"Damnit!"

"It's alright! I'll find another way in!"

"I'm not leaving you! Grab my hand!" I grunted in pain at the foreign elbow that lodged itself into my stomach, someone hissing in my ear. "Yukina - ow! Damnit, lay off of me you asshole. YUKINA!"

I cursed up a storm, struggling to free myself from the crowd that was pushing forward past the bouncers that were thoroughly unprepared for the rush of demons coming off of the boat that were determined to see this tournament. I had to get back out of this crowd and get to Yukina.

"I'll find tickets and meet you in." She called to me, pointing to a large demon that was charging the group I was specifically forced into. "Run!"

"Get the fuck off of me!" I threw an elbow at the demon that was making himself a damn nuisance and winced at the sound of cracking bone, not knowing or caring if it was his or mine and just bolting.

"Get her! Stop!"

I darted around the first corner I saw and pushed my little legs as fast as they would go until I could ditch the lizard creatures chasing after me at the urging of the big red demon with the obnoxious mustache at the door. I could hear their footsteps pounding a short distance behind me, so I twisted in and out of the crowd that was dwelling about and pressed my back into one of the walls. Three lizard guards trampled the direction I had been headed, hissing amongst themselves. I breathed out in relief, glancing at the television screen that had drawn attention. I swallowed hard; a red headed man with long ears was fighting Yusuke, and frankly was doing quite well from what I could tell.

"Well, well, well. Look at the little human girl. You're awfully far away from your filthy little friends, girl." I flinched, not wanting to look behind me and see the face of what I could only assume was something resembling a troll but forcing my body to do the exact opposite of its wishes. "You look like a scrap of a thing, but I'm so hungry that you'll have to do."

"No, make her scream first. Serves her right for her kind winning so unfairly." A second blue demon rumbled. I swallowed, taking a step back and trying not to scream at the tentacles that wrapped around my waist, trapping my elbows down.

"Looks like you scared her." It hissed, liquid coating my shirt. I shivered, gagging reflexively at the smell. "I call her like muscle."

"I object." I growled, digging about for my power and flexing it at the creature holding me. It let go, hissing in pain, and I grabbed my water bottle, opening it and splashing it in their faces desperately. There were surprised cries, yells of pain at the ice freezing any surface the water could touch, and I bolted the other way. Screw this.

I weaved in and out of the crowds again, finding myself clomping gracelessly up and down the endless series of hallways that seemed to lead me around in circles. Stadiums had to have entrances somewhere, right?

A clawed hand glanced my shoulder. I slammed my hand to the side, bringing a wave of water crashing down on the lucky bastard directly behind me. He swore, and I turned the corner, taking every corner possible to throw them off.

I took a breather when I couldn't hear footsteps behind me any longer, resting my hands on my knees and taking slow breaths in and out to calm my heart.

"Look at that glow in his eyes! Kuwabara's really ready for more!"

My heart stopped, and I found myself jogging to a hanging television, pushing my way in so I could see the screen better. My cousin was hunched over in pain, his complexion far more pale than usual.

"It feels delightful doesn't it?" The announcer, a quirky looking girl with dog ears got in his space and Kazuma collapsed to his knees. "You don't... like it?"

I growled, my blood boiling at the site of Kazuma in such agony just for cheap thrills.

"This is going to be a short one..." She looked nervous, and his opponent looked far too pleased for my liking.

"Yes, he's just a waste of time."

"You are!" Kazuma snarled. I felt my teeth baring in his defense and clenched my fists. He stood up quickly despite his obvious injuries and postured, shocking both his opponent and the announcer. Good for you, cous.

"I'm happy to accept your surrender. Why don't you avoid embarrassment?"

"I don't get the spotlight very often, and I ain't gonna mess this up!"

"Now boys, enough of the witty banter..."

I felt a familiar presence nearing me, and glanced about to see where those guards were. I blinked in surprise; the demons that had crowded about the television were all standing across the room from me, looking both uncomfortable and disconcerted in my direction. I guess even as a human, hell hath no fury to these demons.

"Whimps and children first." I glanced back to the screen just once more, wishing I could take just one swing at this asshole and running again just as the lizard men came into view. I had a head start, so it was easy enough to keep moving and confuse them just enough for me to try and figure out how to get into the stadium. I wasn't going to let him be in that stadium alone.

I closed my eyes, focusing on locating the energy around me. The largest conglomeration was directly in front of me, but there were still no doors and no signs that I could read. It was confusing as hell.

"You seem lost." I almost jumped out of my skin, whipping around with a disc of water in my hand only to see the man from the forest about the mountains. "I see your power has increased. This is most excellent."

"I didn't think I'd see you again so soon." I admitted, letting my disc disapparate and standing up straight. "Are you on a team or just watching the fights?"

He smirked. "Someone with my level of strength is more often than not expected to participate in events such as these. They are an excellent test of power and skill."

"You sound like you're enjoying yourself." I flinched at the accusation in my voice and counted to five. "I'm sorry, that was rude."

"Your cousin is through that door there." I moved to see where he was pointing to and my adrenaline started pumping again. I pushed out my power to see if it was true, to locate their energies around me. I shivered, feeling a hundred things moving through me at the same time. Kazuma's pain, Hiei's fury... Shizuru touching Yukina's shoulder. What was Shizuru doing here? I blanched, overwhelmed at the sensation, and put my hand on the wall. This man's fiercely battling emotions within himself. It was all too much. "Yes, it can be rather overwhelming, can't it? Do as I told you at the stream; stop focusing so hard and let your body lead you. Separate yourself from the emotions around you or your mind will break."

I breathed in and out, trying to do as he said and feeling my vision slide in and out. Was this happening so intensely because my awareness has increased so much? Was I really just starting to lose it?

"You there!" one of the guards yelled from the end of the hallway, out of breath but still going. "Stop this minute!"

"You should go if you want to be there when the fight is through." He nodded to the door again and turned to face the guards.

"Thank you. You've helped me so many times; I don't know how to repay you." I made myself stand up straight, my vision clearing bit by bit as I did so.

"Continue to get stronger, and your debt is repaid."

I nodded, turning and heading to the door, closing it behind me and locking it. That should slow them down. When I wasn't reaching out and trying to find a needle in a haystack of thousands of souls trapped in one place, I wasn't getting nauseous and my headache was beginning to recede. Funny how that works.

I made my way down the flights of stairs, listening to the announcer speak and the sounds of what could only be described as an earthquake. Part of the stairs were missing halfway down, a group of people working on getting them back in production, so I slid down the rails and waved at the workers as I passed. Yep, I was that asshole today.

My feet hit the ground and I leapt over the side of the stairs and used my discs to slow my descent until I hit the ground and rolled, keeping my stride going. Coolest thing I've ever done? By far.

Light was coming through from one of the entrances, a small opening in the ground where the door would lift up and fall down upon entrance. I peeked out the bottom to see, for the most part, the bottom of an arena. I crawled underneath it, eyes widening at the scene before me. Kazuma was at the end of his rope. Shuichi was curled up against a wall. Hiei and a masked fighter were behind an electric barrier created by a woman wearing wires to cover her feminine parts and little else. As for the other team, I could see one young looking boy wearing a fascinating set of blue robes and headpiece lying to the side, coughing up blood and glaring at the match, and the douchebag in the center beating on my cousin.

I made eye contact with the mysterious demon, and stood up awkwardly, waving once and running along the side of the stadium to the people I actually recognized, avoiding bits and pieces of airborn rubble along the way.

The red haired demon dressed only in wires, who I now saw was wearing a tacky little nurses hat on her head, didn't notice me as she watched the match, and I knelt down near where the masked fighter was. She turned to look at me, her one visible eye widening in surprise, and I stared at her in response. Her outfit alone was a dead giveaway, but that color...

'Genkai?' I mouthed, and she blinked, shaking her head subtly and motioning to the match. I nodded, my spirits lifted and crushed bit by bit as I looked up again to see my cousin being smashed to bits. I was growing a fond dislike bordering on hatred for this announcer who so obviously enjoyed his pain.

Shuichi made eye contact with me, and he froze in surprise as well. I crept behind the tent, making myself as inconspicuous as possible, and jogged over to him.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"What are you doing here?" He asked at the same time.

"Well, I heard there was a party and you know me; I just have to stick my nose where it was so rudely uninvited." I snarked half-heartedly, looking to the match again. "He's not doing okay. What happened?"

"He was badly injured by the previous team we fought. The committee here is determined that we lose, so they stacked the fights so we would have to fight two teams back to back if we won. Your cousin, while admirable, is bullheaded when it comes to his moral code."

"No arguments there. Are you alright?"

"I'll live." He brushed off. I gave him a look but flinched again at the crash behind me. I didn't want to look. "You don't have to put yourself through this."

"He's my cousin; I love him." I breathed out.

"That second meteor attack was stronger than the first. Kuwabara's whole body is doing the wiggle dance, and yet he STILL tries to get up!"

"Why?" The man clad in some sort of rock armor demanded. "Why don't you quit?!"

My cousin started to chuckle, breaking my heart. "You dummy. Guess you haven't checked the score for this round lately. We've got four wins and you've got two where the first team to five advances. Urameshi and Kurama gave it all for us and now I still have a way to bring it home for 'em!"

"Ella-"

"No. He can't do this." I insisted.

"-moron. That's the whole point of this fight. As long as I take you with me!"

"What?" the rock man twitched.

"If this fight ends in a draw my team wins and the rest of my guys get to live." He turned around after a moment, smiling at Yusuke. I followed it all, confused and terrified. "Just take care of the rest of this, okay?"

"No!" I gasped, feeling my heart shattering in my ribcage. "Kazuma, no!"

"Don't you do this!" Yusuke screamed at him.

"Let's not get too upset, Urameshi. I want to keep my finish nice and manly."

I couldn't even hear the rest. It was like everything was fazing out. I could see Yukina running down the stairs in the stadium out of the corner of my eye, but my brain wasn't processing this information. I was so afraid for what was happening.

Kazuma rushed at him, a mad glint in his eye. I shook, gripping onto Kurama's hand without thinking and holding on hard to ground myself. This wasn't happening. Just look at her. Please, dear god, just look the sole reason for your existence before you do this!

He collided with the massive ball of energy that was his opponent, gripping onto it and holding on with all of his might. I wasn't prepared in this intense moment for his abrupt joy.

"Kazuma!"

His eyes went straight to the girl in the crowd, and he found the strength to stop his opponent dead, and backfisted him across the face, screaming "SHE'S MY GIRLFRIEND!"

He ran to the wall, making awkward poses at her and trying to make conversation. I stared, looking back at Shuichi who just gave me a sheepish smile that agreed with my confusion, and I shook my head, exhaustion taking over my worry. I sat next to him, watching the rest of the fight that, no surprise, completely turned the tables. Kazuma slammed his spirit sword into the guy's' abdomen, sending him flying into the stands. I rolled my eyes at his bragging and his damn near miss at the ten count, closing my eyes at the cheers and letting myself catch just a moment of calm before he succeeded in killing me.

Hiei and the masked fighter made their way over to us, Hiei's eyes widening at the sight of me sitting there with Shuichi. I blushed, releasing Shuichi's hand from my death grip and clearing my throat. Kurama chuckled, wincing immediately and holding his side.

"Here, let me help." I pushed myself up and moved in front of him, rubbing my palms together. "This is my first time doing this for real, so I may not do the best job."

"While I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about, I trust that you at least won't do anymore damage." He teased me lightheartedly.

I grinned, glancing over at the masked fighter, who had moved closer to me to inspect what I was doing with interest. Hiei was still standing in that same spot, only his eyes were focused on the stands. I glanced over, feeling my heart sink at Yukina standing talking to Kazuma, a smile on her face. I glanced back to Hiei, noting his concentration and how his eyes never wavered from her. I wanted to cry and scream and crawl in a hole all at the same time.

"Ella? Are you alright?" Shuichi brought my concentration back to him.

"Oh, yeah... sorry..." I cleared my throat, knawing at my lip and focusing on him. I brought my hands up to him, letting my water come up with me, and did as I had practiced with Yukina, letting my hands move with my energy, the water brushing his skin. I watched his wounds stitch back together, the discolored skin molding itself back to a normal color. I felt pressure building inside my head, black dancing at my peripheral, and I dropped the water, falling flat on my ass again and holding my head before it shattered. "That was a lot easier to do when it wasn't on a living person."

"How did you learn this?" Shuichi moved in front of me, touching my hands on my head. I shivered at the purples and pinks swirling in my vision, but it was more familiar to me, easier to maneuver through and see normally at least.

"Yukina taught me." I breathed, digging my fingertips into my scalp. "Just give me a minute."

When I could stand, I leaned against the wall, jumping at Hiei's eyes on me now. He immediately turned from me when I noticed him, but not before I saw the look he was giving Shuichi and I. I frowned, watching him walk away and back towards the group and wiping the blood from my nose. What was going on?