Ei yi yi…Sorry this took so long, guys. Writer's block, you know? Yeah, it sucks…(and besides all that, I left a cliffhanger on my St. Seiya FanFic and the readers are about to kill me…) but I'm over it now! ^_^ Ah…now for a hint of Team Koumajutsu's scary demon powers, and a glimpse at the fighters of Team Takitsubo…
Disclaimer: I don't own any original YYH characters, but you know who I own and who I don't. I'm too tired to do it now…
The Tomuraigassen Tournament
Chapter 11: Rivals and Partners
KA-SNAP-SNAP! Plop.
The demon crowd went wild. Kurama's face grew a bit annoyed and Luna frowned, her ears pressed against her head. Apparently the animal's super-sensitive hearing wasn't helping either of them at the moment.
They were standing on a high platform, about middle-way in the crowd. It was the second day of the first round, and they had just watched the tall, burly member of Team Koumajutsu…Kaz…plow his way through three out of their five opponents. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Misato had gathered to watch them. Hiei was off training somewhere, and Luna was, although she hadn't said it out loud, only there to keep an eye on Misato.
"He's quite powerful…" Kurama muttered.
"What an amazing display of brutality!" Sad nodded approvingly. "Kaz sliced through the last three opponents like a butcher through a piece of ham!" Actually, that wasn't quite true…although he had used his sword on the first two, the unlucky third had his heart ripped clean from his chest.
"Very nice! Team Aikoto now seams reluctant to stand against him!"
It was true, the remaining two members of the opposite team were quivering in fear. The screen focused a moment on them, then switched to a smirking Akki Kaijuu. The boyish Koumajutsu Team Leader smirked, glancing up in the direction of the Urameshi Team, then motion to Kaz with one hand.
"What's this?" Sad sounded confused and a bit annoyed. "Team Leader Akki Kaijuu is pulling Kaz out of his three-match winning streak!" The burly fighter retreated quietly, his face irritated. "…And he's replacing him with…what the hell?!"
Kaijuu beckoned forward the smallest member of the team, who had been obstructed by the tall red-head. Yusuke heard Misato's breath hitch in her throat as the fighter revealed herself.
She was even smaller than the one that looked to be 11, although she seamed to be at least 12. Her hair was short-cropped and blonde, and her eyes were a startlingly bright purple, settled into a pale-skinned face. She was dressed in a long-sleeved, high-colored black shirt, purple vest with several pockets, and black jeans. She looked to be nothing but a human.
"Kaijuu is replacing Kaz with the youngest participant in this tournament, the human girl Yumi!" Sad announced, still annoyed. "What the hell is he thinking?!"
Misato drew in a sharp breath and leaned back, looking as though she might faint. Yusuke turned, giving her an odd look. "Hey…you okay?"
"F-Fine…" the female detective muttered, keeping her eyes trained on the ring. "I'm…fine…"
Team Aikoto now seamed much more confident. They were both tall and brutish, not unlike Kaz, and were at least twice the size of the little girl, if not three. Now they could have their fun, tearing that child to pieces…
The taller of the two clomped into the ring, grinning widely. You could see the bloodlust in his eyes as he neared the edge of the forest region.
"Alright then…" Sad cleared her throat. "Match 4, Yumi versus Kori-Kuri… Begin!"
Kori-Kuri clawed his way through the trees. The girl walked quietly forward, easily slipping through the brush. They met and faced off a moment, then Kori-Kuri lunged forward, teeth and claws bared. The girl just stood there a moment, looking at the floor. Kaijuu made an odd motion with his right hand.
Yumi ducked under her opponent's lunge and struck him hard in the stomach. The demon fell forward, only to be hurled out of the ring and into the wall by the small girl's roundhouse kick. He crashed practically through the wall and fell to the ground, head hanging limply off to one side and neck snapped.
Yusuke's mouth dropped open and Kuwabara nearly fell off his seat. "You guys saw that, right?!" the orange-haired ruffian cried. "That puny kid beat 'em in under five minutes!"
"It seams that they are not to be taken lightly." Kurama nodded, remaining perfectly calm.
The remaining member of Team Aikoto stumbled back from the ring. "I-I quit!" he cried. "You win…you win!"
He turned on his heels and ran. Kaijuu smiled a cold, cruel smile, lifting his hand with an almost gentle gesture. "Go on, pet. Don't let them get away."
Yumi ran forward on command, leaping off the edge of the ring. She flipped in mid-air, dropped down and landed so that both her feet connected right where his neck attached to his head.
He fell forward, a bit of blood spurting from his mouth, and did not move again. The girl stepped away calmly, and crossed back to the other side. Kaijuu smiled at her as she came to him, patted her on the head, and sent her back to her place. She never said a word the whole time she was there.
For a moment, the crowd was speechless. Then they erupted into a wild roar of excitement and fury.
Sad stood in her announcer's box. "With an overwhelming victory of five matches to none, Team Koumajutsu triumphs over Team Aikoto and advances to the next round!"
"…Damn him…"
Yusuke turned in surprise. Misato had whispered the comment so softly it almost wasn't heard. She was staring down at her lap, clutching her hands into fists on the armrests. Luna glanced over at her, a softened look in her eyes.
Misato stood very suddenly, crossing to leave the stadium. Kurama raised an eyebrow as she passed. "Miss Itoshigo?"
"Hey, Itoshigo!" Kuwabara called. "We're you going?"
Misato didn't reply, just left on her own. Luna let out a sigh, standing herself. "Just leave her be." she sighed. "I'm afraid we still have some…issues to work out…"
~ * ~ * ~
The group gathered in the suite that evening to plan, enjoy themselves and play some cards. Currently, Yusuke, Botan, Keiko, Kuwabara, Shizuru and Yukina were playing a game of Rich Man, Poor Man. Hiei was sitting in the window, being his usual, grumpy self. Kurama hadn't wanted to play that particular game, and Luna was on the girl's balcony, staring out at the beach.
Kurama crossed behind her, looking out where she was. Misato was lying on her back on the sand, staring up at the moon, hands folded behind her head. Luna kept her eyes trained on her partner.
Kurama leaned on the railing next to her, letting out a soft sigh. He glanced at the wolf-demon out of the corner of his eye, noticing the way her ears and tail twitched with worry.
"…She's been out there a long time, hasn't she?" he said calmly.
Luna glanced at him sharply, then gave a tiny nod. Kurama eyed her a moment, looking for any kind of reaction, then let a slight grin crack across his lips. "You care rather deeply about Miss Misato, don't you?"
Luna glared at him good-naturedly, as one animal-spirit to another. "As much as you and that little fire demon." (1)
Before their conversation could get any further, there was a knock on the door. Both turned, as did Hiei, as Kuwabara (who was loosing) rose to answer it.
Standing in the hall were two unfamiliar people. The one almost directly in the door was tall, about 5'6", with albino-pale skin and long, shiny black hair. Bright red eyes glowed under the dark bangs, and she was dressed in a black kimono. She was frowning.
The second looked to be around the same age, just a tiny bit taller, with tanned skin. Her hair was fiery red and eyes were a dark amber color. She was dressed in a semi-tight red t-shirt, midnight blue pants and a crystal blue sash on which a light kimono hung. She was smiling, looking very confident.
"Hello, all." she smiled, waving. "Just thought we'd step in and give a nice greeting to our next opponents."
"And…you would be?" Yusuke asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Matzo Amite." the redhead bowed. "And this is Raicho Takitsubo…Leader of Team Takitsubo, your next opponents."
"I see…" Yusuke muttered, a tiny bit annoyed. He'd been winning.
"Hm…" Matzo leaned into the room, looking around. "From the reports of your fight, I thought you'd be pretty impressive. You're a bit disappointing…"
"Hey, what's that mean?!" Kuwabara exclaimed.
"What does it sound like, you idiot?" Hiei rolled his eyes, stepping off the window. "A rather uncreative insult that is made by those with absolutely no perception."
"Well!" Matzo huffed a bit, leaning back. "I just thought we'd giving the warning before hand, just in case you had any grievous sins to confess before you die. Come on, Raicho…"
They disappeared down the hall, pushing past Misato as she made her way back. She glanced around those gathered. "And what was that about?"
"Nothing." Yusuke muttered, shutting the door. "Just our enemies, bearing advice."
"Ah." Misato shrugged, sitting down. "How pleasant."
"It brought up a nice point, though." Kurama leaned over the edge of the couch. "What are we going to do tomorrow? Any special plans?"
"Well…" Botan produced her notebook, where she'd written down the general information to the tournament. "The second-round matches are fought as a five-on-five battle royale, taking place inside of a giant maze. Each of you will be stationed at a different point of the beginning of the fight, as will the other team. The object is to fight past your opponents and get the most fighters out of the maze by the end of the round. First team to get all living members out of the maze, or to systematically eliminate the other team, are the winners."
"So…" she concluded at the end. "Any ideas to give us an advantage?"
"…Put Luna in."
The group turned to stare at Misato's quiet words. She looked up at them seriously, blue eyes shining. "Luna-san's wonderful at long fights, and is faster than a normal human. She'd give us an excellent advantage."
"Um…" Keiko looked up. "But don't you have to take one of you out for her to fight? How would that work?"
"Actually…" Kurama said calmly. "That wouldn't be a bad idea. Just for this round, we substitute Luna for Kuwabara."
"WHAT?!" Kuwabara jumped to his feet. "Why me?!"
"Less maneuverable." Kurama shrugged. "There won't be much room inside that maze, it would be hard for you to get around. And you can't chop through the walls with your Spirit Sword."
"Besides, the next two rounds are much more open." Botan noted. "You'll do better to save you energy for them. Let Luna take over this time."
With a bit of arguing still to be decided, the group retired to their beds, ready for the next day's fights.
(1) Interpret this conversation however you see fit. I won't harp on it any more.
Well…so the next round starts the Labrinth fights! Is everyone ready for them? I hope so, because they'll be starting in the next few weeks! Please remember to review, and come back next time! ^_^
*~GS~*