Chapter 9: Last Flight to Nowhere
" Do us a favor Marik," Hiei said, " Quit running your mouth and let's do this!" " As you wish." Marik stated. And so the fight began. The Winged Dragon of Ra and the Dragon of the Darkness Flame engaged in an all out brawl, the winner of which could have been anyone's guess. Hiei and Marik on the other hand began a competition of speed. They ran around the ring at least twenty times before Hiei through the first attack. " Fist of the Mortal Flame!" Hiei's arm was engulfed in flames as he lunged in for an attack the impact of Hiei's punch took its toll on Marik's arm, not to mention the additional strain of trying to keep up with Hiei all across the ring. A rye smirk found its way to Hiei's face. " The first of many devastating blows." He said heartily. Surprisingly, however, Marik continued to laugh. " Oh really," Marik said, a smile also gaining access to his visage, " judging by the look of your arm, I'd say differently." Hiei's gaze found his left arm. To his disgust he found a portion of it gone, where his forearm connected with his elbow. " What kind of trick is this?" asked Hiei " Obviously you weren't listening to what I said earlier," Marik explained, " You just used a good deal of your spirit energy to perform that little trick back there. You also exerted a healthy chunk of it trying to maintain your demon agility, and as your spirit energy fades into the darkness of the Shadow Realm so will small portions of your body. I haven't thrown a single attack so my body stays intact. You should conserve your energy from now on unless of course you wish to find yourself on an even quicker train to the Shadow Realm." " Now he tells me." Hiei complained. And so it went on, neither one of them dared to throw an attack. Yusuke, Jin, Touya, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yukina, Keiko, Shizuru and Botan all cheered form the sidelines. But Hiei was in a serious predicament. Not throwing a single strike would make this an extremely boring fight. However, if he dared to attack he risked even more of his body being dragged into the Shadow Realm. Finally he thought of an idea that might work. He stopped dead in his tracks. " So does this mean you're going to attempt to inflict agony on me once again?" Marik inquired. " You're even more of a fool than I thought." " No," was all Hiei said. " Fine then I'll finish this now." Marik gave a hideous laugh. " Dragon of the Darkness Flame, attack!" The dragon shifted from its opponent and swerved in Hiei's direction. Yet the former Makai thief refused to move. " What's he doing?" Yusuke exclaimed. " Hiei, move!" Kurama called. But it was too late. The Dragon of the Darkness Flame had devoured its target. A calm hush fell over the stadium. Botan was on the verge of tears. " No," she kept saying to herself, "he can't be gone. Hiei. Hiei!" Botan rushed to the ring where Hiei had stood. All that remained were the charred ashes that were once the fighter's headband. She began to cry hysterically. How could this have happened? Hiei was the best fighter she had ever known. He had always managed to outdo any fighter even if the odds were stacked against him. He was the one person in the world she had ever loved in her life. Now, He was gone, forever. However, something odd seemed to be happening to the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Something, or someone writhed within the bowls of its stomach. It seemed in pain. " What's going on here?" Marik inquired. All of a sudden the dragon erupted in a fiery explosion. A blinding flash engulfed the stadium. No one could see a thing. When the light show was over a lone figure stood next to Botan. Hiei looked at Marik, a livid glare growing in his eyes. " This brings out my next attack." Hiei stated. " It's a little different." " Hiei!" Botan exclaimed. She was so relieved that he was alright. But something was different from when he had disappeared two seconds ago. His arm was back to normal. " A new attack. Wait did he just do what I think he did?" Yusuke asked. " It's true." Kurama mentioned. "Hiei has consumed the darkness technique. Obviously, Hiei has learned what no one else before him has. The only way to gain true control of the Darkness Flame is to trap it within. Now the dragon is inside him and at his full disposal. Even Marik must accept what that means." Hiei just smiled and said, " For countless centuries, countless masters tried to harness the power of the Darkness Flame. Only I have had the courage, the strength and the abandon to realize its glorious potential. I have the power of the Black Dragon, because now I am the dragon." Marik looked stunned. This was bad for him. Not only did Hiei now have complete and total dominance over the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, but also, now Marik's own most trusted beast, the Winged Dragon of Ra, was also taking orders from Hiei. Talked about screwed. But this didn't seem to affect him that much. " Do you think you've won?" Marik asked, still smiling. " Think again. I took the liberty of lining this entire ring with explosives in case of just such an emergency. I will remain because I am a mere spirit, but needless to say you'll be blown sky high. Look at it this way, at least you'll go out with a bang. Ciao." Marik hit the trigger. Bombs exploded all throughout the ring. Hiei went flying. He noticed someone else in the distance. It was Botan. He would not let her die. He used his demon speed to get to her and enveloped her in a warm embrace. " I'm scared." Botan admitted. " It's all right." Hiei reassured her. "I'm here." " Just don't let go." She implored him, wrapping her arms around him even tighter. " Never," Hiei whispered in her ear, " I'll never let you go."
Talk about lame. These two are flying off to God knows where, and Marik gets away. What a rip. Oh well. I'll update soon. Later.
" Do us a favor Marik," Hiei said, " Quit running your mouth and let's do this!" " As you wish." Marik stated. And so the fight began. The Winged Dragon of Ra and the Dragon of the Darkness Flame engaged in an all out brawl, the winner of which could have been anyone's guess. Hiei and Marik on the other hand began a competition of speed. They ran around the ring at least twenty times before Hiei through the first attack. " Fist of the Mortal Flame!" Hiei's arm was engulfed in flames as he lunged in for an attack the impact of Hiei's punch took its toll on Marik's arm, not to mention the additional strain of trying to keep up with Hiei all across the ring. A rye smirk found its way to Hiei's face. " The first of many devastating blows." He said heartily. Surprisingly, however, Marik continued to laugh. " Oh really," Marik said, a smile also gaining access to his visage, " judging by the look of your arm, I'd say differently." Hiei's gaze found his left arm. To his disgust he found a portion of it gone, where his forearm connected with his elbow. " What kind of trick is this?" asked Hiei " Obviously you weren't listening to what I said earlier," Marik explained, " You just used a good deal of your spirit energy to perform that little trick back there. You also exerted a healthy chunk of it trying to maintain your demon agility, and as your spirit energy fades into the darkness of the Shadow Realm so will small portions of your body. I haven't thrown a single attack so my body stays intact. You should conserve your energy from now on unless of course you wish to find yourself on an even quicker train to the Shadow Realm." " Now he tells me." Hiei complained. And so it went on, neither one of them dared to throw an attack. Yusuke, Jin, Touya, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yukina, Keiko, Shizuru and Botan all cheered form the sidelines. But Hiei was in a serious predicament. Not throwing a single strike would make this an extremely boring fight. However, if he dared to attack he risked even more of his body being dragged into the Shadow Realm. Finally he thought of an idea that might work. He stopped dead in his tracks. " So does this mean you're going to attempt to inflict agony on me once again?" Marik inquired. " You're even more of a fool than I thought." " No," was all Hiei said. " Fine then I'll finish this now." Marik gave a hideous laugh. " Dragon of the Darkness Flame, attack!" The dragon shifted from its opponent and swerved in Hiei's direction. Yet the former Makai thief refused to move. " What's he doing?" Yusuke exclaimed. " Hiei, move!" Kurama called. But it was too late. The Dragon of the Darkness Flame had devoured its target. A calm hush fell over the stadium. Botan was on the verge of tears. " No," she kept saying to herself, "he can't be gone. Hiei. Hiei!" Botan rushed to the ring where Hiei had stood. All that remained were the charred ashes that were once the fighter's headband. She began to cry hysterically. How could this have happened? Hiei was the best fighter she had ever known. He had always managed to outdo any fighter even if the odds were stacked against him. He was the one person in the world she had ever loved in her life. Now, He was gone, forever. However, something odd seemed to be happening to the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Something, or someone writhed within the bowls of its stomach. It seemed in pain. " What's going on here?" Marik inquired. All of a sudden the dragon erupted in a fiery explosion. A blinding flash engulfed the stadium. No one could see a thing. When the light show was over a lone figure stood next to Botan. Hiei looked at Marik, a livid glare growing in his eyes. " This brings out my next attack." Hiei stated. " It's a little different." " Hiei!" Botan exclaimed. She was so relieved that he was alright. But something was different from when he had disappeared two seconds ago. His arm was back to normal. " A new attack. Wait did he just do what I think he did?" Yusuke asked. " It's true." Kurama mentioned. "Hiei has consumed the darkness technique. Obviously, Hiei has learned what no one else before him has. The only way to gain true control of the Darkness Flame is to trap it within. Now the dragon is inside him and at his full disposal. Even Marik must accept what that means." Hiei just smiled and said, " For countless centuries, countless masters tried to harness the power of the Darkness Flame. Only I have had the courage, the strength and the abandon to realize its glorious potential. I have the power of the Black Dragon, because now I am the dragon." Marik looked stunned. This was bad for him. Not only did Hiei now have complete and total dominance over the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, but also, now Marik's own most trusted beast, the Winged Dragon of Ra, was also taking orders from Hiei. Talked about screwed. But this didn't seem to affect him that much. " Do you think you've won?" Marik asked, still smiling. " Think again. I took the liberty of lining this entire ring with explosives in case of just such an emergency. I will remain because I am a mere spirit, but needless to say you'll be blown sky high. Look at it this way, at least you'll go out with a bang. Ciao." Marik hit the trigger. Bombs exploded all throughout the ring. Hiei went flying. He noticed someone else in the distance. It was Botan. He would not let her die. He used his demon speed to get to her and enveloped her in a warm embrace. " I'm scared." Botan admitted. " It's all right." Hiei reassured her. "I'm here." " Just don't let go." She implored him, wrapping her arms around him even tighter. " Never," Hiei whispered in her ear, " I'll never let you go."
Talk about lame. These two are flying off to God knows where, and Marik gets away. What a rip. Oh well. I'll update soon. Later.