Happy Birthday, Kiyoni! (Part Two)

Roaring crowds and pounding drums fill the air surrounding Heliopolis as the skies rain flower petals over the parade route. Soldiers lead the way followed by the high priests and religious grand masters of the country, all of the participants of the celebratory games (including Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke), more soldiers, and the royal court, including, Kiyoni, her family, and friends. "Is it always this loud," Keiko shouts as best she can with fingers in her ears.

"Sorry but, yeah," Kiyoni puts on her best "beauty queen" smile and wave, "Imagine the amount of times I have to go through this."

As the parade moves along, strange but swift movements flash through the crowd around them; possible assassins. Kurama, being the attentive fox that he is, catches the activity in the crowd, "Take heed…" he warns Yusuke and Kuwabara, "we're being watched."

"Uh, duh. We are in a parade," Yusuke waves to the crowd as well. He catches a parade attendee flashing him in protest of his participation.

"That's not what I meant," Kurama's senses are high. He notices most of the activity is behind him which means the potential target is the royal court with the birthday girl as the biggest one. Uncertain of Heliopolitan culture, Kurama falls back and moves forward.

Upon approaching the stadium, the royal court is led to a sky box-like sitting area to watch the activities. Before everyone sits, they take advantage of the snack bar, serving themselves with an abundance of fruits and iced juices. Keiko, Botan, Shizuru, Yukina, and Koenma sit on small couches in front. Behind them is the birthday girl in her own throne and her parents behind her in theirs. On the steps, below, citizens of the country place their offerings and say their prayers in praise of witnessing their princess celebrate a birthday. Items such as food, fabrics, and currency are all sacrifices to ensure good health, wealth, and prosperity for all the land which will be donated to schools, food pantries, and homeless shelters for new clothing. Inside the underground halls of the stadium, athletes perform warm-up routines prior to their events while others verbally test their masculinity with their competitors. Yusuke takes it all in. It's the Dark Tournament all over again but with vampires. "Aw, man. As much as I wanna win, I kinda [gulp] don't want to," says a nervous Kuwabara, "What if one of these guys want to eat us? Eat me?"

"They cannot. It's forbidden, here. Kiyoni assured us of that, remember," Kurama is seen stretching his upper body. The Chinese like, black and white outfit he's wearing is sleeveless and mobile enough for his activities, "Besides, we're all strong enough to handle ourselves should danger arrive."

A horn-like sound bellows along the athletic halls and stadium calling for everyone's attention. The grand priest of the Kemetic religion stands forward as a Master of Ceremonies, "Praise to the most high," he announces. The crowd repeats his statement.

"Today, we are here to celebrate the day of our future pharaoh's birth. Our princess, Kiyoni!" The crowd cheers. "Let us all take the time, now, to praise our most high for day of fun and celebration," the priest kneels and the crowd follows, all praising their chosen deities for another blessed day.

"These people really take religion seriously," Yusuke observes via a flat screen.

"Nothing wrong with believing in something greater than yourself, Yusuke," Kurama states.

"Alright, praise and worship is over," shouts the athletic coordinator, "Everyone, outside! Let's go, you know the drill!"

Kenichi approaches the boys, "That means it's time to kiss up to Kiyoni. She's just going to acknowledge everyone as athletes, nothing special."

"Good to know. Let's go," Kurama may be more excited about today than he's letting on.

As Kenichi informed, Kiyoni does acknowledge the athletes in a manner she's used to with a few twists here and there. During her speech, she tries her best to make it look like she's giving them her attention but, most of her focus was given to Kurama. It was a bit difficult to find him in the crowd.


Another horn blows signifying the opening of the games; each one done in tournament form similar to the Olympics. Kuwabara falls after the first round of the wrestling tournament. A clothesline and a body slam did him in, worrying Yukina and Shizuru. He's gonna end up with a sore back in the morning. Yusuke makes it to the semifinals of the martial arts tournament in impressive fashion. No spirit guns were used during his run. He's defeated with a swift knee to the face followed by a roundhouse kick to the jaw, a hook to the opposite jaw, and a cranial slam to the ground. The opponent was a little bit faster with his moves than Yusuke. Botan escorts Keiko to the infirmary to find him. Kiyoni is feeling beside herself as she watches her guests leave due to the overwhelming action. It was such a good idea to warn everyone about today but, Kiyoni has assumed her guests would be used to it given their history with the Dark Tournament. Boy, was she wrong.

Archery is the next event, Kurama's first. The objective is to hit four targets at a distance of 25, 50, 100, and 200 feet. Points are awarded based on style and accuracy. Each competitor is given a set of goggles to provide visual distractions for them and entertainment for the audience. Kurama makes it through the first two rounds with the second round giving him a little trouble due to winds entering the open stadium.

As a Kemetic, Kiyoni believes the wind god, Set, is favoring his incarnation. As a matter of fact, there are many characteristics both Kurama and Set share. Set is commonly known as having the body of a man with the head of a fox. Then, there's Yoko Kurama. They're both intelligent, tricky, conniving, possessive, strategic, and both have been known to have a certain sway with the sexes as well.

Back to the competition, the final round. It's down to Kurama and another competitor. This one happens to be an archery veteran. Tanned skin, pulled back grey hair, a bit on the portly side. He'll be the one to open the final round with targets at the 200-foot mark being the only goal for this contest.

The old man graciously steps forward as his name is announced for the third time, today. As the crowd cheers for their hometown hero, he remains calm and focused, taking mental notes of the target in front of him. When Kurama's name is announced, he does a simple arm wave to the crowd before returning to his studious stance. Since it's the final round, it would be silly for Kurama to embarrass himself and lose while a princess watches. Said princess is cheering for him, regardless. The judge of the contest signifies both competitors to take their assigned shooting points. They do so while adjusting their googles.

The elderly archer's stance is, now on the cool side. The type of cool one would find on a beach. His hold on the bow is strong while his grip on the arrow is firm. He may not be as muscular as one would think an archer should be but, as stated before, he's a veteran. His visual distractions involve multiple copies of his target, each one just as realistic as the other. Due to his memory, the veteran doesn't lose focus. His arrow hits within the nine-point range, one point shy of perfect.

Kurama's turn; his stance, strong and full of confidence. Having keen eyesight helps. Visual cues to throw him off include a faux warning informing him that his target is a fake and is set to blow up at any second, including a timer which he uses to his advantage. His eyes narrow, the shot hits within the ten point range, mere centimeters from hitting the absolute center point. This impresses both the king and queen. "What marksmanship," Ava marvels, "I believe that's the closest shot ever made."

"To have it done by someone so young, even I'm intrigued," says Akio.

This is totally in the bag, thinks Koenma and Kiyoni.

Set one goes to Kurama. Time for set two. Grandpa archer takes his tried-and-true stance, once again. His shot hits within the nine-point range for a second time. Repeat marks don't provide many points which means that the second attempt will purely be based on style. Kurama's second shot is up next. The arrow lands within the ten-point range again, this one, three centimeters from his first and closer to the nine-point range. The applause he gets, gets louder. It's as if they've never seen an outsider with such high-level marksmanship before.

Kurama is the victor of set two. Final round of the final round. Mister Wisdom has gotten a little frustrated with his performance. Because of that, his final stance is a bit relaxed as if he's already defeated. That may become a problem. His final shot lands within the ten-point range. He gets the full ten points for accuracy but, his style gives him a seven. Kurama doesn't change a thing, no need if it's gotten him this far. The crowd waits with baited breath as he releases his final shot. The monster-like visual barrier does nothing to deter him for he was able to see through real ones. His last shot is his best as it's within the ten-point range and closer to the center point by one centimeter. The crowd cheers in astonishment. A new record has been set and by an outsider, no less. The winner of the event is Kurama by a landslide. Kiyoni is tickled pink. Sensing his girlfriend's excitement, Kurama makes gestures to her as if he's Cupid. Kiyoni blows a kiss to him in response, looking to her newly gifted bracelet as a visual reminder.


The day is halfway done and so are the games. As the stadium crowd and the pharaoh queen and king watch the entertainment taking center field, Koenma joins Kiyoni on the way to the infirmary to check on Yusuke and Kuwabara. "How are you enjoying the day so far," Kiyoni asks with a pleasant demeanor.

"I've watched over the Olympics in the human world for centuries. I must say, these games are a bit different," answers Koemna, "You say this happens five times a year? Where does one get the energy?"

Kiyoni really thinks about that, "Yes, five times a year. As far as energy goes, I have no idea. It just comes." She knows not everyone is too fond of the royal family so, where does the energy come from? Is it pure or is it forced? If forced, why? Is it because of the current royal family's structure or is it more than that? For as long as she's been in and out of Heliopolis, she has yet to truly understand what it's like to be its citizen. Something to consider since she's due to be a queen, someday. "Hello, hello," greets the princess.

"How's two of our favorite fighters," Koenma is not far behind when he joins Kiyoni in the infirmary.

Yusuke and Kuwabara are seen in neighboring hospital beds being attended to by Botan and Yukina. Their healing powers are keeping the boys in good spirits. "Man, that last combo was something," Yusuke rubs a finger across the jawline, "Did not see that coming."

"Yeah. I mean that clothesline was on a professional level," Kuwabara is enjoying Yukina's attention.

"You fought so valiantly, Kuwabara. I'm so sorry you didn't get too far," Yukina is just about done with her treatment.

"Did you get a chance to find Kurama," asks Keiko.

"Hm, if he's not here that means he's getting ready for the second half of the games," Kiyoni concludes, "I'll go find him." Kiyoni steps out into the hallway to find one of her bodyguards. He's given instructions to deliver a personal message to Kurama which is relayed quickly as possible. Kiyoni joins her friends soon after.

"What's in the second half," asks Keiko.

"The scavenger hunt," Kiyoni answers, "I shouldn't say second half since it's the last event of the day."

"Must be a big one," Yusuke assumes.

"It is. About four miles big. Three of those miles involve finding clues to where the prizes are. The final mile is figuring out what that prize is. Given that everyone but Kurama is from Heliopolis, he's at a disadvantage."

"Nah," Yusuke insists, "If any of us know Kurama, what seems like a disadvantage is his advantage."

"You're right. I have faith in Suu'chi," Kiyoni claims. Somewhere in the athlete's lounge, Kurama sneezes twice. Allergies must be in the air.