Ok, my first piece in a very long time and I've been in a depressive slump so I'm betting my style is really confusing here. Sorry in advance for that.

Oh, and if you can't tell it's Kurama's point of view mainly centered around his fight in the final round of the Dark Tournament.

They say for most Death comes as a black robed figure, often a skeleton, the Grim Reaper under some names, to ferry the soul off to the Land of the Dead. But they don't tell what becomes of the others.

For some, Death comes as a brilliant white light that fills the senses and leads to a paradise of sorts. It is said that only the most pure and blessed will follow this path, but what of the cursed? The unlucky ones?

For those of us marked to walk a darker path Death comes as a shadow. A dark, deep and intimidating shadow. It may come in the form of an enemy, a crazed friend perhaps, an angered family member even, but it always comes.

We are taught to fear and revere it. All those bred in the dark are. All demons.

I admit, even I am frightened by the prospect of that shadow.

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When I died first it was by hunter's hand, the tales and stories of my people long forgotten. As forgotten as my family entirely, dead for centuries now. I chanced to be reborn and the demon tales were replaced by human tales. One in particular caught my attention.

The shadowless crow that would condemn the wicked at the end of their life. The differences in the tales were slight, far surpassed by the similarities. Because of the tale from my first childhood, though I never remembered it, the story was familiar and, if you will, comforting. I knew of no creature that did not possess a shadow and the thought protected me.

The illusion held through my mid teens, before the entire idea was shattered in an instant.

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Everything had gone fine up to that fight. Sure we'd suffered such injuries here and there but what else would you except sticking that many demons together on an island for a competition where killing was not only allowed, but encouraged?

The worst injury so far had been Hiei's arm but he seemed to have recovered almost complete use by the final round. Yuusuke had gained amazing strength from his mentor before her untimely end. Even Kuwabara was holding a secret weapon. True, I did have one of my own in a way as well but he was not restricted to time limits...

The match was going fine. Yes I had taken a few blasts but they were superficial, nothing to complain about. Nothing yet.

I admit I did interpret his power wrong; being able to create from nothing was not something I had planned for. It didn't help that the potion wasn't working fast enough and I couldn't make a move he didn't counter. In all honesty, the only move he never countered of mine was the very last one. Though some might count the ruling as a countermove.

But I never did fear him; not for all the power he possessed nor ability to defeat me. I knew I could survive if I could stay calm and so I did, as in all battles. Everything was fine until he disappeared.

Again it was something I had not expected but that was not the worst. When he appeared above me, the lights casting his outline to the ground was the moment that sent a chill to my bone.

It was The shadow.

The demon tale came back that moment, mingled with the human one. Of course I knew his name meant crow long before entering the ring but it had no meaning until then.

I finally had to pay for every sin I had committed as a demon. And as a human. All the thieving and lust filled nights in Makai. All the lies and secrets at school and with family. The terrible way I'd treated my mother.

The fear held me stiff so long that was nearly the end of me. I barely dodged, and yet was still hit.

That shock brought me back to my senses. Everything he'd been saying, all the strange compliments that were also threats, how twisted his mind was... I couldn't believe this would be the end of me. It spurned me to try harder, even if in the back of my mind I knew it was futile in the end.

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And in the end? Well...

I destroyed that shadow, even if all it really was turned out to be a demon playing a role too big. But there are more, I know there are.

There's always more shadows hiding in the dark...

All I can really say is I hope I didn't lose anyone too badly and please review.

Oh, and feel free to send me any questions you might have, I'll try to clear up what might not make sense.