Holding On Until Tomorrow

Holding on Until Tomorrow
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters.
Chapter warnings: mild language and angst.

Chapter 3 Masked Feelings
The group was in rather high spirits the next morning; they had learned that the semifinals weren’t being held for another day, so they had time to relax and get themselves back in order. They were forced to get up early to watch the match that would decide which team they would face next. Kurama, who had been up since the crack of dawn visiting Touya in the infirmary, arrived the earliest. Hiei was next and the two of them waited for the match to begin. The others hadn’t even arrived by the time the match was over. It was brutal and quick. Two minutes. Two minutes was all it had taken for Team Uraotogi to completely wipe out their opponents. Kurama had a great feeling of unease at the end. The entire crowd had been shocked into silence at the end of the match. One of the demons, the one who looked like he belonged in a boy band in Kurama’s personal opinion, was saying something, but he and Hiei were too far away so they couldn’t hear what he was saying. The demon pointed at Hiei and Kurama, so Kurama had the nasty feeling that whatever he was saying wasn’t positive. He didn’t have a chance to find out; the team walked off the field.
“Well, well, well, look who it is,” a voice interrupted Kurama’s thoughts. Kuwabara, Yuskue, the masked fighter and Botan joined the demon pair from their watching place. “I guess you guys have the same idea as us to scope out the competition.”
“Had the same idea,” Kurama corrected. “The fight ended. It only lasted for two minutes.”
“What?! It’s over with already?!” Kuwabara yelped. “I only took a couple extra minutes to brush my teeth. Can’t believe we missed the whole fight because of a couple minutes.”
“The first fight has ended, which means that Team Urameshi will be facing off against Team Uraotogi in the semi-finals,” Koto announced loudly.
“I can’t believe we missed the whole thing!” Kuwabara was still in shock.
“It was impressive,” Kurama chuckled softly to himself.
“Though I’m sure your minty fresh breath was worth it,” Hiei added. Kuwabara glared at him, but Hiei’s attention had turned to Pu sitting on top of Yuskue’s head. “What the hell is that ridiculous appendage growing out of your head?!”
“Nothing, just a puberty thing,” Yuskue grumbled. He turned to Kurama. “So how are your wounds doing?”
“They are all right,” Kurama answered earnestly. “It took some time for me to extract the death plant from my body, but it seems as though I’ll make a full recovery in time to fight tomorrow.”
“Well that’s good,” Yuskue smiled. “And how is your other charge doing?” He was met by a surprised look from the red-haired demon. “Oh come on, I know you were there this morning taking care of him again. Don’t think I can’t see through you, lover boy.”
A slight blush formed in Kurama’s cheeks. “It isn’t like that Yuskue. I’m merely filling in for Jin who is still bed-ridden and besides, my knowledge of healing plants has helped take a load off the nurses’ minds.”
“Yeah, that’s what you want us to think,” Yuskue grinned impishly. His grin fell away as a sudden hush fell on the crowd. They were looking at something, or rather someone standing at the top of the seats, almost directly across from where Yuskue and his team stood. In reality, it was a group of someones, whom Yuskue and his team weren’t exactly jumping for joy to see. The Elder Toguro rested on his brother’s shoulders as usual but they weren’t alone. Two others, whom Team Urameshi had never seen before stood with them, presumably their other fighters. One stood covered with armor which included his face, keeping it from being seen. The other was tall dark, and would have been handsome had it not been for the mask covering the lower portion of his face and the steely glint in his eyes. He was clothed in all black, which set off his ivory skin perfectly. However, in Kurama’s opinion (and probably the others’ opinions), it made him look like a vampire. No words were exchanged between the two teams because of the sheer distance between them, but no words were necessary. Threatening gestures were made and the two teams exchanged the common knowledge that they would meet on the battlefield soon enough. Team Toguro vanished in a cloud of black smoke, emanating the masses of energy they had, up until that point, carefully masked. Kuwabara sensed it and fell forward, steadying himself by grabbing the rail in front of him.
“Are you all right Kuwabara?” Kurama asked in concern.
“I can’t believe…that I didn’t feel their power sooner. They must have been concealing it. I’m…lightheaded.”
“Let’s go to the locker room so you can sit down,” Kurama suggested. “Can you walk?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Kuwabara struggled to his feet. The team retreated to their locker room as the next battle began.
Kuwabara was still trembling ten minutes later. (A/N: There doesn’t seem to be a bench in the locker room which is kind of odd if you ask me, so in this fic, there is one). Yuskue was nonchalant.
“I’m just saying that it’s not that big of a deal. You’ve gotten a lot better since we first saw Toguro. Your senses probably have improved since then,” he said, his arms crossed. He glanced carelessly down at his trembling teammate. “Us bitching about it isn’t gunna do anything to help. We can beat him. I know we can.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” said a soft, melodious voice as the door was pushed open by unseen hands. Team Uraotogi stood in the doorway. “Aren’t you forgetting about someone?”
“No one of real importance,” Kurama said smoothly, glaring at the intruding team.
“Who are they?” Kuwabara wondered.
“The freak-show rejects possibly?” Yuskue smirked. Introductions were made. The tall man with spiky blonde hair and a very weird sense of style was Kuromomotaro. He seemed to be obsessed with chewing gum. The mostly naked ox man was Makintaro. The young boy with the fishing pole and an evil glare was Uruaurishima. The owner of the melodious voice who had first spoken was a teenage-looking boy with long violet hair named Shishiwakamaru. The final member only called himself Onji, an old, wrinkled man.
“What do you want?” Yuskue asked. “Cause if you want us to go easy on you, then you’re wasting both our time.”
“Naw, it’s the opposite,” Kuromomotaro drawled, spitting out his gum. “We want a good fight.” Both Kuwabara and Yuskue ‘hmphed’ at this.
“We will be famous and it’ll take more than two minutes to obtain it,” Shishiwakamaru said. He and the other members of Team Uraotogi started walking away.
“Arrogant little prick huh?” Yuskue asked to Kuwabara.
“Hell yeah.” Shishiwakamaru heard and stopped walking.
“If you want to be famous, then you should start a boy band. You’ve already got the looks,” Yuskue called loudly. Shishiwakamaru spun around and suddenly grew fangs and horns.
“Things will get ugly soon enough!” he yelled. Then, he rejoined his team.
“Those guys are complete wimps. They don’t even have a quarter of the power Toguro’s team was putting off,” Kuwabara grumbled.
“We could make it more interesting by wearing blindfolds. It would definitely make things more amusing, for us at least.” Yuskue and Kuwabara grinned at each other. The Masked Fighter glared at Yuskue, which only fueled his temper. It ended up with Yuskue punching a huge hole in the wall right when Botan had appeared in the doorway and Yuskue and the Masked Fighter leaving to “settle things”. The others were worried, and Botan went to Koenma, but the pint-sized ruler assured her that it was all right.
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That evening, Yuskue and the Masked Fighter still hadn’t returned. Kuwabara, who was playing cards with Kurama, while Hiei sat in the windowsill (a recent habit of his) and stared at the rain, was worried. He relayed these feelings to the red-haired demon, who was quick to reassure him.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure everything is all right.”
“Yeah, I guess. What do you think of our chances tomorrow? I mean, there’s only two more fights for us and then we’re done.”
“Yes, that is exciting. It will be challenging though because we’ll be in a new stadium and there will probably be an even rowdier crowd. Plus the tournament committee will still try and do everything they can to shut us down.”
“Well, that doesn’t bother me. We can handle it.” Kuwabara drew a joker card and groaned softly. Then, the door opened and all the girls came in with snacks, drinks, and a loud fanfare that made Hiei grit his teeth. Botan, Yukina, and Shizuru talked with Kuwabara while Kayko went directly to Kurama.
“Have you seen Yuskue?” Kayko asked rather shyly; she wasn’t very familiar with the red-haired demon.
“He still hasn’t come back yet from his business with the Masked Fighter,” Kurama answered in a kind voice. “We’re not sure where they are.”
“I see. I hope he’s okay. Pu has been acting strange lately.”
“I’m sure he’s fine Kayko,” Kurama said smiling.
“Yes,” Botan agreed. “Now let’s just have some fun.”
“Okay!” Kuwabara said enthusiastically. “Who wants to play some cards?” The girls readily agreed. Hiei remained stubbornly where he was on the windowsill. Kurama surprisingly didn’t join in.
“I have some things I have to attend to,” he said politely. “If you’ll excuse me…” he left.
“What’s with him?” Kuwabara wondered.
“Dunno,” Botan shrugged.
You’re a fool, Kurama, getting involved with those people. Hiei thought sneeringly, going back to his window staring, though the view wasn’t all that great. Who am I to stop you, though? You’re too damn soft for your own good. You could use a lesson or two.”
To be continued…