"Obligation and Duty"
Chapter 42
.oO{Why? Why do I waste my time and energy?}
Daisuke let Author out of padded room Because you like to? too cute! -
Author is sipping orange soda I guess you're right. sigh
Karasu threw one of his demonic grenades, but Yoko warned, "I wouldn't do that. It's not wise to upset the Mimosa. Besides, such a wimpy attack won't destroy it."
The Mimosa's teeth engulfed Karasu, making him disappear. His silver mask fell to the ground and Yoko snorted, "So easy, it ended before I expected. I should have played a little more with him, what a pity..."
The Urameshi Boys all celebrated such a quick victory, but while they did so, Teen Koenma suddenly turned back little. He pulled his hat over his head and shook a little, but when he pulled it back up, he was Teen again. Yoko started to walk from the ring and Koto urged Juri to make the call.
Juri was still in shock from the Mimosa, but she shook the fear away and started to proclaim Yoko the winner. Just then, the Mimosa moved a little and Yoko stopped. An explosion ripped the Mimosa apart and Karasu emerged from the smoke. Everyone in the audience stared and Juri quickly apologized for the match still being on and jumped from the ring.
Karasu was still without his mask and Toguro told Sakyo to step back. Karasu opened his mouth and a green spirit aura surrounded him. His hair turned blonde and Hiei explained what was happening the the rest of the team: "The fire is formed from the mouth to inside the body, and the body is sort of a storage of explosives. The hands probably ignite the explosion. Be careful, we might be hit."
Karasu made a sphere of green light between his hands. Sakyo stepped behind Toguro, but still watched. The sphere Karasu had made floated above the ring, carrying him with it. He flew down quickly to Yoko. The explosion that followed was huge. Across the ring from where Rei was sitting, part of the ceiling collapsed, killing many demons and making a hole in the ceiling.
When the explosion happened, Hiei had jumped onto the rail in front of Rei. Yusuke stood up from the debris and asked if everyone was okay. Everyone was; beside Kurama. They didn't know yet if he had survived, and judging by the way Karasu was laughing, he was hoping Kurama hadn't.
Kurama was no longer in the ring, but under some debris outside it. He stood up-- with some difficulty-- and Karasu told him to pray for a peaceful death. Kurama tried to summon the Rose Whip, but the rose petals burst into crimson smoke.
"What? Lost all your energy?" Karasu mocked him. "What a shame... Acknowledge your defeat and you'll die without any suffering."
That didn't sound too nice to Kurama. He jumped into the ring and started wrestling with Karasu. Hiei was certain Kurama had something planned. Karasu didn't think so, though.
"Have you gone insane from being wounded? Don't get close or it will be your death," he said just before Kurama hit him in the chest. Karasu looked at his chest and plucked a seed from it, "I wish I could say it was a great attack, but your little Death Plant won't work."
Karasu made the seed explode and a metal claw burst from the ground. It latched onto Kurama's leg and said, "Now I gotcha!" Karasu said it was his Underground Bomb just before it blew up-- injuring Kurama's leg badly. Kurama managed to stand, but Yusuke told him not to move; he was surrounded by green bombs.
"I could kill you quickly," said Karasu, "but I won't."
With that, Karasu gestured for the Light Sphere Bombs to move. They hit Kurama one-by-one; each one exploding and making Kurama scream. Blood was gushing from his wounds and he fell to his knees. Karasu commented on Kurama's beautiful face, and Kurama staggered back to his feet. Karasu made the other bombs explode on Kurama. Rei and the Boys watched in horror as their friend fell to the ground; covered in his own blood.
All the demons in the stadium, though, want Karasu to kill Kurama. One or two even managed to steal Koto's microphone to cheer for Karasu. Koto got it back before too much damage was done and told Juri to start counting. She did and Kurama tried to get on his knees.
"No need for a countdown," Karasu said. "I'm gonna finish this now! DIE!!!"
.oO{'You'll die with me,'} Rei heard Kurama's voice in her mind. Karasu's green light almost reached Kurama before a purple aura surrounded the red-head. It formed the Bloodsucker Plant, and it jumped at Karasu's wounded and bloody chest. It fed on Karasu's blood while Kurama fell unconscious.
"KURAMA!!" Yusuke and Kuwabara screamed at the same time. Rei was in shock; she couldn't even think. The crowd wasn't speaking; Karasu was dead, but Kurama might be also. But he wasn't.
"I'm alive... But how? I don't believe it. The energy is growing..." He stood up. "The potion is still working. The power of Yoko is returning to my body..."
The Boys cheered for Kurama. The Bloodsucker Plant had bloomed into a beautiful red flower as Koto commented on Kurama's amazing victory. Yusuke went into the ring and asked Kurama if he was alright.
Kurama fell to his knees, "I didn't win... I only had enough power for that kill."
Right then Karasu was ruled the winner of the fight and Juri explained, "I finished the count and Kurama was still down."
Koto played the video of the fight and agreed, "The Bloodsucker Plant only got to Karasu after the count. And Kurama WAS still down."
Yusuke was furious as he helped Kurama from the ring. The crowd cheered for Karasu and Kuwabara yelled, "He's dead and still the winner?!"
Toguro's 'brother' called Kuwabara ignorant. "What's the use of surviving if your fate is settled? The gates of Hell are already open to receive you. Remember that the winner team will receive a prize, and know that my deepest wish is the death of all of you."
The crowd cheered and Rei heard George shout to Kuwabara that Yukina was crying. Yusuke laid Kurama on the ground and started to shout at the crowd before Hiei spoke up.
"I'm going to reveal my wish," he started. The crowd fell silent. "I'm gonna take out the lives of the sponsors of this Tournament, so I'll never be invited to this dirty game again."
Toguro and Sakyo chuckled silently to themselves at this and Toguro's brother asked, "Who is going to be the first victim?"
His team mate, all decked out in something that looked like Feudal Age-samurai armor stepped forward also.
"What, you want to go first? I'm surprised with such a categorical decision," Older Toguro mocked. The man didn't say anything, only walked forward, making the whole ring shake.
"All right then, Bui," Older Toguro said, "Go and show them what death means."
Kuwabara stepped forward to fight Bui, but Koenma made a comment Kuwabara didn't want to hear. While he was shaking Koenma by the collar, Hiei said to Yusuke, "I intended to fight the bastard with the sunglasses, but in consideration of Genkai, I'll let you have him."
He used his speed and re-appeared in the ring. "I'll be content to take on this one."
Juri announced the fighters: Bui against Hiei. Hiei defenitely was at a disadvantage, though. His height--hair included-- only reached Bui's waist. Bui summoned a giant axe out of the air, but Hiei wasn't impressed. He pulled off his cloak, showing his Dragon arm tightly wrapped with bandages and a ward. Juri said to begin and Bui ran at Hiei, striking with the axe. Hiei used his speed again and appeared behind him.
"You gotta be more serious with your attacks. Or else how am I going to counterattack?" he said. Bui lifted the axe out of the ground and pulled up a concrete block with it. He threw it at Hiei, who dodged it easily. Bui kept doing this, but Hiei kept dodging. Quite a few people in the audience lost their life that day due to Bui's block throwing. Annoyed, Hiei opened his Jagan and used his flame attack to break the blocks. He didn't notice Bui ready to hit him with the axe behind one of them.
He was caught off-guard when Bui swung the axe, but it connected with his fist. The axe was broken, and the blade was sent flying-- only a few inches above Juri-- into the audience. Bui created a new axe easily. "Give up. It's useless, you're losing your time showing off all those weapons," Hiei said, smirking. Bui threw the axe, but Hiei easily caught it. He disintegrated it with his flames, making everyone gasp.
"I'm not kidding, I mean it! Do you really think you can get me with those iron splinters that don't even bear any energy? Stop stalling and fight!" Hiei said. Bui started taking off his armor, talking as he went, "Once I was defeated, and I swore I would only take the armor off to fight again with him."
"Aren't you afraid? Taking the armor off you'll receive my strikes right on your face," Hiei scoffed. Bui didn't answer. He kept taking off his armor; most of it was so heavy, it made holes in the ground where he dropped it. Hiei watched, arms folded over his chest, and waited. Finally, Bui took off his helmet, showing a nasty scare right across his face. "Usually an armor is used to protect the body from exterior attacks. But I'm different. I use it to control the power. It's a terrible power that even I can't hold back."
Bui let his greenish-blue Spirit Energy form around him; lifting him off the ground. Kurama said it was Battle Energy-- an armor of spirit power-- and Bui's was the most impressive he'd seen so far.
"You should fight seriously, too. You'll have amazing memories of this," Bui said. Hiei said he'd take that advice and jumped into the air to reach Bui. He hit the armor with his flames, but the armor deflected them. Hiei then sent the flames coiling around Bui, trying to burn his body, but Bui expanded his armor and shook the flames off. He made a sphere of his energy and threw it at Hiei, but the flames made it explode before it got to him. Bui then formed a giant throwing knife of the same greenish-blue energy.
He threw it at Hiei, but Hiei blurred out of the way, using his speed. The throwing knife followed him still. Hiei blurred back in right behind Bui, smirked, and blurred back out. Bui took the brunt of the attack and fell to the ground, making a crater in the ring. The smoke started to clear as Hiei stood on the edge of the crater, looking down. Bui was standing in the middle of the crater, unharmed.
"I told you to fight seriously! You think you can beat me with that?" Bui said as he lifted himself out of the crater using his energy. "I'm running out of patience. If you keep acting like this, I'll kill you before you have the chance to use your Black Dragon."
Hiei started taking off the ward and his bandages. "If that's what you want, I'll grant you your wish. But you'll regret it."
Kurama was explaining to the rest of the team how Hiei's ward acted like Bui's armor: it kept an awesome force at bay. Hiei took the bandages off and everyone saw for the first time a tattoo of a dragon around his arm. His body was surrounded by black flames and he said, "Now I won't go back. Furthermore, I forgot how to attach the bandages."
Chapter 42
.oO{Why? Why do I waste my time and energy?}
Daisuke let Author out of padded room Because you like to? too cute! -
Author is sipping orange soda I guess you're right. sigh
Karasu threw one of his demonic grenades, but Yoko warned, "I wouldn't do that. It's not wise to upset the Mimosa. Besides, such a wimpy attack won't destroy it."
The Mimosa's teeth engulfed Karasu, making him disappear. His silver mask fell to the ground and Yoko snorted, "So easy, it ended before I expected. I should have played a little more with him, what a pity..."
The Urameshi Boys all celebrated such a quick victory, but while they did so, Teen Koenma suddenly turned back little. He pulled his hat over his head and shook a little, but when he pulled it back up, he was Teen again. Yoko started to walk from the ring and Koto urged Juri to make the call.
Juri was still in shock from the Mimosa, but she shook the fear away and started to proclaim Yoko the winner. Just then, the Mimosa moved a little and Yoko stopped. An explosion ripped the Mimosa apart and Karasu emerged from the smoke. Everyone in the audience stared and Juri quickly apologized for the match still being on and jumped from the ring.
Karasu was still without his mask and Toguro told Sakyo to step back. Karasu opened his mouth and a green spirit aura surrounded him. His hair turned blonde and Hiei explained what was happening the the rest of the team: "The fire is formed from the mouth to inside the body, and the body is sort of a storage of explosives. The hands probably ignite the explosion. Be careful, we might be hit."
Karasu made a sphere of green light between his hands. Sakyo stepped behind Toguro, but still watched. The sphere Karasu had made floated above the ring, carrying him with it. He flew down quickly to Yoko. The explosion that followed was huge. Across the ring from where Rei was sitting, part of the ceiling collapsed, killing many demons and making a hole in the ceiling.
When the explosion happened, Hiei had jumped onto the rail in front of Rei. Yusuke stood up from the debris and asked if everyone was okay. Everyone was; beside Kurama. They didn't know yet if he had survived, and judging by the way Karasu was laughing, he was hoping Kurama hadn't.
Kurama was no longer in the ring, but under some debris outside it. He stood up-- with some difficulty-- and Karasu told him to pray for a peaceful death. Kurama tried to summon the Rose Whip, but the rose petals burst into crimson smoke.
"What? Lost all your energy?" Karasu mocked him. "What a shame... Acknowledge your defeat and you'll die without any suffering."
That didn't sound too nice to Kurama. He jumped into the ring and started wrestling with Karasu. Hiei was certain Kurama had something planned. Karasu didn't think so, though.
"Have you gone insane from being wounded? Don't get close or it will be your death," he said just before Kurama hit him in the chest. Karasu looked at his chest and plucked a seed from it, "I wish I could say it was a great attack, but your little Death Plant won't work."
Karasu made the seed explode and a metal claw burst from the ground. It latched onto Kurama's leg and said, "Now I gotcha!" Karasu said it was his Underground Bomb just before it blew up-- injuring Kurama's leg badly. Kurama managed to stand, but Yusuke told him not to move; he was surrounded by green bombs.
"I could kill you quickly," said Karasu, "but I won't."
With that, Karasu gestured for the Light Sphere Bombs to move. They hit Kurama one-by-one; each one exploding and making Kurama scream. Blood was gushing from his wounds and he fell to his knees. Karasu commented on Kurama's beautiful face, and Kurama staggered back to his feet. Karasu made the other bombs explode on Kurama. Rei and the Boys watched in horror as their friend fell to the ground; covered in his own blood.
All the demons in the stadium, though, want Karasu to kill Kurama. One or two even managed to steal Koto's microphone to cheer for Karasu. Koto got it back before too much damage was done and told Juri to start counting. She did and Kurama tried to get on his knees.
"No need for a countdown," Karasu said. "I'm gonna finish this now! DIE!!!"
.oO{'You'll die with me,'} Rei heard Kurama's voice in her mind. Karasu's green light almost reached Kurama before a purple aura surrounded the red-head. It formed the Bloodsucker Plant, and it jumped at Karasu's wounded and bloody chest. It fed on Karasu's blood while Kurama fell unconscious.
"KURAMA!!" Yusuke and Kuwabara screamed at the same time. Rei was in shock; she couldn't even think. The crowd wasn't speaking; Karasu was dead, but Kurama might be also. But he wasn't.
"I'm alive... But how? I don't believe it. The energy is growing..." He stood up. "The potion is still working. The power of Yoko is returning to my body..."
The Boys cheered for Kurama. The Bloodsucker Plant had bloomed into a beautiful red flower as Koto commented on Kurama's amazing victory. Yusuke went into the ring and asked Kurama if he was alright.
Kurama fell to his knees, "I didn't win... I only had enough power for that kill."
Right then Karasu was ruled the winner of the fight and Juri explained, "I finished the count and Kurama was still down."
Koto played the video of the fight and agreed, "The Bloodsucker Plant only got to Karasu after the count. And Kurama WAS still down."
Yusuke was furious as he helped Kurama from the ring. The crowd cheered for Karasu and Kuwabara yelled, "He's dead and still the winner?!"
Toguro's 'brother' called Kuwabara ignorant. "What's the use of surviving if your fate is settled? The gates of Hell are already open to receive you. Remember that the winner team will receive a prize, and know that my deepest wish is the death of all of you."
The crowd cheered and Rei heard George shout to Kuwabara that Yukina was crying. Yusuke laid Kurama on the ground and started to shout at the crowd before Hiei spoke up.
"I'm going to reveal my wish," he started. The crowd fell silent. "I'm gonna take out the lives of the sponsors of this Tournament, so I'll never be invited to this dirty game again."
Toguro and Sakyo chuckled silently to themselves at this and Toguro's brother asked, "Who is going to be the first victim?"
His team mate, all decked out in something that looked like Feudal Age-samurai armor stepped forward also.
"What, you want to go first? I'm surprised with such a categorical decision," Older Toguro mocked. The man didn't say anything, only walked forward, making the whole ring shake.
"All right then, Bui," Older Toguro said, "Go and show them what death means."
Kuwabara stepped forward to fight Bui, but Koenma made a comment Kuwabara didn't want to hear. While he was shaking Koenma by the collar, Hiei said to Yusuke, "I intended to fight the bastard with the sunglasses, but in consideration of Genkai, I'll let you have him."
He used his speed and re-appeared in the ring. "I'll be content to take on this one."
Juri announced the fighters: Bui against Hiei. Hiei defenitely was at a disadvantage, though. His height--hair included-- only reached Bui's waist. Bui summoned a giant axe out of the air, but Hiei wasn't impressed. He pulled off his cloak, showing his Dragon arm tightly wrapped with bandages and a ward. Juri said to begin and Bui ran at Hiei, striking with the axe. Hiei used his speed again and appeared behind him.
"You gotta be more serious with your attacks. Or else how am I going to counterattack?" he said. Bui lifted the axe out of the ground and pulled up a concrete block with it. He threw it at Hiei, who dodged it easily. Bui kept doing this, but Hiei kept dodging. Quite a few people in the audience lost their life that day due to Bui's block throwing. Annoyed, Hiei opened his Jagan and used his flame attack to break the blocks. He didn't notice Bui ready to hit him with the axe behind one of them.
He was caught off-guard when Bui swung the axe, but it connected with his fist. The axe was broken, and the blade was sent flying-- only a few inches above Juri-- into the audience. Bui created a new axe easily. "Give up. It's useless, you're losing your time showing off all those weapons," Hiei said, smirking. Bui threw the axe, but Hiei easily caught it. He disintegrated it with his flames, making everyone gasp.
"I'm not kidding, I mean it! Do you really think you can get me with those iron splinters that don't even bear any energy? Stop stalling and fight!" Hiei said. Bui started taking off his armor, talking as he went, "Once I was defeated, and I swore I would only take the armor off to fight again with him."
"Aren't you afraid? Taking the armor off you'll receive my strikes right on your face," Hiei scoffed. Bui didn't answer. He kept taking off his armor; most of it was so heavy, it made holes in the ground where he dropped it. Hiei watched, arms folded over his chest, and waited. Finally, Bui took off his helmet, showing a nasty scare right across his face. "Usually an armor is used to protect the body from exterior attacks. But I'm different. I use it to control the power. It's a terrible power that even I can't hold back."
Bui let his greenish-blue Spirit Energy form around him; lifting him off the ground. Kurama said it was Battle Energy-- an armor of spirit power-- and Bui's was the most impressive he'd seen so far.
"You should fight seriously, too. You'll have amazing memories of this," Bui said. Hiei said he'd take that advice and jumped into the air to reach Bui. He hit the armor with his flames, but the armor deflected them. Hiei then sent the flames coiling around Bui, trying to burn his body, but Bui expanded his armor and shook the flames off. He made a sphere of his energy and threw it at Hiei, but the flames made it explode before it got to him. Bui then formed a giant throwing knife of the same greenish-blue energy.
He threw it at Hiei, but Hiei blurred out of the way, using his speed. The throwing knife followed him still. Hiei blurred back in right behind Bui, smirked, and blurred back out. Bui took the brunt of the attack and fell to the ground, making a crater in the ring. The smoke started to clear as Hiei stood on the edge of the crater, looking down. Bui was standing in the middle of the crater, unharmed.
"I told you to fight seriously! You think you can beat me with that?" Bui said as he lifted himself out of the crater using his energy. "I'm running out of patience. If you keep acting like this, I'll kill you before you have the chance to use your Black Dragon."
Hiei started taking off the ward and his bandages. "If that's what you want, I'll grant you your wish. But you'll regret it."
Kurama was explaining to the rest of the team how Hiei's ward acted like Bui's armor: it kept an awesome force at bay. Hiei took the bandages off and everyone saw for the first time a tattoo of a dragon around his arm. His body was surrounded by black flames and he said, "Now I won't go back. Furthermore, I forgot how to attach the bandages."
