Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. I do own Ria.

A/N: Welcome to the SEVENTH chapter of A Most Unusual Vocation where Yusuke will defeat Kubano and then have to take on the ninja Kazumaru immediately after. So without further ado, here goes. Enjoy!

"I'll try to make this quick," Kubano said as he punched Yusuke who in turn grabbed his arm.

"Now it's over," jackass announced. "See, this is all part of my plan. Next I'm going to break your arm."

"This isn't a good time to brag, Yusuke," I murmured as Meathead urged him to do it.

"Not such a bad idea," mused Kubano, sounding unconcerned which was never a good sign. "If I wasn't the master of every style of martial arts including grappling."

Green hair then broke Yusuke's hold, grabbed him, and swung him around in a circle before shooting my partner like a spinning missile. "Yusuke!"

"When he's far away, he can't see. When he's up close, he does Judo moves on him," muttered Kuwabara. "What's he supposed to do?"

"The only way I see Yusuke pulling this off is with the Spirit Gun," replied Botan. "But that's still impossible. He'd never be able to make an exact hit."

"What he needs is a way to locate Kubano," I pointed out. "The question is how?"

"Who cares?" the old hag barked. "Stop dwelling on what ifs. The reality is he can't see and he's about to be canned."

"You better get up, Urameshi!" shouted Meathead causing my ears to ring. "I'm not gonna let you run out on me again!"

"I must admit I feel guilty killing an amateur like you," Kubano confessed with fake sincerity as he uncovered his left ear. "Please, tell me you give up and you can go back to your mother. I'll even open an ear plate so I can hear your actual voice. I could just feel out your vocal vibrations, but surrender has such a nice sound."

"Then say it yourself," Yusuke shot back. "I'm winning this fight. I made a promise to a friend I would avenge her but first I have to kick your ass so next time you attack me, I'm going to knock that helmet off your head! Then I'll slap you around a bit if you can still move."

"Don't you think it's a little too late in the fight for you to bluff?" suggested Kubano. "We all know that you're blind."

"Maybe," Yusuke conceded. "But my mom told me not to make excuses."

"Fine then, I'll give you no more warnings. Farewell boy," growled Kubano, clearly frustrated he had not broken Yusuke's will to fight as he powered up again and disappeared while Yusuke started to charge up his Spirit Gun. "I will admit that I am surprised how long you've lived but now it's all over. I can feel you trembling. Your body is shaking with fear."

"Not trembling, dummy. I'm powering up," Yusuke informed him as he shot his spirit energy at Kubano, blasting away his mask and sending him back on his ass.

"I…don't understand. What happened?" asked Kubano. "You can't see. How did you hit me?"

"Why don't you look at your belt buckle before your eyes roll back?" offered Yusuke. "It's the cigarette Genkai was smoking, remember? She threw it at me at the start of the fight. I saw it on the ground a few minutes ago, still glowing and while you were busy teaching me your stupid Kung Fu moves, I shoved it under your belt and after that, well hell, you know the rest."

"You tricked me," Kubano muttered.

"Yeah, well of course I did," confirmed Yusuke. "And with that mask you couldn't see it."

"Winner, the dimwit," announced Genkai as Yusuke rejoined us.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," I grinned as I held my fist out to him. "Nice job, jackass."

Yusuke grinned back and bumped his fist with mine. "That was close though."

"Where'd you learn to be so tricky anyway?" inquired Meathead.

Botan crossed her arms and smirked. "It's probably from being a kid who had to think up reasons why he didn't come to class."

"Maybe," mused Yusuke, still smiling.

"Wait, what was that glow ball fired at him?" asked Kuwabara.

"That's my Spirit Gun," Yusuke explained. "See, it's like this big explosion of my spirit energy."

"So you're using a gun and I got a sword," summed up Meathead. "Don't you think we're cheating?"

"Oh, don't worry, Kuwabara," said Botan, patting him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Just think of these weapons as extensions of your selves."

"Besides, you should be grateful," I told Meathead, making him glance back at me questioningly. "Without your sword, you wouldn't have gotten this far."

"Hey, that's not true!" he exclaimed and Yusuke laughed.

"Alright, kiddies," interrupted Genkai, turning to face us. "Let's start the semi-finals. The first match: Kazumaru and Yusuke."

"I've waited for this," announced the ninja while we looked worriedly at Yusuke who, as one can imagine, was not happy and yelled at the hag to pick someone else.

"If you want to get mad, then get mad at the one who drew the lot," she retorted mercilessly. "And that's you."

"Well, can you at least throw another cigarette?" he asked.

"No, we won't be fighting the semi-finals in here," she informed us as the doors opened, letting in the sun and blinding us all. "Follow me."

~ A Most Unusual Vocation ~

"Great, now I have to fight a dude who can generate an energy blast out of his whole stinking palm and my little Spirit Gun's all used up," complained Yusuke as we trudged up a giant hill. Kuwabara was still carrying me on his back so Yusuke could focus on his match.

"Don't forget that you'll have to face Rando after Kazumaru," Botan reminded him unhelpfully.

"Oh I haven't forgotten," Yusuke assured her, glancing at my legs that were still covered in thin cuts and dried blood. "That freak's going to get what's coming to him."

"Yes," agreed Botan, following his gaze and frowning. "Your legs still look horrible, Ria. I wish I could have done more. I feel useless, like that time when Keiko was turning into a monster and eventually would have if Kurama hadn't helped us."

"Hey, it's not your fault," I assured her. "Besides, if you hadn't closed up my wounds, I would have bled to death. You saved my life. All of you did."

"Even me?" asked Meathead in surprise.

"Well, yeah, you were the one who told Yusuke what Rando was doing to me since his spirit awareness sucks more than mine does," I reminded him, ignoring Yusuke's protests. "So thanks, Meathead. I guess you're not as bad as I thought. Though you're still weaker than me."

Meathead laughed as Genkai came to a spot in front of an open swampy field covered in barren trees. "This will be your fighting ground."

Meathead shivered. "W-what is it?"

"The site of an ancient battle," she replied. "An entire army was overcome by madness. Thousands of soldiers attacked their own men. Restless souls fill this place."

"Geez, and I thought the forest was cheerful," I muttered sarcastically as Meathead continued to freak out. "What's wrong?"

"I'm seeing things here I never wanted to see," he explained, shaking his head. "Please, please, someone take me home!"

Genkai smirked, turning to face us. "On this hillside, spirit energy begins to overtake the body. It's perhaps the best place on Earth to use spirit power and so the best place for your fight."

"Excellent. Their energy is circulating through me now. I feel stronger already," announced Kazumaru, his power visible to the naked eye.

"What about you?" Botan asked Yusuke.

Yusuke raised his right index finger and tried to summon his Spirit Gun to no avail. "No use. I'm feeling some of my power coming back but there's no way it's enough to use my Spirit Gun."

"Spectacular," I muttered before returning my attention to Meathead. "You can put me down on the ground since it doesn't look like I'll have trouble seeing this time around."

"You sure?" he asked. I nodded. "Alright then."

Meathead placed me on the grass as Genkai called for the match to begin. I glanced at Yusuke. "Good luck, partner. You got this."

~ A Most Unusual Vocation ~

"What a shame for you, fighting two battles in a row," said Kazumaru as he and Yusuke faced off. "Both mismatched."

"What?!" demanded Yusuke making the ninja smirk.

"Everyone knows Kubano would have defeated you if not for your little trick and as for my own advantage…Well, you'll soon find out," the ninja informed him as he took control of the fight from the start and beat the shit out of Yusuke. "I'm surprised to find someone else in this contest who can use the spirit firing technique."

"Yeah, I'm pretty awesome, huh?" Yusuke shot back, breathing heavily.

"Of course," Kazumaru continued smugly. "It's nothing compared to mine."

"Yeah, good point," Yusuke agreed. "Maybe we should agree not to use them and just play fair."

"Don't worry. I'd rather use my fists," said the ninja as he charged Yusuke and hit him repeatedly. "You can't even fight back."

"Do something!" shouted Botan.

"He's too tired to punch," Kuwabara replied, stating the obvious.

"No kidding," I muttered as Yusuke took yet another blow and was sent flying. "Come on, jackass. I know you still have energy left. Find it and fight back."

Yusuke then tried to hit Kazumaru with everything he had but missed. "Oh, perfect!"

The ninja laughed as he dodged away from Yusuke's fist until he noticed a cut on his left cheek. "What the-? That would have finished me if I hadn't dodged it."

"Well, yeah, that's the idea, dumbass," I shouted at him, smiling slightly.

The ninja glared at me before wiping the blood from his cheek and returning his attention to his opponent with shuriken in his hands. "I can't get that close. Guess I'll just have to fight long distance. Shuriken throwing knives, my favorite."

"Oh give me a break, ninja boy. I'm not too weak to dodge," said Yusuke as Kazumaru jumped into the air and threw the stars at him which he dodged easily. Kazumaru did not respond but merely landed on the ground with his arms crossed against his chest. "Hello? I was expecting a more shocked reaction. Did you not just see me dodge your toys?"

Kazumaru smirked. "Not quite."

"What?!" exclaimed Yusuke as the shuriken came back around.

"Yusuke, look out! Those things are right behind you!" I shouted causing my partner to look behind him before dodging out of the way of the shurikens' blades. "Damn, they act more like boomerangs than knives."

"Actually, they lock on a person's spirit energy," ninja boy corrected me, never taking his eyes off of Yusuke. "And they can stay up in the air for days until hitting their appropriate target."

Yusuke ran towards a tree and turned around in front of it before jumping to his right causing two of the shuriken to hit the bark and explode.

"Oh, perhaps I forgot to mention the gun powder stored in the tip of every blade," mused Kazumaru. "They blow up on impact. Even if you dodged the blades, you can't avoid the explosion. It's a done deal."

"How is he supposed to get out of this?" groaned Kuwabara.

"It might be a good time to tell him goodbye," Genkai advised us.

"Not necessarily," I argued, thoughtfully. "He could always find a way to redirect the shuriken to someone else."

"That's actually not a bad idea," murmured Yusuke, charging towards me and Kuwabara.

"I'm a good guy, Urameshi!" yelled Kuwabara, searching for a way out of the line of fire.

"You have to listen to me, Kuwabara," Yusuke told Meathead as he got closer. "You have to win the tournament now and avenge Ria."

"Wait, what are you going to do?" I asked him then I understood. "Yusuke, you can't!"

"Sorry, Ri," he replied. "Looks like I can't keep my promise, after all. See ya!"

Yusuke then sped away in an arc towards Kazumaru.

"I see," said Genkai as I silently damned my battered legs. "He knows he can't escape so he's decided to kill two birds with one bomb."

"He what?!" shouted Meathead. "Urameshi, don't do it! Can't you think this out a little more?!"

"See, you know it's a bad idea when Kuwabara thinks it's dumb," I yelled at jackass who instead of heading our advice, ignored both of us and kept running towards Kazumaru.

"Prepared for the ultimate sacrifice, huh?" noted the ninja as he started to fire up his incredibly powerful spirit firing technique.

"You try whatever you want, ninja boy," Yusuke told him. "I'm taking you out with me!"

Kazumaru smirked. "Sorry, but I have other plans."

Yusuke then suddenly disappeared before they collided together leaving Kazumaru to take the full force of his exploding ninja toys.

"Where did he go?" wondered Kuwabara aloud as he and Botan hurried over to where Yusuke had been. "He can't become invisible, can he?"

"No, Meathead," I replied from where I was sitting, unable to move. "He probably just slipped and fell into the swamp."

"Look there," gasped Botan on cue as a hand broke through the muck.

"I found him!" announced Meathead before pulling my partner back up to the surface. "Pretty clever, hiding in the mud like that."

"I wasn't hiding," said Yusuke, coughing. "I slipped."

"You weren't hiding?!" shouted Kuwabara. "Are you trying to tell me the whole thing was an accident?!"

"Told you so," I murmured as Yusuke asked what he meant leading Meathead to point at the ninja who was flat on his back, immobile.

"You mean I won the match?" inquired a stun Yusuke.

"Kazumaru's technique emitted so much spirit energy that it diverted the knives toward him when you fell," explained Genkai. "Your victory's a total fluke but then as I've said before, anything goes as long as you win the fight."

Yusuke smirked. "Works for me."

Genkai smirked back before declaring him the winner. "Two matches left. I hope you're excited. Let's move to the second match of the semi-finals. It's not hard to guess: Kuwabara v Shurin."

A/N: And there you have it! Next chapter we will dive right into Kuwabara's and Yusuke's fights with Rando. Until then, read review and show the love!