"I think a lot of demons here today have been looking forward to this fight Koto," Kagome said in the commentary box as the giant screen in front of them displayed Yomi and Yusuke stepping up onto a small ring on their okaninju stalk. They weren't confined to the small ring, but it was a meeting place and starting point.

"Absolutely Kagome. The betting pools on this fight are some of the richest, on both sides. I think everyone from Gandera is betting on Yomi, but there are also a lot of demons out there who saw Yusuke at the Dark Tournament, and they're backing him," Koto agreed. "Now, I'm neutral and I'm going to enjoy this fight no matter who wins, but who do you think will win? Kagome? Mr Yuda?"

"Lord Yomi was able to carve out and maintain a territory in Demon World for going on seven hundred years," Yuda pointed out. "To believe he could be beaten by a boy who hasn't even been alive two full decades is ridiculous."

"I disagree," Kagome said. "I admit, I have faith in Yusuke as a former team mate, but I've also seen a lot of the training he's gone through in Human World, and my understanding is that he also received more training in his demon heritage from Raizen himself. Yusuke's a hard study when it comes to pain, and when he was just a human, he more than doubled his power in the space of a little less than a year. Since he died and was reborn as one of the Mazoku line a little over half a year ago, I'd hazard a guess that he's doubled it again," Kagome argued.

"Well if there's one thing I know about both of these fighters," Koto said, "it's that neither of them likes to lose, and they'll really be going at it out there today! This is a fight that could go either way, so I guess there's only one way to know how it's going to turn out. Let's get this punch-party started!"

"Fighting at the same time as Yusuke are two of my other team mates from the Dark Tournament. Hiei against the demon surgeon Shigure, and Kurama has been matched to fight – oh, never mind, he's knocked him out already!" Kagome said with a smile. "Referring back then to Hiei's fight with Shigure, when I was invited to come and commentate at this Tournament, Hiei sent an additional message to me, requesting a sword from my family's collection. I admit to being slightly tentative, considering the way he broke another of the swords from my family's shrine in the fight against Kuromomotaro in the Dark Tournament semi-finals, but I brought it, and he's wearing it on his belt today as well as his usual sword. I'm curious to see if his sword work has improved since I last saw it."

"You mean you hope it has," Koto said. "You want that sword back in one piece I think," she added, then turned to view the screen. "Well, for two combatants, they sure are doing a lot of talking. Can we turn up the audio on their fight?"

"I'm amazed that the boy I gave a jagan eye to a little over three years ago is already so strong. You were weaker than a babe after the surgery. How went your searches?" Shigure asked.

"I have found what I was looking for," Hiei answered.

"I trust you did not break the price I gave you, if you have found your sister, you are not allowed to reveal your relation to her," Shigure said. "I always liked those ironic twists to such stories," he added with a cruel smirk.

Hiei returned the smirk however. "She figured it out for herself not long after we met," Hiei said. "I would say that rather trumps your price."

Shigure blinked. "It would, yes. I admit that I had not considered that possibility."

"So are we going to fight, or not?"

"Indeed."

Hiei laid his hand over the hilt of one of the swords at his waist. The handle crackled ever-so-slightly, but it looked like an old, worn out hilt, likely on an old, worn out sword. When he drew it, gasps went up.

"Wow. Can I just say... wow!" Koto said, staring. "I don't understand how that blade can even fit into that sheath, but I love it! It's even bigger than Hiei is! How can he lift such a brutal looking weapon? Kagome, is this the sword you were talking about?"

Kagome nodded. "It is. It's a demon sword. It was once the property of the great dog demon of the Western Lands, Inu no Taisho, and was crafted from one of his fangs. His eldest son entrusted it to me quite some time ago, and I have since then sought someone worthy to wield the blade. It's a bit harder that the sword itself is picky about who gets to use it," she added.

"A demon sword?" Yuda asked.

"Yes," Kagome answered. "The Tetsusaiga, able to slay one hundred enemies with a single strike," she giggled. "That is, if you know how to do it."

As they watched, Hiei swept the sword from the side, and power continued beyond the movement, gouging what looked like giant claw marks in its wake.

"That isn't Hiei's energy," Yuda said, as the destructive power continued towards Shigure.

"Is that the attack you were talking about Kagome?" Koto asked.

"It sure looks like it," she answered. "Colour me impressed. I don't think Shigure will be getting up from that one unharmed, if he even gets up at all."

Shigure's weapon was broken and his left arm and leg were bleeding heavily. "I am defeated," he said. "Please kill me. For a warrior to be defeated twice is something unbearable."

Hiei sheathed the Tetsusaiga and withdrew his usual sword.

"It is a waste of your life and your skills to die here today," Hiei informed the surgeon. "But as I am sure you would take your own life should I deny you, then very well."

Cleanly, Hiei removed Shigure's head.

"Which leaves Yusuke's fight against Yomi as far as your old team mates Kagome," Koto said, as the fight was once again displayed on the main screen. "Ooh, that's Yomi's demon energy absorption wall. We saw that in his fight against his son Shura."

"Yusuke will be unable to hit him as long as Yomi keeps that defence up," Yuda commented. "All Yomi need do is wait for Yusuke to exhaust himself."

"But will the demon energy absorption wall stop Yuske's spirit energy? He's only half demon after all, and still has access to the energies he had as a human," Kagome pointed out. "They can't hear us can they Koto?"

"No, just the girls on the camera things," Koto answered. "Wouldn't want observation to give way to inspiration."

"Agreed," Yuda and Kagome said at the same time, turning back to the screen.

"I do believe that Urameshi has just figured out what Kagome was talking about, and – Yes! Yusuke Urameshi has broken through Yomi's defences by using his spirit energy, and then completely breaking it apart by meshing his demon energy with his spirit energy!" Koto exclaimed.

"That's a potent combination in anybody's book," Kagome said. "I wager Yomi's feeling some hurt from that one."

"I have to agree," Koto said. "The pain must be delicious. Having the defences broken must have done more than just hurt Yomi though, as he's charging now and it looks like – yes! A solid one-two punch, which Yusuke returns full force. It's brutal, it's violent, it's wonderful!"

"Still think me backing Yusuke in this fight is foolishness Yuda?" Kagome asked the old demon with a cheeky chuckle.

"I confess, I had not expected such an even match between them. Rather, I expected another fight like the one Yomi had with his son Shura," Yuda said, slightly humbled. "Still, I maintain that Yomi will be the victor in this fight."

"Well, whoever wins, it looks like it might come down to this next blow!" Koto yelled as the two fighters began their charge, fists drawn back. When they collided, the whole stadium was still as they watched both stumble slightly. Shura could be heard yelling for his father, and Yomi's footing shifted to hold his weight. Yusuke, on the other hand, fell onto his hands, apparently falling in defeat, until his foot lashed out deliberately, catching Yomi in the stomach and tossing him into the air. Yusuke stood, shaking himself.

Puu flew down to land behind Yusuke, stretching his wings skywards and crying in victory.

"Do we have confirmation on Yomi's state?" Koto asked. "After that surprise move by Yusuke when we all thought he was down, finding Yomi is priority."

Yusuke seemed to agree, as he swung up onto the back of his spirit beast and flew off in the direction he had sent Yomi.

"Is that legal? I mean, catching a ride rather than walking himself?" Koto asked.

Kagome shrugged. "That's Yusuke's spirit beast. It, Puu, is an extension of Yusuke, as well as a reflection of his inner self. I don't see how it can be."

"I hate to say it but I agree," Yuda said. "Mr Urameshi would be perfectly within his rights to use the bird in his fights as well. I think it is very sportsmanlike of him not to."

"Puu's better at transport and defence than fighting," Kagome said. "That's the main reason Yusuke doesn't fight with his bird."

"Yomi has been found! He's down and, by the looks of it, completely out," Koto said. "In a turn out that's going to leave a lot of betters from Gandera very unhappy, Yusuke has defeated Yomi!"

~oOo~

Puu landed Yusuke back at the main stadium, but Yusuke didn't dismount. He seemed to be sleeping on the bird's back.

"I hope he didn't exhaust himself on Yomi," Mukuro said, walking up to the large bird and spotting the young boy in repose on the creature's back. "He's yet to fight me after all."

"You needn't be concerned," Hiei said, walking past her, having checked his friend and now leaving to fetch Kagome or Yukina to tend his injuries. "If there is one thing that is true of Yusuke's sleeping habits, it is that he always wakes up in time for his fight."

"So confident," Mukuro observed.

"He speaks from experience," Raizen assured, approaching himself. "He never makes idle comments. I believe you have a fight with Natsume coming up."

"That is the name of my next opponent, yes," Mukuro agreed.

Raizen smirked. "Then I suggest you go find someone who will wish you luck against her," he said. "If you wish to reach your fight with either Yusuke, or myself."

Mukuro twitched a sardonic smile, planting her hands on her hips.

"By the way, I appreciated the flowers you sent, even if I wasn't actually dead," Raizen said. "They were very nice."

Mukuro froze up, then scowled slightly before leaving.

"Oh my," Yukina's voice sounded. Hiei had returned with one of the healers of their group. "It looks like Yusuke got a rather a beating. Can someone help me up there so I can look at him?"

Puu stretched his neck out and gently lifted the ice apparition by the back of her kimono before he lowered her again beside Yusuke.

"Well, you're fine Puu," Yukina said happily. "I guess that's a good sign. Yusuke's already started healing, but some extra help isn't going to hurt."

"Puu," the bird agreed.

~oOo~

"There were times I wondered if we would ever reach this point, and there were times when I hoped we never would, but here we are! The quarter finals of the Demon World Tournament!" Koto declared.

"For those demons among you who missed your basic math classes, that means we only have eight fighters left in this competition," Kagome clarified. "From Group A, Hiei and Yusuke. From Group B, Mukuro and Shippo. From Group C, Kurama and Enki. And from Group D, Raizen and Koku."

"These promise to be some interesting fights," Koto said. "We know that Hiei and Yusuke were team mates during the Dark Tournament, and I believe that they have been sparring partners since then as well."

"Those two love fighting each other. They aren't the only interesting match up though," Kagome said. "Koku, though married to Enki now, apparently used to date Raizen."

"Ooh, that could really get messy," Koto said eagerly. "But I'm also really curious about this demon that Muroku will be fighting. Until this Tournament, he was completely unknown. I mean, Enki and Koku are old friends with Raizen, and old sparring buddies at that – as well as this interesting development about Koku and Raizen having once been involved – and Hiei, Yusuke, and Kurama are all champions from the Dark Tournament. But just who is this Shippo? Do you know Master Yuda?"

"I confess to having never heard of him, but for several months he masqueraded as Kurama in Yomi's council, convincing everybody. He had even somehow manipulated his energy signature so that it was the same. Such a master of disguise, it is possible his name is not even Shippo," Yuda offered. "He is able even to change his scent through the manipulation of his energy. I have never had the chance to get a reading of his energy levels, and it is possible that he is able to alter even that. This Shippo is a complete unknown to me, except that he is very smart, and due to the high accuracy of his masquerade as Kurama for several months, I can only suppose he is familiar with the Yoko."

"This is a good point. Many demons have dropped all pretences during their fights so that the energy they directed towards keeping up appearances can be used for attacks – like that wolf demon in the second round who we all found out was a lot hairier than he let on when he took his four-legged form so that he had more energy at his disposal," Koto said. "But at no point has Shippo's completely human appearance dropped. Even Kurama has allowed himself to flicker between his human and his demon forms throughout the Tournament."

"Shippo has changed his appearance a couple of times during the fights though," Kagome pointed out, not giving away that she knew him. "If you recall the fights he had against Saizou and Tetsuzan, Shippo transformed into a perfect mirror image of each of them for about half the fight before changing his appearance to look like Raizen."

"This is true, and makes me wonder how he could have the energy to waste on illusions when he had people to fight!" Koto demanded. "I am so getting him in for an interview after his next fight, provided of course that Mukuro lets him live through it."

"I don't think there is any danger of Shippo dying in his fight," Yuda said. "Much as I would not like to believe it, for many of Mukuro's fights in the later rounds she has gotten through almost by the skin of her teeth, so to say. A very small margin and a great deal of luck, I believe, has seen her through so far."

"What makes you say that Yuda?" Koto asked.

"Shippo has yet to truly reveal himself, and I was talking with Kirin, one of Mukuro's old generals the other day. Mukuro's powers are linked very closely to her emotions, particularly those of pain and hatred. It seems to me that Mukuro has been smiling too much in this Tournament for those feelings, and therefore her powers, to be at the peak we are so used to from her. Do not misunderstand me though, she is no slouch by any means, and still a very intimidating opponent to anybody below A class," Yuda answered.

"She's having too much fun to win?" Koto asked.

"That's what it sounded like to me as well," Kagome admitted.

"I never knew that enjoying your fight could be a weakness,"Koto said. "Well, either way, it's now time for the quarter finals for the first ever Demon World Tournament to begin!"

~oOo~