Third Person POV
"Unfortunately, Miss Mitsukai—" Kurama begins but he is cut off by the soft voice of Mitsukai.
"Please, Kurama, call me Kai," the silvery girl smiles warmly at the red-headed fox.
"Yes, well, Kai," Koenma says politely. "The boys must prepare, I'm afraid."
"Prepare for what?" she asks innocently, looking at her brother and Hiei.
"The Dark Tournament," Hiei says, looking at the small girl's face carefully. Her face flushes at the recognition of the name.
"T-the Dark Tournament?" she repeats, a tone of fear in her voice.
"You've heard of it, Kai?" Kurama asks.
" Y-yeah. I've been there. Maru-sama brought me a few times because he said he made a lot of money from the demons there." Her eyes falls to the floor as she explains, but she spares a glance at Hiei's figure, the apprehension on the girl's face noticeably lessening. "Why are you going to such a dangerous place?" she asks, eyes trailing back and forth between her brother and the man who had carried her to safety.
"We don't have a choice," Hiei answers her. Kurama sends a glance at the imiko, noting how unusually talkative the demon was being. Mitsukai's face shows her confusion, and the boys explain about Toguro's 'invitation' to the Dark Tournament. Mitsukai's face shows worry as she looks at her brother and his friends.
"Don't worry, sis!" Yusuke says happily, in an attempt to lighten the mood, his arm once again thrown over his sister's small frame. She sends an uneasy smile at her younger brother before glancing at Hiei again.
"We all have much training to do in the next two months," Kurama butts in. The two human members of the team nod.
"You wanna come watch me train, sis?"
"No, thank you, Yusuke. I wouldn't want to be a distraction."
"Alright. Stay safe, sis!" Yusuke rushes from the room immediately.
"Would you like to participate in our training, Kai?" Kurama asks, a polite smile adorning his beautiful features. Mitsukai glances to Hiei, her eyes searching for some form of approval.
"Hn, we could teach you to protect yourself, onna," Hiei grunts. A smile spreads across her face and she nods enthusiastically, making Kurama chuckle. Hearing the boy's chuckle, Mitsukai's face flushes.
"Shall we, then?" Kurama asks his two teammates and the young angel.
"Hn," Hiei grunts in response.
"Yes," Mitsukai smiles. Kurama delicately loops his arm through the girl's to escort her. Hiei's eyes narrow at the connection between the red-head and the blushing angel. He stands quickly and scoops her in his arms, receiving a squeak and two small arms wrapped around his neck.
"It'll be faster this way," he grumbles in response to Kurama's raised eyebrow.
For the next two months, Hiei and Kurama relentlessly train Kuwabara. They also train Mitsukai, though much more mercifully. Hiei teaches her how to use a katana and throw daggers, which she becomes proficient enough at. Kurama teaches her more about medicinal herbs, which she master's quickly. The pair quickly note that she's much more suited to tasks of the mind rather than those of the body.
Mitsukai and Hiei also become much closer over the course of the two months. The two spend a great deal of time together, sharing secrets of their pasts and teaching each other new things. Kurama does not fail to notice the close bond the angel and imiko quickly form.
"You and Kai have certainly gotten close," Kurama smiles teasingly at the short demon.
"What of it?" Hiei growls in return.
"Nothing, nothing. She's good for you, and you for her. You seem to make each other stronger," Kurama explains kindly. The imiko looks away from the fox, an uncharacteristic dusting of pink on his cheeks.
"Stronger, hn?" Hiei questions under his breath.
"Great things are said to be done because of love." Hiei scoffs at the mention of the foreign word. "You do love her, Hiei. That is plain to see. The only thing more obvious is how she feels for you." Hiei 'hn's and walks away from the conversation, causing Kurama to sigh.
"Kurama! Kurama!" the sweet, jubilant voice of Mitsukai chimes, the angel rushing towards him, wings in full view.
"Yes, Kai?" he says pleasantly.
"I did it! I beat Kuwabara in a fight! And, then, I healed him! She cheers happily. She had spent the last two months training to become strong enough to beat the oafish human, if nothing else.
"Wonderful!" Kurama compliments the girl, hugging her lightly.
"Do you know where Hiei is? I want to tell him!"
"I believe he went that way." He points in the direction Hiei had gone.
"Thanks!" She rushes in that direction, searching for the imiko to tell him of her accomplishment.
"Hiei!" she says excitedly when she finally finds the demon hacking at a tree.
"What, onna?" He stops his mutilation of the helpless tree and turns to the panting, happy girl.
"I beat Kuwabara!" she smiles, her cheeks flushed.
"Hn, good job," he congratulates, a small smirk on his face. She blushes at the compliment.
"Here you guys are! Geez! We've been looking everywhere for you," Kuwabara's idiotic voice booms as he and Kurama enter the clearing.
"We need to be leaving, Hiei," Kurama informs the imiko.
"Hn. Stay out of trouble, onna," Hiei commands gently.
"I'm coming with," Mitsukai replies stubbornly.
"No, you aren't."
"Yes, I am!" This back and forth between the angel and imiko continues for a few minutes before Kurama ends it.
"Kai, only fighters and medical staff can travel on the boat," Kurama tells the furious girl.
"I can fight!" she exclaims angrily.
"Just because you can beat the oaf, doesn't mean you can fight. You'll die in less than two minutes," Hiei says coldly. She flinches at his words, but quickly retaliates.
"Then I can be your medic." The look in her nearly sightless silver orbs dare the imiko to tell her 'no' again.
"Hn, fine," Hiei concedes, causing a large grin to spread across the angel's face.
"Let's go, then!" Kuwabara yells. And that's exactly what they do.
Mitsukai's POV
"Unfortunately, Miss Mitsukai-" I heard Kurama begin, but I cut him off, smiling at him and telling him to call me Kai. I'd always wanted to have a nickname, and I really liked the name 'Kai'.
"Yes, well, Kai, the boys must prepare, I'm afraid." Koenma said, his voice an even tone.
"Prepare for what?" I mused. I looked both at my brother's blue aura and Hiei's red-blue aura for answers.
"The Dark Tournament," Hiei said calmly. I tried to contain my fear of that dreadful place.
"T-the Dark Tournament?" I stuttered. So much for containing my fear.
"You've heard of it, Kai?" Kurama asked.
"Y-yeah. I've been there. Maru-sama brought me a few times because he said he made a lot of money from the demons there." I looked down at the floor. I hated when Maru-sama would make me go there. So many dark auras, so many dark, demented thoughts, and evil feelings. Not to mention, the scent of blood thick in the air. A lot of the demons there made vulgar comments about my body. I looked up at Hiei, hoping he'd make me feel better. I felt myself relax a bit just looking at his aura. "Why are you going to such a dangerous place?" I asked, looking at both my brother and Hiei.
"We don't have a choice," Hiei answered. My face twisted in confusion. Don't have a choice? Why? After hearing their explanation about the scary man Toguro, I understood. They were this year's 'special guests'. My face must have looked worried, because Yusuke threw an arm over my shoulders and made an attempt to lighten the mood. I sent another glance at Hiei. Why was I so worried about him?
"We all have much training to do in the next two months," Kurama said suddenly.
"You wanna come watch me train, sis?" Yusuke asked me cheerfully. Watch him train? I would rather be training… I wanted to be stronger.
"No, thank you, Yusuke. I wouldn't want to be a distraction," I lied.
"Alright. Stay safe, sis!" Yusuke yelled as he ran out of the room in a hurry.
"Would you like to participate in our training, Kai?" Kurama asked. I glanced over at Hiei, opening a telepathic link.
"H-hiei, would you be willing to help me train?" I thought to him.
"Hn, we could teach you to protect yourself, onna," Hiei said aloud, answering my telepathic question. I nodded happily with a wide grin. Kurama chuckled at me, which caused me to blush. I could feel Hiei get a little annoyed at something, but I didn't know why.
"Shall we, then?" Kurama asked us.
"Hn," Hiei grunted.
"Yes," I smiled. Kurama's aura came closer to me and I felt his arm wrap around mine, followed soon by a huge wave of jealous rage. I was going to take a moment to ponder this, but I was swept up in Hie's arms. I squeaked rather loudly and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"It'll be faster this way," he reasons to Kurama, I assume.
We went to a forested area in the middle of nowhere to train. For the next two months, Hiei taught me to use an assortment of blades. I wasn't very good at it because my weak body. Kurama taught me about medicinal herbs, which I really enjoyed. I knew a lot about healing already, just using my spirit energy, but it was nice to know how I could heal without exhausting my energies.
I enjoyed the training, but I enjoyed all the time I got to spend with Hiei the most. For the first month, he tended to my wounds from training. We'd talk a lot, and we shared the stories of our pasts. He told me of his sister, of his mother, of the bandits, and of the implantation of his Jagan eye.
In exchange for his candidness, I told him of the research laboratory, of all the tests they had performed on me, and of the time spent at Maru-sama's. During the two months, I found myself feeling very strongly for him. I think I may have been falling in love with him. Because of this, I really wanted to impress him. I thought maybe if I beat Kuwabara in a sparring match. So that's what I did… or, tried to, anyway.
One day, I finally succeeded in my endeavor, so I ran to look for Hiei (after healing Kuwabara's injuries, of course). I ended up finding Kurama before Hiei, his light green aura standing out among the plant life. "Kurama! Kurama!" I yelled while rushing toward him.
"Yes, Kai?" he asked, an air of pleasantness surrounding him.
"I did it! I beat Kuwabara in a fight! And then I healed him!" I told him happily.
"Wonderful!" he told me, happiness leaking out of him as he hugged me lightly. I asked him if he knew where Hiei was at, and he pointed me in the correct direction. I ran off in the direction he pointed in search of the red-blue aura'd boy. I searched through the plant auras for the unique aura of Hiei.
After searching for a few minutes, I found Hiei in a clearing training alone. "Hiei!" I yelled to get his attention.
"What, onna?" he questioned. Onna…despite how close we'd gotten, he still hadn't used my name or my nickname… He just calls me onna.
"I beat Kuwabara!" I cheered, hoping he'd praise me, even a little bit.
"Hn, good job," he said plainly. But, I could feel the pride rolling off of him. I blushed at the immense feelings waving from him. Our moment was interrupted by Kuwabara yelling about how long he and Kurama had been searching for us.
"We need to be leaving, Hiei," Kurama said.
"Hn. Stay out of trouble, onna," Hiei told me gently. Stay out of trouble? I'm coming with them, obviously!
"I'm coming with," I said stubbornly.
"No, you aren't," Hiei said plainly back to me.
"Yes, I am!" We continued this back and forth for a few minutes, and I was getting annoyed. I had been training so I could help them! Not so I could sit around while they risked their lives!
"Kai, only fighters and medical staff can travel on the boat," Kurama explained. My eyes didn't leave the furious demon. Anger was radiating off of him, but there was also a feeling of worry.
"I can fight!" I fight back.
"Just because you can beat the oaf, doesn't mean you can fight. You'll die in less than two minutes," Hiei said with a rough voice. I flinched away at the harshness of his voice. He'd never spoken to me that way.
"Then I can be your medic." I said calmly.
"Hn, fine," Hiei finally conceded. I grinned at my victory. I could feel that Hiei wasn't happy with me, but I was still happy.
"Let's go, then!" Kuwabara yelled. So we set off.
Hiei's POV
"Yes, well, Kai," the toddler said to the onna. She had told the fox, and everyone else, to call her by that nickname. I don't know why, her real name was beautiful. "The boys must prepare, I'm afraid."
"Prepare for what?" she asked. Her eyes looked at the detective first and then at me.
"The Dark Tournament," I answered her. I looked carefully at her face. Did she know what it was? The tension and fear that ran through her entire body told me she had.
"T-the Dark Tournament?" she fumbled out.
"You've heard of it, Kai?" the fox asked her.
"Y-yeah…" she began talking, but I tuned her out. I was more interested in the flashbacks playing in her mind' it seemed that the onna often forgot about maintaining her mind block. She'd been at the tournament before. Her captors had taken her there to make money. They weren't pleasant memories. I felt the desire to kill all of the foul demons that had made eyes at her or reached through her bars to pet her roughly.
"Calm down, onna," I thought to myself when she looked up at me. She relaxed a bit when she did.
"Why are you going to such a dangerous place?" She looked back and forth between me and the detective, but her eyes seemed to linger on me a little longer.
"We don't have a choice," I answered. I ignored the stupid look the fox gave me. The onna looked at me with a puzzled expression and cocked her head a fraction to the right. It was kind of c… Shut up! What's wrong with me?
"Well…" the detective began, and he explained the situation to the onna. She nodded a few times during the explanation, but kept quiet. After the detective finished, she sent a worried look my way. The detective tried assuring her that we'd be find but, besides a fake smile in his direction, she kept a fixed, worried gaze on me.
""What was I so worried about him?" she mused internally. So, she was just as confused about things as I was.
"We all have much training to do in the next two months," the fox said.
"You wanna come watch me train, sis?" the detective asked.
"I would rather be training… I wanted to be stronger," the onna thought. "No, thank you, Yusuke. I wouldn't want to be a distraction," she said aloud to the detective. He ran out of the room quickly after that.
"Would you like to participate in our training, Kai?" the fox asked the onna. The onna looked at him.
"H-hiei, would you be willing to help me train?" she asked me silently. Why did she want my permission?
"Hn, we could teach you to protect yourself, onna," I told her aloud. Her face came alive with a large smile and she nodded rapidly. She looked better when she smiled like that. The fox chuckled at the onna's eagerness, causing her to blush. I got a little annoyed at the fox's interruption.
"Shall we, then?" the fox asked.
"Yes," the onna smiled. The fox took her arm. I wanted to skewer him. I wanted to kill him in the slowest, most painful way possible. How dare that perverted fox touch her! She squeaked when I quickly picked her up in my arms and her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. The fox raised an eyebrow at me, but I just mumbled something about this way being faster.
For the two months before the tournament's start, we trained. I taught the onna how to properly use a katana and to throw daggers. The fox taught her how to use plants. The onna was much better at mental abilities than she was physical. I trained alone and with the oaf, too, but mostly with the onna. She wanted to learn so badly, and her enthusiasm was…adorable.
The first month was slow going. Her body is so frail that she couldn't do much. I helped her tend to the bruises and other sores at first, but she improved greatly. The onna and I also spent a lot of time talking. I felt at east with her and ended up divulging all of my secrets. She shared many things with me, also. I was amazed at how happy the onna could be, despite everything she'd gone through. She held no resentment towards the people who had taken her, she had no desire for revenge.
The fox had been poking around, asking about my bond with the onna, but I had brushed it off. But, the stupid fox cornered me one day when the onna was off sparring with the oaf. "You and Kai have certainly gotten close," the fox teased.
"What of it?" I growled.
"Nothing, nothing. She's good for you, and you for her. You seem to make each other stronger," he explained. I felt my face get a bit warmer so I looked away from the fox. We make each other…stronger?
"Stronger, hn?" I mumble.
"Great things are said to be done because of love." I scoffed. Love? That stupid human emotion. "You do love her, Hiei. That is plain to see. The only thing more obvious is how she feels for you." How she feels for me? I left the fox to go train. I needed time to think.
I spent time thinking about what the fox had said while sparring against a tree. I heard the onna's voice sing my name happily.
"What, onna?" I asked, facing her. She was out of breath and her cheeks were red.
"I beat Kuwabara!" Her face was lit up.
"Hn, good job." I was proud of the onna. From no ability in swordplay to enough training to beat the oaf. She blushed lightly and we stared at each other. I was trying to find the words to form a better compliment, but the oaf burst in yelling about something stupid. The fox said we needed to leave. "Hn. Stay safe, onna." I didn't want the onna to get hurt.
"I'm coming with," she said. She sounded like the detective. We got into a childish argument that was ended by the fox.
"Kai, only fighters and medical staff can travel on the boat." The onna's eyes stayed fixated on me. Her face was contorted with anger. Why couldn't the baka realize I was worried about her?!
"I can fight!"
"Just because you can beat the oaf, doesn't mean you can fight. You'll die in less than two minutes." The onna flinched away from me, making me feel bad for the harshness of my words.
"Then I can be your medic," she calmly said. She looked like she was daring me to tell her she wasn't a good healer.
"Hn, fine." I conceded. There was no way I could say she wasn't an excellent healer. She grinned at me, but I wasn't happy like I normally was when she smiled.
"Let's go, then!" the oaf yelled and we left.