Kazane had thought she had been prepared for the tournament's spectators but clearly she was wrong.

As she walked out onto the grass with the boys and Genkai in tow she felt herself becoming tense, clinging onto the detective's thighs with a tighter grip than necessary.

"Get off our grass you filthy humans!"

"Let him fight, he can pay for what he's done to us!"

Like hell they were going to land a finger on any of them.

"This is sure one heck of a greeting for special guests," Kuwabara muttered, and Kazane huffed in agreement, giving Genkai a look as the psychic was left near the lip of the ring. She was the alternate and so had no place in the fights, much as Kazane wanted to see her cream everyone here. She had already done that decades ago, though.

Koto was cute, even with whatever strange outfit she was wearing. High-waisted, hot pink shorts down to mid-thigh? An ascot...thing? Kazane liked her boots though. With a start she realized that maybe she focused so much on the minute details so as not to freak out about the overarching danger of their situation. It couldn't be healthy to focus on dated fashion as much as she did.

As she followed her teammates into the ring of the arena she stared at each of the competitors. Surely Hiei would still take on Zeru, and most likely Kuwabara and Rinku would face off, which left her with...? Who? Did Genkai even fight anyone originally?

"As always the terms of fighting for each match can be decided by the leaders of the two teams. Of course, if the leaders can't agree we'll default to one-on-one fights, determining the winning team by the most individual wins. Make sense?"

Kazane reached a leg out to kick Kuwabara in the shin at Koto's words, gesturing to where Zeru was standing and giving him a pointed look.

"Alright, let's do this tournament-terms thing!"

Kazane adjusted Yusuke's position on her back, groaning internally at the scent of his tepid breath. The feel of conflicting energy was causing her a headache, and she glared at where Zeru and Kuwabara were muttering to each other, locked in an intense staring contest.

Men.

"Sounds like an agreement! We're looking at one on one!"

The team started back toward the edge, and as Zeru's energy coalesced into flames around him Kazane turned around, feeling her anger bubbling to the surface. All of these stupid displays of male dominance, all of these stupid intimidation tactics. She was well and thoroughly sick of it.

"God, dude, keep it in your pants!" She cried, the wind rustling around and batting away the latent flames. "You're so threatened by us you need to showboat, just save it for the fights."

Two pairs of eyes turned to her, one brown and one ruby, and Kazane hissed before continuing towards the lip of the ring.

Whatever, his stupid flames weren't anything special, he'd find that out soon enough.

She ignored Kuwabara's attempts to wake up Yusuke from where she sat him on the grass, turning towards Hiei. His eyes were narrowed, glaring at Zeru.

"Beat him to a pulp, please."

An amused smile played about Hiei's lips as he glanced over at the redhead. "As if I'd do anything else."

Kazane hovered angrily above the grass in lotus, arms crossed before she readjusted her bun. As predicted Rinku strolled out into the center of the ring, Kuwabara quickly following suit.

As she watched the beginnings of the match unfold she looked around the crowd, feeling out with her senses for a certain spirit energy. It really was no use, there were too many demons here, and even if she had memorized Jin's energy from years ago she couldn't find him amidst this chaos. She had hoped he would be here to observe the team, but if he was she couldn't sense him.

That Rinku brat was fast, as much as she wanted to begrudgingly admit. The kid treated the fight like playtime, and again she wondered how old he was. Full demons aged differently, right? Maybe? Kurama was centuries old no doubt, but this kid still looked like he should be in elementary school.

"Hey, how old do you think that kid is?" She asked, nudging Kurama gently. He cocked his head slightly before answering.

"It's hard to say, likely only a few decades old."

Holy shit, what?

"You mean to tell me that kid is as old as a college student? Older?" Kazane asked, nearly dropping from her hover at his words.

"Human aging and demon aging are different," He elaborated, giving her an amused smirk. "Although I believe his childishness is more an aspect of his personality than a tell on his true age."

Kuwabara, unbelievably, was able to keep up with Rinku better than Kazane could have predicted, and she watched in surprise as her ginger friend not only followed the brat's movements to a T but was able to land a few good blows on him without the aid of his spirit sword.

"It seems your spars with the oaf helped him more than we thought," Hiei muttered, and Kazane glanced in his direction before staring back out onto the field.

The fight was over in less time than Kazane could have believed, Rinku barely taking out his yo-yos and Kuwabara barely unsheathing his spirit sword before everything had settled in dust.

She had thought her idea of training together would help the team, but had it really helped Kuwabara so much?

"A win?" She asked breathlessly, not believing her own eyes.

As Kuwabara hopped and skipped back to them in cheer she took in the many cuts and bruises on his face, completely different from the broken bones and mangled limbs she had been expecting.

"Did ya guys see that? That kid was toast!"

Maybe things wouldn't be quite so similar to what she was used to after all. Kazane smiled, ignoring the anxiety in her gut.


"Ouch, watch what you're doing, redhead, that hurts!"

Kazane pressed the cotton ball tighter onto the wound on Yusuke's foot, frowning.

"Of course it hurts, doofus. You got a giant cut on your stupid foot."

"Hey, it wasn't my idea, alright?!"

She had bandaged up the cuts on his face and now she was working to bandage up the pad on his foot, and as Kazane tossed the bloodied cotton ball into the garbage beside her she couldn't help a smile from rising to her lips.

"That was some fight, though. Sucks I couldn't compete this time."

Instead of a joking barb like she was used to, Yusuke just stared down at the couch cushion with a glare.

"What's up?" Kazane asked, tying the knot on the dressings and sitting back.

The expression on Yusuke's face was not only serious (and slightly out of character for what she was used to), but also angry and tense. Maybe it was the antiseptic still burning on the open wound. Whatever the case, the silence was going on for way too long, and Kazane got up, heading into the kitchen to grab some snacks.

"Don't you have another patient to attend to?"

The demoness looked up in surprise before frowning herself, grabbing some plain sugar snap peas and biting down with more anger than she intended.

"Kurama's fine, I've already seen to him and he just needs rest, and Hiei won't let me bandage his stupid arm, so why bother."

Yusuke rested his arms behind his head, closing his eyes. "That's a surprise."

"What do you mean?"

One brown eye opened to stare at her in incredulity. "You're the only person that can really get Hiei to do anything, that's all."

Instantly Kazane 'pshh'd, finishing up the peas in record time before tidying up and gathering her shoes, her pack already on her back.

"And where are you going?" Yusuke asked, sitting up from his position.

"Out," Was all Kazane said before slipping out the door. She made her way through the hotel, ignoring the curious stares of rich humans and the disgusting decadence around her.

Ridiculous, that's all Yusuke's words were. Hiei loathed her, and delighted in freaking her the fuck out, no doubt that was why he always used to hang around the campfire at the temple. It was a fact that he thought half-breeds were beneath him, and why should she be any different?

Still, why did her steps take her to the cliff face?

She looked out at the craggy expanse, and immediately flushed when she saw Hiei below with his shirt off! What the hell was she doing here? And why did she take the medical pack in her bag? There was no use to this.

Kazane made to turn away but before she could a familiar and grating voice called out, freezing her in her steps.

"I know you're there, hiding."

This demon was going to be the death of her.

Begrudgingly Kazane strolled out of the forest and jumped down the rocks, glaring at the raven-haired man before her.

"And just what are you doing here?"

"Your arm needs bandaging," She began, but before she could finish Hiei turned away, staring back out towards where the ocean was bracing itself against the cliffside.

"My arm is fine, go back to the hotel. This doesn't concern you."

Irritation bristled, and Kazane strode forward, taking the wraps and ointment out from her pack. "You're such an idiot," She started, digging deeper into her pack for a different bundle. "Your arm is not fine, and you're definitely not eating, and if I didn't know better I'd say you were isolating yourse-"

Hiei's pointed glare cut her off, and instead of continuing she held out the wrapped bundle to him, taking care not to meet his eyes. Wordlessly Hiei marched forward, taking the item in Kazane's hands before unwrapping it. Salmon onigiri stared back at him, perfectly made, and he sat on one of the rocks.

This whole tournament was filled with awkward silences, and Kazane was really, truly over it. She fidgeted with a loose string on her backpack strap, trying pointedly to ignore the words Yusuke spoke to her earlier.

"Well, I brought you food so are you going to let me see to that arm or not?"

Hiei grimaced, lazily holding out his arm and staring back out to the water as he munched on the onigiri.

What the hell? Had Yusuke been telling the truth? It seemed like only some food and assertive company was enough to get Hiei to do her bidding. She hadn't really tried much earlier, after the battled had ended, and Kurama had been more than happy to have her take over dressing his wounds.

Grumbling all the way Kazane seated herself down beside him before taking out the poultice, trying to ignore the insane heat coming from his arm. Did he melt snow just by touching it? Did he prefer cooler temperatures because of his body heat? Maybe that was why he always spent so much time outdoors in the dead of night.

Instead of lingering on thoughts of the fire demon before her she set to work, silently rubbing the medication into Hiei's singed skin with methodical, gentle movements, all the while thinking back to every spot on the temple grounds she had memorized in her life in an attempt to dissociate. She really missed that spot in the woods, even if she destroyed nearly every tree there. The pond near the building was nice, too.

God, she was so uncomfortable. Why had she even come here? To prove Yusuke wrong? She didn't fucking know.

"Are you finished yet?" Hiei hissed, breaking her out of her reverie with a start.

"Shut up, I don't even know why I bothered coming out here." Kazane's words came out harsher than intended, and she felt Hiei stiffen beneath her hands.

With a start she realized this was one of the first times she had sought out Hiei's company instead of him seeking out hers, and she stepped back, knotting the bandages before gathering her backpack up on her shoulders.

This was way too weird.

"Okay, well, I don't know much about your technique's lasting effects but I'm sure you'll be fine in no time."

A lie. She knew way too fucking much about Hiei and his life, and she needed to get away before whatever guilt had started brooding in her chest took over.

Without another word she traipsed off into the forest, ignoring the pair of ruby eyes she was sure was following her as she left. Every step farther away from Hiei brought her more clarity, and she sighed as she came to the area round the hotel, resting her palms on her knees and breathing deeply. She had practically sprinted away from the guy.

"Kazane!"

Oh christ, what now?

A familiar head of powder blue hair entered her vision and Kazane smiled. Botan may be a force to be reckoned with but she sure knew how to get her mind away from whatever stupid thoughts lingered, even if her positive energy was somewhat exhausting.

"Botan! And friends."

Keiko was so pretty, it was no wonder Yusuke was enamored with her. She had the look of every top sorority girl Kazane knew from her previous life, but the flint in her eyes made it apparent she wasn't just some A+ bimbo.

Shizuru was intimidating as fuck, and if Kazane had been a few years older maybe she would have made a pass. That menswear really did something for her tall frame and broad shoulders. Okay, get it together! Hormones were the worst, especially the second time around.

"I'm so happy to see you," Botan exclaimed, and Kazane's brows knit in confusion. What were they doing wandering around the grounds? "I thought you could use some girl time away from the boys, but you weren't in the hotel when I went to get you. Come to think of it, nobody was there..." Well. That was troubling, right? "Oh, you have to come with us, we were just on our way to the pool. What do you say?"

This day off was even stranger than could have been expected, but with the sight of the reaper's beaming smile in front of her she had no choice but to say yes.

It was an awkward walk to the hotel pool, to say the least, and Kazane caught both Keiko and Shizuru staring at her more than a couple times. Botan had completely glossed over introducing them, and now it just felt a little...weird.

"Did you bring a swimsuit?" Botan asked, shamelessly changing in the dressing room into her one-piece suit.

"N-no, I think I'm just going to hangout on the sides," Kazane said, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. "I'm not really feeling up to swimming, to be honest. This was kind of a surprise."

A disappointed frown graced Botan's beautiful face as she led everyone out into the pool area. "Suit yourself, but I did bring an extra just in case."

The redhead settled down into one of the lounge chairs, Shizuru next to her, and she ran her hand through her hair, trying to ignore the palpable awkwardness of the situation. It was a gorgeous day, the same as the previous one, a really strange mood for a Dark Tournament all things considered.

"You're a half-demon, huh?"

Kazane choked, turning to face Shizuru, who was eyeing her with a steady gaze. Leave it to the eldest Kuwabara to get right to the point.

"Yeah. Shizuru, right? I'm fighting on the same team as your brother."

Shizuru huffed, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag. The act made Kazane itch for one, but she hadn't brought her pack and she knew it was better for her if she didn't. Trying to be healthy was a feat in itself but damn she would try.

"He didn't even tell me what he was up to," Shizuru started, a frown on her face. "He just disappeared into the mountains and then ran off to fight in this stupid tournament without telling me. Yusuke did the same thing to Keiko. If we hadn't practically forced Botan to bring us here we'd have no idea what was going on."

Alright, no light, pleasant conversation. That was fine. Maybe she should have asked for a cigarette if this was the route the conversation was going.

"They talk about you two a lot, you know," Kazane began, kicking off her sandals and wrapping her arms behind her head. "I'm sure the last thing they wanted was to make you two worry, even if they aren't good at showing it."

Shizuru said nothing, just exhaled a cloud of smoke before staring at where Botan was coaxing Keiko into the water, the human girl looking slightly put out by the demons around, many of which were sporting otherworldly ears and tails.

It was true, there were a lot of times Kuwabara talked about Shizuru, and Yusuke did talk about Keiko, even if most of it was him complaining about how mad at him she'd be. The talk had dwindled towards the end of the training, but now Kazane wanted to smack herself for failing to remind the boys of the fact they hadn't said anything to these two girls.

"So what brought you here?"

Kazane took her gaze off where Keiko and Botan were splashing each other. Shizuru's gaze was probably more intense than Hiei's or Kurama's when she really thought about it.

"The guys needed another fighter, and to be honest I'm hoping to find someone here."

Brown eyebrows rose high on Shizuru's face. "What, like a guy?"

"I guess you could say that," Kazane laughed. "My brother's a full demon, I was hoping he'd be here but I haven't seen him yet."

Another contemplative silence from Shizuru before she replied.

"He look like you?"

"Yeah, although he looks a lot more like a demon than I do, honestly. He's got a damn horn."

Their signature red hair and ocean eyes were really the main traits shared between the two, and the fair skin. Their personalities were polar opposites, and Kazane wondered how Jin had become such a humorous, sweet demon when she cursed like a sailor and came off as such a bitch.

"If I see him around I'll let you know."

The sky above them started to darken and Kazane looked up to see thick, menacing clouds approaching. With a sigh she got up out of her seat and put her sandals back on, wrapping her sweatshirt tighter around her.

"If you two stay in there for much longer you'll get struck by lightning!"

An 'eep!' followed her words and Botan and Keiko clambered out of the pool and headed back into the changing area, Kazane and Shizuru following behind.

As the four made their way to the hotel the girls were staying at Kazane bit the inside of her cheek.

"Are you going to tell them you're here?"

She watched as Keiko's face fell into a frown, bow shaped lips pursing, and almost regret asking the question.

"I've been telling her the same thing!" Botan agreed enthusiastically, the towel wrapped around her shoulders in a death grip. "But-"

"I want to," Keiko interrupted. "But I don't want to worry them. The last thing they need right now is a distraction during their fights. Please, Kazane, don't tell them we're here? I don't want them to know... at least, not yet."

Keiko's brown eyes were wide and imploring, and Kazane felt herself let out a deep sigh as she stared into them. Keiko really was selfless in her own way.

"I won't," The redhead promised, winding a strand of hair around her finger. "It's not really my business anyway, that's up to you two to decide. I will say, though, that they'll probably find out eventually."

A soft smile spread across Keiko's lips, and she nodded, thanking Kazane quietly. The demoness split off from the rest of the group towards the team's hotel, bading the girls farewell.

She really wasn't any good with girls. Guys were easier to understand, reacted better to her brash attitude and harsh language. Even Kurama for all his poise and politeness accepted her. There was a different nuance to dealing with women. Maybe it was because she originally grew up around mostly men.

Still, the idea of becoming friends with Keiko and Shizuru didn't seem like the worst idea in history.


Kazane drifted lazily over the railing on the building's side, her feet touching the ground silently. The sky had cleared earlier, and now the moonlight was bright enough to illuminate everything clearly, a myriad of stars shining above. They were almost as nice of a sight as the temple's night sky.

Shedding her sweatshirt, t-shirt and leggings she tossed them onto one of the lounge chairs before dipping a toe into the water before her, reaching out and making sure there wasn't any other presence around.

Sure, she felt bad about not actually swimming earlier with the girls, and she knew she could rock a bikini like nobody's business. Even so...

Kazane shook her head in an attempt to drive out the thoughts, diving under the water's surface and relaxing in the feel of lessened gravity. The chlorine would dry out her hair and skin, but the pool was nice. Even with the amount of traffic it must get there wasn't a chip at all in the tile-work around the area.

She felt ashamed of herself. Not for sneaking into the hotel pool in the dead of night, no, who would give a fuck about that? She felt ashamed about the fact that her first reaction to the fights ending the previous day was relief.

She had been relieved not to fight, even if she knew she'd have to eventually. The idea that she could somehow fuck up the timeline, or potentially even lose was enough to make her wring her own neck. She should have thought about this more before they all came to the island, but it seemed she had a really bad habit of not really thinking about the future.

A muffled feeling of spirit energy erased her thoughts as quickly as they had come, and immediately Kazane broke the surface of the stilled water above, searching in the dark. Her eyes glanced over the empty chairs and tables, not a figure in view.

She drifted towards the edge of the pool, pressing her arms back onto the tile as she braced herself, swallowing nervously. She forced a mean smile onto her face, her lips twisted up, and bared her teeth.

"Stalking a woman in the middle of the night is pretty pathetic, and I've already got someone else doing that so just come out here."

The signature wasn't familiar to her, else she wouldn't feel quite as on edge, and as a figure stepped out from the darkness Kazane realized why she didn't recognize it.

"As I live and breathe," The redhead called, injecting as much confidence into her voice as she could. "What an honor to meet one of the shinobi in the flesh."

As she felt the weight of Toya's stare on her form she felt fear coil in her gut, thick and menacing. This was quite possibly the worst situation she could have dreamt of; being surrounded by water while one of the most powerful ice apparitions stood before her.

He could freeze the pool in an instant, as well as the water slicked across her skin. Her weapons and fans were on the chairs along with her clothing.

Fuck.

"Kazane, am I right?"

Even his voice was chilling. Terrifying situation notwithstanding Toya was actually kind of cute, even with the weird two-tone hair deal he was sporting.

She hopped out of the water and placed a hand on her hip. If she possessed an ounce of modesty it would have paled in comparison to this tense situation, entirely put on the backburner.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Goosebumps trailed along her skin as the breeze came in, and Kazane repressed the urge to shudder at the chill. Was this another intimidation tactic? The fight between Team Urameshi and Team Masho wasn't supposed to happen until after their first fight tomorrow.

"I just wanted to see for myself," Toya began, his voice slow. "Exactly what type of person inspired Jin to come to this tournament."

Toya didn't have to use his ice powers to freeze Kazane; at his words she stilled immediately, her stomach sinking.

"You didn't know?" Toya continued, crossing the ground between them. "He's here, and your team will be fighting against us tomorrow."

He stopped barely a few inches away, and Kazane looked up into his eyes. He was taller than her, but that really wasn't much of a surprise these days. His gaze was narrowed, calculating, a pale shade of blue that was fitting considering his abilities. Icy.

Kazane felt no snappy comeback come to her defense, no insult to break this tense situation. Her heart jackhammered in her chest, and she could swear the man before her could likely hear it as well.

"Your appearance here is quite the surprise, especially for Jin."

Jin knew she was here? When? Did he see her during the first match? Why hadn't he approached her? She had been looking for him, dammit.

"What repulsive creature threatens a woman in the middle of the night?"

Both pairs of eyes turned at the new voice, and as Kazane caught the pair of ruby orbs glaring in Toya's direction surprise and relief flooded her chest.

Hiei strode forward, one hand gripping the sword on his hip and the other clenched tightly in a fist. He stopped at Kazane's side, and she immediately felt the warmth that radiated off of him ease the chill in her bones.

"Threaten? I'm afraid you are mistaken, Hiei," Toya responded, his face betraying no emotion. "I was simply introducing myself."

"Take your leave before my sword finds you instead."

Wordlessly Toya withdrew from their grouping, turning before he disappeared into the darkness around them.

"It was a pleasure finally meeting you Kazane."

A beat of silence passed as a breeze came rolling in, and Kazane immediately turned away from the demon at her side to where her things were lying on the chair. Her heart still thudded uncomfortably in her chest, and as she dried off she tried to quell the shameful blush rising to her face.

"I uh...thanks," She coughed, pulling her leggings up around her hips. "I could've handled him, you know, if things had gotten crazy."

She could practically feel Hiei rolling his eyes behind her.

"Yes, you looked quite capable." He replied, sarcasm laced in his words.

The demoness grumbled to herself, reaching for her shirt. Stupid demons and their stupid power plays. Stupid Jin for not coming to find her when he knew she was here. Stupid tournament.

Stupid false life.

"Who is Jin?"

Kazane stilled where she stood clutching her shirt, and she turned to face Hiei.

"He's my broth-"

She had been expecting Hiei to be glaring at her with his hands in his pockets, or maybe looking off into the dark around them. She hadn't expected his eyes to be trailing over the expanse of her exposed stomach.

The tips of her ears immediately flushed, and she felt rage bubble inside her. She hadn't pegged him for a pervert but, god, what the hell?

It wasn't the exposed skin he was staring at, though. Or her chest, actually. With a start she realized it was the puckered and deeply pigmented scarring running along it, the moonlight washing out her already pale skin and causing over-exaggerated contrast. It probably had been even more obvious without her leggings on.

Kazane bit her lip hard enough to taste blood, shrugging her shirt over her head to cover up the scars Hiei had been staring at.

This whole situation was so fucking awkward. She wanted to punch something, to break the furniture around them, to bolt as fast as she could away from here. Everything about today was already too much and tonight was the cherry on top of a shit sandwich. Or sundae. Whatever. Fuck.

She wanted to get so drunk she forgot her own name, or so high she could forget being trapped in this batshit universe. She wanted to blast trees and rocks with wind until nothing stood before her.

She couldn't though. Not now, not with so much happening in less than twelve hours.

Instead Kazane wrapped her sweatshirt around her figure, zipping the thing up all the way until it sat right under her jaw. She turned away from Hiei and marched over towards the side of the pool grounds, hovering over the railing and heading back off towards the hotel.

Thankfully most of the boys were already asleep when she arrived back, save for Kuwabara. He was steeping a cup of tea in the kitchen when she walked in, and immediately she regretted not leaving her window unlocked so she could just float up towards it.

"Where'd you go? This place is pretty creepy at night, you know."

Kazane shot him a small smile. "I just went for a walk to clear my head."

Kuwabara's head cocked slightly and he frowned, setting his cup onto the coffee table as he sat down.

"Well, I just wanna say that if something's bugging you, I can listen if you need to vent. I'm not really the greatest when it comes to giving advice, but talking to someone always makes me feel better."

Kazane felt her throat close up and she quickly turned to head toward her room.

"I...thanks, Kuwabara. Goodnight."

Letting her hair trail down from her bun Kazane sank into the covers of her bed, squeezing her eyelids closed in an attempt to stifle the overwhelming and stupid amount of emotions boiling over. She grabbed one of the pillows forcefully, pressing it over the top of her head as the tears soaked into the expensive linen.

If she had to cry the very least she could do was make it as quiet as possible so as not to worry the boys.


Note:

A lot happening in this chapter. Jin knows she's here and hasn't approached her yet? The group training together actually helped Kuwabara? What does that bode for the rest of the tournament arc?

I think Toya's a cutie, and that may have crept into this chapter a bit. Oops.

Also more interactions with Shuzuru and Keiko coming later on, and Botan as well.

All my love to my wonderful followers and lurkers, and heaps of affection to rsaenz18 and ptbv for the reviews.