Equinox: Hello everyone! It's so great to be writing again! I had the ACT this week and I was literally thinking about fanfic the whole time... Is that lame or what?

Zena and Kerushi won't be helping me here... I thought they might deserve a break...

So it's just me today...

My plans for the rest of the day are fanfic, food, and Frozen...

It's is a wonderful night. :3

Anyways, I don't own YYH in any way, shape, or form.

Though I am trying to convince my boyfriend to buy me all four seasons for my birthday since he hasn't watched it yet, but still skims over these chapters to point out every mistake and continue to question my sanity...

Boyfriends...

Oh well...

Let's get started, shall we?

It's SHOWTIME!

Chapter 10

Boats and Parties

* A month and three weeks later *

The sky was clear, the sun bright in the cloudless blue above.

Too bad groups of demons and such made there way to a tournament of death.

"She's late," Kuwabara murmured, one arm wrapped around Yukina's waist. He turned to Yusuke, saying, "She's just like you, dammit!"

Yusuke gave a laugh. "It makes sense considering we're technically siblings."

Kerushi gave a shutter, saying, "I will never get used to that..."

They were all at the sight of the boat departing. The girls had their bags and were in comfy clothes for the long trip. Despite the sweats, their faces were covered in make-up (save for Kerushi) and their hair was styled slightly, to be finished on the boat on the way there. Once at the hotel, there was to be an opening party for all of the teams and any visitors.

"So there is going to be the fight on the ship, so who will be the one on the platform taking on the first round?" Kurama asked, his arms crossed. "From what I have seen in everyone's training, I am voting for Keiko or Yukina... No offense, but they seem to be best suited for the arena."

Shizuru made a buzzer sound in his ear, causing him to jump. "Nice try, Fox. I'm taking the platform battle and no one has any say in other wise."

Everyone blinked at her sudden tone. "O... Okay, Shizuru," Botan said, sitting on a tree branch.

Kuwabara turned to Kerushi after a moment of silence, asking, "Do you have any idea as to where your sister is? The boat will be leaving any minute now, so she better hurry her-"

"Watch your tongue, Kuwabara Kazuma, or you might just loose it," came a voice from behind him. They all turned to see Zena, her hair incredibly messy and in a ponytail, sweatpants low on her hips and her tank top rising up somewhat to she her belly button, which had been recently pierced. Exhaustion just radiated from her face as she gave a lion sized yawn. Her suitcase rolled behind her, a backpack was slung over her shoulder, and a garment bag rested across her arm. Jin was behind her, his bag in hand, a beer bottle in the other.

Everyone raised an eyebrow at the bottle, to which Jin replied with, "It's nae mine... It's hers." As he said this, Zena stole the bottle and took a swig.

She let out a sigh, her cheeks pinking slightly before turning back normal. "Damn strait it's mine. You expect me to get up at stupid o' clock to get on a boat and have my face coated in make-up and my hair doused in hair spray and not have a few drinks in the morning? Or the night before?" She took another swig, throwing the bottle to the ground after emptying it. It shattered, sepia colored glass taking over the ground.

Jin came forward with a sweatshirt, unzipping it and placing it on her shoulders gently. He spoke to her softly. "Lass, tha' was th last of 'em. Don' worry, th girls know what they're doin', so you will end up absolutely stunning by the time we leave the boat."

"Yeah yeah yeah..." she muttered, slipping her arms into the sleeves and zipping the sweatshirt up.

"ALL RIGHT! ALL TEAMS FOR THE DARK TOURNAMENT, GET YOUR ASSES ABOARD!" came the call of the ship captain. He was different than the first year captain that the boys had to deal with. He was taller, younger, and more muscular than fat. His hair was an abyss black color and pulled back into a low ponytail, his skin tan with the sun. His eyes flashed a sea foam green. Teams of demons swarmed forward, trying to board first until the boy pushed them all back with a blast of spirit energy, not demon energy. This caught the gang's attention. The boy stood straighter, his arms behind his back. His attire consisted of white pants with a black stripe on the outside of both legs; black, knee high, small heels boots; a black under shirt that stretched with each breath; and a white half jacket with gold shoulder bracers and a swallowtail end, trimmed in black. His hat was that of Captain Jack Sparrow's, only all white, gold, and black.

He began to speak once more. "Ah ah ah, show some patience," he stated with a smirk. The demons gave an annoyed grumble as he continued. "This will be as far as most of you go. I have been told only to allow one group on board and they will be of my picking."

The demons screeched in outrage. "Only one team?! Ridiculous!" one exclaimed.

"And of your choice? I would call this completely rigged!" another shouted.

The boy gave a laugh, holding up a hand for silence, which the demons surprisingly granted. "By choice, I mean that one from each of your groups will come forward and fight me. Whoever does not die first will be the one aloud on the boat. Those who die shall die and the team shall be sent away. So, who shall be first?" he asked, pulling a pirate's sword from his belt, not unsheathing the blade yet.

One demon stood and walked forward, saying in an airy voice, "I'll take ya on, pretty boy."

The boy smirked. "How could you take me on when you are already dead?"

With wide eyes, everyone watched as the demon shifted into three pieces, each hitting the ground with a sickly thud. The demon's team backed away in horror as the boy took a step forward.

"Oh come now," the boy said taking another step, "you can't all be too scared to fight-"

*click*

"I wouldn't talk so much if I were you, boy." Everyone turned to see Shizuru with a gun in hand, it's barrel pointed at him. Her cigarette dangled from her lips as she blew smoke out of her mouth.

The demons gave a laugh, saying, "A girl?! Signing up for the Dark Tournament?! Unbelievable!"

Zena stepped forward, arms crossed. "Not just a girl, but a TEAM of girls, you dick. What's wrong with a girl fighting?"

Everyone laughed, save for the captain. Zena's eye twitched in annoyance. She was about to charge every single demon in sight when Shizuru stuck out a hand, stopping her.

"We can take care of them after I take care of the captain, okay?"

Zena gave a nod, stepping back. Shizuru walked forward, her pistol now at her side, pushing demons aside with so much strength they were flung against trees. She stopped before the captain, asking, "Before fighting, can I ask the name of my challenger?"

He gave a small laugh before bowing, swinging an arm over his chest. "Captain Masaru Noboyuki. And you?"

"Kuwabara Shizuru. Now that we have introductions out of the way, how about we get to the fighting."

He gave a small grin, unsheathing his sword. The blade was insanely bright, too white to be steel. "This blade is made of titanium, making it incredibly rare. Are you sure you want to go against this with only a... what is that, a pistol?"

She gave a smirk, saying, "It's a Desert Eagle, .357 Magnum. Scared yet?"

"It is a nice weapon, but you won't be able to do much with it in this fight."

He sprung forward, his speed incredibly high. He swung out, only to slash thru her silhouette. His eyes widened as he heard another click, feeling the barrel against his head.

"Question," she started, stubbing out her cigarette, "who brings a gun to a sword fight? Me. Who just won this? Me."

He dropped his sword, turning to face her quickly, a revolver in hand. He shot at her, which she dodged. They jumped away from each other, shooting bullet after they both ran out of ammo, they thru the guns to the side, attacking each other with fists and limbs. He pushed her back with a elbow to the ribs. As she staggered, he swooped down, picked up his blade, and made a slash towards her.

The demons gave a cheer, thinking the swing hit her, until the heard:

"I have been trained by a psychic, a yo-yo master, and a drunk for the past two months. No sword is going to be able to touch me."

He stood there, breath labored, his sword held between her fingertips as she stood calmly, lighting a new cigarette.

He gave a smile, retracting the blade and sheathing it. Giving a bow, he said, "I would be honored if you and your team were my escortees to the Dark Tournament."

The demons gave a roar of dissatisfaction.

"I have had enough of this silly trial!" one screamed. "Lets just kill and whoever is left standing will be the team going, got it?"

The demons each charged, going for vital points to insure a quick kill, until they felt a flare of demonic energy. They turned to see Zena, her eyes blazing and her hair standing on end. Markings covered her arms and face, taking over her body.

"You will step aside or I will murder each and every one of you pathetic souls," she said, her voice rippling like a pool of water. Then every single demon charged her, out for blood.

Minutes later, blood pooled in the grass, bodies were strewn over tree branches and rocks. Zena stood in the center of it all, dusting off her sweatpants. She turned to Captain Masaru, asking, "Can we leave now?"

* 10 Minutes later, w/ the girls *

The girls had just gotten below deck when the latched onto Zena and Kerushi, ready to make them over. Genkai had managed to make it out before being dragged along, heading to the deck for some fresh air.

"Can you wait to do me?" Zena whined, flopping on the soft bed in Botan and Yukina's room. "I'm still tired and I don't want to deal with this stuff yet."

Botan huffed, hands on her hips. "Fine. You can rest in here, but you must be willing to cooperate when we wake you up, got it?"

Zena replied with a snore.

Botan walked over to Kerushi, who was getting her hair straitened by Shizuru. About a week before today, the girls had all gone another shopping trip, on which they all bought more clothing for the trip and other important traveling necessities. They had even stopped in at Electra's again for a trim and a re-dye and new mani-pedi's. Zena hadn't gone in, saying her hair was fine. Kerushi, on the other hand, had gone to Fero, asking for her hair to be dyed a natural black with blue ran through it in areas. She loved the blue hair, but it was just too unnatural.

* With Kerushi, Kerushi's POV *

It was a week before the tournament when the girls decided to head out for new clothing and hair trims. We decided to head to Electra's first. When we walked in, Fero was at the counter.

He looked up with the sound of the bell above the door. We locked eyes and he gave a smile, saying, "Well, if it isn't my favorite customer! How ya been, kid?"

The girls stared at me with confused expressions as I walked forward with a smirk. I placed my arms on the counter, leaning forward as I said, "Been pretty good, Fero. How's bout you? And since when was I your favorite?"

He gave a laugh, scaring the girls behind me. "You been my favorite since you tackled me to the ground for touchin' your sister! Speakin' of which, where is the little devil?"

"The tattoo parlor. Something happened and the tattoo she got had completely faded away. She's getting something different though."

He gave a nod. "I see, I see. So what can I do for ya, ladies?"

"We just need trims," I said. Then I leaned forward, whispering, "For the DT, if you know what I mean."

He gave a small nod before paging the girls who did Botan and Company's hair last visit. As they went their separate ways, he lead me back to the darker room. As we entered, I saw Electra there, flipping thru a magazine with a cup of soda next to her. She looked up as Fero closed the door, her eyes widening. "Hey there, little lady. Where is your sister?"

"She's at the tattoo parlor. When that Mazoku blood finally kicked in, it made the tattoo completely disappear. She's going back to get a new one," I replied, sitting down so Fero could shampoo my hair.

She gave a nod. "So it happened, did it?"

I gave a nod this time. "Yeah... I wish I had known that the only way to release the bloodline's power was to kill the person... It scared the hell out of us all considering it took forever to activate. I had never seen Jin so worked up."

"Who's Jin?" Fero asked as he pulled me up from the water.

As we walked to the styling chair, I said, "He's Zena's boyfriend. Or at least I think he is..."

"You think?" Electra asked, sipping her soda.

"They have the whole dating vibe around them but I can't tell cause they never hold hands or anything. Though how he acted while she was dead should be enough proof."

"How did he act?" she asked, leaning forward, more intrigued with the subject of romance.

"He was screaming, asking why it had to be that way, as he held her body. Tear were literally falling from his chin in a stream. It was painful."

She gave a chuckle. "I'm not laughing at his pain, but with that reaction, you can be assured that they are in love. Dating is still somewhat iffy."

I continued on, "And ever since, even with her training, which she had to have doubled, he has been shadowing her, making sure she doesn't do anything too reckless. He doesn't want to see her like that again, I can tell."

"Damn," Fero stated, brushing thru my hair with his fingers. "He loves her hardcore. Changing the subject though. Kerushi, doll, are we dyeing it the same way as last time?"

I gave a shake of my head. "I love blue, but that was way too much. I was thinking a natural black with blue brushed through it... yes no?"

"I can agree with that," he said, laughing. "What about cut?"

"These things are annoying as all hell," I stated, pointing the two pieces in my face. "Can I just have bangs? Oh, and shorter altogether. About halfway down my neck, yes?"

"Sure," he said, as he finished mixing the hair coloring.

"Back to the subject of romance," Electra said, rising from her chair to sit in the one next to me. "Have any of these boys at this temple caught your attention?"

My cheeks flushed slightly as I gave a cough. She noticed and pried for a name, a description, anything. "His name is Touya, okay?" I answered with a growl after a few minutes of her questioning.

"Keep going, honey," Fero said, taking the seat to my other side. "I need to know if this boy if good enough for my favorite client."

I gave him a glare before talking more. "He's a little taller than me with light blue hair and sea foam bangs. He is a demon, but he is so sweet. He's kinda socially cold, but alone he's a good friend. He-"

"How do you know what he's like alone?" Electra asked, leaning forward more.

"He's been my trainer for the past month and a half!" I exclaimed, my cheeks getting slightly redder. "Anyways, he is an ice shinobi, and he's just..." I gave a sigh.

The timer went off, so Fero walked me back to the bowl so he could rinse my hair. As he was, I heard him say, "He sounds alright. Not sure if he deserves ya, but whatever you choose, I guess."

I replied by giving him an elbow to his stomach.

*With the girls, Narrator's POV *

Kerushi's hair was now just halfway down her neck, getting longer with each stroke of Shizuru's flatiron. Shizuru's own hair, being so short, was curled slightly and styled to where it seemed to be a fancy updo for long hair. Botan had her hair curled at the ends, parted so all of it fell over both her shoulders. Keiko's hair was put into a low side ponytail and curled, giving it an elegant look. Yukina had her hair in her hand as she put it into a small bun halfway up her head, letting pieces fall out.

"So," Shizuru started, pinning two pieces of hair behind Kerushi's head to pin there. "Now that we are finished with your hair, what does your dress look like so we can do your make-up?"

"Can't I just tell you the color and you can go from there?" Kerushi asked with a sigh.

When Shizuru gave her head a shake, Kerushi gave another sigh, standing to retrieve her garment bag. She opened the zipper, revealing a long strapless silver gown, a slit on the right side. The bodice was a halter strap that wrapped around her neck before snapping in the back. Small jewels dusted the bodice, giving the dress the look of royalty. The girls gasped over the dress as Kerushi pulled out a pair of silver small heels.

"Now that I've shown my dress, you have to show yours. Otherwise it isn't fair."

Each girl jumped to their own bags, opening zippers and pulling out shoe boxes.

Botan pulled out a pink pearl colored dress with a fitted sweetheart cut bodice with jewels all over it. The bottom poofed out, giving it a princess look. Her heels were the same pink with a high heel.

Shizuru revealed a long faded gold mermaid dress. It was single strapped with small beading on the strap and the top of the bodice. Her shoes were simple gold flats.

Keiko's dress was a deep green color with a sweetheart bodice and a black strip of black to tie in the back. The bottom stopped at her knee with the same poof as Botan's dress. Her shoes were high heels in sparkly black.

Yukina's dress was the simplest. A long light blue halter with a red sash and red elbow length gloves. Her shoes were small blue heels.

"Now the question is, what does Zena's look like?" Botan asked, slowly reaching for the lone garment bag. Her wrist was caught by Zena's hand. Botan looked to Zena in fear, having thought she was asleep.

"You will have to wait till the party to see it," she said, her voice still laced with sleep. She gave a half grin before plopping back down on the bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Well if we don't see it, how are we going to know how to do your hair and make-up?" Yukina asked, sitting in a chair to the side.

"Simple," Zena said with a yawn before sitting back up and undoing her ponytail. "I'm doing my own hair and make-up."

She stood and went to the chair and mirror where the irons were still plugged in. she grabbed a comb and went to the room bathroom to wet down her tangled hair. As she came out, she combed thru it, sitting in the chair.

"My hair never got tangled when it was short," she mumbled as she yanked on her hair, trying to loosen another knot. "Stupid Mazoku blood giving me longer hair."

Shizuru gave a chuckle, grabbing the comb. "Here. At least let me help you comb it out and blow dry it. It's the least I can do."

She gave her hair a smooth run thru with a brush before blow drying it with care. After it was completely dry, Shizuru stepped away, letting Zena do what she pleased. Zena picked up the curling iron, making every section of hair into incredibly small ringlets. She then gathered them into a low ponytail just slightly right on her head, letting the smaller layers fall out. She stood and grabbed a small clip form her bag, which she placed on the band in her hair, adding strings of diamonds to her set of ringlets. She dug around some more before coming to a make-up bag.

"So," she started, pulling out the eyeliner she had, "is this tournament really as bloody as everyone says?"

"It can be. It all depends on what the audience wants," Keiko said. "I know I almost passed out a few times. Then again that was my first real encounter with demons."

Zena gave a laugh. "Damn girl. What is it with you? Go big or go home?"

"Why do you say that?" Keiko asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well," Zena started while finishing the last line of her eyeliner with her little brush, "your first encounter with demons is a tournament of death and then your powers get woken up by a kiss from my half-brother whom you woke up from death with a kiss. You literally had a circle of saliva surrounding your relationship with him."

Keiko flushed as the girls laughed at the accuracy of the statement. After a moment, the door opened, revealing Genkai. "Zena, I understand you are very worried about this tournament. Not only because of the fighting but also because you will be seeing your father again."

Zena gave a small nod.

"Don't worry about it. This tournament will merely be more training for you all, in a way. And Sakyo was a terrible man in our eyes, but you grew up with him as a father, so he will act differently around you. When he sees you fighting in this tournament, his heart will hopefully set back into place, an he will hopefully end this bloody tournament once and for all." And with that, she left again, leaving Zena blinking behind her.

She then turned to Yukina, asking, "Does she usually do this? I mean give out random words of wisdom?"

Yukina gave a small giggle, nodding her head slightly. "Yes she does. Oh and Zena, I noticed you brought something with you and I have no idea as to what it is, but it seems interesting."

She stood and stalked towards Zena's bag, unstrapping a long piece of what seemed to be wood wrapped in layers and layers of black electrical tape. It was shaped in the form of a gun, complete with a strap on the bottom of the piece.

"Oh," Zena said, stalking forward to handle the object. "This is my rifle. Back when we were in the states and I was in junior high, my sister was in her high school marching band as the colorguard captain. She was head of the rifle line and was given this as a present from the guard. She was still in guard my freshman year, so she willed it to me in her senior will. She made me practice constantly at home and I slowly revealed I was a protege, like her. I got solos and all sorts of cool things. This was possibly a few months before the whole demon incident." She held it before her, right hand on the butt of the rifle, left hand halfway into the barrel. "It builds crazy good arm muscles so I continued to practice with it. I brought it so I could work on it during the evenings."

They all stared in awe as she did a quick flip. Kerushi came forward, putting a hand on the barrel before saying, "Imouto, you might want to wait to do anything with that.. this room is way too small."

Zena gave a warm smile before nodding and setting down the rifle.

A sudden knock came at the door. When Shizuru opened it, Captain Masaru stood there, looking as formal as ever. "I am here to inform you that we shall be arriving at Hanging Neck Island shortly. I have been given your room numbers and your room keys, which you may now have." He handed over a small envelope, which held seven keys and a slip of paper that read ROOM427. With a bow, he left leaving the girls standing there in confusion for his sudden appearance.

Shizuru closed the door, pulling out the cards and handing them to everyone, leaving her with one for herself and one for Genkai. As the girls zipped the last of their bags and shouldered their garment bags carefully, they heard a bellow from above.

"HANGING NECK ISLAND IS IN VIEW. DEPARTURE WILL BE IN 15 MINUTES."

*With Zena, before the party, Zena's POV*

*knock knock*

"Zena! Are you ready yet?" Kerushi's voice asked, muffled by my room door. When we arrived at the hotel and gotten to our rooms, I was surprised to see it had separate rooms, all with doors and bathrooms of their own. I was standing in my bathroom, putting on my deep red lipstick, when she asked.

"Go down without me!" I called. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Well what do you want me to do with Jin? Have him wait for you here?"

"No! He doesn't get a sneak peak, so bring him down with you and tell him he's gonna have to wait," I said, a sly smile on my now ruby lips.

She gave a muffled reply before leaving, the main door closing with a slam. I gave one glance at my face before leaving to grab my dress. My eyes popped with the black eyeliner which I winged as soon as I ran into my room. False eyelashes added to my already dense forest of lashes, giving them a glamorous look. My skin was clear as glass, no blemishes, and it gave a honey glow. Silver eyeshadow was dusted over my eyelids, making them shine like diamonds. My lips were glossed and shone like freshly polished rubies.

I walked out to my garment bag, letting the zipper fly. Inside was a long black dress which I deemed my "seductress" dress. The top was haltered, a long strip of black cloth tied into an elegant knot at the back, the access fabric swaying on my somewhat bare back as it was cut out, revealing my shoulder blades. The fabric had no bunching or design, just smooth and clean. A slit started at the top of my left thigh, cutting down to the floor, revealing my blood red stilettos, strapping at my ankles.

I stood before the bathroom mirror, giving myself one more look over before leaving the room and shoving my key card in my black clutch.

*Down at the party, Narrator's POV*

The dining hall was packed. The team members were scattered around, mixing with their opponents. One team stood out, as they all stayed relatively clumped together. Every few minutes, they would glance back to the elevator, hoping to see their final teammate exit the metal contraption.

"Where is th lass? How can a girl take so long ta put on a dress an' some make-up?" Jin asked, taking a drink of his beer.

Kerushi laughed, sitting next to him with a small glass of rum and Coke. "Jin, us girls will take as long as possible because we try to look our best."

"And may I say," Touya said, his arm around her waist, "it definitely paid off. You look gorgeous tonight." He landed a kiss to her cheek, making Yusuke blanch.

"C'mon Touya! If you're gonna kiss a girl in public, at least make a big deal about it. Don't do all that conservative crap," he said before pulling Keiko into a kiss. She pushed him away before smacking him across the face, earning a laugh from everyone in the group.

Then the elevator bell dinged, making everyone in the room turn their heads to see the new guest.

*Switch to Jin's POV*

I heard the elevator bell ding and snapped my head in that direction. The doors opened and out stepped a woman. It took me a moment to realize it was Zena. I gave a sharp intake of breath, as did everyone in the hall.

She wore a long simple black dress with a slit on the left. The top curved, showing some of her chest, strips of fabric tying behind her back. Her hair curled over her right shoulder in a mass of coils and diamonds. Her face was smooth and her eyes... Her eyes gave off such a beautiful hue of ice blue, they made me shiver.

She walked forward, the crowd parting for her. The dress hugged every curve and twisted in all the right ways. I then realized she was walking towards me with a smirk. As I smiled back, some of the male in the room began to give catcalls. I gave a growl, pushing up from my seat and walking towards her. She stood before me, her eye shining and her lips a tantalizing red.

"Lass," I whispered, unable to speak louder, "you look absolutely... wow..."

She gave a small giggle. I looked back to her lips, completely mesmerized. After a moment, she whispered back, "Well? Are you just going to stare all night or are you actually gonna work up the balls to kiss me in front of all these people?"

I gave a grin before grabbing her and bringing her into a kiss. As I pulled away, she wiped my lips with the pads of her thumbs which came away stained red.

Pulling her to my side, I walked her back to the group, whispering in her ear, "Ya know what? Red is a wonderful color on ya."

*Switch to Hiei's POV*

She was stunning, but I knew I would never get her. She was in love with that foolish wind shinobi. She belonged to me though. After all, I am always the one clothed in black and I am the one with the ruby eyes to match her lips.

I know now that if I could not win her over, I would steal her away for my own wanting.

Equinox: So there ya go. This was a slight filler chapter, but the end is actually relevant to the storyline.

Hiei is going to go down on some of your guys' favorite character lists in the next few chapters.

I personally love Hiei, but I feel as though this needs to be done.

I'm sorry if you hate the idea of an evil Hiei, but I can't help myself!

Anyways, Read and Review, Follow and Favorite. I will try to get a new chapter up soon.

I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Love, Equinox!