A big thanks to everyone. On to a new chapter!

Ch. 7:


The next morning was supposed to be a special day, yet it seemed as though nobody remembered, so I started my day in a bad mood.

Yusuke and Keiko had left the room early in the morning for a walk. I didn't really blame them. Both of them deserved to have some time together.

Hiei and Suichi had gone off somewhere. Perhaps to train? But they spoke of watching the next tournament battle later this afternoon to see who the team would face next.

The masked fighter was never in the hotel room it seemed. Did he even sleep?

Even the girls were AWOL this morning. So here I sat at the breakfast bar in the lobby, alone, glaring daggers at a waffle with maple syrup.

"Happy freaking fourteenth birthday to me." I said as I forked a large piece of waffle into my mouth.

"I'm so happy I found someone!" I heard a light female voice speak. "Mind if I join you?" I looked up. It was Yukina. I smiled and offered her a seat.

"I sensed your power yesterday. I found it quite fascinating. You are an elemental master right?" She asked me.

"Yes. I have considerable control over several elements, but I won't claim to be a master quite yet. I know I still have much to learn." I told her.

"So I assume that you haven't mastered light and darkness then?"

"I thought humans couldn't control those particular elements?" I asked her. Where was she going with this?

"Not exactly. More like its unknown if humans can control them." Yukina explained. "I may be an ice apparition, but I have also studied and trained with light energy as well. Basic light energy is used for healing and defensive shielding purposes, while more complicated and powerful light energy can be used in offensive techniques.

"And there is a possibility that I could learn to use light energy?" I asked.

"It's possible. You are strong, but you just don't know how strong yet. May I help you?" Her face was sweet and gentle, but her red eyes bore into me, much like her brothers.

"Of course, may we go ahead and start?" I asked, suddenly enthusiastic. Finally, something to get my mind off my forgotten birthday.

Yukina giggled at my excitement. "Sure, we can start after we watch the next match."

"Sounds great." I said as I finished off the rest of my waffle.


The next team we had to face really got on my last aching nerve. According to my program, the blue haired imp demon Shishiwakimaru was the team captain.

I thought Yusuke could be an arrogant, cocky bastard at times, but even he was nothing compared to Shishi.

Speaking of Yusuke, I looked up toward the other end of the stands. The entire team were there watching the fight as well. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Suichi were standing around Hiei and were laughing at him, and Hiei seemed quite pissed off about something. I wished I could be a fly on the wall at that point. I also saw a strange creature sitting on top of Yusuke's head. It was blue, had a beak and long ears, and seemed to have Yusuke's hair.

"What is that thing on Yusuke's head?" I asked Yukina.

"Its his spirit beast that hatched from his egg Koenma gave him, from what I was told. The girls named him Puu."

I was still in an irritable mood at the time, and hadn't realized that my energy was crackling around me ominously, causing the nearby onlookers to move away quickly, as they remembered what had happened the last time I used my powers in the stands.

Then to add to my great mood, Yusuke and the masked fighter got into a blazing argument and left the stadium. None of us had heard any word of them since. I didn't let myself worry about that, though. Yusuke was a big boy and could take care of himself.

But to top off my day, I still couldn't even make so much as a spark of light, no matter how much I concentrated. I was giving myself a headache from trying so hard, but still I didn't even feel a tingle. Yukina and I had decided to go back to the hotel room and begin training.

Yukina even made a ball of light in her hands, and I tried to use my energy to manipulate the already existing light in her hands, but to no avail.

Then I thought that the motivation of seeing an injury I wanted to heal would help break through this block I had with light energy, so I asked Kuwabara if I could attempt to heal his remaining wounds, but try as I might, it still didn't work.

"I'm sorry Yukina." I said, disheartened. "I know I'm probably wasting your time."

"Don't worry about it, really this is just a great chance to get to know a new friend!" Yukina grinned happily. I couldn't help but smile as well, how could you not be anything but happy in her presence?

"And it will come. Trust me. It took time before I could do it as well." That made me feel somewhat better.

Yukina finished healing the worst of Kuwabara's injuries, and then he asked us if we wanted to play a card game. We were so engrossed in our game and good conversation that I almost didn't notice when Suichi and Hiei came back into the room. It had started to storm outside and night was falling fast.

Suichi took a seat on the couch beside me and joined in our game. Hiei took his usual seat in the window sill.

Suddenly, Keiko, Botan, and Shizuru came into the room carrying armloads of drinks and a cake?

"You thought we forgot, didn't you?" Botan asked, excitedly.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everyone shouted. I smiled, blushed, and held my head in my hands. Hiei just growled, mumbling that he couldn't get a moments peace anywhere surrounded by idiots. I inwardly rolled my eyes.

Shizuru had thought to bring her radio, so we played music while filling ourselves up on cake, playing cards, and chatting excitedly about what the guys would wish for when they won. At one point, Suichi invited Hiei to join us, saying that we were practically a family over here. I openly facepalmed, it was such a bad attempt at a joke. Hiei growled loudly and threatened to rip out Suichi's voice box. Suichi sort of gave up after that.

Suichi and Kuwabara kept thinking up sillier and sillier wishes as the evening wore on. I looked around and noticed that Hiei was the only one in the room not taking part. I knew better than to expect him to fully participate in the party, but now that I knew better, I knew what to do. I put the last remaining piece of cake on to a plate, sighed, and walked over to where he was sitting at the window.

Hiei turned his head and glanced toward me. His expression was hard, unreadable. But he also wasn't glaring at me, which was unusual.

I gave him a sort of gentle half-smile. I held up the piece of cake to him. He just stared.

"The cake is quite good, and sweet. I don't want you to feel left out." I said to him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, almost like he was thinking of something to say. Next thing I knew, he took the plate from me and gave the slightest of nods.

I returned the nod, and returned to my seat on the couch. I got the idea of what he had meant by that gesture, it meant everything that he didn't know how to put into words. I realized then that I wasn't the only one who had started to understand.


Keiko, Shizuru, Yukina, Botan, and I woke the next day super late. We had stayed up pretty late the previous night partying. In hindsight, it wasn't the greatest idea.

We got dressed quickly. I pulled up my hair in a simple ponytail today instead of my usual braid and threw on the first clothing of mine that I saw, a black spaghetti strap top and a pair of jeans. I washed up quickly in the adjoining bathroom. I looked like crap, but we probably all did. My golden eyes were puffy and tired looking.

Once we got to the lobby Botan was panicking about being so late, but said she knew a shortcut. We had to wait for Keiko and Shizuru. Shizuru stopped to get herself a drink and Keiko had forgotten about Puu.

It was near mid-day before we set out. We walked what seemed forever, and I swear we walked by the same trees and rocks several times over.

"Um, Botan, this shortcut doesn't seem very short." Keiko spoke up.

"Are we lost?" Yukina asked.

"Of course were not lost, we just have to go, um, this way." Botan pointed in two directions at once.

"You have no idea do you?" Keiko asked.

"Lets try finding our way back to the hotel." I suggested.

"Yes maybe then we can make it there by sundown." Said Shizuru, annoyed.

On the way back to the hotel, Puu suddenly went crazy. He had been silently resting in Keiko's arms. He looked sad. But now he was screaming and struggling to get free.

"Let him go, Keiko." I said. "I know you think keeping him right now is best, but I think Yusuke needs him right now."

She squeezed her eyes shut. It was painful for her to let Puu go, but she did. He flew off toward the horizon. I walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He will be okay. Our little Puu will see to that." I told her. She seemed to take some comfort in that.

We made it back to the hotel a few minutes later and set off down the path we knew went to the stadium. It wasn't long before we found our way through the entrance and into the stands, and when we got there, we looked around in shock.

The stadium was empty.

"Are the fights over already?" Keiko asked.

"Can't be." I said. "They only started an hour ago." I scratched my head, confused.

"Wait, weren't the semi-finals supposed to take place in a new stadium?" Keiko said.

"I think your right!" Piped up Botan. "Now all we have to do is find the new stadium!"

"And do you know where the new stadium is?" Yukina asked.

"Um….maaayybeee?" Botan said, apprehensively.

"This is bad." Keiko said, disheartened.

"If we have to miss any more men beating the crap out of each other I'm going to be very angry, Botan!" Added Shizuru, more annoyed than ever.

"Now Shizuru, let me think I'm sure if we take a moment we can…" Botan started, but was interrupted by a loud yell from high above the stadium. Someone was falling to the arena floor from what looked like some kind of portal opened up in midair. Anyone else would consider that very weird, but nothing much wierded me out anymore.

The person hit the ring with considerable force but looked relatively unharmed. We ran over when we saw who it was.

"Hey Kuwabara! Could you tell us where the new stadium is?" Botan yelled out to him.

"Hey sis!" He shouted out, seeing Shizuru. His eyes roamed to Yukina. "YUKINA! Hey tulip! Did you sense my rocking rhythm and had to follow!" Dear lords, now I wanted to shoot him, I thought, inwardly facepalming.

"Not exactly" Yukina replied softly. "We just got lost on the way to the stadium and went to the wrong one." She smiled up at him, her sweet red eyes sparkling. She had the patience of a saint, I noted.

"So did you guys fall out of the portal thingy too?" Kuwabara asked us with almost childlike excitement.

"What do you mean?" Shizuru asked him with an almost murderous tone, cracking her knuckles. "Are you saying you lost your fight, baby bro?"

"Um, yes?" He looked like an innocent frightened child at that point as he looked at his sister.

Suddenly, Shizuru jumped him and started beating the crap out of him. The rest of us looked on apprehensively.

"OUR LIVES ARE ON THE LINE AND YOU FIGHT LIKE A 5TH GRADER!?" She yelled at him.

"I guess this is how he gets the desire to win so badly." Keiko stated.

"Um, Shizuru? Beat him up anymore and you will actually knock him out, then we definitely won't be able to get to the new stadium." I pointed out. Shizuru let him go. Kuwabara ran over to Yukina asking if she could heal him. I did admit he looked pretty bad off.

Once Kuwabara was healed, we were ready to go. We followed him out of the stadium on the way to the new one, Kuwabara catching us up on the day's matches.

"So Hiei took on two of their fighters in a row? In the shape he's in?" I said in awe. The girls turned to look at me.

"What do you mean 'in the shape he's in'? He seems fine." Keiko asked me.

"You didn't see his right arm up close. He burned it badly attempting the darkness flame. If he ever gains full use of it again I'll be very surprised. And that technique sapped most of his body's energy which I'm sure he hasn't fully regained since." I explained.

Yukina looked thoughtful. "Hiei. He's the quiet one isn't he? The one who wouldn't play cards with us or join in Kurisa's party?"

Kuwabara actually looked quite irritated. "Why are you guys so interested in him? He's scary and he will bite off your head!" He made what was supposed to be a scary face at Yukina.

"Take that back! That is no way to talk of a decent guy!" Botan yelled at Kuwabara.

"Decent guy?"

"Yes, especially since he happens to be Yuk…" Botan paused in mid sentence. I froze, along with Shizuru, who was the only other person in this group who knew the big secret. I watched as Botan's face went from angry, to blank, to mildly disturbed before coming back to her senses and walking off in a daze. I remembered to breathe; she had come within a hair's breath of revealing something she had no place to.

We continued on from there. Kuwabara kept filling us in on what we missed.

"Kurama was awesome in his fight. He was facing this guy who had a whip like him, then the guy used his whip to make this force field thingy, then there was all this smoke. We couldn't see a thing for several minutes."

"Then what happened?" I asked.

"Well this was special smoke and it was supposed to make his opponent young but it didn't work right on Kurama. It made him so young it turned him into his demon form." Kuwabara continued.

"Do what? What do you mean his demon form?" I stopped and glared at Kuwabara.

"Yeah, apparently Kurama is this fox demon trapped in a human body or something. Hiei said something about someone named Yoko. After the fight was over Kurama changed back into Kurama but it was pretty cool to see."

"So his opponent accidentally freed the trapped spirit of Yoko Kurama huh? Wish I had seen that." I said. I was lost in thought. I had read so many stories and legends about Yoko Kurama and his band of thieves. I knew Yoko was a skilled thief but he was also very cold, calculating, and ruthless and would kill without a second thought or care. Pretty much everything that was opposite of the brother I knew. I really hoped that this transformation didn't turn my brother toward a darker side of himself.

We continued on a few minutes more. We could all see the new stadium on the horizon now. A few more minutes of walking and we would finally be there.

Keiko for some reason glanced to the side of the path. Leaning against a tree sound asleep was Yusuke with Puu beside him, also sleeping.