Terribly sorry this took so long! I got reeeeeally bad writer's block (again), so the Tournament was over in the corner so long it grew mold, and I had to de-mold it. But I did; finally! So, yay!
(Actually, Arashi and I have a deal....I sent her a long list of fics, and for every one of those she reads, I'll update. She's read three already...this is only my second update! NYAG!!)
Couple things: 1) Go read my other fics, The Grass is Always Greener and It's A Lot of Fun! They're great! n.n
2) Go read Arashi's new fic, Loneliness. It's sad. T.T
3) If you have time, please go sign up for my friend Lizard's Tournament! Go to her website ), click on YYH Fanfics, and go from there! n.n Thanks!
4) If you'd like info on the next Writer/Reader Reversal, go check our bio! Aaaaaall the way at the bottom!
Oh, yeah, and ignore the title....Arashi-chan and I were fooling around and she dared me to use it. ((sigh))
Disclaimer: We don't own Zaraya...did we say that already?
Chapter Eighteen: Something Stupid
At this point of the match, the field was in a massive state of disarray. Holes littered the ground everywhere (not to mention the big pit in the center with Nezume's dead body at the bottom), as well as bones from the skeletons Yakusoku's attack had pulled up. It was going to be difficult not to trip over anything as the two team Captains fought for the round.
"It's been three minutes since the match has officially started, and neither one of the competitors has done anything!" Faye said, "There can't be a reason for this non-action, can there?"
"We might as well get started," Yusuke said.
"Might as well," Zaraya responded evenly. Neither of them moved to do a thing.
"Tell you what," Yusuke said, purposefully baiting his opponent, "Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll even let you have the first move. Who knows, maybe it'll help you to win." There--a flash of anger in her eyes.
"I don't need a handicap," she spat, "But all the same, thank you for the oppurtunity!" She pulled out a katana and lunged with a battle cry.
It had been a long time since Yusuke had last faced an opponent with a sword, but it was the same idea--hit them before they can hit you.
And so he did.
Zaraya went flying across the battlefield (if the boulder had still been there, she would have crashed through it), colliding with the ground to make her own little impact trench, much like Hiei had done earlier.
"And Yusuke gets through Zaraya's defenses, knocking the poor girl down with a simple punch!"
"Get up," Yusuke called to Zaraya, "I know you can do more than that." Katana still in hand, she obliged, leaping at Yusuke in a fury of steel.
Yusuke applied the same method, and soon there was a second trench next to the first one she'd created. Her katana flew out of her hand to lodge firmly in a tree trunk.
Spitting out a tooth, Zaraya pulled herself up again, wobbling slightly on her two feet.
"This i s pathetic," Yusuke said, trying to see if he could taunt her into attacking him again, "If you're not going to fight, forfeit now--it'll save you embarassment."
"You--" She dashed out of the ring to wrench her katana from the tree before coming back to attack again. He let her attempt to hit him. It was simple to dodge her, after all--this was no challenge. Not at all.
"BLACK ROSE WHIP!" Something snaked out from her left hand; Yusuke frantically pulled back but something scraped across his arm, wrenching the skin and muscle apart as it worked through to connect with bone.
Zaraya smiled as he screamed in pain, her katana held loosely in her right hand and what looked to be a black rose whip coiled in her left.
"Did that hurt?" she asked sweetly, cocking her head, "Is poor Yusuke in pain?"
"Damn you people," Yusuke said, through gritted teeth, "You are so stupid." Her ear twitched.
"What."
"I mean, honestly." The old Yusuke was back as he straightened up, ignoring the blood pooling from his arm. "Aren't you smart enough to come up with your own moves? Apparently not; you have to keep stealing Kurama's." Anger flashed in her eyes again, and Yusuke was struck at how easily she got ticked off. It was slightly amusing, actually.
"I don't see a copyright on them," she snapped, "And that isn't the only one!" Dropping the blade and whip, she cradled one of her hands in her other at arm's length from her body.
"Zaraya, NO!" Kasei yelled, getting up off the ground, "Yours isn't as--"
"SPIRIT GUN!" A black orb of energy shot from her finger, shooting across the battlefield towards her opponent--
Only to be ripped apart at the center.
"What?!" Zaraya's eyes widened in shock as she started at the remains of her Spirit Gun, splitting apart before her very eyes to make way for the blue orb that pushed through them.
And that orb was much, much larger.
"--strong as his is," Kasei finished weakly.
For the third time in that battle, Zaraya was propelled backwards. The rest of her team scattered like bowling pins as she went through them, finally coming to a halt several feet away from the ring. Faye, not needing to state the obvious, began her ten count.
Yusuke smirked and lowered his hands from his traditional Spirit Gun pose.
"Maybe it's not copyrighted," he called to Zaraya's prone form, "But nobody can copy the great Urameshi's Spirit Gun with exactly the same punch."
"Ten!" Faye concluded, "And with a spectacular light show finish from Yusuke Urameshi, this round of the Ohsukah Tournament comes to an end: TEAM URAMESHI IS THE WINNER!" She grinned to the invisible cameras, "There'll be a short intermission to set the field to rights before we begin the next round, but don't worry, the second round will continue after that! So stick around! Teams Raka and Kodomo, this is your call to get down to the ring!" With that, she switched off her microphone. "Now, to find Frogari..."
Yoko met Yusuke halfway back to the edge of the ring.
"Be still," he commanded, as he gently took Yusuke's arm in his hands, "Let me have a look." Yusuke winced and barely repressed a second scream of pain as Yoko stuck his fingers into the wound.
"Hold out your other hand." Yusuke did so, surprised when two bloody objects dropped into it.
"What are those?" he murmured, bringing his hand to his face to examine them. Only then did he realize that they were thorns from Zaraya's whip. He guessed they'd been embedded in his arm until Yoko had removed them.
"Until we can get Yukina to heal you, this'll have to do," Yoko said, and Yusuke saw that he'd made a crude bandage for his arm out of some sort of plant. "Try not to move it until then."
"I don't think I could," Yusuke grunted, and it was true. The plant practically bound his arm into one position; he hoped circulation was still getting to his fingers.
"I mean it," Yoko all but growled, as he headed back to where Hiei lay, "Don't move it."
"Okay, okay." He followed him back to the edge of the ring and waited while Yoko hoisted Hiei onto his back.
"I don't need to be carried," the fire demon protested, "I'm perfectly capable of--"
"Do us all a favor, Hiei?" Yusuke interrupted, "Shut up."
And so the victorious team left the field, leaving behind the stunned forms of their beaten opponents. The hotel, and a brief period of rest and relaxation, awaited them.
...or so they thought.
:::
Death Isle Hotel
:::
"Well, that was exciting," Yusuke said, as the trio headed up the stairs towards their hotel room, "Kuwabara got his butt kicked, Arashi burnt some guy to cinders, Niyali narrowly escaped Hiei's wrath--" Hiei glared at him "--we learned that Kozu's like an exact clone of Kurama--hey, wait, she is!" He turned to Yoko, "I mean, she wears her hair like Kurama's, her eyes are the same color, some of her attacks used roses, she's like a Kurama clone! Seriously!" His eyes clouded in thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be odd if the two of you were related?"
"Yusuke," Yoko said, his voice forcefully pleasant as they turned down the hallway to their room, "I regret to inform you I never had a sister, and I'd prefer it if you'd leave the subject of my family alone."
"Cousin, maybe!" Yusuke said, before letting the subject drop, "Okay, anyway, we all got to see Hiei's wonderful Dragon in action, Kurama's back to Youko, and I got to cream somebody else with my Spirit Gun. Yep," he sighed, hooking his hands behind his head, "Pretty normal day in the life of Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi."
"In the words of the 'Great Yusuke Urameshi'," Hiei said mockingly, " 'Do us all a favor? Shut up.'"
"Well, tempers are running high," Yusuke quipped. "Hold on a second--didn't our room used to have a door?"
"What do you mean 'used to'?" Hiei asked, trying to see over Yoko's shoulder.
"We have no door anymore." He wasn't lying; the door was completely gone, smashed into splinters by...something. They stepped through the large hole that something had made and saw--
A scene of utter confusion.
"DIE DIE DIE!"
"THAT ONE'S FOR MY MOTHER!"
"THAT'LL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH KAZUMA KUWABARA!"
"What the heck is going on in here?!"
Four pairs of eyes looked up; one belonging to Arashi, who was currently whacking a large brute in the head with a chair. One belonged to Niyali, who was doing the same thing with a large stick to another. A third belonged to Kozu, who was standing over a dead thug, and the last belonged to Kuwabara, standing there with his Spirit Sword out, a fourth thing dead on the floor at his feet.
"Oh, hey Urameshi!" Kuwabara said, and his sword disappeared, "How'd the battle go?"
"What happened here?" Yoko asked, Hiei sliding off his back to hit the floor (he landed on his feet and immediately grabbed the wall for support).
"Nothing happened!" Kuwabara quickly lied, stepping forwards to block their view while the girls scrambled to hide the evidence.
"Kuwabara-" Yusuke pushed his way past, "The door's gone, the sofa's cut in half, the television is smoking, the potted plant is broken, everything looks soaked, you're bleeding and there are four-" He crossed to the demolished sofa, "No, wait, six dead things in our room. And you say nothing happened?"
"Yep."
"Nothing happened," Arashi added, from her position in the air.
"We just sat here and did nothing," agreed Kozu, flying next to her.
"Nothing at all." Niyali added her two cents from behind the sofa as she attempted to evade Yoko. He caught her.
"Hold still, you're hurt."
"So are they!" Yoko glanced up at Arashi and Kozu.
"Well, you're hurt more."
"I am not! Kozu-chan got konked on the head by the large thug over there, Arashi-chan--"
"Well, I'm dealing with you right now, not them."
"Catch me, Hiei!" Arashi had been flying for too long and fell unconscious--needless to say, losing her control over her flight and falling, landing not in Hiei's arms as he was couldn't very well move. She hit the floor instead.
"Arashi!" Kozu attempted a crazy dive to her friend, but lost control herself, spiraling in circles to the floor before landing roughly on her rear end.
"Hello?" The door to the girls room creaked open as Botan poked her head out, "Is it safe to come--oh my goodness gracious! What happened?!"
"That's what I'd like to know," Yusuke added, folding his arms across his chest (or trying to; one of them wouldn't move).
"Look at the pretty birdies," was Kozu's response, as she stared swirly-eyed at the ceiling. Yusuke turned to Kuwabara.
"Kuwabara?"
"I don't know anythin', Urameshi, nothing happened here. Nothing at all." The team captain raised an eyebrow, and Kuwabara sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. We were just sitting here, watching Kurama's fight with that mousey guy..."
And the fight began.
Hail poured in torrents from the clouds gathered on the ceiling; Arashi was using her powers to make sure it only fell on the thugs.
"Cover me!" Niyali yelled to Kozu before beginning to play. Kuwabara stood off to the side for a second, wondering what she meant; but as the thugs started to head for Niyali to end the music, and Kozu stepped in front with her Rose Whip, he got the meaning. So he charged in too, Spirit Sword at the ready.
Hail softened to rain; Arashi couldn't risk hitting her teammates with the hailstones. Thunder growled, perfectly accentating Niyali's song--
That is, until the song stopped with an awkward note that Kuwabara was pretty sure wasn't supposed to be there.
"Anybody moves and the brat dies," said one of the thugs, and Kuwabara's brain snapped back into observation mode. The same thug who had spoken had crept around their defenses and knocked the flute from Niyali's hand--it lay on the floor, several feet away, while she herself dangled in the air, one of her wrists dangling at an unnatural angle and the thug's hands around her throat. Kozu lay on the ground, stunned from a heavy blow to the head (the brute standing over her held a kitchen chair in his hands). The rain stopped as Arashi hovered in the air, uncertain of what to do. Kuwabara himself was at a loss for words--how had this guy gotten past their defenses?
"Niyali!" Arashi screamed, bobbing gently up and down in the air. Niyali choked as the man's hands tightened, her eyes wide with fear.
"You BASTARD!" Fast as lightning, Kozu's foot swung upwards towards the man standing over her; it connected with the masculine part of his body and he was flung backwards, slamming into a door and sliding down to rest on the floor.
"Don't MOVE!" the choking-brute repeated, hands tightening ever more.
"You move!" Kuwabara corrected, taking a leap and slicing into the man's arm. He screamed and dropped Niyali, who rolled over out of the way, clutching her throat and gasping for breath.
Kozu raced over to her; Arashi followed suit until one of the forgotten men took a flying jump and collided with her, bringing her down and out of the air.
"ARASHI!" Handy-dandy stick appeared out of nowhere; Niyali forgot her own injuries and charged, swinging wildly and catching Arashi's attacker in the chest. Winded, he stumbled backwards; she followed through and began to beat him wildly with the stick, yelling all the while.
"THIS ONE'S FOR ARASHI!" Whack. "THIS ONE'S FOR...ARASHI TOO!" Whack.
Arashi took to the air again and recreated the storm; Kozu flew up to join her, but something snagged her foot.
"What the--" she looked down into the toothy grin of a thug, who (once he knew he had her attention), gave a firm yank and let go. Kozu's head collided with the floor and for the second time, she was stunned.
"YOU BASTARD!" Copying Kozu's words and a thug's attack, Arashi grabbed the long-forgotten kitchen chair, charged it with lightning, and started beating him with the electrical chair. Needless to say, that hurt.
Kuwabara, on the other hand, had disposed of two of the other thugs (demolishing the sofa and television in the process, but they were in the way). He was currently trying to pin a third against the wall--
And he suceeded, running it through with his Spirit Sword and letting it fall dead to the ground.
Kozu shakily pulled herself back into the air and, upon surveying the damage done, noticed the sixth and only living thug (Arashi had shocked one to death and Niyali's was pretty much a bloody pulp by now, yet neither one of them had stopped yet). Pulling out one of her knives, she threw it, catching the thug dead center and killing it instantly. Pleased with herself, she flew over to retrieve her knife, listening absentmindedly to the voices of her friends.
"DIE DIE DIE!"
"THAT ONE'S FOR MY MOTHER!"
"THAT'LL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH KAZUMA KUWABARA!"
"What the heck is going on in here?!"
"..and that's where you came in."
"So let me get this straight," Yusuke said, trying to sort it all out, "Six thugs came in and randomly demanded a fight with you?"
"Yep."
"And you GAVE IT TO THEM!?"
"Well, what else were we supposed to do?! Stand by and let them kill us?"
"Of course not!" The Team Captain and Team CoCaptain turned to the Team Trainer (Botan), who had interrupted their argument. "You'd be dead, we'd be dead, and the rest of the team would soon follow because you can't fight in the final round of the Tournament without seven people!" She turned to Yusuke and decided to change the subject, "So, how'd the rest of the round go? And what happened to your arm?"
:::
Lame ending, I know. Be quiet; I wanted to get this up for all of you. Next chapter should follow soon; I'm inspired now! n....n Reviews'll help it come faster...
Review Responses:
Dragonflyr: n.n I'm so glad you like it! Oh, and welcome to the Tournament Writing Club! Currently consists of: me, GS (GeminiStar) and you! n.n If you need any help writing out any of the battle scenes, feel free to ask for it! I'll lend you Chibi Yoko, and he'll help you get through it. n.n
Superspiritgun: Thanks! Your review's great too!
CHIPMUNK1: You have a fictionpress account? Cool! I won't laugh at you; I promise. The readers made the other teams; about a year ago (wow, it seems like yesterday) I asked for people to submit characters to this story (it was called Too Much Sugar and a Tournament back then), they did, and I compiled them into teams. n.n Without them, this fic would be dead. Literally. (Bet you thought it was dead, haha, I fooled you!) n.n Thanks! I'm so glad you like the fic and it makes sense! That's always my problem, getting them to all make sense...let me know if it ever doesn't, okay?
shadowcat241: Yeah...now that I think about it, I should've made the fight a draw...ah, well, it didn't matter in the long run. n.n Just an authorly mistake, I suppose.
soccerGoalie: I'm sorry! I tried to hurry...but I didn't really. ((bows head in shame))
Tonysbedroomslave: n.n You don't want to know what your penname makes me think off...you're welcome for the update! Sorry this one took so long...and thanks for sticking with us! (Just a note; I'm the one writing this particular fic...and The Grass is Always Greener, if you wanna check it out. Arashi helps a lot, though. n.n Without her, I'd be dead!)
flamin: I did get your email! Did you get the Counselors? Sorry, Arashi's just not very fast about that sort of stuff...takes her forever to send the stories out...and to update, but I can't very well talk! XD
HellSpindle: NOOOOOOO! I DON'T WANNA GO TO HELL!!! ((sniif)) I'm sorry...I just can't stop writing cliffies....I'm good at them....and if it makes you all keep reading, who cares? XD
Aw...only seven? The Grass is Always Greener gets about twenty...you should all go read it and make it about 27! NYAHAHA!! XD It's very good...I promise you won't be sorry! (shameless self-advertising...I've really got to stop doing that). 'Til next time!