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Story

"Been a while since I've seen a place this nice." Kagome spoke up as she looked around the room. Everything looked expensive and overly decorated.

Kuwabara gave a small grunt as he placed Yusuke onto one of the couches. The only one left was an L shaped couch directly across from it, on the other side of the coffee table.

"I haven't seen this much rich stuff in my whole life." Kuwabara also had to give his own two-cents into the conversation. Hiei sat down onto the couch, and so she decided to sit beside him.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a cold tone, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed.

"I'm sitting down."

"You don't have to be so close." He huffed.

Of course he was right, there was enough room for everyone to sit down, yet still be evenly spaced out onto the lone couch. Yet she didn't mind that, and decided to stick by the heated demon, sitting so close their thighs were touching- Why? Because she enjoys messing with him…

"Don't be so grumpy!" She reached out and quickly pulled him to her, crushing his head onto her chest as she cooed.

"What the hell woman…" He grumbled out, glaring. She gave a small laugh as his gravy defying hair brushed against her nose, causing it to tickle. As his cinnamon scent surrounded her, she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair- "Let. Go. Now." He ordered.

"Why?" She asked.

"Damn woman."

She could tell he was getting frustrated, and she laughed at his embarrassment. He took a deep breath and sighed. Reaching up he calmly grabbed her wrists and removed her arms from around him. He backed away from her, sitting straight in his spot once more.

"Kurama likes my hugs." She mumbled. "Isn't that right Kurama?" She looked towards the redhead.

"…" He turned away from them. What's wrong with him-?

"I want a hug!" Kuwabara jumped up, arms wide.

"Fat chance."

"Oh~" Yusuke grunted. "Rejected…"

"Shut up Urameshi!" Kuwabara screamed at his sleeping form. Kagome gave a small laugh, finding it funny that Yusuke was able to insult him while still sleeping- A small squeak caught everyone attention, and the room went quiet. "Hiei, was that you-"

"No." He glared at him, daring him to say anything- Suddenly a familiar face popped out of his shirt collar, showing himself to the rest of the world. He gave another squeak as he hopped onto Hiei's shoulder.

"Is that a mouse?!" Kuwabara screeched while pointing towards the pet.

"Kaji!" Kagome called the mouse's name, picking up the small creature. It squeaked in joy and hearts floated around its head. "I wondered if Hiei would bring you…"

"Kaji!?" At this point Kuwabara was in tears, holding his sides while laughing.

"You got a problem with that name?!" Kagome glared at him. "That's my grandson's name, I'll have you know."

"Grandson?" He paused in his laughter and looked at her.

"Yeah." She reached up and petted Kaji's head with her finger, causing the mouse to squeak playfully.

"Does that mean you have children, Kagome?" The goofy teen was now interested.

"Not by blood, but I think of him as my own son." She told him while placing Kaji back onto Hiei's shoulder. "He now has children of his own, and they call me grandma 'Gome." She sighed, remembering the past. "Their furry ears are so cute…" Her expression softened at the image of her adorable grandchildren, and a blush stained her cheeks.

"So the shrimp has a pet mouse?" Kuwabara switched the subject back to Hiei and his mouse. The creature was nibbling on a seed while standing on its hind legs, on top of Hiei's shoulder.

"I'm the one who gave it to him." She told him.

"I thought that was the case…" Kurama mumbled.

"You knew about it Kurama?" Kuwabara looked at him.

"I only saw a glimpse of it." He replied. "But he quickly denied it and left before I could ask him."

"Don't worry Hiei." She whispered to him, noticing he was ignoring everyone. "This only proves that deep down you're a nice guy." She teased.

"It's your fault I'm in this situation." He huffed.

"Admit it Hiei, you have grown attached to Kaji."

"Damn woman…" He turned his head away from her and she smiled.

"So, this Toguro guy is the reason you are fighting?" Kagome mumbled out while still sitting beside her favorite fiery companion. They just got done telling her what was going on since she hasn't talked to the detectives about their jobs, personally.

"Yeah." Kuwabara nodded. "We want a rematch, more or less, and he said to come here- If not he was going to kill us all." He stated halfheartedly.

"Hmm." She had a suspicious feeling that this Toguro character is probably the 'problematic' reason she was sent here as well. This demonic man is up to something, no doubt. "Don't worry I'm sure you can beat him." She tried to liven up their mood. "Just don't die while trying to reach him…" She mumbled some words of advice.

"Gee, thanks." The tall teen rolled his eyes.

"Why are you here, Kagome?" The familiar cooling voice of Kurama fell into her ears. "I'm positive you didn't take time from your family just to fight some demons."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, as her curious friend hummed beside her. Sandwiched between two demons-A hot head and a redhead, what joy…

"You're right." She confessed, shrugging. "Sesshomaru sent me because something strange is going on. He has a feeling a massive problem is starting to surface on Earth, and might be connected to the Dark Tournament in some way." She sighed. "But he doesn't know what it is, or even gave me a hint. He just signed me up and told me to snoop around while trying to stay alive- Damn dog…"

"Is it something we should be worried about?" Kurama seemed interested. "Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't bother to concern himself with small matters, it must be important." He quickly calculated.

"You're very clever Kurama, I wouldn't expect anything less from you." She complimented him. "But yes, it's very important. It has to do with the Demon World- That's why Sesshomaru had bothered to even poke around with it."

"The Demon World?" This also caught Hiei's attention.

"It was just some rumors but if they even have a slightest truth to them, Sesshomaru couldn't ignore them." Reaching up she rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. "But like I said before, he wouldn't tell me what the rumors were about and left me to figure it out myself." She sighed. "I think he did that on purpose."

"You barge into my office, while I am working, at least three times a day." He reminded her. "And it's because you are bored, and somehow think I am going to entertain you in someway." She flinched. He's right… "Or you wish to 'chat' and babble on about how your day went. As if I was interested in your senseless chatter…"

He was paying her back for all those times she has pestered him- That Asshole…

"You're evening coffee, gentlemen." A bellhop entered the room without knocking. We should really lock the door- "Compliments of the hotel." He told them while placing an equal number of tea cups filled with coffee onto the table. With that said he left without doing anything else.

"Coffee." Kagome mumbled as she stared at her cup without picking it up. She glared at it, as if it was an enemy about to attack her. "I hate coffee."

"You don't have to drink it." Kurama told her while taking a sip of his cup. Hiei, and even the masked fighter, was holding their cups. She huffed, and abruptly stood up, walking to the door. "And where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm going to get me some damn tea- They can shove that coffee up their ass for all I care." She REALLY hated coffee.

"Careful, those fancy guy might be trying to poison us."

"Does that really make sense, Kuwabara?" Kurama hummed. "Why would they bring us all the way here to poison us?"

She could hear their whispered voices as she exited the suite, the door closing behind her with a soft click.

Kagome was walking down the hallway, when something sparked at the edge of her senses, and she paused.

"And here I thought it would be difficult to catch you alone." A deep voice called behind her.

She turned around to face her opponent. When her eyes spotted the figure, she sighed. The male was extremely big, in both muscles and height, easily towering over her. He was wearing shades, and an olive green trench coat. His tone was deep, filled with confidence, and the air around him reeked of 'asshole' with his I'm-better-then-you attitude.

"Toguro, I presume?"

"What gave me away?" He looked down at her, a cocky grin on his face.

"Just go ahead and tell me what it is you want with me, so I can go back to more important matters." Hearing her words he gave an amused chuckle.

"Quick to the point, I like that." He smirked. "You see, I was wondering if the powerful and highly known 'Lady Kagome', shadow to Lord Sesshomaru, would be willing to fight me in a match." He offered.

"So you know who I am?" She sighed and placed her hand onto her hip. "Then this conversation will go by much quicker." She shrugged. "Of course the answer will be 'no'."

"Why is that?" He questioned. "Wouldn't it be much simpler to get rid of me here, and save your teammates all the hassle of the tournament?" Her eyes hardened and she pointed angrily at him.

"Listen here, asshole." She called out to him. "I'm in a bad mood right now, so I will spare the long and drooling details, and get right to it." She growled. "Your demonic energy is nothing compared to me- I could kill you with simple a touch, but I won't." She ran her fingers through her long hair and sighed. "I have learned not to mettle with men and their battles. Yusuke wishes to have a rematch with you, so I will not get in the way of his pride and whatever nonsense is going through his head. What problems he has with you, is none of my concern, and I am not so feeble as to steal his kill, when he wishes to fight you so badly that he trained for three months and is willing to go through the entire tournament just to clash fists with you."

"Quite noble of you." He commented.

"But if any of my friends get severely injured, or comes close to dying…" Her voice faded in warning and her eyes glowed white. Her hair gently flowed around her as her power flared, which no doubt clashed with his, making his skin sizzle from the contact. "There will be no place to hide when I start hunting for your head- Is that understood?"

"I look forward to it." He didn't seem to be threatened by her words.

"You may have been human once, but that doesn't mean I will take pity on you if you dare to anger me."

"So you could tell…" That fact seemed to have hit a nerve in him.

"Though the battles are none of my concern, I have a feeling you are the reason I was sent here." She poked him in the stomach, which was eye-level to her, causing him to chuckle. "And I will find out what you are planning…"

"Good luck with that." He hummed in response.

"…" She snorted at him, and walked past his bulking form, going back towards the team's room. "While you're at it, tell those damned Hotel people to send me up some tea- I hate coffee." She ordered to him behind her shoulder, smirking.

Slowly her soft footfalls echoed down the hallway as she faded from sight. Once she was gone, another figure emerged from the shadows, walking up to the taller male.

"She is quite spirited, hmm?" He gave a small chuckle, smirking. "That cheeky attitude of hers is rather attractive…"

"It would be best not to joke about her, Sakyo." Toguro frowned.

"So her threats weren't just hot air?" He hummed, slightly surprised. "Is she really that powerful?"

"More then even my mind can fathom."

"Then she might prove to be a huge problem for us." His unlit cigarette bobbed up and down in between his lips as he talked. "Well, isn't this exciting…" He just passed it off as another piece to the puzzle. A small obstacle blocking their way to victory. He'll find someway to figure her out-

"I told you she was interesting."

"Indeed…"

A few minutes after she arriving at the room, the bellhop returned, bringing her tea…

Kurama was lying in bed. He could feel Kagome's body heat as her back was pressed against his, both sleeping in the small bed. His mind continued to wander and he was having trouble falling asleep. It wasn't because Kagome was so close to him- He has gotten use to her closeness in the past months she has been with him. It is now a regular and usual thing for them to be sleeping like this, though not in such a small bed.

What was bothering him was the image that kept playing in his mind over and over again, about the past events that happened with Kagome and Hiei. He gave a sigh and reached up, running his fingers though his hair in thought.

Kagome acted so friendly with him, and Hiei didn't seem to be angry by it. This fact upset him, and every time he saw them together, a heated feeling would boil in him, and his blood would race.

He knew what this feeling was, he was smart enough to figure it out, but at the same time he was having trouble accepting the fact. Him, Yoko Kurama- Jealous? He almost wanted to laugh at the thought. Why would he be jealous?

Kagome and Hiei seemed to get along fairly well, and that should be a good thing. Both of his closest friends getting along is a nice thing and he should be happy about that-

"And how's my favorite fire apparition doing?"

Kagome's voice echoed in his head, spinning his mind into another direction all together.

"Well, if you're not going to hug me- I'll hug you!" She quickly jumped him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head into her chest with a purr.

Why did she hug him like that? He gave a small huff as he felt his blood heat up. They are so friendly with each other- Hiei usual hates for people to touch him, why the change of heart now? His eyebrows angled together in thought, and he reached up, rubbing his face in annoyance. Was there something going on between them?

Kagome was being very kind to him- Then again, Kagome is a kind person by heart- But that doesn't excuse the fact that she hugged him, and Hiei didn't seem disgusted, or at least deeply angered by it.

"Woman, let go of me before I rip off your arms." He mumbled a threat into her chest.

Of course, Kurama knew he only said that as a front, there was no hate or anger in his tone. Annoyance and surprise, yes, but hate, no-

Something seemed off by this, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. He was going insane with questions, and the conclusions to those very questions were not ones he particularly liked. In the end he was getting nowhere, yet for each passing second he was getting more and more upset.

Was he missing something?

Yes, that had to be it. He was missing a crucial part of information to settle this resolve once and for all. After all, Hiei and Kagome were probably just close companions-

"Don't be so grumpy!" She reached out and quickly pulled him to her, crushing his head onto her chest as she cooed.

Very close companions… Who are able to see each other every night- Hiei going into her room, alone- Meeting each other without telling him. Of course, they can't be anything else except friends… Right?

At this point, Kurama was slowly sinking deeper and deeper into his own delusion of denial…

He felt his blood heat up in slight anger, and balled his fists into the comforter till his knuckles grew white. Reaching up he rubbed his face in frustration, as he felt his sense of mind slip from his grasp.

You know, he could always ask her. She is right there- It would save him a lot of frustration. He slowly turned his head and peaked over his shoulder, getting a glimpse of her raven locks that pooled above her head…

"Kagome." He gave a hushed whisper, as if afraid to be caught. After a few quiet moments, he didn't receive a reply. Believing she didn't hear him, he tried again, only a little louder and with more confidence. "Kagome?"

"…" Several seconds passed. "…H..mm…?" She finally gave a groggy and halfhearted grunt. He sighed and turned over to face her with a serious expression, as he bore a hole into her back with his piercing emerald orbs.

"Well, it's about you and Hiei-"

"Mmm." She gave a happy hum, and rolled over as well, her face inches from his. "He smells nice…" She commented on Hiei's flavorful aroma, with half-closed eyes.

He blinked in surprised, not expecting that random statement. Is she talking in her sleep? He just now realized. Yet that didn't detour him from his goal. His feathers were still ruffled, and he was upset. He wanted answers.

"Kagome I-"

"Don't worry." She sighed in contentment, and cuddled up to him, placing her head underneath his chin. "You smell nice too…" She nuzzled her face into his bare chest, and her hot breath skimmed across his skin as she purred.

"…" His anger quickly deflated as the girl slept against him without a care in the world. "Kagome." He whispered her name and raised his arms, wrapping them around her smaller form. "I can't stay angry with you, when you say such strange things..." His lips curved into a small smile, and he closed his eyes. Burying his nose into her silky hair, he inhaled her Vanilla scent and sighed in satisfaction. "You smell nice as well."

The sound of grumbled chatter filled her ears, as the hundred of demons bickered among themselves, getting restless while awaiting the fight. At first the sound was annoying, but she soon learned to tune them out until the noise was just fuzz, allowing her mind to wander without problems.

The accomplishment wasn't difficult to achieve, since she was standing behind the ever calm Kurama, in the back of the group. With every inhale of air, his lovely scent would fill her with soothing images of wild roses, relaxing her. It wasn't until a muffled echo entered her ears, and the movement of the others stepping forward, did she snap out of her daze, following directly behind them.

"This year's guest, Team Urameshi!" The foxy woman spoke up. She was standing in the middle of the tournament ring, a microphone in her hand.

As they stepped into the light, out from the doorway and into the arena battleground, the hisses and boos of the demons around them left a bad taste in her mouth. It seems that every demon watching dislikes the Spirit Detectives, for one reason or another. She shrugged, a small smirk on her face. This will just make things all the better once they win. Those demons shocked looks will be hilarious.

"This is sure one heck of a greeting for 'special guests'." Kuwabara complained. "What the hell is their problem?"

"I agree Kuwabara." Kurama spoke up. "It surely isn't pleasant to be called a traitor by creatures you've never meet."

"Both teams into the arena." The foxy lady called- If she wasn't mistaken, her name was 'Koto'. Our team stepped forward until both parties were on either side of the announcer in the middle of the ring. After taking a good once over at their enemy, she sighed.

"So these are the ones who came into the room while I was gone?" She hummed. By the descriptions they gave her last night, she would have to make a good assumption that it was the brightly clothed child, and the pale vampire man with spiky blond hair.

"Yes." Kurama gave a small reply.

"Before we begin I would like to ask Team Urameshi's substitute to leave the enclosed area." She felt most eyes zoomed onto her and she looked up, her blue eyes meeting the aqua color of the announcers.

"What for?" She asked. "I do not see anything wrong with wanting better seats. And what better seat could there be then in here? The view from beyond the wall is just a tad too ridicules to watch from way up there." She sighed. "Besides, not like I'm going to do anything anyways."

"Well, I suppose that's true…" Koto mumbled to herself. "Committee?" She looked towards the screen, wanting to know what they thought on the situation.

Everyone also had their focus on the large T.V monitor that over looked the arena. After just a few seconds of thought, a large circle appeared on the bottom of the screen, showing their answer. Most were not happy with the outcome, not wanting the Urameshi team to have anything go their way, but on the other hand, the rest didn't give a rat's ass about her, after all she was just the substitute.

"What do you know, they actually agreed." Kuwabara mumbled.

"Were you expecting it to be any other way, Kuwabara?" Kurama questioned.

"Yeah. I mean, like Kagome said. We probably aren't going to get any red-carpet treatment." He huffed. "We are not exactly the most popular group in the tournament…"

"Yes, that is true." Kurama agreed. "But this was just a simple request about seating accommodations, by our substitute player. If I dare say, to them, she and her request was nothing of importance to them." He stated matter-of-fact.

"I see…" Kuwabara nodded, yet Kagome had a feeling he only understood half of what Kurama even said-

"Now that we got that sorted out, let's get started!" Koto cheered, raising her hand into the air happily. The demons roared, pounding the feet and shaking their fists. "As always, the terms of the fighting for each match can be decided by the leaders of the two teams" She spoke with a pleasant smile on her face. "Of course, if the leaders can't agree, we will default to one-on-one fights. Determining the wining team by the most individual wins." She looked from one team to the other. "Make sense?"

"Not exactly Miss." Kuwabara spoke up. "Our team leader is still asleep." He grumbled out through clinched teeth, obliviously upset by that fact.

"Well then Kuwabara, you will have to be the one to do it." Kurama suggested. His words turned the tall teen's attitude upside down within seconds, and he grinned at him like a happy child.

"Really!?"

"I don't want to go to school mom." Yusuke grumbled while still laying on Kuwabara's back. "Let Kuwabara be the leader in the stupid tournament… Has anyone seen my green jacket?"

"Heh." The goof gave a cheeky laugh. "If that's not a transfer of power, then I don't know what is." The large grin was still plastered onto his face. "Lets do this tournament terms thing." He quickly got serious though, and took several steps forward, dragging Yusuke along with him, since he was still resting on his back.

"Fool." She heard Hiei whisper underneath his breath. She raised her hand to try and muffle her laughter, but a small amount escaped between her lips, causing her short companion to turn and look at her questionably.

"Good one." She lowered her hand, and smiled at him, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Hmph." He huffed, and turned his head back towards the enemy, awaiting their decision.

"I don't care how we play this fight." The vampire spoke up, while glaring at Kuwabara in intimidation. "It's not going to make any difference in the end."

"Then let's do man-to-man." Kuwabara suggested, also glaring at him in challenge. "That's how real men fight after all."

"Sounds like an agreement!" Koto's voice spoke up. "We are looking at one-on-one."

Kuwabara huffed in satisfaction and turned around, walking back towards us. Kagome watched with slight interest as the vampire stared at Yusuke, then as the goof finally reached us, the vampire's energy spiked. A blazing fire danced around his body as he flaunted his power.

"Hiei, we better be careful with this one." She heard Kurama whisper to him.

"Mmm." She gave a large yawn, showing her pearly whites to the world, a laid back attitude towards the situation.

"Hey!" Kuwabara's voice yelled above the noise of the flames. "Urameshi! You got to wake up!"

She watched as the tall one gripped Yusuke's jacket, and stared shaking him back and forth in an attempt to wake him. Suddenly the flames shot towards them, and just a hair away from contact, they curved and went around them, encaging the whole group, before launching to the side. They continued to glide across the ground, going beyond the arena and onto the grass covered surroundings. They then shot upward, going up the enclosed wall, and into the audience. She watched the demons scream in pain, as the flames engulfed many, and they were quickly burnt to a crisp by the raging attack. After all of that was done, nothing else was left but charred ash. Kuwabara snapped out of his shock and went back to shaking the team leader.

"Come on Urameshi-"

"Kuwabara, stop it." She called to him. "Let him rest." She once again had to tell the teen to leave the slick haired member alone. "He can sleep until he is needed. I'm sure he will wake up when that time comes." She told him. "Besides, these weaklings can be taken care of without his help, if that man is their greatest fighter."

"What did you say, woman?" The vampire wasn't too pleased by her words.

"I'm sure you heard me." She replied in a bored tone. "Your weak powers are nothing to be impressed about, if that is all you can muster." Count Crap-u-la growled at her, and took a step towards them, but then Koto popped her head from the side of the arena.

"Wahh~!" She gave a small shout. "Well people, it looks like the flames are out. I notice the audience is pretty quiet after that little outburst, but remember, that's half the fun." She jumped back onto the stage and sighed. "And no fighting before the match. If you are angry, take that anger and use it to pummel your opponent into the ground during your battle." She looked from vamp-man then at her. After a few seconds she raised her hand into the air. "Now send out your fighters, teams."

"I'll go first." The boy laughed, stepping into the middle of the ring with a cheerful attitude.

"Yeah, that kid is mine." Kuwabara mumbled, placing Yusuke onto the floor, and walking forward as well.

"You can take him out Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted between snores. "…I have to go hiking…" He mumbled out random nonsense yet again.

She gave a small laugh, and bent down, gently picking up the tired boy, and walking to the outside of the ring, placing him against its raised edge. The others followed not too far behind, and she took a spot standing between her two close companions, Hiei and Kurama.

Her gaze was focused onto the grassy floor, as her mind started fading off the subject at hand and wandering off yet again.

Hiei and Kurama are probably the only true friends she has, here on Earth. They knew her secrets, and she could be herself when around them. No fake appearance or lies, her true self, and that meant a lot.

Of course Yusuke and Kuwabara knew her secret and they were also part of the only people she could trust, but she hasn't been around them much compared to Hiei and Kurama. She has only met them both twice, at her home and before getting on the boat. Glancing to the side, she spotted the newest member of the group. She just meet the masked fighter yesterday, and he isn't exactly in the loop, but she had a feeling she could trust him.

Only five- It's a very small number, but each person that stood by her side, was worth more to her then anything. Each breath they take, every heartbeat they make, and any words they speak, is the soothing sounds of life that every person makes.

Looking around the people once more she sighed, closing her eyes. She was told to come here to look for suspicious activity, but at this time, she believed there were more important things to worry about.

To make sure they continue to breath, their heart continues to pump, their lips continue to move- They continue to live… That is more important to her then anything else, and she will make sure they make it through this tournament, no matter what.

Five might be a small number, but they are very precious to her, and she'll never let any harm come to them-

"AH!" Kuwabara screamed in pain as he was kicked in the face by his opponent.

Well, not entirely… anyway.

They will no doubt be hurt, Kuwabara probably will more then the others, but she will definitely try and prevent them from dying- Because dying isn't a fun… because your dead… and dying hurts- What is she talking about anyway? She sighed, feeling a small headache settling in. If Sesshomaru were here dying wouldn't tactically be a problem either, but he's not…

"Such great agility." Kurama's voice spoke up, catching her attention. "His movements will be difficult to follow."

Kagome glanced back up at the fight and found the small boy, literally, running circles around our slower buffoon. The child was hopping and jumping around, showing off while doing flips and such over his head and around his form, laughing. Of course the boy's moves were nothing to her experienced eyes, but she knew Kuwabara probably was having some problems with him.

"I might be worried if it wasn't for one thing." Kuwabara called out. "You're leaving a trail!" He shouted while charging, and landed a good punch on the small boys head. The child gave a shout of pain, as his body flew back and bounced, tumbling several times on the concrete arena, before skidding to a stop with a pained expression.

"Nice one, lame-o" She heard Yusuke mumble in his sleep, and she smiled down at the 'wonderful' leaders compliment.

"Our lessons have helped him more then we thought, Hiei." Kurama seemed impressed. "It seems Kuwabara is the type of fighter whose true skills can only be measured in the ring."

"That may be so, but he still doesn't understand these fights." Hiei quickly realized as he watched Kuwabara standing in front of the boy with a cheeky grin. "He should drop his honor and strike the boy while he's down."

"So brutal Hiei." Kagome glanced down at him.

"Of course. You won't find my enemies alive when I'm through with them-"

"It's rather sexy." She gave a hushed tease. Reaching over she ran her fingers through his spiky hair.

"Hmph." He quickly swatted her hand away and ignored her. She gave a small laugh, enjoying herself, before turning her attention back at the fight.

The boy finally got up, and the two started charging each other. Kuwabara gave a nice uppercut into the stomach, and the boy was sent flying backwards yet again.

"This could be Kuwabara's best chance to finish him." Kurama was talking, mostly to himself.

"Just stay down till the ref' counts to ten!" Kuwabara yelled out while jumping into the air, fist raised, putting all his strength into this one final blow. But as the attack came down, the boy disappeared before it made contact, leaving our teammate completely defenseless for a counter attack.

The boy appeared behind him, and Kuwabara turned around, but it was too late- The child grinned and using all his strengthen, he twisted his hip and swung his foot, connecting it right into the goof-balls cheek. The teen's head quickly whipped around at the sudden force, and she could see his neck stretched and snapped from the powerful blow. Kagome gave a small hiss of displeasure, wincing from the sight. Kuwabara fell like a stack of stones, lying motionlessly on the concrete ring.

"Ouch." She broke the silence.

"The fool probably just died, and that's all you can say?" Hiei looked at her questionably.

"3-!" Koto continued her count.

"Now is not the time to be making a joke, Kagome." Kurama scolded her.

"5-!"

"But I was serious." She gave a small huff. "Besides, he's not dead." She stated matter-of-fact.

It was at that moment that Kuwabara decided he didn't want to continue lying down, and slowly sat up, surprising many. The boy, who she believed was named Rinku, seemed more angry then surprised. They both said words of challenge to each other, before the boy finally deciding to get serious and pulled something out of the small pouch that was dapped over his shoulders.

He gave a confident laugh as he showed everyone his greatest weapons, Yo-yo's-

"Oh goody, how exciting. What is he going to do, walk the doggy?"

"Heh." Her small comment earned a light chuckle from her short companion, and she smiled.

"Serpent Yo-yo attack." Like most anime characters, they randomly called out their attacks, believing shouting out a name gives it incredible power. The boy continued to laugh as the eight yo-yos, one placed between each finger, were starting to fill with spiritual energy.

"Oh yeah?!" Kuwabara didn't seem impressed. "Well, here's a new trick I got!" An orange ball of spiritual energy appeared in the palm of his hand, and quickly stretched, taking shape, into a rigidly and unstapled looking stick. Soon, another one appeared in his other hand and he took a half-assed, and possibility made up stance. "Double spirit sword!" He also called out his new move. Oh~! Swords… That's what they were…

"Does he even know how to wield two swords?"

"No." Hiei stated.

"I thought so…" Mastering one sword techniques take years, let alone all the combos and motions of wielding two at once. No doubt Kuwabara's moves will not only be slow, but sloppy, and will probably just be made up reflexes as he goes along- "I'm placing 50 bucks on Rinku."

"Kagome!" Kurama's scolded her yet again.

"I'll take that bet, and raise you a 100."

"Hiei!" Kurama leaned over and looked at him questionably. "Don't encourage her."

"Don't be such a party-pooper Kurama." Kagome huffed.

A movement caught her attention and her eyes were quickly focused back onto the stage. Rinku jumped, and threw four yo-yos at Kuwabara at once, each tied to a different finger. Kuwabara smirked and got ready, and just as they were within striking distances he swung both his weapons- She watched with slight interest as the yo-yos dodged the blades and started to freely wiggle around, as if they were alive, and landed a direct hit on Kuwabara in several different places on his body.

After some confident remarks, as Kuwabara was slowly standing back up from the nasty hit, the boy explained that trying to hit them with his sword 'Was like trying to catch snakes barehanded.' The expression he used wasn't all too impressive, for the actual task wasn't very difficult to accomplish. There are many human's who wrangle snakes that way.

Once Kuwabara was back on his feet the boy wasted no time in attacking yet again. The teen was left with no choice but to retreat. Yet he did so in a special way, by running backwards and prying slabs of concrete and positioning them to stand in the way of the attack, creating a small line of barriers.

When several slabs were placed, the boy laughed, and with one flick of his wrist four yo-yos soared through the air. They easily penetrated them, and landed yet another direct hit on Kuwabara. Rinku wasted no time for him to recover, and before he even hit the ground, the boy wrapped the Yo-yos around his ankles and wrist, binding him. With the other four left he sent them up and slammed them into his back, and a cry of pain was heard once the punishing attack made contact with Kuwabara's spine.

The boy made a menacing laugh, enjoying himself as he relentlessly slammed her goofy companion over and over again into the hard stone of the arena. Yet it wasn't long before Rinku realized that no matter how many times he hit the concrete, Kuwabara was somehow able to take it. The boy was using up his energy, all his strength was spent tossing the big lug around the arena, so he quickly thought of something else, and Kuwabara was sent airborne yet again, except this time he didn't come back down.

He rose higher and higher with the help of the yo-yos until positioned above the stadium. At that moment she couldn't help but be reminded of a kite, as the tall human was gently blowing in the wind, arms and legs spread out. Watching at her teammate dangled helplessly in the air, she couldn't help but feel pity for the man…

"200 on Rinku." She raised her bet.

"Kagome!" The all too familiar tone of Kurama's scolding fell into her ears. She gave a small shrug.

She watched as the boy called back his yo-yos, and they unraveled themselves from around Kuwabara's ankles and wrists, retreating back into their master's hands. Gravity did its job and the heavy man started plummeting to the ground at high speed.

Kuwabara gave a laugh of confidence, and just as he was several feet from impact, he placed his hands together in front of him. The familiar orange energy appeared, yet this time he extended the sword's reach and it slammed into the concrete. It japed into it snuggly, and not only softened his fall, but Kuwabara's weight caused the sword to bend as he was descending, and like a pro pole-vaulter he was shot into the air. The force was great and he was headed straight towards Rinku, like a bullet.

Rinku just laughed, knowing that left him open for an attack, and sent out all eight of his yo-yos at once. Kuwabara called his sword, and the boy smiled. It was useless, he would just dodge the sword- She watched with slight interest as the sword suddenly came to life, and like the yo-yos, started to bend and move.

The two were at a stalemate, both were in the air, and not only did both attacks weave and dodge one another, they were perfectly aimed. Both attacks hit their target at once, and the two fighters were sent flying on opposite ends, only to be forced out of the arena and land onto the grassy floor at the same time.

Kagome gave a low and soft whistle, impressed. Koto, after a brief pause and announcing what just happened, she started counting.

"1-!" Several moments passed and neither moved. "4-!"

"Get up!" Yusuke shouted in his sleep. "You're late- Kuwabara!"

"5- Uh~?" Koto paused in her count as she watched Rinku slowly crawl back onto the stage. The boy looked exhausted, and drained. "Rinku has entered the ring after five counts!" She announced. Without waiting Rinku started to heal himself and a small glow appeared in his hands, above the burn on his stomach. "But it's not over yet!" She reminded everyone that Kuwabara was still outside the ring.

"Get up there Kuwabara." Yusuke ordered. "I'm serious. I know you're use to losing, but not now." He mumbled out.

"6-!"

"What did you say!?" Kuwabara instantly popped back up on his feet, shouting angrily.

"Six, Kuwabara." She replied. "You have four counts to get in the ring."

"Not you! Urameshi!" He yelled. Running halfway around the ring he charged towards the sleeping leader. "You little punk! You want to say that to my face?!" He screamed, grabbing Yusuke by the jacket in rage. "Oh, you pretending to be asleep now?!" He started to shake him back and forth.

"7-!" The echo of Koto's voice snapped him out of his anger. "8-!"

"Wait, I'm coming-!" He called to her. He was about to get up, but suddenly the broken yo-yos that were wrapped around his wrists came back to life and bound him yet again. They encircled his body, trapping his arms to his side, and also tying his wrists together in the front of him like cuffs. "Hey!" He shouted.

"9-!"

"That's cheating!" He desperately tried to struggle and free himself from the strings.

"10!" She finished her count. Kuwabara gave a desperate and disappointed grunt, and fell onto his back with a helpless thud.

"Man Kuwabara, you suck."

"Shut the fuck up Kagome!" Was his witty reply.

"Temper, Temper." She hummed with a smirk on her face.

"And Rinku is the winner! The Rokuyukai Team gets a point!" Koto announced.

"That was fairly innocent." Kurama commented with a smile. "It's rare to see both fighters still standing."

"Hmph." Hiei huffed. "I assure you it won't happen with me."

"I believe someone owes me some money…" Kagome glanced down at Hiei. He looked up at her, and she lowered her hand, opening her palm in front of him, waiting. "No checks or credit, cash only please." She opened and closed her four fingers playfully, as if saying 'cough it up'

"The fool is still alive, that doesn't count."

"That doesn't matter, he lost."

"Being alive means he won, in my account."

"Your opinion is useless."

"Don't make me lop off that pretty head of yours." He threatened.

"You think I'm pretty?" She blinked in surprise. His eyes widened slightly, and he turned his head away.

"That is not what I meant." He defended himself. She gave a small laugh.

"I'll take that compliment as your payment." Her expression softened and she placed her hand onto his shoulder.

"I told you, I didn't-" He paused and looked at her hand. Swatting it away from him he sighed. "Whatever…"

"Hmm." She continued to look at Hiei for a few seconds longer, before her eyes landed on a familiar goof-ball. "Kuwabara." She called to him. He looked up from his sitting position on the floor.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"You okay or did those toys actually do damage?" She asked.

"What do you think?" He stood up abruptly, holding his arm. He was covered in scraps, bruises, and dirt was smudged over his clothes and face.

"They are just flesh wounds. You can fight the next battle straight away!" She announced while smirking at him. He gave her a 'What the hell' look, and she had to resist laughing. "But just to be safe, why don't you come over here so I can heal you." She motioned for him to come to her, smiling.

"You can heal me?" He questioned while limping towards her.

"Of course." She nodded at him as he stood directly in front of her. "Since you are human, it won't take so long. With demons I have to be cautious on using too much power at once. If I use too much they instantly burst into dust on contact." She flashed him a bright smile.

"Umm…" Hearing her words, he turned around and started tiptoeing away from her. "I think I'm better off without your help-"

"Oh nonsense." She reached over and forcefully pulled him down to the ground, into seating position. Even though she tried to convince him, he didn't seem too sure about it.

She shook her head and quickly reached out. Hovering one hand above his cheek, and another on his chest, over his shirt, she allowed her powers to go into them. They glowed pink with energy, and within a few short moments all the wounds on his body melted away, leaving the dirt and ripped clothing behind.

"It's warm…" Kuwabara mumbled as the last of the scraps were disappearing. Only a few seconds of time passed, before it was already over, and she stood up. "That was fast."

"I told you it would be." She hummed.

"Kurama." Hiei's voice caught her attention and she turned towards the fire apparition. Immediately noticing a certain redhead was no longer standing beside her, she looked towards the stage, and spotted him already standing in the middle of the ring, in front of the next challenger. "Considering the stakes, we can't afford to take any chances. Don't leave the ring with him still alive." She wasn't sure if he was giving him advice or ordering him…

"Naturally." Kurama replied.

"Good luck." She gave a gentle wave, smiling. "Not sure what you can do yet, but I'm 50 percent positive you can beat him… maybe."

"With that excellent vote of confidence, I'm sure to win now…" He whispered back, smirking. She gave a light hearted laugh.

"You know I'm just being a good sport, Kurama." She joked around. Obviously she knew that he was going to win, hands down. The other demon was such a weakling…

"We will deal with the rest of their team, you can sit out for the duration of the fight." Hiei looked over to Kuwabara.

"Hey! I'm not out of this yet!" He called out, pointing to himself. "If Yusuke doesn't wake up, I'll take the last guy."

"We'll pray that doesn't happen…" He replied.

"Don't be so tough on him Hiei." Kagome looked down at him. "Kuwabara is a great fighter…"

"See, Kagome agrees that I'm pretty good." The goof puffed out his chest in pride, grinning.

"She was being sarcastic, you fool."

"Pssh-!" She placed her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles. "You're so gullible Kuwabara!"

"Oh, screw you guys!" He huffed, and swatted his hand in their direction, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alright boys I'm here." A cheerful voice peeped up. "Oh, and Kagome…" She added.

Spotting the only person she knew with blue hair running towards them, she had to resist sighing. Its not that she doesn't like Botan, it's just the girl reminded her so much of her younger self- It left a bad taste in her mouth. Old memories were sometimes not all good.

"Leave, before you hurt yourself." Hiei quickly stated.

"Well, that's a nice thing to say to someone who is going to help you win, don't you think?!" She huffed.

"Ah~!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "Doesn't that mean you're, like, the replacement fighter for Urameshi!?"

"Kuwabara?" Kagome called to him in a calm tone.

"Yeah?" He replied, turning to look at her.

"Are you retarded?"

"N-No!"

"Then I suggest you not open your mouth whenever a question pops into your mind. It will make you seem smarter…"

"…" Hiei gave a small smirk, amused.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?!"

"What am I?" She asked while turning towards him seriously. "On this team, what am I?"

"You are the substitute- Oh~~!" He gently pounded in fist into his other hand, finally understanding.

"…" Reaching up she patted his chest in encouragement. "I'm sure stupidity is just a phase you're going through."

"I'll get Yusuke out of the way." Botan walked past her and bent down, grabbing his ankles. She was out of her orange Kimono, and into brown slacks with red suspenders, and a yellow dress shirt underneath. "Ugh!" She gave a small grunt, as she dragged him through the grass by his feet and onto the wall by the audience, instead of the ring.

Once Botan was off to the side with Yusuke, she placed her full attention back on the ring, her blue eyes focusing on the calm demon standing before her. She hasn't really asked Kurama any personal questions, or anything that has to do with the spirit detectives, including his fighting style, so today was going to be the first time she has seen him in battle. No doubt he will use his wits to win, she knows he is a very cunning man. Wonder if he is an elemental manipulator? Just thinking about it made her excited, while waiting in anticipation-

"You know, that rose whip he's got must be 10 feet long." Kuwabara's voice caught her attention, as he was talking to Hiei. "Where does he stash it? Only ways I can think of sound kinda painful."

"Kurama simply carries a normal rose. By manipulating his spirit energy, it is transformed into a whip." Hiei answered. "Even weeds can turn into a deadly weapon for Kurama."

"Rose…Whip." Kagome mumbled to herself, and glanced down at the ground. It couldn't be…

"Begin!" Koto yelled out through the microphone, snapping her out of her daze and back towards the ring.

The enemy, Koto called him Roto, started a small conversation, saying few words of insight. After he seemed confident for some reason, the demon's middle finger grew and changed into a large blade-like weapon and he charged head-on for Kurama.

Kurama easily dodged his attacks with fluent and graceful reflexes. It was quite obvious who was going to win this fight-

"He is clearly no match for Kurama." Hiei spoke up. "It's a pity you couldn't have taken him, and let Kurama deal with the little child and his Yo-yos."

"Hey, you watch it shrimpy! I just got cheated is all." Kuwabara argued back.

"Nice one Hiei." She gave a small laugh.

As she looked back she witnessed Kurama finally deciding to end it and he appeared behind the demon, about to land a final blow. Words skimmed across her ears as the demon spoke his last sentence, and Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. Kurama was also caught off guard and it left him open for attack. The demon taking the opportunity, he slashed his cheek just as Kurama jumped away, causing a thin cut to go across his cheek.

'I have your human mother Kurama, or should I say, Suichi.'

A low growl threatened to escape her throat as she watched Kurama being blackmailed by his mother's life. Hiei also noticed the problem but neither of us could do anything about it.

She had a small leverage that the others didn't have- She knew the fact was that Kurama's mother would not die for many more years to come. She was not going to die today, but that only meant two things: Kurama figures out a way to beat him, or he sacrifices himself for his mother.

There was another option, and that is for her to tell Kurama that she was safe. But that could lead him into a false sense of security, and he might not be able to come up with a plan to beat him- Then again, Kurama was smart, he probably remembers the day she saved his mother from that bus accident, warding off her death and extending her life for many years by doing so…

She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose in annoyance, as a small headache started to settle in. So much trouble-

"…?" Kagome raised an eyebrow in interest as she watched Kurama make a very cleaver move.

He threw a pebble at the demons face, but that was just a distraction, so he wouldn't notice something else hitting his chest. At the moment, Kagome wasn't sure what it was that hit his chest, but she had a feeling it was something to change to tide of battle, and that idiot demon didn't even notice Kurama's cunning ploy.

She watched as the demon ordered Kurama to put his hands behind his back, because of the silly pebble trick, not wanting him to resist anymore, and to make Roto feel more empowered, she supposed. When he did Roto continued his beating, before getting angry at the heated look Kurama still expressed, and brought out his blade again.

Kagome clinched her jaw, and her hands balled into fist until her knuckles grew white. She held herself back as she witnessed him cut another slash across his cheek, over top the other one, creating an X mark. It took all her will power not to charge at him and rip the demon's head off, but she tried to keep calm, because she trusted Kurama that his plan will work…

As it turned out her assumptions were correct, and the ending result was worth the wait. When Kurama dared him to press the button, the demon got angered and smirked, but just as he was going to, his body was paralyzed, unable to move. With a winning smile, Kurama announced just what he did, and the demon finally understood he was defeated.

The object Kurama chucked at his body was a seed from a death plant. The pebble was a distraction so he wouldn't notice, like she thought. Kurama fed it with his energy, and it slowly grew throughout the inside of is body like a web.

Once Roto realized it was over, he started begging for his life, but Kurama was not a merciful person when it comes to battle, and in an instant the plant came to life, bursting out of his body, displaying a beautiful array of colorful plants. He got what he deserved in the end…

"What irony. Such beauty, sprung from such an ugly soil." Kurama mumbled to himself, as he walked back towards them after undoubtedly being called the winner.

Looking down at the demon's lifeless body, as purple and pink flowers were encased around it, her eyes started to fog over in thought at the familiar image.

"Flowers…" She whispered into the wind as the cocky face of Yoko appeared in her mind. So he too, knows how to manipulate plants…

Even though she doesn't mean to, the more she spends time with Kurama, and gets to know him, the more she sees Yoko in him. Looking down at the ground she found herself slowly slipping away from the world, and into her own.

She knew it was wrong of her to think so but- Coincidences can only go so far…

"Is something the matter, Kagome?" Kurama's gentle tone whispered in the back of her mind.

"Hmm?" She looked up from the ground and her blue pools meet his emerald green. Once she saw the concern flashing through them she gave him a soft smile. "Good job." She praised him for his win.

"Thank you." He nodded his head in thanks- She placed her hand onto his uninjured cheek, causing him to blink in surprise. She turned her head and hummed, examining his other cheek closely. "You don't have to look after it. Should heal on its own by the end of the day-" She gently trailed her tongue along his cut cheek, stopping him in his tracks. "That's not very sanitary…" He whispered out, but she could feel the heat coming off of his flushed cheeks.

"…" She smiled before reaching up with her free hand. It glowed a light pink, before she wiped her palm against his cheek, healing his light wound as well as rubbing off the blood in the process. "There." She hummed in satisfaction at his clean face. "Now you're back to being pretty again." She playfully joked with him, winking. He gave a small chuckle, amused.

"I appreciate it." He looked down at her kindly. She smirked, before turning her head away and giving a small mischievous whistle. He raised and eyebrow, but then his eyes widened, stunned as she sloppily and roughly swiped her bloodily hand on his nice white outfit, smudging it all over his chest. "…" He blinked in surprise, before glancing down. "Lovely…" He sighed.

"Sorry, but I can't help messing with you." She laughed, and patted his shoulder in reassurance.

"It's quite understandable, I suppose, but don't think you are going to get away with this." He threatened.

"OooOo~!" She teased. "I'm so scared."

"Just you wait." He smirked.

"Looking forward to it-"

"Get ready!" Koto's voice spoke up, and Kagome snapped her head towards the ring. On stage, was the vampire and Hiei.

"When did Hiei go up?"

"While you were daydreaming." Kurama answered.

"FIGHT!"

Just as the words left Koto's mouth, vampire man Zeru burst with power and the flames engulfed him. In an instant Kagome called her power and a large barrier surrounded her and the rest of the team, just before the flames shot forth. They hit the barrier, before going over top and around it, missing them completely.

"How's Yusuke?" She looked over her shoulder at the others behind her.

"Good." Botan smiled towards her, before whipping a bead of sweat from her brow. The surprise attack obvious scared her.

"Everyone else okay?" She asked.

"Fine." Kurama spoke up.

"…" The masked fighter just nodded in thanks.

"Thanks Kagome." Kuwabara gave her a goofy grin and she laughed, shaking her head at his silly attitude.

"No problem." She was glad they were all safe, but the audience behind and around them was not so lucky. The flames missed her companions because of her fast reaction, but the flames bypassed the barrier only to attack the helpless demons like before.

After the flames retreated she lowered her barrier. She wanted to keep it up for the entire battle, but that would use up her energy. She couldn't afford to spend it all right now, incase someone got badly hurt or something extreme happened. Its not that she isn't positive they will win, but she always likes to prepare for the worst, so she doesn't get caught off guard and surprised. As they say: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst…

All seemed to be going quite well for now though. Zeru was launching fire attacks one right after another, as they shot out of his hands. Hiei was dodging them with great speed and wonderful agility, untouched. Hiei landed on the stage, standing tall, and after demonstrating his skill, Zeru was still laughing confidently even though Hiei was unscathed through it all. It was at that moment that Kagome was glad he left Kaji back at the Hotel room…

With a loud roar flames shot out of his body and sky rocketed into the air, well beyond the height of the stadium. The hot fire was circling above his body like clouds, before they quickly flew back into his body, as if merging. Only after a few seconds the preparation was complete, and all the fire was now inside of his body, making his skin, and even his hair and clothes, engulfed in red from the scorching heat emitting from his form.

Hiei just smirked, unimpressed. Zeru huffed, glaring at him, before wasting no time and charging at him. His speed was something to be amazed at, and he caught Hiei off guard, jabbing his hand into his stomach so hard that it burst through his back from the other side.

Hiei's body was also engulfed in flames, catching on fire, and he grunted in pain as he body was thrown into the air and he slowly floated back down, as if in slow motion. As Hiei was falling, Zeru took the opportunity to deal a powerful attack at him while he was defenseless.

Gathering all the heat into his fist, he shot a large ball of energy at Hiei, and it hit, sending a blinding flash through the whole arena. Everyone went quiet as they watched Hiei's painfully float to the ground, his body still in flames. Though everyone else on the team seemed surprised, she on the other hand found herself watching closely, knowing that all was not what it seemed.

Hiei's body gave a thud as it finally hit the concrete stage, lying motionless as the flames continued to burn. Zeru gave a snort, unimpressed by how 'weak' he was, and turned around, staring to walk away. Yet he was proven wrong when Hiei appeared behind him, on his feet with a smirk on his face. She smiled at him and closed her eyes. So she was right…

Hiei stood there, his shirt ripped both in the front, where his stomach was, and the back, yet his skin and body looked unharmed. Then Hiei's white headband was burnt off, revealing his Jagan Eye.

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" He shouted, and his energy level skyrocketed. Suddenly the flames fizzled out, leaving him untouched and he raised his hand, palm up. Blackened flames appeared in it, and it's dark aura started to consume the area.

Kagome could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she took a deep breath, savoring the exciting feeling as her body started to shiver. It's been a while since she felt like this- The feeling of powerful energy pushing and fighting against her own. It was as if she was back in the Demon World once more. Back to the time where every second the suffocating aura it produced would push against her senses, making her adapt and grow into the powerful Miko she is today.

"You know it's impossible to control it completely. Once I release it I have no say." Hiei spoke up. "I have the power to pull you into oblivion. I assume just my right arm will do." He smirked. "You should never have insulted the Jagan Eye." He told him. "Because you see, in a way it has its own mind, and loathes disrespect. Resisting it is not something I would do."

"Kagome!" Kuwabara shouted over the roar of the flames. Hiei's body started to spark as the dark flames flickered under his feet, waiting to be let loose. "Quickly! Put a barrier around us!" He yelled, his hands over his mouth like a speakerphone. "He'll kill us all!"

"I can't!" She shouted back and shrugged. "My power would attract it like a moth to a flame!" No pun intended. "It would come straight for me, and would follow my energy until it killed me." She stated matter-of-fact.

"…!" Kuwabara turned pale at the thought. "Never mind!" He quickly changed his plan. "I'm all for you not dying and stuff!"

"…" She shook her head and gave a light laugh.

In reality she is in great danger and shouldn't be laughing, but the Earth draining her energy is considered a good thing in this situation. If she was at full strength, even if she was suppressing as much power as she could, it would still come after her the moment it was released. Though she was low on energy beyond recognition, compared to her true power, she still had a very high chance that the attack would still sense and target her- She sighed. No use worrying about it now, she supposed, it would only make things worse.

"Dragon of the Darkness flame!" Hiei shouted.

His body tensed up and his shirt was ripped off his body as the powerful technique surrounded him, concentrating into his hand. Pointing it outward and towards Zeru, the attack was launched. It roared in rage, emerging and flying out of his hand in the form of a dragon's head, bearing its fangs at him as it erupted in immense energy and slammed into the helpless demon.

The attack continued onward, until it bashed the demon into the wall surrounding the arena. It only lasted a few seconds, but after it was done and over with, people went silent as the dust and dark fog disappeared. Everyone looked on in both horror and awe as Hiei raised his burnt arm, and he looked at Zeru's charred remains. All that was left of the demon was an outline of his body, sprawled against the wall.

"Where's Zeru?" Koto popped her head out from the edge of the ring. "There's his outline at least." She whispered in surprise. "Well, he's definitely out of the ring-"

"Believe me, he is not coming back." Hiei told her. "That cinder is all that's left."

"…!" She gave a small gasp in shock, while turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. "Yes, then I suppose counting to ten would be a little ridiculous." She noted. "Let's give it up for Hiei!" She shouted in cheer and raised her hand into the air. Everyone just gave hushed grumbles, mostly still in shock at what they just witnessed.

The score board then gave a click and showed that it was now 2 - 1 with our team in the lead. Hiei huffed and placed his hands into his pockets and slowly strolled back over to us.

"Yeah! We're punching our way to the top!" Kuwabara cheered in joy. "Hiei can beat anyone with that move-!" He paused and turned pale. " 'Hiei can beat anyone with that move' " He repeated. "Am I listening to myself?! What if he decides to be a bad guy again?! What if he decides to shoot us with the dragon!?"

"Don't worry, fool." Hiei huffed while looking at him. "We entered into an alliance and I'm not the type to break it." He told him. "Of course, after we win the tournament I can't guarantee anything." He gave a small hiss and turned away from him.

"Congratulations on the win, Hiei." Kagome smiled at him.

"Hmm." He just hummed in response. Her eyes zoomed in on his burnt arm and followed Hiei with her eyes as he walked past her-

"I was surprised to hear that you couldn't put up your barrier, Kagome." Kurama's curious voice spoke up.

"Hmm?" She turned away from Hiei to look at him. "Oh, yeah." She sighed. "Evil energy and mine don't really mix." Reaching up she rubbed the back of her neck to sooth the hairs. "If I released any energy at all, it would have turned around and hunted me down until I was engulfed." She gave a small laugh, trying not to think about it. Unbeknown to her, Hiei paused mid-step, his crimson orbs widened in surprise, and he quickly glanced at her.

"Speaking from experience?" Kurama looked down at her. His tone suggested his was both concerned and yet intrigued about it the same time.

"Of course, I am over 500 years old-" She paused in her sentence and snapped her head up to look across the arena. Her blue pool narrowed at the entryway on the other side.

She watched as the two weaker members of the other team started to freak at how strong Hiei was, and how quickly he beat Zeru. They both ran for it out of fear, and into the darkened gateway out of the arena. Rinku yelled for them to come back, but then small yelps of pain was herd, and a tall man walked out.

He was tan, with a blue Mohawk, messy goatee, and a leather jacket. In one hand was a large bottle of alcohol, and in the other was the shirt collars of the two members, both dead as he dragged them out in the open. He threw them onto the grassy floor with a thud and squinted.

"Bloody hell ets bright out 'ere" He slurred out and took a large swig of the bottle. Even though he was obviously drunk, she could still hear the heavy Australian accent that hung in his words as he spoke. She sighed as she felt her senses start to prickle from his power. He is stronger then Zeru, that's for sure- " 'ey! Tell those guys not to run 'way again." He mumbled down at Rinku. Again? They're dead- "T'ere's a fight to fight!" He lazily threw the empty bottle over his shoulder and it broke on impact with the ground. He stumbled towards the stage and placed his arms onto the concrete flooring. "Upy-daisy~!" He gave a grunt as he horribly failed at trying to lift himself onto the ring, and ending up falling back onto the ground, landing on his ass. " 'ey! No need to make the ring tall'er! Lets just 'ave some fun."

"Oh dear." Botan's voice spoke up worriedly. "A drunken mad-man has escaped into the ring."

Once the tall man finally made it to the stage, he wobbled for a second and fell back onto his butt. It was then he decided it was best to sit there, and looked over to Koto.

" 'ey announcer Sheila!" He pointed towards her. "You look pretty hot!" Random compliment- If you would take it as one. "Could you come over 'ere a second?"

"Umm?" Koto looked around and pointed to herself.

"I got a question fer 'ya!" He shouted as if angry, and smacked his palm onto the floor. She gave a small eep of surprise and quickly scurried over to him.

"Y-Yes?"

"Two of 'em fellas just died on accident-" He told her.

"Really?" Her voice cracked a little.

" 'ow are they going to continue?" He gave a rude burp directly in her face and she turned her head away, pinching her nose from the bad smell.

"Doesn't matter how many die, each team is only allowed one fighter." She told him with her nasally voice. After a second she finally released her nose and sighed. "Rokuyukai can fight with Rinku and one alternate, if they find one." She told him.

"You sure 'bout that?!" He smirked.

"I am a walking rule book. My entire life is this tournament! Of course I'm sure!" She seemed rather proud of that fact.

"Yeah~!" He cheered in joy and abruptly stood up, scaring the poor woman in the process. "That means I can fight these last two boys myself. I think that's really ripper." He gave a small hiccup and fell, quickly sitting back down and slouching his head. Koto blinked, and after a second of him not moving she took a few steps forward- She squeaked in surprise when he reached out and pulled her to him. He grinned happily, and started to roughly rub his stubbly cheek against hers. "Thanks fer' everything Sheila!" He laughed and stood up, stumbling into the middle of the ring.

"His spirit power is a lot less then Zeru's but I have a creepy feeling. Watch out you guys." Kuwabara spoke his mind.

"What could you be worried about?" Botan walked up to him, while glancing at the man on stage. "He is the alternate fighter."

"Botan, have you forgotten that I am our team's alternate fighter?" She reminded the cheery woman of that important fact. Botan gave a nervous laugh, and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Strength wise I am quite powerful, but that man is no pushover either." She stated, motioning towards the man with her head. "His is definitely more powerful then the other members of his team."

"How do you know?" Kuwabara looked towards her. "I don't sense anything."

"I'm more experienced then you, and I'm more sensitive."

"Let's go you soots! I wanna get a good brawlin' before my fun wares off!" He shouted to them. " 'N that case you better all fight me at once! Ha-ha- Ahchoo!"

"So? Who's going to take him?" Kuwabara turned towards us. "It hasn't been very long since all three of us fought our matches."

" 'urry up!" He yelled at them, spitting everywhere.

"Chu is extremely impatient." Koto announced into her microphone.

"What did you say?" He slurred out and looked at Koto over his shoulder.

"I only say it as I see it."

"Don't go'on confusin' me with big words. Just get me a fighter!" He ordered her and pointed to the direction of our team.

"Shut your drunken trap and hold on a minute." Kagome huffed at him, sending him a glare.

"Ooo~" He gave a low whistle. "Mighty feisty aren't cha?" He gave a cocky grin. "I like 'em like that." She rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Urameshi team, please bring out your next combatant." Koto's echoing voice spoke up.

"Well, we still have that masked fighter guy." Kuwabara was mostly talking to himself, and he turned and looked at said person. "Come on man, it's your turn!" He called to him. The fighter just closed his eyes, not responding.

"If you can't give me someone I will have to disqualify." Koto told him.

"H-Hang on a minute." Kuwabara stuttered. "I guess I will have to take control of this fight…" He proudly announced. "Unless I can get Urameshi to wake up!" He shouted and pointed towards Yusuke- "Uh?" He blinked in surprise when he noticed the leader was no longer there. "That's weird. Where'd he go?" They all looked back towards the stage just in time to see Yusuke jump into the ring. "Well that's unexpected." The goof mumbled.

"Waking up to the smell of alcohol. Cant help but feel a touch of home." Yusuke sighed and reached up, cleaning out his ear with his pinky. "Hey all you stupid demons!" He yelled out, raising his fist into the air. "I've been trying to sleep through your cleaver trash talk long enough, and I'm ready to kick some asses!"

"Go get'em Punk!" Kagome called to him, smirking.

After a few stretches the team leader suck his hands inside of his pockets and walked into the middle of the ring. A few seconds later all the demons started to chant 'Kill Yusuke' over and over again, obviously not liking the boy- Wonder why…

Something crossed her mind and she sighed. Looking over towards Hiei her eyes focused back onto his arm. She knew it was a bad wound. The burn covered his entire hand and stretched all the way up to his elbow. She was about to look at it when Chu distracted her- She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How could something like that slip her mind?

Hiei wasn't standing too far away, so in just a few steps she was by his side. He took his eyes off of the ring, and looked up at her.

"What is it?"

"Let me look at your arm." She reached out to touch it but he turned away from her.

"You don't need to see it."

"Of course I do, you're hurt." She tried for it again, but he took a step back, dodging her.

"It's none of your business." His crimson orbs glared at her, as if looking into her soul.

"…" She sighed, and gently reached out, placing her hand onto his cheek. This surprised him and his eyes widened slightly. "Stop being so stubborn and let me help you."

"I don't need your charity, woman." He pulled away from her touch.

"I know you're in pain." She gave a hushed whisper. "You might not be able to use your hand again." She looked down at him seriously. "Let me see if I can help you." She offered once more. His crimson orbs locked onto her blue pools, and the staring contest continued for several moments. She could tell he was thinking it over in his mind.

"Hmph." He gave a small huff, and looked away from her. Taking his hand out of his pocket he held it out in front of her.

"Thank you." She smiled, and her eyes softening towards him. She gently ran her fingers through his hair in praise, before bending down eye-level with him. "Hmm." She reached out, and before she even touched his hand, she saw him flinch, anticipating the pain. It was small, almost unnoticeable to the untrained eye, but she saw it. "I know it hurts." She whispered to him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to touch you right now. " She tried to reassure him, and gently hovered her hands over his arm, scanning the surface with a very tiny amount of her energy. "Mmm."

"Mmm?" He repeated. "What does that mean? Can you fix it or not?"

"So grumpy." She replied. After a few more seconds of looking it over she removed her hands. "It will take time, but I can heal you." This caught his attention and he whipped his back around to look at her. Standing straight she reached out and gently placed her hand onto his cheek in reassurance. "Like I said, it will take time so we will have to do it at the Hotel." She gently patted his cheek in encouragement. "Until then, try to endure it for now."

"A little pain won't bother me."

"That's good to hear." She smiled at him, and then turned back towards the fight, deciding to watch it while standing beside her heated friend.

"I hope you can at least give me a decent warm up in the state you are in." Yusuke smirked, throwing his jacket outside of the ring.

"Well this is plenty great. You don't think I can fight either, do 'ya?" Chu huffed, pointing at him. "Let me tell 'ya something mate! I uhh- I'm like-a master 'n Drinking Fighting!" Chu told him, still staggering on the stage, trying to not to fall down. "Sui Ken technique. That's the official name… I think. 'ya get distracted by my irregular moves." He slurred out, continuing to keep his balance so far. "Crapper craps ets bright out 'ere!"

"Yeah wobbly, give me a break." Yusuke wasn't impressed. "So the tipsy fighting thing might be weird, but I still heard of it before. You better have something else to make this a real challenge." He smirked. "I didn't come all this way just to baby-sit a drunk."

"Then wait a minute. You won't yabber that once I hit my grove." Yusuke's words must have hit a nerve, because Chu snapped out of his drunken state, as if by magic, and got serious. " 'Course I got to stumble into et first." He started to stagger around the stage, chuckling, and after a few sloppy movements of his feet he got into position, hands raised with a confident smirk.

"Fight begin!" Koto shouted out.

Chu powered up, and everyone got a good taste of his true energy. Most were surprised to say the lest, but Chu didn't give them any time to snap out of their shock, before going on the move. His body just floated to the side, and using great speed, making his movements were hard to track. His actions were irregular and his speed only added to the problem. She didn't have much trouble once she locked onto him, but she knew Yusuke was probably having a more difficult time adjusting to the strange foot work.

Chu then went into the offensive, and attacked from the side. Yusuke raised his arms to block, but by doing so he left himself open. Taking the opportunity, Chu gave Yusuke five good punches in the stomach, sending our teammate flying in the air, before jumping up and landing a blow in the back of the head. When our leader slammed into the ring with a thud, Koto spoke up and motioned towards the screen, wanting to see the clip in slow motion- Seems she, like most of the other demons, didn't see all the hits…

After they watched that the drunkard, indeed, landed five hits instead of one, the fight continued. Yusuke popped up as if it didn't even faze him, and charged Chu head-on, going into the offensive this time. One punch after another was sent at Chu, but the lug dodged every one of them like nothing. After 50 or so jabs Yusuke got frustrated, and in his anger he was finally able to land a hit in the jaw, sending the demon flying off his feet and onto his back from the force.

By this point The Hero was out of breath, as he looked at the demon lying on the floor. Suddenly Chu disappeared, and reappeared beside him- Before the boy wonder could defend himself, the drunken master sent him flying with a powerful kick. Yusuke soared threw the air like a bullet, and slammed into the wall so hard, it crumpled, the rubble landing on top of him.

"…" Kagome sighed, gently rubbing the bridge of her nose, between her eyes. "Don't pull a Kuwabara on us Yusuke. You are supposed to be the leader, for Pete's sake." She mumbled.

It was several moments before Yusuke finally popped up and jumped back in the ring at the count of nine. After few choice words the fight continued- Yusuke let off his spirit gun but aimed it at the stadium instead of his enemy. He gave Chu a warning of what the attack was, and that he had three more left, showing his attack before using it.

"…" Reaching up she rubbed her face in frustration.

Chu laughed and also released his special technique as well. Putting his hand behind his back he pulled out a flask. He introduced the drink as 'Ogre Killer' the strongest alcohol ever made. Pulling the tap off with his teeth, he spit it out onto the floor, before chugging the drink down his throat until there was nothing left.

The drunken man threw the empty flask on the floor. His energy quickly changed, and his aura started to grow in power. It was so strong that it completely eclipsed the stadium in a sheen of fog. The demon gave a grunt as his body started to twitch and everyone was quiet, waiting for what was going to happen-

Suddenly everything stopped and Chu snapped his eyes open. The demon turned pale and placed his hands over his mouth. Running to the edge of the ring, he vomited, barfing up his lunch-

"What the hell…" She sighed.

Everyone practically face-vaulted in surprise, while the others just sweat-dropped.

"Kurama?" She whispered out and looked towards the redhead.

"Yes?" He looked away from the ring and towards her.

"Come here." She motioned with her hand for him to come close.

"Something wrong?" He seemed concerned as he walked up to her.

"…" She sighed and leaned her body against his, resting her head on his chest. "Wake me when it's over." She told him, closing her eyes.

"You are going to sleep?" He sounded surprised. "But the fight is still going on."

"That isn't a fight." She corrected. "That's two idiots exchanging fists."

"Hmm." He gave a light hearted chuckle. "Like I said, fighting."

"Chu proves resilient after his hacking spell." Koto's voice echoed throughout the speakers.

Kagome sighed and turned back around, facing the stage. When her eyes landed on Chu, she got interested again and decided to continue watching while standing between Kurama and Hiei.

The tipsy demon was sober again, and this time his skin turned darker and his hair somehow had a purple tint to it. Chu smirked and placed his hands in front of his chest. A powerful energy started to swirl between them.

"What is that stuff?" Kuwabara questioned.

"His energy, you lump." Hiei answered. "He's creating his finishing move. If you look closely, you can actually see alcohol mixed in with his energy." Once the attack was gathered, Chu raised his hands, smirking as the orange ball was glowing with power.

"Whoa that looks a lot like Urameshi's spirit gun!" Kuwabara spoke up again.

"And approximately equal in force." Kurama added.

"What?! Don't you think we should tell Yusuke that?" Botan peeped. But Kagome could see the gleam in his eyes, and just by the excitement flashing through them, she could tell that he already knows…

Chu got ready, and he threw the ball at Yusuke like a pro-pitcher. Yusuke raised his hand and pointed his finger, firing at the same time. The two attacks hit each other mid-way, and started to clash against one another, fighting for dominance.

"Wow!" Koto's happy cheer fell into her ears as she announced what was going on. "The two fighter's energies are actually duke'ing it out!" The attacks started to spark and sizzle, trying their hardest to beat the other.

"Get 'em Urameshi's energy!" Kuwabara cheered. Kagome shook her head at the goof's silly antics.

Suddenly the two energies burst into nothing, signaling a draw. The two lugs in the ring didn't waste anytime after that and change one another screaming. Once they were close enough, they immediately raised their fists and started slugging fast blows. Neither one was blocking the others fists as the blurred punches continued to fly.

"There not even bothering to block those head-shots." Kuwabara whispered in awe.

"This is pure offence." Hiei spoke up. "They gave up fighting with their brains a long time ago. Now it's simply a matter of who can endure the most pain."

After several hundred blows, give or take by her guess, Chu reared back his fist and landed a good uppercut. The attack sent Yusuke flying off his feet, skidding on the ground and leaving a good opening. Chu took the opportunity and made another ball of energy, except this time it was three times the size of the last one. The demon then threw it at our leader with all his might, and Yusuke was off balance, unable to defend.

He quickly got to his feet and raised his hand, pointing his finger at the ball. She wondered if he was going to try a spirit gun, but that would be a bad move, his shot would not be enough to block the attack-

"Double Spirit Gun!" Yusuke shouted just as he fired off two consecutive blasts one right after another.

The bullets penetrated through the center of the orange attack, coming out the other side and heading straight for Chu. The tall demon was caught off guard and both attacks hit him just as the huge energy slammed into Yusuke. Both hits were immense and created huge dust clouds on impact. But it didn't take long for it to clear, reveling nothing… No bodies, not even severed limbs, just nothing- As if they vanished.

"No trace of either warrior can be found! Nothing! Not even a pile of ashes." Koto announced while looking side to side for any trace. "Has the fight truly ended in a draw!?" Kagome glanced up, spotting our fighters in the air. At that moment Koto also looked up, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Unbelievable! Both of them have survived!" The two fighters landed on the ring, facing each other, both looking exhausted. They were leaned over, and taking deep breaths, trying to regain strength while glaring at the other, still willing to fight. "Well, they burned their skin, shortened their breath, and somehow lost their shirts. Altogether I would call it a successful fight!"

"With that two fer' one shot you've used up all the ammo fer' your spirit gun." Chu spoke up. He no longer had the power-up energy stored in his body, his skin and hair was back to their normal color. "Maybe you can roundup enough energy to swing your little dukes, but that's 'bout et, right?"

"Pretty much…" Yusuke grunted out between each breath.

"I can barely lift my arms." Chu smiled while placing his hands onto his knees. After a few quiet moments the two fighters started to laugh, somehow finding the whole thing funny.

"Can you hear them?" Koto watched, stunned. "There laughing at their own helplessness! It seems the strain of battle has driven them into hysteria."

After their laughter subsided she watched with slight interest as Chu suggested a 'Knife-edged death match' to settle the fight, since neither of them could do anything else but throw punches. Once said he reached into his boots and pulled out two long knives, about a foot in length. Several tense moments passed as everyone wondered what at Knife-edge death match was…

Taking a few steps he jabbed the blade into the stage, and after making sure to check it to so it won't come loose, he stood up. Walking back to his spot he stabbed the other knife on the other side. He told Yusuke to take off his shoes and place his foot in front of the blade. To demonstrate he took off his boots and placed his foot in front of the knife and got into a solid stance. Yusuke nodded and did the same, both facing each other, fists raised.

The rules were: Don't step outside of the knife boundary line, and swing until you one of you dies- Wonderful…

Koto spoke up, and said that rules were called by the committee, and they would have to wait for their decision. They both waited, still in their stance, while the other demons seemed to like the idea of the brutal dual. It didn't take long for the screen to show their answer by placing an X on it. The demons booed, and started to cause a ruckus, wanting to see the two duke it out.

After several minutes of the demon's chanting the committee recalled their decision and the screen went back to blank, weighing their thoughts on the idea once more. This time the call was taking much longer, and the audience was getting restless. Koto tried to keep them calm, while Chu and Yusuke stayed in their stance, staring each other down with smirks on their faces, waiting.

The sky turned dark as ominous clouds hovered above the stadium, signaling a storm. Finally, after a long wait the screen showed a circle, and immediately the two started exchanging fists, as blow landed hit for hit. Headlights turned on and illuminated the ring, showing the two men grunting and swinging as if their life depended on it- And it did…

The punches were slow, but full of much force as the attacks hit their opponent, hoping that the next hit will be the one to take him down. Their focus was immense, as if nothing else around them existed, only them and their fists. Several minutes of this brutal punching, and their feet were cutting into the blades, sending blood pooling around them.

A jab in the stomach, a blow to the jaw, each hit sent sweat and blood splattering onto the stage. Both seemed to be enjoying each second of the all-out brawl, but she could tell that their energy was draining and they were on their last limbs-

Chu landed a powerful blow to the jaw, and Yusuke let his guard down for just a second. Taking it as his shot, Chu shot forward using his own head as a weapon. Yusuke saw it coming and he too pushed his last strength into his final blow. Both of their skulls slammed into each other full force, and they gritted their teeth at the harsh impact. Neither seemed to have backed down from the attack, both were still pressed against the other's forehead- Suddenly Chu gave a grunt, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

He fell to the side, and landed onto the hard concrete like a sack of stones, his skull crushing the material as if it were nothing. Koto then took the time to start the count.

"1-!" Kuwabara was already celebrating, jumping for joy at Yusuke's victory. "7-!"

"I guess you're better suited tapping kegs, then tapping heads, mate." Yusuke gave a small joke and chuckled at his own humor.

"9-!" Koto called out. "10!" She cheered. "The winner of this match, and the winner of the battle is Team Urameshi, lead by Yusuke Urameshi!" She reached over and grabbed Yusuke's wrist and held out his fist into the air, signaling their win.

"Yes!" Kuwabara ran into the ring, standing beside Yusuke. "We can't be beat!"

"Only you, Kuwabara!" She yelled out.

"Whatever Kagome, you're just jealous!" He called back.

"Oh yes, I'm so jealous that I am unable to make a fool of myself, and lose every battle I fight in."

"S-Shut up!" Was his witty reply.

"HA! She showed you!" Yusuke laughed, while holding his stomach. "Ah~! Don't make me laugh! It hurts!" Even though it hurt, he couldn't contain his laughter.

"Urameshi." The whispered voice of Chu called to him, finally awake, and he slowly peeled himself from the ground, sitting up. Hearing his voice the teen stopped his giggles and looked at him. "We agreed to fight a death match, mate. Finish me off." He looked up at him seriously. Yusuke stared at him for a few seconds, and then smiled.

"Heh. Nah, we'll fight again when you get better." He gave him a thumps up with a grin on his face.

"Ah…" Chu was slightly shocked at first, but then a smile crept into his face. "You 'old ripper." He sighed. " 'ets been an honor, Urameshi."

"Likewise Pal." He replied.

Turning to Kuwabara, without needing words, the tall goof lent him his shoulder, and the slick leader draped his arm over him. Kuwabara helped him limp off stage, walking towards them. While doing so, the roar of the crowd tripled, all booing at Chu and Rinku for their loss.

"You're a disgrace!"

"Losers!"

"Weaklings!"

"What are you waiting for Urameshi!? Kill him!" They were now screaming for Yusuke to kill Chu.

"We want some blood!"

"Kill that drunken loser Urameshi!"

By the time the boy finally got to us, the yells were too much for him, pissing him off, and he harshly pulled away from Kuwabara.

"SHUT UP!" He screamed to the top of his lungs, his voice carried throughout the whole stadium, overpowering the demons. They all quickly quieted down, shocked- "If you idiots got something to say…" His booming voice echoed down the whole arena. "Say it to my face-!" He commanded. "Or else say it to my fist!" He held up his fist, threatening them.

He stood strong, breathing heavily from the loud roar. The demons were so stunned that they were unable to speak or do anything. After a few seconds Kagome laughed and reached over, harshly pulling the kid down. Wrapping her arm around his neck she pinned his head in her armpit, and proceeded to give him a rough noogie in praise.

"You tell 'em!" She smirked.

Yusuke laughed at her playful treatment, taking it with good spirits. She found herself smiling as she looked down at the spirit detective, but she couldn't help but wonder if all their fights would go this well…

Kagome was walking down the hallway with the rest of the crew. They were headed to their suite, and she was in the back, along with Kurama. Glancing at Yusuke, who was in front, she looked down at his foot and gave him a once over.

"How's your wounds Yusuke?" She called to him. He glanced at her over his shoulder.

"Never been better!" Flashing her a cheeky grin, he gave her a thumbs up.

"That's good." Would have been embarrassing if she wasn't able to heal him back into shape.

The color of Kurama's red hair softly moved in the corner of her vision, but she tried her best not to look. If she looked, then she would only start thinking about him again. She sighed, and without realizing it her pace started to slow down.

The fight distracted her from the thoughts, but the reality of it was that Kurama reminded her so much of Yoko that it bothered her.

At first she thought it was just coincidence, the way he would talk or act, even some of his interests and dislikes. Especially how his scent was exactly the same as Yoko's. She came to the conclusion that she was just paranoid and that she was purposely spotting the similarities. She should never, ever, think of Kurama as a substitute for Yoko, because she knows how horrible that feeling is, and never brought it up again- But she couldn't help that the fact that he also controls flowers, and Kuwabara even said that he had a Rose Whip, just like Yoko…

Now that she was left to her own thoughts, her mind started reeling and every time she looked at Kurama, the face of Yoko would appear to her. Guilt hit her hard, and her focus was on the floor as she hung her head low.

"Is something the matter? You are falling behind." Kurama's soothing tone fell into her ears, making her look up.

"…" She glanced around and noticed the others were several feet ahead of them. She was practically crawling, dragging her feet on the ground as she walked. She sighed and stopped moving all together. "It's nothing…" She lied and turned her head away from him, not wanting to look into his eyes.

"It's not like you to lie." His tone dropped. "Something is really bothering you." He quickly figured her out, and the concern laced in his words only made her guilt worse.

"Kurama?" She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Is the ability to control plants a common thing among demons?" She asked. The question caught him off guard and he stared at her for a second.

"I- Umm…" He seemed nervous. She fully turned her body towards him and looked into his emerald orbs. She could tell he was thinking over the question very carefully- "Some foxes have that skill when they are born, but it really depends on the individual's energy and what it's most comfortable with."

"You're a fox demon?" She questioned. The moment the words left her mouth his eyes widened in realization, and she felt his body tense up.

"Yes." He answered truthfully. "I am." He stared at her with a serious and cold expression, as if waiting for her reaction.

The look he was giving her surprised her greatly, it reminded her so much of- The image of Yoko giving her that exact expression overlapped his and she closed her eyes, trying to will the mirage away.

"I'm sorry…" She gave a hushed whisper, and turned away from him. She found herself gently touching the blue gem resting below her collarbone. "Every time I look at you-" She winched, pained by the idea. "I see someone else…" She sighed, feeling a tug of guilt in her heart. "I know is wrong, and I shouldn't." She wrapped her fingers around the necklace until her knuckles grew white. "You're not him."

"I did not mean to bring up bad memories." She could hear much sadness and guilt in his voice.

"No." She shook her head and looked towards him once more. "You didn't."

When our eyes meet, he gave a small flinch, as if pained. Slowly he raised his hand up, before gently brushing his knuckles against her cheek. Even his touch felt so familiar… Just like his- She could feel her eyes start to sting, as her vision began to blur together. Silent tears softly cascaded down her cheeks, and she looked down in regret. She suddenly felt herself being pulled into a tone chest, and his arms wrapped around her smaller form.

"For him to bring tears into your eyes, he must mean much to you." His tone was soft, comforting her.

"He does." She whispered.

"I'm sorry…" He mumbled into her hair, and his hold around her tightened.

"You don't need to apologize, you did nothing wrong."

"…" She felt his whole body stiffen at her words, and his heartbeat sped up. "I'm sorry if I upset you." He finally spoke.

"It was my fault." Reaching up she brushed away her tears and sighed. "He was a dear friend of mine, and I shouldn't have compared you to him like that."

"I-" His grip on her loosened. "I am-" He cleared his throat and hummed. "I am Yo-" He took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm honored that I remind you of such an important person in your life."

She found herself smiling at his kind words, and backed away, freeing herself from his hold. Looking up at him, her blue orbs locking onto his emerald green. Reaching up she gently cupped his cheek.

"Thank you…" She whispered her thanks to him, glad that he was able to make her feel better. He was a great friend. Her expression softened towards him, and she sighed. Yet deep down she knew-

No matter how much her heart wishes it to be true… He will never be Yoko.

"So, does this mean we are friends?" Kagome asked.

"No." Hiei stated.

"You're so mean." She frowned. Slowly, and carefully, she was trailing her fingers down his arm. The tips were glowing pink with her power.

"Can't you go faster?" He questioned, being impatient.

"Can't you stop being a grouch?" She replied, taking her eyes off of his wound to glance at him.

"You've been at this for a while now. Why is it taking so long?"

"Because you keep complaining."

"Hmph." He huffed and turned his head away from her to stare out of the window. She sighed and focused back on her work.

Once everyone went into there rooms for the night, she changed into her sleeping outfit and went into Hiei's room to help heal his wound. By now she has lost track of how long she has been trying to heal him, but she knew she wouldn't last much longer.

They were both sitting on the bed, facing each other. Hiei had his legs crossed, while she sat more lady-like with her legs together and to the side. They were rather close, a hair away from touching, and neither seemed to care about that fact.

At this point Hiei had his arm in front of him, resting on his thigh. When they started he had it held out for her, between them, but when he realized that it was going to be awhile, he decided to lay it down instead. She didn't mind either way, because the work was still the same.

The tips of her fingers had small amount of her powers going into them, and she skimmed them along his burnt skin, healing him at a very slow pace. He was a demon, so she was forced to be careful and not put too much energy into it, constantly keeping an eye on how much she used. What little energy she gathered in the nights she could sleep, was gradually draining with each passing minute, but she didn't care about that.

Hiei's injury was immense, and she promised to help him. Though she doubted she could heal him completely tonight, she could at least take away some of the pain until she gathered more.

Her fingers moved down his arm and they landed on his palm. Gently she trailed them around and over his fingers- They gave a small twitch at her touch and a soft laugh escaped through her lips.

"Hurry up." Hiei barked orders.

"You know quite well that I can't go any faster then this." She huffed. "Or do you want me to turn you to dust?"

"Would be better then listening to your incessant chattering."

"Could you stop being such an ass, and at least thank me for helping you?"

"…" He turned his gaze away from the window and stared at her. "Why would I thank you when you haven't done anything?"

"Ugh." Her eyebrows angled together in rage and she growled. She could hear him give a deep chuckle, finding her anger amusing. He knows this is helping him, but he is just saying that to frustrate her.

She sighed and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. His cinnamon aroma tickled her nose, and calmed her in a strange way. Slowly she fluttered her eyes back open and she looked down at his arm. She blinked several times, trying to will the blurriness away. After shaking her head she sighed when it finally left.

"You… smell… nice." She whispered out. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't look at me like that… I'm not an idiot."

Her mind started to fog over, as a buzzing noise echoed in her thoughts. Slowly, black dots appeared in her vision, and she blinked, trying to make them go away. Raising her free hand she placed it over top her face, and grunted, feeling dizzy.

"You alright?" Hiei's soft voice whispered in the back of her mind.

"Don't worry…" She mumbled out. "I promised to… help you." Her thoughts started to blur together as she looked at the world with half-closed eyes. All too soon she felt her body give up, as all her energy was depleted…

Hiei's crimson orbs widened with surprise as Kagome suddenly fell forward and landing on him. He blinked, unsure what just happened, and looked down at her.

"Passed out." He quickly realized when he saw her eyes were closed, and her breathing evened out. "She must have drained herself. Weak woman."

"Stop being so stubborn and let me help you."

Raising his arm until he was able to get a good look at it, he slowly flexed it. A twinge of pain shot though his body and he flinched. Before, the pain was almost unbearable- She removed a large amount of the pain in such a short time…

He sighed and glanced down at her once more.

"Thank you…" His expression softened for a moment, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came. "But don't think this means we're friends now… Damn woman." He huffed, and turned his head away from her sleeping form.

.-..-.

Omg my book is finished! AND IT'S PUBLISHED~ WhaaaaT! A real book and everything! I can't believe it either! Its already gotten 4 out of 5 star reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads! YAY~! I've been working really hard on it for a long time, which is why I suddenly vanished from Fanfiction for a while. After I finished I went straight to working on this and got it done for you guys.

It's about a world where there are three realms, each stuck in their own perpetual season (spring, winter, summer) and everyone has control of a single element. (Fire, water, rock, plants) But the world is changing, and there are now people who are born without magic, Voidians.

Arianna (Based off of Kagome from Inuyasha, of course) Is princess of the magicless, and she finds out she is betrothed to Prince Roland (Yoko Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho) A flirtatious man who tries to woo her from the moment he sets eyes on her, but she isn't having any of it. A tragic war breaks out with the neighboring kingdom, Shani (The fire kingdom from Avatar the last airbender) Her new husband is forced to go to battle to stop the approaching army from destroying her kingdom, and he places the only man he trusts to protect her, Conrad (Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan)

If that sounds interesting to you, then please check it out!

You can't copy and paste in the story chapters but you can in my author profile~ You can go there and it's the very first link at the top of my bio~

Or just google in ' To Betray My King ' or type it on your URL It should be the very first link.

If you guys enjoyed this story, enjoy my work, then please go to the link. Check out the sample, read it, see if you like it. It would help me out greatly if you guys supported me in anyway you can. It's available on Kindle Unlimited, so you can get it for free if you have the subscription, or if you don't have it, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial on amazon.

I have a full time job, but I love writing. I spent all my extra time on this story for you guys, my readers, and I'm sorry if I wasn't able to update anything because of it. I'm going to be working on the second book, and I'll do my best to try and update all my other works too in-between my full-time job and taking care of my mom.

You guys and FanFiction mean so much to me. I've been on this site since I was 13, and this community has been nothing but wonderful and supportive through all of it.

I'm just so happy…

It's because of you that I found my love of writing. Because of you that I was able to realize my dream. Because of you, I can now hold my book in my hand and proudly call myself an author.

Thank you so much.

And here comes the tears…