Chapter 21
Battle for the Orb
Rando walked out from his group and onto the ring. "Who wants to die first?" he said mockingly. "This guy's mine" Kuwabara said. He walked onto the ring. "You? If I remember correctly, I shrunk you and snapped your arm in two" he said. "It's payback time" Kuwabara said angrily. "If I have to pummel you into the ground again then so be it" Rando said getting into a fighting stance. Kuwabara activated his Spirit Sword. A barrier surrounded the ring. "Begin" SZ said from the sidelines.
Kuwabara charged Rando and swung sideways at him. The demon easily dodged. "You haven't changed a bit since last time" he said cockily. "Oh yea well how bout this. SWORD GET LONGER." His sword extended and headed straight for Rando. "Impressive nut not good enough" he said as he dodged it. He then charged Kuwabara and punched him in the stomach. Kuwabara hunched over as his sword deactivated. "Pathetic" Rando said. He then kicked him in the face and sent him crashing into the barrier. "How a weakling like him defeated Biyaku is beyond me" Suzaku said from the sidelines.
Rando crossed his arms as he watched Kuwabara stumble to his feet. He activated his sword again. "You never learn" Rando said. "Shut up and fight" Kuwabara replied. "Very well" Rando said as he extended his arm out. His index finger pointed forward and his thumb pointed up. "I trust you remember this Yusuke" he said. "SPIRIT GUN" a red blast shot from his finger. Kuwabara hit it with his sword to block it. It blew when he hit it. When the dust cleared, Kuwabara was struggling to stay standing.
"Time to end this" Rando said. He cupped his hand as energy gathered in it. "STORM WHIP" out of his hand shot out a whip made of yellow energy. "This is one of my attacks I didn't use at Genkai's tournament" he said. He swung it at Kuwabara. Kuwabara activated his sword again and swung at the whip. When the two attacks collided, a surge of electricity left the whip and through Kuwabara's body. He screamed in pain. Rando used his spirit energy to wrap the whip around his opponent's body. Kuwabara continued to scream as the electricity intensified.
"He'll kill him at this rate" Kurama said. "That's it I can't watch this" Yusuke said. He jumped to get on the ring but the barrier stopped him. "Damit" he said. Riku started to tap the side of the ring with his foot. So the barrier doesn't go any lower than the ring's surface he thought. He saw a crack along the side the also went along the ring's surface. Perfect he thought. He wind morphed and went through the crack and past the barrier.
"Time to finish you off" Rando said as he prepared to send one final burst of electricity through his whip. Suddenly, Riku appeared in front of him. Before Rando could do anything, Riku punched him in the face and sent him flying into the barrier. Rando stumbled to his feet. "That's enough. You've won the match" Riku said. "Why you…" Rando was cut off when SZ spoke. "Don't worry about it. You shouldn't waist your energy on such a weakling. Let him live for now. Once we defeat the rest of his team, you may kill the human."
Rando smirked as he watched Riku carry Kuwabara to the others. "Will he be alright?" Yusuke asked. "He was on the verge of being killed but luckily he'll live" Riku replied setting Kuwabara down against the wall. "Who's next?" Rando said still smirking. "I'll go" Kurama said stepping onto the ring. "This will be interesting. They have never fought before" said Sirus. "Indeed" said Toguro.
"You must be Kurama, I've heard a lot about you" Rando said as he activated his Storm Whip. Kurama prepared his Rose Whip. "Begin" said SZ. Rando charged and started to swing his whip at Kurama who barely dodge it. "Hold still" Rando said getting impatient. Kurama continued to dodge. He then swung his own whip at Rando. Rando tried to dodge but the whip hit his wrist and his hand that held the Storm Whip off. He growled as he clutched the wound. Kurama then ran toward him and kicked him in the face. The kick wasn't to hard and it only caused Rando to stumble back.
"I've won" Kurama said as his whip turned back into a rose. He started to walk toward his team. "What do you mean? It's not over I'm still…" suddenly his body started to shake violently. He screamed as plants sprouted from his body. He fell to the ground dead. "When did you put the Death Seed in him?" asked Yusuke. "When I kicked him" Kurama replied.
From the other side, Sirus entered the ring. Riku's eyes narrowed. "He's mine" he said as he walked onto the ring. "Just to let you know, I won't lose this time" Sirus said unsheathing his katana. "Shut up and fight" Riku replied. "Begin" said SZ.
The two fighters charged. Their swords clashed as they started a duel. Their swords were blurs as they dodged each other's swings while trying to kill one another. In a blast of energy their swords flew from their hands again. "This seems familiar" Sirus said. He swung a punch at Riku. Riku caught it. Sirus swung his other fist at Riku and it was caught to. A pushing match started. They eventually broke the pushing match and started exchanging blows.
Riku smirked as his foot slammed into Sirus's face. The smirk vanished when he saw Sirus smile. Sirus then punched him in the gut and followed it up with a flurry of kicks. Riku went flying into the barrier. He stumbled back up. "Have you forgotten I'm ten times more powerful?" Sirus asked mockingly. Riku spit blood from his mouth. They both stared each other down before disappearing. They appeared as blurs as they battled at high speed. Hiei and Kurama were barely following their movements and Yusuke had lost them.
Both fighters appeared on opposite sides of the ring. "Impressive, you're as good as ever, but lets see how you handle this" Sirus said as he spread his hand in front of him. "SCATTER FLAMES" out of his hand shout out hundreds of small fireballs. Riku ran to the side as the attack hit where he was standing. Hs continued to run around Sirus as the wolf continued to follow him with more blast. I have to get to Sirus Riku thought as Sirus's blasts exploded behind him. He started a spiral pattern that would allow him to get closer to Sirus but still stay ahead of the flames. Sirus started to laugh as Riku did his best to stay ahead of his attack.
Riku slowly closed in. When he reached Sirus, he gave him a good kick to the stomach. Sirus doubled-over. "That attack was so easy to run away from" Riku said. Sirus growled as he stood up. He then took to the air. He started to float about 25 feet above the ring. "Why don't you use that Spirit Wolf Claw?" Sirus asked. "You ask for it" Riku said. He brought his fist next to his face as it started to glow white. Wolf spirits gathered in it. "SPIRIT WOLF CLAW" Riku jumped toward Sirus with his hand stretched out. He was about to grab his head when Sirus caught his wrist, effectively stopping his hand from reaching him. Riku had a stunned look on his face. "I found your attack's weakness. All I have to do is catch your wrist and your hand can't reach me. Now to end this" he said. His eyes widened as black flames surrounded his body. Riku screamed in pain as flames were sent through his body. Sirus smirked at this. After a minute of this, Riku's body went limp. Sirus floated in the air as he held Riku in the air by his wrist.
"You were so pathetic" Sirus said as he prepared his other hand to thrust into Riku's chest. His claws could easily impaled Riku. "When I finish you, I'll deal with the rest of your team. When that's done, the first thing I'm going after is that ice maiden you were with" he said. He was about to thrust his hand when Riku's head jerked up. Sirus stopped when he saw Riku's eyes. They were now completely blood red with white pupils. "Don't you ever threaten Yukina" Riku growled. In a blur, he kicked Sirus. The force of the blow was so strong it left an imprint. Sirus let go and fell to the ground. Riku landed on both feet. He watched as Sirus struggled to breath after having all the air beaten out of him in one kick.
"Alright!!! Riku clobbered him" Yusuke cheered. Something's different about Riku Kurama thought. He looked more carefully at Riku and noticed the change in his eyes. Those eyes, they look like the kind of eyes devils have. How can Riku's eyes look like a devil's? he thought. He looked over to Hiei who had also noticed the change. They nodded to each other and looked back at the fight.
"I've wasted enough time with you" Riku said as Sirus stood up shakily. He closed his eyes as he powered up. When he opened them again, he was engulfed in red flames. He opened his hand in front of him as the flames intensified. "FANG OF THE CRIMSON INFERNO" a beam of red fire shot from his hand. It materialized into the shape of a wolf and charged straight for Sirus. Sirus screamed as the attack hit him and shot through the barrier. Everyone in the room was blown back by the blast as it plowed through the wall. Seconds later, everything shook as an explosion was heard. As everyone stood back up, the ring was hidden under a thick cloud of dust. When it settled, Riku stood in place with his hand still in the firing potion. His eyes still looked like a devil's and his face showed no emotion.
He relaxed and dropped his hand to his side. "Good going Riku. Not only did you take care of Sirus but that dam barrier as well. I guess it's Hiei's turn" Yusuke said. "No it's not" Riku said with no emotion in his voice. "Rando fought two matches and I intend to as well" he said. Toguro walked onto the ring. "If that's what you want then so be it. But let me warn you, I intend to make this quick" he said. "As do I" Riku replied. "Begin" SZ said.
Toguro started to power up. "I intend to start using 100% of my power" he said as his muscles started to grow. "You do that " Riku said calmly as he picked up the Crescent Edge. The ground shook as Toguro neared full power. His once mighty power was now ten times greater thanks to the orb. Riku watched with no emotion on his face as an explosion of energy came from Toguro as he reached full power. When the light died down, Toguro stood with even bigger muscles than at the Dark Tournament. "Took you long enough" Riku said calmly. "You won't be so calm when I'm done with you" said Toguro.
At Genkai's
"Riku's in trouble" Boton said as they watched the fight on the TV. Koenma had given them an adapter that would allow them to watch mission just as Koenma did from his office. They'd seen the first three matches and watched as Riku didn't even flinch at Toguro's power. The screen then focused on Riku's face. "What happened to his eyes?" Yukina asked with worry in her voice. She knew that the wolf she saw on the TV was not the same guy she fell in love with. Riku always had a serious face in battle. His face now showed no emotion whatsoever. What's happened to you Riku? she thought.
At SZ's palace
Toguro charged a Riku continued to stand in place. Toguro threw a punch but Riku disappeared. He reappeared on the opposite end of the ring. Then he did something that shocked everyone. He sheathed his sword. "You know that was the only advantage you have?" Toguro asked. "I won't need it to fight someone as weak as you" Riku replied. Everyone gasped. Is he crazy? Yusuke thought. "Your confidence will be your downfall" Toguro said. He then charged.
Once again Riku just stood where he was with both hands at his side. Toguro threw a punch covered in energy at Riku. When he made contact with Riku, an explosion of energy shook the ground. When the light died down an amazing sight greeted the onlookers. Riku still stood where he was. He left hand had stopped Toguro's punch. Toguro was dumbfounded. He didn't move an inch he thought. Riku's other hand started to glow. "SPIRIT WOLF CLAW" his left hand pushed Toguro's fist out of the way as he thrust his right hand forward. He slammed his attack onto Toguro's chest. White beams of energy shoot from his body. Seconds later, he exploded in a blinding flash of light.
When the light died down, all that was left of Toguro were his sunglasses, which lay at Riku's feet. He stomped on them. "To easy" he said emotionlessly. He then fainted. Yusuke and Kurama rushed to his side. "Riku, Riku, wake up" Yusuke said slapping the wolf's face lightly. He started to groan. His eyes opened t reveal they were back to their normal color. "What happened?" Riku asked groggily. "What do you mean what happened? You kicked ass" said Yusuke. "Don't you remember?" Kurama asked. "Last thing I remember was passing out when Sirus sent those flames through my body" Riku replied. "Well let me refresh your memory. First, you killed Sirus with some attack called Fang of the Crimson Inferno, then you took out Toguro in less than a minute" Yusuke answered. "I still don't remember" Riku stated. "You had changed. You were more powerful and emotionless" said Kurama. "It did fell like something had taken me over" Riku replied. "Oh well, the important thing is all we have left to fight are the pain in the ass brothers over there" Yusuke said jerking his head toward Suzaku and SZ. "Your up Hiei" Yusuke said as he and Kurama carried Riku off the stage.
Hiei was already in the ring. Suzaku walked on. "You're the one that killed Siriyu. I have to thank you, he was pretty dull" Suzaku said with his arms crossed. "Begin" SZ said.
Suzaku disappeared and reappeared behind Hiei. He swung a punch at the fire demon but Hiei block it. He then disappeared. Suzaku looked around. He jumped to the side just when Hiei reappeared and swung his katana down. Hiei continued his assault and Suzaku struggled to not get hit by the sword. He's to damn fast Suzaku thought. He then jumped into the air.
"I've played with you enough" Suzaku said as he lifted his hand above his head. A bolt of lighting shot down from the sky and hit his hand. He formed a bow in his hand and then an arrow. "Remember this Yusuke. STORM OF TORMENT." He shot the arrow at Hiei. Hiei disappeared just when the arrow was about to hit. He reappeared behind Suzaku and slammed his elbow into Suzaku's back, sending him crashing to the ground. Hiei landed as Suzaku got back up.
"I can see I'll need to take a more drastic measure to beat you" he said. He crouched as he gathered his spirit energy. Out from behind him appeared two more Suzakus then a second and third pair. "Not this again" Yusuke groaned. Riku and Kurama watched silently. "The Prism of Seven" all seven Suzakus said at the same time. "So what? There seven of you. It's just more targets for my sword" Hiei said preparing his katana. He charged and sliced one of them. It simply got back up. "Hiei, if you want to kill him, you have to take them all out at once" Yusuke said from the sidelined. Not a problem Hiei thought. He turned around for another charge. The seven Suzakus took to the air and prepared their ultimate attack. As they powered up, Hiei charged. With lightning quick speed he sliced through all seven of them. They fell to the ground and returned to one Suzaku.
"So much for the former leader of the Saint Beasts" Hiei said as he walked back to the others. "You didn't kill him?" Riku asked. "Weaklings such as him have no right to die by my blade" Hiei replied. They heard clapping from the ring. They looked over to see SZ standing next to his brother clapping. "Well done, you beat all of them. But I must warn you; I'm more powerful than all of them combined. In fact, lets drop this tournament thing and have a good old-fashioned fight. All of you versus me" he said smirking. "The three of you fight, I'll take Kuwabara back to the others" Kurama said lifting Kuwabara and slinging him over his shoulder. "Good luck" he said before heading out. The remaining three turned back around to face SZ.
"Lets begin" he said. His body went transparent. "What's going on?" Yusuke said as they looked at SZ. "BOO" SZ said from behind. They turned around to see another transparent SZ standing there. Suddenly, Hiei was sent crashing to the wall. They looked to see SZ standing there with his fist forward. "The after image technique. He moved so fast, his image stayed behind him. Impressive but I can do it to" Riku said. He to went transparent. SZ followed suit. Yusuke watched as the room filled with multiple Rikus and SZs. They were all in fighting positions. Talk about speed Yusuke thought. He rushed over to Hiei. "You all right?" he asked as Hiei sat up. He winced and clutched his shoulder. "I think he injected me with something" Hiei said looking at his shoulder. On his shoulder were two puncture marks. "He uses some kind of venom from two of his fingers" Hiei said as he stood up.
A crash could be heard behind them. They turned to see Riku standing back up after being knocked to the ground. SZ hovered above him. "Look out Riku, he has some kind of venom in his fingers" Yusuke called to the wolf. Riku nodded and unsheathed his sword. SZ smirked and charged. He pulled his arm in front of him as his finger glowed lime green. "VENOM CLOUD" as he swung his hand a cloud of venom left his fingers. The cloud surrounded Riku. SZ landed outside the cloud with a smirk on his face. "So much for that nuisance. There should be nothing left of him by now" he said as he turned to face Yusuke and the wounded Hiei. "Now to deal with you two" he said as he took a step forward.
"CRESCENT CLAWS" out of the cloud came Riku's signature attack. SZ turned around just when they hit. He fell to the ground with gashes in his chest. Riku walked out of the cloud unscathed. He lifted his hand and absorbed the blades back into his claws. "But how, how could you survive my venom?" SZ asked with fear in his voice. "Haven't you forgotten what I am? If you haven't noticed, I'm a wolf demon and everyone knows that a wolf demon has the best immune system of all animal demons. Since we live in the wild we deal with a lot of dangers and venom is one of them. I am immune to every type of poison or venom" Riku said. SZ growled and formed a sword similar to Kuwabara's in his hand. It was lime green in color.
"Say hello to my Venom Sword" SZ said cockily. He charged Riku. Riku blocked his sword using his own. SZ's body erupted in a tornado of venom that sent Riku flying back. "You may be immune to my venom but I can still kill you with spirit blasts" SZ said as he gathered energy in his hand. He prepared to fire. "SPRIT GUN" a blue blast hit SZ in the back, effectively stopping his attack. He turned around and glared at Yusuke. "You didn't forget about us?" Yusuke asked mockingly. "Why you…" "CRESCENT CLAWS." SZ turned around and was hit by Riku's attack. "Lets attack him at once" Riku said as his claws glowed red. "I agree" Yusuke said as he powered up. "SPIRIT GUN" "CRESCENT CLAWS" both attacks hit SZ at the same time.
When the dust settled he stood there with only his outfit torn a little. "No way" Yusuke said amazed. "I've been toying with you all long enough. It's time I finished this" SZ said confidently. He yelled as he was engulfed in a green light. When it died down, a transformed SZ stood. His hair was now lime green and stood up. The only thing on his head that was pointing down were his purple tentacles. "How do you like my true form? I personally like the new hair" SZ said smirking.
He charged at Riku and activated his venom sword. Riku had no time to do anything as SZ reached him. He smirked and impaled Riku trough the stomach with the sword. Riku cried in pain as SZ pulled it back out. He fell to his knees while clutching his wound. "What's wrong wolf? To fast for you?" he asked mockingly. He kicked Riku and sent the wolf crashing to the ground.
"Now where were…" he stopped mid sentence when he sensed a great darkness in the room. He looked to the source and saw Hiei surrounded in black flames. "You may have wounded me, but I can still use my dragon on you" he said as the flames intensified. "I'll simply dodge it" SZ replied. "Oh no you won't" Yusuke said from behind. SZ turned around to see Yusuke's finger right in front of his face. "This is for Riku. SPIRIT GUN" he fired and hit SZ in the head. SZ went flying backwards. "Hiei now!!!" Yusuke yelled. "With pleasure. DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME" Hiei called out. His dragon shot from his hand and headed straight for SZ who was still flying from Yusuke's blast. The attack hit him and slammed him to the wall. An explosion caused some of the roof to come crashing down.
Riku stumbled back up and walked over t Yusuke. "How's your wound?" Yusuke asked. "It's not serious. I can still walk back to Genkai's" Riku replied. Hiei walked to them with a sphere in his hand. It had a skull on the top and was covered in carvings of bones. "I take it that's the Reaper Orb?" Yusuke asked. Hiei nodded.
"Curse you" SZ voice said from the rubble. The three looked over and saw SZ stumbling toward him. "I held back" Hiei said before anyone could say the dragon wasn't powerful enough. His attack had really been at full power. Riku walked over to SZ and punched him in the face. "Your attack made him weaker than a kitten. All that was needed was a punch" Riku said as he looked at SZ's unconscious body.
"Well lets get the orb to Koenma and get Boton to send some guys to take SZ and Suzaku in" Yusuke said. Riku and Hiei nodded. "You two go on ahead, I got to get my sword" Riku said as he walked toward the place he had dropped the Crescent Edge. Yusuke and Hiei walked out of the room.
Riku reached his sword and sheathed it. "Mission accomplished" he said out loud. A glimmer caught his eye he looked toward it. Against the wall was a huge mirror with the carvings of devils on it. Riku looked at himself in it. "I need a shower" he said as he fixed his hair a little. "One things for sure, this is the creepiest mirror I've seen" he said as he turned around and ran to catch up with the others.
Later that night
Riku walked out of his room with a clean outfit on. He had already taken a shower. When they got back form giving Koenma the orb, Yukina healed everyone and they had a feast to celebrate Riku's first mission. Afterwards everyone went home.
He walked into the living room and saw Yukina sitting on the couch with a worried look on her face. "What's wrong?" Riku asked as he sat next to her. "What happened to you?" Yukina asked as she looked at him. "What do you mean" "When you fought Sirus and Toguro, you weren't yourself" Yukina replied. "Kurama and Yusuke did say I was acting weird" Riku replied. "There's a recording of the mission in the VCR. We can watch that" Yukina replied as she clicked the remote. They fast-forwarded to the part when Riku went limp after Sirus's flame attack. He watched as he defeated both Sirus and Toguro with little effort. When Hiei entered the ring they stopped it. "I can barely remember doing that" Riku said rubbing his head in thought. "Let me show you something" Yukina said rewinding the tape. She started to play it again and paused at the close up of Riku. "What's with my eyes?" Riku asked as he saw his red eyes. "I don't know but it seems to have something to do with your change" Yukina said. "Why are you showing me this?" Riku asked. "I'm worried about you Riku. You're a dear friend to me and I don't want you to change into something so cold" Yukina replied. "Don't worry, I'll find out what happened" Riku said as he put a comforting arm around Yukina. They soon fell asleep snuggled up on the couch.
In Spirit World Prison
SZ and Suzaku were now in a cell. SZ was pacing about while Suzaku lay on a bed reading a book about the Demon King's invasion of the human world that the Devil Wolf stopped. "I still can't believe I lost" SZ whined. "Calm down brother" Suzaku replied. "I can't just sit here. I crave revenge" SZ said. "We'll have our revenge" Suzaku replied. "How?" "You remember that wolf demon with them, the one that defeated Sirus and Toguro? He looked into the mirror" Suzaku said calmly. "He did?" SZ asked. Suzaku nodded and returned to his book. "The fool doesn't know what he's done" SZ said evilly. "I have two of my agents waiting for his arrival as we speak" Suzaku said. "Urameshi and his team won't know what hit them" SZ said as he sat in his bed.
At SZ's palace
Two cloaked figures stood in front of the mirror. "What's taking him?" one of them said. "Be patient, he'll arrive soon" the other replied. Ripples appeared on the mirror as a figure walked out of it. "Good your out. Now let's plan how were gonna get master Suzaku out" one of the agents said. "I take orders form no one" the figure said (With a voice like Naraku from Inuyasha). He flicked his wrist and both the agents fell the ground with their throats sliced. The figure walked to a hole in the wall. "Suzaku and his brother can rot in that prison for all I care" the figure said out loud. "I think I'll lay low for now. But some day I'll find you Riku. And I'll kill you and those you care about" he said before disappearing.
Who is this mysterious figure that wants Riku dead? What happened to Riku during his battles? Find out in future chapters. Next chapter, Rogato and Maya come for a visit. Oh and if Kuroi-Youma is reading this, my answer to you little request is in my review of your story. I have also decided on what kind of demon Hiei will be with. I'll tell you now she won't be a wolf, fire, fox, or ice demon but she will have a lot in common with Hiei. Review please.
