Yu Yu Hakusho: A Sibling Story

Drawing Lots/The Preliminaries

"Kuwabara!!! Where are you GOING?!" I said as I ran behind him. Hello. My name is Ammara Kuwabara(Yes,I'm well aware that my name RHYMES!). I'm a 14 year old girl who currently attends Sarayashki Junior High with my twin brother Kuwabara. I'm kind, have a VERY short fuse, and I'm quite intelligent. But my most important factor is that I care so much about my family and I'm always looking after them. Which is what brings me to my PRESENT situation. I was running through the forest, frantically trying to catch up to my twin brother, Kazuma Kuwabara,who was possibly DEAF, seeing as he hasn't turned around yet. "K...Kuwabara!!! Please slow DOWN!!!" I yelled. Kuwabara stopped, then finally turned. "Ammara!!! What the HELL?!" he said, his eyes wide. "Did you FOLLOW me here?!" I gulped, then nodded. "Yes," I replied. "But only because I was WORRIED about you!"

Kuwabara sighed. "I appreciate it. But what I'm doing, I hafta do ALONE. So please...Go home," he said. I shook my head. "No way! Remember the oath we made on our first day of junior high? 'No matter where we go, no matter what happens to us, no matter how many fights we have or where life may lead us...'" I said. Kuwabara and I finished the final line together. "'We'll ALWAYS stick together.'"  Kuwabara nodded. "I know, I know.." he said. "I HATE it when you use that agreement against me." I answered that comment by playfully punching Kuwabara's arm as we climbed the rest of the steps. "So where are we goin'?" I asked. "To the temple of the psychic Genkai," Kuwabara replied. "Lately, my Spirit Energy has caused me to see STRANGE things. I'm certain that Genkai will be able to turn my Spirit Energy WAY down." I nodded, seeing as I too experienced seeing my share of wierd things. "There it is!" At the top of the stairs, there was a small temple standing atop a hill.

"Hey," I said. "What's up with the huge crowd?" "What crowd?" Kuwabara said. I pointed at the large group gathered in front of Genkai's temple. "Oh..." Kuwabara said. "That crowd." As Kuwabara was staring at the temple, waiting for Genkai to emerge from its doors, I saw his rival, Yusuke Urameshi, walking through the crowd towards us. I nudged Kuwabara as Urameshi walked up next to me. Kuwabara turned and gasped. "What the‐?! URAMESHI!!!" Yusuke turned and saw Kuwabara and I standing next to him. "Kuwabara?!" Yusuke said. "What's going on?! What're YOU doing here?!" "I have good reasons, unlike SOMEBODY!"  The conversation(or should I say ARGUEMENT) went on for a few minutes. And then,a gong rang out. The crowd's murmuring subsided and it grew eerily quiet.

"Quiet everyone! Genkai's coming!" a voice shouted. Then, the sliding doors parted, and Genkai stepped outside. Genkai surely wasn't what I'd expect her to be. A short, old woman with pink hair and a tall purple hat. She didn't LOOK like a psychic, that's for sure! "My, my...What a crowd," she said. "Allright people! I suppose we should get things started." There were indistinct murmurs among the crowd, but Genkai raised her hand and the talk quickly stopped. "The first of your Spirit test will be..." Genkai said. Then, she paused. I gulped. The suspense was KILLING me!!! What would we be forced to DO?! "The drawing of lots," Genkai finished. Everyone in the crowd fell over. "Grr! How is that a TEST?!" Yusuke asked angrily. "Everyone must draw a lot from this old jar," Genkai said, looking over the crowd. It was then that she saw me. "You there! Girl!" I gasped and gulped. "M‐m‐m‐ME?!" I said, my eyes wide. "Yes, you! Come up here! Come on now, we haven't got all DAY!" Genkai said, her hands on her hips.

I gulped and made my way up to Genkai and her jar. "You shall be the first to draw," she said. "Grab a lot from the jar." I nodded and slowly made my way to the jar. I reached inside and pulled out the first piece of paper I felt. "Very good," Genkai said. "Next!" I waited as everyone else drew their lots and walked back to their spots. The last ones up were Kuwabara and Yusuke. I hope we make it, I thought. "Very good," Genkai said. "Now, everyone open their lots. If it's red...Congratulations, you've made it." I gulped as I carefully opened my lot. Kuwabara and Yusuke were opening theirs at the same time. They gasped, then groaned as their papers showed up red. "Well lucky me, I won!" they said sarcastically. Then they looked at each other and gasped. "Hey! YOU got a red one ALSO?!" Yusuke said. "Didn't mean to!!!" Kuwabara replied. "How'd YOU do, Ammara?" I pulled out the piece of paper within my lot. I gasped. "What? What is it?" Yusuke said. I smiled and flashed a red piece of paper.

Yusuke gasped and Kuwabara smiled as he laughed. "Allright! Nice going, sis!" he said. "Leave it to Kuwabara's kid sister to be the first one at EVERYTHING," Yusuke mumbled. I scowled. "Leave it to Urameshi to be DUMB when it comes to everything!!!" I countered. "Those who WON, come with me. Those who lost please GET LOST," Genkai said as she turned around. "Hold on!!!" two huge guys said as they approached Genkai. By the look in their eyes, I could see how furious they were with the lot drawing. "We're the strongest fighters of our village! We refuse to be turned away by a piece of PAPER!!!!" one of them said. "We're the biggest fighters HERE,so we deserve a fair shot!!!!" the other one added. "The only difference with bigger guys like you is how much LOUDER they are when they WHINE," Genkai said, rubbing the inside of her ear with her finger. "Can't you blockheads UNDERSTAND?! I'm trying to SAVE you from EMBARASSMENT!!!" The two men growled. "We're..! WARNING you!!!" one of the guys said.

"Oooh! I'm shaking in my boots!" Genkai said, her eyes narrowed. "You two are pathetic. So pathetic in fact that you may not be able to comprehend my next words! But please try to understand them...If you two are REALLY ready for my training, then WHY didn't your paper turn RED?!" The two men growled. I gulped. Uh oh! Grandma Genkai might be in DANGER!!! I thought. "I think that she's asking us for more PROOF!!! Haaaaa!!!! How's THIS?!" they said. I covered my eyes with my hands, but re‐opened them, because I didn't want to miss what was happened. I watched Genkai as she blew the two goons away just by opening her eyes. The flash of light blinded me, so I covered my eyes with my arm. When I opened them, the goons were pinned to the temple gates. I gasped. That was..! INCREDIBLE!!! I thought, my eyes wide. She..! She hit them without even TOUCHING them!!!  "Whoa!!! What was THAT?!" Kuwabara asked, his eyes wide.

"My powers must be getting rusty. A few years ago, those boys would've tucked their tails between their legs running if I'd so much as WINKED at them. Guess I'm getting old after all," Genkai said as she walked up the temple steps. "Allright you red papers...Follow me." I took a step, then looked behind me as I saw that Kuwabara was hanging back with Yusuke. "Brother?" I called. "Are ya COMING?" I asked. "Yeah, in a minute. Just go on ahead and I'll catch up."  I gasped, then smiled as I began walking along with the crowd. It was good to see my twin brother and his rival getting along for a change.

When I finally walked into Genkai's house, I gasped as I saw a bunch of videogames around me. "This definitely ISN'T a normal house!" Yusuke said. "Maybe she just likes playing videogames," Kuwabara suggested. I shrugged as Genkai appeared above us in a basket suspended by chains. "I hope you've all brought your quarters," she said. "These games shall be your second screen." A short man raised his hand. "Pardon me master," he said. "But what exactly does playing arcade games have to do with martial arts training?" Genkai smirked. "Absolutely NOTHING, really," she replied. "But these aren't ORDINARY games that you'll be playing...The Janken game tests your Spiritual awareness. The punching machine tests your Spirit's strength. And the Karaoke machine tests your Spirit's ability to grow and adapt. If you CAN'T pass two out of three, then go home now. And DON'T play any of the OTHER games. They're for me."

I smirked as I walked up to the Janken game. No problem! I thought. It's just like playing the Janken game at the arcade! The symbols flashed and I hit every single one correctly. I looked behind me and noticed that Genkai was smirking at me. I laughed to myself and walked over to the Bagon game. When I got there, I noticed that Kuwabara had recieved a score of 129. "Whoo hoo!!!" I yelled happily. "Nice one,bro!!!" Kuwabara smirked. "Ha! Beat THAT,Urameshi!!!" "Hmph! Don't get TOO excited!" Yusuke replied.  "Maybe there's something wrong with the machine. Here, let me try it out." Then, Yusuke punched it with all of his might and strength. The punching machine showed a score of one fifty five for his strength. Kuwabara growled and I scoffed. "That's all you've got, Urameshi?!" I said, on the verge of laughing. "What?! You think YOU can do any better, Ammara?!" Yusuke said, his face red.

"Heh!" I said. "Move over and let a TRUE warrior show you how it's DONE, Urameshi!" I pulled the boxing glove over my wrist, pulled back my arm, calculated my aim, and then, I let my punch fly as I hit it at full power. Hey, it's the ONLY way to pass! The punching machine made rapid dinging noises as it showed...190. "WOW!!! That little girl had a score of 190!!!" one of the guys said. Urameshi looked at me,shocked. Kuwabara laughed and wrapped me up in a big hug. "Nice one sis!!!!" he said. I smirked and stuck my tongue out at Urameshi. "That's what you get for messing with my brother!!!"

Genkai smirked. "That's enough," she said. "Everyone who passed,follow me. Everyone who FAILED, get lost!!!!" I smirked as I walked along with Yusuke and Kuwabara. Whatever the next test is...I'll be ready for it!!! I thought.