A/N: So I had to start this entire chapter over because my old laptop died before I could extract the files off it. And when I say died, I mean dead as a doornail. Not turning on, not booting up. I am extremely disappointed but it was my own stupid fault for not saving the document elsewhere. So I apologize for how late this chapter is going to be posted. I am so happy to announce though, that this story has officially beaten my other crap one Atlas. It has blown it out of the water in follows, favs, reviews, and views. Since the posting of last chapter I went from 125 reviews to 137! Can we make it to 140 or even 150 before the posting of chapter 25? Doubtful, but that would be awesome! All you guys rock, like you are super rock stars and I love you! Thank you!

Important: I wanted to clear up some confusion about Kasumi's uncle. The one Hitomi killed is their REAL uncle. As in, he was their father's brother. He was estranged and not around the family very often because he didn't believe in the supernatural even though he was the vessel for the key to Purgatory. The uncle Kasumi is in the process of trying to find, Takahiro, he is a completely different person. She calls him her uncle because he was around all the time when they were kids and that was what he wanted them to call him. You will learn more about this later, but he is not, in fact, actually related to them by blood.

Also, the scoring system I use for the tournament is similar to the system used in Togashi's other series, Hunter x Hunter, during the Heaven's Arena arc. Hope this helps with any confusion on the point system!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho; I am not making any money by writing this.

Warnings: Lots of profanity, violence, blood/gore, drama, poorly written fight scenes, sexual themes, adult themes, etc.

. . .

"Clean hit, Morimoto-san!"

The crowd roared as points got added to the score board. I had been called to the arena for my first fight. I was up against a young blonde American girl, an eighteen year old black belt. I didn't know her rank and while she was skilled, it hadn't made a difference. I was a different type of monster in the arena. I wasn't considered a "Master" for nothing after all.

A point got added next to my name on the giant digital score board. It hung high up towards the ceiling in the arena. The rules went as followed. A clean hit got you one point, a critical hit got you two, and a knock out would score you three. I had already managed to score a critical on her by breaking her wrist. She was now fighting one handed and wasn't faring well against me.

She stood with her good arm huddled close to her. She was trying to block as many of my attacks as she could. She'd made the mistake of twice trying to use her broken arm and had paid dearly for it. She had tears gathered in her eyes. Sorry honey, but soon enough I was going to take you out.

She rushed me again, attempting a roundhouse kick to the side of my head. I blocked with my forearm and pushed her leg aside. This created an opening at her right side and I was quick to use it. I struck her hard with a punch to her side. I heard a rib crack and she screamed as her body slammed into the mat below us.

The ref called out another critical for me, bringing my point total up to five. I came to stand over the girl, whose name I had already forgotten. I watched as she struggled to rise to her feet.

"Give up," I said, my voice cold.

Her face fierce and angry, she glared up at me from the ground. She managed to crawl onto her hands and knees. I could give her credit for being as tough as she was, but I was holding back. With my new powers, I had a hard time making my hits less damaging. I needed to end this soon, or she might be in real danger.

"Never," she snarled in English.

I sighed and jumped back to my starting position. I waited patiently as she painstakingly climbed to her feet and then I took a stance. I would wait for her to make a move and then I would end it.

She came at me with a right hook, swinging her good arm towards my face. She feinted and switched where she was going to punch at the last second. She aimed for my stomach instead. I predicted this fast enough and dodged to the side. She missed and I took the chance to kick her feet out from under her. She fell to the mat again and I was quick to grab her in a grapple. She struggled as I wrapped my legs around her own and pinned her down. One hand pinned her right arm behind her back, whereas my other arm came up to wrap around her neck. I choked her until her face turned blue and the ref started to panic. He began a ten count and I watched in satisfaction as the blonde girl's eyes flickered. When they finally closed was when I let up. I rolled out from underneath her and listened as the ref finished the ten count. Three points were added next to my name for the knock out.

I heard the crowd begin cheering again. Two particular voices stuck out like sore thumbs amongst the din. I could see Yusuke and Kazuma on their feet in the stands, their hands cupped around their mouths. They were cheering the loudest as well as the most obnoxious. I shook my head as I left the ring, even as the announcer recapped my fight.

There were intervals between each fight, where other fighters would come up to compete. It would continue in this fashion until they had whittled down some of the contestants. To figure out my next opponent I waited with bated breath like everyone else as a slot machine type configuration spit out the next competitors name. They tried to keep it within the same point's category. As in I would be fighting someone with a similar amount. I hoped this would work in my favor in the future and they wouldn't pit me against anymore weak competitors.

The roulette came to a rest, with another's name beside mine. It looked like the next fighter was a boy by the name of Nakamura Daichi. I had no idea who he was, but I hoped he would make the fight more interesting than my last.

I turned back to the stands and took a deep breath. I was trying to drop my serious attitude, but there was too much tension in the air. I couldn't help but cock my head to look up at the VIP box that hung above the stadium. It was dark on the inside…but my senses were telling me something was amiss. There was someone up there, someone watching…waiting. The only question was who.

The stadium itself was gigantic, much bigger than I had expected. The turnout for the crowd was also outrageous. I could pick out several people with auras throughout. I knew that the beacon had done its job. More than likely I would face more than one opponent that had reiki. As for my friends, they had claimed a large section of the stands to themselves. In one row sat Kazuma, Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama, and Genkai. In the row above them were Koenma, Botan, Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru.

My eyes automatically strayed to Hiei. He had been on my mind for the past couple of hours since our little talk in the locker rooms. He, also, was eyeing the VIP box with trepidation. He was just as wary of it as I was. Feeling my gaze, those red eyes flicked to me and I stilled. So I could make my way up the stairs to them, I had to look away. Holding his gaze too long could become dangerous. It made my heart race and brought strange emotions forth from my insides that I didn't recognize. I was on the borderline of hating it and becoming exited by at.

I traversed the stairs. I ignored the eyes on me and the whispers of the other spectators. Stories about me had filtered around the stadium. Most of the chatter consisted of my disqualification over a year ago. I was the little girl that had almost killed a man twice my size. The people here feared me…or they were horny to see me in action. It was disgusting.

I heard Chronos' cruel laugh in the back of my mind and brushed her aside. We'd made a deal before my first fight. She was only to interrupt if it was an absolute necessity. Otherwise I was to handle all the fights on my own. That didn't mean she wasn't watching my every move or listening in to every single thought. It irked me, but there was little I could do to stop her. Arguing with the stubborn bitch only got me so far.

"Watch your tongue, girl…" she said.

I rolled my eyes and was about to reply with some scathing remark or two, but my something had caught my attention. Standing in the alley way in the middle of the stadium (there were several walkways, with doorways leading towards the outside or concession stands) was the last person I had expected to see here today. Or I should say the last two people. Amano Ren and Detective Miyasaki Makoto stood together. Both of them were talking quietly to each other. Neither one had noticed me. I felt my ire rise and was tempted to march straight up there so I could confront them both. During my angry musings I hadn't realized how far into the stands I'd made it, until a hand shot out and dragged me into an aisle.

I yelped and turned swiftly to see who had grabbed me. Kazuma smiled up at me from his seat and I bit back a pissed off comment. During his distraction both my partner and Makoto had scampered off. It wasn't Kazuma's fault, but that didn't mean I wasn't irritated all the same.

"Hey Kas, you did great out there!" he shouted.

"Yeah, I expected the fight to last longer, you've been holding out on me!" said Yusuke.

I needed to sit. So I maneuvered around Kazuma's long legs, stumbled over Yusuke's and then finally shoved myself between him and Hiei.

I ignored that other two men's praise and directed my full attention to the fire demon, "Have you noticed anything?"

He was still glaring up at the VIP box, like that would make a stitch of difference. He clenched his hands together in front of him, his elbows resting against his knees and his back hunched. He shook his head, a slight sign to show that he was listening.

"You can feel it too though?" I asked.

He gazed at me out of the corner of his eye and pursed his lips. I'd learned to read some of Hiei's facial expressions, as he often used them in exchange for words. He was just as irked by whomever…or whatever resided in that room above as I was.

"Maybe I should go check it out…?" I mumbled more to myself than him.

"Don't," he said. His tone was cold, serious. It sent a shiver down my spine for no good reason.

"What are you two whispering about over there?" inquired Yusuke, who had leaned over me to stare at Hiei and waggle his eyebrows.

I shoved him away, making him fall backwards into Keiko's knees. She slapped him and I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from my chest. It served him right for being nosey.

Keiko managed to keep Yusuke distracted long enough for me to whisper to Hiei again, "Ren's here."

His face turned harsher at my statement. Even the funny looking beanie over his head couldn't lessen it. His aura spiked just a bit, enough to be considered a warning, before he put a cap on it.

"I realize that," he said.

And it was clear that it had pissed him off. Ren was always careful to keep his aura hidden…but I'm sure that wouldn't stop a man like Hiei from finding him. For all I knew, the fire demon had been keeping tabs on him for ages now.

"Do you know something about him that I don't?" I asked, for this particular thought had been eating away at me for a long time now.

Why did they all hate him so? Sure, he was hiding things…but so were they. It was hypocritical of this group to dislike him when they were acting much the same – shady.

I saw his hands clench just a bit and his jaw tightened, "No more than you do."

My eyes narrowed, "Don't lie to me."

Kurama, who must also have keen hearing, leaned over to intervene, "Kasumi-san, I believe this is a conversation for another time."

"Yes, I am inclined to agree with Kurama," said a new voice.

I turned to glare at the demi god, who only smiled at me. I didn't like how sarcastic it was and my glare only deepened.

"No one asked you," I snapped. "Or you either, for that matter," I said to Kurama.

I would get my answers one way or another. So I settled on going straight to the source. I ignored the chatter of the group around me, even as Botan began to ask me personal questions about my fighting style. I brushed each of them off with simple answers or one word sentences. My eyes scanned the crowd and after a time I spotted who I was looking for. He was sitting as close to the ring as he could get, in the last row at the bottom of the stadium. Makoto was next to him, but I wasn't about to let that stop me.

I leapt up from my seat. I startled Kurama who had leaned over to speak to Botan and Shizuru who both sat behind him. Before I could take a single step in Ren's direction I felt someone grab my wrist. Even if my eyes were closed I would have instantly known who it was just by the temperature and the texture of the person's skin. Hot and calloused, it was Hiei's lightly tanned hand gripping onto my pale arm. The contrast was kind of beautiful and it distracted me long enough for him to pull me back down into my seat.

"Leave him," he snarled.

The group had gone silent, everyone having noticed what was going on. I was sure they were waiting for me to retaliate, for me to tell him off or start screaming. But all I could do was stare at the man in disbelief. The look he was giving me could have melted my skin straight off my face. What the fuck was his problem now?

He still had his hand wrapped around my wrist. I had learned by then that trying to pull away would be a fruitless endeavor. If I struggled, he would only grip harder.

I cocked my head at him, my eyes turning just as cold as his, "Let go."

I felt his fingers tighten and his jaw clenched. I was about to cause a scene and he knew it. There was no way he'd be able to stop me here, there were too many people watching. Someone would notice and there were even more in the crowd that would be able to see if he used his powers. My eyes narrowed on him. They zeroed into the emotion in his red eyes that no longer filled me with fear but a burning type of excitement instead.

I leaned in close to him, my body pressed into his side. He had nowhere to run, for his only options would be either to lean his back into Kurama or get up from his seat. His arm connected to the hand on my wrist went slack and I used the opportunity to lean even closer. I placed my hand on his knee and leered at him.

He reared back as far as he could go without touching anyone else and growled at me. It was the same kind of warning sound an animal would make but it did nothing to deter me. I wasn't afraid of beasts and I wouldn't be afraid of him anymore either.

Even as he barred his teeth at me and his eyes widened larger than I had ever seen, still I pushed his buttons. I squeezed his knee a little harder than necessary and smirked at him. That was when he let me go and I shot up from my seat before anyone could say a fucking word. The show I had just put on must have been obscene to an outside observer. Really my ultimate goal had been to make Hiei uncomfortable. It had worked like a charm. I knew how much he hated when someone intruded into his personal space without his express permission.

I dashed by Kazuma whose mouth was hanging open, jaw falling towards the floor. Yusuke's eyes were as wide as saucers. The girls who sat in the second row all had matching looks of disbelief. The only one who seemed unbothered by the ordeal was Shizuru. She just smirked at me when she noticed where I was looking.

I shook my head and ran for it. I didn't look back to see the anger filled glare I could feel boring into my back. I just took the stairs down two at a time and rushed towards the row Ren was sitting in. He had already spotted me and the look he shot me was almost as heated as the one I'd received from Hiei.

He stood and leaned over to whisper something to Makoto, who shot me a dirty look, before he worked his way through the aisle. By the time I had reached the last step he'd made his way out and was waiting for me. With a jerk of his head he directed me towards a darkened alleyway, which led to the concession stands. Together, we walked off. I never felt Hiei's gaze leave my back and it made my heart thump in a harsh rhythm against my chest. I was going to get an earful later, I could already tell.

Ren stopped and leaned against the cement wall. Spectators passed and gave us curious looks. All it took was a glower or two from the both us to get them to look elsewhere. We both had animosity rolling off us in droves and I was sure even a regular human could tell. They all gave us a wide berth, skittering around Ren and I like ants. I sneered at them – pathetic.

Ren folded his arms across his chest and regarded me with a cool gaze. I mimicked him, folding my own arms across my chest and staring up at him. I hated that he was so much taller than me. It made his presence all the more intimidating.

"Still mad at me I see," he said.

I wasn't in the mood for small talk or talk about our relationship. So I cut to the chase before he could say another word, "What have you been hiding from me?"

His eyes widened for a split second and then they narrowed, "I won't bother lying, but I can't tell you what you want to know."

I shot forward, using a new found speed I had picked up from a month's worth of training with reiki. I couldn't use it for much other than strengthening my hits or creating a protective barrier around my body, but it had upped my speed just a bit. It was enough to startle my partner and he flattened back into the wall in shock. I balled my fist into the neck of his shirt and wrenched him down until our heights matched.

"I'm done playing games," I snarled.

"I'm not playing any games, Kasumi."

His shock had worn off and his face had turned hard as stone once again. Ice blue eyes stared into mine unwavering and I felt my throat work as I swallowed hard. I'd never seriously thought about it before, hadn't even wanted to, but now…

Do I have feelings for this man? He's in love with me…but am I in love with him? Is that why I am so desperate to know what he's hiding…or am I just worried for my friend's safety? I let go of his shirt and Ren rose back to his full height. He shoved his hands into his pockets and watched as I backed away in the middle of an existential crisis. I didn't know what I felt. I was always so sure about my life; I had always only had one goal. Protect Hitomi…and that had turned into find Hitomi. Now I was dealing with things that came straight out of nightmares. Demons…monsters…magical fucking powers, none of it made any sense and yet it did all at once. Now I had this man added into the mix. This man who I had thought was a trustworthy and reliable person.

Now I wasn't so sure.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, his voice almost too soft for me to hear.

"You!" I snapped without thinking but it was too late to take it back.

He released a bark of incredulous laughter, "What about me?"

I waved off his question and asked one of my own, "If you love me, why are you hiding from me?"

He didn't know how to answer this and for a long moment we just sat in silence. People shuffled by us, coming and going. I could hear cheering out in the arena as the next group of fighters put on a show for everyone. Ren couldn't look me in the eye any longer.

Even if I do feel something for this man, it is not the same as he feels for me. There was also the added issue of Makoto. I had realized after the night of the ball that she was fated to be with him. I had thought the red string was all in my imagination…but now I wasn't positive. If it was true, what right did I have to intrude on that? I might not like Makoto but that didn't mean I wanted to steal her happiness.

Ren swallowed and then looked back up at me, "I was ordered not to speak to you, Kasumi."

I felt my eyebrows scrunch down over my eyes. His answer confused me because the only person I could think of off the top of my head was our Captain. He was the only one with enough authority to give him an order of any kind. But how did he know about Ren's powers? Was there more to this picture that I wasn't seeing?

"Who gave the order?" I asked.

Someone clearing their throat near the end of the hall put a stop to whatever Ren was about to tell me. Standing silhouetted against the bright lights inside the stadium was Koenma. He had his arms folded across his sharply dressed chest. The serious look in his eye had me worried.

I turned back to Ren just in time to see his jaw snap shut. He glared at Koenma and then sighed. He began to walk towards the other man and I was quick to put two and two together.

"It was you!" I shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the demi god.

Ren brushed by the other man and they shot each other a look before my partner left to return to his seat. The entire exchange was so suspicious I felt rage rise in my stomach.

Koenma regarded me with a small smile. I don't know if he was trying to placate me or prevent me from pounding the crap out of him. It wouldn't get him very far if that's the case.

"You know Ren," I said. It wasn't a question and he knew it.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, that smile growing just a little further. It was beyond fake and it did nothing but irritate me.

I'd never introduced Ren to Koenma and they had never seen each other to my knowledge. It was also obvious that the prince wasn't about to tell me anything either. I clenched my teeth, my anger flooding up to my eyes. The demi god saw it and his smile fell away to reveal a nervous frown.

He held his hands up in his own defense, "Now, now! No need to get so angry!"

I stalked up to him and preceded by him, I paused when our bodies were parallel to each other.

"You're a pussy, you know that," I snarled.

His eyes widened at my vulgar words and his head whipped around to stare at me in shock. My eyes cold, I just sneered at him.

"I'm not stupid, I can also tell that you're lying," I continued.

I tightened the red belt around my waist and adjusted the front of my gi. I checked the bandages around my knuckles and then cracked them. As each joint rang out in the quiet air, I saw another bead of sweat run down Koenma's forehead. He was afraid of me…or afraid of what was inside me. Either way, it worked in my favor.

"It won't take me long to find out what the two of you are hiding," I said.

He frowned, "No, I suppose it won't."

I walked off then, leaving him behind. Koenma knew something, but he couldn't tell me either. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he'd just been sworn to secrecy. I was angry with him, but it wasn't his fault so I couldn't take all of my emotions out on him. The prince wasn't a bad guy after all. He could just be a real hard ass when it came to certain things and my predicament was one of them. That didn't mean I wouldn't find out on my own though. I became a cop not just to find my sister but because I wanted to be an investigator. I had a long way to go, but I had the skills necessary to achieve my goal, if everything went according to plan anyway.

As I stepped back out in the inner parts of the stadium I heard my name over the speakers. I was being summoned for my next fight and my opponent was already in the ring waiting for me. I took the chance to size him up as he stretched in the ring, preparing for the battle ahead of him.

He was rather young, with light brown, short cropped hair. He wore a white gi like mine, a practitioner of Karate it would seem. He had a jubilant smile on his face, making him look like a little kid. I wasn't foolish enough to underestimate him though. What had really caught my attention was the fact he had a thin layer of reiki around his body. It appeared that Nakamura Daichi was one of those "freaks" I'd been waiting for. I felt a smirk cross over my lips when the boy spotted me. He shot me a blinding smile that was so infectious that I felt myself begin to smile in return.

I ignored the people at my back, the heated gaze that had once again zeroed in on me, as well as the rest of the world around me. It was just me and my opponent. Just as it had always been, the feeling so familiar it brought adrenaline rushing through my veins. It was such a nostalgic reaction for me. I could never deny that I liked to fight even though my grandfather had tried to train it out of me. The fact that this kid had reiki made it even better.

I vaulted over the ropes surrounding the ring. I landed on light feet before the boy. I heard the announcer call out our stats. Daichi nodded in appreciation. He was impressed by my record and the Dans I held for each type of martial arts.

"You're quite amazing, Morimoto-san," he said, his eyes crinkling up into another grin.

Daichi himself held a Hachidan in Karate, which was nothing to shrug at. Add in his obvious abilities with spirit energy and he could be quite lethal. He did not at all seem intimidated by my many ranks. But any good martial artist knew those weren't a testament to your true skill in a fight.

"How would you like to make this more interesting, Morimoto-san?" he asked, voice low so as not to alert the referee.

I leaned in closer to him, "What did you have in mind?"

His grin stretched further across his face, "I can sense you have some energy of your own."

"Yes and you've done nothing to hide yours," I pointed out.

"Let's say…we see how our energies match up?"

I hummed thoughtfully for a moment though I already knew what my answer would be, "You're on."

We shook hands and when the ref announced for us to begin both of us jumped away from each other. I landed flat on my feet, already in a defensive stance. I brought my bright neon pink energy out to surround my body much the same as Daichi had. Yusuke had taught me to think of it as a ball trapped inside the middle of my soul. If I thought about it hard enough, I could expand that ball like it was rubber and push it outwards. The hard part was making it as strong on the outside as it was in.

Daichi's energy was a dark navy blue and he laughed at the color of mine, "So bright, that's unexpected!"

The ref gave him a funny look but the kid only laughed some more. He was making the mistake of underestimating me. I pushed a bit more of my energy out and prepared to engage him.

He came at me first. I blocked a flurry of punches, each one aimed for a different part of my body. When a leg struck out at me I was quick to dodge by flipping backwards. Back on my feet, I went on the offensive.

He was not as fast as me. He blocked half my hits but the last one, faster than the rest, hit him straight in the jaw. He went sliding back on his feet and I heard the ref call out for a point to get added to my score.

Daichi spit blood onto the mat and swiped a hand over his mouth to clean up the excess. He grinned at me, "Nice one."

I said nothing, now wasn't the time for talk. I had a fight to win. I engaged him again, I went to land a flat handed hit to his solar plexus but he pushed my arm to the side. I blocked the counter attack and then pivoted to kick him in the ribs. He dodged this, hopping away on nimble feet.

I rushed him again, landing one punch to his side and another to his stomach. I added reiki to each hit to combat the aura he had surrounding his body. It made my regular punches weaker, a tactic I'm sure he was using to try and wear me down.

He was a skilled fighter, but as he laughed and enjoyed the fight it did nothing but fuel my need to win. He wasn't taking me serious enough. Little pissed me off more than someone treating me like a weakling.

I gathered reiki into a single fist, depleting the defensive aura I'd had around my body. When he came at me with I high kick, I ducked, crouching to the ground. I slammed that same fist up into his gut. It sent him flying across the ring, where he hit the floor with a hard thump. He recovered quicker than I was hoping, but did not rise fully to his feet. He doubled over on his knees, coughing blood up which splashed across the floor in grotesque patterns. He groaned as I was awarded a critical, thus giving me a total of thirteen points. He hadn't scored a single one on me yet.

When he finished retching and looked back up at me I was surprised to see his gaze had turned fierce. It was the exact opposite of the happy go lucky boy that I had first encountered. He was serious now, having realized I wasn't messing around.

He moved faster than I expected, coming at me from the side in midair, his leg already flung out to kick me in the face. I blocked with both arms at the last second and it still had enough power behind it to send me skidding across the mat. I managed to stay on my feet but he did not stop his assault.

I blocked a right hook, an uppercut, and two straight punches. He switched tactics, flinging out a leg to try and kick me. I shoved his leg aside but in one fluid motion he switched legs. He struck me in the cheek with the second kick and it sent me straight to the mat. It was the first hit either of my opponents had managed to land on me and oh did it sting. Yusuke had prepared me to get hit with reiki but I still tasted blood as my face smashed into the mat. My cheek would bruise; I could already feel it swelling.

Copper filled my mouth and I spat. I rose up onto my arms and that was when Daichi came at me again. He was just as desperate to win as I was, but I had a better motivator. The kick he aimed for my stomach missed by a mile as I shot up from the floor and flew backwards. He moved faster now. His attacks full of desperation and sweat covering every inch of him. He was pushing out too much reiki and that was when I realized he wasn't all that skilled in it. He was a novice at best and even more so than I.

I kept this in mind as he used more and more of his power to try to land another strike on me. It would not be so simple this time. I couldn't lose here, not now, not against him. My sister meant far more to me than that.

He became more frustrated with every punch and kick I blocked or dodged. He aimed a roundhouse at my head, leaving himself wide open on his right side. I shifted the disbursement of my reiki once again to my fist and rammed it straight into his ribs. I heard the distinct sound of broken bones, the loud crack cringe worthy. Daichi screamed his boyish voice horse and full of pain. I almost felt sorry for him…almost.

On the ground once more I stood over the boy, waiting to see if he would rise. He glared up at me, his face no longer full of happiness or elation. He knew his situation now, he knew he couldn't win…and that pissed him off.

"Wanna give up?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

He spat a glob of blood onto the floor and rose back up onto his feet. I backed away from him and when he pivoted and flung out a leg to try and kick me again I ended it then and there. I grabbed his leg in a grapple and using just one arm I snapped it downwards. Daichi released a blood curdling scream as his leg snapped in two. The resounding crack practically echoed in the arena. Even the crowd had gone silent at my unexpected brutality.

I let him go so he could drop to the floor and curl up into the fetal position. I swallowed hard and then glared at the ref when he didn't immediately call a medic over. The man was quick to motion towards the sidelines and several people dressed in white came running. As they tended to Daichi the announcer tallied up my points and awarded me the win. Daichi had passed out from the pain…even more childlike in his sleep than awake. I tried not to feel bad for what I had done; it was a risk he'd been willing to take after all. I didn't have time to mess around and prolonged fights wouldn't work in my favor. Neither would feelings of guilt.

As they loaded the boy onto a stretcher I left the ring. Unlike my previous fight, the boys were not up in the seats screaming. The looks I received made my blood run cold and I fled towards the locker rooms. It was best I avoided them through this. I didn't know if I could handle those accusation filled stares.

Keiko and Kazuma had seen me compete before…but all those times were for sport. I had never had such an important motivator to win until now. My sister was my last remaining blood relative. I couldn't let her slip through my fingers again, no matter the cost. If she showed up here I would do anything it took to get her to come back to me. I had a lot of questions…and I feared she was the only one who could give me the answers.

I sighed in relief when I entered the locker room and found it empty. The door closed on its own. So I never noticed when someone slipped through it at the last second. I made myself comfortable at a bench in the back, away from prying eyes. With my back to the entrance, I hung my head and just took a moment to breathe.

"Why are you sulking, onna?"

I jumped, my body tensed up and ready for an attack that never came. He'd managed to sneak up on me again, the bastard.

I hung my head again and pressed my hands to my eyes, "What do you want, Hiei?"

He came around the bench to stand in front of me and then pulled my hands away from my face. I refused to look up at him, keeping my fringe over my eyes in replace of my palms. I heard him sigh in irritation before he dropped my hands. A forefinger and thumb came up to squeeze my chin between them. He jerked my head upwards, forcing me to look him in the eye.

I had expected him to look angry or maybe even smug. Instead his face was interestingly devoid of anything. He'd placed a mask over his features to hide what he was thinking. It made my skin crawl. It made me want to force a reaction out of him. What did he think of my little display just moments ago? Was he disappointed in me?

His red irises flicked around my face. It was like he was trying to memorize my features. They paused at my rounded cheek, swollen from the one good hit Daichi had managed to land. He let go of my chin then, but I didn't drop my gaze this time. His palm came to rest against my abused cheek and warmth spread across my skin. I released a tiny, satisfied sigh. I saw something flicker across his eyes at the sound, but he suppressed it too fast for me to tell what it was.

"I can't do anything for the swelling," he said.

No, I suppose I would need ice for that. I'd live; the swelling would go down by itself over time. Thanks to Hiei, at least it no longer hurt. I didn't understand his sudden kindness, but it was a nice change. When he drew his hand away, I was almost tempted to snatch it back. I resisted, instead just watching to see what he would do next. I didn't speak. I was too caught up in my inner turmoil to prevent myself from saying something stupid. So I just didn't say anything at all.

Hiei stood in front of me for what felt like ages. His face remained blank the entire time. What was going through his head? I hated these kinds of moments. It always left me feeling at a loss.

At least with Ren…I knew where I stood. I knew how he felt about me and I was almost positive I knew how I felt about him. Admitting it to myself was a different story. But wait…why was I even comparing Hiei to Ren anyway? It's not like the fire demon was a love interest…was he? No, that's absurd Kasumi. He's cantankerous and rude. He's downright nasty most of the time. He was one of the cruelest people I'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was cold and uncaring. How could I possibly feel anything for a man like that?

But even as I thought it, memories came forward to refute it. If he was truly a heartless bastard why had he saved my life as many times as he had? He'd protected me, risked his skin for me and I was no one to him. Even now, he'd followed me in here and for what? To soothe my injured face, why?

I sat in uncharacteristic silence. Even I knew that but it did nothing to stop my train of thought. It barreled on ahead making me think of a million things I never wanted. Or so I had thought anyway. In the past so many months I couldn't deny that I had grown a bit closer to the fire demon…without really noticing. Out of everyone, he was the one that had stepped forward to try and help me find my sister. Albeit, with an incentive. But not even Kazuma had offered in that regard. He was too caught up in the Purgatory issue to worry about my problems.

What did this mean? Why was I even thinking about this crap now?

It came to me so sudden I felt my heart stop in my chest. Hiei cocked his head, his eyes narrowing as my heart began to race. He could hear it, fuck!

No, no, no! This was not happening. I was going to shut this down here and now. Come on Hiei, say one horrible thing. Just one!

To my dismay, he chose to say nothing at all. Instead he took that same fucking hand that had rested on my cheek just moments before and pressed it against my chest. It rested right above my racing heart. His palm could feel each beat and it only made it race that much faster.

I felt a flush rise to my cheeks. I started to think of ways I could get out of explaining my strange reaction. If I wasn't blushing I could have played it off as fear. Think Morimoto! Don't let him know, don't let him even guess at it! You're a fool, a complete and utter fool.

Because I was forever fucking up my life, I blurted the first stupid thing I could think of, "I'm in love with Ren!"

It was a lie, a total, complete bullshit lie that I instantly regretted saying aloud. Sure, I liked Ren. I could see myself in relationship with him and he was certainly attractive enough for me to want to rock his world. But…I also no longer trusted him as much as I once did. I hated that I felt that way, but he'd left me with more questions than I knew what to do with. His confession of loving me did nothing to sway my feelings. I couldn't be with Amano Ren. We just weren't compatible enough…not to mention he had a fucking soulmate.

The word made my mouth taste sour. It was almost disgusting to me. I wouldn't have even thought of it as a possibility if Hitomi hadn't been able to point it out. She used to do so as often as she could, just to be a show off. We'd pass a couple in the street and she would whisper to me about the stupid red string. I'd get so annoyed with her and all she would say was, "Don't worry Oneesan, you will find yours one day too."

Bah! Right, like that was even possible. I pity the man whose soul is connected to mine!

I was so lost in thought I never noticed that Hiei had snatched his hand back like I'd bitten him. His face once carefully blank was now full of a dark rage. His lips curled into a sneer and he looked down at me as if he found the sight of me disgusting.

"You shouldn't toss that word around," he snapped.

"Huh?" I didn't understand what he was saying…what word?

"Love, you fool! You throw it around as if it has no meaning!"

I was a mix of shocked, confused, and downright stupefied at his reply. I hadn't thought of Hiei as a man that would give a damn about love. But I was rather offended that he would accuse me of such a thing.

"No I don't!" I shouted.

"You just did," he snarled.

So he'd known I was lying…but how?

"And you have done so before," he continued, incensed at my stupidity.

"When?" I barked, sitting up straighter in my seat. I wanted to hear why he was reacting this way. What had I done to make him so angry? It was almost fascinating.

"With Kuwabara," he snapped.

My mouth fell open and I couldn't help it when I began to laugh. I laughed so hard that tears gathered in my eyes and Hiei's anger only grew by the second. He didn't get it. He didn't know the difference between platonic love, like the kind you have with close friends or family, and romantic love. It was almost sad in a way…if it wasn't so damn funny. How could he even think that I felt that way about Kazuma? The man was the epitome of a gentleman most of the time and I was sure he'd make an amazing husband to some lucky girl…but she sure as fuck wouldn't be me. I didn't deserve someone like that.

I wiped the accumulated wetness at the corners of my eyes. But my chuckles continued unbidden. I had my eyes closed, too caught up in my stunned amazement to notice what Hiei was doing.

Hands, so hot they could almost burn, grabbed me by my upper arms. I was pulled forward, jerked so abruptly that I released a yelp of surprise. It got cut off in an instant as a pair of lips just as hot as his hands slammed down onto mine. My eyes burst open and my breath caught in my throat.

Hiei's eyes were screwed shut, the look on his face akin to pain instead of pleasure. It did nothing to stop him from kissing me for all he was worth. His hands tightened on my shoulders and I was far too stunned to struggle. All I could do was sit there with my eyes wide open and watch as he molded his mouth to mine.

I didn't kiss him back. I was unable to even move a single muscle let alone comprehend what exactly he was doing to me. My heart was beating so fast I feared I would have a heart attack any second.

What the fuck was this?! Where had this even fucking come from?!

He didn't relent, not even when my mouth remained closed and unmoving against his. He was slowly but surely whittling me down. His hands came up to tug at my ponytail. His fingers snapped the band out of my hair and it went tumbling down to brush against my back. When he buried his hands into it that was when I fucking lost it.

I reared up, pressing my mouth even more firmly against his and molding my own lips to match. He released a noise of shock I would have almost considered cute, if his actions weren't so…well…carnal. He grabbed up great fistfuls of my hair and delved his tongue into my mouth, twining it with mine. The kiss was hungry and possessive and dark. It made my blood boil and my skin prickle. It was the kind of kiss that could make a woman weak in the knees. It was the kind of kiss you never wanted to end in fear you'd never feel one as wonderful again. I was so hot I could feel sweat begin to pool between my breasts and at my lower back. I groaned, the obscene sound reverberating between our mouths and making him kiss me even harder.

The sound of people outside the door had him freezing up. His mouth still planted against mine his eyes snapped open wide.

He ripped himself away from me, having come to his senses. When the voices passed the room and no one entered I breathed a sigh of relief. But my relief was short lived.

"Fuck," I heard him snarl to himself.

He was shaking, anger so plain in his body language that it had me tensing up defensively. He wouldn't look at me, staring straight at the floor with his fists clenched at his sides.

In that brief moment of silence my brain caught up with what had just happened. Ignoring the fact he was pissed off I said, "Oh my god, what the fuck Hiei?!"

I didn't expect him to answer me and he proved me right when he fled the room in a black blur. As the door swung shut behind him, I took in one long shaky breath. I couldn't get my heart to stop racing, no matter how hard I tired. I was far too amped up to try and meditate.

Had that seriously just happened? Had Hiei, the forever awful, mean, cold hearted fire demon, just kissed me? Like, on the mouth and everything? With fucking tongue even! Was this possible, or was I dreaming or in an alternate universe? No one in their right minds would believe what just happened. Not that I wanted to tell them anyway.

I brought up two fingers to place against my lips, swollen from his roughness. If I had thought Ren's kiss was the best of my life…Hiei's had blown it out of the fucking water.

Fuck you, Hiei. For real, fuck you! I cried out in my head, hoping he was foolish enough to listen in. I hoped he would hear me, to know what he'd caused. He'd planted weird things inside my head, weird things I'd been avoiding thinking of for over a month now.

If I was to be honest with myself…they had begun that day at Genkai's, the day I'd first met Chronos. Just his voice had been enough to calm me down. Back then it had made no sense and I hadn't been brave enough to really think about it. Now…now I didn't have much of a choice.

I rose from my seat, feeling reiki spread out around my body and head straight for my fists. I was angry. Oh hell, was I angry. This was more than I needed to deal with right now.

I lashed out, my fist smashing straight through a locker. It came back bloody; the white of the bandages stained a bright red.

Hiei would pay for this, you mark my words. I wasn't going to let him run away next time. How dare he take advantage of me! He'd done nothing but act like he'd hated me up until a few weeks ago, what had changed?

My mind raced as I tried to come up with a reason, even one tiny thing that could be the slightest bit plausible. None came to mind and I punched the locker again. I felt no satisfaction in the pain. So I kicked and punched at it until it was nothing but a twisted piece of metal barely hanging onto its hinges.

By then they were announcing my name over the loud speakers once again. Was a half an hour already up? I was too distracted to fight now! Had that been the little shit's plan all along? Was Hiei trying to sabotage me?

No…that wasn't right. He had no reason to do such a thing. If I jumped to conclusions now, it would only make things worse later. I needed to talk to him, as difficult as that would be. He wasn't exactly the talkative type, now was he.

I dug out fresh bandages from the duffel I had stored in one of the lockers. I rewrapped my hands and licked my lips to clean them of the taste of Hiei. I took a deep breath, my mind still filled with too many emotions to count. I hoped this next fight would be an easy one; I'd have a hard time concentrating if it wasn't.

As I stepped back out into the stadium my stomach dropped. For not only was the opponent waiting for me in the ring a rather large grown ass man, he had an aura around him bigger than my own. The twisted smirk on his face had sweat gathering on my brow. Something about the look in his eyes was off…it gave me the creeps.

There was hunger in them…the kind that thirsts to see blood. I wouldn't leave this fight unscathed. This man wouldn't allow that. He cared little about the fact that I was girl or that I was small, that much was noticeable straight away. He must have seen my earlier fights and knew what I was capable of.

I hadn't been playing this smart. I hadn't stuck around after my matches to pay attention to the other fighters. How idiotic, what a rookie mistake! He could have fought before…and I could have at least known what I was up against.

I gritted my teeth and hid my fear. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Besides, just because he was bigger didn't mean he was better. The saying, 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' came to mind. I just had to play this smart and keep myself in check. I'd fought plenty of people bigger than me. Given my height it was a pretty common occurrence.

I launched over the rope fencing and the man's smirk widened. Unlike Daichi, I bowed to him instead of shaking his hand. I was careful to keep my distance. From the score board I learned that his name was Nikolai Ivanov, he hailed from Russia. He stood at well over six feet. He had prominent muscles and short cropped blonde hair. A scar through his right eye, though it hadn't affected his sight, made him seem even more intimidating. He had his arms crossed over his chest, the muscles bulging through the sleeves of his karate gi. The man was huge, a veritable giant. He opened his mouth to speak, his voice heavy with a thick Russian accent.

"Hello, little girl," he said, his cruel smile widening.

I resisted the urge to snap at him not to call me that, not wanting to provoke him too early. The ref raised his hand, counted down from three, and then jerked his arm down sharply.

"Begin!"

I didn't even have time to take a stance. Nikolai came out of nowhere, moving much faster than a man his size should be able to. His aura was far more refined than Daichi's had been. He was no stranger to using it. I blocked the first punch with both forearms. His massive hand almost spanned both my arms put together. I aimed for his legs, trying to topple him over, but he was fast to dodge out of the way.

As I blocked a kick to my side, he came at me with a hay-maker. His fist struck me hard in the side of the head. I went shooting across the ring, slamming into the ropes. The impact was almost hard enough to knock the wind out of me, but I had no time to catch my breath. I dodged a massive roundhouse kick that might have broken my neck if I hadn't ducked.

I tasted copper and fire blossomed across my face. He had expected me to dodge. The hit he'd managed to land made my jaw crack. I'd have a nice bruise on my other cheek now too. I hit the mat hard and rolled out of the way as he tried to kick me. Back on my feet I dodged another high kick. I blocked two straight punches and jumped out of the way of an uppercut.

This fight would be one of my hardest yet. The points system had not worked in my favor. It had been used to whittle down the amount of competitors. At this point everyone that had under ten points had been eliminated. However, it did not tell you of another fighter's prowess. Someone could have scored just enough hits to get them to the next round. Or they could have beat their opponent to an inch of their life and gotten many points. There was no way to know.

But by the smirk on this giant man's face I would say he'd scored just enough so he would have the opportunity to battle me…but why?

What was I going to do? I kept dodging, blocking, but I never got the chance to counterattack. He left himself without any openings. This guy was no amateur.

He landed a solid flat footed kick to my chest. I had been unable to block it. I went sliding back, my light pair of black slip-on shoes having little to no traction. That was when I spotted it and it caused me to pause. This was the hugest mistake I could have made at that point.

Above the stands, the VIP box I'd been keeping my eye on since the start of the tournament had its light turned on. The big front window now illuminated, I could see the silhouette of a man's body. Whoever was up there had decided my fight was interesting enough to pay attention to.

My eyes now on the box instead of where they should have been, I never saw when Nikolai brought reiki forth into his hands. My vision went black around the edges and I screamed when a thick ball of energy struck me straight in the gut. He'd made it solid and it had hurt a thousand times worse than a regular punch would have.

I fell to my knees and coughed up blood. Nikolai crouched down in front of me, still taller than me, and smiled cruelly.

"Ryuunosuke sends his regards," he whispered.

That was when I saw red…and after that, nothing else mattered. Energy, sparking like electricity, surrounded me. I had neither the control to stop it, nor the ability to give a shit if anyone saw it.

I would end this.

And I would end him…it was time I stopped fucking around. Hiei had been right, this tournament was all arranged to test me.

"Chronos…"

"Yes child, I will aide you," her tone pleased…giddy even.

My vision in one eye went blank. In exchange I received a power so great it flooded my veins with pure adrenaline. Half my body was given to the god, but the other half was all mine. I looked up at the VIP box one last time, as Nikolai backed away from me, a new emotion in his eyes. There was fear there…and it made my blood rush and my heart race in excitement.

If the person above wanted a show…I was more than happy to give it to them.

. . .

A/N: I'm so sorry it has taken so long to release this chapter! The tournament set up is a little confusing, but I've designed it so each round if a person does not receive a certain amount of points they are eliminated. Thus, people who have previously fought and lost can still fight if they have enough points. Except in most situations they probably will not. AND OMG, Hiei and Kas finally kissed muhahahaha! Don't think that means much of anything at this point though, Kasumi has much bigger things to worry about than Hiei's strangeness. Next chapter will be in his POV, so watch out for it! Thanks for reading, let me hear what you thought!