Sensui wiped the blood from his mouth, still holding his orb of aura. He stared at Yusuke and said, "Urameshi... On a power scale of one to ten, you're a ten. Me, I'm just a six or seven."

Yusuke blinked at his predecessor in confusion.

Sensui looked down at the blood on his fingers. "You're doubtless faster and more agile, with more endurance..." He looked back at Yusuke. "But you still won't be able to beat me. Sall I tell you why?"

Yusuke glared and spoke through clenched teeth. "Let me guess... You got rocks in your head!" He dashed. "And I ain't lettin' you kick that ball!"

He fired off a barrage of punches. Sensui blocked each one with his free arm and a raised knee. Yusuke leaned back, just barely missing Sensui's surprise kick by a scratch. "Unh! Raah!" Hequickly countered with a right cross, but Sensui blew it aside. He followed through with a kick to Yusuke's back, sending him crashing across the floor.

"Hrn!" Yusuke sat up and winced. Then he crouched on his feet and glared at Sensui. "You lie like a dog! If I'm faster, how come you can fend off my punches?"

Sensui smirked. "Reason one why you can't beat me... I can vaguely foresee your impending moves."

Yusuke gritted his teeth and yelled, "Whatcha mean 'vaguely'?! Start making sense, dude!"

"I have instincts honed by a lifetime of fighting demons," Sensui answered. "Even when you surprise me, as you did at first, my instincts kick in and trigger responses I'm no longer even fully aware of."

"I've been in my share of fights, creep!" Yusuke dashed. He closed in on Sensui and, at the last second, threw a feint and punched down into the ground.

The dust and debris forced Sensui to shield his eyes. He saw a shadow jump into the air through the dirty cloud. "Above me!" His eyes widened when he only saw a large boulder. He quickly looked down as the dust began to settle.

Yusuke smirked, crouching just in front of Sensui. "Below you." He punched up into Sensui's stomach in rapid succession and watched him splash into the lake.

"Awright!" Kuwabara cheered. "Urameshi's Special-Delivery Gut-Smasher! I had a stomachache for a week after one of those!"

"What did you just call it?" Sayomi asked, arching her brow in confusion. "And why are you so proud of that?"

"I'd like to see you—" Kuwabara froze when he realized he was talking to Sayomi. "Oh... Well, it just really hurts, okay?"

"Get back up here!" Yusuke yelled down at the lake. "No way yer just gonna drown!"

There was a brief moment of silence before Sensui breached the surface. "Very well... But I'm less presentable."

As Sensui made his way out of the water without his shirt, Sayomi felt her jaw drop.

"Gack!" Kuwabara cringed. "Man! Check out those scars! He's really been through the grinder!"

Sensui turned to look up and said, "No, Kuwabara... these scars came out of training. Not one was made by an enemy."

Yusuke braced himself as Sensui started walking towards him. Just behind Sensui, an orb of aura ascended from the lake and floated to his side.

"He's got remote-controlled aura!" Kuwabara gritted his teeth nervously.

"Could be trouble," Kurama warned.

"Hmph!" Sensui's aura flared around his body. Small orbs of light shot out from several directions until he was surrounded by them.

"Could be...?" Sayomi whispered.

"Man, lookit all those!" Kuwabara yelled. "All that aura, combined, could outdo Yusuke's Reigun!"

Sensui grinned wickedly. "I think I'll try something. Here I go!" The orbs of light clustered down by his foot. "Violet Flame Kick!" Hekicked the aura ball and the smaller balls scattered. They honed in on Yusuke and accelerated.

"Grr!" Yusuke ducked, jumped and dodged out of the way. The moment he settled on the ground, an orb crashed into his face. The force of the blow knocked him off his feet and three more assaulted him. "Unh!" He got back up to a crouch and jumped out of the way of another incoming wave. "Hrf!"

Yusuke gasped when he saw a quick shadow in his peripheral. Before he could turn to look, Sensui kicked him in the face.

"Gah...!" The blow sent Yusuke skidding across the ground. The aura balls crashed into him immediately after. "Hrrn!"

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Yusuke!" Sayomi shouted.

As the dust began to settle, Yusuke took a moment to breathe. "Whoo! Sheesh!" He hopped back to his feet and snarled, "Try something else, Bub!"

Sensui smirked and pointed at Yusuke. "You're a tough cookie, I'll say that, but you can't win. Reason two—you're vulnerable to multi-angled attacks."

"How's that?" Yusuke asked. He dripped with blood and sweat and his clothes were ripped and stained.

"You're far too used to fighting one-on-one." Sensui instantly produced another volley of aura balls. "I, on the other hand, always found myself confronting multiple enemies, and this is the technique I devised to deal with them. It's really quite spectacular."

As Sensui's aura filled the cave, Yusuke braced himself. The pressure lasted just moments, but it was enough to stun Yusuke. "Holy Cow! And he's already expended a ton of aura!"

"The disparity..." Kurama broke into a cold sweat. "It's far wider than I'd expected."

Sayomi could only stare down in horror as she realized what they were really up against. But... How...? Please don't tell me he was the one I was supposed to find...

"The clincher, reason three..." Sensui smiled. "I possess total aura capacity. On an aura scale where you count as ten... I score one hundred!"

He gathered his aura by his foot, and kicked it at Yusuke again. Yusuke braced himself and brought up his arms to block. Sensui's aura rained down on him full-force. Unable to hold his ground, Yusuke was knocked back off his feet.

Sensui looked down at him and said, "My second aura salvo. See? You can't dodge them all." As he spoke, he produced a third.

Yusuke brought himself up to a kneel. He was covered in cuts and bruises. He glared at Sensui in defiance.

"Get up, Urameshi! Get up! Get up!" Kuwabara yelled desperately.

Sayomi cringed behind Kuwabara. Does he have to be so loud?

The oaf doesn't have self-control. He only acts on impulse. Hiei thought bluntly.

"Zip it! I Heardja the first time!" Yusuke yelled. He forced himself to his feet, ignoring his straining legs. He spun his arm in large circle to loosen up. "Ready for another round? I am! Doesn't matter how much aura you got... I'll keep comin' back!"

"I'm convinced you will. But for how long? Violet Flame Kick!" Sensui gathered his aura and kicked it at Yusuke.

"Rrr..." Yusuke prepared himself for the assault. Then he dashed towards it. "Raah!"

"Hmph!" Sensui's eyes narrowed in mild confusion.

Yusuke punched and blocked every orb that crossed his path. Once he was through, he jumped high into the air and shouted, "It don't hurt! If I can't dodge 'em, I'll suck 'em up and attack!"

"Ha!" Sayomi grinned. "That is so Yusuke."

"He figures it's better to take the blows and go on the offensive," Kurama realized. "Makes sense. A single aura ball isn't that powerful."

Yusuke rushed Sensui with another swarm of rapid punches. Sensui blocked each one, stepping back to keep a safe enough distance.

"So much for one of your 'unbeatable' reasons!" Yusuke snarled. "And how about your instincts, eh?! Did they anticipate this?!"

Yusuke jumped up into the air. Sensui braced himself for an aerial attack. Yusuke landed with a loud splash into the lake. He swam across, glaring at Sensui the whole while. "Ha ha ha! Well? C'mon! What am I gonna do next?!"

"You idiot!" Kuwabara screamed. "Why're you takin' a swim?!"

"'Cuz he's an idiot?" Hiei asked dryly.

"Heh heh heh..." Sayomi laughed under her breath.

When Yusuke made it to shore, he grinned and said, "Ah, that was refreshing. Shall we go another round?" Without waiting for an answer, he dashed. "Raah!"

Sensui smirked. "You just took a dip to catch your breath, and now it's back to your usual barrage of punches, eh?"

A loud rip drew Sensui's attention. Taking advantage of the distraction, Yusuke whipped his wet shirt and used it to tie his arm to Sensui's. Yusuke gripped the end of the shirt tightly, keeping Sensui locked in.

"He tore up his wet T-shirt and wrapped it around Sensui's arm!" Kuwabara commentated.

"So that's what you were up to!" Sensui realized.

"You got it, Bunky." Yusuke grinned. "Now you can't get away... from this!" He threw a powerful right uppercut into Sensui's stomach.

"Urgh!" Sensui lost his breath on impact.

The blow knocked Sensui back and off his feet. As he slammed into the ground, Yusuke landed on him hard with all of his weight. Yusuke immediately punched Sensui in the face in rapid succession with his free fist.

"Ya got 'im, Yusuke!" Kuwabara cheered. "Now finish him off!"

"One more!" Yusuke yelled, charging his fist for a final blow.

A loud clap echoed throughout the cave.

Sayomi's eyes widened as she saw blood shoot out from Yusuke's back and spill from his mouth.

The attack forced the shirt to tear as Yusuke was sent flying through the air. He landed on his back with a hard thud and spit up more blood. "Hurk!"

"Yusuke!" Kuwabara cried out.

"What was that?" Sayomi couldn't tear her eyes away from her charge.

"A gun..." Kurama answered. "Built into his arm..."

Sensui glared down at Yusuke. He growled and grinded his teeth as he started walking towards the boy, who was trying to get up. "You stupid brat... You lowlife loser! Don't get cocky!"

"Sensui's changed... drastically!" Kurama noted.

"He's finally lost it!" Kuwabara yelled.

"He's just switched out," Itsuki said from behind them. "We're now watching Kazuya, wielder of the Aura Gun."

"'Kazuya?!'" Kuwabara pointed down at the match. "What're you talking about? Isn't that Shinobu Sensui?!"

"Unless he has a twin or something," Sayomi suggested.

"It's another persona," Kurama deduced.

"That's right." Itsuki nodded. "Sensui created several to deal with the never-ending pressures of battle. He's developed seven so far, including Shinobu, the original and host."

"What?!" Kuwabara reeled.

"Seven?!" Mitarai gasped. "I didn't know!"

"So if this is Kazuya, who was he fighting before?" Sayomi asked.

"Minoru was fighting earlier," Itsuki answered. "He's talkative, argumentative, and very proud. He must've switched with Kazuya when Yusuke made that sudden comeback. Kazuya is sort of Sensui's closer. Demon or infant, he'll gladly kill it."

"That's just sick..." Sayomi said, repulsed by Itsuki's description.

Kazuya stopped beside Yusuke's beaten body. Yusuke was laying on his back again, gritting his teeth against the pain. Then Sensui kicked Yusuke hard and sent him up into the air. Yusuke landed on his side, clutching the bullet wound and screaming. "Gyaah! Hack! Hurk!"

Kazuya smirked down at him sadistically and said, "Like that 'ace up the sleeve,' punk? Minoru didn't quite tell you the truth. Y'see, there're actually four reasons you won't beat Sensui..." He aimed his gun down at Yusuke. "And that fourth reason is me!"

He shot Yusuke multiple times in his arms and legs without hesitation.

"Aaagh!" Yusuke screamed.

"Heh..." Kazuya grinned. "How exquisitely you suffer. It really gets me going... Hee hee..." He reached down and picked Yusuke up by his hair, forcing him to look up. Kazuya aimed his gun under the boy's chin. "Still, let's say goodbye now. S'long..."

"Stop!"

Kazuya looked up at the cave exit and saw Koenma in his Human World body.

The young prince was sweating and slightly out of breath. He glared at Sensui and, with stern authority, said, "This has gone far enough!"

Kazuya's eyes narrowed murderously at his old boss. "Koenma..."

"You heard me," Koenma said. "Don't compound your sins further."

Kazuya slowly lowered his gun. Then his eyes widened when he looked down. He quickly threw Yusuke across the floor where he landed hard on his back. "That was close! He still had energy left."

Yusuke forced his eyes open to glare at the prince. "Koenma... Why'd you interfere... now? I was gonna... nail him point blank with... my most powerful shot..." The Reigun blast at his fingertip slowly began to recede back into his body.

"I nearly forgot Koenma chose you as Shinobu's successor, and Koenma's no fool," Kazuya said. He turned and pointed at his former boss. "Shinobu's asleep, Koenma. I'm Kazuya. I'll take no orders from you. But don't get me wrong... we all decided to do this thing, Shinobu included."

"It's like he's discussing it with a committee," Kurama noticed.

"True enough..." Itsuki allowed. "When you consider the distinct personalities involved. Shinobu is the central one, the pivot. Three others deal with matters of combat, and the other three with... other things."

"Such as...?" Sayomi asked, annoyed with his long pauses.

"One's a female called Naru, and she's no warrior, not by a long shot. She's shy, naïve, and sensitive. She often confided her problems to me, and I was always there to comfort her when things got heavy. I was the only one who knew about her. After Shinobu, she was my favorite."

"Stop!" Kuwabara brought his hands up to cover his ears. "This is getting way too weird!"

"All this time... Sensui was the prime mover..." Kurama deduced.

"That's right," Itsuki confirmed. "We were merely his pawns."

And he's okay with that? Sayomi couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked back down at Koenma and Sensui. Whatever you're planning Koenma, I hope it works.

"Bring out Shinobu," Koenma requested. "I want to talk with him."

"Well, Shinobu...?" Kazuya paused and tilted his head, as if he was listening to something. Then he smirked and tapped his chest with his gun. "He'll pass, thanks. You're stuck with me, heh heh..."

Koenma narrowed his eyes and started walking towards him. "That's fine, he can hear me. And I want to say even now it's not too late to stop this nonsense."

"It is too late. Look!" Kazuya gestured to the doorway behind him. "The hole is finished. We're just waiting for it to open."

Koenma stopped walking and stared at Kazuya. Then he removed his pacifier.

"Eh?!" Kazuya's eyes widened.

The pacifier was emitting a powerful aura. Koenma kept his gaze on Kazuya and said, "I can seal up that hole with another force field. You see, this is concentrating my aura to repress a dark age that's still a few centuries away. It's the Evil Seal Ring, and I may activate it early. So thwarting your plans is really no problem... unless you kill me and take the ring."

"I... get the picture..." Kazuya glared dangerously at Koenma.

"Talk it out amongst yourselves. Which will it be—continue, or stop?"

"Fine..." Kazuya crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Sayomi stared down at the scene in awe. So that's why he always had it in his mouth? Yusuke always made fun of him for it, but it's actually pretty impressive.

What do you mean?

Sayomi glanced at Hiei, who kept his eyes down at the young ruler. Well, it's just that I never got a reading on how strong Koenma really is. I knew he had power and authority, but I never really knew what he could do. Now that I'm seeing it myself, I gotta say it's pretty cool.

Kazuya opened his eyes and tilted his head with a smirk. "We've discussed it, Koenma... and reached a unanimous decision."

Koenma stared at his former detective solemnly, and waited patiently for his answer.

Kazuya pointed at Koenma with his gun. "We will continue, first by killing you."

Koenma closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Then he raised the pacifier and Yusuke snatched it out of his hand. Koenma's eyes snapped open and stared at Yusuke in disbelief. Kazuya mimicked the prince's stunned confusion.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled in horror.

"What the hell, Yusuke?!" Sayomi shouted angrily.

"You guys forget about li'l ol' me?" Yusuke asked.

"Eh?" Koenma stepped back and gawked at Yusuke when he realized what happened to his ring.

"I've got a major stake in this, y'know." Yusuke tossed the ring up, trying not to hold onto it for too long. "Bleah! Slobbery!" He glared at Kazuya and let the glowing ring hover in his hand. "Anyway... I'm ready for the next round."

"Ah yes," Kazuya remembered. "You trained under Genkai. You learned how to heal yourself."

"She's not the only one I learned from," Yusuke said.

Sayomi couldn't stop from smiling at Yusuke's comment. Although, he did get a lot better once he became Master Genkai's successor. He doesn't really need me around anymore at this point, but...

"Hey, you idiot! Give that back!" Koenma yelled.

"Nuh-uh!" Yusuke took off running around the cave with the ring.

"Whoa! Stop!" Koenma chased after him desperately. "Not down your pants! This is no time to be foolin' around! Give me th—"

"Stay outta this, ya old fart!" Yusuke turned and punched Koenma in the face.

"Pluh!" Koenma flew back through the air, spitting up blood. He landed on his back with a hard thud and passed out.

Sayomi stared down at Yusuke with wide eyes. Did he just punch Koenma?!

About time someone did it.

Why didn't you do it, Hiei?

I don't want to be stuck here longer than necessary.

"Okay, that's done. Let's get down to it." Yusuke turned to Kazuya and pinned him with an irritated glare. "Sensui... One of you said you didn't care about the portal anymore. Truth is, neither do I. It's just about you and me. I don't care what happens after that."

"I believe he means it..." Kurama said nervously.

"It's just Urameshi being Urameshi," Kuwabara told him.

Yusuke frowned as he stared down Kazuya. He pointed at the man and said, "However, I'm tired of you. I wanna fight someone else. The guy I was fighting earlier... he'll do. Get him out here."

Kazuya glared at Yusuke and bared his teeth. "What're you talking about? You'll fight me!"

"Feh..." Yusuke scoffed. "Waste of my time, man."

"How dare..." Kazuya aimed his gun at Yusuke, but the boy disappeared from sight and reappeared in front of him to push the gun aside. "you—" Yusuke threw several punches through Kazuya's stomach as hard as he could. "Bletch!" Kazuya doubled over, clutching his stomach in agony.

"Yeeow! Grarr!" Yusuke fought the impulse to follow Sensui's example with his arm. "It don't hurt a bit!" Ignoring the pain, he walked towards Sensui. "No more messin' around. Get the other guy out. We got things to settle, him an' me."

"Hrk! Guuuh... Unnnh..." Sensui coughed and gasped for breath. Then he became quiet and still. He slowly stood up on his feet to face Yusuke.

"Well? Who are you?" Yusuke asked.

Sensui smiled pleasantly at Yusuke, despite his bleeding mouth, and said, "I'm Shinobu. Nice to meet you."

"What...?" Sayomi arched her brow in confusion. He looks... different from the other two. His eyes look... clear.

"Hm..." Kurama's eyes widened at the unexpected change.

"'Nice to meet you'…?" Kuwabara ground his teeth nervously.

"Oh gosh, he's..." Mitarai was taken aback by Sensui's new persona.

"We've never actually talked before, have we. In fact, this is the first time I've been 'out' in quite a while." Sensui walked towards Yusuke and extended his hand. "How do you do?"

"Heh... Heh heh..." Yusuke smirked. "Don't mess with me!" He threw a punch, but Sensui used his momentum to flip him over. Yusuke blinked in confusion.

Sensui brought his foot down and stomped on Yusuke's abdomen.

"Gyaah!" Yusuke screamed as his bullet wound reopened.

Without a hint of change in his focused stare, Sensui stomped down on Yusuke again. And again. And again, until the boy was limp and barely breathing.

"Unh... Koff!" Yusuke laid on his back, unable to even twitch a finger.

Sensui reached down to grasp his hand and gave it a firm shake. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Not after this!" Yusuke threw a punch and hit the air. Yusuke blinked and watched Sensui walk away. His eye twitched in irritation and he frowned. "Hey..."

"Itsuki..." Sensui looked up towards the Inverse Man. "I need a spare arm."

As a pair of eyeball-covered hands presented Sensui with a new shirt, Mitarai broke into a cold sweat. "This is a Sensui I've never seen. He seems complete now... whole."

"It's kinda creepy..." Sayomi said.

"Multiple personas? Hah!" Kuwabara scoffed. "He's only been one guy all along! Y'get it, Urameshi?! He's just one guy! Don't let 'im freak ya out!"

If this is the original Sensui... I'm getting a bad feeling about this... Sayomi clenched her fist anxiously.

Yusuke got to his feet and smirked. "Pleased to meet you, too."

Sensui glanced at him. Then he smiled with his eyes wide open. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Sayomi, Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Mitarai watched the scene in shock.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" As Sensui laughed, his aura shook up the whole cave. Large rocks crashed down to the ground from its pressure alone. As he calmed down, his aura radiated around him with a brilliant light.

Yusuke's eyes widened as he noticed the strange energy. "His aura, it's... gold!"

"It's not human!" Kurama realized.

"Or demonic, either," Hiei commented.

"So then, what is it?" Sayomi asked in wonder.

"Unh... Oww..." Koenma began to stir on the floor. When he sat up, he rubbed his chin in pain. When he looked up, he forgot about his pain and he stared in awe and fear. "Oh no... He's radiating Holy Chi! The ultimate aura! Even Genkai couldn't attain it! Yet you have, in just ten years..."

Sensui looked at his former boss and said, "It's a matter if innate talent, Koenma." Then he turned to his successor. "Urameshi, even if you had ten times the aura you do now, it would be far from holy." He jumped. "Mine is, however, and that's worrisome. I don't want to seem like a bully." He landed in front of Yusuke and threw a single right punch.

"Agh!" Yusuke blocked with his arm, but the attack sent him flying into the far cavern wall. "Gluh..." He fell to the ground in a heap of rocks. "Hff... Hrff..." He forced himself to his feet, bleeding and out of breath.

"Raah!" Yusuke charged and pounded Sensui with an onslaught of punches.

"Heh heh... Ha ha ha!" Sensui stood before Yusuke without bothering to block. Every punch hit his torso or face, but he took them like he couldn't feel them. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Sensui snagged Yusuke's arm mid-punch and said, "You need some rest." He gently punched up into Yusuke's forearm.

"Gyaaaaaah!" Yusuke screamed as his bone snapped in half, forcing him to drop Koenma's ring.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Yusuke!" Sayomi screamed.

Sensui reached up to catch the ring, until a white sneaker smacked him in his face. He stood still and stared at Yusuke as the shoe fell to the floor.

"Heh heh..." Yusuke stood on one foot with a cocky grin. He held Koenma's ring between the toes of his raised foot. "It won't be that easy, pal."

"I see." Sensui wiped the blood from his lip and asked, "You want to die?"

Yusuke smirked and quirked his brow tauntingly. "Better than givin' up."

"Shinobu!" Koenma yelled, reaching out for the man.

"Hey! Stay Down!" Yusuke yelled, silencing the prince. He smirked and said, "This is my fight. Keep out of it, okay?"

"Yusuke..." Koenma narrowed his eyes at the punk. "What's this about?"

Yusuke's smirk widened to a dangerous grin. "I'm not sure, but I think I'm getting mighty close to understanding something."

"What?" Koenma stared at Yusuke in wonder.

Sensui watched, curious yet bored.

"Sensui... I'll warn you... If you have any doubts... you should kill me now." Yusuke raised his hand and beckoned his predecessor forward. "Come on... I'm looking forward to what's ahead. Something amazing's gonna happen. I suggest you finish me off... before it does..."

Does that mean...? Sayomi's jaw dropped and her body fell slack as she realized what was about to happen. He's about to awaken?!

"Well? C'mon," Yusuke taunted.

"Urameshi's up to something, and I bet Sensui ain't gonna like it," Kuwabara said ominously.

He doesn't know... Sayomi realized.

Know what? Hiei asked telepathically.

Sayomi could only stare at Yusuke. She couldn't comprehend anything else happening around her. Is it really going to happen already...?

Hiei looked at her curiously, trying to decipher the meaning behind her mindless nonsense.

"You think so?" Hiei asked.

"Huh?" Kuwabara turned to the swordsman curiously.

Hiei perspired nervously and said, "Sensui hasn't really shown his hand."

"Whattaya mean?" Kuwabara asked through clenched teeth. "Urk..."

"Being human," Hiei began. "You can't see that Sensui's aura is up there with that of a Class-S Demon."

"Hm..." Kuwabara's complexion paled as he observed Hiei's tone and body language,

"He's been very careful with Yusuke up to now..." Kurama said. "Doing minimal damage, a light punch, a broken arm..."

"That's crazy!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"No, it's reality." Hiei clenched his fist. "I'd assumed he was merely boasting, but he really does have the power to kill us all. Heh..." Hiei smirked wryly. "Class-S Demons are rare, even in the Demon Plane... Yet here's a human who could match one..."

"What...?" Kuwabara blinked in wonder.

"You wouldn't understand, Kuwabara," Sayomi said. "This is beyond you at this point. If Yusuke really means it, then..."

The cavern crumbled down around Yusuke and Sensui. Everyone else remained trapped within the Inverse Man.

"Sorry, that was my fault," Sensui apologized. "I'm restraining myself, but... it's difficult. I don't dare exert myself here. I must say it's frustrating."

"Why bother?" Yusuke asked bluntly. "You want to destroy the world... so go ahead and do it. Show me what you got."

Sensui glared at Yusuke sharply and yelled, "You fool! You're as blind as the rest!"

The mere sound of his raised voice was enough to send Yusuke back.

"Ack!" Yusuke yelped as he crashed into a stone wall.

"Again, sorry," Sensui apologized. "I love the world, its air and sky, its flowers and animals... but I despise its humans."

Unh!" Koenma grunted.

Yusuke spat at the ground and glared up at Sensui. "Glad we had this little chat."

Sensui smiled a genuine smile and his aura flared up. "Stand up. Face the final stroke."

Koenma reached out to Yusuke and shouted, "We still have time, Yusuke! Give me the pacifier!"

"'Fraid I can't do that," Yusuke admitted.

"What...?" Koenma blinked in confusion.

Yusuke looked down at his hand in mocking disappointment. "He managed to take it from me. He's something else."

Sensui smirked as he held the pacifier in his hand.

Koenma narrowed his eyes and concentrated his aura into his hand. "I see. Well then..." He shot out his hand and fired off his aura. "Evil Seal Ring!"

Everyone watched the display in surprise as his aura connected with the holy ring. The ring glowed too bright for the former detective to bare.

"I'll go with you, Shinobu..." Koenma promised. "To the Demon Plane!"

Sensui clenched his fists and focused his aura.

"No... Not possible!" Koenma exclaimed in disbelief.

"Ahhh..." Sensui took in a deep breath. "Hah!" His aura exploded around him and shot straight up through the caverns, leaving a hole too dark to see through.

The rocks and dirt proceeded to rain down around them as Sensui gestured to himself. "You'd have defeated a demon or a regular human. However, you know as well as I that Holy Chi is ultimate Sacred Energy. It may resonate with a spell, but no spell can seal it."

Koenma collapsed to his hands and knees in shame. "So even I can't stop you."

Sensui smirked. "That pretty much sums it up."

Yusuke reached down to tap Koenma's shoulder. "Spells aren't the issue here, y'know."

"Yusuke!" Koenma scolded. "Don't! Back off!"

"Ah, that's right..." Sensui smiled. "The final stroke."

"Look at Urameshi!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "He only shows that kind of confidence when he knows exactly what he's doing!"

Kurama gasped. "Perhaps... But remember what happened with you and Toguro? Yusuke's got the same thing in mind."

Sayomi's eyes widened as she became pale. When Toguro stabbed him near the heart to force out Yusuke's power... Yusuke plans to do the same for... Oh no...

"What... But that... He... Urameshi's gonna... do the same thing?" Kuwabara stumbled for words in his confusion. "Urameshi!" He rushed to the window and yelled, "Don't do it, Urameshi! Koenma! Get yer butt in gear! Stop him! Urameshi!"

Ignoring Kuwabara's pleas, Yusuke smirked and said, "Well, let's have it. Deliver that final stroke of yours."

"Listen to me, Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted desperately. "I only pulled it off because of you! This isn't how it should happen! You can't let him beat you! You can't! Beating you's my job!" Tears flowed from Kuwabara's eyes as he said, "Aw man... Those were the good ol' days... An' they don't mean nuthin' right now! Urameshi!"

"Yusuke..." Sayomi stared down at her charge. As beaten and bloody as the day she first met him. She remembered training with him in Genkai's temple and healing his injuries every day. Then she remembered the day they first had the chance to talk to each other.

They had gone into the woods to gather wood and water. Yusuke sighed and settled down against the base of a tree. "Let's rest for a bit. As soon as we get back, that crazy lady is just gonna make us do more crap."

"I'm okay with taking a break, but we shouldn't take too long either," Sayomi warned.

"Yeah yeah..." Yusuke waved her off carelessly. "So what was your name again?"

"Sayomi."

"Sayomi..." Yusuke stared at her and said, "I'm just gonna call you Sai."

"What? Why?" Sayomi arched her brow curiously.

"Because I can't remember your name, but I can remember Sai. It's shorter too," Yusuke answered.

"How bad is your memory...?" Sayomi asked.

"What's your name again?" Yusuke asked with a smirk.

Sayomi's vision started to blur as she remembered the day he gave her a nickname. No one besides Raizen ever gave me that kind of feeling of acceptance. Even knowing I was a demon didn't faze him or give him reason to hate me. Tears slid down her cheeks but she couldn't feel them.

"Hey."

Itsuki turned to Hiei.

"Release us now." Hiei removed his cloak. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his right arm, just barely restraining the Dragon's aura. "If we're gonna die, I'm gonna die my way."

"Hiei..." Kuwabara stared at his friend in wonder.

Kurama summoned his Rose Whip. "Yusuke might be miffed at us for horning in, but he'll have to deal. That's how I see it, anyway."

"Kurama..." Kuwabara's gaze shifted to the red-head.

Sayomi reached for her weapon and covered the blade in shadows. "If you think I'm just gonna stand by and let him die, think again."

"Sayomi..." Kuwabara's eyes widened.

"Let us join Yusuke, Itsuki," Kurama demanded.

"No." Itsuki smirked. "The five of you still won't be able to beat Shinobu, but you might come up with a way to escape."

Kuwabara broke into a cold sweat. "What kinda fiend are you?"

Itsuki hugged his body and said, "One who knows the score, human. Hiei, Kurama, you used to be Class-A demons. Circumstances have changed you both... And if you escape, you'll become even stronger. I can't permit that. You're to die, one by one."

Sayomi's grip tightened around her weapon. How does he...?

He called our bluff. Hiei glared at Itsuki despite his nervous sweat. "You're one perfect fool..."

Itsuki's eyes widened when he felt a shift in aura.

Kuwabara was glaring down at Yusuke and Sensui. In his hand was a new sword that shined gold. Unlike his old sword, his new one looked sharp and refined. "Like it or not, I'm outta here!"

Is that his dimension sword?! Sayomi stared in awe.

"Shinobu!" Itsuki yelled urgently. "Look out! I can't stop them!"

Just as Kuwabara slashed down with his sword, Sensui dashed forward. The Inverse Man squealed as the cut opened across its face, letting Sayomi and the boys fall down to the lake.

As she fell, Sayomi watched Sensui get closer to Yusuke. She instinctively reached out to him. Her eyes focused on his face, staring smugly at Sensui. She blinked and saw his stupid grin. Then her feet splashed in the water. Yusuke was flying through the air with blood spilling from his chest. He bounced once and landed on his back unconscious.

Sensui stared down at the boy and said, "He has just passed away." He looked up at them. "Don't worry, young lady and gentlemen... You'll be joining him shortly."