Author's Note: To my , readers. I'm sorry. To those on AO3, welcome to the madness. The updates might be a bit slow, so please bear with me. My life is a dumpster fire right now and the only two things keeping me sane are writing, and my cat.

.o.O.o.

Part One

.o.O.o.

Chapter 1 A Measure of Mercy

The scent of blood woke him. He jerked back to consciousness abruptly and stared at concrete. A million things were going on at once and his brain had a hard time processing it all. He was hyper aware of all the sights, sounds, and smells around him; a dull roar in the background, a woman counting close to him, a pair of legs, and the sickening stench of blood. There was a moment of blind panic where he could not remember anything—where he was, why he was there, not even his name.

Then his memories returned and the panic subsided. By the time Koto had counted to three, Touya had processed everything and decided what he had to do. He had to get to his feet before Koto finished counting to ten. After that…well he didn't want to think about how well he would fare against Kurama as injured as he was, especially now that he had the ability to summon his plants again, but he could think about that later, after he had prevented himself from being disqualified from the match. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, allowing a deep, penetrating calm to wash over him, and then he pushed himself up.

He nearly passed out again just from the pain and he bit back a scream. His legs threatened to buckle beneath him, but he continued to force himself up. One hand pressed against his stab wound to try and staunch the bleeding, but blood continued to flow freely over his fingers. He knew doing this would probably kill him, but he did not care. As long as he emerged victorious in the end, it did not matter whether or not he lived afterward.

Such was the way of the Shinobi warrior.

He had managed to get into a crouch when his legs gave out and he toppled to the ground, his head cracking loudly on the concrete. He lost consciousness instantly, though not for long; when he came to again, Kurama and Koto hadn't moved. Kurama looked down at him, his green eyes filled with pity. Touya felt a stab of anger; he did not want pity from anyone, least of all from this demon traitor.

"You have won…" he managed to say, his voice hoarse. "Now please, kill me."

He stared determinedly up at his foe. Death was the price he had to pay for his failure and he was more than willing to pay.

Kurama's eyes closed. "I will not."

Touya gasped. It was not the answer he expected. He stared up at Kurama, silently wondering why the demon was willing to spare him when he had not provided the same mercy to others.

As if Kurama heard his thoughts, he opened his eyes. "You never answered. What do you plan to do with this island…if you get it?"

"Who cares?" Touya choked out angrily.

It all seemed so insignificant now that he had lost.

"I too have spent years in the shadows," Kurama said and Touya could hear how much effort each word took. "Interesting how unexpected regret can appear. That's what this light does. I only wanted to know if you could make your life better…nobler…than mine has been."

His eyes closed and his breathing slowed. Somehow, he managed to stay upright in his unconsciousness. Touya stared up at him, puzzling over the rogue demon's words until the darkness claimed him once again.

.o.O.o.

He woke to voices.

"Is he dead?"

"Nah, I don't think so." Touya felt a pair of hands gently probing his body and flinched. "He's still breathing."

"Well, he's in the way."

Touya's keen hearing picked up a soft set of footsteps walking away. He hissed as the hands still probing his body touched his stab wound.

"Sorry there, Touya," a voice murmured.

Touya knew even before the person spoke that it was Jin tending to him; he knew his friend's scent better than he knew his own, that scent of fresh, clean air. Jin lifted him up gently, but even so, Touya cried out in pain.

"I'm sorry, Touya," Jin murmured.

He cradled Touya to his chest with surprising gentleness. Every step Jin took sent a tremendous wave of pain through Touya's body and he bit his lip to keep himself from screaming. When Jin stepped down from the ring, Touya thought he was going to pass out from the sheer amount of pain it brought. His entire body felt like it was on fire and it was the only thing he could think about.

Finally, Jin stopped walking and gently set Touya in the grass. The pain dulled slightly and Touya was able to open his eyes, Jin's worried face coming into view.

"Hey, you're awake!" Jin said, his face cracking into a wide grin.

"Somewhat," Touya said dryly.

"Let me see that injury." Jin's face suddenly turned anxious.

"It's not that bad," Touya lied.

Jin was not fooled one bit. He began peeling back the layers of material surrounding Touya's wound.

"Leave him."

Jin's hands stilled and he flinched at their leader's harsh tone. He turned to protest, but Touya caught his wrist.

"Don't," he whispered. "I'll be all right." Jin scoffed. "Please. Don't defy Risho. Not again."

Jin squeezed his hand and went to sit in his previous position. Touya closed his eyes, letting everything fade away except for the sound of his breathing. The pain faded to a dull throb.

He opened his eyes again when he heard Bakken's unmistakable tenor. "Not so fast."

What is that asshole planning? Touya thought, staring at the sky. Whatever it is can't be good.

"You forgot something," Bakken continued. "He's still standing in the rink. Yes, it looks to me like he's volunteering to fight again."

He's unconscious you asshole, Touya thought. Then he realized what Bakken intended to do. Oh, you sick, twisted fuck.

"Oh give me a break! Kurama's not even conscious anymore! I'm taking this fight." Yusuke Urameshi was once again being very vocal about how he felt.

Touya strained to hear what Koto said. "Uh…all right! Uh, team captain decides! Yusuke versus Bakken!"

The demons in the crowd burst into loud boos at Koto's decision.

"Correction, the next fight will be Kurama versus Bakken," a woman's voice announced over the PA system. "A fighter standing in the ring cannot be removed against his will. As will cannot be determined here, the fighter remains."

On the surface, it seemed like the reasoning was reasonable, but Touya knew it was all just a smokescreen so that Bakken would have the advantage in the fight.

This is so wrong, Touya thought. Why does Risho sit back and say nothing? He cannot think there is honor in a fight where the odds are so obviously stacked against one of the fighters.

There was a squeal, followed by a thump as Koto was forcefully tossed from the ring and Touya felt a surge of anger. Koto was merely doing her job and did not deserve such rough treatment.

"Now that the ref is out of the picture, we can really have some fun!" Bakken said.

Touya closed his eyes again as Bakken landed the first punch. He willed himself unconscious again so he wouldn't have to lay here and listen to the sound of Bakken beating Kurama to a pulp despite Koto's repeated attempts to end the fight. Demon traitor or not, nobody deserved this sort of treatment.

"Not much of a fight," Bakken commented. "I like that."

You sick, twisted piece of shit, Touya thought savagely. He's not even conscious. How can Risho just sit there and do nothing?

"This win would help us greatly," Risho said as though he had heard Touya's thoughts.

His leader's words made Touya feel sick to his stomach. How could Risho condone such despicable behavior? This was not what the Shinobi should stand for.

"Stop!" Koto suddenly shouted. "I'm all for extreme pain and torture, you disgusting horse, but this guy's not even awake to enjoy it. I'm taking a ten count."

"Count yourself out, then!" Bakken snapped and Touya heard him toss Koto out of the ring again. "We're making the rules now, not you."

Touya gasped as he felt a massive surge of energy. No, it was not a single source, but multiple sources, human, most likely Urameshi, and demon. Touya frowned, then remembered Hiei trapped in the medical tent scam. His energy was returning? That was not a good sign. If this kept up, he would no longer be contained by Ruka's forcefield. And if he got out…

Touya shuddered to think what would happen if Hiei was unleashed on the crowd after witnessing his teammate and friend being beat within inches of his life. He had heard stories of Hiei's ruthlessness and had no desire to be on the receiving end of Hiei's wrath.

"Bakken, stop." Risho's cold voice cut through the stillness that had suddenly fallen over the stadium.

Touya out the breath he had been holding as Bakken stayed his hand.

"But why Risho?" Bakken asked angrily.

Because Urameshi and Hiei are about to kill us all, you blind fool, Touya thought.

"Lay him outside of the ring," Risho commanded.

"But he's killed our sect members," Bakken protested.

Just one of us, Touya thought dryly. He groaned as he felt a wave of pain. I'm not quite dead yet. Though Kurama certainly made a valiant attempt at it.

"Yes, and if you had landed that punch, you would have died as well," Risho said calmly.

"What?!" Bakken demanded.

"Or do you think you would have survived a bullet in the back?" Risho continued in the same cold, measured voice.

Touya couldn't help smiling at the image of Urameshi standing with his index finger pointed at Bakken, ready to fire off his famous Spirit Gun. Teammate or not, Bakken deserved a Spirit Gun in the back.

"It's clear Yusuke cares more about that demon's life than this tournament," Risho said. "He's ready to fight every apparition in the stadium if he must. We need to win, not be involved in a revolt."

Bakken scoffed. "You're getting soft, Risho. You'll end up like Gama and Touya. If this prize is what we want, then we shouldn't be making concessions."

Gama and I both fought honorably and lost, Touya thought angrily. There is nothing soft about it. We both did our best and gave it everything we had. Nor is what Risho doing soft; it's sensible. If Bakken kills Kurama, Urameshi and Hiei will retaliate and probably kill us all. He's merely ensuring our survival so that we can keep fighting. But of course Bakken is too stupid to realize that.

At last, it seemed as though Bakken came to his senses.

"Fine," he growled. "Take your precious buddy."

There was a loud thumping sound as Bakken evidently tossed Kurama out of the ring.

"Well, I think we can all agree that Kurama will be staying outside the ring. Just change the blasted board already!" Koto snapped with a surprising amount of anger.

Touya felt a wave of nausea as the demons in the crowd cheered and began chanting, "Kill the traitor!"

"Ooh, what a scary look." Bakken's voice suddenly cut through the din. "Am I supposed to be shivering in my bootstraps now? Or should I just be running for my life?" He chuckled.

After what you did, you should probably be running for your life, Touya thought.

"Why don't we let the fight answer that," Urameshi said and Touya could hear the anger barely concealed in his voice.

This is not going to end well for Bakken, he thought. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for his teammate.

The buzzer sounded and Touya presumed the fighters took their places.

"And the third match, Bakken verses Yusuke. You may begin!" Koto said.

Bakken began straining and Touya knew he was using his mist technique.

This complicates things a bit, he thought.

"What's wrong, Bakken?" Urameshi taunted. "We haven't even started yet and you've already got a nervous sweat. Do you give up?"

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Bakken chuckled.

Touya held his breath as mist floated over the field; he knew from experience that Bakken's mist smelled really, really bad. He only exhaled when his lungs were burning and choked on the stench. He took another deep breath to keep himself from inhaling the foul odor as much as possible.

"Pure insanity!" Koto exclaimed. "The ring's been devoured by a giant layer of mist. Urameshi has absolutely no idea where Bakken's first attack will come from. In fact, neither do I. I can't see my microphone in front of me."

Touya could see nothing at all, not even the sky. Judging from the punches being thrown, Urameshi's groans, and Bakken's taunts, Bakken was having a good old time punching him around.

Well, it's not exactly fair, but at least this time he's conscious, Touya thought.

He was surprised when Urameshi started chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Bakken demanded. "Have I knocked you witless?"

"I'm laughing 'cause I'm relieved," Urameshi said. "You had me worried when you were punching Kurama, but now that I know how soft your fists are, I feel a lot better. Now I see why you were scared when Jin touched you before."

"I was not!" Bakken denied.

Yes, you were, Touya thought. Interesting that Urameshi noticed that too. That boy sees more than he lets on.

"Oh come on!" Urameshi said and Touya imagined him rolling his eyes. "Your whole robe was shaking. I mean, I don't blame you. This stupid sweat fog is your only trick. I bet Jin could knock it away with one little gust of wind."

Touya chuckled softly; he had never heard anyone so thoroughly school Bakken before. He hissed as pain shot through his body again.

Not a smart move, he thought.

"You'd better shut your trap!" Bakken yelled. "You're not a Wind Master, are you? So you're getting ready to die!"

Touya heard his footsteps running on the concrete, which sounded more like a herd of elephants doing the tango.

"We'll see how soft my punches are!" Bakken yelled.

"Spirit Gun."

Touya felt chills at how calm Urameshi sounded. It was more dangerous than his anger.

"Ha, you just shot in completely the wrong direction!" Bakken shouted triumphantly.

There was an explosion and a roar of wind. A thick cloud of smoke covered the arena and when it was gone, the mist had disappeared as well. Touya breathed deeply, grateful for the fresh air.

Well that was rather smart of him, he thought, staring up at blue sky once more.

"A brilliant strategy by Yusuke!" Koto clearly agreed with Touya. "He's used the force of his Spirit Gun to blow the mist right out of the stadium!"

Bakken groaned. "Damn that boy. Huh? Where did he go?"

"Let me explain what's about to happen," Yusuke said. "You basically have two real options here. You can either turn around and have me beat the crap out of you, or you can get on your hands and knees and start begging. And maybe, just maybe, I'll listen."

"You dirty little son of a b…" Bakken's sentence ended in a scream.

I guess we're going with option 1, Touya thought. Too bad for him.

He heard Bakken groaning and his body falling to the ground.

"I think it's clear what that huddled over pose means!" Koto was clearly enjoying this. "I only wish everyone in the audience could've heard those cracking bones."

"Damn, I missed a few," Urameshi said. "You know, those lower ribs are harder to reach."

"S…stay away!" Bakken cried. "Please! Just have some mercy on me!"

"Right. Mercy. Like the way you kept beating Kurama when he was laid out on the floor," Urameshi said coldly.

Ouch, Touya thought.

"N…no! It wasn't like that! I wasn't cruel to him! I was just excited!" Bakken said.

Sure you were, Touya thought.

Bakken continued to beg. Touya couldn't see what he did, but he could guess that he tried to attack Urameshi unexpectedly because the next thing he heard was a series of punches and groans from Bakken. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bakken go flying past and crash into the wall that separated the audience from the fighters.

"Out of the ring!" Koto cried, not even bothering to hide her glee. "Naturally, I'll take a ten count!"

"That's a pretty good fight," Touya heard Jin murmur as Koto finished her count and declared Urameshi the winner.

He knew what was coming next, though he desperately wished it wouldn't.

"Well, looks like it's my turn," Jin said cheerfully.

Touya licked his dry lips. "Jin!"

His voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper, but Jin's hearing was good enough that he heard him.

"Hey Touya, what's up?" He said, kneeling by Touya's side.

Touya licked his lips again and forced the words out. "Please be careful. Don't want to lose you."

Jin chuckled softly and put his hand on top of Touya's. "I'm not fixin' to go anywhere. I promise."

Then, he got to his feet and walked toward the ring. Touya couldn't help feeling a sense of dread and closed his eyes, not wanting to listen to the fight. Jin was speaking excitedly, but Touya's brain was too tired to try and process his words; when Jin got excited, he tended to speak fast, sometimes becoming almost unintelligible. Touya had known Jin so long that he usually had no problem understanding him even at his most unintelligible, but now his mind was so foggy.

What's happening to me? He wondered. Then he remembered and gasped. Kurama's plant! Could it have had poison in its leaves? Oh god, I'm going to die, aren't I?

It was at that moment that Touya's body decided to betray him and he passed out again.

.o.O.o.

When Touya came to again, the pain was even worse than before. It blazed through him like wildfire and he could barely stand it. He picked up the sound of voices and strained to hear what they were saying.

"…spent my whole damn fortune on you." He could easily recognize the oily voice of the man who owned their team.

"It will be taken care of." That cold voice was Risho's.

"Convince me," the team owner demanded.

There was a low laugh. "If you don't trust me, then why don't you use your influence one more time?"

What does he mean? Touya thought, frowning. Does it mean what I think it does?

A soft chiming sound caught his attention.

"Upon reviewing the film of the last fight, it is discovered that Koto delayed her ten-count during Yusuke's first ring-out. Therefore, by a complete and unanimous decision, the fight between Yusuke and Jin has been ruled a double loss and therefore, Yusuke is ineligible for the duration of the round," a woman's voice announced over the PA system.

Touya's spirits sank as he realized that Jin had lost as well. Did that mean he had lost his life as well? Something else was bothering him. The woman's announcement…the decision that had been made regarding the fight…it seemed like a stretch. Then he realized the truth.

"No," he whispered. "Oh no."

The truth was so obvious when put together with what Touya had overheard. Their team owner had used his influence to create a bogus ruling against Urameshi's team. Prejudice against the humans and demon traitors would keep anyone from protesting.

This isn't right, Touya thought. It's not what the Shinobi stand for. It's not what we fought for, what we bled for, what Gama died for. I…I have to get up. I have to say something. I cannot remain silent. This will most likely kill me, but I'm going to die anyway from Kurama's poison. I might as well try and make my death mean something.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to do. Pain unlike anything he had ever felt before ripped through his body and he had to fight to keep himself conscious as he struggled to his feet. He covered his stab wound from Kurama, fresh blood trickling out, and slowly walked forward.

"Risho," he said as he reached the ring and proceeded to pull himself up inch by painful inch. "This deceit has gone too far. Don't you see we'll make a mockery of their sacrifices?" Every word was painful for him to say and yet he never once stuttered. "Gama willfully gave his life so that we could win…not cheat our way out."

Risho seemed unaffected by Touya's words as the smaller Shinobi came to a stop by his side. "Hah. Spare me your romantic drivel, Touya."

Touya's eyes narrowed and he hissed softly. He may have been smaller than Risho, but he was not to be underestimated, and he would find great pleasure in turning Risho into an ice sculpture.

Risho turned to him. "He fought for the light and now we're going to enjoy it."

Toya's eyes widened as he deciphered the hidden meaning behind Risho's words. "But honor…"

Risho growled under his breath and formed a wristband of earth. He swung it around and caught Touya in the chest.

"Nonsense!" he barked.

Touya choked, blood filling his mouth. He caught a glimpse of Koto and Urameshi's shocked faces before he sailed out of the ring and tumbled through the grass. He lifted his head to stare at his so-called leader with disgust. The last thing he heard made him feel absolutely sick.

"We must always keep our eyes on the final prize, Touya. That's why I am the leader and you are the grunt."