A.N.: Sorry about the wait! Here's a short chapter while I finish plotting out the next one!

On the bright side, I have a complete, if rough, draft of my first novel! Wish me luck!

Kuwabara kept one hand wrapped around my wrist as he pulled me along, like he alone was gonna stop the spread. Already the stone was close to my elbow, and my arm was aching like Hell. I didn't complain, though, and Kuwabara didn't snap at me when I stumbled as we ran.

We must have wasted more time on Rando than I thought, because we just barely cleared the tree line when Genkai called time. A handful of applicants eyed us, clearly unhappy that we made it. They didn't say anything, though, and I was thankful 'cause I really wasn't in the mood to pound any of them right now.

"What happened?"

"Got in a fight. Now my hand is turning to stone." I tried to be casual, but I'm not sure if she believed me. She did take my wrist from Kuwabara and stared at it hard. I could see her aura flexing, and the orange became more prominent as she did what she did. The applicants tried to be subtle as they spied on us, but they all failed miserably. I mean, Genkai barely came up to some of these guys knees. There was no way five other guys could hide behind her!

"It looks like a curse. Who did you fight in the forest?"

I shrugged. "It was a demon."

"I know every demon in that forest, and none of them have the knowledge or the control to cast this kind of curse."

"All I know was he was licking blood off his hands when Kuwabara and I found him."

Genkai frowned and looked at my hand again, her aura shifting to green. "When I was a young girl, I knew a powerful psychic who developed a technique for dealing with men who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. She tattooed the curse into her skin, and anyone who touched her without her permission would turn to stone. Sadly she disappeared several years ago, and I never knew what became of her. Now, I think I know her fate."

My arm was tingling, like it had fallen asleep. I didn't even think, just clenched and relaxed my hand as normal to get the feeling back.

Wait a minute.

Genkai smirked at my expression. Really, I didn't know she could heal like that. I thought she only did slayings.

"Since the time limit has passed, we shall now proceed to the next stage of the test. Follow me."

"Hey!" Kuwabara was looking back at the forest, obviously worried. "What about the other guys who went in there? Some of them are still alive!"

"Then any survivors will make their way to the tree and wait for us to be done with the testing. For now, keep walking."

He looked like he was going to protest again, so I elbowed him in the ribs. "She might not help you out if you keep questioning her. Just forget about them, they knew what they were getting into when they agreed to go in there."

Kuwabara just looked at me from the corner of his eye. I guess he was still upset over Rando's death. Or maybe the fact that I killed someone right in front of him. Not that I enjoyed killing someone, even if he was evil and deserved it. I just hope Botan recovers his soul for trial. A dead body would be kind of useless to convict.

Genkai led us to a building near the edge of the forest. It, like all the other doors I'd seen that day, creaked when opened. What, had the old hag never heard of WD-40? Sheesh.

Inside the building there weren't any lights. None. It must have been as dark as the hag's heart, and I had the odd feeling that it was larger on the inside than on the outside.

"The fourth test shall involve actual combat! You'll face off two by two until only one of you is left!"

"How do we see, let alone fight?" asked Kuwabara. A couple of the other contestants nodded their agreement with him.

"This round test not what you see but what you feel." She glared at us. "You may use any techniques or weapons you wish. The only rule is to defeat your opponent and return here."

I wasn't interested. The faded yellow in her aura was still freaking me out a little, and I didn't want to spend any more time in her presence than necessary. Since I accomplished my mission, there wasn't any need for me to stay.

"Yusuke!"

"What?" I turned. Botan was jogging in, her usual kimono replaced with jeans and a sweater.

"I need to borrow Yusuke for a minute, is that okay Master Genkai?"

"Only a minute, he still needs to finish the test."

Botan dragged me away from everyone else to stand in the doorway. "Yusuke-"

"Tell me Rando arrived in Underworld."

"He did, he's getting ready for trial right now."

"Then what is it? I did the mission, now I want to go home and finish my video game."

"But you have to stay!"

"And why's that?" Seriously, why?

She faltered for a second.

"Well?" I folded my arms and tapped one foot on the ground. "I'm waiting."

"You have to stay because there's a bonus for becoming Genkai's student."

"Nothing you have could make me stay here."

"What about this?" she held up a narrow piece of paper. "A ringside seat at the Mixed Martial Arts match in the Tokyo Dome!"

It was now that I realized Botan was evil. How the Hell am I supposed to turn that down?

"Let me see the ticket."

She handed it over and I gave it a good inspection. I know a forgery when I see one, having made a few myself to get out of homework, but this was the real deal. The match was supposed to be held next week, and it's been sold out for months.

I never did find out how she had gotten that ticket.

"Fine. I'm not saying I'll be her student, but I won't stop until I'm knocked out. Deal?"

"Deal. I'll hold on to the ticket until you're done, just so it doesn't get destroyed while you're fighting."

The thought of the ticket getting destroyed by accident made me shiver in cold fear. "Good idea."

"Oy, Urameshi! Hurry it up!"

"Don't get your panties in a knot, I'm coming!"

I waved to Botan and jogged back to Kuwabara.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, nothing. So what did I miss?"

"We've got an odd number of people, so only three of us are fighting in here. We've got an assassin, a ninja, a spiritualist, a martial artist, a mystery dude from China, and us two. We drew lots, and the China dude got a free pass. It's me versus the spiritualist, you versus the assassin, and the martial artist versus the ninja. The only rule is to live and return back to Genkai."

"Who drew for me?"

"I did, so quit your whining. If you wanted something else, you shouldn't have been talking with Botan."

"Jerk. I had to update her on the case. She's sending people out to get Rando's body from the forest."

He swallowed. "Is it safe for them to be in there?"

"Safer for them than for us."

His lips pressed into a thin line but he didn't say anything else. This was good, because I didn't have anymore lies prepared for him.

The martial artist and the ninja went into the darkness and fought. At least, I think they were fighting. Their aura flared wildly, and they moved like they were fighting. A brilliant flare of light showed us one guy getting fried. The other guys gasped, so I guess they could see it too. I was sweating, a little. His attack was much stronger than mine. How was I going to fight that?

Then one aura went out and the last one came back. It was the ninja, and he was limping.

"Hrumph. I didn't think I'd have to use my ace in my first match." His aura was also lower than before he fought. That shot really took it out of him.

"Next: Kuwabara versus Musashi."

Kuwabara and the dude with the eye-patch went into the darkness. I could still see their auras, so I had an easy time following their progress. Even when they guy claimed he could suppress his aura, I could still see him. Kuwabara couldn't, and it gave him a lot of trouble in the beginning.

I just had to cheer him on. "Hey Kuwabara! Sounds like he's beating the crap out of you! You always said you were tough, so show him!"

"What do you care, Urameshi? Look to your own battles, I'm doing fine!"

"Doing fine?" the spiritualist giggled from the shadows. "I've beat you, silly boy. You can barely stand."

"Think so? Ha! I spit on your wimpy punches, man! Patoey! You don't know brutal until you've gone a round with Urameshi!"

Aww, he says the nicest things sometimes.

The spiritualist started bragging about his sword then, saying that it would be more than enough to take out Kuwabara. And yeah, he did get a few hits in, until it snapped over Kuwabara's head. I don't think he noticed when he picked up the piece next to him. But when that spiritualist came screaming out of the shadows Kuwabara raised that bit of sword to defend himself.

His aura decided to help.

"An aura sword?" murmured Genkai. "That boy's gifted."

I looked at her. She was impressed. Apparently she hadn't been expecting someone as young as Kuwabara to manifest his aura.

The fight finished shortly after that. That spiritualist was no match for a blade of pure aura, and Kuwabara sent him into the wall.

Then it was my turn. Me versus the assassin.

Great.