DISCLAIMER: I don't own YYH or any lyrics I may use in these chapters (unless I say otherwise) but all my original characters and plot additions are mine.

a/n: hehe, well just for a heads-up I did kind of make Suzuka a bit of a fruitcake (OKAY OKAY! I made him a major fruitcake ya happy?) but when he meets back up with Kuwabara and Kurama later, he should be a bit more normal-ish…

Anyway, cookies to my reviewers!

Little Sakura 87: LoL, yeah sorry about that :nervous laugh: I about had a psychological spasm after writing that sentence/author's note (so I know how you feel)

Daylight Dancer: I think your idea sounds really fun(ny? I'm not sure if you wanted it to be, but I'm sure you could make it funny) Unfortunately, I can't really think of any time I'll be able to put that in :nervous laugh: but you're welcome to make a one-shot or a mini-fic if you want to!

Umeko Saito: LOL

Shadowkitsune7: T.T thank you so much! I'm so luved:huggles Yusuke plushie: LOL

Thoughts

Forever Fornever II

:Suzuka's Challenge:

A breeze gently stirred the clearing outside of the stadium. Mai stirred slightly and seemed to frown in her sleep. Her hand shifted and weakly clutched at the fabric of the detective's shirt and her brow furrowed as if fending off an image of her mind.

Away from them, a twig suddenly snapped. From the gloom of the trees a trio of demons appeared from the direction of the stadium. They all stopped however, when they saw the pair sleeping beneath the tree in front of them.

One of the group snickered, "Would you look at the meat on that girl…"

The other demon beside him smirked, "I wouldn't mind digging my claws into something like that…" he commented with an unnatural luster in his eyes.

Their companion growled under his breath, "I could care less about her…" he muttered irritably, "I'd rather get rid of that bastard sitting next to her!" he took a step towards them, "Think about it…if we kill Urameshi off we'll be heroes! And if it wasn't for him we'd still be in this damn tournament!"

The other two standing next to him thought about it for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"And if you ask me…" the third demon continued while moving closer towards the tree, "…I don't want to wait until he wakes up!"

Without waiting for his companions, the apparition suddenly charged towards the detective sitting at the base of the tree. But before he had even made it halfway across the clearing, something suddenly slammed into the side of his face, causing spurts of blood to appear at the corners of his mouth and nose. He staggered for only a moment before collapsing onto the ground, unconscious.

His other two comrades blanched and glanced quickly across the clearing to find the small child, Rinku grinning smugly at the horrified looks of the two demons. Behind him, Chu (nonetheless drunk once again judging by the half-empty liquor bottle in his hand) stood with his eyes narrowed towards them.

They instinctively took a step backwards and turned to run—only to find an ice apparition and a wind master waiting for them. The two demons whimpered pitifully before they were able to high-tail it out of the clearing and out of harm's way.

Jin grinned and placed his hands behind his head. His feet lifted off the ground and he hovered in front of the detective and the guardian with a satisfied look on his face.

"See? Didn't I tell yeh? I told yeh they'd be together by the end of the tournament!" he boasted proudly.

The ice apparition next to him rolled his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Yeah, you told us—about a hundred times after your fight with Urameshi…"

"But I was right wasn't I?" he grinned and tapped the side of his head knowingly, "See? I should be some sorta matchmaker, I should! And I'll say to my customers 'Did yeh know I was the one who set up Urameshi and that there guardian?'"

Touya stared at him oddly, "But you didn't set them up…"

He grinned again, "Heh, but I knew they were gonna be together didn't I? I'm so smart!"

"Right…" Rinku said—almost to the brink of sarcasm—after he had cut into the conversasion, "Don't you think you should keep your voice down?" he wondered, "No doubt they'll be pissed off if they wake up to the sound of your voice."

"I'm not worried!" the wind master insisted, "Hell, they probably can't even hear us—!"

Jin suddenly let out a rather high-pitched scream as a tiny (emphasis on 'tiny') bullet of energy whizzed past the side of his face. He stumbled in the air before he crashed onto the ground.

The other three demons turned their heads to find Mai watching them with half-lidded eyes; her index finger pointed weakly at the place where the wind master had been hovering.

"You're too damn loud, Jin…" she moaned irritably and sighed. She paused however, and gestured towards the wind master, "What's wrong with him?"

Rinku turned with his hands behind his head and shrugged (despite the fact that Jin was curled up into a ball and rocking back an forth), "Yeah, we've been wondering about that…" he said and scratched the side of his face, "But we've concluded that he's got some phobia of 'spirit guns' ever since his fight with Urameshi."

The guardian watched the cowering wind master for a moment longer before she sighed wearily for a second time. She closed her eyes for a long time before she was able to open them again, "Well I guess it would be nice if I said 'Thanks' for taking care of those guys, wouldn't it?" she said with a weak smile.

"Oi, ya knew there those demons out here?" Chu asked and cocked an eyebrow towards the guardian.

She smiled again weakly; "I might have been unconscious, but I'm never fully unaware…" she informed them. Mai hesitated before she lifted her eyes towards the trio of fighters, "But what I am unaware of is why you helped us…With the exception of Rinku, you all lost to one of us…"

At this Chu grinned, "Heh, Urameshi did alright by me—and I don't forget that kinda stuff."

"And I wanted to make sure I could get a rematch out of you if we ever meet again," Touya said to her—and she was happy to see him smile when he said this.

Jin—who had miraculously recovered from his 'brush with death'—was now hovering upside-down in front of the pair and studying the detective curiously, "Yeh know…there's somethin' different about him…" he mused and frowned after a pause, "Like…like he's gotten stronger or somethin'"

The guardian closed her eyes, "That would be a good guess…" she said to him wearily, "…He'll just have to learn how to control what he's learned…"

They watched her with curiosity, but their attention shifted when Yusuke stirred slightly.

"…Stop…treating me like a baby, Mai…" he mumbled through his sleep.

At this, the group of apparitions burst out laughing. Chu and Jin were even bent over after laughing so hard. The guardian smiled weakly, "He has a knack for talking in his sleep, doesn't he?"

Chu grinned, "Heh, well now that those buggars are taken care of—we'll just leave ya two to keep havin' ya 'naughty'…"

The others grinned and waved as they left the pair alone in the clearing. Mai however, frowned and her eyes shifted upwards towards the sleeping detective.

After a moment she sighed irritably and rested her head once again, "Why do people always say that?" she wondered aloud.

-:-

"And let the next match—BEGIN!"

Instantly, Kuwabara charged after the old man; throwing punch after punch at him. But Onji easily sidestepped each attack with ease—causing the redhead's anger to rise even further.

But when none of his punches would make contact with his opponent, he jumped back a few feet and clenched his fists. A moment later, a rod of energy blasted from his hand into his spirit sword. He slashed it in front of him for practice before he raced blindly back towards the old man; madly swinging the blade.

Onji was again easily able to avoid the blows—while keeping his hands folded calmly behind his back.

The redhead gritted his teeth furiously, "Stop running! Be a man and fight me, dammit!"

He raised his eyes slowly towards the younger fighter and grinned (almost to the point where it was a smirk), "You can swing all you want, my boy, but I won't move away from your next attack…"

"What?" Kuwabara gritted his teeth further, "You think this is a joke, don't you?"

But the old man said nothing and stood calmly waiting for the redhead to make his move. Kazuma frowned darkly as he raised his sword at his side. He hesitated only a moment before he charged once again towards his opponent.

However, before he had even gotten halfway across the arena, Onji lifted his hands in front of him. A dark orb appeared in his palms and expanded until it was nearly twice his size—and even then it continued to grow. Energy crackled along its surface as it seemed to feed off of Onji's power.

Kazuma on the other hand—intent how he was of getting a hit out of the old man—continued to charge across the stadium. But the moment the tip of his blade skimmed the surface of the sphere, it instantly sucked him into its center.

Onji glanced up at him from the ground as the orb hovered calmly above the arena floor, "I'm wondering…do you recognize the attack? I wouldn't be surprised if you did; it just happens to be the same attack that the Cape of No Return was derived of…although I thought a bit of variation was in store."

The redhead was—by now—banging frantically on the force field around him. But to now avail did the orb release him.

Instead, there was suddenly a flash of light across the stadium and both Kuwabara and the sphere were gone.

"Wow…and I actually thought for a moment that he couldn't be that idiotic…" Hiei mumbled and crossed his arms irritably.

Juri stood at the center of the ring and waited a good ten seconds before she raised her hand and gestured gallantly towards the old man, "Times up! Onji from team Uraotogi takes the win!"

-:-

Kazuma crashed to the floor with a groan. His head spun as he looked around—

At the old arena.

He muttered something under his breath, "So much for variety…"

-:-

For a final time, the die clattered across the ring before coming to a delayed stop. Onji calmly made his way towards its resting place and then looked up with a smirk at the Urameshi team.

Juri glanced down at the kanji writing before addressing the audience, "Well it looks like the psychic Genkai is up to bat again!"

Taking her cue, the older woman silently made her way onto the arena—with her eyes never leaving her opponent. But across from her Onji made a short laugh as if he found the situation amusing and he calmly stayed where he was.

"It appears to be a battle of the elderly, doesn't it?" he wondered aloud, but Genkai only narrowed her eyes at him.

"Cut the crap," she muttered, "And drop that act of yours while your at it—you're disguises are a joke."

The old man cocked an eyebrow at her curiously, but then he smirked and chuckled darkly. He raised his hand to his face and ripped away a layer of skin—but his smirk still remained. An eerie red aura pulsated around him as he began to chant in a language that none of the audience members could understand.

But as he was chanting, a billow of smoke began to surround the fighter until he was no longer visible. When the mantra abruptly came to a stop however, the smoke dispersed to reveal an entirely different opponent.

Now the fighter that stood in front of Genkai was dressed in a way that oddly—or freakishly, whichever one fit him best—resembled that of a clown. He was even adorn with the proper face paint and a rubber nose.

He gallantly raised his hands above his head and laughed almost triumphantly, "I should have known that I couldn't hide my identity for long against you, old woman! But nor could I keep my beautiful face a secret—for I am the Beautiful Suzuka! And everyone would have had to known how beautifully beautiful I am sooner or later!"

But even Genkai had to contain her composure when she snorted in amusement, "You're a real fruitcake, you know that?"

Hiei blinked from the sidelines, "…I hate to say it…but that idiot is even making the baka look smarter…" he told him in near disbelief

His companions smiled nervously, "That seems to be the case…"

But Suzuka was not pleased with Genkai's reaction, "What are you saying?" he demanded, "Are you saying that I'm not beautiful?"

She smirked, realizing that she was striking a nerve, "What I'm saying is that for someone who wants to be recognized, you hide behind a lot of masks…"

The fighter paused for a moment, but this didn't stop him from smirking in amusement, "Ah…but with mystery comes colossal power…" he informed her slyly, "And with that colossal power all will love me!"

"SHUT UP YOU OLD FAG!" one of the demons shouted from the stadium. Neither of the fighters had realized (until now that is) that the crowd was now in an uproar over Suzuka and his "beautiful face".

Botan and Shizuru could be considered among them over the irritation of the clown-man.

"Gods, he's so annoying!" the ferry girl shouted angrily, "If I was down there I would beat him up right now just to keep him from talking!"

"GET OFF THE RING, FRUITCAKE!" Shizuru shouted beside her and sent him a rather rude gestured involving her middle finger, "Dammit—someone just shoot him through the head now! That would save us all a butt-load of suffering!"

Suzuka gritted his teeth angrily. But to silence the unruly crowd, the fighter suddenly shot a blast of energy straight into the stands. Rubble scattered into the air and around the remaining demons as the clown's fist shook furiously at his side.

But whirling on the old woman in front of him he suddenly raised his hands out in front of him, "No one makes fun of me, old hag—and you'll be the last!"

Streams of energy erupted from his hands; shooting across the arena in a variety of colors.

"RAINBOW CYCLONE!" he roared (a/n: o yeah, you totally don't sound like a fruitcake when you say that).

Genkai refused to move however, even as the energy pushed her across the arena and evne to the edge of the sidelines where the attack finally exploded.

The fighter smirked at his handiwork—but that sneer soon faded when he noticed the old woman emerging from the rubble unscratched and unharmed. Without a word, she nimbly leapt back into the ring to face Suzuka.

She waited a moment before she casually inquired, "So what happened to that nose of yours, Suzuka?"

He blinked, "Wha…? What are you—?" he cut himself off when he noticed his rubber nose bouncing against the old woman's finger casually as she smirked in amusement.

"Guys! GUYS!" Kuwabara suddenly appeared behind Kurama and Hiei after returning from the old stadium, "What's happened—have I missed anything?"

Hiei rolled his eyes, "Oh yay we're saved now that the baka—who can't stay in the ring for more than ten seconds—has returned five-hundred seconds too late," he said sarcastically, "Tell me which do you think is worse: losing to an old man or a clown?"

The redhead scowled furiously, but before he could come up with a decent comeback, Genkai was talking again.

"You're no fighter, Suzuka…and that being said, I don't think I'll have to waste any of my spirit energy on you…" she informed him.

But the clown smirked, "Well then…if you won't use any spirit energy—then neither will I!"

With that, he raised his fists above him and gritted his teeth. All over his body, his muscles began to pump up to nearly twice their normal size.

And above them in the box seats, Toguro chuckled, "Aw, he's copying me…" he said in enjoyment.

Genkai on the other hand took no amusement in the matter, "You're just a weak-ass punk, Suzuka!" she shouted at him—and before the clown could answer her, she suddenly disappeared from his sight only to reappear an instant later right beside his head. Her fist slammed into the side of his face and sent him skidding across the arena floor.

The older woman suddenly jumped straight on top of his back—with the sickening crack of his spine—before she jumped off and kicked him up into the air.

But as he was falling, Genkai appeared below him and the fighter landed directly on her fist. She furiously began punching his back and flipping him around until his face had become a bloody pulp. His hair now lay askew in several different places and his eyes were no longer visible behind the large welts over his face.

Suzuka staggered for a moment before he crashed into the ground below him.

She quirked an eyebrow after a moment, "Oh whoops…I forgot to look at that so-called beautiful face of his…"

-:-

"Man, I can't believe I lost twice to that same attack!" Kazuma grumbled furiously as they made their way through the halls of the stadium.

"I can." Hiei muttered too quietly for him to hear.

"Aw, who cares now, Kuwabara? You all made it to the finals thanks to Genkai!" Botan reminded him cheerfully (especially now that Suzuka had finally shut up).

But none of them noticed the older woman's eyes flicker briefly down another corridor.

She abruptly made a turn down the other hallway; "I have matters to attend to…" she told them all bluntly—as well as leaving them completely and utterly confused.

As she traveled down the corridor, she soon found that a voice stopped her:

"That was a pretty amusing fight, Genkai…"

Her eyes snapped upwards—but she didn't seem surprised to find Toguro leaning casually against one of the nearby walls. She noticed his eyes flicker beneath his sunglasses. She stopped walking and he straightened casually; placing his hands back into his pockets.

It seemed as though he would simply walk past her, but he paused…his permanent smirk fading from his lips.

"…We have to have that little talk of ours…"

Genkai's eyes never left the floor…

"I know."

-:-

A breeze rustled the sheets across the room as well as the curtains near the window. Mai stirred slightly and held onto the detective's hand even tighter; muttering something that sounded oddly enough like 'Urameshi you ass…'

Kuwabara watched them curiously from beside the window. Puu rested in the crook of his arm while Hywein was probably feeling more contented on the guardian's lap. Yusuke was comfortably snoring along the bed and Mai sat next to him in a chair; holding onto his hand with her death-like grip.

"Should they really be sleeping this long?" he wondered.

Genkai—who was standing just across from him—glanced briefly at the sleeping pair before closing her eyes, "They're fine…you don't have to bother them…"

He frowned slightly, "Yeah, but if they keep sleeping like this, they'll miss the finals," he shuddered momentarily, "And they'd both be pissed at me if I let that happen…"

Kazuma noticed a weak smile at her lips, "There's no doubt about that…" she agreed and paused. For a moment she went silent and her eyes remained on the guardian and the detective. Then she sighed and turned back to the redhead, "You have a good heart, Kuwabara...don't let anyone tell you otherwise…"

He blinked in confusion, but the old woman didn't say anything else.

The room went silent for a moment—until Kazuma lifted his head suddenly and studied the old woman, "Hey Genkai, I just realized something…all those times when you and Mai disappeared—did that mean that she always knew it was you behind the mask?"

"She's known the entire time," she told him simply.

Kuwabara frowned, "Then why didn't she tell any of us?" he wanted to know.

Genkai's facial expression didn't falter, "She was only following orders," she answered, "I asked her not to tell any of you who I was—because then you slackers would think you had an easy ticket through this tournament…" she let out a short, grim laugh, "And it would have made me just a little bit uneasy to have a hoard of demons out for my blood this entire time…"

"She's been acting weird lately," Kazuma said suddenly.

The old woman looked up at him curiously but didn't say anything.

He sighed and leaned up against the wall behind him, running his hand briefly through his hair, "We ran into Yusuke and Keiko the other night…and Mai looked really upset; I didn't know why though. And after that, she was even worse," he paused for a moment, thinking, "Not to mention that she's been around Urameshi more than she has Kurama—they haven't broken up or something, have they?" he asked.

But Genkai was silent. Her eyes however, never left the sleeping pair and she appeared deep in thought for the longest time. Kazuma watched her for awhile before he sighed and absently scratched the side of his head.

"They're bond is growing stronger."

Kuwabara glanced up quickly at the older woman when she spoke. She hadn't moved at all, nor had her expression changed.

For the longest time, she didn't go on—but when she did, it was with a deep sigh, "…I only noticed it earlier when I had given Yusuke my spirit orb…" she paused; her eyes growing distant for a moment, "For only a few minutes she felt it; she felt the horrible pain that Yusuke was going through at the time…"

She paused and Kazuma waited for her to go on.

"…But…it was only in those few moments that it became clear that their bond with one another was stronger than I believed it to be—I knew their connection would be powerful to begin with, but this probably exceeded all my expectations," she slowly shook her head, "The spirit orb was attracted to Yusuke's spirit energy—and would continue to mold itself into his energy until it was satisfied…"

Genkai stopped again, this time for a lot longer. She seemed older all of a sudden and her gaze became distant as she watched the guardian and the detective.

"What I didn't realize was that their bond was strong enough that Mai's energy could be mistaken for Yusuke's…so she went under the same agony as him until the orb realized its mistake," she sighed heavily, "In a sense I'm glad to know that they care that much about each other…but I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't see it before…"

Kuwabara was silent for a second before he smiled weakly, "Well that would explain a few things wouldn't it…Oh," he looked up above Genkai, "Hey, Kurama…"

The old woman's eyes flickered behind her to find the redhead standing inconspicuously in the doorway. When Kuwabara said his name, his emerald eyes started in surprise; it seemed as though he had been watching the bed the entire time.

He didn't say anything, but quickly slipped back into the main room. Genkai followed him with her gaze and Kazuma evidently appeared confused. Sighing, the elderly woman headed into the main room as well without another word to Kuwabara.

She found him leaning against the open balcony—but how he had gotten there so quickly was beyond her. She also assumed that he sensed her presence in the room, but he made no move to acknowledge her.

Genkai now stood next to him on the balcony and stared out over the island.

Her eyes quickly flickered towards his hands where he restlessly fiddled with the stem of a rose. As she continued to watch him however, she also noticed his hands shaking slightly.

The older woman sighed and folded her hands behind her back, "You knew this would happen eventually…"

He didn't answer her.

She continued anyway; "Deep down, either in your heart—or something else," she added quickly, "You knew that no matter what you tried to do, you couldn't stop the inevitable."

Still he didn't answer.

Genkai switched her gaze from Kurama to the wide expanse in front of her, but she didn't continue on for awhile. When enough tension had filled between them to cut through steel, she sighed again and glanced back into the hotel room.

"We all knew…" she said quietly, "…Even if they didn't know it themselves…"

She noticed his hand wrap tightly around the thorns of the rose—enough so that she also noticed a trickle of blood seep through his fingers.

Kurama hung his head over the railing and his eyes became hooded, "…Someone…someone very wise once told me that you can never change someone else's feelings…" he said coldly, "I thought that maybe it wouldn't have to come to that for me…"

Genkai studied him carefully, "…But you can't deny the inevitable…you knew this was bound to happen…"

He sighed and lifted his head…

Only then did a single tear race down his cheek and gently stir the rose in his hand.

He stared at it almost blankly before he sighed again, gently letting the flower slip through his fingers.

As it fluttered towards the ground, a second tear dropped onto his hand.

"I just have to let go…" he whispered.

-:-

a/n: T.T I'M SORRY KURAMA-KUN!

:sniffle: AND I'M SORRY TO ALL YOU KURAMA/MAI FANS! Just like Kurama, you knew it was bound to happen—and I'm sorry! DON'T HURT ME!

Anyway, this is probably one of the quickest updates I've had in awhile (probably cuz it's so short…)

Once again, I'M SORRY!

Ciao!