Disclaimer: Sorry, forgot this on the first chapter, but I do NOT own anything from Yu Yu Hakusho that is recognizable as belonging to someone else.

Panting, I laughed internally at myself for thinking I stood a chance. I was exhausted and had not even gotten into a minor scuffle yet, as all the other demons are preoccupied with the demon Hiei, who slices through them like paper with his sword, moving swiftly from one demon to the next in a blur. Dead bodies of demons strewed the ground, most with blood spilling. None had been given the chance to surrender as Hiei systematically wound through them all and few lay unconscious instead of dead.

When the fight commenced, the demons, without a word spoken between them, went after Hiei without even a thought to attacking each other. I, on the other hand, made for the nearest tree where I could watch the fight before I was dragged into it myself. No one noticed me sneak away, but I had the sense someone knew that I was not on the main battleground trying to hunt down my most lethal competitor. The swift grace of his sword, forceful and unforgiving as it plunged into body after body. Then my reverie was broken as I felt the cool metal pressed against my throat. "Coward," I heard Hiei growl. I didn't attempt to deny his accusation. There was a part of me that knew my hiding was only to prolong my life, but now with the blade against my jugular, I knew I could no longer hide.

I stepped forward, closer to the demon that had yet to finish off my life. His blade cut into my throat drawing blood and triggering me to close my eyes. My death was mere moments away, so I dropped my stoic mask and felt serenity settle over my features, as I exhaled slowly, no longer trying to inhale the scent of the carnage surrounding my killer and me.

There's this moment, when you know that your death has been coming, when you know that you're alone with little to live for, that you lapse into yourself and forget many things. I found myself forgetting about how long struggled to discover my past, and the amount of time I wasted on trying to build a future I would ultimately give. I didn't dwell on the notion that I could have lived for centuries longer, or that maybe, just maybe, if I had been able to smile my life would have been different. I didn't think about my moment where I stared down Urameshi's gang and wished to the Spirit World that I wished I was one of them. I didn't think of the unusual beauty of Hiei and Kurama conversing in the waiting area, or of Hiei's katana pressed to my neck.

All I could possibly get through my head as I accepted my death was that moment of waking up. That feeling when your body realizes you are no longer in your dream, but your mind has not quite figured it out yet. When your muscles feel alive from a long night's sleep, and your mind feels blissful with the ignorant assumption that your dream was reality. I breathed that moment in, as it was the happiest thing I could recall.

And then he hesitated. Opening my eyes, I demanded to know what he was doing. His blood red eyes as merciless as ever considered me quizzically as I stood there squirming. "What," I finally asked, irritated at his hesitation, "do I have something on my face?"

He let more seconds of silence pass, and then, "Surrender and I'll allow you to walk away with your life."

"I'd sooner throw myself on my daggers."

He looked at me, as though he were considering if I was the type of food he wanted for dinner. Fed up, I reached to unsheathe my daggers, when he mumbled something, startling me out of my plans to threaten him until he had no choice but to end my life. Then his arm swiftly moved and everything went black.

I woke to the smell of sweat. It was heavy and threatened to choke, but I refused to open my eyes to see what the source of the permeating odor was. Instead, I tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Then it came to me. He let me live. That merciless demon, Hiei, who I witnessed ending lives as if they were worth no more than flies, had spared me. When I wanted nothing more than to die. The bastard. At this realization, I shot up from whatever I was laying on and my eyes burst open. A pounding of excruciating pain refuted the sudden movement and appearance of light, and I gasped in pain before I had the chance to realize what was going.

I collapsed back to laying down and slowly opened my eyes to take in my surroundings. It appeared I was in some sort of clinic laying in a hospital bed. The room had blinding white light and seemed to stretch on forever. Taking more caution, I sit myself up, as a nurse with cat ears and whiskers comes rushing in to check on me. I push her off me, causing her to fly back as she was obviously not expecting me to push her away. Still, with caution, I stand up to find the world spinning around me and the pain in my head shoots to an all-time high, and before I have the chance to push forward, I black out again.

Once again, I wake up in the same room to see the same nurse jump back a good ten feet upon seeing my eyes open. I exhale I frustration at how timid she is. How in the three worlds someone as fragile as her could have become a nurse is well beyond my understanding. Questions swarm my conscious mind, but I only voice the ones that this cat nurse can answer. "How long have I been out?"

She looks startled to hear me speak, and I can't really blame her. My voice sounds weak to my ears, weaker than its normal lilting tone that I've come to despise. She answers in a barely intelligible whisper, "Ten days, Miss Oishi. The tournament has progressed along quite a bit while you've been out. It is my request that you remain here for the remainder of the tournament. The head injury you sustained needs time to heal."

Exhausted at her rambling, I sat up, invigorated to find that the shooting pain in my head from before had diminished to almost nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, but certainly something more tolerable. That was all I needed as a signal to me that I was time to get up and back to the tournament. Hiei owed me some answers. Why was I spared? Who cared enough to not only let me live, but take me to the clinic in my unconscious state? Why couldn't they just let me die?

I needed answers and I needed them now. I bolted out of the room as soon as the nurse turned her back on me, leaving her screaming at my retreating form. I recognized my surroundings immediately. I was not far off from the corner, where, on the first day, I and tried to gather myself. Knowing that so much time had passed since then was alarming since for me; it might as well have been yesterday. I walked at a steady pace until I reached the main gathering place of all the competitors, including those who had been taken out as early as the preliminaries.

I began to get angry with not only Hiei, but whoever brought me to the clinic. Who did they think they were? Embarrassing me like I'm some imbecile child who can't care for themselves. By the time I glimpsed Hiei's spiky hair, I was utterly furious and it seemed I was projecting that into my demon energy, as all the demons surrounding me cleared a path. I should have known to cool it down as the more time I spent projecting, the more likely I was to loose energy with a snap of my fingers and pass out. But I couldn't seem to find it in myself to care. I was out for blood. As I reached the source of my anger and stood in front of, opening my mouth ready to say something, what I didn't know, the demon looked up at me, not the faintest bit surprised to see me standing there. This pushed forward my first question. "What the hell were you thinking?"

His eyes narrowed slightly at me, but he said nothing. "I said," repeating myself louder this time, "what the hell were you thinking leaving me alive? Embarrassing me like that in front of all of Demon World? How sadistic are you?"

"Hn."

That was it. Hn. Ok, I was really pissed now and I could feel my stoic mask crumbling to pieces as I let my anger take control. Without a thought, I impulsively got closer to Hiei and grabbed him by the color of his shirt. Though he was the same height as me and easily outweighed me, the energy felt from my anger fueled me to lift him up. However, before his feet had even left the ground, I found myself pinned against the wall by my throat, my feet easily six inches off the ground, and the fire demon growling in my face, his red eyes alight with anger and a hint of amusement. I assumed the last part was for my stupidity at challenging him. My wings ached at being pinned and I could almost hear the pain cursing me for getting myself in this situation. Too late now for regrets, though.

"Foolish little girl. You really have no idea what I'm capable of. Walk away now with your tail between your legs." He let me go, causing me to crumble to the floor against the wall. He then began to walk away leaving me there, humiliated with all of my former competition laughing at me. That is something I refused to settle for. Shooting to my feet, ignoring the protests of my aching wings and head, I pulled one of daggers free from its hilt, relieved to see the moronic nurse had not removed them. Without hesitation, I once again acted on impulse and set the dagger sailing toward Hiei's back.

He dodged them easily, not even glancing behind him at his attacker. It was blaringly obvious to me and the numerous spectators who had gathered that Hiei did not believe for a second I could end his life. And the thought that I was here, seeking death, while Hiei didn't deem me worthy of receiving it or handing death out is what I would use later on as an excuse for my behavior.

Unsheathing two daggers, gripping one in each hand I charged him from behind. As I did this, it probably should have entered my mind that I have limited fighting experience and that the last time I fought Hiei, it was a one sided battle ending with me knocked out for ten days. Suddenly, none of that mattered. Not even my death wish mattered. I would not be humiliated by some demon. And as he turned to face me, exasperation apparent in his features, I began shouting every profanity in the book as he swiftly dodged all me jabs. He simply laughed and easily evaded my attacks, mocking me all the while. "And you claim I have humiliated you. Look at your behavior now. Your inability to even touch me."

And within seconds, someone from behind me had grabbed and began to pull me away from my opponent. All I could do was shriek and attempt to wriggle away. All to no avail.

I continued to shriek and attempt to escape until I had been led far enough away from Hiei that I could begin to calm down. My energy suddenly dissipated now that I was no longer face to face with those crimson eyes, mocking me and all I possessed. I felt worn down from my outburst, ashamed that I had allowed my control to slip to such an extent. Hiei was right I had humiliated myself. Slumping over on myself, I expected whoever had dragged me away to release me immediately, maybe kill me for the heck of it. But instead he, I assumed it was a he by the arms covered in muscle which held me up, slowly lowered me to the ground in what appeared to be preparation room of some sort. Finally glancing up to look him in the face, I had to fight to keep my jaw from dropping.

All I could think was, Why would he save me?

AN: Hey people! SO do you think you know who dragged the terribly torn up Haruka away from her fight with Hiei? Tell me what you think of my first two chapters! I need to know if I should keep up with this story or scrap it and start from scratch with the same idea.