When Clayton deposited Cora onto the ground, releasing her from his hold entirely, she instantly turned around and socked him right in the gut making him grunt in both pain and surprise. "FUCK YOU!" Cora shouted, going in for another hit only for Clayton to grab her fist, flipping her over his head and onto the floor, knocking all the wind out of her.

"I highly suggest that you save your energy for the ring." He said, releasing his hold on her wrist and taking a step back as she rolled onto her side, gasping for air. "Once your friend is counted out, it'll be our turn, and then I can beat you into the ground for as long as you like."

Cora pushed herself up onto her hands a knees, glaring heatedly up at Clayton through her lashes. "Why... why the hell are you people doing all of this?!" She demanded, making Clayton's shoulders noticeably stiffen up. "My team... we didn't do anything to you! So tell me why?! Why did you invite them here; why does Sakyo keep fucking with us?!" She stood, her tears from before completely dried up as she let her anger over power her grief. "Why the hell can't he just leave me, and my family alone-?!" Cora's head snapped to the side as Clayton back handed her, his face contorted in rage. He then wrapped his hand around her throat, pulling her up to his eye level, her feet dangling off the ground.

"I highly suggest... that you save your energy..."

Cora dug her nails into the back of his hand in an effort to get him to let her go, but just when it seemed she would lose consciousness Juri's voice could be heard over the intercome. "CLAYTON OF TEAM TOGURO AND CORA OF TEAM TOGU-AH! I mean, CORA OF TEAM URAMESHI, PLEASE MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE RING!" Growling, Clayton shoved Cora out into the hall by her throat, with Cora narrowly catching herself before she tumbled onto the floor. She glared over her shoulder at him, prepared to go at him once again only to stop short when Juri came over the intercom once again. "HEEEELLOOOOO?! CAN WE GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD HERE?!"

Sniffing in frustration, Cora turned from Clayton and the two of them made their way towards the open stadium for the second time that afternoon. When they reached the entrance and the doors creeped open, they were met with a wall of sound the varied between shouts of outrage and cheers of excitement. It seemed that the crowd was pumped up from the previous fight and hungry for more blood. Not wanting to waste any time, Cora took a running leap into the ring, landing some four feet in before sprinting to the side closest to her team. There she found Kuwabara and Hiei, with Yusuke and Koenma seeing to a very beaten up Kurama who gave her a weak wave. Kneeling down onto the rings edge, she was able to come to Kuwabara's eye level. "Hey; how is he?" She asked hurriedly, ignoring Juri and Koto as they announced the specks of the match.

"He's pretty banged up, but he'll live." Kuwabara said, though his frown was far from convincing. "But he didn't get the point."

"Not to sound mean, but I wasn't really expecting him to make it out alive, so I'll take it as a win." Cora let out a nervous laugh, though it was obvious that Kuwabara felt far from confident about their current situation. Turning her attention from him to Hiei, she found herself looking down at a very agitated face. "Hey there, what's got you all bent out of shape?"

Hiei's eyes narrowed at her attempt to poke fun at him, their irises glancing between her own eyes and her red cheek."Hn." He shoved his hands into his cloak pockets and turned his head away, deciding to leave the situation be in the presences of a much more pressing situation. "You seem to be awfully calm, given the current situation. I'm just trying to prepare my mind for the level of so called planning you've put into this match." A tense silence fell between them, one that Kuwabara could hardly breath in. "If you lose this match, the Fox would never forgive himself, ergo I'll never forgive you for plaguing me with his insufferable wallowing."

Cora let out a bark of laughter before pushing herself back up to her feet, flashing her team a wide smile and thumps up. "Awe, never knew you cared Love." Pulling a black hair tie out of her back pocket Cora braided her hair, flicking it over her shoulder once secured. "Sit back and enjoy the show, while I beat this ass hats face into the ground." Hiei snorted, unamused by her boasting.

Kuwabara, however, seemed to perk up a little at her outward display of confidence and returned her previous "thumbs up" with a good deal of enthusiasm. "Knock'em dead Shrimp Bait!"

"That's the plan Neanderthal!" Cora called over her shoulder as she turned and made her way back towards the center of the ring, a smug smirk coming onto her face as she listened to Kuwabara whine over the roaring of the crowd...hmmm, I wonder if Hiei will forgive me for sticking him with Kuwabara's wallowing?... Giggling a bit, Cora came to a stop some ten feet away from Clayton who stood with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face.

"You're awfully peppy for someone who's about to die." He stated, his frown deepening when Cora leveled him with a confident smirk.

"You know it's a common sign of psychosis, projecting ones own delusive ideals onto those around them." She said earning a cocked brow from her opponent. "It's to bad you've chosen to take part in this tournament; I'm sure with a little more practice, you would have made an excellent."

Clayton's scowl deepened, his body falling into a fighting stance. "I'm going to enjoy ripping out that waggling tongue."


"LISTEN TO THAT PRE-BATTLE BANTER FOLKS!" Koto shouted into her mic, her ears and tail twitching excitedly. "I'd say our fighters are ready to go! As you all know, we've had the pleasure of watching Cora dominate against Team Rokuyukai's Bakken-" The large TV lit up, showing the last few moments of Bakken's life, just before Cora kicked his corpse out of the ring. "- however with this being the first we've seen of Clayton in the ring, it's up in the air for who will emerge with their life in this first time ever Alternate Death Battle!" The crowd's volume grew steadily higher as the tension in the ring mounted, both Cora and Clayton growing more anxious by the second. The unexpected sound of an explosion above them broke Cora's concentration, making her glance up to see an assortment of bright blue energy tendrils falling down around the outer rim of the ring, latching onto it's edge before solidifying into solid iron bars. "As requested by the committee, the goal of both competitors is to kill their opponent; to ensure the blood flow is truly brutal, we've been instructed to erect this barrier!"

"Whoa, what?!" Yusuke shouted, clearly taken back by the extra level of barbarism displayed by the committee. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

Juri, who stood on an elevated platform just outside the ring, turned to Yusuke with a hand on her hip and a frustrated frown on his face. "Weren't you paying attention, we've already gone over this part of the match! The barrier will lower once one or both of the competitors are dead-"

"Trust me, it'll only be one of us." Clayton said, drawing everyone in the immediate area's attention towards him. "Cage or no, the outcome will be the same, and I will put an end to this once and for all."

Cora smirked, refocusing her attention onto Clayton and falling into a loose fighting stance. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

"THERE YOU HAVE IT LADIES AND GENTLEDEMONS!" Juri shouted into her mic, drawing the crowd into a near frenzy of excitement. "WITH OUT FURTHER ADUE, LET THE ALTERNATE DEATH BATTLE BEGIN!"


Yukina fidgeted in her seat next to Shizuru who eyed her curiously. "Hey, what's up? You're awfully fidgety all of a sudden." Yukina glanced up at the Shizuru and the other two girls, who's attention had been brought to her upon Shizuru's question.

"Ah, well... I've never seen her fight before, Cora that is..." Yukina looked down at the young woman who she had met only a few months prior, the two of them held captive by the human Tarukane. "Is she going to be alright? All the boys, they seem so worried for her..."

"Oh I don't think we have any reason to worry!" Botan said, her mood greatly lifted after witnessing Kurama's narrow escape from death. "I think she's a perfectly capable fighter!"

Shizuru puffed on a new cigarette, her brown eyes glancing slyly at Botan. "You seem to be in a better mood..." Botan giggled a little, flashing her a peace sign. "Anyway, Botan's right; her match against Bakken earned the kid some major bragging rights, and proved that she can hold her own in the ring."

"So, she'll be alright then?" Yukina was still unsure; after all, this wasn't some low level team they were up against. This was Toguro's team, and it must mean something if you qualify to be their alternate fighter.

"I'm positive! She'll be just fine!" Botan pumped her fist into the air, a wide grin plastered onto her face.


Clayton's breath hitched and then he vanished, leaving Cora staring at an empty ring for but a split second before she ducked down to avoid a kick to the back of her head. Using the split second of time the Clayton used to right himself, Cora aimed a kick of her own at his ankles only for Clayton to jump up and over her leg, aiming a fist for her head at the same time. Cora easily dodged, and the two started a kind of dance, moving around the ring at a rapid pace and throwing multiple jabs and kicks at each other. From the sidelines, Kuwabara stood flabbergasted at the barely seen movements from the two fighters. "Jeeze, I didn't know she could move that fast!"

Yusuke quirked a confused brow at him. "Didn't you watch her fight with Bakken? Squirts damn near as fast as Hiei."

"hn. Hardly."

Kurama, who felt well enough to stand by that point, chuckled a bit at Kuwabara's shock. "Cora was initially trained by Hiei in her younger years, so it only makes sense that she be quick on her feet."

Hiei scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "She could be faster; it seems she's picked up your annoying habit of taking a life time to access her opponent, Kurama." Watching as Cora narrowly avoided another strong kick to the back of the neck, Hiei let out a small growl. "She's purposely slowing herself down to match his pace, which is making her movements sloppy. She should stop playing around and end this."

Yusuke and Kuwabara were giving Hiei open mouthed, flabbergasted stares. Kurama on the other hand chuckled once again, nodding his head in understanding. "Yes, she has improved greatly as a fighter."

Kuwabara leaned over to Yusuke so he could whisper into his ear. "Did you pick up a compliment in there, or was it just Kurama?" Yusuke shrugged his shoulders before turning back to the fight.


Clayton and Cora separated, both going to their own sides of the ring where they were both staring the other down. Clayton was panting ever so slightly, and while Cora had indeed started to break a sweat she didn't look nearly as winded as her opponent. Gritting his teeth, Clayton went on the attack once again, shouting in rage as Cora again easily dodged his attack. "QUIT FOOLING AROUND! FIGHT ME FOR REAL DAMN IT!" Clayton shouted, aiming a reckless punch towards Cora's face which she was able to dodge. Frowning at his lack of focus, Cora pulled her hand gun from her hidden thigh holster, pushed it against his chest and pulled the trigger. The crack of the pin hitting the gun powder echoed through out the arena, bringing the room to a state of suspended animation. Clayton, taken aback by the shockwave of energy that rippled through him, jumped away from Cora with lightning fast speed, his hand covering his chest where she had shot him. However, upon inspection by himself and the jumbo-tron, no blood could be seen from the blow.

"Well folks, I see a gun, I heard a gun, and by the way Clayton's holding himself I can only assume he's been shot but I don't see any blood!" Juri said, confusion thick I her voice. "Koto, are you seeing what I'm not seeing?"

Koto, who had been focusing closely on the replay of Cora's last attack, shook her head. "Well, if you mean can I see any damage done to Clayton, then my answer would be NO! Was this some kind of trickery to get Clayton to back off?!"


Shizuru quirked a curious brow, her cigarette hanging loosely from her lips. "Well, that's a creative way of doing things." She said making Keiko and the other three glance between the ring and their more perceptive friend.

"Uh, you saw what happened?" Keiko questioned.

"Botan, remember when Cora took on Kurama's wounds before her fight with Bakken?" Shizuru leaned forward, her eyes watching Cora's opponent like a hawk. Botan nodded her head in remembrance, earning a curious look from Keiko and Yukina. "Looks like she found a new way to carry that damage around; she didn't shoot him with a standard bullet."

"Then what did she shoot him with?" Botan speculated as all four women leaned forward to watch the match closely.


Clayton examined his chest with a deep frown. He could have sworn that he'd been shot-"UUhgg!" Incredible pain suddenly erupted across the left side of his face, as if he'd been dealt a blow strong enough to break his jaw and shatter teeth. Grasping at his face, Clayton's eyes widened when he heard the sound of cracking bone echo through his skull, followed by a distinctly metallic taste spreading over his tongue. Spitting onto the ground, he was equally surprised to find blood mixed in with his saliva. "What the hell...?!" Clayton narrowly ducked out of the way as Cora came at him with a swift round house, her speeding seemingly double that which it had been before. "Shit!"

"I'M AT A COMPLETE LOSS HERE FOLKS! CORA'S SHOT DIDN'T APPEAR TO DO ANY DAMAGE, BUT NOW IT LOOKS AS IF CLAYTON'S TAKEN A MASSIVE HIT TO HIS HANDSOME FACE!" Juri stated, her words bringing a chorus of shocked and, in some cases, outraged shouts from the audience. "DURING HER FIGHT WITH BAKKEN, CORA SHOWED AN AMAZING ABILITY TO TRANSFER DAMAGE ONTO HER OPPONANT; DID WE JUST SEE THE NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION OF THIS SPECIAL ATTACK?!"

Clayton and Cora parted ways once again, with Clayton spitting out more blood from his mysterious wound. "That's a nifty new toy you have there; I wonder how you could have kept it a secrete all this time." He said, a knowing smirk lighting up his bruised face.

"Not my fault none of you thought to frisk me; you'd be surprised what I'm hiding and where." Cora's cocky response made Clayton chuckle, her light hearted banter clashing brilliantly with the blood thirsty setting. "If you don't mind, I'm going to start getting serious now."

Doing a half assed bow, Clayton motioned for her to continue. "Please, be my guest."


Hiei sensed the change in the air before a ripple of white energy washed across the ring, clashing harshly with the barrier which prevented the energy wave to fan out as it normally would. "Finally." He said, sounding rather exasperated with their young team mate who stood with her back towards them.

"She's transforming?" Yusuke questioned, his face scrunched up in confusion. "I don't get it; she was dominating pretty well on her own. Why transform?" Kuwabara shrugged his shoulders.

"My question is, why is he letting her? Shouldn't he try to stop her or something?" Kuwabara rubbed the back of his neck nervously, flinching when Hiei's eyes zeroed in on him in a scowl. "N-not that I want him to- b-but wouldn't it make more sense for him to stop her? I mean, she's pretty much creaming him at her current level, she'll definitely win if she takes on the same host as before..."

Kurama placed a hand against his chin, his brow furrowing in thought. "It's true that Cora is dominating this match, but what's also obvious is that Clayton is bent on fighting her and beating her when she's at her strongest. For what ever reason, he's been set on fighting her from the beginning; possibly sooner then we realize."

"Mind speaking clear English for us normal people?" Yusuke quipped at him, making Kurama smile smugly.

"My apologies; I was simply speculating on the reason Sakyo seemed to adamant on playing this game of cat and mouse with Cora." Kurama watched Clayton as best he could trough the torrent of white energy that now swirled through the ring. "It's possible that while Sakyo was behind everything, he was actually acting on Clayton's behalf."

"Meaning...?" Kuwabara prompted earning an annoyed growl from Hiei.

"You truly are thick headed; Kurama is saying that it was Clayton who was after that stupid girl from the start. Sakyo was only helping him secure a match with her, though why he would want to fight her is a mystery to me." Hiei's eyes narrowed as Cora's energy suddenly took a sudden, harsh dip in its intensity...what the hell was that... "Fox."

Kurama nodded, his previously relaxed face turning stony as he too felt the discrepancy in his friends energy. "I felt it too; something isn't right with this host. You don't think she tried to draw on someone to advanced, do you?"

"Oh no..." Koenma said, all color draining from his face in an instant. "If this means what I think it means, then she could find her self in a real pickle!"

Hiei's eyes darted from the happenings in the ring to the Spirit Prince, a snarl on the tip of his tongue. "Explain."

From the elevated platform Juri was practically dancing in place, clearly excited by the prospect of the blood shed that was about to insue. "THIS IS IT LADIES AND GENTLEDEMON! LOOK'S LIKE CORA'S STARTING TO TRANSFORM! I WONDER WHAT KIND OF CARNAGE SHE'LL UNLEASH THIS TIME AROUND!?" As Juri's voice echoed across the stadium, Cora's energy began to pulse faster by the second. Before Koenma could begin to enlighten the boy's to his hypothesis, the area around Cora exploded, sending shards of the already damaged ring flying against the iron barrier.

"Holy shit..." Yusuke mumbled under his breath while beside him Kuwabara called out to their youngest member.

"SHRIMP BAIT!" There was no answer. "CORA, SAY SOMETHING!" Still there was no response from Cora, and with the thick cloud of dust obscuring their vision, it was impossible for any on the team to see her condition. "Guy's, why the hell isn't she answering?!"

"Quiet fool." Hiei bit out, his eyes straining as he tried to catch a glimpse of his partner. "Toddler, what the hell just happened?"

Koenma cleared his throat in an attempt to shake off his shock. "Ah, y-yes- well you see, there was a serum made, one that was designed to negate the transformation process of Meimu demons that were in custody. I had given some to Genkai once the project was foiled due to the high casualty rate of the test subjects; she mentioned wanting to bring it here incase something were to happen that would prevent Cora from being able to cancel a transformation." As Koenma wrapped up his explanation, Kuwabara let out a startled gasp.

"Oh my god, Hiei, that syringe I gave you-"

Hiei quickly checked his pockets, his eyes widening minutely when he realized that he didn't have the syringe on him. Had he accidentally dropped it in the woods before leaving to locate the girl? How could he have been so careless; better yet, how had Clayton gotten his hands on it unless... "It would seem he's been keeping an eye on us. Not only was he there to retrieve the syringe the moment we had left the area, he also knows what it is." Hiei grit his teeth, his energy flaring threateningly. "Damn!"

Kurama turned from Hiei to Koenma, worry evident on his face. "Koenma Sir, what was the death ratio of your test subjects?"

Koenma frowned solemnly. "It is hard to say; one out of every four subjects survived, but there didn't seem to be any corresponding relation between the deaths or the those that survived. It was all at random." The news did not bode well for their young Meimu demon, who's current condition was still unknown to them-

"Look!" Yusuke shouted, bringing their attention back into the slowly clearing ring.

"UNBELIVEABLE! IT SEEMS THAT CORA'S TRANSFORMATION BACKFIRED, AND HAS LEFT HER IN QUITE A TERRIBLE STATE!"


"Oh no!" Yukina gripped at the front of her Kimono, her red eyes wide with fear as she looked down upon her closest friend.

"Well that's not how that's supposed to work." Shizuru chimed in, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Her energy was all over the place..."

Botan's perky attitude from before was quickly evaporating as she watched the match take a drastic turn for the worst. "Goodness, what happened?!"


Cora was on her knees and breathing heavily, her right arm wrapped around her abdomen and her left hand holding her head. Another wave of excruciating pain ripped through her, causing her to double over to the point that her forehead was harshly pressed against the ring floor. Across from her Clayton watched on with open glee, his dark laughter making those on Team Urameshi go stock still. "My, my, my; what happened? I thought you were going to start getting serious?" Clayton stalked towards her, his face smug and his pace relaxed, much like the night they first met in the rose garden. "Guess your little plan back fired, didn't it pup." He grabbed her by the base of her braid, pulling her up until she dangled a near foot off the ground and was eye level with him. "Well guess what? Now that you've used up your last chance at a transformation, I too will get serious-"

Cora loudly cleared her throat before hawking a logy into Clayton's face, making his reel back in disgust, his hold on her hair faltering just enough for her to wrench her hair free. No sooner had her feet hit the ground then did Clayton's leg hit her in the side sending her tumbling across the ring until she was stopped by the barrier. Upon contact the barrier delivered a powerful shock to her system, making her cry out in pain as she managed to push her self away from the iron bars. A foot came down upon her chest mid roll, causing her breath to be knocked out of her for the second time that day.

"You dirty bitch; how dare you, some lowly back woods, low level scum spit on me." Clayton sneered down at her, digging the heel of his boot onto her sternum making her wince at the sound of breaking bone. "You and your god damn family of misfits; you may have escaped me all those years ago, but once I erase you, my burden will be lifted and I'll never have to look upon another face like yours again!" He removed his foot from her chest only to kneel down over her and strike her in the face, splitting her lip open and adding even more damage to her already fractured cheek. "After so long of searching..." He punched her again, in the stomach this time. "Hunting you and your family down-" He stood, picking her up by the throat before slamming her down into the ring with enough force that her body made a permanent dent in the cement. "Finally, so close to having my revenge on the lot of you-" He lifted her up again, bringing her to with in an inch of his own face, his crazed blue eyes glaring spitefully into her own pain and confusion filled eyes. "Only to find that the one place I knew you could never escape from on your own had been burned TO THE GROUND!" Clayton slammed her against the barrier, causing another intense shock to enter her body. Cora bit her lip in an effort not to scream, causing the split flesh to bleed more freely down her chin. "This wont do- I want to hear you scream!" Clayton pulled her away only to slam her against the barrier with more force then before, and this time the shock was so intense Cora couldn't help the agonized scream that ripped from the throat against her will.


"Guy's, we gotta stop this!" Kuwabara shouted, his face stricken with horror as he watched the young demoness being slowly tortured to death.

"No shit Sherlock, and just what the hell do you insist we do, huh?!" Yusuke punched Kuwabara in the back, making the larger man stumble forward a bit before her rounded on Yusuke angrily.

"DON'T HIT ME JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE PISSED OFF URAMESHI!"

"Both of you shut up before I remove your tongues." Hiei's deadly calm voice sliced through Yusuke and Kuwabara like hot butter, making both of them go so still it was a wonder they hadn't turned to stone. He didn't say anything after that, as he was far to busy trying to hold himself back from taking out every single person in that stadium. His right arm, which was wrapped in wards and sutras, twitched violently. Screw this tournament; he could unleash the Black Dragon, and send this island to the bottom of the ocean. Or at least, he would, if not for one small detail. Glancing up into the blood thirsty crowd he easily located the blue hair of the fairy girl, and only a couple seats down from her sat Yukina, horror written on her face and precious tears ready to spill at a moments notice. "... there is nothing we can do."

"You can't be serious-" The glare that Hiei sent Kuwabara's way stopped him in his tracks, though it wasn't the rage or even the intensity that had caught the young man off guard; it was the small glimmer of frustration and over all pain that resided beneath the normal biting cold. It was then that Kuwabara knew in the depths of his soul. There was nothing that could be done. And if even Hiei could feel the devastation of his own words... then that was just the final nail in the coffin. "There's gotta be something... maybe we can't do anything, but the Shrimp Bait- there's gotta be something that she can do!" Small tears started to gather in the corner of Kuwabara's eyes as he turned back to the ring. Cora was free of Clayton's grasp now, having been tossed across the ring, but she was in terrible shape and had barely managed to roll over onto her side, her back facing them. "They can't think we're just gonna stand aside and watch her die!"

"Kuwabara-" Kurama tried to reason with his friend but Kuwabara wouldn't hear any of it, shaking off Kurama's offered hand of comfort. "Please try to understand."

Kuwabara shook his head. "No! I know that there's a lot more at stake with this tournament than just her fight, but Cora's our friend! She's been there for us practically since day one," he clenched his fists at his side and grit his teeth in an effort to fight back his tears. "She's healed us, and cheered us on even when it looked like we weren't going to make it!" Kuwabara glared at Yusuke and the others, his sudden change in resolve catching them all by surprise. "Well I'm not gonna give up on her either! She's our team mate, and darn it she's strong enough to beat this guy!" Kuwabara, who had been standing back some ways from the ring with the rest of the team, leapt forward until he was nose to nose with the barrier and started pumping his fists into the air. "COME ON SHRIMP BAIT! DON'T LET THIS WEAK ASS MONSTER TAKE YOU OUT!"

Yusuke, having gotten over his surprise, snickered a little bit. "Well when he's right, he's right- COME ON SQUIRT, GET THAT FAT ASS MOVING!" Much to Hiei and Kurama's surprise, Cora somehow managed to roll herself over before promptly flipping Yusuke off. "THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! COME ON, I KNOW I BEAT YOUR ASS WAY HARDER THAN THIS GUY IS!"


Groaning, Cora pushed herself up onto her bloody hands and knees; seriously, was this guy wearing iron pads on his fucking limbs? Cause she felt like she'd been hit by a truck-"Omph!" A foot to the back of her head shot her forward, making her skid across the ring until she was only a foot or so away from the edge of the ring next to her team. Yusuke and Kuwabara flinched physically, their cheers momentarily dying in their throats. Cora groaned, her head lolling to the side as she took a moment to stop her head from spinning.

"You have two shots." Hearing Hiei's voice from above her, Cora tilted her head until she could see half of his lower jaw. "Don't waste them." Nodding her head numbly, Cora started to look around herself. She had dropped her gun at some point, but it seemed that luck was finally on her side again as she was able to locate it with in reach on her left side. Hearing Clayton making his way towards her once again, Cora reached out and grabbed the gun, clutching it tightly in her hand.

"Oh? Finally gonna try fighting back?" Clayton stated as he came to stand over her. "That's the spirit; though I'm afraid it's a little late." He knelt down beside her and leaned over to that he could talk into her ear. "I'm going to kill you now; and once you're gone, I'll move on to the next Grand Masters family, then the next, until all that left are my decedents...!?"

Using all the strength she could muster, Cora flipped onto her side and pushed the barrel of her gun against his crotch, pulling the trigger before he had time to move. Clayton shouted in pain and jumped away, falling onto one knee when he landed some ten feet away. "You talk... way to...fucking m-much..." From behind her Yusuke and Kuwabara cheered and winced at the same time, happy that she had managed to land another hit but feeling that small bit of empathy every man feels when another is dealt such a low blow. Groaning, Cora managed to push herself up onto her feet, her gun aimed directly at Clayton's face. A small plume of smoke arose from the guns surface, which looked to be gradually turning red hot in her hand. Cora winced at the pain, but grit her teeth in an effort to bear it. "I don't know anything about "Grand Masters" or their families; hell, I don't even know if Cora is my real name or just a name that popped into my mind 8 years ago." Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Koenma all gaped openly between Hiei and Cora, the former of whom promptly ignored them. "And I don't know why you've hunted me down all these years; you and your so called boss dragged me, and my boy's, through hell for nothing more then your own selfish reasons-"

"H-Have you finished your l-little speech yet-AAAGGGGHHA!" Clayton screamed in agony as his right shoulder erupted with a fountain of blood, evidence of a large bite wound making its self apparent through the fabric of his shirt. "Wha-WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" He shouted in furry, his crazed eyes darting to glare up at Cora who had yet to lower her gun despite it's read hot appearance. Large tendrils of smoke rose from her flesh, indicating that she would not walk away unscathed by wielding the hot weapon, but by sheer will she managed to hang on. "You little bitch- why won't you just stay down and die?!"


Up in the stands Yukina had practically risen from her seat, her face flushed with anxiety and her lower lip raw from chewing upon it. Beside her Shizuru seized up, her eyes widening in shock as an eerily familiar energy began to grow from within the ring. Reaching over she grasped Yukina's hand, pulling the young ice maiden back into her seat. "S-Shizuru- what's wrong?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Botan said, leaning over Keiko who was looking upon the tall brunet with obvious concern. "Dear, what's wrong?"

"Can't you feel that?" Shizuru asked, her brow furrowing in concern. "Something big is coming..."


Hiei eyed the rising smoke wearily, a tight knot forming in the pit of his stomach; he knew what shot was left in that gun. And now that he was witnessing what the dragons energy was doing to it, he was second guessing telling her to use that shot. "Cora, don't shoo-"

"BECAUSE FUCK YOU THAT'S WHY!" Cora pulled the trigger, releasing another crack from the pin, and then chaos. A black dragon, though many times smaller than that of what Hiei had originally summoned in his fight verses Zeru, exploded out of the tip of the gun. A deafening roar spilled from its maw as it descended upon Clayton who's face was white as a ghost, mouth open in a silent scream of terror. Devouring him in one fell swoop, the dragon continued its rampage, crashing against the barrier which groaned under the pressure of the dragons might. Scaling the bared wall, it writhed furiously in an attempt to find an escape.

From outside the dragons cage, the crowd was screaming in terror; Juri had abandoned her post on the podium, and all others had taken shelter in the fear that the dragon would break free from it's prison. Only the fighters on either side stood firm, with Yusuke and Kuwabara banging their fists against the cage and calling out to Cora, whom appeared to be in a state of stunned awe, her gun laying forgotten on the ground beside her. "Cora!" Hiei and Kurama called out at the same time, with Kurama reaching his arm through the bars as if to grab onto her and Hiei slamming his fist against them with much more care then his human counterparts. "Don't just stand there you idiot, get down!" Hiei shouted at her. It was then that she seemed to hear them, turning her head to glance their way just as the black dragon dived. Seeing the dragon's target sent a spike of pure terror through Hiei's body, the likes of which he'd never felt before. "MOVE!"

The dragon struck, engulfing Cora in the same way it had Clayton before letting out a heart stopping scream and dissolving into nothing.