"Obligation and Duty"

Chapter 32 (This is the last one for a while again... sorry!)

.oO{The Akakihana girls are not my property. See Chapters 26 and 27 on who owns who. Rei is mine and so are Kinenas.}

#no one comes# #crickets chirp#

#Author# I think that settles it, we're officially losing pace, here. Especially with my crappy cliffhangers!!! #Author screams and rips out hair#

#regains control# I was reading through the last chapter(I also fixed the end, so IT'S DIFFERENT!) and I noticed how it messes up the REAL episode. Since Hiei was ~busy~ with Rei, he missed a lot of his lines and junk... hmmm... maybe I should change that? #wonders#

*****

"Will the next fighters please come forward!" Koto said. None of the guys moved on either side. All the demons in the crowd were yelling things at the teams but still neither teams moved. "Next fighters forward," Koto said again, but this time she seemed more annoyed. Looking at both teams, she tapped her foot and rolled her eyes, lifting the microphone to her mouth again.

Zeru stepped forward from the Rokuyukai team and the demons in the crowd went wild. Kurama and Kuwabara, on the other hand, seemed greatly disturbed.

"What? Their team leader is going now?" Kurama asked, almost to himself.

"But, shouldn't he go last? Maybe there's a mistake?" Kuwabara said.

"No," Hiei spoke up, "Zeru is the strongest of the last four remaining. He's fighting angry, it's obvious he isn't taking this seriously."

Yusuke rolled over and mumbled something to himself and Botan sarcastically said, "Yes, and we're just the picture of proffesionalism."

Rei nodded her agreement as Koto turned to their side of the ring, "Can we get on with it here, Urameshi team?"

There was a slight pause in their talking and Hiei stepped forward.

"I'll go," he said, pulling off the cloth around his neck, "This one has been irritating me since last night."

"Team Rokuyukai: Zeru! Team Urameshi: Hiei!" Koto said and the demons all roared.

The fighters stared at each other for a moment and Hiei said, "I know a great deal about your technique. You harnessed heat energy with such great precision it resembled a knife cut, but one of the edges was sloppily melted. You have your flaws."

"As do you. I don't think I need advice from someone who has to use a fake eye," Zeru crossed his arms over his chest and glanced at Rei again. She flipped him off but he had already turned his attention back to Hiei because Koto had said, "Fight!"

Zeru automatically powered up his energy, making flames shoot across the ring; knocking Koto off. Hiei only stood there with his hands in his pockets, so Zeru asked, "Not intimidated yet?"

Zeru powered up more and made the flames reach all the way out towards the crowd. Rei ducked over Yusuke so they wouldn't get hurt, and Kuwabara and Kurama protected themselves. The Masked Fighter jumped up on the wall that divided the seats from the ring and made a Spirit shield. Rei looked up to see what she was protecting and noticed Shizuru and Keiko sitting near the nosebleed section. Demons on either side of the shield were getting cooked, though, because the fire was bouncing off it and going where it could.

Hiei chuckled to himself, making Zeru angrier. "I wouldn't laugh just yet," Zeru said, holding up his hand and making a fireball. He threw it at Hiei and it seemed to explode, but Hiei jumped from the spot. Koto had finally managed to get back on the edge of the ring and now said, "Unfortunately, Hiei was not charred by the fire. But there's more coming his way."

They looked up and saw Hiei jumping around in the air, trying to dodge the fire shots. He landed on the roof/wall of the dome and Zeru shot at the spot, but since Hiei dodged, the cement was hit making the pieces crush some demons under it. "Beat him up, Hiei! He's been giving me weird looks since last night," Rei muttered under her breath.

"Zeru's blows are fantastic! And making Hiei run for his life-- along with a good deal of the fanbase," Koto said. Zeru made another fireball and asked Hiei, "You've become quiet. Have you noticed any more of my supposed 'flaws'?"

"Actually," he answered, "I'm bored."

That annoyed Zeru, so he said, "Actually, you're dead!" He didn't throw the fireball and instead powered up more, making the fire shoot up towards the sky. "This guy's gone crazy," Kuwabara said and Rei had to agree with him. The fire that was hovering over the ring suddenly sucked into Zeru-- who was holding his his fists in front of him and seemed to be concentrating. His skin started to change color; instead of the pale white, it was turning burnt red!

"Oh! Wow!" Koto dodged a flame, "His skin is changing color! He seems to be engulfed in the flame. He's- glowing like a poker..."

Hiei only smirked and Zeru charged. He shoved his hand straight through Hiei's midsection and the Urameshi team--including Rei and Botan-- watched in surprise as their fighter flew through the air.

"I'm not finished yet," Zeru said and shot a firestream at him. It engulfed Hiei in it and they all thought he was dead.

"I love it!" Koto said, and Rei just about beat her up. Why hadn't Hiei been able to block that?!

"No, no, I can't believe it!" Kuwabara said as Hiei started falling to the ground. Kurama and Botan were in pretty much the same state, and Rei wondered if it was her fault that Hiei hadn't blocked it. After all, it had been less than a half hour ago that they were in the hotel. Maybe he thought he wouldn't get hurt because she was supposed to give him more power?

"You see it for yourself, people! Hiei is done!" Koto announced joyfully. Hiei crashed to the ground and Zeru sneered, "Heh, what a weak thing. You can rest in hell."

As he was walking away, Koto said, "Oh-- yes--. Well this wasn't a long one, but when you've got scortching moves like Zeru's, a little goes a long way!"

"Yes," was the answer. Rei looked up and noticed Zeru's sticken face. "You're so talented I'm reluctant to make the kill."

Koto turned and everyone in the dome were surprised. There stood Hiei!!

"Oh my," Koto gasped. "Hiei survived! He's on his feet. He's... smoldering." And that he was; his shirt was a little scorched and ripped, and he was surrounded by flames. Zeru turned quickly and asked, "How.. could you?"

Right then a hole burnt in Hiei's bandana, showing his Jagan eye. The bandana fell to the ground and he answered him, "I believe we've covered that. So my Jagan eye might not be natural, but it does give me exactly what I need!"

The Jagan glowed with a bright, white light and Hiei said, "Dragon of the darkness flame!"

"I can't believe it's true. He's going to attempt the darkness technique," Kurama was surprised.

"The 'darkness'? What does that mean?" Botan asked him. Hiei lifted his arm and smokey, black flames accumulated in his hand.

"The black flames of death, from the deepest pit of the Spirit World. Oh help me," Zeru whispered to himself. Black streaks shot from the sky through the dark clouds that had gathered. The red sky seemed to darken even more and the streaks of dark surrounded the island.

"You know it's impossible to control it completely. Once I release it I have no say," Hiei said. Fire surrounded him and black flames were around his body. "I have the power to pull you into oblivion. I assume just my right arm will do."

Zeru's eyes widened and Hiei went on, "You should never have insulted the Jagan eye. Because you see, in a way it has it's own mind and loathes disrespect. Resisting it is not something I would do."

Zeru stepped back in fear and put up his arms to protect himself, but that was futile. Koto ran off the stage and Hiei got ready. He outstretched his arm, and as his shirt ripped off he said, "Dragon-- of-- the darkness-- flame!"

He held his right arm straight out and black fire shot from his hand. It was cylindrical with spirals around it and flames followed the path from the ground. The front of the attack was shaped like a dragon's head and Zeru could do nothing to protect himself. He stood in horror as the image came near him and everyone looked away for fear of what they might see. The darkness engulfed him and when everyone looked again, all that was left was a burn mark on the wall.

"Hiei... has.. succeeded," Kurama wondered aloud. Hiei himself looked surprised that he was still alive. Koto was still staring at the ashes when she said, "Well, he's definitely out of the ring."

"Believe me," Hiei looked at her, "He's not coming back. That cinder's all that's left."

Koto turned around, surprised, and said, "Yes, and I suppose counting to ten would be a little ridiculous."

Hiei only looked at his charred arm and Koto said, "Let's give it up for Hiei!"

"Yeah! We're punching our way to the top! Hiei can beat anyone with that move!" Kuwabara was elated, but then realized what he had said, "Hiei can beat anyone with that move. Am I listening to myself?! What if he decides to be a bad guy again? What if he decides to shoot us with the dragon?!"

Hiei came up to that side of the ring, "Don't worry, (for now). We've entered into an alliance and I'm not the type to break it. Of course, after we win the tournament, I can't guarantee a thing."

Rei watched him and noticed a smile tugging at his lips, but when he moved away his eyes twitched with pain. Kurama seemed to have noticed it, too. Two guys on the other side of the ring looked at the outline of what had once been their captain and ran through the doorway. Less than ten seconds later they appeared again, but being drug in one hand by a tall, mohawked man. In his other hand was a bottle alcohol. He was very muscular; his blue vest and somewhat tight green pants showed that. He also liked fur from what he had for leggings and around the collar of the vest. On his face was stubble and when he talked to Rinku, he sounded Australian.

"Ah crap, it's Friday."

Rinku turned around and said, "Y-you're here?"

The Aussie took a big drink from his bottle and wiped his mouth. "'ey, would you explain to those guys not to run away again? There's a fight to fight."

He dropped his bottle behind his back and it crashed near the other two's heads. He mumbled things as he walked towards the ring and tried to get up.

"Okay, upsie-dasie," but he fell backwards on his back and grinned. "'ey, no need to make the ring taller; let's just have some fun." He stuck a toothpick in his mouth and added, "It is Friday."

Botan seemed surprised and said, "Oh dear, a drunk madman has escaped to the ring."

The man finally got onto the ring and stood up-- only to wobble a little and fall on his butt. He sat Indian style and called Koto over to him. "Hey announcer-sheila. You look pretty hot, could you c'mere a second?"

Koto looked around and stuttered, but when the man punched his fist down and said, "I got a question for you!" she went running to him. She bent down and cleared her throat, "Um, eh, what kind of question?"

"Two of 'eir fellas just died on accident. How can their team continue?" this was interupted once by Koto's 'really?' and a belch from him.

"Doesn't matter how many that die, each team in only allowed ONE alternate fighter," Koto grabbed her nose. "Rukkuyukai can fight with Rinku and one alternate, if they find one."

"You sure about that?"

Koto became indignant. "I AM a walking rule book. My entire life is this tournament. Of course I'm sure!"

The man became very excited and stood up.

"YES! That means I can fight these last two boys myself. I think that's really ripper," he said and then fell back down. Koto walked over to him to see if he was alright and he grabbed her by the neck. Rubbing his unshaven cheek against hers, he said, "Thanks for everything, sheila."

He stood up and Koto held her nose and muttered under her breath, "Prick."

The man stumbled across the ring towards the Urameshi team's side. Kuwabara said, "His Spirit energy is a lot less than Zeru's but for some reason I've got a creepy feeling. Watch out you guys."

Botan walked up to him, "What could you be worried about? He's an alternate fighter and secondly, he's a lush."

"Eh, I dunno," Kuwabara somewhat gave in. Hiei didn't look too sold, though. The man stood at the edge of the ring and yelled to them.

"Let's go, you suckers. I wanna get a good brawlin' before my fun wears off. In that case, they better all fight me at once," he burst out in druken laughter and then instantly stopped to stare at them. Kuwabara turned to the others and said, "So, who's going to take him? It hasn't been very long since all three of us fought our matches. I guess we should draw straws or something."

The man was starting to get annoyed. "Hurry UP!" he yelled at them. Koto added, "Chu seems extremely impatient," finally giving Rei this guy's name.

.oO{Chu doesn't seem so bad, just a little drunk,} she thought. .oO{I wonder if he'll become a friend?}

Chu looked over his shoulder at Koto and asked, "Eh, what did you say?"

Koto looked nervous and answered, "I.. only say it as I see it."

Chu walked back to her and pointed a finger in her face, "Don't go all confusing me with big words. Just get me a fighter!"

"Right!" Koto said and ran towards their side. Chu muttered to himself, "Pretty tail she's got, that one. I think I might fall in love with her."

"Urameshi team, present your combatant," Koto pressed.

"Well, we've still got that masked fighter guy," Kuwabara started again. Rei felt Yusuke move and looked behind her, but he wasn't there. "Come on man, it's your turn," Kuwabara called to the Masked Fighter.

"If you can't give me someone, I'll have to disqualify," Koto said and Kuwabara pleaded, "No no, hold on a second. I guess I'll have to take control of this fight unless of course I can get Urameshi to wake up!"

They turned and looked around, but Yusuke wasn't there. "Where'd he go?"

Yusuke jumped into the ring and stood up. "Waking up to the smell of alcohol. Can't help but feel a touch of home," he said and scratched his ear. He raised his arms and said, "Hey all you demons! I've had to sleep long enough through all your clever trash talks and now I'm ready to kick some asses!"

.oO{Oh dear, that certainly is the same old Yusuke.} Rei thought. Yusuke proceeded to stretch his muscles as Botan asked him if he was ready to fight. He had been sleeping for almost a day.

"Ah, give me a break. I always get some light exercise in the morning," Yusuke waved a little and walked away from the edge. Chu muttered something and spat on the ground, but Yusuke kept walking towards him. He smirked, despite what the crowd was yelling: 'KILL YUSUKE! KILL YUSUKE!'

Kuwabara, Botan and Hiei all said something, but Rei didn't hear. She was too busy watching Yusuke. Chu said, "Stand there for a bit, I forgot something," and instantly disappeared, only to reappear next to Koto with her microphone in his hand.

"Sorry, sheila, gotta borrow. Uh, okay, I just wanna set the record straight before we get this thing going. Right, basically, it's that I'm a really ace person and the only thing I suck at is PAPER, ROCK, SCISSORS!"

There was total quiet in the dome and Koto whipped out another mic. "Uh, let me try to translate for the drunkard here. Earlier this morning the Rokuyukai team decided their roster through paper, rock, scissors. Chu lost pathetically and became the alternate, but he wants you to forget all that because he is number 1!"

"Yeah!!" Chu yelled. Koto nodded, "No need to thank me. That's why I'm here."

"Wow, she's a really perceptive person, isn't she?" Kuwabara asked.

"Oh no, Chu is going to start acting dopey again, I can feel it!" Rinku said to himself on the other end of the ring.

"I'm strong, okay? Do you even get what I'm trying to yab to ya?" Chu asked.

"Yeah, stupid, I understand," Yusuke laughed and pulled off his jacket. "It's not too difficult, you know. You were scared to fight me before and now you're blaming it on some dumb game."

"Nah, that's not right. Didn't you hear what the Foxy was saying?"

Yusuke held up his hands and moaned, "Paper, rock, scissors," like a ghost. Someone in the crowd called Chu a pathetic drunk and he jumped off the ring and against the wall, grabbing a demon by the neck. They fought a little, but finally he let go and let the demon live. Chu came back with another bottle and took a drink of it. He threw it to the side and got back up in the ring as he explained his fighting style: the dreaded 'drunk-fu.'

"Yeah, wobbly, give me a break. So the tipsy fighting thing might be weird, but I've still heard of it before. You had better give me something to make this fight a real challenge. I didn't come all this way to babysit a drunk," Yusuke added. Chu instantly became serious.

"Then wait a minute. You won't yabber there once I hit my groove. 'Course, I have to stumble into it first," he said and started stumbling across the ring. He chuckled to himself and said, "We're going to enjoy this."

He stopped and his fighting aura seemed to break through.