Chapter 6 The End is the Beginning

Touya woke suddenly, though what had drawn him out of his slumber he could not say.

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"Just before dawn," a soft voice said.

Touya jerked up; he was expecting Jin to answer him and in his sleep induced haze, he couldn't place the voice. Then, memories came flooding back to him and he felt his cheeks grow warm. He was glad it was still dark; he was probably blushing and didn't want Kurama to see. He sank back against the pillows and ran his fingers through his hair. What had come over him seeking out Kurama like that? He wasn't some common whore seeking out quick pleasure. Gods above, he really made a fool of himself.

He closed his eyes and tried to banish the memories and go back to sleep, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. Finally, he gave up and crawled out of bed. He noiselessly crossed the room to stare out the window to watch the sunrise.

He watched until the sun had risen well above the trees, then turned back to his companion still in bed. Kurama sat up on his side, his head propped up by his hand. His green eyes surveyed Touya intently, though he didn't say anything.

Beautiful eyes, Touya thought and then he shook his head. I mustn't think like that. After all, who knows if he will live through the day.

The thought made him sad, but he tried not to show it on his face as he crossed the room again.

"I must go," he said softly.

Kurama stared up at him, his face utterly calm. "Yes. It's after dawn. Soon I must make my final preparations and join my teammates."

Touya was quiet for a few moments, unsure of what to say. What could he say? They had shared a night together on a whim and now Kurama was likely going to his death while Touya would have to sit there and watch.

He decided the more prudent thing was to not say anything. He didn't want to say hollow words that would offend Kurama. So instead, he went about gathering his clothes scattered on the floor and dressed in silence. He was at the door with his hand on the doorknob when he turned around.

"Goodbye Kurama," he said, knowing this was likely the last words he would ever exchange with the red-haired demon.

"Farewell, Touya." Kurama's soft voice floated through the darkness.

Touya forced a calm expression on his face as he exited Kurama's bedroom. He faltered when he saw Yusuke Urameshi standing there, his arms crossed.

"So, doing a walk of shame are we?" Urameshi's face was serious but his tone was light.

Touya just stared blankly at the dark-haired boy; he had no idea what a walk of shame was.

"Ah, never mind," Urameshi said when he saw Touya's blank look. "It's a human thing."

"Right," Touya muttered.

He flinched when Urameshi put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Sorry," Touya said, refusing to meet Urameshi's gaze. "Habit."

"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to tell anyone about you and Kurama." Touya looked up at him now, surprise and confusion mingling on his face. "What goes on between you and Kurama isn't my business. I just hope you realize it can't work."

Blunt as always, Touya thought. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

"Yes, I am aware," he said gazing calmly up at Urameshi. "It was not my intention to seek Kurama out for some sort of long-term relationship. And he knew going into it that wasn't my intention."

"I don't doubt it," Urameshi said. "Kurama is a smart guy. As long as you aren't hurting him and he isn't hurting you, then I'm fine with…whatever it is you two having going on."

"I would never hurt him," Touya said with a bit of anger.

"I know." Urameshi smiled at him. "You're a decent guy, Touya. I trust you."

Then he turned around and knocked on Kurama's door. Touya took that as his cue to leave.

As he walked down the hallway, he heard Urameshi's voice, "Jesus, Kurama, you're lucky I was the one who came to get you. Can you imagine if it was Hiei who saw you and Touya…"

His voice faded as Touya reached the end of the hallway.

Touya took the stairs up to his hotel room. It was a long climb, but he didn't mind. Jin had made him take the human contraption known as an elevator on their first day on the island and Touya had sworn he would never take one again after that nightmarish ride. He slipped into the darkened room, breathing a soft sigh of relief when it was clear Risho was not there.

Touya had to smile when he opened the bedroom door and heard Jin's rumbling snores; some things never changed.

He made it all the way to the bathroom door with a fresh set of clothes when he heard Jin's voice from the bed. "Where were you?"

Touya froze, trying to come up with a lie.

"Uh…"

"Never mind," Jin said. "Yeh don't have to tell me if yeh don't wanna."

Relieved, Touya went into the bathroom. He glared at the shower in the corner. The first time he had tried to use it, he wasn't expecting to be blasted in the face with water hotter than anything he had ever experienced before. The second time hadn't been much better; he had managed to dodge the water, but it had taken him ages to figure out how to adjust the water to a tolerable temperature.

I don't know if I'll ever get used to this human technology, he thought sourly as he prepared to do battle with the shower once more.

Nearly an hour later, he emerged from the bathroom sufficiently clean and dressed in clean clothes. He put his dirty clothes away and turned back to the bed, sighing when he saw that Jin was still in bed. He crossed the room to the bed and yanked the covers off the bed with a single fluid movement.

"You have five seconds to get out of bed before I turn you into an ice sculpture," he said.

To prove he wasn't bluffing, he closed his eyes. The temperature in the room dropped drastically. Jin yelped and then let out a long string of curses.

"Have you finished?" Touya asked, thoroughly unimpressed by the foul language spewing from Jin's mouth. "We're going to be late meeting Chu and Rinku."

He waited out in the sitting area. Ten minutes later, Jin came out, fully dressed.

"Ready?" Touya asked.

Jin nodded. "Let's go."

They walked down the hallway in silence. When they reached the elevators, Touya balked.

"Oh no. There's no way I'm riding in that thing again," he said.

"Aw, come on," Jin protested. "They're completely safe and much faster than the stairs."

"Absolutely not," Touya said, crossing his arms. "Feel free to take that metal deathtrap. I am staying safe and taking the stairs."

Before Jin could protest, Touya headed for the stairwell. He could have taken the stairs two at a time and arrived shortly after Jin, but he chose to take his time. Jin could wait.

"Yeh took yer time." Jin scowled at him as he exited the stairwell.

Impatient as always, Touya thought.

"Not all of us are in a hurry to get places," he told the scowling Wind Master. "Some of us like to enjoy the journey."

"I thought you said we were going to be late meeting Chu and Rinku," Jin said.

"I said that so you would get out of bed," Touya said lightly.

"What…you…" Jin sputtered.

"If I hadn't, we probably would have been late, given how long it takes you to gain any sort of momentum," Touya said.

Jin growled under his breath. "Let's just go find Chu and Rinku."

Touya knew from experience that this was Jin's way of conceding the argument without actually conceding the argument.

It took them forty-five minutes to locate Chu and Rinku at a very obscure hotel bar and another fifteen minutes to pry the truth out of Rinku; Chu had traded their tickets for a couple of pints of beer. Jin launched into a tirade of curses aimed at Chu that dissolved into a loud verbal argument between the two of them. Touya stood back and watched as Rinku tried to mediate the argument. He didn't see who landed the first punch, but when the argument devolved into a fist fight, Touya had had enough.

"All right children, I think that's enough," he said.

Unsurprisingly, neither of them listened to him.

Guess we'll have to do things the hard way, then, he thought.

He gestured with his hand and tendrils of ice crept across the floor and up Chu and Jin's legs. Neither of them noticed anything until they were completely immobilized by ice. They struggled and protested loudly, but they could not break free from the ice which continued to form around them until they were completely encased in it. Finally, they stopped struggling and settled on glaring at Touya instead.

"You two brought this upon yourselves by acting like a couple of children," Touya said calmly. "Instead of blaming and arguing with each other, perhaps we should come up with a solution to our problem."

"Fine," Jin muttered.

"All right," Chu said.

Touya gestured with his hand again and the ice encasing Jin and Chu cracked and then disappeared. They quickly agreed to head to the stadium to assess the situation.

"Nicely handled," Rinku said in an undertone as they walked.

"Thank you," Touya said. "I've had a lot of practice diffusing situations like that with Jin."

"I bet," Rinku said.

Unsurprisingly, the tickets were all sold out, not that any of them really had money to spend anyway. The only other option they had was to force their way in. They huddled together away from the stadium compiling the information they had gathered. There were only a handful of entries into the stadium and each entry was guarded by an usher. The only choice they had was to force their way past one of the ushers; they did not have time to try and search for a secret way in.

"I think I know which usher we can charge," Chu said. "There's this fat bloke who looks like he won't be much of a challenge."

"All right," Jin said. "We'd better hurry. Otherwise the tournament will be over before we even get there!"

Chu led the way around the stadium to a lesser gate. The crowd had thinned out considerably and only a handful of demons milled around. The entrance was guarded by a single usher sitting in a folding chair that creaked underneath his massive bulk. His beady eyes darted around and sweat trickled down his neck.

"Ah yeah, this'll be easy," Chu said gleefully. "You blokes stay here. I'll be right back."

Without waiting for confirmation from the others, he stalked off. The fight barely lasted a minute and did not end well for the usher. Chu gave him one last hard smack to ensure he remained unconscious for a while and then beckoned the others forward. They jogged through the dark tunnels and then emerged in the daylight at the top of the stadium. They stood at the rail, trying to make sense of the scene in front of them. Toguro and Urameshi stood in the center of the ring, staring each other down.

"Aw man, did we miss all the fights?" Rinku asked.

"If we did, we all know who's to blame for that," Jin said darkly, scowling at Chu.

Touya tuned them out as they started bickering again and scanned the field on Team Urameshi's side, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

Please, please let him be okay, he thought.

He could not bear the alternative. He exhaled softly when he saw Kurama's unmistakable red hair. He looked like he had suffered grave injuries, but he was still alive and standing on his own. Touya felt his eyes flood with tears and forced them back. Where on earth were these ridiculous feelings coming from? He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on," Jin said softly in his ear. "Let's go find some seats."

His throat constricted, Touya merely nodded. He followed Jin, Chu, and Rinku down the stairs. Demons stared and whispered as they passed and a whole group got up and fled in fear when Chu looked at them.

"Ah, here's some!" Chu said brightly.

They settled into their seats. The tension in the air was thick as Toguro and Urameshi continued to regard each other.

"This time's for real," Juri said. "Are you guys ready?" Neither Toguro nor Urameshi made any indication that they had heard her question. Juri seemed to take their silence as a yes. "Okay then, begin!"

The audience burst out into deafening cheers, making it impossible for Touya to hear any of the words exchanged between Urameshi and Toguro. He couldn't really read their lips either. Frustrated, Touya leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.

For a while, it seemed like nothing was happening. Then, Toguro's muscles expanded and his body grew larger. His primal yells rose above the din of the audience and Touya felt chilled. Urameshi took several steps back, which was probably a good idea; a strange aura was emanating from Toguro's body. All around them, demons began melting, just from being exposed to Toguro's demon energy. Their horrible screams filled the stadium and Touya wrapped his arms around himself. He tried to block the sound of thousands of demons dying and focus on the fight.

Toguro had finally finished powering up and now towered over Urameshi. He walked toward Urameshi slowly. Urameshi shifted his position and then unexpectedly charged forward. He swung around with his fist, aiming for Toguro's stomach while Toguro swung upward towards Urameshi's jaw. Both punches landed solidly, but only Urameshi seemed to be affected. He went sliding backward, somehow keeping his balance, and then launched himself forward again.

Toguro dodged his next punch and countered with a punch of his own that Urameshi managed to dodge in midair and landed a kick to Toguro's face. Toguro's fist came in contact with the ring instead and bits of concrete crumbled to dust. Urameshi landed a short distance away, Toguro swung his arm around and his energy caused more of the ring to crumble. Urameshi jumped out of the way, though not fast enough; bits of rock grazed his cheek. Toguro's energy continued in a straight line until it reached the wall that separated the crowd from the fighters. It deflected upward, but the wall could not withstand the force, and it crumbled. Toguro charged toward Urameshi, displaying a surprising amount of speed for one so large. This time, Urameshi stood his ground.

Idiot! Touya cursed silently. Does he actually think he'll be able to block a blow from Toguro?

Toguro suddenly stopped, his fist inches away from Urameshi. He lowered his fist and said something Touya couldn't hear. Urameshi responded, dropping his hands. Touya silently cursed that Chu had chosen seats so far away; he couldn't hear a word exchanged between Urameshi and Toguro.

"Whoa," Koto said in awe. "Now Toguro has stopped mid-punch to chat with Urameshi. I wish you could hear what they were chatting about."

Oh sure, rub it in, Touya thought sourly as Urameshi and Toguro went back to staring each other down.

"I don't think Toguro has ever revealed the true extent of his powers," he murmured. "Though I'd venture it would dwarf any one of his opponents in comparison."

"Maybe," Jin said, crossing his arms. "But then again, there's also Yusuke's Spirit Wave to toss up into the wind. And let me tell ya, that's nothin' to shake a stick sideways at."

"What both of youse is failin' to see is that Yusuke's a good bit stronger now than he was when he fought against us," Chu said.

"Perhaps he has a chance," Touya murmured.

Urameshi and Toguro continued to stare each other down, neither of them saying a word.

"Uh…are you okay?" Juri timidly asked Toguro. She received no response. She turned to Urameshi. "And you?"

Urameshi did not respond either.

The glare he gave Toguro was formidable. He grasped his right wrist with his left hand, his index finger pointed toward the ground.

"Following an action-packed beginning, what we have here is a good old-fashioned standoff," Koto commented. "But now it seems that Yusuke's focusing his energy into that trusty right index finger."

Urameshi raised his hands as a bright blue ball of energy began to materialize. Toguro held out his hands in anticipation.

"Again, he resorts to his reliable Spirit Gun," Touya sighed.

Chu frowned. "Mates, did it always glow this brightly before?"

Jin's ears twitched with anticipation. Urameshi unexpectedly dropped his arm and charged forward. He punched Toguro repeatedly in the stomach, though that seemed to do little except give Toguro a massage. Toguro seemed to get annoyed because he swung around with his fist, causing more of the ring to crumble. Urameshi dodged the blow and landed a kick to Toguro's face. Not only did it barely have an effect on Toguro, his sunglasses remained intact.

Those are some pretty strong sunglasses, Touya thought as Toguro destroyed another chunk of the ring.

Toguro aimed another punch for Urameshi, who barely managed to dodge it. His fist came in contact with the ring again, but this time, the entire ring exploded. Touya, Jin, Chu, and Rinku had to cover their heads as they were showered with bits of rubble.

Touya's eyes stung from the dust of pulverized concrete and it entered his nose and mouth, burning his lungs. He coughed and had to squint to see what was going on. Urameshi appeared behind Toguro hanging upside down in midair among large chunks of concrete that had not been immediately destroyed by Toguro's energy, his glowing index finger pointed directly at Toguro. The blast that ensued was more powerful than Touya ever could have imagined. Toguro was blown clear across the stadium, through the wall, never mind that it was made out of solid concrete, and still managed to keep going, plowing through massive trees that probably had been there for centuries.

And in the aftermath, there was only silence.