DISCLAIMER: ::irritated sigh:: it's been in the entire fic; go look it up…
a/n: wow, science fair is such a pain in the ass it's not even funny…And that stupid doctor gave me antibiotics that didn't even work (hell, I think they made it worse!) But thank goodness for my computer!! ::huggles monitor::
Thankies to my reviewers!
Sk8tergirl69: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed! (I'll be sure to try and keep up with your story a bit better ::nervous laugh: )
Sarah1281: LoL…you ramble a lot do you know that? Haha, jk, jk, don't worry! And the reason Kuwabara and Yusuke-kun didn't sense Mai's energy was probably because they were too busy trying not to die (haha, even though I already told you that, didn't I?) Plus you can bet Ichigaki will get "severely injured" in fact, you can count on it!
XxXRoseVixenXxX: haha, yeah, sorry it was so long (this one might be just as long if not longer ::nervous laugh::)
TonyDiMerasbedroomslave: oh! I'm so glad you enjoy it so much! LoL, though I don't suppose it's as popular as Fire Dancer, but still I'm glad all of you are hanging in there with me!
Naoko Asakura 009: Okay! Here's your update!
Witelighter-Death: ew…it's you…Haha, just kidding (I won't say your actual name just in case you want to remain anonymous like I did until someone—who will not be named—gave it away) but I'm glad you were able to get to one of the school computers to review and junk (it is a wonder why they still have this website still available there) And of course you're welcome to use the staff-thingy idea.
Please enjoy!!
Thoughts/Flashback
Fire Angel
::Ambition Destroyed: A Trial by Light::
All Mai found capable of was staring gape-mouthed at the fighter before her. For a moment she felt her body go numb in shock and she sensed the same astonishment coming from the two boys beside her; though she doubted highly that it was for the same reasons. In front of her, stood a short, young woman with bright pink hair and a beauty that might even challenge Kira's…It sent her into a silent awe and almost into a confused daze. Hell, she had even seen with her own eyes Master Genkai only a few hours ago—and had even seen her place the mask back around her face and walk back with her towards the stadium.
If Genkai had never left her side…then how the devil (a/n: hehe) did this person get here? More importantly, who was this person?!
Her head spun with the perplexity of it all; she could bet her life on it that Genkai had been in the ring the entire time! She had even been with her while walking back to the arena; how could this person not be her?!
The guardian mentally sensed the fighter rolling her deep golden-brown eyes; don't tell me you've fallen to the stupidity level of that dimwit…
She jumped slightly and glared at the young girl carefully even though she did not glance back in return. But then the fighter telepathically sighed irritably and mentally rolled her eyes once more, use your logic, Mai; you've been puzzling over it for this long. It's still me…she added after a pause. The guardian furrowed her brow in confusion, but would not take her eyes off of her.
How?
As the woman kept her gaze forward, she answered, I'll explain later.
Dissatisfied with her reply, Mai nearly sighed with frustration—but a little too loudly because Kuwabara noticed as soon as her breath passed her lips. He stared at her oddly, but didn't have time to inquire her when his eyes suddenly darted to the sky. The guardian followed his gaze swiftly and noticed with confusion a dark figure suddenly plummeting towards the earth.
"What the hell—?!"
Even before she could finish, the mass crashed into the ground with a sickening thud; and through the stunned silence sweeping through the crowd (and the appearance of the figure's mangled form) it became apparent that it was Ichigaki's missing fighter. With her curiosity getting the better of her, Mai carefully walked towards the edge of the ring…only to feel bile building near the back of her throat when she saw the demon's limbs cracked and twisted in all the wrong directions, and the blood beginning to surround its body.
The same questioned bubbled from everywhere in the stadium, but prior to anyone actually asking it aloud, there came a shadow blocking out the light from above. All heads turned up towards the sky once more as yet another shadowy mass plummeted to the earth. This time however, it was not another body that fell to the ground, but what appeared to be…a giant machine. The earth trembled violently as craters appeared beneath its massive feet; and swiftly following its descent, followed two others.
For a moment, the guardian blinked before a smile leapt onto her lips, "Kurama-kun!" she cried out in both surprise and joy. Even so, she couldn't help but wonder what the hell that thing was he and Hiei were standing on…
Behind them, cowering near the very edge of the ring, Ichigaki stared wide-eyed both his fallen experiment and the Gatasubul standing motionless beneath the two boys. A mix a fear and fury raced through him; how could the Gatasubul have been defeated?! It was invincible! His beady eyes swiveled towards the crumpled body of his other experiment, damn them…he thought bitterly, damn them all to hell!
But as the two fighters stood on the machine, both their eyes widened in surprise when they caught sight of the young woman standing in the ring. It was evident that they also had no clue to who she was. After only a moment, the fighter sensed them watching and swiftly retied the mask around their head. Kurama shook his head slightly and returned his attention to his teammates.
His eyes then fell darkly on the doctor standing opposite of them on the other end of the ring, "Before we disposed of your creation, Ichigaki, we were able to retrieve a few valuable pieces of information from him…" he started addressing the team leader. The redhead paused and then turned to his teammates, "He was the one who infected Mitamura in the first place; Ichigaki used it as a ploy so that he could use their bodies in his experiments—"
A chill swept through the crowd suddenly when a deep, maniacal laughter emitted from the edge of the arena where Ichigaki's face contorted into one of pure insanity. Mai felt her skin crawl when the crazed laughter echoed through the stadium and she turned slightly so that she could see the doctor as he began to speak.
"Once my fighters win, I'll have no use for their pitiful bodies; at least, so long as I have yours, Urameshi…" he told them, "With your body I'll be unbeatable! And those foolish humans will be nothing to me; I'll simply kill them off!" and once more his insane laughter filled the air.
The guardian suddenly felt her nails digging into her palm as he fists clenched tightly. And beside her she sensed Kuwabara and Yusuke doing the same. He made her sick; that bastard the way he treated those humans like scum and if she hadn't been trying to hold back on her spirit energy, she would have sent a spirit gun blasting into Ichigaki's ugly face. But before the thought even entirely crossed her mind, she found herself watching the two boys run after the doctor. In her alarm, she quickly followed directly after them, even though she saw that they would not break through.
Without warning, M2 appeared out of nowhere; his leg suddenly kicking into Yusuke's stomach while M1 threw a punch straight into Kazuma's jaw. For a split second, the startling thought of where M3 raced through her mind. And if she didn't need anymore surprise attacks, she sensed the human's fist hurtling towards her. Just a fraction of a second before his attack could come in contact; she ducked, but not before M3 suddenly kneed her in the gut.
She coughed up a small droplet of blood onto the arena beneath her and buckled over. Behind them along the sidelines, both Kurama and Hiei made a move to leap into the ring, but before they could, Koto quickly held her hand out to stop them.
"Each team has already decided on a four-on-four battle," she explained hastily, "If either of you were to enter now, you'd disqualify your team!"
Yusuke glowered darkly to himself as he landed back on the arena next to Mai where he made sure she was doing alright. Each time he tried to attack that damn Ichigaki, those humans would get in his way and would fight back even harder. As he knelt beside the guardian, she wiped at the blood in the corner of her mouth and looked up at the other three fighters and then to the detective.
"What the hell is wrong with them?!" he asked out loud, "Why do they keep protecting him?!"
The girl opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Ichigaki overheard him and answered, "I control them with the Verrucae, detective," he said with a sickly smirk, "They want to protect me."
Urameshi gritted his teeth and began to stand just as Kazuma landed next to them. As Mai studied him, she noticed how stern his features were and that he almost appeared far away; as if deep in thought (a/n: yeah right…haha, sorry Kazuma-san). She could tell that he was still uncertain as to why the humans were still trying to protect Ichigaki. The guardian furrowed her brow as she remembered what Genkai had told her before—and partially from the pain that was occurring in her abdomen—she had said that Mitamura's students would never kill another human being…it was all the Verrucae; those organisms were the only thing controlling them.
"Their personalities are only covered up," the redhead said quietly as if reading her thoughts, "They're still there—"
Suddenly, the three fighters began to charge at them once more. And before Mai could argue, Yusuke had scooped her up off the ground and made a mad dash to the opposite end of the ring. But when the guardian glanced behind, she felt her stomach drop when she saw that Kazuma remained rigid in the center of the arena; waiting for them to approach him.
As Urameshi pivoted around, she cried out, "Kuwabara!!"
But the redhead didn't seem to hear her and merely stood there waiting for his enemies to get to him. There was a fear that crossed the detective's eyes as he watched his friend standing alone in the center or the ring.
"Tell me how to help you guys!!" Kazuma demanded as they continued to charge, "I want to help you!"
"Don't be an idiot, Kuwabara—!!" Urameshi started, but was cut off when Ichigaki's fighters suddenly slid to a halt in front of the redhead. An eerie pause then filled the air, but Kazuma took no notice, but used it to his advantage. He quickly stepped forward and gripped M3 by the shoulders.
"You can fight this!" he told them, "Just tell me how I can help y—!!"
All time froze for but a moment as M3 swiftly dug his fist into the redhead's stomach. Kuwabara's eyes grew wide briefly and he let out a choked cough as he stumbled backwards. Not a sliver of emotion crossed the three fighter's faces; nothing but cruel fury that wasn't even theirs to begin with…it was all because of those Verrucae.
Yusuke gritted his teeth and gently set Mai back on her feet. She turned her gaze back between him and the redhead doubled over on the arena before them. The detective made a move to run to his side, but immediately as he took a step forward, Kazuma noticed and cut him off.
"Stay back, Urameshi," he muttered as he uneasily stood back on his feet. But before he had even straightened, the three humans all leapt into the air at once. The entire trio drew their weapons in a flash and raised them above their heads and above the redhead merely standing below. The attack came so quickly that if she hadn't heard the sickening sounds of the collision, Mai would have never been able to guess that it had even happened. Kuwabara was suddenly flung backwards as his body smashed along the arena floor until it skidded off the ring and into the sidelines. Immediately, Botan was quickly at his side while trying to mend the new wounds that had now appeared.
Mai felt her heart dropping quickly when the redhead did not stir afterwards. Beside her, Urameshi stared nearly wide-eyed at his fallen comrade. The guardian was shocked to see—what appeared to be—tears forming at the corners of his eyes. But they were quickly gone as he turned back to the fighters across from him.
"Why are you doing this?!" he demanded, "He was trying to help you, dammit! Don't you want those frickin Verrucae off of you or what?!"
There was another pause after he said this. And then with a start, Mai saw—instead of tears—blood pouring from beneath their eyes. All three of them stood there crying tears of blood; tears of despair and sorrow. Then, their mouths slowly began to open and close as if they were trying to speak…and softly, ever so softly, their voice broke through; no longer filled with hatred or cruelty, but with pure anguish.
"K…Kill…us…" they whispered in their hoarse voices as they struggled to speak through the Verrucae's bonds.
Both Urameshi and the guardian stood aghast and glanced at one another quickly. They…they were begging them to kill them…Did that mean…?
"They purposely missed Kuwabara's vital points," the masked fighter said as they suddenly appeared beside them, "He'll live."
Mai felt a tugging at her heart when she stared back towards the crying fighters, "They're at war with their own bodies," she whispered sadly and nearly hung her head, "But the Verrucae are too strong; th-their good personalities are losing…Damn him; Damn that Ichigaki! Him and those cowardly experiments!" she now felt tears filling her own eyes and she irritably wiped them away, "They're in so much pain, those humans…so much pain and sorrow…"
The detective watched her for a moment before turning his attention back to their opponents.
So much pain…
"K-Kill us…" they pleaded again as their bloody tears continued to stain their faces. Yusuke gritted his teeth as the mix of emotions coursed through him. It was like Mai said; they were in such agony…and they knew that they could not control their bodies any longer with the Verrucae attached. They wanted to be killed, but the detective couldn't bring himself to do it, though; they were innocent. Maybe Kuwabara had the right idea that they could help them out of it…
But there was no other way; the Verrucae had taken over their bodies, and even now they were having trouble merely speaking. They knew themselves that there was no other way to stop them once those organisms took over again…the fighters wanted to help them.
He clenched his fists slowly, "I'm sorry…" he whispered so softly that even Mai didn't hear him. But her gaze suddenly jerked towards him, though and her eyes grew wide in surprise as her senses prickled. Around his body was a hazy, blue glow that pulsed with his spirit power. She felt a chill race down her spine as she sensed his energy rising at an incredible rate; almost to the point of it reaching over its maximum capacity.
His emotions have released his powers, Genkai explained telepathically as she watched the detective calmly, but Mai sensed her eyes narrowing; I never expected it to rise this fast, though…
Urameshi's energy continued to rise and the guardian bit her lip slightly and turned towards the masked fight, Does this mean I can use my spirit powers?
There was a pause before Genkai responded and with the slightest bit of amusement, Just don't go overboard; Yusuke still has to connect with the rest of his energy…Use enough to protect him, no more…
She nodded briskly and quickly stepped next to the detective, letting her own energy seep out in the littlest bits she could muster. Urameshi's eyes remained forward and locked on the three humans in front of them; but they were clouded with a deep sense of thought.
After a moment, he switched his gaze to her and smiled slightly, "Ready?" he asked.
She paused briefly before she sighed heavily, "As much as I'm going to be."
Yusuke nodded; understanding her hesitation, "Same here," he told her quietly, "…But we have to help them…" he added and glanced backwards to where Kazuma lay along the sidelines.
The guardian stared straight ahead and then placed Kira's staff into her hands, "Come on."
And simultaneously, the duo charged forward with Urameshi's energy blazing and Mai's beginning to emerge once more. As they sprinted across the arena, the guardian sensed a sudden change in him; and she was almost positive that his change was that from uncertainty to determination; he knew what he had to do now and there was no stopping him. The humans saw them coming and prepared themselves; the Verrucae beginning to take over once again.
With a smash, both of the detective's fists smashed into M1 and 2 while Mai swung her staff around into M3's ribcage. Each of them stumbled backwards, stunned, for but a moment before they lunged back at the pair, but they were both ready. As the trio of humans began to attack again, the guardian noticed—by the way Urameshi was maneuvering—that he must have found a way to figure out their attacks.
And after keeping her energy locked up for so long, she was beginning to see the attacks a little clearer herself. M3's Grizzly Claw attack was nothing more than a ball of energy he held in his hand and threw at his opponents; and while knowing that, it was easily avoidable. The guardian's eyes flashed towards M1 and his Angel Blades and realized with a curious awe that there weren't eight rings as she had thought them to be, but two actual attacks while the rest were merely illusions to confuse them. M2 suddenly came up behind her and she spun, raising Kira's staff over her head. The green energy flowing between his hands showed her that his attack was nothing more than a pole of energy.
Yusuke began to pummel each of the fighters one by one without even pausing in-between. The guardian had to stop for a moment and watch awe-filled as his energy pulsed around him with such a magnitude that she was afraid to get in his way of fighting.
Along the edge of the ring, Ichigaki paled horribly, "H-How is this possible?! How could his energy have risen so much!?"
Suddenly, Urameshi's right fist began to emit a ball of blue energy as he smashed it into the side of M2's face, sending him flying backwards to where his other two teammates stood after being stunned by Yusuke's attacks. Mai noticed with a jolt that there appeared to be an angry determination burning in his eyes now. The detective suddenly leapt backwards into the air and stretched his arms outwards with his index finger pointing at the three fighters. The guardian felt her stomach drop:
He was going to do it.
"Yusuke…" she whispered and started to hang her head; she didn't want to watch them die…
But just as her eyes sought the ground, a flash of movement caught her attention, and her gaze quickly turned back to the detective getting ready to attack the three humans. He was not alone, however, and Mai noticed the masked fighter hovering next to him. Her hand latched on to his arm and the detective stared at it almost horror-stricken.
"You've learned enough," she told him as he suddenly began to descend back to the earth. The guardian quickly raced to his side the moment his feet touched the earth while he cradled his arm in his and gingerly.
"What the fuck did she do?!" he demanded and stared back down at his hand as it was beginning to fade of its bluish glow. After a brief moment, he shook it as if trying to regain its feeling, "It's like she paralyzed it…"
But she didn't answer him. Her eyes remained locked on Genkai as she agilely landed back onto the arena floor. What in the world was she planning? If she didn't want Yusuke to use his spirit gun then what could she possibly do to find a better way to get rid of them—? She froze suddenly as a thought crossed her mind; the woman had told her about the technique once before…but was she planning on using it now?
Before her mind could process the thought, the masked fighter quickly landed back on the tile flooring and clapped their hands together as if praying. She began to chant in a language that she did not understand as a ball of pale light formed around her hands. While the fighter continued the mantra, both the detective and the guardian suddenly felt the earth beneath them beginning to tremble.
Then, the fighter cried out a final word to the chant that echoed through the stadium. Clouds suddenly began to gather overhead and in another instant, a bluish-green tornado burst from Genkai's hands and roared into the sky. A thin green charge of energy spiraled around it as the air above began to moan uneasily. But to the other side of the arena, Ichigaki stared at the tornado of energy in mockery (after first being a bit surprised…). Irritably, he pulled from his pocket the controller and punched several buttons.
What idiots…this is nothing more than one of their silly hoaxes…he thought smugly to himself as he pressed a final lever and watched as his three fighters began to charge towards the masked fighter.
Yusuke watched uneasily as the humans started to race across the ring, "Well whatever the hell she's planning to do, she better do it quick," he said.
The guardian nodded in her agreement and fingered Kira's staff, Come on, Genkai…
They were drawing their weapons quickly and were growing closer to the fighter. And as they raised them above their heads and made ready to attack the woman, Genkai suddenly let out a war cry and swung her arms around her head; causing the tornado above her to twist about. Then she forced her palms outwards towards the three fighters and the vortex was suddenly swallowed into her hands…only to suddenly release a blast of energy an instant later. The energy shot outwards like a bullet and surrounded her in a veil that covered her in a dome of light.
All three fighters were suddenly paralyzed in the midst of the air; frozen against the shield of light the masked fighter had created. But even before any of them could blink, the woman leapt into the air, and Mai thanked the little spirit awareness she possessed that allowed her to follow Genkai's moves as she zipped in and out of view. Whenever she would appear, she would be hovering only inches from on of the fighters, only to use her slender fingers to pierce the area of their hearts.
After each of the fighters had witnessed her attack, she agilely set down once more along the ground and watched as the three of them fell to the ground with a crash. It took only a moment before the guardian realized that the Verrucae were no longer attached to the humans, but instead lay shriveled on the arena floor.
There was a stunned silence that filled the air around them. After only a moment, Yusuke quickly made his way next to the masked fighter as Mai followed closely at his heels.
"What the hell! If you were planning on killing them anyway, why wouldn't you let me use my spirit gun?!" Urameshi demanded as he confronted her. Mai stood behind them, stunned while watching the three fighters lying motionless along the ground. Their bodies were spread eagle-style and their eyes remained closed.
Genkai did not reply to the detective, but stood calmly as Koto completed her ten-count.
"The majority of team Ichigaki is unable to fight!" she declared, raising her hand above her head, "II believe—if the rulebook serves me correctly—that means team Urameshi is the winner!!"
The doctor stood rigid, staring wide-eyed at his fallen fighters. His beady black eyes flickered between them and the three remaining fighters on the opposing team. He stared at them for a moment before a sickly smirk formed at his crooked jaw.
"Mitamura is still at my mercy; kill me, and I kill him; I'm the only one with a cure—!"
"Not true," Kurama interrupted softly as he and Hiei suddenly appeared behind him along the sidelines, "We failed to mention earlier that the rest of the information we extracted were the whereabouts of Mitamura. And although we were not able to find a cure, this island supplied us with enough to create one of our own…" he said and withdrew a vial from his pocket.
Ichigaki stared at it in horror and his eyes—along with the rest of the stadium—flashed towards the nearby entryway where a single figure emerged from the shadows. The man that appeared was pale and dark rings formed beneath his eyes. Mai instantly recognized the man from Kuwabara's dream. Although he appeared much sicklier in person, she was able to place him as Mitamura. She blinked in surprise though; Ichigaki had through this out a lot further than she expected.
Yusuke strode dangerously towards the doctor until he towered over him. The guardian noticed with a start the fury burning in his eyes. She saw his fists clench to the point where she was almost certain she could see the muscles in his hand jerking.
"So are you going to try and keep fighting?" he growled through gritted teeth, "If not, we still have that deal; I still have to rip your face off."
His black eyes swiveled just as the guardian came to stand next to him. Ichigaki took a horrified step backwards, only to find there was no place to go; between Kurama and Hiei, and the detective and guardian in front of him, he was trapped.
"Even with Kuwabara out of the ring, me and Mai could still smash your face in," he continued darkly, "Either way—if you choose to fight or leave—you're finished."
The terror in his eyes remained for just a moment longer before he sneered maliciously and his hand went to his breast pocket. In a flash, he whipped out a single syringe filled with a deep purple liquid. And before either of them could stop him, the doctor drove its point into his arm at let the formula seep into his body. He smirked as he watched the uncertainty cross their faces.
"You didn't think I'd be so stupid as to leave out a plan B, did you…?" he sneered. But before he even started to finish, both Mai and Urameshi noticed with a sickening jolt that his skin was beginning to bubble. His hands enlarged as razor-like claws grew from his nails and his entire body began to morph. Slowly, ever so slowly, the doctor's body started to grow…almost to the point where he stood over four times Yusuke's height. The tint of his skin had turned into a sickly green just as sharp fangs appeared protruding from his jaw.
Mai took a wary step backwards, "Where the hell did he get all that power?" she asked as the detective frowned angrily.
"It's not his, that's for sure; wherever it came from was probably in whatever he just shoved into his body…"
A deep-throated laugh cut him off as Ichigaki's new form towered above them. It seemed as though the entire stadium rumbled with it and Urameshi gritted his teeth, "Do you like it?" the monster growled, "It hasn't been tested all that well…but it's sure as hell enough to beat the likes of you!"
And prior either of them could comprehend what was happening; Ichigaki raised a single claw towards them. In an instant, Mai suddenly found herself staring into his deformed palm and before she could raise her staff in front of her, she found herself crashing into the tiled floor beneath her. The guardian's body ripped through the flooring and she felt the sharp stone tearing at her flesh. She cried out as the creature's claw pinned her to the ground; shoving her deeper into the pointed rock. There was blood beginning to stain her shirt, when she felt the warm, sticky liquid drenching the fabric.
She stared in a fearful awe at the arm that was pinning her down. Ichigaki was yards away from her, and yet his newly formed claw stretched across the arena. Great, she thought, Mr. Stretchy Fingers…Couldn't he have found a more creative power?
"Mai!!" it seemed as though both Yusuke and Kurama called out her name at once, but the doctor swiftly sent his second claw after them before they could try and help her. Thankfully, they were each able to dodge his attack and landed safely back on the ground. The guardian, on the other hand, was not relieved of the giant hand shoving her into the earth…and personally, she wasn't enjoying it.
Beneath his twisted fist, she shifted her hand until it lay palm-upward. She gritted her teeth dangerously as she glared at the monster across the ring.
"When I said burn in hell…" she growled, "I meant it literally!!"
Suddenly, Ichigaki howled in pain and quickly withdrew his hand as a flash of light enveloped a small section of the arena. In a split second, the guardian leapt back to her feet and raced back towards Yusuke as the monster cradled his arm to his chest. Then his glowing, yellow eyes flashed towards her and the detective dangerously.
"Conniving bitch!" he roared, and in that same moment, he drove both of his claws at Mai and Yusuke. The guardian found just enough time to dodge his attack, but the detective wasn't as lucky. He was able to maneuver around most of the attack, but before he was able to completely get out of the way, one of Ichigaki's claws struck him in the arm. A splatter of blood suddenly stained the tile flooring beneath him as he landed back on the ground, clutching his wounded arm.
In any other moment, Mai would have been at his side in a second, but Hiei beat her to it. The apparition had already drawn his katana and stood in front of Yusuke. She could tell, by the look in his eyes that he was just itching to decapitate the demon before him, even with his injured hand.
"Back off, Hiei." Urameshi ordered as he made his way to his feet, "This bastard's mine."
He watched the detective for a moment before he shrugged and stepped off to the side, "Don't get killed." He said as added advice.
Still clutching his arm, Yusuke grimaced, "Yeah, thanks for your concern," he replied with a bit of sarcasm.
"Fools!" Ichigaki roared, "You can't beat me; you'll all die!"
And a moment later, the doctor's arms hurled themselves at the detective furiously. Hiei zipped out of view for a moment as the limbs approached and Yusuke clenched his fists at his sides. Both arms drove at Urameshi, but the detective merely sidestepped them both. Each of the claws latched onto the tile floor, expecting to be piercing the detective, but instead, Yusuke quickly wrapped both his arms around the limbs and let out an angry cry that almost shook the stadium.
Mai shivered when she felt the eerie blue aura beginning to surround him. Ichigaki's eyes widened in fear as Urameshi tightened his grip on the two arms. Then, he was able to yank both limbs backwards, causing the doctor to stumble forwards. And before Ichigaki was able to recover, Yusuke disappeared and reappeared a moment later just inches from his face. In a flurry of kicks and uppercuts to the chest, the doctor now staggered backwards, almost to the brink of falling off the ring.
But even before he could do that, Yusuke returned and threw a furious punch to the doctor's face.
"That's for the lives you've taken!!" he roared and hurled his fist into the other side of his face, "And that's for Kuwabara and Mai!!"
Ichigaki stumbled across the ring as Urameshi used an extreme uppercut to his jaw, "And this—this is just for pissing me off!!" And with an incredible force, the doctor's monstrous form was lifted clear off the ground and soared through the air straight out of the stadium and into the world beyond.
The detective cracked his knuckles as he watched Ichigaki disappeared behind the walls, "Bastard…" he muttered darkly. For a moment, Mai stood blinking, but the second she had recovered, she rushed to Urameshi's side and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Haha! Yusuke you did it!" she cheered happily.
He blinked, "Eh?! Hey, hey!!" he cried and hurriedly tried to shake her off as his face turned a bright shade of red, "Ah…thanks Mai…" he said after an awkward moment and rubbed the back of his head. The guardian backed off and beamed excitedly from ear to ear.
"You must forgive me…" said a weak voice from the sidelines, "…But even Ichigaki's demise is not enough to bring back the dead…"
Both Yusuke and Mai turned to see Mitamura leaning heavily on Kurama's shoulder, and their joy quickly faded when they noted the sorrow in his eyes. They both glanced at one another before they gently jumped down onto the grass to confront the man. The guardian had to bite her lip gently to keep from crying herself when she saw tears forming in Mitamura's sunken eyes.
But before either of them could express their pity, the masked fighter suddenly appeared beside them all with her hands folded neatly behind her back, "Your students are not dead," she said gently and even as she was speaking, the three bodies along the floor of the arena began to stir slowly. Then one by one, each of the fighters staggered to their feet.
The guardian watched as Mitamura's face lit up with a tearful joy and he carefully removed himself from the support of Kurama and weakly made his way towards the ring. But the three fighters quickly saw him and turned their backs.
"W…we don't deserve to be your students…" the redhead whispered, "…not after all the horrible deeds we've done…"
The master opened his mouth to speak to them, but Genkai quickly cut him off from the sidelines, "Neither of you should worry," she told them, "The Spirit Wave technique is an attack that—if the soul if pure of heart—frees the body from any obstructions. If you were truly evil on the inside, the attack would have killed all three of you…"
"And I've known that all along…" Mitamura continued gently, "Even now I am able to see you for the good people you truly are…"
A pause filled the air before the three fighters quietly turned to face their master with tears filling their eyes. Then, they all swiftly gathered at his side, clasping their hands to his. All four of them began to weep as tears of joy streamed down their faces.
Mai smiled quietly to herself and looked down at her feet.
"You're not going to cry, now, are you?" Yusuke asked without taking his eyes of the reunion taking place on the ring.
The guardian blew out her cheeks irritably, "No—" she began to insist, but Urameshi cut her off.
"'Cause it's okay if you do…" he continued softly. She found herself blinking up at him in surprise, but he would not make eye contact. Her smile grew slightly as they started to make their way back to their own side of the ring.
However, before they had made it too far, they heard a voice calling after them. As they turned, they recognized the tall, brown-haired male jogging towards them as the other two fighters were helping Mitamura off the field.
"Please," he said as he approached and made a quick bow of his head, "My name is Kai; please you must forgive me and the others for acting this way…" his gaze fell on the wounded Kuwabara who was just beginning to stir, "It's the very least I can do, but please let me act as a substitute for your team…"
Urameshi shook his head, though, "Sorry," he said with a shrug, "But I think you'd be better off helping your master…" he said nodding towards the trio waiting beneath the gateway, "Besides, we're only allowed a substitute after one of our fighters are dead; we can't take any chances of jinxing that…" There was a moment where the guardian believed him to be serious, but then he grinned and gave the young man a thumbs-up sign.
After another moment, Kai nodded in his appreciation and hurried off towards his waiting companions. As he and the rest of Mitamura's pupils exited through the tunnel, the demons around them started up their favorite chant again: "Kill Yusuke!"
The detective rolled his eyes as they came upon Botan kneeling beside Kazuma, "Yeah, yeah…" he muttered.
Suddenly, there came a clear beep over the loudspeakers just prior to a woman's voice speaking to the crowds.
"Attention. The next match of the Dark Tournament is to take place immediately…" there was a pause suddenly before they continued, "The next match: team Masho vs. team Urameshi."
A stunned silence swept through the team both of shock and fury.
"Well that's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard!!" Botan shouted while jumping to her feet. Yusuke on the other hand, had already jumped onto the ring and was confronting Koto angrily.
"What the hell is this?!" he demanded, "We just finished the frickin fight!! Does this committee of yours enjoy trying to fuck us or something?!"
The fox-demon blinked and then waved the microphone in his face, "I-I'm sorry, but it's there decision; I'm just here to enforce the rules! If you have a problem, take it up with them…but I doubt highly that you'll be fighting any longer if you do."
Urameshi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists angrily. His eyes flashed towards the hoard of demons surrounded them and glared as if daring them to chant "Kill Yusuke" one more time. But also in the stadium, standing in the archway of another one of the tunnels, stood Toguro as he watched the detective's team with interest.
"Let's see how strong this match will make you…" he said softly to himself, even though he directed the question to Yusuke.
The detective irritably gestured for the rest of his teammates to join him on the arena (with the exception of Kuwabara). Mai glanced around the group warily. Both Kurama and Hiei were wounded from whatever battling they had done prior to the match…and Genkai was completely drained after using that spirit wave technique of hers. Not to mention Kazuma, who was in no condition to fight right now; unless of course he wanted to kill himself…
It seemed as though the very moment she stepped into the ring, there was a sudden blast of wind that ripped through the stadium. The guardian had to push her hair out of her face to see exactly what was going on, and drew in a sharp breath. A tornado was withdrawing itself from the sky above them…and touched down along the sidelines opposite of them. There was a quick flash of light that enveloped the arena and by the time it had faded, five cloaked figures remained.
Each one of them wore cloaks of black and a different symbol etched along each of their hoods. Mai saw Yusuke clench his fists in anticipation.
"Well…this should be fun…" he mused.
-:-
a/n: okay, well for some reason, that only took all week to write… :-) even though I should probably be doing my book report or practicing for my science fair speech. But I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer.
I probably felt like writing because I really needed to keep my mind off a few things…
SARAH1281 YOU BETTER BE WRONG ABOUT THE ENTIRE YYH SEASON STARTING OVER!!! Jeeze, that's gonna suck like hell if that stupid CN starts back in the beginning….
I NEED TO GET THE ANIME NETWORK!!! GRRR!!
Haha, anyway, I'll try and update as soon as I can!
NOTENOTENOTENOTENOTE!!!! I am going to (or have already, it just depends) change the title of this story to "Every Drop of Blood" so if you need to search it, that's going to be the new title...
P.S. HAPPY BDAY TO ME!!! (or at least for next week :-))