DISCLAIMEr: I do not own any yyh stuff (though I wish I had a Yusuke plushie, hehe) but my OCs (Mai, Ryu, Kira) and my original plot ideas/additions are mine as well.
a/n: ::hack hack:: damn cold/ cough it's getting so annoying now grrr…
Well anyway…since it's Sunday and I have to go to my youth group thingy at church later, I might as well get started on this chapter for this week (LoL, if I work fast enough I might even get half of it done (but I'm going to try and combine both episodes between Yusuke and Chu, which might make it a little difficult ::nervous laugh:: )
Thankies to my reviewers!
Umeko Saito: Yay! So you're updating soon? …but I seriously didn't mean anything personal by that; what I meant was that I wasn't going to really tell you guys any hints about what will happen (for example when I asked you guys about the fights, it kinda just ruined the surprise…) but please feel free to tell me your ideas!! I'm sorry if I offended you; I just don't think I'm going to be sharing stuff like that so I don't ruin the plot (cuz it's gonna get pretty interesting as I go on)
XxXRoseVixenXxX: Oh! I luv you guys' opinions!! It's just like I told Umeko; I don't think I'm going to ask you guys about stuff like fights and who will be paired up with who and stuff like that
BloodOrchid666: Yup! Yusuke and Mai finally woke up! Haha, but thanks for your review; I'm really glad you enjoy this story!
Fire-Princess11375
Sarah1281: haha, well I already got Adrienne sick, so you might be next!! (dun dun dunnn!! LoL!)
Oh! And guess what I did this weekend?! I drew another picture of Mai!! It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself! Right now I'm touching it up on the computer (except it's on WordPaint (blegh!)
Thoughts/Flashback
Fire Angel
::The Stumbling Warrior::
The stadium shook with the excitement of the crowd as their thunderous roars and cheers filled the air. At last it seemed as though this Chu character could finally defeat the one person in the tournament they hated most. With the ground shaking so much, Mai even had to plant Kira's staff into the ground to prevent her from falling over.
She glanced up at Yusuke who was watching his opponent with interest. The Guardian observed him awhile longer; the anticipation in his eyes glowing brilliantly. It had been so long since he had actually fought that it was as if his birthday had come early this year. She couldn't help but smile a little bit at the exhilaration he was experiencing despite how nervous she felt.
Chu was stronger than he was letting them know, she could tell. There was just something about him that kept her on her guard…and worried about the detective. But they had been training together for the past three months; she knew how much stronger he had become and that her anxiety was pointless.
The Guardian felt Kurama step beside her and she relaxed a little bit. He leaned his head towards her and murmured, "You're nervous again, koi…"
Mai bit her lip as she nodded slowly and turned to meet his gaze; those emerald orbs that seemed to enrapture her just by looking at them, "He might be stronger than he was three months ago…but he's still just as reckless," she reasoned quietly with a hollow laugh, "It makes me feel as though I'm overreacting or at least being a bit overprotective…"
He smiled gently, but said nothing…although he quietly wrapped her hand into his to steady her nervous trembling.
Koenma leaned forward in his chair to get a better look at the battle field below. He watched the detective curiously as a sudden thought crossed his mind...Yusuke had advanced so much in his training…was it possible that Genkai had finally taught him the Spirit Wave technique?
He peered a bit closer at the teen in the arena; it was impossible to tell…only Genkai and Mai knew exactly what happened in his training over the past three months…
Chu staggered dangerously and clutched the bottle in his hands before taking a deep swig of the nauseous liquor. He drank it dry and when there was nothing left of it, he let it crash to the arena floor where it shattered into tiny glass pieces.
He stood a moment, swaying, before the area around his body began to steam with noxious purple and blue fumes that smelled deeply of the alcohol he had consumed. The warrior's eyes narrowed dangerously (although it also could have been from the hangover he was experiencing).
The fighter stumbled to the right and steadily began to stagger faster and faster around the detective. Yusuke watched as Chu began to whiz in and out of view and appear in several places around him. The speed he was going at seemed unnatural for someone so drunk and even Kuwabara was having trouble keeping up with his movements.
Urameshi grinned, This is interesting…he mused with himself as he continued to follow the warrior's path around him.
His senses pricked suddenly though, when he caught sight of an irregular movement out of the corner of his eyes. He narrowed his eyes and swiftly turned to meet the attack while throwing his arms in front of his face.
Chu's fist collided with his block and the warrior frowned. But before Yusuke could take his turned at a punch, his opponent clenched his left fist and attempted a hook into the detective's chest.
Urameshi moved his block lower to avoid the attack, but the force behind it sent him flying backwards. As he was thrown into the air, he realized with a sudden jolt that Chu was no longer on the ground. And suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck where the warriors elbow began to dig into his back.
Now his body hurtled towards the arena floor where it made contact with a sickening thud. The warrior landed on the ground once more easily and crossed his arms calmly; rather pleased with his attack.
But then Yusuke leapt back to his feet and pivoted towards Chu as he charged back at his opponent. He rapidly swung punches towards the warrior, but he easily dodged each of his attacks; even closing his eyes with boredom.
The detective clenched his teeth angrily and sped up his attacks in his fury.
Chu smirked amusingly and did a double-take with his fists as he swiftly returned and hit Urameshi on either side of the head with his hands. He raised his fists again, but Yusuke put up another block to deflect the attack.
The fight now turned into a fist-brawl as the two opponents began to wail on one another with a continuous rain of fists. Chu's attacks however had more luck hitting their mark than the detective's and Yusuke was getting rather bruised pretty quickly. Fury now flared in his eyes and his attacks flew more swiftly than before.
Chu however had lessened his guard a bit more than he should have and as Urameshi powered up a final punch, his attack smashed into the warrior's face. He stumbled backwards in surprise and blinked. His eyes flashed back towards Yusuke with the slight hint of annoyance.
Without warning, the warrior's knee lashed out and caught the detective in the stomach. Yusuke let out a cry of both surprise and pain as the power behind the attack hurled him across the stage towards the opposite side of the stadium. His body collided with the wall causing the rubble around him to topple around him.
Mai cried out in alarm and watched dumbfounded as the pile of concrete did not stir. Tears of worry filled her eyes as she turned back to see Koto step onto the ring to begin the count. And without really knowing what she was doing, she started to run towards where Yusuke had fallen. But before she had taken more than a few steps, she felt someone grab her arms and hold her back.
She struggled to release herself as Kuwabara and Kurama tried to stop her.
"If you help him, he might be disqualified from the match!" Kazuma protested, but winced and cried out painfully as the guardian stomped her foot on his.
"Kuwabara's right, Mai!" came Kurama's voice from beside her, "If you help him, the committee will have an excuse to disqualify us from the tournament."
The guardian gritted her teeth and blinked away her tears, but said nothing. After a moment, she let her arms fall to her side after the two boys had released her. Her hands clenched into angry fists as she continued to watch the pile of rubble.
"Five!" Koto shouted, "…Six!"
Mai's fingernails dug into her palm as she turned her angry eyes towards where Urameshi had fallen. Kuwabara glanced back towards the stage worriedly at Chu, "He must be over five times stronger than Rinku—"
He was cut off suddenly when the guardian beside him shouted furiously at the pile of concrete, "Dammit Yusuke!! You're such an ass!!" her knuckles turned white with rage and her body shook, "Get back into the ring, dammit!"
"Eight!...Nine—!"
Koto froze in her count when there came a flash from the mound of rubble and the rocks shifted. A figure zipped through the air and Yusuke reappeared on the ring.
The Guardian blinked, "Eh?…do you think he heard that?"
Kurama smiled with a hint of laughter playing at the corner of his lips, "Knowing him: probably; he might have been afraid that if he didn't finish out this fight you'd be sure to make him wish he did."
Mai glanced up at the redhead and laughed; her fear and anger erasing themselves from herself completely.
From the ring, Yusuke rolled his shoulder and swung his arms as if warming up to the fight, "Good thing I blocked that attack," he said calmly, "Or I might have been dead by now…In fact," he mused, "I think I'm beginning to like this life or death situation—"
"You better like it, Urameshi!!" Mai yelled from the sidelines, "Because when this fight is over I'm gonna kill you for making me worry over you like that!!"
The spirit detective sweatdropped and turned to her while laughing nervously, "Eh…? Heh heh, yeah, well sorry about that, Mai…" and returning to his cool nature, he grinned, "Besides, I've got this under control."
Sure you do, she snapped back mentally, but she could tell he was trying to ignore her.
Chu crossed his arms as the detective was talking, but when Yusuke returned his attention back to the fight, he readied his stance for the next wave of attacks. Urameshi smirked however and raised his hand towards the warrior; his index finger extended like a gunpoint. A small blue orb resonated from his fingertip as he aimed for Chu.
But before he fired his attack though, he shifted his arm to the right of his opponent and the attack shot harmlessly away from Chu and into the stadium where it destroyed a section of the outcropping above the seats. His opponent watched the detective curiously as Yusuke blew at the top of his finger.
From the sidelines, Kuwabara blinked in confusion, "Why the hell would he waste that shot?!" he stammered in disbelief, "Is he stupid or something?"
Mai folded her arms calmly without taking her eyes off the fight, "No."
Kazuma waited for her to continue, but she said nothing, "No what?" he demanded, "He only has one shot!! Why would he purposely miss like that?!"
"He's gotten stronger, baka," Hiei said simply cutting into the conversation.
But still the redhead looked lost and the guardian sighed irritably, "Yusuke is able to fire more than one spirit gun since we came back from training…four I believe is the precise number…"
Botan now stepped beside the guardian, "Really?" she asked curiously, "Wow, if he's that strong now, then what did you learn in your training, Mai?"
The girl seemed to pale slightly and ever so quickly, her eyes flickered towards the masked fighter and back; laughing nervously, "Ah, nothing special really…" she mumbled and turned away so they couldn't ask her anymore about it.
Urameshi smirked, "Hn…that was just a little sample, Chu; I have a lot more where that came from and it will only take one to bring you down."
The warrior looked excited, "Well then that must mean that dis fight will get interestin…" he drawled with the aftermath of the alcohol taking its affect. He readied his stance once more, but froze suddenly when it appeared as though his complexion was turning a sickly green.
Swiftly, he clapped his hands over his mouth while it seemed that the warrior was going to be sick. Yusuke took a wary step backward and raised his eyebrow as if unsure what to do.
After a moment, though, Chu was upright again and grinning from ear to ear, "Oi! Well that was a close one!"
Urameshi watched his opponent dumbly and at his sudden mood swing. The warrior then pulled out a flask from his belt and held it up to show the other fighter.
"Well since ya shown me your attack, I guess it's only fair for me to show ya mine…" he uncorked the bottle, "Ogre Killer…the strongest alcohol made and since I'm the master of drunken fighting, ya could say that dis is my secret weapon."
He took the flask in his hand and put it to his mouth; draining it dry. He dropped it and it fell to the ground with a dull, hollow clatter. Yusuke's expression darkened as the demonic aura around his opponent began to thicken and his energy began to skyrocket.
The warrior let the liquor take affect as the muscles along his body began to bulge and grow enormously passed there normal size. It appeared as though the transformation was nearly complete when Chu clapped his hands over his mouth once more and darted towards the edge of the ring where soon thereafter the nauseated sounds of his sickness could be heard.
"Damn hangover…" he muttered as he continued to hang over the edge. His only remaining teammate, Rinku stood with his hands behind his head, laughing.
"Chu's becoming invincible…" he told the detective on the ring, "That Ogre Killer stuff brought out his true power."
The warrior coughed then and stood; the symptoms of his drunkenness hardly visible; as if he had suddenly become sober. The fighter now watched Urameshi seriously and held up his two hands. Between them, energy began to crackle and violet electricity etched itself along the rim of an invisible orb. The energy grew and became a fiery orange tint until it was flaming and crackling in Chu's hands.
Kurama frowned, "That energy orb has the equivalence of Yusuke's spirit gun…" he stated seriously.
The guardian bit her lip; she was now beginning to think she jinxed him by telling him not to lose earlier. But as Kurama had been speaking, the two fighters suddenly began to run parallel to one another across the ring. Chu carried in his hand the ball of spirit energy and Yusuke held his hand at his side ready to fire another spirit gun attack.
They both made eye contact and skidded to a halt. The warrior drew his arm back as if pitching a baseball and suddenly hurled the ball of energy towards Urameshi. Yusuke leapt backwards and aimed his finger towards Chu and fired his spirit gun attack.
The two energies collided with one another causing an eruption of lighting and dust. The Urameshi team threw up their hands to shield their eyes from the light. But even before the explosion had settled, the two fighters charged at one another and repeatedly threw punches at each other without even bothering to block the other's punch.
Chu hooked the detective in the gut and sent him flying once more across the arena. This time, his hands formed another spirit orb…only now it was so big that he raised his hands above his head. The orb grew to nearly twice his size as he launched the attack back at his opponent.
Yusuke regained his senses just in time to aim his finger once more. And as the warriors attack drew closer to him, the blue orb at his fingertip grew.
"DOUBLE SPIRIT GUN!!!" he roared and as his attack charged towards his opponent's, it was indeed twice its normal size to match the power of Chu's spirit orb.
The attack pierced the fiery sphere, and straight towards the warrior. However, Chu's attack still hurtled itself towards the detective. Both attacks now charged for the opposite fighters and made contact.
An explosion on either end of the ring announced that both attacks had hit their mark. There was silence in the crowds as they waited for the dust to clear. Mai and the others watched worriedly and impatiently for the rubble to reveal the outcome.
As the smoke cleared, both fighters were seen—bruised and tired along the arena floor; either of them staggering to their feet. Their shoulders sagged and they glared at one another dangerously.
"Oi…" Chu panted, "That…attack of yours…heh, you used up all of your ammo…"
Yusuke smirked, "Yeah…well you…you did too, didn't you?"
There was a pause between them before the pair began to laugh…just laugh. They were both so weak that they were laughing at themselves. Koto blinked and stared at the two incredulously.
The warrior straightened slowly, "Ya still gonna fight, then?"
Urameshi rolled his neck as he too straightened, "Of course."
Koto looked between the two, "You two do realize that without any spirit energy you're hardly even fit to fight at all, right?"
Chu nodded, "Yeah…But I have a suggestion…" and from his vest he withdrew two daggers and held them out for the detective to see, "The Knife Edge Death-Match…" he said calmly.
Kuwabara frowned from outside the ring, "What the hell is that?"
But no one had an answer; even from above them, Koenma was a bit unsure as to what Chu was proposing.
"Sir? What's the Knife Edge Death-Match?" Jorge inquired curiously.
The toddler frowned and crossed his legs in frustration, "How the hell am I suppose to know that, Ogre?"
Keiko frowned and glanced up at Shizuru who puffed casually at her cigarette and kept her eyes on the ring; intrigued by the fight, "What's he talking about?"
Her brow furrowed and she shrugged, "I dunno, kid…hell," she added with a faint grin, "I'm not even sure why I'm here in the first place or what's going on…" But then her expression became stern and she crossed her arms, "But judging by the fact that both fighters are nearly defenseless…they'll probably fight to the death.
Shizuru noticed the brunette pale out of the corner of her eye and bite her lip.
Back on the arena, Chu took both knives and drove one into the ground. He stood and jabbed the second into the ring a few feet away. Yusuke watched the warrior with interest as the crowds around them eyed them in confusion.
Chu bent over and slid off his boots, "Take off your shoes, Urameshi," he told the detective and the teen obligingly did as he was told. As the warrior stood, he walked over towards the first dagger and placed his heel on the blade. Yusuke followed his lead and did the same with the second knife.
The two fighters stood ready and Mai watched from the sidelines incredulously; she had never seen someone fight this way before. But as each of them stood there, the guardian suddenly came to realize how much Chu outranked Yusuke in height.
"The only rule is that you can't step outside of the line," Chu stated and gestured towards the imaginary lines running through the blades, "If ya do, than that automatically makes this match sudden-death…Oi, and no weapons either; just brute strength for this math, eh?"
Koto held the microphone nervously in her hands, "Uh…well the committee has to decide whether this type of fight is acceptable," she stammered and turned towards the giant screen above the crowd as if addressing the committee watching.
Rinku smirked, "I wish they'll let the match go on…" he pondered, "Cuz Chu is the master when it comes to Knife Edge Death-Matches."
There was an anticipated whisper throughout the audience as all eyes went to the giant screen above them. Except for Chu and Urameshi; their eyes remained on each other, neither blinking nor turning away.
The announcer lifted the microphone once more, "Committee, what's your decision?"
An uneasy stillness filled the air, and then a pause. The monitor was cleared briefly before a giant white 'X' signaled the committee's denial of the request. Angry boos filled the air and the stadium once more shook with the roars of the crowd.
Above the audience, a man dressed in black stood beside one adorn in a forest green coat. On the taller man's shoulder perched a pale, ghost-like figure who eyed the match with interest.
"What do you want me to do about this?" Toguro questioned calmly as he watched the crowds beginning to riot in their fury.
A grin formed along Sakyo's lips and he slowly placed his hands in his pockets, "Have any more of our men arrived?" he inquired.
The demon folded his arms, "Not yet, sir…"
Not losing his calm-like state, the gambler beside him then turned towards the door, "Hm, very well…I'll do it myself then…"
Kuwabara glowered angrily, "Well that's bull!" he expressed to his companions as he glanced around at the crowds who continued to throw curses and profanities up at the hidden committee watching from above. Some of the demons even resorted to throwing their garbage and waste up at the box seats as their dark chants grew louder and more thunderous.
The guardian watched them as well and then returned her attention to the two fighters on the ring. Neither one of them had made a single move even when the committee had denied their request; they didn't stir from their posts. Her eyes lingered on Yusuke…she could nearly feel the excitement pulsing through him at the moment.
It had been so long since he had fought someone; it almost made her happy to see him so ready to battle on.
What is it about you, Urameshi…? She wondered automatically.
Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly, when the 'X' on the screen vanished. The crowd's uproars died down slightly in confusion and all eyes went back to the monitor. Above them, the skies began to swirl with storm clouds. A strong wind picked up and howled over the stadium.
Leaves from the trees surrounded the building fluttered down from above them and skittered across the concrete arena. Both fighters remained motionless still.
Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning and somewhere in the distance there was the deep-throated rumble of thunder somewhere off. And as the light flashed, the screen changed so that now a large 'O' replaced the 'X' that had been there just moments before.
Without even glancing at the screen, both Yusuke and Chu immediately went at it. Neither of them bothered to block the other's attack and instead put all of their strength into each punch their threw at their enemy.
Kurama heard Mai sigh next to him, "They're both putting everything they have into this fight…" she said softly. The redhead glanced down at her to find her eyes unblinking and attached directly to the fight. Her azure orbs were blank and her feelings were unreadable from her expression.
-:-
One of the demon guards glanced up and caught sight of a lone figure traveling down the hallway. He gestured to his comrade and they both stood fingering the clubs in their hands.
"Hey!" the first guard hollered as the demon approached them calmly. They wore a completely black outfit with a red, jagged collar. There was an iron mask that wrapped itself around his face and he froze…watching them with his cold, yellow eyes.
"No one is allowed down here without a pass!" the second stated matter-of-factly.
The demon said nothing and cocked an eyebrow at the pair as he fingered something in his pocket.
"Yeah!" the first guard cut in again, "So why don't you just head back the way you came?" he ordered.
Once again, the stranger said nothing. But from the folds of his cloak he withdrew a small round object and held it calmly in his hands. The two guards eyed the demon warily as he held the sphere between two fingers.
Without warning, the demon leapt into the air above the two guards and hurled the object at them. A moment later he landed behind them and an explosion erupted where the security had once stood. Flames licked the walls of the hallway as the stranger continued calmly down the hallway.
Just awhile later, the demon easily opened one of the elegant oak doors and stepped inside without hesitation. He stood in the doorway and watched the taller man standing near the giant window that took up the entire section of the wall.
Toguro turned his head slightly before he returned it to a position where he could watch the fight, "You're early, Karasu…"
The demon said nothing as he approached his teammate. He peered down to the fight below where Yusuke and Chu continued to pummel one another merely with their fists.
"I wanted to see what all the fuss was about this Urameshi character…" Karasu replied casually.
The younger of the Toguros grinned slightly, "And what do you think of him?" he inquired.
Karasu didn't give him an answer, but his eyes never left the match.
Chu threw the detective an uppercut to the chest. Yusuke winced and was forced backwards. The flesh of his heel pierced through the blade and his crimson blood flowed over the silver dagger. He grimaced and returned the attack by sending a shower of punches into the warrior's chest.
His opponent's eyes went wide with surprise and he coughed; stumbling backwards as well. Blood now poured from Chu's heel and over the ground between him and Yusuke. Despite this, there was a hint of enjoyment coming from both fighters. Around them, the crowds continued to cheer for the drunken warrior.
"It's like nothing else exists to them," Mai said quietly, but a faint smile began to form at the corner of her lips, "But they do seem to be enjoying themselves, don't they?"
Kuwabara watched the fight, awe-filled, "Man, I wish I had had the chance to fight out there with him…I could watch this fight for hours…"
In the stands above them, Keiko felt tears beginning to form in her eyes as she continued to watch Yusuke fighting with Chu. He wasn't even trying to deflect his attacks and was getting beat up in the process. It was as if it wouldn't end! Neither of them looked as though they would ever give up…
Shizuru took the cigarette out of her mouth for a moment and let a puff of smoke drift into the air, "They don't seem to know when to stop, do they? If this keeps up for much longer, Urameshi might even die—"
That was all that Keiko needed to snap. The brunette stood swiftly and blindly raced up the staircase and through one of the tunnel archways. Shizuru blinked but then quickly dropped the cigarette and raced after her.
"Keiko, wait! Dammit, I wasn't being serious!" She cried after her and raced through the tunnel the girl had fled through. Shizuru glanced down the two hallways she was given and taking a chance, darted down the one on her left.
She charged down the corridor and took a swift turn around a second corner and suddenly came to a halt when she caught sight of the hoard of demons blocking her way. The group turned their eyes on her as smirks curled along their crooked jaws. She frowned darkly and swiftly threw a punch into the nearest demon's face and darted around him and back down the tunnel.
Behind her, Shizuru could hear them charging after her and she turned her head to confirm her suspicions. The corridor before her seemed to continue on for—
A hand suddenly gripped her by the wrist and wrenched her down a new hallway. The girl was about ready to sucker-punch this new foe, when they covered her mouth…just as the pursuing demons trampled down the corridor she had just been in. After they had passed, Shizuru whirled on her captor, but froze when she realized it was just another human like herself.
He was taller than her with midnight black hair that fell just passed his shoulders. He was adorn in an astute-looking business suit. There was a faint scar along his right cheek just below his eye. The man smiled kindly.
"You should be more careful down here…" was all he said just before he began walking calmly into the darkness beyond the corridor. Shizuru watched after him curiously for a moment before she too headed back down the hallway to find a way back to Keiko.
-:-
Mai winced with each attack that Yusuke suffered. A pool of blood swirled around the pair and their feet from the gashes in their heels. Both fighters were weakening with each attack, but they nonetheless looked as though they were having the times of their lives fighting one another.
Her ears pricked suddenly when she heard someone coming down the tunnel behind them. She turned just in time to see Keiko running onto the field towards them. She blinked; when did she get here? (a/n: remember, she was asleep when Botan told them that Shizuru and Keiko had come along).
The guardian saw tears in the girl's eyes as she charged towards the team and threw her arms immediately around Kuwabara's waist. The redhead blinked in surprise and glanced down at the brunette.
"K-Keiko—?" he stammered.
"Kazuma you have to make Yusuke stop fighting!!" she sobbed into his shirt. Kuwabara's expression softened and became serious; he sighed and turned to the rest of his teammates for some sort of backup.
"I can't do that…" he said while trying to remain understanding, "Everything depends on Urameshi's ability to fight…We, we met this demon a few months back and he challenged us to a fight; and I think it sort of snapped something in the back of his head," Kazuma continued, "For once he found someone that was actually a challenge to defeat and even when we though we had killed him, he had faked it for some damn payoff…"
Mai hesitantly stepped beside the redhead, "We have to fight Chu and the other demons advancing in the tournament to fight Toguro again…" she cut in softly as the unpleasant memories swept through her mind. Keiko looked up at her with her deep brown eyes, "We have to fight Toguro again, Keiko…we—Yusuke wants to…" her azure orbs flickered towards the ring where the two fighters continued in their battle, "He's…he's happy fighting out there…"
The brunette shook her head stubbornly, "Why does he want to get hurt…? It doesn't make any sense…"
The guardian's eyes softened and she forced a weak smile, "Keiko…I want just as much as you to stop this whole ordeal; I almost had him disqualified earlier by trying to help him…but…" she paused and looked away down at the ground, "I realize how much this means to him…I don't want to ruin that…"
Keiko watched the girl in front of her. She sniffed rather loudly and she too turned her eyes towards the ring where she watched Yusuke as well. Her eyes filled once more with a faint trace of sadness when she noticed what Mai had been telling her about, "He…he does look happy…doesn't he?" her eyes grew wide suddenly, "Oh—! I almost forgot about Shizuru!!" she cried out worriedly and turned quickly on her heel back towards the tunnel.
Hiei crossed his arms calmly; his eyes narrowing as he watched the girl leave, "He's probably so happy because it's almost over…"
And even as the apparition was speaking, Chu shifted his stance to prepare his final attack. The warrior lunged at the detective with his skull. Yusuke charged at him with a head-butt of his own and the two fighters clashed together with the sickening crash of both of their skulls smashing against one another.
An awe-filled silence filled the stadium as both Urameshi and Chu remained locked in the frozen pose with both their heads still connected to one another. Even the chanting crowds died down to watch.
As the stunned silence filled the arena, Yusuke watched uncertainly when Chu's eyes rolled to the back of his head. Slowly, the warrior toppled over and crashed into the concrete below causing the ring beneath him to quake and a crater around his head to form.
Urameshi stood for a moment before he removed his foot from the blade, wincing. He drew in a deep breath of the stormy air and sighed, letting his shoulders sag with exhaustion.
Koto quickly skittered to the center of the ring and began the count, but Yusuke already knew that Chu wouldn't get up after that…hell he was lucky himself to still be standing. Even so, there was still the think layer of tension filling the air as if the crowd expected the warrior to jump up any moment.
"Seven!...Eight!!...Nine!!...TEN!!" she shouted into the microphone and then stepped next to Yusuke, raising his hand with hers, "And the winners of the first match…Team Urameshi!!!"
The moment the fox demon shouted this into the mike, there was an angry murmur sweeping through the crowd. Despite this however, Rinku hopped nimbly onto the ring and raced to Chu's side where the earth had cracked beneath his head.
"B-But…how could someone so small possibly defeat him…?" the child whispered in disbelief just as the warrior beside him began to stir. Chu slowly lifted his head from the ground and steadily raised his eyes towards the detective. He frowned though, and his eyes narrowed.
"Kill me now, Urameshi…" he muttered.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow in his direction before shaking his head, "Nah…" a grin played at the corners of his lips, "It wouldn't be much fun if we couldn't fight again—!"
"You suck, Rokuyoukai!!" demons suddenly roared from the stands.
"What the hell are you doing here anyway?!"
"Who loses to a bunch of filthy human bastards?!!"
Rinku jumped to his feet angrily and shook his fist at the demons, "Hey!! If you wanna cause trouble, why don't you come down and do it yourselves—?"
"All of you shut up!!" Urameshi roared angrily at the crowds, "Either you say your insults to my face—or to my fist!! Those of you who feel bold enough to try me, I dare you to keep talking!!"
Suddenly, the stadium went completely silent. The detective waited only a moment longer before he was satisfied and calmly headed off the stage. Rinku and Chu watched him leave…suddenly gaining a new respect for the team leader.
Urameshi hadn't even stepped down entirely off the ring before Mai suddenly swung her staff around, hitting him along the side of the head. Yusuke fell sprawling along the ground twitching and let out a type of strained groan.
"What the hell is with you for making me worry over you like that?!" the guardian demanded, "You're lucky you won, Yusuke or I'd give you a fight of my own!!"
When the detective recovered from his spasm, he rolled over onto his back and sat up cross-legged with a goofy grin etched along his face. He scratched the back of his neck, "Heh, heh…but I did win, didn't I?" he told her sheepishly only to receive a smart smack to the head, "Ow, dammit!! Okay, okay! Gods, I'm sorry!!" (And if anyone had been paying attention, one would have heard a quiet laugh coming from the folds of the sixth fighter's mask).
He rubbed his head gingerly and glanced up into the crowds briefly, but tensed, when he caught sight of a group of lone figures standing beneath the entryway of one of the tunnels. Mai followed his gaze and felt a shiver race down her spine. The rest of the team turned to find both Toguros and an accomplice watching them from the stands above.
Both Yusuke and Toguro made eye contact and the two glared dangerously at one another. Mai suddenly realized the swift change from his goofy antics to such seriousness when the demon had been detected.
The trio at the top of the stairs eyed the team darkly—
Until Yusuke flipped them off.
Toguro smirked, "Do you think he's worth fighting, Karasu?" he asked the man beside him.
The demon hooded his eyes and folded his arms. His eyes flickered from the detective to the girl at his side, "Only if he keeps winning, Toguro…"
-:-
a/n: alrighty then!! I think I'm just gonna end this chapter here (since it's already fifteen pages on this Word document) but I hope you guys enjoyed!!
Stay tuned for much fluffiness in the next chapter (LoL, or at least a little bit of it : ) But it might be a little shorter since I wanna get back to the fighting (ha, and so that I can finish the Dark Tournament Saga so I can start on Chapter Black)
Hasta Luego everyone!!