First off, I'd like to apologize for the slow update...the REALLY slow update! I've been going through this funk, and it's really slowed me down in every aspect of life. I decided that to get out of it I have to make myself do the things that used to bring me joy, and writing is one of them. Soooooo, here I am, with an update...

I hope you guys like it; honestly, I'm kind of glad that the original version of this chapter disappeared. This one is much better.


Cora gasped for breath as she found herself on her hands and knees on a cold cement floor. The choker around her neck, which had been so tight she was sure she was to be decapitated, was sitting gently against her still bleeding throat. The sapphire that hung from the black fabric cracked in half before falling in pieces to the floor beneath her, mingling with the droplets of blood that fell from her torn skin.

Before she could comprehend her location Cora was grabbed by her upper arms and forced to her feet. "W-what- let me go!" Cora shouted as her arms where brought behind her back, and her hands bound together with something that felt cold and clammy. She felt something slither over her right shoulder similar in texture to what held her hands captive, and when she turned to inspect what was there she let out a startled shout when the Elder Toguro brother smirked back at her, his neck elongated so that he could rest his chin on her, while his body was still sitting on Toguro's shoulder.

"I'd stop fussing if I were you," the Elder brother said tauntingly. His horrid breath made Cora's eyes water, activating her gag reflex. "You've already caused your master enough trouble."

Cora struggled against what ever held her hands captive, wanting to get as far away from the horror brothers as she could. "Like I give two shits about what kind of trouble I've caused for that piece of crap!" Cora gasped when she was suddenly picked up by her bound hands, the awkward position putting a terrible strain on her shoulders. It felt as though her arm's were going to rip from their sockets as she was carried from the dark room she had appeared in.

"Sakyo is preparing for the Semifinal battles which will take place tomorrow morning." Toguro said, his grip on Cora's hands never faltering as he entered a long, lavish hall. Plush red carpet and dark wood walls made up the hall, with intricate crystal chandelier's hanging from the ceiling; not the kind of place you expected a hostage situation to take place. "You will be confined to your assigned room until tomorrow. Sakyo will retrieve you, and you will join him in watching the Semifinal matches." Toguro said as he came to a stop outside a dark wood door. He pushed it open, revealing a room as lavish as the hall had been. With little warning he tossed Cora onto the floor where she landed on her side with only the carpet to break her fall. She felt the clammy bounds release her hands, and with a glance over her shoulder she came to the horrifying realization that it had been the Elder brothers own mutated arms that had held her prisoner.

"This door, and every window have been set with sutras to keep you from escaping." The Elder brother said from his perch on his younger brothers shoulder. "If you value your smooth skin, I would suggest you sit tight; these sutras are many times stronger then those used to hold your little Ice Maiden hostage. What was her name again? Ah, yes, Yukina. No doubt she's wondering were you've run off too. Maybe we should bring her here to keep you company-"

Cora pushed herself to her knees, glaring heatedly up at the two brothers. "Scum like you aren't worthy enough to have even laid eyes on her! If you so much as think of touching a hair on her head-!"

The Elder brothers arm reached out like a rubber band, slamming against Cora's cheek with enough force to knock her back onto her bottom. "What? You'll kill us? You have no power here-"

"Brother." Toguro said, his tone rough with a hidden threat. "That's enough. We're leaving." The Elder brother scoffed, but retracted his arm obediently. Toguro turned to leave, but just as at Tarukane's castle he turned to acknowledge Cora one last time. "My brother is right about the sutras; they were designed to work on your particular breed, Meimu. Take care not to wonder to close, you're no use to us if you're damaged." With that the Toguro brothers left the room, closing and locking the door behind them.

No sooner had their energy began to move away down the hall then was Cora heading for the windows. Reaching out for the window latch Cora yelped, pulling left hand back; it suddenly felt as though she had put her hand in the middle of a camp fire. Looking down at her palm she could see the skin starting to blister. "Son of a bitch!" Cora reached out again only to draw her hand back with a hiss as the burning sensation engulfed her hand once again. "GOD DAMN IT!" Cora punched a near by wall with her uninjured right hand, leaving a decent sized dent in the dry wall before she fell to her knees, turning to lean against the wall limply. "Damn it..."


Koenma read over the letter he had received from Cora just a few hours ago. "Mmmmmm, I just don't get it Ogre!" Koenma shouted, throwing the letter onto his desk and grabbing both sides of his head. "If she had just come to me, even in confidence that I would keep it hush hush from the boys, this could have already been settled! But now with the tournament, things are far more complicated!" He sucked fiercely on his pacifier, his brows screwed up in agitation.

"Uhhh, Koenma sir-"

"Not now Ogre I'm trying to come up with a plan here!"

"B-but sir-"

Koenma growled turning his chair around so he could glare at his subordinate only to have the breath catch in his throat and all the color drain from his face. In the door way to his private office stood Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei, the last of whom held his Ogre by the scruff of the neck. Hiei tossed the terrified Ogre away from him, his burning red eyes locking onto Koenma who was wishing he could fold himself into the folds of his chair in order to hide.

"Ah, w-wait wait- Hiei, please give me a moment to explain-AHH!"

Hiei stalked across the room, grabbing Koenma up by the front of his tunic and bringing the small toddler up to eye level. "You have thirty seconds to tell me what is going on before I start removing body parts." He growled out making Koenma nearly pass out in terror.

"I-it's all in the letter!" Koenma shouted as Kurama stepped in, removing Koenma from Hiei's hold and forcing the infuriated young demon to take a couple steps back. While Hiei had a stare down with Kurama, Koenma turned and grabbed Cora's letter from the desk top, flailing it around to gain Hiei's attention. "I-it's all in here! She gave this to me earlier today, right before she went to the banquet! I swear to you, I didn't know anything until then, and Cora made me swear not to tell you boys anything-!"

Hiei reached out and snatched the letter from Koenma's shaking fingers, reading over it with lightning fast speed. It was definitely Cora's hand writing, and beneath the stench of Koenma's sweaty palms Hiei could still make out a trace of Cora's personal scent. "What does she mean by "ownership"?" Hiei demanded of Koenma as Kurama took the letter from Hiei and read over it himself before passing it to Kuwabara.

"Hey, what the hell- how did Yukina end up in all of this?!" Kuwabara demanded, now equally as infuriated as Hiei was. He had been angry that Cora was in danger, but to involve the love of his life?! Kuwabara was normally a patient man, but just the thought of Sakyo or the Toguro brothers coming with in twenty yards of his snow bunny made his blood boil.

"It say's here that Cora was used as collateral in a bet between Sakyo and Tarukane," Kurama said, reading the words that Hiei and Kuwabara had skipped over in their haste. "A bet that Sakyo won when Toguro faked his death, and was seemingly defeated by Yusuke and Kuwabara. The amount awarded included all of Tarukane's possessions, which at the time included Cora and Yukina, at least on paper." Kurama read over the last of the letter, letting out a pensive sigh. "It seems Cora was under the impression that if she said anything, Sakyo would go after Yukina instead. Cora only hide the situation in order to protect Yukina."

Hiei grit his teeth, pacing back and forth across the floor like some caged animal that was about to lose it's mind. "Then what was that, Kurama? She kept her silence, and yet they still spirited her away-"

"She's gone?!" Koenma exclaimed making Hiei scowl at him. "Cora, she's vanished?!"

"Yes. I wasn't there for the entire thing, but from what I saw that neck piece Cora has been wearing was attempting to strangle her before it's stone shined with a brilliant light that enveloped her and blinded us. When we were finally able to see what had happened, Cora was gone." Kurama explained. Hiei pulled a thick envelope from his pocket, tossing it down into Koenma's lap.

"This is what started it; I found these laying beneath the pillows on the bed. When I confronted her about them she started to rummage through her bags." Hiei bit out as Koenma opened the envelope, flipping through the letters, his brow furrowing in confusion. "She was confused by what was in the letters, and where I claimed to have found them. It was then she mentioned Sakyo's name. Shortly after the collar had tightened enough to close off her air way, lit up like some kind of portal, and she was gone."

Koenma sighed, leaning back into his chair, letting the letters fall to the floor around his chair. "She had reason to be confused; these letters couldn't have possibly come from Sakyo. They are full of nothing but gibberish, and the handwriting is all wrong." He said, turning around to his desk and rummaging through the top drawer, retrieving an identical envelope. "This is the last letter she received from Sakyo; she brought it to me with out even reading it herself, after discovering that Yukina had shown up at the tournament." Kurama took it, reading it over with furrowed brows.

"Did she have any idea who it was Sakyo wanted her to meet?" Kurama asked as he handed the letter to Hiei. Kuwabara read the message over Hiei's shoulder, his nose scrunching up in distaste. Hiei frowned, wishing he could set fire to the paper in his hand so he could then burn this entire building to the ground. Maybe it would smoke Sakyo and Team Toguro out long enough for him to locate that idiot...

"No, and even if she did know, she wouldn't have been able to tell me anything because of that cursed collar! But I have reason to believe this meeting had something to do with the additional match that is now scheduled for the Finals." Koenma said gravely. "As I'm sure you read in her personal letter, Sakyo had made arrangements for the Alternates of the two final teams to fight to the death; if Cora win's, her freedom will be granted."

"What I don't understand is why Sakyo is going through all this trouble?" Kuwabara said, earning curious looks from the others. "I mean, if he was interested in owning her (everyone frowned) then why didn't he just take her when he was with her in human world?"

Kurama curled his fingers under his chin in thought. "You're right; Cora mentions here that Sakyo even stated that he wasn't interested in owning her. He was going to just give up his rights to her should we fail to defeat Toguro." Kurama said, holding up Cora's letter. "It isn't until recently that the rules were changed." Hiei growled, grabbing the letter from Kurama and re-reading it, this time with a sharp eye.

"It's all a game to him." Hiei hissed out, tossing the letter at Koenma. "Leaving her be wouldn't provide enough entertainment." Hiei spun on his heel, heading for the door. "Well I've grown tired of playing; I'll bring her back myself-"

"You mustn't." Koenma stated earning the darkest of glares from over Hiei's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I know there isn't much I can do to stop you, but please hear me out! If you go after her now, there's no telling what Sakyo or his team might do!"

Kurama stepped forward, distracting Hiei's deadly gaze away from Koenma. "Hiei, please don't be rash; you know what those on Team Toguro are capable of. After all the effort Sakyo put into acquiring her, there's no reason for us to believe she would be left unguarded. It would be suicide." Hiei grit his teeth, his hands balling into fists. "And, even if we do manage to retrieve her, it's possible Sakyo would turn his attention to Yukina while we are distracted..." Every muscled in Hiei's body stiffened up; Kurama made an excellent, yet infuriating point. Hiei wouldn't put it past the slick business man to pull such a trick.

With out a word Hiei stalked from the room, leaving a relieved Spirit Prince and Kurama, and a panicking Kuwabara behind. "H-hey! Hiei, didn't you just hear what Kurama said-"

"Don't worry Kuwabara." Kurama said as he retrieved Cora's letter from the ground. Hiei must have dropped it before he tried to leave; there were scorch marks from where Hiei's fingers had been holding onto the paper. "Hiei won't let his anger get the best of him. For now."

Kuwabara sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "If I were him, and it was Yukina...I would." He said catching Kurama and Koenma off guard. "Just knowing that that Sakyo guy and his goons have threatened Yukina makes me so mad... I was nearly seeing red." Kuwabara said, a guilty gleam coming to his eye. "I like Cora and all that, and I wan't to get her back, but Yukina's the love of my life. Weather it's tearing this place to the ground, or traveling to the ends of the earth... I'd do anything to keep her safe."


Botan, Shizuru, Keiko and Yukina sat in the boy's room, awaiting their return. It was silent between them, the uncertainty of the situation weighing heavily on their minds. Just as it seemed the boy's wouldn't return, the door burst open and Hiei came storming in, his face set in a murderous glare. Seeing the four females sitting around with expectant looks on their faces only made him feel more powerless in the situation. His eyes landed on Yukina who looked close to tears and it sent a bone crushing pain through his chest.

"So? What's going on?" Botan asked, giving Hiei a good reason to break eye contact with his sister. Hiei grunted, making his way towards the bed room door, intent on sealing himself away from everyone until tomorrows battle. "Hiei, what's going on?"

"We're to leave the situation alone." He said, glaring at the annoying ferry woman over his shoulder. His eyes glanced back to his sister, softening in the glare when he saw the devastating shock that was now plastered on her face. "Don't go anywhere alone." He said, eyeing them each individually before shutting himself away. The four girls looked around at each other, at a loss of what to make of Hiei's cryptic message.

"T-they're jus going to leave her there?!" Botan shouted, getting to her feet in her outrage. "I'm going to go have a few words with Koenma; we can't just leave this alone! It's Tarukane's castle all over again-!"

"Botan, that's enough." Shizuru warned, making Botan pause and look back over her shoulder. She instantly regretted her actions and words when she saw the devastated look on Yukina's face. Keiko wrapped a comforting arm around Yukina's shoulders.

"I don't understand- who would want to hurt Cora?" Yukina asked, burying her face into her hands with a sniffle. "If it's as you say, and she's locked up like we were with Tarukane- it's just to much to think about! It's awful, we have to get her back!" Yukina exclaimed, grasping hold of her own arms.

"Yukina..." All the girls turned to the door way to see Kuwabara and Kurama standing there. Kuwabara could feel his heart breaking as he watched Yukina try to wipe away her tears, the sound of her stones clattering across the floor a testament to her own wrenching heart. Kuwabara was at her side in a millisecond, wrapping one of his big arms around her shoulders. "What happened? baby, why are you crying?"

"Hiei came back and told us what Koenma said," Shizuru said, lighting up a cigarette.

"It's not true, is it Kurama? Please don't tell me we are expected to leave her with these people!" Botan asked their level headed team member. Kurama sighed, sitting down on the couch opposite Kuwabara, his elbows resting on his knees and his chin placed on his folded fingers.

"I'm afraid Hiei was telling the truth." He said earning concerned looks from all the girls. Kuwabara tightened his hold around Yukina, feeling a small part of him break with every sniffle she gave out. "The situation isn't as simple as going and retrieving Cora."

"Well why not?!" Botan demanded.

"Yes, please explain; why can't we just go and get her back?" Keiko asked, her brow furrowed in worry. Pu cooed soothingly in her lap, nuzzling Keiko's chin.

Kurama closed his eyes in order to better collect his thoughts; he had to be careful with his words. The last thing he wished for was to place blame where it wasn't intended... "When Cora was sent to Tarukane's castle on a mission with Yusuke, she was captured and used a collateral in a bet between Tarukane and Sakyo, the owner of Team Toguro. Tarukane lost." The girls all gasped. "Sakyo used his ownership of Cora to force her into participating in this tournament. And the information Cora was gathering was for Sakyo, not Koenma, to help Sakyo win his bets and to keep us in the tournament so that Yusuke can fight Toguro. He had planned to release Cora so long as she was able to defeat their alternate fighter in a one on one death match."

Botan sighed. "I still don't understand, none of this explains why we have to leave her with them!"

Kurama nodded in understanding. "One of the first rules Sakyo gave to her was that she stay silent about her situation. The choker Cora's been wearing was Sakyo's way of making sure she kept her silence. But then Hiei found some information hidden in Cora's belongings, and when he confronted her about it, she was no doubt transported to Sakyo's side where he could ensure her silence." Kurama looked solemnly at Yukina, who's tears and mostly dried by that time." On top of that, Sakyo issued another warning, and this above all else is the reason we can't just simply retrieve Cora. If we were to go and retrieve her, Sakyo has made it clear that he is not above taking someone else in her place. Cora's number one reason for keeping her silence was for the simple fact that if it wasn't her, it would have been any one of you."

All the girls looked at each other in shock. "I... I can't believe it..." Keiko said sadly. "This whole time, she's been carrying this burden..."

Botan frowned, allowing herself to plop onto the couch. "So that's really it..."

Shizuru sighed, taking a long drag from her cigarette. "Taking her back by force would undermine everything she's done up to now to keep everyone safe." She said, placing a reassuring hand on Kuwabara's tense shoulders. "If we really want to help her now, all we can do is keep fighting."

Yukina sniffled, her tears and anguish refreshed. Kuwabara squeezed her again. "Don't worry Yukina- we'll win tomorrows match, and then we'll take down Team Toguro and get her back, and save the world!"


After helping the girls back to their room, Kuwabara and Kurama decided to call it a night, though Kurama knew that sleep would not come easily to any of them. Bidding Kuwabara a good night, Kurama entered the bed room. His eyes instantly went to the bed where Cora had slept just the other night, and finding it to be empty only solidified in his mind the situation at hand.

To Kurama's shock, Hiei was still near the room occupying the railing of the small balcony just outside the window. In his hands was a letter Kurama instantly recognized due to it's tattered appearance, the many creases and tears evidence of years of opening, refolding and being carried around in Cora's back pocket.

Hiei read the message over and over, feeding his furry. He wanted to set fire to this island, letting the black dragon feed off the land until it sank back into the depths of the ocean. His Jagan couldn't find her, though that didn't surprise him as it never could. He couldn't sense her, which meant she hadn't tried to transform, thank god. And he couldn't track her down by scent due to the large population the currently inhabited the island. The only thing he could pick up on was the natural scent of rain and the artificial fruity smell of Cora's shampoo that lingered on the bedding in the room behind him. That, and the smell of her now dried blood that still stained the carpet despite Kurama's efforts to wash it out.

He grunted then, folding the letter up and tucking into the depths of his cloak. With out even glancing over his shoulder he addressed Kurama who had set about changing into his sleeping cloths. "You don't have to watch my every move fox. I have no intentions of going after that stupid girl." Kurama chuckled a little as he finished buttoning up his sleep shirt.

"Of course. Just take care with that note; it holds a great deal of importance to her."

Hiei glared at Kurama over his shoulder before flitting out of sight, not feeling in the mood to listen to Kurama's back handed scolding. Kurama sighed, flopping down onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling. "Let the Semifinals begin..."


Kuwabara grimaced as he watched Hiei toy with his opponent, a man who goes by the name Makintaro. He was nearly four times Hiei's size, and carried a lot of brute strength in his well defined body, but he was cumbersome and slow. At the moment, Hiei was holding Makintaro's left arm, the blood dripping down the twitching appendage, staining the white bandages that hid Hiei's still healing right arm.

"Ummm, well that's one way to work off some stress..." Kuwabara said to Kurama who stood off to his left. Kurama nodded as Hiei tossed the arm aside, a look of displeasure on his face.

"After the events of last night, it is natural that we should feel at our wits end." Kurama answered truthfully as he watched Hiei dodge an attack by Makintaro who had manipulated the remaining stump of his left arm into the shape of a battle ax, slicing Hiei's after image and cloak in half. "One of our own has been taken hostage and we are left with no option but to play by the kidnappers rules, and Hiei doesn't care much for games."

Kuwabara gulped, nodding his head in understanding as Hiei reappeared atop Makintaro's head, slamming his Katana into the top of the unsuspecting demons skull with enough force that it's tip came out of the bottom of Makintaro's jaw. Discontent flashed through Hiei as he jumped off his now dead competition, landing some ten feet away so as to watch Makintaro fall lifeless to the arena floor.

Hiei felt less then enthused by the horribly easy match, his frustration far from soothed. How was he supposed to keep a level head and distract himself if he couldn't even find an opponent that was worth a single millisecond of his time? He needed a challenge, or else he might just throw caution to the wind and aim his dragon for the VIP boxes where he knew that horrid human scum, that Sakyo, was watching them. With a growl, Hiei turned to the opposite team, his red eyes pinning their ring leader, a demon by the name of Shishiwakamaru, with a glare that should have killed him on the spot. "Throw the dice. I don't want to waste time."

"AMAZING! HIEI'S OPPONENT NEVER HAD A CHANCE!" Koto, who had been moved ring side, shouted into her mike. The crowd was a mix of shocked horror and wild anger as the 'human' team scored the first point.

Shishiwakamaru, a young handsome demon with long light blue hair and bright pink eyes, stepped up to the ring, tossing the dice with a flick of his delicate wrist. "Remember, you're only allowed to fight if you're name is called by the dice."

Everyone in the arena watched the dice with bated breath as they rolled across the blood stained tiles. Hiei's eyes narrowed as the first di landed, revealing the name of Kuro Momotaru, while the second dice spun on its corner. When it finally landed, Hiei's eyes darted to the opposing team, watching as a tall young man with blonde hair and arrogant dark brown eyes stepped up to the ring.

"The free face has been rolled..." Kurama stated to Kuwabara who was unable to tell from their distance from the dice roll. "Hiei will take this match as well." Kuwabara pouted a little.

"What kind of crap is that?! Hiei's not the only one who wants to fight today!" Kuwabara said as the second match was announced. Kuro Momotaro and Hiei stood on opposite sides of the ring from each other, the dead body of Makintaro still laying on the floor with Hiei's blade impaled in his skull.

Kurama gave Hiei's stance a once over, his lips pulling into a concerned frown. "Be that as it may, I believe its wise to allow Hiei to fight for as long as possible." Kuwabara turned to stare at the back of his short team mate, a disgruntled look on his face.

"I guess your right... rather he take out his frustration on these guys then us..."

Hiei stared Kuro Momotaro down, evaluating him down to the ridiculous head band that was tied across his forehead. It reminded him of the baboon he was forced to work with; no matter how easy this match was, it would be enjoyable so long as Hiei imagined it was Kuwabaka's face he was pummeling. Kuro Momotaro stared right back at Hiei with arrogant eyes, chewing on a wad of gum obscenely. He blew a bubble, sucked it into his mouth and popped it loudly. The sound nearly made Hiei grimace in disgust; such an annoying habit. He'd be sure to sever this fools lower jaw from his skull, that should put an end to that awful, insistent lip smacking sound. Kuro Momotaro spit his gum out, watching with morbid satisfaction as it landed in the hair of his fallen comrade.

"You rejoice too quickly in this victory." Kuro Momotaro said loudly, his voice just as arrogant as his gaze. He walked casually to stand over the body of his fallen team mate, bending over and grasping the hilt of Hiei's katana firmly. "He was unworthy of appearing amongst us." With out another word, or a single glimmer of remorse, Kuro Momotaro used his foot to kick Makintaro in the head to remove it from Hiei's blade, sending the corpse rolling out of the ring. Hiei didn't so much as flinch at the cruelty, but Kuwabara had no issues in voicing the very thoughts that had crossed Hiei's mind.

"What the hell? Who does that to their own team mate?!" Kuwabara demanded of Kurama who too looked disturbed by Kuro Momotaro's lack of care with his comrades corpse. "This guys on a whole different level of scum bag!"

"I couldn't agree more." Kurama said as Kuro Momotaro laved his tongue along the broad side of Hiei's blade, smirking with joy as the taste of his own team mates blood filled his mouth.

"This is a very beautiful sword." Kuro Momotaro said as he turned Hiei's blade this way and that, taking in the way the arena lights danced across it's blood soaked edges.

"I hate to say this," Hiei crossed his arms over his chest impatiently. "But that's hardly Hygienic. You have no idea how many creatures that sword has cut down."

"Hmmmm...I'm sure." Kuro Momotaro studied the blade further before dragging the sharpened metal along the width of left his fore arm, creating a deep and heavily bleeding gash in its wake. Hiei's eyes widened in shock as the rest of the arena broke out into a uproar. Hiei hadn't expected his opponent to cause such a debilitating wound to himself; from where he was standing Hiei could see the severed tendons dancing with every move Kuro Momotaro made. That arm was useless now. Kuro Momotaro howled in a mixture of pain and euphoria. "GAAAHHH! It hurts! This is fantastic, that sword is truly of high quality!"

Hiei fell into a slight stance, unwilling to take his eyes off the crazed Kuro Momotaro for even a second; any man who could find so much pleasure in causing their own pain was dangerous. The sight sickened him, but at the same time Hiei felt certain that Kuro Momotaro could provide him with the distraction he needed, even if only for a few minutes.

Kuro Momotaro, who was still breathing heavily and practically salivating in his pleasure, reached for the strange belt around his waste, removing what looked to be some kind of child's toy ball from the center plate. "Now that I know what your sword is capable of, I can play my first card!" Kuro Momotaro crushed the ball, releasing a strange purple smoke into the air which he took into himself with deep breaths. Hiei's muscles tensed up as he sensed Kuro Momotaro's energy spike. Yellow sparks flew from Kuro Momotaro's skin, leaving odd physical changes in their wake. Dark, thick hair started to grow all over Kuro Momotaro's body and face, leaving very small area's of his skin showing. As the yellow energy waves started to slow, Hiei was left with a opponent who resembled a human world monkey rather then the demon he had been faced with. "Your toy will have no effect on me now..." Kuro Momotaro threw Hiei's sword at him blade first, which Hiei was able to easily deflect and catch by it's handle.

Hiei scoffed, tired of this demons show boating. He took on the offensive, flashing to Kuro Momotaro's side in the blink of an eye. "Let's test that theory!" Hiei lashed out, landing a solid blow to Kuro Momotaro's right forearm. Kuro Momotaro didn't even attempt to dodge, a smug smile breaking out over his ape like face. Hiei's eyes widened in shock; was this demon so stupid that he didn't know when to dodge? Kuro Momotaro's lack of fear became evident how ever, when Hiei's katana snapped like a twig as it made contact with the thick hair that covered Kuro Momotaro's forearm.

"TO SLOW!" Stunned, Hiei was unable to doge Kuro Momotaro's counter attack, a blow to the side that sent him somersaulting from the ring and into the side wall of the arena.

"W-what?! What the hell happened?!" Kuwabara shouted from ring side as he tried to see through the cloud of debris weather or not Hiei had recovered.

"Hiei's been knocked out of the ring." Kurama said, his brow furrowed in mild worry for his young friend. "This armor may prove difficult for Hiei to overcome..."

"That's not possible- Hiei cant lose!" Kuwabara said as the cloud of debris started to settle revealing Hiei's feet which were sticking out of the wall. He had yet to move, making Kurama worry that he had hit the wall head first.


Sakyo took a drag from his cigarette, an amused smirk on his lips. "At last, a proper match up." He glanced to his right where Cora sat, her arms folded over her chest and her eyes fixed on the fight bellow them. Clayton stood behind her, his face eerily similar to the woman that sat before him; they both seemed so enthralled with the match, it was as though nothing else mattered in at the moment aside from the outcome of the battle."I'm surprised you're not cheering them on like you have in the past. Don't hold back on my account; it's perfectly natural to wish for your teams victory."

Cora bit the inside of her cheek as she ignored the smug business man beside her; she may be forced to put up with being his hostage for the time being, but that didn't mean she had to acknowledge his existence in the slightest. She was more worried about her team, or practically lack there of. Yusuke and the Masked fighter were MIA, and judging by the hit Hiei had just taken, there were bound to be some major injuries that would need immediate attention. And she was stuck here playing the good little damsel in distress; she was really starting to hate this roll she was forced to play by her so called master.

...come on Hiei... get up damn it... Cora thought as Yuri, the new ring girl, shouted out the fifth count. Why was it taking him so long to recover? Was he even conscious? Had he hit his head?


Hiei winced as he sat himself up, the stiff protests of his shoulders a testament to how hard of a hit he had just endured. He was lucky to have hit the ring and the wall with his upper back- if he had hit even an inch higher his head would have likely been removed from his spine. Instant death-get your head out of your ass!... Hiei growled in annoyance as Cora's voice floated across his mind. He knew it wasn't really her, as his Jagan couldn't contact her in such a way, but it still irritated him. She wasn't even there and she was nagging him... stop being so reckless- remember, if you die I'll kill you...

"Shut up stupid woman..." Hiei hissed between his teeth as he pushed his way out of the hole his body had made in the wall. The announcer had started the count by then, giving him just three counts to reenter the ring. The crowd was chanting for Kuro Momotaro to kill him off, which only added to Hiei's annoyance. It would take more then one good hit to take him out. But Hiei knew, even though it had really been his subconscious shouting at him, that Cora's nagging words were correct; he was acting like a rookie fighter, attacking with out establishing any kind of strategy. This fight wasn't just about his blood lust. He needed to win; there was to much at stake for him to continue fighting blindly. With new resolve Hiei flickered into the ring just before the final count, narrowly saving himself from elimination.

Kurama let out a breath of relief; he had heard Hiei muttering to himself, and though he couldn't hear what his team mate had said, it seemed to have refocused Hiei's mind. Despite the heavy blow that was just dealt to him, Hiei's shoulders seemed more relaxed then before, and the fire in his eyes had become controlled. "He's managed to clear his mind."

"huh?" Kuwabara asked curiously. "You mean Hiei?"

"Yes. Until now Hiei was fighting recklessly, leaving himself open to attacks. His troubled thoughts caused him to underestimate Kuro Momotaro; but it appears Hiei is ready to take this fight seriously." Kurama said, his confidence in Hiei's victory being rekindled.

Kuro Momotaro snickered as Hiei rotated his left shoulder, relieving some of the tension. "You seemed to be caught off guard! My wounded body assimilates the combat techniques of the adversary." Kuro Momotaro said, grabbing another of those strange spheres from his belt. "The Kibidango Ball: for every sphere I consume, it increases the strength of my Beast Armor, making me impervious to my opponents attacks!" Kuro Momotaro fell into a defensive stance, though his smug aura stayed strong. "Come on! Show me what you can do! When my body assimilates you're attacks, you will be a dead man!"

"Hn. We'll see about that." Hiei stated as he removed the bandanna from his forehead, allowing his Jagan eye to open. It took a moment for the eye to focus on his opponent, but once it locked it's self onto Kuro Momotaro, Hiei's energy began to skyrocket in preparation for the real fight that lay before him. "You seem eager to play with fire. Surely you remember the last fool who thought he wanted to "play"."

Kuwabara shouted excitedly. "YES! He's going to release the Dragon of the Darkness Flame! Hehe, he's going to reduce him to ashes!"

Kurama shook his head. "No, he can't!"

"Huh?!"

Kurama sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "The Dragon is a fire creature of the Makai- to call it to earth, Hiei must emit a considerable amount of energy. The last time, he lost a little energy, which in turn caused his arm to be wounded." Kurama stared at Hiei's back with a critical eye. "He doesn't have enough of a reserve in him. His body has been using up energy as it's tried to heal his arm from before... he isn't in any state to call the dragon."

"What?! That isn't enough?!" Kuwabara turned back to the match. "With the power he's putting out right now?!"

Hiei, having heard Kurama and the idiots conversation, growled irritably. Kurama was right, he couldn't use the darkness flame, but he could hit Kuro Momotaro hard enough with his next attack, he shouldn't have to worry about his lack of energy. Having delayed long enough to build up his energy, Hiei jumped towards Kuro Momotaro, his right hand becoming engulfed in nearly white hot flames. "Let's see how you compare!"

Kuro Momotaro held his ground as Hiei landed two major hits to his head and torso. "G-GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Kuro Momotaro shouted in pain as the fire burned through his furry armor and skin, leaving him with second degree burns. Hiei jumped back, a smug smirk on his lips.

"Hn. I don't even have to call for the flames of hell. Mortal flames are more then enough to take you down." Hiei said snidely. His triumph was short lived however, as Kuro Momotaro started to let lose a sinister laugh, his whole body shaking from the shock of sustaining such horrific injuries.

"I-I've already assimilated this pain..." Kuro Momotaro crushed the sphere he held in his hand, inhaling the purple smoke greedily. As he did the burns began to fade, and a new armor started to take shape. The dark fur molted, and in its place grew brightly colored feathers. "You're flames will do nothing to me now!"

Hiei held his ground, his nose scrunching up in annoyance as the transformation was completed. The crowd by that point was losing their minds, cheering Kuro Momotaro on as he stared Hiei down from with in a mess a feathers that had sprouted from his face.

"OH WOW!" Koto shouted into her mike. "He's completed a new transformation! CAN YOU FEEL THAT HUGE INCREASE IN POWER?! I'M LOVING IT!"

Hiei didn't have time to listen to the annoying announcers words as Kuro Momotaro launched himself, taking the offensive once again. Hiei took a direct hit to the side of his face, knocking him back a few feet though he was able to regain his footing and dodge another head on attack. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Hiei went on the attack, flickering in and out of sight around Kuro Momotaro in an effort to confuse him with multiple after images. With little warning, Hiei attacked with both fists covered in flames this time, landing a barrage of punches to Kuro Momotaro's torso. To Hiei's shock, the attack had very little effect of the now bird like demon armor. Movement to his left cut Hiei's shock short as he was forced to jump back to avoid being sliced to ribbons by Kuro Momotaro's reinforced talons.

Hiei's eyes widened as Kuro Momotaro suddenly vanished from where he had been standing, leaving Hiei's eyes to dart around in search of him. "What-?!"

Kuro Momotaro came from behind, landing a hard kick to Hiei's left side, sending him slamming into the arena floor. Once again Hiei recovered quickly, jumping to his feet and pinning Kuro Momotaro with a deadly glare. "HAHAHAHAH! What do you think of this new speed?! You aren't even worthy of being my opponent any more- you're nothing!"

Hiei scoffed, spitting out even more blood, his mind reeling as he attempted to come up with a plan. He didn't have enough energy to summon the dragon, but his mortal flame wasn't going to cut it with this new armor...I should have hit him harder... he cursed himself internally. He was running out of options.


Cora chewed nervously on her lower lip; things were only going from bad to worse in the ring, and she wished more then anything that she was down there. What if one of the boys got seriously hurt? She couldn't help them if she was stuck up here-

Sakyo chuckled, catching Cora's attention. "You're team mate is in quite the jam."

"Hn. Obviously you don't know anything about my team if you think this match is already decided." She bit out at him, growing tired of his arrogance.

"Oh? You're right; I only know what I've been able to learn through this tournament. But maybe you can tell me a little about them?" Sakyo said smoothly making Cora's eyes narrow suspiciously. "It could help to pass the time."

"Nice try, but you'll have to kill me before I tell you anything." Cora said defiantly, making Sakyo chuckle once again.

"Such loyalty; that's rare among demons." He said, making both Clayton and Cora stiffen up at the insult. Sakyo took a cigarette from his breast pocket and placed it loosely between his lips. With a flick of his zipo lighter, Sakyo took a soothing drag of his second cigarette that match. "I have no doubt your team will win this match; I wouldn't have bet on their victory otherwise."


"To bad you can't call on that dragon of yours! It's probably the only thing that could save you now!" Kuro Momotaro said, grabbing yet another sphere from his belt. "Don't think I'll show mercy- you're going to die here!" Kuro Momotaro crushed the sphere, inhaling the smoke for a third and seemingly final time. His feather molted from his skin, and in its place shaggy grey fur grew. Kuro Momotaro's face elongated, his jaws jutting out like a dogs and his teeth grew into deadly overlapping fangs, and his eyes grew into fleshy misshapen points on either side of his head. Kuro Momotaro raised his right hand out to Hiei as if for his inspection, revealing nearly three inch long razor sharp claws in place of his bird talons. "My power continues to rise- what do you think, shorty? With these teeth and claws I'm going to rip you to shreds!"

Just as he had after the second transformation, Kuro Momotaro wasted little time in attacking Hiei, slashing out at him with such speed even Hiei found it hard to avoid a direct hit. One strike came dangerously close to disemboweling Hiei, leaving four large slashes in the front of his tank top. Kuro Momotaro paused in his attack then, allowing Hiei to jump back, putting more distance between them.

"Heh, I promise I won't miss you're flesh a second time!" Kuro Momotaro growled out, taking an aggressive step forward. Hiei took a step back in turn, maintaining the distance between himself and the blood thirsty beast before him.

Kurama felt a cold sweat break out over his brow. "I... I've never known Hiei to back away from a challenger..."

"Well... it does have a lot of teeth!" Kuwabara said nervously.

Kuro Momotaro and Hiei continued this strange dance, with Kuro Momotaro taking small steps towards Hiei who would match him step for step, refusing to let the transformed demon get any closer to him. Hiei's left foot hit something, and glancing down Hiei saw the remnants of his sword laying on the tiled floor. A thought struck him then, one that he normally would have crumpled up and tossed away. With a resigned grunt, Hiei used the tip of his right toe to flip the broken blade into his hand.

"Reaching for a broken blade as a last attempt at defending yourself? What's the matter, is the great Hiei ready to give up?!" Kuro Momotaro said tauntingly.

"No you incompetent, but I will give you one last chance to."

"That's very sporting of you, but I think I'll pass however!" Kuro Momotaro said, laughing victoriously. "If your sword didn't work on my first armor, it sure wont work on the third!"

Hiei grimaced as he looked down at the broken off blade in his hand. "I know. I hate to use this attack. I find it totally devoid of any taste or artistry."

"Huh, a move that's to barbaric for Hiei? That's hard to believe..." Kuwabara said curiously.

Kurama nodded in agreement, excited to see what Hiei's next move would be. "It'll no doubt be messy."

"Heh, don't hold back on me because something's offensive!" Kuro Momotaro said irritably, pointing one long clawed finger at Hiei's chest." After all, I was planning on a vulgar move myself!" Kuro Momotaro launched himself into the air, his mouth and claws spread wide as he came down upon Hiei, biting down on his right shoulder.

Kurama and Kuwabara both gasped in shock as a geyser of blood erupted between Hiei and Kuro Momotaro, neither fighter moving a millimeter. Thinking the worst, Kurama took a step forward, ready to jump into the ring before Kuro Momotaro could rip Hiei to literal shreds.


Cora leaped from her seat, her eyes wide in horrified shock as she watched the blood bath down in the ring. Pushing her chair out of the way, Cora made to run down to the ring; fuck this princess in a tower shit, she was pretty sure Hiei was bleeding to death. Clayton reached out to her, his finger tips barely grazing the very tips of her hair. "Wait, don't-"

Before she could make it to the door, the collar around her neck sent a high voltage shock through her, knocking the breath out of her lungs and forcing her onto the ground with a scream of agony. A minute passed before the jolt faded, but to Cora it had felt like an eternity. Every muscle in her body twitched, and a string of saliva dribbled down her chin onto the floor, her tongue and throat unable to function. It was a wonder that she hadn't soiled herself. Clayton was at her side in an instant, picking her roughly up off the floor and dragging her back away from the door. "Learn to listen, girl! You're lucky you didn't just die!"

Sakyo glanced at them over his shoulder, a small frown on his lips. "Did I forget to mention that your collar has been set to a perimeter mode? If you so much as stick a toe out side the ten foot limit the collar will instantly incapacitate you." Cora gasped for air as she started to regain control of her limbs, pushing herself away from Clayton with a sneer. "A nifty feature that I requested personally. I got the feeling you would try to run back to your team members sides."

Cora glared at Sakyo, wiping the saliva from her chin. "I-I'm their healer... you're f-finals won't be worth t-to much if they b-bleed to death before the f-fact..."

Sakyo turned back to the match. "If you truly wish to return to them, then so be it." He said catching Cora and Clayton off guard. "So long as you understand that you will be replaced."


Before Kurama could make a definitive move to aid Hiei, black and blue flames shot out of Kuro Momotaro's back. With movements almost to fast for Kurama to follow, Hiei sliced through Kuro Momotaro's torso, cutting the defeated demon into numerous pieces.

"W-what the hell?!" Kuwabara shouted.

Kuro Momotaro's body fell to the ground, engulfed in darkness flames. It burned up quickly, leaving nothing behind but scorch marks from the fires heat. With a flick of his wrist, Hiei removed the dark flames from the broken blade.

Kurama let out a relieved breath. "Hiei summoned the darkness flames from the pits of hell, but he contained them in the broken off blade of his sword, which prevented him from being over taken." Kurama explained as Kuwabara gaped openly."Ingenious."

"I don't know about all this genius stuff. I mean, it's not all that different from what I do with my spirit sword and nobody call's that genius..." Kuwabara said, rubbing the back of his neck in confusion. A thought strikes him like a ton of bricks, and his confusion instantly turns to outrage. "HEY! Wait a second!" Kuwabara pointed an incriminating finger at Hiei's back. "Were you saying back there that my spirit sword doesn't have any talent or artistry?!"

Hiei glanced at the buffoon over his shoulder, shooting him a smug look. "Ha, of course." He said while tossing the chard remains of his sword over his shoulder and making his way back to Kurama and Kuwabara, stopping at the edge of the ring as Yuri finished the count.

"That's it! I"m going to cream you shrimp-"

"Since all pieces of Kuro Momotaro have been down for more then ten seconds, the winner is Hiei!" Yuri shouted, cutting Kuwabara's rant short. The crowd openly voiced their displeasure, having been denied Hiei's bloody death at the last second. Hiei and his team ignored them however, each taking the chance between matches to glance up at the VIP observation boxes.

"Tell me you guys felt that too..." Kuwabara said earning a nod from the two other fighters.

"The pattern concerns me; it doesn't follow the profile Cora's energy has taken in the past while transforming." Kurama said before himself and Kuwabara entered the ring for the next roll of the dice. "When she transforms, her energy normally comes in waves that progressively get weaker; this was prolonged and never faltered in its intensity."

Hiei's brow furrowed, what little peace of mind his match against Kuro Momotaro had managed to grant him quickly dissolving. Kurama was correct, this transmittance of Cora's energy had been abnormal. But what could have caused such a long lasting and violent reaction? All the possible scenario that played through his head only added to his frustration. "Hn, I care little for these games." The opposing team stepped into the ring then, looking less then pleased with the outcome of the previous match. "Come one, roll the dice again. I have an urge to go 3 for 3."