By the time I had to do my laps I just felt like giving up. I obviously wasn't improving, so what was the point? I wasn't ready to die for a stupid tournament but it was becoming clear that I would at this point. Maybe I don't have to go. Maybe I could just go back to Canada, lie low. Hell, maybe just go off grid all together. I think I could manage that.

I stood in the usual spot and waited for Hiei. He wasn't one to be late so I didn't have to wait long. I simply looked over at him and waited for his signal or whatever.

"Laps," was all he said before running off.

I sighed and started to try and follow. I had barely gotten started when Hiei appeared in front of me. It was such a surprise that I ended up stumbling back so I didn't run into him.

"Am I boring you?" Hiei asked as he stared down at me.

Forcing myself to stay quiet, I got up and brushed myself off. "No."

I tried to walk around him but he just stepped in my way.

"It appears like I am."

I stared at him and he stared at me. I couldn't read his expression and it just pushed me off the edge.

"What's the fucking point?" I yelled. I got all up in his face but I quickly began to pace. As angry as I was, I wasn't angry at him. "It's obvious that I'm not improving! What's the point on continuing this bullshit training? So I just can just go to the Demon World Tournament and die? I don't fucking think so. I've been training my ass off for months. MONTHS. And what do I have to show for it?"

I looked over at Hiei and noticed he took off his cloak. What? Suddenly he pulled out his sword and rushed at me.

My first thought was wondering why he was attacking so slowly. I was able to dodge all of his strikes and jabs. Just as soon as it started, he stopped.

We stared at each other for who knows how all.

"You've improved," Hiei said as he put his sword away.

"Fucking, what?" I couldn't help but yell. I was still angry. "Are you kidding? You were obviously holding back! I don't think I've ever seen you move that slowly."

"Oh?" Hiei got into a fighting stance.

I didn't know what to expect so I got into a defensive stance.

Hiei's energy flared up a second before he yelled "Fists of the mortal flame!"

His hands became engulfed with fire as he engaged into hand-to-hand. Again, I was able to dodge his attacks. Why the hell was he holding back? He screamed before I felt his energy become more intense. I had to change my strategy. I wasn't able to simply dodge anymore. Calling on water, I engulfed my hands just like Hiei. I couldn't quite figure out how get on offense so I did the first thing I could think of.

I watched closely before grabbing his fists. With his flames and my water, we were covered in steam to the point where I could barely see my own hands. By the time it cleared out, I noticed I wasn't in the same spot as before. I looked down and noticed my feet were deep into the ground and had caused a long track from where we were before. Ten feet away.

Stunned, I looked over at Hiei and noticed he was panting. I hadn't even broken into a sweat. What the hell?

"Holy smokes! I could barely keep track of yours guys movements." That was Kuwabara's voice.

I looked over at my hands and noticed they were still holding onto Hiei's. I quickly let go and looked down at my own hands. Had I actually been able to hold of Hiei?

"You've improved," I heard Hiei say.

Looking over at him, I watched him put his cloak back on and jump into the trees.

Finally, I turned around and saw that the others were still standing there.

"All that training is paying off," Kurama said as he walked up to me.

"You can say that again!" Kuwabara said and he ran to catch up. "You were faster than Hiei!"

"I was?" I still felt stunned. I didn't even go into my demon form.

"Just in time to." Yusuke stepped forward. I looked over at him and saw that his tone matched his expression. I don't think I've ever seen him look so serious. "We leave for Demon World in a week."

"Wait what?" I finally brought my hands down and focused. "I thought I still had at least a month."

"Time flies when you're having fun," Kurama said with a nervous grin.

Oh god, this was actually happening.

"Come," Kurama said as he gently placed his hand on my back and guided me back to the house. "There's nothing more we can do now. You should just focus on getting some rest and not stressing out."

"That's easy for you to say. How do I know you guys haven't given me your all? In fact," I paused so I could point to Yusuke, "I know for sure you haven't used your spirit wave on me."

"Oh come on," Yusuke said, throwing his arms up in defense. "You don't need me to use that move on you."

"You're right," I started, sarcastically. "I'm sure the all the demons will take it easy on me. What was I thinking?"

Yusuke got the hint. "Look, it just might not be a good idea, okay?"

"Why?" I was honestly curious but then it clicked. "Wait, are you saying that I might not be able to handle myself? Am I not able to take those guys on?"

"No, no! That's not what I'm saying!"

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm just saying…"

Kurama chuckled. "I don't think you'll be able to get yourself out of this one, Yusuke."

Yusuke admitted defeat. "Are you sure you want to?"

"I'm sure I don't want to die," I responded.

"Fine. Tomorrow, we'll do it after dinner."

"Good." I squared my shoulders and headed to my room but I was feeling nervous. A part of me didn't want to go through with this. But another part knew I had to if I was really going to survive this tournament.

Don't get the wrong idea, I don't think the guys had ever really held back on me. Especially when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. But I know they weren't giving me the skills that made them so famous. Yusukes spirit wave; Kurama's demon form, Hiei's dragon of the darkness flame; and Kuwabara's… well… never mind.

The next morning I woke up early as hell. My body had obviously gotten used to my training schedule. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't seem to do it. Fuck it, whatever. I went down to help myself to some breakfast while still in my pjyamas.

Since there was no schedule today, I took my sweet ass time eating, cleaning up, and then going back into my room to change.

I was originally just going to change into regular day clothes but I caught sight of my new pointe shoes. Instantly changing my mind, I changed into my ballet stuff then pulled on a pair of sweats so I didn't feel so naked walking around the compound. I put everything else I needed in a small bag then headed to the room where I used to dance.

I was so focused on dancing again that I actually bumped into someone. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I looked up at who I bumped into and gasped in surprise. "Shuya?!" I looked around to double check my surroundings. I was at the front entrance of the compound. "What are you doing here?"

Shuya smiled down at me. "I have said I wanted to see this compound. I figured today was the day to do it. Especially since I haven't seen you since the other day."

I felt my cheeks go hot. I did just kind of leave him in the streets… "Oh yeah.. well.. um…"

He laughed softly. "Don't worry about it. It was a pretty scary situation. I'm just glad you're okay."

Oh shit. I had to come up with an excuse. "Sorry about that. I got scared and ran away the second I could." That sounded like a scared little girl would do.

"I don't blame you." He looked down at my hands. "You're going dancing?"

I looked down at my pointe shoes in my hand. "Oh that's right! I must thank you!"

"Thank me for what?"

"For buying me these shoes. I normally wouldn't accept something like this but… well. Thank you. I really appreciate it." I saw something flash through his eyes, which made me wonder. "It was you who bought them, right?"

"Of course! I was just surprised you were able to guess it was me who bought them. I hope you put them to good use, and don't break them this time."

I nodded in agreement. I'd have to be really careful with this pair. My gaze went from the shoes to Shuya again. "Well I'm sure you want a cup of tea or something?"

Shuya waved me off. "No, that's okay. I'm just glad to see you're well."

"I'd hate for you to come all this way only to leave again."

He waved me off again. "Seriously, it's fine. Enjoy the shoes."

And with that he started to walk to the stairs leading down and off the compound. What a weirdo. Shrugging it off, I went off to get warmed up.

I was much more careful with breaking in my shoes. I wasn't going to risk breaking them again. After taking my time with the warm up went through my playlist to figure out if there was a solo I wanted to try. I must have gone through my solo playlist at least three times before deciding on my Aurora variation. Even with a decision made, I was worried so I did a few more warm-ups before going to play the song.

Just as I was about to hit play, I felt a sudden surge of demon energy. I shot up straight, now alert. It felt like it was someone attacking, and not too far from here. I waited to see if it was going to get worse but it was gone just as quickly as it started. Still, I waited a bit longer. Maybe it was just a couple demons having an argument at the village.

When I was sure it wasn't going to happen again, I went on with my solo.

That night, all the guys were able to stay for dinner. It was such a rare thing that we figured we would make it kind of special. And by that I mean, we all sat at the table instead of the TV. Although, Yusuke making dinner for everyone also made it special.

"It's delicious!" Kuwabara said as he practically inhaled his noodles.

Kurama and I agreed.

I took a few moments to really enjoy the meal but then I had to get down to business.

"Let's get serious for a moment," I said. All the guys gave me their own version of a raised eyebrow. "I have questions about this tournament."

"Oh, come on!" Kuwabara said. "Can't we just enjoy our last few days in Human World without talking about that stuff?"

"No," Kurama said gently as he pushed his bowl aside. "We need to make sure that AJ has as little surprises as possible. You might learn a few things as well, Kuwabara." Kuwabara pouted but Kurama turned to me. "What did you want to ask?"

"Firstly, my end goal in all this is to at least get to Mukuro, correct?" The guys exchanged looks but in the end nodded. "So I have to do everything in my power to get passed all these other demons while still having enough energy to take the bitch out?" I let the words slip before I could fight the jealously.

"Basically, yeah." Yusuke responded.

"So assuming Mukuro is still this great demon that could kill someone with a stare, I have to get pretty damn close to the end."

They all nodded again.

"So this next question is going to be pretty dumb. How many rounds are there?"

Yusuke answered this one. He was the expert in all this. "First there will be the preliminaries. Almost every fighting demon in Demon World will want to take part in the tournament so it's basically just a way of weeding out the ones really not worth fighting in the actual tournament."

"How does that work exactly?" And why was I just realizing I should be asking these questions now?

"It's basically a hundred fights with fifty people in each battle."

"Wait, wait. I will have to fight against fifty people?" What the fuck?

"Well, 49 but yeah. But don't worry. They'll be so weak that I'm sure you'll be able to beat them all with one roundhouse kick."

"I doubt that, but okay. Continue."

"After that there's going to be around five rounds."

"Only five?"

"Yeah, it's pretty straight forward. A there will be a few fights were even both fights will lose."

"Oh… great." The sarcasm was dripping from my voice. "Does that mean that there's a chance I'll be fighting with one of you?"

"Well, I'd think so, besides Kuwabara anyways."

"Hey!"

We all ignored Kuwabaras outburst so I moved on.

I directed my next question to Kurama since I figured he'd have the best knowledge on demon behavior. "How much do demon's judge appearances over demon energy?"

Kurama only took a second to think. "I'd say the lower class demons tend to judge more on appearances. They focus more on what they see then what they can sense. The higher-class demons are usually smart enough to never underestimate an opponent. Why do you ask?"

I suddenly felt like my idea was stupid but I went with it. "I was wondering if it would be worth trying to overplay my small, girly, appearance. Would they underestimate me if I did my makeup and hair in a certain way."

"Yeah, they definitely will," Yusuke said through a chuckle.

After getting Kurama's nod of agreement, I decided I would have to make sure I packed my makeup before we left.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I proceeded it all. Another thought came to mind as I looked down at my nails. They could really use a cut especially since—by some miracle—they haven't broken during my training. Unless… I toyed with my nails a bit, seeing how they bend.

Confident that they wouldn't break, I lifted one of my hands towards Kurama and simply said, "Claws?"

He shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt. You might have to use any weapon you can find."

I made the mental note that I'll have to file them into shape before I left.

"On that note!" I said, gently slapping my hands down on the table while standing up. "You and I have a fight." I pointed at Yusuke.

He suddenly looked as nervous as I felt. "Alright, but you asked for it."

Yusuke and I walked over to the clearly where we did most of our demon training fights while the others followed behind.

There wasn't much to say once we got there. He got in position but I had one quick thing to say before we got started.

"I expect you to fight just as you would in the tournament. No code here, nothing. Give me all you got."

Yusuke simply nodded. Satisfied, I got into position as well.

I waited for him to make the first move. I had debated if I should but something told me that patience was going to be important in this tournament. So, I continued to wait. It felt like forever before Yusuke unleashed his spirit energy. I was curious as to why he chose spirit when he could have done demon but I wasn't given a lot of time to question it.

Yusuke rushed at me. At first he just channeled his energy into his fists and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. This went a lot like our usual training. I was able to keep him at bay. It was difficult to gain the upper hand but I was at least able to prevent him from advancing. Eventually, Yusuke pulled back to try and land a hard blow but I was able to kick his arm back and flip back a few yards.

"Hello!" I called out, frustrated. "I thought you were going to use your wave!"

"How can you be bored? I'm literally giving you my all!"

Was he?

"Either way," I said, brushing myself off. "I'm waiting."

Yusuke practically growled at me before he finally started to gather his energy. As his energy grew, so did my nervousness. The wind picked up and as it rushed through my hair, I felt myself going into my demon form.

It wasn't long until Yusuke finally brought his hands forward and shot his spirit wave. At first it felt like it all happened in slow motion. I could see the regret on his face the second the wave left his hands. I stood my ground and braced myself. In my mind I knew I had to take it on, full force. But there was something nagging me to get out of the way, to just dodge it.

"Move!"

I didn't hear who yelled it but it was too late. Suddenly it felt like someone hit fast forward. The wave that had just left Yusuke was now right in front of me. With no other option, I grabbed it.

The second I had it in my hands I felt like it was trying to rip me in half. Almost all my focus went into just making my arms stayed as close together as possible. Next, my focus went into using my water and fire energy to try and break it somehow. Dissolve it, anything. I felt the elements rush around me but they couldn't do anything with the wave. It felt like it had it's own forced field around it. The wave pushed harder against me, making me slip. There was only one thing I could think of. Using the momentum of me falling, I adjusted my body so I could swing myself around and basically throw the wave behind me.

Suddenly feeling a thousand times lighter, and weaker, I fell to my knees and watched as the glowing light continued on into the distance.

When I couldn't see it anymore, I rolled onto my back and let my arms and legs sprawl around me. My whole body felt like the jelly. My eyes were closed but I knew the guys rushed over to me.

I think they were waiting to see if I was alive or not. Exhausted, I opened one eye to look at Yusuke. "Let's not do that again."

Their laughter was filled with relief as I fell asleep.

The next few days went by faster then I would have liked. The guys were serious about not training and just letting me rest but every time I allowed myself to do nothing all I could think about was the tournament. Which then stressed me out and the guys told me not to stress out. Ugh!

I had to pass the time either dancing or stretching, something to keep my mind and body busy. Hell, I even helped Yukina keep the compound in order. But not all that was enough. When I knew the guys weren't around, I allowed myself to do some light training. It wasn't too much, just working on stances and movements. It was weird how my elements depended so much on movements for guidance. Anyways, it didn't matter. What did matter was that I was perfect for the fights.

As I stood over my bed with a packed suitcase lying open, I suddenly remembered the day I was packing up for Japan for the first time. God, things have changed since then. It really wasn't all that long ago but it felt like centuries ago. I went through my suitcase one last time and made sure everything was packed. All was expect one last thing. I went over to the bathroom and grabbed my makeup bag. I'm sure I wasn't going to need everything in there but I didn't feel like weeding though it. With that finally packed, I was ready.

I went down to meet the guys and suddenly felt like such a girl. While I had a fairly large duffle back and a purse, everyone one else only had a small shoulder bag or backpack. Hiei looked like he wasn't carrying anything at all until I noticed a black bag so small it blended in with this cloak.

Feeling self-conscious, I took a step back to unpack a few things but Yusuke quickly ushered us out. I had to tell myself that most of this stuff was for strategy. I never packed something that I honestly left like I didn't need.

We said our goodbyes to Keiko and Yukina. Or at least, Yusuke and Kuwabara did. The rest of us kind of stood back so they could have their privacy. I had to look away. It made me feel like of lonely. I risked taking a look at Hiei but quickly looked away. There was no way I was getting caught staring.

Soon after we all followed Yusuke in silence. It didn't help my nerves. I felt like not all of us were going to return.

It wasn't too long before we finally made our way into a cave. Everyone seemed to know which tunnels to take so I didn't bother questioning if we were lost. The end of our journey had a welcoming community.

Well… kind of. It definitely looked like they were waiting for us but they certainly didn't look very welcoming. While their appearance was human they certainly didn't feel human.

No one said anything as we continued walking. The people that were obviously standing guard just eyed us. I could feel the judgment from them as I walked by. They all exchanged glances as if confused by me being here.

I tried to act natural by brushing my hair behind my ear and nearly poked my eye out with my newly shaped claws. Smooth, AJ. Really smooth. I heard them snicker and did my best to ignore it.

Yusuke gave them an odd look before jumping through a black hole that I assumed was the gateway between worlds. I stepped up and right when I was about to jump I found that I couldn't.

Looking over my shoulder, I stared at the path where we came from. This is it. No turning back now. I could just… not go. With the guys working their way into Demon World this would be the perfect time for me to run.

Mukuros face flashed in my mind.

That bitch.

Sighing, I turned back to the hole and jumped up with ease.

Hiei sat up, suddenly alert, the second he sensed someone come onto the compound.

There were charms and barriers set up around the compound that acted as an alarm system. Let those with a stronger energy know when someone entered. It also came in handy when humans came onto the compound and a way to hide the demon energy when things get intense.

But this wasn't a human. In fact, Hiei knew exactly who it was. Even if this person was good at hiding his demon energy.

Jumping through the trees, Hiei went to the front of the compound right as Shuya walked into AJ. It took all of his will power not to jump down and kill Shuya right then and there. He can't be trusted. And since Hiei knew Shuya was a demon, he wouldn't feel bad for killing him. Especially since he was lying to AJ.

It didn't help when Shuya took credit for buying AJ those special dancing shoes. That's it. Shuya is going down.

Hiei waited until Shuya reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the compound. Right before he was going to leave the barrier, Hiei jumped down and blocked his view.

"Uh, Hi," Shuya said.

"Leave," was the only thing Hiei said. "Leave and never come back. Don't come back to AJ again."

Shuya smirked. "I appreciate your suggestion but I'll pass."

Shuya took a step around Hiei only to have Hiei block his way again.

"I know what your are." Hiei drew his sword to prove a point. "If you don't leave and never return then I'll make you."

"Oh, I see how it is." Shuya crossed his arms and smirked wider. "You must like her." Hiei stiffened, confirming Shuya's assumption. "But she's never mentioned you before so it's pretty obvious it's one sided. Too bad, she seems pretty impressive. It would be a shame for her to be wasted on you. Which is a good thing I'm in her life."

Hiei couldn't fight it. One second they were standing there. The next, Hiei was standing over Shuyas lifeless body. Knowing he couldn't just leave Shuya there, Hiei quickly hid him. But then the unexpected happened. Was it guilt? He quickly pushed that feeling aside. They would be leaving for Demon World soon so there wouldn't be enough time to worry about it.

Or so he hoped.