Chloe watched in shock as the two demons down in the arena went at each other. "How do they determine who wins? There's nothing showing out of bounds."

Kurama glanced down at her. Carmen had mentioned this to him at one point. "These fights are to the death. At least until someone is unconscious, but with demons.." He shrugged. With demons the more likely outcome was death.

"But Carmen's going to fight! ... What if-"

"Don't worry." Kurama smiled reassuringly. "Carmen can handle herself." He watched impassively as one of the demon's heads was ripped off by the other one.

Chloe gasped and squeezed her eyes shut. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Kurama couldn't blame her. This tournament was going to be brutal. Demons fighting, no rules, death the accepted outcome? There would be worse than just heads being ripped off. "You'll get used to it."

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to it." Chloe opened her eyes, looking anywhere but at the arena. "I'll watch Carmen fight, but I don't want to watch the rest."

Kurama couldn't even remember a time when it had phased him to watch gore. She was so innocent, it seemed cruel that she'd been forced into all of this. 'I'd give a great deal to be able to give her back her innocence.'

'Well that just sounds like you-'

'Hush.' Kurama silenced Yoko quickly, turning his attention to the arena. "When is Haru coming?"

"He's not coming today. I think he's still too angry at Carmen, he won't come out of his room." Chloe sighed.

"We're all a little upset with Carmen right now."

"Please don't be on my account. She frightens me, I can't lie, but..I think that's just who she is."

Kurama looked at her, a little surprised. "You're very forgiving."

Chloe smiled slightly. "I've met people like her. They're not bad people, they just..they just don't know how to do anything other than protect themselves. The best defense is a good offense, after all."

"You're the most understanding person I've ever met." Kurama told her honestly. "Chloe, I-"

"Carmen's coming out!" The demons around them yelled, some booing and some cheering.

Chloe leaned forward in her seat, eyes glued on the set of doors opening on the left side of the arena.

Carmen strode out, now clad in a tight white shirt and flowing white skirt, barefoot. She looked around the noisy crowd, eyes finally picking out Kurama and Chloe in the crowd. She raised her hand and waved, stepping gracefully over the body of the latest loser. Finally she reached her spot and stopped, watching lazily as the other doors began to open. A large, muscular blue demon walked out, nodding to Carmen as he walked.

Chloe gasped when they both seemingly disappeared. "Where are they?" She grabbed Kurama's arm, eyes searching.

There was a sudden explosion of light in the center before the two demons reappeared, locked in hand-to-hand combat. Neither had any weapons, and didn't even seem to be using much aura.

Carmen narrowed her eyes as the demon block blow after blow. He was too good at blocking her assault. Either he was incredibly good, or…. "You're a mind-reader." She stated aloud, locking their arms briefly. When he didn't respond she smirked. "You're probably deaf too." Still nothing. Making a split second change in her decision she grabbed his arms and slammed their heads together. 'Let me knock you out. I have no wish to kill you.' She blinked her eyes as blood dribbled down her face, though she had no notion of who's blood it was.

The demon threw her half-way across the arena, a pink aura beginning to surround him.

"Can't say I didn't give you a chance." Carmen sprang from the ground, blanking her mind so she had no attack plan in mind – she had several, all different. She was three feet from him before she caught the twinge of his muscles as he moved to defend. "Gotch-" Suddenly she was no longer moving. She looked down. She could see his forearm protruding from her gut. "Damn." She looked up at his face in time to see the slightest smirk grace his lips. Then her claws ripped into his chest. 'Sorry.' She jerked her hand out, his heart still beating in her bloody fist. She bit into the warm organ then spit the piece out and held up the heart triumphantly.

The crowd cheered.

Chloe's face was white as a sheet. "Wh-what just happen…Carmen got…" She put her hand over her stomach, then the other over her heart. "She…his heart…I'm going to faint. Or puke. I don't know which."

Kurama stood, pulling her gently to her feet. "Let's get you to a bathroom." He kept his arm around her waist, supporting her; she seemed like she was going to topple over if he let go.

The crowd cheered some more as Carmen dropped the heart and pulled the arm out of her midsection before walking back through her doors. Once through she used the wall to support herself, using all her willpower just to put one foot in front of the other. She clicked on a light outside of her room, indicating she needed medical attention and practically fell through her door, barely making it to the sink before she began throwing up blood.

Kurama sat Chloe down on a bench, wetting some paper towels and carefully wiping down her face. "How are you feeling?"

Chloe took a few more deep breaths. "Better. I don't think I'm going to faint, though I may still puke later."

Kurama chuckled. "That's normal. Do you feel up to going and checking on Carmen?"

Chloe nodded and got to her feet, staying close to the wall – just in case.

"Carmen?" Kurama knocked on her door, sensitive ears catching the puking noises coming from within. He opened the door and found Carmen bending over the sink, knuckles white from gripping the edges so hard as her system emptied the blood.

"Carmen!" Chloe exclaimed, rushing to her side.

Carmen gave one last might heave before it finally stopped. She spit the remaining blood from her mouth before looking up at them. "What?" She croaked, staggering over to the treatment table and laying down on it.

"Are you okay?" Chloe followed her, looking worried.

Carmen snorted. "Yeah, it's just a scratch. And I wasn't throwing up from it, I'm just bulimic."

"No need to take out your pain on Chloe." Kurama stepped up to her side. "How bad is it?"

"It'll be fine, just as soon as the damn medics stitch me up." She used her finger to pick something out of her teeth. "Gross. I think that's a piece of his heart."

Chloe turned white again and ran to the sink. This time she really did throw up.

Kurama gave Carmen an annoyed look. "That wasn't necessary."

Carmen chuckled, wincing in pain. "Yeah but it was funny."

"What kind of a fighter was that? He wasn't an elemental. I've never felt that kind of aura." Kurama asked curiously. Carmen's lip twinged upward. "A mind-reader. They're incredibly rare, and tough as all hell to beat."

"You managed without excessive trouble."

"He's not the first mind-reader I've fought."

…

The next day's battles were longer than the first. Chloe again didn't watch. "Why are they taking longer this time?" She asked Kurama. Kurama watched as the two earth demons smashed each other black and blue. "This tournament was by invite only. The invitees were carefully selected for proper level, lineage, and battle history. They are each of them excellent fighters, so yesterday separated the good from the best. Now all the best are battling each other, so it takes longer because neither has a real advantage." Chloe's mouth made an 'o'.

"Look, Carmen's coming out." Kurama tapped Chloe's shoulder. She looked at the arena, her anxiety growing with every step Carmen took. "Please be careful Carmen." She whispered, hands clenched together.

Carmen was wearing her black leather outfit this time, her hair braided and hanging over her shoulder. She raised her arm as before and waved to Kurama and Chloe. Her opponent was a short, bald man. He had gloves on and a pair of swords strapped to his back. Carmen watched him as he approached. 'Shoot.' He reached her almost before she realized it and she only barely managed to leap backwards before one of his swords cut the air her neck had previously occupied.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" Carmen backflipped away, knowing full well her advantage would be in long distance, though explaining how a cat demon could control elements was, well, rather difficult to explain, so… 'Close combat it is.' She gritted her teeth, leaping into the frying pan, as it were.

She knocked his first swing of the sword away with one arm, her other first coming up and connecting with his throat. He'd protected it with his aura so she hurt her hand more than his neck. She felt a slice across her back from her sword and retaliated with a headbutt. He hadn't expected that and stumbled back, blood dripping down his forehead.

Carmen's claws and fangs came out. "Play time." She hissed, launching herself at him. She ducked as he swung his sword, planted her hands on the ground and swung her feet down on his sword-arm-shoulder. There was a sickening pop as his shoulder dislocated. But her victory was short-lived when she felt his sword slicing through the back of her left knee.

She gave a cry of pain and leapt away from him, her leg crumpling under her when she landed. "That's a dirty trick you bastard." She spat, yellow eyes glaring. He didn't make so much as a facial expression at her words. Like she'd done at the river she filled her leg with her aura, using that to stand back up. "Okay, let's finish this quick like." She launched at him again.

…..

Silence filled the stadium.

Carmen stared down at her opponents body from her knees. That had been the longest fight of her life, probably the longest of the whole tournament. She blinked, her vision starting to get blurry. 'Get up and walk you fool. If you pass out it's a draw. GET UP!'

"Kurama, Carmen has three swords sticking out of her back." Chloe was gripping his hand hard; she'd been squeezing it for most of the fight.

It seemed as if the whole stadium was on edge, waiting to see what Carmen would do.

Carmen slowly got to her feet, swaying for a moment before steadying herself and walking carefully towards her doors. She focused hard; the edges of her vision were beginning to go dark.

Kurama pulled Chloe to her feet. "Come on." He whispered, leading her into the hallways and towards Carmen's room. It wasn't but a moment or two before Carmen appeared, still walking the same as when she left the arena. Chloe put her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

"Carmen-"

"Don't. Touch. Me." Carmen spoke on three breaths, trying not to breath too deep. She flipped the switch outside her door and stepped inside. Her leg gave out and she toppled just as soon as she passed the doorway. Kurama caught her before she hit the ground. "You've got swords in you Carmen, you've gotta stay upright until the medics get here."

Carmen coughed, lifting her arms and grabbing his arms weakly. "Thanks. He. Got my..leg pretty…good."

Two medics rushed in the room and took Carmen from him.

"Take care of her." Chloe spoke finally, just before they shut the door. Kurama gently pulled her away. "Come on Chloe. They'll take care of her."

"I know..I've never seen her so.." She frowned, searching for a descriptor. "Fragile."

Kurama remembered back to the cave. "It's rare."

"Can we walk around for a while?" Chloe asked suddenly, looking up at him. He didn't have the heart to say no, so he nodded.

…

"I'm sorry."

"Hm?" Kurama brought himself out of his reverie. They had been wandering around for a little in complete silence. "Sorry for what?"

Chloe kicked a rock with her foot. "For getting you into this mess. You shouldn't have been dragged into this."

"You are not to blame here." He reassured her.

"I know, but I'm still sorry. I know you worked hard to get away from all of this. You should be off at your college right now, drinking coffee and reading your textbooks, not baby-sitting me."

If there had been daylight she would have seen the guilty look that stole over his face. "I did work hard to get away from all of this, but.."

Chloe looked up at him in the dark. "But what?"

"I don't know if that was the right decision anymore." He remembered Yusuke's face when Carmen had told them to leave after Kuwabara's rescue. He'd hurt his best friends, friends that had saved his life countless times and were always there for him. The first chance of freedom and he had abandoned them, selfishly.

"Why would you say that? This doesn't seem like the kind of life you'd want to stay tangled in. If Carmen is any indication then I'd say it's a good thing you got out when you did."

Kurama smiled a little in the dark. "Carmen's a unique case, but I understand what you're saying. That's why I wished to disentangle myself, but I took it to the extreme. I abandoned my friends in the process, I hurt them quite a bit I think."

"They'll forgive you." Chloe grabbed his arm. "They miss you."

Kurama turned to her. "Perhaps. But that doesn't mean they'll forgive me."

"Do you miss them?"

"What?"

"Do you miss them?" Chloe repeated, moving closer so she could make out his face. She could see a sadness steal over his features.

"It's complicated." On the one hand yes, he did miss them. But at the same time they were a constant reminder of everything he wanted to forget, a constant reminder of the darker side of him lurking beneath his calm exterior, a reminder of memories he wished he didn't carry.

Impulsively Chloe lifted a hand and cupped his cheek. "Why are you always so sad?" She whispered, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyes locked on her's.

"There's always a sadness behind your eyes, like a war veteran who's seen more than a person should see."

"I wish I could forget some of the things I've seen."

Chloe couldn't explain later why she did what she did; something inside her just spurred her forward. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, soft as a butterfly's kiss. She didn't know if he'd reject her outright or just be confused, but she didn't really care. Suddenly she felt his arms around her, pulling her closer, and..he was kissing her back! Any thoughts she had flew out of her mind she was so lost in this precious moment.

"Well isn't this…precious."

They both turned their heads.

"It's him!" Chloe gasped as her brown eyes met dark orange eyes. Kurama pushed her behind himself protectively. "Who are you?" He demanded. This was the third time they had run into this man; it could not be a coincidence now.

The man walked slowly forward. "I want the medallion piece she has under her shirt."

Chloe's eyes widened. How did he know about that? "I don't have it. I gave it to Carmen." She was glad to managed to keep from stuttering.

He smiled tolerantly. "Don't try to lie to me. It will do you no good. Now I don't intend either of you any harm, but when I said I want the medallion piece I wasn't asking."

Chloe stepped back, only to have her foot hit something. She glanced over her shoulder, her breath catching in her throat. There was a wall behind them now – it hadn't been there just a moment ago. 'Not good, not good, not good!' She pressed against the wall, the stranger's slow movements forward now seeming terrifying.

Kurama spared one glance over his shoulder at the wall. They were neatly trapped. His mind worked quickly, calculating odds and hastily preparing strategies. He stepped forward and reached into his hair. "Rose whip!"

Chloe watched in astonishment as first Kurama pulled a rose out of his hair, then that rose magically transformed into a thorn-covered whip. "What the heck?" She gasped, sinking into the wall.

"This is your first and last chance to back down. I don't want to harm you, but that doesn't mean I won't." The stranger stopped walking and raised on arm towards Kurama. "Very well then – but I warned you."

…..

Pain. A searing pain in her chest. Chloe groaned and opened her eyes. She was lying face up on the ground, staring up at a black sky. She raised a hand to her chest, wincing when her fingertips ran over burned skin. She lifted her head to look. Her shirt front was torn down to her bra, the medallion piece was off to the side of her neck, and the skin where it had sat was burned. She sat up carefully, trying to figure out if she was injured anywhere else. She couldn't feel anything, but there was little light this far down the alley so it was hard to tell.

She got to her feet, using the wall for support until the dizziness passed. "Kurama?" She looked both ways down the alley; it was empty as far as she could tell. "Kurama?" She called again, turning her back to the lights and beginning to walk. "Talk to me Kurama, where are you?" She could feel worry knotting in her stomach. Last she remembered he'd been about to take on that strange orange-eyed man. What if he'd been hurt? What if he'd been killed? What if-

"Ah!" She tripped over something and stumbled to her knees. She turned to look, her eyes widening. For a moment she'd thought it was Kurama, but now she could see he, it, wasn't. This person was taller than Kurama, had long silver hair, and were those fox ears and a tail? Chloe swallowed hard, crawling forward. "Hey, mister.." She gingerly reached forward and poked their back once. Nothing.

She cautiously grabbed their shoulder and pulled them over onto their back. When she pulled her hand back it was covered in something dark and sticky. "Hey, wake up." She shook him gently, afraid of worsening his injuries but knowing she wasn't going to be able to carry him all the way back to the tavern by herself.

"I'll be back, I promise." She took her jacket off and laid it over him, getting to her feet and sprinting for the tavern. She hesitated on the steps; Carmen was probably still at the stadium. She turned and headed for it. It was mostly deserted. She saw a few demons turn to look at her curiously, but she didn't pay them any mind. She managed to find Carmen's door and pushed it open without even knocking. "Carmen!" She wheezed, leaning against the door as she tried to catch her breath.

Carmen was sitting on the table as the medics finished tying the bandages that were wrapped up and down her torso. "I'm fine now. Leave us." Carmen waited till they had cleared out before she spoke. "What's wrong Chloe?" She went to her bag and rummaged for a loose-fitting shirt.

"He's hurt..bad.." Chloe coughed, gulping in a few deep breaths of air.

"Who's hurt?" Carmen carefully pulled the shirt on, her face carefully arranged to hide the pain this was causing her.

"I..I don't know. He looks like Kurama, but…he's different…but I don't know who else it could be."

"Tall, fox ears and tail?" Carmen was cursing the crappy luck she had that tonight of all nights she had to go clean up somebody else's mess.

Chloe nodded, finally letting go of the door.

"Show me." Carmen herded her out of the door and clicked it shut behind herself. "And why is your shirt torn?"

"We were attacked." Chloe forced her tired legs to run again. Carmen jogged next to her, glad for the dark here to hide the winces of pain that she couldn't hide. "By who? How many were there?"

"Just one. I don't know who he is, but he wanted to medallion piece and he knew I had it."

"Have you seen him before? What did he look like?"

"I ran into him two back in my world. He was kinda creepy, but I didn't know…well, any, he's tall, has black hair, and the strangest orange eyes."

Carmen nearly choked. "Dark, orange eyes?"

"Yeah. How did-"

"Never you mind. Where is Kurama?"

"Around this corner."

They turned down the alley and were by him within moments. "This is Kurama alright." Carmen pushed Chloe's jacket off, her demon eyes able to see better than Chloe's in the dark. "Shoot, he's in bad condition." She slapped his cheek. "Wake up Kurama. Come on." She opened one of his eyelids, her jaw tightening at whatever she saw. "Chloe, put your jacket back on and zip it up. Then help me. We need to get him back to the tavern." She pulled him into a sitting position the pulled his arm around her shoulder. Once Chloe mirrored her on the other side they both struggled to their feet. Carmen staggered, barely keeping herself from falling over as pain exploded in her chest. She took a few deep breaths, waiting for the pain to ebb before starting to walk.

"Are you okay Carmen?" Chloe asked worriedly, struggling under the dead weight.

"Dandy. Just focus on getting him to the tavern." Carmen took as much of Kurama's weight as she could, though it made the pain in her chest worse. Finally they made it back to the rooms and into Kurama's bedroom. They got him onto the bed and Carmen started lighting the lamps. "Go get me hot water, towels, and bandages."

…

Chloe watched silently as Carmen cleaned all his wounds and bandaged them. "How is it possible that this, he, is Kurama? This is a completely different person." She finally asked when Carmen pulled the sheets up.

Carmen leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Kurama is actually two souls – a human soul, Shuiichi Minamino, and a demon soul, Yoko Kurama. When Kurama was a demon he was being chased and his only chance of survival was to place his soul into a human woman's unborn baby. Over time their souls fused and now they are one and the same. This is the demon form. Satisfied?" Carmen pushed herself to her feet. "Be sure to take care of the water and towels."

"Wait. How come he isn't waking up?"

Carmen paused, her hand on the doorknob. "I'm not sure yet. I have a couple of ideas, but nothing concrete yet." She left quickly for fear that Chloe would have yet another question.

Chloe moved to Carmen's vacated chair, scooting it close to the bed. Gently she reached out and slid her hand under his. "I…I don't know if you can hear me. I hope not. But if you really are Kurama, and Carmen says you are, then...then I want to tell you something. I-I've been in love with you ever since I can remember. Since I was little the only person I've ever thought about has been you. With everything that has been happening I was a little unsure of my feelings, but tonight when we were walking I- .. I can't explain. I just…knew."

…

Carmen sat cross-legged in front of her fire, eyes closed. If Kurama was this beat up, why did the orange-eyed demon leave? Why wasn't Kurama waking up? Why didn't Chloe remember what had happened? These and a million other questions simmered on the back burner of her mind. Her jaw moved back and forth as she worked it over in her mind. Kurama must have put up one hell of a fight to be both this beat up AND in his Yoko form. The orange-eyed demon must be in about as bad condition – that thought made her smile a little.

"What did you do to Kurama…" She murmured, the fire sinking lower under the oppressiveness of her aura. Suddenly her yellow eyes popped open and the fire roared back to life. She pulled her shirt off. The wound on her shoulder from the assassins was still black, but slightly more healed. Hints of red were beginning to peek through the bandages around her chest.

"Dammit. I can't be that careless next time." She stood with some trouble and moved to the bed, laying down flat on her back. The fire died down again and a yellow glow began swirling around her body.

…

Chloe woke slowly. Her neck and back ached from sleeping hunched over onto Kurama's bed. She let go of his hand and stretched, yawning tiredly. She rubbed her eyes, blinking them back open to look at him. He was still there, bandaged and sleeping, exactly the same as last night. "Why won't you wake up? You don't have any bumps on your head." Chloe sighed.

There was a certain similarity to human Kurama, but frankly she still didn't entirely understand how they could be the same person.

"How is he today?" Carmen stepped through the door, dressed in a green sweater and white jeans.

Chloe looked up at her and shrugged. "The same."

Carmen opened the door. "Go get cleaned up and eat some food. Eric's downstairs cooking. Make sure Haru eats something too. Don't come back in here until I come get you."

Chloe took one more look at Kurama and left; Carmen shut the door behind her and locked it. Chloe took one step away and froze. "H-haru!" He was leaning in his doorway, watching her.

"What's going on?" He shut his door and came over to her.

For once she couldn't tell if her was upset or not. "Um.." She glanced back at the door. "We were attacked, Kurama and I, after the fights yesterday."

"Are you okay?" Haru grabbed her arms, concern shining in his eyes.

Chloe nodded, suddenly very aware of the burn on her chest. "Yeah I'm fine. But Kurama- he's not doing so good." She left the part of him being a demon now out – Haru would not like that at all. Haru wrapped his arms around her. "He'll be alright, you'll see."

Chloe leaned against him, closing her eyes. "He kissed me last night."

Haru pulled back. "Come again?"

"I guess technically I kissed him first, but he kissed me back…before we were attacked." She blushed. "We were talking and then it just…happened." She couldn't help smiling as she remembered the feeling of kissing him, the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.

Haru forced a smile on his lips. "Good for you. I know you've been waiting for this for forever." He chuckled, hugging her again. "I'm glad you're happy. Now go get washed up so we can eat, I'm starving."

"I'll wash after I eat."

Haru raised an eyebrow, letting go of her, making a face. "Yeah, uh, I'd do it before. You remember how you're always telling me your hair looks like mud and I always say it doesn't?" At her nod he continued. "Right now you win."

Chloe's jaw dropped and she punched his arm. "You jerk. Fine, I'll go wash." She stuck her tongue out and went into her bedroom.

Haru kept smiling until she shut the door. He ran a hand through his blonde hair with a sigh. Any hope he'd had- ah well, she was happy, and that was all that mattered.

…

Carmen leaned back in the chair, staring at Kurama without really seeing. His soul was gone; it wasn't in his body. That meant He had it. He must have taken it during or after the fight. To what end? Did he hope to trade it for Chloe's piece? But that didn't make much sense because that would still only be one piece, one small piece of the medallion. It was pretty much useless, so what did he hope to achieve with it? "You're a fool if you think one of the other contestants is going to beat me. They'd have to be above my level in both skill and brains to have a hope of beating me, and there is not a one of those out there." Carmen went downstairs and sat down next to Chloe. "Eric, have you seen an orange-eyed stranger around these parts recently?"

Eric set a steaming plate of food in front of her. "Yeah sure, he was in here the night before last. Strange fellow. He was asking about you guys. I told him I didn't know you, but said I'd keep an eye out for you and give him a holler if you showed up." He winked.

Carmen laughed, digging into her food. "You're amazing Eric. How are you supposed to get in touch with him?"

"He left a communicator." Eric tossed it to her and began whistling as he wiped down the bar.

Haru and Chloe looked at Carmen. "What's going on?" The both asked in unison.

Carmen looked between the two of them. "I know who the man that attacked you last night is and I also know what he did to Kurama."

"What are you going to do?" Chloe asked, remembering how terrifying the stranger was.

Carmen smirked, swallowing a bite of food. "Call him. Now both of you be silent." She flipped the device open and waited.

"I'm no longer in need of your ser- Carmen."

Carmen smiled unpleasantly at him. "Hello Alexander. Long time no see."

He laughed. "Too long Carmen, too long. What can I do for you?"

"You can return Kurama's soul."

"Of course. So long as you give me the piece hanging around Chloe's neck."

Carmen shook her head. "Not gonna happen. Release his soul or I will end you."

Alexander sighed. "You can't find me, so you have no way of killing me. Besides, even if you did manage to beat me you'd certainly lose your match tomorrow and then someone else would win the tournament and the medallion."

It was Carmen's turn to laugh. "You think I can't find you? I already know where you are. I'm just giving you a chance to keep living unharmed for a while longer."

"If you knew where I was you would have come here in person."

Carmen smiled. She could detect the smallest hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Why go to all that bother when we can settle this long-distance? You have thirty minutes." She turned it off.

"What now?" Haru asked, squeezing Chloe's hand.

Carmen started eating her food again. "We wait."