Author's notes: keeps freezing on me as I attempt to post this chapter. I will attempt to fix it later, but instead of forcing you all to wait the options are a mostly formatted version below, or you can go to my AO3 account where it is properly updated. My account name there is Kishanta. I will respond to all reviews when I can, much love!

~Chapter 12 Start~

Kurama was gone by the time I awoke, I was hardly surprised though, what we had was a set of circumstances, not feelings. We weren't anything beyond friends.

Even the lie burned as I felt my eyes begin to sting. Curses! I pressed the palm of my hands against my eyes as tears began to form, starting with shuddered sobs that turned into a silent stream of sloppy anguish.

It was so stupid! Most people would have just been thankful they survived. But, I couldn't help but feel like I wanted to be anywhere but at the tournament. My skin crawled as I felt like a piece of myself had been stolen.

'Ziak...'

He had once killed me, and this was a body that was mine, untouched and unmarried by him. And now? Now he was dead, but I was out of reincarnations.

I shuddered as my sobs began to ease into soft heaves, my eyes still heavily pouring, pressing shut as if I could possibly stave off drops. The walls were closing in around me as I began to heave heavy breaths.

Futile as it was, it made me feel mildly better. I had to get up, I didn't have time for a breakdown, I didn't have time for ptsd. So I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and shaky as I was, I stood.

Tomorrow would be another day.

~Break~

We never got a chance to talk again, in fact, we had kept our distance rather well. He was busy with the tournament, and I was busy with my trauma; so much so I had even avoided the last get-together everyone had last night, staying in our hotel room with Erika instead.

"You ready for this?" Erika asked as she squeezed my hand.

I wasn't, I hadn't left our hotel room since that night.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, come on, everyone is probably waiting for us" I rushed forward towards the entrance of the arena, eager to get a ringside seat.

"If you say so..." Erika sighed as she trailed after me.

"Where are Shizuru, Keiko, Botan, and Yukina?" I asked as we found a pair of seats at the front, but no sign of the other girls.

"I have no idea..." Erika shrugged as she looked around. "We are even late ourselves, I thought they'd be here."

"Did they even come back to the room last night?" I asked as Erika shrugged like that was a proper response.

Everyone was shouting when we had arrived, and I noticed that only Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama were in the ring. They looked much better than when I had previously seen them at the very least.

"What the hell, where's Yusuke and the masked fighter? Why is everyone missing?" I asked as the shouts around me complained about there only being three fighters.

"Don't know, only those three showed up." A random demon responded as the crowd urged the ref to disqualify them.

"I know why!" Erika chirped in.

"Yeah, but you won't tell me" I responded with a glare.

"Spoilers, the butterfly effect, time travely stuff." Erika rambled on.

~Break to Present~

"Excuse you, I did NOT say time travely stuff!" Erika huffed.

"Ok, so sue me, you said a LOT, that's all I could remember, it was the gist of it." I sighed as Erika shook her head.

"That was not the gist of everything I said..."

"You rambled on and on about an episode of Doctor Who Erika, trust me, that was the gist of it." I sighed as Kuwabara and Yusuke chortled with laughter beside us.

~Break to the Past~

"Won't this disqualify them?" I asked.

Erika shrugged unhelpfully as the demon from before screamed about beheading the whole lot of them.

I may or may not have clutched my neck with a wince.

We both look onward, feeling helpless, as Hiei entered the ring. He had this nonchalance about him that made me frown; how was any of this okay to him?

"It is now time to choose the conditions of your fight." Juri said.

"Stop your chatter, I want to start." Hiei interrupted the crowd as he stared down the opposing team.

The man towered over Hiei, his blond hair swept up by a white bandanna tied around his head. He wore a lilac vest with black spades, his pants were a simple brown tapered by long black boots. He was muscled and tanned, although not as much as his looming teammate behind him. He looked ready for a fight chewing his gum with the odd obnoxious bubble.

"You're a hasty one aren't ya, brat," He popped the bubble, "I take it you're going first?"

"Yeah that's right I am. First, last, and only," Hiei spoke as the man before him slowly pulled his popped gum back into his mouth. "I've been under too much stress lately and killing you all should be a good remedy."

"Don't get carried away, we're all anxious to fight here, why don't we let an outside party decide the pairings," his teammate spoke.

This guy had blue hair hung in a low ponytail. He wore a pale yukata with a red sash holding up a katana at his side. He pulled out a set of dice and held them up for show.

"We'll let the dice decide. Each six-sided die represents a team with a name on each side. The sixth is a free space and anyone can fight if it comes up. You must fight as many times as your name appears, if you're still alive." He smirked, fingering the dice.

"When the hell did he have time to make those?" I blanched as Erika laughed.

"Plot device!" She chirped with a giggle.

"Nothing about this is funny." I grumbled as Erika began to laugh harder.

"You're funny," Hiei laughed, "The terms don't bother me, only one thing, whenever the name appears of someone not around, I'll go in their place."

It wasn't lost on me how eager Hiei seemed to be, was he worried about Kurama? I was still fairly confused about their 'friendship'.

"Okay, matches will be decided with the rolling of dice, multiple turns are allowed, and as always in the semi-finals, five wins will advance!" the blue-haired demoness spoke.

He rolled the dice and the names Makintaro and Hiei appeared; looks like the bloodthirsty bastard got his wish. He stepped forward seeming upset at the pairing, minus his excited smile that is.

"Looks like you got Makintaro, Hiei." Kuwabara spoke, his arms crossed as his jacket hung from his shoulders.

"Ha, your desperate plan has backfired." Hiei spoke, his tone cocky.

"You're talking way too big little man!" Makintaro spoke, his large fists clenching in anticipation.

Makintaro was the largest of the bunch, towering well over the blond man with dark skin. He wore only a dark mawashi with a small red smock with kanji on it. His hair was also swept up, but instead of it being natural he had it held up by a headband.

"Alright fans, it's the first match of the semi-finals!, Hiei vs the big-man Makintaro!" The blue haired ref spoke.

"Who is she? What happened to the cat chick?" I asked.

"That's Juri," Erika supplied as I saw the original ref speaking from the sidelines. "New referee to replace Koto who is now commentating cause she was becoming a problem for the baddies."

That explained the better sound and video quality too, this whole thing was probably rigged for their amusement. Just how far could having money make things go?

"Begin!" Juri shouted as she looked between the two opponents.

It was just as the referee finished that Hiei flicked his thumb and drew his sword. In a flash his sword was drawn as his arm was held tightly behind his back.

"That's very impressive." Kurama spoke.

"Huh?" Kuwabara asked, echoing my sentiments.

Hiei stood stock still, his arm still extended and I couldn't figure out what the hell Kurama had seen.

Makintaro seemed nonplussed as he let out another chortle of laughter and I finally looked at him, or rather his arm, or at least part of it.

"Holy shit!" I gasped to myself.

"What's wrong? Did we have a little accident in our trousers?" Makintaro mocked.

"Your whole nervous system, it leaves much to be desired." Hiei responded, his tone laughing.

"What are you talking about?" Makintaro asked as he raised his first, "come on, just give me your best shot!"

"FooI, I already have." Hiei explained as he pulled out the arm that was missing from Makintaro.

He stared at Hiei as if he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing, his body slowly spinning wheels and catching up. He glanced down to find his severed stump pouring blood.

He began screaming, his severed arm flailing around violently. I had to look away briefly, suddenly feeling sick at the sight.

"Well now, isn't that a bit disgraceful." The blue haired man spoke.

"Woah, he's even faster than last time!" Kuwabara gasped.

"You're lucky I'm generous." Hiei spoke as he threw the arm over his head and turned away from Makintaro.

Juri caught the arm, her eyes growing wide as she screamed and tossed it away, booking it to the furthest side of the ring. She turned back, doe eyed, stuttering as she stared at Hiei.

"Hey! Where are you going? I'm not done with you." Makintaro spoke, his words growing less and less brave as he spoke.

Hiei continued to walk away, unconcerned to the armless man behind him. His stride slow and purposeful, he was clearly mocking the lower demon.

"I said I'm not done with you yet! Eurraaaahhh!" Makintaro screamed, raising his stubbed arm up, the skin twisting and growing until the head of an axe appeared.

"Masakari Ken[1]! Ahhh! Die!" Makintaro screamed as he rushed Hiei.

The smaller demon turned in surprise as Makintaro reached him, the axe coming down.

"Got ya!" Makintaro cheered.

But his victory was short-lived as the clothing Hiei had previously been wearing fluttered to the ground.

"Your eyes are slow, too bad." Hiei spoke, his tone now bored as he crouched on Makintaro's back.

Before Makintaro could do anything, Hiei's sword came down from the top of his head straight down.

Flipping off, Hiei landed a safe distance away as Makintaro's body toppled to the floor.

"Gross..." Kuwabara recoiled; I couldn't help but agree.

The crowd was now filling with hushed murmurs and whispers.

"And the winner by death is Hiei!" Juri called.

"Hiei wins in under a minute getting bonus points in my book for skull piercing and amputation! And that means it's time for round two!" Koto spoke from the commentators table.

"Go ahead and roll Shishi, I have a feeling it's going to me once more." Hiei said, pointing towards the blue haired man from before.

Hiei was still wearing a mostly together blue sleeveless shirt, arm still wrapped, with his usual torn black pants; I was beginning to think Kurama was the only one who brought a proper change of clothes.

"Umm...can we please get a clean up crew to come pick up this body? That isn't part of the referee's job, is it?" Juri asked as she stared down at the impaled corpse.

"Again, I loved the brutality, but next time let's try to drag it out, we mustn't forget our torturing!" Koto chastised as the crowd continued to complain and jeer.

"Roll. I told you to hurry, I'd like a chance to finish warming up." Hiei ordered.

"Careful, fate may have a sense of humour." Shishi spoke, not too impressed with Hiei's arrogance.

Raising his hand, Shishi tossed the dice into the air. My heart was in my throat as they tumbled to the ground and rolled before stopping between the two men.

"Hmm...so any of us vs...Kuro Momotaro." Kuwabara spoke, being the first to break the silence.

"This might be my lucky day after all," Hiei spoke as he looked towards the bubble-gum blowing man. "If we can choose anyone from our team to fight, then of course it's going to be me."

"The second match of the semi-finals will be Hiei and Kuro Momotaro!" Koto declared.

"Onji, you sure he won't pull out that attack he used to wipe out Zeru?" Kuro asked the old man.

"Absolutely, no chance of it!" Onji responded. "Even if he would be stupid enough to go through with it, his arm still hasn't recovered from the last time he unleashed the Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuuha[2]."

Hiei took a moment to flex his arm and glower at the conversation that was rudely ignoring him.

"Heh heh, if Hiei were smart he would've saved a desperate move like that for a more worthy opponent, such as yourself; Luckily enough for you he couldn't wait, his arm is in no condition to use that move again." Onji continued to explain.

Hiei's glare was growing more heated as they continued to discuss him as if he weren't present. I swore I could almost see steam beginning to emit from the top of his head.

"That wouldn't've stopped me." Kuro answered, chewing his gum.

"Don't be so confident about that, Kuro, even with your abilities the Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuuha[2] could roast you like a blond chicken on a spit." Onji chastised, his beady eyes moving from Hiei's arm to Kuro's smug face.

"Sorry to interrupt your talk, but I'd like to fight." Hiei spat at the obnoxious pair.

I looked between the two groups and had to remind myself to breathe. Onji had a sickening look on his face that screamed excitement. He was ecstatic to kill Team Urameshi, and by proxy, me.

All in the name of self gain.

"What are you jokers whispering about over there for so long? If you've got something so important to say, why don't you share it with the rest of the group?" Kuwabara complained, stamping his foot and raising his fist.

I had to agree with Kuwabara, their scheming did little to provide confidence they would make it out unscathed.

"Yes, if you wouldn't mind, we'd like to start the next match soon." Juri chastised causing Kuro and the old man to glare at her. "Or not...We can wait 'til whenever you think you might be ready."

Juri shrank back, moving towards the edge of the arena as Kura popped another bubble and turned towards the stage. Hiei was staring back unimpressed, ignoring Juri entirely as if she weren't there at all. Hiei's grin shot a feeling of bloodlust through my spine causing my self-preservation to kick up; the grin reminded me too much of...him.

"Never have been the ladies' man, have you Kuro?" Onji chuckled. "I should give you some pointers, I was a real performer you know. Hiei puts on a brave front even though he's hurt. Sure, he's no pushover, but once your body has done its little specialty, we'll be well on our way to fighting Toguro. Just be sure you hold him off until your body can memorize his special attacks, that's how you'll defeat him."

"You're wasting your breath," Kuro responded as he popped his gum for emphasis. "I'm gonna chew him up, spit him out, and stick him under a desk."

"Brave words." Erika mused as Juri motioned for the fighters to get ready.

"Both fighters please step forward!" Juri announced.

Kuro spat out his gum and moved into the ring where Hiei was already waiting. Both men stared one another down, Kuro with a self-inflated sense of self, and Hiei with a mocking glower that spoke of a bloodied end.

"If I were you little man, I wouldn't let that last victory go to my head," Kuro spoke as he knelt down to remove the sword from his fallen teammate. "He may have been the biggest on our team, but he was also the weakest, here lemme get him off your sword."

At his final word, Kuro pulled the sword out and kicked his dead teammate away with a deep laugh. The already congealing blood slipped off the blade in wet lumps of still oozing crimson blood. I winced and looked away from the brutality as the thuds of the man's body faded as he rolled off the stage.

"Hey! That's your teammate!" Kuwabara shouted, his eyes wide and surprised.

Erika and I shared a knowing look, our gazes locking with small smiles.

"Kuwabara is too good for this show." Erika nodded.

"Too good for the whole lot of them." I nodded back.

Hiei was now giving Kuro a bored look that one could almost interpret as annoyance, considering Kuro was touching his sword. Kurt continued to manhandle the weapon as he raised it level to his face and inspected the imperfect marks filled with rivets of blood; Hiei's blade had seen many battles before.

"I think you'll find I'm just a tad tougher than that Makintaro was," Kuro mocked, slowly drawing Hiei's blade to his mouth and drawing it slowly across his stuck out tongue. "Yeah! Sweet sword!"

"Hate to say, but that's hardly hygienic, you have no idea how many creatures that sword has cut through." Hiei glared, his fists tightening ever so slightly.

"Ok, but like, anyone with basic sword knowledge knows leaving blood on a blade would ruin it, he obviously cleans it after each fight." I muttered anxiously as Erika blinked at me.

"Neerd!" She sang as I flipped her off.

"Oh, I'm sure." Kuro said, pulling the blade towards his left forearm. "Let me add one more."

At that declaration he pulled the blade against his skin and sliced. Blood poured from the wound as his face contorted in pain. Despite this, a look of pure pleasure bled across his visage.

"What the fuck?" I gaped.

Hiei looked on in surprise, a rare look for him.

"Oh yeah, that's it! It hurts so good!" Kuro shouted at the pain.

"I repeat my previous question, what the fuck? I thought this was a kids show." I gaped at Erika.

"No, we watched it as kids, completely different." She explained as if that suddenly made what happened completely normal in this setting.

"Oh, oh yeah baby! Now we're talking!" Kuro continued as I continued to pin Erika with my stare.

"Ok, but to be fair, it's a lot more unsettling in person than it is on T.V." Erika explained.

"These guys are making it a little easy for us to beat 'em." Kuwabara said.

"That Kuro guy must've gone off his rocker!" a demon shouted from the stands above us.

"This is definitely one of the more unconventional moves!" Koto announced.

Kuro dropped Hiei's sword, his left arm barely hanging on, staring straight at Hiei with laboured breathing. I could see the cleanly sliced flesh as it seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat. Whoever was running the camera was having a field day, clearly.

"Sharp, not that it'll do you any good now." He spoke, reaching down towards his belt and pulling a small round yellow ball with a black heart-like bulb with leaves on it.

"This is the Kibi Dango[3] that seals your fate." Kuro spoke as he held it up and clenched it tightly.

"I don't know what that is, but he doesn't make it sound very good." Kuwabara spoke.

"Same." Erika and I said in unison.

Kuro crushed the ball in his hand and smoke began to billow forth. He tilted his head back, inhaling it as he let out a small sigh. The foggy smoke billowed around his head before slowly drawing in through his nose. It hung around his lazily, as if waiting for his intakes of breath.

"Huh? Now what the heck is that crackpot doing?" Kuwabara question, starting to look concerned.

Kuro let out a sinister laugh as the smoke continued to spill out. He looked up once more, and inhaled deeply pursing his lips. With a huge drag, he pulled all the escaped smoke into his lungs, his arm began to heal. He let out a deep throated laughter as all the smoke dissipated, his arm fully healed now. Thick brown fur began to sprout out from his skin, his nails elongating into claws.

"Buju Soko[4]! what do you think, Hiei?"

"Those spheres must contain some sort of animalistic properties that transform him once consumed." Kurama finally spoke.

"Was he always this good at telling the obvious?" I asked with a blink.

Erika's response was to elbow me.

"Oww! What was that for?" I muttered, rubbing my bruised rib.

"Be nice!" Erika frowned.

"What? He literally turned into some sort of Super Saiyan ape man, couldn't he have told us something we didn't know? Like what it did for example?"

"First of all, A+ cross anime reference, second of all, how would he know?" Erika chastised.

"You know." I muttered.

"That's because I've watched this anime twenty-six times." Erika responded without missing a beat.

"Still, that's no exc- wait, did you just say twenty-six times?" I blinked at Erika.

"Yes, twenty-six, now shh! You're missing the match." Erika snarked as she pulled me to look back at the match.

"Like all of it, first episode to the last, twenty-six times each one." I continued anyway, struggling to look at her again.

"Yes." Erika grunted as she increased the pressure of her hands and kept my head facing forward.

"The openings and endings too?" I asked, giving up on looking at her now.

"Yes." Erika sighed out starting to appear annoyed.

"Is that even possible?" I raised a brow anyways, even though she couldn't see it.

"Are we really doing this now?" I heard Erika exhale and her arms dropping as she turned to face me.

"That's like two months of watching, if you also watch the recaps." I mused, placing a finger on my chin.

"That would be approximately fifty-six and a half days, and yes I also watched the recaps, a good time to make a new drink." Erika muttered wanting the discussion to end.

"Wow, really? Fifty-six days?" I gaped as Erika only gave me a glare in response.

"Kuro Momotaro's body is now covered in hair!" Koto announced.

"Oh god not her too." I groaned, getting another elbow to the side.

"So much for those freshly-waxed washboard abs I've loved so dearly." Koto continued.

"Well, I won't be needing this scrap metal anymore, and I can honestly say, neither will you." Koto said as he threw Hiei's sword at him.

Hiei knocked it away with a flick of his arm and caught it again with the same hand. An act of rebellion, or a show of strength I wasn't sure, but Hiei wasn't about to take the blade willingly from Kuro.

"We'll see about that. Let's put this armor to the test." Hiei proclaimed as he twirled his sword in his hand.

Hiei then crouched down and launched himself forward, blade drawn. He appeared suddenly before Kuro, before vanishing in front of his eyes, and mine. Hiei appeared to Kuro's right, landing a hit against his right forearm this time. The blade hit his fur and didn't move an inch as the energy crackled around them.

"Yeah, you've got him!" Kuwabara cheered.

I wasn't so sure.

A grin spread across Kuro's face and he let out another obnoxious chuckle. Hiei's sword broke clean in two, flecks of steel flying around him and shimmering in the staged lighting.

"That's impossible! What the heck happened to his sword?" Kuwabara asked, confusion written on his face.

"I think it broke." Kurama answered.

I made a gesture at Erika as she rolled her eyes.

"I think he's being sarcastic." She supplied.

Hiei looked at the broken remains of what was once his sword and stood at full height. He stared Kuro down with a scowl, clearly not pleased.

"I'd rather destroy you with my own hands anyways." Hiei spat out as he tossed the broken sword to the side.

Hiei then rushed Kuro only to be intercepted by one of his punches. Hiei dodged the hits before finally being caught by an uppercut to his gut.

Hiei doubled over and began to fall towards the ring as Kuro clasped his hands together in a fist and slammed them down onto Hiei's head sending his body crashing to the ring.

"He's in trouble..." Kurama spoke, his tone not sounding the least bit worried.

Hiei landed at the edge of the ring before skidding along the dirt ground and colliding into the wall supporting the stands. Energy crackled around him, sending debris flying up iot the air as smoke covered the dent Hiei had made.

"Hiei!" Kuwabara shouted as his teammate fell.

"Holy crap!" I gasped as I gave Erika an open-mouthed gape.

"Yeah, things begin to get real around this match." She shrugged as if that information should somehow calm me.

"Excuse me, but Hiei was just blasted out of the ring by two hits. How am I supposed to feel safe and secure around any of this!" I was twisting my fingers around themselves as I worried my cheek with my teeth.

"Well, you know they win," Erika shrugged, "just like I do."

"Do I, though?" I asked, more to myself than her.

Kuro stalked towards the edge of the ring with the Hiei sized dent in it and looked into the dust and rubble with a smirk.

"You still there?" He asked, trying to sound insultingly bored. "Guess you are probably wondering how I was able to fend off your attacks so easily. Simple really, my body does this neat trick where it remembers the pain of my opponent's attack. All I have to do to get immunity is expose myself to a small dose of my enemy's offence. Kind of like having the flu shot. Once my body knows what attack to look for, then it's time for a good old Kibi Dango."

"What does that do?" Kuwabara asked.

"Think of it as a catalyst for my Buju Soko[4] which makes me invincible to my opponent's attack, and much more handsome to boot!" Kuro continued to explain.

"Debatable." I muttered, dragging a hand down my face.

"But, that's no fair! There's no way Hiei can defeat someone who's invincible!" Kuwabara complained.

"The big stupid one's right about that." The old man mocked.

"There is more shitalking here than a WWE live show." I sighed as Hiei stood and began to walk towards the ring.

The crowd was now cheering "Kill Hiei! Kill Hiei! Kill Hiei!" over and over again.

"Come on! Whatcha waiting for? Where's your famous dark dragon crap?" Kuro asked, tilting his head up with a snide grin.

"You want it?" Hiei asked.

"As soon as my body finishes memorizing your most powerful attacks I can squash you in the palm of my hand!" Kuro taunted, toeing a dangerous line.

Hiei raised his right arm and grabbed the white headband tied around his head and pulled. He tossed the fabric off to the side with a small laugh.

His third eye began to open and he laughed again, louder this time.

"Who am I to turn down a fan's request? Just remember, you brought this upon yourself." Hiei mocked as wind began to pick up around his feet.

At the end of his speech Hiei's hair began to float up from the energy rippling across his skin. His third eye started to glow blue as black smoke began to billow up from his feet, blowing up with the wind, obscuring him partially.

"Oh no! It looks like Hiei's gonna call on the Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuuha[2] again! Get ready to duck and cover!" Koto gasped.

"Hey! What's the holdup here, you too weak to do it?" Kuro mocked, trying to goad Hiei to act.

"True pain takes time, my friend, just try to keep yourself amused." Hiei spoke as he brought his fists towards his centre. The air was crackling around him now.

"You show him, Hiei! His memory's not so sharp after all. Obviously he's forgotten what that attack did to the last guy!" Kuwabara cheered.

"Not just him. The flame took its toll on Hiei" Kurama said.

"What?" Kuwabara gasped as he turned towards Kurama.

"To summon the dragon, Hiei must use his own Spirit Energy as bait to lure it from the pits of the Spirit World. This technique only works if he can emit a tremendous amount of energy for a prolonged period." Kurama explained, staring towards Hiei intently.

"Yes, you are correct." The old man laughed.

"Hiei was in peak condition when he used Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuuha[2] against Zeru, and even that wasn't enough power for him to control it. The beast nearly took the hook along with the bait. Who knows how he will fair now, operating with little over half of his energy." Kurama continued, ignoring the comment the old man gave.

"That's half?" Kuwabara gaped as he turned to look at Hiei. "You're telling me he's making that much energy at half his normal strength?!"

"Regardless, he doesn't have enough energy to unleash it. With Hiei's present levels, the dragon will devour our friend in his entirety."

"He's right about that! But the truth about the matter is that Hiei doesn't have an option. Without such a technique, Kuro won't get a scratch." Old-man-annoying-commentary spoke, agreeing with Kurama's explanation.

"Hiei, where is it?" Kuro said, poking the sleeping bear so to speak.

"Here!" Hiei answered, his third eye pulsing with more energy.

He rushed towards Kuro, his fist still sparking, and moved to punch.

"Jaō Ensatsu Rengoku Shō[5]!" Hiei shouted as he landed in a crouch, fist punching out towards Kuro.

A thunderous sound emerged as the crackling dark energy and smoke surrounding Hiei moved up his skin and towards Kuro like hungry snakes bursting forth. It hit him point blank in his centre and he cried out as he was obfuscated from our view with debris.

"Hold on, that doesn't look like a dragon!" Kuwabara said.

"It's a related flame, but of the human world." Kurama answered.

"Hiei seems to have hit Kuro Momotoro pretty hard with some sort of terrible attack!" Juri announced as the smoke began to clear and Kuro continued to scream.

"I don't remember it being this...vicious in the show." Erika blithely spoke up beside me, her smile was starting to fall.

"Yeah...me neither." I reached out and held her hand, anything to try and ground us as Kuro's screams continued.

As suddenly as the screaming had started, like a crescendo the energy crackling across the arena came to a thunderous head, and suddenly, his screams were no more.

Kuro crumbled to the ground as Hiei stood to his full height and laughed to himself once more.

"I decided, why waste the flame of the underworld on the likes of you when the more mundane one of the humans would suffice?" Hiei explained as Kuro twitched slightly.

"Ok, first of all liar, second of all, fucking rude. Humans can be pretty powerful." I grumbled.

"Yeah, but we don't exactly ooze flames do we?" Erika responded as if that made it completely logical.

"Demons don't either, well ok some do, not all." I grumbled.

"And humans just plain old do not, thus weaker."

"That's not how the strength of fire works and you know that...you know what, nevermind, doesn't matter." I waved Erika off as she opened her mouth to give her retort.

Kuro began to stand again, half his face oozing black miasma. He was laughing now, through the crackling energy and the roar of the audience, we could hear it echo off the stone.

"I really had you going there for a second, didn't I?" He asked, his one working eye growing wide, his face sloped in a sloppy slant from the damage.

"It's an unlikely reversal, Kuro is back on his feet! Jaō Ensatsu Rengoku Shō[5] would've sent lesser fighters running for their mommies, but not this brick wall!" Koto supplied ever so helpfully.

"And now I've memorized this pain, too!" Kuro began laughing again, staring down Hiei with a dead eye stare.

Kuro shook off more of the black smoke, or perhaps steam, and pulled out another round ball from his belt. Crushing it like the previous one.

"Kuro is squeezing another one of those Kibi Dangos[3]. I wonder what he's doing that for? Could he possibly get any tougher?" Juri spoke, her voice thundering across the speakers.

Kuro began to inhale deeply, as the steam escaping from the egg was whisked into his lungs. Much like the previous time he did this, I had a terrible feeling about the end result.

His pupils dilated and his working eye went bloodshot, bulging from its socket from the pressure of building power. Once more, his skin began to change and shift. The hair falling out in mats, his skin peeling and oozing like a second degree burn. It shifted and moved, as thick blue scales sprung through the blistering flesh. His laughter changed in pitch as blond hair sprang forth, crackling with electricity.

"Your little first technique is completely useless against me. Now that I'm protected by the second beast, Buju Soko, Machi no Sō[6]" Kuro laughed, sounding more and more crazed.

"Man, this contestant can't seem to stay in one body for more than a few minutes!" Juri announced, taking a small step back from the chaos.

"He's transformed into some kind of a giant bird! This sequel to his Buju Soko[4] is even bigger and badder than the first one!" Koto joined in.

"What a rip-off! This guy's too chicken to stick around and fight in his own skin for a while!" Kuwabara complained.

"Nicely put." Kurama responded, looking nonplussed.

"I kind of hate how chill Kurama is being." I muttered with a small glare.

"Really? You always used to find that attractive." Erika mused, putting a finger to her chin.

"Hush you! It's one thing to like in theory, and another to like it in reality while it's happening." I blustered, my cheeks turning pink.

"If you thought my other armor was badass!" Kuro wailed, "Wait'll you see this one!"

"Man, here we go again! If Kuro keeps this up Hiei's finished!" Kuwabara groaned, his frustration almost palpable.

"We shall see." Kurama responded, sounding like he once again knew something the rest of us didn't.

He probably did, the bastard.

"Ha! Colourful get-up you've got there, but it doesn't look so tough." Hiei spoke, sounding a lot less concerned than he looked.

Kuro continued to laugh in his high pitch voice and I wanted to rip out my ear drums. He sounded like a cross between a deep baritone with a birds version of auto tune over it.

"God, he is annoying." I grumbled.

"Wanna see what it can do?" Kuro wailed as he crouched low to the ground and launched himself into the air.

Up he went like a spring, shooting up into the air, before torpedoing towards Hiei with such speed I didn't even see him move. Hiei went sailing back, an annoyed expression on his face as he spat out one word.

"Poor."

He was hit again and went sailing off towards the corner of the ring. Managing to flip himself mid-air, Hiei landed in a crouch sliding back with a grunt of exertion. He spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth and rubbed his arm against his lips wiping off the rest.

Kuro continued his pursuit, attacking him once more only to find his clawed fist meeting air. Hiei was now the one who had disappeared leaving Kuro looking around the arena, his eyes darting around.

Every so often I caught a glimpse of Hiei's hair, or his pants, as he flitted in and out of view, using his immense speed to his advantage.

"You're trying to confuse me, it's not working. I can see that you are in fact right here!" Kuro shouted as he threw out another punch only to miss once again.

"Left yourself open," Hiei mocked, his fists towards his centre once more as his energy pulsated around him, his Jagan eye once more glowing blue. "How about double Jaō Ensatsu Rengoku Shō![5]"

It hit Kuro head on and he reeled back with a wail as once again the dark energy sparked to life and sailed into him with a ferocious hunger.

Hiei landed a few feet back assessing the damage Kuro sustained. He was almost looking pleased until Kuro looked down towards Hiei, meeting his gaze with a grin.

"What?" Hiei gasped.

"Gotcha!" Kuro cheered, disappearing from view and landing a punch in the place Hiei previously occupied.

They both disappeared from view now and my eyes strained to see where they appeared next.

I ended up hearing it before I could see it, the sickening crack of bone on bone as Hiei was repeatedly hit. I finally caught sight of them as he was kicked, knocking the wind from him before a punch sent him spiraling towards the ground. He landed on his face with a resounding thud, and skid across the stones. I grimaced, feeling an almost second hand pain at the road rash he undoubtedly received from that.

Kuro landed not far off and approached Hiei's fallen form, his laughter echoing around the almost eerily silent arena.

"You convinced yet? There's nothing you can do to beat me. You might as well stay on the ground and think of a nice way to beg." Kuro mocked.

Hiei began to rise, his body shifting so his arms could push him up. He rose up, a glare on his face the entire time.

"Never! You'll have to rip my limbs off to keep me down!" Hiei shouted in retaliation.

"Shouldn't give him any more suggestions, Hiei." Kurama warned from where he was closely standing by the ring.

"Yeah, that's a good point." Kuwabara nodded, looking a little sick to his stomach.

"It appears Hiei is simply unable to compete with the strength and power of the new and improved Kuro! Amputation seems to be guaranteed!" Koto shouted in excitement.

"The match is ours, now that Kuro is immune to both Hiei's sword and his Jaō Ensatsu Rengoku Shō[5]. Hiei is far too weak now to deal with the dragon flame and he knows it. There is simply nothing left for him to do. It still bothers me, though, no fighter should ever have to use more than one Kibi Dango[3] on one opponent." The old man named Onji gossiped from his side of the ring.

"Yes, this Hiei character must be a pretty decent fighter to have scared Kuro into using two in one fight." Mr. Blue-hair agreed.

"I'd say more than decent. Make no mistake—this is still Kuro's match to lose. I have faith in those weapons, but I'd feel much better if he'd stop showing off and take care of his business." Onji responded.

"Too bad you can't call up that little dragon. I'd like to show the world I could beat you even with a level playing field. But then again, it might just be fun to go all the way," Kuro mocked as his hand went towards another Kibi Dango[3] on his belt and brought it up to show Hiei. "Prepare yourself for the next Kuro Momotaro, I'll take great pleasure in killing you."

Kuro clenched his fist and the same smoke from before shot out surrounding him.

"Oh this can't be good." I grumbled as I covered my eyes.

The crowd grew louder around us and Erika leaned in to speak to him, trying to ignore the cacophony of noise.

"Are you scared?" She asked.

"No, I just don't wanna see how much worse he's going to look, what next, a cow? Cat? Weird hippogriff pig?" I whined.

"Lol, hippogriff pig." I gave Erika a pointed look at her quip.

"First he was an ape, and then a phoenix. What will Kuro transform into now? Could it possible be a purple hippopotamus!?" Koto asked, way too interested in the answer.

Kuro was now glowing with power, laughing hard as his face slowly changed into a snout. It was a highly unappealing transformation and I had to stop myself from looking away again. His skin grew leathery and stretched as his muscles grew bulkier. His clothing slowly ripped apart at the seams and I was left with an incredibly disgusted look on my face. Hair spurting from his skin like dense forests. His ears elongated and his fingernails became claws.

His hair was now white and his face horrifying.

"Now I'm protected by the third armor, Buju Soko, Maken no So[7]! I'm a hell of a lot stronger than before! And as you can see, I've got a few sharp new toys on my hand that I'd love to share with you," Kuro goaded, raising a clawed his to show off. "If you're in the mood to play."

He rushed towards a very exhausted looking Hiei, slashing down as he reached him. Instead of hitting Hiei, they instead gouged out a portion of the ring, as Hiei landed safely behind him. Turning on his heel he didn't miss a beat as he lunged at him, slashing once again. Hiei jumped away once again, but was a touch slow this go around, and landed staggering, a clawed mess ripping up his blue shirt. Hiei was breathing heavier now, looking worse for wear.

"I promise I won't miss your flesh again. Just need a moment to get used to this body." Kuro promised with a small laugh.

Hiei took a step back, positively glowering at Kuro. His fists clenched at his sides as he grit his teeth almost painfully.

"I've never known Hiei to back away from a challenger." Kurama spoke.

"Well, he does have a lot of teeth!" Kuwabara shuddered.

Hiei took another step back and hit his sword. He looked down perplexed for a moment, before looking back up with a sigh.

"Hm, what the hell." He muttered to himself.

"Does that mean the great Hiei is ready to quit?" Kuro mocked.

Hiei took the moment Kuro gave him to shit talk and pressed his foot down onto the hilt of his sword. It came spinning up and he caught it, the broken blade gleaming dangerously.

"No you incompetent bafoon, but I will give you one last chance to." Hiei responded, sounding almost offended.

"Heh heh heh! That's very sporting of you, I think I'll pass however. Your memory isn't like mine, so I'll give you a hint. If your sword didn't work on my first beast armor, It sure won't work on the third!" Kuro guffawed.

"I know, I hate to use this attack. I find it totally devoid of any taste or artistery." Hiei explained, looking completely disgusted to even be considering it.

"Well that's hard to believe, there's actually a move that's too barbaric for Hiei!" Kuwabara spoke, surprise lining his voice.

"Then it's probably going to be very messy." Kurama said.

"Ok, really, where the hell did Kurama meet a guy like Hiei and get to know him well enough to become friends." I spoke, turning to look at Erika.

She just shrugged, popping a piece of popcorn she got from...somewhere...into her mouth and smiled.

"Ha! Don't hold back on me because something's offensive, I'm no snob. I was planning on a vulgar move myself!" Kuro spoke, raising his left hand to point it at Hiei.

Once he was done speaking, Kuro jumped into the air and vaulted himself at Hiei, arms at his sides ready to draw.

I leaned forward in my seat holding my breath like everyone else seemed to be doing, and tried to get a good look at the ring, before realizing there was a huge ass T.V. and looked up towards that. I could feel Kurama's surprise ringing through me and I started to panic, fearing the worst.

Blood started pouring from the wound on Hiei's shoulder where Kuro had bit down. I heard Juri let out a small 'ew' and I gasped.

"Oh my god..."

Just as soon as the blood staunch itself a bit, a green light started to shine from Kuro's back, no, not from, through. Out came a dark black and green fire, the colours swirling like an angry lava lamp.

"Onji?" Blue-hair asked.

"No! It couldn't be!" Onji responded, explaining nothing.

"I'm...confused." Kuwabara said, echoing my sentiments.

The flame began to twist and Hiei moved fast, cutting Kuro in half at his waist.

"Jao Ensatsu Ken[8]!" Hiei shouted as he landed behind Kuro. Kuro then started to fall, his body sliding off in pieces before burning in piles on the scorched stone. The smell was foul and stuck to my nose despite my attempts to hide under my shirt, or cover my nose with my hands.

"What's goin' on?" Kuwabara asked, his eyes wide as he turned to look to Kurama for an explanation.

"Now I understand. Hiei did summon Ensatsu Kokuryuha[9] from the pits of the Spirit World." Kurama explained.

"I thought you said that would be impossible 'cause he'd be swallowed!" Kuwabara said.

"That's why he didn't use his arm. Hiei transferred his energy into his sword to lure the dragon, containing it apart from his body. It wasn't as strong, but Hiei's weapon became powerful enough to pierce the Buju Soko[4]. Kuro was dead even before his teeth sank in. Ingenious."

"Well what do you know, Kurama can explain things that aren't obvious." I blurted out of nervousness.

Hiei took a moment to shake off the remaining flames and glared down at the leftovers of his previous opponent.

"I don't know about all this genius business, I mean it isn't all that different from what I do with my spirit sword and nobody calls that genius. Hm?" Kuwabara grumbled as he came to a realization and slammed his fists down onto the stone tiles of the ring. "Hey, wait a second! Were you saying back there that my spirit sword didn't have any taste or artistry?"

"Ha, of course I did." Hiei answered as he tossed his broken sword away.

"And they say Kuwabara is dumb, he picked up on that pretty quick." I smiled as things started to calm down a bit.

"Okay, that's it!" Kuwabara yelled, clenching his fists.

"And everything is back to normal!" Erika chirped.

"Since all pieces of Kuro Momotaro have stayed down for more than ten seconds, the winner of the match is Hiei!" Juri declared.

The crowd wasn't very pleased by this ruling and started to rise up again, sneering and yelling towards the ring.

"I'm sorry folks, but the rules are the rules. If it makes you feel any better, Hiei looks like he hurt himself pretty badly." Juri declared as Hiei went to leave the ring, limping slightly as he held his shoulder.

Hiei reached Kurama and Kuwabara without much trouble, and quickly Kurama went to work dressing his wounds.

"Come on, roll the dice again, I have an urge for three in a row." Hiei goaded.

"I really don't think that's a good idea." Kurama spoke softly as he finished tying the dressing.

Regardless of his words, he had a small smile on his face that made me feel as if he found the comment funny.

As the dice rolled I kept chanting in my head for it not to be Kurama. So soon after our near death I was terrified of him getting hurt again for any reason. God I wish I had Erika's knowledge right now.

The dice continued to roll, before slowing and landing on a name that made my blood run cold.

'Kurama' and 'Ura'.

Every step Kurama took my heart sank even deeper. I could feel it pounding against my skull, thick and angry. He almost looked pleased and I wanted to scream at him.

"After rolling the dice, both fighters are in place for the third match of the semi-finals! Now fighting for Team Urameshi, Kurama! And for Team Uraotogi, Ura Urashima!" Juri declared.

"It's nice to see that dice is cooperating with us today, Onji." Blue-Hair laughed.

"I admit, everything is falling into place more or less as we hoped that it would." Onji agreed.

"Those first two accomplished exactly what was intended. It's a pity we couldn't tell them they were only here to drain Hiei's energy. And now the dice have chosen Ura Urashima, the one best suited for killing Kurama." Blue-hair said.

"Oh god I have the strongest urge to just run." I said, panic starting to set in at his words.

"Won't do you any good, being tethered to someone has no max-distance." Erika smiled.

Oh how I wished I could smack her right now.

"Thanks for reminding me..." I grumbled, sinking deeper into my seat.

"You're welcome!" Erika winked.

"He'll finally put our team on the board." Blue-Hair finally finished talking.

"Is that a fishing pole? Really? What good is that going to do?" I spluttered.

"A lot more than you'd think, have you also forgotten HunterxHunter?" Erika asked.

"Nope, not ringing any bells." I shrugged, deciding to bug her as much as she bugged me.

"Oh poo, well then, my reference is as lost as you are." She sighed, closing her eyes and almost grieving our conversation.

"By the authority of the Tournament Committee, let the third match begin! Start your fight!" Juri announced.

At the end of her sentence, Ura jumped into the air and I held my breath, completely forgetting Kurama was a well seasoned fighter as well, and instead almost had a nervous breakdown.

Ura was now swinging the rod around, having taken a jump to gain distance, while Kurama deftly pulled a rose out from his hair with his right hand. He flicked his wrist and the rose turned into a whip covered in thick thorns. Joining in on Ura's actions he also began to spin it over his head.

"It looks like this match is going to be a duel of lashing weapons, with Ura Urashima twirling his fishing line and Kurama wielding his trademark rose whip. This one's gonna be all about skill!" Koto spoke, her tone getting more excited by the second.

Ura lashed out first, his line swinging behind his back in an arc, before coming down, lashing at Kurama. Kurama deflected it with ease, his whip moving to counter attack as Ura moved to block. The clash continued, causing sparks to literally fly at the speed they attacked.

"Wow! This is an incredible display of equally matched talents, and while there's no blood to speak of yet, those sparks keep me hopeful!" Koto gasped, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Kurama was running now, moving to get one step ahead of Ura, who seamlessly moved to follow him. Kurama was testing his opponent, that much I knew. Every loud snap and crack I heard caused me to flinch, now was not the time for a breakdown.

It didn't elude me how similar his weapon choice was to how I manipulated plants.

"Whoa, this is a fight!" Kuwabara almost cheered.

"Ha, Kurama needs to stop fooling around and start fighting for real." Hiei retorted.

"What? He's whip-swingin' like a maniac!" Kuwabara gasped.

"Have you learned anything?" Hiei asked, annoyance evident in his tone. "It's Kurama's obnoxious habit. He never creates his own strategy until he fully understands his opponent's."

"Hiei's not wrong." I said, mouth feeling so very dry.

"Here, I can tell you're near a panic attack and that wont help Kurama during his fight, have some electrolytes." Erika interjected, thrusting a blue bottle of Gatorade at me.

"Do I even want to know where this came from?" I asked as she shrugged. Regardless, I twisted off the cap and took a sip anyways.

Ura suddenly lashed out, and Kurama responded without hesitation. I continued to sip at my drink to keep myself grounded as I watched the match unfold.

As Kurama's whip came down Ura disappeared and reappeared behind him. I didn't need our connection to tell how stunned Kurama was.

"What?" He asked as the fishing line wrapped around his limbs and body, his whip tangled and trapped.

Ura let out the worst sneer I had ever seen and suddenly Kurama was screaming in pain as Ura twisted his rod around. His line had cut into Kurama where they had once laid, causing him to become littered with tiny wounds, blood dripping haphazardly to the stone tiles. Ura flipped away with a small laugh, landing not far off.

"Kurama!" Kuwabara shouted.

Kurama landed on the ring with a loud thump, causing me to wince. Juri looked down on him with surprise and almost fear as Kurama's whip landed to their left with a thud before transforming back into a rose.

"And he's down!" Juri began as Kurama struggled to sit up.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha!" Ura laughed as he crushed Kurama's rose. "I studied your fighting and found your only weakness is your kindness."

"Wait a minute, does that mean he tricked him? But how? They didn't even talk?" I gasped as I turned to Erika.

"Ura used telepathy to communicate to Kurama, thus tricking him." Erika filled in.

"In that regard, I'd suggest you change the way—the way you live your life! But it's too late now. How did you put up with this goody-two-shoes crap?" Ura laughed, "I had to choke back some major chunks while I was pretending to be an upstanding citizen. But oh does it feel good to be bad again! You're gonna die, just like Grandma!"

"Grandma? What? Oh whatever I don't even care anymore." I sighed, way too confused at what Ura was saying.

Ura lashed out once again with his line causing Kurama to dodge, sprinting from his previous spot. The hook clattered against the stone almost ringing as Ura chased after Kurama, missing each time.

Kurama stepped back only to flinch and recover. Small crackling threads surrounded him, but I could only see them when they twinkled in the stadium lights just right.

"Come on Kurama, give me some credit here! You didn't think I was really trying to hit you with those attacks, did you?" Ura mocked, slowly lowering his rod. "Hook, line, and sinker, and you're the stupid fish."

"This was not part of my job description. Isn't there anybody who can break me out of this thing?" Juri cried as she stood completely still to avoid the fishing lines. "I'm not supposed to be in here!"

"And before you get any ideas, know that my force field won't be shredded nearly as easily as that enchantress, Ruka's." Ura said, "In fact, it's impossible to break out from the inside, so get comfortable and let me introduce you to the Idunn Box."

Ura began to shed the outer layers of a package to reveal a red both with gold kanji painted on it.

"Anybody other than the possessor who breathes its air will quickly return to their younger age. Back to those awkward adolescent years." Ura explained.

"Uhh, wait...younger years in his human body...or younger years in his..." I couldn't finish, I didn't want to finish.

Of course I knew about his time as Youko Kurama, but I didn't exactly want to meet him. To be honest, the only full demon I knew even remotely well was Hiei, which did nothing to help my thoughts.

"Hmm, maybe." Erika shrugged with a blank expression, popping another nut into her mouth.

"Ok but..if he breathes the air, do I also revert as well...or?" I swallowed again, worried about what that could mean.

"No idea, think you'll be younger this you, or younger Maria you?" Erika asked.

"Bah, neither prospect seems good." I sighed nervously.

"The terrible twos, or even infancy! Once infected, you'll be so tiny and inexperienced, it'll be like taking candy from a..." Ura continued, sliding his hand to the lid from the box. "Oh well, there's no point in cliche expressions. You'll see soon enough what I mean."

Ura then lifted the lid up with a sneering grin. Smoke burst forth shooting straight up, before billowing towards the ring and covering it. Kurama braced himself before I could barely see him anymore.

"You can't hold your breath forever!" Ura laughed.

Juri let out a scream as the smoke took her over and covered her from view as well. I was holding my breath now, almost along with Kurama's, and I swore I could feel his heartbeat syncing with mine.

"Why isn't that stuff coming any closer, is it scared?!" Kuwabara gasped, his hand clenched in a fist as he took a step back in aprehension.

"Maybe you don't understand the concept of force field." Hiei responded, his quip dry and irate.

"Uhuhuhuhu. Way to go, Ura, I really did it!" He cheered, "I can feel his Spirit Energy getting weaker!"

At his words I felt something strange, like I was growing weaker but not. I began to panic and grabbed Erika's hand tightly.

"I don't feel good, something's wrong." I shuddered as a cold sweat broke out.

"Heh heh heh, you know, maybe I have gone a bit too far this time," Ura laughed. "Hold on, his Spirit Energy completely vanished. That's not supposed to happen."

Erika squeezed my hand once as I felt myself feeling bit by bit stronger.

"I'm, I'm ok, whatever it was, I think it passed." I answered her unasked question.

"What the...?" Kuwabara gasped as energy began to build inside the ring. "Do you feel that too?"

Something felt very off now, and I almost had it pinned down to either the energy coming from the stage, or the strange emotions coming through the tether. I couldn't make much sense of it but let out a gasp as I felt him tug on it briefly. Amusement flooded my senses next.

Something was very wrong.

"That...doesn't feel like Kurama anymore..." I bit my lip and began to worry it.

"No, I suppose not." Erika agreed, holding my hand tighter now.

The crowd was in chaos around us now, the noise doing nothing to help my panicked state. Almost as if reading my mind I felt an almost purring sensation wash over me through our link. It helped a bit, but also felt so foreign I let out a little squeak.

"You ok?" Erika asked, eyes holding mine in a worried gaze.

"Yes, no, maybe?" I stuttered out as the purring sensation happened again.

The smoke slowly began to dissipate leaving them somewhat visible now, but the camera's couldn't deal with a lot of the electrical interference so we were left to squint and try to make sense of the scene before us.

"Where in the world did this power surge come from? Could've sworn I felt his power weakening as he regressed all the way back." Ura asked, shuddering away from the crackling energy and smoke that had emerged from whatever transformation took hold of Kurama.

Ura was almost crying now as the energy reached its peak and I could make out the silhouette of a man much taller than Kurama.

"I think perhaps I've regressed further than you intended. And as I had come to accept my human captivity." 'Kurama' finally spoke, his voice much deeper and sending chills down my spine.

"I have a super bad feeling about this, why do I have a super bad feeling about this?" I asked, my voice high pitched in panic.

"Calm down you're going to distract him!" Erika shh'd

"Distract who?!" I shouted through the angry jeers from the crowd.

"Who do you think Ana?" Erika deadpanned as she gave me a pointed look.

"That's kind of what I was afraid of..." I responded, wondering how fast I could book it out of the stadium.

"Youko has returned, they cry." Youko spoke with a laugh as amusement flooded my senses.

The bastard was boasting, the audacity!

"Wow, what's with the theatrics?" I grumbled as I felt bubbling amusement peak through our connection. "Why hasn't he shut off the connection? I'll bet he's enjoying my discomfort..."

"Doubt it, he is mid fight after all." Erika said as she shook her head.

"Oh trust me, Kurama is an excellent multi-tasker."

"Well, that didn't sound dirty at all." Erika laughed giving me a look.

"Uwah! Did you say Youko? Youko the Spirit Fox? Youko the legendary Bandit Youko?!" Ura gasped out, stuttering as he took hurried steps away from Youko before falling on his ass. "What'd you do with Kurama? I like him a lot better!"

"Oh, he's here...he's me. Only now you've brought me out in full. Thank you for that." Youko spoke.

"Nope, no, uh-uh, I did not sign up for this." I muttered as I attempted to stand only to be pushed back into my seat by Erika.

"Yes, the ring is shrouded in fog, and with Juri M.I.A who knows what fantastic action we might be missing due to camera malfunctions and low visibility!" Koto spoke, breaking the unease with everyone's lack of proper view.

"Please, be a nightmare." Ura cried.

"There is no room for you fantasies of denial, little vermin," Youko spoke, his thick voice slithering down my spine causing a shiver. "Be assured, I am alive."

"Ahh! But the stories all say you're dead!" Ura gasped, taking another step back. "You were caught! You were killed!"

"Yes, I'm so flattered you've heard of me. But as you see, the stories were incorrect." Youko almost threatened.

"Just like the stories were incorrect with your death!" Erika chirped.

"Ugh, please, don't remind me..." I muttered.

"Gah! It's like a thunderstorm in there! Where's all that weird energy I'm feeling comin' from?" Kuwabara asked.

"Ha! It's all Kurama down to the last drop." Hiei explained with a proud look on his face.

The energy was crackling all around the stadium, lashing out and snapping with ferocity. I let out another shudder as a wave of power hit me and I felt energized, too energized.

"But, it's different somehow, and a heck of a lot more powerful!" Kuwabara continued.

"Seems that fool he's been fighting has turned him back into his demon form, before he was tainted by you humans." Hiei scoffed in amusement.

"Ok, oww, rude..." I grumbled as I clenched my fist.

Truthfully, having Kurama back as Youko actually freaked me out. I had no idea if he remembered me, cared, or was even happy about this arrangement. I know logically they were the same person, but experiences and perceptions changed a lot. I was now tied to a full-blooded demon and I wasn't sure what that was going to entail. Did the reverting in age also revert his memories? The tether was pulled once again at my thoughts and I had to clamp down on my seeping emotions. Blushing red I couldn't believe he had felt that enough to...I dunno, tug the tether to snap me out of it I guess.

"Fifteen years ago, the Spirit Fox Youko Kurama was thought to have been killed while escaping from a botched burglary. In desperation he hid himself in your world, using a human body to slowly recover his energy. He thought no one would find him..." Hiei explained, "I did. Now, we'll see what the purest form of Kurama can do."

I heard Ura letting out another cry as he presumably fell to the ground again, crawling away.

"Let's see...how best shall I deal with my prey?" Youko spoke, his voice silky and almost excited.

"I'm barely making out two silhouettes in the centre of the ring," Koto announced, "which I can only assume are the combatants. But the voice I picked up doesn't quite sound like either of them! What in the world is going on? Has another fighter entered the ring now? And what about Juri, she's still not reporting. Has she been a casualty in this shrouded fight? Will I be forced to replace her in the ring?"

"Wait, I'm here, is it snack time now Momma?" A small baby voice blubbered from the ring.

"Ok people! This is ridiculous! In addition to a new fighter, there seems to be a small child in the ring too!" Koto all but gasped.

As Koto carried on, I noticed the shadows of tendrils rising up and growing out from where Youko was standing. It was hard to see, but I could feel the pulsing energy as they grew and knew he must have summoned it. Ura started crying again, wailing like a small child, and I saw a large bulbous form move towards him.

"Each branch of this tree has a mouth, and each mouth of the branch has saliva that will melt your bones in under a minute. Though the pain will make every second seem like its own eternity to you." Youko explained causing Ura to wail even more. "I never take anything in battle personal, you realize. It's only that I do not stand for trespassers, and that my Death Tree enjoys a good meal."

"AHHH! Please help me! Please help me! Please help me!" Ura cried out, scrambling away from Youko and his tree and falling to the ground. "I'll do anything you ask me to! I'll fight for your team! Don't melt me!"

"Tell me the secret of The Idunn Box." Youko demanded.

"Well, I don't know about that..." Ura began, the tree moving closer and closer. "I just took what they gave me! Ask Shishi! He's the only one who knows!"

"I can smell when you're lying." Youko growled.

"Wow, that actually...explains so much," I blinked, "you don't think his sense of smell is as good in his human form...do you?"

"It is~" Erika sang.

"Yup, that explains so much." I whined softly.

"It makes my tree want to eat you more." Youko declared as the tree moved closer still, snapping its multiple jaws.

"Ahh! Okay, I'll tell you everything! It's Onji! Him and Shishi Wakamaru! They came to us and they said they'd give us anything if we fought! I'm not even Ura Urashima!" Ura finally broke, admitting everything. "We were all together, Makintaro and Kuro and me, they came to us and gave us special items and said we could all be high-class like them. And that's not all, I can tell you who really gave us all of the items!"

There was a small noise of abrupt movement as Ura spoke, before suddenly stopping. The air filled with his screams next and I covered my ears to escape it.

"Just a lower-class beast. Always the easiest of pawns." Youko sighed out, his plant slowly retreating.

The crowd was in an uproar again, wondering what had exactly happened, accusing Team Urameshi of cheating, and complaints of not being able to see someone's gruesome death.

"Look, the smoke's going away!" Kuwabara cheered as it indeed started to recede.

Slowly, but surely, the smoke revealed Youko standing before a sword embedded in the stone tiles piercing through a red-coloured beast who I assumed was Ura Urashima. I held my breath for a moment as I took in Youko's appearance. No longer was he wearing his yellow outfit, instead it was white. He had long furry ears atop a head of snowy white hair. He even had a tail that seemed to flick every so often at the air's movement.

"Is he...is Kurama stuck...like this?" I asked, feeling suddenly nervous at the thought.

I felt another, softer tug through the link and averted my eyes feeling suddenly embarrassed.

"Hold the microphone, people, I've just seen my personal fantasy!" Koto spoke, breaking through the angry taunts from the audience.

For some reason I bristled at her comments feeling rather sour. I could almost feel Kurama's proud laugh as he tugged on our link again, slightly harder this time.

"He was fine before..." I grumbled, squirming in my seat. The

"Yeah, but he's fine now." Erika said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Sexy ears, a dreamy tail...who is this love-god?" Koto swooned as she leaned over her table to get a closer look.

"Ok, that's a bit much..." I grumbled slumping deeper into my seat, red staining my cheeks.

"Shishi Wakamaru's sword is in there too, stabbed in a beast. Neither of the combatants are even in the ring! How in the world do we call this thing?" Koto continued.

"Gah! Kurama really is a fox thing!" Kuwabara shouted. "Gee, and to think I let him near my kitten!"

"Kurama isn't a thing!" I yelled back despite knowing he wouldn't be able to hear me.

Youko's ear twitched in my direction as a few other demons turned to give me a funny look. I slumped back into my seat to avoid everyone's gaze and grumbled as Erika laughed. He tugged on our link once more and I turned to look at him this time. His golden eyes were staring straight at me, his ears twitching at every sound, his tail eerily still. He slowly grinned at me, capturing my gaze as I felt his pride leak through the link.

But as suddenly as Youko had come, he disappeared leaving Kurama in his wake. I breathed out a sigh of relief as his walls came but up and shut me out. Juri also returned to normal when he did, looking surprised and almost astounded.

"That was neat." She gasped as she took in her adult appearance once more.

"I can't explain it, my silver-haired hunk has transformed into a sadly tail-less Kurama!" Koto cried, "my whole weekend is shot!"

"Kurama is the winner!" Juri declared as she raised a hand towards him.

The crowd began to boo once more and I sighed.

"They are literally never happy..." I muttered.

"Not true, when it looks like Team Urameshi is losing they are often quite happy." Erika supplied, causing me to glare at her. The screen changed to reflect the ruling and the crowd grew even louder.

"It's official and on the board! Team Urameshi keeps the lead over Team Uraotogi in the semi-final round, three to zero!" Koto commented.

Shishi took that moment to jump into the ring and retrieve his sword.

"These primitives never are reliable." He spoke, disgust evident as he flicked off the other demon's blood from his blade and set it back in it's hilt. "But...we did neglect to tell him about the danger of that item with your unusual case. Now, let's continue, shall we?"

The dice were rolled once again and I couldn't bring myself to look this time.

"And I'm getting the signal from Juri on the floor. Looks like it'll be Shishi Wakamaru vs anyone on the Urameshi Team!" Koto answered for me anyway.

"Heh, about time I took control. Now which one of you lovely fighters do I get to beat?" Shishi goaded as he moved forward.

The crowd erupted in cheers for Shishi and I felt the vein in my head pulsate. Of course they liked him. A sign went up not far from us which read 'Long Live Shishi Wakamaru!'

"Shishi's definitely got a cheer section with him. Oh! I think we've lost some tops!" Koto laughed.

"Hey! Why doesn't someone cheer for me, okay?!" Kuwabara shouted back at the crowd. "A real man's attractive 'cause he's tough, not 'cause of charming good looks!"

"Yes, you with the inferior face." Shishi ordered.

"Huh? You mean this one?" Kuwabara said as he pointed at his face.

"Well of course, who else would I mean? You must be bored as a sideshow freak. Why don't you come fight?" Shishi laughed with a tilt of his head.

"Che! I'll show you, pretty boy!" Kuwabara shouted as he rushed the ring.

"Ha!" Hiei laughed.

"Seems Shishi's struck a sensitive chord." Kurama said as Kuwabara fell just before reaching the ring.

"Let me handle this," Hiei declared, still looking as crappy as he did after his last fight. "Shishi Wakamaru appears to be their strongest fighter."

"No, I'll fight him. Onji could be unpredictable, recover your powers for the final match." Kurama disagreed.

"You know all you're deciding is the order of defeat." Shishi sighed, finally getting annoyed at their prattling.

"Kurama, it's obvious you only want to fight him so you can learn the secrets of that age-reversal." Hiei accused, and to be fair I kind of agreed with him. "We can't afford any priorities to rank above victory. You let me fight."

"Why are you even talkin' about it?" Kuwabara joined in, "This sissy Wakamaru punk just insulted me, he's all mine!"

"I will take this fight!" Hiei interrupted Kuwabara.

"No, it's mine." Kurama disagreed.

"I'm fighting him!" Kuwabara whined.

They all met in an almost angry circle unable to come to a decision. It would have looked ridiculous if it wasn't a fight over an actual fight to the death.

"Perhaps this can only be decided with a game of Janken." Kurama sighed, deciding to be the reasonable one.

"Oh yeah! Bring it on! I'm a rock-paper-scissors master!" Kuwabara cheered and stuck out his fist.

"Rock-paper-scissors? What in the hell is that?" Hiei asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"Gee man, you really didn't have a childhood, huh?" Kuwabara asked in surprise.

"I pursue strength! I do not have time for your trivial-" Hiei shouted back, his voice almost cracking.

"It's a human game called janken in Japan. Scissors is beat by rock, rock is beat by paper, and paper by scissors." Kurama interrupted, deciding it was better to explain then let the two continue.

Wow. Kuwabara had obviously struck a chord.

"Hm..." Hiei closed his eyes in thought. "Pitifully simple."

"So you ready to get beat?" Kuwabara egged Hiei on.

"Try me." Hiei retorted, turning to face Kuwabara.

"Oh! Never before played and he's already cocky!" Kuwabara laughed, placing the backs of his hands on his waist. "First-timers can only use rock, by the way.

"Don't listen to him, he's pulling your leg." Kurama rebuffed Kuwabara's remark.

"One, two three!" They all hurriedly counted out as they raised their clenched fists up and down.

Their hands went down, Hiei and Kurama had chosen rock, while Kuwabara chose paper.

"Oh yeah! I always win this game!" Kuwabara cheered.

"Wait, you made your sign a fraction after we did." Hiei accused.

"Ack! Come on! It went by way too fast!" Kuwabara responded. "How do we know you didn't make it up!"

"Trust me I can see." Hiei declared as his third eye began to glow.

And so they were back at it again, yelling out one, two, three, in another game of Janken.

"Unbelievable! Team Urameshi seems to be deciding who will fight with a game of paper, rock, scissors!" Koto said as the boys continued to get a game of Janken with a clear winner. "I can hardly see the strategy behind this!"

Finally, Kuwabara won once again with rock as Kurama and Hiei used scissors.

"World Champion! Read 'em and weep you guys!" Kuwabara declared with a cheer.

"Well, I would say from their body language that we definitely have a winner! Kuwabara will be facing Shishi Wakamaru! It'll be steel sword vs energy sword in this vital fourth match!"

"I've won every single game of Janken I've ever played!" Kuwabara boasted as he rotated his shoulder in a stretch. "And now I'll win against you!"

"Just get yourself in the ring." Shishi commented boredly causing the crowd to erupt once again for him.

"Yeah, you go ahead ladies! Scream all you want! I don't need your stinkin' support!" Kuwabara challenged, his temper flaring. "I've already got the best fan in the world. As long as she's watchin' I'm invincible!"

"Wow! Hurry up and beat that ugly dude!" Someone in the audience cheered.

"Do you think he can really hear us?" Another asked.

"Ok, that's it, thrown down time!" I muttered as I hucked one of Erika's peanuts at the girl.

"Wait that wasn't a-" Erika began but was interrupted by the girl screaming as she burst into flames.

I blinked at the scene before me, mouth agape, as I handed the bag back to Erika, clearing my throat.

"Peanut...it was an alchemy bomb." Erika finished with a sigh.

"Who the heck makes them look like peanuts!" I hissed as I slunk down in my seat as the girl shrieked about her ruined hair and attempted to find where the fire had come from.

"Someone hiding them from their dad and brothers, obviously." Erika hissed back.

"Why would you even need to hide them?!" I squeaked.

"Because they're illegal, but I figured since I was breaking like a million Mage laws, I might as well break one more." She huffed as she closed her bag tightly.

"Give me your belt Shishi!" Someone closer to the ring cried.

"Well Shishi Wakamaru, those girls are really into you. Too bad after I'm done you'll be chopped Sui-Wakamaru!" Kuwabara laughed.

"Imaginative." I said, my head giving a small node as I exchanged looks with Erika.

"Indeed, I give that shit-talking an 8/10." She agreed.

"No!" One girl cried.

"Hurt one hair on his pretty head and we'll kick your nasty butt!" Another threatened.

"No one wants to kiss you!"

The vein in Kuwabara's head was throbbing bigger and bigger as the crowd continued their taunts.

"That's not true!" Kuwabara finally broke, turning to the audience. "I've got a girl who wants to kiss me all day long! And she's a lot cooler than you!"

The girls responded by sticking their tongues out and making faces at Kuwabara.

"Let's get started, my defective friend. I've got a lot to achieve." Shishi flourished his arms as he settled into a fighting stance.

"Oh, that is so it! You are totally going down!" Kuwabara steamed. "Come on!"

He summoned his own sword, illuminating his face in an orange glow.

"We've got the hour that match—Shishi Wakamaru versus Kuwabara! And begin!" Juri declared with a raise of her hand.

Kuwabara hunkered down with his sword held in front of him. His eyes squinted as he thought. He ended up deciding to make the first move and began to charge Shishi with a shout. Shishi didn't move a muscle, holding the scarf delicately above his head. Kuwabara brought the sword down to strike Shishi's head, and it appeared as if he made contact.

"Got 'ya!" Kuwabara smiled.

Shishi disappeared just as Kuwabara said those words. He appeared directly behind him, still holding the translucent scarf.

"Don't be ridiculous." He laughed.

Kuwabara snarled as he rounded on Shishi, moving to strike him again only to once more miss Shishi. Kuwabara kept up the pursuit, pushing Shishi towards the middle of the rig as he dodged.

"Now here's my brand of fighting. No tricks or troublesome fog, just an open neck and a sword!" Koto cheered.

"Shishi can read his every maneuver." Kurama sighed.

Kuwabara continued striking as Shishi dodged, until Shishi used Kuwabara's head as a stepping stone and vaulted off of him. Kuwabara's face was a mixture of rage and surprise. He let out a small strangled gasp as he ran forward a few hurried steps to catch his balance.

The crowd began to cheer for Shishi, the echoing whoops and hollers were deafening. Shishi stood up slowly as he turned towards Kuwabara, flourishing his scarf in show.

Kuwabara was steaming now, he was already shouting before he had fully turned around.

"That's it! Using my head as a trampoline is where I draw the line!" He screamed as he rushed towards Shishi.

He struck once, twice, and then a third time all missing. Something changed in Shishi's eyes as the third strike came down. He jumped away, leaving his scarf fluttering behind him. It began to swirl in large circles, shimming flecks of green, blue, and silver as Shishi faded away. The scarf slowly descended upon Kuwabara, before swelling him up in its increased size.

"What are you doin' with me!" Kuwabara shouted as he was obscured by the fabric. "I'm not ugly okay!"

The scarf left the spot he used to be, leaving the space he once stood empty. The scarf returned to Shishi, shrinking in size and rubbing up against him much like a cat would its owner.

"Nice last words." Hiei scoffed.

"I've lost all trace of him. It's as if he's ceased to exist." Kurama added, sounding somber instead of mocking.

"Um...what's the rule on this one?" Juri whined as she looked around. "He was in the ring, but now he's not—but that cloth he was wrapped in still is—uh...huh?"

"He lost," Shishi interrupted, "clearly, he's not in the ring. As to where he actually is, I don't know or care. You'll have to ask the Cape of No Return for such trivial details!"

"What an asshole." I grumbled, my teeth worrying my bottom lip.

Shishi flourished with his scarf, or rather cape, at the last of his words. Smirking that god damn smirk of his all the while.

"Somewhere in this world, or maybe the next, or maybe another dimension. I just know he's uncomfortable." Shishi finished.

"Juri, we're waiting for a decision!" Koto reminded Juri.

"Right...well Kuwabara is indeed not in the ring and hasn't been for over ten counts," Juri decided as she flourished her left arm towards Shishi. "I say Shishi Wakamaru wins!"

The crowd erupted in obnoxious cheers, I elbowed another ornery girl in the head as she leapt into our view to hold up a large sign. I wasn't sure what was written on it, but it was hot pink and covered with glitter so I could easily guess it was another sign for Shishi.

"Down in front!" I hissed.

"Look at me Shishi! Look at me! Look at me!"

"AHHHHH He looked at me!"

"Good and well, you got the first one! Now on these second two, I wanna see blood!"

"Give us the kind of pain we can remember!"

"Hm hmm," Shishi laughed, "guess I'll have to entertain the demon boys with this next one."

Shishi rolled the dice once more, flinging them up into the air much to my irritation.

"Does he really have to do everything with a flourish?" I grumbled.

"Eh, must be a demon thing, Kurama seems to do it too." Erika shrugged with a small smile.

"Oh hush you..."

"Team Uraotogi receives a free space and for Team Urameshi it's the Masked Fighter!" Juri declared as we all squinted at the dice.

"I'll be happy to go again. How about yourself?" Shishi asked.

"I said from the start I would be the substitute," Hiei declared, "I just didn't know it would be this much fun. Assuming you don't mind, Kurama."

"Wait." Someone interrupted as they placed a hand on Hiei's shoulder.

"Just who the hell are you?" Hiei asked with a glare. "I hope you don't expect me to believe you're the same masked fighter who was on our team before, you imposter. She had tremendous power, you're a weakling."

"Yusuke has it now." She answered simply as she walked past Hiei and Kurama.

"How awfully disappointing. I wanted a good match. I can feel your fragility from here. Although—" Shishi sighed, "I don't know who you are."

With that Shishi drew his sword, drawing it around his body and towards his right hip, before grasping it with his other hand and raising it into a guard across his right shoulder.

"What do you say we remove that little mask?"

"It's match five everyone. Shishi Wakamaru versus the Masked Fighter! Let's go!" Juri spoke.

Shishi rushed towards the masked fighter as Juri's hand finished raising. He slashed at the Masked Fighter, who dodged away. Shishi continued to follow, never relenting in his pursuit. He got close just once, before the Mask Fighter flipped away gaining further ground.

"Now it's Team Urameshi who's running from the blade—though I'd say this young lass' dodging techniques are a little more extensive." Koto narrated as the Masked Fighter continued to flip and jump away.

Shishi followed her into the air and she twisted her body to avoid two more attacks, before flipping away once more and landing on the other side of the ring. Shishi followed with a snarl on his face. He continued his pursuit, missing every time, snarling out loud at every missed contact.

"You seemed to have lost a great deal of strength since I last saw you fight. But more importantly, the intrigue of your identity is stealing my spotlight!" Shishi yelled as he slashed at her once more.

This time he made contact, causing the Masked Fighter's mask to fall into shredded pieces. Greying almost pink hair billowed forth causing the crowd to gasp. Genkai landed across from him, nonplussed.

"Wait a second, didn't she have pink hair last time?"

"She's...old..."

"Hopefully I don't need to tell you that's a different person. Their team is obviously using that mask as a way to sneak additional players into their rotation." Shishi spoke, glaring at Juri as he did.

"Um, and that's against the rules, isn't?" Juri clarified as her tail twitched.

"Even if this woman is the one substitute they're allowed, she cannot enter the ring unless the one she replaces is already dead!"

"That is what the book says..."

"I demand to see proof of their team member's death. Otherwise I am forced to ask for their disqualification." Shishi finished his rant.

"Okay...let me see here." Juri anxiously replied.

"They're cheaters! They've broken the rules!"

"The penalty for cheating is death!"

"Yeah! He's right!"

"String them up!"

"Let's send a message to these human filth!"

"Kill them!"

"Well..." Koto started to speak, her ears flattened to her head as she looked around. "This is a little unexpected. The legality of the Urameshi team has been called into question and the blood baths been delayed in hopes of some kind of group lynching!"

The crowd around us continued to yell and scream. We sunk lower into our seats to avoid drawing attention to us as another yelled about burning humans alive like the pigs they are.

"Kill 'em all!"

"A replay of Team Urameshi's fight against the Dr. Ichigaki Team is now on the jumbo screen! This was the first time we saw beneath the mask, and as we see, it was definitely a much younger girl!" Someone interrupted Koto and whispered in her ear. "I've just received word from the Tournament Committee. They are reviewing the situation as we speak and ask for your patience as they come to a final decision. And in the meantime, as your groovy broadcaster, I'll be panning the audience for your opinions. How do you call it?"

"Oh this can only go well." I grumbled.

Koto stood up on her table, turning around to interview an older humanoid looking demon wearing a powder blue suit.

"What about you sir?"

"What was the question?" He asked as his glasses tilted down his nose as he tried to get a decent look at her.

"The two different fighters under the mask? How do you think it should be called?" She asked, seeming more and more unsure of herself.

"Ah, yes of course! There's really no question, the younger girl is far more attractive." He answered with a pinky up.

"Ooookaayy?" Koto responded as she shuffled to sit beside a green haired demon with horns. "What about you? Any thoughts of this?"

"The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway."

"Oh..." Koto sighed as her microphone drooped in her hand.

"Perhaps we should just sit and be quiet instead..."

The crowd was anything but quiet, but it was at least quieter. I was playing Tetris on my phone as Erika was playing solitaire.

"Alright, I've received the final word of the committee!" Koto announced as she was handed a piece of folded white paper. "This is crazy, kinda feels like an award show. Well, anyway, I'll just go ahead and read here. 'By the authority of the Tournament Committee in a unanimous decision, the Masked Fighter's eligibility and Team Urameshi's future is ruled...No problem! The fight between Shishi Wakamaru and the Masked Fighter will continue."

"Are you serious!" Shishi snarled out.

The crowd seemed to agree and followed suit, screaming and hollering at the ruling.

"They would never say that!"

"It's Koto! She sided with Yusuke last time!"

"She cheated! She read it wrong!"

"Human—sympathizer!"

The crowd had now begun to throw food, litter, pop cans, small mallets, a wrench, whatever they had at Koto.

"My goodness—where do you guys get these things to throw at me?" Koto cowered as a pop can hit her mic knocking it from her hand. A burly hand caught it before it fell off the table.

"Is that Toguro?" I gasped.

"Let's execute her with the rest of them!"

"That isn't very polite." Toguro spoke, silencing the angry demons.

"It's Toguro!"

"Oh man, you don't think he heard us do you?"

"Just shut up, hear what he has to say!"

"Team Urameshi did not cheat. I wanted you all to know that. To understand why, you merely have to know who that woman is. While employing the technique she's so fond of, the body of the user does a most impressive thing. It's cells regenerate to the moment when they were strongest. The young girl you saw before, and the old woman there now, are the same person. The human psychic who created the Spirit Wave. It's been such a long time since we've talked, hasn't it Genkai."

"The Genkai?"

The crowd devolved into hushed whispers of surprise as Genkai and Toguro stared one another down.

"But, why would such a legend hide behind a mask?"

"Hold on, did I miss something here? Why does Toguro act like he knows her?"

Toguro merely smirked at Genkai before handing the mic back to Koto. He turned and walked back up the steps, hands in his pockets.

"Mm hmm hmm," Shishi chuckled, "you're the renowned psychic Genkai—so fate smiles on me after all. I won't have to wait for Toguro before I get my celebrity! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"He is so weird...and intense..." I coughed into my hand as Erika laughed.

"You seem like just an old woman to me, but your name is known by nearly every apparition. And now I will be famous too, as the one who killed you." Shishi laughed maniacally, he started to draw his sword as he continued his tirade. "I won't dally around with you any more. We'll need to give an appropriate death!"

Shishi now had his sword fully drawn and was glowing with red malice. The air around the stadium became stagnant and I wondered if this was why going to the demon world was dangerous for a human. The air was thick with all the power, anger, malice, and death. Perhaps we are just too sensitive in this way. It was toxic to us, like poison. I felt my limbs become heavy at the thought and had to shake it off. Maybe this was more a me thing, being a Geist an all, or perhaps a fairy thing...

I wasn't anymore human than anyone else here, what did I know?

Shishi pulled the hilt of his sword apart. The portion that was pulled out from the two parts held the hilt together, but pulsed and writhed like many braided worms. He continued to pull until even the fleshy bits started to rip apart, tearing into crooked smiles and hollow smirks.

"That weapon." Kurama gasped.

The sword too began to glow with the same malice that was coating Shishi. Once the writhing flesh stopped being pulled taut, it wove itself into a blood red face. It held the same crooked smile as the tears before.

"Ma Koku Mei Zan Ken[10]. I think it's such a lovely name for a sword." Shishi boasted as he turned the sword in his hands. "It has the power to beckon lost demon souls into the ring with us."

Shishi then drew his sword down, and drew it into a semi-circle in front of him. The cut glowed blue as Shishi twirled the sword above his head.

"It should be the perfect way to make myself a reputation." Shishi spoke as he brought his sword down in front of him.

The sword began to swirl with wrathful red energy.

"I've seen a sword like that before and I don't believe he understands the danger of it. It has more power than he does." Kurama said.

"Are you ready?" Shishi spat, his face growing into an ugly fanged snarl.

~End Chapter 12~

Citations

[1] - Axe Blade Fist in Funimation

[2] - Wicked King Immolation Black Dragon Wave or The Dragon of Darkness Flame in Funimation

[3] - Strange Beautiful Sweet Dumpling or Steaming Spheres in Funimation

[4] - War Beast Armor or Beast Armor: Armor of the Ape in Funimation

[5] - Wicked King Immolation Purgatory Scorch or Fist of the Mortal Flame in Funimation

[6] - War Beast Armor, Armor of Demon Pheasant which is Beast Armor: Armor of the Phoenix in Funimation

[7] - Armor of the Demon Dog or Beast Armor: Armor of the Wolf in Funimation

[8] - Sword of the Darkness Flame in Funimation

[9] - Immolation Black Dragon Wave or Darkness Flame in Funimation

[10] - Magic Killing-Wail Cutting Sword or The Banshee Shriek in Funimation

Special notes: Kuwabara's father is american, thus why he calls it by it's english name. I liked how they had Kuwabara say this in the english dub and thought it was a nice nod to his heritage.