his eyes.
"Wait. Urameshi?" Athena said to herself quizzily then she said out loud, "Yusuke Urameshi?"
"Yeah? That's my name," the short teen responded while getting up and brushing his clothes off with a hand.
"Yusuke." Sakura K. repeated. "You know. I was looking for you."
"Really? Just what do you want?"
"Well, I have a message for you. Uh. Excuse me be who are you?"
"What?" he asked, following Sakura's pointed finger. aimed behind him. He spun around.
SMACK!!
"This just isn't your day, huh?" Sakura S. teased at Yusuke's fallen body, his cheek swollen red. A girl with long, brown hair and eyes, wearing a red shirt and skirt had just came out of nowhere and smacked the flavor out of his mouth. For some reason, she was blushing, but it wasn't clear if it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Yusuke, you jerk!" she yelled out. "I can't believe you would go and look at her like that!"
"Keiko. What are you doing here?" Yusuke asked while once again getting off the floor.
"Why don't you ever tell me when you'll be off on another one of your cases?" she asked, totally ignoring Yusuke's question. "You know I get worried when you go."
"Man, you act like my girlfriend or something. Besides, this isn't a case. I'm here strictly for the prize money."
"That's not what Boton told me." Keiko countered. "She told me that you were on a new case assigned by your boss looking for another demon."
"WHAT!?"
"You mean to tell me that she didn't tell you about it?"
Yusuke started to stutter before he finally got his words straight. "Koenma. I swear I'm going to get you for this." he muttered.
"Hold on." Sakura S. butted into the new conversation. "Did this Boton character tell you who this demon was?"
"She only told me his name," Keiko replied. "I. think it was. Akuma."
Instantly, everyone stared at Keiko, getting her nervous.
"Uh. did I say something wrong?"
That's the person Boton was telling me about earlier. Yusuke thought to himself.
"That was exactly what I was about to warn Yusuke about," Sakura K. said. "I saw my teammate fight him. He's pretty strong. Very strong."
"So. there is another demon on the loose," Kuwabara muttered loudly while grasping his chin. "Not to worry ladies. I'll make sure he meets his maker."
"I'm not sure you know what you are getting into." Hinata mumbled.
"It's not a problem," he convinced. "You didn't see me fight yet. You'll be pretty surprised."
"I just hope you are right about that."
To Be Continued.
"So these are the standings so far." Sakura K. marveled at the tournament standings. The two were at a table at the hotel lobby, eating breakfast. It was still early in the morning and the second day of fighting won't start until 12 noon, so Sakura decided to check out where they stood.
"What's it say?" Darrell asked. "I never got a chance to see who were on teams."
That reminded Sakura of something. She scanned the team listings. looking for Karin's team. She found her in team number 10 and gasped a bit.
"Darrell. you won't believe who is on Karin's team!"
"Who is it?" he asked while leaning over to see.
"It's Ken and Sean."
"Wow. that's completely new. And their fight is today at 1:00 P.M. I got to check this one out. By the way. who are we fighting tomorrow?"
Sakura looked at the paper some more. and after 2 seconds, found what she was looking for.
"It says here. team C-6, Sie Kensou, Bao, and Athena Asamiya. Wow. Athena's my old teammate from the Mark of the Millennium tournament. I can't wait to see how she's doing."
". how about you going to her hotel room to see for yourself?" Darrell suggested. "You could use some catching up before you pound the stuffing out of one another."
"Gee, thanks for the advice," Sakura said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. She sipped the last of her orange juice out of her cup and stood up, giving the tournament paper to Darrell.
"Listen, I'll check her out while you see the rest of the competition. See ya in a few hours."
"Yeah, sure," Darrell mouthed out his response while taking another bite out of his food. As Sakura left the table, he chewed for a few seconds before picking up the paper and reading the teams silently to himself.
"Let's see. Ryu on C-21. but those others. who where they. and what team? Wait."
Darrell stared long and hard at team C-12.
"Sho.? It couldn't be. No. unless his last name is really Shinjo. but if it is, then what is he doing here? And the other one. HYO?!? Wait. there's no last name posted. It really can't be Hyo Imawano, could it? There could be a lot more people out there named Hyo."
Darrell decided to move along, but only moved down three more slots to stop at C-15.
"Hmm. Batsu, Kyosuke, and Roy. They are here. and they actually lost their first match." Surprisingly, Darrell's tone was calm. He didn't jump in surprise like he would normally, especially considering the fighters they faced: team C-28: Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama. He didn't know anything about them, though.
He sighed as he continued scrolling down. He didn't find anyone he knew or was interested in. until he stopped at team C-24. and gasped loudly.
"I. I. It's Morrigan.! That dream wasn't lying.!"
"See you in the ring. Darrell."
Her cool words haunted him. He mumbled inside his head that he wouldn't have to face her team anytime within the tournament. but after looking at the tournament schedule, he felt like dying. He would have to fight her. in the fourth match. right after his team would face team C-22: Ellis, Kayin Amoh, and Eiji Shinjo and before they face team C-1: Kyo Kusanagi, Shingo Yabuki, and Benimaru Nikaido. All three teams won their first matches. except for Eiji's team, who lost to Ryu's team yesterday. They didn't go down without a fight, though, making Darrell sweat. This tournament wasn't going to be easy.
He closed his eyes while finishing his food off then stood up and brushed off the crumbs to his blue polo shirt.
{I guess I could start spreading the word. Maybe that first guy I saw will listen. He seems like a nice guy.}
Darrell sighed and made his way to the receptionist's desk to start his search.
------ -----
"Now then, Wangtang. Just clear your mind of all thoughts. Focus only on the energy that rests in your body. Once you have a lock on it, try to push it upwards."
Wangtang was sitting Indian-style in front of his master's watchful eyes in his hotel room. They had been working ever since dawn on Wangtang's flight training. The elderly man already had a feeling that he had a lot of energy even without the Power Stones he used to fight with. Although Wangtang's team lost their first fight (which Yun, his teammate, didn't exactly take well), Wangtang was still willing to learn how to fly like the birds. After about two minutes of relocating his vigor, he followed his master's instruction and pushed it upwards. Nothing happened for a minute. but suddenly his body lifted off the carpet. first a few millimeters. then a few inches. until Wangtang was hovering over his sensei's body.
"That's it! You're doing great!" he congratulated. "And you only have been working at it for 2 hours."
A smile crossed the kid's face. "This. is pretty cool. I'm not even in Power Fusion mode. and I'm hovering. I bet to move around I channel my energy in the way I want to go, right?"
The man nodded just as there was a knock at the door. Since no one else was awake at the time, he made his way to the front door and opened it. At the other side of the door was the dark-skinned teenager he saw fight the other day staring right into his eyes.
"Uh. excuse me. I hope I didn't interrupt anything serious. This is where Wangtang's team resides right?"
"You got the right place," he answered. "What can I help you with?"
"Uh. before I start, can I come in first? What I have to say might be hard to swallow."
"Okay."
The elder moved to the side, allowing the teenager walk though the door. As he turned to the living room portion of the hotel room, he stopped on a dime and looked up into the air. and saw Wangtang taking his new ability out for a test spin all around the room.
"He. he's. No way."
"Yep! He's flying, alright!" the martial arts elder reassured him, putting his hands on his hips. "That's the fastest person to learn that. Only 2 hours. He's really impressive."
"So. that's what he's doing."
He breathed in deeply and plopped onto the hotel couch.
"Hey, Wangtang! I've got a message for both of you."
"Huh?" Wangtang let out as he stopped right over his head, looking down at him. He never saw this teenager before, and he guessed he knew his name through that fight he had yesterday, but he had something for him...
"Master, how do I land?" he asked quizzily.
"Oh. that's easy. Just drop your energy downward."
Within a few seconds, Wangtang was staring at the kid as he started to deliver his message.
"As you might know. my name's Darrell Markis, the only guy on team C-8, not that I'm bitter. I'm here to. warn you about a huge event that's going down exactly 10 days from now at the finals. There is a very angry man that I beat in a fight a month ago and I thought I killed, but he managed to teleport just before my final attack could defeat him for good. His name is Akuma, and he has on either a black or purple gi with red hair that sort of resembles hellfire. His skin is totally dark like mine. but that's caused by the Evil Energy surging through his veins. He's insanely strong. and he'll attack me on the day of the finals. and whoever gets in his way.
"Oh, and that's not the extent of it. It turns out. that in addition to the Akuma threat, there are two other guys that will cause havoc at the same exact time. Unlike Akuma, I have NO idea what these two are or look like. All I know is that they are just as strong as Akuma. and even with my. special powers, I can't take them on by myself. That's why I'm here telling you this. I need as much help as I can get to beat them. and. let's say that a little birdie. or rose. told me that you can help me."
Darrell was met by an eerie silence from both Wangtang and his sensei. The elder's eyes weren't friendly anymore. They were totally serious, but as far as Wangtang was concerned, he had on the biggest look of disbelief on his face.
"You. you have to be kidding, right?" he asked.
"No." the other one answered for Darrell. "While he was telling us his story, I felt it in his eyes. He's totally serious about this."
"Yes, I am." the teen reiterated. "My whole team. could really use your help."
Wangtang stared into his eyes for a long moment before breathing in. "I guess I can't go through this tournament without getting into some type of mess. and I couldn't live with myself if I didn't help. Ten days from now, right?"
Darrell nodded.
"Okay," Wangtang said. "I'll tell my team about it and don't worry about a thing. We'll help."
A feeble smile appeared on Darrell's face as he got up.
"Thank you! I really appreciate it! I got to tell a few other teams about this. See ya later!"
And with that, the dark-skinned fighter jumped off the couch and walked out happily. As Wangtang watched him go, Wangtang's master looked at him and said, "This Akuma guy. by what that kid was saying, I can tell he's insanely strong. but evil. I'll need to see for myself."
Wangtang didn't respond. He was busy trying to put what Darrell said in order. In ten days, three guys, not one, will storm the tournament and unless they stop them, could run a muck all over the world. He breathed in deeply and said under his breath, "I'm really going to have to train for this one."
----- ------
Sakura K. knocked on door 206 a few times and waited. This was, according to the receptionist, the room Athena and her team was staying at. She leaned on the wall next to the door and thought about how her new friend was doing without her.
{I wonder if she still remembers me.}
"Hello?"
Sakura's attention was caught by a youthful, female voice where the door was. She spun around to see a girl her height with purple eyes and long, purple hair that ran down her back. She had on a schoolgirl fuku that resembled Sakura's school uniform a bit. Sakura stared at her for a quick second before finally remembering who she was.
"Hey, Athena! Remember me? Sakura Kasugano?"
The teen girl gazed at her with a blank expression on her face for another 3 seconds before she gasped in surprise.
"Sakura. oh! It's you, Sakura! How's it going? I didn't recognize you without your uniform on."
Sakura smiled. "Well, its summertime. Why should I wear it all-year long? I should be asking you why you have on a fuku yourself."
Athena giggled a bit. "I was just trying out some new outfits for my fight tomorrow. I think. I'm fighting your team, right?"
Sakura nodded in agreement. "Yep. Ironic, isn't it. Once time teammates going into a fight against one another."
"Yeah."
"Hey, are you going to let me in or not?"
"Oh, sure! Come right in. I'm not doing anything special."
Sakura stepped into the room, looking at everything that she could have found in her own room. She decided to sit down on the couch, accompanied by Athena.
"Hey, you don't mind if I turn on the T.V.?" Sakura asked while grabbing the remote. Athena just nodded and Sakura pressed Power. The tube instantly turned on and showcased its default channel, News Combo 7, the official broadcaster for the Millennium tournaments. not to mention this one. As the female reporter started on the measly stuff like the weather, Sakura decided to carry on with her conversation.
"So, Athena. who has everything been since I saw you in Osaka?"
"Well. I continued on with my singing career and helping Bao and Kensou on their. abilities. Unfortunately. Kensou lost his. We don't know when it will return, but he didn't seem to mind it. He has been using his fists."
"Uh. just where are they, anyway? I never saw them before."
"Don't worry, Sakura. You'll see them soon enough."
Both smiled as Athena stood up in front of Sakura, twirling her body around so she could see the back of her blue skirt.
"So. Sakura. How does this look on me? I don't want anything. to show off while I'm fighting. Honestly, I don't see how you can fight with a fuku on."
"I really don't think about it," Sakura responded while looking at her own jeans and short-sleeved shirt then looking back at Athena's uniform. "If it were up to me, I'd fight in a wedding dress if I have to."
"Hmm. a wedding dress. Hold that thought."
Sakura watched as Athena focused herself. A familiar pink aura came out of her body, causing her hair to fly up as if a gust of wind blew it. After a while, Athena's school uniform disappeared, leaving only her. unmentionables. Sakura instantly blushed at the sight of her friend as her clothes were replaced with a long, silver dress and high heels; her hair was wrapped into a fancy hairdo. When her aura disappeared, Athena looked down to see Sakura's beet red face and blushed herself.
"Uh. sorry, Sakura. I should have warned you before I changed wardrobe."
A small giggle could be heard from Sakura's mouth. "At least that with your Psycho powers you don't have to worry about carrying a lot of clothes with you. but honestly you take things too seriously. Personally, I like the fuku better."
"Oh. guess who's getting in touch with her long-lost feminine side," Athena teased as her aura shone again. Within 5 seconds, she had on the same clothes Sakura saw her wear at the door. "Normally you wouldn't care what I wear."
"What's wrong with giving a tip every once and a while? Uh. Athena? Can you do me a favor?"
"What's that?"
"Well. seeing you in that uniform. I sort of miss mine now. Can you.?"
"Yeah. Just hold still."
Once again, Athena focused her Psycho energy, but this time, both girls were covered with the aura. Just like Athena, Sakura's jeans and shirt disappeared and were replaced with her trademark Tamagawa Minami fuku, complete with the headband, red sneakers, and handguards.
"Pretty nifty," Sakura commented while getting up and inspecting her new uniform.
Athena smiled as she compared the two identical clothes to one another. The only real difference was that Sakura's scarf was yellow. Athena's was red. Before she could go any farther, Sakura interrupted her thoughts.
"So you're going to wear that when we fight, right?"
"Only if you are."
"So I guess that a yes, then. Hey, did you eat yet?"
Athena shook her head. "I only woke up a half-hour ago."
"Why don't you come down to the lobby and get some breakfast there. I didn't eat while I was down there, but Darrell, my teammate, did. He seemed to enjoy it."
"Sure! Just hold on while I wake up the sleepyheads."
Athena turned and went into the bedrooms to the right. A minute passed and Sakura heard random talk while she watched the tournament report on the T.V. The woman on the T.V. got to the tournament standing, and it was the exact same as the tournament paper she read at the diner. Her team was in 4th place, although it didn't matter since everyone in the upper half of the competition was 1-0, but tomorrow's match was going to matter. A lot.
"Okay, Sakura," Athena finally called out as she walked out of the bedroom. "They'll catch up with us. Let's get out of here."
----- ------
"I don't believe you, Botan," Yusuke said flatly. "There is no way I'm going to believe that this tournament is going to turn into a remix of the Dark Tournament. I came here for the money, not to battle another freak of nature."
"Yusuke, you'll just have to believe me," Boton pleaded. "I overheard those three talking in their hotel room. In 10 days things are going to get very messy around here."
"Don't worry about it," Yusuke cut Boton off with his statement. "I bet this guy isn't nearly as strong as Toguro, whoever he is."
"Yusuke! This isn't the time to act all proud about your abilities! The kid said that this Akuma guy was very powerful. I could sense the struggle through the tiredness of Darrell's aura. He could hide his like anyone else, but that doesn't prove the fact that his Spirit Energy is no where near full strength."
Yusuke plopped down onto his hotel room's couch and resumed his argument with Boton with, "So? He just came off a fight last night. It could come from that."
Boton sighed. "You are just stubborn."
"Yeah, whatever. Listen, I'm going to get something to eat. See ya."
Boton watched in disgust as Yusuke got off the couch just as fast as he got on it and left the room. Her face was red with frustration. Even after that tournament, Yusuke hardly ever grows up.
"So. what's the use? I'll just have to convince the others about that."
"Don't worry, woman. We're already interested in this. demon."
Boton spun around to see Hiei and Kurama staring right back at her. She jumped back, startled then regained her senses.
"You overheard?" she asked before correcting herself. "Stupid question."
"Like I said, we're already interested,' Hiei repeated coldly. "Ten days. I'll see if this guy is worth of my time."
"But the thing is. how did someone like him get through to this world without Koenma knowing? It makes no sense."
----- -----
"I don't believe it," Athena said while swallowing some of her food. "You? In love? That's the biggest surprise that I've heard throughout my life so far."
Sakura blushed a bit while answering. "Yeah, I was surprised by it myself. A lot of weird things happened to us in the last few months, but throughout it all, Darrell had me in first priority. I needed a little push from. my sister to get my feelings out in the open."
Athena stared at her friend with intensity. "Your. sister.?"
"Oh. you didn't meet her? She's on my team. I'm pretty surprised you missed her. Sakura Satsu. She looks just like me only her skin is darker. You can say that. she's a part of me."
"A part of you.? Satsu." Athena's expression was blank, putting the pieces together before she was interrupted with a yell from the main lobby.
"Sakura?"
"Looks like Hinata managed to meet me here after all," Sakura replied as her other friend ran up towards the table. As Hinata stopped, she stared at the two girls sitting down, then placed her attention on Sakura fully. Both Athena and Sakura had on identical fukus, save for the different colored scarves tied around their neck.
"Sakura. how did you get your uniform here?" Hinata asked.
"Athena gave me one, but enough about that. I know that you and my sis were eavesdropping on my conversation with Darrell last night."
Hinata's now panicky expression on her face was enough evidence that Sakura needed to confirm the crime. Now was the matter concerning how she felt about it.
"So. what do you think?"
Hinata stammered a bit as she sat down across from Sakura. "I. I. I have to be perfectly honest with you, Sakura."
"Well?"
"I think. that it's about time you got that off your chest."
The tables have turned! Sakura was the one with the confused expression. "What? You mean that you aren't mad or jealous or anything like that?"
Hinata shook her head while smiling. "Why should I? I like Darrell as a friend, but not like he likes you. and apparently how you like him. Admit it. You always had him close to your heart. Even a bit closer than Ryu. You just needed to convince yourself of that. I'm proud of you."
Sakura gave Hinata a soft look. "Thanks."
Hinata nodded then turned her attention to Athena, who took the time to eat half her breakfast while the two were talking. "You know. we didn't exactly formally meet. My name is Hinata."
"Wabaka."
"Wabaka."
Hinata stopped at the fact that Sakura said her last name along with her. She glanced at Sakura and asked, "Why did you just copy me?"
"What? I didn't say anything. I was eating."
Hinata stared at her for a second then looked back at Athena and cocked an eyebrow. Athena was looking at her as if she seen a ghost as her eyes were big and her finger was pointing to her. or rather above her. Hinata turned around and came face to face with Sakura's sister who had a mischievous grin on her face.
"You." she muttered at Sakura Satsu.
"Yep! You got that right," Sakura S. replied. She turned her attention to Athena, who still had the look of shock on her face. "Long time no see, huh, Athena?"
Athena shook her head before answering. "I take it that you're Sakura Satsu, right?"
"Yeah. That's my name, but everyone I know just calls me Sakura S. We also started calling that Sakura over there Sakura K. whenever we are together."
"Okay." Athena switched her focus on Sakura K. "How in the world did you get a twin sister? Have you been holding out on me?"
"No. I guess I can tell you. but I also have to tell you something important. "
As Sakura K. told the tale of her sister coming about, she didn't notice Ryu passing by, heading outside to clear his mind for his next bout the following day. Once he heard Sakura's voice, he turned to that direction to see Sakura, her sister, and two of her friends sitting at a table, discussing something. The little bit of dialog that he heard really surprised him.
"So this woman appeared and told us that Akuma is still alive, stronger than ever. We've got 10 days to get as much help as we can to beat him. Darrell's all over that recruiting stuff and I'll join him later."
I can't believe that he's still alive after that attack. Ryu thought to himself. But at the same time. I'm not surprised. He survived a lot of my finishing attacks. but this is serious. He must still be in his Shin Akuma state and if he's stronger in that state.
Ryu shook his head and left to carry on with his business with new purpose.
----- -----
"This sounds pretty serious." Athena said with a worried look on her face.
"It is," Hinata followed. "I was there when he supposedly was beaten. It makes no sense how he can still be alive."
"I. think I can make some sense out of it."
Everyone looked over to Sakura Satsu's direction.
"He's a being of Satsu no Hadou, but unlike Evil Ryu and me, he let his power get to the point that he's like Bison. I can understand the whole teleporting out of the way of oblivion. but the fact that Ryu beat him so many times. and he keeps coming back. He wants to be destroyed."
"I don't get it," Sakura S.'s sister responded. "Why would anyone want to be killed?"
"I guess it is that he's beaten so many others. he's probably bored or something. I really don't know his real motives, but when he saw us, I guess he saw how much power we all possess and wants us to do the job. We need to come up with a way to get his ass to get down and stay down, not just knock him down."
Sakura K. groaned slightly, her anger rising.
"I don't believe this!" she shouted a bit while kicking her legs out under the table, not knowing that she hit her sister's legs. hard.
"OW!!" she howled out in pain, catching the other girls' attention. She sucked it in before glaring at Sakura K. "What was that for?! I didn't deserve that!"
"Sorry." she apologized. "I should watch my." Suddenly, the lighter Sakura's face tightened in pain. She tried to hold her response. but it didn't work.
"YEOW!" she yelped while holding her right leg. Sakura S. got her revenge by returning her sister's kick.
"That's what you get."
"Why you.!"
"Hold on!" Athena cut in, but it was too late. Sakura K. shot out of her seat and lunged at her sister, tackling her. Both Sakura's had their little fight on the ground while Hinata and Athena just watched. Luckily, the fight lasted only 10 seconds before someone broke it up.
"You know. twins should fight each other. It just isn't right."
Both Sakuras were panting as they looked up to see two junior high students standing over them. The taller one had a few scars on his face, a blue uniform and orange hair that was silked in a way so that the front pointed straight out. The other was shorter with silked black/green hair and a green uniform.
"Oh, man," the darker twin moaned. "This is so embarrassing."
"Don't worry about anything," the shorter teen said with a smile. "We didn't see anything important." Suddenly his voice turned to a whisper as he looked to the side. "Well. not from the dark twin, anyway."
POW!!
Sakura K. got to her feet and smacked the kid so fast it seemed as if she moved in a blur.
"Wow. That was pretty bad," the orange-haired male said while smiling. "You should watch what you say to older people, Urameshi."
"Shut up. Kuwabara." the other kid answered with swirls in his eyes.
"Wait. Urameshi?" Athena said to herself quizzily then she said out loud, "Yusuke Urameshi?"
"Yeah? That's my name," the short teen responded while getting up and brushing his clothes off with a hand.
"Yusuke." Sakura K. repeated. "You know. I was looking for you."
"Really? Just what do you want?"
"Well, I have a message for you. Uh. Excuse me be who are you?"
"What?" he asked, following Sakura's pointed finger. aimed behind him. He spun around.
SMACK!!
"This just isn't your day, huh?" Sakura S. teased at Yusuke's fallen body, his cheek swollen red. A girl with long, brown hair and eyes, wearing a red shirt and skirt had just came out of nowhere and smacked the flavor out of his mouth. For some reason, she was blushing, but it wasn't clear if it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Yusuke, you jerk!" she yelled out. "I can't believe you would go and look at her like that!"
"Keiko. What are you doing here?" Yusuke asked while once again getting off the floor.
"Why don't you ever tell me when you'll be off on another one of your cases?" she asked, totally ignoring Yusuke's question. "You know I get worried when you go."
"Man, you act like my girlfriend or something. Besides, this isn't a case. I'm here strictly for the prize money."
"That's not what Boton told me." Keiko countered. "She told me that you were on a new case assigned by your boss looking for another demon."
"WHAT!?"
"You mean to tell me that she didn't tell you about it?"
Yusuke started to stutter before he finally got his words straight. "Koenma. I swear I'm going to get you for this." he muttered.
"Hold on." Sakura S. butted into the new conversation. "Did this Boton character tell you who this demon was?"
"She only told me his name," Keiko replied. "I. think it was. Akuma."
Instantly, everyone stared at Keiko, getting her nervous.
"Uh. did I say something wrong?"
That's the person Boton was telling me about earlier. Yusuke thought to himself.
"That was exactly what I was about to warn Yusuke about," Sakura K. said. "I saw my teammate fight him. He's pretty strong. Very strong."
"So. there is another demon on the loose," Kuwabara muttered loudly while grasping his chin. "Not to worry ladies. I'll make sure he meets his maker."
"I'm not sure you know what you are getting into." Hinata mumbled.
"It's not a problem," he convinced. "You didn't see me fight yet. You'll be pretty surprised."
"I just hope you are right about that."
To Be Continued.