It was about a week later when they reached the former border of Tourin. As they slowed to a walk, Sayomi couldn't get her mind off the upcoming fights.
A tournament involving the entire Demon Plane... So far there's 108 fighters: Yomi and fifteen of his men, Mukuro and 78 former followers (Including Hiei), Kurama, Chu, Rinku, Suzuki, Shishiwakamaru, Toya, Jin... and Yusuke, To-Oh, Hokushin, Seitei, Nankai, and me. It's going to be the Dark Tournament all over again. Only now, there's a lot more at stake.
Sayomi scowled as she counted down the days. Only 93 days left. Hiei's right, I can't waste too much time getting back. I'm not expecting to win, but if I can at least tire Yomi out enough for Mukuro or Yusuke to take him down, then that's better than nothing. That's only assuming I'm strong enough to make it that far and last more than a minute.
When they walked into town, Sayomi met the eyes of the monks who glared at her. Some watched her warily while others looked away. Hokushin was right. It's gonna take more than this for them to get over their fear.
The monks reluctantly followed behind them to an open field of dirt. Yusuke heaved a heavy sigh before he turned to face them and sat down with his legs crossed. As if on cue, the monks sat down respectively in the lotus position.
Sayomi settled next to Yusuke's left and faced the monks. She ignored the glares and waited patiently for the boy to speak. Let's see how this goes.
Yusuke scowled at them before he said, "C'mon, don't gimme that look. It wasn't my idea for Raizen to die and drop this in my lap."
"Well, you did your best," Seitei praised half-heartedly.
"But a tournament?" Hokushin asked. "Oh well... We'll just have to deal with it. Let's decide who advances if we wind up fighting each other."
"Hang on!" Yusuke snapped. "Doesn't that eliminate the whole point of it?!"
"Not really," Hokushin argued. "Mukuro and Yomi claim they've dissolved their nations, but I have my doubts. Even so, that hardly undermines all the schemes they could hatch."
"I admit, Yomi seems pretty shady, but I think Mukuro's on the up-and-up," Yusuke reasoned.
"Speaking of shady, why is she here?" asked a monk in the crowd.
"Didn't King Raizen banish her?" another monk asked.
"She will curse us all!" a third monk cried.
Sayomi closed her eyes and prepared to tune them out.
"Like hell he did!" Yusuke shot the monks a deadly glare and said, "Raizen took her in and didn't treat her like a subordinate. He told her she was free to come and go as she pleased. If I hear any crap like that again, you'll have to deal with me and I don't take too kindly to those who disrespect my friends. Got it?"
The monks cowered under Yusuke's aura and Sayomi smirked. They really do listen to him. That's cool. They don't have to like me, but at least it won't be so annoyingly obvious... hopefully.
"In any event," Seitei said, getting back on topic. "We'll do all we can to let you win."
"It's what we've each freely chosen to do, so you have no grounds for complaint," Hokushin explained.
Yusuke glared at the monk. Then he heaved another sigh and clasped his hands behind his head. "Geez, this really isn't at all what I intended..."
"HEY THERE!" A low voice boomed through the open desert.
"Eesh!" Yusuke's eyes popped open as his ears started to ring.
"What the…?" Hokushin held his head in pain.
Sayomi squeezed her eyes shut as she covered her ears. Why did it have to be so loud? She turned to see who it could be and arched her brow curiously. Who are they?
There were two demons walking towards them. One was a large red man with two horns on his head and an extra-large bundle tied to his back. The other was a lean woman with wavy blond hair and a gourd of alcohol that dangled in her hand over her shoulder.
Yusuke stood up and approached the pair. "Who are you guys?"
"We heard Raizen croaked, so we're here to pay our respects," the woman answered.
"Your pardon," said the man. He pointed at himself and the woman. "I'm Enki, and this is my wife, Kokoh."
"You two were acquainted with the king?" Hokushin asked.
"We were sparring partners," Enki answered.
Yusuke and Sayomi exchanged looks before turning to the monks. They looked just as confused.
Enki smiled. "We were pretty tough in our day, but Raizen was much stronger. If Mukuro and Yomi had known him in his prime, they'd have been history ages ago!"
"So what's he do? Let's himself be tamed by a human woman." Kokoh leaned forward and glared. "I'd been hitting on him for years, but would he even give me the time of day? No! So I married him." She jerked her thumb at Enki. "That's worked out, sure, but still… Raizen, you bastard!"
"Sorry..." Enki apologized. "She's been drinking."
I can smell it from here. She's almost as bad as Chu or Atsuko... Sayomi tried not to stare at the woman or show her discomfort with the odor. She turned to Yusuke. "So, where's the old man?"
"Oh, right. This way." Yusuke and Hokushin led Sayomi and the visitors to Raizen's grave.
It was marked by a headstone with his name and a prayer chiseled in the Demon Plane script. On the ground before the tombstone was a slab that documented what was known about his life and achievements. Three stone pillars potted a few plants and incense burned around the grave.
After Enki, Sayomi, and Yusuke placed flowers on the grave, they said a brief prayer. When it was Kokoh's turn, she placed her flowers down and collapsed to her hands and knees in tears. "Why'd you have to die?! All I wanted was one win! Now I'll never know the joy of whompin' yer butt!"
"She said she wouldn't cry..." Enki muttered quietly. "When we heard Raizen was retiring... Well, that just took the wind out of our sails. We quit fighting, too. It seemed so incomprehensible. We had no idea he was thinking of the future of the Demon Plane. It wasn't the sort of thing he ever discussed with us."
Sayomi stared at the grave and sighed. So they're a lot like Jin and the others in that regard. Their main goal is to defeat Yusuke, or at least fight with him again. I guess that's just more proof that Yusuke is the old man's heir.
"HO THERE!"
"Eh? Now what?" Yusuke asked.
"Ah..." Enki smiled. "I've been expecting them."
Sayomi turned and saw seven more unfamiliar demons. "More friends?"
"It's all of Raizen's old sparring buddies. We loved him dearly, y'know." Enki smiled and turned to Yusuke. "And you're the scion."
"Scion?" Yusuke asked.
"Raizen's blood heir. Your ancestry is evident," Enki complimented.
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. Sayomi smirked up at Yusuke. He's really come a long way since I first met him at Genkai's trials.
When the new guests arrived, Sayomi noted a man and woman who looked mostly human, like Kokoh. The man had dark messy hair while the woman had her brown hair in a long braid. She also took note of a large demon with long, wild hair, horns, and an underbite who carried a barrel on his shoulder. Another tall demon with wings and pointed ears held a big bottle of alcohol. There was a shorter silver demon with horns, instead of ears, and clawed feet, a demon with a tail and horns that hung down from under a purple hat, and a sturdy demon who wore a helmet that only exposed his eyes. They all carried bouquets of flowers.
"So, this is Jr?" asked the demon with the purple hat. "You're quite the popular topic in the Demon Plane."
"Is that good or bad?" Sayomi asked.
The silver demon smirked. "Depends on who you ask. Some commend him for his quick rise to power while others still want his head. Can't say I blame them."
"You know me, but I don't know you," Yusuke said with a smirk. "Can't say that's fair."
The girl stepped forward to introduce herself. "I'm Natsume." She pointed her thumb at the guy standing next to her. "This is my twin brother, Kujo."
"Like the dog?" Yusuke asked.
"Dog?" Kujo raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Never mind," Yusuke waved it off. "What about you guys?"
"I'm Souketsu," said the demon with the purple hat.
Sayomi noticed the three scars that ran down his cheek and she tried to imagine how he got them. I wonder if it's from a fight with the old man.
"My name is Shu," said the silver demon.
"Call me Saizo," the winged demon said with a nod.
"I am Denho." The large demon smiled and bowed.
The demon with the helmet closed his eyes and said, "Tetsuzan."
"Cool, glad to have names to go with the faces. I'm Yusuke and this is Sayomi. The stiff over there is Hokushin," Yusuke introduced with a grin.
"You already found yourself a mate here, have you?" Souketsu asked. "Kids are growing up fast these days."
"What?!" Sayomi asked.
"No!" Yusuke denied. "She's a friend! I have someone in the Human World already."
"Like father, like son," Saizo said with a smile.
"Well, he is still primarily a human. It makes sense," Kujo admitted.
"So how do you know Raizen, Sayomi?" Natsume asked.
Sayomi hesitated a moment before she answered. "Well, I was a runaway and Hokushin found me and brought me to Raizen's territory. He kinda took me in."
"So you were a stray?" Shu asked.
"Something like that," Sayomi muttered.
"So you knew Raizen in his final days?" Denho asked.
"Just a little," Sayomi admitted. "He was already starving himself and I didn't understand his real intentions until he sent me to find Yusuke." She looked up at the former Underworld Detective. "Now that I think about it, he probably wanted to surprise everyone."
"Well that doesn't tell us much," Souketsu complained.
"It's still more than what we were told, isn't it?" Saizo asked.
"That's true." Enki said. "That still doesn't excuse the fact that we turned our backs on a good friend. No matter what his reasons were, we made the choice to turn away and focus on ourselves. If we want to point fingers, then let's point them at ourselves and ask why we did what we did. Only then can we turn to others and ask for their reasons. In Raizen's case, it's too late to ask."
"Yeah, you say that, but we all know the truth," Kokoh argued. "He kept us out of the loop to do everything himself. That idiot!"
"That's what it looks like," Testsuzan said. He placed his flowers on the grave and took a seat. "But does that matter when he was pushing himself closer towards death?"
"Maybe that's what it took," Natusme said. She set her flowers down and offered a silent prayer. "Maybe he needed to put his life on the line for others to take him seriously."
"Whatever his reasons, Raizen followed his path to the end," Enki said. "That's more than we need to respect his wishes."
"Raizen's always been an odd one," Souketsu mumbled. He laid his flowers down with the others and took his seat by the tombstone. "He saved me from a group of feral demons that nearly tore me a new one." He grinned. "He taught those beasts a lesson and told me to clean myself up. I still wanna give him a solid punch to the mug for that comment."
"That doesn't even compare to what he did for me!" Shu argued. He smirked when he placed his flowers with the others and sat down. "He knocked me flat on my ass because I didn't agree with his opinions! That alone was enough to throw me for a loop."
"What about the time when he came and took out that gang of Class-A demons?" Kujo asked as he poured himself a glass from Denho's barrel.
"He took them out like it was an inconvenience," Natsume answered.
"But they weren't easy," Kujo argued after taking a drink.
"I'm not saying they were, but they were strong enough, at the time, to take us out," Natsume reminded him.
Saizo smiled and took a swig from his bottle. "Raizen had always been a strange one. I remember when he found me near death in the Demon Plane. My wings were damaged and I was covered in wounds. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him."
"Speak for yourself!" Kokoh snapped. "Every time I saw Raizen, I just wanted to punch that stupid smirk off his face!"
Denho smiled and said, "I was always judged for my appearance. People looked at me and saw me as a strong opponent that they had to kill to prove themselves. Raizen was the only one who wanted to fight for sport. I ended up looking forward to our matches."
Sayomi tried to imagine each interaction that led to an unlikely friendship between everyone in the group. The old man certainly had a strange way of making friends. She smiled as Kokoh cried into Natsume's shoulder. Shu and Tetsuzan wiped away the tears that threatened to spill from their eyes.
When she turned to look at Yusuke, she saw him standing back with Hokushin. She excused herself from the group of demons and made her way to the boy. Why is he way out here? I hope everything is okay.
As she approached, she noticed the distant look in Yusuke's eyes. She followed his gaze to the circle of grieving friends.
"Hokushin..." Yusuke muttered.
"Yes, sir?" he asked.
Sayomi kept her eyes focused on the group as she listened to Yusuke.
"All I did was fight with Raizen," he said quietly. "If we were more than adversaries, I never felt it. This, however, makes me feel... well, happy somehow."
Sayomi smiled to herself. It may have taken him a while to get over the thing with Sensui, but it looks like he's finally accepted his relation to the old man. Better late than never, right?
When she caught a movement in her peripheral, Sayomi turned and saw Enki stand up and clap his hands. "Okay, so much for sentiment. There's another reason we're here, right?"
Kokoh and the others smiled and nodded in agreement. They all got to their feet and turned to Yusuke.
"Yeah!" Kokoh cheered. "I'm entering the tournament, and so's the rest of this sorry lot."
Natsume smirked and nodded. "Serious contenders, that's us. Don't blame us if you get yourself killed."
Yusuke and Sayomi blinked.
Kokoh smirked and held up her fist to Enki. "And I won't go easy on you."
"Heh!" Enki grinned. "As if I'd have it any other way." He pumped his fist in the air and shouted, "We'll make Raizen sorry he checked out!"
"Right!" The others punched the air in agreement.
Sayomi felt their enthusiasm flow through her body like a wave.
"Though after all this time we're kind of rusty," Saizo admitted.
"We'd better crank it up, then," Souketsu suggested with a smirk.
"One, two..." Shu counted.
"HAH!"
The group of old friends burst into a blaze of aura that reached beyond the clouds for the whole Demon Plane to see. The sheer force of their combined power kicked off a strong dust storm that nearly knocked Sayomi, Yusuke and Hokushin off their feet.
"Wow!" Yusuke grinned. "Check it out!"
Sayomi used her cloak to block as much dirt as she could. She smirked with one eye open as she watched the dazzling display through the storm. This kind of power exists?! This tournament might be better than I thought!
After a few minutes, the group powered down and the storm subsided. Sayomi let go of her cloak and let down her hood to see. The fighters were grinning with pride as they flexed their muscles and threw a few practice punches.
"I can't wait!" Shu exclaimed.
"Heh," Souketsu smirked. "Don't get too cocky. You'll need to beat me, first."
"Oh, we'll see about that," Shu challenged.
"We're out of shape," Natsume noted.
"Once we get to training, we should be alright by the time the tournament starts," Kujo said.
Enki smiled at Yusuke and started to pack up his bag. "Well, it's been fun meeting you, Yusuke and Sayomi. It's getting late, so we'll get out of your way and start getting ready for the big day."
"There's no rush, is there?" Yusuke asked. "You guys are welcome to at least stay the night."
"Sorry, but we don't have time to waste. The sooner we get going, the sooner we can start training," Saizo explained.
"In that case, I should head out, too," Sayomi said. "Mind if I leave with you guys? Just until we reach the border."
"We don't have a problem with it," Kujo shrugged. "Which way are you headed?"
"Towards Alaric," Sayomi answered. "Or, at least, what used to be Alaric."
"Oh, I get it." Yusuke smirked and draped his arm around her shoulders. "You just want to go back to You-Know-Who."
Sayomi shut her eyes and drove her elbow into his stomach. "Shove it, Yusuke."
"We don't mind you tagging along, but we're not going to hold your hand the whole way," Kokoh said.
Sayomi smirked and crossed her arms. "That's fine. I just figured I should take advantage of your departure to head out, myself."
Enki smiled down at her. "It's only a minor detour, so it's no issue."
"Well, I guess this is goodbye, then." Yusuke clasped his hands behind his head. "At least until the tournament."
"See you then." Sayomi turned to leave and waved over her shoulder. "Who knows? We might actually get to fight each other for once."
"Heh. I'm ready whenever you are," Yusuke said with a smirk.
Sayomi followed Enki and the others through the town without running into any trouble. She smiled as she noticed the monks ignored her and kept to themselves. This is progress.
"So why do you want to go to Alaric?" Shu asked, snapping Sayomi out of her thoughts.
"I promised I would go back after I finished my business. Besides, I need to train for the tournament, too." She smirked as she fantasized about participating.
"Weren't you in the Dark Tournament with Jr?" Souketsu asked.
Sayomi frowned at the memories from the island. "Yeah, but I didn't get to fight until the finals. By that time, I wasn't strong enough to really compete."
"You think you're strong enough for this tournament?" Natsume asked.
Sayomi smiled and shook her head. "I doubt I'd stand a chance if I ended up having to fight any of you guys, but I would still like to compete for fun."
"So you also enjoy fighting for sport," Denho realized.
"Yeah, I do." Sayomi grinned as she remembered Raizen's old stories about his fights. "The old man always smiled when he talked about his fights. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that I ended up having fun with it, too."
"So, in the off-chance you win the tournament, what will you do?" Shu asked.
"If I win?" Sayomi tried to imagine it. I'm not nearly as strong as Yusuke and the others, let alone these guys. "I can't even see it happening, so I have no idea."
"Have a little self-confidence," Kokoh said as she took a swig from her gourd. "There aren't many women who can be as strong as you are. You're still young!"
"She has a point," Enki said. "Luck is just as important as skill in a fight. Don't count yourself out before you've tried. The only certainty is that things are changing in an interesting way. Possibly for the better."
Sayomi agreed silently as they approached the border. When she noticed a familiar aura in the distance, she smiled and said, "I think I'll be fine from here, guys. Thanks for letting me tag along for a bit."
"You take care," Natsume said. "Hopefully we'll meet again in the ring."
"Just be ready!" Shu warned. "We won't go easy on you."
"We won't kill you, at least," Souketsu teased.
Sayomi grinned and waved. "Can't wait! See ya'll then!"
She ran towards the figure that hid in the forest a few kilometers away. She covered her body with her aura, then used her cloak to teleport to the edge of the forest through the shadows. It didn't take her long to find Hiei leaning back against a tree waiting for her.
As she was about to speak, he pushed off the tree and cut her off. "Yasuhiro's missing."