Stylist Division
Nabooru: Yes, I'm back from the dead, and my computer still sucks! I apologize for not writing for about a year, but I swear to you fine people I will get back on track! I can be very determined when I want to be (otherwise I'm just very lazy... ----). Enough rambles! On with the show!
Disclaimer-- I still do not own anything. Even my man left me for a girl with bigger boobs. I thought D's were okay, but apparently he needs F's... TTTT so cruel... Oh yeah! I own my characters, like Brindisi.
WARNING: In this chapter Kurama's having some Shonen-ai THOUGHTS. No real shonen-ai stuff going on though, because Kurama is FRIENDS with Hiei. There will be KuramaXHiei stuff going down (possibly literally) in later chapters, but now, I'm only setting up feelings.
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Docking Pier to Hangingneck Island
Yusuke rubbed at his red swollen eyes. The previous day had been quite rigorous. The Reikai Tantei had been rushing everywhere trying to prepare for the upcoming 'tournament'. Training wasn't too big on their lists, of course; they all felt fairly confident in their skills. It was the music and the fashion they had to worry about.
Botan had assigned herself, Brindisi, and Keiko to go out with Yusuke and Kuwabara to find clothes that were accually in style, while Kurama and Hiei ran off on their own to do the same. Botan, of course, was fine with this, trusting Kurama's fashion sense. Yusuke had found it rather annoying when not only Keiko, but two more girls sneered at him whenever he picked up a shirt that was not to they're liking. What had really got him worked up was the fact Kuwabara was doing way better then he was with the clothes thing.
FLASHBACK
"Yusuke! That looks wonderful on you!" Botan cheered.
"Yeah, thanks." Yusuke growled sarcastically. "Tell me, is this emo or Backstreet Boys?"
Keiko frowned at him.
"You know, Yusuke, you could be a little nicer to us. We are trying to help you." Keiko admonished.
"If you really wanted to help, you could get get down on your kn--"
"Hey, guys! You gotta see this!" Brindisi called.
The other three walked over to another stall where Kuwabara stood, admiring a lightly lined shirt with a black silk button up over it. Yusuke hated to admit it, but he looked good.
"What do you think?" Brindisi asked excitably. She obviously picked it out.
Botan grabbed Kuwabara by the shoulders and turned him around several times, as though he were a on a swivel chair. After a few moments, she nodded.
"This will do." Botan said. "Congrats Kuwabara! You have your black outfit!"
"Great!" He said, his face lighting up. "How many more?"
Botan took out a notepad and examined it.
"Well, you have your red, blue and now black, so you only need six more and your formal wear!" she said cheerfully.
Kuwabara sweatdropped.
Yusuke walked back to his stall, and started changing back.
"Are you going to wear that one, Yusuke?" Keiko asked from outside.
"You tell me." he retorted. He was growing tired of this."Why am I doing this again?"
"Yusuke! You know we have a mission!" came Botan's voice. "We're trying to save a man named Nissin, remember?"
Yuske pulled his own shirt back on.
"What's so special about this Nissin guy anyway? Why would someone kidnap him and force him to fight in a tournament?" Yusuke asked.
She was silent for a moment.
"Hmm... That we don't know." Botan replied. "But if the demons that did kidnap him somehow force him to do things for them, as we fear they might, it could be devastating."
Yusuke opened the door with a blank look on his face.
"Is this guy that powerful?" he asked.
Botan shook her head.
"He's powerful for a ferry person, but not overly. He may be around your level, although probably lower."
"Then, what's the problem?" he asked.
"If he's a ferry person, he has access to the Spirit World! He could bring hordes of demons there!" Botan said. "It'd be even worse if someone was controlling him. That what we think the kidnappers are doing to get him to fight."
"I see.."
END FLASHBACK
When they all finished shopping they met up at Kuwabara's to discuss music. There was much discrepancy going on on all sides. Instead of deciding on music, they decided on instruments and vocals. Basically, They really didn't get anywhere.
Yusuke yawned again, and made his way behind the rest of his group to the dock. When he accually came to, he looked around. There were hardly any demons here. When they had come for the standard Dark Tournament there were many demons, but now, there were only two groups beside themselves. One looked fairly weak, composed of many women. The other group were entirely robed, not unlike the Shadow Channeler1 team Jin and Touya were on. 'They seemed to be masking their power, so they might be rather powerful' Yusuke thought to himself.
He turned around to the other part of his team. Brindisi and Kurama were in a heavy discussion, Hiei was next to them scowling, and Kuwabara was on the other side looking overly confused.
"You know Malaga?" Brindisi asked Kurama incredulously. "She was my mentor!"
"Malaga, Priestess of the Dragon god, correct?" Kurama checked. "Yes, I met her when she was a young girl. And Rimini of the Scorpion god, too. She was quite beautiful."
Brindisi blinked at him.
"You shouldn't have said that..." she said, her eyes wide.
Kurama gave her puzzled look.
"Why's that?" he asked tipping his head slighty to the side.
"Well...uhhh...you know..." she glanced a few times at Hiei who looked as though he was giving the grass a death glare so horrid it would whither right there.
When Kurama got what she was saying, he gave a defeated sigh.
"Brindisi, We aren't together.." he said in exasperation. "at least not in the way your thinking."
Kuwabara snapped out of whatever world he was in and looked around at Kurama wildly.
"What? You guys are together?" he asked, looking oddly triumphant.
"No! We're NOT together!" Kurama snapped.
"Oh, so you guys broke up?"
"Kuwabara--"
"Hey, guys." Yusuke interjected. "Boat's here. It's time."
With that, the Reikai Tantei pick up their belonings and headed for the boat.
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Hotel de Hanging Neck Island
Hiei slumped down on the sofa. The boat ride had been far from interesting. There weren't even any preliminary rounds. Very few teams seemed to come out for the Stylist Tournament, but there were several that were very powerful. This was probably a tournament for upperclass and richer demons, not the filth that came out for the standard tournaments. He sighed and rested his head on the top of the sofa, resting his eyes. By the time Kurama stepped into the room, the smaller demon was in a light sleep.
Kurama came around and sat opposite Hiei. He placed a drink he had gotten for Hiei in front of his friend and stared into the sleeping face. Only a few moment later, most likely feeling the familiar ki, Hiei's eyes opened. It was slowly, much like in some type of romantic movie. He blinked once and looked up to Kurama to meet his eyes. They stared into each others eyes for a long time. The fox felt if he stared into the eyes, he maybe able to discover what goes on behind them, the inner workings of his mind. Sometimes he could decipher some kind of emotion, other times he would search to no avail. This time all he could find was intense contemplation.
Hiei sighed, broke the eye contact, and helped himself to the drink Kurama had brought for him. Then it was Kurama's turn to close his eyes and lean back into the large armchair, his crimson hair scattering across the odd shade of the pale yellow material.
"What are our chances, do you think?" Hiei asked quietly.
"Couldn't know for sure." Kurama mumbled back, not bothering to open his eyes. "Too many people were masking energy. Which leads me to believe--"
"This could prove to be more difficult than we assumed." Hiei finished.
Kurama opened his eyes and nodded. Hiei looked at him for a moment and then looked to the window, looking almost stressed.
"What's been bothering you lately?" Kurama inquired. "Lately, all you do is stare out into space."
Hiei snorted at this and turned his eyes back towards him.
"Lately? I haven't been acting any different than I would have normally." he growled, looking slightly amused.
"But, you don't really seem to talk anymore..." Kurama trailed off, looking away to the floor.
"Think for a moment." Hiei said. "When did I ever talk that much before?"
Kurama kept his eyes to the floor.
"I...We used to..you..." he mumbled.
He felt a rush of air and found Hiei knelt down next to him. His finger brought Kurama's face up so he could look into his eyes. Hiei studied the fox's face for a moment, letting his eyes wander over it.
"Maybe, it's just you're craving more conversation."he said earnestly. "You just feel like you want to talk more."
Kurama's eyes widened a little. He was not suprised at Hiei's words, but rather how he knew what was going on inside his mind. It was true. He and Hiei had reach a point of friendship that many good friends had not. They trusted each other entirely, keeping only their closest secrets. And yet...Kurama craved for more. He yearned to know every detail about the other's heart, his soul, and even his body. He wanted to know what his weaknesses were. He wanted to know what his lips and skin would feel like against his own. Not only that, but what he wanted most of all, was to know what Hiei felt about him.
He was always so mysterious, not giving anyone a hint or gesture to let them know what he was thinking. When something occasionally came out, he'd dismiss it like it was nothing. And somehow, he seemed to know what everyone else was feeling, well, except for the one feeling inside Kurama. Kurama knew this was something he may not be oblivious to or perhaps he didn't understand it, but he knew Hiei could still feel something else lurking underneath the surface.
Hiei was still staring directly into his eyes, through all his musings. His soft expression had faded and he now looked like he was in intense concentration, like he was trying to read the ingredients to a bottle of shampoo.
"You're hiding something, fox..." he frowned.
Kurama felt heat rise up in his face and he bit his lip.
"Remind me to damn how empathetic you are." he said rather strongly, considering the situation.
"Well," Hiei said, placing a hand on his hip. "What is it?"
"Not something you should know." Kurama replied, raising an eyebrow. He turned to face the window, but Hiei followed so he was still in front of him. The look on his face was scary, but somewhat comical for Kurama. He knew Hiei hated not knowing something.
"So." He growled softly. "You don't want to tell me?"
"No." Kurama replied simply, raising his eyebrows.
"Why?"
"Because, I have secrets, as you have yours."
Hiei lips pursed together, almost like a very angry pout. Kurama, knowing he won, started unpacking his bag. It was sitting right next to the chair, and he'd much rather do that then have another staring contest with Hiei. That last conversation was a little to close for comfort. He pulled out his bathing supplies: shampoo, several bars of soap, his water gun... watergun? Yusuke must have put it in there as a joke. He tried to stuff it back in the bag, but Hiei already saw it.
"What is that?" he asked, sounding apalled.
"Watergun." Kurama sighed. But then he got an idea...
"It's a--" Hiei stopped abruptly, getting water shot in the middle of his face.
He wiped the water from his face with a growl, and Kurama gave a chuckle.
"What the hell--" he started, but got shot again. "Why--" and again "What in hell--" and again. "I swear to--! Kurama!"
"Yes?" He answered innocently, trying to conceal his laughter.
"Give me that god damned ningen contraption." he panted with rage dripping off each word, like the water from his face.
"Hmm... How about 'no'?" Kurama teased, holding the gun in both hands and lying back, stretching so both hands were over his head.
Hiei growled at him only to recieve a bit of water in his face again.
"God damn it!" Hiei raged, coming to where Kurama was lying.
He grabbed his hands which were over his head, the gun was stuck in his grip.
"Give me that god damned--"
"Nope." Kurama interupted lazily, stretching again.
Hiei grabbed the plastic gun, but Kurama pulled it in the opposite direction which resulted in Hiei falling on top of him. Kurama noticed as he did, he saw the smaller demon adjust himself so he had a knee on both sides of Kurama's waist, as though he subconsciencely made sure not to hurt him. He sustained a giggle. Hiei frowned in frustration. Kurama could no longer move.
"Are you going to give in now?" he asked, a smirk finding it way to his face.
Kurama gave a small laugh.
"Of course." he said with a grin. "You win."
Kurama dropped the gun, but Hiei still stared at him.
"What?" Kurama inquired. "I gave up. Aren't you satisfied?"
Hiei considered this for a moment.
"Not quite." he stated.
Kurama eyes immediately got very wide. Was Hiei...?
"Hiei...?" He asked, feeling a blush come over his cheeks.
"Shut up." he said blatantly.
'Oh, man. He's serious..' Kurama thought to himself. Hiei moved himself in closer; Kurama could feel his breathing on his neck. Then, Hiei released Kurama's arms, as his hand dragged down his tight chest, down to his stomach and then slowly continued down. Kurama looked away, the blush becoming deeper. Hiei's hand was at his hip now, but it didn't stop there. Then realization dawned Kurama.
"No! Stop, Hiei! We can't!" Kurama cried, his hands on his blushing face.
"Can't what?" Hiei asked.
His wandering hand had found Kurama's pocket and took out the pack of gum that was in it. With the gum in hand, Hiei shot Kurama a puzzled expression, shrugged, then walked away. Kurama looked after him, and an exasperated sigh left his lips.
"Tough break, man." Yusuke said, popping up from behind the chair Kurama was on.
"Yusuke!" Kurama shrieked, turning an even brighter shade of pink. "Y-you saw...?"
"I sure did. I got scared for a minute there." he said, picking at a spot on his chin. "I mean, if he did..."
"Yeah, I know..." Kurama agreed sitting up and fixing his hair.
"No, not that! If he kept going, I'd have lost ten bucks! To Kuwabara! He swears you guys are together, and I'm saying your not, so..."
"Could you possibly stop placing bets on our relationship?" Kurama sighed.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll look in to it." Yusuke laughed. "Your going to that dinner tonight, right? It's supposed to tell us about the rules, regulations, and a whole buch of boring crap, so we need the smart member of our team there!"
"You're dripping with enthusiasm..." Kurama replied sarcastically. "I suppose I will. Are you going?"
"I dunno." Yusuke said shrugging. "It's supposed to be very formal, like suit and tie, and I don't know if I have a suit and tie..."
Kurama raised an eyebrow.
"We all bought them when we went out shopping yesterday... If it bothers you so much looking for something to wear, I'll help you. Your bound to have something good to wear." Kurama stated.
"Well, I thanks for the offer, but I think I'll go take a nap." Yusuke yawned, walking to the door.
"Are you sure? I don't much feel like going by myself."
"Go play dress up with Hiei or something..." Yusuke said with another great yawn.
"Yusuke!"
"I can't hear you!" Yusuke said, sticking his fingers in his ears.
He kicked the door open, and it swung open with some force. There was a loud 'SMACK' sound followed be a 'Kyaaaahh!' as the door hit someone. Kurama gave another sigh, and ran over to the door.
"Oh, crap. I'm so sorry." Yusuke pleaded. "Let me hel--"
He stopped in midsentence and his eyes got very wide. Kurama got to the other side of the door, and saw Yusuke had hit a young woman. She was holding her arm, and her untidy dark hair was in her face. Her face was very cutesey, like a babydoll, which contrasted oddly with her muscular body. Then Kurama realized why Yusuke stopped short in his attempt to help her. Most women could compare their breasts to oranges or apples or even grapefruits. Her's were comparable to watermelons. It didn't quite fit well with her cute demeanor.
Yusuke was still staring wide eyed, so Kurama took initiative.
"I'm so sorry." Kurama said kneeling down. "My friend is quite an idiot."
"Oh no, It was my fault." she said turning a little pink. "I'm dead clumsy. Mirez is always telling me I should watch where I'm going..."
She stood up, and bowed to both Yusuke and Kurama.
"I'm sorry again." she said.
"No, no. It was this idiot's fault. Don't blame yourself." Kurama said
Yusuke gave Kurama a look.
"If I may, could I ask for your name?" the girl asked.
"Yusuke Uremeshi." Yusuke stated, regaining his composure. "And this is Kurama."
"What is your name, miss?" Kurama asked.
"I'm Alexa. Alexa Joel." she said, then looked at Yusuke. "Uremeshi...? I've heard that name before... Oh! I'm not supposed to--"
"Alexa?" a woman's voice called from down the hall.
All three turned around to see a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and bright green eyes that had a look of shock on them. Her lips matched the dress she was wearing, bright red, sparkling with a very high slit. She walked up to the three, the look of suspicion spalshed across her face.
"You're--" Yusuke started.
"Oh, Mirez." Alexa blinked. "Why are you here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." she asked. Her voice was very commanding, even bossy. "In the company of--"
"Oh, no! It wasn't...I mean, I was just a walking by, and I kind of ran into their door, and..."
Mirez put a hand on her shoulder to silence her, and then looked both Yusuke and Kurama up and down, although sizing them up.
"It's alright, Alexa. They're pretty cute." she said a smirk finding it was to her face.
"No! I just ran into their door, and--"
"I'm just joking. It's okay. I won't tell Zi."
"Excuse me for intruding," Kurama started. "But do you mean the 'Zi' who started the fashion line in this world?"
"One in the same." Mirez said. "But we have direct orders not to talk to you. So, we shall be going now." she took Alexa's arm. "Come, Alexa."
"Oh, uh, alright." she said. "See you guys tonight at the dinner."
They walked away, and Kurama and Yusuke stood there for a minute. Then Yusuke turned to Kurama.
"I realized something." he said.
"Oh, you realized Mirez was a demon?"
"No."
"You realized they were both demons?"
"No."
"You realized they both seem to serve Zi and for some reason she wants to avoid us?"
"No."
"Then what is it then?"
"I want to go to dinner tonight."
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Dining Lounge
"This sucks."
Yusuke tugged uncomfortably at his tie. Kurama sighed and rubbed his forehead. This was going to be a long night.
"Yusuke, you're the captain of our team. It shows class that you're here." Kurama sighed. "This whole tournament is about class, and that's the part that makes me worried."
"Why? Aren't we on the S-class?" Yusuke blinked.
"That's not what I meant..." Kurama sweatdropped. "Besides, shouldn't you be scoping out the competition?"
"Naw, that's your job. Why didn't Kuwabara and Hiei come anyway? And whatever happened to Brindisi?" Yusuke asked, obviously displeased.
"Hiei was sleeping, I don't even want to think about Kuwabara coming in here with all of the glass dishes, and I believe Brindisi was with Botan." Kurama replied smoothly.
"Right. So what do think we're up against?" Yusuke asked glancing around the room and becoming slightly more serious.
Kurama took a look aroung the room. About half of the competitors, believing there are six teams, showed up. Many of them seemed fairly powerful. A flash of red hair brought his attention to a woman standing in the corner. She was talking to a man with long blond hair, bound up in a ponytail, and a woman with a ornately decorated mask. In a moment, the man turned and walked out the door.
"Yusuke. That man. That was Nissin!" Kurama hissed.
"What? What man?" Asked Yusuke, who seemed delighted at all the women who showed up for the tournament.
"He just walked out. He was talking to her..." Kurama pointed.
"That's Zi, right?" Yusuke asked.
"That's right!" came a deep voice from behind them.
They both turned, expecting to see a huge orge like demon, but they saw a skinny, grinning, very pretty man. His hair was tied at the nape of his neck, although parts of it were falling out of one side.
"Sorry." he said in his deep voice. "I didn't mean to ease-drop. I was just going around to meet the captains, and I overheard. The name's Yutaka. I'm going to be the annoucer for the fights."
"Wait.." Yusuke said slowly. "Are you...human?"
"No." Kurama corrected. "Not quite, I assume. A half-breed, correct?"
"That's right." Yutaka chuckled. "I'm half human, half wind demon. I grew up in the ningenkai most of my life thinking I was human, but I find out a few months ago I'm a demon, so I'm not very powerful..."
"Hmm...This sounds oddly familiar to someone..." Kurama mumbled sarcastically.
"So, anyway, yeah that's Zi alright." Yutaka continued. "She has quite a rep in the Makai, you know. Known to be ruthless, blood-thirsty, you know, the usual. Of course, I talked to her already. She seems nice enough, I think it's just her husband's rep that got her her's."
"She's married?" Yusuke asked incredulously. "I didn't think demons got married."
"Of course not." Yutaka said. "I used the wrong phrasing. Most demons of either A or S class mate for life. I just said married, cause thats what its kind of like, I think."
"Who's her mate then?" Kurama inquired.
"His name is Colar. An S-class. Now he has a nasty rep. They say he wants to take over the Reikai and then go for the entire Makai." Yutaka said grimly. "Oh yeah, You're Urameshi, right?" Yusuke nodded. "Good. Then all team captains are present. I don't know what they would have done if a team got disqualified for their captain not showing up for the dinner party!"
Yutaka laughed and then walked away. Kurama gave Yusuke an 'I-told-you-so-face'. Yusuke replied with a 'Shut-the-hell-up-I-know-I-was-wrong-and-you-were-right-so-get-the-hell-off-my-case' face (What kind of face is that?).
"See? Aren't you glad we came?" Kurama said knowingly.
"Oh shut it." Yusuke growled. He then looked in Zi's direction. "If that's Zi and Nissin just walked out, who's the masked chick? A Genkai wantabe?"
"Most likely not..." Kurama paused. "Well, Assuming Zi was Nissin's kidnapper and he's being forced to fight, and then Mirez and the other girl we met in the hall--"
"The one with the huge--"
"Yes, that one, are on Zi's team, then this, I'm guessing, is their fifth member."
"Zi doesn't look too pleased with her..." Yusuke observed.
Kurama nodded. Zi was flustered and almost frantically yelling at the masked woman, who stood a good five inches above her. The masked woman stood her ground, but Kurama obviously couldn't read her expression.
"I'm going to try to listen in on the conversation." Kurama said. "You wait here and make sure not to draw attention to yourself."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but not so much the phrasing..." Yusuke said. "Don't get caught, okay?"
"I'll be fine." Kurama said with a smile.
He turned and walk towards the corner, thankfully, there was a punch bowl on a table right next to it. Kurama walked silently, not favoring a glance, and started going about getting the punch. Luckily, he was just within earshot of the two women, and listened in.
"--all you have to do is kill him! Is that so much to ask? You knew coming into this you would have to kill." Zi was saying persistantly.
"But I am not like you." the masked woman's muffled voice came. "I cannot kill without reason."
"What is that supposed to mean, exactly?" Zi bristled. "Killing helpless people isn't going to become a hobby of mine, you know. Besides, your more like me than you think."
"No, I'm not." The other woman said without emotion. "If I was as headstrong as you are, we wouldn't even be here now."
Zi didn't respond as the masked woman turned and walked silently out of the room. Zi then huffed angrily and stalked past Kurama. Kurama now had five cups of punch. He shrugged, then picked them all up and headed back for the table. When he got half way there, he saw the table was broken in two. He quickened his pace, and then stood next to Yusuke.
Yusuke was talking to three rather ominous looking men. Two were obviously twins. Complete carbon copies of each other except for the eyes, and the suits. One was in black, his eyes two different colors, on green the other yellow with a scar going over it. The other wore a suit of dark red and eyes that were both green. The twins both had long dark black hair, and were also a head taller than Yusuke. The third man also had long dark hair, but he was not as tall. Unlike the other two, he had black markings on his face, and he was also very well built.
"Yusuke?" Kurama asked nervously. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" he exclaimed, and Kurama gave him a look. "No. I really didn't."
"The table was the fault of my protege." said the tall man in black. "I apologize for him. I knew I shouldn't have brought him..."
"Oh. So Yusuke didn't break the table?" Kurama asked blinking.
"No, I didn't."
"I'm the captain of team Gearheart." said the man in black. "I'm Brandon Gearheart. My protege, Burok, and his idiotic friend Apeiron were fighting, and Burok got shoved into this table. We were apologizing when you came up."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Kurama said quickly. "I am Kurama."
"Don't worry about it. It was that Bruja's fault anyway...I hate Bruja.." the man in red said.
"The only thing we ever agreed on, brother." Brandon said. "Ah, yes, This is my brother."
"Dee Gearheart" the man in red said, grasping Kurama's hand.
"And I'm Kao Zu Vidal." The other man said.
"If you don't mind my asking," Kurama started. "Why are vampires here at a Stylist Division Tournament? Surely not just to fight people..."
Brandon chuckled.
"You're pretty sharp, for a demon. Yes, we're looking for someone."
"Who are you looking for?" Yusuke asked.
"Our little Princess. Glyngaris Vidal, who always seems to get herself into trouble..." Brandon shook his head. "Well, we must be going. I apologize for my protege's insolence again." Brandon said, and the three walked off.
For a moment, Yusuke and Kurama just stood, staring at each other. They seemed to be just processing everything that happened. Yusuke shook himself out of it, and broke the silence.
"Want to find another table?"
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Hotel Room
Hiei's dreams were once again plagued by nightmares. They had progressed passed being trapt in a box with no air to being in some sort of ivy covered roman styled temple. Hiei had seen such buildings in the western-most parts of the makai.
He obeserved the plants hanging on the ruined walls, feeling for any type of energy from them. Feeling none, he went cautiously forward, as to avoid any traps his nightmares could throw at him.
He knew he was dreaming, and that was reason he knew these dreams were not natural.
The labryrinth of the temple held some type of foreboding power not recognizable to Hiei. It was as if the walls themselves held the power to eliminate anything within its boundaries. He continued forward, knowing it would probably do no good to just stand there. He turned a few times when there were other ways to go, but felt as though he was going in deeper though the temple, rather than getting out.
He turned at one corner and his eyes fell onto a crumpled form, almost entirely crimson. Hiei muffled a gasp as he realized part of that crimson was hair, the rest blood. Not thinking, he ran over to the broken form that he recognized as Kurama. He was still consious, although he was panting, and sweating heavily.
Hiei immeadiately put his hand behind Kurama's neck and lifted him gingerly into his lap. He wiped some of the blood and sweat from his face, and Kurama's eyes opened a little. With a shaking, bloody hand, Kurama reached up and stroked Hiei's face. Hiei's came up to meet it, and he held it there. Kurama gave him a slight smile.
"I...I don't have..." Kurama started.
"Don't talk." Hiei ordered softly.
Kurama grimaced in pain, and Hiei's face softened a little.
"Please..." Kurama panted. "I don't...have much time...left..."
Hiei nodded. He needed to hear was Kurama was saying.
"I need to...know..." he huffed. "How do you...really feel...about... me?"
Hiei let Kurama's hand fall off of his face, and he let go. Kurama gave him a pleading look. Hiei only looked at him, surprise fading to contemplation.
"Fox..." Hiei said softly. "Say my name."
Kurama looked stunned.
"Please, I--" he started.
"Say it." Hiei said, a little stronger.
"I...I..." Kurama mumbled.
Hiei sighed, and pulled out his katana.
"Just as I thought." he said softly. "You are not Kurama. Show me your true self."
The fake Kurama chuckled.
"You brain-dead fool." the fake mocked. "Why would I reveal myself to you? I command this realm."
There was a loud crack, and Hiei doubled over in pain. A red whip wrapped around his forearm, and he could feel warm blood drip down his arm.
"You should learn..." came the fake Kurama's voice. "To know your place."
Something heavy hit him over the head, and then all he saw has black.
Or so he thought. He found himself back in the hotel room, amidst all of Kurama's clothes. He must have fallen asleep there, although he didn't quite remember. He got up and walked to the bathroom, rubbing at his aching head. Perhaps a shower would help.
Hiei didn't seem to notice the shallow wound on his upper arm, still fresh with blood.
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Dining Lounge
"Rules!" Yutaka declared in front of the large dining hall. "Everyone settle down and let me speak, please!"
The lounge got silent within a few moment, and then Yutaka cleared his throat.
"Please forgive me for skipping the formalities, but I think we all would like to leave, so I'll be brief." Yutaka paused. "Accually, how about I just show you?"
He pulled down a large projector screen, and without warning, the lights turned off and rules appeared on the screen.
1. All teams must consist of 5 members. Each team is allowed one replacement for a team member if them are unable to fight.
2. All teams must sing one song before the fighting round. Teams are not limited to what they sing.
3. At least 3 members must sing in the duration of the Tournament.
4. Each team will be scored on a.) Performance b.) Style (clothes) c.) Fighting Style. The team with the higher score will move on to the next round UNLESS they are killed or mortally wounded by the fight.
"Hold up..." Yusuke said softly to Kurama. "Three people have to sing? Koenma didn't tell us about that. What the hell are we supposed to do about that?"
Kurama gave him a look.
"Is it not obvious? It'll be you, myself and whoever else on our team that has any type of musical talent whatsoever." Kurama replied smoothly.
"Right. So...what the hell are we supposed to do?"
"Well, Kuwabara's out of the question." Kurama said without thought. "That leaves Hiei..."
"What about Brindisi?" Yusuke asked.
"No. She refuses to sing." Kurama answered.
"Why?" Yusuke pushed.
Kurama pondered this for a moment.
"She said something about reviewers not liking it, or something like that..." Kurama shrugged.
Yusuke gave him a confused look, and then shook his head.
"So, wait just a second." Yusuke said, holding up his hand. "That means, I have to sing, you have to sing, and Hiei has to sing? I don't have a good feeling about this..."
"I don't think Hiei is going to either..."
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Later on, Yusuke's room
"So, you think Zi kidnapped Nissin?" Botan asked incredulously. "Zi, the fashion designer?"
"Certain clues lead me to believe that, yes." Kurama nodded.
"Hmm..." Botan put a finger to her lips. "But, why though?"
Yusuke came and sat next to her, a can of soda in his hand. The sofa receded a bit with the force he fell back with, making Botan snap out of her musings and give him an angry look. He didn't really notice until he took a long drink and then faced her.
"We heard her husband wanted to take over the Reikai. That would make sense that she would steal a ferry girl." Yusuke said.
"Ferry man." Botan corrected.
"Yeah, whatever..." he growled.
"Well, yes." Botan started. "That does make sense then, but why make him fight in the tournament?"
"That is yet to be discovered." Kurama said, standing up. "Let Kuwabara and Brindisi know what we found out. I will tell Hiei."
"Sure thing." Yusuke said.
"Also," Kurama added. "I suggest you get to bed early tonight. We have alot of work to do tomorrow. Try to think of some songs if you can."
With that Kurama walked out of the room with a soft 'good night', and walked around to the room next door. He roughly pulled the key from his pocket and shoved it in the hole. The door opened, and he immeadiately heard the sound of running water. Hiei must have moved since he left.
Kurama sighed as he walked into his room. He hadn't even unpacked yet; all of his clothes were sitting scattered around on the floor. He started looking through the piles gingerly, looking for a pair of sleeping pants. Locating one, he threw them onto the bed and started undressing. Once in his boxers, he picked up the pants, but before he even touched them, he heard a strange noise that came from the bathroom. It almost sounded like a wet body hitting a tile floor.
"Hiei!" Kurama yelled.
Without a second thought, Kurama ran as fast as he could to the bathroom, and barged in noticing the door was unlocked.
"Hiei? Are you okay?" Kurama asked opening the door. Hisi face turned a lovely shade of red when his eyes met Hiei's.
Hiei was naked and wet, his stomach on the tile flooring and his feet still in the shower. Kurama's jaw dropped and he just stared for a minute. Hiei gave him a look halfway between 'What the hell are you staring at' and 'Are you at least going to help me the hell up?' Kurama mentally slapped himself, and went over to help his friend get up.
"What happened?" Kurama asked, still in a state of shock, kneeling down next to Hiei.
"What the hell do you think happened?" Hiei growled, pulling his legs from the tub. "I slipped on one of your damned pieces of soap! Why the hell do you have five in there, anyway?"
"There's only two in there." Kurama corrected indignantly.
Kurama grabbed him by the arm, in an attempt to pull him up, but Hiei was still wet. His arm slipped out of Kurama's grip throwing him off balance and onto the floor. He found it rather remarkable that he had fallen directly on top of Hiei, unsure if he did it on purpose or if it really was an accident.
Kurama lifted his head and looked at Hiei, who had a unintelligible look on his face; possibly a blush? He gave the smaller demon an apologetic smile. He noticed Hiei did not look angry, but rather thoughtful, like he was contemplating something. Then, a wicked little voice inside Kurama gave him a thought. This was the perfect opportunity to tease him. He gave Hiei a mischeivious smile, and then without warning leaned down and brushed his lips against Hiei's. His eyes got very wide, and looked at Kurama like he had no idea what happened. There was a sound of footsteps behind them, and both of their eyes went to the door where a distressed looking Yusuke stood.
"...Er...Yusuke...?" Kurama mumbled, his face going to a dark shade of scarlet.
Yusuke stared, his eyebrows almost nonexistent. Kurama shot a look at Hiei who was in a similar state.
"Awkward." Yusuke said simply. "I'm going to pretend I never saw this. You are never going to speak of this to Kuwabara, got it?"
"Of course." Kurama said, his tone a little higher than it normally was.
"Good." Yusuke said, his voice was coming back, but his face was still in shock. He turned and pointed to the door. "I'm going to go now."
"O-okay..." Kurama nodded, his face still bright pink.
Without another word, Yusuke turned and walked out the door. Kurama turned and looked at Hiei whose expression seemed to say 'WTF? How the hell did that happen?'. It was somewhat humorous to Kurama seeing Hiei's face out of the 'glare' and in something new. After another silent minute, Kurama finally broke the silence.
"I think I'm going to put some clothes on." he suggested, still properly embarrassed.
Hiei blinked, and then gave him a 'hn'. That was Kurama's cue to push himself up and exit.
He got back to his room and immeadiately started piling on layers of clothes. Then a thought came to him. 'I justed kissed Hiei...' the thought said, Kurama blushing again and a hand finding its way to his cheek. 'Damn it! I didn't want to that! It was you, wasn't it, Youko?' he thought accusingly.
The voice of the youko roused itself up as soon as he thought the name.
'Don't look at me. I didn't have nothing to do wth it.'
'Lies! You made me do it.'
'No, I'm serious! I didn't do anything!'
Kurama huffed angrily at himself, and slid into his bed. Tommorow was going to be a long, long day.
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Nabooru: Okay...Interesting... I've always imagined Youko to be like a pimp or something, you know? West side? Maybe not...
I could still use some more competitors for the Tournament (I want some men too! and enough with people singing Evanesence! They're an awesome band, but there are more than them!) So if you want, refer to chpt. 2 for instructions.
I'm not entirely sure what songs I'm going to use for Kurama's or Hiei's songs. I gotta make Yusuke sing the song that inspired this fic. I'm going back and forth with a few different songs for Kurama, and Hiei...I'm lost. Although I would pay to see him do 'Slow motion', but don't worry. I'm not going to insult him like that. I'm thinking maybe something by Slipknot? I'm not sure... ALSO IF ANYONE IS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SHONEN-AI AND/OR YAOI, READ THIS. This story is going to end up KuramaxHiei. Its going to be a MAJOR theme. If you don't like that, you can try to look over it, or go read another story. OR if you'd like, I can attempt to put some manxwoman in it, or even shojo-ai if it that important. Tell me what you think.
Oh yeah. One more thing. I DO NOT HAVE SPELLCHECK! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME IF I SLIPPED UP SOMEWHERE. I do my best reading over it, but I am not yet a cyborg, so, yeah.
Updates will be coming! I'm not going to slack off again! That's a promise. ( I may even get my computer soon! )
Well, see you again! (Reviews are much appreciated)