I'm really hesitant to post this chapter. I think I'm just being really self conscious about anything I write because it's finals week and blah, blah, blah. Oh, and thank you everyone who has followed and faved since the last chapter! Faved? Favored? Favorited? Something to that affect. Effect? Dang, my brain is fried right now. Anyway, onward!
He watched the corner of the large screen where it showed a woman bound, large low-class demons fighting around her. She had been caught a mere twenty minutes into the match and if she didn't move in the next two she would be disqualified.
Most of Hiei's group had pulled from the tournament when he received the lot for Group 2, and only a measly fifteen had to courage to die on the battlefield. He had finished them off easily.
"Do you think she's going to fight?" Kurama asked the question casually enough, but the fire demon knew it was a shroud. The fox wanted him to know that he noticed how hard Hiei stared at the small box on the screen and how his foot rapped sharply against the linoleum, growing more irate for every minute she just sat there. He knew that if he tried to pretend he wasn't watching Suteki sit helplessly, Kurama would know it was a lie.
"No. She's just as weak as before. She probably likes becoming some scum's bounty." Hiei scoffed, but didn't turn away. He watched as blood trickled from the cuts on her collarbone and forehead. "Once a slave, always a slave."
"We can't interfere, once her captor finishes off the competition he can do whatever he wishes. The most the committee would do is turn off the camera and disqualify him." Kurama's emerald eyes reflected a hit of concern. He watched as Hiei's teeth ground together. No one else would have noticed the angry display in the stoic fire demon, but Kurama knew him too well.
They watched as Suteki's captor finished off the last remaining demon in their group before turning to her. The vile green-skinned creature pulled her hair so he could see her face and drug his tongue up her throat. Her eyes were closed, and while she looked disgusted, she didn't struggle. Kurama saw Hiei's eyes take a deadly sheen, and he leaned in as if he were about to break the monitor.
Suteki's eyes peeked open and with the speed of a viper her leg struck out at the ankles of her molester. The sound switched from another match to hers and the box that showed her grew larger.
"An amazing development from Group 37! It seems Suteki has finally retaliated, and is therefore not disqualified! Only seconds away from elimination she has struck Muchi[1]! Oh and from the sound of that glorious blood-curdling scream, bones have been broken!" Koto's voice boomed over the loud speakers.
Suteki did not try and stand, but watched with a disgusted stare as the demon struggled to his feet, only to scream and crumple back down.
"Seeing as Muchi is unable to continue, your winner from Group 37 is Suteki!" The screen froze as she gazed up at the woman riding the flying camera, and her name blinked above her tanned and bloodied face.
"Looks like you were wrong." Kurama smiled before walking to the area where the winners were delivered.
Hiei waited until her image disappeared to follow him, eyes wandering unabashedly down her neck where the saliva of another man shone.
I jumped from the bulbous flying camera as soon as it brushed near the platform. I learned that I did not like flying.
"Suteki, you did phenomenally." Kurama met me and guided me to a bench away from the growing crowd. Hiei leaned on the wall beside where I sat and pulled a cloth from his pocket, handing it to be without taking his eyes from the screen that still showed several matches.
"Thank you." I wiped my forehead first, wincing as the fabric came away stained. My cuts were already healing because I had gathered energy before leaving the arena, but blood still smeared everywhere. I scrubbed my neck last, trying desperately to rid myself of the feeling of his slimy tongue on my skin. That alone had made me want to summon roots from the bowls of Hell and watch as they dragged him down, but I remembered what Genkai told me.
She said that in the preliminaries I should hold back, pretend to be weak, and act like I had gotten lucky when I survived. The first round was when I could let loose and take them by surprise. The second round would be a true test of my abilities. If I even made it that far.
"So how do you feel? You really did do great." Kurama sat me and took Hiei's cloth from my grip. I had been scrubbing so hard the skin was starting to rub raw.
"Stop praising her. She kicked out like a startled rabbit. That requires no skill." Hiei's words struck me in just the wrong way. I stood and growled, inches from his face.
"If you want to see skill I can show you skill. Right here, right now." What was his problem? He was flipping from almost caring to maliciously insulting me. He needed to either pick one to stick with, or stop both.
"Hn, you're not worth my time." His eyes shot down to the side of my neck before turning around and walking off.
Snarling, I punched the wall where he was, leaving a Hiei-head sized crater. I almost turned my anger on Kurama when I heard his laughing.
"What?!" I spat, absolutely furious.
"Nothing, nothing. Just thought of a funny joke." He held up his hands defensively and tried to stop his chuckling.
I seethed for a few more minutes before returning to my spot on the bench and calming.
"Are they starting round one today?" I glanced over to Kurama as he watched the screens with mild interest.
"No, tomorrow. We are being placed in out brackets tonight, though."
Nodding, I wondered if we had time to eat first. Just as my stomach growled, Yusuke walked up with three skewers of beef.
"Hey! There you two are! I've been looking everywhere. Where's Hiei?" He held out the bamboo sticks and I snatched one from his hand, my irritation returning.
"He was scared to fight a weak little girl so he ran with his tail tucked." I violently whipped my hand in the direction he went off to and started eating.
"Suteki, don't be like that…" Kurama scolded me gently before thanking Yusuke for the food. I bit my tongue and submissively bowed my head, apologizing for my words.
"I thought you'd be used to Hiei's bad attitude by now. You know he's a big softie deep down. Just don't tell him I said that." Yusuke laughed and nudged my shoulder. "So I saw you guy's matches. Kurama, you kicked ass!"
"Thank you, Yusuke. I try." Kurama chuckled a bit then continued eating.
"Teki, Granny tell you to take it easy in the prelims?" He turned to me and I was almost surprised, but I remembered that he had been Genkai's student long before I had.
"Yes, I should have done more though." I curled a lip when I remembered the green man's touch.
"Nah, you did great. I never had the patience to hold back. Next round is going to be a breeze. No one expects the Mary-Sue to come at them swinging." He punched the air a few times and laughed.
"Thanks." I smiled up at him and laughed as he head-butted his imaginary opponent.
We continued watching the fights, Yusuke providing entertaining commentary the whole time. Soon, everyone had finished. Only one-hundred twenty eight were left, and I was one of them. Standing, I followed Kurama and Yusuke to the stage were Koto stood.
"Congratulations to all the winners moving on to the main tournament! Tomorrow morning we will move on with round one! The numbers that each of you received during sign-up will be the order which you are matched! The matches will be divided into four blocks, two brackets. These brackets can be seen behind me. Events resume at eight in the morning! This is Koto saying goodnight and see you tomorrow!"
I searched hard for my name. I was in Block D, going against a demon called Kashu[2]. If I passed him I would face either Namae[3] or Jin. I didn't recognize the names so I smiled.
"Oh sweet! You could fight Jin!" Yusuke thumped my back and I stumbled forward. "He's nuts, it's going to be fun!" My face fell immediately. Anyone that Yusuke would consider fun to fight could crush me like a bug.
"Oh…" I took one last glance at the screen before following them back to our room. At least if he was a friend of Yusuke, he wouldn't kill me. All I had to do was get past this Kashu person. We had almost made it to the lobby when a loud voice with a strange accent stopped us.
"Yusuke, you dingbat! There you are!" He was a large man with a blue mohawk that fell into braids down his back. "I found him, guys!"
"This is your chance to meet Jin." Kurama's hand rested on the small of my back, leading me towards the man and the people around him. The touch made me flinch, but I remembered it was just Kurama, and relaxed.
"'Bout time we found ya'!" A red-headed demon spoke this time. He had a sharp horn peaking above sky blue eyes, and a fang on display in his smile. He was handsome, muscles rippling openly since the only thing that he wore above his waist were two crossing strips of white fabric. His accent was just as strange as the big man's.
"Chu! Jin! Ha, ha it's great to see you guys!" Yusuke enthusiastically punched their shoulders and turned to the others behind them. "And Toya, Shishi, Suzuki, and Rinku! What's up?"
"Oh, you know, waitin' around." The shorter boy in the back rested his hands behind his head.
"That reminds me, this is Suteki!" Yusuke grabbed me by the shoulders and held me out in front of him. I forced a smile, nervously scratching at the caked blood on my top. They seemed to be waiting for Yusuke to introduce them, but when I glanced over my shoulder he was just grinning like an idiot. Was he expecting me to automatically know what name went to the correct face?
"Suteki this is Chu," Kurama pointed to the tall buff man that had the smell of alcohol all around him, "Rinku," the short boy with stars under his eye, "Toya," a cold looking man with blue and green hair, "Shishiwakamaru," a man with sharp purple eyes dressed in a white kimono, "Suzuki," a tall blond haired man that seemed meticulously groomed, "and Jin." So the red-head was Jin. Kurama nudged me forward away from my safety net and towards the strangers. I swallowed and pushed my gaze to the ground, hoping to seem weak.
"Such a beauty! Sheila, how'd ya' get ta be with such a boring group? You an' me could run off ta 'ave some real adventures." Chu tickled my chin and brought his face close to mine. I blushed and took a step back.
"Ah, a shy one!" He slurred, leaning back with a messy laugh.
"Leave her be, ya' drunk. Sorry 'bout him, he's quite a good guy, just loud." Jin smiled a kind smile.
"It's okay." I could still feel heat on my cheeks. Yusuke and Kurama were talking to the others, so it was just us. I cleared my throat and met his deep blue eyes. "I might end up against you in the tournament."
"A pretty little thing like you in this tournament? Oh! I saw your preliminaries match! Quite a bit of sass you've got in those long legs, I'd say." I saw his eyes travel south and shifted uncomfortably. His gaze wasn't dominating like I was used to, but soft and flirty.
"I did horribly." I meant to sound weak again, but he threw me off with his smile so it came out rushed and stiff.
"Nah, ya' was faking. I can feel ya' from here, your energy that is. Let's have some fun during our fight, shall we?" He stepped forward and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Do ya' like flying?" A breeze brushed against my bare feet, nudging me to my tiptoes. I bit my lip and remembered the flight from my preliminary arena. The blush on my cheeks intensified.
"I'm more of a ground person." Again my words were rushed. He was so close that I caught his scent, a clean cool smell, like the breeze after an afternoon shower. It made me feel lightheaded. I snapped out of it when I heard him laugh.
"Ah, you're funny, I'll tell you that! If ya' flew with me you'd like it, I bet. I could take ya' for a spin right now if ya' like?" He grabbed my hand without waiting for my answer and I was off the ground. It was only about a foot, but it still startled me. I gave a short gasp, shut my eyes tight, and grabbed ahold of him. I felt him laugh again and wrap his arms around my waist. After a few seconds of hovering, being sure we weren't going any higher, I opened my eyes. "Not that bad now is it?"
A wave of nausea crashed over me when I wiggled my toes and felt nothing, so I situated myself where I was standing on his feet. "No, I suppose it's not…" I was awkward being held by a man I didn't know, but it was hard to push away such an obviously kind person. His eyes held mine and he had a toothy grin plastered across his face.
"Looks like you two are getting along." I heard Kurama's voice behind me as our feet hit the ground. I heard a warning in his voice and stepped away quickly. What was I thinking? Jin was my competition.
"Sorry." I mumbled.
"Nothin' ta be sorry for, I say. Let's just have us some fun if we fight, 'kay?" Another toothy grin and they were gone.
I heard Yusuke whistle and I snapped my head around to glare at him. He laughed and held up his hands in defense. We headed inside and up the elevator.
"So, you going to be able to fight someone who has such a hard crush on you?" Yusuke wiggled his eyebrows.
"What's a crush?" I crossed my arms and tapped my foot, already irritated with the conversation.
"It's a human term. He's implying that Jin thinks you are attractive." Kurama watched as red tinted my cheeks.
"Kurama you make everything sound so stiff!" Yusuke groaned.
"He doesn't." I mumbled as glanced at the scars that ran up my arms. No one could find this attractive. My father crept into my mind, 'You will never become lovely.' Maybe he had been making sure of that when he carved into my arms. I shook the words of a dead man from my thoughts and stepped from the cramped box.
"I've known Jin for a long time now and he has never acted like that! Chu hitting on you was gonna happen, he's just like that." Yusuke paused his mortifying speech to open the door. "But Jin! He was all over you!" He finished with a boisterous laugh.
I grimaced as I saw the rest of the girls look up from their conversation with wide eyes. Botan rushed over to me and grabbed my hands.
"You and Jin!? Oh, he's such a nice guy!" Her eyes shone excitedly. It was hard to meet them, but when I felt crimson orbs burning a hole into the side of my face, I forced myself. Anything to irritate my tormentor.
"He is nice." I smiled, almost adding handsome but deeming it too much.
"We just have to talk about this!" She dragged me to the couch, sitting too close for my comfort. I forced myself to relax though. "So do you think he's cute?"
"He's very powerful." I avoided the question as much as I could. "I might have to fight him though."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll just let you win if he likes you that much!" Keiko's comment struck me the wrong way and I became angry.
"Koenma, didn't you say that they had baths outside?" I stood, walking towards the door.
"Yes, they're to the left of the building."
"Thank you, I'll be there if anyone needs me." I walked out, opting for the stairs instead of the elevator. When I arrived, the baths were empty. I quickly stripped washed myself at the stools next to the large steaming pool. When I finished I slid into the hot water, feeling my tense muscles unknot.
I shouldn't be mad at Keiko, she had no idea how hard I trained. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that everyone in that room expected that I needed to be coddled. Did they not think that I learned anything from Genkai's training?
"You forgot a change of clothes." I heard Yukina's soft voice behind me. She sat a yukata and a towel down next to the large pool of water. "Do you mind if I join? Everyone is trying to use the bathroom at the same time in the room."
"Sure." I averted my eyes as she undressed and washed herself before sliding in across from me.
"Do you actually like Jin?" I pursed my lips and contemplated the question. There was no reason to lie to Yukina.
"He's a very attractive male. I've never had someone so…" I stopped, unable to think of the words to describe the way Jin treated me in our brief meeting. I could say forward, but was Hiei not forward when he pinned me to a wall or counter?
"I think you have more suitors than you think." She had a sly smile playing on her lips when I gave her a confused look. "Hiei seemed extremely irritated at the mentioning of Jin courting you."
I scoffed and looked away again. "Hiei thinks I am weak. He would never stoop so low as to want me."
"You are not weak, Suteki. I watched you train with Genkai for the past year. Your power has blossomed in ways you don't even realize. I think that Hiei's going to realize that soon." She stood and dried herself off. "I'm going back up to the room. Remember that Hiei can't be as open with what he feels as others can. He's afraid that he would be stooping to be with you."
I bit my lip, knowing she was right. Then I stopped.
"Wait, how did you…"
"Suteki, you asked about him at least once a month. Twice as often as anyone else. Kurama also mentioned how close the two of you were earlier today." She smiled and pulled on her clean clothes.
"He has Mukuro. Besides, he's always treating me like a child. Jin seems kind, maybe I should just see what he's like." I looked up to her kind face, hoping she would just tell me what to do.
"No one knows what's best for you better than yourself." She waved at me and headed into the building. I watched her until she disappeared completely.
Turning back to the empty pool, I slapped the surface angrily. I couldn't feel anything for someone who treated me so poorly, I was past that. Wasn't I? I growled and shook the self-doubt away, plunging under the hot water and staying there until my lungs burned.
[1] Means Whip
[2] Means Singer
[3] Means Name (really terrible, I know, but cut me a little slack...)
Also, I'm extremely sorry for the way I made Jin and Chu talk... I type in two dialects/accents: Proper English(hopefully), and Southern. I feel like I made them both more Southern than Irish or Australian. Yeah...