Kaze's eyebrows rose. "Well, by default Team Urameshi gains another victory! Next draw!"
Yusuke frowned as he turned back to the board. This had to be the most boring way of choosing a fight. Well, there was nothing that he could do about it. Besides Keiko was always telling him to have more patience. Guess now was as a good a time as any to practice. Maybe he would be rewarded for waiting.
Yusuke Urameshi vs. Anthony Boshito
Jackpot.
Marching into the ring with his head held high, he automatically discovered who he would be fighting. None other than the ice demon from the last tournament. But there was something different about him. For a few moments, the man studied the man. Physically there was nothing really different. He still had the warm brown eyes with raven hair. He still was a pale blue color dressed like a black ninja along with the three swords strapped to his body. Nope, nothing new. Then he saw it.
Anthony had a smile on his face now. Laughing aloud, Yusuke slapped his leg. So that was it. The guy finally had a personality. Well, he had to say it was about time. And from the looks of it, he and this demon would become good friends.
'Well that means absolutely no killing,' he thought to himself as he said aloud, "Wow, you can smile. That's a change."
The ice demon laughed softly, "It is isn't it? Rydia likes it as well."
"I'll be she does. Though I do have a question. Is it common in demon world for ice demons to date taller women?"
The demon in question stood there in silence for a moment before he broke down in laughter. "I would be careful saying that. After all, you also defeated her in battle."
Kaze floated between the two. "Yeah, um, this conversation is fantastic. However, you're here to fight remember?"
Yusuke laughed as he brought his arms behind his head. "I remember. Okay let's do it Anthony."
The judge merely rolled her eyes as she floated herself back to safety. Once there she brought her arm high into the air. When it had finished its decent back down, the fight had begun.
Team Urameshi's leader wasted no time in rushing into the fight. Eager to test his new friend's strength, he slammed his fists forward multiple times. After about thirty attempts, he leapt back. Well, he definitely was fast. But that didn't mean he was strong. Then he found himself dodging several shuriken. His eyebrows rose as they weapons flew back to their master. That had been unexpected. Recalling the battle the demon had had with Sasha he smirked. Yep, making sure those things didn't encircle him would be a good idea. The last thing he needed was to get caught in a cage.
His opponent laughed when he saw this. The man was certainly smarter than he appeared to be. He also seemed to enjoy hand-to-hand combat. Well that was something he could do. Although he most likely wouldn't appreciate his cold hands…Oh well, not much that could be done about that. He was an ice demon. Cold hands were simply something that tended to come along with the package. Dashing forward he attacked.
Naturally his attack was blocked, much to Yusuke's misfortune. For upon connecting his fists with Anthony's it immediately froze. Shocked he stepped back. Studying the ice covered hand only caused him to smile. Apparently the shuriken weren't the only thing he'd have to dodge. Note to self…Don't touch the guy's body. If you do then you get to find out what one of those ice swans feels like. However his studies were quickly interrupted by another direct attack.
Moving to the side he managed to dodge rather easily. Then he felt a chill against his skin. Looking down he found half his shirt frozen. Using his free hand he quickly removed it. Throwing it aside he watched as a snowball crashed into it. Instantly it exploded.
"Geez! Between the shuriken, snowballs, and you how the hell do expect someone to fight you fairly?"
Anthony only smiled again. "I suppose that is something you will have to discover on your own."
Yusuke frowned. This guy was a distance fighter. Having someone within close range made his attacks useless. On the other hand if anyone tried to punch him they ended up becoming a living iceberg. Neither of these options were particularly appealing to the man. His frown deepened as he weighed his choices before finally coming to a decision. It looked like he was going to have to wake up after all.
Across the ring, the ice demon ignored this. He was slowly pooling his energy into the palms of his hands in preparation of his final attack. With it he would be able to finish this fight, leaving his opponent alive. The injuries this would provide were unavoidable now but that couldn't be helped. Slowly, his normally brown eyes morphed into an icy blue. Then he released the collected energy.
Before him a gigantic phoenix appeared fading back and forth between red and blue. It's glowing eyes held only one thing in sight. Letting out a heart-gripping screech, it dove. Soon Yusuke's entire body was hidden in its overwhelming aura. On the other side of the ring, Anthony smiled. The man's effort had been noble but now it was time for him admit defeat. For while he had the strength to survive this attack, he would not be rising anytime soon.
But the look froze on his face as the smoke cleared away. There, wiping the blood from his lip, stood the very one that shouldn't have risen. Horrified by this, the demon took a step back only to find a finger pressed between his shoulders. Glancing back, he was surprised to find the man smirking there.
"Well it was a great fight, Anthony," Yusuke said, "But now it's time to finish it, wouldn't you agree? Rei Gun!"
The blue light washed over his body and yet he felt little pain. A small smile appeared as his face hit the ground. All the strength he had had was now gone. Closing his eyes, he allowed the temporary darkness to caress his mind. Somewhere in the background he could almost hear Kaze's voice announcing his defeat. Then his body felt lighter than air before it settled upon something soft.
Yusuke glanced at the demon's teammates. Nodding he walked back around to his side. In the back of his mind he could feel a nudge from Hiei. Opening a path he listened to what the small demon had to say.
'How is it you can make friends with someone you are fighting a battle with?'
He snickered and looked up at the board. 'Who knows?'
Above him the board flashed up the next results. Next to him Hiei smirked. Just as he had suspected…
Next Time on Blast from the Past:
This is Kuwabara and it looks like I'm up against someone I faced in the last tournament. Only this time he's gotten a lot tougher physically meaning a simple punch isn't going to win the battle. Will I be able to handle this battle?
