31. Uphill Battle
Usually Sakura S. would get right into stance at the start of a fight but this time she stared at Hiei with as much coldness as Hiei gave her.
"I'm no idiot, Hiei." she spoke up. "I know all about your insane speed."
"So?" he replied. "After all the matches I've been in everyone in this pathetic excuse for a tournament knows that."
"I also can sense a dark source of energy within you, Hiei."
That caught Hiei's attention somewhat.
"If I was still in my sister's body. I wouldn't stand much of a chance against you. but." Sakura got into her fighting stance as she finished. ".now I've a reason to go all out."
"You might now some things about me but you don't know everything about me. If you did your whole team would forfeit the fight."
"I'll just see for myself."
"You know you two can start whenever you're ready," the announcer reminded.
"Okay, I'm not holding off any longer," Sakura S. muttered as she braced herself, a black aura covering her body.
{Interesting.} Hiei thought. {Her aura and attitude has been totally serious ever since Yusuke beat that kid. Such a dark power coming from a girl.}
{I can't believe Hiei is going to fight a girl} Kuwabara thought to himself while looking on. {She might be a fighter but it still goes against my code. Hey. Wait a minute! Her aura is almost like Hiei's!}
To add to his shock, Sakura S's body morphed into 7 images of herself. Each one warped around Hiei to form a circle. Hiei braced himself for whatever Sakura would throw at him.
"This is my Modified Ashura Senka." all 7 Sakuras named. "Before, I could only warp to a place and that was it, but now."
Suddenly one of the Sakura images from the side of Hiei charged up a Hadouken and fired. Hiei sensed it and jumped out the way of the blast.
"I can use my after images to attack on their own," they finished as the Sakura behind Hiei performed a roundhouse kick. Hiei warped out of view behind the Sakura that just attacked him.
SHING!!!
Hiei slashed that Sakura with an insanely fast swipe of his sword. but the image just vanished into thin air.
"You have to hit the real me to cause damage," Sakura informed Hiei.
"Don't worry. It shouldn't be too hard to do that. These images can't defend themselves. so."
Once again Hiei used his impressive speed to warp out of the remaining 6 Sakura's eyesight.
Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Clang.
Hiei swiped at all 6 images, destroying the first 5 while the remaining Sakura S. managed to block his sword with her right arm.
"That's interesting." Kurama commented. "She actually managed to block Hiei's attack, even at that speed."
"Normally I wouldn't use my sword on people like these in this tournament," Hiei explained, not lifting his sword from Sakura's arm. "You, on the other hand, are an exception."
"I'm truly flattered," Sakura responded as she performed a small Shouoken that Hiei moved out the way of at normal speed. Hiei landed while staring at the Satsu girl and smiled slightly.
{This will be a perfect target for my new little attack I've been working on.}
Hiei grabbed the collar of his black overcoat and threw it off, revealing his muscular upper body. His midsection was heavily taped up and his right arm was scarred.
"Wow." Sakura S. marveled. "You. I guess I really don't want to know about your background."
"Tch! I don't need your criticism," Hiei scolded. "Just prepare to be defeated in the next 3 minutes."
"You really are underestimating me." Sakura warned while bracing herself for Hiei's next attack. Both Hiei and Sakura S. stared at each other, Sakura on the defense while Hiei just stood still. He clenched his left fist. and within 5 seconds it erupted into a faint gray flame. A demonic smile crossed Hiei's face as he spoke to his opponent.
"Now then. Let's see how you can withstand a few of my more powerful attacks."
Sakura didn't say anything as Hiei let the firs grow. Suddenly Hiei's headband had a red outline. of an eyeball.
"Spirit. of the Withering Flame!"
Oh, man! That's the Jegan Eye! Yusuke yelled inside his head. I told him not to kill her!
Hiei threw his arm forward and unleashed the gray flame to Sakura's direction. It rocketed towards the girl but just before it hit Sakura warped behind Hiei, charging her vigor into a blue sphere of energy.
"Hiei! Behind you!" Yusuke called out.
"Hadouken!" Sakura yelled out as she fires at Hiei's back. but she missed. Hiei vanished again. and Sakura S. sensed his energy above her. She jumped back, avoiding his sword strike and retaliated with a fierce punch that Hiei blocked with his sword. Instantly Hiei vanished again and Sakura warped to the far side of the ring.
"Shouoken!"
Sakura attacked as soon as Hiei reappeared with her special move. Too bad she whiffed as he warped again as she went into the air. Hiei reappeared behind her and kicked her head in the back, sending her back to the canvas.
Sakura used her arms to keep from falling fully and bounced to her feet, seeing Hiei land right in front of her.
"Shunpukyaku!"
Hiei heard Sakura call out her next attack from behind him and warped behind her, letting her miss the spin kick. He launched and used his sword to slash at her backside. but instead of feeling skin, he felt air.
"What?" he asked as he saw the Sakura in front of him vanish into thin air.
"That move!" he noticed while turning around and meeting Sakura's fist.
"Midare Zakura!"
"Hey, Kurama!" Yusuke yelled to his direction. "Shouldn't Hiei be creaming this girl? She just pulled off a super combo on him.. He should be faster than that!"
"I know." Kuramma responded coolly. "He must be planning something."
"Shouoken!" Sakura S. yelled out, finishing Hiei with her uppercut move. Hiei flipped in mid-air and landed while kneeling. He looked up to see Sakura land on the ground. As she stood up, Kurame couldn't help but notice something strange about her.
"Yusuke," he called, "look at the fighter Hiei's fighting so far."
Yusuke followed his command and looked at Sakura S. She only received two hits from Hiei but she looked as if she was hit by the multitude of attack that she threw. She was breathing hard, putting her hands on her knees, and her energy was going down at a steady pace.
"What's with her?" Yusuke asked.
"I don't know. She had the advantage when she nailed her Midare Zakura. but."
Kurama remembered something crucial: Hiei's previous attack.
"It was his Spirit of the Withering Flame technique," Kurama acknowledged. "He somehow managed to connect it."
"But I thought she warped out of the way," Yusuke pointed out.
"No. It just gazed her as her body dematerialized."
Sakura overheard everything and glared at Hiei.
"You. What did you do to me?!"
"So you just figured it out. but you don't realize that my move activated when you first attacked me. Your Midare Zakura damaged me and as a result my flame causes your energy to steadily dwindle until you lose consciousness."
Sakura growled. Her energy was slipping away all because she attacked and now she can't retrieve it.
I got to end this match fast. Only one way to do that.
Hiei looked on as Sakura's aura reappeared and 3 images of came out her body. This time the two to the right warped towards Hiei, leaving one steadily breathing hard through her mouth. One image appeared right in front of Hiei and attacked with a few random attacks, each one Hiei dodged easily.
"This trick is getting old, woman," Hiei said while warping behind the fake Sakura, sword in hand.
SHING!!!
"One more to go." Hiei muttered as he warped towards the second image Sakura left behind. He prepare to slash it but oddly as soon as he sliced, she parried it, throwing his body off guard.
"Shun."
Hiei recovered but it was too late. Sakura grabbed him.
"But I thought. she." Yusuke muttered. He looked over to see that the real Sakura Satsu was. and was shocked to see that she disappeared.
"It was a double diversion," Kurama yelled out. "She warped along with the image Hiei destroyed to use the last on eto appear like she was recovering.
Kurama stopped as everything in eyesight turned black. and blows were landed. Hard blows.
".Goku. SATSU!!!"
In a flash everything was back to normal. Sakura was standing over Hiei's now battered body, her expression was dark.
"I had. to pull that out." she panted as the announcer of the match didn't bother to tell what happened and went straight to the count.
"Hiei. He killed so many demons." Yusuke continued to mumble under his breath, "but he loses. to a schoolgirl??"
"Wait, Yusuke," Kurama said. "There is more than you see at first glance."
Hiei chuckled at the count of 5 as he warped to his feet, hands in his pockets. Sakura's eyes were wide in surprise at the turn of events.
"Your Shungokusatsu. is an interesting technique," Hiei complemented as the eye in his forehead glowed through his headband. "However, there is something missing. isn't it?"
Sakura just stared at him. "You got up. that quickly from that? I don't. understand."
"You need to realize that I'm much stronger than you." he continued while pointing at the Satsu girl. "You might be strong in your own right. but your energy. You compress it. To win a battle against me you must let everything you got out and fast. Remember that when you wake from your slumber."
At the end of Hiei's sentence, his Spirit of the Withering Flame covered Sakura's body. and in the next moment, she was out. cold.
"Oh man. This isn't good." Hinata muttered to her friend. "Our two strongest fighters just went down the toilet. Now what?"
"We have no choice." she replied. "We're going to have to fight. and pray that neither Hiei nor Yusuke is our opponents."
"That's the end of round three with Hiei being the victor," the announcer declared. "Now, will Hiei stay in and take the next fighter or will he switch?"
"Don't bother. I'm switching," Hiei immediately responded while exiting the ring. "I think I've proven my point."
"If that's the case, then I shall be first," the calm, red head fighter Kurama said while jumping in. As he stood in the ring, eyeing the two remaining girls, Sakura K. sighed.
"I'm going in," she declared. "I might not win, but at least we can try to see what his moves are."
"Okay. Be careful."
----- -----
"Man! He has no taste whatsoever! I can't believe Hiei would do that to a girl like that! The nerve!"
Boton sweatdropped at Keiko's reaction to the previous fight. She never seen her so steamed unless it involved Yusuke.
"Uh. I don't think that's the smart thing to do," Boton warned the girl next to her, but it fell on deaf ears.
"She was sorta pretty too. for someone of that skin color."
"Now I know why Yusuke has so many troubles with her. She's single- minded."
----- -----
Sakura looked at Kurama and something deep in her stomach cringed. She just knew something was up with this quiet fighter. Even though the fight already started she couldn't get into her fighting stance.
"What is it about him.?"
"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you in any grave way. Let's just fight to see who the better one is, right?"
Sakura was surely surprised at Kurama's speech.
"You're. kidding."
Kurama shook his head while reaching into his pink jacket and unsheaved. a rose. Sakura's shock only grew.
{What's with this guy?}
Kurama then threw the rose towards Sakura. She caught it but.
"OW!"
She accidentally pricked her hand on a throne, almost dropping it. She looked at her left hand and saw a drip of blood rush out.
"Crap." she mumbled as she looked at Kurama. He already pulled out another rose. and risked it around.
"Rose Whip!!"
The rose extended into a fullsized whip, thrones covering the whole thing. Sakura immediately took a defensive stance, but she wasn't fast enough. Kurama, demonstrating his own burst of speed, warped in and wrapped his whip around her neck. The thorns sunk deep into her throat, making her cry out loudly. Kurama then went behind her back, releasing his grip on her neck. Sakura dropped to her knees, checking her swollen neck, and found out that blood did start to rush from the wounds.
{Oh. no.}
Thinking fast, Sakura turned around and ran towards Kurama, fist at her side.
"Shouoken!"
Just before she got close, Kurama sidestepped quickly but didn't attack. Sakura then landed while turning around and performing a sweep kick. Kurama also evaded that one and also didn't attack. Sakura kept her pace up but every time she attacked Kurama would get away. The game of cat and mouse lasted for about 1 minute and a half with Sakura not landing a single attack and with Kurama not even trying to.
"Kurama. Why aren't you even trying?" Sakura asked as she took a second to rest. "I know you could have hit me so many times before but you didn't. Why?"
"If you really must know." he answered while putting his hands in his pockets, "I already won the match way before it started."
"What?!?"
"If you can recall, picture the rose that I threw to you. You pricked yourself, correct?"
Sakura nodded.
"There was a poison in that rose, but a non-lethal version. My rose whip was just to liven things up."
Sakura's eyes widened. "What. does this. poison do.?"
"Simple. You'll pass out within the next. 2 seconds."
Sakura stuttered her response to that.
"B. b-but wait! I didn't."
Too late. She instantly lost consciousness, falling where she stood to the canvas. Hinata, who was now the last one on the team left, had already made up her mind about her next fight way before the cat and mouse game.
{I don't. stand a chance against these three. I'll just be hurting myself.}
As the announcer finished her best friends' count, Hinata slowly rolled into the ring, walking towards the announcer and catching him just before he could talk.
"Excuse me. but since I'm the only one left on my team and they still have three insanely strong fighters on their side, I would like to state my withdrawal from this match."
The announcer, surprisingly, gave a shocked expression. "Are you sure? Once you say this your team automatically loses this fight and since this is the last match before the championship rounds, your team might not make the rankings."
Hinata's expression was grim but she still spoke calmly. "It's very hard for me to say this in front of a stadium. but look at the probabilities. I wouldn't stand a chance against three fighters like them back to back to back, and they weren't even trying their hardest and they still beat my teammates. I'm sorry. but I know my limitations."
"Okay. Hinata officially surrenders for her team so Yusuke's team wins by default 3 to 1."
She sighed heavily and rushed over to see about her friend.
"Oh man. This is bad. and I don't know how to heal people like she could."
"Let me see her."
Hinata looked up to see Boton start to kneel down in front of her and put an arm out infront of Sakura's neck. A yellow shock of energy came out of it and surrounded Sakura's body and within a few seconds Sakura's wounds disappeared quickly. She moaned as she regained her consciousness and sat up.
"You okay, Sakura?" Hinata asked, full of concern.
"Yeah. I guess." Sakura K. responded as she looked up at the woman who got her back to speed. "Did you.?"
"Yep! It's no problem, though," Boton answered quickly. "You probably needed it."
Sakura smiled briefly before remembering something.
"Boton, could you do my sister while I do my boyfriend?" she asked politely. Boton nodded and Sakura slid out the ring and went towards Darrell's wrecked body. Her aura surrounded her quickly as she started the healing process. and she got it finished within 10 seconds. Darrell's eye's opened up slowly. laid eyes on Sakura, who came next to her to see what was up with him. and surprisingly, he clenched his fist in anger.
"Why.? I don't understand. What's wrong with me.?"
"Darrell.?" Sakura started, but before she could say anything else, Darrell bolted up out the bench and ran full speed out the stadium.
'Hey! Wait up!" she called while running towards his direction but she stopped when a hand held her back.
"Let him go, sis. He needs to work this out on his own."
"But."
"Don't worry. He'll be fine."
Sakura K. sighed as she looked at the pavement where Darrell ran and stared at it. On the ground in front of her was a solitary drop of water splashed on the ground.
{He's crying. Darrell. please be okay.}
End of Second Archive.
Usually Sakura S. would get right into stance at the start of a fight but this time she stared at Hiei with as much coldness as Hiei gave her.
"I'm no idiot, Hiei." she spoke up. "I know all about your insane speed."
"So?" he replied. "After all the matches I've been in everyone in this pathetic excuse for a tournament knows that."
"I also can sense a dark source of energy within you, Hiei."
That caught Hiei's attention somewhat.
"If I was still in my sister's body. I wouldn't stand much of a chance against you. but." Sakura got into her fighting stance as she finished. ".now I've a reason to go all out."
"You might now some things about me but you don't know everything about me. If you did your whole team would forfeit the fight."
"I'll just see for myself."
"You know you two can start whenever you're ready," the announcer reminded.
"Okay, I'm not holding off any longer," Sakura S. muttered as she braced herself, a black aura covering her body.
{Interesting.} Hiei thought. {Her aura and attitude has been totally serious ever since Yusuke beat that kid. Such a dark power coming from a girl.}
{I can't believe Hiei is going to fight a girl} Kuwabara thought to himself while looking on. {She might be a fighter but it still goes against my code. Hey. Wait a minute! Her aura is almost like Hiei's!}
To add to his shock, Sakura S's body morphed into 7 images of herself. Each one warped around Hiei to form a circle. Hiei braced himself for whatever Sakura would throw at him.
"This is my Modified Ashura Senka." all 7 Sakuras named. "Before, I could only warp to a place and that was it, but now."
Suddenly one of the Sakura images from the side of Hiei charged up a Hadouken and fired. Hiei sensed it and jumped out the way of the blast.
"I can use my after images to attack on their own," they finished as the Sakura behind Hiei performed a roundhouse kick. Hiei warped out of view behind the Sakura that just attacked him.
SHING!!!
Hiei slashed that Sakura with an insanely fast swipe of his sword. but the image just vanished into thin air.
"You have to hit the real me to cause damage," Sakura informed Hiei.
"Don't worry. It shouldn't be too hard to do that. These images can't defend themselves. so."
Once again Hiei used his impressive speed to warp out of the remaining 6 Sakura's eyesight.
Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Clang.
Hiei swiped at all 6 images, destroying the first 5 while the remaining Sakura S. managed to block his sword with her right arm.
"That's interesting." Kurama commented. "She actually managed to block Hiei's attack, even at that speed."
"Normally I wouldn't use my sword on people like these in this tournament," Hiei explained, not lifting his sword from Sakura's arm. "You, on the other hand, are an exception."
"I'm truly flattered," Sakura responded as she performed a small Shouoken that Hiei moved out the way of at normal speed. Hiei landed while staring at the Satsu girl and smiled slightly.
{This will be a perfect target for my new little attack I've been working on.}
Hiei grabbed the collar of his black overcoat and threw it off, revealing his muscular upper body. His midsection was heavily taped up and his right arm was scarred.
"Wow." Sakura S. marveled. "You. I guess I really don't want to know about your background."
"Tch! I don't need your criticism," Hiei scolded. "Just prepare to be defeated in the next 3 minutes."
"You really are underestimating me." Sakura warned while bracing herself for Hiei's next attack. Both Hiei and Sakura S. stared at each other, Sakura on the defense while Hiei just stood still. He clenched his left fist. and within 5 seconds it erupted into a faint gray flame. A demonic smile crossed Hiei's face as he spoke to his opponent.
"Now then. Let's see how you can withstand a few of my more powerful attacks."
Sakura didn't say anything as Hiei let the firs grow. Suddenly Hiei's headband had a red outline. of an eyeball.
"Spirit. of the Withering Flame!"
Oh, man! That's the Jegan Eye! Yusuke yelled inside his head. I told him not to kill her!
Hiei threw his arm forward and unleashed the gray flame to Sakura's direction. It rocketed towards the girl but just before it hit Sakura warped behind Hiei, charging her vigor into a blue sphere of energy.
"Hiei! Behind you!" Yusuke called out.
"Hadouken!" Sakura yelled out as she fires at Hiei's back. but she missed. Hiei vanished again. and Sakura S. sensed his energy above her. She jumped back, avoiding his sword strike and retaliated with a fierce punch that Hiei blocked with his sword. Instantly Hiei vanished again and Sakura warped to the far side of the ring.
"Shouoken!"
Sakura attacked as soon as Hiei reappeared with her special move. Too bad she whiffed as he warped again as she went into the air. Hiei reappeared behind her and kicked her head in the back, sending her back to the canvas.
Sakura used her arms to keep from falling fully and bounced to her feet, seeing Hiei land right in front of her.
"Shunpukyaku!"
Hiei heard Sakura call out her next attack from behind him and warped behind her, letting her miss the spin kick. He launched and used his sword to slash at her backside. but instead of feeling skin, he felt air.
"What?" he asked as he saw the Sakura in front of him vanish into thin air.
"That move!" he noticed while turning around and meeting Sakura's fist.
"Midare Zakura!"
"Hey, Kurama!" Yusuke yelled to his direction. "Shouldn't Hiei be creaming this girl? She just pulled off a super combo on him.. He should be faster than that!"
"I know." Kuramma responded coolly. "He must be planning something."
"Shouoken!" Sakura S. yelled out, finishing Hiei with her uppercut move. Hiei flipped in mid-air and landed while kneeling. He looked up to see Sakura land on the ground. As she stood up, Kurame couldn't help but notice something strange about her.
"Yusuke," he called, "look at the fighter Hiei's fighting so far."
Yusuke followed his command and looked at Sakura S. She only received two hits from Hiei but she looked as if she was hit by the multitude of attack that she threw. She was breathing hard, putting her hands on her knees, and her energy was going down at a steady pace.
"What's with her?" Yusuke asked.
"I don't know. She had the advantage when she nailed her Midare Zakura. but."
Kurama remembered something crucial: Hiei's previous attack.
"It was his Spirit of the Withering Flame technique," Kurama acknowledged. "He somehow managed to connect it."
"But I thought she warped out of the way," Yusuke pointed out.
"No. It just gazed her as her body dematerialized."
Sakura overheard everything and glared at Hiei.
"You. What did you do to me?!"
"So you just figured it out. but you don't realize that my move activated when you first attacked me. Your Midare Zakura damaged me and as a result my flame causes your energy to steadily dwindle until you lose consciousness."
Sakura growled. Her energy was slipping away all because she attacked and now she can't retrieve it.
I got to end this match fast. Only one way to do that.
Hiei looked on as Sakura's aura reappeared and 3 images of came out her body. This time the two to the right warped towards Hiei, leaving one steadily breathing hard through her mouth. One image appeared right in front of Hiei and attacked with a few random attacks, each one Hiei dodged easily.
"This trick is getting old, woman," Hiei said while warping behind the fake Sakura, sword in hand.
SHING!!!
"One more to go." Hiei muttered as he warped towards the second image Sakura left behind. He prepare to slash it but oddly as soon as he sliced, she parried it, throwing his body off guard.
"Shun."
Hiei recovered but it was too late. Sakura grabbed him.
"But I thought. she." Yusuke muttered. He looked over to see that the real Sakura Satsu was. and was shocked to see that she disappeared.
"It was a double diversion," Kurama yelled out. "She warped along with the image Hiei destroyed to use the last on eto appear like she was recovering.
Kurama stopped as everything in eyesight turned black. and blows were landed. Hard blows.
".Goku. SATSU!!!"
In a flash everything was back to normal. Sakura was standing over Hiei's now battered body, her expression was dark.
"I had. to pull that out." she panted as the announcer of the match didn't bother to tell what happened and went straight to the count.
"Hiei. He killed so many demons." Yusuke continued to mumble under his breath, "but he loses. to a schoolgirl??"
"Wait, Yusuke," Kurama said. "There is more than you see at first glance."
Hiei chuckled at the count of 5 as he warped to his feet, hands in his pockets. Sakura's eyes were wide in surprise at the turn of events.
"Your Shungokusatsu. is an interesting technique," Hiei complemented as the eye in his forehead glowed through his headband. "However, there is something missing. isn't it?"
Sakura just stared at him. "You got up. that quickly from that? I don't. understand."
"You need to realize that I'm much stronger than you." he continued while pointing at the Satsu girl. "You might be strong in your own right. but your energy. You compress it. To win a battle against me you must let everything you got out and fast. Remember that when you wake from your slumber."
At the end of Hiei's sentence, his Spirit of the Withering Flame covered Sakura's body. and in the next moment, she was out. cold.
"Oh man. This isn't good." Hinata muttered to her friend. "Our two strongest fighters just went down the toilet. Now what?"
"We have no choice." she replied. "We're going to have to fight. and pray that neither Hiei nor Yusuke is our opponents."
"That's the end of round three with Hiei being the victor," the announcer declared. "Now, will Hiei stay in and take the next fighter or will he switch?"
"Don't bother. I'm switching," Hiei immediately responded while exiting the ring. "I think I've proven my point."
"If that's the case, then I shall be first," the calm, red head fighter Kurama said while jumping in. As he stood in the ring, eyeing the two remaining girls, Sakura K. sighed.
"I'm going in," she declared. "I might not win, but at least we can try to see what his moves are."
"Okay. Be careful."
----- -----
"Man! He has no taste whatsoever! I can't believe Hiei would do that to a girl like that! The nerve!"
Boton sweatdropped at Keiko's reaction to the previous fight. She never seen her so steamed unless it involved Yusuke.
"Uh. I don't think that's the smart thing to do," Boton warned the girl next to her, but it fell on deaf ears.
"She was sorta pretty too. for someone of that skin color."
"Now I know why Yusuke has so many troubles with her. She's single- minded."
----- -----
Sakura looked at Kurama and something deep in her stomach cringed. She just knew something was up with this quiet fighter. Even though the fight already started she couldn't get into her fighting stance.
"What is it about him.?"
"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you in any grave way. Let's just fight to see who the better one is, right?"
Sakura was surely surprised at Kurama's speech.
"You're. kidding."
Kurama shook his head while reaching into his pink jacket and unsheaved. a rose. Sakura's shock only grew.
{What's with this guy?}
Kurama then threw the rose towards Sakura. She caught it but.
"OW!"
She accidentally pricked her hand on a throne, almost dropping it. She looked at her left hand and saw a drip of blood rush out.
"Crap." she mumbled as she looked at Kurama. He already pulled out another rose. and risked it around.
"Rose Whip!!"
The rose extended into a fullsized whip, thrones covering the whole thing. Sakura immediately took a defensive stance, but she wasn't fast enough. Kurama, demonstrating his own burst of speed, warped in and wrapped his whip around her neck. The thorns sunk deep into her throat, making her cry out loudly. Kurama then went behind her back, releasing his grip on her neck. Sakura dropped to her knees, checking her swollen neck, and found out that blood did start to rush from the wounds.
{Oh. no.}
Thinking fast, Sakura turned around and ran towards Kurama, fist at her side.
"Shouoken!"
Just before she got close, Kurama sidestepped quickly but didn't attack. Sakura then landed while turning around and performing a sweep kick. Kurama also evaded that one and also didn't attack. Sakura kept her pace up but every time she attacked Kurama would get away. The game of cat and mouse lasted for about 1 minute and a half with Sakura not landing a single attack and with Kurama not even trying to.
"Kurama. Why aren't you even trying?" Sakura asked as she took a second to rest. "I know you could have hit me so many times before but you didn't. Why?"
"If you really must know." he answered while putting his hands in his pockets, "I already won the match way before it started."
"What?!?"
"If you can recall, picture the rose that I threw to you. You pricked yourself, correct?"
Sakura nodded.
"There was a poison in that rose, but a non-lethal version. My rose whip was just to liven things up."
Sakura's eyes widened. "What. does this. poison do.?"
"Simple. You'll pass out within the next. 2 seconds."
Sakura stuttered her response to that.
"B. b-but wait! I didn't."
Too late. She instantly lost consciousness, falling where she stood to the canvas. Hinata, who was now the last one on the team left, had already made up her mind about her next fight way before the cat and mouse game.
{I don't. stand a chance against these three. I'll just be hurting myself.}
As the announcer finished her best friends' count, Hinata slowly rolled into the ring, walking towards the announcer and catching him just before he could talk.
"Excuse me. but since I'm the only one left on my team and they still have three insanely strong fighters on their side, I would like to state my withdrawal from this match."
The announcer, surprisingly, gave a shocked expression. "Are you sure? Once you say this your team automatically loses this fight and since this is the last match before the championship rounds, your team might not make the rankings."
Hinata's expression was grim but she still spoke calmly. "It's very hard for me to say this in front of a stadium. but look at the probabilities. I wouldn't stand a chance against three fighters like them back to back to back, and they weren't even trying their hardest and they still beat my teammates. I'm sorry. but I know my limitations."
"Okay. Hinata officially surrenders for her team so Yusuke's team wins by default 3 to 1."
She sighed heavily and rushed over to see about her friend.
"Oh man. This is bad. and I don't know how to heal people like she could."
"Let me see her."
Hinata looked up to see Boton start to kneel down in front of her and put an arm out infront of Sakura's neck. A yellow shock of energy came out of it and surrounded Sakura's body and within a few seconds Sakura's wounds disappeared quickly. She moaned as she regained her consciousness and sat up.
"You okay, Sakura?" Hinata asked, full of concern.
"Yeah. I guess." Sakura K. responded as she looked up at the woman who got her back to speed. "Did you.?"
"Yep! It's no problem, though," Boton answered quickly. "You probably needed it."
Sakura smiled briefly before remembering something.
"Boton, could you do my sister while I do my boyfriend?" she asked politely. Boton nodded and Sakura slid out the ring and went towards Darrell's wrecked body. Her aura surrounded her quickly as she started the healing process. and she got it finished within 10 seconds. Darrell's eye's opened up slowly. laid eyes on Sakura, who came next to her to see what was up with him. and surprisingly, he clenched his fist in anger.
"Why.? I don't understand. What's wrong with me.?"
"Darrell.?" Sakura started, but before she could say anything else, Darrell bolted up out the bench and ran full speed out the stadium.
'Hey! Wait up!" she called while running towards his direction but she stopped when a hand held her back.
"Let him go, sis. He needs to work this out on his own."
"But."
"Don't worry. He'll be fine."
Sakura K. sighed as she looked at the pavement where Darrell ran and stared at it. On the ground in front of her was a solitary drop of water splashed on the ground.
{He's crying. Darrell. please be okay.}
End of Second Archive.