I tried not to swallow the lump in my throat. They would recognize it as nervousness, and they needed confidence.

The question on their minds was the same as mine. Why wasn't Yuusuke moving?

"Six . . . Seven . . . Eight . . . Ni-"

The body stirred, and Yuusuke lifted himself unsteadily to his knees, "Wait a minute! I'm not supposed to lose! Not to a weak shit like you!"

I sighed slightly, and I wasn't the only one.

Over the past year, I had grown close to the strange hanyou. I counted him as a friend. How he had wormed his way into my trust was beyond me. Nevertheless, there he was. My mind went back to something that he had asked once.

'If you die, Kurama, would it be okay if I bring flowers to your grave? I know how you like flowers.'

Why would I think of that now? Yuusuke had seemed certain that I would die before he would, though I had a couple thousand years left in me, and he - as a hanyou - had five hundred, at best. Was I thinking of it because Yuusuke had been on the verge of losing? I always liked to think that the only reason Yuusuke would lose was because he died before he could finish the fight.

Kuwabara murmured, "He's still alive. He's just always full of surprises, isn't he?"

I would have told them all gladly what I thought of this, if I knew that I might lose some hard earned respect. My friend was alive!

"Now, I'm going to kick your ass, Suisei!" Yuusuke had always been loud. "Those little shocks aren't going to put me down for long! Haaagh-!"

Yuusuke ran, screaming, toward the raiden youkai, Suisei. When he reached him, he pulled back a fist, and burst it forward into Suisei's face, snapping the youkai's head back sharply. Suisei fell to the floor with a dull crack. However, Yuusuke wasn't done. Not with just that. Urameshi Yuusuke was known throughout the Makai for his ferocity during battle, after all. The crowds would not be displeased today.

Yuusuke aimed a finger at the shaking Suisei, and the end of it glowed blue. "Rei Gun!"

After the smoke cleared, we were presented with Suisei and Yuusuke punching and kicking at each other. The fight was far from over.

Behind me, Chiisai Hikage murmured, "If I wasn't so fast, I would worry about fighting against him myself. He's a lot tougher than he looks." I nodded absentmindedly. Yuusuke had been the one that caught me trying to sneak into Raizen's fortress to steal a painting. There had been a difference between that night and this fight. He hadn't been the ruthless young warrior that was quickly becoming a legend. He had been a curious boy that believed that I had some good in me. That night, he had convinced me not only to not steal the painting, but to stay as a guest in the fortress. Raizen hadn't been too happy when he had discovered what I had originally been trying to do, but he looked over that when he realized that I was no longer trying to do it.

Yuusuke aimed his finger at Suisei's head this time, "Rei Gun!"

"Ew!" Koto shrieked when the body rolled toward her. She shouted after a moment, "Team Urameshi wins!"

Yuusuke was laughing as he ran toward us, "That was hell of fun! But . . . I'm hell of tired."

With that said, Yuusuke sat against the wall, and looked as if he was readying to nap.

I looked toward the arena, and realized that Team Akagumi's fighter was already stepping up. The Kappa. With Yuusuke in 'the pits' - as Yuusuke would sometimes say - Kuwabara blinded, and Genkai now attending to Yuusuke, I would be the next best choice to go up against him. Chiisai Hikage was a hi youkai, he would be no match against a mizu youkai like that Kappa. Though I loathed to leave my friend's side, I stood to walk to the arena.

A hand on my shoulder, stopped me from going any further. "Kurama-san," Chiisai Hikage's surprisingly deep voice said, "I will fight. Stay here."

Kuwabara blurted out, "You'll be slaughtered, Chiisai Hikage-kun! Don't go out against that Kappa!"

Yuusuke grunted, "Let the little guy fight. If he wants to die so much, then let him."

Chiisai Hikage chuckled, "Remember, I am only half hi youkai."

That dark chuckle sent shudders down my spine. I suddenly feared for the Kappa. I only then realized that there was something seriously dangerous about the half hi youkai walking onto the arena.

Kurama stayed in the tunnel, and I proceeded to the arena. The roar from the crowd made me want to plug my ears. It was so great and deafening! No one had ever told me how my heart would leap into my throat, and throb when I fought in front of an audience. No one had told me that I would shake and tremble. On the inside at least. Outside, I looked the same as ever, calm and collected, but it was beginning to be an effort to keep it that way.

My eyes met with the monkey-like eyes of the Kappa, and he laughed, "Foolish, Chiisai Hikage. You are foolish to fight me. You are at a disadvantage!"

Koto spoke into the microphone, "Our second celebrity of the day is Chiisai Hikage from a tribe of Hi Youkai Ko Dai Jin! The Hosaki Tribe! Chiisai Hikage has recently been gaining fame from killing any youkai that threatens any kind of harm to his tribe! Rumor on the streets is that he'd only half Hi Youkai Ko Dai Jin! Maybe, he'll give us some eyecandy, and show us what else he is made of! Begin!"

The youkai on the bleachers began to laugh. Some shouted, "Stupid, hi youkai!"

"He's overconfident!"

"He's no match for a mizu youkai!"

"What does Chiisai Hikage think he's doing?!"

The Kappa cackled, "I can't believe it! You're stupider than I thought!"

"The temperature here is so strange," I said. "You see, Kappa-san, I'm used to severe temperatures."

The Kappa stopped laughing, "What the hell do you mean?!"

"Can't you tell, Kappa-san? I'm asking permission to change the temperature."

The Kappa laughed anew, "Sure! Go ahead! If you think that heating the place up will slow me down, and keep you alive a little longer . . . well, be my guest!"

"Thank you." With that I raised my hands to the sky, and commanded in a loud voice, "Hyou Setsu wo Futte!"

With that ice, hail, sleet, and snow - anything and everything that was cold - fell from the sky in a torrent. The air around us seemed to freeze. Behind me, I could feel Naien warming the tunnel to keep the others warm.

"You . . . you said 'severe temperatures!'"

"That's right, Kappa-san! The last three years of my life, has been spent in tropical forests, deserts, and volcanoes! However, the first ten years of my life I lived in the north, amongst ice and snow! I raced avalanches in my youth for fun, and was often buried in the snow for hours!"

The youkai in the bleachers were by now too cold to yell anything, but what I had said made them murmur amongst themselves. I could see hi and koori youkai trying not to look at each other. In anger, embarrassment, and surprise.

"You're from the north?! You're half koori youkai?! That's impossible! No hi or koori youkai in their right minds would ever mate!" The Kappa was beginning to shake in the cold, "You . . . you said you raced avalanches?! So you're from the . . . the mountains in the north! Even . . . this . . . this would be dangerously cold, even . . . for . . . for . . . you! You should . . . be . . . be . . . be afraid for your . . . own hide!"

"Ha!" I barked. "The mountains?!" The Kappa blanched, hearing the scorn in my voice and no chattering teeth. I leaned toward him, and whispered. There was no need for the crowd to know this information. "The higher you go up, the colder it gets, right? I was even higher than the mountains. The Floating Isle of the Koorime is to the mountain what the mountain is to the valley. This is a warm breeze."

"The Isle of-?!"

"Enough! Hyou Jin!" While I would rather had used my Koori Ken - since it has been so long since I had last used it - everyone would recognize it as a Koorime weapon. Only the Koorime had been able to create an ice sword that could freeze whatever it touched. My sword of ice appeared in my hands, and I cut at the frozen Kappa fifty times. The pieces of the nameless Kappa fell to the ground.

"I guess . . . I guess there's no . . . need . . . need to count," Koto shivered.

I willed the snowstorm to subside, though I wanted to revel in it. It just felt so nice. So much like home and . . .

Funny, my heart felt like something was beating beside it. I rubbed the place over my heart, and grimaced. It was so strange feeling.

Koto rubbed her arms as she spoke, "Well! Wasn't that fun?! Three points for Team Urameshi! Team Urameshi wins this round by default!"

I heard the youkai start shouting again, cheering at the bloodshed, and jeering at me. I looked up at my teammates. They - except Naien and Kuwabara - were looking up at me in shock. Genkai said dryly, "Well, that wasn't expected."

Yuusuke began to laugh, his previous tiredness forgotten, "Shit! That was great! You're half koori youkai? I didn't expect that one. I guess I should have though what with all of the weird shit that's always happening around me."

I shrugged, and looked toward the arena, "It looks like the rest of the team isn't happy with the results."

The two other larger teammates were heading toward us. One of them, the ugliest, shouted, "We're not done with you! We didn't have a chance to fight!"

"A damn shame!" Yuusuke shouted, laughing. "Hey, Chiisai Hikage, maybe you can freeze them to death or something."

"I'm not as good at dealing with koori youki as I used to be. I'm a bit rusty."

"'A bit rusty?' Freezing the inhabitants of this entire island is 'a bit rusty?!'" Yuusuke scratched the back of his head, and then he stopped, confused. "What would it have been like if you weren't 'a bit rusty?'"

I shrugged, "Everyone except for myself, would be dead. Frozen to death."

"Oh. Well then," Yuusuke directed his attention to the youkai that demanded our immediate attention. "So, you boys want a piece of us, huh?! Come and get it!"

The youkai charged at us, and Yuusuke fired his Rei Gun, merely blasted them away with his shear power. Kurama frowned, "What? No leftovers for me?"

"Oops. Sorry, pal. Wasn't thinking." Yuusuke laughed.

"What a surprise," Kurama said, sarcastically.

Kuwabara chuckled, and stood, "Don't worry, Kurama-kun, you'll get a chance to fight tomorrow when everyone has beaten the crap out of each other in their fights."

Kurama shrugged, "I would have preferred to not wait, but I think I'll live."

Did I still want to mate with her? Would she be alright with a temporary mating?

I almost slapped myself. I wanted to go home, and now I was thinking about mating with her? What a terrible tousan and mate I would make for Naien! As soon as Naien was pregnant, I would be on my way home! And I certainly couldn't take Naien with me to the Floating Isle. They wouldn't let her stay on the fact that she was a hi youkai. I doubted that I would be able to talk them into letting her stay.

I would have to go back, sooner or later. Back to the Floating Isle of the Koorime. Telling that Kappa of my home made me want to go back. There was an ache in my heart, an ache that only by going back home could it it be healed. The freezing cold temperatures of before had felt like home, however, once the temperature had gone back to normal my ache hurt more than before. I had to go back. After the tournament. After this I would go home, and my aching heart would stop its erratic beats of pain. I was suffering down here. I wanted to go home.

"Chiisai Hikage-kun?" A tall ningen walked into my room, Kuwabara.

"What are you doing?" I tilted my head to the side. "You should get some sleep. We're going to have a big day tomorrow. Kurama said that we are going to fight in two rounds."

They wished to wear us down. We won our first round only because they had underestimated us. Now they wanted to make sure that we would lose.

I could see him nod in the light from the small hallway, "Yeah, I know, but you just feel a bit . . . weird."

"Will it get in my way when I fight?" There was that strange beating in my chest again, and it began to ache slightly more. My yearning to go home was increasing.

He scratched his head, "Maybe. It doesn't feel bad, it kind of feels warm . . . Genkai-shihan? What are you doing up?" He looked out into the hallway and down.

Her voice reached me, "I think that I know what's going on, Chiisai Hikage." Genkai stepped into the room, "Unfortunately, I can't be sure unless the other person is present. It is obvious that she is not here." I felt Naien's youki in the hallway too, and she peeked into my room. The older woman turned to her, and sighed, "Naien-chan . . ."

"What is wrong with him, Genkai-baasan?" She whispered.

She snapped, "There is nothing wrong with Chiisai Hikage." She looked me up and down, glanced at Naien, and walked back to her room, saying, "I strongly suggest that you fight only one battle tomorrow if it is at all possible, and rest as often as you can."

Naien shot a worried look at me, and then followed Genkai.

Kuwabara mumbled, "That might be wise. I didn't listen to her advice once, Chiisai Hikage-kun, and I almost croaked."

"What happened?"

The tall ningen shuddered, "I don't want to talk about it."

I watched as Chiisai Hikage rubbed his chest. Chiisai Hikage grimaced.

I nudged his shoulder, softly, "You okay?"

He nodded, and abruptly took his hand from his chest, shoving it in his pocket like the other. Kurama glanced at him, and frowned just slightly. He must have been really worried to show so much emotion. Yesterday, Yuusuke had told me that Kurama had made the strangest face before Chiisai Hikage had gone to fight. According to him, it had looked as if someone had shoved a dagger in his back when he had expected a sword. I didn't know what he meant by that, but by the way that Kurama had been feeling, it meant that he had been severely afraid. Of Chiisai Hikage?

It seemed like a healthy thing to fear him. He radiated a strange sense of excitement, danger, lonliness, loss, and pain.

Yes, loss and pain, and he was oppressivly lonely. The way that he had said Shimo's name that first night, and when he had talked about going back. To where I still didn't know, but he wanted to go back desperately. He needed to go back. Like a hobo on crack needed another joint, but not so crude, and not for a ghastly reason to just satisfy oneself. His soul was split in two; one half here with his body, and the other half wherever this place happened to be. His yearning to go back was so great and immense that I kept expecting the others to feel something from him.

His soul needed to be complete once again, for if it wasn't, Chiisai Hikage would become a husk of a youkai.

I glanced up at Kuwabara. He was wrapped in thought like he always seemed to be. However, this time his mind wasn't on a far away thing. It appeared to be focused on the surprising half koori, half hi youkai. Chiisai Hikage . . .

I knew next to nothing about him. He wasn't very forthcoming about his past. Naien talked about him all the time, about his exploits and crap, but she only knew what had been going on in his life for three years. What had happened in the first years of his life? I usually found out about this kind of stuff a couple hours after meeting someone, but him . . . There he goes rubbing his chest again.

Genkai said that he might not be able to fight up to his full potential for the tournament. Or he might be able to blow all of the competition away. None of it made any sense.

Kurama was still a bit freaked out from Chiisai Hikage. He didn't look freaked out, but I knew that he was. I've been his friend for a year or so now, I should know when he's freaked out. It was kind of silly. Now that we know that Chiisai Hikage is half koori, half hi youkai, there shouldn't be anymore surprises, right?

The balls kept rolling back to him. Chiisai Hikage. Even his name was a mystery. Who would go around and call themselves a 'little shadow?' It seemed like a name for someone trying to hide. But from what? He was something of a celebrity in the Makai for his ruthlessness and coldness in battle. Everyone rightfully feared him. Like they feared Kurama. A C-class youkai was a dangerous thing. So, everyone knew him. So, he probably wasn't hiding from anyone, but . . .

What else was there?

Wonderful, now I was thinking about him.

Koto shouted into her microphone up on the platform, "Team Byakuren and Team Urameshi! Please, step out onto the arena! We will decide now whether you will go one-on-one or do a battle royale!"

"All right!" I cried out, running to the round arena. "I've been waiting for this for a while!"

When the others reached me on the arena, Kuwabara asked, "Why are you so excited about this round?"

"I heard," I whispered to him, "that their team leader is a babe."

He snapped, "I should have expected as much from you, Urameshi!"

"What? What's wrong with me wanting to-?"

Kuwabara cut me off, "What's wrong with it is this: number one, Keiko would have your head; number two, I would have your head for betraying her; and number three," he started to whisper, "I heard that she's got a tough boyfriend."

I glared at him, "You take all of the fun out of life, do you know that?"

Kuwabara rolled his eyes, "Let's talk about something a lot more important than whether I'm fun or not." He whispered lower, "Genkai, Kurama, and Chiisai Hikage are really worried. So am I. Do you really think that we'll be okay? Four rounds, Urameshi. That's a lot for one day. We can't afford any more losses; not here. You forget things, Urameshi. Like how you forgot that we are in the Ankoku Bujutsukai."

I, with as much dignity that I could muster, stuck my tongue out at him.

"Isn't that attractive," Chiisai Hikage muttered.

He sounded like he was in pain; he was rubbing his chest again. I grimaced, and he noticed my face, stuffing his hand quickly into his pocket. I sighed, "Listen, Chiisai Hikage, we'll make it an objective of ours to make sure that you don't have to fight unless you must."

He nodded, "Appreciated."

Koto cried, "Team Byakuren! Where are you?! If you don't get out here in five minutes, you'll be disqualified!" She began to mumble to herself when no one came.

I chuckled, but with no mirth. I had been half hoping that the short youkai would complain about being looked after, and refuse to sit out. The last thing that we needed now was for someone to be sitting out through the whole time. Nevertheless, Genkai did say that he needed to rest; he wouldn't be much help in a fight anyway.

He's doing it again! I thought to myself, frustrated. He's done that like a hundred times already!

Chiisai Hikage was, yet again, rubbing his chest. I bit my lip before I started to yell at him. If it helped to relieve the pain then, I guess, I was all for it.

Genkai still hadn't told us what was wrong with him. When I had asked this morning, she had gotten all defensive of him, and claimed that there wasn't anything wrong with him. She had made Naien stay in the hotel. She had protested, but Genkai had taken her into another room to talk. I think that Naien had been crying when Genkai had left the room

Was Chiisai Hikage dying? That seemed like the only reason for her to cry.

"Does it hurt that much?" I asked.

Chiisai Hikage realized what he was doing, and slowly and deliberately held his arm at his side. I saw Kuwabara's eyes narrow more than they already were. The short youkai stated, "It doesn't hurt at all, it feels like-"

"There they are, ladies and gentlemen! Team Byakuren! Boys, next time check your calendar date or something! So . . . Get up here, and decide your battle style!" She then blinked curiously at one member of Team Byakuren, a youkai tied and bound in ropes. One of his teammates shoved him to sit on the ground. "Well, if you need a fifth teammate, anything goes outside of this arena! Hey, anything goes inside of this arena too!"

The other four youkai's laughter was savage, and it took everything that I had not to shudder. What did they do to their teammate? And what was happening to mine?

"Okay, now that your immense fear of me has been ignored, I think that we should do some good old one-on-one," I snickered, forcing my worries to the back of my head.

The team leader, who was indeed one of the hottest pieces of ass that I had ever seen, giggled, "That seems fine to me."

"There it is, folks! One-on-one!" Koto shouted.

A youkai on the stands shouted back, "I don't care how they kill them, just obliterate them already!"

Koto laughed, "Alright, you heard them, teams! Choose your fighters!"

I waved the others off, "I'll get the first one. You guys, just go look pretty or something."

As my teammates left, shaking their heads, the team leader waved off her own teammates. Two of the youkai picked the bound youkai by his armpits, and dragged him off. He looked so desolate. She snorted, "Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Urameshi Yuusuke. You've gotten quite popular. My name is Aikyou: the name of your demise."

"Sounds cool." I said, Well, isn't she full of bullshit. Reminds me of me, but she's more bitchy.

When I began to laugh, she pouted, "What's gotten into you?"

No harm in telling her, right? "You are just all talk aren't you?! You have just as much bullshit in you as in me! The only difference between us is that you're a bitch!"

Aikyou smiled, but it looked more like a snarl, "I take it that you've never been kissed . . ."

"What? Why? That's none of your business!" Smooth, Yuusuke, smooth.

"What an honor it is," she began, "that I am the one to give you your first kiss."

My opponents are supposed to want to beat the living shit out of me, not make out with me, right? . . . Right, that's what I thought.

Koto, oblivious to our talk, shouted, "Begin the match!"

She took a stance, and powered up for an attack, "Denrai no Chuu! There's your kiss!"

From her joined fists sprouted a large ball of purple and green crackling energy that charged immediately at me. I dodged it easily, and shot at her, "You missed, you dumb bitch!"

Suddenly, a scream ripped from my throat as something hit my back. The only coherent thought directly after that was, Fuck!

After it had gone, I struggled to get to my knees as I realized that I had blacked out for a few seconds. Koto was counting, ". . . Four . . . Five . . ."

I finally lurched to my feet, and desperately hoped that whatever that was didn't return, "What the fuck just happened?!"

"My kiss, Yuusuke-chan," she giggled.

"But . . . you missed me . . ."

Her giggles turned into full-fledged laughter, "It can track your reiki, it will follow you wherever you go until it hits you and only you. It won't stop searching for you."

So, no running it into walls or anything. That's no good.

"Denrai no Chuu!"

The crackling ball was faster this time, and I, like a complete idoit, ran around the arena, trying to avoid it as long as possible to think up a plan. Aikyou laughed, watching me try to avade her next deadly kiss. And I, like the idiot that I was, tripped over my own two feet, and my face skidded against the concrete of the arena floor. I screeched in pain, not from the concrete, - I was used to that type of shit - but from the kiss that rammed into me.

My throat, cracking from my last two screams, muttered, "Crap, a couple more of those, and I'll be in the ER." Hell, I'm lucky to be alive. Who am I kidding? One more, and I'm dead . . . So, let's get moving before she starts up again . . . any time now, Yuusuke.

As I struggled to my feet, I heard Aikyou talking; she sounded disappointed, "Yuusuke-chan, I thought that you'd be more of a challange."

"Aw, shut up!" I finally stumbled to my feet, and barked, "Stupid bitch! You're all talk! I bet that's all you can do!"

Her eyebrow twitched just slightly, and then I knew. She had nothing else but her feminine wiles and kisses. So . . . what? A sneak attack? Really original, Yuusuke. Try to knock her out before she let loose another one? Wake up, stupid! She's starting up! With a shout, I ran to Aikyou.

"Denrai no Chuu!"

Ah! Don't run towards the light! Think! Think! Think! Jump! Using my run toward her as a leverage, I leapt into the air. The force of the power surrounding the kiss sent me realing in the air. My long hair was flying everywhere, into my eyes, wrapping around my arms, and some even went quite uncomfortable down my shirt. Miraculously, I landed on both feet, but I couldn't see because of my hair. As I tried to at least get it out of my eyes, the kiss evidently turned around, and hit me in the middle of my back . . .

I only passed out for a moment, right?

". . . Seven . . . Eight . . ."

I scrambled back to my feet, and stood there, the force of my will allowing my legs to stiffen enough to feign that I was not half dead. There was a pretty damn good reason why that was her only attack. She would conk her opponents out all in one hit. With that thing following my reiki . . .

Wait a minute . . .

No time to think! Just do it!

Aikyou giggled, "I guess there's no point in delaying your death, Yuusuke-chan. I hope that you enjoyed those kisses. Here comes your last kiss." She took her strange stance again, while I waited, and prepared myself for a possible death. "Denrai no Chuu!"

"Rei Gun!" If this works, I'm gonna get myself some proper kisses. I wonder who's single . . .

The ball of reiki missed the kiss completely by a couple feet, but it had served its purpose. As Aikyou stared in confusion at her kiss chasing after my ball of reiki, I slammed my fist into her face. She collapsed immediately to the floor, rolling several feet, and off of the arena.

When she didn't start to get up, Koto ran to the side to watch her, "One . . . Two . . . Three . . . Four . . . Five . . . Six . . . Seven . . ."

Ingenius. Even I had to admit that. However. . .

"Eight . . . Nine . . ."

Yuusuke, you're hurt. You said that you would try to make sure that Chiisai Hikage didn't have to fight. With you wounded so badly I don't think that we'll last very long.

"Ten! Yuusuke wins!"

Yuusuke began to laugh, "Hey, Kuwabara! Is your Oneesan single?!"

Kuwabara balked, "What the hell kind of question is that, Urameshi?!"

I sighed, but with a smile adorning my face, "Yuusuke, I want to fight next. I haven't gotten a chance yet, and you've been hogging the spotlight."

Yuusuke's laughter increased, "Sure, Kurama. You deserve to have a bit of fun."

My sensitive ears twitched slightly when I heard the team on the other side of the stadium. The tiny youkai stated to her mizu youkai teammate, "So, should we send him in now? Might as well see what he can do with that thing."

The mizu youkai laughed, "That'll be fun to see."

Then there was the ruffle of clothes. I could just barely see them over the arena. They were making the bound youkai stand on his feet, and the tiny youkai barked at him, "If you screw up, just remember . . ."

The youkai nodded, looking at the ground, and sighing. His 'teammates' grinned, and untied him, slapping his back so that he'd move faster toward the arena.

As Yuusuke left the arena, Koto shouted, "Team Urameshi, please, send up your next fighter!"

I frowned slightly as I jumped onto the arena; something was not right. They were treating him as if he was a slave. While that wasn't uncommon, they should have at least been respecting his power, and the youkai should have snapped something back. Anything. However, he was only staring at his feet like a defeated beast.

Koto announced when we stepped up, "This is our third celebrity from Team Urameshi! The Youko Thief, Kurama! He's not just an excellent thief, fighter, tactician, and gardener! This kitsune is known around the Makai for being a seducer of women!" She sighed, "Isn't he handsome, ladies?!" The female portion of the audience began to shriek. I chuckled. Apparently, I was still popular. After she sighed again, Koto cried, "Begin the fight!"

The youkai murmured, as he pulled something out of the pouch at his hip, "Sorry."

It was a yokobue. A plain silver yokobue. Nothing adorned it. Nothing that would put it apart from any other ningen yokobue. He put it to his lips, and began to play a song with a fast beat. Notes jumped, scattered, and rejoined in a harmony of chaos.

Before I knew it, I had collapsed to my knees, and I struggled to stand. However, it was as if my body was refusing to cooperate. No matter how I tried, I could not move. The now identified fuefuki youkai continued to play.

"Kurama, what the hell are you doing?!" I couldn't answer Yuusuke. For one, I wasn't entirely sure, and two, I couldn't even move my lips.

Genkai snapped at him, "Someone would have to be an idiot to not realize that his yokobue is doing something."

Beyond them, near Chiisai Hikage, Kuwabara murmured, "His yokobue isn't doing anything . . ."

I put my other sense to use, and felt along the fuefuki. Indeed, the yokobue was only a focusing point. He used it to concentrate on using his psychic abilities. So, taking the yokobue away should make his abilities useless. Now, all I needed to do was get to my feet. Yet, that was proving to be more of a problem than I had anticipated. The only control that I seemed to possess was over my thoughts and youki, but I wasn't able to do much with it but feel around. I tried harder as my youki searched along him to find out how he was controlling my body. My search met with waves.

I batted at one lightly, and it bounced away easily. My mind was stronger than his. His playing became more fast paced, as if he was working harder to bring me down, but the waves that he was sending at me didn't change at all.

So, the yokobue was a focusing point and a distraction. He made his opponents believe that the yokobue was doing it all. When the beat steadily got faster and faster, it would make the victim think that it was hopeless.

Intelligent.

I began to slap away the mind waves just as he tried to make my body lay down. He started to send them toward me faster, but they were easily pushed away, and I found myself able to move more freely; I could stand on my own now. The waves moved faster, but it was too late; I knew his secret, and nothing was stopping me from taking his focusing point.

Slowly making my way over to him - because it was becoming an effort to push away all of the waves - I staggered often; some of the waves weren't batted away.

Halfway across the arena, the waves that I didn't slap away had a strange desperation to them. Soon, I could hear disjointed thoughts as they entered my mind, and I knew that the sad messages were his.

My . . . counting on me . . . can't . . . can't . . . little girls . . . musuko . . . can't give . . . my family is . . . me . . . my mate . . .

If he lost . . .?

If he lost what would his so called teammates do to his family?

Standing in the middle of the arena, I only slapped away the waves half-heartedly, hoping to hear more. What I heard was startingly and chillingly clear, If I don't win this, they'll contact those ruffians. My musuko. My darling musuko, Suzuki, he'll get the switchblade. My girls will receive more attentions, and then will be left at some brothel. Sold for quick cash. My beautiful mate, Aiko, they'll break all of her bones so that I'd feel it, and then she'd get the same treatment as the girls. They will leave me to bleed. I must win. For them. I must beat Kurama. They have that walkie talkie to talk-

I stopped listening to try to contact Kuwabara, Kuwabara! They're threatening his family!

I know, Kuwabara sent, I felt it the moment he began playing. I had Chiisai Hikage go find out who has the walkie talkie.

I turned to look at the half hi youkai and half Koorime. Chiisai Hikage was staring intently at them. What is he doing?

He said that he was looking for a pattern, Kuwabara answered.

Suddenly, the image of Chiisai Hikage flickered for a moment, and then held in his hand was a walkie talkie. He had moved so quickly that I wasn't able to track his movement. I had heard that he was fast, but that fast?

He walked up the the side of the arena, "Hey! You can fight fair or not at all now!"

Yuusuke yelled at him, "What the fuck are you talking about, Chiisai Hikage?!"

The fuefuki youkai blinked a few times, trying to understand why he was saying this. Then he saw the walkie talkie. His whole face lit up in a smile, as he took the yokobue from his lips. He leapt off the arena.

As Koto began to count, - "One . . . Two . . . Three . . ." - one of the youkai shouted at him, "What are you doing?! Don't you remember what will happen to your family?!"

"Four . . . Five . . . Six . . . Seven . . . Eight . . . Nine . . . Ten! And Kurama wins!"

Chiisai Hikage headed toward the youkai that was now digging through his empty pocket, "Looking for this?" He held up the walkie talkie so that the youkai could see it. It erupted in flames, and the youkai's face fell. When he noticed that the fuefuki youkai was just walking out of the stadium, he said to him, "Are you not going to punish them?"

The fuefuki answered, "No, I must go back to my land. I need to get rid of the youkai threatening my family."

Chiisai Hikage nodded, solemnly, and went back to his place beside Kuwabara.

I stumbled to edge of the arena, sat on the ledge, and sort of rolled off. That had taken more out of me than I had thought. A lot more. It wasn't every day that I fought with my mind against a trained psychic.

On the other side of the stadium, the remaining standing youkai fumed.

That just wasn't right. Threatening to kill his musuko, and rape his four little girls and wife, and then sell them to some pimp?! They told me that youkai were cruel, but that? I shook my head, sadly. At least he was free, and he could go save his family.

I looked down on Chiisai Hikage, "Hey, Chiisai Hikage-kun, that was a great thing you did."

He blinked curiously up at me with his big red eyes. Even though I knew better, he always reminded me of a little kid. There was something still innocent in there, though terrible things have happened to him. Well, maybe not innocent, but he was better than most youkai that I had seen. And I think that I've seen the worst of the worst in my short time in the Makai.

After a moment, he said, "No, it wasn't. If I had done a great thing, I would have killed them all for what they were planning."

Definately not innocent.

I looked up at Yuusuke, still shaking slightly. He never was good at showing his pain. He was always shoving it down deep, keeping it inside to use in battle. If he didn't cave in, and go get help of some kind, he was going to keel over in the hour.

"Out of my way, I-know-everything-and-anything-san!" I frowned and looked over where Kuwabara and Chiisai Hikage were. There was a young woman with blue hair shouting at them because they had barred her way, "This Yuusuke fellow needs me to give him a boost! Just look at him! He's ready to fall over!"

"Listen," Kuwabara began, "I don't want any damned youkai schemes involving my friend, you hear? We've got enough problems as it is with two rounds in one day!"

"That's why Koenma sent me!" She screached. "You handsome young men" - she made it obvious that she was talking about Chiisai Hikage - "better be good, and let me through."

"Let her pass!" Their heads snapped toward me. "She's one of Koenma's ferry girls."

Kuwabara scratched his head, "Who the hell is Koenma?"

"Your sponser and the son of Enma!" The blue-haired woman said.

"What?! The Enma?!" Kuwabara didn't look too steady on his feet at that moment.

Yuusuke glared at her, "So, you're a doctor or something? You want to poke and prod at me to see what hurts?" He snorted, "I'm not going to take that crap!"

"Shut up!" She said, walking between the two completely different boys. "I'm a healer, not a doctor! I don't do the whole 'poke and prod' bit!"

"Team Urameshi and Team Byakuren! Send up your next fighters!"

Yuusuke smirked, "Sorry, but I think that I'm going to fight next. I'm just fine. Go see what's wrong with Chiisai Hikage."

"Chiisai Hikage? Who-? Wait a minute! You can't enter the ring in your condition!" The woman yelled.

I sighed, "Yuusuke, stop being a baby, and let the woman do her thing. Koenma's ferry girls know basic healing techniques, so you should be ready in the next round."

"I'm not a baby!"

Chiisai Hikage growled, "You sure are acting like one! Just let . . . what's your name?"

She beamed at him, "Botan. And you?"

"Chiisai Hikage."

She stepped closer to him, and looked him up and down, "I don't see anything wrong with you."

I snapped, "That's because there's nothing wrong with him! Yuusuke! Shut up and sit down or I won't let you fight at all!"

He clenched his teeth looked around, and then collapsed into a sitting position with his legs crossed. Botan smiled, and knelt by him to hover her hands in front of his chest. Green and blue light glowed softly, and touched his chest, and Yuusuke began to relax. In fact, he relaxed so much that he flopped back onto his back, and began to snore!

I grimaced, "How long with he be like that?"

"Hm? Oh, he'll have a half hour or so. Koenma gave me some reiki that can heal faster than normal. He told me to use it very sparingly. I only gave Yuusuke a little."

"Team Urameshi! Send up your next fighter! We're waiting!"

Kurama, from where he was leaning against the arena, said, "Genkai-shihan, why don't you go up next?"

I nodded, looking at the tiny youkai on the arena. Judging by her youki, "This should be an easy one."

I watched the tiny youkai on the arena. She was even smaller that Genkai, and Genkai was pretty small.

"Chiisai Hikage-san . . ."

"Botan-san?"

She was taller than me, so I had to look up a few inches to look into her big violet eyes, "Did they change the rules? I didn't think that they would ever do that."

Change . . . the rules . . .? "What? What are you talking about?"

Her eyes narrowed, "You don't know . . .? Oh! The commitee doesn't know! I'll keep my mouth shut."

"What? Speak!"

She squeaked, and then giggled nervously, "You really don't know? How can you not?"

I growled, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her over to the tunnel. When we reached there, I yanked down on her ponytail, so that we would be at eye level, "First, what rules?"