Fight to the Finish
Kurama finds himself in a corner on top of the stone pyramid where one of three boxes is the key to victory of the scavenger hunt. He's surrounded by many vampires and sanguinistas who would love to get their hands on him and taste his blood. None of them have either stepped outside of Heliopolis or tasted human blood before. However, Kurama is no ordinary human. "Get out of there, Suu'chi," Kiyoni exclaims.
"Relax," Yusuke says, "This is Kurama we're talking about.
"Yeah, but there are also a bunch of bloodthirsty hunters in that room with him. If he gets hurt, you can forget about any of you coming back here."
"Aww," Botan whines, "I'm starting to like it here."
"Aww. Thank you, Botan," Kiyoni smiles, "It pleases me to hear that."
Kuwabara calls for everyone to pay attention, "Look!'
"Well…" Kurama assumes, "it seems I have my back against the wall, so to speak. However, there is a race to finish so, if you'll excuse me…" Competitors go for the fox only to miss him. He leaps over one of them as he makes his way towards the boxes and is quickly clotheslined by Toshio.
"I've heard of you," he says, "The human whom the princess clings to. I'm surprised she hasn't made you her blood slave."
"Ah," Kurama rises, "Blood slave? Sorry. She has a little ways to go before we go that far."
"Bullshit! She may be half human but, she is still above you. You should be begging for her to taste you," Toshio goes for Kurama with a right hook, "I would if I were you!"
Kurama dodges the punch and avoids the quick second. Toshio tackles Kurama to a wall while the other competitors stand by and watch. They could've grabbed the boxes and run but watching "alpha male" Toshio take on Kurama is much more captivating. Kurama strikes Toshio in the back with an elbow and a knee to the head which forces Toshio to step back, leading them to a standstill. "Take him down," a contestant shouts.
"Show that human who's boss," calls another.
"Kick his ass," Kiyoni cheers, "I wouldn't either care or blame you, Suu'chi!"
Toshio growls, "She's mine!" Kurama dodges another punch which hits the wall behind him. He rolls forward and just as Toshio comes at him from behind, Kurama kicks Toshio back. Toshio goes for Kurama again with another swing. Kurama blocks that move, grabs Toshio's arm, stomps his foot to distract the opponent, punches Toshio in the nose, and kicks him away.
Two men grab Kurama from behind while a third goes for his midsection. Kurama performs a bicycle kick off the third man and flips over, releasing himself. Noticing moss behind him, Kurama grabs a couple of handfuls, dries them in his hands, and blows the powder in the men's faces. He grabs some more moss and does the same to everyone else. Eventually, the room becomes filled with powdered moss causing some to cough and choke. Kurama grabs one of the boxes and exits the room quicker than a roach caught in a spotlight.
"Don't just stand there…" Toshio coughs while grabbing a box, "get him!"
Outside, Kurama takes a quick look inside the box he grabbed, "Hope this one's a winner." Upon hearing the others, Kurama uses his quick wit and leaps off the pyramid. Before anyone thinks of his suicide, the fox pulls out his botanical glider and takes to the skies, giving his competition a two-fingered salute.
"C'mon," Toshio leads the aerial chase. Those with wings fly out with one of them grabbing the third and final box.
"Ra's grace," Kiyoni observes, "I didn't know he could do that."
"I swear Kurama has more resources than the government," Yusuke admits.
"Go, Kurama, go," Yukina shouts.
"I gotta go," Kiyoni heads back to her sky box.
Above the forest, Kurama could see the stadium ahead. Unfortunately, the skies above him aren't so friendly. One vampire takes a nosedive towards Kurama only to graze his right ankle. Another vampire does the same thing and is in Kurama's direct view. "Shit," Kurama mumbles as he does his best to maintain decent altitude and speed. More vampires head his way as commanded by Toshio. Eventually, Toshio takes the object out of the box he's carrying and throws said box Kurama's way, tearing one of the wings. "Ah," Kurama is losing altitude. He dismounts from his glider and hopes to whatever gods that would listen that he lands on the ground still able to finish the race.
"That'll teach him," Toshio says with a sadistic smile, "The rest of you hunt him down. I'll meet you back at the stadium."
Kurama continues to fall with his chosen prize cradled against his midsection. Upon reaching the forested cemetery, he crashes through the leaves, stumbles against some branches and lands on the ground, directly on his back. Blood spews from Kurama's mouth from coughing a couple of times as he rolls over slowly. At least, he isn't paralyzed.
Back at the stadium, Kiyoni hurries to find a screen with a good visual. "Kiyoni," Ava calls, "Kiyoni, there you are. Ooh, this race is exciting."
"What did I miss?"
"Shuichi was taken down by Toshio," Akio answers.
"What?! Dad, no!"
"Oh, he survived," Ava affirms, "How did he conjure such a contraption?"
"Eh…pure luck," Kiyoni shrugs. Sounds of the crowd avert Kiyoni's attention to the center of the ground floor where Toshio has just arrived. He hoists a small, golden statue of a hawk into the air for everyone to see.
"Is this what you wanted, princess," he asks. Kiyoni keeps quiet, staring daggers at the vampire who mistreated her guest.
Kurama slowly rises to his feet. Unfortunately, his competitive hunters are on his ass. "I've been through worse," he tells himself before running. Kurama tries with what little energy he has to trek the two mile route towards the end of the forest. The plan is to make it to his hover bike, return to the stadium, and present the prize to Kiyoni. Whether he wins or not, Kurama doesn't care. Vampires and remaining sanguinistas use their enhanced speeds to catch up to their target. Just as he's about to be attacked, one of the noble family members comes in to defend him with a blow to the head. "Who are you," he questions.
"Shandi," says the woman, the same woman who announced the second clue, "Shandi Odango. The royal family and my family go way back. I don't have time to explain details. My father will help you get to your vehicle. Go if you want to please the princess."
"You have my thanks," Kurama moves on.
"You traitor," shouts a man.
"Traitor," Shandi repeats, "No. I'm merely doing this for fun. Now, come at me!"
Kurama finds himself about a mile away from the edge of the forest and is about ready to pass out from exhaustion, pain, and the humidity. "You," a man calls, "You, come!"
"Who wants my head now," Kurama asks himself.
The man helps Kurama to his hover bike, "Come, boy. Let's get you out of here." The man is quite tall with chocolate skin, a lean build, and seems to be in his mid-forties as evident by his salt and pepper hair.
"I take it you're that young woman's father?"
"I am the head of the Odango family. That is all you need to know." Lord Odango transports a worn-out Kurama back to the stadium where Toshio and a third competitor are standing in wait. Kiyoni heaves a sigh of relief upon seeing her boyfriend still alive, beaten up but, alive.
"It is now time to decide a winner," the MC declares, "Princess, who do you choose?"
"Hunters…" Kiyoni calls, "present your prizes."
"We already know one of them is a statue," Botan determines from the infirmary, "What are the other two?"
"I wanna know what the plant that never grows is," Keiko claims.
"Yeah. I've been scratching my head about that," Yusuke admits.
Botan observes, "How is your head, anyway?"
Yusuke replies, "Fine. You know how hard headed I am."
Toshio steps forward with his item. "The idol of Horus, the hawk god," the MC proclaims. Contestant number two steps forward. "An obsidian orb," the MC announces again.
Lord Odango helps Kurama up, "Come, boy. It's time."
Kurama stands on his own, "I can…do this." He steps forward and opens the box he's held so close to him. Item number three is an intricately carved ruby rose on a green, stained glass stem complete with thorns. "The plant that…never grows," Kurama realizes.
Kiyoni smiles in delight, "Citizens of Heliopolis, the winner of this year's scavenger hunt is the outsider…Shuuichi Minamino!" The news creates a mixed reaction from the crowd.
Toshio throws the statue to the ground, "This is madness! Him?! An outsider?! This competition is rigged! Rigged, I tell you! No way am I going to be defeated by an outsider! A human outsider!"
Lord Odango suggests to Kurama, "Let's get you back to the palace." The games end on a mixed note with time given to relax, lick wounds, and dress for tonight's countrywide celebration. One that may prove quite eventful.
