DISCLAIMER: I own none of this anime…unfortunately for kitkat ::sniffsniff::
a/n: uh…yeah sorry about all the angst and stuff in the last chapter que sera sera, but it had to be done eventually (though I have to admit there will be more to come in the later chapters ::cowers from angry reviewers:: )
Hope you guys had a Happy Holiday!!—o shit, I still have to do my science project ::gulp:: dammit…o well, I guess I can always pull an Andrew (aka: fake the entire thing) but that's a little too risky for my prying teachers, isn't it?
Haha, but thanks to all my reviewers!!:
Umeko Saito: ::grabs box of tissues:: omgosh do you really mean it?? That has to be the nicest complement anyone has given me on this story!! ::sniff::
Sarah1281: LoL, I knew you'd like the dating tips!! (mwahahaha!! But Ryan can't read it, can he since he's still grounded!!) but to answer your question: yes Mai cares THAT much about Kira; she was practically her best friend and all…(but I won't get into much detail and stuff) but—no, I probably shouldn't say that here; I'll tell you later at school kk?
Demoness13: Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed, I hope you and your family had a wonderful Holiday break!!
TonyDemirasbedroomslave: You're welcome! Haha, though I'm not quite sure what you're thanking me for
Naoko Asakura 009: wow, LoL, you seem really excited about that part don't you? Ha, but don't worry; I'll be putting a lot of fluffiness in these chapters—no worries!!
Black Spell: haha, okay, okay…well here's my update for you! I hope you enjoy!
NOTE: well for punk101dess (if you're still reading) you should be happy with this chapter; for once I'm actually changing what happened in the episode!! HURRAY FOR ME!! LoL, I just hope you guys understand/enjoy this change!
PS: sorry if the beginning is a little choppy…
Thoughts/Flashback
Fire Angel (well I hope everyone understands the title now :-)
::A Percentage of Victory::
Kazuma suddenly woke up with a start and immediately sat straight up. He shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose carefully. Stupid nightmare…he grumbled mentally to himself as he tossed his legs over the side of the couch…but he just couldn't help that it held something of importance...The redhead froze when he caught sight of Urameshi sitting nearby munching on a basket of croissants.
The spirit detective grinned, "What's the matter with you?" he asked as he swallowed his mouthful and took another of the pastries from the basket in front of him.
"Just a nightmare…" Kuwabara mumbled and placed his elbows on his knees.
Yusuke snickered, "Aw…did wittle Kazuma have a bad dweam?" he asked in a childish voice and watched as the redhead flushed angrily.
"Don't make fun of me, Urameshi!!" he warned and shook his fist in the detective's face. But he soon paused and glanced around the room, "…Where is everyone anyway…?"
He shrugged, "Dunno…but I doubt that Kurama and Hiei would leave us on our own with a match later on…" his expression suddenly darkened as he glanced towards the balcony, "But I haven't seen Mai or the masked fighter at all since yesterday…" he said almost in a worried tone.
Kuwabara frowned, "She wasn't in her room last night?" he asked, "Maybe she went up to Keiko, Shizuru, and Botan's room?"
Urameshi shook his head, "Kurama and I checked both, but neither of the girls had seen her since the match let alone yesterday…and her bed was still made from the other morning…"
"So…" Kazuma pondered, "Does that mean she and the masked fighter ran off somewhere?"
The detective gave him a small shrug, "I'm not sure…but if they don't turn up soon, we're as good as dead for the next match…"
-:-
Genkai watched in fascination as the girl already began to stir from her sleep. Good timing too…the old woman decided as she glanced up towards the sun while it began to reach the center of the sky.
The guardian shifted slightly from her slumber and blinked a few times before she rolled over onto her back, staring into the clear blue sky. For the first time, the woman suddenly noticed the violet stripes painted along both cheeks, and how pointed the girl's ears had become.
It took only a moment before Mai turned her eyes on Genkai and let a weary smile form along her lips, "Hey, I'm actually alive…" she laughed softly, "I thought that part had just been a dream…"
She chuckled and shook her head, "Afraid not...surprising though, how quickly you were able to recover from last night…"
The girl let out a small laugh, "Ah…well that's not necessarily true," she admitted, "I'm still a bit weak; I just sorta forced myself to wake up…"
"At least you're not dead, Mai; be grateful for that…" she bent down and picked up a bag that had been at her side, "Here," she said and tossed it to her, "You might want to change out of those clothes you have on now; someone may suspect something if you enter the stadium battered up like that—" she stopped and snorted, "But even that may not help…"
Mai frowned, "What do you mean…?"
"I mean," Genkai replied, "You're spirit energy hardly has any traces of human energy remaining…it's not that hard to sense, and there'll surely be those who will be able to detect something different about you…" she watched her sternly, "Promise me you'll hide your energy for the time being?"
The guardian nodded and glanced down into the bag, but said nothing. After a moment she let a small smile grow on her lips as she glanced back up towards the elder woman, "…Last night, when I thought I was going to die…I…I saw Yusuke standing in there with me…" she told her absently as if the thought had just occurred to her, "I knew he wasn't real…but…but I felt him; he held out his hand and I felt it with my own…it gave me strength, Master Genkai, to hear him speaking to me…"
The older woman folded her arms slowly, "I'm not surprised…you're mind must have found a way to create his image as a way of defense…"
She nodded and laughed softly, "That's what I figured…What he said was a little too sentimental to be real…"
Genkai snorted in amusement with a small grin forming at the corners of her mouth, "Come on, Mai…" she said and gestured to the girl, "We're running out of time; hurry up and change…"
Mai nodded briskly and took up the bag, scurrying behind one of the nearby trees. There was a little bit of rustling as she shifted through the bag and then a pause. The guardian peered around the trunk of the tree and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it with the shaking of her head.
As she disappeared behind the tree once more, she leaned wearily up against its base and stared down at the bag in her hands and then at her fingertips…she didn't feel much different, but she knew what Genkai had said was right; she could hardly sense any of her human energy now—
The guardian clenched her fists gently as a sudden sense of fear swept through her; what were the others going to say when they realized that…
That she had turned into a demon…?
-:-
"Yusuke!! Kuwabara!!"
The two fighters turned to see Mai jogging towards them with the masked fighter followed steadily behind her. Urameshi sighed with relief; at least she was safe… (And they had two of their teammates for the next fight). He and Kazuma stopped and the detective took a few steps to meet the guardian as she hurried down the hall.
Urameshi shoved his hands in his pockets and watched the girl carefully. He cocked an eyebrow questioningly when he noticed the violet stripes along either side of her face, "What are these?" he inquired pointedly and took his finger and poked her cheek.
She scoffed and teasingly slapped his hand away, "Nothing," she lied and looked past him towards Kuwabara and the empty hallway, "Where's Kurama and Hiei?"
"We don't know," Kazuma answered her, "They didn't show up…"
"Speaking of not showing up…" the detective continued and peered inquisitively down at her, "Where the hell have you been?"
Mai almost thought she saw a hint of anger in his eyes, but it was soon gone and replaced with a glimmer of worry. The guardian met his gaze defensively, but didn't give him an answer. To Urameshi, it must have been a good enough response for him and he shrugged, turning back around towards the other end of the hallway.
"At least the good news is that it won't just be me and Kuwabara fighting this match…" he said coolly as he started walking back down the corridor. He didn't get far, however before he noticed someone standing before him.
The guardian stepped next to him and cocked her head up questioningly at the tall, brown-haired male, "…Koenma-dono?" she inquired as she stared up at the letters "Jr." tattooed on his forehead.
Yusuke frowned up at the demigod; studying him carefully. Then, despite himself, he tried to conceal his fits of laughter…but failed horribly. As the detective began to double over from his laughing fit, Kuwabara soon joined in and Mai looked up at the "toddler" with a cocked eyebrow.
"Well this is different…" she mused as she observed him, "…I don't think you've ever been in this form before…"
Koenma couldn't help but grin proudly, "Well it helps when I'm out in public and all…it's not too much is it?"
The girl smiled, "It's different, that's for sure."
Urameshi—still trying to choke down his laughter—stood and placed his hand on Mai's shoulder to keep him from falling over again from his amusement, "…Haha…okay, okay…so—haha—what's up, Koenma?"
Quick to regain his composure, the demigod coughed and turned to the detective, "Because, Yusuke…" he said suddenly becoming stern, "You're Spirit Beast is about to hatch."
Yusuke stopped in his laughter and frowned, scratching his chin, "Nani? What the hell are you talking about?"
Koenma rolled his eyes, "The spirit egg you were given a few months ago, Yusuke…" he told him as if hoping this would spark some memory, but the detective still looked confused, "You sacrificed it to save Keiko, remember? You threw it into the fire to help her get out of the house?"
The detective snapped his fingers, "Oh, right!" his brow furrowed once more, "But… why the hell do you still have it? I thought it was destroyed…"
The demigod shook his head, "No, it survived," he stated matter-of-factly, "And for the past few months its been feeding off of your spirit energy; it's becoming strong enough that it's just about ready to hatch…I believe the Spirit Wave technique should be enough—"
"I didn't learn it." Urameshi told him casually, looking to Mai for confirmation and the girl nodded slowly. Koenma looked between the two with a confused expression and he cocked his eyebrow.
"You…didn't learn it?" he repeated slowly and carefully, "What were you doing for the past three months?!"
-:-
Hiei cursed profusely in his anger and clutched his right hand to his chest while he gritted his teeth. His katana sat along the ground a foot or so away from him. The apparition glared at it furiously and suddenly reached out to grasp it once more, but no sooner had he done so than he buckled over from the pain racing through his arm.
"Fuck…" he growled and cursed his immobilized limb. Grumbling darkly to himself, he looked down at his remaining arm and took hold of the hilt of his sword. He frowned at the awkwardness of the gripping and then glanced back towards his right hand.
He was nearly tempted to try once more to hold onto the katana with his injured hand, but a second presence interrupted his thoughts.
"Dammit what do you want, fox?" he ordered as he inclined his head towards the red-haired teen behind him.
Kurama placed his hands in his pockets casually, "You shouldn't injure yourself anymore than you already are, Hiei…" he stated coolly, "Without your dominant hand you're already at a disadvantage for another match…"
"Don't you think I already know that?" the apparition snapped as he slid his sword into the sheath along his back. He stared heatedly down at the ground, "But if I don't keep fighting Toguro will kill this entire team."
A small grin formed at the corners of the redhead's mouth, "I didn't know you cared so much about us, Hiei."
He growled darkly, "I don't give a damn about this team," insisted angrily, "but I would prefer to make it out of this tournament alive, and if the rest of you idiots die then I don't really feel up to taking on the rest of the fights by myself—"
Suddenly, the apparition's eyes darted quickly towards the nearby bushes and Kurama did the same as the leaves began to rustle omnisciently. The odd duo stood tensely as a pair of demons emerged from behind the foliage. Both of the strangers appeared to be some sort of leopard demons (a/n: hell, I don't know what to call em…) with spots along their bodies and a tail swishing behind them.
Kurama and Hiei narrowed their eyes distastefully while these intruders folded their arms coolly.
-:-
Once more the members of the Urameshi team (those who were there at least) found themselves in the midst of the chanting hoards of demons as they stood on the tiled ring. Mai was getting really tired of hearing them shouting "Kill Yusuke" over and over again for the past ten minutes while they had been waiting for Kurama and Hiei to join them in the fight.
The guardian glanced behind her towards the entryway they had come through but still there were no signs of either team member.
Across from them, the three fighters of Team Ichigaki and Doctor Ichigaki himself stood calmly, also waiting for their remaining teammates to show up. She watched the trio curiously; they were human, that much she could sense, but there was definitely something different about them…she could just see it in their eyes. They stood erect, like statues…and the last time she had checked, humans did not usually side with demons willingly…
Furrowing her brow, she glanced back at her three teammates. Master Genkai seemed oddly calm beneath her mask while Yusuke was almost itching to start fighting again. Kuwabara on the other hand would not avert his gaze from their opponents and his eyes seemed to hold traces of surprise and confusion. Mai looked up at him and carefully placed a hand on his arm.
"Kazuma—?" she inquired curiously, but cut herself off when her sight was suddenly blurred and replaced with some sort of vision—
A room with a single bed and about eight or so people kneeling around it stood before her. Tears filled the eyes of all of those surrounding the bed, and every once in awhile, one could hear the quiet sobbing coming from them as well. An older man lay beneath the bed sheets and gazed wearily around the room.
"Please, Master Mitamura…" a pupil with bright red hair whispered to the man, "Please you have to get better!"
The master smiled sadly, "Do not cry…" he said to all of those around him, "You all have learned so much; you don't need an old fool like me anymore…" he added with a weak laugh.
Each of the students glanced solemnly at one another. What were they to do? They all though despondently; they had no means of money to find let alone buy the cure for their master's disease so they were left helpless to watch him die….
"It's out of your control…please don't worry about me…" Mitamura's voice faded as he quietly closed his eyes out of his weariness.
"But we have to help him!" another one of the pupils protested; quickly glancing to his neighbor, a younger soul with brown hair. The one who had spoken was older by the looks of it—and taller too—with broad features and black hair, "We can't just let him die!"
A grave murmur swept through the room as they watched their master lie there in his slumber.
"If I may…" came a calm voice, "…I might be able to help…"
The group of students turned to find a dwarfed man—or demon in this case—standing in the doorway. His face was stretched slightly and pointed ears protruded from either side of his head. The demon's eyes seemed squashed within the folds of the skin along his face, but a toothed grin was still visible.
"Excuse me for intruding, my name is Doctor Ichigaki," he continued, "…I can cure your master…but at a price…"
"Please!" it was the red-haired boy again, "Please, we don't have any money—"
The doctor held up his hand, "It's not money I'm looking for…" what appeared to be a sly grin suddenly crept along his face, "Supply me with three of your fighters for an experiment of mine…and I shall cure your master…"
Mai withdrew her hand suddenly and glanced up at Kuwabara. The redhead still did not take his eyes off of the three fighters in front of them.
"You saw it too?" he asked.
She nodded, "Yeah…but…was that some sort of dream of yours?" she inquired confusedly and too glanced across the ring at the Ichigaki team. She recognized all of them from what she had just seen…did that mean it was all real?"
Kazuma slowly placed his hands in his pockets and nodded as well, "This morning…" he answered quietly.
The guardian eyed the shorter demon warily with his smug look on his face that seemed to sicken her, "It was real, then, don't you think?"
"Yeah…I would bet my life on it—"
He was suddenly cut off as Koto raised the microphone to her mouth, "Time's up!!" she announced, "Those team members present are the only ones eligible to fight this upcoming match!! Team leaders please approach the center of the ring!"
Both Yusuke and Doctor Ichigaki moved forward until they were level with one another. The spirit detective towered over the doctor as he slowly folded his arms over his chest.
Ichigaki glanced behind the boy at the rest of his team and smirked, "What do you say? Does a three-on-three match sound fair enough to you?"
Urameshi opened his mouth to reply but Mai quickly cut him off while she stood behind him.
"If I'm not mistaken…" she said as she folded her arms, "If you are the team leader, you have every right to fight as well…it would seem a bit more evenly matched if all four members on either team were to fight," her eyes remained suspiciously on Ichigaki; it was odd to her that he didn't even add himself to the roster of fighters…
The doctor's complexion paled considerably and sent a dangerous glare in the guardian's direction as he carefully took out the twisted calculator from his pocket. Discretely, he punched in a few numbers and glanced back down at the screen.
95.9 chance…there's also a possibility of tying and going into sudden death… he noted mentally and let a devious grin begin to form. He didn't have to fight…he glanced up at the three humans along side of him; yes, it just had to be four-on-four; they didn't specify who had to fight…
Slipping the calculator back into his coat pocket he calmly returned his gaze to the detective in front of him, "I have no objections…what say you, Urameshi?"
Yusuke glanced back towards Mai; for some reason he wasn't too keen on the idea of the guardian fighting a match alone…but he sighed nonetheless and nodded.
Ichigaki glanced back towards his team and grinned cunningly now with a calm feeling about him, "Do you know why I fight with humans?" he inquired casually and without waiting for an answer, he continued on, "It's because they can harness a greater spirit energy than even demons…it's their conscience that holds them back, however…" he added glancing up towards the Urameshi team.
Mai suddenly eyed the doctor distastefully as he gaze shifted between him and the three humans beside him. She didn't like the way he so calmly spoke as if his team members were just a matter of strength; pawns in a game of chess. Now she realized why Kuwabara had been so intent on that dream of his; he knew that there was something about Ichigaki that didn't make sense, and the guardian knew it now…
The doctor stared up at Urameshi with a hint of intrigue, "You're power is fascinating," he pondered interestingly, "Can I suggest a proposition for you then?" he then inquired as a sudden gleam of mistrust flashed across his beady eyes, "If my team wins, I get to keep your body…for…experimental reasons…"
"What?" the detective questioned incredulously as if the demon was insane (which, most likely, he was).
He smirked, "Or I would be just as happy to take the girl's body instead—" he added a little too quietly for the rest of their teammates to hear
Urameshi's eyes narrowed dangerously and swiftly, his hand lashed out and gripped the doctor by the collar.
"Yusuke!" Mai suddenly called out in alarm, but the detective paid her no head as he forced Ichigaki only a few inches away from his face. There was a fury burning in the detective's eyes as he glared dangerously at the demon.
"You lay one finger on her…" he growled darkly, "And I swear I'll hunt you down and make you wish you were dead…"
Ichigaki only continued to smirk in the Urameshi's anger, "So you'll agree then? I will take your body if you lose?"
The detective glared wrathfully down at the doctor before he released him, "Yeah," he muttered, and then raising his voice a little louder, he then added, "And if we win, I'll rip your face off."
"Then it's settled then?" Ichigaki mused just as the masked fighter stepped forward.
"One more rule…" they said and Mai stared down at her incredulously; she hadn't said a word to anyone but her this entire time! "I propose a battle royale…with all team members fighting in the ring at the same time."
Suddenly the doctor paled once more and he cursed mentally. Dammit, now they had him trapped; there was no way in hell he was going to be caught dead on that arena trying to battle it out. Unless…he once more took a glance up at the fighters beside him…unless their team was never able to get to him; if these fools would just protect him during the fight then he might make it out alive.
His gaze flickered towards the Urameshi team in interest; pausing on each one of them and then going back to that girl the detective seemed so protective about. He suddenly apprehended the fact that she was hardly giving off any spirit energy at all; hell she was probably giving off as much spirit energy as a normal human.
With a larger smirk, he withdrew his calculator once more and punched in a set of new numbers; the ability of his team all at once against theirs—not to mention the lacking energy of Urameshi's teammate.
There was a moment as the screen flickered and a percentage appeared. The doctor mustered up all he could to conceal his look of glee.
Well what do you know…98.63....who would have though? Even when I'll be in the ring at the same time!
Glancing back up towards the masked fighter and then to Urameshi, he continued to force down his delight and keep a straight face, "Very well…" he said calmly, "A battle royale it is…"
He smirked; after all…there was hardly a glimmer of a chance of team Urameshi winning, wasn't there?
-:-
a/n: dammit, that was a short chapter, sorry guys…but I'm tired, and I know if I continue through the rest of the episode it will be super long, and I'm not sure if I'll get it done before I have to get back to school…
so…yeah…gomen ne, que sera sera everyone…
but I'll try and get the rest of this match up in a jiffy (shit, I still have to do my science fair project…dammit…)