Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Yu Yu Hakusho.

Invitation:

A bright sun beat down on the playground, heating the children and the sturdy metal of the obstacles they played on. Although the children running around in the park and the parents who watched them all sweated profusely from the high temperatures, two occupants of the area did not show any outward signs of discomfort, even though their clothes were illogical when one considered how hot the day was.

Seated on a long park bench, one of the men had a pale face that appeared untouched by the sun; the nose and mouth were covered with a gray mask; long black hair reached all the way down his back, the ends pooling on the bench behind him. His long body was clothed completely in black material, yet not a drop of sweat glistened on his skin. The other man was half a head taller than his companion, even when seated. He sat by the former and looked every bit as relaxed as the other, but everything about their posture and movements said that they were alert and wary. Clearly, neither man trusted the other. The latter put one hand into the pocket of his long green coat while the other rested on the back of the wooden bench, and explained the reason for his visit.

"The Dark Tournament?" The long-haired man repeated, looking steadily at the man beside him, not even five feet away. He wondered briefly if it would be possible to slit the person's throat with his nails. If he could just lunge sideways and follow through at exactly the right moment…

"Forget about it, Karasu. I could kill you in the time it takes for your hand to twitch." The man said with a small, amused smile on his lips.

"You're such a boring man, Toguro," Karasu replied. "We could have had a little friendly life-or-death tussle, but there you go spoiling everyone's fun again."

Toguro the younger snorted, but returned to the point of the conversation. "As I was saying, I want you to be part of my Dark Tournament team. The endgame will be against some rather interesting opponents, and who knows, you might even enjoy yourself."

"How much fun could an entire tournament spent battling mediocre demons be?" Deprived of his battle with Toguro, Karasu took up his new favorite pastime. He lifted his right hand casually in the direction of the swing set. A moment later, a small explosion tore up the ground underneath one of the swings, startling a boy who had been about to get on. The boy started crying and a woman who was probably his mother immediately rushed over to comfort him. Behind his mask, Karasu let himself smile at what a little explosion could do. Humans were so pathetic.

"These are not just regular demons. In fact, at least one—no, two—of them will be human." Toguro watched from the cover of his sunglasses as Karasu continued to send small bombs that he materialized to various places—a couple around the slide, a few underneath the bars—and setting them off when someone got close enough. No one had been seriously maimed thus far, but that was only because Karasu had no interest in killing children. He just wanted to watch the fear that ensued, with panicked parents frantically looking around for something they couldn't see and scurrying to pick up their screaming children, rushing them home or to the hospital. A broken arm acquired by falling from a bar wasn't considered to be seriously maimed, was it?

Karasu shrugged, feeling what little interest he had in the conversation quickly subsiding. Fighting humans was even more boring than fighting mediocre demons. Except… Well, those were few and far between. "So why should I join your merry little band?"

"You have nothing to lose by taking part, and you'd never forgive yourself if someone were to kill me at the tournament when you could've been there to kill them first."

Karasu snorted. As if a bunch of weak demons, not to mention weak humans, could take down Toguro when he himself had failed. Still, he had nothing better to do, and he knew that he really had no say in the matter, but he liked to pretend. No, he wouldn't have much free will until he defeated the younger Toguro—and sliced the elder one into so many pieces he would no longer be able to reform, though that would just be a bonus. Besides, Toguro did always manage to find fun people to play with. Not that the man referred to it as playing, but what else could it be called? Toguro went around collecting demons that he defeated, but did not kill, just so they would follow him around in the vain hope of defeating him someday. He was obviously just toying with them. Yes, play, definitely. Karasu sent a last bomb in the direction of a woman running out of the park with her daughter to speed them on their way. The playground deserted and himself thoroughly bored once more, he turned to Toguro and agreed to enter the Dark Tournament.