Chapter Eight: To Another World

Overall Hiei found the whole matter to be extremely irritating. He had only agreed to enter the tournament because he had been promised decent fighters to sharpen his sword on. So far that hadn't happened. Then there was the matter of the so-called gods invading earth. At first Hiei had been intrigued by the chance of challenging a different kind of prey, but those hopes had been beautifully dashed by the girl, Amaya or whatever her name was. What kind of cowardly species hid behind humans? To be fair Hiei had a smidge of respect for mankind. It had, after all, survived this long in spite of itself and Yusuke had been decent enough as humans went (until it was revealed that Yusuke was a youkai after all). Kurama was also an extreme case as cases came. Hiei could never understand his comrade's attraction to the human realm. It was just so boring.

The same could be said about the fight. The yousei-woman he was facing was fairly average as far as fighters went. He was beginning to understand the frustration younger Toguro must have felt once he had run out of worthy opponents.

At the same time, though, something didn't quite smell right.

The answer came when the woman sprang a spider web trap. Such a simple trick couldn't possibly best Hiei in a million years, but the woman had help. Hiei could hear the masked fighter informing her captain as to the nature of the bonds. The woman was the decedent of a minor homemaking deity. As mundane as that may have sound, it was an unwritten rule of the gods to be humbled by the small. "Marvel at ants", so to speak.

The yousei was indeed a marvel to her craft. Another thing Amaya had failed to mention; apparently kami and their kin had always held a "special advantage" over the youkai types. At one time youkai were a threat to humanity. Humanity thus called on their gods. "Please," they pleaded. "Defeat the 'monsters' that plague us." The gods answered.

Unfortunate for the yousei woman, a little extra spice of danger and seemingly unbeatable odds were an acquired taste that Hiei had come to favor.

The tiny youkai flexed his trapped wrist and fingers trying to loosen the seal the bound the hellfire technique hidden there. The woman knew of it, as did everyone else, for hundreds had fallen before Hiei's black dragon technique. The move was very well legendary in its own right (as it very well should be considering all the pain and trauma that came with mastering it).

"You can't defeat me, little man." The yousei woman warned, but there was a hint of reservation in her voice. "Your kind will soon just be minor servants to the gods."

"Servitude is a disgusting word." Hiei grumbled.

"As you like," The woman replied nonchalantly.

The masked fighters eyes narrowed and her nerves began to hum like that of a predator that had picked up the scent of a 'trespasser' in its territory.

"Someone else is here," she said quietly. "A meddler."

"Really?" Yusuke asked. "Well then let's get the bastard."

"It's not that easy, Sempai." She warned. "I'm the only one who can sense the energy. There is nothing to prove that they've broken the any of the rules. It'll be my word against theirs."

"Then, is there something else we can do?" Kuwabara muttered. Despite his own reservations about Hiei, Kuwabara was not about to let his teammate fight an unfair match. There was honor to be maintained.

The masked fighter ignored him. Something was amiss. The air there was...

Oh no, Amaya thought. She wouldn't... But "she" most certainly did anyway.

"…I'm afraid," The masked said as she backed away from the ring and positioned herself so that her sturdier teammates were between her and the line of fire. "That our assistance will no longer be necessary."

Hiei cursed as his arm began to burn with a black fire. The seal was bursting at the seams. Finally the bandages burst and two full black dragons made of hell fire broke free of the little youkai's control. The audience screamed in terror as the black dragons entwined then split to hit their designated targets. The first was the yousei woman, but the second dragon was heading right to the middle of the audience.

"Hiei!" Yusuke shouted at his teammate knowing that it was probably useless. The attack was far beyond the point of anyone's control.

"Shit." The mask fighter grumbled. "This means I've lost the bet."

Regardless of what the consequences of that might be the girl raised her hands at the dragon and halted it in its tracks. She shouted strange words and the dragons returned to their proper place wrapped around Hiei's arm and sealed. The extra "divine" energy that had sparked the rampage flowed into her body and was pacified.

"What just happened?" Yusuke asked after a moment. Hiei stepped out of the ring, walked straight up to the masked fighter and punched her.

"Hiei!" Kuwabara was about to interfere when Kurama stopped him.

"Let them handle it." Kurama didn't mean it as a mere suggestion.

The masked fighter stumbled backwards and Hiei caught her by the front of her robes to hoist her up. "I didn't ask for your help." He growled.

Unperturbed the masked fighter peeled off his fist unafraid in any way of the tiny terror.

"That was an accident." She told him. "I assure you it won't happen again." The masked fighter paused and said only he could hear. "On the bright side, we've discovered the secret ally."

There was someone standing in the scorch mark left by the second dragon. A woman (the same one that had dared to taunt Itsuki) crossed her arms in irritation, but her face remained hidden. She pointed to the ring. Hiei's opponent was safely in the arms of her captain. He too, had managed to ward off the blast, but just barely. Both of their clothes were singed.

Hiei could hear the smirk in the mask fighter's voice as she added, "Enjoy mastering your new talent."

"tch, bitch." Hiei grumbled as he let go, but he decided to let the matter drop. He looked at the terrified announcer who was cowering next to the ring. "Well?"

"Um, T-Team Urameshi gets a point!" The rabbit said with uneasy tears in her eyes. "I think."

"That would have indeed been a killing blow," the other captain confirmed. He also warned, "And that will be your one and only lucky shot."

"Swell." Yusuke muttered.

"Looks like it's Kurama vs. Nenja," The announcer slowly inched away from the ring clearly nervous of what surprises could be waiting. "This is match is sure to be as interesting as the last one, I'm sure…"

A well dressed, top hat wearing yousei stepped into the ring to meet Kurama.

"Let's do try to keep this civilized as possible." Nenja said as he whipped out a black cane as a final touch to his Victorian-styled attire. Clearly the young yousei was eccentric (a trait Kurama began to associate with their kind), but the masked fighter knew Itsuki chose his followers very carefully.

"Agreed," Kurama replied casually. "But that will depend entirely on you."

"And there he goes again with that habit." Hiei grumbled. "For once I wish he'd play this strait."

His other teammates nodded. Kurama's tendency was to figure out an opponent's motives first and then only after a thorough study did he formulate a winning strategy. There was one exception to that, however, and that's when Kurama was in his yoko (spirit fox) form. Yoko had his own agenda altogether. As it stood, however, there was very little chance of that happening. Kurama had already accepted his human self completely and yoko was merely a sleeping shadow from the past.

"I wish I could follow his example." The masked fighter muttered as she flexed her hand.

She hadn't told the others yet, but wound she had received from the dragon girl should take a great deal of time to heal. She was, after all, for the most part still just a normal human, but that was before she decided interfere on Hiei's behalf. The divine energy she took in made her palm itch terribly nearly to the point that she wished she could cut her own hand off.

"I almost wish it wouldn't heal." She whispered, but she knew it was too late. The tengu counter spell had only partially worked. With the divine energy flowing through her, the young woman's biorhythms had begun to change. Luckily for her the changes would subtle, nearly undetectable, but it would still be best overall if she could finish this mission as quickly possible. The masked fighter sighed, "I wouldn't want to inadvertently give Itsuki an ally."

As for the match the masked fighter had been so distracted by her inner thoughts she nearly forgot about it completely. She knew Kurama was incredibly skilled and clever and doubted he would want any help from her. Yusuke on the other hand wasn't done drawing out information from his newbie teammate.

"So what's the deal with this yousei business," Yusuke asked.

"Those children have been poisoned, but not in the usual sense." The masked fighter explained as best she could. "Imagine if you could turn your enemies into allies. They're 'gods' themselves, so they should show contempt for Itsuki like I do."

She lowered her voice and added. "But they are also human. Itsuki is using that against them."

She paused. Amaya didn't want to say it, but there was a very slight quirk in her human personality that gave her immunity to Itsuki's influence. It was an odd, unholy quirk that couldn't be so easily admitted and it was very powerful.

"Poisoning your enemy and adulterating their views… that is a terrifying power." The lady fighter shivered at the thought.

If she awakened herself, Amaya didn't know how she would change or who she would become. Certainly the prospect of having divine powers, knowing pleasures beyond the human senses, and other "perks" was tempting.

But Amaya did not want to awaken. Power always came with a price. Amaya knew what that price. She would rather endure her "mortal sufferings" a little longer.

"You might want to cover your ears," the masked fighter warned her team.

"What? Agh!" Yusuke wasn't quick enough to take her warning as a series of strange and obnoxious sounds filled the air.

The sounds affected not just his ears. He could taste the sounds and smell them. The putrid combination made him feel sick to his stomach and his head ached. Everyone else also seemed to be effected by the strange spell. The referee was on her knees with her hands over her overly large ears. The microphone in her hand amplified the sounds to the ears of the poor. Team Urameshi's smartest fighter looked pale enough to be mistaken for a ghost. All the blood had drained from his face, but that did nothing to soothe his aching skull.

"What's going on?" Kuwabara demanded. Out of the Team Urameshi he appeared to be the least effected by the strange serenade. The masked fighter pointed to the stage without speaking. Nenja was just standing there speaking. It was impossible to tell if the yousei was singing or just talking. Either way, the sounds he was emitting were like nothing they had ever heard and it was literately driving them mad.

"It's an old trick." The masked fighter muttered slightly disappointed. "But it only works if your intended victim hasn't heard the spells before." To the others she explained. "I read about this in a magazine once! When confronted with a sound series we're unfamiliar with, be it a language or music, the brain releases chemicals that make one feel anxious." She pointed to her skull. "Nenjai is merely amplifying that natural principle. He probably plans on turning this place in to turn into a psycho ward!"

"Eh? Can't we do something?" Yusuke shouted over the song. "This isn't just killing my ears!"

"Not gonna happen." The masked fighter replied bluntly.

"What the hell?" Yusuke wanted to grab the girl by the shoulders and shake her if doing so wouldn't deprive him of his precious ear shields.

"The thing with Hiei was an accident!" The masked fighter shouted in reply so they could hear her, but it was no use. The song was too distracting. "I wish it was the song that was affecting me," Amaya whimpered. The last part was but a whisper as she said, "Macha…"

He hasn't figured it out yet, thankfully. And since it was I who borrowed your powers the bet still stands, but you are still far too obvious with your weaknesses.

"Weren't you the one who said, 'weakness is the source of true strength'?" The masked fighter asked as her vision began to blur. She dropped to her knees to keep herself from falling clean over. "M-mother…?"

Kurama felt like his skull was being crushed, but what truly irked him was that the effects of Nenja's ability weren't limited to just the ring. Kurama himself knew that all he had to do was wait for the song's effects to wear off, but he wasn't sure how long the weaker members of the audience could hold out. Too long would definitely cause permanent mental damage. His friends were also being affected thus fueling his anger. Being the one directly in the line of fire, it was only natural that he would the one most affected by the melody. Fortunately, Kurama already had devised a plan.

It was common knowledge, at least for the fox, that certain species of moths are able to evade bats (which use echo location to hunt prey) by making their own series of clicks to confuse the bat. All Kurama had to was identify what sound would block the effect of his opponent's song. Kurama sincerely hoped that he would think of something in time. Once the song was eliminated the yousei himself should be easy prey.

For reasons unknown to himself Kurama's nearly blinded gaze found its way towards the masked fighter. In her daze she had removed the garments covering her mouth so that she could breathe easier. Oddly enough, it didn't seem like the girl was being bothered by the song in the way the others were. Her hands weren't over her ears nor did it seem that she was in any physical discomfort. Instead the girl was wiping the emotional moisture out of her eyes and Kurama barely read on the girl's lips a single word, "mother".

Ah, Kurama exhaled in relief. Of course.

"Kurama, you're my hero." Yusuke patted his friend on the back. "You had me a little worried there, but you managed to figure something out before my brain became a slush. Thanks."

"Any time, Yusuke." Kurama nodded and patted the masked fighter on the head in thanks for her support. Her utterance had provided the clue that allowed him an easy victory. The first sound that any infant learns is the soft mmm's of its mother. The perfectly neutral sound that Nenja was no match for. Unfortunately, the rest of the stadium had their ears covered so they hadn't heard Kurama's rendition of a lullaby.

"I guess that means it's my turn." Kuwabara said triumphantly as if he had already won.

Itsuki's backed up into a corner now.

"Wait," The masked fighter held back the only human on their team. "They won't fight you."

"Huh?"

"Because doing so would make us even lower than youkai," the other team's captain agreed. "We can rule over humans, protect them, teach them, and nurture them, but we will not fight them." He lowered his gaze to look at Kuwabara carefully and then glanced at Yusuke. "A true human is a rare treasure these days."

"Oh, so he's and endangered species," Hiei quipped.

"Shut it, Hiei," Kuwabara snapped.

"I think we've taken this farce as far as it will go," the other captain declared. "It's time to choose a side little girl."

"You know where I stand." Amaya told him.

"Then it will give me great pleasure to have you witness your friend's demise in hell," he replied and raised his hands.

"Don't you dare, Itsuki!" Amaya shouted, but it was too late. Reality itself curved around them as Itsuki opened the way to Reikai, his "home turf" so to speak. It was there that they would finish the battle. The tournament crowd roared in confusion and Araku rushed to their aid, but there was little they could do. They did not know how to counter the child of a god.

As they were being pulled away from reality Amaya looked down and saw the king of Makai. He looked back helplessly, but the grand illusion dissipated and the fake audience slowly disappeared. Reikai's ambassador felt an immense wave of relief rush over her. Araku had taken her advice and evacuated the audience during the intermission. There was no sense in innocent bystanders being caught up in a "gods" fight.

Amaya reached out to the king and called, "King Araku! I leave the rest to you."