Holding On Until Tomorrow

Holding on Until Tomorrow
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. Darn it…
Warnings: major blood, angst, and gore.
A/N: My rating on adult fanfiction dot net has gone down and I don’t know why. (mumbles) What did I do wrong? No one tells me…

Chapter 10 The Beginning of the End
The day of the beginning of the finals was a dreary day. All the members of Team Urameshi felt as though a great weight had been placed on their shoulders. It had been a long journey, but it was finally going to end…for better or for worse.
Yuskue, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei stood in the antechamber, waiting for the moment when they would go out to face Team Toguro. No one said anything. They simply waited. Kurama had his eyes closed, seemingly meditating.
“So Genkai didn’t make it?” Kuwabara broke the silence. Again, there was a tense silence.
“No,” Yuskue shook his head.
“I have a question,” Kurama said, finally opening his eyes. Yuskue looked at him. “Have you arranged for a substitute for Genkai?”
“Yeah, but the little twerp should have been here by now,” Yuskue answered. There was more silence.
Kayko, Botan, Yukina, and Shizuru sat in the audience. Surprisingly, they were joined by Touya, who was finally well enough to get out of bed (and stay out of bed). He was the only one.
There came a rumbling noise and the whole earth seemed like it was shaking. Yuskue and the others looked around for the source of it, but found none. The doors slid open, bathing the darkened antechamber with a blinding light. It was time. They stepped out onto the field among a loud roar of booing. Kurama frowned. Yuskue closed his eyes, trying very hard to keep his temper. They ignored the jeers and boos from the majority of the audience. Juri announced the presence of Team Toguro and the opposing doors opened, but the doorway was empty. A confused silence filled the ring. Then, Yuskue and the others heard soft footsteps.
Yuskue snarled softly as the Toguro brothers entered the arena first. Kuwabara tried to put on a brave face. There were heavy footsteps coupled with the sound of jingling armor that announced the presence of Team Toguro’s largest member. In contrast to Bui, Karasu’s footsteps were barely heard on the ground. The stadium was filled with deafening cheers for the favorite team. Karasu’s eyes narrowed and seemed to be glinting maliciously. Kurama caught his glare and equally matched it with one of his own. Yuskue had already seen that look once before; when Risho had come to “claim” Touya. It was a look that meant the fox shouldn’t be crossed. The cheering continued, the audience oblivious to the fact that two members of opposing teams were giving each other death glares of epic proportions. There was a sudden surge of energy coming from Yuskue. His whole body was glowing with his spirit energy. Toguro didn’t even flinch which was saying something because Kuwabara was so close to wetting himself.
The two teams stared each other down for the longest time, though it was impossible to tell if Bui was staring at them or not because his huge samurai helmet completely obscured his face. For all they knew, he could be sleeping and no one would even know.
Demons in the audience began to realize that something was wrong. Those who could count only counted four members per team, when they knew there should have been five. The stadium was filled with protests. Juri consulted the rule book and ruled that since neither team had used their substitute, they needed to have them or else forfeit the match.
“We’re now waiting for both teams to produce their fifth member,” Koto announced.
“Our reserve team member is always ready to join us when required,” Toguro said. The doors slid open and a tall, dark-haired man stepped out onto the field. Shizuru couldn’t help gasping; it was Sakyo.
“What about you guys?” Juri asked, getting really annoyed when Yuskue didn’t answer. Finally, the doors slid open and Koenma appeared in his teenage form. There were many gasps of surprise as the ruler of Spirit World stepped out onto the field.
“Now that everyone is here, let’s begin!” Juri cried. There was a soft murmur as Karasu stepped into the ring first. He stared at Kurama and held his finger to his head like a gun. Kurama glared deeply.
“Look at him trying to scare us with that stupid finger of his,” Kuwabara growled softly. “He won’t be hard for me to beat at all.”
“No,” Kurama said softly. The others stared as he stepped forward. “I’ll be the one to take him down.”
“The first match has been decided!” Juri cried. “It will be Karasu from Team Toguro…” she was forced to stop momentarily because the stadium was filled with deafening cheers. Finally, when things had calmed down a little, she was able to continue, “…and Kurama from Team Urameshi.” There were loud boos and jeers. Ignoring these, Kurama stepped into the ring. He sensed something and looked up into the stands. He smiled lightly as he picked Touya’s pale face out from the rest of the crowd. Touya wore an anxious look on his face.
“Be careful,” Touya murmured. Though Kurama couldn’t hear him, he seemed to understand. He smiled reassuringly. Then, the smile was quickly erased from his face as he stared down Karasu.
“How touching,” Karasu sneered, having caught Kurama’s glance. “Saying farewell to your lover?”
“Shut up,” Kurama growled softly.
“Ooh I touched a nerve.” Karasu’s eyes seemed to laugh at him.
The crowd continued to roar.
“From the sound of things, it seems like everyone in the stadium is a fan of the tall, dark, and gruesome Karasu,” Koto said.
“What did you say?!” a loud voice made her turn. “You couldn’t pay me to root for that vampire-wannabe-weirdo!” The source of the voice was Kayko.
“His hair is pretty,” Shizuru said.
“Beautiful things are not as harmless as they always appear,” Touya murmured. They were joined by Ogre in cheering for Kurama. Loudly.
Kuwabara thought of something and ran forward. “Hey, Kurama…” Kurama retreated to the side of the ring to have a semi-private conversation with Kuwabara. “Do you think you’ll use the medicine stuff Suzuka gave you?”
“Actually, I took some about two minutes ago,” Kurama answered in a low voice. Kuwabara gasped softly. “I’ve run some experiments and found that it takes a while for the effects to take place.”
“That’s not safe! I don’t think taking it more than once is good!”
Kurama laughed softly. “There’s no way I would have shown up here without testing it first.”
“So what does it do?”
“Suzuka was right in assuming that it would transform me. However, there’s a time limit. I can only remain in my demon form for fifteen minutes. I’m not worried. Fifteen minutes should be more than enough time to take him down.” He turned and went back to the center of the ring where Karasu stood. Juri got out of the way and Kurama and Karasu stood a short distance apart.
“Begin!” Juri cried.
“You’re either extremely brave…or extremely foolish,” Karasu said softly. Kurama’s eyes narrowed. “It’s rare for someone who’s seen my capabilities to go through with fighting me. I’m curious as to why you’d subject yourself to this. Is it something personal?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Karasu,” Kurama’s voice never lost its cool. “I’m here to defeat you. That is all. Oh and by the way, I’d advise you to not underestimate me.”
Karasu smirked. He held out his hand and started to glow a strange green color. Kurama summoned a pile of rose petals in the palm of his hand. They rose up and swirled around him in a beautiful whirlwind.
I don’t have any doubts that in my human form, I am going to be unable to defeat him. Therefore, I must stall him until the transformation can take place. He thought. Karasu didn’t look very threatened as he walked into the whirlwind of petals. Without ever lifting a finger, he blew them all away.
“Why don’t you make things easier and submit?” he asked. He jumped high into the sky and vanished. Kurama looked around wildly to find him and was just barely able to dodge when Karasu came from behind. Karasu came forward, swiping at Kurama with his hand that looked as sharp as a blade. Kurama narrowly dodged each swipe. He summoned his Rose Whip but Karasu blew that away too, much to his astonishment. Karasu jumped in the air again and vanished as before. Kurama was barely able to get out of the way in time as Karasu came down, one hand thrust forward. Instead of grasping Kurama, it grasped the concrete ring, taking a large chunk out. Kurama landed on the ground and felt a searing pain in his right shoulder. He dropped to his knees.
“Like I said before, I don’t have to touch you. It’s just one of the perks,” Karasu said softly, his eyes blazing. He held up his hand and it started glowing. Moments later, a rather large stick of dynamite appeared. He lobbed it at Kurama, who didn’t seem to be able to get out of the way in time. There was a huge explosion. Juri went flying. The ring was covered by a thick smoke. Karasu appeared in the air, looking like a giant bat (as usual). He landed heavily on the ground.
Kayko gasped. “He got him!”
Botan’s eyes filled with tears. I’ve already had to take someone I love to Spirit World. Please don’t make me take another. She thought desperately. Shizuru just stared, as did Yukina. Touya sat with his hands clasped together convulsively in his lap.
“No,” he whispered, tears filling his eyes.
“Anyone see?” Yuskue demanded, trying to find his friend in the smoke. Karasu watched the billowing flames and smoke. Then, he gasped as blood dripped to the ground. He found the reason why; there was a rose stuck into his hand.
“Very amusing,” he growled, pulling the rose out, the wound healing itself. A strange wind started blowing. A strange energy emanated from the smoke. To some, it was already familiar. The stadium went dead silent. Yuskue was unfamiliar with the new energy.
Where is all this energy coming from? He thought.
“I’ve seen all this before,” Koto interrupted the silence. “This battle is in for a heart-stopping facelift!”
The silhouette of a tall, thin man with fox ears and a tail appeared through the smoke. The smoke finally cleared away and revealed the silver-haired fox demon Yoko Kurama. Blood trickled down from his eye and lips.
Shuichi is fortunate I could come. He thought darkly. He would not have survived that blast, being what he is.
“You’re tellin’ me that that’s Kurama?!” Yuskue asked.
“In a nutshell,” Koenma answered. “As you’ve heard, his full name is Yoko Kurama, but he’s known by several other titles as well.”
Touya stared at Yoko Kurama. “I have heard the stories about Yoko Kurama, including the ones about him escaping to human world and hiding, but I never thought they’d be true.”
“Creating a bomb from nothing takes talent. That caliber of power is a sign that you belong to a superior class of demons. A class I consider to be very worthy-worthy to fight and worthy to die,” Yoko said. He wiped the blood from beneath his lip.
“You flatter me,” Karasu said, his hands glowing green again. “But we’re still not equals.” This time, Yoko could actually see the bombs Karasu created.
“Rest assured Karasu, I wholly agree,” Yoko smirked. “Now I see. You make monsters that act as invisible bombs.” Karasu sent two of the said bombs towards Yoko. The silver-haired demon brought out two roses from beneath his hair and, swiftly throwing them at the two bombs, made them explode without ever coming near him. “How very clever. That explains why I couldn’t fight them in my previous form. Fortunately, I managed to find a way to break free of Shuichi Minamino long enough to take you out.”
“That’s fascinating,” Karasu said in a bored tone. “But nothing more than a loser’s excuse. You couldn’t beat me then and you can’t beat me now. But you’re welcome to try.” He created a bunch of bombs that he sent after Yoko. Yoko jumped high in the air and deftly evaded the bombs. Karasu chuckled softly. “When you come from the Quest class of demons, you find that you can create all sorts of interesting things. These little jewels are what I like to call trace eyes. Once they set their sights on you, they’ll follow you forever.”
Yoko landed and the bombs instantly came after him.
“Those little buggers are everywhere,” Yuskue groaned.
“My, my. It looks like you’re surrounded. What’s a boy to do?” Karasu taunted.
“I thought you’d know better than to corner an animal like a fox, Karasu. We have a tendency to show our teeth.” He was surrounded with a blast of spirit energy that reached out and started destroying the bombs. There were many gasps and some screams (mostly coming from Juri) as a gigantic, very lethal looking plant appeared. It soon set its sights on Karasu.
“It looks like it’s zeroed in on you. It must have sensed your trembling.” It was Yoko’s turn to taunt. The plant came towards Karasu, who dodged it. Yoko simply stood there and watched as the plant attacked Karasu. Karasu tried to make it explode, but that only seemed to make it grow bigger (and angrier). He soon found himself cornered. Then, he was swallowed. Juri was just about to announce the winner when the plant exploded.
“Who’s dead?” Karasu asked in a deadly soft voice. “Not me.”
“Um right. Forget what I said. The match will now continue!” Juri said nervously. She rushed to the side.
“You look surprised,” a now maskless Karasu said. “Did you really think that plant would finish me off?”
“Karasu has lost his dear old mask,” the elder Toguro said.
“It appears he has,” the younger Toguro agreed. He turned to Sakyo. “You’d better stand back. Things are about to get hazardous.”
“Oh,” Sakyo backed up several steps.
Karasu started sucking in the air around him, causing his hair to change to bright gold. Yoko, seemingly understanding what this meant, backed up several steps. Laughing, Karasu created a gigantic bomb.
“I think you should know that Karasu has no loyalties. He’ll blow up the entire stadium if he thinks it’ll help,” the younger Toguro said sharply to Sakyo. Sakyo backed up several more steps so that he was nearly behind the two Toguro brothers.
Karasu jumped and detonated the bomb. The result was catastrophic. A quarter of the stadium was decimated in under a minute, killing the unfortunate demons in its wake. Shizuru, Botan, Kayko, Yukina, and Touya were spared; they were sitting on the opposite side of where the damage was, though it scared the shit out of them to get a clear view of the destruction. Yusuke was the first to get up from the rubble.
“Hey, is everyone all right?” he demanded, looking around.
“That idiot almost killed me. I should have him arrested,” Koenma groaned. Kuwabara sat up, holding his ear.
“Does anyone else hear singing?” he asked. Hiei was standing on the top of the wall that separated the fighters from the audience, completely unharmed. He jumped down.
“Where’s Kurama?!” Yuskue demanded. The billowing smoke made it hard to see anything. Finally, it faded away, leaving a scorched ring and an unhurt Karasu behind. Kurama was nowhere in sight. Karasu was laughing. Suddenly, a pile of rocks moved and Kurama climbed out, changed back from his demon form. He was severely injured. Stepping back into the ring, he found that he was unable to summon his Rose Whip. He attacked Karasu hand to hand, and tried to plant a seed, but it didn’t work. Karasu found it and removed it, with great annoyance. He summoned several bombs that laughed. He sent them at Kurama, but he was unable to dodge them in time. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground, bleeding heavily. He struggled up.
“Don’t move another inch!” Yuskue screamed. “You’re surrounded by bombs!” Kurama gasped softly. He couldn’t see the bombs, but he knew they were there. Karasu slowly approached, taunting him. He detonated the bombs, so close to Kurama’s body. He screamed in pain, blood gushing out of wounds.
“I can’t watch!” Kayko cried, turning away. Kurama fell to his knees. Touya felt sick to his stomach. His hands were tightly wrung together.
“Your red hair is perfect for that fiery spirit of yours. That’s why I’m keeping your face unharmed. Even though I can’t keep you, I’ll always have the memory of your face to give me comfort.” Kurama struggled to stand again. A plan was forming in his mind. It would require a great sacrifice from him, but at least he would win.
“All right. Let’s end this.” Karasu detonated the rest of the bombs. Kurama was filled with excruciating pain. He screamed. There was blood everywhere. He gave a soft gasp and collapsed.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!” Yuskue screamed. The stadium was filled with deafening screams.
“NO!” Touya cried wildly. He squeezed his eyes shut. No no no no no! Not Kurama. Please, not Kurama. His entire body was trembling. His breathing came in ragged gasps and he tried to choke back his sobs. Juri started counting.
“One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…te…” she stopped and stared as Kurama slowly rose, his body glowing purple. Screaming, he sent a plant at Karasu. Attracted by the blood from Karasu’s chest wound, it immediately began feeding. Karasu died within a few seconds, the plant draining the life from his body. There were gasps of horror and disgust. Touya opened his eyes and watched.
“His life!” Yuskue cried.
“It’s fading!” Kuwabara added. They stared at Kurama, who was motionless on the ground.
“Please get up,” Touya whispered, tears in his eyes. Kurama’s eyes slowly opened and he managed to get to his feet before Juri had finished counting to ten. He was absolutely covered with blood and looked half dead.
“Oh thank god,” Touya whispered.
“The winner of the match is Kurama!” Juri announced. There were loud boos from the audience. Kurama ignored them. He had defeated Karasu and he was still alive. That was all that mattered.
To be continued…
A/N: Just so you know, I used the Japanese spelling of Shuichi for this. Major difference from the real episode. I hated the ruling against Kurama. He deserved to win. Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter done. I have finals this coming week and I sort of have to study. This was one long chapter. I didn’t want to split it up like they did in the anime. It drives me crazy when they do that. They sure know how to draw things out. Next chapter: Hiei vs. Bui! Hopefully it won’t be a very long time before I update again.