DISCLAIMER: I don't own any YYH stuff, despite the fact that I really, really want to...AND I DON'T OWN DJSAMMY (i think that's who plays/sings this song)
A/N: Yay! Wow, I don't know why I just said that seeing that we just lost our volleyball game and I'm kinda tired...maybe cuz I'm just my regular perky self!
LoL, thank you guys for your feedback on who Mai should fight! Please keep sending me ideas! I don't want Mai to become the center of attention, so she'll only fight a few times, but nonetheless we should have her beat the crap out of a few people, shouldn't we?
Thankies to my reviewers!
Umeko Saito
Dragon Firefairy
SerenityRose222: LMAO that would be hilarious! I'll definitely put that into consideration, thanks for the suggestion though!
Sk8tergirl69
Lil Sakura 87
PS: omgosh! Over the weekend I drew this kawaii picture of Mai and Yusuke together! LoL, the look on Urameshi's face is priceless; I wish I could show it to you guys, but I think you have to pay for that "Optional" stuff...
Enjoy!
Thoughts
'Kira'
Fire Angel
:Dance Dance Revolution:
Using Yusuke's Spirit Gun to propel him forward, Kuwabara shot towards Toguro with extreme agility. His Spirit Sword held before him, and aiming for his chest.
But with no time to dodge, the two fighters collided...
And Kazuma's sword penetrated through both Toguros. The red-head plunged the blade into the demon's flesh for a final measure as he shakily stood to his feet. Neither one of the Toguros stirred nor did they make a move or effort to recover from the attack.
Silence filled the chamber afterwards, all save for Yusuke and Kuwabara's heavy breathing.
"Are...are they gone?" Urameshi asked slowly.
The red-head's sword vanished and he put his hands on his knees, "Yeah..." he replied.
Not a moment passed though, before the entrance doors suddenly opened behind them. The remaining conscious trio turned to see Kurama step into the room and with him the faint scent of roses.
With Botan, Mai suddenly stirred as her nose crinkled slightly.
"...K-Kurama-san..." she murmured ever-so softly; her lips hardly moving.
The emerald-eyed fighter walked nearly casually towards Yusuke and Kuwabara, his eyes catching sight of the fallen Toguro, "I guess you guess didn't need my help after all..." his head turned to face Mai's lifeless body, his expression fading slightly. The two boys let him pass as he made his way next to the Guardian.
He knelt next to her carefully and brushed a strand of her hair out of her scratched and bloodied face. She stirred once more and he gently lifted her into his arms bridal-style.
Mai suddenly huddled into his chest, her fist weakly gripping onto his shirt.
"...Kurama..." she repeated softly as her eyes opened just barely and a small smile crept onto her lips, "You smell funny...you know that...?"
He grinned and laughed kindly, "That's the last thing I need to hear from you..."
She let out a weak laugh as her eyes threatened to close once again. Yusuke and Kuwabara approached slowly and she smiled at both of them in return, "Did we get 'em?" she asked weakly.
Urameshi nodded, "Yeah--but no thanks to you," he said teasingly.
Mai scowled and probably would have smacked him had she not had the strength. The Detective grinned and handed back her staff from the ground. She took it weakly in her hands, but her eyes suddenly fell on the doors behind them.
The others turned to find the blue-haired ice apparition standing meekly in the entrance.
"Yukina!" Kazuma cried excitedly and immediately pranced off towards her. The rest of the group followed soon afterwards.
The apparition smiled kindly as they approached, "I...I really can't thank you all enough for helping me..." she said nervously and blushed as she turned to Kuwabara, "Especially you, Kazuma..."
The red-head practically died of joy, "Hey, you know my name!" he exclaimed.
Yusuke snorted, "I thought you'd never let someone call you Kazuma—!" he was cut off suddenly as Kuwabara hit him over the head.
"Shut up, Urameshi!" he hissed before turning his attention quickly back to Yukina.
Mai grinned weakly at Kuwabara's infatuated when something suddenly caught her eye. She turned her head slowly just in time to see Hiei's form disappear from the doorframe.
-:5:-
Mai stood at the edge of the crosswalk and watched lazily as the cars drove by. She scratched the cast around her arm irritably and punched the "walk" button again. The girl sighed after a moment and held her arm to her stomach.
The light across from her lit up with the little stick figure.
Without missing a beat, the girl swiftly raced into the intersection to get to the other side on time; dammit Genkai was going to kill her if she didn't find Yusuke and Kuwabara soon...
But before she had even made it halfway across, a motorcycle suddenly charged through the red light and headed towards her. The girl stood frozen for a moment as if caught in the headlights. It was only until the roaring engine caught her attention did she suddenly dive out of the way as the motorcycle thundered on by.
"Dammit! Watch where you're going!" she screamed after the fading forest green jacket (A/N: ...).
She picked herself up quickly and noticed the tear in her decently new pair of jeans. She swore softly and briefly made sure that the cast around her arm hadn't been damaged.
Crazy idiots...she though angrily as she made her way down the sidewalk. At the next stoplight she looked around—not only for the correct direction, but for any crazy drivers running rampage on the streets.
She crossed the street hurriedly and glanced up at one of the store signs. In bright neon lights, the word "Arcade" flashed at the road. The Guardian pushed open the doors to be greeted by the incessant automated crashes coming from all the systems.
Mai glanced down the aisles for a few minutes before she turned down one of them.
"Hey Yusuke, Genkai's looking for you..." she told the Detective as she sat in the seat next to him. He swiveled the joystick and repeatedly jabbed the buttons as his eyes remained locked onto the screen. He didn't answer her until the monitor flashed and words "Game Over" appeared.
"Dammit," he muttered and then turned to the girl next to him, "Yeah sorry Mai, what were you saying?"
"Genkai's looking for you," she repeated calmly and eyed the screen with a small frown, "How are you guys interested in this stuff anyway?"
He shrugged, "Yeah, well it's something I do to keep myself busy—"
"When you're trying to hide from Genkai?" she finished with a teasing grin.
Urameshi grinned as well, "That too—"
The Detective stopped short when he caught sight of Kuwabara nearby jabbing the buttons on a bright pink monitor with the bubbly words "Hello Kitty" printed on the top.
"Come on, Hello Kitty! Go, go, go!" (A/N: you just got to love messing w/ Kuwabara!)
Mai slapped her hand to her forehead and shook her head. Yusuke snickered before swiveling in his chair and away from the game he was playing, "So I take it you're not really into video games, then?"
She turned her attention away from Kazuma and shook her head, "Not really..."
The Guardian could tell he was thinking when the sound of heavy music could be heard near the back of the building. He grinned and suddenly gripped her hand, "Hm...we'll see about that..." he told her deviously as he began to drag her towards the back. She gave him a quizzical look, but he only continued to smirk.
They swerved in and out of the aisles and made their way towards the rear of the building where the music pounded harder and louder. A small crowd gathered around a screen that was flashing in neon colors and the thumbing techno music blasted in the speakers. On the screen, arrows scrolled towards the top where other points indicated up, down, left, and right. Above the entire system Dance Dance Revolution flickered in bright pink lights.
Two teenagers stomped on the panels in front and around them—but not very well. They stumbled as they tried to step on the arrows in beat with the tune. The song sped up and the pair began to lose their footing and soon gave up.
Yusuke subtly tried to drag her towards the system, but she stopped him.
"What the hell are you trying to pull, Urameshi—?" she demanded, but was suddenly cut off as the Detective abruptly shoved her through the crowd. She stumbled as she broke through the group of people and simultaneously tripped onto the platform.
"Looks like we have a new challenger!" someone called from the crowd. Mai flushed with total and complete embarrassment as she whirled to find Yusuke in the group, but he had found someway to blend in.
"Urameshi, you ass! You're dead when I find you!" she cried into the crowd hoping the Detective was nearby to hear her—but since the group was already beginning to clap and cheer, it probably wasn't possible.
She was nearly ready to scurry off the stage, but the crowd was already beginning to gather around the system, blocking her in. The Guardian bit her lip nervously as she stared at the screen and then down at her feet where all the arrows were. It seemed simple enough, she decided uncertainly.
Hesitantly, she punched the 'down' panel with her foot and immediately, a screen with a list of songs appeared. Hey... it's not too bad...She thought to herself with an inward smile as she quickly scrolled through the list, checking each song briefly before moving on.
"Do 'The Twilight Zone'!" someone cried behind her and she meekly looked through the songs until she found the requested one. The beat sampled was faster and a little too techno for her liking, but it was worth a try, wasn't it?
Pressing the 'start' button, the Guardian took a deep breath and settled in the center of the panel. She listened to the heavy beat of the music as the arrows suddenly appeared from the bottom of the screen and quickly ran upwards towards the other four points.
It took a moment or two before Mai really got used to the style of the game; that you had to press on the tiles when the right direction came to the top of the screen. But after that, she found the beat pretty simple and was able to stomp on the correct panels in the correct time.
Near the side of the system, Yusuke folded his arms casually as he watched the girl step dance to the beat in the center of the platform. Behind him, Kuwabara soon joined him after completing his Hello Kitty game.
"What's Mai doing up there?" he wondered as he stood next to the Detective.
He shrugged andsaid casually, "She hasn't really been dancing for awhile with Genkai's training and all...and I thought this was close enough..." he let out a small laugh, "Not to mention that it's pretty entertaining..."
"And you didn't want to go out there with her, because...?" Kazuma asked but stopped when he noticed the Detective flush.
"...I-I can't dance..." he mumbled.
The red-head nearlydoubled overwith laughter at this as Mai's song ended. A sly gleam crept in his eyes and he hummed casually—just before he 'accidentally' bumped Yusuke onto the extra platform beside the Guardian.
"Kuwabara!" he roared angrily and tried to make his way off of the panel, but Mai already laughed and grabbed him by the arm.
"Don't even try it, Urameshi!" she laughed and placed him back on the center of the platform, "You're stuck with me, got it?" she ordered and gave him a teasing glare.
"But-But I can't—" he stammered, but the Guardian had already chosen a new song before he could protest. This time it was a slower tune that Urameshi might have been able to keep up with.
She grinned, "Ready?" she asked and he managed a nervous nod. The music slowly emitted from the speakers as the longer green arrows scrolled up the screen.
"Left...left--there you go! Good boy!" she told him witha smile as the Detective stumbled over himself in trying to stomp on the panels.
Then a chain of 'up' arrows suddenly appeared as the beat sped up.
"Aw, shit!" Mai heard him mutter and she laughed.
Yusuke nearly fell forward as he tried to catch up, but his screen flashed red and the word 'Boo' kept appearing beneath the arrows. Mai laughed not unkindly as he tripped over himself.
The song flowed melodically through the speakers and Mai smiled and gracefully pressed her feet onto the arrows around her:
Oh, thinkin' about our younger years,
There was only you and me,
We were young and wild and free
Now nothin' can take you away from me
We've been down that road before
But that's over now,
You keep me comin' back for more
Baby, you're all that I want
When you're lyin' here in my arms,
I'm findin' it hard to believe
We're in heaven
And love is all that I need,
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven!
Sometime near the middle of the song, Yusuke had stopped suddenly and listened to the music, watching Mai at the same time. She seemed so happy just dancing to the music and following with the beat even if she did miss a few counts or so...it was almost entrancing to just watch her enjoy herself on the dance floor—
Holy crap--what was he thinking? He cursed himself mentally and shook his head; man, these sort of thoughts were beginning to become more and more frequent...
Weird...
The song ended and Mai jumped on the final two panels. The crowd behind her cheered and clapped. Her face was flushed and nearly matched the tint of her hair as she brushed a lock out of her eyes. She turned to Yusuke and grinned as she made her way off the platform.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she inquired lightheartedly and the boy scowled and crossed his arms.
By the time they had made their way through the crowd, it appeared as though Kazuma had already left.
"Probably trying to find some way to send Yukina those love letters he's been writing..." Urameshi offered.
The pair made their way through the aisles and towards the front doors. And without really paying attention to the direction they were heading, they casually made their way down the sidewalk towards an intersection. Mai smiled and placed her hands behind her head as she stared up into the sky above them...
At least when Genkai beat the shit out of them, they'd have a nice day to look at while they were lying in the hospital--
They stopped suddenly at a crosswalk and stared curiously across as a large group of people grouped together on the other side of the street. When the light changed, the two of them quickly made their way across the street towards the group of people.
Mai's eyes grew wide in shock, "What the hell do you think happened?"
Nearly the entire cornerstone of the building had been torn apart; rubble and fragmented remains scattered along the sidewalk. The crowd murmured in confusion and in the distance the sound of sirens could be heard traveling closer to them.
Urameshi shook his head, "I don't know..."
Suddenly he froze and his body tensed defensively. In the same moment, Mai felt a shiver race down her spine...that very same chill that had plagued her for the past days.
Her face paled considerably, and her eyes suddenly lost their normal luster as she turned towards the road. Yusuke did the same, only reluctantly...
He already knew what was behind him.
A man atop of a motorcycle sat along the curb casually, the engine of this vehicle humming dully. A helmet covered his face and he wore a deep, forest green jacket that fell down to his knees.
Mai clasped the collar of her shirt in her fist nervously until her knuckles turned white as she stared at the man, "God, it can't be..." she murmured.
The man slowly reached up and lifted the helmet over his head, revealing the black pair of sunglasses beneath.
Yusuke clenched his fists together and gritted his teeth. The Guardian felt his Reiki level rising dangerously as if sending a warning towards him...
"Toguro..." he muttered darkly.
The demon smirked and both the Detective and the Guardian heard his voice in their minds saying the same thing:
Come with me...
-:5:-
Mai couldn't help but shiver with each step she took down the alleyway. Toguro's engine thrummed up ahead at the end of the lane as he waited for them to catch up with him. It had been going on for nearly fifteen minutes now; the demon would drive ahead of them and wait almost too calmly for the pair to follow before he continued down the road.
But she couldn't help thinking that it was all just some horrible dream; Toguro was dead, he was supposed to be rotting on the ground of Tarukane's mansion by now...Then how was he there before them luring them to some place unknown?
She felt her stomach tie up in knots as she and Yusuke continued to race after the demon. It all felt like a dream, though; it was hard actually considering that Toguro was still alive even after Kuwabara's attack.
But it didn't feel right...
The Guardian was unable to find any words to contemplate what was going on in her mind and remained silent along with Urameshi as they continued down the road after the fading motorcycle.
Sunlight lingered along the rooftops as the day slowly began to wear away, and yet still the odd trio swerved in and out of the buildings after the demon. Where he was taking them, and if it was a trick of some kind, neither of them knew, but a probing sense in the back of their minds kept them moving onwards.
Nearly five minutes passed again when Toguro suddenly disappeared around a corner. Hurriedly, the duo followed after and whirled around the turn to find the demon gone. Yusuke cursed angrily and glanced around the empty street. They sat in an uneasy silence before Mai suddenly pointed.
"Yusuke, look..."
The Detective turned to see Toguro's motorcycle lying carelessly on its side next to a deserted parking garage; the demon however, was no where in sight.
"Do you think we should go?" Mai asked uncertainly.
He grinned, "It might be a trap..." he told her as if it was her last chance to turn back.
The Guardian scowled, "You're not going anywhere without me; especially if it has anything to do with this Toguro bastard...We're better as a team, remember?" she said and returned with a small smile.
And so the pair raced across the street towards the garage, and with inhuman-like agility, they leapt from level to level until they finally came to a halt.
Toguro was waiting for them; just standing across from them with his hands casually placed in his pockets. Instinctively, Yusuke stepped forward and in front of Mai protectively (A/N: which seems sort of weird since she is his Guardian...). But the demon smirked and his eyes glinted beneath those black shades of his.
The Detective clenched his fists angrily and readied himself for any sort of battle the demon was going to start.
"You're supposed to be dead, Toguro..." he muttered darkly and his eyes flashed with a brief hint of fury.
His chuckle was deep as he mocked him, "You really thought it would be so easy, Urameshi?" and he laughed in amusement, "My brother and I aren't so easily taken down...it was all an act; to the very last fight; we were never working for Tarukane anyway..."
Mai saw his eyes flash towards her and she shuddered, "Then who were you working for?" she demanded.
"The business is no concern to yours, Guardian..." he growled.
"Well obviously it is," Yusuke cut in dangerously, his eyes never leaving the demon, "Or else you wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to drag us all into this."
Toguro smirked, "Simple curiosity..." he answered calmly, "It's been awhile since I've come across someone with your abilities...Someone worth fighting..."
Urameshi gritted his teeth, "Is this conversation going anywhere?" he muttered.
The demon smiled as if awaiting that very question, "A tournament," he continued casually, "To be precise, the Dark Tournament; a battle between demons and created by the bastards testing their gambling skills for their lust for money. I propose and invitation to you, Detective..." his eyes flashed towards Mai, "And the girl if she's willing."
Yusuke tensed as well as the Guardian. A sudden dread filled the both of them and they could sense it in one another.
"Sorry," Urameshi growled, "I think I'll decline..."
Toguro suddenly snickered in his deep tone of voice, "I'm afraid that choice is out of the question..." his eyes narrowed dangerously, and the sense of dread remained stilled in the air, "My invitation is not a suggestion, Urameshi; if you don't take me up on my offer, I will personally hunt down every last one of your friends and family until each of them lay rotting beneath the earth..." the darkness of his tone sent a chill through the void between them.
The Detective froze when the demon said this; the seriousness of it all creating a dilemma within him. He glanced briefly behind him at Mai who had the same sort of uncertain look about her, but even so, she trembled and gripped her collar fearfully.
She heard him curse mentally to himself in her own mind, but still he did not answer the demon, nor did she—but probably not for the same reason; she wasn't willing to be swayed by such low trickery.
The demon smirked again, "Needless to say, I must admit that during the last fight we had, I was only at twenty percent of my strength; not much of a feat, if you ask me..." he continued with his hands still in his pockets, "You, however, may have the privilege to see me at a more worthy level..."
He trailed off suddenly and at the same moment, a dark, demonic aura began to envelope him. Shedding his coat, Toguro clenched his fists and punched the air as a deep and gutted roar emitted from his throat. Mai took a wary step backwards as the ground beneath them suddenly began to quake. The demon's physique swiftly began to grow; the muscles around his body beginning to bulge dangerously as if at any moment his whole body would burst from the pressure. His cry continued to ring through the night and through the empty levels of the garage, and rubble and dust began to flutter down from the ceiling.
Unexpectedly, Toguro suddenly whirled and slammed his fist into one of the nearby pillars supporting the structure. All time seemed to stand still as the blow trembled through the rest of the garage.
But he did not falter. Around his fist, small cracks suddenly began to crawl around the beam and raced upwards towards the ceiling.
Soon, the entire building was suddenly quaking. Larger fragments of rock and rubble crashed to the ground, even the floor beneath them trembled and threatened to collapse. Mai suddenly cried out as the earth beneath her gave way, and she leapt to the side. Around the duo, the garage began to sway dangerously and the air around them was filled with dust and debris.
The ceiling then suddenly began to fall around the pair. Yusuke, however, remained frozen to the spot, his eyes never leaving Toguro across from him. The Guardian hesitated only momentarily before swiftly throwing her arms around him. In the same motion, she pulled up a kekkai (A/N: spelling?) barrier around them, even as the structure formed into a mere mass of ruin.
It was dusk by the time the pair resurfaced beneath the wreckage, Mai's shield working its charm in protecting them both. Yusuke heaved one of the larger boulders away from him and shakily stood to his feet.
Across from them, Toguro remained standing. His black sunglasses watched them carefully even as a sneer crept along his lips.
"That, Urameshi, was only a sample of sixty percent of my power..." he informed him as a sly smirk crawled across his contorted face, "I'll let you use your imagination of what one-hundred percent might do..."
Mai froze as the demon's eyes locked on her. But the Detective suddenly stepped in front of her protectively, and yet he held his fists locked at his side and his head staring at the ground furiously.
The Guardian sensed his hesitation and mentally tried to calm him down, but he gritted his teeth and glared at Toguro threateningly as if daring him to try and attack.
"We will go to the Dark Tournament," he answered darkly.
A/N: well that only took up most of my night! LoL, I hope you guys enjoyed!
PLEASE SEND ME SUGGESTIONS OF WHO YOU WANT MAI TO FIGHT IN MY "TWEAKED" VERSION OF THE DARK TOURNAMENT!
Oh, and I was actually thinking of doing a yyh/inu crossover w/ the Yuyu group and the addition of Mai. The basic storyline is that the gang falls into the feudal era and into the Inuyasha group; but it won't be much of a romance so no voting on pairings, plus it would have nothing to do with either Fire Angel or Fire Dancer with the exception of Mai to the group. It will probably just be Humor/Parody so no one gets worked up about it...
But do you guys want me to do that? Or would you rather me just keep that idea for another time and finish this one?
Ah, well...tell me what you think okie dokie?
PLEASE REVIEW EVERYONE!
Peace and luv!
Ciao!