Chapter 19: Semifinals

Team Toshimo stood ready at the arena. Team Mur stood at the opposite end. All of Team Mur, except for Inutake, wore cloaks. This was slightly surprising. But now that anyone thought about it, the only one that took off a cloak was Inutake.

Once again, the captains decided on one-on-one.

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"I wanna fight first!" Yusuke volunteered himself for the beginning match. Rai looked at the others. Both Yasu and Hiei didn't seem to mind at all. Kurama nodded.

"Alright, just don't get yourself killed."

"Hah! Death seems to hate me." Yusuke grinned as he ran up.

The team member that stepped up to face him seemed to be one out of a set of two, seeing as how one of the others was the exact height and build. This participant seemed to be about as tall as Kuwabara, who was standing behind the team.

"Hey! I've got a question for you!" The cloaked figure turned to the boy, "Doesn't that cape get stuffy every now and then?"

Everyone in the circular arena just about fell over from surprise, or exasperation.

Once the figure recovered from the odd question, it shrugged.

As Koto recovered, she brought the microphone up to her mouth. "Begin the fight!"

As soon as these words left her mouth, the cloaked form disappeared. Yusuke looked around, searching for his opponent. A small shuffling noise dame from behind Yusuke, tipping him off of the whereabouts of his opponent. Taking advantage of this, he quickly turned to jab the figure in the stomach. He hit dead on.

The force of the Spirit Detective's punch threw the person through the wall. After announcing the, indeed, one of the fighters was out-of-bounds, Koto began the count.

She only reached the count of one before someone emerged out of the debris. A loud, male laugh came from underneath the cloak.

"Good, strong punch there. I think I might enjoy this fight." He said as he landed in the ring. He had a strong accent that was difficult for Yusuke to place, but it was from somewhere. He looked down at the state of his robes. "Heh, no point in wearing these rags anymore." And with that he ripped off the, now useless, article of clothing.

It revealed a demon that appeared mostly human, with the exception of the demonic markings and the pointed ears that stuck out of his wild, long, blue hair. Bright jade-colored eyes glittering with excitement gazed in Yusuke's direction. He had a muscular and stocky build. The markings on his body were blood red. Underneath his cloak, he had worn a white muscle shirt and blue pants.

"The name's Katashi." He paused, "Are we gonna finish this fight or stand around chattin'?"

Katashi ran at Yusuke, forming a fist with his right hand. It glowed a bright blue, sending out waves that could be felt by the five standing together on the other side of the arena.

Seeing the punch, Yusuke leapt over the charging demon. As he landed on the opposite side of Katashi, he noticed something odd. Instead of stopping, Katashi continued and punched the ground.

A tremor shook the arena before anything happened. All was silent for a moment. Then, abruptly, Yusuke's feet heaved up and knocked the boy off his feet. He landed flat on his back, thrown off by the miniature earthquake. Katashi decided to take advantage of his opponent's moment of weakness and strike.

The blue-haired demon jumped up, gaining some air to add to the force of the hit. All too soon, Katashi's hit made contact. A billowing could of dirt and dust flew through the air, causing several people to cough after trying to breathe. Slowly, the cloud resided, letting a clear view of the arena to be seen.

Katashi stood in a rather large crater caused by his strength, while Yusuke was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" Kuwabara's voice could be heard.

Katashi's head snapped up to the sky immediately. He chuckled. "I hoped you'd live, Urameshi. Or else I wouldn't be havin' that much fun, now would I?" Everyone looked up to see the addressed boy land on the ground.

"Nice punch ya have there." Yusuke complimented with a grin, "Seeing as how you made the ground move, I'd guess you were an Earth demon."

"Thank ya, but nope. I have no ties with dear Earth, just manipulated it some."

"Well, I guess it's about time to show you my punch." Yusuke vaulted off the ground. "Reigun!" A shot of blue light emitted from Yusuke's pointed finger and struck Katashi in the chest.

The demon ground his feet into the ground so he wouldn't fly into the air. He skidded back several feet. He rubbed his chest. "Ouch, I really fel' that one." There was a vivid scorch mar on his chest. "Well, now it's time to pay you back in spades."

The fact that Katashi hadn't even made a move to dodge his feared attack had shocked the Spirit Detective already, which gave Katashi a sufficient edge when he launched his fist once again. This time it connected with Yusuke. The boy flew back to the very edge of the ring and fell.

It took a moment for Yusuke to stand back up. He was shaky for a moment but quickly gained his bearings once again.

"Ha! It's going to take a lot more than a punch to keep me down." Yusuke boasted with a confident grin.

Katashi gave Yusuke a look that was very difficult for anyone to read. It was interested, amused, and somehow it just spooked Yusuke a little.

"Really now? Let's see how long you can last." Katashi bolted up to Yusuke and started hammering at the teen with his fist.

Yusuke punched back, giving as much strength as his opponent would.

The spectators wanted in anticipation as the punches escalated. As one raised his strength, the other would rise to match it.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see so much punching in one match." Rai commented from the sidelines quietly.

Finally, Katashi took an opening. Yusuke flew across the arena. But, after gaining some distance, Yusuke fired his infamous attack once again.

"Reigun!"

It was Katashi's turn to fly. He flew right out of the arena, right into the stone wall, with Yusuke on the opposite end of the circular area. Both were down when the smoke cleared. Koto began the count to see who, if anyone would win.

"One… Two… Three… Four… Five…"

Simultaneously, both combatants rose to their feet. Both demon and teenage boy were limping towards the arena in which they were supposed to begin.

Koto still continued counting. "Seven… Eight… Nine…"

Before she could reach ten, both Katashi and Yusuke stood in the arena, breathing heavily and bleeding.

"And the fight continues!" The red haired announcer yelled out to the audience. Hearty cheers filled the stadium.

Yusuke took a fighting stance and Katashi did as well.

Time practically froze as both waited before continuing the fight.

"Neither can continue. Now they're waiting to see who will be the first to fall." Everyone looked at Kurama as he calmly stated this. His emerald eyes were focused on the field.

Breath caught as both faltered. Yusuke regained his balance as Katashi fell to the ground.

Koto resumed the count once again. This time, she reached ten before Katashi could stand.

The cloaked figure that was the same size as Katashi shook their unseen head as they walked forward to gather their fallen companion.

"Good work, Urameshi." Yusuke jumped in surprise when the figure spoke. Their voice gave no clues as to what gender they were. "Katashi will want to face you again someday." And with that said, they carried the unconscious Katashi to their side of the ring.

"And Team Toshimo wins round one of the semifinals!"

Yasu observed Yusuke silently as the victor strolled over to them. Her brown eyes calculating him as he walked.

"What'd I say guys?" He asked with a triumphant grin on his face.

"Heh," Rai laughed to herself, "You say that like we doubted you."

"Detective, sit down before you collapse of exhaustion." Yasu insisted calmly. "If you would remember, a full team is needed for the next fight." The black haired boy laughed sheepishly as he practically fell into a sitting position against the stadium wall.

"Good enough for ya?" He asked. His ego had not deflated with the subtle reprimand. Yasu did not grace him with an answer.

"Now would both teams send the next contender to the arena!" Koto pronounced into the mike.

"I will go next." Kurama volunteered. Yasu gave him a sharp look. "Do not worry, I will make sure that I return in one piece." He reassured her, placing a calm hand on her shoulder before heading unto the field.

Team Mur sent up their tallest member. From what Kurama could tell, he was tall and had a stocky build. His stride suggested the same thing.

The calm fox calmly looked at his opponent as Koto raised the mike once again.

"May the battle begin!"

Elf: I profusely apologize for making you wait for the next chapter so long! I procrastinated, got busy with school, and generally had writer's block. I really wanted to post before the summer ended, but was never able to do it! I'm so sorry. Gomen nasai! (bows to readers)

Kuronue: That's what you get.

Elf: (whacks him with pillow) Tch. Easy for you to say. You're not the one writing or going to school... I've been wondering something about you though.

Kuronue: And what was that? It's surprising you're actually thinking before throwing yourself on someone.

Elf: Tch, I don't throw myself on people. That's Clary's and Sara's job. But anyway, where do people get the idea that you're a chimera? It's seems so much more logical to assume you're a bat demon than a mix of three different types. Afterall, that's what a chimera is, a mix of three different types of things, like Zelgadis from Slayers!

Kuronue: (shrugs) I dunno.

Elf: (glomps) Oh well, I love you anyway, Batman!

Kuronue: And she says she doesn't throw herself on people.