Akina's POV
It was now the next morning and I was sat in bed reading over a book about other abilities that can potentially shared between a Dog Demon's owner and the Dog Demon, whilst Goro was sleeping peacefully in his bed. And I read how apparently the Dog Demon can eventually develop a way to severe the connection themselves, if the pair are at a very long distance and is separated for extensive periods of time. It is then my head begins to hurt and my vision goes slightly blurry.
I am staring at the opened white binder and reading over a page that was labelled with something that makes tears in my eyes. "No!" I shout to the binder. "This can't be true! No! That's not fair, that's not...." I start sobbing over the pages as I can't help but continue to read the words. "Why? WHY?!" I start screaming out.
It is then that a hand places itself on my shoulder, making my vision suddenly clear and my headache disappear. I blink multiple times before turning to the person who is now sat beside me. "Are you alright? I can smell that you are distressed." Goro asks me gently, with no signs of tiredness on him. I shake my head for a moment to help ground me before I look at him and answer, "I'm not quite sure to be honest. I was just reading about our link and suddenly my mind just shows me staring at some kind of binder, but the contents are blurred. And for some reason I hear myself crying and not happy at all with what I'm reading. I don't...I don't understand it nor recall when that could of occurred." Goro looks like he has frozen for a moment, before suddenly suggesting to me, "Maybe you had a vision. I mean Chiharu and my grandfather have them. You know...visions of the future." I tilt my head at him and ask, "You think so?" He just shrugs and says, "It's a possibility. If you want, I'll ask Lord Kenichi about it." I shake my head and say, "No. Let's not ask more from him than we've already done." I then look at the clock on the wall to see the time, making me sigh and say, "I better prepare breakfast. Everyone will be getting up soon."
"Let me make it all this time. I need to practice. And it's give you a break and time to relax after this, so you can have a clear mind." Goro says to me as he gets up and pulls out a clean pair of clothes. I sigh before smiling and saying, "That is very kind of you, Goro. Alright I give in. You can make breakfast, but I will be supervising." He laughs at this before saying, "I expect nothing less."
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I am sat on the sofa sipping my coffee across from a tired and miserable looking Kuwabara, whilst Yusuke was scramming down the croissants that Goro had called the butlers to bring up as he had attempted to make breakfast, but sadly ended up destroying the cooker. Goro has patient's in cooking, but not for baking. Goro had retreated to our room in embarrassment of the situation that has come. "What's your problem, Kuwabara? You don't like croissants? Stupid name, but they taste good. Or are you as upset as I am that sis will be unable to cook freshly made food for us when we want?" Yusuke asks Kuwabara as he finishes gobbling his breakfast. I sigh and look over to Yusuke as I say, "Please, Yusuke. Goro has already apologised and is upset with himself enough as it is. Besides the hotel was originally going to provide us free food since the beginning, I would just be cancelling the service. So now we will just receive free service from now on, so please quite complaining. Goro and Kurama both agree that I needed a break from catering."
Kuwabara looks at the pair of us and decides to speak, "I had a dream last night guys." Yusuke looks at Kuwabara and asks, "Was she hot?" And with that I wacked him in the head and muttered out, "Perv." Whilst Kuwabara raises his voice slightly at Yusuke, "It was about our next fight, okay!" This makes me look at Kuwabara with concern, whilst my idiot of a brother looks at him with an unbothered look and calmly says, "Ah a nightmare. Must suck to get beat up in your dreams as well." And with that Yusuke starts laughing, greatly upsetting Kuwabara, who shouts at him, "Just shut up! That's not what it was about!" And I of course nudge my brother and say, "Be serious, Yusuke." To which leads to Yusuke saying, "Sorry man, I don't feel like playing council for the day." And with that he takes a bite of one of my croissants. "Well fine then! Your dumbass wouldn't understand it anyway!" Kuwabara barks at my still calm and unbothered brother. "Where is Kurama and Hiei, they're good with stuff like this?" Kuwabara calmly asks me, and I was about to answer when Yusuke just says, "Not here." And of course this concerns Kuwabara greatly. "They're not here?! Well where did they go?!" Kuwabara asks us with a panicked look. "Hell if I know." Yusuke answers, causing Kuwabara to stand up and ask, "What's with you people?! Doesn't anyone know how to write notes when they leave?!"
I sigh realising that my presence is being ignored at this point. "Take a relaxer." Yusuke calmly says to Kuwabara without a care. "Are fight is starting soon and Demons aren't exactly trusting. They'd never let us fight alone." Kuwabara looks up with a calmer look as he says, "Yeah that's true." Yusuke then stands up as he says, "They're probably just gonna meet us in the arena. Now let's go kick some ass." I then look over my shoulder and call out, "Goro! Come on, we're going!" And when seeing the door to my room open, I get up and stretch my arms as I groan out, "Something's telling me to have a good stretch."
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We are now walking through the corridors of the stadium to make our way towards the arena. Just me, Yusuke, Goro, Kuwabara and the Masked Fighter. We stop as we see someone approaching us, making Yusuke say, "Looks like we got a fan." The teenage looking by before us is wearing a red obi sash tied at the waist of a pink-trimmed blue robe over brown pants and black shoes. He is also wearing a long red scarf that covers his neck and shoulders. I also note how he has medium length brown hair, parted down the middle where a "Jr." mark sits between on his forehead and a blue pacifier kept in his mouth. "I'd say I'm a little more than that, Yusuke." Koenma says calmly. "Wait a minute." Yusuke says as he invades Koenma's personal space. "Junior on the forehead, squealy voice..." He then leaps back with a shocked look on his face as he exclaims, "You're Koenma's older brother!" I sigh at this, but can't help but understand how and why he jumped to that conclusion. "As far as I'm aware Koenma doesn't have any brothers only an older sister, I should know...I'm him. As a cool teenager!" He answered calmly but then exclaims the last bit with a smile on his face.
Yusuke seems to definitely disagree with Koenma's last statement as he says, "Yes the pacifier for raving." And this of course upsets Koenma as he shouts, "Can it boy!" He then calms down before he continues speaking but more to Kuwabara, "Yo, Kuwabara. Thanks for helping out Yusuke all the time, it's nice." This makes Kuwabara smile and say, "Hey, no problem." This makes Yusuke look at him and say, "Give me a break, all you do is give me someone else to rescue." Kuwabara's happiness instantly disappears after hearing this as he quickly says, "That's not true!" I once again sigh at the possibility of another fight kicking off, whilst Koenma raises his hands and says, "Boys please." The redirects Yusuke's attention back to him as he asks, "So sucker mouth, what are you doing here?" Koenma calmly answers, "Well one, I'm your Spirit Detective boss. Two, I'm the owner of your team. And three, I have a way to help. Yusuke Urameshi, your egg is about to hatch."
"Excuse me?" Both Yusuke and I say in sync as both of us are confused by his words. Although something tells me I only I should be confused and not Yusuke. "Your golden egg, you moron! The egg of your Spirit Beast I gave you during your life ordeal, remember?!" Koenma shouts at Yusuke's face, clearly losing his cool from my twin's forgetfulness. I turn to Yusuke who just confesses with no shame, "I have no clue." Koenma closes his eyes in irritation in that moment, before saying, "Brief recap. I gave you an egg that would hatch a Spirit Beast that would probably bite off your head. But wisely you chose to forgo your chances of revival by hatching the beast prematurely, thus saving Keiko from a fire. This sacrifice was the true answer to the ordeal and boom! You're back to life, and the egg stayed with me so you never actually hatched it. Only it's Spirit Energy was unleashed. Ever since you became Spirit Detective, the egg unbeknownst to you, has been feeding on your soul's merit. And now after nearly a year it will hatch."
I scratch my head and say out loud, "That's a lot of information to receive in just a few minutes." Whilst Yusuke smiles and cheerfully says, "Hey, that's pretty slick, taking care of my egg like that. You could've scrambled it and I would've never known." I turn to him and say, "I don't think that's how it works." Koenma keeps his gaze on my brother as he says, "How insightful. But it's not hatched yet. You'll have to depend on the skills Genkai has taught you for now. Hopefully the Spirit Wave technique should be enough in this fight." And of course he looked down at the Masked Fighter when saying the last bit. "Right, Spirit Wave. Never actually perfected that one. We were busy." Yusuke calmly confesses, which makes Koenma's face turn to one of panic and seems frozen in place. "Let's go." I sigh out and we continue to walk forward, even if Koenma stands there frozen. "Thanks for the info Koenma. That egg thing sounds pretty cool." Yusuke says as we continue to walk away. Koenma starts to call to us to respond to Yusuke, whilst Goro starts conversing with me. "Isn't it rude how he voices appreciation to Kuwabara, but nothing for us both?" Goro asks me with annoyance in his voice. I look at him and say, "If he acknowledges us then Spirit World realise his involvement with his sister, as well as them becoming aware of my Spiritual Energy." Goro sighs and says, "This is all frustrating." I nod in response.
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Third Person's POV
The Puppet Master and the Executioner are making their way towards the room where they can watch the next fight. But they then stop as the Executioner holds out his arm in front of his master, as he then commands, "Show yourself!" It is then harsh winds are felt as the Executioner is violently pulled from his position and slammed against the wall by an angry looking Lady Hitomi, who growls at him, "Who do you think you are to go ordering me around?!" The Executioner was about to move, only to wince as he felt claws dig into his neck and the arm he uses to attack. "I would advise against it, Executioner. My sister sees it as an invitation to play with your life." Lord Kenichi speaks up from behind the Puppet Master, who hadn't moved at all during this. "Oh, that catches my attention. So I take it, she's the fun sibling?" The Puppet Master decides to speak as they stare in fascination at the scene before them, not at all caring about the Dog Demon behind them. "Well...if your definition of fun is the same of my sister's then sure. But we both didn't decide to interact with you." Lord Kenichi calmly speaks with his hands behind his back.
The Puppet Master turns to face him and asks, "What's caused this interaction?" Lord Kenichi takes a step forward and asks, "Do you have any knowledge as to where Kurama and Hiei are? For some reason they are not in the building." The Puppet Master tilts their head as they speak in a tone that the two Dog Demon's decipher as happiness, "They aren't? Excellent." This makes Lady Hitomi's head snap over towards the pair as she hisses out, "Why is that excellent?! Did you order your minions to capture them?!" It is then the Executioner grunts out, "No such order was made." The Puppet Master nods and says, "I have had no involvement in their disappearance. I merely find this excellent because I can get something that I want out of this." This makes Lord Kenichi ask, "And what is that?" The Puppet Master answers, "For a certain Urameshi to finally stretch their limbs."
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Akina's POV
The crowds are cheering loudly again. Their vocals are primed and in action without fault. Yusuke, Kuwabara, the Masked Fighter and I are standing across from Dr Ichigaki, but I notice two of their number are missing. "Urameshi, they're for real." Kuwabara manages to say out of his trembling form. "Fox girls?" Yusuke asks him. "The three fighters on that team!" Kuwabara snaps at him. "They're exactly the same ones from my nightmare. I remember the entire thing." Both Yusuke and I breath out in confusion, "What?" And as Kuwabara began to speak of the dream, I feel a change in myself as my head starts to hurt slightly, making me close my eyes. But instead the normal darkness we all meet when our eyes close, I see a greyish white light that takes over my sight...
I am standing outside what looks to be a temple of teaching. I enter a room where I hear crying come from. In the room I see lots of young men sitting around a sick looking elderly man who rests on a sleeping mat in the centre of them all. "Master Mitamura, please!" One of the boys begs. "It's okay, son. Let me stay awake for now." The old man calmly speaks back to the boy. "Master I want you to get better. I need you to get better." Says the boy that had previously begged. "Need, son? No. You sell yourself too short. You all do." The man calmly speaks again, despite all the boys around him crying. "You're fully capable of standing on your own. Stop this nonsense. Mine are the only dry eyes in the room. How could I ever be afraid, when I'm bless with students like you?" The old man tries to lighten up the atmosphere by saying these words with a smile. This time a man with a moustache sobs out with a look of shame, "I talked one last time with the hospital ward this morning. I had to tell them we could never afford the seventy thousand." The boy that had started the conversation suddenly curses, "Dammit! None of this...not one piece is fair! How can I expect to live with myself now! The man who's raised us and taught us like his own sons is dying, and I can't do a thing to help him!" The old man still keeps his smile on as he speaks, "I know it's hard for you to take, but knowing that you care about me so much is..." It is then his eyes are no longer dry. "Listen, sometimes things happen that we can't control. Things we can only accept." It is then a boy with a visible buck tooth cries out, "I wont! I'll never accept it! I'll make you better, somehow, I will!" The moment filled with sobs and determination comes to an end as creepy laughter is heard in the room. All the students leap up and turn to the source of the noise, to find the tiny stumpy demon. "Who are you?" One of the students ask. "Quite possibly I'm the answer to your prayers. A doctor who can alleviate your poor master's disease." The Demon answers with a creepy grin on his face. "Don't toy with us." The student with the moustache says, leading to the Demon saying, "It's free." That makes the student with the bucked tooth immediately say, "Alright, we'll take it." The Demon raises his finger as he says, "There is however, one stipulation." A student asks, "What is it?" In hearing that the Demon says in a mocking tone, "You might not be interested." This makes the moustache student says, "Tell us. If there's anything we can do to save him then we will." I can see how pleased the Demon is at these words as he says, "I would like to use this gentleman, and this one, and you my good sir over there as subjects for a little experiment." He had pointed at the three males that are in his team today. "It's the only way I can help you. And don't worry, your bodies will stay perfectly intact." And with that he starts laughing.
I am finally able to snap myself back into the present as Kuwabara finished recalling the events of his dream. "I'm positive that dream was the truth." Kuwabara says, making me say, "I don't know what just happened, but as Kuwabara was recounting the dream I seem to have had a vision of sorts that matches exactly what he says, Yusuke. I don't blame Kuwabara for his concern." Before Yusuke or Kuwabara could react to my words, Koto looks between our teams before announcing, "Time is up. Teams, step forward."" And with that me, Yusuke, Kuwabara and the Masked Fighter step forward, along with the suppose doctor and the three dead looking Humans. "Team Captains, please decide the terms of battle." Koto instructs, making the doctor begin to laugh in his creepy manner. "Isn't this mysterious? Both of our teams are missing two members." Dr. Ichigaki says to us. "What do you say, we fight with the people we have, winner is the best of three?" In hearing his offer Yusuke says, "What about you? Don't the ugly ear pointed trolls like to fight too? After all my sister is our substitute fighter, we can involve her and say best out of four." Dr. Ichigaki laughs at this before answering, "Only when we have to, boy. I prefer the managing position. Never any reason to do the work, when you could watch somebody else do it for you. Hence the guinea pigs. As for your sister, well let's just say that someone else with similar interests as me has offered me another guinea pig they would like to test out. Your sister can help with that one so it can still become a four out of four."
Yusuke glares at the doctor whilst I stare with a look of confusion. "So it's true." Yusuke states, leading to the doctor going on a rant, "They say that the Spirit Energy a Human body is capable of producing is far greater than that of an apparition! A fierce monster of power locked within you all! It's only the Human conscious that keeps this power at bay! Take away free will and the monster will say hello." My eyes widen at his words. "How about ass kicking? Do they say that too?" Yusuke asks him with a powerful glare in his eyes and a clear threat in his tone. "Every genius has his critics. I am but an inventor seeking to create the perfect fighting vehicle. No compassion or fear to hold it back. A Human Spirit power on cruise control." Dr. Ichigaki says passionately in response. "Does it come with AC?" Yusuke asks, making me turn to him and ask, "That's your question in response to that?" Dr. Ichigaki points at us and says, "Mock me all you want. It'll be a different story when you're the one I'm controlling." To which I immediately say, "Not gonna happen!" Whilst my twin asks, "Say what?!"
"Let's make this interesting, Urameshi. Your power fascinates me. And from what I've been told about your sister, her power fascinates me also. If my team wins, I get to use your bodies." Dr. Ichigaki proposes without room for refusal as he laughs at us. I can guarantee that Yusuke can feel my rage just as I can feel his. "Why not? And if my team wins, we get to rip off your face whilst you tell me about this bastard that's been talking about my sister!" Yusuke agrees with determination and of course ending the agreement with a special Urameshi styled threat. "Yes I can live with that." The doctor agrees with a laugh and seems to be diving into a fantasy, until the Masked Fighter speaks up, "We have one more condition. We combine the four matches into an eight person battle royale. One fight determines it all." The doctor doesn't seem to happy at her condition, but says, "Perhaps." This makes Kuwabara glare over at the Masked Fighter and say, "Hold on little guy! You mean all four of us fighting their four in the ring at the very same time?!"
I notice the Doctor turn around and fidget with something he pulled out of his pocket, before he starts chuckling and turns to us with his creepy grin as he says, "I will accept. Your masked friend drives a hard bargain. Just let me contact my associate for the additional guinea pig they promised to lend me." He then pulls out what looks to be a phone a calls it, but is stopped as Koto suddenly blurts out in a panic, "Woah, hold on there! That's against the rules! You can't have additional fighters that aren't your subordinates or from another team! So change your conditions!" But then the intercom goes on, "This is an official announcement. The additional member being provided to the team is being allowed for this round." Koto stares in disbelief and breaths out, "Wha-what? This has never happened before." I turn to her and say, "Well this year is the one where people are saying fuck it." I then turn to the doctor and say, "Something tells me that this one is specifically done to target me. Bring it on."