"Obligation and Duty"
Chapter 40
.oO{My band, my band, my band, my band--}
#Kyo hits Author# Stop singing Slim Shady. #meow ~_~()#
#Author laughs evilly# But they don't even know the name of my band-- lalalala-- because I'm the lead singer in my band #Kyo has to take Author back to her padded room# #Author calls out before he closes the door# Enjoy chapter 40!!!! #hears confetti balloons pop#
*****
Urashima opened the box, and the ring was covered in smoke. No one could see through it, and the smoke didn't penetrate the 'barrier' around the ring Ura had made with his fishing line.
"Wow, this fog is getting everywhere," the ogre said. Ogre looked over at Koenma--who was cooking, but the ogre didn't know-- and threw water on him. Koenma got mad at him and had to strip down in Rei's presence.
"You guys really have the nose-bleed seats, don't you?" she asked Koenma. He nodded, still annoyed at the ogre. Koto said, "I can barely see two people in the ring. Is Juri still even in the ring, or has she become another casualty? Will I have to replace her as announcer?"
Then there was a slight, baby-ish voice from a microphone, "Wait. I'm hewrwe*. Is it snack time yet, mama?"
Still, there was no sign of Kurama nor UraUrashima. But there was a deep voice Rei could slightly hear coming from the ring. Just then, she noticed Shishi throw his sword through the barrier and when the smoke cleared, they saw a hideous demon disintegrating where Ura had been. When the smoke cleared totally, they all saw a tall, long silver-haired, fox-man standing in the ring.
Rei jumped forward and almost hit her head on the glass. "OH MY GOSH!! He's a fox!!"
"Oh man," Koenma held his head in his hands. Rei looked like she could faint and was practically drooling. "Kurama looks good in his demon form, doesn't he?" the ogre asked. Koenma turned his head and said, "Shut up and dry."
The ogre went back to Koenma's wet clothes on a make-shift clothes line as Yoko Kurama turned back into Shuichi Kurama. "I can't explain it, people, but the silver-haired hunk has turned back into a tailless red-head," Koto pouted. Shishiwakamaru walked into the ring and picked his sword back up. He rolled the dice and they landed on him and a free one for the Urameshi team. Rei remembered what Touya had said about Shishi's fan club when a billion female voices erupted from the stands.
"WE LOVE YOU, SHISHI!!!" they all cried. The Urameshi boys looked unfazed as Shishiwakamaru smirked and tried to pick which one of them he wanted to fight. He chose Kuwabara, but Hiei and Kurama protested. Kurama suggested they use Janken, but Hiei didn't know what that was.
"Gee man, you really didn't have a childhood, did you?" Kuwabara asked him. Hiei glared and Kurama told him it was a human game; rock, paper, scissors. They started playing; Kuwabara won at first, but Hiei argued that he had cheated. They played some more until Kuwabara won again. Hiei looked annoyed at his fingers and Kurama sighed. Kuwabara jumped into the ring and faced Shishi. The fan club was still cheering and Kuwabara asked why they weren't cheering for him.
"Because you're nothing like our Shishi!" a few called. Shishi and Kuwabara talked a little before Juri said, "Start the match!"
The boys started fighting with their swords, but Shishiwakamaru was more skilled. He pulled out what looked like a silk scarf and threw it at Kuwabara. Kuwabara was wrapped up in it, but when the robe fell to the ground, Kuwabara was no where to be found.
"Juri, we're waiting for a decision," Koto said from the announcer box. Juri stuttered for a moment before answering, "Oh, okay, since Kuwabara hasn't been in the ring for more than ten counts, I guess the winner is Shishiwakamaru!"
The Shishi fan-club screamed and Koenma stroked his chin, "The Cape of No Return, hmm? I wonder where Kuwabara went?"
Shishiwakamaru rolled again and it was the Masked Fighter against any of the two remaining on Team Uraotogi. Shishi decided he'd be the one, but since the Masked Fighter wasn't there, Hiei was going to fight. Just then the Masked Fighter came up behind him and said she'd fight. Shishiwakamaru cut the mask, showing an old, faded-pink haired lady. He tried to make Juri think the Masked Fighter was an imposter-- because she didn't have much energy-- so they had to wait on the committee's decision. On a big screen, they replayed the fight with the Ichigaki team-- the one Rei hadn't watched-- and showed that under the mask it was a beautiful, pink haired woman.
Koto was going around and asking the crowd what they thought, but soon stopped, because there was no one of significant brain cells to answer. "I don't see what's so hard about it," Koenma said. "First we had the hot young Genkai, now we've got the old one."
"Maybe you should go talk to the committee then, sir," the ogre said. Koenma snapped his fingers, "Good idea." He stood up and started to get ready to go, and turned into his older version. "Let's go... make a difference."
He was almost out the door when Toguro took the mic from Koto. "That's no imposter," he said. He explained it was Genkai and how the Spirit Wave technique turned people back to when they were the fittest-- that's why she was younger in the Ichigaki fight. They all listened attentively to the tall man and when he finished, they started the fight. Shishiwakamaru pulled the hilt of his sword and skulls seemed to pop out of the handle. He called the sword the 'Banshee Shriek.'
Thousands of ghostly skulls flew around the ring and killed people. Shishiwakamaru seemed to go crazy and went after Genkai. He used another Chorus of a Thousand Skulls, but Genkai still dodged. Shishi decided to use another technique: his Death Cage. A barrier of energy went up around the ring and they fought. Genkai managed to withstand his attacks and when he came at her with his sword, she used her Spirit Reflection Blast to steal his energy and throw him through the barrier. Shishi got up and came at her two more times, but was exhausted. He passed out and Juri ruled Genkai the winner!
The next match started when Onji-- the old man Rei had seen when she ran into Shishi-- rolled the dice. It came up him against Kuwabara-- who had returned during the last match. They went into the ring and Kuwabara tried in vain to hit him. Onji made a "black hole" of sorts and threw it at Kuwabara. Turns out, Onji was the one who had tailor-made the attacks his teammates had used: the Cape of No Return, the Idunn Box, the Steaming Spheres, and the Banshee Shriek. Kuwabara was sucked into the portal and transported someplace again. Juri ruled that match over and Onji rolled again.
Genkai was the next fighter for him and he chuckled.
"A match between the elderly, is it?" he asked.
"You're no elder," Genkai said. Onji smiled and mumbled, "Perceptive," before tearing off his face. The ugly old man was really an ugly blonde clown.
"AUGHHH!!!" Rei practically screamed and fell backwards in her chair.
"What's wrong?" Koenma's ogre asked. Rei shuddered, "I... hate clowns."
By the time she looked back down, the clown was missing his red nose. Beautiful Suzuki-- as he wanted to be called-- was not happy with Genkai. Genkai mocked him and he became even angrier. Genkai decided not to use her power and made a boxer's pose. Suzuki agreed to only use fists and they went at each other. Genkai punched the tall blonde atleast 6 times straight in the face.
"Gah, he's hideous!" the Ogre stepped back. Rei was holding her legs close to her in the chair and nodded. Koenma grinned evilly, "Still afraid, eh? Need me to hold you?"
Rei shot him a death glare and turned back to the window. Juri just got done saying the Urameshi team was the winner of the round. Rei stood up, "I'm going back to the hotel."
Koenma looked over, "How?"
Shrugging, she turned to the door. Koenma and the ogre watched before Koenma nodded to the ogre, "Get her there."
The ogre nodded and walked out after Rei. The ogre used his 'influence' to get another chopper for Rei and him to ride to the hotel in. As they were sitting in it, high above the ground, Rei asked, "What should I call you?"
"Huh?" the ogre asked.
"You have a name, right?"
The ogre thought for a moment, "Koenma-sama only calls me 'Ogre'. But my real name is George."
Rei stared out the window. .oO{George?} she silently laughed at him, "I'll call you George."
The ogre seemed very happy that she would. They landed and the ogre--George now-- said goodbye to Rei. She was only a few minutes away from the hotel when she saw more helicopters land. Not wanting to get caught by any demons coming off them, she sped up and reached the Urameshi team's hotel room in record time. She closed the door and got her breath back and walked to the bedroom. Yusuke was asleep on one of the beds. Rei went into the bathroom and took a rinse off shower. By the time she got out, Genkai and Kuwabara were sitting in the bedroom; talking.
"Rei-chan!" Kuwabara gasped. "How'd you get here?"
Rei looked at him questioningly until she realized; Kuwabara had only seen her kinena since coming here. Therefore, he didn't know 'Komi' was Rei. Rei stuttered for a few moments, trying to think of what to say, but Genkai said, "Ahh.. so you're Rei?"
Rei nodded, nervously toying with the edge of her shorts. .oO{Crap, this is bad...} she thought, clenching her teeth. Genkai was nodding to herself and said, "I've heard a bit about you."
"Yeah, same here," Rei said, and sat down in one of the chairs. She curled her right leg up under her and let the left hang over the arm. They talked for a little while before Kuwabara said, "I'm worried about Urameshi. The finals are in two days."
"He'll be fine. Just give him some rest," Genkai said, and stood up. "I have some things to do, though."
"So do I," Rei said, and followed her to the door. Genkai turned to Kuwabara. "Don't lose," she said, and walked out the door, leaving Kuwabara to give his questioning glance to Rei. She shrugged and followed the fighter out. They talked a little as they walked down the hall. But then Genkai stopped in front of the door. She only came up to Rei's chest, but she seemed a lot taller because of her authority.
She turned to Rei, and Rei noticed a look of sympathy-- even pity-- in the older woman's eyes. "It was nice meeting you," she said as she opened the door.
"Nice meeting you too," Rei smiled at her. Genkai smiled back--albeit sadly-- and said, "He'll break your heart."
Rei was taken aback, but then smiled, "He already has."
Genkai was the surprised one now, but she too smiled. "I like you. Stay strong."
"Thanks. I will," Rei nodded seriously. Genkai let the door close and walked away towards the forest. Rei crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her chin with one hand. Shaking her head, she sat down in the lobby on one of the plush sofas to think.
.oO{She was talking about Yusuke, right? Why did I answer so quickly if I didn't know?} she asked herself. Genkai was definitely odd; atleast, Rei felt odd around her.
She figured she had been sitting/laying there for an hour when she sat up. Just then, a very agitated looking Yusuke ran past and out the door.
"Deja vu all over again," she said slowly and stood up. Yusuke headed about the same direction Genkai had, and disappeared into the forest. Not five minutes later, Kuwabara followed. He say Rei and asked, "Tell me you saw Urameshi run past."
"I did," she said, and followed the red-head outside. He was mumbling to himself and walking backwards as Rei tried to calm him. Just then Botan called to him.
"Ahh! Yukina-san and her attendants!" he snapped out of it. Shizuru popped him on the head, "Her what?"
Botan was watching them until she noticed Rei standing to the side. She practically screamed but it mostly came out as a gasp. She grabbed Rei by the arm and pulled her to the side.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she whispered into Rei's ear. "This is going to ruin everything."
"What a nice thing to say," Rei whispered back. "Kuwabara saw me un-kinena and I can't very well go back now."
Botan bit her lip and tried to think quickly. "Well, Keiko is going to wonder now. And Shizuru has known it was you to begin with. Yukina didn't really meet you, soooo.... The only one I'm worried about it Keiko!" Botan groaned.
Rei looked over to where the other girls were standing and Rei noticed Puu in Keiko's arms. She was jealous, yes, but for some reason, she didn't care.
"So what?" she asked Botan. "She can't hurt me."
Botan looked at her quizzically and shrugged, "I guess not."
Just then, Kuwabara said, "I'm going to look for Yusuke. Where'd Rei go?"
Keiko looked up suddenly as Rei stepped out and waved at Shizuru and Yukina. .oO{Ah... Love triangle. This is going to be fun,} she thought grimly, and said goodbye to them as she followed Kuwabara.
"Yusuke went this way, right?" he asked.
"Yeah," Rei nodded. "But I lost him when he went through the trees."
After a few minutes, Rei felt what seemed to be a sharp tugging inside. She slowed down until it ceased. But with its end, she felt slightly emptier. Kuwabara also had stopped. "Did you feel that?" he asked.
Rei gasped-- meaning to answer him-- but she couldn't. All she could hear screaming in her mind was {'I won't forgive you, Toguro!!!'}
*Forgive me, I'm trying to write "here" as it sounded by Juri. *bows*
Also, I haven't seen these eps since... Last year, so I'm trying to write them from memory and crappy episode summaries.
Chapter 40
.oO{My band, my band, my band, my band--}
#Kyo hits Author# Stop singing Slim Shady. #meow ~_~()#
#Author laughs evilly# But they don't even know the name of my band-- lalalala-- because I'm the lead singer in my band #Kyo has to take Author back to her padded room# #Author calls out before he closes the door# Enjoy chapter 40!!!! #hears confetti balloons pop#
*****
Urashima opened the box, and the ring was covered in smoke. No one could see through it, and the smoke didn't penetrate the 'barrier' around the ring Ura had made with his fishing line.
"Wow, this fog is getting everywhere," the ogre said. Ogre looked over at Koenma--who was cooking, but the ogre didn't know-- and threw water on him. Koenma got mad at him and had to strip down in Rei's presence.
"You guys really have the nose-bleed seats, don't you?" she asked Koenma. He nodded, still annoyed at the ogre. Koto said, "I can barely see two people in the ring. Is Juri still even in the ring, or has she become another casualty? Will I have to replace her as announcer?"
Then there was a slight, baby-ish voice from a microphone, "Wait. I'm hewrwe*. Is it snack time yet, mama?"
Still, there was no sign of Kurama nor UraUrashima. But there was a deep voice Rei could slightly hear coming from the ring. Just then, she noticed Shishi throw his sword through the barrier and when the smoke cleared, they saw a hideous demon disintegrating where Ura had been. When the smoke cleared totally, they all saw a tall, long silver-haired, fox-man standing in the ring.
Rei jumped forward and almost hit her head on the glass. "OH MY GOSH!! He's a fox!!"
"Oh man," Koenma held his head in his hands. Rei looked like she could faint and was practically drooling. "Kurama looks good in his demon form, doesn't he?" the ogre asked. Koenma turned his head and said, "Shut up and dry."
The ogre went back to Koenma's wet clothes on a make-shift clothes line as Yoko Kurama turned back into Shuichi Kurama. "I can't explain it, people, but the silver-haired hunk has turned back into a tailless red-head," Koto pouted. Shishiwakamaru walked into the ring and picked his sword back up. He rolled the dice and they landed on him and a free one for the Urameshi team. Rei remembered what Touya had said about Shishi's fan club when a billion female voices erupted from the stands.
"WE LOVE YOU, SHISHI!!!" they all cried. The Urameshi boys looked unfazed as Shishiwakamaru smirked and tried to pick which one of them he wanted to fight. He chose Kuwabara, but Hiei and Kurama protested. Kurama suggested they use Janken, but Hiei didn't know what that was.
"Gee man, you really didn't have a childhood, did you?" Kuwabara asked him. Hiei glared and Kurama told him it was a human game; rock, paper, scissors. They started playing; Kuwabara won at first, but Hiei argued that he had cheated. They played some more until Kuwabara won again. Hiei looked annoyed at his fingers and Kurama sighed. Kuwabara jumped into the ring and faced Shishi. The fan club was still cheering and Kuwabara asked why they weren't cheering for him.
"Because you're nothing like our Shishi!" a few called. Shishi and Kuwabara talked a little before Juri said, "Start the match!"
The boys started fighting with their swords, but Shishiwakamaru was more skilled. He pulled out what looked like a silk scarf and threw it at Kuwabara. Kuwabara was wrapped up in it, but when the robe fell to the ground, Kuwabara was no where to be found.
"Juri, we're waiting for a decision," Koto said from the announcer box. Juri stuttered for a moment before answering, "Oh, okay, since Kuwabara hasn't been in the ring for more than ten counts, I guess the winner is Shishiwakamaru!"
The Shishi fan-club screamed and Koenma stroked his chin, "The Cape of No Return, hmm? I wonder where Kuwabara went?"
Shishiwakamaru rolled again and it was the Masked Fighter against any of the two remaining on Team Uraotogi. Shishi decided he'd be the one, but since the Masked Fighter wasn't there, Hiei was going to fight. Just then the Masked Fighter came up behind him and said she'd fight. Shishiwakamaru cut the mask, showing an old, faded-pink haired lady. He tried to make Juri think the Masked Fighter was an imposter-- because she didn't have much energy-- so they had to wait on the committee's decision. On a big screen, they replayed the fight with the Ichigaki team-- the one Rei hadn't watched-- and showed that under the mask it was a beautiful, pink haired woman.
Koto was going around and asking the crowd what they thought, but soon stopped, because there was no one of significant brain cells to answer. "I don't see what's so hard about it," Koenma said. "First we had the hot young Genkai, now we've got the old one."
"Maybe you should go talk to the committee then, sir," the ogre said. Koenma snapped his fingers, "Good idea." He stood up and started to get ready to go, and turned into his older version. "Let's go... make a difference."
He was almost out the door when Toguro took the mic from Koto. "That's no imposter," he said. He explained it was Genkai and how the Spirit Wave technique turned people back to when they were the fittest-- that's why she was younger in the Ichigaki fight. They all listened attentively to the tall man and when he finished, they started the fight. Shishiwakamaru pulled the hilt of his sword and skulls seemed to pop out of the handle. He called the sword the 'Banshee Shriek.'
Thousands of ghostly skulls flew around the ring and killed people. Shishiwakamaru seemed to go crazy and went after Genkai. He used another Chorus of a Thousand Skulls, but Genkai still dodged. Shishi decided to use another technique: his Death Cage. A barrier of energy went up around the ring and they fought. Genkai managed to withstand his attacks and when he came at her with his sword, she used her Spirit Reflection Blast to steal his energy and throw him through the barrier. Shishi got up and came at her two more times, but was exhausted. He passed out and Juri ruled Genkai the winner!
The next match started when Onji-- the old man Rei had seen when she ran into Shishi-- rolled the dice. It came up him against Kuwabara-- who had returned during the last match. They went into the ring and Kuwabara tried in vain to hit him. Onji made a "black hole" of sorts and threw it at Kuwabara. Turns out, Onji was the one who had tailor-made the attacks his teammates had used: the Cape of No Return, the Idunn Box, the Steaming Spheres, and the Banshee Shriek. Kuwabara was sucked into the portal and transported someplace again. Juri ruled that match over and Onji rolled again.
Genkai was the next fighter for him and he chuckled.
"A match between the elderly, is it?" he asked.
"You're no elder," Genkai said. Onji smiled and mumbled, "Perceptive," before tearing off his face. The ugly old man was really an ugly blonde clown.
"AUGHHH!!!" Rei practically screamed and fell backwards in her chair.
"What's wrong?" Koenma's ogre asked. Rei shuddered, "I... hate clowns."
By the time she looked back down, the clown was missing his red nose. Beautiful Suzuki-- as he wanted to be called-- was not happy with Genkai. Genkai mocked him and he became even angrier. Genkai decided not to use her power and made a boxer's pose. Suzuki agreed to only use fists and they went at each other. Genkai punched the tall blonde atleast 6 times straight in the face.
"Gah, he's hideous!" the Ogre stepped back. Rei was holding her legs close to her in the chair and nodded. Koenma grinned evilly, "Still afraid, eh? Need me to hold you?"
Rei shot him a death glare and turned back to the window. Juri just got done saying the Urameshi team was the winner of the round. Rei stood up, "I'm going back to the hotel."
Koenma looked over, "How?"
Shrugging, she turned to the door. Koenma and the ogre watched before Koenma nodded to the ogre, "Get her there."
The ogre nodded and walked out after Rei. The ogre used his 'influence' to get another chopper for Rei and him to ride to the hotel in. As they were sitting in it, high above the ground, Rei asked, "What should I call you?"
"Huh?" the ogre asked.
"You have a name, right?"
The ogre thought for a moment, "Koenma-sama only calls me 'Ogre'. But my real name is George."
Rei stared out the window. .oO{George?} she silently laughed at him, "I'll call you George."
The ogre seemed very happy that she would. They landed and the ogre--George now-- said goodbye to Rei. She was only a few minutes away from the hotel when she saw more helicopters land. Not wanting to get caught by any demons coming off them, she sped up and reached the Urameshi team's hotel room in record time. She closed the door and got her breath back and walked to the bedroom. Yusuke was asleep on one of the beds. Rei went into the bathroom and took a rinse off shower. By the time she got out, Genkai and Kuwabara were sitting in the bedroom; talking.
"Rei-chan!" Kuwabara gasped. "How'd you get here?"
Rei looked at him questioningly until she realized; Kuwabara had only seen her kinena since coming here. Therefore, he didn't know 'Komi' was Rei. Rei stuttered for a few moments, trying to think of what to say, but Genkai said, "Ahh.. so you're Rei?"
Rei nodded, nervously toying with the edge of her shorts. .oO{Crap, this is bad...} she thought, clenching her teeth. Genkai was nodding to herself and said, "I've heard a bit about you."
"Yeah, same here," Rei said, and sat down in one of the chairs. She curled her right leg up under her and let the left hang over the arm. They talked for a little while before Kuwabara said, "I'm worried about Urameshi. The finals are in two days."
"He'll be fine. Just give him some rest," Genkai said, and stood up. "I have some things to do, though."
"So do I," Rei said, and followed her to the door. Genkai turned to Kuwabara. "Don't lose," she said, and walked out the door, leaving Kuwabara to give his questioning glance to Rei. She shrugged and followed the fighter out. They talked a little as they walked down the hall. But then Genkai stopped in front of the door. She only came up to Rei's chest, but she seemed a lot taller because of her authority.
She turned to Rei, and Rei noticed a look of sympathy-- even pity-- in the older woman's eyes. "It was nice meeting you," she said as she opened the door.
"Nice meeting you too," Rei smiled at her. Genkai smiled back--albeit sadly-- and said, "He'll break your heart."
Rei was taken aback, but then smiled, "He already has."
Genkai was the surprised one now, but she too smiled. "I like you. Stay strong."
"Thanks. I will," Rei nodded seriously. Genkai let the door close and walked away towards the forest. Rei crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her chin with one hand. Shaking her head, she sat down in the lobby on one of the plush sofas to think.
.oO{She was talking about Yusuke, right? Why did I answer so quickly if I didn't know?} she asked herself. Genkai was definitely odd; atleast, Rei felt odd around her.
She figured she had been sitting/laying there for an hour when she sat up. Just then, a very agitated looking Yusuke ran past and out the door.
"Deja vu all over again," she said slowly and stood up. Yusuke headed about the same direction Genkai had, and disappeared into the forest. Not five minutes later, Kuwabara followed. He say Rei and asked, "Tell me you saw Urameshi run past."
"I did," she said, and followed the red-head outside. He was mumbling to himself and walking backwards as Rei tried to calm him. Just then Botan called to him.
"Ahh! Yukina-san and her attendants!" he snapped out of it. Shizuru popped him on the head, "Her what?"
Botan was watching them until she noticed Rei standing to the side. She practically screamed but it mostly came out as a gasp. She grabbed Rei by the arm and pulled her to the side.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she whispered into Rei's ear. "This is going to ruin everything."
"What a nice thing to say," Rei whispered back. "Kuwabara saw me un-kinena and I can't very well go back now."
Botan bit her lip and tried to think quickly. "Well, Keiko is going to wonder now. And Shizuru has known it was you to begin with. Yukina didn't really meet you, soooo.... The only one I'm worried about it Keiko!" Botan groaned.
Rei looked over to where the other girls were standing and Rei noticed Puu in Keiko's arms. She was jealous, yes, but for some reason, she didn't care.
"So what?" she asked Botan. "She can't hurt me."
Botan looked at her quizzically and shrugged, "I guess not."
Just then, Kuwabara said, "I'm going to look for Yusuke. Where'd Rei go?"
Keiko looked up suddenly as Rei stepped out and waved at Shizuru and Yukina. .oO{Ah... Love triangle. This is going to be fun,} she thought grimly, and said goodbye to them as she followed Kuwabara.
"Yusuke went this way, right?" he asked.
"Yeah," Rei nodded. "But I lost him when he went through the trees."
After a few minutes, Rei felt what seemed to be a sharp tugging inside. She slowed down until it ceased. But with its end, she felt slightly emptier. Kuwabara also had stopped. "Did you feel that?" he asked.
Rei gasped-- meaning to answer him-- but she couldn't. All she could hear screaming in her mind was {'I won't forgive you, Toguro!!!'}
*Forgive me, I'm trying to write "here" as it sounded by Juri. *bows*
Also, I haven't seen these eps since... Last year, so I'm trying to write them from memory and crappy episode summaries.
