100% strength made what little bit of Toguro that was still human into a true monster. He was ribbed and torn up and his bones were completely morphed into something that no longer resembled the man. And Yusuke was not helping his case by being his usual smartass self and thinking he could take everyone. First the huge insult of the spirit cuffs and now with his inability to reach whatever strength it is inside of him that would let him win this? Toguro was right; as Yusuke sailed through the air and into the third level, I knew that without fear he was going to die.
Toguro was using his energy to suck out the lives of the weaker apparitions around us, and I watched in horror as the crowds around us stampeded toward the exits of the arena. Sakyo tapped on his phone, and I felt that numb acceptance wash over me again as Kurama and I watched walls raise over the stadium, trapping everyone inside like cattle in a slaughterhouse.
I couldn't even scream watching a mob of angry creatures storm Toguro, which resulted in the literal disintegration of their bodies when he flexed his energy at them. I recognized that thumb trick, and it just added to that numbness taking over my body.
"All you weaklings had best remain in your seats." He smiled devilishly at what little of the crowd was left around us. "Yusuke and I have some disagreeable tempers."
"Shut up Toguro." Yusuke snarled, leaping forward from where he'd landed. "Don't you ever put me in the same category as you!"
His punch stopped on Toguro's forehead, his energy raising from the ground around them, just as strong as it had been before his beating. I wasn't so much surprised at Toguro's amusement as I was sickened by it.
"Now we're starting to get somewhere." He mused. "So it's your refusal to admit how much you and I are similar that makes you lash out at me."
Yusuke roared and began his assault again, but his hits weren't doing anything yet. Roars of support made me want to throw someone over the edge of the stadium. What hypocrites. A single punch sent Yusuke flying, but he persisted and launched again. I had to give him props for his tenacity.
"You know that's not good enough." Toguro growled, catching one of his punches in his hand. He put pressure on his arm and I thought I would throw up at the pain in his screams. Maybe this numbness was what was best after all. It didn't destroy me to watch him cough up blood, to watch him be thrown around like a rag doll, breaking bones and breaking skin.
"Keiko..." I murmured, watching her fall to her knees, her eyes glassed over and her breath the only sign that she was still alive. Hiei gripped my elbow, drawing my attention back to him, and I focused instead on the fingers pressing bruises into my skin instead. Pain meant living. "Come on, Yusuke. Get up..." I whispered.
"You see," Toguro grinned at him, pressing his foot farther down and making Yusuke sink into the ground. "I become a different person in my full demon form. I'll do anything to get what I want."
"NO!" Hiei's arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back from the blast of energy Toguro launched into the stands, right towards the girls. "Shizuru!"
"They're alright. The barrier is holding." He insisted, wincing at the ice cutting up from where he held me.
"I can't do this..." I sank to my knees, gripping the dirt and rocks under me. I felt myself falling, further and further and further into a rabbit hole I was having trouble escaping from. Attacking innocents in the stands... how could I have seen him as anything but a monster? Hiei's hands gripped my shoulders, warmth spreading to my limbs, and I dug into the ground to try and find stability, something to let me get out of my own head.
"Look." Kurama knelt next to me, and I forced my body to operate just enough to see Puu flying across the stadium to where Yusuke had been thrown through a wall.
"You will never let this old woman get some peace and quiet, will you Yusuke?" Genkai's voice pulsed straight through me, my blood running cold.
"Genkai's come back to life and she looks exactly like Puu!" Kazuma launched backwards, terrified out of his mind. I would have rolled my eyes if I wasn't in so much shock myself.
"Toguro," She addressed him. "You want to see Yusuke's real power come to the surface? I'll tell you how. He's very predictable."
"What are you doing?" I whispered, weakly attempting to stand against Hiei's hands and failing.
"The only thing you have to do," She continued, "is kill one of his friends and make sure he's watching."
My heart was in my throat. I was both here and in a nightmare. Genkai, my teacher, was telling Toguro to kill one of us. What the hell did she think she was doing? Why would she ever do something like this?
"Genkai, what the hell's the matter with you?!" Yusuke voiced my opinion for me. Genkai ignored him and continued to address Toguro.
"Yusuke has a six foot wall of crap between him and his actual emotions and that's where his power resides. To break through that wall you have to do something drastic, like killing someone he really cares for."
"Dying must have ruined your heart, Genkai." Yusuke informed her, oddly calm about this.
"Open your childish eyes, dimwit. If you don't stop Toguro, everyone in this stadium dies, and damnit, if the life of one friend is what it takes for you to save the rest of them then that sacrifice is worth it!" She lectured him. I gripped at Hiei's hand, holding on for dear life. This wasn't happening. None of this was real.
"NOOOOOO!" Yusuke leapt up. "You're nothing but a stupid little hypocrite! You told me to commit to something all the way, and I chose my friends! Now you say killing one as motivation is okay?"
She slapped him with an ear. I thought he was going to kill her, but he stopped when he looked at her face. I couldn't see well enough from here to make out her side profile as Puu, but he read loud and clear.
"Sorry Yusuke, but this is the world you stuck yourself into and it's not pretty. When you're not strong enough to lead, you lose the privilege of getting what you want."
Two shots from Toguro sent Yusuke sprawling and Genkai off towards the stands, her work obviously finished. If murder was a person, it was Toguro. He inspected Yusuke as if he were nothing but a bug under his shoes.
"I had that idea a while back, and I didn't like the way it felt. But if nothing else can bring out your true abilities..." He smiled, and Yusuke's eyes went wide and crazed. "Well, you heard before; I'll do anything. All I have to do is choose which one."
His eyes raked over us, one by one, and even the worst part was that I knew it would never be me. I would be watching someone else die today.
Yusuke attempted to push himself up, struggling at his knees. "Don't do this..."
"How about you, Kuwabara? Urameshi does seem to be the most protective of you." He pointed with a sadistic grin. I was in front of him in two seconds, legs locked and blocking him like I could do anything.
"You won't touch him." I snarled, feeling my power well inside of me.
"Looks like Yusuke isn't the only one to grow under duress." He taunted, flicking those energy pellets at me too. I raised my water up and watched as they absorbed the blows one by one. "Your training is coming along well. Too bad you aren't strong enough to interest me."
I tried to stand my ground, but he simply swiped to the side and his energy swept me away, sending me reeling off into the stands. Everything was a blur the second I made impact. There was a ringing in my ears, muffled cries that I couldn't quite make out. One thing was very, very vivid; the blood that shot from my cousin's mouth as a hand disappeared into his chest. Maybe I was imagining the screaming that was suddenly so clear, or the water that washed over the stands. Maybe it was me.
His skin was still warm under my touch. How had I gotten over here? Why couldn't I make the water work?
Hiei pulled me back into his him, letting Kurama look at him. He shook him, inspecting him, and his face fell. I pulled against him, trying to get back to my cousin. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.
Hiei's hands dug into my biceps, holding me against his chest. I raked my nails across his hands, pulling and thrashing against his grip. Everything was boiling, rage eating me away from the inside. Kazuma needed me. He was hurt.
"You can't interfere." Hiei murmured into my ear, maneuvering me so I was looking away from the fight and pressed my face into his shoulder, still gripping me firmly to him. I pushed at him, sobbing into his shoulder.
"He needs me. Hiei, please..."
"You don't need to look." He pushed a hand through my hair awkwardly. I felt myself breaking down, and I couldn't deal with this. Why did it have to be him? Kazuma... "Breathe normally."
I tried to look at Kazuma again, but he wasn't letting me move. He kept me firmly in place against him, and I tried to focus on that one strange, single beat his heart gave. I closed my eyes and let my mind float away from here. Anywhere but here. Anywhere but where his body lay so close to me without the boy inside of it that meant the world to me.