A/N: My apologies for making everybody wait… again…
Since Magus Black was the one who messaged me and reminded me to get my ass in gear, this chapter is dedicated to him-- thanks for reminding me!
--
Venice's ivory face replaced Koto's furry one on the surface screen, microphone in hand. "The underground fightsss will commence in five minutesss," she announced, the camera flashing to reveal Hotaru standing opposite Yukina.
Yusuke's eyes flickered from the suffocating crowd of demons in the stands to the big screen. He had been standing in the crowd for some time now, hiding in plain sight. Now he brought his attention to the close-up shot of Yukina's picture beside Hotaru's.
Yukina looked calm, like she wasn't aware she was about to rush into the fight of her life. She seemed different: older, maybe. Her minty hair had been pushed out of her face into a ponytail, making her crimson eyes stand out. She was dressed in white sweatpants and a mint green tank top, abandoning her usual green kimono for better fighting attire.
Yusuke's eyes shifted to Hotaru, and her eyes locked with his. So the demoness had been tracking his moves, he mused. He gave her a mock smile, and her face flared with anger.
"I gather she's still pissy with you," Hiei said, suddenly beside the King. Yusuke glanced over to his former friend, unsure of what he wanted now.
"Most likely." he replied, trying to gage Hiei's reactions.
Hiei's eyes rolled up to look at Yusuke, his body motionless. "You know that if Yukina is in any danger whatsoever that I will interfere," he said suddenly. "and I will end your little game of cat and mouse. I know why we're here, Yusuke. I'm not stupid. And I will not fall prey to your idiotic charade of being 'king of the demons.'" he spat out the title.
Yusuke's eyebrow twitched slightly, enough for the fire apparition to notice. Hiei turned, facing Yusuke, irritating him. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Yukina insisting that we come to save your ass. In my opinion, king, you're not worth the effort." he said coldly before vanishing, moving nearer to his sister's fight.
Yusuke looked on, surveying the scene before him. "Come to save me, have you?" he smiled to himself, chuckling. He couldn't wait for Hiei to find out that he didn't have a clue. Come to save the king of demons. What a joke.
"Fightersss, pleassse ssstep forward!" Venice said loudly, catching Yukina and Hotaru's attention. They moved forward, advancing into the center of the ring. "Ladiesss and gentlemen, the next fight isss about to begin! Hotaru of Team Kaleo versssusss Yukina of Team Reform!" She glanced at the two fighters, "Begin!"
Hotaru crossed her arms, relaxing her body. "I don't really want to fight you, Yukina." she smiled. "You're far too frail an opponent for me to break so easily. I'd feel bad."
"Bitch!" Mar-lo muttered from the stands, listening to their conversation broadcasted throughout the entire stadium.
Yukina's face remained still. The air began to get chilly, a sharp gust of wind suddenly blowing through the stadium. The ice demoness felt her fingers and face tingling from the cold, sharp little needles that jabbed her all at once. She smiled back at Hotaru, whose cheeks and nose had began to flush red in the sudden cold.
"That's all right, Hotaru," she said gently. "I know that you don't want to have your ass handed to you right in front of your lover." she jerked her thumb towards Yusuke.
The cameras swiveled to zoom in on the king, who looked surprised that he was suddenly on screen across both stadiums. Venice looked like she had stumbled onto a pot of gold. "I can't believe it! Hotaru-chan hasss been fucking the king of demonsss! No wonder ssshe'sss gotten ssso far in the tournament!"
Hotaru's eyes got wide, embarrassment and anger flushing her face a nice shade of pink. She clenched her fists, her glare shifting from Yusuke's face on the huge screen to Yukina, who smirked at her success in drawing out Hotaru's anger.
Hotaru sprung into action. Her boots clicked loudly as she stormed over by Yukina, energy bursting from every part of her body. It radiated with heat, crackling in the air, singeing Yukina's hair. She had successfully pissed off an S class demon, whose eyes raged with murder as she stalked towards Yukina with the full intent to kill.
"Oh, shit!" Kage bit her lip as she watched the underground fight on screen. "That was a low blow…totally below the belt…" Kurai nodded in agreement.
Yukina saw her coming, but didn't have enough time to react before Hotaru grabbed her by her hair and threw her to the ground, ripping a nice handful of hair out in the process.
"What a bitchy move! It looksss like thisss is more of a cat fight than a tournament match!"
As Yukina's hips slammed hard into the arena, Hotaru kicked her full force in the temple, steel toe boot connecting hard with Yukina's porcelain skin. A huge gust of wind blew Hotaru back, knocking her off balance. She fumbled for a minute, but regained her balance and came back after Yukina, her temper raging. Yukina vanished, reappearing at the opposite side of the arena to regain her composure. She stood with one hand raised elegantly pointed in Hotaru's direction, ice crystals forming mid-air. They pointed towards Hotaru, dagger sharp, and hurtled towards her in a gust of snowy wind. Completely unfazed, Hotaru stood perfectly still as her aura burst into white hot flames, scorching the ground and melting the jagged ice crystals before they came within feet of their target.
"Hotaru hasn't even broken a sweat yet!" Kuwabara exclaimed, standing close to Hiei.
"Don't worry, dimwit," Hiei said, his voice low. "Yukina hasn't given up yet."
"Hotaru isss melting all of Yukina'sss ice movesss before they even get close! If Yukina doesssn't get her head in the game sssoon, it looksss like Hotaru will be the winner!"
Yukina closed her eyes. Hotaru took the advantage of this temporary opening to run forward, flames engulfing her fists. She barreled straight for the ice apparition, the ground smoking as she moved lightning fast across the platform. Yukina's face remained serene, the blood that had been oozing slowly from her temple from Hotaru's swift kick to the face disappearing as the wound healed itself.
Everyone in the stands watched intently, all eyes trained on what would happen in the next few seconds. Each member of Team Reform had their eyes glued to the screen as they sweated out the wait.
A moment passed, and the entire stadium was silent. There was an enormous clap of thunder, and white energy crackled from the platform. The entire stage exploded within seconds of the bang, a huge mushroom cloud climbing towards the ceiling. The shockwave that resounded blew audience members all the way to the back wall, slamming them hard against the concrete.
Yusuke was forced a couple steps back, then began using a sliver of his demonic energy to keep him in place. He squinted, watching as the smoke began to rise from the platform. The silver screen had gone blurry, the explosion taking out the cameras.
Suddenly Koto came onscreen. "Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the technical difficulties," she said frantically, safe inside of a box office somewhere on the surface. She cleared her throat. "It appears that the energy from the attacks of Hotaru and Yukina were too much for the system to handle, and the video feed was temporarily disabled. Oh shit! What is that?"
"What is she talking about?" Mar-lo stood up, spilling a large drink all over the demon sitting in front of him. "Hey! What the hell's going on?"
Everyone on the surface stared at Koto's face on the screen as she watched some secret footage being streamed through the box office. She looked dumbfounded, and fumbled with the buttons in front of her so that the live feed she was watching was suddenly transferred to the big screen. The video switched over, and Venice appeared.
"Koto, thisss isssn't like anything we've ever ssseen before! You've gotta sssee thisss ssshit!" Venice turned the lens away from herself and toward the stage, the image jostling as she tried to balance the handheld camera.
"I ssstole a digital camera off of sssome demon," she explained into the microphone. "Ssso until the sssmoke clearsss, thisss isss going to have to do." The image traveled up the steps as Venice climbed the stairs again, approaching the stage.
"Look at thisss ssshit." she said, crouching down low on the platform. Smoke was still clearing, and neither fighter was visible. Three huge ice pillars towered all the way to the ceiling, even more ice sloping down the walls and patches across the floor. The ice towers glittered in the dim lighting, stretching halfway across the platform. The floor was completely shredded, torn up as easily as tissue paper. Shards of ice lay across the broken floor, weapons busted and shattered by Hotaru and Yukina. Scorch marks blackened the floor, giant black streaks from the explosion.
"Where are the fighters?" the surface crowd started crying out. "Who won?"
--
In the underground stadium, Hiei was scanning the crowd for any sign of his sister. Demon bodies lay scattered all over the ground, a good portion of the crowd baked alive in the heat of the fiery explosion.
Yusuke approached him from behind, placing his hand on Hiei's shoulder. "I don't think she made it, Hiei." he said, his face serious. "I don't think either of them did."
Hiei violently ripped Yusuke's hand off his shoulder, pivoting to face the King of demons. His eyes lit with fire, he snarled in Yusuke's direction, "Don't speak to me, you filthy bastard. If I don't find Yukina alive in this stadium, don't count on living to see the light of day again."
Yusuke put his hands in his pockets and smiled. "I guess you'll just have to go find out, then." But Hiei was already gone before he even finished his sentence.
He reappeared on the stage, furious with Yusuke for causing a possibility of danger to his sister. He was even more angry with himself for letting her enter in the tournament.
"Yukina!" he shouted. His words hung in the still air, empty.
Maybe she really didn't make it.
His jagan glowed in rage. Hatred rampaged through him. If Yukina was dead, then Yusuke would be too.