Chapter 83

Escape

Muraku Riku thought as he lost the dark wolf's energy signal. Muraku was out of range of Riku's senses. Riku sighed and leaned against the tree behind him. He couldn't believe after all the changes Muraku had gone through that he could be changed back so easily.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to the source to see two worried crimson eyes looking back at him. "Are you alright Riku?" Yukina asked. Riku wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "I can feel his pain Yukina, our connection as good and dark side is growing every minute" Riku said. "Is he okay?" she asked. "Physically yes, but he's suffering spiritually" Riku replied.

"You'll have to fight him again won't you?" Yukina asked. Riku kissed her forehead and rested his chin on top of her head. "Yes" he said. "It's so hard to have to watch you fight like this. Will we ever live together in peace?" Yukina asked. "Of coarse we will. It may take a long time but some day all our battles will end. And then we can both live a millennium together" Riku said. "That is a long time" Yukina said as her lips curved into a smile. "And we'll have over a hundred pups" Riku said. Yukina's smile grew and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Over a hundred?" she asked. "And that's not counting the ten you'll have on your own" Riku said as he rubbed his nose against hers causing her to giggle.

"Riku" Hiei said as he appeared. His eyes narrowed when he saw the two. ""Yeah Hiei?" Riku said. "There's something you should see" the fire demon replied. Riku nodded and looked at Yukina. "I think you should so comfort Kairi" he said. Yukina nodded and kissed him on the lips before heading back to the hotel.

"Lead the way" Riku said. Hiei grunted and they flitted into the forest. "A hundred?" Hiei said as they ran. "I thought you'd want to be the uncle of a small army Besides, I don't think Yukina won't mind" Riku said. Hiei glared at him. "And I'm sure Yukina will want a lot of nieces and nephews as well" he said. "You know I'll have more children" Hiei said. "And why is that?" Riku asked. "Because I'm half fire demon remember. I'll live to be about three thousand and Nami is immortal so I'll have a good two millenniums to make my side of the family larger" Hiei said with a smirk.

They finally arrived at their destination. "So you've finally arrived" Kurama said. "What's up?" Riku asked. "We found Ace" Kurama replied. Riku's eyes narrowed. "Let me at him" he said as he cracked his knuckles. "Someone beat you to him" Kurama said pointing into the distance. Riku looked to where Kurama was pointing and saw the two halves of Ace laying in a pool of blood.

"That wound looks familiar" Riku said. "It was made by the same sword that killed Murakai" Kage said as he walked up to them. "So the killer was here" Riku growled. "Yes but he left no clues behind" Kurama said. Riku fisted his hands. "I bet he's been watching us the entire time" he said. "We probably walked right past him at one point" Hiei said. "I'm willing to bet he's not here anymore" Kage said.

"So now what?" Kage asked. "You and Riku should prepare for the tournament. It's tomorrow you know" Kurama said. The two nodded. "We'll look for any clues here" Hiei said. "Where are the others?" Riku asked. "The idiots entered a food eating contest, Nami is scouting around for anything suspicious, and the others are at the hotel" Hiei replied. "Well, until tomorrow Kage" Riku said. "May the best wolf win" Kage replied.

At the hotel

Kairi wiped a tear from her eye as Mimiru slept against her. Her adopted daughter had cried herself to sleep. Yugi's head lay on her waist. Kairi was resting against Black Fang as he curled around them for comfort.

The other girls watched from the bedroom entrance. "I've never seen her so sad" Botan said. "She must have really loved him" Crystal said. "I almost know what she's going through" Shizuru said. "Oh yeah, the rich psycho from the Dark Tournament" Keiko said. "Cute rich psycho" Shizuru replied. The girls sweatdropped.

In the corner Rogato watched with Sakura in his arms. "You know Sakura, sometimes being surrounded by girls is scary" he said. Sakura giggled and started pulled his hair. "Scawy" she said. ""Yes, very scary indeed" Rogato said. Then he realized something. "Lila!!!" he yelled. "What?" Lila said as she walked up. "Sakura just said he first word" he said. "Really?!" she said. "Scawy" Sakura said again. "See, she said scary" Rogato said.

"Oh my baby actually spoke" Lila said as she scooped Sakura in her arms and hugged her. Rogato smiled as he watched his mate and pup. Seeing them both so happy made things feel a lot better than they actually were.

The next day

"My stomach" Kuwabara said as the gang sat in the stands to watch the tournament. "I knew you'd one day pay for your giant appetite" Shizuru said. "Shut up sis" Kuwabara said. "Kazuma you shouldn't talk to your sister like that" Crystal said. "Sorry" Kuwabara said with a blush.

Hiei shook his head and looked around the stadium. He hadn't seen Nami since she left to go scout the island. Where are you Nami? He thought. "What's wrong Hiei?" Yukina asked. "I haven't seen Nami since yesterday" Hiei said with a hint of nervousness. "I'm sure she's just fine" Yukina said placing her hand over his. Hiei smiled at her and turned his attention to the arena.

The others were sitting nervously next to Rogato and Lila. Lila had gone into happy mother overloud. "You're such a big girl" she said as she held her laughing daughter. Makes me nervous to have any more pups Rogato thought.

"You seem nervous" Botan said to Maya. "Well two demons who mean a lot to me are about to fight each other" Maya replied. "I can understand why your worried about Riku but I sense something different when it comes to Kage" Botan said. "What do you mean?" Maya asked with a blush. "Oh my god, you like him don't you?" Botan said. "No" Maya said as her blush deepened. "Your blushing" Botan said. "Well uh…" Maya said.

"Maya and Kage sittin' in a tree" Botan started. "Shut up" Maya said. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" Botan said as Keiko joined in. "I said shut up" Maya said. "First come love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage" the two sang. "I don't like him in that way" Maya said. "Sure you don't" Shizuru said. Maya glared at her.

"Looks like the old Maya's back" Rogato said. "Is that a good thing?" Kurama asked. "Depends on your definition of good" Rogato replied. Kurama and Damien looked at each other then at the others. The girls were laughing as Maya blushed redder than a strawberry.

Keiko heard Yusuke cursing under his breath. "What's with you?" she asked. "I'm starting to have second thoughts about giving up" Yusuke replied. "Well it's to late now" Keiko said. "Stupid wolf" Yusuke mumbled. "Is your stomach still hurting" Keiko asked. "Yes" Yusuke replied. "I told you it was a bad idea but do you ever listen to me, noooo" she then started one of her scolding speeches as Yusuke smirked. She's cute when she's angry he thought.

Kairi couldn't help but smile as she watched everyone tease Maya. She was glad she had friends that could help her get through all this. "Mama" Mimiru said. "Yes?' Kairi asked. "Why is Maya blushing?" she asked. "Because everyone knows she likes Kage" Kairi replied. "Like the way you like papa?" Mimiru asked. "Yes Mimiru" Kairi said smiling gently. "Will I ever like a boy?" she asked. "Yes you will Mimiru. Some day, you'll met the boy of your dreams" Kairi replied. Mimiru giggled.

"Gross" Yugi said. "The same will happen to you Yugi only it'll be with a girl" Kairi said. "No way, I'm never gonna like a girl" Yugi said as he crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to make himself look tougher. Kairi thought it made him look cuter. "Yes you will" Mimiru said. "No I won't" Yugi replied. "Will to" Mimiru said. "Will not" Yugi said. "Will to" "Will not" "Will to" "Will not" the two went on as Kairi giggled.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELLCOME TO THE DEMON KING'S TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT!!! THE FIGHTS HAVE BEEN BRUTAL AND INTENSE BUT IT'S ALL COME DOWN TO THIS ONE FIGHT, RIKU VS. KAGE!!!"  

The two walked onto the arena. "Good luck Kage, I won't be holding back" Riku said. "My sentiments exactly" Kage replied. Riku unsheathed his sword and threw it to the side. Kage did the same with his Ingrams and about fifteen other guns and knives. "Hand to hand" Kage said. Riku smirked and they got into fighting stances.

"BEGIN!!!" The two charged and started throwing punches and kicks at each other. Kage landed a punch on Riku's stomach but Riku countered with a kick to Kage's face. The two jumped back to the crowd's cheers. "CRESCENT CLAWS" "SPIRIT GUN" The two attacks collided and the resulting explosion blew both opponents back.

Kage stumbled to his feet only to come face to face with Riku. Riku punched him in the stomach and followed it up with a two punch and a kick combo to the chest. He finished of with a back flip kick.

Kage slammed into the wall and stepped to the side to avoid Riku's punch. "SHOTGUN" Riku protected himself with an energy barrier. The dust settled to reveal the two throwing more punches and kicks at each other. They jumped into the air and disappeared.

They were hard to keep up with since they fired energy blasts at each other in the air. Red and yellow energy collided making the arena look like the Forth of July. After one particularly powerful explosion both fighters reappeared on opposite ends of the arena. With a yelled they charged each other and started throwing punches at each other.

Kage jumped back as energy gathers in his hand. "Haven't used this in a while, FLAME THROWER" he thrust his hand forward and a beam of fire made of yellow spirit energy shot out of it. Riku flitted out of the way of the blast. "SPIRIT GRENADE" Riku was blown back by the explosion. Kage followed it up with a few Spirit Guns but Riku managed to dodge them all. They started battling at high speed.

"They're going all out" Damien said. "This could go either way" Kurama said as they watched the two battle at high speed. "They're starting to tire already" Yukina said.

After nearly half an hour of high speed fighting the two landed a punch on each other and fell on their backs. "This is pretty intense so far" Kage said as he sat up. "Let's not stop now" Riku said as he struggled to one knee. They smirked and slowly got to their feet.

Suddenly, Riku felt a surge of pain go through his body. He clutched his heart area and fell to one knee. "Riku?" Kage said. "It's Muraku, he's in pain" Riku groaned. "Is he wounded?" Kage asked. "No he's on the verge of going completely back to his old self. He's trying to keep it back" Riku said as another surge of pain went through his body. "Our connection has become so strong" he groaned.

"What's going on?" Satanos asked as he watched them. "Something's up with Riku, we have to cancel the fight" Kage said before Riku screamed in pain. "Kill him first" Satanos said. "Fine I give up" Kage said as he helped Riku to his feet. "The final battle must end in death. If you won't kill him then you both die" Satanos said.

Demonus appeared in front of them. "You heard him" he said to the Ghouls walking onto the arena. The gang would have helped if a series of vines didn't sprout under them and tie them up. "Nice work Amai" Demonus said as she smiled at him from her spot not to far from the gang.

"Did you really think I'd let the Devil Wolf fight in my tournament and not kill him?" Satanos said. Kage winced as he watched Demonus blast his weapons. "Kill them" Satanos said. "As you wish pop" Demonus said.

He had only taken a step further when a scimitar was pressed to his neck. He looked to the wielder and saw Nami standing there. "Call them off" she said. "And if I don't" Demonus asked. "You make be super cute but if you hurt my mate and my friends then I won't hesitate to give you a new air hole" she said. "So where have you been?" Demonus asked. "I was laying low until you made your move" she replied. Demonus looked to his father.

Satanos couldn't believe he'd been deceived so easily. "Very well" he said. "Amai" Demonus said. Amai nodded and the vines let go of the gang.

Demonus smirked and he blew back Nami by powering up. "Now where were we" he said. The gang gathered in the center of the arena. "Riku" Yukina said as she cradled him in her eyes. "He's starting to lose control" Riku said.

Demonus was about to attack when a missile came out of nowhere and hit him. He came out unscathed and looked up. "Koenma" he growled. Koenma was in a Black Hawk helicopter. "You guys need a lift" he said to the gang. "Get them" Demonus said. The Ghouls charged but they were soon lying dead on the ground.

"Kavik" Kage said. Kavik smirked and fired at the Ghouls killing a few more. One tried to attack from behind but a blur sliced through it. "Shiro" Riku said. "Not just me" Shiro said pointing to the sky. A huge roar ripped through the air as Genso with Mizu and Aurora on his back flew into the arena. "You guys get on the helicopter, we'll hold them back" Mizu said. The gang nodded and boarded the helicopter. "Where'd you get this thing?" Yusuke asked. "I'm the prince of the dead, I can get many things" Koenma replied. "Pilot, get us out of here" Koenma ordered. "Yes sir" the pilot said as copter took off.

Kavik, Shiro, Genso, Mizu, and Aurora held the enemy off as the copter made its getaway. Shiro was fighting Demonus and was starting to lose against the powerful demon prince. "Face it Shiro, your outclassed" Demonus said. He caught a sword swung at him. "Nice try Aurora" he said. He powered up and blasted her back. "Guys the copter's clear we have to get out of here" Mizu said as she and Kavik held off the Ghouls. Everyone nodded. "Genso!!!" Mizu yelled. Genso roared and flew toward them. "See ya" Kavik said as the four jumped on the dragon's back and flew out of the arena.

"Damit" Satanos said. "Looks like they got away" Amai said as she walked to Demonus's side. "Relax, we have plenty of time to get them" Demonus replied.

Outside the arena Ricardo, Jin, Touya, and the Night Shadow clan were fighting off enemy reinforcements. "DRAGON OF THE SACRED SEA" the water dragon roared out of Javik's hand and plowed through the enemies. "Nice on bud" Draco said as he and Lita fought off a few mountain giants. The giants suddenly erupted in flames. "Alright who took out kill?" Draco said. "Me, you got a problem with that?" Azeri asked. "No not really" Demonus said nervously. Azeri could be very scary at times. Serena and Juri were being protected by Naien and Ricardo while Dusk and Shade used their shadow attacks to attack.

"Hey you guys get out of there" Mizu said as Genso flew over. "Our mission's complete. Move out" Dusk said. "Come on Juri" Ricardo said as the two got into his Dodge Viper and took off. The ninjas used a smoke screen as cover to get away.

On the helicopter

Riku groaned and opened his eyes. "Where are we?" he asked. "On Koenma's helicopter" Yukina replied smiling. "How'd you know we needed help?" Yusuke asked Koenma. "Nami found out about their plans to kill you guys so we formulated a little escape plan" Koenma replied. Hiei looked at Nami. "Is that true?" he asked. Nami smiled and nodded. "That's why I love you" he whispered making Nami shiver. "Is Sakura alright?" Rogato asked. "A little shaken up but not to bad" Lila replied.

"How ya feel?" Kuwabara asked Riku. "The pain's gone" Riku replied. "That's good to hear" Yukina said. "Not really. I felt it" he said. "What?" Kurama asked. "Muraku, he stopped fighting. The evil's taken over again" he replied. The entire place went silent. Everyone's attention turned to Kairi and the twins. "It was inevitable" Kairi said.

"Let's not worry about that now. We have to be ready for what Satanos is going to do next" Koenma said. "What's that?" Crystal asked. "The rest of the Apocalypse Ten are dead. Your next opponent in battle will be Demonus" Koenma said.

Out of the tournament and into another big battle. These guys never get a break. Muraku is back to his old self but I'll tell you now he'll only make one more appearance later in the fic. The next chapter should be up Sunday. 

Next chapter, Demonus, Amai, and Luna go into battle against the gang. Review please.