Just to remind something…Sakura's ALWAYS been able to do mind-to-mind communication. She did it in the FIRST chapter, and then again in the 4th. If you didn't catch it, please go back and read a bit more carefully.
Also…hate to disappoint you guys, but Hiei is NOT gonna be one of the other two members! However, he does show up later…er…quite a bit later…actually, you'll get a cameo of him in the first case, but he doesn't actually SAY anything until the third one…
Speaking of which…Anyone interested in seeing a spoiler-picture of the other female member, Izumi, please e-mail me at geministar01@hotmail.com. I'll send it out. ^_^ I'm also working on one of Kotori, the male member, and have finished the picture of Sakura I've been working on! ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original YYH characters, but I own all the original stuff in here.
Yu Yu Hakusho: Blossom
Chapter 8: Unwilling Fighter
Mamoru fell into step behind Sakura, who was continuously glancing around them, into the dark tress of the woods and particularly at the two remaining opponents behind them. "You still feelin' sick?"
"I'm not sick." Sakura muttered quietly. "There's something dark following us…I know there is. It's the same one that I felt outside the temple."
Mamoru raised a skeptical eyebrow, but his grandfather had caught the conversation. "What's that?" he asked, turning in his steps to talk to the two teenagers. His eyes were trained on the redhead. "A darkness, you say? What kind?"
Sakura dropped her jade-green eyes to the path. "I…I don't know, sensei. It's just…not good…"
"I see…" he leaned down and whispered quietly. "Tell me…do you feel it coming from one of them?" He nodded back towards Ming-Mei and Kisho.
"Yes, sir." she muttered. "But I can't tell which."
A thoughtful look crossed the Master's face, before he straightened and patted the girl on the head. "You've got quite an impressive sixth sense. You should learn to trust your instincts."
Once again, Mamoru raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. He'd only run into one demon before, when he was much younger, and he hadn't liked the incident much. He made a mental note to keep an eye out.
"Here we are." Yusuke stopped. "This is the location for our last round."
The four contestants looked over his shoulders. It was a large, mostly ruined, field, more like a swamp, covered in sludge puddles and dead trees. Sakura and Ming-Mei instantly looked sickened, both snapping hands over their mouths and stumbling back.
"What's the matter?" Mamoru asked.
Yusuke chuckled. "I don't blame them." he sighed. "This field was once the place of an intense battle. Two whole armies destroyed themselves out of madness. The swamp here is not only filled with those tortured souls, but also those of dozens of demons and other creatures who have died here. Most of you can probably see them."
Kisho's nose was wrinkled in distaste, but he was otherwise unaffected. Sakura looked horrified, jade eyes wide. "Ming-Mei going ta be sick…" the smaller girl muttered, dropping back.
"They'll be fine in a few minutes." Yusuke shrugged. "It's a natural reaction, I suppose, but you get used to it. All these spirits enhance you Spirit Energy quite a bit. It's a remarkable place for out kind of fight."
A few moments later, the group had recovered at the first two fighters were making their way onto the field. Ming-Mei, over her previous nausea, skipped up with the ball bouncing in her hand like a rubber yo-yo.
Sakura gulped, licking her lips nervously. She fingered the rose in her lapel silently, mind running crazily on how not to have to use it.
Ming-Mei's voice echoed in her mind: "You better use dat! Me wanna a good fight!"
But the sight of the ninja's lifeless body lying in a puddle of the same blood that clung to barbs of her whip echoed in her mind. She couldn't do something like that again, she just couldn't!
"Ready?" Yusuke looked between the two, raising his hand. He brought it down quickly. "Let the fight begin!"
Ming-Mei slipped the ball back into her sleeve, grinning. "Let's start out simple, kay-kay?"
That was all the warning Sakura had before she raced forward, throwing a hard punch. The redhead gasped, raising her arms fast enough to block. She slid back, away from Ming-Mei's incoming kicked, and proceeded rapidly to dodge.
"That girl doesn't have much fighting experience, does she?" Kisho noted out loud, tapping his staff on the ground. "She hasn't thrown a single punch this whole tournament."
Ming-Mei slid back, not looking very amused. "Why won't you fight?" she asked. "It gonna get boring if all you do is dodge. Ming-Mei wanna see that attack!"
Sakura just looked at her. "I…I can't…" she whispered.
"Why not?!" Ming-Mei looked extremely frustrated. Sakura didn't answer, just raised her hands in a defensive position once again. "Fine! Den if you not gonna use your move, I not play around anymore!"
She pulled out her ball-rope and threw it at Sakura. The redhead leapt aside, just out of the noose of string that almost tied around her. But the next round caught her tightly around the torso, pinning her arms to her side.
Ming-Mei looked at her. "I said, I want a good fight." she reiterated, now looking annoyed. "Why won't you fight? How either of us supposed to be stronger if you no fight?"
Sakura was too busy trying to wiggle her way out of the string to answer her. Ming Mei gave the ball in her hand a yank, sending the taller girl flying, the string leaving shallow cuts in her skin.
"Sakura!" Mamoru gasped as the other hit the ground, dangerously close to one of the pulsing, bubbling springs.
Sakura groaned a bit, pulling herself up. Her right hand drifted instinctively to the red rose still tucked into her lapel. She forced it back down with the other, reprimanding herself.
"No…No!" she growled to whatever creature it was trying to make her use that. "I can't…I can't…I just…I can't!!"
"Ming-Mei don't kill." she looked up. The petite Chinese girl was standing only a few feet from her, looking dead serious. "But this time…You not get up so soon…"
With a snap, the string on Ming-Mei's ball broke free. The small girl gasped and leapt forward, barely dodging the green tendril as it cracked the ground she'd been standing on moments before.
Sakura blinked in slight surprise. She didn't remember pulling the rose out… When had she done that? She snapped it back towards her experimentally, and it rolled itself up in her hand. She blinked again, running her fingers over it.
The barbs were gone…
This one was like a piece of rope, or the jump rope she'd played with as a child. But at the same time, it had the promise of being more deadly, if she wanted it to be. And it was odd, but somehow she felt as though this…object…was actually a part of her…like an extension of her arm…
Ming-Mei grinned. "Well-well. Looks like you finally gettin' serious, eh?"
"…Looks like it." the redhead muttered, confused, but letting her body do whatever it wanted to. She didn't really have a lot of choice, it didn't look like whatever instincts she had was going to let her back down.
Besides all that, she was now picking up some very…interesting…developments in her nose. Some part of her head was understanding that the odd scent she was picking up belonged to the smaller girl striking a stance in front of her.
"…Very strange." she muttered quietly.
"Has she…always been like that?" Mamoru asked no one in particular, eyes the size of saucers.
Ming-Mei smirked, then took a running leap and jumped upwards. She was aiming to kick Sakura in the head. The redhead yanked at the whip, snapping it upwards to catch the smaller girl as she came on.
Ming-Mei screeched and tried to change direction, but it didn't work so well in mid-air. The whip connected with her directly under the chin, sending her flying head-over-heels.
The small Chinese girl hit the ground hard, bounced once, then stopped. She lay crumpled on the ground a moment, not moving. Then she groaned, pulling herself up to her feet with a small noise.
Sakura's foot slid back in a ready position, prepared against any attack. But Ming-Mei didn't do anything, just brushed herself off and began walking away.
"What the…?" Mamoru gasped. "What's happening?"
"…Ming-Mei give up." the small girl whispered.
"…What?" Sakura gasped, leaning forward in slight surprise. "What did you say?"
"Ming-Mei say 'give up.'" she turned back, looking completely serious. "Ming-Mei no disserve technique. Ming-Mei better off running while Ming-Mei is ahead."
The Master nodded in agreement with Ming-Mei's declaration, then raised his hand. "Alright then! The winner of this semi-final match is Sakura Koubai!"
Ming-Mei locked eyes with Sakura, glaring seriously. "You better win." she whispered. "Ming-Mei expecting rematch someday!"
With that, she turned and disappeared back down the path.
Well, well, well…Guess we've narrowed them down, huh? The last match of the semi-finals will be Kisho versus Mamoru Urameshi! Who's gonna win this one, and face Sakura in the final round? Think you can guess? It isn't who you think…Stay tuned! ^_^