The next morning, Nezuko and Hiei went downstairs to the lobby to meet with the rest of their team before the semi-finals. Nezuko noticed Kurama and Kuwabara were already there, but the spirit detective was nowhere in sight.
"Mmm?" She asked, wanting to see if he would be joining the team for the semifinals against the other team when they get a chance to face Toguro.
"He's out somewhere with Genkai," Kuwabara answered. "He's always doing some cool secret stuff to make himself stronger. I don't know why Genkai doesn't help train me!" Nezuko couldn't help but chuckle at his response.
She patted his head and smiled, 'But why would Genkai pull him out today, before our match?... Unless...'
"Well, if we win this, we're gonna be fighting against Toguro..." Kurama elaborate. "Genkai must be preparing Yusuke for that moment, handing down her most powerful move. By giving him the ability to wield the spirit wave, she's giving him the possibility of defeating Toguro. The only problem is...," he took in a shaky breath before continuing.
"The only problem is Yusuke could die if he isn't able to control it." Everyone stood there in silence. Their faces were twisted in fear and doubt.
Kuwabara was suddenly able to gather himself up as he cheerfully said, "We've seen Urameshi go through a lot worse! He can do it! I just know it!" Kurama smiled at him and Hiei merely grunted in agreement.
"The detective is tough. I'm sure this 'Spirit Wave' can't be that dangerous," the red-eyed demon said unassumingly.
"Mmm." Nezuko nodded.
Hiei P.O.V.
The first fight is me against Makintaro. Hiei wips out his katana. Makintaro asks me to make a move. I hold up Makintaro severed arm. I was generous enough to do it, Makintaro reveals his attack, the Axe-blade fist. He only managed to hit me just when I afterimage, and I appear on his head and kills him with his sword. My battle with Makintaro was utterly disappointing. He made himself act so tough; act being the keyword. His eyes were too slow, and I easily overcame him. He should have just quit after I cut off his arm, though I must admire his efforts.
I turned to Shishiwakamaru, pointing my bloodied sword at him, I announced, "Roll again, Shishi. I guarantee the next one will be me, again." Of course, I was correct, and it looked like my next victim would be Kuro Momotaro.
He gave me a cocky smile, and before entering the ring, he exchanged a few words with the old man. Once the old man, Onji, I guess, gave him a nod, Kuro pounced in, swelling with reassurance.
"What? You're not letting that babe from your team?" he asked, smirking at me. "I really wanted to fight her. Nothing gets me going like a girl with a little attitude." His smirk grew into an atrocious grin.
"I wouldn't smile too much," I said bitterly. "It'll make it too easy for me to cut your tongue out." I tightened my grip on my sword. I could feel my pulse racing, my blood was boiling. He talked about the woman like she was a piece of meat, if she were to take him on, she would rip him to shreds.
"You know, it's kind of funny," he stated, the look in his eyes told me he knew something I didn't. "Not many people intend to have a partner...," he gave me a long look before continuing, "...some even like to choose what they might like to follow..."
I didn't understand what he meant, 'What could he possibly mean by that?... Don't tell me he's referring to Nezuko for...' I tighten my sword, gritting my teeth together just the thought of her trying to choose a mate over me.
"Don't worry, Hiei. She's fine. I won't touch her as long as you and all your little teammates agree to throw this match." He started chewing furiously on his gum as he continued, "Personally, I'm not a big fan of the whole deal. But, we need a sure-fire way to win this round so we can fight Toguro. Of course, I'm not too concerned...I know I can beat you without the little ace up my sleeve."
I turned to Kuro... Yes, he looked to be the type to take risks. We were using dice to determine who fights for hell's sake. I shrugged and mumbled to myself, "What the hell..."
"Oh, has the great Hiei finally given up?"
"How's about we make this fight more interesting?"
Kuro raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued. "You've piqued my interest... Go on."
"If I win this fight, you'll let the woman go unharmed and allow my team to have a fair fight."
He burst with laughter, wiping away a tear as he replied, "And when you lose?"
I ignored his implication and answered coolly, "You can kill me and the rest of my team and we won't put up a fight."
Kuwabara seemed to have heard as he yelled, "NOW WAIT A MINUTE! I DIDN'T AGREE TO THESE TERMS!"
I angrily turned to him with fire in my eyes as I yelled, "I WILL NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO LOSE THIS FIGHT IF NEZUKO'S LIFE IS ON THE LINE." I was surprised by the volume of my voice. I never allowed myself to get so emotional, especially over another person.
I turned away from Kuwabara, who was stunned silent. I tightly shut my eyes, I needed to concentrate. These emotions can't get in the way. But all I could see was her face. Nezuko was deeply concerned about me and the match I'm in.
'I shouldn't worry about her too much. She's right here. Watching us continue the fight,' was my final thought before I drew my sword again. I launched myself towards Kuro, ready to take his head.
"Understand, Hiei," Kuro said, "Once we agree upon this, there isn't any going back."
I smirked at him, "Yes, I'm fully aware of how agreements work. Thanks." I couldn't hide the resentment in my voice. He acted as though I were some sort of frightened child. I knew what I was getting into. I was willing to do anything at this point. I walked towards him and shook his hand, sealing the deal.
"You better not mess this up!" Kuwabara called. I shook my head, never leaving my eyes from Kuro.
'That oaf has already lost several battles for us. Does he really think I'll be the one to mess this up?'
"AND BEGIN!" the announcer shouted. And just as we began, Kuro pulled out what appeared to be some sort of ball.
"Here's a little trick I got, just for you," and he squeezed the ball, covering the ring with smoke. Once it cleared, his appearance had completely changed. His body had become larger and now he was covered by some sort of fur.
"Do you like it? It's only one of my layers of beast armor. It'll protect me from any sort of attack you may have. That is, unless you may want to try you Dragon on me?" He raised a brow at me, daring me to give it a try.
My right arm began to burn, I couldn't bring out that technique yet. I didn't have the strength to reel in the dragon and then try to control it. I tried to attack him with my sword, but it was no use. My sword broke in half after making contact with his "armor." My eyes widened with utter disbelief. I jumped back as far as I could, trying to figure out where he could be vulnerable.
"I wanted to fight you with my fists, anyways," I said nonchalantly.
"Oh come now, Hiei. Why not give me just a taste of that beloved Dragon of yours? I'm sure my armor would love to absorb its power and make it worthless. Just like you." I stood back and glared at him. I couldn't let my anger get the best of me. I needed to concentrate to keep Y/N safe. I took my headband off, revealing my Jagan's eye.
"Who am I to deny a fan's request?" I answered. A burning flame burst from within me. I focused the energy on my right fist and bounded towards Kuro.
"Fist of the mortal flame!" I yelled, summoning it to life. I threw my fist into his ribs. I heard bones crush as I made an impact, his face was distorted in pain.
'Good,' I smirked to myself. 'About the time I wiped that stupid grin off his face.' I backed off and waited to see how long it would take him to recover. It didn't even take a second. He was back in action, taking another one of those steam balls in his hand.
He gave a high-pitched laugh as he said, "Was that all you got, Hiei? Too bad. Now for the next Kuro Momotaro." He squeezed the ball, releasing another wave of smoke. And once it had cleared, he appeared before me, somehow looking worse than ever before.
"He looks like a mutated chicken..." I heard Kuwabara say.
"Well said..." Kurama mumbled absentmindedly.
"Now your fist of the mortal flame is useless on me!" Kuro claimed.
'Damn! This can't be happening. What am I going to do?' My face remained unchanged, I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't give up, I had to try and find some weak spot. Or at least think of a new technique I could use. My right arm was itching underneath my bandages.
'Should I...?' I touched my right arm, wondering if I had enough strength to do it.
"No Hiei! You'll get yourself killed!" cried Kurama. He was right. But I had to do something. I turned my attention back on Kuro, who was waiting for me to make my next move. I decided to at least give it another shot.
"Left yourself open," I said once I had reached him. "How about double fist of the mortal flame?" And then I made my move, giving each punch everything that I had. Clearly, there was some damage. I left burn marks all over him, some of his skin was even burned off. His eyes remained wide open, he must have been in a lot of pain. I moved closer towards him, wanting to take a closer look at my handy work.
But it was a trap. And I, being the idiot that I was, fell for it. He landed several hits on me, each one was a remarkable blow. His last kick had me deep in the floor of the ring.
"I could just finish you as I am now...," he commented, "but it might be more fun just to go all the way." My face was still planted on the floor, but I could tell he was putting on another layer of beat armor. I slowly got up and saw he had transformed himself into some sort of coyote mix. He sped towards me, he was so fast, I could barely avoid his attack. He swiped at me with his long claws, leaving a tear on my shirt, right above my heart.
'This looks bad,' I thought, backing away. 'I can't believe this. I may actually lose this battle.'
"WHAT ARE YOU BACKING AWAY FROM, HIEI?" a shrill voice yelled from my far right. I took a glance, not wanting to leave my eyes from Kuro for more than a second I continued to watch Kuro, but every thought in my head froze.
He quickly regained his composure as he snarled, "This doesn't change our agreement. Remember, there's no going back." I remained silent. He was right, I was bound to my word. Nezuko may be safe now, but if I lose this, Kuro will get the chance to rip her head off himself.
"That won't happen." I slowly backed away from Kuro. I was trying to figure a way out when I landed on something with my foot. I looked down to find half of what was left of my sword on the ground. The handle was still intact but the end of my sword was missing. An idea came to me, but I wasn't sure it was going to work.
I stole a peek at Nezuko, her eyes were burning with confidence. She had faith in me...even when it looked like my chances were slim. She knew I was in trouble, just by the way I was moving away from my opponent, but she still believed in me.
"What the hell...," I shrugged. "I hate this, it lacks taste and artistry," I warned Kuro.
"I'm no snob. Give it your best shot!" He started running towards me as he said, "I was thinking of a vulgar move myself." He bared his fangs and leaped at me. I shifted all the spiritual energy I had left into my sword and hoped it would be enough.
I gripped his broken sword in his hands, Kuro racing towards me. He bared his fangs at me and sprinted towards me. Blood was spewing out of my body. It was pouring all over the arena, but Nezuko was too shocked to make a sound. Her brain was yelling at me to get up there and do something, but her body was frozen. Suddenly, a green fire burst through Kuro's back. Her heart started thumping hard in her chest when she saw me leap forward, leaving Kuro's body on the floor.
"AND HIEI IS THE WINNER!" the announcer proclaimed. Nezuko let out a sigh of relief as she watched Hiei jump out of the ring. He slowly made his way toward her, giving her a small smile. Nezuko felt Kurama and Kuwabara watching them both closely, but she did her best to ignore them. Unfortunately, she couldn't hide the redness that crossed her cheeks when she saw Hiei's grin.
"I told you I can handle it," Hiei reassured as Nezuko sighs with a small smile on her face. Hiei was a little injured during the fight, so Nezuko offered to patch him up to prepare for the next round.
"And it appears that Ura Urashima and Kurama will be next to duke it out!" issued the announcer. Kurama made his way to the ring, along with a small boy with a fishing rod.
"Mmm?" Nezuko asks the fire apparition by gripping the hem of his shirt.
"No, Shishiwakamaru decided the terms."
"...?"
"He rolls a pair of dice. Each die has the name of a member of the team, and free space, anyone can go for the free space. I told him I would go for anyone not present on our team."
"Mmm..."
"As long as they're alive...," he mumbled. They both observed Kurama's fight.
It seemed to have been an equal exchange until The boy with the fishing rod stumbled. Kurama had him on the ropes, but then the boy revealed a strange-looking box. When he opened it, a layer of smoke covered them. It was sealed in by a forcefield; whatever was in there was staying there, trapping Kurama with it.
"How come that smokey stuff isn't coming to us?" Kuwabara wondered aloud.
"You really don't understand the concept of a forcefield, do you?" Hiei asked in an arrogant tone. Nezuko couldn't help but give him a straight face.
"Mmm! Mnf!" He widened his eyes at her in surprise and ducked his head down in embarrassment.
Kuwabara laughed at him, sticking his tongue out as he sang, "Haha! You got in troooOOOubleeee!" Nezuko let out a soft chuckle, it wasn't every day that she got to frazzle Hiei. Suddenly the smoke began to clear and she felt a wave of power run over her. She shivered, she never encountered so much power in one place.
"Mmm?" She mumbled.
"This is Kurama's true form, Yoko Kurama," Hiei answered. Of course, Nezuko never heard of the legendary fox demon. But she never thought that he and the Kurama she knew were the same people.
Once the smoke cleared, she no longer saw the same person who went into the ring. Instead, there stood possibly the most beautiful creature she ever laid eyes on. He long silver locks with a gray tail and fox ears. He was dressed in a white sleeveless yukata and pants. He gave off a colder and more calculating demeanor than Kurama, and it gave Nezuko chills up her spine.
Nezuko was in awe, her eyes remained glued to this "Yoko," but she saw Hiei quickly turn to her from her peripherals.
He stared at Nezuko for a while before turning away and mumbling, "He's okay." She stole a glance at Hiei, he had his arms crossed and he was angrily looking away from her. She turned fully to look at him. His lips were slightly pouted and blush was dancing on his cheeks. Nezuko flashed a cocky grin and moved closer to him.
He widened his eyes in surprise, then angrily pushed her away.
"Back off woman! I don't care what your feelings are towards other men."
But before Nezuko could give a sarcastic response, the announcer yelled, "AND KURAMA WINS THE POINT!"
"Mmm!?" She shouted to the announcer.
She shrugged at her and said into the mic, "Well Ura is dead and Kurama isn't. So..." She pointed to the body that was lying face down in a pool of blood. There was a sword stuck in the back of its head. It didn't look like Ura... Where could he have gone?
"Lower-class demons. They're so useless...," Nezuko heard Shishiwakamaru say.
"Th-that was a lower-class demon?" Kuwabara asked in shock.
"Yes, of course. They're the easiest to manipulate," Shishiwakamaru shrugged. He pulled the sword out of the demon's head, giving the body a disgusted look.
"Mnf?!" Nezuko yelled in disbelief.
"He was useless. He was going to give away all our secrets because he was afraid to die," Shishi explained. He made it sound like stabbing his teammate in the head was the most obvious thing to do.
"So," he continued, "who's up next?" He rolled the dice, and it landed on his name and Nezuko's.
As Kurama jumps off the ring, he gave Nezuko a faint smile. Nezuko looks over at her three teammates.
"We wish you luck," Kurama said.
"Mmm." Nezuko nodded.
"Ah, wonderful," Shishi smiled. "I've been dying to see if you're as great as they say." He looked down at Nezuko, a dark grin forming on his face, "I look forward to destroying you and taking all the glory you once had." His words made Nezuko slow her pace, and for one second, she was actually frightened. Of course, he was strong, she expected that. But she never anticipated him to be so bloodthirsty. He was excited to ex her out, and for what? To be famous? His intentions made her want nauseous.
Once the announcer gave her both the okay to fight, Nezuko sprinted into action. She charged at Shishiwakamaru as his eyes bulged, not expecting her to begin so fiercely, but he was just able to escape from her fist balled up ready to attack. He pulled out his own sword and tried to counter her moves. He winced every time they would make contact that she was trying to direct a punch or even draw in a hard kick.
"Would."
"You."
"Lay."
"Off?" Shishiwakamaru demanded each time Nezuko swung her fist. She paused for a second, surprised by his reaction.
"Because," he said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I have a trick I wanna show you." He began twirling his sword, almost like a baton. The sword begs and makes a terrible noise, releasing what looked to be clouds shaped like skulls. They attacked the audience and some came close to her. Admittedly, the noise was terrible, but Nezuko stood her ground.
"It's called the chorus of a thousand souls. Apparently, it makes quite an awful noise, but to me, it sounds like chirrups." He continued twirling the sword, slowly moving closer to Nezuko. The blasts from the sword became bigger, stronger; and he was aiming straight for her. There was a big bright light, then a huge blast. She was able to get out of the way just in time. Shishi was losing his patience with her, clearly, he didn't expect her to live this long.
"I will be the one to destroy you! No demon is going to take the glory away from me! Why. Won't. You. Die?" he asked after each swing of his sword. He didn't bother hiding the annoyance in his voice. His arrogance was starting to get on her nerves.
As ShiShiwakamaru swung his sword while continuing to chase her around with the skulls still swarming around. He didn't expect her next move to be just before he could strike her head when Nezuku unexpectedly shrunk to a child's size!
'She shrunk her body to be a child.' ShiShiwakamaru thought. Nezuko runs around ShiShi to avoid any more of his attacks. When he chased after her she could follow his movements quite easily to dodge without having to look. 'Her senses are very incredible. I can't even draw my sword into her.'
Kurama lightly chuckles, "Well, that's one way to get away from your problems. A child running around in the ring." The team watches ShiShi struggling to catch her, but she has impressive dodging skills without getting hit behind his sword.
"It's pretty funny and cute if you ask me. Urameshi is missing all of this." Kuwabara snickered.
Nezuko wasn't going to be running for long, she faced back at him as kneed ShiShi in the gut. Making him splatter blood and she threw a punch to send him to the other side of the arena. Then, Nezuko charges for him as her veins continued to show more, but ShiShi did a fatal move to use his sword to slightly stab her almost in the gut. She hissed in pain and then tries to reach over and grab him, but he grabs her wrist to kick her aside.
"Weakling!" He spat, "You really think you can defeat me? I'm more powerful than you ever hope you can imagine." He snarled as Nezuko began to slowly stand back up at her feet again. There was a dark aura spawning through her veins as she felt that energy rises into her body. She glared directly over at ShiShi feeling the rage building up inside of her body that it seems as if she was growing stronger.
"Nezuko's power is growing much more powerful than I never could imagine," Kurama says as his eyes slightly widen when he noticed that something was different about Nezuko. "Something's different. Her energy is raising off the charts that she seems to be getting stronger."
"What do you mean?" Kuwabara asked cluelessly.
"Look over at Nezuko and how's she's standing." Kurama narrowed his eyes at the female demon that stood there gaining more power. "She seems to be...getting bigger..."He trails off, Hiei and Kuwabara noticed it too and as Nezuko's jacket falls off her she had a dark expression to scare the living or the dead.
"...She's like the size of an adult!" Hiei says slightly with his eyes widening.
"Exactly. So, Nezuko can either shrink or grow taller to become like an adult with her body. Fascinating." Kurama murmurs out loud to analyze the girl who was growing so much power than before and whatever she has plan might finish off ShiShi for good.
"I gotta be honest. Nezuko does look pretty hot as an adult." Kuwabara says as Hiei growled sending a hard punch at the idiot for looking at his woman like that. He glared at him as his attention focused back on the fight.
Luckily for Nezuko, Shishi was too surprised by the mere fact he was to notice what her true intentions were.
Nezuko jumped back, satisfied that she was able to complete her task unscathed. Shishi noticed she wasn't attacking, so he tried to take advantage of her hesitation. He tried to swing his sword at her, expecting there to be some sort of pained look on her face when she heard the horrible noise from his sword. But it was silent. His weapon had no power, and from the look of frustration on his face, he didn't know-how. She smirked as she watched him slowly realize what she had done.
"How could you have done that?!" he accused.
He angrily stared at his sword, turning it every which way. Nezuko took advantage of his cluelessness and raced up against the rear edge of the stadium by launching herself to him. She had her hand reached out to placed her hand on his chest, then she kicked him away.
She didn't want to kill anyone if she could help it.
And, let's face it, if she killed Shishi, some of his adoring fans may decide to attack her, and that would just be a pain. She ran towards him, grasping the hem of his collar of the kimono around, then threw him across. She ran around him, to grab his ankle and pulled hard. She heard Shishi wince, trying to shake her off of him as he could, but to no avail.
She released him, but she grabbed his collar towards her, allowing him to lean against her body. His face started to turn red, so she loosened her hold. In one hand and began punching his face with the other.
"You know... I think I may have just fallen in love with you...," he mumbled, seeming to be in a haze after all the blows she gave him. "I've never... met a woman who could...be so brutal...yet so beautiful...," he continued before passing out.
"Mmm" Nezuko replied with a straight face.
"AND NEZUKO WINS THIS ROUND!" the announcer called. She hopped out of the ring and cleared her path as she looked at her fellow teammates still standing tall in her adult form.
"Wow." Kuwabara was in slight awe.
"That was a fascinating way to finish this battle." Kurama faintly smiled.
Nezuko faintly smiles as she shrunk back to her normal self once again. Hiei had to admit that Nezuko had done a very impressive job of defeating ShiShiwakamaru in the battle that she didn't need a silly weapon to stop her.
After Shishiwakamaru's defeat, Onji was the only member left on the Uraotogi team. Kuwabara had been once again chosen to fight by dice throwing, but Onji defeated him easily. The next Urameshi's Team member selected to fight was Genkai, who says to Onji stop pretending to be an old man and shows who he actually is. Then Onji says the reason he disguised himself as an old one was that he hates aged people. And then he shows to everyone in the stadium his true identity: Suzuki, a narcissist demon with a jester appearance. Before starting the battle he tells the audience his goal in case of his victory: Kill all old people and everyone who stands against him.
As the fight starts, he attacks Genkai with his move Rainbow Cyclone, which doesn't affect Genkai at all. Then, enraged, he performs the move Body of Steel Muscle Explosion, increasing his physical strength, but Genkai still defeats and humiliates him easily, almost killing him. The members of Urameshi's Team and the girls comment about their victory.
"TEAM URAMESHI IS KNOCKING THEIR WAY TO THE TOP! NEXT TIME YOU SEE THEM, IT'LL BE AT THE FINALS!" the announcer shouted.
Genkai leaves the group and meets Younger Toguro, who says he wishes to talk with her later. Genkai agrees and she leaves.
Hiei was walking with Nezuko back to the hotel as he thought about something upon his mind. He was determined to claim Nezuko as his, but he wasn't sure if she'll understand what he means.
"Nezuko..." He stopped his tracks and so did she as she turned to face him directly. Her eyes stare into his as she felt his hand rest on her shoulder to face her with a stoic expression. "I-I have been meaning to ask you about what you want us to be. Like for an example to become my m-mate?" Nezuko tilted her head to the side a little confused.
"Mmm?" She asked.
He sighed, "A mate is a p-partner similar to what humans say a boyfriend and girlfriend type of thing." His cheeks were rising as Nezuko hums trying to acknowledge what he's trying to say to her because it's kind of hard to explain after she had been turned into a demon. "Do you understand? Or..."
"Mmm! Mnf!" She vigorously nodded her head as she gave Hiei a head pat. He merely smiles, she was taking a while to understand what he was trying to say.
"So, I take it that it's a yes?" He smirked.
"Mmm!" Nezuko nodded. Hiei faintly smiles as he reaches across Nezuko's muzzle to pull it down and pulls her in a passionate kiss. Nezuko responds as she clutches the hem of Hiei's shirt. Once they pulled away he places the muzzle back into her mouth as she smiled wrapping her arms around his waist.
Nezuko started to blush as Hiei began, "Look, I have...strong feelings for you. And I... I want you to understand that..." She looked away from him. He needed to say what was on his mind before she backed out.
Sighing, Hiei resumed, "I want you to know... That I want to be yours. And I want you to be mine. But," Nezuko looked him in the eye as he finished, "you need to trust me. You need to know that I would never want to hurt you. And...," he held her hand and gave her a weak smile, "and I will never leave you."
Nezuko softly sighs as her eyes glistened to hear Hiei say those words to her that made her feel safe. She felt like this strong bond between him and he didn't care if she was a human before after she turned into a demon and lost her family that her only brother was worried about her safety.
'I'll protect her...she needs to be protected.' Hiei deeply thought embracing her in his muscular arms as she nuzzled against his chest as he rested a hand on her head.
The old hag standing in front of them. She looked past Hiei, addressing only Nezuko.
"We need to talk privately," the hag ordered. She didn't see why she wouldn't just talk here, since to her it made Hiei was practically invisible. Nezuko broke out of the hug with a look of concern on her face. She knew something Hiei didn't. Nezuko gave him a quick head pat as she walked away with Genkai.
Part of Hiei knew it would be wrong to follow them, but he didn't really care. He needed to know what could it possibly be that Genkai wanted to discuss with Nezuko. Perhaps he could help her; he hid high up in the trees as he watched the hag and Nezuko walking deep in the woods, then stop in front of a cave.
"Yusuke completed his training," the hag said.
"Mmm?" Nezuko's eyes lightened up.
The hag smiled and replied, "Maybe. If that dimwit had half the focus and drive you to do, he'd win for sure."
"Mmnf?" There was silence for a while, the old psychic stared deep into the cave.
"Toguro will be coming after me..."
"...Mm?"
"As you know, he and I have quite a long history... He has an insatiable need to prove his strength, and the time has finally come for us to battle once again."
"Mmm!" Nezuko sighed.
"I am fully aware of what I did. I am prepared to accept whatever may come from this fight, and I wanted to make sure you were ready to accept them as well." Nezuko smiles and had tears streaming down her face, but she slowly nodded.
Despite her tears, her face remained calm. It appeared she had already known that Genkai was going to face Toguro, but of course, that didn't make the pain any more bearable.
"Don't be such a wuss," the old woman scolded. Then her expression softened as she murmured, "It's going to be okay... I love you... You're like a daughter to me." Nezuko stares at Genkai as she visions her mother and softly sighs. Then Genkai grabbed her in a warm embrace. Hiei looked away, not wanting to ruin their moment by being an onlooker.