I had a lot of fun writing this chapter :3 just to let you guys know Inugami is not my character, I had permission to borrow him and this story is not the last you'll see him in, also Vanity who I really like as well. I hope you guys like this chapter!
Chu laid in a bed with various persons in the other beds. Naota went to get Shuichi and, with a few help from other demons, they were able to get everyone into the infirmary. Naota sat by Chu's side looking at the rest of the demons that came with him. She recognized Touya and Shishi who went missing during the last months of her training, trying to find the missing demons. One had bushy red hair with a horn on his forehead, another with spiky brown hair and a couple of stars underneath his eye. The woman she previously saw being carried by Chu and a blond haired guy.
"Shuichi, is this everyone that has been missing?" Naota asked. He had been looking them over one by one, trying to see their condition.
"Everyone that we know, there are still several more demons that have been missing. Unfortunately everyone is very weak and won't wake up for a while. We can only wait until they wake before we know what happened to them. In the meantime, why don't you go to the screens outside to watch Yusuke's fight? I'll stay here and monitor their health." Shuichi said.
"That won't be necessary Kurama." Hiei said, suddenly appearing in the room.
"What do you mean Hiei?" Shuichi asked.
"I'll look through their memories with my Jagan eye. Whatever happened, it probably has to do with those revolutionaries. The more information we have, the greater chance we have on taking these guys down." Hiei explained.
"Well Hiei, you are never one to give a helping hand, why now?" Shuichi asked.
"These revolutionaries have been bothering Mukuro and have attempted to take her life. I won't lie Kurama, I want these demons dead. I'm just disappointed that not all of them will taste my blade." Hiei said. Naota sweat dropped.
'How is Shuichi friends with this guy?' Naota thought. Hiei approached Chu's bedside.
"Get out of the way detective." Hiei said. Naota got up, going over to Shuichi while Hiei took off his headband and revealed his Jagan eye.
"Shuichi, I'm gonna go and watch Yusuke's fight. Tell me what happened to Chu and the others once Hiei is done." Naota said and walked out. Shuichi looked at the closed door for a second before looking towards Hiei. To his surprise, Hiei was staring at him.
"If you keep looking at her with those eyes of regret then I suggest taking back your answer." Hiei said.
"Not you too Hiei." Shuichi sighed and face palmed.
"Yusuke told me what happened. I told myself I wouldn't get involved but the looks you give to her is making me sick." Hiei said. "You're like a beaten dog who isn't willing to get up."
"I have made my decision Hiei. It's for the best. She's a human and won't live like I. She will eventually pass while I age slowly. This is the way it has to be." Hiei scoffed at Shuichi's explanation.
"Sounds like excuses to me. What is your real reason Kurama?" Hiei asked.
"Why are we even talking about this Hiei? You are not one to involve yourself in my personal affairs." Shuichi said.
"Like I said, those looks you give to her annoys me. If you had cleanly rejected her, you would've given up those emotions pertaining to her as well, but here you are killing yourself over what could have been." Hiei said.
"You are not one to give advice as well Hiei." Shuichi said. Hiei chuckled.
"Maybe my time with Mukuro has made me soft to those kinds of feelings and besides, I don't like the look of defeat across your face. It makes you look unsightly. Now stop avoiding my question and tell me the real reason you made your decision." Hiei said.
"It's fear of course, what else is there to it?" Chu said. They both looked and Chu had sat up in his bed.
"You're awake." Shuichi said.
"Well of course I'm awake! You two bloaks are hollering up in here, can't give a guy like me some shut-eye." Chu said.
"Well then, now that your awake I won't have to use my Jagan eye." Hiei said, wrapping up his headband.
"Chu what happened? Naota told me how she found you outside the stadium with everyone." Shuichi asked.
"Well, I decided to look into our missing friends here. Something about that Inugami fellow made me suspicious, so I decided to follow him around a bit. He came up to this building out in one of the many forested areas. I went inside and everyone was hooked up to these pods of some kind. There were screens next to them and everyone was dreaming of fighting, using their demon energy little by little. I saw this white haired guy on a platform where every single one of the pods was connected to. All of their energy was being concentrated on this small orb.
I heard him mutter something too. 'I will see you soon. You will arise again. I now have the power to grant your wish.' Then everything started shaking and breaking. I did my best to break open the pods and wake everyone. A fire broke out and we barely managed to get ourselves out of that crumbling building. I don't know how I did or everyone else for that matter, but we eventually ended up here. That's all I remember anyway."
"You must have seen Kiyoshi but why was he gathering energy?" Shuichi wondered out loud.
"Don't know, but that was a lot of damn energy. If you're gonna go up against him, you gotta be careful Kurama. If he uses that against ya, you won't be walking away alive." Chu said.
"Great, another thing to worry about." Hiei said sarcastically.
00000
Naota leaned against the railing, looking at the screen at Yusuke's and Inugami's fight. They haven't started yet. Naota sighed, wondering what was Yasu doing. 'Now that I notice it, Yasu hasn't been really around. He lost his prelims which surprised me. I thought he was gonna win, considering he's still stronger than me. I wonder where is he.' She thought.
"A fight you've all been waiting for has begun! Yusuke Urameshi vs Inugami!" Koto shouted through her microphone.
Yusuke stared down Inugami. Their stances tense for the upcoming battle until Inugami stretched and yawn.
"If you're that tired, you can just forfeit and give me the win you know." Yusuke said.
"Heh, sorry, I'm not one to run away from a good fight. I gotta tell you one thing though. I'm not here as a general but as myself. I want a good straight fight, none of this 'I gotta saved the world' bullshit from you, and none of 'He's the ex spirit detective so I gotta kill him' from me." Inugami said.
"Really?" Yusuke asked.
"Yea, the only reason I joined those uptight losers was because I was given an opportunity to fight. I love having a good brawl, who doesn't? Having the feeling of power over your opponent as you two are going at it with all your energy, it's almost like a high. Unfortunately no one is good enough for me. Everyone is so weak, that's why I'm happy that i'm going against you Yusuke. Considering you gave Yomi a good run for his money last time gives me hope that you'll give me what I want. You'll grant my wish right? Give me a fight, a fight to the death." Inugami explained. "That's the only end I would want. I wanna go down fighting."
"Well then since you're so eager, I might as well give it to you!" Yusuke said, rushing his opponent. Inugami smiled with pleasure. Yusuke sent a barrage of jabs at Inugami. He evaded most of them and swiped away and at few that got close to connecting. He grabbed on to Yusuke's wrists and, using his own momentum, threw him against a cliff. His clawed hands glowed as he rushed towards Yusuke.
"Wolf's claw!" Yusuke barely manage to get out off the way before four long claw marks appeared on the cliff where he was before.
"You're pretty agile, but you need more than speed to get away from me!" Inugami shouted.
"Yea? And you're gonna need more than pretty shiny nails to defeat me!" Yusuke retorted.
"You little bastard." Inugami laughed out loud, trying to catch him in his claws. Wolf's claw after wolf's claw, Yusuke kept avoiding while the surrounding shrubbery kept being destroyed. Yusuke fled into the forested part of the field platform, trying to buy some time to defeat him. Inugami stood in front of the trees and smirked. "You think the forest will protect you? Think again." He focused his demon energy within him, making his fangs slightly longer and his claws grew until they were miniature swords. He used his keen sense of smell to locate where Yusuke was.
He was trying to calm himself down, he knew where Inugami was and he started focusing his energy in his finger until Inugami finally found him.
"Gotcha!" Inugami bit down where Yusuke was. Inugami rushed Yusuke with his claws and teeth. He was aiming for his neck like a savage beast. Yusuke barely avoided them, getting a few cuts on his clothes and a few close shaves on his hair. Before he knew it, he was against a tree. Inugami rushed him and Yusuke dove for the ground. Inugami found himself biting a tree. Yusuke laughed.
"Trying to get your fiber there wolf boy?" Yusuke taunted until he heard the wood start to creak. Inugami promptly chomped off half of the trunk and crushed it between his jaws, spitting out the remains.
"My teeth are imbued with energy, biting off a chunk of that tree is nothing. So how about you stay still so I can rip your throat out!" Inugami said, rushing at him again, trying to bite him to no avail. Finally Yusuke found an opening and slipped out of Inugami's range. He found himself right behind him and fired off one of his spirit guns. Inugami's legs spread out, he stretched out both of his arms, focusing his energy. He crossed them in and X then, uncrossing them, he opens his mouth and launches his attack.
"Savage maw!" A giant wolf's head projected from his mouth , in a swift motion the energy wolf swallowed the spirit gun, before disappearing in a blast of energy, knocking back Yusuke.
"What the hell?" Yusuke wondered. Inugami wasn't there, Yusuke looked around until he was smacked hard with Inugami's tail.
"Tail lash!" The force flung Yusuke through several trees and made him skid on the ground before finally stopping in a field. Yusuke sat up and wiped the blood from his mouth and spat some out. 'Damn it, this guy is good. Heh.' Yusuke thought. He heard a howl coming from the forest and saw an energy shot coming towards him. He evaded and the shot cut down a part of the mountain behind him.
"Holy crap, I better not get caught in that." Yusuke thought out loud before he heard numerous howls coming towards him. More energy shots followed the howls and he evaded all of them. "Hey! That attack isn't that useful if I can hear it coming from a frigging mile away you know!" Yusuke shouted.
"You're right, I just like playing with my prey!" Inugami said, above Yusuke. "Tail bash!" As he rushed downwards to Yusuke, he shot off another spirit gun. Unable to avoid it in the air, Inugami tried using his wolf's claw to lessen the damage. He split it but it exploded him out of the air.
"About time I get a hit in." Yusuke said, panting. Inugami shook from trying to stand, various bruises appearing on his person. He gave out a boisterous laugh. "What the hell is wrong with you? You think this is some sort of game?" He kept laughing until those laughs became hacks and coughs. Finally he brought his hand to his mouth, trying to stop the coughs. "Hey, you ok there? Don't tell me you're dying already we only just got started."
"Heh, you have a smart mouth ex detective. To tell you the truth, I am dying. I caught a disease in my lungs. I don't have much time. I only tagged along with the revolutionaries so I can find someone strong enough to kill me, but no matter how much I fought, no one was able to put a dent into me. Not until I met you. This is the most fun I've had in years. I really wish I didn't have to die." Inugami explained.
"Then don't. You got a disease? We got a healer back at the stadium, maybe she can take a look at you." Yusuke said.
"Heh, if she can heal a man near death, then maybe I should give that a shot, but before that, you have to defeat me. If you can ex spirit detective." Inugami said, wiping the blood from his mouth.
" Heh, I'll have you begging for mercy, just you wait!" Yusuke rushed him. They were both trying to beat each other down, Yusuke with his punches filled with energy and Inugami with his wolf's claw and tail lashes. Inugami finally had Yusuke in the corner. He gave out a battle cry and forced energy to come out of his body. The energy that came out formed into energy wolves with flaming manes.
"Go! Wolf pack carnage!" Inugami shouted. All the wolves charged at Yusuke.
"What's with all the wolves?! I can never get a freaking break!" Yusuke said as he tried to outrun the attack. They surrounded him little by little and a few tried going for the final blow but Yusuke was able to avoid them, until he hit a dead end. The wolves gave him one final stare before going for it. 'Hope this works.' He focused his energy into his fist and let it out.
"Shotgun!" A barrage of energy shot at all the wolves, three manage to get past them. One bit down on his left shoulder, the other bit down on his right forearm and the last got his left calve. Finally finding their target, they disappeared. Inugami appeared before him, panting greatly.
"You don't die easily do you?" Inugami asked.
"Sorry, I already died 2 times, not going for a third." Yusuke said. "Let's settle this already, both of us looks like we're gonna kick the bucket, I give you my best shot, but you give me yours."
"Fine by me, don't come haunting me because I killed you." Inugami said, taking off his ruined shirt, revealing a tattoo of kanji symbols in the shape of a wolf.
"Likewise." Yusuke said, getting his spirit gun ready. Inugami started to concentrate his energy in his chest. The tattoo started to move and glow, at the same time Yusuke's finger shined greatly. Three dog heads started to show out of Inugami's chest and so he released it.
"Roar of the Demon Dog Cerberus!" His energy evolved into Cerberus, the legendary three headed dog of hell. The energy turned black and flaming, it grew massive and started to devour the surrounding foliage. It turned its eyes towards Yusuke and charged and so Yusuke released his massive Spirit Gun. The three dogs started to devour the spirit gun, fighting over it and destroyed more of the platform. Yusuke got out of its way while it started to destroy the fighting area. Eventually the platform cracked and started to fall. Inugami saw that they only had a little place to stand on and sucked the demon dog back into his chest. Dust flew all over from the massive attack.
Drained from his last spirit gun attack, Yusuke coughed from all the dust in the air. A wind picked up and was able to see a bit better. He saw Inugami's figure in the distance and cursed. 'Damn, what does it take to beat this guy?' Yusuke thought. He tried walking towards him but found himself straining to take one step.
"Alright Inugami, you got one more shot? I think I can still beat you with my fists!" Yusuke said. He didn't move, Yusuke got closer. "Hey are you deaf? Huh?" Inugami finally came in his line of vision but he wasn't moving, his eyes were closed and he was snoring. "You've got to be kidding me." Yusuke poked at his faced and he fell on his back. He took a bit long snore and Yusuke finally realized he was sleeping. He couldn't take it anymore, Yusuke fell on his butt and started to laugh. He couldn't realize what had happened. 'Guess this means I won.'
Back on the stadium, Naota and Kuwabara cheered as they saw Yusuke was the last guy standing.
"Man that was an awesome fight, I was on my toes the whole time!" Kuwabara said, holding his rib from his last fight. Even though Yukina has already healed it, it still was sore.
"Yea, Inugami gave Yusuke a run for his money. That demon dog was one hell of an attack. I was afraid Yusuke might've been a goner." Naota said.
"Yea right, Urameshi is too strong for that. Hey, look Inugami is getting up!" Kuwabara said.
Inugami sat up, and looked at the destroyed platform. Yusuke walked up to him and offered him his hand.
"You look like a mess." Yusuke said.
"You don't look that good as well." He took his hand and Yusuke slung it over his shoulder.
"Alright, it's about time for you to stop thinking about dying. Let's see if we can get you healed." Yusuke said.
"I can't let you do that Yusuke." Suddenly Kiyoshi appeared before the two of them.
"Get out of the way." Yusuke said.
"He cannot be saved. It's best to put him out of his misery now." Kiyoshi said.
"What the hell are you saying! I've got one of the best healers waiting for him at the stadium, if there's a chance he can be saved then why not take it!" Yusuke shouted.
"You have no right. He only had a week at best. If your healer can do miracles then by all means, but no one can save him now." Kiyoshi said.
"You little-"
"Yusuke, battling you was a dream come true. You gave me hope, but you're no good to the world if you're dead." Inugami said. He grabbed Yusuke and tossed him onto the platform of the announcer.
"Wait!" Yusuke shouted.
"I'm ready Kiyoshi." Inugami said. He spread his arms and closed his eyes. Kiyoshi unsheathed his sword and charged towards him. He slashed downward from his collarbone to his waist.
"No!" Yusuke yelled, dropping from the platform and throwing punches at Kiyoshi. He evaded most of them before he tripped him.
"You've regained some energy by watching him die, but it's still not enough to defeat me. I didn't need to take his life. If only you granted his wish I wouldn't have to resort to this but you forced my hand. Now his death is on you." Kiyoshi said. He jumped off the battlefield and Yusuke walked towards Inugami. He sensed no energy.
"Damn you. If you only held on just a bit longer..." Yusuke said, mourning the fighter.
And so the fight between Yusuke and Inugami has ended, but that just leaves three more fights to go. Hiei vs Tanya, Naota vs Satoru and Kurama vs Kiyoshi. Who will win the fights? Why did Kiyoshi need to harvest energy? Who is he about to revive? And will all our heroes survive? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of Someone I can Love!