Hina entered the arena and saw Touya standing across from her. She easily towered over him. Once the match began, he confessed, "I was going to save this move for later, but since you're an ice demon too I'll use it against you." He made the ground turn into ice and made a wall, trapping her in.

"The temperature barely dropped," Hina replied. The girls on the floating cameras didn't agree.

"Shards of winter!" Touya said as he charged up an attack and blew them at her.

Hina stayed still and let the small ice shards come. After they grazed her skin and cut up her clothes she asked, "That was it? I've felt hail with more vigor than that." She looked down at the small cuts on her arms. "Most of those missed me completely," she continued, "I'll show you a real hail storm."

Her eyes glowed as she tapped into her energy. The wind picked up to her right and ice started pouring from the sky, seemingly from out of thin air. The cameras had to move out of the way so they wouldn't get attacked as well. Touya braced himself as wave after wave of ice tried to cut him down.

In order to make herself more powerful, Hina remembered the pain of losing Hiei that fateful day. How horrible she felt assuming he was dead. She didn't even realize she was in the ring anymore as Touya sunk to the ground, beginning to freeze over as even her ice was too cold for him. His wall of ice disappeared and the ground turned to normal as he passed out.

Even after she was named the winner, she didn't stop. She was in too much emotional pain. Kunsei saw this and ran toward the arena as fast as he cold. His fire energy easily stopped him from freezing as he ran toward her. "Hina!" he shouted and grabbed her by the shoulders, "It's okay now, Hina."

She fainted into him and said, "So warm," without opening her eyes.

"Wait, not now," he said as he held her, "you won."

She woke up and straightened herself out, "Oh," she said, "I won?" She looked passed him and saw Touya on the all, all cut up. She ran over and healed him with her powers as he woke up. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," he said, "you're so cold. It's like in that moment you were ice itself."

"It takes decades of practice," she replied, "you still have time." She helped him to his feet.


Kunsei fought some nobody demon as Hiei was called to fight Mukuro. Hiei took off the necklace he had been wearing and placed it in Yukina's hand. "Keep it safe for me, okay?" he said.

"Be careful," she replied as she held onto it for him.

Hiei was waiting in the arena as Mukuro showed up. She said, "Tell me, do you still think that there isn't anything left in this life?"

Hiei unsheathed his sword dramatically and said, "Yes. I've furfilled my purpose in life, there isn't any reason for me to be here anymore." He remembered hugging Yukina from before and when his mother hugged him for the first time.

The announcer told them to begin. As they fought one another, it was clear that they were using their fighting to communicate with each other.

Mukuro said, You're not the only one who's been through hardships.

I saw the memories you showed me, Hiei replied, the sounds of those chains jingling and the pain from feeling that against your skin. You don't have to show me again.

I was so enraged I destroyed everyone around me, she continued.

Hiei asked, If you're so miserable, why haven't you killed yourself yet? Like you I tried to purge the void I felt through bloodshed. I've never felt the joy of being loved. I decided to end my journey, but you kept me here. Once you're dead, I'll be free.

Muruko explained, You lie to yourself and everyone around you all the time. I sick of hearing it! She blasted him through the abdominon and threw him into a mountain where his shirt tore off as he rolled back down to the ground.

"What part of what I mentioned was a lie?" he asked her seriously.

She said, "You were right. You didn't get to experience love as you grew up. But your heart isn't in this fight, not really. I can tell you're half-assing it, Hiei."

"Perhaps I should show you I'm serious," he replied as he ripped his headband off and showed his jagan. He started to dramatically unravel his bandages. The fires of hell themselves should suit you.

Mukuro replied, I know your father's a fire demon, but I still find it odd you were born with such prominent flames to an all female race of ice.

My curse, Hiei replied as he reached the end, to burn everything with the flames of my hate.

"Your hate?" she said, "Don't make me laugh. If it was hatred you felt you would have killed all of the ice maidens years ago." Hiei kept silent as his flames exploded from his body. Within a minute the dragon had manifested and attacked Mukuro head on. "It's longing!" Mukuro shouted, "That's all you've ever felt, you know I'm right Hiei!"

Is that such a wrong feeling to have? Hiei thought to himself as he saw Mukuro struggle against the dragon. He said to her, I was hated the moment I was born and thrown to my supposed death. Even when I was found, they didn't love me, they saw what I had was vaulable and once they realized they'd never take it from me, I was dead to them as well.

Mukuro continued to struggle and replied, After that you pushed everyone out of your life. You didn't even want to tell Yukina who you were, afraid she'd reject you just like everyone else has. She tore apart the dragon with ease and landed on her feet like nothing happened.

She said, "Your flame didn't hurt me. In truth, you never had enough power to control it, you could only bring forth the idea of who to kill and hope it would follow your orders. You failed."

"No," Hiei replied, "you just missed my objective." He pointed to her arm.

She looked down at it and saw the shackle she had worn for years breaking and it fell to the ground. She stared at it in shock. "Hiei," she whispered.

"You don't have to be chained to your past anymore," he explained, "you can leave your anger and hate in the past. You're free now."

Mukuro said, "Don't tell me your only objective in life now is to kill me someday. I don't think I could take it, being killed by the young man that set me free."

"No," Hiei answered, "and you were also right before. There are things to live for in the future." He thought about Yukina and his parents. He got down on one knee and looked down as he said, "I concede this match to you, Mukuro."