A.N. This will officially be my final update on Book 1. January 17th, Book 2 will be released and the Dark Tournament will commence. In the meantime, please enjoy this sneak peek at Chapter 1!

Ghost of Magic: Yes, our girl is indeed about to make quite a splash in the demon world. I'm glad you're coming along for the ride, but I advise you to strap in! Let's hear those theories, I'm curious!

Grimmjowlover314: Hey, welcome back! Thank you so much. My story plan is packed with ideas and details and I hope you enjoy. I promise I appreciate you all as well.

Hina714: There's a couple of reasons for the waiting period, which will be explained in the FAQ below. Yes, there will be romance, but I can't say any more than that. I assure you that Yoko Kurama is something I'm very much looking forward to writing about.

Wolfs child: Hope you enjoy the preview. I promise I'll take care of myself, in fact I'll be addressing a couple of things about that in my Q&A below. See you January 17th for Book 2!

grace-adalyn: Thank you so very much. Your enjoyment of my work means the world to me. Sakura is going into this tournament with one big target on her back, and none of the boys are going to be happy, especially Yusuke. But as Sakura says, she can take care of herself.
Ooh...that's a good question and one I really can't answer properly. All I can tell you is that I know exactly how that aspect will work, and there will be a few twists. Toguro is VERY aware of Yusuke's protectiveness.
I'm thrilled you love Sakura as much as I do. See you January 17th!

Damaged Forest Spirit: TT_TT You're not alone. It's hard saying goodbye to Book 1, but no matter what happens, it will always be here whenever you want to return. I hope you enjoy this excerpt, and we'll see you on the 17th.

Please favourite and review! Below the excerpt are some FAQ about Book 2.

I don't own YYH, just my OCs

Preview of Chapter 1

"What's this punk trying on us?" Kuwabara gasped. The ring of fire only completed one rotation before promptly sweeping over a large section of the grandstand and torching a number of spectators. Sakura shut her eyes, but she couldn't block out the screams. Despite the bravado she was displaying for the tournament, inside she was whimpering.

How long can we survive? Sakura asked herself. And still, Yusuke slept on.

Koto hauled herself up from the ground. "Well people, the flames are out," she stared at the damage rather nervously. "I know everybody is pretty quiet after that outburst, but remember, that's half the fun! Now send out your fighters, teams,"

Sakura could only assume it was in Koto's contract to commentate with cheeriness at all times, because from where she was standing this tournament was already off to a bad start.

"I'll go first," Rinku bounded forward.

The crowd roared in approval. "Go on, kid. Make those trashy humans suffer!"

Sakura glanced at the rest of her team. "So, who's up?"

"Not you," Hiei said instantly. "As the alternate, you can only fight if a team member perishes or is incapacitated. Since Yusuke is only asleep, I believe you should stay out of this first round altogether,"

"That little brat is definitely mine," Kuwabara stalked forward.

"You can take him out, Kuwabara!" Yusuke called. "I have to go hike…"

Rinku pouted when he saw who his opponent was. "Damn it. Should have known I'd get stuck with the weak one. After all that embarrassment last night, I was hoping you'd run off," he sulked.

"No limits have been set besides one-on-one," Koto announced. "You're free to use any weapons or techniques you want. First person to stay down or out of the ring for ten seconds is the loser. Now begin!"

Kuwabara crouched down slightly and flexed his fists. "I'll let you have the first shot, short stuff. Hit me. If you can,"

Rinku was rocking back and forth on his heels before rising to the very tips of his toes. "Why don't we…play a little first?" Without warning, the little boy began rocketing around the arena with speed that rivalled Hiei's. Turning backflips and somersaults, he moved so fast he seemed to have duplicated himself

"Can you catch me?" He caught Kuwabara across the head, drawing blood.

"Darn it," Kuwabara grumbled. "Where'd he go?"

"Surprise!" Rinku was waiting at Kuwabara's feet, and as Kuwabara glanced down Rinku launched a kick right into his face before delicately flipping away and bouncing up and down on his toes.

Kuwabara wiped the blood from his face. "You know kid, you're starting to make me mad!"

Sakura clenched her fists. "Kuwabara, you can win this!" she yelled.

Yoo hoo! Sakura!

Sakura jumped. Botan?!

Bingo, it's me! Botan laughed. I can see you from where I'm sitting!

Despite Kuwabara's predicament, Sakura's face broke into a huge grin. You came! Where are you?

I'm here in the crowd, but there's something else you should know. I'm not alone. Keiko and Shizuru are with me too.

Sakura froze. They are? Why?

Let's just say they didn't take too kindly to the three of you vanishing without a word. Botan explained. I had to tell them everything. And I mean everything. Keiko knows all about what really happened at the school, so brace yourself. Although I don't think she's that angry at you, per se. More worried.

Sakura's stomach dropped. She glanced back at the fight where Rinku was still running rings around Kuwabara.

"Bet you want to give up now, don't you?" the brat taunted. But something was different. Kuwabara had a determined look in his eyes.

"I might be worried if it weren't for one thing. You're leaving a trail!" And with that, he landed a solid blow to Rinku, who bounced across the ring.

"You're beaten," Kuwabara declared. "I can sense your spirit now!" Rinku tried to run, but Kuwabara knocked him down again. The crowd was beginning to react with shock and dissent.

Kurama nodded in approval. "Our lessons have helped him more than we thought, Hiei. It seems Kuwabara is the type of fighter who's true skills can only be measured in the ring,"

Hiei barely responded. "Maybe so. But he still doesn't understand these fights. He should drop his honour and strike the boy while he's down,"

Kuwabara seemed to have gained the upper hand. Sakura decided the situation seemed safe enough for her to duck out.

She touched Kurama's shoulder. "Guys, Botan's here. I'm going to go meet her. I'll be right back," Sakura ran off into the tunnel, ignoring the calls from her teammates.

Kuwabara surged at Rinku to finish the fight. "I don't want to torture you. Just stay down til the ref counts to ten," At the last second, Rinku glanced up with an evil smile and promptly vanished.

"Where is he?" Kuwabara looked around wildly.

"My turn!" Rinku appeared from behind and kicked Kuwabara point-blank in the neck. To the horror of his teammates, Kuwabara went down, his eyes open and glassy. The crowd cheered.

Koto began to count. "One, two, three, four…"

Rinku observed his handiwork with a self-satisfied smirk. "How was that, Zeru? I thought it'd be more fun if I let him think he was winning for a while. The fans liked it too,"

"Should have known," Hiei smirked. "Kuwabara only seemed better because the boy was leaving a trail,"

Kurama looked anxiously after Sakura. Even if she was going to find Botan, running off alone was not a good idea.

"Six…seven," Koto kept counting.

"So what's the point in counting?" Rinku snorted. "I broke the dummy's neck! Say, why don't you count his last heartbeat?" He blew kisses into the cheering audience, basking in the glow of admiration.

"Actually, my neck is just fine,"

Both Rinku and Koto were shocked to see Kuwabara getting up, very much alive.

Botan, I'm coming to find you. Tell me exactly where you are!

Sakura had only run a few metres into the dark entrance tunnel when she collided with something, or someone. She fell backwards, straight onto her butt with a small cry of surprise.

"S-sorry," she stammered, glancing up at the silhouette she'd bumped into. The shadowy figure stepped into what little light there was in the tunnel. Sakura's brown eyes widened at what she saw...

A.N. And with that cliffhanger, my updates on Book 1 are officially complete.

Now, I've had a few questions/comments from my lovely readers that I want to address here, so we're all on the same page going forward.

Q: Why is there a significant gap between Book 1's end and Book 2's release?
A: A couple of reasons. First and foremost, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my writing. I want to deliver the quality I think both the story and the readers deserve. I want Book 2 to be even better than Book 1.
The second reason? To be blunt, next week (January 21st) I'm booked in for surgery. Nothing major, just my wisdom teeth. But I'm not sure how fast my recovery will be, and there's always the chance (albeit unlikely) for complications. Therefore in the interest of 'better safe than sorry' I'm giving myself the time I need to ensure I have a good head start on Book 2 so I can keep releasing high-quality chapters in a timely manner for you all.

Q: Will Book 2 be longer than Book 1? How often will Book 2 be updated?
A: Yes, Book 2 will almost certainly be longer than Book 1, but somehow I don't think anybody will mind that. Updates will come at the very, VERY least one chapter per week. I'll almost certainly need more time on each chapter because the Dark Tournament is on such a grand scale, and I'll be heading back to college in about three weeks, but you WILL get regular updates. I'll keep you all informed as we go.

Q: Who will Sakura fight in the Dark Tournament?
A: Without giving away anything, Sakura will be fighting a mix of existing opponents and OCs, and they will be both male and female. However, she may not participate in all five rounds. But rest assured, she will always be doing substantial and important tasks on and off the battlefield.

Q: Can we see a picture of what Sakura/other OCs look like?
A: Sadly, I'm not a very good visual artist. I know in my head what they look like, but if they're to be physically drawn, I'm not the one who'll make that happen. However, if anyone here could, then please let me know because I'd love to hear from you.

Q: Are you going to finish the entire YYH series all the way through?
A: Yes, absolutely. Book 3 and 4 have been on the agenda since day 1. I've already started planning Chapter Black and how it will tie into the new elements I'm adding to the Dark Tournament, and the seeds of Three Kings are being planted. I made a promise to myself I'd see this project through to the end, and I will most definitely keep that promise.

Anymore questions/comments/ideas? Please feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer them in Chapter 1 of Book 2. My DMs are always open too.

Make sure you've clicked Author Alerts so you'll be first in line for Book 2. And with that, Sakura and I love you all, and we'll see you January 17th for the first round of the Dark Tournament!

~ Rosentic xx