Chapter 7 The Rest is Silence

Touya tried to breathe as he stared at the unimaginable sight in front of him. The ring had been completely obliterated and large chunks of concrete littered the ground. There was a massive hole in one side of the stadium and beyond it was a devastating scene of burned trees.

"Wow, now that's an attack you remember," Rinku said.

"Aye, I'm so happy I got beat by Urameshi before he got his superpowers," Jin said.

"I can see now that I underestimated him," Touya murmured.

Something didn't feel right, though. Toguro had not even bothered to block Urameshi's attack. Urameshi walked over to the hole Toguro had created in the stadium wall, as serious as ever. Touya gasped; from within the blazing inferno that had been created by Urameshi's Spirit Gun emerged Toguro. His pants had been ripped and his sunglasses were gone, revealing a piercing gaze that made Touya shudder.

Toguro powered up and shot his aura at Urameshi, blowing through Urameshi's hastily erected barrier with ease.

This is very bad, Touya thought. What can Urameshi do? What can anyone do?

Urameshi did not look worried at all. He wiped the blood from a cut on his cheek, smiling. He ripped off his left wristband to reveal what looked like a glowing gold bracelet. Touya immediately recognized it for what it really was.

Spirit Cuffs? He wondered as Urameshi ripped off his other wristband to reveal another Spirit Cuff. Why would he be using such a handicap?

Urameshi closed his eyes and seemed to be lost in his memories. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and shouted what Touya assumed was the release word. There was a huge surge of spirit energy that took the form of a phoenix. Its piercing, mournful cry filled the stadium as it made a lap around and then returned to Urameshi.

"His power is phenomenal," Touya breathed.

"Agreed, so I'd say. When your wind looks like a phoenix you know you've got something big," Jin agreed.

The fight seemed to be on a whole new level. Touya could barely keep track of what was going on. Toguro was blasted into a crater only to emerge unscathed, his calm expression never wavering. But something was wrong.

"His muscles deflated. What the hell's with that? There are many crazy things I've seen, but this one takes the cake," Jin said.

"Urameshi's attack was powerful. Perhaps this is what happens when Toguro is injured," Touya mused.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen and it made his stomach churn unpleasantly.

Toguro's skin began to crackle and transform. The earth beneath them rumbled. Toguro's aura exploded out of his body and shot around the stadium, decimating those in its path. A blast headed for their group. They separated, Jin and Touya leaping right and Chu and Rinku leaping left. The demons sitting around where they used to be were obliterated. Touya stumbled slightly when he landed, held up by Jin's strong arms.

"Yeh okay?" Jin asked worriedly.

"F…fine," Touya lied.

The sky turned completely dark. Touya clung to Jin to reassure himself that his friend was still there.

Then, the sky returned to normal and there stood Toguro. Touya shivered. It was hard to believe that the monster standing there was once human. Touya could barely even look at him without feeling ill. Toguro's muscles had expanded even further than before. His skin had turned a sickly grey color and weird funnels had appeared on his shoulders.

Toguro walked forward. With a single flick of his thumb, he sent Urameshi flying backward. Urameshi slowly got to his feet. Toguro started flicking what Touya could only assume were invisible bullets at Urameshi at lightning fast speed. Urameshi had to move at the same speed to keep himself from being hit. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He did not appear to be injured as he rushed at Toguro, but neither his Spirit Wave nor his Spirit Gun had any effect. With astonishing ease, Toguro batted Urameshi up to the third level. While Urameshi was trying to recover from that, the funnels on Toguro's shoulders opened and he started feeding on the souls of the audience. Touya closed his eyes as their horrified screams echoed through the stadium, his own strength draining away.

"Touya!" Jin cried, alarmed, as he felt Touya sag. "Are yeh okay?" Touya shook his head. "What's wrong?"

But Touya could not answer. Jin scooped him up in his arms and flew over to where Kurama stood with Hiei, Kuwabara, and Koenma.

"Jin?" Kurama said, hurrying forward to meet them. "What's wrong?"

"It's Touya," Jin said urgently. "He's not doin' so great."

"Easy," Kurama said in a soothing voice. "Let's lay him on the ground where he'll be more comfortable."

Jin carefully lowered Touya to the ground.

"I think he overexerted himself when he stood up to Risho last night," he said.

Kurama gave him a sharp look, but didn't say anything. He put a hand on Touya's forehead. "He's slightly feverish."

Touya slowly opened his eyes. "I…feel so weak." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Toguro is draining the little strength I have."

"I know," Kurama said gently. "You must hang on."

"I…I don't know if I can," Touya murmured. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Now doan say that," Jin said anxiously, brushing Touya's bangs out of his eyes. "Yer gonna be all right."

Touya looked up at him, his eyes glazed with pain. "Jin…I'm sorry. Fighting Risho last night took more out of me than I expected. I just don't have the strength to resist Toguro any longer."

He closed his eyes. Then, it stopped. He no longer felt the pull from Toguro's demon energy. A few moments passed and then he dared to open his eyes. Jin and Kurama's fuzzy faces came into focus.

"I'm all right," he assured them.

It was only a half-truth; he was still very weak and he probably wouldn't last long if Toguro started feeding again, but they were already worried enough. He stared at the sky, struggling to stay conscious, and only half listened to the fight at this point.

Through the haze, he heard Toguro growl, "You're not fighting hard enough. Maybe I need to kill one of your friends for you to get the message."

Touya struggled to sit up so he could get a better idea of what was going on.

"Easy there," Jin murmured, moving behind him to give him a bit of support.

Toguro marched towards their group. Jin wrapped his arms around Touya. Kurama moved to stand in front of them, blocking their view.

"How about you, Kuwabara?" Toguro said. "Urameshi does appear to be the most protective of you. Let's see you bring out his hidden emotions. I'll make this quick."

"Stop it Toguro!" Urameshi screamed.

Touya had never heard him sound so desperate before. It appeared that Toguro had chosen correctly. If he wanted to unlock whatever hidden power Urameshi had, attacking Kuwabara would certainly do that. Kurama shifted his position, ready to defend Touya and Jin.

"Stand back, guys," Kuwabara suddenly said in a harsh tone. "I'm the one he wants."

Kurama turned towards him. "Just stop and think, Kuwabara."

"It's no time for your showmanship," Hiei added. "Face Toguro alone and you'll die before the moment is through."

Wow, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that he's actually expressing concern for Kuwabara, Touya thought. I never thought I'd see the day where the great Hiei cared about someone else.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Hiei demanded.

Touya heard him inhale sharply as he realized.

Yes, that's right, Touya thought. He's going to let Toguro kill him to awaken the power within Urameshi. It's cruel, but right now, it seems to be the only option.

He closed his eyes as he heard Kuwabara charge Toguro, even though Kurama still blocked his view. He could feel Jin trembling as the two of them clung to each other. He couldn't say why Kuwabara's death affected him so; he had barely known him. And yet he grieved with the rest of Team Urameshi for their loss.

Kurama sprinted towards Kuwabara, catching him as he fell. "Hold on now, Kuwabara. Just stay with us. Kuwabara…stay…with us." His shoulders shook.

Even worse was Urameshi's horrified scream.

"That's oddly anticlimactic," Toguro said. "You knew him for so long and now he's dead. Do you think that was sufficient for you? Or do I need to kill another one of your friends before you get the point?"

Urameshi slowly rose and vanished, reappearing behind Toguro.

"You took my teacher," he said softly. "And now I let you take my friend. What the hell do you want from me?"

A strange aura surrounded his body. It expanded and swirled around, filling the entire stadium. Suddenly, Touya could feel Urameshi's emotions. He closed his eyes, letting them wash over him. There was a profound, deep sorrow and endless guilt. Tears trickled down his face and froze there.

"It's somewhat of a melancholy wind," Jin murmured in his ear. "Like I can feel the sad on his inner sides pourin' out into a big black empty."

"Yeah," Touya murmured; he felt it too. "Urameshi is locked in a struggle with his own emotions. His sense of guilt is reversing his power. His defense goes outward, guarding those of us who are left in the stadium while his attack focuses solely on himself."

"Are you hurting Yusuke? Feeling guilty?" Toguro taunted. "Don't worry. It's like the chicken pox; once you get it once, it won't come back. Think, Yusuke. What do you owe these people? Why do you let their weakness bring you down? Throw off the bags of guilt and you can become as powerful as me. Give yourself control! Believe in nothing but your own strength and it will never let you down."

He let out a deep laugh that made Touya shiver.

"Shut up, Toguro," Urameshi growled. "I'm not like you. I won't just throw people away."

"Can't let go?" Toguro asked.

"I never would have gotten this far without them," Urameshi answered. "And whenever I was getting my head rearranged, it was always because of them that I could pull through."

"And that's precisely the reason why you've been limited up until now," Toguro growled. "You're too soft! You don't need anybody but yourself!"

I thought that way too, once, Touya thought. But then I met Jin and realized that relying on someone else isn't so bad. It can make you stronger.

Toguro chuckled softly. "Guess I need to kill another one of your friends."

Touya felt a wave of horror pass over him as Toguro turned toward them. Jin pulled Touya closer to him as Toguro began to walk in their direction. Then, he stopped. When he turned around, he saw that Urameshi was holding onto his gigantic wrist.

"Let go," he commanded.

"I…somewhere inside of me, I respected you, you know that," Urameshi said quietly. "Let's just say that I haven't had many older guys to look up to. What you seemed to have going…it didn't look so bad." The ground cracked under their feet. "Genkai told me over and over again how stupid I was, but I saw your strength and how no one could boss you around no matter what, and I wanted that."

"Then you should take my advice," Toguro said.

"Idiot! I'm not done!" Urameshi's eyes flashed angrily. "That's what I did want. Until Genkai told me the rest and everything you gave up. Since I started this whole thing, I've learned the value of what you gave up. And I won't let it go! Even if I have to give up my life!"

His grip on Toguro's wrist tightened. Spirit energy surround his body and the earth shook. All around them, rocks were reduced to pebbles.

"I can see you're a disciple of Genkai's in every way," Toguro chuckled. "A slave to your softer emotions."

Urameshi glared at Toguro. "You shouldn't even be allowed to say her name. Today you die, Toguro!"

Toguro scoffed. "You go ahead and try!"

Urameshi moved so fast, Touya had no idea what was going on until Toguro went tumbling head over heels across the entire stadium, coming to a halt just before the wall. Touya barely had time to blink before Urameshi followed up his punch with a massive Sprit Gun that sent Toguro into the stadium wall.

"Get on your feet," Urameshi snapped. "I'm firing one last shot with all I've got and it's gonna end this fight one way…or another. So no more stupid surprises or fakes. You show me everything you've got right now." He pointed at the kneeling Toguro. "If I win this time, I don't ever want to see you back up."

With a menacing chuckle, Toguro got to his feet. He realigned his broken neck with ease. The crackling sound his bones made as they went back into place made Touya sick to his stomach.

After all that, he still appears to be completely unharmed, Touya thought. Is there anything that can damage him?

"I admit I haven't been completely truthful," Toguro said. "What I said was one hundred percent was more like eighty-five."

Oh gods no, Touya thought in horror. Please, no. I cannot endure another transformation.

Jin seemed to agree; his grip on Touya tightened and he bowed his head. Touya closed his eyes and waited.

But nothing happened.

Touya let out a shaky breath and then after a few moments, dared to open his eyes. Toguro's form had become even more monstrous, so he had indeed undergone another transformation, but it didn't require another sacrifice from the audience.

Toguro chuckled. "To fully become a master of a trade, you must commit your all to it and throw everything else away." He pointed at Urameshi. "If you don't have the guts to do that, you will never be more than a groundling."

Urameshi scoffed. "Damn, you're stupid. You didn't throw it away. You just ran away from it. Like a frightened little child."

Not sure if you should taunt Toguro like that, Touya thought.

Urameshi grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and began channeling his Spirit Energy. "I won't run. And I won't let go!" He pointed at Toguro. "I'm doing just what you said, Genkai. I'm caring about you jerks. All the way."

He's putting everything he has into it, Touya realized, watching Urameshi's Spirit Gun grow larger and larger. He glanced at Toguro. And Toguro will resist the attack with all his strength. Whatever happens, this is the end.

Urameshi fired his massive Spirit Gun and Toguro ran to meet it head on. Toguro seemed to hold onto it at first, then it seemed like he was slipping, but then he squeezed it until it vanished. Urameshi fell to his knees, all his energy spent, staring up at Toguro in horror before he passed out. Toguro walked forward, his skin sizzling from Urameshi's attack. The stadium was dead silent, everyone silently wondering what would happen now that Toguro had won. Toguro stopped several feet away and stared down at the unconscious teenager, a smile on his lips.

"Thank you. It was…the only way," he murmured.

Cracks formed in his skin and it shattered. He collapsed, his body turning to stone. He was dead.

"That's…hard to call," Koto commented.

Juri tentatively stepped out from her hiding place behind a large rock and walked toward Toguro. She looked rather nervous to be so close to Toguro's remains, not that Touya blamed her. A sudden movement caught Touya's attention. His eyes widened and then he smiled as Urameshi slowly picked himself up off the stadium floor.

"Juri, behind you!" Koto called.

Juri turned and gasped when she saw Urameshi on his feet.

"Winner of the Dark Tournament, Team Urameshi!"