Yu Yu Hakusho: The After Years

Episode 44: Icestorm

Hiro felt relieved as a cool blast of air hit him from above. Just where was it coming from? He dared to glance up, and saw that the dome above them was slowly cranking open, allowing the frigid February air to blast inside. Fuuto had turned to look at it too, if only for a moment.

Now's my chance! Hiro thought to himself as he drew in his yoki. The cold air became attracted to him like he was a vacuum sucking it all in. The temperature in the stadium steadily began to drop.

"I hope you wore layers, folks, we're dealing with some major temperature fluctuations here!" called Nao, now shivering from the sidelines, "It appears we're dealing with a technical difficulty. It looks like it's given Team Kabuki's member a second wind, so to speak!"

This got Fuuto's attention back on Hiro. Just one more second, Hiro silently begged. His hands remained prone at his sides while he collected the energy he needed for this next attack. He kept his hands at his sides while Fuuto charged at him, and braced himself for the pain he knew was about to come. This moment was going to make or break this match and he knew it.

Fuuto wound up his fist and drove it into Hiro's gut. Hiro felt the wind get knocked out of him and a splitting pain as he felt one of his ribs crack. The force of it made his jaw clack down over his tongue, causing him to spit blood as he was knocked back. Hiro dug his feet into the arena to keep from sliding all the way off.

Fuuto looked at his fist curiously, "I don't understand, that should have burned a hole all the way through you!"

Hiro's breath caught, and he managed to say in a strained voice, "It's gotten too cold for you, hasn't it?" Fuuto did not understand the sick smile on his face until he followed Hiro's gaze upward. Hundreds of icy spires hung in the air above them, and before Fuuto returned his eyes to him, Hiro pulled his fists towards the ground, as if he were pulling on hundreds of invisible threads. All at once, the icy spires came crashing down onto Fuuto. This time, they connected.

The hundreds of spires pierced through Fuuto's body, like bullets being fired through him. The sheer force of the impact knocked him to the ground, where he lay stock still, his unfocused eyes staring at the winter sky.

"Oh my, what a startling turn of events!" Nao said, rushing over to Fuuto, "Is he dead?"

"No," Hiro said hoarsely, limping over and holding his stomach, "I missed anything vital. I just thought I'd chill him on the inside to put him into a coma. His body is sensitive to the cold, like mine is to the heat."

"Wow, what a neat idea, how'd you come up with that one?"

"I saw it on TV," Hiro said smugly, "Now start counting, would you?"

"Oh right," said Nao, "1...2..."

As Nao began her count, Scarlett became anxious. Rieka still was not back yet, and they would be expected to immediately begin the next fight. She looked at Hiro, who was panting heavily and was barely able to keep on his feet. Moreover, the burns on his body looked nasty, and she doubted that he had enough remaining energy to heal them after that last attack. I guess I have no choice. She took the packet of medicine out of her pocket and downed it. It made a sticky paste in her mouth which made her regret not having the water, nor the time to make it into a tea. Nevertheless, she somehow managed to get it down. It's bitter aftertaste lingered in her mouth.

"Sorry Kurama," she muttered, "I really had meant to listen to the doctor's orders."

Meanwhile, Rieka had seen Hiro's victory from the rooftop. "Yes!" she cried, and grabbed Gadget's hands and started dancing around with her, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she sang.

Hold on Sis, you're making me dizzy, Gadget said, as she gently tipped over onto the ground. There was a grinding noise as the dome above them began to slowly close again, Uh-oh, I guess they found a way to fix it.

Rieka shivered. She had worked up a sweat running up those stairs, and was too excited to realize that it now was freezing on her skin, "Brr," she said, hugging her arms around her chest, "That's okay, Hiro likes the cold, but me? I'm not so big a fan."

Hiei picked up Rieka's jacket, which had been tossed to the ground, and threw it at her, "Well put your stupid jacket on, then. You humans get ill in these sort of situations, right?"

"Uh, I guess so," said Rieka. She didn't need to be told twice to put her jacket on. Being by the roof meant they had taken the brunt of the icy blast. The jacket was thin though, and even after she put it on, she still shivered.

"Oh hell," said Hiei bitterly, "Take this too." He took off his white scarf and chucked that at her as well.

Rieka caught the scarf and examined it. It was warm to the touch, "Huh," she said curiously.

"What?" Hiei demanded, "Do you want it or not?"

"I had always thought this was attached to your cloak-thing," Rieka said, wrapping it around her neck. She felt much warmer almost instantly.

"Huh? Don't be stupid, obviously it's not attached."

"Well, thanks anyway, it's very sweet of you," Rieka said with a smile.

Hiei turned away as his cheeks grew warm. Sweet? No one called him sweet. He coughed to clear his throat, "It's in my best interest if your team wins this match, is all. You're down to three members and they'll likely lose without you. Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to fight in the second match? Shouldn't you be getting down there?"

"Oh, right!" Rieka said, "I almost forgot!" Without saying goodbye, she raced back down the stairwell, Mike trailing behind her.

Once Rieka had disappeared, Gadget examined Hiei's face with a smile. Hiei and Rieka sitting in a tree...

Hiei's Jagan eye flashed, shutting Gadget up instantly.

The halls were still empty as Rieka dashed down them. Her footsteps echoed on the concrete. She was almost at the entrance to the arena when a cold voice froze her in her tracks.

"Ah, alone at last."

She recognized that voice, it was Izanagi's voice. She was about to turn to face him when she felt his cold finger tips press against her throat. Something sharp pressed against her back.

His face was close enough to hers that she could feel his warm breath on her ear, "What do you say to spending some quality time with me, hmm?"

________________________________________________________________________________

Dun, dun, dun! It looks like Scarlett might have to fight that second match after all! Though there may be consequences with the lingering effects of the poison still in her system. On top of which, Rieka has her own situation to get out of.

As always, thank you for reading! You guys are the best! :)