"He's still zonked out?" Kuwabara stared down at Yusuke's sprawled, sleeping form with his hands in his pockets.

"With the finals in a coupla days?" Chu and Rinku had followed Team Urameshi to their hotel room, along with Jin and Toya.

"Sheesh, what a lump," Kuwabara scoffed.

"Better worry about yourself!" Rinku grinned with his hands clasped behind his head.

"Got a death wish, shrimp?" Kuwabara glared down at the boy.

"Let him sleep," Genkai ordered. She sat against a wall with an arm resting over a raised knee. "He'll awaken, ready or not, when the time comes. He knows that."

Sayomi stood against the wall beside Yusuke's bed. She kept her arms crossed as she thought over Genkai's words. When the time comes… So, he'll wake up when the finals start like with the first round.

"Now then…" Genkai got to her feet and made her way to the door.

"Where're you going?!" Kuwabara watched the old woman, unable to stop her. "After two matches, you need sleep. Or at least let Sayomi look at you."

Sayomi looked up at the mention of her name and realized he was right. She handled herself so well, I didn't think to heal her after the round was over. She looks exhausted…

"I've got something to do. Kuwabara…" Genkai turned to smirk at the boy and said, "Don't lose."

"Huh?" Kuwabara blinked as Genkai shut the door.

"Well, since Yusuke's out for a couple days, I'm gonna head out, too." Sayomi stepped away from the wall and made her way to the door. "I'll be back later, maybe."

"Hey, wait—"

Sayomi shut the door on Kuwabara before he could stop her. When she turned to the hall, she jumped and bit back the urge to yell out. Genkai was standing just down the hall with her hands behind her back. Sayomi let out a shaky breath as she made her way to her teacher. "Geez, Master, don't scare me like that."

"Hmph!" Genkai smirked and led the way to a set of fire stairs. "Leave it to you to follow after me."

Sayomi flashed the old woman a grin and said, "Who's following? I just wanted to get out of the crowded room."

"Yeah, right. And I'm your fairy godmother."

"My what?" Sayomi arched an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term.

"Don't bother over-thinking it." Genkai glanced at Sayomi and asked, "What do you want? I'm too busy to train you. You'd have better luck with the hothead."

"Hmmm…" Sayomi took a moment to think over her words before she asked, "What are you so busy with that you had to leave so soon?"

"Just meeting an old friend. There's no need for you to tag along. No doubt we'd just bore you with talks about the 'good ol' days'."

Sayomi watched Genkai carefully. An old friend? Here? "If you're sure that's what you want. You sure you don't want me to heal you before you go?"

"No thanks. You should save your energy for what you really want to do." Genkai smirked at Sayomi before opening the door to the exit and making her way to the forest edge. "And don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise."

Sayomi watched her teacher leave, ignoring the urge to follow after her. She can handle herself. And she has a point…

Sayomi looked around and expanded her senses. She ignored the energies in the hotel and the signals she was getting from the stadium's direction. When she came up empty, she sighed and picked a random direction to explore the woods. "Of course he won't let me sense his energy. That would be too easy."

Once she was under the canopy, she relaxed and let the shadows consume her. She felt a smile creep on her face as she walked. The breeze was getting cooler as the sun started creeping more towards the west. While there was still enough sunlight to see, it would only be a matter of hours before it really got dark.

While walking, Sayomi thought about Genkai's parting words. Save my energy for what I really want to do… Haven't I been doing that already? I mean, the past couple of months have been nothing but meditating and fighting. I only healed myself after training with Hiei until the tournament started. But then, I didn't really have much choice this time, did I? I wasn't going to let them bleed out just because I couldn't fight with them.

She looked down at her gloved hand, imagining the markings underneath. She clenched her fist and glared down at her exposed black nails. Then again, should I really be fighting at all? Maybe that's why they didn't consider me to be their fifth member… I'm too weak and they all know it…

Sayomi stopped walking as she delved deeper into her thoughts. So then, why is Hiei so insistent on training me every day? Even when I ditch him, he gets pissed and increases the difficulty. If I'm too weak, why would he even bother? He won't even train Kuwabara, and he gets to fight in the tournament instead of me.

She sighed and sat down on the ground, crossing her arms and legs. "Alright, calm down. Maybe I'm wrong and they're not in some conspiracy to keep me from fighting. So then, why not let me be their fifth instead of pushing me to alternate? Do they think I can't handle it because I'm a girl? No, Yusuke doesn't care about gender like Kuwabara does."

"Do you always talk to yourself like this?"

Sayomi quickly turned around to see Hiei standing behind her with his hands in his cloak pockets. She glared at the fire demon and turned back to face away from him. "I hate it when you do that."

"Then you should do something about it instead of whining like a child." Hiei watched her get into her meditative position. Sayomi shut her eyes and took in deep breaths, ignoring the former thief. Hiei scowled and settled down in front of her, following her lead as he opened his Evil Eye beneath the headband.

Sayomi opened her mind's eye and looked through the darkness. She sighed and began walking in a random direction. "What will it be this time?"

She continued to wander in the Void and think out loud. "Will it be another memory of my brother or perhaps what happened afterwards? Or maybe it'll dig up something I forgot. Hell, anything would be better than this annoying empty space!"

Her voice faded into the distance until it was swallowed by silence. When nothing changed, she scoffed and said, "This is stupid. Why did I even start the meditation? Oh right. Hiei."

She sighed and sat down, crossing her legs and resting her chin on the back of her hand. "Since I started when he showed up, I guess he's become something like a trigger. That's pretty annoying now that I think about it."

"Surely it can't be too annoying if you insist on staying."

Sayomi's eyes widened as she heard the familiar voice behind her. She slowly turned to see Yasuhiro standing with a warm smile. She opened her mouth, but closed it. Why is he here?

Yasuhiro crossed his arms and smirked down at his sister. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

Sayomi blinked and got to her feet. She kept a safe distance from him, not wanting to leave herself vulnerable. "Why are you here? You said you would wait until after the tournament."

Yasuhiro's smirk slipped and he sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Can't I still talk to my sister from a distance? I've been looking everywhere for you. Now that I know where you are, I wonder where you've been all this time until now."

"Where I have been? What about you?!" Sayomi glared at her brother as his expression became stoic. "You told me to run. You said you would find me."

"I did find you." Yasuhiro locked eyes with Sayomi as he said, "And it took me years to even pick up a trace of your aura."

Sayomi tried to respond, but Yasuhiro cut her off. "How far did you run? And for how long? I searched every acre of that forest and I couldn't find you anywhere. I expanded my search to neighboring territories and came up empty. You don't know how angry I became when I realized you were nowhere to be found…"

Sayomi trembled at the memory from her last meditation. He got worse?

Yasuhiro paused to close his eyes and take a slow breath. "Then I found someone who honed my anger into something I can control." He opened his eyes and smiled at Sayomi. "That's why I need you to come back before it's too late."

Sayomi felt frozen in place. Why can't I move? This isn't right. He's still… "Too late for what? Losing myself? Becoming corrupted by power I'm too weak to control?"

"Please, Sayomi." Yasuhiro opened his arms, beckoning her to come forward. "I miss my little sister."

"She doesn't seem to miss you."

Yasuhiro and Sayomi blinked at the unexpected voice. They looked over to see Hiei standing in the darkness with his hands in his pockets. He glanced at Sayomi's tense stance, ready to fight or run. Then he glared at Yasuhiro, calm and exposing himself to a direct attack.

Yasuhiro's confusion melted into a stern glare. He lowered his arms and faced Hiei, giving him his full attention. "So, you are the infamous thief Hiei. And what brings you into our sibling reunion?"

Hiei matched the demon's glare with his own. Without looking away, he addressed Sayomi. "Get over here. Now."

Sayomi snapped back into attention and looked at Yasuhiro. He kept his eyes on Hiei, so she took the distraction and ran towards the swordsman. She stopped in front of him and turned to face her brother with her arms spread open. "Don't hurt him!"

"Sayomi…" Yasuhiro's glare fell as he saw his sister protecting the thief.

"What are you doing, you fool?" Hiei grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back as he took a step in front of her.

Sayomi turned to glare at Hiei, shrugging his hand away. "He's my brother, Hiei! And what the hell are you even doing here?! This defeats the damn purpose of the whole meditation!"

Hiei growled and grabbed her by the hair on the back of her head, forcing her down. He glared at her and said, "Even if I attack him in your mind, he'll still be alive. The same applies to me. If you get hurt in your own mind, you'll be beyond help."

"The traitor has a good point, Sayomi." Yasuhiro glared at Hiei and said, "I suppose that eye of yours is good for something after all."

Sayomi tried to get out of Hiei's grip, but he held on. When she settled down on her knees, he let go and faced Yasuhiro, blocking Sayomi completely from his view. "I suggest you leave now or I'll track you down and kill you myself."

"And why would a heartless killer care to protect someone who isn't of your own blood? Are you a friend of hers?" Yasuhiro narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you with the Underworld Detective?"

Hiei ignored his questions as he laid an open hand on Sayomi's head. She physically relaxed at the familiar warmth, closing her eyes in relief. Hiei removed his headband and opened his Evil Eye, emitting a glow that seemed bright in the infinite darkness. Yasuhiro had to shut his eyes and shield himself as the glow brightened, forcing the meditation to end.

Sayomi opened her eyes and saw Hiei sitting in front of her, mirroring her position. His red eyes watched her as she sighed and averted hers, choosing to stare at his hair instead. "So why did you interfere? I thought we had an agreement about that."

"The agreement was that I observe your meditations and communicate only. Is that not what happened?"

"You were actually part of it, Hiei." Sayomi closed her eyes and brought a hand up to cover her face. "Do you have any idea how invasive that felt?"

"Your insecurities will be your downfall." Hiei reached for her wrist and pulled it down. "And look at me when you speak."

Sayomi reluctantly opened her eyes and looked at the fire demon. His eyes were guarded, but he wasn't angry. She took a few deep breaths as she gathered her thoughts. "I didn't expect him to show up again so soon."

Hiei let go of her wrist. "Is that why you hesitated?"

"No, it wasn't like that. I tried to move, but I couldn't. Not until you showed up and… distracted…"

Hiei smirked as she realized the answer to her own question. He chuckled when she glared at him and got to his feet. He removed his cloak and tossed it to the side. "Get up. We're training for the rest of the evening."

Sayomi felt her face heat up when she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. She tried to ignore it as she got up and stretched. What is it with him and shirts? Does it really get in the way that much?

She finished stretching and reached for her weapon. Hiei drew his sword and waited patiently for her to make the first move. Sayomi ran forward, sweeping her sickle low to attack Hiei's leg. Hiei jumped up, bringing his sword down to attack.

Sayomi smirked as she became shadow, allowing the blade to pass through her harmlessly. She shadow-stepped so she was directly in front of him and landed a series of solid hits to his chest and stomach.

Hiei grunted when she hit, but otherwise he was just fine. He trapped her leg against his torso as she kicked him, shocking her into solidifying completely. He swept her other leg out from under her with a kick and let her fall to the ground.

She growled and sprang back to her feet, dashing around through the trees. Hiei chased after her, attacking with his sword. She covered herself in her aura, trying to outrun him. Whenever he swung his sword, she dashed out of the way. Trees were cut down and boulders split in half as his attacks followed through.

Sayomi smirked as she dodged another strike and countered with her chain. She wrapped it around Hiei's arm and tugged, forcing him off balance. She dashed forward with her sickle raised to attack.

Hiei caught his footing and vanished from her view as she brought her weapon down. He appeared behind her, kicking her down to the ground. She bounced once and dropped her weapon. Hiei landed on top of her, pinning her back with his knee and pulling her head up by her hair. His sword's edge was pressed just lightly against her throat.

She tried to glare up at Hiei, but he just tightened his grip. She cringed in pain, then shivered when she heard him chuckle in her ear. "I win."

She shivered when she felt his warm breath on the nape of her neck. She struggled to get up, but Hiei applied more pressure on her back as he tugged her head back. He growled in her ear, warning her to stop.

"Don't bet on it." Sayomi began to cover herself in her aura when a flock of birds flew away from the area and a powerful aura swept through the forest.

Hiei let go of Sayomi and helped pull her to her feet. They were both sweating and out of breath as they turned to face the direction the energy came from. "What… did I just feel…?"

"Did it come from the stadium?" Sayomi wondered aloud. She closed her eyes and searched through the woods. She felt a much smaller flash of energy that she recognized. Wait, isn't that…?

"No. Toguro's team is fighting, but it wasn't from the stadium." Hiei turned to her and saw her paling expression. "What's wrong?"

"She's not supposed to be fighting…" Sayomi's voice was just above a whisper.

Hiei scowled. "By 'she', I assume you mean Genkai."

"This can't be good." Sayomi started walking towards Genkai's energy in a daze. "She said she was just meeting with an old friend…"

Hiei grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving. "If that's what she told you, then she knew what she was getting herself into. Even if you leave, there would be nothing you could do for her."

"I could heal her, Hiei. If I get there in time…" Sayomi tried to tug free, but Hiei held on firmly.

"Toguro knows we have a healer on our team. You think he'll leave her treatable?"

Sayomi lowered her head, refusing to look at the fire demon. "Please… Let me go, Hiei. I need to see her before it's too late."

Hiei held on and said, "Fine, but I expect you back for training tomorrow."

"Can't we take a break just this once?" She turned to him, tears spilling from her eyes.

Hiei's eyes hardened and he said, "If Genkai dies, then that means you step in as the alternate. If you want to survive, you need all the training you can get. Or is your wish for strength just a lie to fool yourself into thinking you're not weak?"

Sayomi growled and became shadow to slip free from Hiei's grasp. She ran through the trees, locking onto Genkai's location when she felt another build-up of the hermit's aura.

As she ran, she thought back to the start of her mission. She remembered her rough training with the old woman. The backhanded compliments echoed in her mind, pushing her to improve. She recalled her recent matches in the ring as the Masked Fighter. Finally, she heard the old woman's parting words.

"You should save your energy for what you really want to do, and don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise."

Sayomi gritted her teeth as she pushed herself to run faster. When she felt a burst of Yusuke's energy, she melded with the shadows of the trees. Please… Not him too!

She reached an open field and stopped short of falling into a large crater in the ground. She trembled as she tried to imagine the one who created it. He's a monster…

Her eyes scanned the area for any threats. Her eyes widened when she saw red. She ran around the crater and kneeled down to inspect Genkai. The blood was already cool and she couldn't feel a pulse.

She clenched her fists and stood up, glaring through more tears as she tried to find Yusuke. She found a path of broken trees and followed it. Please be okay! Please don't be dead, too!

At the end of the destruction, she found Yusuke. He sat against the base of a tree, covered in scratches and broken branches. His cheek was swelling a bit and his eyes stared ahead emptily.

Sayomi ran up to him, brushing away the debris and checking him for any serious injuries. She gasped when she realized, except for his swelling cheek and worn clothes, he seemed fine. His bruises were already beginning to heal. Is this what she meant when she said her power was with Yusuke now? He survived a hit from Toguro… That's incredible…

"Yusuke! Yusuke, it's Sayomi." She plucked the twigs and leaves from his hair and his body. He was covered in dirt and there was some blood dripping from his mouth. "Yusuke…?"

"…He'll pay…" His voice was barely a whisper.

Sayomi bit back the urge to cry more and she decided to help heal his face to distract herself. The swelling went down and the bruising faded away completely. Despite his improved condition, he continued to stare into the distance at nothing.

Sayomi's face became somber as she thought about their late teacher. The last thing she told me was to focus on what I want to do… but what do I want to do? Become powerful so I can end up like Yasuhiro? Or stay weak and live in fear of ever using my own abilities?

Screams echoed in her memory. Terrible screams coupled with genuine laughter. I don't want to become a monster… I just want to be able to protect myself. I want to survive on my own. If I can defend myself, then no one else will need to do it for me. They won't need to worry about me if I can handle myself.

Images of the boys floated through her mind. Yusuke is a natural. No wonder Raizen said to look for a good fighter. Not only is he getting stronger, he's also very kind to the people he cares for. And speaking of kind, Kuwabara isn't too bad for a human. Yeah, he's annoying at times, but he's been a steadfast, loyal ally since I've met him. Kurama knows how strong he used to be. It's probably why he wants to know about that smoke so much. Can't say I blame him, but I think I like this new Kurama better. Even limited, he's still the legendary fox. And Hiei… The fire demon's words echoed in her ears.

"If you want to survive, you need all the training you can get. Or is your wish for strength just a lie to fool yourself into thinking you're not weak?"

Sayomi choked back a sob and bit her lip. I know I'm weak… I'm trying to fix it… But…

"You don't know how angry I became when I realized you were nowhere to be found…"

She felt a warm tear slide down her cheek when she recalled her brother's suppressed anger. I don't want to become like him…