File 26: Akari's furor – Yusuke's fun

"You have won. Kill me." The fallen youkai declared, showing pride and honor as a shinobi and a warrior. Kurama closed his eyes and opened them again.

"I refuse."

"What?"

"I want to know... what is after the light you're seeking... and... to tell you the truth... I've suffered more damage than you... much more..." With that, the fox's arms fell limp at his side. He had lost consciousness. Yusuke yelled his name, echoing the silent - but all the strongest - cry in Akari's heart whose eyes widened in fear... but relief at the same, because despite his state, he was still alive, and this way he wouldn't have to fight anymore, he could be treated at last... Yusuke pointed at himself saying he would take on the others. However...

"Wait. He can fight." A large, muscular, bare-chested man, whose body was covered with scars, had stepped up on the ring. "This guy's still standing, ain't he? Now his opponent will be me, Bakken-sama."

"You dumbass! Kurama can't fight anymore! I'll take it from here on!" Urameshi insisted. After a second's hesitation, Koto accepted the replacement and declared Yusuke's turn. She obviously didn't want someone of Kurama's caliber to die here like this. That was right, they couldn't let such a thing happen! Of course the audience was jeering about how disappointed they were, but who cared about them?! And then there was this dreadful announcement. On management's orders, the replacement was denied. The third fight, Kurama VS Bakken, was going to take place! Hiei tried to get out but Ruka advised him against it. He would be greatly injured if he touched it carelessly. Bakken grabbed Koto by the back of her clothes and threw her out of the arena, laughing, saying she had been judged unfit as a referee.

He punched Kurama's face, sending him crash against the ring several meters away. He approached leisurely and kicked the body. Hiei clenched his fists. Koto ordered the Mashotsukai team member to back off while she started counting since Kurama was down.

"Humph, don't make me laugh. You think I'll let him stay down for the ten-count? That guy will make a nice punching bag." He picked the fox up by the front of his shirt. "Now he's no longer down. The fight continues!" This time he punched Kurama in the guts. The seconds passed, Kurama was getting clobbered, when suddenly...

"Hiei, I'll be going ahead." Akari said.

"How foolish." The kekkaishi began. "Do you really think- what?! It can't be!" The girl had passed as easily as if she had gently broken through a surface of water. During all this time, she had used her one special ability. By absorbing one's reiki or youki, she gained their abilities and could restore her own reiki. And after feeding on that woman's energy, she had regained more than enough strength to leave. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion. Bakken had barely evaded a rei ball larger than a stability ball that had sped its way to the other side of the stadium where it had exploded, destroying a very large part of it in the process.

"As you can all see, I'm perfectly fine now, so I wish to say a few words! Constestant Bakken did not follow the referee's order to step back while she counted. This is clearly a breach! If he doesn't follow the rules, it means they don't matter. Is the management not going to follow the rules they created themselves?! If I'm wrong, then admit Kurama's defeat against Bakken now and let me fight in his stead. Then his blood will be the only one to flow. But if I'm right and the rules don't matter, then this stadium, this ring, this audience, or even you won't be needed, and then as you wished us to be executed, I will execute every single one of you!" An inhuman grin had spread over her pretty face and her eyes had once more become those of a devouring beast. She fought to protect. And even now that did not change. She fought to protect her territory and those she held dear. But the hatred that had taken roots in her heart, her love for fights, exacerbated by her years in the Makai, where battles with hundreds of youkais had left their imprints on her and a part of those hundreds of youkais became part of her... Blood... the blood of carnage that flowed in her veins... the blood that she sensed pulsed through them... was the only thing that could quench the thirst of her soul when she was like this. And if she started slaughtering everyone, surely ones as strong as or stronger than herself may appear to fight her, and no blood could be sweeter than theirs... and there was not a single person here who could not feel her bloodlust or her reiki that had visibly started going wild. "Now what's your decision?! Follow rules or not follow the rules?! Know that I will do exactly what you say!"

"Akari..." Yusuke whispered. To think Kurama's fate and state could make her snap to that extent... One of her palms was directed toward one end of the stadium and another toward the VIP seats. Whoever had decided that stunt or had the power to act on it was necessarily in there. But they had to figure they weren't the only ones who had power and didn't mind flaunting it to achieve their goals. She too could play that sort of game. Now either they let a single pawn die, or everyone but those she liked would die... and it seemed the message got across. Given Contestant Bakken's actual violation of the rules and Contestant Akari's fast recuperation Kurama's loss against Bakken was announced and she was allowed to fight. Such a pity. An all-out melee would have been nice. A good ol' battle royal... She was fine with using brains but after all, she prefered by far using brawn. Oh well, even if she couldn't go all out, she had been allowed to vent a little. That would probably build up stress but also make her hold out for some time. And more importantly than anything, Kurama would be saved.

"Humph, she stole my lines." Hiei complained. She had done what he had wanted to do. And yet, he was still smirking. The Mashotsukai team member wanted to protest due to his thick-headedness but when he saw the humans' expression, his fear enlightened him ever so slightly and he kept his opinions for himself.

"Okay, fine! I'll return him to you!" Bakken threw the fox at them. Yusuke caught him and sat him against the wall as the pink haired girl grinned sweetly and jumped onto the ring. Ruka commented about Kurama having barely managed to hang onto his life. But Hiei replied the same could be said for them. Akari would have really, mercilessly slaughtered everyone here that stood in her way beginning with that Bakken, her, and rotten committee which included her employer... without letting a single one alive for him to kill. She would have hogged all the fun. The Kekkaishi put up a useless bold front that didn't last long. She knew he was telling the truth... and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep him prisonner for long...

And then Bakken said something stupid. Something like it was no good for her to go out with such a weak trash like Kurama, and that if she agreed to belong to him he'd spare her even if she was human. Of course he didn't mean that, he just meant to show off and put an act. It was obvious bravado to cover for his earlier cold sweat. Though he had no idea how twisted she could be... since he wasn't there when Akari last met his teammates. Well, normally she'd have just blown him away but here she needed to vent properly by feeling the body breaking under her physical blows and listening to the sweet music of his screams of agony and crunching bones. She seemed to think for a time and then smiled very adorably. She didn't like tormenting the weak since it was like trying to squeeze blood out of a turnip or flogging a dead horse. But tormenting a coward who thought himself to be such a big shot, that was worth something.

"Alright, I'll accept, but only if you can defeat me, and as an honor to your foolish bravery, I'll let you give the first blow. But if you can't defeat me, there'll be hell to pay for having treated my precious friend like this and for having dared think that such a coward and disgusting little cockroach like you could rise above his status and act all chummy with this me." She challenged, watching with delight Bakken's smug expression turn into rage at being belittled like this. He howled and lunged. The small human took the blow without budging, and several more. Like she had done long ago, a thin film of reiki was protecting her, just enough to feel the power behind the blows while lessening potential damage. She quickly found out that it was not needed though, as he was even much weaker than a Saint Beast. She was reassured. Kurama couldn't have suffered much from this sort of baby punch. And then she berated herself. She should have known that already. She would have known if she had kept her cool... but seeing Kurama like that... The rei master reported her attention to the fight and asked if that was really all he had got.

"Humph, as if." He tried to look confident but given that his punches had proven so utterly ineffective that he had to resort to his special technique... His demonic energy started rising, as slowly as it was. And looking as if he were horribly constipated, sweat flowed from all of his pores, the amount of sweat increasing with the amount of youki he would release.

"Nee... What's taking you so long? How come those guys accepted you into their group if you can only fight so ineffectively? If I wasn't such a nice and patient girl, I would have killed you long ago. You do realize it, right?" Akari asked, yawning and bored as hell.

"You'll know soon enough... Shura ninjutsu, Hakuen no Kiri!" (Ashura ninja technique, Vapor of White Smoke)... what a name for such a (literally) stinking technique... Soon, a thick fog covered the entire stadium, hiding its caster, and anyone else for that matter, from view. Koto commented that this way Akari wasn't going to be able to know where her opponent was going to attack from. "Hahaha, what do you think? You can't do anything like this huh?!" Bakken bragged.

"Geez, every single one of them, what do they take me for? Who do they think I am? Who do they think they're belittling like this...?" A torrent of wind sped toward her that she dodged.

"What are you mumbling about? Take this!" From her right, she saw a large fist aiming at her face.

"Don't any of you get the wrong idea!" She yelled, sidestepped, caught the wrist and the arm and threw her enemy over her head, shocking him. He crashed down, recovered a little further away, and attempted the same thing to the very same effect. Each time she evaded every thing and retaliated in the same time. The girl quickly understood that he couldn't do anything else and got bored of this fight. Because he was so weak, she was reassured that he couldn't have hurt Kurama and her anger was slowly abatting.

"Really, you're such a one-trick pony... but still, cowardly hiding and taking cheap shots at your opponent... you're really nothing but a disgusting little cockroach... in that case I'll crush you as you deserve... and that is before everyone..." The wind picked up and swirled at high speed around Akari. And when the fog dissipated and everyone could see the ring again, a number of bloody gashes were covering Bakken's body. She approached him until they were centimeters away and then did a series of very fast attacks. First she grabbed his sides, digging her fingers into them and breaking his ribs, before performing something akin to a german souplex. She jumped high flipped, and dropped her heel for a kick that landed hardly between his legs. The human leapt again making this time a back flip and kicked his stomack sending him flying away and crash against the wall delimiting the waiting area right beside Jin who did not move a muscle and kept smirking, his arms behind his head. Katsuyama then used her wind to send him flying back to her and made a wall of punches, projecting him again; she reappeared behind him and elbowed him down on the base of his neck, slamming him onto on the arena. "Oh, sorry darling, here let me help you up." Akari smiled sweetly and broke his arms. "Oh, was that your arms? Sorry, I'm so clumsy..." She apologised. By then, he was on his knees, crying and pretty much begging her to stop. He was heavily wounded! He was going to die! He couldn't fight anymore! The girl asked him what he had done to Kurama when he couldn't fight.

"Eh... I was just caught up in the atmosphere, I don't remember it too well...!"

"Oh my, is that so?" She lightly bent at his level, as if worried about him, her arms behind her back, with that same smile plastered on her face. The idiot thought it was his chance and smashed a rock on her head with all his strength. Her expression did not change. She merely straightened herself and passed her hands through her hair to clear all the dust and splinters that might have been caught. "Then don't worry, and leave everything to this great me. I will make sure you never forget again." She said kindly and opened her cold, merciless, and cruelly smiling eyes, turned her palm toward him that began to shine. Energy shot from it at point black range that propelled him through a hole it opened in the stadium. You could see the forest from that hole... She hadn't killed him since Kurama wasn't dead. She had just made sure to shatter every bone and tear every muscle in his body. Koto announced Akari's overwhelming victory but the human had already ceased to listen. She walked away, making circles with her bent arm, flexing her shoulder joint, like it was a little stiff after having hit the most disgusting and stinking insect in the universe. She left the ring and went to Kurama's side. She started healing him. They were joined by Yusuke. The fox smiled weakly at them and apologised. He had planned to defeat all three of them. But the two humans were more worried about his condition.

"I'm more badly hurt by the plant than by my wounds. It's hard to get rid of it. Indeed, it's all my own fault." The red head smiled again.

"It's no laughing matter." Akari flicked his forehead, which also hurt him more than his wounds. "You idiot... you're always like this... getting injured on your own, risking yourself on your own..." without thinking about the feelings of those around him... "No one asked you to go this far so show a little more self-preservation!" The girl scolded him in a way and tone that didn't make things appear so bad but she really, truly, deeply hated and resented that habit of his to put his own life on the line so easily. It was still okay against such opponents but what was going to happen when the gap was too overwhelming?!

"I'm sorry." He managed to put his hand on her head. He was still smiling.

"If you're really sorry then at least, try to look so!" Akari hit his head again, this time with a sword hand.

"Ow!"

She was angry, but he was happy. He was happy that she cared for him to this extent. Even if she was quick to anger, very few things could make her snap to this degree. Maybe, there might be a tiny little chance that she cared for him the way he cared for her...

"Anyway, I'll go take care of the last two in a flash and come back to heal you."

Or so it was supposed to be if things had gone according to her wishes... but that would have been forgetting and underestimating the obstinacy of the enemy owner and their ability at reversing situations. Indeed, although her victory counted, Akari was ruled out of this round for having gone and remained outside the ring instead of properly waiting for her next opponent. And now was not a case where she could produce any counter argument. She had intended to let Yusuke conserve his strength... or more truthfully she felt she needed to scrap with someone with a little more backbone or she wouldn't be satisfied... But if she thought more carefully it was true that Yusuke needed more battle experience and those guys were perfect for that. Particularly the wind user. So in the end, it might not be such a bad thing. And this way she could heal Kura too. And Kuwa, while she was at it. But would it really be that simple, with those warped humanoids as top executives...? As absurd as that trap had been, she still had been successfully ruled out... Urameshi reassured them saying he'll definitely take care of the two remaining ones. After a pause, Akari smiled good-naturedly and told him to enjoy himself, Jin especially was the same type as he was... but he still had to be very careful. The fox agreed. Their opponents had come in complete disorder. Gama's standard had been quite good, Touya had been really strong, Bakken, null. The last two must be very powerful. Yusuke stepped on the ring. He had no choice but to fight and to win anyway. Koto announced the fifth match.

During that time, Ruka, the fake nurse, was trembling in fear before her last prisoner. Following Akari, he had been healing and regaining his energy at a rapid rate. A prodigious force was building around that you wouldn't expect from a wounded person. He was also recuperating the use of his right arm. She knew that if he decided to force his way through her kekkai, she wouldn't get away unscathed. A little more and...

Jin and Yusuke met on the ring. The demon crowd was chanting again 'kill him, kill him, kill him'... much to the wind tamer's annoyance. He showed Yusuke his springy pointy ears and told him with a large childish grin that they were only like this when he was happy and excited. It had been a long time since they were last like this. Then in a more confidential tone, he asked him to thank Akari on his part for having gotten rid of that bastard Bakken. That had been real refreshing. He had never liked him and his dirty tactics... a real jerk! But he'd also like it if he kept it a secret from Risho that he said that. They laughed heartily, and still whispering, the youkai asked if it was true that Akari was going out with Kurama.

"Dunno, dun think so. Why?"

"Aaahh, no, it's nothing." The tall one-horned demon stammered. Yusuke looked at him cluelessly. Jin slightly changed the subject by comparing her good looks and her temper. Temper that had made an incalculable number of victims, including them... Temper that only Kurama could keep in check... Suddenly they felt a glare on them that sent shivers of fear down their spine. They looked at the source and saw Akari's golden eyes burning like molten metal. They recoiled and huddled close. Had she heard them? Was it her animal instinct? The glare decreased in intensity as she reported her attention to the fox. The two contestants were relieved: they had escaped with their lives. They laughed again. As Urameshi noted, Jin was a real joker, and a strange guy. He had been planning on venting his anger by blowing him away too but the demon had purged his hostility. "I'm different from him. Goin' at it with sour feelings ain't any fun y'know! It's funnier to fight like this. Well, I wanted to fight Aka-chan again but I think ya're goin' to be a real blast too. That's what we're here for, right?" A very strong wind suddenly picked up, surrounding them. The demon smirked and used it to float two dozen centimetres above the ground. Yusuke was surprised at first but then his blood boiled and he became really fired up. They were going to have a really enjoyable fight! He understood at last what Akari had meant when she had said they were similar and to fight to his heart's content. They would see who was stronger! Koto announced the beginning of the match.

The human lunged at the demon, but his punch missed as Jin soared high into the sky and stopped only once he was above the clouds where he inhaled deeply, appreciating the lively breeze of the Human World. He gazed at the island far below him. It was such a nice island... he had to make sure to get it. And for that he had to win! His enemy was yelling at him to come down... which he did. He dived almost vertically at Urameshi before swerving at the last seconds. He veered again to avoid crashing into the audience and circled the arena at high speed, still in mid-air. He disappeared from Yusuke's sight, staying low in the ring's shadows, his front almost touching the grass. Once behind the human he flew up and descended him. It was too late when Urameshi noticed him and his opponent gave him a really good punch that sent him skid and crash to the edge of the ring... although almost at the same time the human tried to kick him. Jin only barely evaded that off-balance kick. Blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, Yusuke complimented him for his blow, just like the youkai was impressed by his reactivity. Both were grinning like idiots. It really seemed like they were going to have a good time. The stronger the opponent, the happier they were. Aside from Akari, it was not something many girls would understand...

However, as Jin said, it was a bit too early to be commending him after just that... He rotated his right arm at high speed, creating a mini tornado on his forearm. The wind was already nearly enough to blow his opponent away. Shura Senpuu Ken – Shura Whirlind Fist. The middle was hollow, allowing him to punch his enemy, and should the target dodge, the wind would knock them back. Although that was not the only use of that technique...

The youkai charged. The human dodged but the wind still sent him flying. The pressure had also lightly torn his t-shirt. He managed to recover just in time and landed against the fence, his hand holding the top of the wall. But it was not over. The kazetsukai had gone after him. Yusuke jumped away in time as the whirlind destroyed the wall and part of the bleachers, blowing away a number of demons. Once more, Jin praised his enemy's reflexes. He really liked this game. They returned on the ring where the wind youkai, before he could spin his arm fast enough, became the target of a rain of punches. He could only defend while Urameshi attacked relentlessly, too fast for the vast majority of the spectators (including the referee) to see. Yusuke had a slight advantage in speed, but Jin had the wind. The balance broke when the rei user landed a good blow on his opponent's abdomen, knocking the air out of him. The youkai held his belly with both arms. Urameshi saw his chance and took a big swing... and missed as once more Jin escaped into the air. Well, after all his thing was airborne guerilla tactics with many hit-and-runs. Botan, from her place in the stands, asked if being airborne didn't count as a ringout, but according to the rules, the count is only given when one part of the body touched someplace outside the ring. As such, being into mid-air didn't count as being out of bounds.

And indeed, in the air, Jin was recovering from the punch. He was going to think up another strategy when he saw the reigun shooting toward him. He panicked for a moment before summoning wind to form a small tornado around him with a force and rotation so powerful that it actually deflected the shot of energy. If the tornado fist was more of an offensive technique, then his Bakufu Shouheki (Blasting Wind Barrier) was his main defense (at least against ranged attacks). The demon boasted of his armor of wind. With that, there was no way the reigun could touch him! The crowd cheered. With his reigun ineffective, Urameshi was sure to die! And since he was the only one left... that meant Team Urameshi had lost! However, there was still one solution left. It was a very risky gamble, but Yusuke had certainly realized it. But this needed to be finished. Jin summoned his whirlwind fist on his right arm and dived again. For a long time, the human did not move, Koto thought he had given up until he smirked and aimed at his oncoming enemy.

That was it. At the instant Jin put forth his tornado fist, come in direct contact with the opponent and fire the reigun. There was a huge explosion with a blinding light. When everyone looked again, there was a crater in the middle of the otherwise empty ring. Where could the contestants have gone? Then Koto saw Urameshi sprawled against the wall below the audience. And Jin... had escaped to the air again. Part of his clothing was torn. Yusuke stood up and cursed. He couldn't understand why he had not been able to hit him. Hiei, still prisoner in the tent right beside him, explained that when his reigun had struck, his opponent, rather than thinking of escaping had turned his shura senpuu ken in an upward current, and by changing the direction of the shockwave, kept the damage down to a minimum. He seemed to have been in many battles, and to have got a lot more experience than him. He also asked him if he had a plan that would allow him to win.

"That goes without saying! Of course I have none!" Urameshi bragged.

"Is that something to say so confidently?" Hiei questioned. It was not like he had expected an idiot like him to have such a thing as a 'plan'... but to think he would actually boast about not having any... his stupidity really had no boundary.

"We won't know who's won the match until it's over!" The moron grinned excitedly.

"I don't care which one of you wins or loses. I'm getting sick of just standing there. I'm telling you right now. If you lose I'm going next."

"According to the rules-" Ruka started.

"To hell with the rules. I'll kill anyone that has something to say about it. I'll kill you all. I'm not as nice as Akari who's still trying to go along with the farce. But well, once I start, she will have to join me. I wonder which one of us would slaughter the most people...?" He wondered with a wicked smirk, sheerly enjoying the fear on the kekkaishi's face... and the idea of such a contest with Akari. Despite being human, she was one of the few who could actually enjoy fighting and killing as much as he did, and that was even though she tried to repress it, and Kurama encouraged this repression. Nothing changed the fact that he and Akari were similar.

On the ring, Koto had started the count: 4...5...6...7...

Urameshi jumped on the arena. He and Jin taunted each other and laughed good-naturedly. The fight continued. This time, the youkai summoned his Shura Senpuu Ken on both arms. Urameshi was really in a dire situation as he could only use the reigun with his right hand. And he was not the only who got worried about that. What should he do? Suddenly his eyes gleamed with determination. He didn't have a choice. His whole body started overflowing with reiki. As opposed to the reigun which focused his energy on his fingertips, for the technique he had in mind, he had to raise his entire body's reiki to its full power. He had already shot the reigun three times today so he could only use this technique once since it was based on the same principle. On top of that, it put a whole different kind of burden on the body. Even though it was the only way he had left to win against Jin, he was really a gambler...

And seeing his opponent brimming with power, the wind master smiled broadly, his ears twitching, delighted as he was to fight with someone so worthy.

"Urameshi Yusuke, you're the second one to ever give me this much fun! I'm so excited! Now, let's fight!" And he swooped down on the human.

"Okay, come on, Jin!" Yusuke was smirking, just like Butajiri, Toguro-ototo, and Akari.

"Shura Senpuu Ken!"


Author's note: Alright, I believe this is the last chapter I posted on Quizilla before I became unable to post anything due to that ******* error message until well, the site closed down. from then on, everything will be new so look forward to it :) And again, thank to my reviewers and those who decided to follow my story and choose it as favorite.