File 65: Makai Tournament – Conclusion
Semi-finals.
Mukuro and Akari were facing each other. While it had been Akari's intention, who would have thought she'd really come this far... However, her path was still not over. That said, given who was standing in front her, she could not deny that the last stretch of a journey was always the hardest. Taken another way, it was during those last two matches that her grit was truly gonna be tested. Of course she would rise to the challenge, but now, could she overcome it? Or not? Koto announced the beginning of the match. Here goes the first part of the answer!
The second it started, Mukuro raised her arms, stopping Akari's drop kick. The next second, the ring split, the shockwave swept the dust and bent the trees and finally came the sound like a thunderclap. They hadn't even seen her move! The female demon tried to swat her away but suddenly, the force applied on her arms multiplied exponentially. No, not just on her arms but her whole body, the whole ring, like she was trying to stop a meteor... So Katsuyama Akari could also manipulate gravity... just how many tricks did that girl have up her sleeve? That sounded promising... The ring caved and broke apart. Mukuro herself was being forced to bend the knees. Just as she roared and raised her youki to counter her adversary's energy, the power that was crushing her vanished. Akari dived under her and unleashed a barrage of rapid upward kicks.
The next thing the audience knew, Mukuro was flying upward, a broadsword planted in her shoulder. At the other end was Akari, grinning ferociously. The female demon pointed her palm at the human and fired a huge blast of red energy. The little girl was seen falling down, and crashing. Mukuro also landed a distance away, pulling out the sword and disintegrating it. Her face was bruised but what truly shocked everyone was that part of her mechanical arm had been cut off. As the sequence had been much too fast for most of the spectators, a replay was given. Amidst Akari's flurry of kicks, the sword had suddenly shot up. The former king was defending from kicks and the sudden change of attack pattern and weapon too her off guard. Her opponent constantly switched the focal point of attack, and the sword of reiki had been much more concentrated than the youki she had been using to shield herself, hence the damage. Even though the difference between them was so big... Akari was certainly a master of surprise. Mukuro thought she had understood that much by watching Yomi's fight... but apparently some things could only be truly understood by fighting Akari personally.
"How long are you gonna play dead? Even though the battle just started... It seems that you still have a lot of leeway."
"Oh my, do I?" Akari got up from the crater and dusted herself. Her clothes were somewhat singed in some places but she didn't appear to have suffered THAT much.
"Now I really am starting to regret that I couldn't get you to come to me. Seems like there's much fun I could have had with you."
"What an honor... but I must say I much prefer toying with others than being toyed with." The pink-haired girl shamelessly displayed her terrible personality.
"Do you? Rather than easy victories, I thought for sure you enjoyed being shown a seemingly overwhelming gap. You burn all the brighter when you're growing stronger to match, overtake, and think of how to bring them down, right?" Although her tone was curious, a knowing smile was curving the red head's lips.
"..." Akari's response was a twitch of her eyebrow... as well as the rising of her energy. The ground around her split and broke away. Boulders and debris levitated that she hurled at her opponent. Psychokinesis was natural for a psychic like her. Mukuro blew them with only her aura. But as soon as she dissipated it, her right side was kicked from behind. Although Mukuro was propelled, she shifted her stance and skidded on the ground. Akari lunged straight at her, densely raining high speed blows at close quarter. Yet, even though her demonic foe had lost a limb, she could still parry the majority of her punches, and knee strikes. And the youkai also landed a few good hits through the weaknesses of the human's offensive wall. Although only a select few could notice, each of Mukuro's hits packed more than Akari's, so the damage received was more important as well. The pressure from their colliding energies and blows caused sparks all around them and raised a whirlwind of dust and energy. The friction generated more sparks and even lightning.
The audience was rejoicing over the wonderful and awe-inspiring spectacle. They had never thought a little human girl would be fighting toe-to-toe with another King. Her match against Yomi should have exhausted her! Even that victory was a miracle! So how could she still display that much power?! But Akari knew she could not win in a battle of spectral energy alone or simple blows. And Mukuro was not really serious. As frustrating as it was, that was the only hope for victory. But that was how she had always fought. Most of her opponents had always been overwhelming. Although simply clashing without a thought felt great, it was another sort of satisfaction to successfully outwit those people far stronger than you and give them a run for their money, see their expression then, and just when things went exactly as you had imagined. She had come to understand Kurama's fondness of traps more than before. Well, it was also frustrating for her to regularly fall for those traps of his.
Basically, that was part of his training for her: making her use her head more, beat her laziness down, showing her she might find ways to win, or at least grow closer to victory, if she doesn't give up and think further than she used to... and teach her the gratification of outsmarting others. It might have been annoying as hell, but she was grateful to him now. Had this been just a brawl, Akari would have been fine running wild and going out with a bang. But this was a tournament (and as opposed to the previous tournament, she had absolutely no reason to throw it all out of the window and rampage). She wanted to try going as far as she could, battle as many people as she could, or it would be a waste. And to go higher, she needed to win, and to increase her chances of winning, she needed to use her head more.
All of a sudden, Akari was seen rocketing away and crashing into a mountain, dispersing the whirlwind. Right, she did remember all those warnings and lessons, but she couldn't help but let the blood get to her head and push that person's buttons a bit too far. That was why she was being pelleted by energy blasts that tore into her. Taking their respective levels into account, anger did not make Mukuro more careless, but more deadly... although that still amounted to just a light smack on an unruly child. She knew she should be using to her advantage the fact that Mukuro was taking her lightly, but like Hiei, she wanted to see her more serious. Such battles were not experienced that often so she should make full use of this chance or it would be a waste. To sum it up, Akari was struggling in a dilemma. Guess she still had some leeway after all. Or that could be just what her muddy mind was telling her to distract her from the pain of her wracked body as she wavered in and out of consciousness.
Finally, the former King stopped attacking. After a moment, balls of reiki bulleted through the smoke and dust towards the female demon. She dodged them, but when she'd try to knock them, they would explode. And those she had dodged would return, having homed in on her. She too was suffering damage. So she released her youki to blast them at once from a distance. But as soon as her youki dissipated, she was hit by her opponent's reigun. Mukuro shielded herself but was still blown back. Akari was in tatters, blood flowing from her mouth, with external and internal injuries, but she was still grinning viciously as lunged at the great youkai. However, the girl was stopped in her tracks by a dimensional cutter that gashed her side. She avoided the others, but Mukuro was clearly trying to trap her like she had trapped Hiei. So the little human produced her own dimensional sword and slashed the lines, canceling them.
"I see... You really like surprising people, don't you?"
"I firmly believe that boredom is the enemy of the universe."
"You're right on that." Mukuro chuckled and ran at her. She had abandoned the dimensional attack and returned to the energy-enhanced blows. So Akari did the same. The battle grew fiercer, each blow packing more and more power, sending the other flying, chasing... It was a brawl in its purest rawness. Forget blocking, defending, or little tricks, it was all about striking back. It looked like that human was trying to win by simply showing that she was 'stronger'. But then, there was no way that Mukuro would lose. She was the most powerful and experienced King. Akari was really just a child. The game the saber-toothed tiger was playing against the wildcat had to end. Everyone had started considering Akari's terrible, worsening condition and thought for sure that she would soon lose. The extended thread had to snap. Yet, the person herself did not seem to be aware that she should not even be standing, let alone fighting. Just what made her keep going on and smiling like that? Did she not feel pain? Was she truly human? Was she not actually a cyborg on automatic mode? Was she seriously hoping to outlast Mukuro?
All of a sudden, the girl caught her opponent's arm in an arm lock, caught one of the Mukuro's legs with one of her own, between the calf and thigh and shifted her stance. Another Akari also appeared out of nowhere. And the two humans brought the great demon down, immobilizing her and keeping a dagger at her neck.
"My win, isn't it?" The pink-haired imp grinned mischievously.
"...Fufu, you're right. Always keep a hidden card. Know when to play it... Is it? You've been taught well."
"I just have wonderful people around me to enforce my studying." One Akari disappeared and the other stood up. A long minute of silence followed that exchange before the crowd suddenly broke out in an uproar, like a stone having crashed into a hornet nest. Shock, cheers, disbelief... it was all a confused mess. Akari had caused yet another upset. Some praised her strategy; after all that relentless and forceful pushing, a soft pull that completely broke the tension. But some others found it a bit dissatisfying. That said, most still couldn't get enough of her surprises and table-turning, and couldn't wait to see what she was going to do next. She had this knack for building tension, anticipation, excitation, and was just this fun to watch. You really couldn't keep your eyes off of her.
"...U-unbelievable! Victory goes to Contestant Akari! She's qualified for the finals!" Koto announced enthusiastically. "Another incredible match with an unthinkable end! Just how much will Contestant Akari keep defying reason and smash through our preconceptions, and just everything, in such a sensational way?!" She raved.
Akari's friends rushed to her, worried sick. But she just smiled and reassured them, saying she was fine. That only served to anger them though as she could NOT be fine after such a battle.
"But look." She showed them her wounds. They were healing. The scratches had stopped bleeding, the bumps were very slowly diminishing... Although it wasn't instantaneous, the light wounds were still healing at a fast enough rate that it could be seen with the naked eye if you carefully observed. Then, the more severe injuries should be healing too. Her regeneration ability had gone up again... Just what was happening with her?!
As it had been decided that the finals would take place the next day as to let the contestants fight in better condition, Akari returned to her room. Kurama bandaged and applied ointment and poultices to help the healing process. They went to eat. The girl ate as much as five people, as if all the nutrients went not into making her grow taller, but into fueling her energy and regeneration. Then, she fell asleep within three minutes of lying down. She had a dream that night. She felt that she was being maltreated and she was hearing people persistently yelling at her. She was still sleepy. She really wanted to sleep more and felt very annoyed. Despite that, the voices got clearer as her drowsy mind was clearing up as well. There were two voices, one male and one female... children's voices... And she could better make their words out too.
"Mom! Mom wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
"It's time, mom! Wake up! Mom! Mom! Wake up, mom! It's time!" They were jumping on her, shaking her, and doing just everything they could think off.
"...Just let tired adults sleep you damn brats! I'll eat you! Grraaaooorr!" Unable to take it anymore, she caught them and pretended to munch on their soft chubby cheeks.
"Kyaaa!" They screamed and laughed.
"You can't eat us!"
"Yeah! Dad said you've first gotta eat the food he's made!"
"Yeah! He told us to wake you up since it's ready!"
"I see. Instead of bringing me food, he sent the food up to me. He's good. As expected of my husband."
"Moom! Geez..." The kids puffed their cheeks at their mother's teasing.
"Then go tell your dad I'll come down in a bit." She let them go and turned over.
"Mooooom!"
"That won't do. The food will get cold."
"Dad!" The kids rushed to him.
"Good grief. Even though you're now a mom, you just won't settle down, will you? Opening a martial arts class, another special class for those who want to train their rei abilities, sometimes taking time off to visit the Makai, and being challenged left and right by humans and demons alike. You still take a fee to accept those challenges though. And those who refuse to pay, you just beat them up and take the money anyway. Well, I guess I'm also at fault here for you staying this late in bed since I was happy you returned early and safely."
"Don't say you were happy when you... you... Wait! Just what are you saying and making me say in front of the kids!?" She hid under the cover, her voice dripping with embarrassment.
"...I'm just a loving and jealous husband who wishes you'd spent more time with him. Besides, the kids have already left to set the table." They were very alert to danger and knew to escape before being made to witness their parents' lovey-dovey flirting. The husband removed the sheet under which his wife was hiding and saw her hands were covering her face. But he could still see her red ears. He smiled tenderly at her. Even after all this time, her reactions could still be so innocent and adorable. He held her wrists and moved her hands away from her face so he could plant a gentle, loving kiss on her lips. It was like they were enveloped in a halo of warmth and happiness. Then he picked her up like a prince would his princess and carried her to where their children were waiting.
Akari opened her eyes and sat up. She was on her bed in her room in the Makai. Today was the Finals against Enki-san.
"At last, this is time for the Finals. It has been both long and short, with many exciting, and astounding battles. Just who would have thought this match-up would be the last? Just who would have thought a human would ever come this far and have a shot at ruling the Demon World?! Now will she cause yet another upset and become the Demon Queen?! Or will Contestant Enki win after all?" Koto spoke excitedly. All the spectators were equally enthusiastic, and the arena where many had gathered to watch the huge screen was positively buzzing.
On the ring, Enki and Katsuyama were shaking hands and grinning and rejoicing the other looked well. Enki had been particularly worried about her giving she had been against Mukuro. He had actually expected to fight Mukuro. And even though she didn't have a single scratch left on the outside and appeared lively, it was quite possible, or more likely, that Akari was putting up a front and wasn't really in a state to have a match against him. She had always been like that after all. She sure was stubborn in the strangest of ways. Like Raizen who had suddenly declared he'd stop eating humans and following through on it even though that led him straight to his death. And now, he was about to fight that Akari in a match to decide the ruler of the Demon World. How that adorable little baby had grown (even though she was still so small). And she even had a boyfriend now too. That said, she could play exceptionally dirty. But even how bratty she was with all her pranks made her cute. Now, to see if she was really putting up a front or not. He would surely know within the first few blows...
The finalists stepped back and entered a battle stance. Koto announced the beginning of the match. The two vanished. Their right fists collided, then their energies, and a moment later, the shockwave blasted the surface of the ring. From this ensued a fierce, high speed trade of energy-enhanced blows.
Despite his size, Enki was exceptionally fast. However, his greatest assets were his raw power, both spectral and physical, and his durability. Inflicting critical blows on a body of this size and toughness and possessing such power was literally back-breaking. And then, Akari had fought two former kings in a row. She was at an overwhelming disadvantage. But it had been the case in most of her previous matches. So everyone hoped to see her tread that exceedingly thin and difficult path to the end, to victory. She was holding her own against that friend of Raizen. And indeed, Akari had already thought of a way to victory. She had to tab on her agility and slightly superior speed and as much as her strikes lacked power, land that many more of them. Her own small size made her a troublesome and hard-to-pinpoint target. Her best bet was to employ guerrilla tactics. Besides, Enki's body was unbalanced. His upper body was certainly massive and powerful, but his legs were somewhat short and less mobile. In any case, his arms were the real danger. She would only be able to take so many of his clean-hit punches.
So Akari extensively used changes of pace, varied the angle, nature, and range of her attacks, using fists, kicks, knees, elbows, swords, daggers, spears, halberds... She couldn't let him get used to something or allow him to relax... not at this stage. She also had a better reading on her opponent's movements than before and could more easily parry his attacks, which was another essential condition for her eventual victory. Deviate his blows, and lessen their impact, rather than block them... or entirely dodge them with minimal movement... all while retaliating at the same time. Jump back or sideways in the same time she was hit. Use her opponent's large body to her own advantage, hiding herself from view, touching him, clinging to his back that he could not reach with his short limbs, like a limpet to a rock, and stealing his youki. Stay low, dash around, never stop moving, gouge through his legs and large body of his as you pass him by. Speed and momentum will give you strength. When his arms swing at you, duck and cut with a blade in the same time.
Akari's current fighting style truly made her appear exactly as a feral beast, a tigress challenging and tearing into an elephant with her claws and fangs that seemed to be still growing, sharpening into sabers as Koto commented. Even when she was swatted away, she would manage to shift her stance and land on her feet and rush back into battle.
But in battle, reality rarely followed one's ideal. It was a fact that despite everything, despite the fact that she was absorbing part of it, he still had much more youki than she had reiki, and packed more power. After all he could crush the girl's head as easily as a child could crush a handful of red berries. Even the effectiveness of her reiki armor was lacking when hit by those. As a result, his elbow had nearly broken her spine, she had also broken ribs and various other fractures in her limbs and jaw, the left side of her head was burning and her ear was ringing, she had to relocate joints mid-battle, and of course there were the usual and numerous bruises, bumps and cuts.
Well, a number of times, she had been flung into the mountains, the trees, or the ground so hard she had made craters and furrowed paths. As expected, against opponents of that level, even though she would land more blows, and fought the most viciously, she was the one taking the most damage per hit. Or rather, she fought more viciously because that was how she could make up for the difference in some small way. She wanted to win, and she didn't have the luxury of choosing her methods. Enki's youki also had the particularity of growing extremely hot when he was serious, meaning she would also suffer severe burns. What more, he was ensuring that she had no leeway to make clones, since that was how she had won her latest matches. And he was also used to most of her tricks. If Akari didn't have her energy conversion ability, she would have long lost. She could allocate part of the absorbed energy to accelerate her healing and return the rest in her attacks. Battered and bloodied, she was still fighting, to the point everyone started to wonder if she was feeling pain. And she really didn't. Not just because of the adrenaline. She had numbed her sense of pain to be able to keep fighting. However, she was running at full speed on a tightrope. That was what she had been doing for the last matches. That was when her concentration finally lapsed. She had already gone beyond what her body and mind should be capable of enduring. It was time for them to start shutting down.
The elephant's tusks impaled the tigress, piercing her abdomen through. Enki's eyes widened. Even he had not expected, let alone wanted for such a thing to happen. Shock ran through the crowd and twisted faces in horror. Akari's friends cried her name as blood flooded out of her mouth. Her broken body fell on the ground. A red puddle formed under her and started spreading. Yet, even now, her reiki was working furiously to keep her alive and heal that fatal wound, only that.
Akari's consciousness wavered. She could feel pain again, although it was still dull. To think she'd die in the same way as her mother... But even as she thought that like it was about someone else entirely, trivial thoughts flooded her mind. Rather than this hard ground, she wanted to roll around in her bed at Kurama's place, or her futon at her grandma's place. They were much comfier. She missed the Human World's pure blue sky sky, or starry moonlit sky. The night sky was especially pretty at her grandmother's place. No fumes, pollution, or city lights to blot their beauty. The cherry blossoms in spring, and the vibrant yellow, orange, and red leaves in fall... The brilliantly blooming summer flowers, and the pure white snow in winter... Right, she had wanted this new game too. She should invite everyone to play it. And the hot springs full of the refreshing, calming fragrance of bamboo leaves after a busy day were just heaven. A fridge and cupboards full other yummy stuff was also heaven. And there was this hilarious TV show she was watching with her grandma. Hope she had recorded it. And Kurama had promised to take her to that restaurant. And she had promised Shiori to go on a 'shopping date' with her. She and Keiko had also promised Yukina that they would take her to a lot of fun places in the Human World.
Ah... I see now. She finally understood what she wanted from life, why she should live, why she should fight... But that was exactly why she should give this fight her everything and win. She should return to them. She wanted to return to them. They were calling her. She had to answer. She WILL return!
Another explosion of light occurred. Even when it diminished, the girl's body was still glowing. It started levitating and healed almost instantaneously, and then it grew. Her head snapped up, and her golden eyes were gleaming fiercely. She was taller, and looked to be around twenty. And a grin was curving her lips.
"Am I in time?"
"Yes, you are. Though it was a VERY close call."
"Good. Then let's go Enki, for the last round!"
"Don't blame me if I kill you for real this time!" The great youkai grinned too. His surprise changing into exasperation and then sheer amusement. That was Akari, the one who consistently exceeded all expectations and cheated everyone, even death itself!
"That's my line!" The battle resumed after Koto colorfully voiced her own surprise, and everyone's really. What was even more astounding was that the fight was actually on equal footing now.
But unlike the masses who were simply enjoying the upset and spectacle as if it were normal, those who knew were even more worried about her. That explosion was a mere momentary boost. What would happen when it was over? Was her energy going to be entirely depleted? Wouldn't the strain on her body be even greater? They were so worried some even wanted to stop the fight right now. But they also knew it was impossible. They could only prepare their heart and deal with the consequences.
Akari had Enki surrounded by trees, boulders, ice shards, and energy balls that relentlessly aimed at him. While he was busy countering the endless stream of projectiles, she carpet-bombed him from the sky. A good number hit but others were deflected, producing craters, cracking the ground, and causing clouds of dust. The girl generated a ball of energy at the tip of her finger. She kept pouring reiki, but the ball hardly grew much larger, instead she was refining and condensing it as much as she could.
"Try taking that!" Katsuyama yelled. The incandescent orb suddenly burst in a wave that vaporized half of the canopy of the Okunen Tree. Nobody believed she still had that much power. Koto wondered if her opponent had been vaporized as well. Everyone waited with bated breath. The human felt a strong energy at her back and instinctively moved away. She couldn't entirely avoid the beam though and one of her leg was gravely burnt. However, that, too, healed almost instantly. But more came her way, she flew away at high speed. She spotted Enki's large red frame zooming towards her. His shirt and part of his pants were torn and his torso was severely wounded. She shielded herself, absorbing his youki and waited, then released all the accumulated youki back at him at point blank range. Her opponent certainly took the most damage but shockwave blew her away too. She managed to recover some control of herself and watched the youkai's smoking body fall to the ground and crash. Only a few seconds later though, it was already moving. Akari rushed over like a meteor and stomped on his back just as he was finished standing up, making him crash back down, but the momentum added to Enki's build furrowed a trench in the ground. She simultaneously used her most powerful gravity attack on him so he would stay down. He slowed down and stopped.
Koto started the countdown again. 1...2...The gravity had pushed him into the ground, making a hole, the same shape as him. Still, the demon showed his extraordinary power and resilience. His arms and legs moved again. He gripped the ledge but it crumbled. Akari encased them in a sticky substance, gluing him to the ground. However, she had not entirely mastered this technique... in fact, she was still a beginner at it. But it was fine for stalling. For good measure, she added earth, covering him. 4... 5... Enki was raising his youki to greater levels. The ground was cracking, her own technique was weakening as her reiki was being pushed back. 7... 8... She hurriedly soften the ground under him, making him sink and surprising him, before hardening it again and she allotted all her remaining energy to the gravity forcing him down. 9... 10!
"It's over!" Koto announced. "Unbelievably, victory goes to Contestant Akari!" The moment those words echoed, Akari jumped away and undid all her techniques. The sudden lack of tension made her trip and fall. She had also just returned to her usual size. Enki easily freed himself. The two sat up, looked at each other, and suddenly burst out laughing. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the birth of a human queen for the Demon World!" Koto continued as Enki stood up, picked Akari up and sat her on his shoulder. Given the situation, it would be the loser carrying the winner, but all they looked like was a dad and his darling baby daughter.
Akari's friends rushed over so he returned her to them. They started fussing about her, scolding her, hugging her, praising her... it was a total mess. So she bristled at them, jumped back up to the safety of Enki's shoulder from where she hissed at them. Yes, exactly like a spooked up cat. It was cute. On the outside, she appeared completely fine, without a single scratch or bruise. And she certainly was livelier than expected. However, Kurama knew his lover far too well, and how strain worked on her like a slow-acting poison. He never allowed his eyes to stray from her, so he could detect the tiniest change in her.
Author's note: FINALLY the end of the Makai Tournament. Perhaps I should have made Akari lose earlier, it would spared me much trouble, and it might have been more realistic. Perhaps I was just being childish. But I wanted to do it that way.
Next chapter is 'File 65: All's well that won't end'