Here's the disclaimer again. Yu Yu Hakusho and all of its characters
belong to their respective owners, except for Kitel who belongs to Mena and
Midra who belongs to me.
Please review!! kitty face
Chapter 2
After quite the walk, Team Urameshi finally reached their hotel room. After quickly putting their bags down, they discovered there were multiple bedrooms, each with two beds. This brought up the issue of who got stuck with whom, and the Masked Fighter took it upon herself to devise a system.
She moved the straws around in her hand. "Everybody pick one, and if you get matching lengths of straw, you share a room. It's a clear, diplomatic way to do it."
"Oh, please," commented Hiei, rolling his eyes. Kurama scowled. "Hiei, just do it."
Midra picked a straw and held it in front of Hiei. "See? It's easy. You can do it, too," she said mockingly. Hiei grumbled under his breath and picked a straw himself. He held it out in front of her as if to mock her back, but the joke ended when they made a realization.
Both of the straws were the same length.
Kitel smirked. "Well, well, well," she said as Kurama smirked at the irony of the situation. Hiei growled as Midra rolled her eyes. "Oh, dear…"
Yusuke attempted to hold in his laughter as he picked a straw. Kitel looked away to be fair and picked a straw, and then Kurama followed suit. She smirked when she put her straw up against Kurama's and found they were the same length. Kurama grinned.
"Oh, wonderful, none of us are getting any sleep now," said Midra. Kitel glared at her. "Look who's talking!" Midra glared back. "I'm not going to be all over my roommate all night long," she retorted. Hiei looked at Midra quickly out of the corner of his eye before glaring at Kitel. Yusuke sighed. "Here we go again…"
Kuwabara picked his straw out of the last two. He sighed in relief when he realized his and Yusuke's straws were the same length. "Great," said Yusuke, not looking forward to Kuwabara's notoriously terrible snoring. Kurama smirked. "Now nobody's getting any sleep," he chuckled. Midra smirked as Yusuke rolled his eyes at the suggestion that he and Kuwabara would ever do things of that nature as he walked into the room and closed the door.
Midra sighed mentally in relief, glad that her grandmother got the single room, so that her identity could continue to be a secret. Yusuke began to head towards his room. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep, so don't wake me up until the match begins tomorrow," he warned, glaring at Kuwabara. The accused put his hands up in innocence. "Fine with me. Mid owes me a game of cards anyways." Midra smirked at him. "That eager to be beaten?" she shook her finger at him. "Tsk tsk, Kuwabara."
Kitel laughed. "Now this should be entertaining!" Hiei shrugged. "It shouldn't last too long, considering who's playing," he commented.
Kuwabara growled. "All right then, you and me, Mid, right now! Come on!" he challenged.
Kurama chuckled. "Well, I believe we have tonight's entertainment." Kitel grinned and looked at Hiei. "Five minutes," she challenged. Hiei looked back at her. "Not even," he countered. Midra eyed them both. "Get the deck, Kuwabara," she ordered as she sat down on the couch around the coffee table; ready to take on the challenge set on by Kitel and Hiei.
Kuwabara sat down across from Midra as he shuffled. Kitel smiled at Kurama. "She'll wipe the floor with him. What do you think?" Kurama smirked. "Kuwabara is smarter than he looks. How much smarter, though, may be debatable."
"I'll show you how to play a real game of cards!" said Kuwabara as he continued to shuffle. "Poker is the game, Mid. Aces wild." "Fine with me," she said. Kitel simply leaned against Kurama as he draped an arm around her shoulders, eager to watch the outcome of the game. Hiei rolled his eyes and sat at the windowsill, looking out of it. Truthfully, he was watching Midra through the reflection.
Kuwabara dealt five cards to both him and Midra. She looked at her cards thoughtfully for a minute. "Give me two," she said, throwing two cards on the table. Kitel suddenly lost interest in the length of the game and went to put her bag in her room.
Kuwabara gave her two new cards and after a minute of his own contemplation put down three of his and took three new ones. He grinned. "Ha, ha, ha, Midra!" he said victoriously. He threw his cards down face-up. "Full house!"
Midra blinked. "Wow, Kuwabara, that's a very good hand," she said. "Very few things can beat a full house…" she turned her cards around to show him, "…but I believe a royal flush is one of them."
Kuwabara's jaw practically hit the floor. "Wha…bu…HOW?"
Hiei smirked and shook his head; unable to see the cards but figuring Midra had won. Kitel came back out of her room in leggings and a very big, loose sweater. "How long?" she asked Hiei. He closed his eyes briefly and then looked back out the window. "Four and a half," he answered simply. Kitel grumbled. "Damn," she replied in defeat, walking over to Kurama, who greeted her with a smile. She hugged his arm and let her hand graze his chest. He kissed her cheek gently.
"Nice job, Hiei," said Midra reflexively, complimenting him on his win on his bet with Kitel. She mentally kicked herself as she realized she had just spoken his name, something she tried to avoid to keep his attention off of her. Hiei couldn't help but feel himself perk up at the sound of his name coming from her, but he said nothing.
"Come on, Mid, one more game!" Kuwabara pleaded. Hiei scoffed. "I bet you can't beat her at all." Kuwabara's anger flared. "OH YEAH? Come on, Mid, I'll prove shorty over there wrong!" Midra grinned. "And I'll prove him right. Deal." Kuwabara began to shuffle furiously.
Kitel got Kurama's attention and motioned to their room as she walked over and went in. He took one last look at the card game before turning and following her into the bedroom.
"That entire scenario was just hilarious," said Kurama. Kitel wrapped her arms around his neck. "Isn't it?"
"I don't think you know what I mean," he said. "I suppose I can trust you with this piece of information…" he moved closed to Kitel, afraid someone would overhear them. "Midra has caught Hiei's eye."
Kitel lifted an eyebrow. "No way…" Kurama nodded. "Oh, yes, and what's better, she likes him right back." Kitel giggled. "This is too much!" she said. She kissed him on the lips quickly. "This tournament is going to be interesting."
Kurama nodded. "Very," he replied before returning her kiss passionately. She smiled against his lips as he pulled her against him, knowing that he was going to keep her quite busy for the rest of the night.
"WHAT?!"
"That's my fifth win in a row," Midra smirked. Hiei smirked as well and shook his head. "You might as well quit, you'll just keep losing." Kuwabara growled. "You can't win six in a row! Come on, one last game!" Midra laughed. "You asked for it, buddy!"
"Idiot," muttered Hiei as Midra laughed at his comment. Hiei closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the fights ahead. He knew that Yusuke and Kurama would be valuable assets, but Kuwabara was simply a joke in his eyes, and although Kitel has her tactics, she had a very limited number of attacks. As for Midra, all he could say was that she should count herself lucky that the team had decided to make Kitel their back-up fighter instead of her. Her healing abilities were most definitely going to be an asset, but he had been training with her for months, and although she was a competent fighter with powerful skills, she wasn't ready for the type of brutal fighting that they would be facing. He opened his eyes when he heard Kuwabara speak.
"Ha, ha, ha, a pair of kings!"
"Ha, ha, ha, a pair of aces!"
"WHAT? NO WAY!"
Midra chuckled. "Just go to sleep Kuwabara. Maybe you'll have better luck tomorrow." She patted his cheek playfully and then picked up her bag and walked into the room that she would be sharing with Hiei, closing the door behind her. Hiei watched her walk into the room before noticing that Kitel and Kurama were gone. He rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where they were and what they were doing.
"Fates help us all."
Kitel and Midra ignored the stares from the male members of their team as they walked out of their rooms in their fighting outfits, Kitel's hair flowing free and Midra's pulled back and up as always.
Kuwabara whistled. "Look at you guys! Are you planning to fight by distracting your opponents with your looks?" Midra promptly whacked Kuwabara upside the head for his comment.
Kitel had her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "It'd be better than your tactic: making your opponent feel sorry for your stupidity."
Kurama sighed. "You guys are starting already?" Kitel crossed her arms over her chest. "He started it!" 'Real mature,' thought Kurama. "Can't we at least try to act like a team today? We have our first fight against Team Rokuyuukai, and they are no laughing matter."
Kitel walked over to Yusuke, who was sleeping on the couch, and whacked him upside the head. "Get up Urameshi, time to head out!"
Kuwabara laughed, as Yusuke didn't move a muscle. "Have fun trying, he isn't budging!" He walked over and slung Yusuke over his shoulder. "What do you mean?" Kitel asked. "Genkai must have done a number on him," Kurama explained. "Well, she isn't a pushover, I can tell you that much…then again, either is Yusuke," mused Midra.
"Where is our last fighter?" asked the Masked Fighter. Midra rolled her eyes at the mention of Hiei. "Maybe if we're lucky, he won't show up."
At that moment, Hiei walked through the front door of the hotel room. "It's about time you all got up," he said.
"It's about time you got here," Midra retorted. He looked at her. "I've been waiting for all of you." She sighed. "Whatever. Let's just get going," she glared at Hiei as she walked towards the door.
Hiei growled and glared at Midra. "This should be a short fight," he commented. He looked at Yusuke and raised an eyebrow. "What's with Yusuke?"
"He won't wake up," said Kurama. "Hopefully, he'll decide to join us during the fight today." Hiei rolled his eyes. "What a leader." Midra turned and glared at him as she opened the door. "Oh, just shut up and move your ass!" she said as she walked out. The rest of the team followed suit.
Team Urameshi did their best to stare forward and ignore the hateful glares from the demonic spectators as they made their way to the stadium. Kitel stuck close to Kurama and whispered to him, "Do you think we'll have any trouble before the actual fight begins?" "I hope not," he whispered back. Hiei looked at the both of them. "I hope so. Less demons to fight later," he said.
Midra shook her head at Hiei's comment until a power group of spirit energies hit her senses. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Do you feel that?" she asked out loud. Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah, I feel it too."
Midra turned slightly to her left as a group of five fighters, undoubtedly a team fighting in the tournament, were heading straight for Team Urameshi. They were all covered by large black sheets and had what looked like long, pointy-heads, although they were obviously part of the cloaks. Kitel growled low enough for only her team to hear her.
The team stopped directly in front of them, standing perfectly still. One of the taller members stepped up. Hiei growled. "Can we help you?" he asked with agitation tingeing his voice. "What do you want?" asked Kitel, an eyebrow lifted in question. Kurama glared daggers at the figure that stepped up as it came closer to Kitel.
The figure simply stared at her. Kurama, unable to hold himself back, wrapped his arm around Kitel's waist as if to let the cloaked person know that she belonged to him. Kitel gave the figure a 'touch me and die' look.
The figured seem to disappointedly lose interest in Kitel. The figure simply stepped back and turned towards Midra, making his way over to her.
Midra put her hands on her hips as the figure neared her. "Do you even know how to speak?" she asked the person.
"Speak or leave," said Hiei harshly. "Better yet, just leave."
The figure, completely ignoring the fire demon, took a step closer to Midra. It looked down at her as if studying her. Midra took an instinctive step back, now a bit freaked out at the actions of the stranger.
Hiei stepped forward, his hand on his sword, ready to strike at any time. To everyone else, it looked as if he were ready to defend himself, but he was really readying himself to protect the human girl next to him in the event that she was attacked.
The figure spent a few more moments studying Midra before turning around and walking back over to it team. They all walked off as a perfectly synchronized pack.
"What was that all about?" asked Kitel. "I have no idea, but I didn't like it," Midra replied. If looks could kill, Hiei would have probably decimated every member of the mystery team by that point.
"Freaky," was all Kuwabara could say. "Extremely," Kurama agreed. "They obviously are a team in this tournament. The real question is, can they survive long enough to fight us?" he sighed. "Either way, we need to get going." He pulled Kitel closer to him in a protective manner.
Midra still felt a bit off. She couldn't help but feel very threatened by the silent figure that had almost bore holes into her without his eyes even being visible. Hiei looked at her oddly. "What's with you?" Midra glared at him. "Why don't you mind your business?" she said, huffing. "I have no idea, okay?"
Kitel noticed Hiei's question and lifted an eyebrow at Kurama. He simply smirked, as if to say 'see, I told you'.
The members of Team Urameshi cringed at the voice of the fox girl announcer as they entered the arena. "And now, here comes the ever-controversial Team Urameshi!!" The crowd began a chorus of boo's and curses. Kitel rolled her eyes. "Controversial? Please."
The rest of the fight was full of twists and turns. Rinku beat Kuwabara, and Midra had to scream at Hiei to let up on the poor guy for losing. Kitel has panicked when Roto had threatened the life of Kurama's human mother, but was relieved when Kurama was able to outsmart him by planting a death seed in him while he wasn't paying attention, thanks to a tactfully flicked pebble. Hiei had then quickly taken care of Zeru. The biggest shock, though, had been when Chuu came out and destroyed his own two teammates. He was now laughing in the ring.
Kurama smirked as he realized Yusuke had jumped into the ring. "Finally, he's awake."
"About damn time!" growled Kitel. Midra smirked. She had known in her heart that Yusuke would come through. She caught a glimpse of Hiei out of the corner of her eye and did a double take. He has his right hand in his pocket, but she could tell it was trashed, practically burnt to a crisp. She turned to him.
"You damned moron!" she said as he grabbed the upper portion of his arm, which was in fine condition. "You're just going to stand there with your arm like that? Some fighter you are!"
Hiei growled at her. "Let. Go." Midra growled right back. "Stop being stubborn and let me heal your arm, you idiot." Kurama held in a chuckle as Kitel put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.
Hiei glared at her. "NO." he said, loudly and firmly. "FINE!" Midra said, her voice now raised as well. "Stay that way and have your arm injured for the entire tournament! I'm only trying to help the team!" Hiei and Midra entered in a fierce glaring contest. Finally, Midra pulled his hand out of his pocket. "You're such a dumbass, you know that?" she asked as she began to heal his arm. Hiei simply growled, but let her work on his arm, realizing she had a point about it being injured for the rest of the tournament.
Midra had touched his hand gently to begin healing there, but felt a blush quickly creep up upon her and moved to the top of his elbow, deciding to start from there. She couldn't stop her heartbeat from quickening. She mentally cursed at Hiei as she continued to heal him. "I don't even know why I try," she said to herself.
About ten minutes past. Kurama was busy finding amusement in the looks Kitel was giving Kuwabara as he cheered Yusuke on in his fight against Chuu. Midra was almost done healing Hiei, but a question had been burning at her for the past five minutes.
"You really did yourself in," she commented. "What the hell were you thinking, using that technique?"
Hiei fought the urge to rip her throat out. "I won the match, bitch! Why are you complaining?" Midra fought off the stabbing feeling in her heart that the harsh name he called her had caused. "Because having someone as stupid as you on my team unsettles me, that's why!" Midra cleared up a few last small cuts before finally letting go of his arm, finished with her job. "Move it and tell me how it feels," she said, trying her best to sound emotionless.
Hiei moved his arm a bit. "It's fine," was all he said. Midra gritted her teeth. "Lovely, no need to thank me. Your wonderfully grateful smile is thanks enough," she said sarcastically. She turned to go walk over to Kuwabara. On her way over to him, she felt herself waver just a little bit. 10 minutes straight of channeling spirit energy was apparently beginning to take its toll on her. Hiei's keen senses picked up on her lack of coordination and instantly knew what it was from. 'Stupid girl.' Midra finally reached Kuwabara and simply crossed her arms over her chest and watched the rest of the fight. Chuu took out two knifes from behind his back and began saying something to Yusuke, which none of his team members could hear over the roaring crowd.
"I hope this ends soon," said Kitel. Kurama wrapped an arm around her as she leaned against him. "As do I," he replied. He looked down at the female fox demon and smiled slightly. He had to admit, after being away from her so long being able to even feel her against him was heaven. The last time they had really seen each other was when he had still been Yoko Kurama, the most feared thief that had ever been heard of. "What in the…" Kurama watched in shock as Chuu threw the two knifes into the ground and he and Yusuke positioned themselves between the blades.
Koto smiled. "It looks like Yusuke and Chuu have decided to finish this with a Knife Edge Death Match!"
"WHAT? Is Urameshi crazy?" asked Kuwabara. "We just have to have faith that he knows what he's doing," said Midra.
"He's nuts!" commented Kitel. "Fool," Hiei agreed.
"Think about it," Midra said, speaking to her entire team now. "They're both completely spent. This is the quickest way to end this," At that moment, Yusuke and Chuu began to trade blows to the face. She got the impression that Yusuke was enjoying himself.
"That is true enough, but the real question is, can Yusuke avoid death when it is literally right behind him?" the Masked Fighter mused. "Great," Hiei muttered.
"The winner is Yusuke!" cheered Koto. Kitel let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "He could drive a girl to drinking!" she said. "At least he's okay," Kurama commented.
"It's about time," said Hiei, annoyed. Midra smirked. "Tell me about it. The kid sure takes his sweet time." Hiei crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Midra before looking away.
Yusuke jumped out of the ring to be met with a very worried team. "You are such a…" Kitel couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Yusuke smirked at her as Midra walked over.
She growled at her best friend. "You son of a…you jackass!" she smacked him in the arm before hugging him tightly. "Scare the shit out of me like that again and I'll kick your sorry ass!" Yusuke laughed. "I swear to you, Yusuke, you're lucky my grandmother isn't here, you would have given her a coronary!"
"She would have killed him herself," said Hiei. Midra glared at him. "How about you take my word for it since I've known her all my life, hmm?"
"I've got a better idea," said Genkai, glaring through her mask. "How about you both stop bickering so we can get back to the hotel? Yusuke needs rest."
"Yeah right!" said Kuwabara, "He's been sleeping all day!"
"For once, he's right," said Kitel, letting out a giggle. Kurama chuckled at how cute her giggle was.
"Well…" Midra broke down into chuckles. "Maybe he'll have earned it this time." She grabbed Yusuke by the ear and began pulling him out of the stadium, a move that Genkai had taught her. "Come on!"
"AHH! Hey, that hurts!" Yusuke protested as the human girl dragged him away. "Good, you lazy bum!" she replied.
Genkai smirked at her granddaughter's actions. Kuwabara laughed. "Nice goin', Mid!"
Kurama chuckled as he took Kitel's hand. "Well, those three are quite the team. The Three Musketeers, really." Kitel rolled her eyes. "Oh, please." The Masked Fighter simply walked off towards the hotel without a word.
"Damnit," Midra muttered to herself as she tried her best to steady her walking. Despite her best efforts, she was stumbling every few steps.
"What's wrong, Mid?" asked Kuwabara, worried for his friend. "Nothing," she replied. "Just a little fatigued, I guess…" She attempted to cover up how tired she was by tugging on Yusuke's ear. "This one over here is enough to wear you out by just watching him!"
"Don't blame Yusuke," Hiei ordered. "It's because you healed my arm, isn't it?" Midra looked at him. "I would never waste that much energy on you." That was something she knew within herself was a huge lie. "Besides, even if I did use that much energy, its not like you would ever be grateful or appreciative of it."
"Don't lie," said Kitel, "He is part of the team and you'd help him as much as you would help any one of us." Midra glared at her. "Nobody invited you into this conversation." "Midra, be nice!" ordered Yusuke. Just at that moment, Midra's legs gave way momentarily. Kuwabara caught her by her waist before she was able to fall. Hiei found himself watching Kuwabara intently all of a sudden.
Kuwabara examined Midra visually. "…You really did use that much energy, didn't you?"
Midra growled. "Fine, so maybe I did, okay? At lest the extra energy will spare us anymore brooding from him, okay?" She sighed and held on to Kuwabara's shoulder to steady herself. "There's no need to worry about me, I'm fine."
Hiei growled menacingly at the girl. "Well, for your information, it is appreciated. In my next match, I'll be in better shape and be able to kill my opponent faster. I won't have to take so long to rest and heal now." That was, of course, his thanks to her.
"That's what I was trying to tell you, but you're too much of a stubborn ass to realize it!" And that, of course, was her saying 'you're welcome'.
Please review!! kitty face
After quite the walk, Team Urameshi finally reached their hotel room. After quickly putting their bags down, they discovered there were multiple bedrooms, each with two beds. This brought up the issue of who got stuck with whom, and the Masked Fighter took it upon herself to devise a system.
She moved the straws around in her hand. "Everybody pick one, and if you get matching lengths of straw, you share a room. It's a clear, diplomatic way to do it."
"Oh, please," commented Hiei, rolling his eyes. Kurama scowled. "Hiei, just do it."
Midra picked a straw and held it in front of Hiei. "See? It's easy. You can do it, too," she said mockingly. Hiei grumbled under his breath and picked a straw himself. He held it out in front of her as if to mock her back, but the joke ended when they made a realization.
Both of the straws were the same length.
Kitel smirked. "Well, well, well," she said as Kurama smirked at the irony of the situation. Hiei growled as Midra rolled her eyes. "Oh, dear…"
Yusuke attempted to hold in his laughter as he picked a straw. Kitel looked away to be fair and picked a straw, and then Kurama followed suit. She smirked when she put her straw up against Kurama's and found they were the same length. Kurama grinned.
"Oh, wonderful, none of us are getting any sleep now," said Midra. Kitel glared at her. "Look who's talking!" Midra glared back. "I'm not going to be all over my roommate all night long," she retorted. Hiei looked at Midra quickly out of the corner of his eye before glaring at Kitel. Yusuke sighed. "Here we go again…"
Kuwabara picked his straw out of the last two. He sighed in relief when he realized his and Yusuke's straws were the same length. "Great," said Yusuke, not looking forward to Kuwabara's notoriously terrible snoring. Kurama smirked. "Now nobody's getting any sleep," he chuckled. Midra smirked as Yusuke rolled his eyes at the suggestion that he and Kuwabara would ever do things of that nature as he walked into the room and closed the door.
Midra sighed mentally in relief, glad that her grandmother got the single room, so that her identity could continue to be a secret. Yusuke began to head towards his room. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep, so don't wake me up until the match begins tomorrow," he warned, glaring at Kuwabara. The accused put his hands up in innocence. "Fine with me. Mid owes me a game of cards anyways." Midra smirked at him. "That eager to be beaten?" she shook her finger at him. "Tsk tsk, Kuwabara."
Kitel laughed. "Now this should be entertaining!" Hiei shrugged. "It shouldn't last too long, considering who's playing," he commented.
Kuwabara growled. "All right then, you and me, Mid, right now! Come on!" he challenged.
Kurama chuckled. "Well, I believe we have tonight's entertainment." Kitel grinned and looked at Hiei. "Five minutes," she challenged. Hiei looked back at her. "Not even," he countered. Midra eyed them both. "Get the deck, Kuwabara," she ordered as she sat down on the couch around the coffee table; ready to take on the challenge set on by Kitel and Hiei.
Kuwabara sat down across from Midra as he shuffled. Kitel smiled at Kurama. "She'll wipe the floor with him. What do you think?" Kurama smirked. "Kuwabara is smarter than he looks. How much smarter, though, may be debatable."
"I'll show you how to play a real game of cards!" said Kuwabara as he continued to shuffle. "Poker is the game, Mid. Aces wild." "Fine with me," she said. Kitel simply leaned against Kurama as he draped an arm around her shoulders, eager to watch the outcome of the game. Hiei rolled his eyes and sat at the windowsill, looking out of it. Truthfully, he was watching Midra through the reflection.
Kuwabara dealt five cards to both him and Midra. She looked at her cards thoughtfully for a minute. "Give me two," she said, throwing two cards on the table. Kitel suddenly lost interest in the length of the game and went to put her bag in her room.
Kuwabara gave her two new cards and after a minute of his own contemplation put down three of his and took three new ones. He grinned. "Ha, ha, ha, Midra!" he said victoriously. He threw his cards down face-up. "Full house!"
Midra blinked. "Wow, Kuwabara, that's a very good hand," she said. "Very few things can beat a full house…" she turned her cards around to show him, "…but I believe a royal flush is one of them."
Kuwabara's jaw practically hit the floor. "Wha…bu…HOW?"
Hiei smirked and shook his head; unable to see the cards but figuring Midra had won. Kitel came back out of her room in leggings and a very big, loose sweater. "How long?" she asked Hiei. He closed his eyes briefly and then looked back out the window. "Four and a half," he answered simply. Kitel grumbled. "Damn," she replied in defeat, walking over to Kurama, who greeted her with a smile. She hugged his arm and let her hand graze his chest. He kissed her cheek gently.
"Nice job, Hiei," said Midra reflexively, complimenting him on his win on his bet with Kitel. She mentally kicked herself as she realized she had just spoken his name, something she tried to avoid to keep his attention off of her. Hiei couldn't help but feel himself perk up at the sound of his name coming from her, but he said nothing.
"Come on, Mid, one more game!" Kuwabara pleaded. Hiei scoffed. "I bet you can't beat her at all." Kuwabara's anger flared. "OH YEAH? Come on, Mid, I'll prove shorty over there wrong!" Midra grinned. "And I'll prove him right. Deal." Kuwabara began to shuffle furiously.
Kitel got Kurama's attention and motioned to their room as she walked over and went in. He took one last look at the card game before turning and following her into the bedroom.
"That entire scenario was just hilarious," said Kurama. Kitel wrapped her arms around his neck. "Isn't it?"
"I don't think you know what I mean," he said. "I suppose I can trust you with this piece of information…" he moved closed to Kitel, afraid someone would overhear them. "Midra has caught Hiei's eye."
Kitel lifted an eyebrow. "No way…" Kurama nodded. "Oh, yes, and what's better, she likes him right back." Kitel giggled. "This is too much!" she said. She kissed him on the lips quickly. "This tournament is going to be interesting."
Kurama nodded. "Very," he replied before returning her kiss passionately. She smiled against his lips as he pulled her against him, knowing that he was going to keep her quite busy for the rest of the night.
"WHAT?!"
"That's my fifth win in a row," Midra smirked. Hiei smirked as well and shook his head. "You might as well quit, you'll just keep losing." Kuwabara growled. "You can't win six in a row! Come on, one last game!" Midra laughed. "You asked for it, buddy!"
"Idiot," muttered Hiei as Midra laughed at his comment. Hiei closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the fights ahead. He knew that Yusuke and Kurama would be valuable assets, but Kuwabara was simply a joke in his eyes, and although Kitel has her tactics, she had a very limited number of attacks. As for Midra, all he could say was that she should count herself lucky that the team had decided to make Kitel their back-up fighter instead of her. Her healing abilities were most definitely going to be an asset, but he had been training with her for months, and although she was a competent fighter with powerful skills, she wasn't ready for the type of brutal fighting that they would be facing. He opened his eyes when he heard Kuwabara speak.
"Ha, ha, ha, a pair of kings!"
"Ha, ha, ha, a pair of aces!"
"WHAT? NO WAY!"
Midra chuckled. "Just go to sleep Kuwabara. Maybe you'll have better luck tomorrow." She patted his cheek playfully and then picked up her bag and walked into the room that she would be sharing with Hiei, closing the door behind her. Hiei watched her walk into the room before noticing that Kitel and Kurama were gone. He rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where they were and what they were doing.
"Fates help us all."
Kitel and Midra ignored the stares from the male members of their team as they walked out of their rooms in their fighting outfits, Kitel's hair flowing free and Midra's pulled back and up as always.
Kuwabara whistled. "Look at you guys! Are you planning to fight by distracting your opponents with your looks?" Midra promptly whacked Kuwabara upside the head for his comment.
Kitel had her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "It'd be better than your tactic: making your opponent feel sorry for your stupidity."
Kurama sighed. "You guys are starting already?" Kitel crossed her arms over her chest. "He started it!" 'Real mature,' thought Kurama. "Can't we at least try to act like a team today? We have our first fight against Team Rokuyuukai, and they are no laughing matter."
Kitel walked over to Yusuke, who was sleeping on the couch, and whacked him upside the head. "Get up Urameshi, time to head out!"
Kuwabara laughed, as Yusuke didn't move a muscle. "Have fun trying, he isn't budging!" He walked over and slung Yusuke over his shoulder. "What do you mean?" Kitel asked. "Genkai must have done a number on him," Kurama explained. "Well, she isn't a pushover, I can tell you that much…then again, either is Yusuke," mused Midra.
"Where is our last fighter?" asked the Masked Fighter. Midra rolled her eyes at the mention of Hiei. "Maybe if we're lucky, he won't show up."
At that moment, Hiei walked through the front door of the hotel room. "It's about time you all got up," he said.
"It's about time you got here," Midra retorted. He looked at her. "I've been waiting for all of you." She sighed. "Whatever. Let's just get going," she glared at Hiei as she walked towards the door.
Hiei growled and glared at Midra. "This should be a short fight," he commented. He looked at Yusuke and raised an eyebrow. "What's with Yusuke?"
"He won't wake up," said Kurama. "Hopefully, he'll decide to join us during the fight today." Hiei rolled his eyes. "What a leader." Midra turned and glared at him as she opened the door. "Oh, just shut up and move your ass!" she said as she walked out. The rest of the team followed suit.
Team Urameshi did their best to stare forward and ignore the hateful glares from the demonic spectators as they made their way to the stadium. Kitel stuck close to Kurama and whispered to him, "Do you think we'll have any trouble before the actual fight begins?" "I hope not," he whispered back. Hiei looked at the both of them. "I hope so. Less demons to fight later," he said.
Midra shook her head at Hiei's comment until a power group of spirit energies hit her senses. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Do you feel that?" she asked out loud. Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah, I feel it too."
Midra turned slightly to her left as a group of five fighters, undoubtedly a team fighting in the tournament, were heading straight for Team Urameshi. They were all covered by large black sheets and had what looked like long, pointy-heads, although they were obviously part of the cloaks. Kitel growled low enough for only her team to hear her.
The team stopped directly in front of them, standing perfectly still. One of the taller members stepped up. Hiei growled. "Can we help you?" he asked with agitation tingeing his voice. "What do you want?" asked Kitel, an eyebrow lifted in question. Kurama glared daggers at the figure that stepped up as it came closer to Kitel.
The figure simply stared at her. Kurama, unable to hold himself back, wrapped his arm around Kitel's waist as if to let the cloaked person know that she belonged to him. Kitel gave the figure a 'touch me and die' look.
The figured seem to disappointedly lose interest in Kitel. The figure simply stepped back and turned towards Midra, making his way over to her.
Midra put her hands on her hips as the figure neared her. "Do you even know how to speak?" she asked the person.
"Speak or leave," said Hiei harshly. "Better yet, just leave."
The figure, completely ignoring the fire demon, took a step closer to Midra. It looked down at her as if studying her. Midra took an instinctive step back, now a bit freaked out at the actions of the stranger.
Hiei stepped forward, his hand on his sword, ready to strike at any time. To everyone else, it looked as if he were ready to defend himself, but he was really readying himself to protect the human girl next to him in the event that she was attacked.
The figure spent a few more moments studying Midra before turning around and walking back over to it team. They all walked off as a perfectly synchronized pack.
"What was that all about?" asked Kitel. "I have no idea, but I didn't like it," Midra replied. If looks could kill, Hiei would have probably decimated every member of the mystery team by that point.
"Freaky," was all Kuwabara could say. "Extremely," Kurama agreed. "They obviously are a team in this tournament. The real question is, can they survive long enough to fight us?" he sighed. "Either way, we need to get going." He pulled Kitel closer to him in a protective manner.
Midra still felt a bit off. She couldn't help but feel very threatened by the silent figure that had almost bore holes into her without his eyes even being visible. Hiei looked at her oddly. "What's with you?" Midra glared at him. "Why don't you mind your business?" she said, huffing. "I have no idea, okay?"
Kitel noticed Hiei's question and lifted an eyebrow at Kurama. He simply smirked, as if to say 'see, I told you'.
The members of Team Urameshi cringed at the voice of the fox girl announcer as they entered the arena. "And now, here comes the ever-controversial Team Urameshi!!" The crowd began a chorus of boo's and curses. Kitel rolled her eyes. "Controversial? Please."
The rest of the fight was full of twists and turns. Rinku beat Kuwabara, and Midra had to scream at Hiei to let up on the poor guy for losing. Kitel has panicked when Roto had threatened the life of Kurama's human mother, but was relieved when Kurama was able to outsmart him by planting a death seed in him while he wasn't paying attention, thanks to a tactfully flicked pebble. Hiei had then quickly taken care of Zeru. The biggest shock, though, had been when Chuu came out and destroyed his own two teammates. He was now laughing in the ring.
Kurama smirked as he realized Yusuke had jumped into the ring. "Finally, he's awake."
"About damn time!" growled Kitel. Midra smirked. She had known in her heart that Yusuke would come through. She caught a glimpse of Hiei out of the corner of her eye and did a double take. He has his right hand in his pocket, but she could tell it was trashed, practically burnt to a crisp. She turned to him.
"You damned moron!" she said as he grabbed the upper portion of his arm, which was in fine condition. "You're just going to stand there with your arm like that? Some fighter you are!"
Hiei growled at her. "Let. Go." Midra growled right back. "Stop being stubborn and let me heal your arm, you idiot." Kurama held in a chuckle as Kitel put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.
Hiei glared at her. "NO." he said, loudly and firmly. "FINE!" Midra said, her voice now raised as well. "Stay that way and have your arm injured for the entire tournament! I'm only trying to help the team!" Hiei and Midra entered in a fierce glaring contest. Finally, Midra pulled his hand out of his pocket. "You're such a dumbass, you know that?" she asked as she began to heal his arm. Hiei simply growled, but let her work on his arm, realizing she had a point about it being injured for the rest of the tournament.
Midra had touched his hand gently to begin healing there, but felt a blush quickly creep up upon her and moved to the top of his elbow, deciding to start from there. She couldn't stop her heartbeat from quickening. She mentally cursed at Hiei as she continued to heal him. "I don't even know why I try," she said to herself.
About ten minutes past. Kurama was busy finding amusement in the looks Kitel was giving Kuwabara as he cheered Yusuke on in his fight against Chuu. Midra was almost done healing Hiei, but a question had been burning at her for the past five minutes.
"You really did yourself in," she commented. "What the hell were you thinking, using that technique?"
Hiei fought the urge to rip her throat out. "I won the match, bitch! Why are you complaining?" Midra fought off the stabbing feeling in her heart that the harsh name he called her had caused. "Because having someone as stupid as you on my team unsettles me, that's why!" Midra cleared up a few last small cuts before finally letting go of his arm, finished with her job. "Move it and tell me how it feels," she said, trying her best to sound emotionless.
Hiei moved his arm a bit. "It's fine," was all he said. Midra gritted her teeth. "Lovely, no need to thank me. Your wonderfully grateful smile is thanks enough," she said sarcastically. She turned to go walk over to Kuwabara. On her way over to him, she felt herself waver just a little bit. 10 minutes straight of channeling spirit energy was apparently beginning to take its toll on her. Hiei's keen senses picked up on her lack of coordination and instantly knew what it was from. 'Stupid girl.' Midra finally reached Kuwabara and simply crossed her arms over her chest and watched the rest of the fight. Chuu took out two knifes from behind his back and began saying something to Yusuke, which none of his team members could hear over the roaring crowd.
"I hope this ends soon," said Kitel. Kurama wrapped an arm around her as she leaned against him. "As do I," he replied. He looked down at the female fox demon and smiled slightly. He had to admit, after being away from her so long being able to even feel her against him was heaven. The last time they had really seen each other was when he had still been Yoko Kurama, the most feared thief that had ever been heard of. "What in the…" Kurama watched in shock as Chuu threw the two knifes into the ground and he and Yusuke positioned themselves between the blades.
Koto smiled. "It looks like Yusuke and Chuu have decided to finish this with a Knife Edge Death Match!"
"WHAT? Is Urameshi crazy?" asked Kuwabara. "We just have to have faith that he knows what he's doing," said Midra.
"He's nuts!" commented Kitel. "Fool," Hiei agreed.
"Think about it," Midra said, speaking to her entire team now. "They're both completely spent. This is the quickest way to end this," At that moment, Yusuke and Chuu began to trade blows to the face. She got the impression that Yusuke was enjoying himself.
"That is true enough, but the real question is, can Yusuke avoid death when it is literally right behind him?" the Masked Fighter mused. "Great," Hiei muttered.
"The winner is Yusuke!" cheered Koto. Kitel let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "He could drive a girl to drinking!" she said. "At least he's okay," Kurama commented.
"It's about time," said Hiei, annoyed. Midra smirked. "Tell me about it. The kid sure takes his sweet time." Hiei crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Midra before looking away.
Yusuke jumped out of the ring to be met with a very worried team. "You are such a…" Kitel couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Yusuke smirked at her as Midra walked over.
She growled at her best friend. "You son of a…you jackass!" she smacked him in the arm before hugging him tightly. "Scare the shit out of me like that again and I'll kick your sorry ass!" Yusuke laughed. "I swear to you, Yusuke, you're lucky my grandmother isn't here, you would have given her a coronary!"
"She would have killed him herself," said Hiei. Midra glared at him. "How about you take my word for it since I've known her all my life, hmm?"
"I've got a better idea," said Genkai, glaring through her mask. "How about you both stop bickering so we can get back to the hotel? Yusuke needs rest."
"Yeah right!" said Kuwabara, "He's been sleeping all day!"
"For once, he's right," said Kitel, letting out a giggle. Kurama chuckled at how cute her giggle was.
"Well…" Midra broke down into chuckles. "Maybe he'll have earned it this time." She grabbed Yusuke by the ear and began pulling him out of the stadium, a move that Genkai had taught her. "Come on!"
"AHH! Hey, that hurts!" Yusuke protested as the human girl dragged him away. "Good, you lazy bum!" she replied.
Genkai smirked at her granddaughter's actions. Kuwabara laughed. "Nice goin', Mid!"
Kurama chuckled as he took Kitel's hand. "Well, those three are quite the team. The Three Musketeers, really." Kitel rolled her eyes. "Oh, please." The Masked Fighter simply walked off towards the hotel without a word.
"Damnit," Midra muttered to herself as she tried her best to steady her walking. Despite her best efforts, she was stumbling every few steps.
"What's wrong, Mid?" asked Kuwabara, worried for his friend. "Nothing," she replied. "Just a little fatigued, I guess…" She attempted to cover up how tired she was by tugging on Yusuke's ear. "This one over here is enough to wear you out by just watching him!"
"Don't blame Yusuke," Hiei ordered. "It's because you healed my arm, isn't it?" Midra looked at him. "I would never waste that much energy on you." That was something she knew within herself was a huge lie. "Besides, even if I did use that much energy, its not like you would ever be grateful or appreciative of it."
"Don't lie," said Kitel, "He is part of the team and you'd help him as much as you would help any one of us." Midra glared at her. "Nobody invited you into this conversation." "Midra, be nice!" ordered Yusuke. Just at that moment, Midra's legs gave way momentarily. Kuwabara caught her by her waist before she was able to fall. Hiei found himself watching Kuwabara intently all of a sudden.
Kuwabara examined Midra visually. "…You really did use that much energy, didn't you?"
Midra growled. "Fine, so maybe I did, okay? At lest the extra energy will spare us anymore brooding from him, okay?" She sighed and held on to Kuwabara's shoulder to steady herself. "There's no need to worry about me, I'm fine."
Hiei growled menacingly at the girl. "Well, for your information, it is appreciated. In my next match, I'll be in better shape and be able to kill my opponent faster. I won't have to take so long to rest and heal now." That was, of course, his thanks to her.
"That's what I was trying to tell you, but you're too much of a stubborn ass to realize it!" And that, of course, was her saying 'you're welcome'.