Chapter 12: New Learning

The group was, once again, traveling through the hallway. Hiei was more hostile than usual, though only three of them knew why. Falling out of bed that you didn't want to be in at the moment isn't the best way to start the day. Rai decided to keep a little distance from him.

"So the sleeping beauty is finally awake, eh Rai?" A familiar voice came from behind them. Rai turned around.

"Yukaru!" She shouted gleefully as she hugged him. "It's been awhile!"

"Well, it didn't help that no one knew where you and Yasu were. Seishou was supposed to find out, but something happened." The blonde haired lightning demon responded, ruffling her hair.

"Is this gonna happen with every brother she comes across?" Yusuke asked Yasu.

"Probably. But you have to let it go. The oldest ones aren't around very often. I never saw them when I was at her home." Yasu answered with a shrug.

"Uh, Yukaru, why'd you come to the Dark Tournament this year?" Rai asked her eldest brother.

"I had heard that Team Urameshi was competing again this year, only with a different name. You can imagine my surprise when I heard the name. I needed to see for myself." Yukaru looked at the four boys, "You managed to create quite a stir in the Demon World. Two humans and two 'traitors' defeating so many? The word spreads around quickly. Not to mention I was also at the tournament when you were competing as well."

"Oh that's right! I remember you telling Naku and Marakai about it! Their eyes were as big as saucers when you told them." Rai said with a looking of enlightenment on her face.

"Joy. Are we going to stand here all day or shall we continue on?" Yasu asked, breaking the sweet family reunion. Rai laughed sheepishly while Yukaru smiled softly. They continued walking. On the way, they found out their fight had not been the first and Round two would take place after that day.

"Oh, I also happened to see Lord Koenma in the stands. He had some rather loud women with him as well. They made my ears ring. There was one with blue hair and I believe the rest had brown hair. Four in total. I didn't quite get a good look. I didn't manage to speak with them either. I was going to ask them how they knew you."

Rai chuckled.

They finally reached the stands just in time to catch the first match. It was Team Hiraki and Team Urajima. They took their seats relatively high up. Not many demons noticed them as they took their seats, which was a blessing.

The group didn't really cheer for either team. Rai could have sworn she saw a smirk on Hiei's face a couple times when one team a particularly nasty hit. He seems to really enjoy these things. I wonder if there's anything else about him that he's kept hidden. Well, it must be a lot. I know hardly anything about his past. I don't think he's told me about all of his powers, or why he always wears that headband. It seems like he hardly trusts anyone. I know he trusts Kurama. Absolutely no one would be able to tease Hiei like he did if he didn't trust them. I wonder what happened to him to make him so distrustful. Another shout arose from the crowd, jolting her out of her thoughts. She suddenly realized she had been staring at him and looked at the arena with a hint of red in her complexion.

Hiei noticed this. Rai did have a look of some deep thought on her face while she was looking at him. He wondered if he should use his jagan. He quickly pushed that idea out of his head. He knew he could leave her to her thoughts without worrying about her. He trusted the girl beyond anyone, but he felt like he couldn't share his past with her. If she knew, she might be so horrified as to leave him. After everything they went through together, he wouldn't let that happen. He sidled closer to her without her noticing. She seemed to be so intent on keeping her attention on the match that it would have taken a loudspeaker to get through.

"What are ya doin', Hiei?" Kuwabara's loud voice seemed to just break through everything. Rai looked over to Hiei. The fire demon glared at Kuwabara.

"Planning your death, idiot." Hiei snarled at him. Rai giggled. Kuwabara stood up in outrage at Hiei's attitude. He was promptly sent back into his seat by Yukaru.

"I'm trying to watch. The fight has just gotten interesting!" He shouted as he boxed Kuwabara in the head. Kuwabara was quiet for the rest of the time, nursing his head.

"You know, Rai, I think I might like this brother." Hiei admitted to Rai.

"Don't say that too soon, Hiei. Yukaru can get pretty wild when riled up. I suppose you'll see sometime." Rai said with a chuckle.

The match ended just in time for lunch. The winning team was Team Urajima. Yukaru was gone before the match was officially called.

"Does he always do that, Rai?" Yasu asked her when they got somewhere they could hear each other.

"Yeah. Every brother has some trait that's like lightning. His is trait to just disappear. Just like a magician. Now you see him, now you don't." Rai explained. "Naku and Marakai have really built up that much in their powers. Currently they both seem to be fast and have inexhaustible energy. They're so difficult to keep track of." She added with a sigh. "To be honest, I kind of miss those two right now."

"Yusuke and Kuwabara can take up in their stead." Yasu said with a smirk, looking at the two boys mentioned.

"Hey! We are not little boys!" Yusuke said indignantly.

"You sure act like one."

"Enough, enough, let's just get some lunch." Rai said smiling. "You remind me of Seishou telling one of them off." Yasu turned and looked Rai straight in the eyes. "Is something wrong, Yasu?"

"Stop reminiscing. You're not helping yourself."

"I guess you're right." She said with a sigh. Suddenly her countenance brightened considerably, "Let's go eat lunch!"

Lunch was not an unusual event. They ate in the hotel's restaurant. Although nothing out of the ordinary really occurred, everyone was quiet. They were thinking about what was to come in their fight that would take place tomorrow.

"It's nearly time for the next match to start. We'd better hurry if we want to watch it." Kurama said, waking everyone from their thoughts.

"Oh yes." Yasu said softly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

The match was Team Kazami and Team Mur. The match was exciting and lasted longer than the first one. It seemed that Team Mur was the favorite for this match. None of Team Toshimo knew too much of why. Until, that is, they watched them fight.

Each member of Team Mur was a bloodthirsty, killing-machine from the looks of it. Though, Yasu caught a wave of sorrow from the members. Maybe we weren't the only ones forced into this position. Either that, they feel pity that the opponent must die. They might not be the same as any other demons at this tournament. Especially the ones sitting with us in this crowd. We'll see how this turns out.

Team Kazami didn't stand a chance. They were soon dealt with and Team Kazami won.

"That concludes Round One, folks! Come back tomorrow morning for some more chaotic fighting!" Koto's cheery voice rang through, signaling the end of it.

The group quickly left and arrived at their rooms. Rai went to the girls' room straightaway. She was still tired from the match the day before.

"That's the matter, Hiei? Are you not going to join her?" Yusuke said joking.

Hiei glared at him. This might be, in fact, the first night Hiei actually slept in the boys' room. Much to Yasu's relief. He may have been Rai's, but she was uncomfortable with the fact he kept sleeping in their room.

"Hn." He turned away and walked to the window. He wasn't in the best of moods, thanks to Yusuke's teasing.

"May I speak with you, Kurama?" Yasu asked, totally out of the blue.

"Why of course, Yasu." He stood up and followed her outside of the room.

"It would probably be safer to talk in my room. That is, if Rai has fallen asleep by now. I doubt she would stay up. She usually falls asleep within five seconds of hitting her bed." She said, leading him into her room.

She walked over to Rai. She poked Rai's side.

"Unh." She groaned sleepily and rolled on her side.

Yasu nodded to Kurama. The girl was dead to the world right now.

"So what did you want to talk about, Yasu?"

"It's about Team Mur. Did you notice anything different from any other strategies you've seen so far?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Now that you mention it, there was something different in the attitudes."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about. While watching them, I noticed that there seemed to be a sort of," she paused, "sadness to their fighting. It was like they didn't choose to fight, or they felt pity for the ones they had to kill."

"You believe so?"

"I've seen very different ways in people who killed because they wanted to, and people who kill because they had to. I should know." She stopped there. She knew how it was to have to kill when you didn't want to. And she had seen the ecstasy of those that wanted to. "I've seen both ways and I enjoyed neither." She added, some sadness creeping into her voice.

She was surprised when Kurama swept her into a tight hug. His arms encircled around her waist.

"You're different from any other girl I know. And I love you for that." He whispered to her. She could feel his breath on her cheek. "I shall never let you go."

She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes. "Thank you." She opened her eyes and lifted her head. She gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. She pulled her head away slightly and leaned against his strong chest.

He hooked a finger under her chin and brought her face up. He kissed her on the forehead. "Good night, Yasu."

"Good night, Kurama." She said with a final squeeze before letting him walk to his own room.

Elf: Yay! Kurama and Yasu squishy!

Kuronue: So Kurama finally got himself a girl. Heheh.

Elf: (whcks Kuronue)

Kuronue: Why'd you do that?

Elf: You made me cry this morning!

Kuronue: (more than a little puzzled) Oh... I'm sorry. (mutters under breath) Human girls are so odd.

Elf: I was thinking about writing a fic about when Batman and Youko Kurama went on their last heist and Batman... You know... What do you, my readers, think about this idea? It would be sad and my first kinda angsty story.