Sayomi watched the jumbo screen as Hiei defeated demon after demon. Though he had to cut down several, others willingly surrendered. She watched as a demon's lips moved, telling Hiei the five-digit code to unlock the collar around his neck.
She smirked. At least he's not just killing everyone automatically. It might also have to do with the announcement about him being Mukuro's best fighter. Either way, he might have this preliminary round in the bag.
Her eyes flitted around the screen. Is Yasuhiro still there? I haven't seen him yet.
Once Hiei defeated every other demon, Yasuhiro stepped up to fight. Sayomi bit her lip nervously as she watched them exchange words. I wish I could hear what they're saying.
Meanwhile, on top of the Eon Tree, the preliminary match for Block 5 had whittled down. Hiei faced Yasuhiro in a silent stare down until the shadow demon said, "You're quite the skilled fighter. It's no wonder you climbed Mukuro's ranks so quickly."
Hiei kept his expression neutral as he watched his opponent.
"However, I can't help but wonder just how good you are for Sayomi."
Hiei's eyes narrowed slightly. He figured it would be brought up sooner or later after freeing him. Sayomi hadn't been sure of how much he really remembered while he was under his Shade's control. "Regardless of the outcome of this fight, your opinion won't matter. We're already mated."
Yasuhiro smirked and tilted his head to the side. "I know, but I still need to see for myself if you're really good for her." He shrugged. "It's a big brother thing."
"Now you want to play the role of the big brother?"
"Ouch." Yasuhiro splayed his hand over his heart in feigned hurt. "You don't hold back, do you? Although, I could say the same to you."
Hiei reached for the hilt of his sword. "You must have a death wish if you're bringing that up."
"I'm just calling a spade a spade. It's not really my business, but her happiness is my business." Yasuhiro manifested his scythe from the nearby shadows. "I'm not looking for a fight to the death, because we both know that would upset her. How about a friendly match until one of us surrenders?"
Hiei unsheathed his sword and crouched into his stance. "Is there a point to this?"
Yasuhiro grinned. "A little wager wouldn't hurt, would it? How about if I win, then you'll leave Sayomi's happiness to me?"
"And if I win?"
Yasuhiro shrugged. "What do you want?"
Hiei narrowed his eyes and crouched lower. "You'll cease your pursuit for her."
Yasuhiro smirked. "You drive a hard bargain, but I can't ignore the potential prize."
Hiei dashed and cut through air. He quickly sidestepped Yasuhiro's scythe and countered with another strike. The exchanges were so swift the cameras couldn't capture their movements.
Sayomi watched with her fists clenched tight. They won't kill each other. Yasuhiro isn't possessed by his Shade anymore so everything's okay. There's no reason for them to kill each other.
Back in the fight, Hiei quickly grew tired of missing his target. He sheathed his sword and engulfed his fists with flames. The sudden light threw the surrounding shadows into a chaotic dance, exposing Yasuhiro.
"Haah!" Hiei landed a volley of punches to Yasuhiro's stomach, burning a hole into the shadow demon's tunic and scorching his skin.
Yasuhiro gritted his teeth and jumped back to gain distance, but Hiei quickly followed with another flurry of punches.
"Come on, you can't be that mad at me," Yasuhiro said with chagrin. "My Shade is a part of me, whether I'm in control or not. It may have gotten out of hand, but the fact of the matter is I really do care for her."
Hiei held his tongue as he drew his sword and missed.
Yasuhiro solidified behind Hiei and manifested his Shadow Scythe, holding the handle across the fire demon's throat.
"It's true that I grew to love her as more than a sister, and if I hadn't lost control, we might've ended up together instead. After all, her mother did want me to take care of her."
Hiei ignited his whole body with flames, forcing Yasuhiro back from the sudden light and intense heat. "Your weakness put her in danger. That won't happen with me."
Yasuhiro's smile slipped as he tried to summon his scythe, but Hiei was quick to close in and pin him to the ground with a sword to his throat.
Not wanting to speak and make things worse, Yasuhiro used his hands to signal the code for his collar.
"Yasuhiro has surrendered! Advancing to the finals from Block 5… Hiei!"
Hiei extinguished the flames and sheathed his sword, much to Yasuhiro's relief.
Yasuhiro sat up and touched his neck. When he saw the blood on his fingers, he let out a low whistle. "I know when I'm outmatched. You could've at least drawn out the fight a little more, though. At least let me believe I had a chance of winning."
"I have no interest in wasting my time," Hiei said as he turned to leave the arena.
Sayomi let out a sigh of relief as both Hiei and Yasuhiro came out of the fight alive. For a moment there, I thought Hiei was going to kill him. Did Yasuhiro provoke him or did something else happen?
When she saw Hiei approaching her in the crowd, she smiled and said, "I'm glad you both came out of the match alive. Did something happen to make you flare up like that?"
He shrugged. "I wanted to end the fight quickly."
"We could've at least given her a better show."
Sayomi looked behind Hiei and found Yasuhiro smiling at them. She grinned, but shifted her eyes between the two males. "I don't think Hiei cares about showing off that much."
"Could've fooled me at the Dark Tournament." Yasuhiro draped an arm over Hiei's shoulders and winked. "He sure didn't like the idea of me stealing you away, that's for sure."
Sayomi's eyes widened. That's what they were talking about? Does he still want me in that way?
Hiei shrugged him off and glared up at the shadow demon. "Keep it up and I will kill you."
Yasuhiro grinned. "Don't say that! We're basically in-laws now!"
Hiei's expression darkened.
Sayomi sighed and relaxed at the mostly harmless exchange. Hopefully Yasuhiro won't push his boundaries too far.
She looked back up at the jumbo screen to see who was still fighting. Looks like Rinku already finished his match and so did Tetsuzan. She spotted Kirin still engaged in battle with his Block and Denho was quickly finishing up his match.
One by one, the screens changed to different groups as battles ended and new ones started. With 18 screens bordering the large main screen, the matches were moving along at a fairly quick rate.
Just minutes later, Saizo's Block started their match as other matches ended. When Sayomi spotted Toya and Shishiwakamaru, she felt her nerves kick in. It's almost my turn.
Before she realized it, the crowd around her fell to silence. She looked around, then up at the jumbo screen.
Her eyes widened as she watched Yomi and Shura start their match. This is gonna be interesting.
Shura was already bruised and scratched up from the fight. He glared at his father as he focused his aura into his hands and fired. " Gnashing Discs!!"
Yomi stood his ground and summoned a barrier with demonic script across the dome's transparent surface. "Ancient Barrier of Death's Reflection!"
The crowd watched in amazement as Shura's attack was absorbed into the near invisible shield. Yomi stood tall and unscathed as his aura flared around his body.
Shura stared at his father with defiance, despite his wounds.
"Well? Are you done? All right, my turn." Then Yomi moved.
The former king dashed forward and elbowed his son in the stomach, making the boy cough up blood. Shura was sent through the air then he crashed across the field. As he struggled to sit up, Yomi closed in with a kick to the boy's face, sending him spiraling through the trees.
"Gobbling gargoyles, folks!" The announcer for the match hovered above the chaos, her eyes wide. "Yomi's attacks are utterly relentless! The two finalists from Block 34 are engaged in mortal combat!"
The crowd of spectators were just as surprised by the match.
"Yomi's serious."
"He's willing to kill his son."
Sayomi clenched her fists at her side. Will he actually kill his own kid? Doesn't family matter to him at all?
Back in the fight, Yomi calmly walked up to his beaten son and asked, "What is your code, Shura?"
"N… No!" Shura glared up at his father as he struggled to stand. "You want my collar? Then kill me first! You promised we'd fight for real."
Yomi's brow furrowed in a glare, sending shivers down his son's body. "Because I wanted to see what you had. Now I have. You obviously have no idea how much I held back!"
Shura bit his lip and glared down at the floor as tears and snot streamed down his face in shame.
"If you want to die, I'll oblige. It's neither here nor there. Last chance, Shura… Tell me your code."
Without raising his gaze, Shura muttered, "66091."
"Shura has just thrown in the towel! Advancing to the finals from Block 34… Yomi!"
Sayomi watched in silence until she whispered, "Would he have really killed his own kid?"
"Like a bug," Yasuhiro answered coldly. "To him, even his son is just a pawn to dispose of if he proves to be useless."
Sayomi bit her lip. Just the thought of having to kill Yasuhiro was enough to make me feel awful. I can't imagine killing a kid, let alone one that's mine. If Shura hadn't surrendered…
"Fighters for Block 38 please report to Gate C!"
Sayomi turned to the gate and sighed. "I guess it's my turn."
"Knock 'em dead, sis!" Yasuhiro ruffled her hair with a smile. "I know you can handle it."
Sayomi pushed his hand away. "I don't want to kill anyone if I don't have to."
"Just win your match and come back alive. Use whatever tactics necessary," Hiei advised.
Sayomi smiled and nodded. "I'll do what I can." She waved her arm as she turned to leave. "Just try not to fight while I'm gone. Hopefully you two got that out of your systems."
Sayomi received a digital collar to wear around her neck before she was ushered with the rest of her Block to the top of one of the Giant Eon Trees. On top of each tree were several different environments so each fighter could work with their strengths.
Sayomi tugged on her collar with distaste. I have to wear this the whole time? That's annoying. She scanned the rest of the demons with her. I just need to get their five-digit codes to unlock their collars. Hopefully they'll be willing to give them up.
When the match started, chaos ensued. Demons attacked each other without mercy, demanding each other's codes. Those who refused were killed and those who fought back gave their all to win.
Sayomi waited in the shadows and watched the carnage unfold before her. If I can wait out most of it, then I'll only have a handful of opponents to worry about at the most. No need to waste too much energy in the prelims. Besides, the last one standing is the winner, not the one who gets the most codes.
She watched as the fighters eliminated one after another until it was down to just a handful of competitors. As they fought, Sayomi waited for her chance to strike.
When the last three fighters were in the middle of a standoff, she smirked and silently stalked towards them.
"You can give me your code or die!"
"I'm not giving up that easily, pup."
"What did you call me?!"
"As if any of us would give up our codes so easily. Not this close to the finish."
"I'll be the one walking out of this place as the victor. You two are just denying the inevitable."
"That's what you think!"
As the dog demon leapt to attack, Sayomi froze them all in place with their shadows. She smiled as they shifted their glares to her. "Hey guys, how's it going?"
"There was another one?!" The dog demon bared his fangs, but the threat fell short when he couldn't move.
"You don't know how to keep track of a large number of opponents, do you? There are 49 fighters in each Block and, excluding us four, only 45 failed today. So, mind giving me your codes?"
"As if I'd do that! As soon as I'm free, I'll tear you limb from limb!"
Sayomi cocked her head to the side and raised a brow. "Oh? How do you plan to get free? You can't move and I'm the only one who can do anything about it. I can wait all day if I need to. How about you?"
One of the other demons sighed. "So much for finishing this as the winner. My code is 55508."
Sayomi crossed between the fighters to punch in the code. When the collar fell open on the ground, she let the demon walk away free. She turned to the other two. "Who's next?"
"You won't make me talk! I'll break out and make you pay!"
Sayomi sighed and shook her head. She turned to the other demon. "What about you? Feel like giving up that code?"
"As much as I hate to, there will be other tournaments. 76825."
"Thank you." She punched in the code and let him walk free. "Just you and me now, mutt."
The dog demon growled and snarled, "I'm not telling you shit."
She ignored him and started punching numbers into the collar. "We could've done this the easy way, but you chose the hard way. Hope you don't have to use the bathroom anytime soon. It would be a shame if you soiled yourself in front of the whole Demon Plane."
The demon growled again as he struggled to move just the tiniest muscle. His eyes narrowed while Sayomi continued punching in code after code. "You're a coward. You hid in the shadows while us real fighters did the dirty work!"
"It's what I do. If I want to stand a chance in the real matches, I can't waste my energy in the prelims." She punched in another code. "Fight smarter, not harder."
As the demon struggled, Sayomi punched in codes until she got lucky and unlocked it. "08437. Guess I didn't need your help after all." She turned to one of the referees hovering above them on a sky camera. "I'm the last one standing. Mind getting me out of here so I can set the mongrel free?"
"You bitch!"
"What does your mom have to do with this?" Sayomi turned to leave as the demon barked more insults.
Once she was safely off the ground, the dog demon was set loose to rampage over the tree. Sayomi grinned as she watched him get smaller and smaller.
"Advancing to the finals from Block 38… Sayomi!"
When she was brought back to the Hall, she eagerly took her collar off and turned it in. "That thing was so annoying! I wonder how everyone else is doing so far."
She looked up at the jumbo screen to see what Blocks were still fighting. Jin's match was wrapping up, as was Natsume's.
Sayomi bit her lip when she noticed Suzuki was trying to catch his breath. He used his Rainbow Cyclone to knock out seven more opponents, but she could see the attack was wearing him out. When he defeated his last opponent, she let out a sigh of relief and started searching for the next familiar face in the screens.
When she found Enki, Yasuhiro said, "You should calm down a bit. You're acting like a jittery hen and it's only the prelims."
"But I want to see if my friends make it past this point," she said. "If more of us make it to the main fights, there's a higher chance one of them could win the tournament and maybe make some positive changes here."
"Chances of that happening are slim as it is," Hiei said with his arms crossed. "What makes you believe that demons care about making things better?"
"I was practically raised by such a demon, and now he has friends fighting today for his sake, even though he's dead. If any of them win, I know they'll honor his memory by doing what they can to honor his memory." She turned to her mate and brother. "And if one of our friends wins, then I would expect similar values through mutual respect for Yusuke who requested this tournament in the first place."
"You sure are optimistic about it," Yasuhiro said as he scratched his nose.
"You mean naïve," Hiei muttered.
Sayomi narrowed her eyes at them and turned back to the screens. "It's better than thinking someone horrible could end up as the king."
When she spotted Kurama, she grinned. At least I know some of us have good intentions in this tournament. So long as one of them wins, then things might finally start to change for the better around here.
She watched as Kurama used his plants to bind his opponents or knock them unconscious. When he was declared the winner, she started looking across the screens again.
She couldn't find Shu, so she realized she had missed his match. Hopefully he was able to win. So far, it seems like all of the old man's friends are winning in their Blocks.
"As everyone else in Block 74 has withdrawn, Mukuro will advance automatically!"
Right after the announcement, Kokoh took down her last opponent.
The matches were moving along quickly as the power houses wiped out the weaker demons. Before Sayomi knew it, Souketsu and Hokushin claimed victory in their Blocks.
When it was Yusuke's turn, they brought his Block to the big screen. Sayomi smirked as she watched Yusuke stretch with the demons. He's in his natural element.
"Remember, there's no time limit! Elimination will occur when you lose your collar! This round begins… Now!"
The demons narrowed their eyes at the boy. "We'll pile on him first."
"On three…"
Yusuke finished his stretch and smiled. "Boy, do I feel braced! Think I'll warm up a bit."
"One, two…"
Everyone was stunned to silence as Yusuke punched the first demon off the ground. Without stopping, he punched every other demon in his Block and sent them flying through the air and off of the Eon Tree.
As the demons disappeared in the sky from view, Yusuke smirked and slid down in a battle ready crouch. "Ah… Feels good!"
He turned and cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted to the announcer, "Hey up there! What do the rules say when everyone gets knocked outta bounds like that?"
"Um…" The announcer girl blinked. "They're eliminated."
"Advancing from Block 106… Urameshi!!!"
Sayomi blinked and stared at the screen. "Geez, Yusuke. Did you have to make the rest of us look that bad?"
The fights continued until the final match was announced. "Advancing from Block 128… Kujo! That's everyone!"
The crowd cheered as the last of the fighters returned and an announcer smoke from the stage. She waved her arm open and said, "Urameshi, representing our hosts, would like to offer a few words before the next matches begin!"
Yusuke stood next to her and picked up the mic. "Ah… Ahem… I know that those of you who have come this far are willing to do almost anything to advance! But I'd really like us to keep casualties to a minimum! Too much carnage leaves a bad aftertaste!"
Sayomi couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face. He's taking the first step! Whether he wins or not, he's king material in my eyes!
Hiei glanced at her, then focused his attention on Yusuke.
"I think we'd all like a chance to learn from this experience! I don't see myself winning this time, but I'd like another shot in a coupla years!"
"Making excuses already, Yusuke?!" Chu heckled loudly from the crowd.
"The winner, of course, will decide if there ever is another tournament like this! That's his or her privilege! But wouldn't it be cool if a tournament like this could be held every couple of years to decide a leader? Election by combat, y'might say?"
Yasuhiro smirked. "The kid is actually saying some interesting things. This might end up being better than the Dark Tournament."
"Maybe I'm nuts, but I'm pretty sure we'd be happy with whoever wins!" Yusuke pumped his fist in air. "So let's get rolling!"