A/N: Hah! Finally my internt has been down and wouldn't let me put this up!

Enjoy


Chapter 23

The remaining passengers sat quietly in their bunks while the boat pulled to the harbor to dock.

"You realize you haven't said a word since we got on this boat?" Yusuke questioned while making his way into Kurama's bunk.

"Oh..." He gave a sheepish grin. "I hadn't noticed..."

"Uh huh." Shutting the door behind him, the young Spirit Detective moved along the wall of the room before stopping to lean against it. "Hate to say it man, but I really don't believe you."

Yusuke then paused to await a response from his friend, but not surprising, he said nothing.

"So what is it?" Yusuke spoke up again. "Did you want to fight those demons instead of that Faerie, or are you nervous about the tournament...?

"No... I've just had a lot on my mind, is all..."

"Well," The deep voice of Hiei came from the doorway as the door swung open. "Maybe you should cut the shit before you get yourself killed in the first round."

All eyes on Hiei, Yusuke smirked lightly while pushing himself off the wall and taking his leave. The small fire demon never once took his eyes off his comrade.

"Seriously, Kurama." He narrowed his eyes. "Forget about whatever it is that's bothering you, because we don't have a choice when it comes to this damn tournament." His icy voice even chilled Kurama. "Because if we lose because can't pull your head out of your ass---"

"Hiei...?" Tora's bell-like voice chimed in. "What are you doing...?"

"Hmph. Nothing." With a sneer, he walked past her.

"You alright?" She then turned her attention to Kurama.

"Yes." He responded with a sigh, frankly tired of that question. "I'm alright."

"Well...the boat is docked and everyone's ready to get off now."

With a nod, he made his way across the room and past Tora, making sure to keep the real reason for his distraction to himself.

Tora followed the red headed boy with her eyes. "You know you can't keep it a secret forever…" She said as his hand reached the doorknob.

Kurama looked at her over his shoulder. "Excuse me…?"

Tora walked up to him and grasped the doorknob as she gazed up in his eyes. "Not all of us are blind… Some of us can see what is really bothering you…" She pushed the door open for him and stepped back. "You can't keep it a secret forever…"

Kurama stared at her long and hard then moved back, sweeping his arm out before him. "After you… Princess…"

Tora smiled a false smile. "Don't ever call me that again… Youko…" She turned and walked past him coldly.

Kurama cursed to himself. 'She was just trying to help, why did you have to be so rude?'

'Because you need to wizen up.' The voice inside him, his other self, answered. 'You're so blind to the fact that they all know something is bothering you that you've let it get to the point that it's eating away at you and you're loosing your focus.'

Kurama flinched, wishing he could tell Youko he was wrong, but he knew better. He sighed as he made his way down to the island where the rest of the team was waiting on him hoping to have a chance to apologize to Tora but was stunned when he noticed the missing tangerine haired Faery. "Hey… Where's Tora…?"

"She went off to get a look at the whole island. Said it didn't feel right." Yusuke answered as Kurama noticed Hiei was holding onto some folded cloth; he nodded.

'I guess being 'part of the land' really makes you notice the shifts in vibrations…'

The crowd cheered at the carnage that took place in the cement arena. Toguro towered over a helpless demon, grinning down at him before clenching his fists, lifting his foot and bringing it down on his head. For a moment, the demon merely wailed in pain, Toguro underestimating the strength of his skull. His grin faded as he narrowed his eyes, the demons cries growing, and pushed all his body against his skull. For a brief moment, it supported his weight, but only for a mere second. The arena fell silent, and the only sound that echoed was the crunch of the bone beneath his foot.

"Ruthless..." Gene murmured to herself, Karasu returning with a smirk.

Turning on one heel, Toguro paused to scrape the excess brain matter with bits of skull shards off his shoe, walking back over to his team mates, the crowd once more going wild. Before joining his team on the side lines, Toguro gave Gene a slight nod as if to tell her 'You're turn. Don't let me down.'

Slightly hesitant, the small demon step forward onto the field of battle, catching the eye of another demon twice her size. Exchanging a mental challenge, they both made their way to the center of the arena.

"You're a little small to be making challenges, sweetheart..." The demon grumbled with a half smile. "Why don't you go running back to your team and just wait out this tournament."

"And why don't you hush and take your stance." Nervous, but never faultering, Gene slid one foot back, crouched, and raised her clenched fists.

"Really, now..." He arched a brow. "You expect to stand a chance against me? Balzaruu The Great!" With that said, he roared a roar only that of a battle cry before swinging his arm back and wailing his opponent across the side, causing the crowd to all 'ohhh' and 'ahhh' at the amount of force behind his blow.

With a loud gasp escaping her, Gene flew clear across the ring, slamming into the walls around the arena. Groaning softly, she pulled herself out of the small crater the impact of her body made against the cement wall. Small pieces of the cement falling off her clothes, she growled lowly while fixing her long black hair, finally letting her small horns be exposed.

"You ruined my hair..." She shrieked while her eyes burst an illuminating yellow. Gritting her teeth, she opened her hands as swirls of lightning sparked at her palms. Creating a battle cry of her own, Gene sprinted towards the demon as once again a hush fell over the crowd. Attempting a counter, Balzaruu charged toward the pint sized demon, his fists tightened. Leaping into the air, Gene flew towards him, forcing both palms against his face.

"No...!!" Shouting his final words, he lost any kind of control over his muscles, causing him to fall limp. As Gene landing over top of him, each foot around him in a dominant stance, she smiled softly as small surges of electricity caused his body to seize in violent flinches. Sneering, she stepped away from him, growingly disgusted at the gurgling noises he made as foam spilled from his lips.

"Oh my..." Tora gasped as she stood at the top of the stairway to the arena, frozen in the entrance way. Shock at the sight of an old friend mixed with anger at the situation, the tiny faerie merely floated in mid air as her tiny wings rapidly flew. Her eyes grew soft as a sense of sorrow fell over her. Turning around, she took flight and soared away from the arena to join the rest of the team.

Written By: Gene and Pyro