Love's Denial

Okay Kittens, here it is. The new chappie. It is really long, so there should be no complaints and I have worked really hard to get it out for you. Enjoy and please review and thank you for sticking with me.


Chapter Seventeen

Kuwabarra looked around the deserted place that Botan had lead them to. Not only was it completely deserted, but it was also snowing. He turned to Botan, who had opened the portal for them bring them to this freezing hell, acting as their escort, with a grim expression on his face. “Please tell me that this is not where we are expected to fight, is it?” he asked her while his teeth chattered.


Botan gave Kuwabarra a silly grin. “Don’t be cute, Kuwabarra. Of course this is not where the tournament is.”


“Then what the fuck are we doing here?” Yusuke yelled out to her while he rubbed his arms, trying to get them warm. “And why is it so fucking cold? I don’t remember it ever being like this before.”


Botan looked around the group, her grin still plastered on her face. “There are no seasonal changes in the sprit world, Yusuke. The weather changes constantly depending on where you are. One moment it will be snowing and the next it will be so hot that you can’t stand it. Koenma and Yama reside in one of the few places where the weather is constant. This is really quite normal, Yusuke, but you’ll grow used to it,” she told him lamely.


Hiei glared at the stupid girl. He only had to reach out two feet in order to choke the life out of her. “You didn’t answer the question, woman,” he growled out.


Botan’s smile fell at Hiei’s harsh tone. “Well, there is no reason to get snippy. The tournament is being held right over that mountain,” she told them, pointing to a small mountain about five miles away. “I got you as close as I could, so don’t be hateful with me.”


Aki tried to give her a smile as she tried to bury herself deeper into her oversized sweater but her teeth were chattering so badly that she couldn’t smile. “Why couldn’t you go ahead and get us closer, Botan?” she asked quietly.


Botan smile. “It is quite simple really. You see, there are others arriving for this tournament from Makai at the same time any humans are being escorted in as well. We don’t want to give any demon the opportunity to slip into the human world with all the chaos that is going on so there are many separate portals being opened up in different parts of the Sprit World that led from Ningenkai as well as many from Makai,” the blue-haired woman told them in a matter-of-factly voice.


“Well,” Kurama started, “we are not going to get there by standing around and talking. Let’s go,” and with that the group made their way to the mountain.


********************************************


‘It really is a far to pretty day to ruin it with bloodshed,’ Lai thought as he looked up at the sky from his lounging spot. The sprit world really did have the most beautiful sky, with splashes of red, pink, blue, and purple. He stifled a big yawn and turned to his company. “Are you ready for this, Sai, Rai?” he asked, sitting up lazily.


Sai laughed as he stretched out his legs. He ran one of his hands through his white-blonde, spiky locks. “Ready for what, Lai? The tournament or the bloodbath that will happen after that bitch Kayu finds the kid?”


“Both,” Lai told him. He looked over to Rai, who was leaning back against a tree and dozing off. “Rai, how are your ribs?”


“Good,” Rai told him, not even opening his eyes. “They knitted back together quickly enough, that fucking whore.” He smiled as the wind blew across his face, lifting his red and black bangs from his face.


Lai sighed. “You should have known better than to get in the way of Kayu’s fury. You know the food chain just as well as I do. Even if you are destined to be a blood demon elder, it doesn’t change the fact that until her place is challenged, Kayu is over your fate.”


Rai sat up and glared at Lai. If it weren’t for a few drastic differences between the two, one would think that they were twins. While Lai has long, black hair that he kept pulled back in a ponytail; Rai has shoulder length hair that was a deep red color with midnight black highlights. They shared the same facial structure, but where Lai looked feminine, Rai was purely masculine with sharp, piercing black eyes. Rai also had the same lean and taunt body that the other had, but he carried his with a confidence that Lai could never pull off. Yes, it was most certainly not difficult to see how the two were cousins.


“Please do not start lecturing me again, Lai. I understand my place in blood-dragon society far better than you could ever know. Besides, what right do you have to say anything to me? You were, I mean are one of the strongest blood-dragons alive among the common clans and yet you ran away from your place in their society to become a hermit,” Rai declared, smirking as his cousin’s shoulders tense.


“You know my reasons for leaving, Rai,” Lai told him, his big black eyes burning in rage.


Sai jumped up from his seat and bounced down between the two. “Now, now, now, we are all family here. Let’s at least pretend to like one another, ne. The second we get out of this tournament we can all go and try to kill one another again, kay,” the bubbly blond told them.


“Innocence is always the voice of reason,” Lai told Sai, giving him a small smile.


Rai snorted. “Innocent my ass.”


Sai shot Rai a go-to-hell look. “Fuck off, bastard. At least my cock hasn’t frozen off, dickless.”


Rai’s already intense eyes grew even fiercer. “At least my dick wont fall off because of some disease. Hell Sai, you’ll shove your cock into any hole that is alive and breathing. You are a fucking whore.”


“I enjoy getting my rocks off,” Sai started as his usually kind features turned deadly. “Unlike the rest of you, I am not and will not wait for her to come around and pick me. I am sorry that my sex drive is stronger than my willingness to wait for true love to conquer all. But since you are an impotent bastard I guess a sex drive wouldn’t get in your way.”


As soon as Rai started to lunge for Sai, Lai got in between the two of them. “Damnit,” he yelled out, “this is not the time or the place to bull shit each other.”


Sai grinned at Lai. “Come on, dude, you know we don’t mean it,” he told him as he stood up.


Rai couldn’t help but smirk as he also stood up. “If we cannot bull shit with each other then on whom can we let all of our steam off with?” he asked, as he offered Lai a hand up.


Just as the blood-dragon was about to answer, another presence appeared behind them. “I suggest you save your energy for the tournament.”


********************************************


Aki stared around in shock at the spectacle around her. She clutched to Kuwabarra’s back as she peeked at the utter chaos. Creatures of every kind were coming from every direction of the tournament grounds and it all looked very intimidating to the human. Botan had led the group to a huge site, surrounded by mountains at each direction. They were standing in the entryway of the tournament dome that was about thirty stories high. In the center was the main fighting arena. While staring around her, Aki could not help but feel intimidated.


“It’ll be okay,” Kuwabarra whispered to her, while grinning and doing his own observing. He was trembling in anticipation due to the thrill of a fight about to happen.


Yusuke was grinning as well. “You ready, Kuwa? It’s been a long time since you’ve had your ass kicked.”


“Fuck you.”


“Now, now,” Botan tsk’ed, turning to face the boys. “There are strict rules about participants fighting outside of the ring, so please try to act like adults.”


“I do not care about the rules. When are we fighting?” Hiei asked, glaring at Botan, making her take a step back.


“Well, uh . . .“ she started, stuttering slightly as she normally did when facing Hiei, “you have to give your invitations to one of the individuals in charge of placement. From your invitations, they can tell where and when your pulmonary fight will be since that was predetermined according to your skill and rank as a fighter. Since there are so many fighters, there will be 256 divisions for the pulmonary battles, each consisting of a total of two battles; the first is a thirty-two-man battle and the last is an eight-man battle. In each, the last man standing determines the winner. From there, there will be eight rounds, each one-on-one.” When Botan finished, she took a deep breath.


Kurama looked at her, his face lined in concentration. “That would mean that there are 32,768 participants.”


Botan nodded. “Yes, but do remember that they come from all around in all three worlds.”


“Damn, this is going to take a long time,” Yusuke mumbled.


“Actually Yusuke,” Botan started, “it wont take as long as you think it will. All pulmonary battles for each group are tomorrow, and then the next day the first round of the tournament begins. I do not know how long this will take exactly but it should be about a week long, give or take a day or two.”


“Damn,” Kuwabarra told her, “are they going to give us time to breathe.”


“This is a test of endurance as well as strength, fool,” Hiei told him.


Kuwabarra glared at him, but before he had a chance to say anything Aki stepped in between them. “So, where do we go to find out when we fight?” she asked with a sickly fake cheerfulness, while looking at the chaotic mess before her. She had a strange feeling that this tournament was going to end very badly for her.


*********************************************


Koenma tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for his father to finish talking with one of his advisors. He still had no idea who was killing off the blood-dragons and he had not seen nor heard from his so-called “assassin” in months. If things did not change in the next couple of days, the demi-god was going to find himself fucked hard with no lube or prep at all.


Yama finished his discussion and turned to look at his son. He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. “What is wrong now, Koenma?” he asked through grit teeth.


Koenma glared at his father. “You seem somewhat at ease, father, since you know that in a few mere days the blood-dragons will be on the rampage and there is noting that we will be able to do about it,” he told him calmly.


Yama gave Koenma a sly grin. “Do not fret. Everything will be taken care of. You see, Konomaru has been invited to the tournament.”


Koenma had to bite back the sudden urge to kill his father. “And pray tell, what is so important about this Konomaru character?”


“Konomaru happens to be the blood-dragon over Kayu’s army.”


“So what?” Koenma demanded.


Yama sighed. “Have you not looked into the traditions and habits of blood-dragon clans?” Koenma shook his head. “I suggest you do that, son. For you see, they hold very true to the ways put in place by their ancestors,” he told him.


Koenma just turned and left; he did not have time for his father’s games. He couldn’t help but wonder if a group of ungrateful bastards and bitches were worth all of this trouble.


********************************************


“So what group are you fighting in, Kuwabarra?” Yusuke asked after they had all managed to find out their needed information and escaped from the throngs of humans, demons, and other unsightly creatures to a somewhat quiet but still chaotic section of the arena.


Kuwabarra looked at one of the papers he received from the sprit worker. “I am in group fifty-five, fifth round. What about you guys?” the tallest of the group asked.


“I fight in group two-fifty-three, first round.” Kurama answered while watching the activity around them.


“Ninety, round eight,” Hiei answered simply with a bored expression on his face.


“Mmmm, I am in group two hundred-n-two, round four,” Yusuke told them. He turned to Aki who was looking over her papers with a frown on her face. “Is there a problem with your group, Aki?” he asked, looking over her shoulder to see what was bothering her.


She looked up at Yusuke through her thick, large lens’ed glasses and gave him a brief smile. “I am fine, Yusuke. And group thirteen is fine. I was just glancing at the rules and rooming assignments,” she told him, pulling out the named papers.


Kuwabarra looked through the papers he was holding, finding his own rooming arrangements. “Room fifty-five, bunk thirty-three in the eastern wing. What the fuck? They chose our roommates for us,” he yelled out, looking over the paper again and again to see if he was reading it right.


“This could end up being a bloody disaster,” Kurama muttered, looking at his own paper.


“Frightened that one of your old lovers might be your roommate, fox,” Hiei asked smirking.


Kurama gave Hiei his own smirk, in a playful mood. “Why should I be worried, Hiei? None of my lovers ever left me; I left them, but no worries they were always completely and utterly satisfied so they really didn’t care. There is no reason for you to be concerned, though I am touched.”


Yusuke shook his head and decided to change the subject. “Dudes, we are all in different rooms, so please tell me how are we
supposed to keep an eye on Aki like we originally planned?”


“She’ll just have to bunk with one of us. Surely the rooms aren’t that inadequate,” Kurama answered, sparing Aki a fleeting glance.


Kuwabarra grimaced. “Good plan but it is against the rules, Kurama. It says here that all competitors must stay in their designated areas because they were chosen to eliminate most of the conflict that naturally occurs when large groups of powerful creatures gather together,” he told Yusuke and Kurama.


Aki gave all three of them a nervous smile as Kurama looked over the rules again, Kuwabarra continued to grimace, and Yusuke rubbed his forehead. “I will be fine, really. I am sure that all the demons and humans in my room will leave me be since it would automatically kick them out of the tournament.”


Hiei’s smirk of amusement had grown dark. From his place behind Kurama, he said, “Hn, I believe that the human girl has become more trouble that what she is worth. I’d say we would be lucky if she were killed in the first round.”


Aki smiled at him shyly. “Ah, Hiei. You have the best sense of humor in the group,” she told him, reaching out to pat him gently on the shoulder.


Yusuke sucked in a nervous breath. This girl was horribly naïve; either that or she had a fucking death wish. He watched as Hiei’s smirk turned into a cruel and wicked smile. Before he could get in between them, Hiei spoke.


“Girl, you had better take your hand off of me before I kill you myself.” Hiei watched as she casually lifted her hand from his shoulder without the slightest hint of fear. He looked into her eyes and saw that same little flash of green that he saw before. His eyes narrowed as he watched her turn and talk to Kuwabarra. Hiei could make Yusuke piss in his pants but he couldn’t even make this girl shudder. Maybe her death would be a good thing for the group. Yusuke yelling in his ear pulled him from his thoughts.


“So why don’t we go to our rooms and ditch our bags,” the detective said.


********************************************


Keiko smiled at Shizuru as she walked into her room where she was packing her bags. “I can’t wait to see Yusuke fight again,” she told the older girl.


Shizuru couldn’t help but grin herself. The younger woman had changed so much in the past years in regarding Yusuke. Before she had been incredibly fearful concerning his health and life and would have changed the half-demon if she thought that she could. Yusuke, on the other hand, could not understand where Keiko was coming from and felt that she was just being foolish. But things suddenly changed. After many fights and tears, Keiko and Yusuke started to accept each other for which the other was and it made life for and with them much easier. Shizuru couldn’t be happier for her. “Yep, I just hope that my moron of a brother doesn’t make an ass out of his self like he did in the other tournament.


Sometimes I think that he was switched at birth because he is nothing like me.”


Keiko let out a small laugh. “Oh, come on now, Shizuru, stop the tough sister act. Kuwabara has gotten so much stronger in the last few years and not even you can hide the fact that you are immensely proud of your little brother,” she told her, but then stopped packing her bag and looked at Shizuru with an evil grin. “Maybe it is time we helped him out.”


Shizuru’s expression switched from slightly amused to downright wicked. “You know, I think that you are right. We should reward Kuwabara for all his hard work. Now,” she said, pulling out a cigarette, “finish up packing so we can meet Yukina, Tai, and Botan at the temple.”


**********************************************


Yusuke felt as though he had went back in time. After the group had ditched their bags, they had ran into Chu, Jin, Touya, Rinku, and Suzuka. He grinned as Rinku tormented Kuwabarra about their first fight that happened so many years ago. It was nice to know that some things never changed.


“Shut up you stupid brat. You so know that I would have kicked your ass if you hadn’t cheated and I plan on proving that at this tournament,” Kuwabarra screamed at the young demon.


Rinku just looked around the stadium. “Hey guys, do you hear someone whistling in the wind?”


Jin and Yusuke laughed at Kuwabarra’s apparent outrage while everyone else either ignored it or shock their heads. Yep, some things never changed.


Aki looked around the group of demons nervously from her hiding spot behind Kurama and Yusuke. There were definitely to many demons wandering around for her to feel comfortable. If she were able to make it through this tournament with everything intact, she would be a nervous wreck. She was pulled from her own self musings by a group of demons pointing at Yusuke and whispering to each other in pointless loud, hushed tones.


“That is Raizen’s heir, isn’t?” one asked.


“I am not sure. He most certainly doesn’t look like a toushin demon,” the other replied.


Kurama turned from the group to check on Aki, his laughter dying as he saw her observing a group of ‘B’ class demons discuss Yusuke’s heritage. He nudged Yusuke’s side getting his attention and quietly said, “It seems that you are a topic of interest, Yusuke.”


Yusuke, as well as everyone else in the close-knit group, turned to the oblivious weaker demons to hear what they were saying.


“I don’t know, maybe he is. It is said that Raizen’s heir does run around masquerading as a human, ignoring his demon heritage and
having no pride in being the superior race.”


The other demon snorted. “I don’t give a damn about his pride. I only want to know if he knows whether or not Raizen’s bastard is going to be in the tournament or not. I would like some sort of warning as to whether I am going to have to kill the son-of-a-bitch or not.”


Yusuke turned to Kurama and then to Hiei, a look of utter confusion crossing his features. “What the fuck are they talking about?” he demanded.


“Tsk, tsk, Yomi it seems that you are not the only one whom lowers themselves to listening and believing in hapless rumors,” said a low female voice from behind Yusuke. All the demons turn to see Mukuro standing there with Yomi next to her.


The demons who were gossiping looked at the two lords with a look of pure horror on their faces and could not get away fast enough. Yusuke just glared at the bionic woman. “Do you care to explain this rumor? I am not the sharpest demon here and I think that I just heard that dude say that Raizen has a kid running around out there some where.”


Mukuro looked at the young lord with a grin of amusement. “Do you not understand the word ‘rumor’, Yusuke?”


Yomi smiled. “Now Mukuro, do not tease them. By the way, hello everyone,” he told them, turning to Kurama, who nodded his own hello, and then noticed Aki behind him. He frowned as he studied the human’s minimal energy. ‘What the fuck?’


Mukuro resisted the urge to roll her eye as she watched Yusuke. The boy was so predictable when it came to situations like this. “I suppose we can skip the formalities this time, ne?”


Hiei grinned as he watched Mukuro toy with the detective. “Tell us what is going on here, Mukuro, before the detective explodes.”


“Fine,” she said, moving towards a group of empty seats. “There is no need for us all to be uncomfortable if we are going to do nothing more than gossip,” she told them sitting down. When everyone was seated, Yusuke cursing the woman with every breath, she started. “A rumor started about twenty-one or twenty-two years ago that Raizen had a child with one of his whores. When the child was born, he threw it out so that his mozaku could claim his throne. It is completely false and irrelevant.”


Kurama looked at Mukuro closely. “What makes you say that? Is it possible that Raizen might have used his harem and impregnated one of the women?”


She grunted. “Fools. Wouldn’t a true demon heir be powerful than a mozaku? Any child he would have had would have been extremely powerful. Besides, you are missing the most important piece of evidence that points against it,” she told them, a sickly sweet smile coming across her face making her look even more twisted. “Raizen would not have wanted to taint the memory of his precious human with that of a demon. If he intended to stare himself to death, why not stay celibate at the same time.”


Kurama could not help but nod in agreement to her reasoning and Yusuke let out a sigh of relief. “Dude, I was worried there for a minute.”


Kuwabarra laughed. “I can only imagine what your brother would have been like, Yusuke. You are so hotheaded that if you had a full demon brother then there would be no demon world left because he would have destroyed it as well.”


Everyone in the group gain some amusement at thinking about what Yusuke’s ‘sibling’ would have been like and everyone started talking at once.


“He would have been incredibly strong,” Kurama said, smiling wistfully.


“I would have loved to see how he would have done his hair,” Suzuka said while running his fingers through his own golden locks.


Jin said something that no one understood; the only word that anyone could hear and understand was “wicked”.


Chu’s constant grin grew even wider. “It would have been nice to have had a challenge for once,” he said with slightly slurred speech.


“You mean he would have made you his personal punching bag,” Rinku told him, dunking as Chu made a grab for him.


Hiei ‘hn’ed’ as was expected and replied, “I do not know if I could have handled another fool to listen to.”


Mukuro nodded her head in full agreement.


“It would have been amusing to see you two struggle for power, but then again some do consider me to be a sadist,” Yomi muttered, looking into the sky.


“I think it would have been more amusing to see who would have the broader vocabulary,” Touya said, gaining a harsh clap to the back.


Kuwabarra laughed. “I am just glad I don’t have another ass to kick.”


Hiei snorted and Yusuke grinned. “Whatever Kuwabarra,” he told him, leaning back in his chair. “Dude,” he started, all signs of laughter gone, “I am glad that Raizen doesn’t have a kid out there. To be shoved aside for someone else would have to suck.”


As they all sat in an awkward silence, they heard a hollow, amused chuckle. “I wouldn’t place all my trust with the words of one ignorant fool, m’lord.” Everyone turned and saw a figure encased by shadows against a nearby wall. “Raizen actually does have a bastard, well one other than you of course.”


Yusuke stood up from his seat suddenly and glared at the demon, preparing to leap forward to kill him. The demon lord had had enough of this shit. “We have already discussed this; it is not possible.”


“No one could hide a child with that kind of raw power,” Kurama told the figure, leaning back and studying the hidden male intently.


The shadow took a step forward into the light and gave a light ‘hn’ in response to both Yusuke and Kurama’s opinions. “I happened to have been . . . oh how does one say this- that’s right- personally with Raizen’s little bastard.”


Everyone watched as the demon walked toward them and out of the shadow. He was tall, like most demons, and also had the typical strong build that ran rampant in Makai. His hair was long and a dark hunter green. His eyes were the same color and Mukuro was shocked to see that he was actually a high ‘A’ class water demon when it was rare for any demon to be above a low ‘B’ class level. She leaned forward lazily, catching his attention. “And how would you know Raizen’s little son ‘personally’ water sprite?” she asked knowing it was the question on everyone’s mind.


The demon smirked and gave them a wicked smile. “Who said Raizen’s true heir was a male?” he asked, a glitter of untold knowledge causing his eyes to darken.


Mukuro leaned back and crossed her arms, a victorious smirk crossing her face. “You just gave yourself away fool. Toushins are notoriously known for producing only males.”


“Actually,” Aki started, breaking her self-contained silence since meeting up with the demon lords and causing her cheeks to flame at the attention. “When toushin demons mate for the purpose of having children, if they go outside of their race because most toushins can produce children, the chromosome that is needed to determine male or female offspring is determined by the pheromones that the carrier in heat is emitting. Since the pheromones in a given speicies does not tend to differ greatly between demons of that set, it is safe to assume that there are only two demon species that can produce the pheromone similar to that needed to produce a female: the dog demon and the fire demon, both also notoriously known for co-producing mostly females. Females from both of these species have overly high and erratic pheromone levels, therefore leaving the possibility for a female child to be born at a fifty percent chance,” she finished, taking a deep breath after that explanation.


Mukuro turned form Aki, her eyes narrowed at the amount of information that the girl gave, and looked at the stranger who didn’t even phased. “So, lets look into the realm of impossibility, and say that you are right. Which is she, half dog or half fire?”


The water demon chuckled and moved closer to the group, studying Aki, who had been shoved behind Kuwabarra. “Neither, but I have no clue what her mother was. It was kept hush-hush. That is besides the point anyways since I daresay that the little human,” he said pointing to Aki, “ is not finished with her explanation."


Yomi turned from the staring match and tension he felt between Mukuro and the demon to look at Aki. “Is there even room for more explanation?”


“There is actually very little left but it happens to be the most important bit of information, and if the human knows all that then there is very little doubt that she knows the rest. I am curious though as to how she knows so much,” the water demon said, causing Aki’s cheeks to darken even more.


Well, um . . . alright, if a toushin mates with a demon who is able go conceive and is in heat with excited and erratic pheromones, the pheromones can then change the toushin’s chromosomes, allowing a female to conceive. The only real chance of this happening is if the overly erratic pheromone state is caused by the demon in heat is in a high stress and traumatic situation,” Aki told them, hoping the game of twenty questions was over.


Yusuke frowned. “What do you mean, high stress and traumatic situation?”


“She means, that in the demon world, such a situation is brought on by only a few select things,” Kurama started, pausing for only a moment to think of how to word the next part. “If a demon loses a mate they are traumatized, the same thing can happen if a child is lost and the species values its kin. But those are not relevant to this situation. Only two things can cause such a reaction: either the demon is raped while in heat or the demon betrays a mate by having relations with another, especially relations that cause the demon in heat to become pregnant with an offspring other than their mated one.” Kurama paused once again and looked at the group
pensively. “It is the ultimate betrayal among demons.”


“Damn stupid demon rules,” Kuwabarra muttered under his breath.


The water demon grinned. “For such ignorant fools, you most certainly are all quite bookish,” he told them. “While no one but Raizen and the bastard princess’ mother know the actual detail of her birth, the story after the fact goes as such. Raizen took the child from her mother at her very birth but then found out that only a few hours before his mozaku was born in the human world,” the demon paused to watch Yusuke. “He waited a few hours, contemplating what to do with the child. He finally decided to give the child to one of the most exclusive whorehouses in his territory. So as to how I know her personally, well her pretty little mouth was wrapped around my cock more than once.” The demon finished and laughed at the disgusted looks on the others faces.


“I met Raizen,” Yusuke told him, taking a step back. “He would not do that, not to one of his own kids.”


“I paid a hell of a lot of money for that girl, so I assure you that he did exactly what you think he wouldn’t. She had to learn to earn her keep as soon as she was walking and she was highly exclusive and had great potential,” he told Yusuke.


“So where is this girl now?” Kurama asked, his eyes growing more intense as the conversation droned on.


The demon sighed. “It was a tragedy really. The day her virginity was to be auctioned off, she somehow managed to run away. She was only twelve with nine years of experience. She would have been the best damn fuck. They never did find her body but she was warded and would have died from leaving her set parameter.” The demon looked away with a wishful look on his face.


“Let me guess,” Hiei started, his voice full of loathing, “ you had planned on being the first in line.”


“I had damn well planned to try but many demons happened to have had better funds than myself, so I would not have stood a chance.”


“You are disgusting,” Kuwabarra told him.


“Don’t knock it till you try it, kid,” he told the tall human man.


Yusuke took a shaky breath, finally gaining some control over his emotions. “What makes you think that this little girl you were molesting is Raizen’s?”


The demon rolled his eyes. “The marking, you stupid boy.”


“Lots of demons have markings, though,” Kuwabarra pointed out, looking around and seeing several examples.


The demon grunted. “Och, this is becoming boresome. Do they not teach you humans anything? Markings are common, yes, but the said markings determine species, clans, herds, flocks, groupings, or, as it is in this case concerning toushins, families. Raizen was the last of his family from a species that is dying, Yusuke, as his mozaku, you carry the same markings. It is the same with the girl,” he finished, his tone dry.


“Huh,” Hiei started, ”how do you know she was not the child of another toushin.”


“The toushins have been a dying breed for years,” Yomi inserted, ”It seems that though males can procreate with other males, many of the toushins tastes ran more towards females. The number of true purebred toushins has dwindled to not but a mere handful and in reality there are about that many half-breed toushins as well.” Yomi sat back in his seat as he finished and focused his attention on the newcomer. “For these reasons that you have given alone, it is difficult to believe that your claims are true. It is a well known fact that Raizen loved a human, as my fellow lord has pointed out already, and I find it hard to believe that he would betray her in such a way.”


Before anyone could reply, Aki spoke up to add a more realistic look to the whole notion. “Everyone is asking questions when there is no real physical evidence of such a child existing. This is a pointless argument started by a lecheres, mated water demon and unless you can produce this female now, you should be quiet.” She stared up at the demon. “Sorry, but I call it as I see it.”


The demon’s eyes widen in shock and amusement at the shy human’s bold words. “Though I agree that you do indeed know quite a bit about demonology, how did you know that I am mated?”


Aki walked over to the demon and reached up to flick his earring. “This is made from a rock only found in earth dragon territory. They happen to be just as protective of their territory as youkos, so it is safe to assume that you are excepted because you happen to be one of the elements as well. So, did I access the situation correctly?” she asked, her head lowered and her bangs covering her face.


The demons eyes narrowed as he reached out and grabbed her by her upper arm and wrapped his other hand around her neck. “You really do know quite a bit for a human. To much actually,” he told her as he put pressure against her windpipe.


Kurama moved quickly, getting behind the demon with one of his most deadly vines wrapped around his arm and upper body. The vine quickly obeyed its master and wrapped itself around the demon’s body before he was able to add enough pressure to Aki’s windpipe to crush it. “Let her go and then I might think of sparring you.”


The demon smirked as he let her drop to the ground and turned to Kurama noticing the golden gleam hiding behind emerald eyes as the vine receded back to its seed form. “Never give any mercy or show any real emotion, right?” he asked, turning around and walking away from the group. “Believe me or not, I don’t give a damn but then you would never know the truth anyways would you?” he told them as his parting words while he walked away.


Kurama wasted no time grabbing Aki roughly by her arm and dragging her back to the group. “If you can not keep your mouth shut, I’ll be more than happy to take care of it for you. I knew you should have stayed in your room. Your presence will continue to only cause trouble,” he ranted at her in no more than a whisper while placing his usually calm and friendly smile for the rest of the group.


The youko looked around at the group and saw a mixed array of emotions from the already highly diverse group. He continued to smile as he politely excused himself form the group. “I think it is time for us to retire to our respective rooms to rest before the first fights, so if you will excuse us,” and he left, his grip never loosening on Aki’s arm as he drug her away.


Hiei’s eyebrow arched as he watched the spectacle Kurama had made of himself. “Damn fool,” he muttered before flitting off.


As everyone else started walking away, either laughing in groups or opting for some time alone, the whole conversation with the other demon was either forgotten or placed on a list of ‘impossibilities’ by all but one. Kuwabarra noticed Yusuke just staring into a wall oblivious to all. He put a hand on his friends shoulder, gaining his attention. “Dude, don’t dwell on whats probably not even true. If he really loved your ancestral grandmother like you said then Raizen wouldn’t have had a kid by anyone else,” Kuwabarra told him.


Yusuke grinned and shook his head. “Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t worry unless this kid drops out of the sky right,” he told him, standing up.


“Really, Yusuke, you have nothing to worry about. It is nothing more than rumor,” Yomi replied, coming from behind him. “The reality of such a child being born is quite rare.”


Mukuro walked over to stand in between the two lords. “Now that that is settled, Yusuke, we have a problem. A very big problem.”


“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded, completely and utterly confused.


Yomi gave a disgusted chuckle. “Our problem has a name, Kayu to be exact and you’ll get to know her personally when her general brings her army down on out heads.”


*******************************************


Aki almost fell as she was roughly pushed into her tiny room by Kurama. She turned to face him and immediately took a step back as she watched his emerald eyes flash gold. She knew she should run but she couldn’t stop the sudden thrill that raced through her body. ‘I’m not perverted; I have actually reached the point of sexual insanity,’ she though to herself while talking another step back as Kurama locked her door.


After a few moments of solid silence Kurama finally spoke up. “I expressed a great concern over the amount of knowledge you have on demons. The amount of knowledge you hold on demonology exceeds even my own and I remember specifically telling you not to let anyone here discover that you know more about demons than you do about humans,” he told her, his words slow and calculating.


“You can not expect me to sit back and allow others to stay ignorant over the simplest of things,” Aki told him in defense.


Kurama glared at her. “I most certainly can.” He walked toward her grabbing her and pulling her against him when she was within arms reach. “Your safety and getting you through this tournament is what is more important here. Your damn ego can be stroked later,” he told her forcefully.


Aki glared at him in pure outrage, shocking Kurama at the intensity of her eyes. “This has noting to do with my ego; I don’t have an ego and for you to say I do is an insult. Now, let me go,” she told him, pulling back to try and get away from him.


Kurama had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at his hummingbird. He had never seen her act forceful or angry and it was amusing. As she struggled to get away he pulled her body even closer to his. “You are throwing a tantrum over a simple comment. I think you are forgetting who is in charge here, hummingbird.”


Aki stilled when she heard her pet name and instinctively lowered her head. When he lifted her face to his, instead of seeing the anger she was expecting, she saw his amusement. If she hadn’t felt his hand holding her roughly to him, she would have bolted because she knew that the youko was either going to kiss her or kill her. She was betting on the later.


Kurama leaned down and brushed her forehead against his own. “I did not mean to hit a nerve, but, hummingbird, you have to edit what you say here. It will get you killed,” he whispered against her face, brushing his lips against her own slightly. He grinned when she gave a shaky breath.


Aki leaned into him, her mouth open slightly as she nodded her agreement. He then kissed her, his tongue thrusting between her parted lips and his hands reaching down to lift her up against him. She wrapped her legs around his hips, bringing their bodies even closer together but still not close enough. Her hands buried themselves into his long, soft red hair as she mimicked his tongue with her own.


Kurama pulled up her skirt while walking backwards to the bed; his mouth leaving Aki’s to latch onto her neck. When his hands where finally under her skirt, the fox reached inside her panties and slipped two fingers deep inside her. He smirked against her neck and the rather large mark he was leaving there. “You have been waiting for this since the moment I locked the door, haven’t you,” he asked as his long fingers pushed even further inside her while his other hand held her close to him. “You are too wet to have just gotten turned on.”


Aki held on to her master, one of her hands gripping the back of his neck and the other digging into his upper bicep. Her body trembled around his fingers when his thumb brushed her clit. “Why do you torture me?” she asked in a barely heard whisper as they fell to the bed, Kurama sitting on the edge of the bed, Aki sitting on his lap and his talented fingers still buried in her body and his arousal pushing against her backside.


Kurama let out a strained groan at her question. “You consider me getting you ready torture?” he replied back, the hand on her back pulling at her shirt.


Aki lifted her arms for the mere second it took to remove her shirt and wrapped her arms around him again. “I don’t need you to get me ready,” she mumbled softly, pausing to rub her cheek against his and to take his ear between her lips. “You only have to look at me and I’m ready for you, my master,” she whispered huskily into his ear as she moved from his ear to the parts of his neck that she could reach.


Kurama pulled away from her and laughed. “You really do know how to flatter a youko don’t you, hummingbird.” He removed his hand from his body and ripped the garment down on to her upper thighs. He gripped her chin and kissed her gently on the lips. “If you want me so bad hummingbird, then why am I not ready to take you yet.”


Aki stared at her master with lust-laden eyes as she let go of his neck and shifted her body as much as she could due to the restriction of her panties on her upper thighs. She quickly untied the belt around his waist and grabbed her master’s tunic, pushing it out the way and allowing her easier access to his pants. When she reached for the zipper, Aki hesitated slightly because her master had pushed her bra down to under her breast and was pulling at her nipple. She jerked his zipper down roughly, her mind hazy with desire. Aki groaned as she pulled out his cock and ran her hand along her master’s length, her hand going under it to fondle his balls.


Kurama groaned as the hand around his cock tightened slightly. “Enough,” he growled out, pulling her hands away from him and shifting her body. He lined his cock to her opening and dropped her down on him. The red head bit his lip as Aki’s walls gripped his cock in a tight sheath. He leaned her back, thrusting into her heat while taking one of her nipples into his mouth.


Aki groaned as her master thrust in and out of her in a slow and hard pace. Each thrust got hard and at every thrust her walls trembled with the need to come. Her body was on fire; her mind on the very brink of madness and she saw no end to the pleasure. She tried to tell him to hurry, to stop, just to end the intense feelings that were coursing through her body, but the words just came out as a single heartfelt plea. “Please.”


Kurama lifted his head and came to a stop as he looked up and into Aki’s face. Her eyes were closed tight, her mouth open, and her half hair escaped from its knot. When he heard her other plea, “I need . . . please,” he jerked her body against him, bringing her mouth against his own, and rocked into her at a hard, fast pace. He could feel his end coming but as he continued to thrust into her, he also felt that it would never come. He just couldn’t reach the end, the ride there was just to sweet.


When Kurama finally pushed into Aki one last time and came, both of them groaned out loud with pleasure. He shuddered as his hummingbird’s walls contracted wildly in their own orgasm around his sensitive cock. Kurama wrapped his arms around Aki and laid back on the bed, not quite stifling his moan as she shifted to straddle his hips.


Aki nuzzled her head against her master’s chest and closed her eyes, falling into a peaceful, exhausted sleep.


Kurama gently rubbed her back in lazy patterns. The fox had never realized that the mind and body consuming pleasure that little virgins write about in their bedrooms as they pleasure themselves was actually real. Sex to the youko was nothing new. He had hundreds of lovers as Yoko and multiple partners as Shuichi, but it had never felt this good. If Aki would have been a demon, he would have sworn her body was made for his pleasure and his alone. Even after the fall Kurama still felt like he could fly.


He was drawn from his thoughts when Aki rubbed her cheek against him before settling back into a deep sleep. He grinned and closed his eyes as well. Maybe it was time for him to stop over analyzing everything and just enjoy what time they have together. Yes, that did indeed sound like a good plan to the fox as he also fell asleep.


*******************************************


Sai was careful as he opened the door to his room, making sure that his temporary guest wouldn’t run out. “Ha,” he yelled as he closed the door before it could escape. His joy turned to pain as it bit his ankle. “Ouch,” he yelled, bending down to pick it up.
Ku, as they had all named it since that was the only noise that ever came from the creature, was a tiny white cat-like creature with miniature set of wings on its back that just were not strong enough to carry her yet, though not from a lack of trying of course. She really was a cute and cuddly thing, if a bit annoying by her habits of running away.


Sai cuddled her to his chest after he locked the door, unable to stop the urge he had since the ice dragon really did have a soft heart. “I know you miss her,” he said as she ku’ed up at him with her large, dark blue eyes. “You will see her soon, I promise,” he claimed while climbing into bed and setting her on the pillow. He laughed as Ku moved to lay her head on his hair like a pillow. “Damn, this would kill my reputation.”


*******************************************


Kayu inspected the room she was given, nodding her head in approval and waving her hand as a dismissal to the guide that had escorted her here. “It will do.” She quickly made her way to the window, opening the curtains and looking out into the night. At first she had thought that this tournament would be worth the trip, but at the moment the lady could not help but feel that she was mistaken.
Her niece had yet to show up though the fools who doted on her where already here. Kayu could not help but worry that the girl wouldn’t come and that would screw up everything since she was the only one who ever screw up her well thought out plans.


Kayu jerked the curtain closed and went to the mirror in her room. She shoved her shirt off her right shoulder and looked at the seal. “It’s receded even more today,” she muttered, looking at the mark that had been leaving her body bit by bit for twenty-two years. She growled as she turned away and covered the seal. “That damn bastard. She will not take away my power,” she muttered into the empty room. “I wont allow it.”


*******************************************


Lai walked down the hall, smiling as Rai bitched about Sai screwing around with him in the same room. “Rai,” he interrupted, “you can’t blame him for having needs. Besides, neither of your species can be considered prudish.” Lai grinned, “Did he ask you to join them?”


Rai blushed and turned away from him. “You are all fucking perverts. It is a wonder you weren’t all castrated at birth.”


Lai laughed louder and grinned. “Well, I am thrilled to say that that is not the case.”


******************************************


Kurama quietly closed Aki’s door as he snuck into the hallway. After making sure that it was locked, he turned around to see Hiei leaning against the wall across from him. “Spying, Hiei?” he asked, trying to stay calm and collected.


“There is no reason to spy, Kurama; you are completely obvious,” Hiei replied, pushing his body off of the wall and advancing the fox. “Have you lost what little sense you had?” he demanded.


Kurama remained calm, his eyes narrowing. “This is not your concern, Hiei. Stay out of it.”


Hiei looked incredulous. “You’ve lost your fucking mind. You are fucking the one female that if it is found out you will have no choice but to mate her. And that isn’t even the worst of it,” the fire demon stated, “it has made you blind to the fact that there is something wrong where she is concerned.”


Kurama rubbed his forehead. “Hiei, you are being dramatic.”


“Am I the only one that can see that that she just might be too innocent, too sweet, and knows too damn much? It doesn’t add up Kurama. She disappears for weeks at a time and I can’t even find her. What do you all see when you look at her?”


Kurama sighed. “I will not deny that there are some things that are rather odd about the girl but no one has found anything yet so what am I supposed to do?” he asked.


Hiei gave him a look of disgust. “Stop thinking with the head in your pants and think with the one between your shoulders. I know that you are well known by both but at the moment we need the intelligent Kurama, not the horny one.”


*******************************************


He picked up his drink as another demon passed out, taking a table with him. “Fucking light-weights. It would seem that Yama’s standards are not as high as they were the last go around wouldn’t?” he asked one of his younger companions.


Yomi gave a small chuckle in agreement. “I see that alcohol still has very little affect on you, Kakishi,” he replied while taking a small sip of his own drink.


Kakishi snorted. “Yea, most of it doesn’t even give me a buzz anymore but that is not why you asked me here, is it Yomi?” he asked gesturing to one of the makeshift bars that Yama had erected for the tournament. Yomi’s meeting place definitely left much to be desired.


Yomi listened and focused on his first companion intently, his image coming to his mind. Kakishi was one of the oldest living blood-dragon nobles from their highest family but he was nothing like the others. He had the same midnight black hair, though he had cut his so that it was now past his shoulders, the same black eyes, and the same pale skin as the others but he was a rare exception to the clan, a polar opposite. Kakishi openly rejected their society and social norms and left as soon as his brother took over from his father. He traveled throughout the entire demon world and this was how Yomi had met him. Kakishi was the one who found him after Kurama’s betrayal. Since then the older demon had become one of Yomi’s closest confidants and Kakishi had remained so even after going back to his birthplace a few years ago. Yes, Yomi could trust him. “I need you to tell me what Kayu’s complete plans are. Without them, we don’t stand a chance,” he told him, noticing that his friend did not show surprise for even a single second as he downed the rest of his glass.


Kakishi sighed. “I knew that you were going to ask me that. You know what will happen if I tell you all of this don’t you,” he said, knowing that Yomi knew the answer.


“When Kayu makes her first attack, you will be granted sanctuary in Gandura. Unless it falls, no one will be able to touch you.”


Kakishi smiled and shook his head. “I am not some little snitch that needs your protection, Yomi. I am not worried about myself. I am still able to handle Kayu and she would never dream of coming up against me,” he replied.


Yomi leaned back in his seat. “So you will help me?” he asked.


“My loyalties are not to my niece, I will openly admit to that but they do belong to another and until I hear from them, I cannot give you any more information Yomi,” he said gesturing to Kai, who was their third companion.


Yomi felt his aggravation at the whole damnable situation turn to anger. “This damn heir again. Does he even fucking exist or are you making him up? Why is there so much secrecy around this demon?” he demanded in a fit of rage.


Kakishi just sighed and looked slightly uncomfortable. “I understand that it is a difficult situation to understand but you have to try Yomi. This kid don’t got anybody else and I am not going to help you out without talking to her no matter how much I want to.”


Before Yomi could reply, Kai cleared his throat getting both demons’ attention. “If it is any consolation,” he started, breaking his long silence, “I do think he will want this war.”


Yomi studied the calmness in his body and tone. “Why wouldn’t he? I know that I would be jumping to get such an opportunity rule.”


Kai smirked. “Kayu’s heir happens to be a very gentle soul. What he wants most is to be free from any obligations and to live in peace. He doesn’t want Kayu’s throne but he will take it to piss her off.”


Yomi sighed and stood up to leave. The other two mimicked him. “I have a strange feeling,” he started, turning to the other two, “that I am about to be fucked up the ass with no lube.”


Kakishi laughed at the dry tone in Yomi’s voice and that wicked glint he was famous for returning back to his eyes as he addressed Yomi. “You know my friend, I also have a strange feeling. I think that every thing will work itself out before it is all said and done,” and he laughed as he walked away.


*********************************************


Aki walked into her designated ring with her standard friendly grin on her face. When she had walked into the arena area, she had been shocked by the change. The main ring had been divided into a maze of thirty-two individual rings therefore allowing for the pulmonary fights to be over by that night by allowing multiple groups to fight at once. Each ring had its own judge. She had been even more shocked by seeing huge groups of creatures and people fill the high stands above them but one of the announcers explained that Yama could not wait for the fights to start and decided that the pulmonary battles would open for all guest to see. So this is how we come to see Aki walking into ring thirteen, round three.
She bowed slightly to the thirty-one fighters standing in front of her. “Hello, how are you all today,” she asked softly, a pint tint covering her face when she heard Shizuru screaming of the roaring crowd “Kick some ass, kid”.


Aki looked her opponents over, each and every one of them itching for the judge/announcer to commence the fight. She almost fainted. She was the only human in this group, and by the look in their eyes, she was in trouble.


When the announcer began the fight, many of the demons started laughing. “Well, well. Look what we have here. A little human girl with no protector to save her.”


“You came to the wrong place, brat.”


“There aren’t any rules against eating your opponents are there?”


“Only if you are the first one there.”


“To the victor go the spoils.”


“Oh goodie, a race.”


Aki put her hands up in the air. “Maybe there is a better way to do this,” she started taking a few cautious steps back as they started advancing towards her. “Rock, paper, scissors or tea and cookies, maybe. Violence isn’t the key to everything,” she said, her voice shaky as they continued. When they lunged for her from five feet, all the breath left her body and she tried to turn and run. Her feet twisted together and Aki fell hard on her side, her hair falling from it tight confines and covering her face. When she looked up through her hair, she saw that the demons were seconds from being on her and Aki curled up into a fetal position and covered her head. With her eyes closed tightly, turning her face into the ground and waited.


*******************************************


Kurama sat beside his designated ring, trying to keep his inpatients from showing. He wanted to get his fight done with so he could go and check on Aki. His set didn’t fight until eight others finished. Just as he was about to sigh for the hundredth time in the past half hour, the announcer’s feminine squeal on the intercom grabbed his attention.


“Oh my, tell me someone else saw that. There is so much action going on down there that I almost missed one of the most amazing matches I have ever seen. No punches were thrown and all the fighters were knocked unconscious. I have no clue what happened and you have to see it to believe it. Please show group thirteen, round 3’s fight on the big screen.”


Kurama felt all the air leave his lungs. Aki’s fight. He turned his head and looked at the extremely large screen Yama had installed (he spared no expense) and watched as Aki tried to talk her way out of being pummeled by thirty-one demons. He watched as Aki fell and landed on her side hard. His face whitened as he watched her curl up into herself. Just as he waited for the mere second it would take for the one of them to reach her and kill her, Kurama watched in shock as all of them fell around Aki, completely unconscious. The entire stadium watched in silence as Aki picked herself up and pulled her hair back from her face while brushing off her skirt. He had to resist the urge to go and shake her till her teeth rattled when she turned to the announcer, who was just standing there speechless, and say, “Well what a stroke of luck,” as she scratched the back of her head. The announcer was pulled from her shock and announced Aki the winner.


“Absolutely unbelievable. I still have no clue how she did it, but the little human girl seems to be one tough competitor. The rest of you might want to look out.”


*********************************************


“That was a strange battle,” Kayu claimed from her private box, leaning up to rest her elbows on her crossed legs. “If I didn’t know any better then I would swear that she was . . .”


*********************************************


As demon with violet eyes watched the screen, he started to grin. By the end of the battle, he was laughing insanely.


********************************************


As Hiei watched the fight, he felt his anger towards the little human grow. When he saw her win practically unscathed, he saw red.


*********************************************


Mukuro turned to Yomi. “Is that possible?”


Yomi listened to the screen, watching as the images of what happened formed in his mind. “I don’t know.”


*********************************************


Red eyes rolled back, as he watched the “phenomenon” on the screen. “Idiot.”


**********************************************


Yusuke’s mouth dropped open as the detective watched Aki smile at the announcer. “What the hell did Kurama teach her while I was training with Hiei?”


**********************************************


Keiko turned to Shizuru. “I thought that my mind had made it up the first time. I’m still not to sure I’ve got it right this time.”


The older woman stubbed her cigarette out on the armrest next to her. “Hell, I’m still trying to figure out what happened.”


Tai shock her head. “I don’t know anything,” she told them while Kaname nodded his head in agreement.


Botan turned away from the screen to look at the girls. “Maybe Aki has more powers than we originally thought,” she suggested.


Yukina just shrugged her shoulders and Genkai shook her head. “Maybe it is just best if we don’t know what happened.”


They all looked at each other. “Agreed.”


**********************************************


Kuwabarra laughed, as confused as everyone else but he is the optimistic one. “I don’t have a clue what happened but that’s it girl.”


***********************************************


Yama just smirked at Koenma. “See, sometimes I know what I am doing.”


Koenma just glared.


**********************************************


Aki lowered her head, hoping that when she made it back to her seat she would be left alone. All the other fighters, humans and demons alike, in her set looked at her as if she had grown another head. Just what she needed, more attention.


************************************************


Kuwabarra grinned as the set before his finished their eight rounds. It was now his turn for some action. He paid close attention to the rounds before his, knowing that the winners from each were going to be fighting late that night. He grinned when it was finally his turn.


His carefree grin slid from his face. Kuwabarra knew that he had to take each of these fights seriously. He had no choice; it was do or die.


The spiritually aware human walked to the center of the ring and waited for the signal to start. When it was given, he immediately brought forth his energy, knowing that he would be the first target of the motley crew. When all of his opponents had gotten within a ten feet radius of him, Kuwabarra acted bringing out his sword. His body moved with grace and skill that he was not known for as he cut down each of his opponents. Within mere minutes of fighting, Kuwabarra had finished his round as the winner.


“Piece if cake,” he yelled, his carefree grin back in place.


**********************************************


After four hours of endless waiting, it was finally Hiei’s set turn to fight. He knew if it were at all possible that half of them would forfeit the fight. In the mood he was in, Hiei was kind of happy that they couldn’t run. He did not pull out his katana, instead opting to use his fist. While normally he did try to avoid physical contact, after waiting for so long, the fire demon knew he could use the exercise. He made quick work of his opponents, going for the kill with each and every blow.


When he was finished, he looked down on the group. “Worthless. This is looking to be a complete and total waste of my time,” he said after being announced the winner. He walked away from the group and went back to his corner to wait some more.


**********************************************


Yusuke grinned as he walked up to the ring. His grin grew even more as he listened to the announcer.


“Wonder boy, Urameshi Yusuke walks on to the ring for his fight. The sprit detective/Makai lord did not have to take part in this tournament but he chose to anyway. Is he a good sport?”
Yusuke continued to grin as demons from the stands yelled in hatred and protest of his existence. “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel,” he muttered.


When his fight started, Yusuke stuck with classic Yusuke, breaking people’s faces with his fist and even a few ribs here and there. After it was all said and done, Yusuke hadn’t even broken a sweat. “Damn, I didn’t even get a good workout,” he whined. His announcer forced a smile as she avoided a puddle of blood.


**********************************************


Kurama’s narrowed as he watched each of his thirty-one opponents. He calmly assessed each of them as he extracted his rose from hair. This battle would be child-play for the sprit fox. He deftly avoided one attack, then another before bringing forth his rose whip. From that point, it was simply just a matter of who got closest to him. There was nothing amazing or spectacular about his movements, but they were beautiful. When the last of his opponents fell, he walked away to await his final pulmonary battle.


**********************************************


Keiko stood up and stretched while stifling her yawn behind her hand. The last of the first pulmonary battles had just ended and she was exhausted. She looked down at her watch and groaned. They had been there for over seven hours and it wasn’t even twelve in the afternoon yet. She couldn’t wait for the one-on-one battles to start.


“Hey, Keiko,” Shizuru yelled, getting the girls attention, “yah wanna go and grab something to eat?”


Keiko smiled. “Of course,” and she walked over to them. “I’m famished.”


**********************************************


Kuwabarra wolfed down his sandwich when Kurama walked over to him. He grinned as the fox dropped down beside him and started eating his own lunch. “So, all four of us have made through the first fight,” he told him, opening a bag of chips.


Kuwabarra heard a snorted ‘hn’ and turned around to see Hiei standing behind him with Yusuke in tow. “I thought that this tournament was for the elite. That first fight wasn’t worth the effort.” He sat down across from Kurama and Yusuke followed in suit.


“I’m surprised you won, Kuwabarra,” the brown haired detective teased.


Kuwabarra jaw clenched and as he was about to yell at Yusuke for being an asshole, he was stopped when a group of demons walked up to the table. The blonde haired one grinned and asked, “Do you mind if we sit here?”


Before any of the others could answer, Kuwabarra shook his head. “Go right ahead. There is plenty of room.”


The blonde’s smirk turned into a heart-stopping smile. “Thanks,” he replied, taking the other seat right next to Kuwabarra as the rest of his group sat down.


“So,” one of them asked after several moments of complete silence, “you are the famous sprit detective team. For some odd reason I thought that you’d be more impressive.”


Kurama observed the three men who joined them. “Never go by first impressions; they almost always tend to be very wrong.”


The demons calculating black eyes suddenly changed as he smiled. “Touché,” he said while tossing his long ponytail behind his shoulders.


The blonde one turned and looked at Kuwabarra, his smirk back on his face. “I disagree, cousin. From where I am looking, they seem incredibly impressive.”


There was a snort at the end of the table from their third companion. Hiei gripped the table as he watched the other demon shamelessly flirt with his Kuwabarra. He cleared his throat. “Who the fuck are you?” he asked harshly, glaring at the blonde.


“How very rude of us,” the black-eyed one said, “We forgot to introduce ourselves. The one with the scowl on his face is Rai,” he said, pointing out the red and black hair. “The pervert is Sai and I am Lai.”


Yusuke grinned. “I get the feeling that you already know us, right.”


“Better than you’ll ever know,” Rai replied before going back to his food.


“So you guys are fighting in the tournament?” he asked dumbly, trying to steer the conversation to safe topics.


“Yep, same as you. Yama really is a pain in the ass about this fighting shit,” Sai said, popping a chip into his mouth.


“Did you win your first fights or are you staying to see who takes the whole thing,” Yusuke asked, his mouth full of food.


Lai shrugged. “It will take more than a few lower class demons to defeat us, my friend. We might not have your fame, but reputation exceeds your own.”


Kurama smirked. “That is a very bold claim to make, Lai. Shouldn’t you make it to the actual tournament before you make such a claim?” he asked innocently.


Before Lai could reply, Sai spoke up. “Shut the hell up, Lai. Some of us are trying to eat,” and to Kuwabarra he said “Supremely intelligent men are often the biggest egotistical bastards of the bunch.”


Kuwabarra grinned and looked at Kurama. “You just might be right.”


********************************************


Aki groaned as she slowly woke up. After her battle, since her set was one of the first to use the ring, she excused herself to go and get some more rest. She had woken up when the announcement was made that all competitors had an hour to rest before the next pulmonary round began. She still had thirty minutes before she had to be at the ring. The blonde girl yawned and stretched her body, forcing her eyes open. This tournament was really becoming annoying.


********************************************


“Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the final pulmonary fights to begin,” was announced throughout the stadium as Aki came running to her designated ring. “Sorry I’m late,” she mumbled as she tried to straighten her sleep-disheveled hair with her fingers. She had fallen back asleep and had to run the whole way there.


The announcer/judge smiled at her. “Don’t worry, you made it in time.”


Aki sighed and walked to the fighting section of the ring with shaky legs. She saw that all of her opponents were there and waiting. She jumped when she heard someone’s nose breaking in the ring next to hers. When the signal was given for her fight to start, she took a defensive stance and waited for the first attack.


********************************************


“Here is where the real pulmonary battles begin,” Yama told Koenma while watching the carnage down below him.


“The real battles?” Koenma asked.


“Yes, the first fights were really just a joke to get rid of the weak who claim to be strong. No, from this point forward, the fighting will be a true test of each warriors skill in battle.”


Koenma really couldn’t disagree with his father’s reasoning and shrugged in agreement while turning back to the fights.


********************************************


Aki quickly dodged a fist to the face by dunking down. She did a quick leg sweep and brought her enemy to the ground. While he was down, she lifted her leg high and brought it down for a sharp kick to the guts.


‘One down,’ she thought to herself while turning to see the other fighters engaged in a free-for-all. Aki couldn’t stop the grimace that crept up her face and decided to stay where she was. ‘I’ll just wait for the last one standing from that mess. If I get in the middle of that, I am not so sure I’ll come out on top.’


She waited and watched until only one was left standing. “Well, are you just going to stand there and watch?” the demon asked, panting hard. When Aki did not move, the demon became impatient. “If you aren’t going to come to me, then I’ll just have to come to you,” he said, moving so fast that Aki had a hard time seeing him.


She barely dodged his high kick and had no choice but to block the sudden fist coming towards her gut with her left forearm. Both of them heard the loud cracking of her bone. When he smirked down at her with victory dancing in his eyes, Aki jumped up, ignoring her pain, and brought her head up and under his jaw hard. He had no choice but to stagger backwards, the blow knocking his balance off, therefore giving Aki enough time to move back a little and regroup.


‘I don’t think my human body could have taken a blow like that to the gut,’ she thought, wincing as her arm started to throb. She studied her opponent closely, knowing that he was about to attack her again. The effect from her blow didn’t last as long as she had been hoping for. This time when he advanced towards her, he came at her form behind. Aki was prepared for this maneuver. When she sensed him behind her, she fell forward, landing on her left side and bad arm with a wince. She brought her right foot back and then, using all her strength and momentum that her fall gave her, kicked his kneecap, forcing him to the ground. If they had both heard her forearm break, then everyone in the ring heard the demons knee crush and his scream of agonizing pain.


Aki quickly regained her balance, getting on her knees. She knew that this battle wasn’t over until he was unable to fight so she had to finish it now. She did to quick palm thrusts, one to his chest, knocking the wind out of his body and another hard one to his forehead, forcing him to hit the concrete floor hard. She stood up and moved back cautiously, waiting for him to stand back up again and to fight. When he didn’t Aki let out a small sigh of relief.


Her relief in her win did not last long, however as the pain in her arm made itself known again. After she was declared the winner and made an official competitor in the main tournament, Aki decided to go and watch the others matches. That night she would have Yukina heal her arm. She would be in real trouble if she had to fight any more fights like that.


********************************************


Kuwabarra wasted no time unleashing his sprit sword, knowing that against his opponents he would need it. He blocked the knives that were thrown at him easily and saw a demon advance towards him from behind. Before the demon coming at him form behind had any idea that Kuwabarra knew he was there, the warrior of love had already broken his energy in half, creating two swords with one of them buried in his gut.


Before Kuwabarra had a chance to breath another set of knives came at him and he barely had a chance to dodge the attack. ‘This dude is starting to get on my damn nerves,’ he thought while watching the man in front of him. Unlike many of the participants here, this one was definitely human. When he tried to rush Kuwabarra, the younger man could definitely tell he was fast. As his knife blade struck Kuwabarra’s sword, he saw an aura of sprit energy around the blade, making both it and the person wielding it stronger.


Kuwabarra pushed hard, throwing the man off of him. He watched him for any sign of weakness in his stance. His eyes narrowed as he noticed that the same energy that was surrounding the blade was also surrounding the man’s body. When he attacked again, Kuwabarra realized that getting through that shield of sprit energy was going to hard. So on their battle went, sword clashing against knife, neither giving an inch and each looking for a weakness in the others defense.


As Kuwabarra used his sheer brute force to throw the other man off him in one of their many clashes, he noticed something strange as the man flipped in the air to regain his balance. At the center point in the man’s back, his energy seemed shallow. Kuwabarra smirked. He had finally found the man’s weakness. Now it was just the matter of exploiting said weakness. After a few more moments of harsh, unrelenting fighting, Kuwabarra had his opportunity. The man was using the right side of his body to try to catch Kuwabarra of guard and gain an edge. Kuwabarra once again forced the man off of him; the man’s body turning towards the left, leaving both his side and back vulnerable to the attack. Kuwabarra acted swiftly.
Thrusting his sword to the side, making sure to hit that one weak point, Kuwabarra was able to shatter the energy shield and make a direct blow.


The man fell to his knees, panting in pain as he fell to the ground. Kuwabarra looked around the ring quickly, seeing that all of his other opponents had finished each other off. When he announced the winner that cocky grin spread across his face. His grin spread even wider when he saw Aki walk over to him. “So, I see you have won you fight to?” he asked.


Aki smiled back. “Yep, piece of cake.”


“Double frosting?”


“Would it be anything else, Kuwabarra?”


********************************************


Hiei gave a small sigh in relief when he saw Kuwabarra win his match. He knew that the man would not want to see his own fight that would begin at any moment but the fire demon could not stop himself from making sure that Kuwabarra made it through his own battle okay. He was such a bloody fool to think that he could let the man go so easily. Just seeing that blonde fool with his Kuwabarra made Hiei want to rip his heart out and eat it. He sure as hell did make a mess of things this time.


Hiei was pulled out of his thoughts when the set before him finished their eight-man battle. He walked into the ring. When the fighting began, Hiei was right in the middle of it. A few of them must have thought that if they gained up on the fire demon, then they could defeat him. He almost laughed. The only thing it got them was a sword in the gut.


********************************************


Kuwabarra suddenly stopped as he heard his name yelled. When he turned around, he saw Rinku and Chu running to catch up with them. “So, we saw that you won your fight. I was kinda shocked,” the miniature demon stated laughing as Kuwabarra glared.


“Hey girlie, did you win your little fight too?” Chu asked Aki.


Aki stifled her groan at being caught trying to hide behind the larger Kuwabarra. Chu just grated on her nerves. “Aki, and yes I did.”


“Sweet,” Rinku said, blushing when Aki smiled softly at him. “So, um, what number are you again?”


“Number thirteen, of course,” she replied while shivering slightly
at a sudden cold chill. The smaller one really was cute. If only the drunkard hadn’t ruined him.


“Lucky me,” said a voice from behind Aki and Kuwabarra and Aki knew where that creeping feeling of dread was coming from. They turned around to see yet another strange face. He was a neko demon with bluish-green hair and bright yellow eyes. “I’m lucky number fourteen.”


Kuwabarra quickly shoved Aki behind him. “You’ll get your chance to fight her tomorrow, not until then.”


The demon laughed. “You are so naïve human. That girl doesn’t need anyone’s protection, but then you wouldn’t know that would you?” He boldly walked up to Kuwabarra and reached over his shoulder, lifting a huge lock of Aki’s hair away from her ear. “I know all your secrets.” When Kuwabarra made a grab for the demon’s hand, he let go and walked away. “Until tomorrow.”


“Damn girlie, what the hell was that?”


********************************************


Yusuke quickly moved out of the way of a sudden roundhouse kick as his fight started heating up. As his rival tried to land him with a fist to the face, the half-breed detective went for his opening. The demon hit the wall with an extreme amount of force.


Yusuke smirked and turned to his next opponent. “So, who do you think is going to be the next one to hit the wall?”


********************************************


“It seems that Raizen chose a fool for his heir, don’t you think?” Kayu asked her current companion. “His fighting style is completely rustic. And our race is considered barbaric,” she snorted, shifting in her seat.


Mekoto continued watching the fight from her seat. “I will grant you that he is indeed a barbarian, but he has so much potential.” She turned to Kayu. “With enough training from a skilled master, that boy and his friends would have enough power to destroy our clan.”


Kayu glared at her. “The elders gave me the same warning. That is why this war has to happen now before they get stronger.”


Mekoto shook her head. “It is a depressing thought, isn’t it, our clans future. It is still true that we are as strong as ever and that we are a force to be reckoned with, but our clan is not growing any stronger. The only way for us to grow is if your heir dies or takes your place.”


“I’ve taken care of that. I will be surprised and extremely upset if my niece is able to walk out of this tournament alive.”


Mekoto smiled. “The one who has the potential to unlock the unknown powers of our clan and become the strongest of us all, is the same one all of us want dead.” Her black eyes became unfocused as she stared past Kayu. “It is ironic how the death of one can effect the whole.”


********************************************


Kuwabarra grinned as Yusuke cracked his knuckles after winning his fight. When the dark-haired man joined the group, his grinned grew. “Always the tough guy, huh, Yusuke.” He looked down at all of Yusuke’s opposition on the ring’s floor. “Damn, they were pussys, weren’t they?”


“Hell, Kuwabarra, unlike you, this didn’t make me sweat at all. These fighters are kittens compared to me.”


“Shut the hell up Yusuke!” he yelled. “My fights were way easier for me than your were for you!”


Aki winced as her eardrums suffered the abuse from their yelling match. She always got stuck with the idiots of the group.


********************************************


Hiei stood away from Yusuke, Kuwabarra, and Aki, watching them closely. He was thankful that he was not standing next to them. Both fools really had far to much wind in their lungs.


His dark red eyes turned to Aki, who was standing beside them. Her presence, it would seem went unnoticed. Gone was that oh so innocent smile and permanent blush. In their place was instead a blank face, emotionless and unnerving all at the same time. Her eyes were down cast but even from his distance, Hiei could see that there was something lurking behind those irises. Something dark and dangerous, something that even Hiei was weary of.


All of that changed when Yusuke and Kuwabarra turned to her, apologizing profusely. Her face immediately soften, her eyes shining in innocence and child-like joy while a blush spread across her face. The change was so sudden that Hiei thought he had been seeing things before that happy façade was plastered back on. He was sure that the other two hadn’t noticed.


Hiei frowned. This wasn’t the first time such an occurrence happened concerning that girl and it was more than a mere coincidence. Hiei’s eyes narrowed. “I swear I’ll learn your secret before this tournament ends. Mark my words, Aki,” he muttered softly into the wind.


********************************************


Aki’s breath caught in her throat as she watched Kurama avoid each and every attack his opponents tossed his way. With his long red hair fluttering behind him with every movement and his lithe body twisting and turning, the youko in the human body was most certainly a sight to behold. This was what caused her immeasurable attraction to him; his unnerving calm and his undeniable beauty. If she didn’t know herself better, she would consider herself love struck. Aki almost laughed out at that thought. That was an emotion she would never feel, even for her beautiful master.


********************************************


Kurama recalled his rose into its seed form. “I truly hope that the next round provides more of a challenge,” he told Yusuke, a friendly, competitive grin spreading across his face.


Yusuke grinned back. “Yeah, me too but it does seem that these two had a bit more of a challenge,” he said throwing his arms around Aki and Kuwabarra’s shoulders.


“I have no idea what you are talking about, jackass,” Kuwabarra mumbled.


A blush tinted Aki’s cheeks. “I assure I wont make that mistake again.”


Kurama gave her a critical once over. He frowned when he saw her favor her left arm. “What happened?”


“I had no choice but to block and take a punch full on. It would have hit a vital point if it hadn’t his my arm,” she answered, her cheeks darkening.


Kurama nodded and held out his hand. “Let me see,” he ordered softly.


Aki slowly stepped up to him, and gently lifting the sleeve of her shirt. She hissed in pain when Kurama pressed into her arm. “I’m cold,” she mumbled softly when she shivered slightly, her head lowered.


Kurama tried to get a good enough look at her arm to make an assessment of the damage but the amount of light available that night was little to none. The bright florescent lights blaring down of them did not help either. It made her arm look deformed and distorted. “I don’t trust this light. I need to see it in a better light in order to make a correct evaluation. We will go to your room and Kuwabarra or Yusuke can bring Yukina down to heal it,” he told her while gently pulling her sleeve down.


Kuwabarra nodded. “Yeah, Yusuke and I will go and get her. We will also bring you something to eat.”


Aki shook her head. “There is no need for that. I can get my own food after my arm is healed.”


Yusuke grinned. “Naw, it’s no problem. You need to get as much rest as possible. You fight in tomorrow’s rounds and we don’t need you to get hurt again. Somebody else might need Yukina’s skills,” he said as they walked off.


She stared at their retreating back for a few moments before Kurama pulled at her good arm, dragging her with him towards the arena exit. She smiled softly when she heard him mutter, “Well come on, we need to get you out of this light.” Her feeling of dread had disappeared at last. The blonde haired girl couldn’t help but think that maybe everything would be okay after all.


********************************************


Yusuke opened his arms when Keiko ran into them when he and Kuwabarra walked into the girls’ room. After thoroughly kissing her hello, he looked into her face. Though she looked like the same sweet Keiko, there was something odd in her eyes. As she clung to him, the detective realized what it was. His live needed him. Chuckling he turned to Kuwabarra. “Hey man, do you care to take Yukina by yourself? I just realized I got something else to do.”


Kuwabarra snorted. “If you’d rather have sex than take Yukina to Aki just say so”


“I would rather have sex,” Yusuke said bluntly, wincing as Keiko stomped on his foot.


Kuwabarra rolled his eyes as he led Yukina to the door, the ice maiden hiding her smile behind her hand. “Fucking letch, I really don’t see what Keiko likes about him,” he mumbled as he closed the door.


Keiko pulled herself out of Yusuke’s arms and glared. “You really need to stop being such a pervert, Yusuke.”


Yusuke gave her a sexy/sweet smile. “You wouldn’t have me any other way, baby, and you know it.”


Keiko’s frown melted as Yusuke smiled that smile, her smile.
Yusuke only smiled that way for her and every time did, she gave him a little bit more of her heart. “True, but I am not an exhibitionist, love. I’d prefer you to only be a pervert when we are alone and there is a bed nearby.”


“Or a couch.”


Keiko sighed. “Yes, or a couch.”


Yusuke grinned, “What about the counter?”


Keiko’s temper finally exploded. “Damnit Yusuke-uh . . . mmmm,” she started but was interrupted when Yusuke kiss her. She groaned as he cupped her breast through her shirt.


Yusuke grinned as he led her to her room. “Now aren’t you glad that I got rid of Kuwabarra?”


Keiko grinned back, her eyes slightly glazed. “Yes, I really should make sure that you didn’t get any injuries during you fights,” she said softly, a husky undertone in her voice.


“Are you going to grab my balls and make me cough?”


Keiko laughed as she pulled off her shirt. “You are a wicked, wicked boy, Yusuke.”


********************************************


Tai sighed as Kaname kissed his way down her stomach. “Ah, love, don’t stop,” she muttered.


Kaname grinned as he lifted up from her body and she moaned in protest. “You are so easy to get on edge,” he muttered while moving up her body and taking her ear into his mouth.


Tai tilted her head and lifted her hips. “Please, please love me.”


Kaname pushed into her and bit back his own groan of pleasure. “I’ll always love you, Tai. You don’t have to ask.”


Tai wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him as close to her body as possible. ‘I only hope you will feel that way a few days from now,’ she thought before she was washed away in pleasure.


********************************************


Yukina smiled softly as she started healing Aki’s arm. “You seem to be a magnet for danger, Aki.”


“My body is a masochist,” she muttered softly, sighing as Yukina’s surprisingly warm energy softly mended her bone back to normal.


Yukina giggled softly. Kuwabarra just snorted while shoving a french-fry into his mouth. “I think that is an understatement. How did you hit the damn door knob?”


Aki just laughed. “What can I say, I’m a walking accident.”


Yukina smiled as she stood up and brushed off her hands. “Okay, all better.” She turned to Kuwabarra and yawned. “I think I am ready to go back. It has been a long day.”


Kuwabarra stood up from Aki’s bed and walked over to the door. “Yep and tomorrow is going to be even longer.” He turned to Aki and smiled. “Get some sleep, Aki,” he said while opening the door for Yukina.


As Yukina was leaving, she turned back to Aki. “Get plenty of rest and prop that arm up on a pillow tonight. You need to be careful with it since it is still tender,” she warned and then left with Kuwabarra.


Aki turned to Kurama who was sitting in the corner of the room, watching her closely. “Well, hummingbird, I suggest you eat your dinner because you wont be getting up from that bed after I get you there.”


********************************************


Kuwabarra looked up at the sky as he weaved his way through the hordes of humans, demons, and sprit creatures making their way to wherever. His eyes darkened as he looked up and saw a dark ruby red colored star. It was the same color as Hiei’s eyes. He shook his head, looked away from the sky, and continued on, trying to get the little fire demon out of his head. ‘Am I ever going to move on?’ he asked himself.


While he was so occupied with his own thoughts, the sprit warrior didn’t see the creature in front of him and ran right into him. Kuwabarra groaned as he landed hard on his ass. “Damn, that hurt,” he grumbled as he looked up to see who he had tried to run over.


“You really should watch where you are going, Kuwabarra,” Sai told him, giving him a hand.


Kuwabarra accepted sheepishly. “Sorry, dude. I was a little preoccupied,” he told the demon while a blush covered his cheeks while Sai looked him over, slowly. Kuwabarra couldn’t help but stare at the other as well. If nothing else, Sai was a beautiful creature. He was taller than Kuwabarra and his body was lithe but muscular. Kuwabarra really wanted to run his fingers through the icy blonde spikes of the other but then he did have a thing for spiky hair. His eyes were a pretty, playful light green. Yep, Kuwabarra was attracted to yet another demon.


Sai smiled. “No worries. Let me walk you to your room and give you a reason to get out of your head,” he offered, giving Kuwabarra a look of similar interest.


Kuwabarra hesitated slightly. ‘Do I really want to do this to myself again?’ he asked himself. After a moment he accepted. “Why the hell not,” he said, answering both of their questions.


********************************************


Yusuke had a sated smile on his face as he stroked Keiko’s neck softly. His smile turned to a smirk when he heard her own groan of satisfaction. When he felt a clasp around her neck, he turned around to face her and lifted the chain. “What is this?” he asked frowning.


Keiko grinned. “Jealous much?” she asked.


Yusuke glared and picked up the small crystal on the end of the chain. She rolled her eyes. “Aki gave it to me. It is a friendship necklace. She gave the others something similar to,” she told him.


Yusuke smiled at her and let the crystal fall back to rest on her neck. He laid his head back down and pulled Keiko close to him and tried to sleep. But sleep for the detective became a difficult task because there was something oddly familiar about that crystal.


********************************************


Aki groaned through her makeshift gag and tried to pull her hands free from their bonds. She tried to buck her hips but her master was having none of it as his grip on them tightened. She was going to go insane with pleasure. She needed to cum.


Kurama grinned from his spot between his hummingbird’s legs, his tongue flicking across her pleasure spot over and over again. When he started getting tired of his game, (he had been playing with her for over an hour), he moved away from her body completely. He crawled next to her and leaned down to her ear, making sure not to touch her. “Tell me hummingbird, did you bring that present I gave you a few weeks ago.” When she did not immediately respond, Kurama decided to help her along a bit more. “You know which one, don’t you hummingbird. It was the one I gave you that I said you could never leave home without it, even I am not with you.” He grinned wickedly when she nodded her head slightly.


“Good girl,” he murmured, taking her earlobe into his mouth and biting on it softly. He then stood up and went to her bags, rummaging through them till he found what he was looking for. A very handy portable jackrabbit that happened to be very versatile and would do nicely for what he had in mind. “Do you know how often I’ve fantasized about this, hummingbird?” he asked, walking back to her and removing the toy’s remote. “I’ve had you in this position before but this time it is going to be a little different. You are going to beg for me to fuck you in this bed and only when I see you in a state of such wanton desire will I ease into your body and give you what you seek,” Kurama said quietly, turning the toy on and running it along her quivering belly.


Aki trembled, whether it was from desire or fear of just how far she would be pushed, she did not know. But she did know that she was barely holding on to what little sanity she had and if she didn’t cum soon, she was afraid she would be lost. She couldn’t stop the fleeting thought that she might be to attracted to the youko as he pushed the toy into her and turned it on high.


********************************************


Shishi leaned back in his arena seat and closed his eyes, listening to the echoing silence. This was a time to savor, for the youko knew that after tomorrow, everything was going to change.


********************************************


“We’ve looked and looked but we still haven’t seen her. Are you sure that you remember what she looks like?” a hooded figure asked her companion as they made their way to their room.


“Love, I think I remember pretty damn well. There was probably to many people here today. Tomorrow it will be easier to look and then we will find her. Now, lets get some rest,” the other told her reassuringly while opening the door.


She sighed and stepped into the room knowing that she would not sleep tonight.


********************************************


Hiei’s eyes opened as someone entered his one hundred foot radius. While the tree he was sleeping in wasn’t the most comfortable bed, it was much safer then that den Yama created for all of his competitors. There was no way in hell the half koormine was going to sleep in that box.


He activated the jagon to see who was disturbing him and his eyes narrowed when he saw Chu talking with Touya. He was about to turn away and go back to sleep when he heard a familiar topic of conversation, Aki. Using his third eye, Hiei listened to them.


“I am telling you Touya that there is something funny about that girlie,” Chu was yelling with slightly slurred speech.


Touya groaned. “Why are you telling me this? I know as much about Aki as you do. Maybe that demon was just trying to scare her into quitting. That is what I would do,” he said, always the reasonable one.


Chu groaned. “That’s what Rinku said but I’m telling you there was something in that demon’s eyes that told me differently. It was glint of pure menace, I’m telling yah.”


“Are you sure your alcohol wasn’t coming back up on you?”
Touya asked, trying to find a way to finish this conversation quickly.


“No,” Chu answered quickly but then hesitated slightly, “but it was a gut feeling.” When Touya just continued to stare at the taller demon, Chu elaborated. “Maybe it is just my head playing tricks on me, but there is something off about her energy. It is like something is missing.”


Touya frowned. “Yes, her energy was incredibly low. I did not pay attention to it, so I would not know if there were any infrequencies about it,” he replied slowly. “Tomorrow, I’ll run into Aki and see if I can feel anything.”


Chu let out a sigh of relief. “You know, things don’t normally bother me much but this was interfering with my drinking and I knew that I couldn’t go and ask Yusuke if girlie was normal or not, so you were my only option,” he rushed out, his cheerful grin plastered back on his face.


“Oh goodie for me,” Touya replied dryly as they walked away.


After their conversation ended, Hiei’s eyes narrowed as he replaced the ward over his jagon. “Well, little Aki, it seems your masquerade is about to come to a crashing end.”


********************************************


Aki winced as the bright sunlight blared down on the arena. So much for getting rest, she was exhausted. Her master had kept her up half the night with that bloody toy and even now she could feel it vibrating inside her. She looked over to where Kurama sat next to Yusuke and blushed as he smiled at her. ‘Well, he is in an extremely good mood today,’ she grumbled to herself as she turned back to ring.


Her fight was next and Aki couldn’t help but feel a little worried about the outcome. That feeling of foreboding that had left her last night had returned full force and then some. Unless she was very careful this could end up very badly.


When the sixth fight of the first round ended, Aki couldn’t stop her body from tensing as she waited for her name to be called. It had felt like an eternity to her but was really only minutes when the main announcer called her to the stage.


“And here are the competitors for the seventh fight, Tokashi Aki, the luckiest fighter in the arena, and Sui Lee, the amazing neko demon who mesmerized us in his first fights. Folks, this should be one hell of a fight.”


Aki took a calming breath as she took the steps up the ring slowly. Her opponent was already waiting for her and she could sense his impertinence. When she made it within ten feet of Lee, their ref called for the fight to begin.


Aki immediately took a defensive stance, her body at an angle and her left arm in front so that she could block him easily. Her right hand rested on her thigh, prepared to grab her weapon at any moment. When Lee didn’t attack, she grew nervous. ‘What is he waiting for?’


“You know,” he started, circling her slowly, “when I first heard of you, I thought that you would be a genius of a fighter. It would seem that I was right.”


Aki’s eyes narrowed as she watched him from the corner of her eyes. She would not move an inch. “What do you mean?”


He grinned. “I had thought that you wouldn’t be along as far as you are as a fighter. That little trick you played in the first round was amazing. To control exactly where such microscopic shards of metal go is truly an amazing feat and to his those vital points dead on is amazing.”


Aki’s head snapped toward him at his declaration. “Don’t look so surprised. My eyes are far better than anyone else’s,” he told her. “I also know that though you are very skilled, I am the better fighter. Killing you will be a simple task, m’lady.”


********************************************


Kurama looked at the ring completely confused. “What the fuck is going on?” he demanded, getting no answer.


********************************************


Sai looked at Lai, worry etched in his features. “This is bad.”


Lai just nodded his head in agreement.


********************************************


When Sui Lee lunged for her, Aki deftly moved while pulling out her knives. ‘I knew these would come in handy,’ she praised herself while throwing one at the neko, getting him to move to the right and into her range. “Got you,” she mumbled while throwing the other three at him. She was shocked when they landed into the concrete, missing their target completely. Aki couldn’t breath when she realized that he was right behind her.


Lee gently lifted her hair and stroked the shell of her ear with his incredibly sharp nails. Unless an opening was provided soon, there would be no way for Aki to get away with her head attached. He leaned up to he and whispered into her hair, “You missed.” When she felt his claw move from her neck, Aki brought her elbow into his side, giving her enough time to retreat.


When she got away, she turned and smirked at him. “So did you.”
Lee just started laughing. “Who said I was going for your head?”


Aki stood shell-shocked as she brought her hand up to her ear. Half her crystal earring had been broken. “Oh, fuck,” she muttered as her body began to tremble and convulse.


********************************************


“The is a strange occurrence, folks. It seems as though the ring is being filled by some strange black aura,” the announcers voice echoed across the stadium.


Keiko couldn’t see three feet in front of her; the black fog was so thick. “Oh, shit Akira, nothing is ever simple with you is it?” she heard Tai mutter from beside her. She turned to look at the woman and noticed her taking off her own light blue crystal. Keiko’s eyes widened as she watched Tai’s body take on a pale blue tint. Before she could say anything, Tai moved in front of the group. “I promise to explain later, just stay where you are,” she muttered while producing an icy blue bubble to form around them.


********************************************


Kurama looked at the ring trying to figure out what was going on. He could make out Hiei beside him and he could hear Yusuke and Kuwabarra talking about something a few feet away. Before he could contemplate anything else, the sprit fox heard this shrill, bloodcurdling cry of agony that forced him to his knees.


Suddenly the black fog began to dance with energy. The amount of energy bouncing around the ring was so great that Kurama’s mind could barely grasp it. “This is impossible. No one could produce so much energy,” he heard Hiei mutter beside him, the fire demon on the ground with his hands over his ears.


Then just as suddenly screeching came, it stopped and the fog began to evaporate.


********************************************


“What the fuck was that Kai?” Lai demanded as soon as he was able to stand up.


Kai took a deep breath. “Her energy. I told her to be careful not to let that crystal break. It forced her energy into her body in one quick go. I’m surprised it didn’t kill her.”


“Fucking hell,” Sai muttered, looking into the ring.


********************************************


Lee looked at the creature in front of him in shock. Around her feet laid the ashy blonde hair of the human girl. In its place were long, extremely long, golden locks. Her hands were covered with blood from the sudden growth of nails and he could smell scorched skin from her markings. He saw dark blue eyes instead of the pale blue ones and smirked. “So, you are Akira.”


Akira snorted and tossed her hair behind her. “Fucking moron. You know I am really not known for my grip on reality,” she said, cracking her knuckles and a smile that can only be described as insane spread across her face.


Kitty’s Korner


Anit-I hope you like this chappie, kitten. It was definetly and effort of love.


Lifesnofairytale-I am so happy you enjoy my story. I hope this chapter meets your expectations my pretty pink kitty.


Fenikkusu-Tell me any criticisms and I will do my best to fix them.


Blood_Illusions-I am glad you still like me, my blood-sucking kitten. I was wondering where you had disappeared.


SkyaraSnow-I am sorry about the grammar and spelling. In most cases, any tense switching I do is intentional but I am sorry about that as well.


Kris Atchison-Here you go. I hope you enjoy.


Moni-You have no idea how much you flatter me. That was one of the kindest reviews I have gotten though I should warn you, it will not stay sweet and spicy. I hope you will stick with me though.