File 33: Requiem for Genkai – the conclusion after 50 years

Genkai arrived at her rendezvous. Toguro-ototo turned to face her.

"It's just about time, huh?" He smirked at her. The wind blew. "You've gotten old, Genkai."

"You haven't changed. You're the same as you were fifty years ago. I never thought that half a century later I would once again be a guest at this tournament. What more... to be called here by someone who was my ally back then... why did you call on me?!"

"Don't ask the obvious. It's to let you know how cruel the passage of time is. Fifty years ago you were beautiful. Just by closing my eyes, the image of you fifty years ago comes back to me. Why did you wear a mask? Is it because you didn't want me to see you that way?"

"Don't be so full of yourself. I didn't want to reveal myself in this place crawling with youkais who want to kill me."

"You've already passed on the reikohadoken, haven't you?"

"Yes, I've handed it over to the young generation."

"Fifty years ago, you were beautiful. So was your daughter in her time. It was a pity that she was such a coward, weakling, and peace-loving fool. And now your granddaughter is just like you were. Don't worry. After I kill you, Urameshi Yusuke will soon join you, and I will properly raise Akari. It is not too late for her. She looks much like you when you were young. Now I have no further need of you. Or more precisely, I can no longer suffer to see you!" His youki started growing rapidly as his muscle mass increased.

"You really haven't changed. You only think about fighting." A sad and tender smile appeared on Genkai's lips. Back then, when they would hunt demons as easily as wolves in the middle of a herd of caged sheeps. At that time, Toguro had told her. They were at the peak of their strength and how he had often hoped that time would just stop, and how terrified he was that someone stronger than them would appear and that he would be unable to do a single thing because of the decline of his body. Being human was so inconvenient. His greatest desire was to acquire a body that would never grow weak. And in frustration, he had bit his lower lip to the blood. She had said nothing but she had thought... as much as he would put on years, so would she, wouldn't that be enough? To just grow old together... Her smile became more derisive. "And sorry to break it to you but both Yusuke and Akari aren't the type to follow people's wishes and expectations." Her expression became hard again as she glared at him. "And I can't put up with you either! You who went so far as to sell your soul in search of a moment's youth and strength!"

"Is that so? In that case, one of us must die!" Toguro's grin widened as he lunged at her. Genkai gathered her reiki at the tip of her right index. With her remaining strength, she only had three shots. She must time them wisely.

Yusuke woke up in his room with a very scary face, surprising everyone. They asked why the long face.

"Toguro is fighting." He declared. Suddenly he leapt out of bed and dashed down and out of the hotel, Kuwabara in his trail. The orange head said he was going the wrong way and the stadium was in the opposite direction but Urameshi didn't listen and kept running faster than his friend had seen.

Genkai charged, jumped and swooped down on the man she had once called a comrade. She shot at point blank range while Toguro made a grab for her. She barely avoided thanks to her lightness and agility but he had still got part of her shoulder. She disengaged and skidded far away. She had wanted to gouge out his heart but he had moved at the last second and insteast blew a large hole in his left which now only hung by a stretch of tissue and skin. He dropped the little chunk of flesh he had taken from the woman's shoulder and praised her. She had gotten better at closing in on others. She fell on her knees. Only two shots left. He apologised for only using 45% of his power and decide to raise to 80%. His youki increased along with his muscle mass. The almost torn off arm regenerated itself in a few seconds. Due to the pressure that emanated from him, the earth under him cracked. Hiei and Kurama who had been preparing for their fights felt cold sweat run down their backs when they sensed that terrifying youki. It was something they had never felt before. Same for Kuwabara who was looking for Urameshi.

"There are only five people alive who have seen me in this form." Toguro smiled. "My brother, Bui, Karasu, your granddaughter, and now you. Though you will die soon." He sharply waved his hand in her direction. She barely avoided as the pressure from that simple move blasted a crater at the very place she had been. Having calculated her escape route, he lunged straight at her, his hand into a fist. "Pure strength that transcends skills... that is true power! Even the air pressure created from thrusting my fist becomes a weapon!" Genkai leapt backward. His fist connected with the ground and shattered it, forming a crater larger than a bus and over twice as deep as he was tall. Debris sprang up like a fountain. The old woman fired her second shot, which Toguro easily blocked with his left hand. Only a little smoke rose from his hand and quickly dissipated. She was shocked.

"Is that it? Is that the extent of your power? I need not have waited for someone else to come and inherit the reikohadoken. I should have killed you back then, when you were still strong and beautiful. You are not Genkai! You're just a worthless lump of skin and bones!"

"I AM Genkai! And I'm not about to get killed by the likes of you!"

"You WILL die. And it will be at my hand. Well, don't worry about Akari. I give her another ten years. She has the potential to surpass you, and she still has a use in our plans. If by then she chooses the same path as you, then I will kill her. I cannot repeat the same mistake. Now be grateful that you will be killed by me who you've known for so long." He started walking towards her.

I need power. Power utterly different from Toguro's!

He started running towards her.

I don't care if I die. I need at least enough power to open Toguro's eyes! Her wrinkles disappeared and melted into her attractive and youthful face. And she fired her very last shot. The demon's fist and the human's reiki connected. Toguro's fist broke through. Blood spurted. A red puddle spread on the ground under the master's body.

Akari and Yusuke watched, paralyzed. Toguro landed.

"You're too late. Time is without pity. Genkai's final blow, with all of her power behind it was unable to even break my skin."

The youths vanished and reappeared at the old woman's side. They gently turned her around and held her up. They called her desperately and she opened her eyes. She smiled weakly and whispered their names. They smiled, relieved.

"Wait a bit, I'll fix you up in no time." Akari started using her healing techniques on her grandmother when she grasped her hand. The young girl felt the sickeningly familiar slickness of blood on her hand and froze.

"Don't bother... I will die soon. I've known... ever since I was invited to this tournament..."

The Sankishu had come to her temple to relay the invitation. Of course she had initially refused. Her wish when she had won 50 years ago had been to never participate again in that tournament. But then the demons had told her about Urameshi and her granddaughter being invited too. Toguro was waiting for the day when people capable of fighting him came together. Kurama and Hiei had also been invited, along with Kuwabara Kazuma. But she was still requested to come as the sixth member. Toguro was thrilled that the most powerful figures since they had been guests 50 years ago had come together...

When she had realized she would see Toguro again after 50 years, she had also realized she would die. Yusuke was shocked at the news. Akari was still completely petrified.

"That's right. At that time I was reincarnated, from a human into a youkai in order to preserve my strength. That was my wish after winning the tournament 50 years ago. All my friends were fiercely opposed to it." The man declared. The boy glared at him but there was was still not a single emotional response from the girl. Genkai whispered the children's names again. Akari jolted, her eyes still wide. Urameshi told her not to talk.

"L-listen to me... everyone... must fight against time... but he... ran away from that fight... he threw away... his pride, his soul, his friends... Yusuke, Akari... you mustn't make this mistake... y-you're not... alone... d-don't forget... who you've become strong for..." Genkai's raspy voice died away, her eyes closed, her heart stopped and did not start again, her body became completely limp. She was... gone.

"If you had been a little earlier, you wouldn't have had to watch this painful scene. There are only to paths to follow for those who live to fight: become stronger or die. The moment she chose to spend her remaining years in idle depravity... at that time, she was already dead."

"You shut that filthy mouth of yours! I'm gonna kill you here and now!" Yusuke yelled.

"I'll repeat it as many times as I like. What is lying here is nothing more than a rotting beaten dog." Toguro affirmed. Yusuke turned and lunged at him, his face distorted by rage. He went for a punch. The demon caught it in his palm but the impact was so strong that his feet dug in the ground, causing large chunks of rocks to rise up. A broad and feral grin was curving his lips. And then he punched Urameshi's cheek with his other fist. The boy was sent flying and crashing through a number of trees until one stopped him at last. Blood flowed from his mouth and he collapsed against it.

"Baa-san..."

"That was a good punch Urameshi. One of the best so far..."Toguro looked at his torn hand. "Now for the other one..." He turned to look at Akari who still hadn't budged a single muscle. He slowly approached her and stopped in front of her. "And once again, you weren't able to save anyone. You should have understood back then. The acts of the weak are meaningless."

Akari jolted back into reality.

"And one of the reason Genkai died..." Toguro continued maliciously. "... is because you lack the power. It's the end."

"The end...?" The little girl muttered. She won't be coming back? She won't be there even if I return to that house? Never...?

. . . . . . . . . . .

She's gone... she's gone for good... why?!

"Because I... because humans are weak... do the weak have no choice but to just cry?"

I am... all alone...

The reason why I became strong... Her parents, her grandmother... her... family... She looked up and saw that man standing there, towering above her, just like he had been years ago, with the same cruel and expectant smile on his lips.

That man... is there...

And as she looked up, just like that day, tears streamed down her face, and in the same time, she felt rage and power building up, welling up inside her, like boiling lava inside a volcano.

"Power... those who have it and those who lack it... I've been so powerless..." The pressure rose. The lava repeatedly crashed against the walls of her reason in waves of fury. Power enveloped her like an all-consumming fire. "Weakness is a sin. The powerless can grasp nothing! I will grasp power! I will exterminate all of you! From this world... not sparing a single one! I will... kill you!" The volcano blew up. There was an explosion of light and Akari, Toguro, and Genkai's corpse were in the middle of a gigantic crater. She had literaly vaporized everything around them with the sheer pressure of her reiki. Even the demon had not escaped unscathed. His skin was torn in multiple places. But it was not over. Glowing like she had been back then, Akari was aiming at him again. Her reiki formed a ball several times bigger than her. Just when he was preparing to receive it, it suddenly shrunk to the size of a soccer ball and shot towards him. He caught it in his hands and tried to disintegrate it. He applied all his strength. Veins burst inside his hands and arms. The ball exploded, taking his hands and a bit of his forearms with it, blasting his glasses and severely damaging his whole front. The youkai stared at what remained of his arms and the state of his torso and his savage grin broadened.

There you stand, soaked in blood, the spitting image of a demon. After failing to defend your precious people, you choose the path of carnage. But your monstruous hands... in time they will take even those you hold dear and crush them to oblivion. That is the price a demon pays. Devouring both beloved and hated... you will be left to howl in solitude...

Back at Tarukane's mansion, she had barely scratched his skin. And now...

It was almost there! The day he could fight at 100%!

Toguro dodged the punch aimed at his head and kicked the girl's back even harder than he had punched Yusuke. She crashed against a rock far away, shattering it, finished her course in the river beyond it. After a few seconds, she stood up again, all bloody, tears still flowing down her eyes. She advanced a few shaking steps.

"Wait..." She reached out, blood flowed from her mouth, and she collapsed, crying.

"Puu..." Puu puued sadly, with tears at the corner of his round eyes. Keiko wondered what was wrong with him. Botan had been acting strange for awhile too, and now she had even locked herself in the bathroom. Only Shizuru knew. Botan was crying too. Kurama and Hiei had also felt the disappearance of Genkai's ki. The fox tightened his fists and ran.

"Bonehead! What can you do if you give up after just this?!"

"Shuddup! You can take your training and stick it!"

"Yusuke... don't you lose."

Yusuke bolted upright, his cheek swollen and blood trickling down the corner of his mouth, and started punching the tree over and over.

Akari tried to get up again but all she could do was to sit up on her shins. She did not have any strength, like it had all been robbed away. And Toguro's blow had nothing to do with it. It wasn't physical. It was that feeling of emptiness, like shattered glass, it was that loneliness weighing on her, crushing her, grinding her down... she had truly... fallen. It hurt so much she could barely breathe. She wanted to scream but her voice was caught in her throat. She was gone. She was alone. She was empty. This world... was empty... There was... nothing... And suddenly the wind picked up around her. It was a glacial biting wind. The water, the earth, the plants... everything around her started freezing to their very cores. The frost crept and spread like water on a dry river bed. And the more it expanded, the colder the center grew. Stones and plants shattered.

Kurama arrived but as soon as he stepped into her area, he stumbled and fell on one knee. But not because he had tripped... He looked up and what he saw almost froze his heart. An aura, a smile more terrible than any sorrow, colder than ice, purer than diamond, sharper than a broken blade, a smile more piercing, more painful than any physical wound and still softer than snow... the seductive, enticing, irresistible smile of one who offered you the salvation of a sweet and forgetful sleep for eternity... the lulling, numbing smile of one who lovingly embraced the world with a cold mantle of nothingness, quietly consigning it to oblivion, like the merciless coming of a winter that would never end, like the grim inevitability of death. The loss of her only family left, the loss of that warmth, the loss of that kindness, the loss of that 'existence'... because if you forgot the feeling of warmth then you wouldn't feel so cold...

The demon stood up and ran to her, with each step feeling like he was being pierced through and through even though he wasn't injured. He fell on his knees before her and shook her.

"Stop it, Akari! Stop it right now! At this rate everything's going to disappear... everyone you love, everyone who love you... and yourself!" He cried desperately.

"And, who are you?"

Kurama froze again. That expression like nothing mattered anymore, like she no longer cared about anything or anyone. She saw him, she recognized him, she heard him... but he could already no longer reach her. And despite that, she'd be the one who would hurt the most when everything was over! For someone like her who had attained her current strenght for the sake of not losing anyone anymore to walk the path of endless darkness and solitude...

"You can't, Akari... you can't go that way... you're not alone." He tightly embraced her. "You still have people to protect and who want to protect you. You still have people who love you. I love you. Besides, Akari is for brightness. That's why I won't let you go. And I won't go anywhere either. I won't leave you alone. Because I love you." His hand cupped her left cheek and he pressed his lips against hers. They... connected. As she was falling in the abyss of darkness, she suddenly felt his warmth at first, then all his love in its gentleness and intensity seemed to seep through her from his lips to hers, and spread through her whole being, reaching far into the darkest and deepest recesses of her soul, lighting her, completely embracing her, melting the ice in her heart. She could feel his love flowing into her like red liquid life all the way to her fingertips. She was still alive. She was not alone. He was there. He was there and he wouldn't leave her. He was there, and he loved her... And she... she loved him too. Ah, he had caught her. Tears started streaming down her face again. Kurama pulled away and gazed into sorrow. He smiled tenderly, lovingly. He softly stroked her cheek. And they kissed again. A profoundly captivating, mesmerizing, passionate, desperate, protective, possessive, and yet amazingly sweet and loving kiss... while holding onto each other in a fierce embrace, for a moment when nothing else existed... They pulled away after a time and she stared into his green eyes. And she cried in his chest until she was so utterly spent that she just fell asleep...

But none of them knew. None of them knew that Hiei had been there too. He had arrived just in time to see Kurama kneeling before Akari, and he had stood there, paralyzed, like glued to the spot, unable to look away, unable to flee, too shocked to move, as the man he regarded as his closest friend confessed his feelings to the girl he regarded with so much affection. He watched like before a nightmare come true as he kissed her. He watched as they kissed again. She had accepted the fox's feelings. He wanted to laugh like it was such a bad joke. He tried to, but it hurt so much that his smile changed into a pained grimace.

"If you stay like this, you'll only hurt yourself. Keep acting proud and denying everything and it might be too late. But well, it's up to you whether you decide to take the chance or not."

He leant against a tree, his back to them. He gritted his teeth and his fists curled so tightly his knuckles turned white and blood trickled down them and onto the ground. And then, he vanished.

Yusuke had settled before the cave where Genkai had given him the final trial, his eyes stubbornly fixed on the entrance, as if trying to pierce through the darkness to spot a familiar form. He was recalling the old woman's words, the pain he had gone through when she had given him the spiritual orb... although it was absolutely nothing to the pain he was feeling now. If that could bring her back, he'd gladly take on a pain a thousand times stronger and he'd take it on a thousand times. No, he had no right to think that. It was his fault that she had died. It was his fault that Akari...

If she hadn't given him her reiki, she might not have lost to Toguro!

Koenma and Georges were also there, watching him from a distance. They were joined by Botan. It was obvious she had not recovered yet. She asked whether Genkai had really gone. The prince nodded. And he had told her already that Genkai was destined to raise up sucessors and then vanish.

Hiei reappeared before the craters Toguro and Akari had made. He stared at them for a long time. The bond between Toguro and Akari... and the bond between Akari and Kurama... His youki increased dramatically. He leapt. A black fire surrounded his bandaged right fist. And he punched the ground, creating yet another crater. He looked around and cursed.

"Shit. I will master the kokuryu ha by tomorrow!" He jumped back out of the hole and compared the three. If Akari's was only a little smaller than Toguro's, his was twice as small... "You monster..." The fire youkai swore.

Kurama had carried Akari away and put her down against a tree while he was image training in the little meadow. His eyes closed, he was remembering Karasu's words...

"Out of the five of you, it's really Akari and you I like best. As cool as you are, you are also quite belligerent. We need Akari so unfortunately I won't be able to kill her yet. But you are different... When I kill someone I like I get depressed the same as when I think about why I was ever born. But then I find that to be an indescribable pleasure." But no matter how many simulations of the fight he made in his mind, in the end they all led to the same results of him being toyed with and killed. It was no use. He couldn't even start to get a clue about how to defeat him. Speed, youki... Karasu was far above in every aspect. He looked over at Akari's sleeping form and cursed.

"That's why I won't let you go. And I won't go anywhere either. I won't leave you alone. Because I love you." Will things just end like this with him breaking his promise as soon as he had made it?! He clenched his fists. Suddenly, he was called by Kuwabara, relieved to have found someone at last. He wanted to know whether he had seen Urameshi. The moment he had woken up he had taken off somewhere looking pale. And the granny had said she had important matters to take care of by herself and she hadn't come back either... The fox looked down. Now, she won't ever come back...

"Oh, that's right, Akari... weren't you two together?" Kazuma looked around, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Ah, there she is! What?! She's sleeping?! Geez, she sure has it easy... going at her own pace as usual, that's so like her... I wish she-"

"Kuwabara-kun, keep quiet." Kurama snapped abruptly in a tone that scared even his friend and teammate. He was not used to such anger and fierceness from him. Could it be because of what he had said about Akari?! There was a heavy and threatening silence for a time until the kitsune's glare was reported to the forest. "Who's there?"

It was the 'beautiful demon battler Suzuki'. Kuwabara didn't recognise him at first since he was without makeup and the likes. But he was indeed the Uraotogi Team's Onji beaten senseless by Akari. The blonde youkai angrily told him to add 'beautiful' before his name. Both Urameshi Team members were rather disconcerted and reluctant to comply. But well, Suzuki himself admitted that this title sounded hollow now that he had been shown so clearly the difference in abilities. He had been reduced to an ordinary circus clown. The kitsune thought that was what he had been from the very start. The clown seemed to sense something though since he looked at Kurama suspiciously. The red head asked what his business was. Suzuki had something to give them: the Fruit of Former Life to Kurama, and the Sword of Trials to Kuwabara. Or so they were named... the fruit was actually bathing in red liquid in a phial like red pear liqueur, and the sword was 'just' a katana hilt with no actual blade. Those were the items he had given to Shishiwakamaru and Uraurashima.

The fruit was the fleshy part of blossoms recently discovered in the Makai. Uraurashima had used it in its mist form but Kurama should be able to stay longer as a youko if he drank the liquid. The sword was made out of leechcedar that sucked out the ki of the holder in order to grow. It was a shape shifting spectral sword. The form it took depended on the disposition of its holder. However, both items were still in the experimental stages and even he didn't know of any possible side effects they might have. It was up to them to use these things or not. Kurama asked why he had decided to give them these items.

The artefacts maker told them he had once battled Toguro. His name then had been Strong Fighter Tanaka. But just by seeing him at 30% he had been overcome by terror and begged for his life. And Toguro had said: "When someone disgraces himself in such a spineless and unsightly manner, I lose even the will to kill him. You're nothing more than scum." After than, Tanaka had trained, improved his abilities, become Suzuki, changed his appearance and led the Uraotogi Team to this tournament... only to be completely beaten. He was not asking them to get revenge in his stead. It was just that Toguro believed that strength was everything, and he wanted to believe that there were people stronger than Toguro.

Someone approached Yusuke from behind. Koenma... The prince acted surprised that he knew it was him but the boy was in no mood for jokes. Koenma understood.

"Botan has been heartbroken as well even though I had warned her. And Akari... well, we gotta be thankful that Kurama stopped her from turning this place into a frozen moon and saved us all. Yusuke, that girl knew. Or rather, she had a feeling. And she understood her. After all, those two were peas in a pod. But even so... Akari..." He trailed off. Urameshi had also been aware of that. But he wouldn't have gone. He couldn't have gone. He couldn't face Akari. He couldn't stop Akari nor did he have the right to. Because...

"If only I had arrived a little earlier... no even before that, if only baa-san hadn't given me her reiki... To Toguro she wouldn't have..."

"Don't say anything so foolish!" Koenma glared down at him.

"What?!" The human bolted on his feet menacingly grabbed the prince's collar. "Who're you calling a fool?!" He snarled at his face.

"If you're not a fool then a huge idiot who's totally missing the point." Junior replied coolly. "As a master, she did what she had to for her disciple. And then, even supposing you had gotten there sooner, would you have been able to intervene in a fight to the death between Genkai and Toguro? At a time when both were putting their lives on the line for their convictions, you would dare interrupt them?!" He snapped. At this, Yusuke had nothing to say. But even so, he could not accept it. He roughly shoved Koenma away and stubbornly sat back before the cave, gritting his teeth, shutting his eyes and clenching his fists.

Does Genkai's trial also include overcoming this sorrow? The prince wondered. Be strong, Yusuke, Akari!

Sakyo and the other organisators were in a room in the hotel, though the young Black Book Club member was the only one sitting on a chair, before a table... and smoking as usual. As a VIP remarked, their enterprise had been very successful. Should Sakyo's team win this time too, this tournament would have made roughly 8 quadrillions, 45% of which – nearly 4 quadrillions, would land right in his pocket. That was more money than anyone could imagine. There were times when owners of victorious teams used their money to become dictators of whole countries while others sought to obtain eternal life. You could basically obtain anything you could desire. But Sakyou had kept completely silent since his victory at the previous tournament. Wasn't it about time he told them what he was planning?

"I want to open a hole."

"A hole? A hole, you say?"

"A big hole would be nice. A border tunnel connecting the Demon Realm and the Human Realm. It's so inconvenient right now. Except for those momentary distortions that happen by chance, neither side can cross over. It costs 200 billions yens to artificially warp space to open up a hole the size of your fist. As such, only minor demons can come into the Human Realm. The hole is too small, you see? It is unfair, isn't it? How can we not let those who are larger, more powerful, more evil, come through as well? If we can sustain a route that allows youkais, no matter evil, to freely pass through, then the world will become even more chaotic and enjoyable. That's the dream of the main-eventer. By combining the prize money from last time and this time together, my dream will come true."

The other executive could barely believe their own ears. What that man was saying was completely absurd! Unthinkable! And yet he was totally serious! And totally mad! Up until now, the youkais had barely stayed within their own sphere, and so tournaments could be held. If any more powerful demons were summoned, all of their lives would be in danger, including his!

"You guys don't get it, do you? That's what makes it so interesting. It is interesting, isn't it?" Sakyou insisted, a small cool and cruel smile on his lips and a cold and bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes like gems shining in the darkness of his heart. This man could never feel truly alive if he was not in a do or die situation, and enjoyed putting others in similar situations. And of course, none of these organisators could understand such a thing and felt fear before such extremism. He was truly bizarre! They had felt something abnormal about him and they had been right! Keeping him alive was too dangerous! Now they would manage the tournament by themselves! They pushed a red button. The wall before Sakyo rose, revealing a band of ugly – and armes – monsters. They surrounded him and kicked and sliced the table to scare him.

"Oh, you guys are going to manage the tournament. I thought you'd say that, which is why I kept quiet until now." Still smiling, he looked to the right and Toguro-ototo appeared and walked to his side. "It was for your sakes as well."

"Shut up! Get them!" A VIP barked. The demons lunged... and were all gruesomely slaughtered in an instant by Toguro. The three humans soon joined them in death. Sakyou wiped the drops of blood that had splattered on the corner of his mouth with his handkerchief and threw the piece of cloth that landed on a man's head. The Black Book Club member stood up and raised his glass of red wine, his other hand in his pocket.

"Toguro, what do you think of me?"

"I don't know if you're abnormal or not... but I will cooperate with what you're trying to do. I have become too strong for the ningenkai. With a youki as huge as mine, I cannot go to the makai through the small deformations that occur naturally. Once I defeat Urameshi, I'll have to return to the demon world by opening up a tunnel or whatever. There are no more opponents left to fight me after all."

"And for that, Akari's power is necessary. With her energy pool and ability, we could maintain a tunnel the size of a building. No, if it's her, we could even shatter that barrier... Nice anwer... have a drink?"

"I don't drink alcohol. Orange juice, if you please... then again, Oolong tea would be nice too."

Night. Yusuke and Akari had not moved from their respective spots.

"Geez, both you and Yusuke wasting away like it's the end of the world..." Koenma greeted the young girl who stubbornly kept quiet and did not move a muscle. "You knew that would happen, you knew you had no right to invervene, and yet, unable to keep her with you, unable to let go, you keep agonizing. I thought you had been taught how to be strong, independent and always look forward..." And as there was still no response to his taunting, the prince decided to state the reason of his visit, though he had been told to use that only as last resort. "You have a message: Akari, grandmother is very very sad to have such a weak, cowardly, lazy crybaby like you as a granddaughter. This is so shameful. Was everything I tried so hard to teach you a waste? Still, so shameful! Grandmother is very sad. Alright, die and come over so I can teach you everything again from the beginning." Junior did an awfully good imitation of Genkai's condescending attitude, even pretending to wipe tears that weren't there. Akari stood up, walked away a little and looked at the sky. The earth trembled, birds cawed and flew away in fear and a huge pillar of fire shot up from the small girl.

"That... BLOODY OLD HAG! I won't die! YOU don't ever come back here or I'll slay you myself! You Onibaba! Amazake-baba! Yama-uba! Datsue-baaaaaaa!" She yelled at the top of her voice. Onibaba, amazake-baba, datsue-ba, yama-uba... those were all crone-like youkais. Two lured humans to eat them, one asked for sweet sake and brought deceases to those who answered her, and one lived in the underworld and stripped people off their clothes...

And satisfied that things had gone well on this side, Koenma left the ranting Akari to go see the other weak little crybaby.

For a moment, Urameshi thought he saw Genkai exiting the cave and reached out. But that had just been an illusion cause by his longing. He fell on all four and wailed.

"Good grief... how long do you intend to keep this up?" Koenma chided him, only to face the same reaction as Akari. Learning from experience, he went straight to the point. "My, my... oh right... a message from Genkai." At this, the boy sharply turned his head to him, his eyes alive again. "She says: 'I really had to struggle because you were such a poor pupil. I don't want to see your mug for a good long while so don't come over here.' And there was one final thing: 'win'."

"T-that... old hag..." Urameshi stuttered as he started crying. Then he jumped, did a somersault, and landed firmly on his feet. He was smiling. And both he and Akari were recalling the words Genkai always used to say when training them.

"Bonehead! What can you do if you give up after just this?! It's only after you think it's hopeless that the real contest begins! There is only one basis for it... yearning. Making your heart as one is the only way to have control over yourself once you have gone beyond your limits."

Akari and Yusuke held their right wrists with their left hands and aimed with their right indexs that they raised skywards.

"Genkai, here's my reply." They affirmed in the same time. Their overflowing energy started swirling around them. "I'll drive it all the way to the spirit world!" They concentrated all their willpower and reiki at the tip of their fingers. The pressure was blowing away the dust at their feet. The ground cracked below Akari. The two rei users fired. The recoil made their feet sink into the ground. Their shots twirled around each other, intertwined and combined and rocketed as one towards the starlit sky. And everyone stared in awe at that power and intensity... Kuwabara and Kurama, Hiei, Suzuki, Botan and Puu... Younger Toguro and Sakyo were smirking. The ray of light pierced the darkness like a bolt tearing through the sky before vanishing from view. Akari and Yusuke let themselves fall down on their backs.

"Do you think it reached baa-san?" The boy asked Koenma.

"Yeah, I'm sure it reached her."

Kurama and Akari were returning to their room, holding hands. Suddenly, the girl broke the silence.

"You know, I think you're completely crazy after all. I really could have killed you. And it's not the first time either."

"You could say that I'm simply madly in love with you. But I had confidence that you would stop yourself in time and that my feelings would reach you." The fox said softly, smiling and squeezing her hand tighter. Akari blushed, remembering the kiss. But Kurama had also risked his life to appease her when Toguro had come to invite Urameshi and her as guests for this tournament... did that mean he already loved her like this back then?

"How conceited of you..." She frowned and pouted, looking away. How highly was he thinking of himself that he'd be so sure that he was so important to her that she'd stop herself in time regardless of her state? And the absolute worst of it was that he was right... He stopped and pulled her to him, an arm encircling her waist and his other hand on her cheek.

"I'd rather call that a vow of trust... in you. Besides, I told you, didn't I? I will never let you go." And he kissed her again sweetly, gently, softly, lovingly. Their tongues met and entwined. She remembered that time when she had tried to escape him after the matches against the Uraotogi Team. Even though she had jumped back then because the fear of losing after loving to this extent had been too much for her, he had jumped after... and caught her. She really couldn't escape him or even go against him after all. In his embrace, all her fears vanished.

They had overcome their sorrow. They had overcome Genkai's final trial. And they finally stood on the starting line. The next day would be the real thing... the finals against the Toguro Team.