Accepting the Truth

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Don't own except for Andrea, so… [sticks tongue out] Sorry for the long update, school and homework can do that to people. Anywho, enjoy the chapter, though it's a tad long.))

"Hiei, what is it?" Andrea asked, looking at him quizzically.

He turned away from them. "Nothing," he answered. "I'll see you at the arena," he added before turning a corner.

Kurama and Andrea looked at each other quizzically. What did Hiei mean by that? There was no time to worry about it now; there was a final round for the guys to win. The team, with Andrea by the kitsune's side, left the hotel and made their way to the stadium.

The walk, in short, was quiet. Usually, Yusuke and Kuwabara would joke about how much butt they were going to kick, but even they were deathly silent. As Andrea looked up at Kurama, she saw a fierce look in his emerald gaze, which wasn't directed at her at all. The look stunned her; never in her travels with the Urameshi Team did she ever see Kurama's eyes look like that. Wonder what he's thinking about, a part of her was thinking.

Kurama was thinking, all right. Why am I having these feelings for her? he thought. I mean, she's funny and smart, but she's also attractive… He turned his eyes on Andrea, who was now looking straight ahead. Could the others be correct in saying that there are feelings between Andrea and myself?

A hand on his stopped his train of thought. "Kurama?"

He looked down… and noticed that Andrea was holding his hand.

"It's the fight, isn't it?" she asked him, blinking her blue eyes at him. "You're going to beat him, I know it."

Kurama loved her optimism before a fight, although last night, he had seen the worry in her eyes. Today, she looked better, her eyes weren't near bloodshot; they were perfectly clear. But there was something else in her blue eyes that he couldn't decipher. What was it? Shaking the thought out of his head, he nodded at her. "Your confidence in me is reassuring," he answered, smiling at her briefly.

"I'm glad I can reassure you," she answered, smiling back at him.

Meanwhile, Yusuke looked at Kuwabara. "Hey, you notice anything odd between those two?" he asked, pointing at Kurama and Andrea.

"Yeah, they're talking kind of low," Kuwabara answered.

"Just leave them alone," Hiei said, looking up at them with his crimson eyes.

"Why should I, shrimp?" Kuwabara asked, balling a fist and punching it into his open palm.

Hiei now glared at Kuwabara. "Unless you want me to kill you before the finals even start," he growled.

Kuwabara now decided to leave him alone.

Arena

When they arrived at the ring, they were treated with consistent booing and jeering; they were used to that by now. Not only that, but their team was short one person. Andrea was about to step forward, until Kurama grabbed her arm above her wrist. "Kurama?"

Kurama looked down at her. "I'm not allowing you to enter that ring," he answered her.

"What are you talking about?" Andrea looked into his emerald eyes. "The team is down one, and if you guys don't have a fifth fighter, then I've got no choice."

Kurama's hold on her arm tightened slightly, a sign that he was serious about what he said. "You mean a great deal to me," he answered her. "And the last thing I wish to witness is your demise."

What Kurama said literally stunned her. She knew Kurama was protective of her, but not that much. All she could do was blink.

The look Kurama saw in her eyes wasn't just shock; it was also worry. "You shouldn't worry about me," he continued as he released her arm.

"But I am," she answered, burying her face in his chest while wrapping her arms around him.

Kurama gently grabbed her arms and pulled them from around him. "Everything will be fine," he answered her. "I promise." He turned her head up to face him. "I'm asking you for a favor."

Andrea nodded her head. "Anything," she said simply.

Kurama turned his gaze to the stands, where Botan, Yukina, Shizuru, Keiko, and George were sitting, and turned his emerald eyes back on Andrea. "This battle will be intense, so I need you to protect the girls," he answered her.

Andrea blinked. "But..."

"Please," he interrupted. He held his hands on her shoulders. "If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me."

Andrea nodded her head. She said "anything" and "anything" meant "anything," although she didn't like it. "Okay," she said. "I'll do it."

Kurama released her shoulders and nodded. "Please, be careful," he said to her.

Andrea nodded as she raced out of the arena.

He watched as she left the arena and then turned back to hear a dark voice.

"So, Kurama, why are you protecting that human girl?"

Kurama glared harshly at the person in the ring, Karasu. "My reasons are none of your concern," he answered.

"I'm going to beat him so bad, his own mother wouldn't recognize him," Kuwabara said and was about to get in the ring when he heard a "No."

The other members looked at Kurama, who had now taken a step forward. "I will handle him," he answered, jumping into the ring.

Meanwhile, Andrea had made it to where the Urameshi Team Cheering Squad was. She sat next to Yukina, who looked up at Andrea and smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad you could make it, Andrea," she said.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she answered. Although that kitsune woke me up at 6AM, she thought to herself.

"From the sound of things, it appears everyone in the stadium is a fan of the dark and gruesome Karasu," Koto said.

"What did you say?!"

A voice rang out, knocking Koto off of her chair.

"You couldn't pay me enough to cheer for that vampire wannabe weirdo!" Keiko shouted.

"I'm not rooting for a fruit basket!" Andrea shouted out. "I'd rather take Kurama's Rose Whip around the throat than root for him!"

"Don't forget your stretches, Koenma sir!" George shouted, waving a club in the air.

The girls looked at him strangely.

"Oh, I forgot this was Koenma's, so I'll just use it to scare people," George said. He waved it in the air. "Kurama! Kurama!"

While Andrea whistled at the kitsune, the other girls cheered for him.

Back in the ring, Juri, a fish demon who had become the announcer, started the fight.

Karasu looked at Kurama with a steely gaze. "I wonder why you would subject yourself into this," he said to him. "Could it be to protect that human girl you care about so much?"

Kurama's emerald green eyes narrowed, knowing it was a threat against her life. "Whether I protect her or not is none of your concern," he answered him. "You should be concerned about your life, or what's left of it."

Outside the ring, Kuwabara looked at Yusuke. "Hey, Urameshi," he said. "Whom are they talking about?"

Hiei had his hands in his pockets. "If you idiots haven't figured it out yet, who needs to tell you?" he asked them.

"You mean that hot looking girl that fox-boy was talking to?" Yusuke asked.

"She has a name, you know," Kuwabara retorted. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Kurama was about to propose or something."

"Before a fight?" Yusuke asked. "You stupid?"

"Is that a trick question?" Hiei asked them.

"What you say, short round?" Kuwabara looked at Hiei threateningly.

Hiei looked at him, glaring. "You heard me," he answered. "Is your brain smaller than your hearing?"

In the stands, however, Andrea was confused. "What are they talking about down there?" she asked.

Botan looked at the arguing group. "I think they're talking about a certain blue-eyed girl who's got Kurama by the heartstrings," she answered.

Andrea looked at her. "What did you just say?" she asked.

"Come on, admit it," Botan answered her, despite Shizuru trying to shut the blue-haired girl up. "You're in love with Kurama, aren't you?"

"What?!" Andrea was stunned, upset, and surprised all at once. "How could you say something so stupid as that?"

"Botan, maybe you should shut up," Shizuru finally told her.

"Good idea!" Andrea said, standing up. "I don't need to hear this!" With that, she stormed away angrily.

"Oh, dear," Yukina said, her crimson eyes looking at Andrea's retreating figure. "She's really mad."

"Botan, how could you say something like that to her?" Keiko asked, looked at the blue-haired girl. "That wasn't nice."

Shizuru knocked Botan upside her head and left after the offended girl. "Hey, Andrea, wait up!" she shouted after the girl.

"I hope she can find her," Yukina said. "She seemed highly upset."

"Don't worry; Shizuru can handle it," Keiko said, patting Yukina on the shoulder.

Running blindly down a hallway was Andrea, that is, until a hand grabbed her arm.

"Hey, it's only me," Shizuru's voice said from behind her.

Andrea whirled around, her blue eyes in the verge of tears. "What do you want?" she asked her. "To rub this in my face?"

"Now, why would I do that?" Shizuru asked her.

"What gave her the right to say something like that?" Andrea asked back. "It's none of her business."

"That's Botan; she's a bubblehead."

Andrea sat down on the floor, not answering. She was still upset with Botan, which was really obvious.

"Hey, don't let the ferry girl get you down. If you like someone, that's your business."

"That's the problem," Andrea finally answered. "It's the someone."

Shizuru sat next to her. "So, you got a secret love?" she asked her.

Andrea hugged her knees. "If you can call it that," she answered timidly.

"You're not the first person to have a crush on him. Though you might be the last."

Andrea laid her head on her knees. "Huh?"

"You haven't seen it, have you?"

"Seen what?" Andrea dried her eyes. "Kurama's just protective, that's all."

Shizuru smiled at her. "You'll have to ask him, and keep pestering him until he answers."

"What are you talking about?"

Shizuru patted the girl's shoulder. "You'll see. Ready to watch the boys kick butt?"

Andrea still looked perturbed. "I don't even want to see that airhead."

"I'll keep Botan from making her bad comments, but I think that Kurama's gonna need all our support in this fight, especially from you."

Andrea nodded, knowing that she was right. "Sure."

Shizuru stood up and wrapped her arm around Andrea's shoulder. "You'll be okay."

"Do me a favor."

"Sure."

"The next time she says anything like that, tell her I got pictures of her and Koenma together."

Shizuru laughed. "Sure, I would love to!"

"Don't tell her I got the pictures here with me."

"Sure, I'll do that."

With that, both girls walked back to their seats, where Andrea shot a fierce glare at Botan before sitting back next to Yukina, who looked a little worried. "Are you feeling any better now?"

"A little," Andrea answered, although her voice was very low.

"Listen, what Botan said earlier, she didn't mean it," Keiko said, trying to get the angered girl to cheer up.

Andrea didn't hear her; she already had something to think about… or someone…

Back in the ring, Karasu kept trying to hit Kurama, only to have Kurama dodge his attack. His violet eyes watched the kitsune as he continued to dodge. "It's a shame things couldn't be different between us," he said in a low tone. "But it doesn't really matter; even things that seem ideal always turn sour, I'm just speeding the process." He slashed out at Kurama again, and once again, Kurama dodged. "I've found there's no greater rush than taking the life of someone you care for."

At that line, Kurama's eyebrows narrowed again. It's a good thing I sent Andrea to the other girls; down here at ringside is too dangerous, he thought.

"The intimacy between the murderer and victim is unparalleled, witnessing their soul ripped apart from its body." As Karasu was about to attack Kurama from the air, the kitsune had dodged yet again.

However, Kurama felt a stinging sensation in his left arm. It felt like someone had taken a lighter and burned the flesh from his arm.

"It's not necessary to touch you," Karasu said, smiling through the mask. "It's just one of the perks."

Kurama, this time, felt a burning sensation in his right thigh. Things weren't looking good for him… even when another bomb, this time shaped like several sticks of dynamite, came at him. As Kurama blocked, a large area was red while Karasu landed on this feet.

"He got him," Keiko said from the stands.

"No, that's not possible," Andrea said, a hand covering her mouth. "Kurama's not dead, Keiko. He can't be."

Karasu looked at his hand; a single red rose was thrown through his hand. "Very amusing," he said, pulling the rose off and crushing it.

As soon as he finished his sentence, a hush fell over the stadium, where flashes of black lightning struck at various places, but nowhere near the girls or the team. As the smoke cleared, a tall figure in white with a silver fox tail, ears, and hair stood where Kurama once stood.

"Youko…" was all Andrea could say, her blue eyes in half surprise, half relief.

/Don't worry; Shuichi's safe, / Youko answered her mentally. /Shuichi wouldn't have survived that blast if I weren't here. /

Andrea made a mental note to thank Youko after all of this was over. After all, he saved Kurama earlier when he fought UraUrashima. That was the first time she saw Youko. Knowing that Youko probably had something up his sleeve, she smiled.

Back in the ring, Karasu sent out a literal troop of bombs with one eye and bat wings called Trace Eyes out at Youko.

Youko dodged with ease and elegance, as can be expected from a fox demon. He landed on his feet, looking at Karasu.

"Oh, it seems you're trapped," Karasu said to him. "What's a poor boy to do?" The Trace Eyes were getting closer.

Youko smiled. "I thought you knew better than to corner an animal like a fox, Karasu," he said. "We have a tendency to show our teeth." And as soon as he finished speaking, his aura appeared suddenly and destroyed all of the bombs, leaving only a very large plant near him.

Karasu, in his own way, looked unimpressed with the Ojigi plant literally aimed at him. As the different vines started chasing him, he created one bomb after another, trying to get rid of the plant.

Youko only smiled. "It also responds to aggression, so the more you attack it, the more vicious it becomes," he said, making the plant chase Karasu around even more. "How does it feel to be the one pursued?" The plant grew more hostile as it wrapped its leaves around Karasu.

The pressure made Karasu lose his mask, in which a look of pain appeared on his face, as his mask fell lifelessly to the ground.

"You'll have to find a smart way to kill it, or else…" Youko smirked, making a gun by using his thumb and index fingers and putting the index at his head. It was the same threat used earlier. "Bang."

As if on command, the plants wrapped their leaves around Karasu, one plant on top of another. Soon, there was a ball of leaves in the air. The smirk on Youko's face remained as he started to walk offstage.

From the stands, the girls were smiling in relief. "I can't believe it, Kurama won," Keiko said.

"I love my baby bro and all, but it's nice to see someone not embarrass himself," Shizuru added.

Andrea nodded in agreement to both statements.

It seemed like he had won the match when suddenly the ball of leaves exploded, sending the damaged vegetation around the ring.

Outside the ring, the rest of the team was stunned, but they weren't the only ones. In the stands, Andrea held a hand to her mouth again, this time in shock. "That can't be," she said.

Back in the ring, as Karasu took in air, his raven black hair turned into a yellowish blond.

Outside the ring, Kuwabara looked at Hiei. "What's the deal?"

Hiei only had a look of pure seriousness on his face. "It's a sign that he's internalizing his energy, making him one giant explosive," he answered.

"Are you serious?" Yusuke asked.

"Of course I am," Hiei answered. "He's about to detonate. If you're as smart as you think you are, you'll take cover now."

Back inside the ring, Karasu, now with blond hair, jumped into the air, making an energy ball around him. Youko looked up as Karasu aimed himself at him. "This is the end, kitsune," Karasu threatened as he launched himself at Youko, creating an explosion, which knocked the rest of the team away.

In the stands, all of the girls had shocked looks on their faces that turned to relief at the sight that the other four were okay. Andrea scanned the group, frantically searching for... "Oh, my God; where's Kurama?" she asked worriedly. As her blue eyes looked at a slab of stone move and fall over, her eyes grew to relief and worry. Kurama was all right, but now he was in his human form.

Outside the ring, the rest of the team grew worried about this. "The potion wore off!" Yusuke said in shock. "Now Kurama's gonna have to wing it."

As Kurama stood to his feet, he noticed Karasu getting closer to him and looked up at him. What's going on? Kurama thought to himself. That potion was supposed to last longer than this, but it's as if it's weakening me every time I use it.

"Instead of thinking, why not start to pray?"

Kurama looked up to see a smiling Karasu.

"You know, Kurama, that girl of yours is very stunning," Karasu said, looking very quickly at Andrea and then turning his gaze back on Kurama.

Although Kurama was in a little pain, he glared at Karasu with deep eyebrows and a threatening look in his emerald colored eyes. "If you harm one hair on her head…" he threatened.

"Oh, don't worry, Kurama," Karasu answered. Now that the mask was off, Karasu smiled evilly. "She won't be the only one to die."

Kurama jumped into the ring again, obviously perturbed. This time, Kurama attacked Karasu, but the same outcome came; no dice. Then, Kurama tried one of the Death Seeds and hit Karasu with it. As he landed on his feet, he silently hoped that it worked.

Much to Karasu's joy and Kurama's disappointment, it didn't, as Karasu calmly took the seed out of his chest. "You really thought this would work." He showed the seed at him. "It's called tact, Kurama; you should learn to use it." The seed exploded, making a bomb grab Kurama's left leg tightly. "That's called my Mad Bomb."

Kurama's eyes widened… and Andrea's as well, from the stands.

The bomb exploded, tearing a horrendous injury to his leg. As Kurama screamed in pain, Andrea screamed inwardly, as if feeling his pain.

It wasn't so much as the pain that Kurama was feeling that made her scream to herself; it was the thoughts running through her head. She watched as Kurama stood back up, shakily. Let him be okay, she thought to herself.

From the sidelines, Yusuke saw something that he had to warn the already injured Kurama. "Kurama, don't move! You're surrounded by bombs!"

Kurama shifted his eyes around him; green balls were glowing and aimed at him.

Karasu stepped ever so slowly towards the injured kitsune. "You're tired, you're weak, you're powerless, and you're pathetic."

Kurama's eyebrows narrowed at the statement but didn't answer.

"Yet you have a masochistic streak that wants indulging." Karasu extended his hand, his fingers controlling the bombs. "So, here goes."

A first wave of bombs hit Kurama, making him cry out in pain and sink to his knees. From the blood he lost so far, his breathing was getting more and more tired.

From the stands, a shocked and terrified Andrea held her hands over her mouth, tears forming in her blue eyes.

Keiko turned her head away. "I can't watch him suffer like this!" she said.

Taking that as a distraction, Andrea left the stands, her blue eyes now letting go of the enclosed tears.

Oblivious to Andrea's sudden exit, Shizuru looked at the ring. "Karasu's such a bastard," she said. "He's clearly playing with him now. I just wish he could get this over with."

Yukina looked at her side and saw that Andrea wasn't there. "Everyone, where's Andrea?" she asked worriedly.

Racing down a hall, Andrea said to herself, "Kurama, now I understand."

(What did Andrea mean by that? Where is she running to, and will Kurama win the fight and survive? That's in the next chapter of "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere.")