A/N: look at me, nothing to say, la la la, nothing to say, look at me, nothing to say, la la la, nothing to say...I heart Blue...he's my favorite...the annoying little bugger... -yes i do know that isn't what he says...but he was dancing and i have nothing to say, live with it!-

O/C8: Misaki has regained her true form but with the abrupt burning that forced her together, she cannot move. Coahtu tells the others that she can only recover through sleep. She leaves and Kuwabara and Yusuke head off to bed themselves. Misaki lies to Kurama, telling him that she doesn't know how she can sleep and she gets Hiei to leave her alone by telling him about how the fridge with give him any food he wants...including sweet snow. But Misaki is paralyzed, just barely managing to keel over onto the couch. Her eyes are closed and she streams in and out of consciousness, realizing that someone has carried her away to a softer bed. Her fingers are placed on someone's chest so that they can feel a heartbeat and her ears latch on to the sound, her aching body welcoming the pull into sleep.

--

Misaki woke up, slowly and pleasantly, but she kept her eyes closed. It was light outside, she could just tell. Somehow fighting in the tournament didn't matter at that point, she thought as she eased out of her slumber. All that mattered was the beat beneath her fingers. A hand covered hers, aware that she was beginning to come around. Then she remembered who that hand belonged to.

"Nn...Hiei?" Her eyes came open gradually to see Hiei's deep crimson one's gazing at her.

"I told him you could sleep." A bit of haughtiness crept into his voice.

Misaki was confused...Hiei?

He saw her brows knit together and he frowned as well, catching bits and pieces of her still scattered thoughts.

But...Hiei? How did...what was going on?

As she woke up her thoughts cleared and she carefully pulled up mental barriers to stop Hiei's Jagan from reading her thoughts.

Misaki heard the door open and she froze, somehow knowing exactly what was about to happen.

"Hiei have you seen..." Kurama's voice trailed off.

The room got deathly quiet. Kurama hadn't been happy with her yesterday and the lie that she knew he knew she had told him. And then to see her and Hiei together proving the lie, try as hard as he had to believe her words...

The room got deathly silent and everything paused for a moment or two.

Kurama's mouth snapped shut, his eyes growing cold, "Our match starts in a few minutes."

Misaki's eyes flicked back to Hiei who was shaking his head as if clearing it of something. She looked to Kurama who stood at the doorway a second longer, tight-lipped, briskly turning away. Before the door he slammed behind him shut, Misaki was up to catch it, but Kurama moved on into the living area.

--

Hiei shook his head again, his memory foggy. What had just happened? Something about Misaki...and Kurama... He felt the Jagan whimpering in a corner of his mind. It was hiding something from him. Hiei couldn't recall the last few hours...Misaki told him...something important about the refrigerator...but he couldn't recall... He wrested the true memories from the Jagan who howled once but more in surprise than anything. They flooded back to him, sweet snow, laying in the window half-asleep... Hiei's anger grew, aimed at the Jagan. It had taken over his body and...and what? Helped Misaki sleep? The Jagan Eye was his servant, it served him, he reminded it fiercely, not itself!

"Stop your sniveling!" He spat at it.

The Jagan stopped and became defensive at Hiei's presumption. It didn't take over his mind. It couldn't, it informed him. The Jagan was incapable of that.

"So if you didn't what exactly did you do?" He asked harshly.

The Jagan wasn't intimidated anymore. It couldn't take over his body, as a matter of fact, it neatly informed him. It could not do anything that Hiei did not want to do in the first place. If there was even a smidge of resistance—

"Enough!"

Misaki was in pain and the Jagan simply—

"I said enough!" Hiei shoved it away, feeling it greedily snatch something as it was pushed off. It was something about Kurama...something... Hiei's frustration with the Eye overrode his irritation and he let it be. Wait. Kurama. And Misaki. Their match. They were both probably waiting for him. Hiei got up, grabbing for his katana.

--

"Kurama!" Misaki took hold of his arm, but he jerked away. Misaki could feel all of the emotions rushing from him and her own were overwhelmed by the practically suffocating, confusing mass. Anger. Obviously. Betrayal? Jealousy? Of what? Misaki was hit off-guard by those. The kitsune with everything he could possibly want? A family, friends, not to mention the intelligence inherent with his Yoko age.

"Kurama, please...what..." Misaki tried to stop him again but Kurama stepped out of her reach. He turned on her, eyes burning and flashing with every emotion that Misaki was being barraged with.

She had to stop it...stop the unleashed, uncontrolled...Misaki struggled for a moment before raising barriers thicker than before. A quiet breath expelled from her mouth as his inadvertent attack ended as quickly as it began. Behind the walls in her mind she shivered, suddenly and completely by herself, unable to feel even the slightest aura.

Kurama was behind the counter as Hiei walked in, his eyes clear and his mind restored.

It hit Misaki like a lightning-bolt that she was standing. The horrors and concerns of the night before were gone; she moved freely now.

Kurama left abruptly, "Going to our ring." was his airy explanation.

"Hn. What's eating his roses?" Hiei grunted.

Misaki shrugged, unwilling to open herself right before having to fight, following Kurama at a safe distance.

--

"Round Rule!" The announcement boomed throughout nearly empty arena. "First to be touched looses. Killing is allowed, but no piercing attacks can be used. No blood can be spilt. Touching is by skin to skin only. Weapons are allowed but do not count as a contact."

"Hm. Should be interesting to try and get a kill without spilling any blood. Kind of ruins the effect of a death blow."

Hiei noticed that Misaki had turned into the mysterious masked fighter, or at least a similar version of Genkai's Dark Tournament disguise.

"Genkai got that idea from me, I'll have you know." Misaki may not have been able to read thoughts, but she could interpret the look he gave her. "I used it the last time I was here for about the same reason that she used it centuries later with you all."

The announcement went on, "Bracket One! You'll be playing a two vs. two battle, then a one vs. one. Bracket Two!" The arena was split into two halves now instead of the previous four quarters, "You're playing a three vs. three."

Misaki took a minute to see who was fighting in the other half, but she didn't see Ike or Soren. Or Nicolai. That meant they'd be playing later and Misaki would get to watch them.

"Bracket Three is like One and Four is like Two."

"Enough with the announcements already!" Misaki muttered to herself, pulling the hood of her grey cape farther forward to shade her eyes.

"All of Round Two will be played as a water arena," as the announcer resonated the words, water filled the bottom of the arena the fighters stood in. Pieces of the floor broke off and rose with the water level, leaving each team a slab of land to stand on while they weren't fighting.

Little island bobbed up, making a diverse path to the middle where a larger chunk of land floated, then there were more islands that lead to the slab of land the other team was on.

As if of the same mind, Hiei and Kurama stepped forward and Misaki fell back. Neither man would back down so they crouched, awaiting the signal to start.

Hiei was glad he didn't have his double-edged katana with him. He put his left hand around the top of the sheath of flicked up the hilt with his thumb, ready to draw at a moment's notice.

"Begin!"

It would be easy enough to incapacitate an opponent and then touch them.

He looked over at his partner, ready to spring to the next string of islands so they could head for the kill...or touch perhaps, but Kurama was gone, already nimbly heading for their opponents.

Hiei smoothly drew his sword as he made the simple jumps, and remembering the round rule, he easily turned the katana so that the sharp edge was facing him. It would be blunt enough that he couldn't accidentally slit the enemy's throat, however that didn't mean his attacks wouldn't leave nastily wonderful bruises. Hiei allowed himself a small smirk and he reached the larger rocking island before the others managed to get half-way across.

He positioned himself to his best advantage and stood, allowing the katana to rest inches above the ground as he dropped his hands to his sides. Hiei appeared to rest on his feet, but every muscle was tensed appropriately, awaiting an opening or a weakness. He put one hand in a pocket under his black cloak.

Kurama and the other two arrived at basically the same time, but each took their approach once they landed differently.

Kurama had a rose in his hand and held it to his nose, eyes half-closed as if reveling in the beautiful aroma.

One opponent was female, the other male. There wasn't much to distinguish them from each other. The female's brown hair was unbelievably long, hanging down her back with at least two feet of it lying in a circle at her feet on the ground. At the end of her braided hair was a wicked-looking, sharp clip with deadly points and spikes that held it together. The male had dark leather gloves on reaching a little beyond his elbows and yellow hair.

"Such perfect Round Rules for us, don't you think Dalstra?" The shorter male asked the female, his eyes never leaving Hiei or Kurama.

"I do think so, Indrad. Perfect for us. Superbly fit." She responded, her words just as monotonous as his had been.

"I thought it was, Dalstra." Indrad admitted.

"And well you did think, Indrad."

"That is a lovely rose you have there." Indrad told Kurama.

"I agree completely, Indrad. Lovely indeed."

"You don't mind if I remove my gloves do you Dalstra? I think they'll be just perfect for the job."

"Certainly Indrad, don't strain yourself."

He took the first one off, tossing it to the side and his arm, hand and fingers extended until they flopped to the ground as though made of rubber. "I didn't purposely the last time, Dalstra." He put the other glove in his teeth to pull the other off as it appeared his other hand would be of no use in that respect.

"I know, Indrad. And yet I had cause to warn you."

He jerked his head, releasing the glove from his mouth so that it fell near the first. "It was so wonderful for you to do so, Dalstra." The other hand flopped on the floor, fingers unraveling like spaghetti.

"Oh shut up." Hiei said finally, rushing forward with the intent to shut them up himself.

"He's fast, Dalstra."

"Do look out, Indrad."

Indrad was able to dodge Hiei's first strike but his long arms suddenly came to life and extended towards him. Hiei ducked between fingers but felt one rush past his ear as he dodged clear of them. As he moved around the shaky island, the hands grabbed for him. As one headed for his face, he swiped upwards with his katana. But the blade bounced as it contacted, not making any sort of injury that he could tell.

The ref for the battle has his work cut out for him. But his eyes had been trained for just the sort of thing that was happening. He followed all four combatants, flitting his gaze rapidly back and forth between then, his whistle in his mouth ready to be sounded as soon as he saw blood or a skin to skin touch. Of course, the multiple eyes on his head helped. He had eight of them actually. And they could all be focused on a different subject. That gave him a good advantage; with what was going on, he needed it.

As both Kurama and Hiei soon found out, Dalsrta's hair was similar to Indrad's fingers, able to extend and retract and weave and loop as if a separate being entirely. Hiei wasn't positive but he thought he might have heard a snake-like hiss as it flashed past his side. He jumped clear as it began to circle him, hoping to grapple him long enough for Dalstra to get close. Or even kill him by squeezing air out like a boa constrictor would.

He avoided all attempts from either enemy and saw that Kurama managed to do the same. But the red-head's attitude towards him was distant. If they worked together the battle would be over quickly.

--

Misaki absently tugged at the hood of her outfit as if it could cover any more of her face. While she had the strength to stand, her power was greatly drained and would remain so for a while; her hair was still white as were her eyes.

"Jut my luck," She grumbled, "In time for the tournament. Hmph." She watched the battle unfold in front of her but she didn't see it.

So when the ref blew the whistle, she pulled herself away from her thoughts.

"Bracket One, two vs. two match over. Deciding match of one vs. one get ready to start!" The ref said.

Kurama and Hiei appeared on either side of her.

"What the heck!!? Which one of you lost!?!"

Neither of them looked at her, or each other. Lacking the ability to read their minds because of her barriers she wasn't able to tear it from them.

"Damn you both to the gate!! Now I have to win in order for us to move on and we all know how easy that's going to be!" She resisted taking out her anger on the both of them through a solid punch to their stubborn faces. Before she completely blew up at them, she jumped to the center island, trying to feel glad that she was able to do so on her own two feet. The recent developments robbed her of that satisfaction.

Her opponent appeared a few feet in front of her and they faced off.

"Begin at will." The red said.

Misaki warily eyed her adversary who was grinning stupidly at her. Something about the smile made her think of a mask and she stayed on edge.

"I know you."

Misaki blinked. There was no way anything could even graze past her awareness in her mind. And yet the words were unmistakable. She could have sworn she saw eyes deep in the water.

If this match didn't matter, Misaki pictured herself running forward but seeing as how it did matter, she stayed put, seething a little at the two unspeaking youkai standing on the other big island behind her.

"Scared are we?" He asked her.

"Should I be?" She responded.

"Oh most definitely." He assured her.

Something loomed behind her and Misaki sped to the left around the outside edge of the island but as she skidded to a stop, turning around before planting her feet again, she saw nothing chasing after her.

Her enemy, whom she's circled neatly, faced her.

Misaki's eyes widened half in fear half in surprise underneath her hood when his pupils brightly flashed a pinkish color.

"I know you. Don't run."

That voice. Misaki did know it. She dodged right as the presence formed behind her again. To all that watched, Misaki avoided attacks that weren't being made.

"Show yourself." Misaki commanded to the air.

"I'm right here."

Misaki dodged again.

"Why should I obey?"

"Coward!"

There was a rushing of water and from the depths of the water rose a human shaped torso and head, with arms crossed over his chest. The island rocked unsteadily and Misaki strained to hold her balance in check.

The water rotated angrily as he stopped growing, towering over Misaki and most of the arena.

The opponent in front of her collapsed to the ground inert.

Misaki drew a hissing breath in through her clenched teeth.

The water-human form swirled into a great water spout that snaked unnaturally onto the island to the fallen opponent.

Misaki leapt backwards onto one of the smaller pieces, landing on one knee and staying so, watching in mild terror as the vortex sucked itself into the opponent. The figure stood, but now the body was completely different.

The menacing blue-skinned youkai, who appeared eerily genie-like with the pants he wore and his bare feet and chest, crossed his arms again amplifying the genie look.

"How I've longed to hold you in my arms again." He said, reaching his arms forward to embrace her. Those arms became familiar pillars of water shooting forwards, stretching to claim her.

"Amureo." Misaki said with a calmness she didn't think she could maintain as she jumped sideways onto another chunk of rocking land. "The pleasure is all yours, pond scum."

"I know." He grinned viciously, retracting the arms until they hung normal at his side. "Friends!" Here he spoke to the whole arena, "We have an honored guest before us!"

Even the match on the other side of the coliseum paused in mid-strike to listen.

Amureo's voice reverberated on the walls, "Misaki Ansatsusha."

Everyone held their breath, only a select few knowing the truth to that statement, gaping at the masked fighter.

"While you honor me with such a name that I surely cannot live up to, I'm afraid the blue fellow here is slightly mistaken. Perhaps the water proves too much for him." She added just loud enough for Amureo to here.

He scowled at her, but in the brightness of his eyes he knew he had her.

"I am not the Ansatsusha, nor do I claim to be." Misaki spoke loudly again.

Amureo's expression practically glittered in expectation, "Oh but surely you jest, take off that hood and prove yourself, legend." The title was said with a hint of scorn. He had her now.

Misaki shrugged but obliged, pulling down the hood and the fabric across her face. She shook out her long white hair and her own eyes gleamed triumphantly at him.

The arena murmured with the discovery of no such legend and the battle next to them began abruptly again.

"How dare you make a fool of me." He growled at her, curling his lip in desire, "For that you will pay dearly." His words were only for her ears now.

"Fool? Perhaps you are mistaken Casanova." Misaki crossed her arms, satisfied that rumors of the Ansatsusha would wane for now.

"I am not mistaken." "I know you."

"You know nothing." She replied angrily.

"I know you!"

"You know nothing!" She shouted back, barriers shattering to pieces.

As soon as she responded wordlessly, she knew it had been a mistake.

--

I had to go back and read some other chapters to see just what color Amureo's eyes were...and I really have to apologize to anyone who had to read that mess! I saw so many errors in that chapter that it was painful to read! I'm going to go and start editing again...man it was horrible...

-lotsm

and yes I do love cliffhangers, thanks for asking!