Yu Yu Hakusho: The After Years

Episode 30: It's Not Touya

"Rieka?" Hiro shouted, "Rieka!" he yelled once more, shaking her shoulders. Rieka responded with a soft snore, "Is she asleep?" he asked, a bit more calmly.

Scarlett nodded, "She used up too much energy at once, she's recovering now. And be careful calling her name...you never know who might be watching. You were lucky the mic was off."

Hiro nodded and settled Rieka with her back against the edge of the raised platform that made up the arena. His hand hovered over her shoulder wound as he prepared to heal it.

Scarlett grabbed his hand, "Save your energy," she said, "I'll take care of the wound, you're up next."

Hiro swallowed hard, "Right," he said, "Any tips?"

"Don't worry about the money," she responded, "Vaporize this one too if you need to."

Hiro blinked curiously, "But I don't have lightning powers."

"Ice can be just as effective," Scarlett stated, "Oh, and they'll probably recognize your rei-daggers, so you may want to do without them."

"Umm, Team Kabuki, we're waaiitiiing," Nao called from the stage.

"Right," Hiro said uncertainly as he clamored on to the arena.

Is it just me, Hiro thought as he faced his opponent for the first time, or is this guy a lot bigger than the last one?

This one seemed distorted. The same drooling face, but his shoulders and arms were overlarge, to the point where his knuckles scraped across the ground like a gorilla. It looked almost as if the weight of his own bulk were too much for him to handle; even standing there, each breath was a labored wheeze.

Or maybe he's just excited...or hungry, Hiro thought darkly.

"Ready?" Called the ref, one arm raised high in the air, "Begin!"

As she slashed her arm through the air, the behemoth scrambled forward on his knuckles much faster than Hiro would have thought as humanly possible for his frame. Luckily, his training in the summer with Hiei has paid off, and he was ready for him. Hiro crouched down, appearing motionless.

"Move, you idiot!" cried Kuwabara from the stands, "he's gonna crush you between those big gross feet of his!"

And truly, like an orangutan, the gargantuan creature slapped the soles of his feet together on the place Hiro was standing. Balanced on his knuckles, he separated his feet to look at his prize, as one might examine a booger in a tissue before discarding it. When he separated his feet, the creature gave a guttural, "huh?" as he realized he had clamped down on thin air.

"Alright, an after-image!" Called Yusuke, "Isn't that your trick, Hiei?"

"Yes," said Hiei tersely, "It is." He mimicked Kurama's pose of leaning forward onto his knees and resting his chin in his palms as he watched. Kurama was right, something was interesting about this team. Suspicious, even.

Hiro had reappeared behind the beast, arms stretched out behind his head to strike. He concentrated energy into his palms—

Oh crap, he thought, that's right, I shouldn't use my rei-daggers.

As a result, he slammed his fists into the back of the creature's head. It was still a blow that would have killed—or at the very least knocked out—a regular opponent, but it only succeeded in pissing off his current adversary.

The beast howled in rage as he whipped around, windmilling his arms. This time, one of the flailing arms connected to Hiro, knocking the breath out of him and sending him flying across the arena.