With bewildered surprise Kazane awoke in her bed.

No night terrors, at least blood loss had one subtle upside to it. The bed underneath her was soft and familiar. However long she was out for had probably been the most restful sleep since before the tournament started. Ironic, honestly.

To her right a pair of ruby eyes looked over her wounds, but they weren't the ones she was accustomed with. Dimmed, softer. After registering the mint hair and kimono she settled back against the pillows, breathing heavily. Slowly her heart rate calmed.

"Yukina?" She asked hesitantly, and the demoness gently pressed a hand to her forehead.

"How are you feeling?"

Better, she supposed. The adrenaline from the previous fight had all but masked her pain before she blacked out, but it didn't take a genius to know the wounds inflicted on her were severe. That was what she got for letting her anger take the reigns, she supposed.

"Fine, I guess." She experimentally flexed her arms, wincing at the feel of fresh skin. It would take a day or two before fully healing over, but at least there wouldn't be scarring left behind. The new flesh was tinged pink, but still blended seamlessly with the rest.

To her left Genkai sat, looking over Kazane as she sat in lotus, back as straight as ever. The wrappings on her face were removed, a first since heading to the island with them.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced," Yukina spoke, bowing lowly at the waist. "I'm Yukina, an ice apparition, and I'm here looking for my brother. It's very nice to meet you."

It took an inordinately long time before Kazane responded, doing her best to bow from her place on the bed. Yukina was earth-shatteringly cute, and it took everything in the redhead's power to not scoop her up in her arms and hug her. Be still her heart, why did she feel the need to take everyone under her wing?

"I'm Kazane. Thanks for healing me, I guess I was in pretty rough shape." She frowned as she looked into the wastebasket in the room, noting the bloodstained bandages inside.

"Rough is an understatement," Genkai remarked, a smirk on her face. "Why don't you step out there and see for yourself."

What?

Wincing at the movement, Kazane shamelessly shrugged a different shirt over her head and sent an imploring look at Genkai, who merely responded by standing up and heading to where Yusuke's room was.

At least she could walk, not that Shishiwakamaru's attacks had prevented her from doing that in the ring. Things really could've ended up worse, in all honesty. She could be dead. Again. Padding her way across the plush carpet she caught several voices talking at once, two in particular louder than others.

As she entered the area she halted in her tracks. Nearest to the doorway Jin and Hiei stood head to head, Kuwabara glaring not far behind. Kurama simply stood between the congregation, trying to mediate. The atmosphere in the room was stifling.

"She did that of her own accord, you fool. You really think we would have willingly sent her to get mauled during the fight?"

"She's my sister, and she nearly died on that field!"

Kuwabara was the first one to notice Kazane's presence, and immediately a relieved grin spread on his face. Within seconds he crossed the room where she stood, enveloping her in a bear hug even as the redhead hissed out curses. The pressure on her freshly-healed wounds was uncomfortable, to say the least.

"You're awake! I was worried you'd be a goner, or worse, stuck in some coma forever."

Kazane let out a chuckle at his words. "Nah, Genkai and Yukina are angels. I'm fine, promise."

At the mention of Yukina's name Kuwabara immediately flushed. "Isn't she the best? The prettiest girl in the whole world, and when she touches you it feels like one of those cooling packs you get at the supermarket."

From behind where he stood Hiei looked thoroughly irritated, Jin looking over her with relief evident in his features. Kazane frowned as Hiei withdrew from the congregation, exiting through the front door without so much as a glance in her direction, just a slam.

"God, Kaz, shame on you fer pullin' a stunt like that! I thought ye were dead." Jin's tone was one of an angry parent's, and Kazane waved a hand at his chastising. He strode closer to her, patting her gently on the head.

"Jeez, you sound like Yusuke. I'm here, I'm fine. Who faced off against Onji?"

Kuwabara puffed up his chest, a proud grin on his face. "I did. Beat that clown to a pulp, too."

Woah, what?

"Kazuma was incredible," Yukina added in, a demure smile peeking through her lips. "He seemed so angry about your fight. He won a game of janken for it."

"Yeah, he wasn't even an old man, either! Just some blondie in disguise."

Kazane did a double take, grinning. "Wait, what? You three decided who'd fight him based off rock-paper-scissors?"

"Yeah!" Kuwabara roared. "You're looking at the Janken Master here! Though Hiei was pretty scary; thought the shortie was gonna stab me when I won."

So Kuwabara fought Suzuki, and Genkai and Yukina healed her after her fight. Kazane remembered the dressings in the other room, frowning as she recalled how Hiei had bound them securely and meticulously. Now he was gone and she couldn't even thank him, or whatever else.

Maybe it was good he wasn't here. She didn't know how she could look him in the eyes after the climax of that match. She had acted like a fucking idiot, after all. Ugh.

Kazane hummed to herself as she went into the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee and leaning against the counter. In the living room she watched as Jin and Kuwabara teased each other lightly, Jin making an effort to ruin the pompadour on his head with a surefire gust of wind. At least those two were finally starting to get along.

"I'm glad to see you're awake."

Kurama had seemingly materialized to her right, and she nodded.

"I suppose it was a dumb move, but still. You guys were acting childish, and I was irritated."

"Something that was a result of my prodding, no doubt," Kurama admitted, his gaze shifting to the floor. "I apologize. That was neither the time nor the place for such questions."

"No," Kazane lamented. "You were doing what you thought was right, and I can't fault you for that. How's Yusuke?"

Kurama hesitated before replying. "He's been unconscious since Keiko found him. He's sleeping peacefully in his room."

"Good," Kazane responded, downing the rest of the coffee and heading towards the room Genkai had disappeared through moments before.

She wanted to know why Hiei just up and disappeared without a word, and she definitely wanted to know why he and Jin looked ready to throttle each other. She'd have to ask her brother later. At least the coffee would wake her up a bit; she still felt slightly shaky and pretty famished, but her nerves were making her stomach roil uncomfortably. Some looming anxiety still seemed to hover in the air.

Yusuke was sprawled across the sheets, his breaths deep and even. Kazane looked over the fresher wounds on his knuckles and frowned. His whole body seemed to be recovering from intense pain, and she wanted desperately to grab a wash cloth and wipe away the blood and dirt still caked on his skin. At least she didn't have to wash the sheets here.

"He's stronger than I thought," Genkai spoke quietly, her back seated against the wall.

Her guardian looked older than she'd ever seen, looking over Yusuke's unconscious form with distant eyes. Something twinged in her gut, and Kazane bit her lip.

There was something she was missing, something big. Either she had unconsciously repressed it, or she just plain couldn't remember, but after noticing the way she was looking over Yusuke's figure, grief in her eyes, Kazane wracked her brain.

She had passed the orb onto Yusuke, and was considerably weakened. Yusuke was her protege, and she had been planning on passing nearly everything to him. All of her techniques, all of her power. And now she was back at the Tournament after fifty years, facing off against her previous teammate. Kazane had felt the committee members' energy when they showed up months ago, though she was attempting to sleep.

No.

No no no. No fucking way. How could she be so stupid?

Kazane quickly crossed the space between Genkai and her, kneeling even as her thighs screamed in protest at the action. She pressed a hand to her guardian's knee.

"You can't be serious."

It took barely a second for Genkai to understand what she was talking about, and her brown eyes looked away.

"You expect me to go back to the temple without you?" Kazane began, panic engulfing her. "You expect me to live there without you? What the fuck am I supposed to do?"

Genkai's jaw clenched, and she met the redhead's cerulean eyes. "I expect you to live. I expect you to watch over those boys. I expect you to act as one of my students should."

Kazane had barely regained consciousness less than an hour ago, and now she was dealing with this bullshit. This was so unfair, so phenomenally fucked. She was barely even awake. It was a wonder she was forming coherent sentences with one cup of coffee.

Genkai had always been there, from the very beginning. The only one worthy of the title of guardian in both of her lifetimes.

Against her better wishes her voice broke as she whispered. "What am I going to do without you?"

Genkai smiled softly, pressing a calloused hand against Kazane's cheek and holding it gently. There was warmth in her eyes, some sort of regret, some sort of pride. It all intermingled, tears running down the redhead's cheeks, over Genkai's gnarled hands. This wasn't right, this wasn't how things were supposed to be.

Genkai was supposed to call Yusuke a dimwit, and Kazane a neurotic idiot. She was supposed to chastise both of them for their short-sighted decisions, smack them over the head. She was supposed to be a home for the both of them.

"You're the one gifted with knowledge of the future. You tell me."

It felt like there was a rock in her throat, and Kazane tried to swallow past it. The response came surprisingly easy for how long she had bottled up her secrets. "I can't...not when it comes to me."

There was a second of silence before Genkai's eyes widened imperceptibly, and she huffed, an amused grin spreading across her face as she returned to full height. She looked over once more at Yusuke, her expression soft, and then down again at where Kazane knelt on the carpet.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. I doubt they'll let you wallow for long, and that dimwit for that matter." She jerked a thumb back at Yusuke. "Keep an eye on him for me."

Gently opening the door Genkai hesitated before heading through it, staring ahead at the hallway before her.

"You did a good job keeping an old crone from becoming lonely all these years."

With that she disappeared, the door closing shut with a faint click, and Kazane sat in silence, staring at the space Genkai had been seconds before.

This was canon. This was going to happen regardless.

So why couldn't she remember something as important as this until now?

And why did she feel like her world was crumbling?

Taking measured breaths Kazane wiped away the tears from her face, trying to still the shaking in her limbs. She needed to collect herself, needed to keep it together. If not for herself then for everyone else.

Stealing one more glance at Yusuke asleep on the bed she marched across the carpet and opened one of the windows in the room, taking a deep breath before gently floating from the opening. She needed to get out of here.

The sky was once again clear, an immaculate blue, and she hated it. This pleasant weather wasn't meant for what was happening. Even with the crisp air filling her lungs it felt like Kazane was suffocating, and she softly descended to the grass, her body heading towards a spot seemingly of its own accord.

She eyed the jagged rocks before withdrawing her fans and aiming sharp gusts of wind at the foliage around her, sending the trees to the ground between yells. She needed to keep her hands busy, to do something, anything not to focus on the events transpiring. It wasn't the same as the cliffside Hiei frequented, but it didn't seem unfamiliar. With a start she realized it wasn't far from where Jin and her had talked the other day.

It took ten minutes of destroying her surroundings before a voice called out, and with a start Kazane realized what a stupid move this was; anyone could have approached to take her out. She didn't even feel the spirit energy around her, too focused on a specific one, and she was making an awful lot of noise.

"Kaz!"

Jin stood between two disfigured trees, his matching red hair shining bright under the sun, and Kazane stilled.

As she sheathed her fans Jin broke the distance between them, his brows knit with worry, and he stood before her with a frown on his face.

"I felt ye leave, what's the matter?"

Kazane swallowed thickly. "Everything's fine. I just wanted to come out here and let off some frustration. It's fine."

It felt so wrong to lie to Jin, and she could tell that her words were falling on deaf ears. Jin's frown deepened, and he placed a hand on Kazane's shoulder.

What could she say? She had made an oversight; her memory had failed her, and something was going to happen with an outcome she couldn't remember. All because she had spent so long in a new world, in a new life, trying to do good despite the result of her actions. She should have done better, really wracked her brain when she came to the temple. She had memorized the words penned in her notebooks, but what good were they if they already omitted serious details?

The Ichigaki team was her most laudable offense. All of them would have lived had it not been for her involvement.

Maybe she really should have stayed at the temple. Maybe she shouldn't be here at all.

"What's happenin'?" Jin asked softly, and she finally glanced up towards him.

The sheer amount of concern in his eyes was all it took for Kazane to break, and she bit her lip as the tears spilled over her cheeks. God, she hated it, didn't want Jin seeing her like this, but he had been the one to seek her out.

"She's being stupid," She choked out. "What good is this going to accomplish? A five-decade-old feud, and she decides to kick the can? What the fuck?"

Her shoulders shook, and despite Jin's bewildered expression he wrapped his arms around her.

"K-Kaz, what...?"

She had been so stupid to forget such an important event so early in canon. She breathed in Jin's familiar scent, trying to ground herself, trying to find something to latch onto.

It was something Genkai needed to do, she reminded herself. Something important enough to tear her away from her apprentice and surrogate daughter (granddaughter?). Genkai wasn't stupid; she knew the consequences, she knew what would happen.

Why else would she say those things?

And even if Kazane tried to intervene, as much as she wanted to, Genkai wouldn't have wanted that. There was a reason she had said her farewell in the hotel. Not to mention she was a flea compared to Toguro; only Yusuke could defeat him.

Her sense of spirit energy had always been shit, but she was good at getting a read on those familiar to her if she focused, even from a decent enough distance. Well, unless she was distracted enough. She turned her gaze out in the direction of the vast forest before her.

Genkai's energy reflected her personality; rough around the edges but with a comforting warmth to it. Something akin to an ember, or a phoenix egg, or some other metaphor equally as stupid. It was always there, save for the jaunt in Maze Castle. She had known it most of this life.

As the familiar signature was smothered Kazane felt her knees give out under her. It was as if her body refused to support her, and Jin dutifully caught her in his arms as she staggered to the ground.

Bile rose up Kazane's throat, and out of her peripheral she saw Jin turn away politely as she retched up coffee and sick onto the grass, the act stinging the back of her throat harshly. He rubbed soft circles onto her back, looking absolutely lost about what to do.

"She's gone," She whispered, ignoring the acrid taste of vomit in her mouth as she stared unfocused at the grass. "She's gone...gone..."

"I'm...I'm sorry, Kaz."


The two had spent nearly forty-five minutes in silence, Kazane saying nothing but staring out towards the water, her eyes unfocused. Beside her Jin fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable with the way she was acting, but it was something he had seen before, albeit briefly.

"Yer not the same as when I found ye, Kaz," He began softly, continuing as she stared still. "Yer strong now, topplin' a few guys here like they're nothin'."

He had seen the previous fights, his attention caught by her either standing on the outskirts of the ring or her impressive speed during her own matches. Even from afar he was filled with pride, seeing her use moves he hadn't thought of or implemented.

"It's more than I could've hoped fer, seein' ye now." He braced his arms behind him as he leaned. "And I'm guessin' that I owe that old lass more than I could ever repay."

His words caused some sort of reaction in Kazane, for she finally turned to face him, her eyes misted over. He didn't know much about her team, save for Urameshi and the two full demons. The greaser was a kindred spirit, fighting with his all even after the two had exchanged words. Kurama and Hiei, however, he watched with a guarded eye. Their reputations weren't for nothing, after all. He was more than surprised to see them in the lineup.

Jin had felt some spirit energy extinguished the same time Kazane had collapsed, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that was what had set her off. Going off what she said and words in the hotel room he connected some dots; Genkai back at the tournament after fifty years, a legend. How could he have possibly known she would come into contact with her?

Kazane gently rested her head on Jin's shoulder, and he wrapped a burly arm around her figure even as tears trailed from where she lay down his skin. Once more silence blanketed over both of them, and as the sun dipped further towards the horizon Jin wished he knew what to say to make her feel better. He hadn't seen her in years, though.

Jin was reluctant to let her go, but after saying that she needed to go find Yusuke he gave her shoulder one final squeeze before eventually departing.

The walk through the forest would probably do Kazane some good, anyway. Not like she could really think about much else, though. Memories of her time spent at the temple kept flowing through her brain like a film reel, further cementing the grief inside her. Even with her brother at her side she still lamented over it. Still, he had sat there with her for nearly an hour, even dealing with her vomiting in front of him, truly nicer than she deserved.

As Yusuke's yellow shirt came into sight Kazane picked up the pace until she was right next to him. She seated herself on the grass, glancing his way before mirroring his stare into the darkness of the cave.

"I thought you quit," Yusuke said monotonously as she lit a cigarette.

"Me too. Fuck it."

He simply grunted in response.

Trying to find something to say seemed forced, and she didn't know what would make him feel better. Still, she was always terrible at keeping quiet. Taking deep drags on the cancer stick she found that the smell of tobacco reminded her again of Genkai, once a comforting thing now just sad.

"You remember that time you passed out from training, and Genkai just left you out on the grounds the rest of the evening? She wouldn't even let me carry you inside, said some bullshit like 'that's what he gets'. You must've had about fifty mosquito bites."

Yusuke's lips twitched upwards, his expression softening for a moment, but he didn't respond.

"And then there was that time she smacked you upside the head for pissing so close to the flowers by the pond."

His smile grew slightly. "Or when you broke one of her fancy plates and she sparred with you 'til you could barely walk."

Wincing slightly at the memory Kazane grinned. "Or that time you convinced me to hide her hat on her as a prank."

Yusuke rolled his eyes in exasperation. "How was I supposed to know she had more of those stupid things?"

Kazane exhaled, directing the smoke away from him. She hesitated a moment before continuing; better to preface the heavy shit with lighter things first.

"I was told once that grief is like being stuck at sea. You're drowning, with wreckage all around you. At first, the waves are a hundred feet tall and crash over you without any mercy. They come ten seconds apart and don't give you time to catch your breath, all you can do is hang on and float."

She continued despite Yusuke clenching his fists beside her.

"After awhile, maybe weeks or months, the waves are still a hundred feet tall but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe. You can function. You'll never know when it's coming, but in between the waves there's life."

She needed this, too. This reminder that life would go on, and that maybe things wouldn't be so fucking miserable. For once her word-vomit habit was good for something.

"Somewhere down the line you'll find the waves are only eighty feet tall, or fifty feet tall. And even though they still come, they come further apart. You can see it coming sometimes. And when it washes over you, you know that you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, a fucking mess, still hanging on to some tiny piece of wreckage. But you'll come out."

Beside her Yusuke sputtered, and as he furiously wiped at his eyes Kazane wrapped an arm around him, letting his head rest on her shoulder. A mirror of her time with Jin, she'd have to thank him later.

"Dumb metaphor," He choked out quietly, and Kazane smiled as tears welled in the corners of her own eyes.

"Well, I didn't come up with it, so whatever."

She stubbed out her cigarette before beginning to hum softly, the wind breezing past them. Not gently, but not whipping furiously. At least she had chosen a fitting song.

Her chest was still painfully tight, and her limbs felt like ten-ton weights, but having her favorite brat next to her made everything a little less unbearable. His words on the balcony came back to her, and she smiled sadly.

That's family, right?

And yeah, Genkai made up a pivotal piece of their strange family unit, but even with her absence she would still have Yusuke, and he would have her. Maybe grief was making her corny as hell, but it was true. If she was stuck surviving in this batshit reality then she'd do more than just survive; she'd make sure the ones close to her really lived. She'd do what Genkai had expected.

She turned her head as a shadow approached, craning her neck to catch the sight of a tall figure in primary colors.

"Koenma."

The prince frowned. "And here I was hoping to catch you both off guard. I always surprise Yusuke."

An awkward silence formed as Kazane glanced between the two, withdrawing her arm from Yusuke's now-tensed shoulders. The boy still didn't turn to face Koenma. Standing upright she bade Yusuke goodbye before departing off into the woods, feeling uncomfortable in the wake of whatever Koenma wanted to say to him.

She supposed now she'd head to the hotel again. Her head wasn't in the right place to train, and staying out on the grounds by herself wasn't ideal when she was so distracted. Who knew when a demon would make their move in the shadows at her? The hotel bar was empty, and she still had beers in the room if it came to it.

A pair of voices caught her attention from a ways off, and she turned in the direction of them. She blinked in surprise upon seeing familiar heads of ruby and ginger hair, and as Kazane entered the clearing both boys looked up from the items in their hands, eyes widening.

"Kazane! Oh man, am I glad to see you!" Kuwabara cried, a relieved smile on his face. "Hey, you haven't seen Urameshi around here, have you? I think he's hidin' from me."

Kurama and her exchanged a brief glance before she responded. "Yeah, I was just with him. I really don't think you should go bug him right now, though."

"What? Why the heck not?!"

Kazane hesitated, this time giving Kurama a look. "You didn't tell him?"

His mask was as still as porcelain, but she could see a glimmer of sadness and regret in his emerald eyes. "I didn't think it was my place to do so. Apologies."

Kuwabara looked between the two, confusion plain on his face, and Kazane sighed deeply. She tried to steel herself as she bit her lip, looking off towards the trees instead of the boy before her. Voicing it aloud felt like finalizing what had happened, and it was harder than she imagined.

"Kuwabara, Genkai's...she's gone."

"What d'ya mean she's gone? Where'd she go? She's supposed to be our ba-"

"She's dead," Kazane replied bluntly, the words coming out more harsh than intended, and she winced internally as Kuwabara's face fell. "Toguro..." She cleared her throat. "She's gone."

Kurama simply closed his eyes as the ginger next to him grappled with the news, and Kazane stood in awkward silence as she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

"She was so strong, though," Kuwabara whispered.

"It happens," Kazane responded, closing her eyes in exasperation immediately. Her words sounded stupid as hell. "And, y'know, now it's up to Yusuke."

The boy looked up at her with something like determination in his own. There was also grief there, but concern, too.

"I know she meant a lot to you and Urameshi. Hell, she meant somethin' to me, too. We're gonna avenge her, Kazane, I promise."

She gaped, uncertain at what to say, and Kurama gave her a small smile. "Yes, I'm afraid letting Toguro go unpunished is out of the question."

No way was Kazane going to cry again. Nope. She blinked rapidly in an attempt to stem the tears, giving both boys an appreciative grin.

"Thanks. Um...you two are going to hangout here for a while right? And train? Can I just...sit over there and watch?" She motioned towards the closest tree. "Not really in the mood to join in."

"Of course."

"Yeah! You always give me really good tips on improving my dodges!"

Kazane preferred this to heading back to the hotel. Isolating herself probably wasn't the best move right now, and Kuwabara and Kurama could distract her for a little bit from her thoughts. Her coping methods when dealing with anything negative had always been self-destructive, to say the least. Even now the urge to head to the hotel's bar and get absolutely trashed was strong.

There was still a match to go, and she had made a promise to herself before leaving the temple. Getting shitfaced wouldn't help with that.

Protect her boys.

As the evening slowly kicked in and the sky darkened, Kazane looked up at the insane, light blue energy that darted towards the stars from where she had been a few hours ago. It was like a shooting star made entirely out of Yusuke's spirit energy, and she smiled as the two in front of her looked in awe.

She could've gotten tossed anywhere, could've ended up thousands of miles away after exiting the Demon world portal.

She really was lucky.


The boys had been absent from the hotel for most of the night and early morning, and as much as she simultaneously wanted and didn't want company, Kazane was thankful she could lounge around in the bathroom as much as she needed without an earful. She had barely gotten any sleep, and was sure it showed.

The methodical movements of shaving, working heaps of conditioner in her hair, and making sure she didn't look as bad as she felt helped to ground her. Maybe this was her zen technique? She had never really been able to get the hang of meditating like Genkai wanted. She always ended up just lightly dozing.

Her appetite wasn't there, but she needed to do something, so she began her usual routine in the kitchen as the boys came out into the living room area. Kurama was the first to appear, and Kazane handed him a cup of coffee. His whole demeanor was more stiff than usual, which was saying something.

"It'll be fine, y'know. We're gonna win and after this we can all go home," She said, quietly answering his unspoken question.

Kurama chuckled, taking the cup gently in his hands and giving her a smirk. "Shame you can read me so well," He teased, parroting her words back to her.

She flushed, lightly rolling her eyes as she began placing food on the table.

They all needed to eat something, but for the most part everyone just seemed to pick at the omelets unenthusiastically. It was probably too heavy, she should've gone with something like fruit. Maybe crepes.

Kazane's own meager appetite vanished as she looked across the table and realized that she had set a plate where Genkai usually sat out of habit. The boys either didn't notice or were just ignoring it.

"Well, we should probably get a move on, huh?" She called awkwardly, whisking the plates away at breakneck speed.

At least once she got to the arena there would be more distressing things to occupy her thoughts.

She had expected the walk there to be quiet, but the second all of them stepped out into the sunlight Yusuke clenched one fist in the other, sending a look Kazane's way.

"It's time to kick some ass."

Kuwabara yelled in reciprocation, Kurama merely nodding, and even Hiei was sporting a smirk. Kazane hesitated a second before giving Yusuke a grin.

"Well, let's get to it, then."

As they closed the distance between the hotel and the uglier arena the sunlight ahead gave way to clouds, growing thicker and more menacing with each step. Maybe the committee controlled the weather on this part of the island? Would make sense why thunder and lightning were being cast in one specific location.

Everyone would be watching in the stands; Jin, Toya, all the girls. Hopefully everything would be fine. There was no way now their team wouldn't win, it would just be a pain in the ass of the highest degree.

The five of them congregated in the massive hallway some feet away from the entrance doors, and Kazane began slipping into her stretches out of sheer anxiety. Something to do, anyway, and she wanted to be as limber and fluid as possible.

"One question," Kurama spoke, his focus on Yusuke. "Has a backup substitute been arranged for Genkai?"

Despite the brave face he was putting on for everyone, it was made clear to Kazane that he was having as rough of a time as her keeping his grief in check. Yusuke's arms were crossed, and he minutely tightened his grip before responding.

"I did, but the little twerp should've been here by now."

Memories came up to the surface and Kazane sighed. "You can't be serious, he's a politician not a fighter."

"Didn't have much of a choice, alright?" Yusuke harshly responded.

"Hey, wha-"

Kuwabara's questioning was cut off by the hallway they were in beginning to shake, bits of rubble raining down from the top. Outside Kazane could faintly hear Juri's calls for everything to begin, and she inhaled sharply.

"On my left, Team Urameshi!"

This was the last time she'd have to walk out onto the grounds, the last time she'd have to hear the chanting of demons in the stands against her team. They had been here, what? A month? Her sense of time was really fucked. It was Spring, right? Yusuke and Kuwabara were on Spring Break. At least, she hoped they were. No way Keiko would have let Yusuke skip out on school for a month or two, let alone come here herself if that was the case.

Thinking back on how warm Keiko's eyes had been when asking Kazane to keep it quiet that she was there, though, yeah. She would've come anyway.

With a start she realized that she had spent almost two months straight in her team's company. A thought crept up, unbidden: what would she do after this when they all returned to their own lives?

Putting her best stoic face on and stamping down the distressing thoughts Kazane marched out onto the field single-file with the boys, taking place behind Yusuke but in front of Kuwabara.

"Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!"

"I'd really like to show every one of these jerk faces a thing or two about mindin' their manners," Kuwabara grumbled, glaring at the stands. Kazane softly huffed in agreement.

"Please put your hands together for everyone's favorite, Team Toguro!"

It took a moment after the opposing door had opened for the Toguro brothers to make their way out from the darkness, and the second they did Kazane felt the energy coming off of them in waves. It was enough to make her glad she hadn't eaten much at breakfast. Trying to still the slight tremble in her limbs she cast a glance over to where Yusuke was glaring, fury in his eyes.

Bui and Karasu entered next, and out of her peripheral she saw Kurama tense.

Goddamn, this whole round was going to suck ass.


Note:

This chapter was...hard to write. The words Kazane tells Yusuke are words a friend told me after experiencing a debilitating loss, so I felt it fitting to put here.

It's really hard to write chapters like this in the show without the shonen-esque way of: heavy moment, alright let's get back to the action! Hope I did this justice.

It's also really hard to write fights from the Tournament arc because most YYH fans have seen them, so I hate writing them unless something different has happened. Just feels repetitive. Bleh.

A mountain of love to FLStar, rsaenz18, AmericanNidiot, Vienna22, Mediocre Dunces, Takuta, Aihi8, cocobyrd78, and lisaisfire619 for the reviews. Y'all are too kind to little old me.

Chapter title credit goes to Ballroom Floor by Oberhofer.