Return to Darkness
Author's Cut
By YashamonMaster

And you though RTD was big.
Return to Darkness, the Author's Cut (also known as Return to Darkness v. 2.0) is about 10 times as big, with many more characters, fights, and plot. It features hundreds of characters from all across the universe, from anime to fighting games. For the record, this, like RTD, is a semi-AU fics, not exactly taking place in the timeline of YYH, but not exactly not either.
I hope you enjoy.

Chapter One: Rising Darkness

The flames danced high in the room, slowly burning down the jet-black candles. The illumination was feeble, only enough to keep people from running into any furniture. Not that the extremely powerful warriors needed it. They could sense anything in the room with their reiki.
A short, feeble figure kneeled in front of a large statue. The candles were concentrated around the statue, illuminating the snarling, demonic face. Its stone eyes seem to flash red in the firelight.
"Master," said the short man. His voice was oily and soft. "Everything is going according to plan. The dimensional portal is wide open, yet almost no one suspects a thing."
"Good, Kamarin," rumbled a loud voice. It was low, rough, and cold, with an underlying tone of menace and bloodlust. "But what do you mean by 'almost?'"
"Well, we fear some information may have leaked out"
"INTOLERABLE!" bellowed the voice. The very walls seemed to shake with his rage. "What of our other plans?"
"Thanks to your incredible power, master, we have recruited many fighters to our side. Not only those seeking power, but those who owe us their very lives"
"Perfect."
"We have also entered our soldiers in many teams. No possible threats to our goals will be able to tell us from any other. No one can stop us," Kamarin said, a gold-capped tooth flashing in the candle light.
"And the Urameshi boy? What of him?"
"Ahâ€that is our only failing, m'lord. We fear that the meddlesome Koenma has discovered out plans. He will surely inform the Detective and his allies."
"Stop him at any cost. I want him out of our hair until we are ready."
"Yes, m'lord. I will do anything in my power to crush him."
"Good. Make sure you do, Kamarin."
"Yes, master Makall."

The ugly demon went down with a sickening thud as Yusuke's fist split his noise open like a cantaloupe. The demon peered out through puffy, bruised eyes at the Spirit Detective, whimpering and cursing through broken teeth and bloodied lips.
"Maybe that'll teach you to stay away from my town!" Yusuke roared, stamping down on the demon's stomach.
Yusuke leaned in and grabbed the demon by the front of his bloodstained shirt, lifting him back up from the ground. The demon's shattered left arm flapped at his side.
Yusuke had been informed by Botan that a demon weapon's deal was going down in the docks. Most of the demons were weak, and several of them littered the ground. Yusuke was holding the dealer.
"Right, I'm gone man," said the demon. His words were slurred and his voice was thick-sounding.
"Damn straight you are," Yusuke hissed, leaning in close to the demon's face.
Without a second thought, Yusuke lifted the demon of the ground and spun, throwing him into the water.
"Next time you're not getting off so easy!"
Yusuke heard the sound of garbage cans moving and turned around to see a demon lying against some. Kuwabara had apparently thrown or punched it into the cans.
"I don't think they're coming back!" Kuwabara said in his rough, nasally voice (I don't know what his Japanese voice is like, so I'm going with the American one.)
"These ones aren't, anyway," Yusuke said, gesturing to the moaning, bloodied demons lying on the ground. "I guess we just have to call in Spirit World and get these guys picked up."
Yusuke flipped open the com-mirror that Botan had given him.
"Botan, you there?"
"Right here, Yusuke," Botan's cheerful voice replied. "Have you broken up the weapon deal?"
"Yeah. We need a pick up for these losers."
"Right-o. Oh, you have a new mission from Koenma. It's about the Dark Tournament. He wants you to go there, but I don't know why. He says it's big. Kurama and Hiei will be joining you, as well as another fighter."
"Great," Yusuke groaned.
"The ferry leaves in one month at the same spot. Make sure you get there on time, or the world might end!"
Botan clicked off her end, agitating Yusuke.
"I hate her," Yusuke snarled.
"What now Urameshi?"
"We've gotta go back to the Dark Tournament in a month. Botan says it's big. Real big. Doesn't have the low down from Koenma yet, though."
"Sounds fun. Just another way to prove I'm the better fighter!" Kuwabara cheered, striking a pose.
"Don't hurt yourself," Yusuke muttered, pulling out a cigarette.
"Shut up, Urameshi!"
Unseen by the two Detectives was a small shadow, crouched in an alley.
"They've taken the bait," the shadow said. "Move in."
Kuwabara was advancing to pound on Yusuke when a loud rumbling made him stop in his tracks.
"I sense a demon," Kuwabara growled.
"Same here. A couple, even."
"Not too powerful, but maybe a threat."
"Who are you calling not powerful!?" roared a deep voice.
Several hulking demons moved out of the shadows on either side of the teens. They varied in size and shape, but all were big and strong.
"Look, you want a fight, I'm happy to give you one tomorrow," Yusuke said stamping out his cig. "But I'm tired for the night, and I want to go home."
"It can't wait," said a massive horned demon with an extremely deep voice. "Unless you want your friends dead."
The demons grinned as two of them pulled out familiar looking figures, both tied up and unconscious.
"Keiko!"
"Shizuru!"
"Unless you want big sis and the little miss to die, you're gonna back outta the tournament, understand?" croaked a spry demon with a long sword.
Yusuke cracked his knuckles and glared at the demon holding Keiko.
"What did you do to her!?" he snarled.
"I just hit her till she stopped screaming," laughed the demon. "And struggling," he added, grinning wider.
"You bastard!"
Yusuke was on him in a flash, his fist disappearing into the demon's ample stomach. His other fist slammed into the monster's chin, knocking him back. Keiko fell out of his hand, and Yusuke caught her.
"Anybody else want some, or are you gonna hand Shizuru over too?"
A demon rushed Yusuke but he dodged a punch and kicked the demon in the gut.
"I may not be able to use my hands right now, but I can still kill all of you. Plus, we got reinforcements coming our way to pick up the trash," Yusuke added, gesturing to the demons once again. "So you really don't stand a chance."
"We're not afraid of Spirit World trash!"
"You shouldn't be," said an eerily familiar voice.
The crowd looked towards the sound and saw that two more people had entered the fray. The two were standing atop a small building, illuminated by moonlight. One was short with tall black hair, dressed completely in black. The other was tall and handsome, with long red hair, dressed entirely in white.
Hiei and Kurama.
"You should be afraid of us," Hiei sneered.
"About time you two got here!" Yusuke yelled.
"It's Hiei and Kurama!" snarled one demon.
"You traitors are going to die!" bellowed another.
"No, you are!" Kuwabara cried, cutting one demon down with his Spirit Sword (I'm not calling it a Reiken. Deal with it.)
Hiei and Kurama quickly jumped from the roof down in the midst of the demons. Kurama reached into his long hair and pulled out a long-stem rose. With a whip-cracking motion, the rose sprouted a long vine that cut one demon in two.
Hiei, not to be bothered with flashy moves, simply drew his sword and started cutting into the demons.
As the Spirit Detectives quickly decimated the demon force, a shrill voice rang out.
"Stop, or the girl gets it!" shrieked the demon holding Shizuru. "I'll kill her right now if you don't back down!"
Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama stopped fighting, but Hiei just stared at the demon defiantly.
"You think one hostage is enough to stop us," Hiei said. "You've got a lot to learn."
"Shut up you moron! I'm gonna kill 'er just fer that!"
The demon pulled back his claw hand and prepared to ram it into Shizuru's chest. The claw flew at her, and blood splattered through the air.
"Shizuru!" Kuwabara screamed.
"Quiet oaf," Hiei grunted. "She's not dead."
The demon's claw lay on the ground, split from its arm by Hiei's sword. The Fire Demon had easily moved behind the demon and cut him before the claw came close to Shizuru.
"Now die, fool."
Shizuru dropped from the demon's hand, its head and torso quickly separating and falling to the ground. Hiei stepped back from the blood spray, and Kuwabara caught Shizuru.
"Thanks shorty," Kuwabara grunted. "I owe ya one."
"You owe me many, oaf. But I'll take you out of debt as long as you never mention me saving your, or any of your stupid friends lives."
"Done."
"You have failed me again, Kamarin!?"
"Please, master, let me explain"
"NO EXCUSES! I would kill you on the spot, were you not one of the only living beings with the knowledge and power to free me."
"But m'lord, we still have a month to stop them. And even then, they don't even know why they are going to the Dark Tournament. They don't stand a chance against us."
"We shall see, Kamarin. We shall see." Hey, it's Yusuke. Well, as you can see, we're once again in deep crap thanks to some insane, super powerful demon. And not only are there about 10 times as many opponents as last time, we've also got to deal with being in the first round, not knowing who's friend or foe, and having all the odds stacked against us. Add to that a few familiar faces, some frightening new ones, and we've got some major trouble. See you next time on Yu Yu Hakusho.