"Kurama..." Cora tugged at Kurama's sleeve motioning towards the ring. A demon from the Rokoyukai team had stepped up into the ring, a smug smirk tugging at his thin lips. His skin was light blue in color, and if that wasn't enough to give evidence to his demonic nature, then the sickening shade of yellow that composed his eyes was a dead give away. His hair was odd, not straight nor curly, though it didn't seem to have any kind of wave to it either. It just simply stood at attention atop his head, its blue only a few shades darker then his skin. He was dressed casually in black fighting pants, black boots and an army green trench coat. He had on no shirt beneath his coat, though he did have the two center buttons of his coat closed. "Can I take him?"
Kurama chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Please; let me handle this one." Cora scoffed, pushing his hand away with an annoyed huff.
"I can take him..." Hiei grunted, pulling her back by her shoulder.
"Down girl," Hiei grumbled out. Cora glared at him over her shoulder as Kurama made his way into the ring. "As dismal as your skills may be, the worst thing we could do is send our healer in to fight; you're no use to us dead."
Cora pulled her shoulder away from him. "I'm not some dog!" she seethed out. Hiei smirked at her before turning back to the ring to watch the match. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her back to him. A quick glance over her shoulder allowed her to see that the girls where till standing at the railing. Botan waved at her briefly, a gesture that she returned with a small smile.
"You should pay attention to the matches," Hiei said, his face and tone having gone serious as the match was announced. "You might actually learn something about fighting." Cora stuck her tongue out at him much to his annoyance; one of these day's he was going to extract that offending muscle with his bare hands...
"I already know how to fight Hiei; you just refuse to let me prove it." Hiei didn't grace her with a response, his hands resting neatly in his pockets as he observed Kurama's staring contest.
Cora sighed, her eyes straying to Kurama; he stood like a pillar of strength, shoulders squared and head held high, his hands hanging lose at his sides. Cora couldn't see his face, but she knew that it was set with rock hard determination; he was intent on winning this match for their team.
"Kurama," Hiei said, catching Cora, Kuwabara and Kurama's attention. The Masked fighter seemed to either not realize that Hiei had spoken or had chosen to ignore all of them, even as a smug smirk tugged at Hiei's lips, a dangerous and mischievous light entering his eyes for nothing more then a split second. "Considering the stakes we cant afford to take any risks."
Cora nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips as she turned back to the ring. "So try not to leave him alive, ok? One less scum bag polluting our streets at night." Cora said with a small wink. Kurama smirked at the two of them while Kuwabara gave them both a side long, worried glance.
"Naturally." Kurama said with confidence before turning back to his opponent.
"... be careful Kurama..." Yusuke mumbled, making Cora look down at him with mild suspicion. For someone who has been unconscious sense arriving at this god forsaken island, Yusuke sure was in tune with what was going on around him. But what could he possibly be sensing, in his sleep mind you, that would make him worry over Kurama? Kurama had nothing to worry about from this weakling, right?
Kuwabara's grunt of pain brought Cora from her thoughts and back into the here and now. With a quick glance at the ring (Kurama and Roto where still just staring each other down) she turned to Kuwabara. The big boy was sitting on the ground clutching at his right shoulder and rotating it slowly as if trying to put it back into place.
"Wow, that kid really did a number on you." Cora said tauntingly as she walked over, kneeling beside him and behind the masked fighter in order to access his arm. He ground his teeth together and brandished his fist, though she knew he didn't have it in him to hit her; it wen't against his manly code.
"You little- He took me by surprise, ok?!" Cora rolled her eyes as she pushed her fingers tenderly into the tissue. "But it kind of feels like my arm's trying to fall off..." Yep. Dislocated shoulder.
"Yeah yeah, just shut up so I can fix this." She snipped at him. Kuwabara grumbled but relaxed as she gathered her translucent energy into her finger tips. It enveloped his shoulder, working its way into the tissue and forcing away the inflammation, allowing the bone to slip back into place. She pulled her left hand away, concentrating on her right palm as she reabsorbed the energy into her body. A dull throb of pain echoed through her right shoulder making her grimace slightly as her energy settled back into her.
"Wow!" Kuwabara said, rotating his arm to test out his freshly healed shoulder. " I cant feel a thing! That's some fancy light work you did there Cora! I feel like I could take on their whole team!"
Cora straightened herself back up, being careful with her right arm as the pain level steadily grew. She'd have to find some poor sucker to take this pain off her hands later. "Just because I healed you doesn't mean you have to start spewing nonsense." Cora said with annoyance.
"Yes, we will deal with the rest of their team. You relax." Hiei chimed in, though Cora wasn't sure if his words where that of compassion or just Hiei poking fun at Kuwabara for his humiliating loss to a child. She guessed it was the later, as Hiei wasn't exactly world renowned for his compassion.
"HEY!" Kuwabara shouted in an offended tone. "I'm not out of this yet! If Yusuke doesn't wake up, I'll take the last guy-gah!"
Cora smacked the back of his head, a small tick of irritation developing in her right brow. "What did I say about spouting nonsense? If Yusuke doesn't wake up in time, then I will take the last man; that's what the ALTERNATE is for!" She hissed out.
Kuwabara rubbed the back of his head as he brought himself back to his feet. "Yeah, cause your in better shape then I am, huh?"
Cora quirked a brow at him. "You truly are brain dead aren't you? Who was the one belly aching just a few seconds ago about their arm falling off?" Kuwabara placed his hands on his hips and leaned down and into her face making her lean back in annoyance.
"Hah! Why didn't you smack me with your right hand?!" He asked as if it was the revelation of the century. Cora felt her cheeks go red, her embarrassment immeasurable; how had Kuwabara, the dimmest of the dim, manage to catch the smallest detail in her movement? Was he secretly watching her... growling irritably, Cora kicked him in the shin, making the much larger teen yelp in shock before taking a knee to nurse his injured leg.
"What did I say about nonsense?! It doesn't matter what you say, if need be I'll be taking Yusuke's place!" Cora said, hoping to sweep the whole thing under the rug. She went to move around Kuwabara only to stop dead in her tracks as Hiei pinned her with a piercing glare, his eyes shifting from her face to her right shoulder and then back again before narrowing suspiciously.
"We'll pray that doesn't happen." Cora grimaced, only mustering up enough courage to nod her head in agreement... damn Neanderthal... why does his loud mouth have to be the one that's observant... an awkward silence fell over the group at that time, with both Kuwabara and Cora nursing their pride between their two stoic team mates.
"Alright guys, I'm here!" Cora could have kissed Botan at that very moment, her peppy arrival breathing new life into the suddenly stagnant air. Said grim reaper practically bounce over to their side, her ever vibrant smile plastered onto her face. "Now lets whip this team into shape!"
"Y-yes! I agree with Botan-" Cora said, only to deflate in her sudden excitement. Placing her finger against her chin in thought, Cora frownd. "Though I don't know what the hell she's talking about..."
"How'd you get here?" Kuwabara asked curiously as he eyed the wall. Was there a hidden stair way? Or was Botan hiding a ladder in her Kimono... the last thought made his cheeks turn a little pink.
"Leave, before you hurt yourself." Hiei said with a dead panned expression, before promptly turning back towards the ring.
Botan turned irritated eyes onto him in an instant. "Well that's a jolly thing to say to someone who's going to help you win!" Botan snapped at him, her displeasure falling onto mostly deaf ears. "I don't see you getting so offended that Cora is down here!" That caught Hiei's attention again, much to his chagrin.
"She's the healer. She's supposed to be here." Hiei said with a small grimace that made Cora smirk...yes, let the hate flow through you... she thought, cackling evilly much to Hiei's annoyance.
Kuwabara once again shot her a concerned look; what kind of people did Yusuke get him mixed up with?! Then, as if suddenly stuck by lightning, Kuwabara turned to Botan with horror filled eyes."Gah! Don't tell me your names in for the right to fight in place of Urameshi too!" He said, his face contorted into an ugly expression of bewilderment.
Botan waved her hand dismissively. "No silly!" She said before grabbing the shoulder of her Kimono and tearing it form her body. Kuwabara yelped and covered his eyes, a girlish scream escaping his throat.
"BOTAN! YOU CANT JUST STRIP IN PUBLIC!" Kuwabara shouted making Cora and Botan laugh. Hiei rolled his eyes at the simple minded dolt, and decided to tune out their ridiculous banter. It looked as though things were starting to heat up in the ring and the match had yet to be announced.
"Kuwabara, you're a pervert." Cora said as he uncovered his eyes, sighing in relief as he saw that Botan was indeed still clothed.
Laughing giddily, Botan pulled a silver whistle from within the confines of her pants pockets. "In addition to Detectives assistant and Pilot of the River Styx, I am also a licensed trainer!"
Cora clapped her hands with mild sarcasm. "A jack of all trades Botan; I'm a little jealous."
Botan, having not caught on to Cora's sarcasm, beamed. "From what I hear your on your way to being very useful yourself Cora!" Cora's left brow twitched...the hell does she mean by THAT... "I'll be looking after you all, and helping Cora to keep you in Tip Top shape for fighting!" Botan said excitedly. Cora shook her head, but smiled anyways; it would be good to have Botan around for the more serious injuries.
"Really? That's great!" Kuwabara said before pushing Cora towards Botan by her left shoulder, much to the short demon's annoyance. "Then maybe you should help with this-?"
Botan had already stormed over to Yusuke, slapping him across the face furiously. "SPIRIT WORLD TO YUSUKE! COME ON!" She shouted.
Cora scratched at her cheek in confusion before turning on Kuwabara. "Will you stop it already?! I told you, I'm fine-!" She sucked in a sharp breath as he poked her right shoulder, causing pain to erupt from it like a volcano. Thank god Hiei was preoccupied with the match and Botan had decided to drag Yusuke away from the ring, or else her cover would have been blown out of the water. "Y-you-you-"
"See? Your a really bad lire." Kuwabara said, crossing his arms over his chest. Cora went to retort, but the sound of Koto, the foxy announcer for the Dark Tournament, brought Cora's attention back to the ring. She walked past Kuwabara, stomping on his foot as she went, before settling right next to Hiei who gave her a side long glance and a quirked brow.
"He said something stupid." Cora said in answer to his unasked question. Hiei grunted as if to say "shocking" and turned his full attention back to the ring. Kurama and his opponent, Roto, where still staring each other down. What was taking the committee so long?
"You know, that rose whip he's got must be ten feet long," Kuwabara said as he came to stand between Cora and the masked fighter. He looked down and over her head at Hiei, his face contorted in thought. "Wheres he stash it? All the places I can think of sound kind of painful..." Cora snorted in amusement; she could only think of the vial things that passed through Kuwabara's mind. It only added to her merriment to know that Hiei had probably made the mistake of peeking into Kuwabara's head at least once, meaning he had been exposed to the stupidity that resided there. Hiei barely grunted in acknowledgment, and with the Masked Fighter having contributed nothing to their conversation thus far, that left Cora to answer the teen boys question.
"Kurama simply carries a normal rose. By manipulating it with his spirit energy its transformed into a whip." Cora said, a small smirk tugging at her lips as wave after wave of astonishment washed off of Kuwabara.
"Even weeds can turn into a deadly weapon for Kurama." Hiei said, his tone bland but his face showing mild admiration. Kuwabara looked as if he was about to ask another question, but he was interrupted by Koto.
"Second fight, Roto Vs. Kurama; BEGIN!"
Cora didn't know weather she wanted to get violently ill or jump in and interfere with the carnage she was witnessing. Probably a combination of the two. Would it take away from her awesomeness if she blew chunks while also punching some low life's face in? "Kurama what are you doing?!" She hissed under her breath as Kurama took yet another hit to the face with out so much as a twitch to protect himself. Cora didn't understand; the match had started out with hushed words being spoken between the two fighters. She hadn't been able to pick up on what was being said, but what ever it was Kurama didn't let it faze him.
Roto then sprouted a large blade on the back of his right hand and began hacking away mercilessly at Kurama, but Kurama was way to fast for the slow moving Roto. The match should have ended then; Kurama was ready to give a fatal blow, had asked for Roto's last words. And then, as if someone had flipped a switch, Kurama stopped. Roto had mumbled something over his shoulder that caught Kurama off guard and left him open for an attack, which left a thin cut along his left cheek.
Cora had never seen Kurama look as angry as he did at that moment. What had Roto said to him? Roto continued to spout nonsense that was impossible for Cora to hear and understand; curse her inferior hearing! And Kurama just stood there, listening to him. He dropped his guard, placing his hands at his side and glared hatefully at his opponent.
And that's when all hell broke lose. Roto rushed at Kurama, slamming his disgustingly small fists into Kurama's face over and over again. And while this made sense, as it was a fight, it was clearly obvious that something was terribly wrong; Kurama was making no move to block or dodge the attacks. He just stood there, taking each hit with a stumble and a grimace.
Unable to come up with any logical conclusion on her own (had Kurama been taken over by aliens?!), she turned to the one person she knew was able to hear what was going on. "Hiei, what is he doing? Why isn't he fighting back?" Cora asked, her eyes wide in angry panic as Kurama was beaten bloody. Hiei narrowed his eyes at Kurama's opponent, the frown on his lips growing tighter.
"Mother." Hiei hissed the answer to her, being mindful of the others that stood around them. Cora felt her blood run cold; Shiori? This- filth had Kurama's mother?! Cora raked her eyes around the stadium, looking for a familiar head of brown hair.
"Here? Now?" Cora asked worriedly. "There has to be something we can do? We cant let that slime-!" Hiei placed the back of his hand over her mouth, stopping her ramblings, though his eyes never left the fight.
"Look at Roto's left hand." Cora looked where Hiei told her to and gasped; clutched in Roto's left hand was what looked to be some kind of detonator; had he planted a bomb in the house? Before Cora could work herself into a bigger panic, Kurama attacked, flicking a small rock at Roto's face and taking everyone by surprise.
"WHATS WRONG KURAMA?! LET HIM HAVE IT!" Kuwabara shouted, his own irritation and worry clear on his face.
"Quiet." Hiei snapped at him, his hand falling back to his side.
Cora's hands were clenched into tight fists, her shoulders shaking with barley with held furry; she hadn't felt this helpless in a long time. Was this shit even legal?! If not for the sake of her teams need to advance to the finals, Cora would have already jumped into the ring, and she's sure that Hiei felt the same. Even among demons, such dirty tricks were frowned upon; were this a normal encounter, Roto would already be a dead demon.
Kurama, who was now standing with his arms locked behind his back, glared hatefully at Roto as the blue skinned demon continued to monologue. "Kurama remains absolutely motionless! What is the cause?! HAS HE LOST HIS WILL TO FIGHT?!" Koto shouted, putting another layer of anxiety onto the shoulders of the team. In response to her announcement, Roto kicks Kurama in the gut, causing him to fall back a few steps.
"-you refuse to fight for the sake of a human tramp!" Roto dealt Kurama another blow to the face, striking him again and again.
"It's brutal, its violent, IT'S WONDERFUL!" Koto announced making Cora's shoulders stiffen. "Roto is punching him like a side of meat and there's NO retaliation!"
"I'm gonna kill that announcer!" Cora spat out. She wanted nothing more then to wring the little fox girls neck! Well, nothing more other then to skin Roto alive and make him eat his own flesh... she'd even toss in a side salad of his own genitals and toes.
"..." Hiei and the others said nothing to protest her threat; they too wanted to tear Koto a new one.
Roto stopped suddenly, a light sweat dribbling down from his forehead as he panted for breath. Such a weakling! He was getting tired fighting an opponent who wasn't even moving or fighting back! It made them all want to gag. Roto manifested his blade once again, making another diagonal line going up and over the first cut making a large "X" on Kurama's cheek. He seemed to grow angry as he looked upon Kurama, and slashed at him again, making the second cut even deeper then the first.
"Lick the scum off my boot-"
Cora grit her teeth. "That slimy, arrogant son of a bit-"
"I will not." Cora gasped as Roto's face contorted in rage. What was Kurama doing? Did he discover a loop hole? Kurama began to dust off his white fighting cloths, his every movement one of nonchalance and even a bit of arrogance. "Go on. Press it."
Roto started to laugh hysterically, pointing an incriminating finger at Kurama. "You're nothing special! Nothing with class! Just a selfish demon like all the rest of us! Look at me like I'm dirt, but in the end its a lie! YOU THINK OF ONLY YOURSELF-"
"PUSH IT!" Kurama demanded. Roto cackled evilly, his left arm raising above his head and his thumb poised over the button. But then, as if struck by lightning, Roto stopped moving and a look of panic overtook him.
"What just happened..." Cora said, the breath she had been holding escaping her lungs in a rush. Kurama walked over to Roto, knocking the detonator from the blue skinned demons hand. He caught it mid fall, tucking it safely into his pants pocket as he stared Roto down with burning emerald eyes. Moments later, Kurama began to walk away, with Roto shouting after him still stuck to the spot.
"WAIT KURAMA! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS! I NEVER ACTUALLY WOULD HAVE PUSHED THE BUTTON! I SWEAR IT!" Roto's voice was grow desperate as Kurama payed him little mind. "I'm just a low class! I d-don't know any better!" Kurama stopped at the edge of the ring, turning to glare hatefully at Roto's terrified form. "Come on! Y-you believe in mercy, don't you?!"
"...No." A spike in Kurama energy and it was over. Hundreds of dark green vines erupted from Roto's flesh, flinging blood and soft tissue around the ring. They wriggled violently, growing fat and winding their way around his throat, arms, legs fingers and even into his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Large purple and pink flowers began to bloom at their ends, making Roto's dead body look more like a flower bed then a corpse.
Cora couldn't help the satisfied smirk that splayed openly across her face; while she didn't believe that a disgusting creature like Roto could make such a beautiful flower arrangement, she felt he had gotten all the he deserved.
Kurama hopped from the ring and was instantly enveloped in a tight hug from Cora which he returned with one of his own. "Thank god your alright! I was so worried, I thought I was going to get sick all over Hiei's boots!" Kurama continued to hug her with his right arm, ruffling her bangs with his left, a calm smile on his face.
"I would have killed you." Hiei said as Kurama approached them, Cora still sitting in the crook of Kurama's right arm.
"Lier," Cora snipped back making Hiei's eyes narrow in irritation. "But seriously, you got pretty beat up Kurama. You know if you keep letting people hit your face like that, you're popularity will plummet at school."
"Perhaps I ended it to soon then." Kurama said with a weak smile.
"What a fool." Hiei said as Kurama came a stop before them. Cora released her hold on Kurama though she didn't stray far from his side so she could heal him right away. "So intent on proving himself he couldn't notice your moves."
Cora reached into Kurama pocket and retrieved the detonator, rotating it in the palm of her hand. "What about-"
"Don't worry about his demon friend; he vanished the moment Roto died." Hiei said, taking the detonator from her hands gently and letting it fall to the floor where he crushed it under his foot. Cora let out a sigh of relief; Shiori was safe.
"...what a relief..." Yusuke mumbled making everyone turn in his direction. He was propped up against the surrounding wall, still fast asleep.
"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Cora said. Kurama chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"OK! Enough of this secret glancing stuff! Tell us what just happened!" Kuwabara demanded, his hands falling onto his hips.
"Yes, do tell!" Botan said eagerly. Cora went to answer them, but two different hands being placed on her back made her stop short.
"It's past." Hiei said as he steered Cora away by the arm, making her face the ring once again. Kurama agreed with them and also turned, placing his hands back into his pockets. Cora could here Kuwabara complaining and let out a little snicker.
But her mirth was short lived as her amethyst eyes locked with a pair of blazing blue. Zeru stood across the ring from them, his arms crossed over his large chest and a sinister smile spread across his face. His gaze was intense, causing goose bumps to rise across her skin. At least she thought it was the look he gave her; it might have also been the dark red energy that seemed to be flickering around him like a flame. Either way, she suddenly felt very gross; she would need to take yet another shower after this round.
A harsh growl from her right broke her from his intimidating gaze and forced her to look over to Hiei who was staring with open hatred at the other team, or rather, Zeru. Cora reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. The action was enough to break Hiei from his glaring contest and making his eyes snap to her. The two shared a look for a moment before they both turned back to the ring, neither one willing to take their eye off the other team for more than a second.
"... I don't like him guys." She mumbled under her breath, keeping her uncertainty away from Kuwabara, Botan and the masked fighter. Kurama looked at his two shorter companions before following their gaze to the other side of the ring where he spotted Zeru. Anger filled Kurama's heart when he realized exactly who their opponents eyes were trained on; he would enjoy watching the arrogant fire demon being torn apart...my only regret is that I wont be the one to do it... "The way he looks at us... it makes my skin crawl. Like he's trying to devour us... it's a little scary."
Hiei's eyes hardened, a small frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. "He's the one who should be afraid. By the time I'm done with him, he'll be lucky to be more than a pile of ashes." He growled. From across the ring Zeru smirked at them, his aura pulsing once again. It was time to get on with the next match.
