Chapter 12

I'm back everyone (who actually cares)! The day before Thanksgiving was absolutely nuts and I didn't feel like doing anything but sleeping during the long break. I'm very sorry it's taken this long to add a new chapter. I'm going to pull an Evel Knieval and try get to the end of this story in one fell swoop over the next few days so please continue your divine patience. Apparently some people were confused about the pairings and my last paragraph in the last chapters, so here are the pairings again with the last paragraph explained.

Last Chapter: "Kuwabara, it looks like you're my first opponent. I hope everyone brought a camera so they can watch the replay. This one will be over fast, hahaha." Yusuke pointed and laughed at Kuwabara.

"Screw you Urameshi. This thing was obviously rigged so that the human wouldn't be allowed to advance. What a freakin' joke. This sucks." Kuwabara pouted.

They continued searching the list and the pairings were as follows:
Yusuke vs. Kuwabara
Suzuka vs. Shura
Rinku vs. Jin
Shishiwakamaru vs. Toya
Kurama vs. Chu
Hiei vs. Souketsu
Natsume vs. Makuro
Yomi vs. Hokushin

Everyone stood anxiously to hear the order the fights would happen. Instead of happening simultaneously like last time since there were so many entrants, each fight would be one after the other with a two hour break between each.

Koto jumped on stage with her microphone and kicked things off.

"Alright fans the first match will be Suzuka vs. Shura!" Koto said excitedly.

"To recap the last tournament, Suzuka put up quite a fight but was defeated quickly and Shura was taught a lesson in humility by his father. But enough blasts from the past let's get this thing started! Will Suzuka and Shura please approach the ring." Koto's request echoed throughout the stadium.

"It is very ugly of you to force me to fight a child. The beautiful Suzuka will be talking to the organizers about this farce!" Suzuka yelled annoyed.

"I may be younger than you, but I'm no longer a kid. I've trained in ways you can only imagine and you will wish you'd spent less time being 'beautiful' and more time being a warrior" Shura said with a shrug.

"Alright everyone it looks like the tempers are flaring let's get this thing started. And begin!" Koto commanded.

"I'll have you know I trained with one powerful old hag. She pushed me beyond limits and forced me to become far more powerful than I ever dreamed. Experience will win this fight, not power" Suzuka scoffed.

Shura took his stance and grinned.

"Are you done talking? This is a martial arts tournament, not a soapbox to spread your philosophies." Shura spoke disrespectfully and eager to fight.

Suzuka took his stance growling at Shura's arrogance. They took off. The crowd sat dazed at the flashes of light, unable to tell what was going on. Suzuka successfully connected multiple jabs to Shura's body that had him hunched over in shock at the amount of force behind them. They appeared back on the ground in a stand-off. Shura fell to his knees.

"Holy hell. It's like having boulders thrown at my ribs. Did you punch walls for the last three years?" Shura asked, aching in pain.

"Only someone as beautiful as me, the beautiful Suzuka, could've landed punches with such amazing speed and power, hahahaha." Suzuka was enjoying himself in this easy fight.

Shura climbed to his feet with a smile on his face. His eyes burned red and a yellow aura erupted around him. His voice grew deeper and he spoke maniacally.

"You better find a mirror and take one last look at your face because I'm about to rip if off! You're worthless. How could I have been matched up with a weakling like you?" Shura's voice echoed throughout the stadium. He had grown at least two feet since he recovered from Suzuka's attack. His muscles bulged from his clothes, almost ripping them.

The audience looked on in anticipation of Shura's attack as the force of his energy grew and began shaking the ground beneath the stadium.

"What the hell is going on?" Yusuke yelled.

"Who is this kid? How could he be releasing this much energy" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Amateur. What is there to get excited about?" Hiei scoffed, unimpressed.

Then the unexpected happened. Shura began a transformation nobody could have ever imagined. His aura exploded further, causing a rolling thunder for a few thousand miles. He began to shrink back down to his original size, but all of the power he had just expelled had been re-internalized. He had become dangerous.

Suzuka looked on horror. Unable to move from the shock of the energy Shura unleashed.

"I…can't move. The pressure from his energy feels like it's holding me down!" Suzuka yelled in fear.

Shura began to laugh as he took his stance again.

"Prepare for your end, 'beautiful' Suzuka." Shura bellowed.

"Wow people Shura's size has increased exponentially. His energy output has multiplied several fold. He's almost not even the same person anymore." Koto informed the audience.

"Suzuka don't be afraid of him." Shishiwakamaru shouted.

"I…I…" Suzuka shook in fear.

"Now you end!" Shura yelled as he leaped toward Suzuka. A large fist flew toward Suzuka's face and he still couldn't move.

Shura made contact.

"aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Suzuka screamed

There was a bright flash, blinding the onlookers from ringside and the spectator seating. When the light dissipated all that remained was a crater in the ring where Suzuka was standing.

Shura held his pose and then returned his fist to his side. The burning in his eyes faded. The violence of his aura disappeared.

The team looked on in horror at the crater where Suzuka once stood.

"Suzuka!," Shishiwakamaru yelled.

"He's gone…" Yusuke said under his breath.

"This isn't good" Hiei added.

"What is it that we've just witnessed?" Kurama asked.

"The bloke just disintegrated. How does someone get this kin'da pow'a?" Chu asked.

"He made such great strides during his training. And it still wasn't enough. What does that say for the rest of us?" Rinku chimed in.

"We'regoingtohavetomakesurewedon 'tholdbackagainstthismaniac." Jin added.

"Four years. He trained non-stop for FOUR YEARS AND HE'S GONE!" Toya exploded.

Yomi stood at ringside and grinned silently.

"Very good Shura. Make sure they know that they don't have a chance from the outset. That is a very wise opening move in this chess game. The clock is now ticking on their side. It is only a matter of time." Yomi muttered to himself.

Hope you enjoyed that and are at least feeling shocked that one of the good guys is no more. Starting tomorrow I'm going to blitz this story and hopefully have it finished by Sunday. Leave reviews and let me know what you think.