A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been really busy with school, finals, one acts, the musical (too many cast members!), dinner theatre...I've had like no time for anything. I'd nearly forgotten about this story, so I had to go back and reread it. -sheepish grin- Sorry again, everyone.
OK, so now that I've made my apology, we can move on with the story. I think I lost a character somewhere. If you sent one in and you don't see it on the team stats, let me know because I'm almost positive I lost one. And that would be bad.
Moving on.
I do not own YYH. -sigh-
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"Ow..." Mar-lo whined, jumping as Kay adjusted the ice pack on his head. She shook her head at him, making tsk tsk sounds. She got up off the bed and moved to the other side of the room where Alia and Ryu lay on the couch dozing off before the next match.
Kay tutted. "I told you not to piss off Shira, but do you listen to me? Nooo, Mar-lo never listens to Kay. You just kept badgering her until she caught you. Now what do you have to say for yourself"
"Ow..." he repeated. He made a face at Kay, but quickly changed his expression as Shizuru invited herself in. "Hello Shizuru-san," he greeted, smiling. She nodded at him and sat on the couch beside Ryu, who slumped over on the floor. Kay twitched as Ryu let out a loud snore.
"Thought I'd drop by to go see the fight with you guys," stated the ever calm Shizuru. Kay nodded and elbowed Mar-lo when she noticed the slight drip of drool threatening to slide from the corner of his mouth. Shizuru didn't seem to notice. "Kurama tells me the competition's getting a lot tougher. He told me to tell Mar-lo not to slack off any more and get his butt in gear."
"I'm sure it was in those exact words, too." Kay said dryly. Mar-lo didn't seem to care that the object of his adoration had just insulted him. Either that or he hadn't realized it yet. "So, Shizuru-san," she continued on a brighter note, "who'd getting their ass kicked today"
Shizuru brushed a lock of hair behind her ear before answering her. "I heard it was TianLung Feng against Fugishima. This should be interesting. The two Trusea's against a Fugishima. I'd like to see that one"
Kay arched an eyebrow. "Why? Is there bad blood or something between them?"
"It's probably nothing," she replied, "but I heard that the two Akira's got into a spat a couple years back, and rumor had it that the fight ended with the death of one of the Fugishima's."
Ryu suddenly sat up and screamed, "CHIQUITA!" Which brought the three in the room who were already awake to stare at her. Ryu gave them a blank look in return. "What?" she asked. Kay shook her head, muttering a "nothing" under her breath.
"I'll bet Ryu wants to see today's fights," teased Mar-lo. "Her cousin or whatever is fighting with the TianLung Feng groupies."
Ryu's eyes narrowed. "If you are speaking of Ai, then she is not fighting today. She will not be fighting any time soon, either, if I have any say in that matter. And she is not my cousin. I would prefer if she was not my anything."
"Sisters," Kay whispered to the suddenly curious Shizuru-san. Mar-lo stuck out his lower lip in an attempt to make a sad face. "Oh come on, Ryu, don't you love your big sis anymore? Don't tell me you're afraid to fight your sister, are you?"
Ryu glared from beneath tousled black hair hanging in her eyes. "Silence, wooden boy," she growled, clenching her teeth.
"That's a new one," Mar-lo continued. "I kind of like it. Wooden boy. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Makes me sound like Pinnocchio. Reminds me of some of the nice names Ukiya-san has for you."
Ryu's head snapped up. "Ukiya who?" she shouted, grabbing Mar-lo by his shirt collar. "Where did you hear the name Ukiya! Who told you she was out here?"
Mar-lo pried the small bony fingers of the wraith-girl off his shirt before answering her calmly, "I picked up her name from Z, that kitsune who's afraid of his own shadow. He mentioned Ukiya and, of course, the ever famed Ai."
Ryu tensed. "Ukiya who?" she repeated.
"I don't know," he answered her. "All I know is the name and that she's got more with her."
"More what?" Kay jumped in.
"Z didn't say," Mar-lo yawned. "He just kept saying she had more with her. More of them. Whatever the hell that meant." he barely had a chance to get another word out before Ryu tore out of the room, slamming the door particularly loudly behind her.
"What's her problem?" asked Shizuru, lighting up a cigarette. Kay gave a small half-smile, not sure what kind of answer to give the ningen woman.
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Koto smiled at the audience as the next two fighting teams joined her in the center of the ring. "Team TianLung-Feng versus Team Fugishima! Team captains shake hands!"
Shira elbowed Thomas out of the way as she stuck out her hand for the captain of Team Fugishima to take. The five fighters stared at her before one member slowly held out his hand and took Shira's. He shook her hand with utmost precision, almost as if he were afraid he might break her if he grasped her hand too tightly.
"Captains, please choose your first fighters!" said the ever enthusiastic Koto.
Shira got a glint in her eye as she locked her hand around Thomas's forearm. "You," she smiled maliciously, "do me a favor and check out their team, won't you?"
Thomas tilted his head, saying, "Glad to help you, Shira-san." he stepped closer to Koto as his team filed off the stage. The captain for Fugishima tapped a finger on the shoulder of a Chinese fighter. He grunted something in her ear before herding his teammates offstage.
"And so we begin with our first two fighters, Thomas Maximilllian and LanLan! Begin the fight in three...two...one!" Koto jumped out of the way as the crowd watched in eager silence as the two fighters sized each other up.
Thomas brushed his hair out of his eyes while he and the Chinese fighter still circled. LanLan was built like a kitsune, with a small sleek body and graceful moves in her actions. She eyed Thomas for a minute before unsheathing a sword strapped to her hip. He waited for her to make the first move since he didn't seem to have any weapons on him at the moment.
"Are you two just going to stand and stare, or fight each other!" Koto hissed, a hand over the microphone.
LanLan's eyes shifted towards Koto, who began screaming as plant vines twisted around her ankles. "Stay like just that," LanLan instructed her. "maybe then little fox girl won't get hurt." She turned to Thomas, scraping the edge of her sword against the ground. "You, red hair fighter, do not cross this line. We do battle with minds instead of with weapons. Yes?"
Thomas arched an eyebrow, not seeing how this would work with his human blood. He shrugged and waited for his opponent to speak again. "Good," she smiled. "We start fight now."
A strong wave of nausea came over Thomas as LanLan stood and stared at him with her curious violet eyes. It took all his power to stay standing and fight the urge to barf into the stands. "Not so tough when you are on my turf, singsong man?" she teased. "Stay down!"
A stronger, more powerful wave hit Thomas, successfully knocking him off his feet and landing his face in the ground. LanLan giggled. "I thought you would be good at this," she said, "Akira-kun told me you would be a challenge. I don't see it."
The wave subsided and allowed Thomas to prop himself up on his elbows. Koto was too busy trying to free her ankles to notice that she should have began the count. "Then you have me all wrong, chibi-onna," he said, smiling. "I can be quite the challenge, if only given the opportunity."
"Really?" LanLan asked, twirling a strand of black hair around her finger. "I'd like to see that. Would you give me the honor of seeing this challenge."
"Why of course," he smiled, "anything for a young lady. Come now, we'll have a dance. How does that sound?"
Shock registered on his opponent's face for a split second before she regained her cool. "An excellent proposal," she said, holding out her hand. Thomas took her hand and began waltzing around the ring with her.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that the two contestants are...dancing with each other! This isn't part of the fight! This is sacrilege! There has to be something against this in the rulebook! Someone get me a rulebook!" Koto screeched into the mike. Demons in the stands roared in anger and confusion. "BLOOD!" they shouted. "SPILL HIS BLOOD!"
Up in the stands, Mar-lo watched with a gaping mouth. "Are you kidding me, Thomas you IDIOT! You can't dance at a time like this! Stop hitting on the enemy and get on with it!"
But the two fighters seemed to be enjoying themselves and not paying attention to the screams and insults pelting their ears from the stands.
"What the hell is he doing!" Shira shouted above the crowd. "Don't tell me I've got to go out there and fix this!" Even Ukiya looked mildly surprised.
"What do you think you're doing?" screamed one of the Fugishima fighters. "Fight, you imbecile!"
"Don't listen to the crowd," LanLan whispered, trying to keep the movement of her lips to a minimum. "Keep your eyes on me. I have something to tell you."
"Pertaining to the tournament, or do you have something else in mind?" asked Thomas, keeping his eyes locked on LanLan's.
LanLan swung him around suddenly and Thomas dipped her close to the ground. "Make sure no one can see us talking," she said quickly. Taking a quick look at the audience and the two teams told Thomas that all eyes were trained on them.
"Can't guarantee anything," he said. "Keep dancing," LanLan instructed. "You remember the party from the prelims?" she didn't wait for his answer. "The King was there. Supposedly he spoke with your friend Mar-lo's teammates, Kay and the kitsune onna."
Thomas arched an eyebrow. "What does this have to do with me?"
"Everything," she answered as they danced a circle around the still-struggling Koto. "the King's name is Yusuke. He was Koenma's spirit detective, the only one that lasted longer than Hotaru. Pass that information on."
"To who?" he asked. He twirled LanLan around before bringing her close enough to answer him, "The masked fighter."
"Who is he?" he questioned. "I still don't know who it is."
LanLan smiled and jerked her hand from Thomas's grasp. Her sword lashed out and caught his pant leg, tearing both his pants and the top couple layers of skin off his leg. "I know her name." she taunted. "Her na--"
Thomas was unable to hear the rest of LanLan's words as he was hit by another mental wave of energy sent to sweep his feet out from underneath him. His ears began to ring and black fuzz started to creep towards the center of his vision.
"...eight!" Koto's voice swam somewhere around his head. He knew he should get up before the count ended and Shira decided to murder him, but the same force that had knocked him down kept him down.
"Nine...Te--" the count was cut short as LanLan picked him up off the ground and shook him back and forth.
"Look, see, he's still up." she said to Koto. "The fight does not end just yet."
"But the count was already--"
"I'm not finished yet." LanLan said convincingly, giving Koto an icy stare. The kitsune backed off and returned to trying to pry her feet out of the plant's death grip. "Who's the masked fighter?" Thomas managed to slur out before another wave hit him.
"Stand up and fight if you really want to know," she replied, "or are you too weak? Yes, human boys should not come to play with the demons and spirits. How about you show me that singing voice of yours and I'll let you keep your right arm, sound good?" She twisted his arm until the bone cracked to prove her point.
Stars danced in Thomas's vision now. "Who is the masked fighter?" he repeated, losing all feeling in his twisted arm.
LanLan pursed her lips. "You are no challenge," she said. "You are merely a human boy who has gotten in over his head and loses face in the middle of battle. And I will not tell you what her name is now."
"Then you have lost my interest," he said. "Have a nice day." He grabbed LanLan's arms and pulled her down to the ground as he fell.
"They're both down!" Koto screamed. "The count goes to both Thomas and LanLan in one...two...three...four..."
Shira folded her arms and watched as both fighters had large red 'X's' drawn on their pictures on the screen over the stadium. She waited as two cleanup ogres dragged her team member back to her side of the stands. "Well?" she said, tapping her foot and waiting for a response from Thomas.
The singing teen smiled up at his captain. "I know who it is," he coughed. "She told me."
"Know who what is?" Ukiya asked, resting a pale hand on Shira's shoulder. Shira shrugged.
"That's what I'd like to know. What are you talking about?"
"Team TianLung-Feng, we're waiting! Send in your next fighter!" Koto sounded impatiently from the ring.
Shira glanced up at the next fighter. A small black haired demoness in a purple kimono waited at Koto's elbow. Shira looked to Ukiya for suggestions, but she was already on her way to center-stage.
"Team fighters, shake hands." Koto ordered. "Agreement to a bloody battle to the death!"
Ukiya gave the smaller fighter a tight-lipped smile. "Toki Ukiya, agreement to a bloody battle to the death."
The smaller girl nodded. "Kageryu Jaganshi, agreement to a bloody battle to the death." The two shook hands tensely before waiting for Koto's signal.
"Toki Ukiya of Team TianLung-Feng versus Kageryu Jaganshi of Team Fugishima! Fight till there's no more blood to spill! Begin!"
"I hope you've had a fulfilling life," Kageryu said lightly. "Because it's going to end very soon. KAGE WAKERU!"
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A/N: OK well that was the work of a couple days being sick...sorry I haven't updated in a reeeeeeeeeally long time but I've been busy and I'm very forgetful...plus I kind of lost the document that I always put this on...but anywho, keep sending in characters! The masked fighter should be revealed in the next couple chapters-- so keep reading and try to guess who it is!
Always, -S-chan-
Team Kaleo: full
1. Chi Koen Koe
2. Kurai Momoko
3. Kage Kancho
4. Hotaru Ikuhara
5. Renee Team Hitokiri: full.
1. Ai Satsugikitsune
2. Allie
3. Ender
4. Z Kaitah
5. Ohime Yakusoku
Team Reform: full
1. Kurama
2. Hiei
3. Kuwabara
4. Yukina (SHOCK)
5. Terja
Team Fugishima: full
1. Akira Fugishima
2. LanLan
3. Fyrea
4. Nikoji
5. Kageryu Jaganshi
Team TianLung Feng:
1. Shira Trusea
2. Thomas Maximillian
3. Maridona Nightshade
4. Toki Ukiya
5. Akira Trusea
(sorry there are some punctuation errors because the computer isn't working correctly.)