DISCLAIMER: I don't own or claim possession of Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha, or
any of the characters contained therein. This story is solely for the
entertainment of fans like myself, and should not be distributed in any way
as to compromise the series or it's creators that have provided us with
hours of quality (and free) entertainment.
Chapter 1:
Mr. Takanaka slowly shook his head as he looked across his desk at the dark haired youth sitting before him. There was so much potential, so much untapped talent in this one, if only.if only he would buckle down and commit himself to his studies, the possibilities were boundless. He felt a sigh escape his lips before he started.
"Yusuke, I just don't understand what's wrong with you. Your prolonged absence from class is bad enough, but since your return," Takanaka paused, wanting to choose his words carefully. "You've been distracted. It's not just your academics either, seeing you on campus always looking over your shoulder, barely able to stand in one place for long. Please, what is going on?" The principal of Sariyashki Junior High wanted to help this boy, for whom he always had a soft spot.
Yusuke Urameshi sat in the principal's office, his foot tapping on the floor as if he were either annoyed or late for an appointment. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing wrong with the way I'm acting. And I already told you, I had to miss all that school because I was doing missionary work in-".
"Dammit Yusuke! I don't like being lied to, but you could at least have the courtesy to come up with a better story. I know that you've had a hard life, I can relate to that. In truth, mine was too. I know what it is to feel alone and misunderstood, to be looked at as a common thug more likely to mug you then give you the time of day. It's a hard and lonely path, made even worse when you do not have strong family ties to fall back on." Takanaka paused as he saw the boy's anger flare at his last remark. Yusuke's mother Shizuru was rarely home and she seemed to drift through life in a never-ending state of inebriation. But even still, she was his mother, and he was very protective of her.
"Watch it old man," Yusuke said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-what I'm trying to say is that are not alone. What you're going through, whatever it is, I can help. Remember, I was your age once too, all the problems you face in life-they're the same ones that I fought against, that I overcame. I can help you overcome them too, if you'd just stop pushing me out. Whatever it is, I've been there and done it."
The raven-haired boy's face softened for a moment, and Takanaka saw the boy that he once knew, the one that he met those years ago. Softly, almost underneath his breath, the boy muttered, "You have no idea." But as quickly as it came, the moment was gone. The second of vulnerability that he had exposed was gone, Yusuke's face now reflected the fearlessness and intensity that it normally held. Rising from his chair he moved to leave before stopping and facing his principal. "Listen old man, I don't need anything except for you to quit hassling me. Everything's under control." With that Yusuke Urameshi turned and walked out of the office. "Yusuke! Wait!! Everybody needs help sometimes!" His words rang through the empty halls and Takanaka could only shake his head, knowing that the boy was gone. Under his breath he muttered, "Damn the foolishness of youth."
**
The pain coursing through his body was intense, but pain was nothing new to Yusuke. He stood beside his battered and bloody team, the four brave fighters who had chosen to stand beside him in this hell that was appropriately titled the Dark Tournament. They had just barely defeated Team Rokuyokai and Team Urameshi was no longer in what would be called fighting shape. Nevertheless, they now moved to haul themselves off the fighting area to a safer location, especially considering the match that was about to begin.
As Yusuke made hiss way to the side, his eyes locked with a large man striding to the center of the ring. Despite his dark sunglasses, the spirit detective could feel the man's stare penetrating him. His name was Toguro, and he was the reason Yusuke and his friends had been forced into competing in this very lethal tournament.
Toguro turned his attention to address the kitsune announcer who stood in the middle of the ring, intimidated to say the least. "I will be fighting on behalf of my team this round," the demon said. "A-are you s- sure?" the young girl asked, trying very hard to not anger Toguro. A smirk appeared on the demon's face and as he spoke he turned to face Team Urameshi, now standing (as best they could) off to the side near the crowd. "I wish to be at my best when I face Urameshi, so I will take this opportunity to limber my body and sharpen my mind." Now turning to face his five opponents, he calmly said, "As I have chosen to fight today, and since these weaklings will give me no trouble, I see no reason to concern my teammates. I will fight them myself."
At this a large horned demon stepped forward. It's thick green skin seemed thicker than armor, and sharp pointed horns protruded in a circular pattern around his head. Wielding a giant mace the demon, easily twice the size of Toguro, stepped forward and cried, "You dare show such disrespect to me? For this I will destroy you!" He was abruptly cut off, however, by a smaller demon with skin as crimson as the blood which flowed from any foolhardy enough to face him. This demon, captain of his team, stepped forward and said, "Silence Haku! If he wishes to hand this victory to us then we will surely not disappoint." Long blades slowly descended from his wrists, as he raised one hand to point to his sunglassed opponent. "We will defeat you and soon claim victory over this entire tournament."
This notion seemed to amuse Toguro for a moment, but he simply removed the trenchcoat he was wearing and sized up the five warriors standing across the ring. "Fifty percent of my power should be more than enough to dispose of you."
Yusuke had seen his hated rival power up several times before, but this time was different. As the demon began to gather his spirit energy around him, a strange purple miasma began to appear immediately behind him. "Urameshi, look at that!" Kuwabara shouted, pointing at the new energy. Kurama, the red haired fox demon struggled to stand, pointedly saying, "Something's not right." As Toguro's power increased, so did the mass of energy. The now unmasked Genkai began, "I've never seen anything like-" She was cut off as the energy began to surge toward Toguro, who turned around to find it nearly on top of him. He struggled against it, but the miasma had enveloped him, drawing Toguro further into its depths. A single cry emerged from the demon before he was fully consumed.
A shocked silence fell over the entire stadium, as nobody quite knew what had just happened. The spirit detective felt his stomach turn over on itself as he looked into the ring trying, like the rest of his team to comprehend what they were looking at. For Toguro, the most powerful demon that Yusuke Urameshi had ever faced, was gone.
**
As he wandered down the courtyard of his school, Yusuke was still deep in thought. He was jolted back in to reality, however, when he was smacked upside his head with such force he found himself lying on the ground. Normally he would get mad, but Yusuke knew there was only one person in the world that hit like that.
"Yusuke! What's the big idea walking right past me like you don't even know me? Jerk!" The angry voice was such a contrast to the image before Yusuke, as he stared up at the young woman standing over him. Her short brown hair was stylishly arranged, and her blue school uniform was hanging flawlessly from her young body. Keiko had definitely "filled out" as Yusuke put it, quite nicely. She was no longer the pretty girl that he had once known, replaced by a beautiful woman. But it was her eyes that always drew Yusuke in, the soft brown eyes that always penetrated through the fronts that he would put up. He felt that he could look into her eyes for eternity.
"Sorry," Yusuke said as he stood up to meet her eyes. "I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I was just thinking about things." Keiko didn't need to ask him what it was that consumed his attention. It had been a month since Toguro had vanished during the last semi-final match of the Dark Tournament. Koenma had, of course, ordered a search of both the human and spirit realms, which had of late produced absolutely no leads. She knew that Yusuke could not relax, could not let his guard down, while his nemesis was lurking out there, ready to strike at his loved ones at any time.
Even more disconcerting was the fact that no one understood exactly why or how the demon had vanished. The battlefield had been searched innumerous times, but no trace of Toguro or the mysterious purple miasma was to be found. With his opponent gone, Yusuke had no choice but to try to pick up his normal life. But without the closure of a fight with Toguro, that was nearly impossible.
It broke Keiko's heart to see him like this. He was trying so hard to be strong, to put up a front of utter strength and confidence, but she knew better. Deep down, Yusuke was scared. Scared that his mortal enemy was unaccounted for, that he could be lurking around any corner, ready to strike down his loved ones at a moment's notice. Scared that there was a new, unknown force of such power that it could contain and defeat the mighty Toguro. And most of all, scared that he may not be strong enough to do anything about it. Of course Yusuke would never speak of these fears; Keiko knew her man. He would face them alone. He never could ask for help really.
"So, I was thinking we could go check out that new foreign film at the art house this weekend. It's in subtitles, but I hear it's excellent," Keiko said. "Huh? Sure, whatever," Yusuke replied, not too eager to see another one of Keiko's artsy movies; she still nagged him about the last time. A little snoring and she just flipped out.
Keiko suddenly paused, and let out a long sigh. "Great. So much for this weekend," she said. Confused about her change of heart, Yusuke turned. Crossing the street was a blue-skinned ogre, pulling up the collar of his trenchcoat in an effort to conceal his appearance. A fedora sat oddly on his head, hastily crammed over the single horn that Yusuke knew protruded from his scalp. The ogre's head darted back and forth, trying to survey the entire area for any human that might find him out of the ordinary.
When the ogre finally reached the young couple he began, "Mr. Urameshi sir. I've been sent directly from Lord Koenma with an urgent message. His Majesty requests your immediate presence at his palace in Spirit World where you will receive your next assignment." The ogre spat out the words hurriedly, as if he were afraid of forgetting an important detail. He then took a step back, somewhat intimidated.
Yusuke's mind began to race. His assistant Botan was the one who usually brought him his assignments, Koenma's ogres never left the palace. Something must have happened to the blue-haired grim reaper for such an unsuitable replacement to be sent in her stead. And Yusuke was never called in to Spirit World. Something big was happening, and Yusuke knew that it meant trouble. He turned to Keiko, who simply nodded and fought against the tears that had already begun rolling down her cheek. With that, Yusuke Urameshi turned and broke off into a sprint. The spirit detective would stand tall against whatever horrors awaited. Even if he stood alone.
Chapter 1:
Mr. Takanaka slowly shook his head as he looked across his desk at the dark haired youth sitting before him. There was so much potential, so much untapped talent in this one, if only.if only he would buckle down and commit himself to his studies, the possibilities were boundless. He felt a sigh escape his lips before he started.
"Yusuke, I just don't understand what's wrong with you. Your prolonged absence from class is bad enough, but since your return," Takanaka paused, wanting to choose his words carefully. "You've been distracted. It's not just your academics either, seeing you on campus always looking over your shoulder, barely able to stand in one place for long. Please, what is going on?" The principal of Sariyashki Junior High wanted to help this boy, for whom he always had a soft spot.
Yusuke Urameshi sat in the principal's office, his foot tapping on the floor as if he were either annoyed or late for an appointment. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing wrong with the way I'm acting. And I already told you, I had to miss all that school because I was doing missionary work in-".
"Dammit Yusuke! I don't like being lied to, but you could at least have the courtesy to come up with a better story. I know that you've had a hard life, I can relate to that. In truth, mine was too. I know what it is to feel alone and misunderstood, to be looked at as a common thug more likely to mug you then give you the time of day. It's a hard and lonely path, made even worse when you do not have strong family ties to fall back on." Takanaka paused as he saw the boy's anger flare at his last remark. Yusuke's mother Shizuru was rarely home and she seemed to drift through life in a never-ending state of inebriation. But even still, she was his mother, and he was very protective of her.
"Watch it old man," Yusuke said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-what I'm trying to say is that are not alone. What you're going through, whatever it is, I can help. Remember, I was your age once too, all the problems you face in life-they're the same ones that I fought against, that I overcame. I can help you overcome them too, if you'd just stop pushing me out. Whatever it is, I've been there and done it."
The raven-haired boy's face softened for a moment, and Takanaka saw the boy that he once knew, the one that he met those years ago. Softly, almost underneath his breath, the boy muttered, "You have no idea." But as quickly as it came, the moment was gone. The second of vulnerability that he had exposed was gone, Yusuke's face now reflected the fearlessness and intensity that it normally held. Rising from his chair he moved to leave before stopping and facing his principal. "Listen old man, I don't need anything except for you to quit hassling me. Everything's under control." With that Yusuke Urameshi turned and walked out of the office. "Yusuke! Wait!! Everybody needs help sometimes!" His words rang through the empty halls and Takanaka could only shake his head, knowing that the boy was gone. Under his breath he muttered, "Damn the foolishness of youth."
**
The pain coursing through his body was intense, but pain was nothing new to Yusuke. He stood beside his battered and bloody team, the four brave fighters who had chosen to stand beside him in this hell that was appropriately titled the Dark Tournament. They had just barely defeated Team Rokuyokai and Team Urameshi was no longer in what would be called fighting shape. Nevertheless, they now moved to haul themselves off the fighting area to a safer location, especially considering the match that was about to begin.
As Yusuke made hiss way to the side, his eyes locked with a large man striding to the center of the ring. Despite his dark sunglasses, the spirit detective could feel the man's stare penetrating him. His name was Toguro, and he was the reason Yusuke and his friends had been forced into competing in this very lethal tournament.
Toguro turned his attention to address the kitsune announcer who stood in the middle of the ring, intimidated to say the least. "I will be fighting on behalf of my team this round," the demon said. "A-are you s- sure?" the young girl asked, trying very hard to not anger Toguro. A smirk appeared on the demon's face and as he spoke he turned to face Team Urameshi, now standing (as best they could) off to the side near the crowd. "I wish to be at my best when I face Urameshi, so I will take this opportunity to limber my body and sharpen my mind." Now turning to face his five opponents, he calmly said, "As I have chosen to fight today, and since these weaklings will give me no trouble, I see no reason to concern my teammates. I will fight them myself."
At this a large horned demon stepped forward. It's thick green skin seemed thicker than armor, and sharp pointed horns protruded in a circular pattern around his head. Wielding a giant mace the demon, easily twice the size of Toguro, stepped forward and cried, "You dare show such disrespect to me? For this I will destroy you!" He was abruptly cut off, however, by a smaller demon with skin as crimson as the blood which flowed from any foolhardy enough to face him. This demon, captain of his team, stepped forward and said, "Silence Haku! If he wishes to hand this victory to us then we will surely not disappoint." Long blades slowly descended from his wrists, as he raised one hand to point to his sunglassed opponent. "We will defeat you and soon claim victory over this entire tournament."
This notion seemed to amuse Toguro for a moment, but he simply removed the trenchcoat he was wearing and sized up the five warriors standing across the ring. "Fifty percent of my power should be more than enough to dispose of you."
Yusuke had seen his hated rival power up several times before, but this time was different. As the demon began to gather his spirit energy around him, a strange purple miasma began to appear immediately behind him. "Urameshi, look at that!" Kuwabara shouted, pointing at the new energy. Kurama, the red haired fox demon struggled to stand, pointedly saying, "Something's not right." As Toguro's power increased, so did the mass of energy. The now unmasked Genkai began, "I've never seen anything like-" She was cut off as the energy began to surge toward Toguro, who turned around to find it nearly on top of him. He struggled against it, but the miasma had enveloped him, drawing Toguro further into its depths. A single cry emerged from the demon before he was fully consumed.
A shocked silence fell over the entire stadium, as nobody quite knew what had just happened. The spirit detective felt his stomach turn over on itself as he looked into the ring trying, like the rest of his team to comprehend what they were looking at. For Toguro, the most powerful demon that Yusuke Urameshi had ever faced, was gone.
**
As he wandered down the courtyard of his school, Yusuke was still deep in thought. He was jolted back in to reality, however, when he was smacked upside his head with such force he found himself lying on the ground. Normally he would get mad, but Yusuke knew there was only one person in the world that hit like that.
"Yusuke! What's the big idea walking right past me like you don't even know me? Jerk!" The angry voice was such a contrast to the image before Yusuke, as he stared up at the young woman standing over him. Her short brown hair was stylishly arranged, and her blue school uniform was hanging flawlessly from her young body. Keiko had definitely "filled out" as Yusuke put it, quite nicely. She was no longer the pretty girl that he had once known, replaced by a beautiful woman. But it was her eyes that always drew Yusuke in, the soft brown eyes that always penetrated through the fronts that he would put up. He felt that he could look into her eyes for eternity.
"Sorry," Yusuke said as he stood up to meet her eyes. "I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I was just thinking about things." Keiko didn't need to ask him what it was that consumed his attention. It had been a month since Toguro had vanished during the last semi-final match of the Dark Tournament. Koenma had, of course, ordered a search of both the human and spirit realms, which had of late produced absolutely no leads. She knew that Yusuke could not relax, could not let his guard down, while his nemesis was lurking out there, ready to strike at his loved ones at any time.
Even more disconcerting was the fact that no one understood exactly why or how the demon had vanished. The battlefield had been searched innumerous times, but no trace of Toguro or the mysterious purple miasma was to be found. With his opponent gone, Yusuke had no choice but to try to pick up his normal life. But without the closure of a fight with Toguro, that was nearly impossible.
It broke Keiko's heart to see him like this. He was trying so hard to be strong, to put up a front of utter strength and confidence, but she knew better. Deep down, Yusuke was scared. Scared that his mortal enemy was unaccounted for, that he could be lurking around any corner, ready to strike down his loved ones at a moment's notice. Scared that there was a new, unknown force of such power that it could contain and defeat the mighty Toguro. And most of all, scared that he may not be strong enough to do anything about it. Of course Yusuke would never speak of these fears; Keiko knew her man. He would face them alone. He never could ask for help really.
"So, I was thinking we could go check out that new foreign film at the art house this weekend. It's in subtitles, but I hear it's excellent," Keiko said. "Huh? Sure, whatever," Yusuke replied, not too eager to see another one of Keiko's artsy movies; she still nagged him about the last time. A little snoring and she just flipped out.
Keiko suddenly paused, and let out a long sigh. "Great. So much for this weekend," she said. Confused about her change of heart, Yusuke turned. Crossing the street was a blue-skinned ogre, pulling up the collar of his trenchcoat in an effort to conceal his appearance. A fedora sat oddly on his head, hastily crammed over the single horn that Yusuke knew protruded from his scalp. The ogre's head darted back and forth, trying to survey the entire area for any human that might find him out of the ordinary.
When the ogre finally reached the young couple he began, "Mr. Urameshi sir. I've been sent directly from Lord Koenma with an urgent message. His Majesty requests your immediate presence at his palace in Spirit World where you will receive your next assignment." The ogre spat out the words hurriedly, as if he were afraid of forgetting an important detail. He then took a step back, somewhat intimidated.
Yusuke's mind began to race. His assistant Botan was the one who usually brought him his assignments, Koenma's ogres never left the palace. Something must have happened to the blue-haired grim reaper for such an unsuitable replacement to be sent in her stead. And Yusuke was never called in to Spirit World. Something big was happening, and Yusuke knew that it meant trouble. He turned to Keiko, who simply nodded and fought against the tears that had already begun rolling down her cheek. With that, Yusuke Urameshi turned and broke off into a sprint. The spirit detective would stand tall against whatever horrors awaited. Even if he stood alone.