A/N: Holy cow...I just realized there is this whole triangle thing going on...oops...
O/C9: Though partially under the Jagan's influence, Hiei's heart beat is what caused Misaki to fall asleep. And since she lied to Kurama and he finds Hiei's helped her, Kurama is not a happy camper. Misaki finds that she can walk, her movement restored though her power isn't. The three of them go for their match, and Kurama and Hiei fight a two on two battle. But one of them loses and so Misaki is forced to win if they want to continue (which they do because I say so) Misaki's opponent turns out to be Amureo who has returned by taking over another's body—much like Yoko and Suiichi's situation, except Amureo emerges from the body at will. He kills off the body now that he's found what he wanted. He somehow has telepathic powers and Misaki breaks down her barriers to scream back at him as he continues to cajole her wordlessly. And that was a very large mistake...
--
His mind had been tearing at hers before the barriers broke but with her numbness she put upon herself, she hadn't noticed. And now he latched onto her mind like no one ever had before, aggressively rending through her as she reeled from the impact. She didn't even have a chance to block his attack.
"You...claim not this...power..." Misaki managed through the turmoil shrieking in her brain. "How come you...to it?"
Echoing to her from the inner chaos—Misaki wished her head would split to release the pressure—came Amureo's mocking voice.
"The Shadow Rider/The Hellfire/In whom we pledge/Our burning pyre/Our deep desires/In the darkness dread."
Misaki vaguely recognized the verse somewhere beyond the mayhem.
"Haha these are interesting." Amureo was digging through her memories.
Misaki protested, trying vainly to shove him away from the unwanted remembrances but she was weak and he had already been given an all too firm grip on her.
So slowly it seemed, a memory began drowning her. The exaggerated images, as if in slow-motion; her brother, burning to death, the fire singing and scoring and tearing and melting hot, every flame elongated, every pain amplified, his screams echoing voicelessly, endlessly, across her mind's plane and then in place of the screams, laughter and fire-eyes but the laughter became Amureo's.
He intended to break her.
"Stop!" Misaki cried but she went unnoticed.
More memories, along with unspeakable loss. Friends, loved-ones, all dying in Misaki's arms, killed by things worse even than Amureo. All of the emotions hidden and all of the scars cracked open, searing through Misaki as they surfaced as one.
Outside of the mind's circumstances, Misaki's body fell to its knees, disembodied as a separate thing from the inward pain. But it was the worst kind of pain, the pain that never subsides no matter what healing is allowed.
She almost broke free for an instant, but more nightmares pulled her down.
"This is interesting, don't you think? Educational maybe?" He cooed.
It was her fault. All of the deaths were her fault. She had killed them all. If not for knowing her, if they hadn't met her, never gotten remotely close to her they would still live. And some of them, to her utter shame, had died willingly for her. And what had she ever done to deserve such a horrible burden? Honor? No it was no honor for someone to die in her places.
Those flames, those flickering, maddening, roaring, cursing flames consuming the flesh of her brother..
"They were meant for you."
"...me...?" A defeated, a broken voice somehow answered.
"Yes those flames were meant for you."
Her deepest darkest fears were at the mercy of this blue-skinned fiend and he used them unscrupulously.
"You were the cause of every single thing that has died in your arms; you killed them. They died for you and you did not deserve it."
"...no..."
"Oh yes, my sweet. You are responsible for their lives, and yet you tossed them aside without a second glance."
That wasn't true. She ached for them. They might have died in vain for her but she did not toss them aside.
Something deeper inside Misaki stirred; a power which slumbered, given to Misaki long ago by two of those she had held in her arms, two who had sacrificed themselves in order to bestow on her power; power to subdue the enemy they had faced together. Had they been cast aside? No. They had not.
Misaki's head snapped up. Her hands which had been cradling her head, dropped as she stood.
"Wha..." "What?" Amureo's hold loosened.
A last memory, that exact memory of the two she thought of, flittered across her mind, and then Amureo was ripped out of Misaki's head. It was his turn to reel back.
She walked across the water to the center island, her feet inches from the ground. Her eyes were blood-shot but they twirled madly in three different hues as a slow glow began to pulsate around Misaki.
"How...how could you...?" Amureo back away from her, shaken up.
"Amureo." Three voices emitted from her throat, "Pond scum." They were quiet voices, but powerful voices.
Amureo grimaced, recognizing one of them as hers.
"Water filth. Germ-ridden man-killer." They continued insulting as Misaki came closer. "Aqua sludge. You are unfit to look at." She held an arm in front of her, reached up, and grabbed his neck in her hand; he was rooted to the ground in fear.
She began to squeeze and he clutched wildly at her wrist, his eyes mad with that same fear, trying to tear away from her.
Misaki didn't notice at first, but the sleeve of the arm that held him started unraveling around her arm. When it reached her shoulder it stopped, the strips circling her arm which pulsated slowly with the glow.
Amureo struggled to reach the water, knowing he could escape with his life if he did, but his throat was held in Misaki's iron tight grip.
When the molecules of her arm began to come apart, Misaki noticed. They were small, but held just a little bit of importance in the grip Misaki had. No arm, no grip. The power that surged through the limb to keep her hold was too much for her body, too much for the arm which wasn't capable of holding that much spirit energy. And so the molecules separated, returning to a form that could hold such power.
Misaki enclosed her fingers around Amureo's muscular neck, feeling those same muscles crunching along with part of the vertebrae. Amureo's eyes bulged, his face purple from the lack of oxygen. More of Misaki's arm came apart, steadily floating away, and without them...well she would have no arm.
"Um...Bracket One, I've already called your match in favor of Team Koenma a couple of minutes ago." The ref appeared to be saying for a third or fourth time, "Please clear the field so that next matches can be prepared for." However he wasn't going to physically intervene...
Misaki's hold on the pond scum in her hand loosened, but more in need of an arm than in compliance for the ref.
Amureo felt his chance and he escaped her, making a beeline for the water while hacking and heaving precious air. He exploded before he even had a chance to make it half-way.
The shriek of death was cut short and Amureo was gone; nothing remained.
Misaki felt a dark presence shadow over her and she didn't need to look around to know that Carlisle was watching from the crowd. It hadn't been at her command that Amureo exploded.
Her wrath subsided and with it her power. Misaki silently pulled her molecules back to her arm, hoping no one had noticed the fading and disassembling occurrence, as she torn the bit of fabric that held the ruined sleeve to the shoulder, leaving her arm bare. But she quickly wrapped the arm, though it was a sloppy job, so that the molecules couldn't have free run all over the place. She'd never get them back if they did.
Try as she might she couldn't get them to rejoin her body and so she was forced to concentrate on not letting them fly away.
Misaki's eyes had faded back to white again, but some of the former green was beginning to speckle in. She pulled the wrap around her face and the hood over her head, folding in her hair beneath it and shadowing her features once more.
Misaki leapt over the islands back to where she stood before, feet lightly touching the jouncing slabs before taking off again. She impassively walked between the waiting youkai—ignoring them—who silently followed her as she headed out of the arena.
--
She managed to skirt away from the both of them and went back to the apartment, practically running down the hall to get to the room. Any second her molecules felt as though they would up and float away and it was a strain to hold them close. She ripped off the cloth covering her face and the hood, dashing for the cabinets while clutching her arm close to her. If she didn't think about Amureo, if she kept her mind on the task, she would be fine. Her mind threatened to cave inward and she focused harder.
It took her several tries but eventually the cabinets got her drift and when she opened them a roll of cloth-bandages appeared. She snatched it, scowling with relief.
"Why is it always an arm?" She asked out loud, sitting down on the couch and beginning to wrap the bandages in between each finger. She thought of several other people she knew whose arms were in disarray.
It was a messy job when she was finished as she was in a hurry, but it covered from the tips of her fingers to just a little below her shoulder, providing enough maneuverability for the moment.
Realizing that she didn't need the 'masked fighter' outfit as long as her hair remained white, Misaki stripped it off, having worn a regular outfit beneath it. She folded it as best she could and shoved it under the couch, grabbing for the face covering she tore off earlier and placing it on top of the pile.
She luckily had a tank top on underneath the disguise so when she had time later it would be no trouble to redo the ugly arm wrapping job. She checked her other arm, flexing the muscles and moving her fingers around. Everything was in place with that arm, thankfully.
As Misaki headed back out the door, the notes Genkai placed on the counter the night before caught her eye. She picked up the top one. Genkai had read it wrong, her and the boy's match was second!
Misaki ran over and ripped open Kuwabara and Yusuke's room. It was strangely empty. Messy...but empty. Misaki wondered where they could have gone to. She hoped Genkai had caught the mistake in time as she raced back down the hall.
--
Relief washed over Misaki when she saw that they had made it in time and she wondered at the confusion. Finding a decent seat, she put all thought into watching them.
"Who did that?" Soren asked, indicating Misaki's wrapped up arm as he and Ike sat on either side of Misaki.
She barely glanced at them, thankful that they didn't comment at yet another hair color change. "I did."
"Well it won't do you any good in battle." With gentle hands, afraid there was some horrible injury beneath, Soren took the right arm which he had sat next to on purpose, and began unwinding the bandages.
At this point, the matches hadn't been told to start yet as one of the other team's members hadn't showed up and Misaki had to keep her molecules together once he started unwrapping her arm so Misaki just watched him.
"There's nothing wrong with it!" Soren exclaimed as he finished.
Ike leaned over her to look.
If they had taken time to inspect it closer, they might have noticed that not all of her arm was there, but only Misaki could see the tiny dots that made up the rest of it as they struggled to release themselves from her constant pulling to keep them close.
"If you're going to criticize me..." Misaki said threateningly, grabbing for the bandages with her other hand. But he kept them out of her reach.
"No, no, I'll wrap it back up. Silly woman."
Misaki sat sullenly between the two youkai who towered over her as Soren expertly rewrapped her arm up.
She scrutinized his work, moving her arm into different positions and wiggling her fingers which he had deftly enveloped with the bandages and found to her delight that it felt comfortable and didn't constrain her at all.
"Thanks!" Misaki said, meaning it.
"No problem." He replied, smiling down at her before reclining back in his seat.
--
"This is a team fight, don't forget." Genkai spoke up.
Kuwabara stood behind her his arms crossed in a fairly good attempt at looking cool.
Yusuke popped his neck and stretched his upper body in preparation.
Genkai had seen what time the notes said but merely spoke wrong. So when she went to escort the guys to the arena, she found them dead asleep. It was nothing the old psychic couldn't handle though.
"Bracket Four, three vs. three, begin!"
"Stick close for now." Genkai ordered as she nimbly leapt for the center island.
"Girls?! I can't fight girls!!" Kuwabara shouted as he landed.
"Looks like you're gonna have to." Yusuke noted from close behind.
Across the bobbing island, three women stood confidently. They looked similar to each other—Misaki cringed at the blue skin—with the color of their shoulder-length, curly hair, being only thing different: sea, navy, and violet. Which just happened to be their names as well.
Sea stood in the middle, twirling a bit of hair around one finger.
--
Ike laughed, "That poor team, they're going to get ripped apart!"
"This definitely won't end well." Soren observed.
Misaki waited for more of an explanation.
"They're Sirens. Or perhaps siren youkai. That other team is lucky they have a female if I'm correct."
"Which you usually are." Misaki surmised, a wry grin on her face.
"Well yes," He said modestly.
Misaki hoped the others had a plan.
--
"Anybody got a plan?" Yusuke asked, staying on his toes.
"Don't get killed." Genkai contributed.
"Thanks grandma, that's real encouraging."
"I'm not fighting." Kuwabara sat down defiantly.
"That's your stupid plan?!" Yusuke yelled.
"Then die!" Sea hissed as she ran towards them.
Kuwabara was sitting in a sagely position with his eyes closed and a frown on his face.
"Kuwabara you numbskull, look out!"
"Just because your plan is not to fight, that doesn't mean you should give them a free chance to touch you." Genkai added.
"Oh! Right!" Kuwabara stood up and side-stepped the oncoming Sea who was flanked by Navy and Violet.
The three of them stumbled past to a stop just shy of the water and whipped around to find Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara grouped together a short distance away. Their eyes glowed the same color as their hair and the triplets stepped backwards off the island, diving neatly into the water.
Instantly a song filled the coliseum but the Siren's skills were so refined that they were able to aim the full effect onto their opponents.
"Cover your ears, fools!" Genkai shouted.
Kwuabara and Yusuke's reactions were too late. They stood dumbly, slack-jawed with the light of will gone from their eyes. They began walking for the edge of the water.
Genkai knew she wouldn't be able to stop them. And while three on three were good odds, five on one were not. Her mind raced. She was unwilling to release a powerful attack; though the waters protecting the Sirens would have cancelled such a blasted anyway.
"All of this for some lousy game." Genkai flexed her fingers, suddenly wondering what waited at the end.
She and Toguro had entered this tournament in her earlier years with Toguro's older brother as their third. But they lost. Genkai took the idea of such a tournament and thus came the Dark Tournament, though entry was a bit easier.
The idea of returning to the Tournament of Threes tempted Genkai out of retirement in the hopes that she might find what the result would be for the winners. The rumors increased throughout the years, making the prize seem even larger for those who claimed victory. The possibilities were electrifying. Genkai held her own reserves about how true those rumors were, but her interest and curiosity could be satisfied with her current dimwit teammates...maybe...
--
Misaki grew steadily more nervous as Kuwabara and Yusuke plodded forward. It irked her that the Sirens were so confident of their win that the guys were forced to walk.
Neither Soren or Ike had said anything in a while. Just at the outreaching edge of her mind, which she still fought against, she caught fleeting images of what the Siren's song was making them think. As if any male needed any help in that department.
Not wanted to knock them out, Misaki slapped the both of them as opposed to punching their lights out. The glazed look plastered on their faces faded.
"What was that for?" Ike rubbed his cheek.
"She has to stop them before they reach the water." Soren was instantly back into reality and absorbed by the unfolding events.
In all of Misaki's years, she hadn't been privileged to deal with Sirens—thankfully for them—so as a result she didn't know much about them, not having cared enough to learn anything.
"Why?"
Soren didn't even glance away from the field as Kuwabara and Yusuke continued onward, "Those two will become the Siren's permanent slaves until they release them. Sirens merge with the water when they take on their true form and the water in turn amplifies their powers."
"So what do they really look like?" Misaki frowned, leaning forward.
She caught a glance of them and decided she didn't really want to know. They were ugly to say the least. "Why is it that all youkai have to change into another form? And always an ugly one at that." "Except for Kurama of course...I don't think he could be ugly even if he tried."
Misaki held her breath as she helplessly saw Kuwabara and Yusuke step off into the water. She thought of those they were leaving behind.
--
-lotsm