And so Kuwabara's training finally begins. Just what does Seiko have planned?

HEAVEN OR HELL?

LET'S RAWK!!!

24th period.

Shizuru froze in the midst of doing someone's hair, the elder Kuwabara sibling gazing out the window in the general direction of Kyoto, the source of her bad vibes. 'Kazuma…' she wondered, the sense of foreboding she normally associated with her younger brother creeping up her spine 'What the hell have you gotten yourself into now?'

"Uh ma'am?" one of her assistants called out, drawing her attention back to the middle-aged woman whose hair she was veritably twisting into knots.

Just another messed up day at the Kuwabara-salon.

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'These training clothes are pretty light.' Kuwabara noted, surprised at how easy the unfamiliar clothing was to walk around in. He'd thought he'd have had problems with the Hakama, but they seemed to be cut specifically to enable him to walk unimpeded. 'I feel like Goemon…' he noted with a wry smirk as he recalled one of his favorite manga's growing up, 'Hmm…maybe I should buy Kurama a red jacket for his birthday…Getting a fedora for Urameshi shouldn't be too damn hard…'

Lost in the memories, he failed to detect the various looks he was receiving from the residents of the dojo. Some were looks of awe, for rumours of his earlier battle with Tsuruko had spread. Others were looks of envy, as he was currently walking beside the woman, his features and build a distinct contrast to her regal beauty, though no doubt fact that some of the looks were coming from female trainees would've had his hackles rising.

"You carry yourself well in those clothes, Kuwabara-kun." Tsuruko complimented, snapping the man out of his thoughts "You must be warding the girl's off with a stick."

"I wish…" the man joked good naturedly, scratching one of hsi cheekbones "Growing up I'd have had ta club 'em over the head just to get 'em ta hold still long enough ta ask th' time."

"Children can be so cruel." Tsuruko agreed, something flashing in her eyes for a split second, to be replaced by her regal smile "Still, they didn't manage to dampen your good nature."

Kuwabara blushed, looking away and scratching his nose at the compliment, even after all these years he was still a sucker to them. He did however, finally notice that they had left the compound behind, and that the area had changed from woodland to barren, blighted rock. 'Okay…' he muttered, eyeing the darkened sky around him as his danger-senses went off like a fire alarm 'There is no way in hell that the sun sets this quickly around here.'

"It doesn't." Tsuruko conceded, smiling at the startled man as she led the way "This is one of the most restricted areas of the Shinmeiryuu compound…only master class warriors are permitted, no outsider has set foot here in generations."

"Uh…should I leave?" the tantei asked, a little unnerved by the distinct absence of life the area was giving off. He felt like he'd set foot in the Makai again, an experience he most certainly didn't expect to be reminded of anywhere on earth.

"No." Tsuruko countered reassuringly, which for some reason made him all the more reluctant to follow her "The area where your training shall take place is up ahead."

'Must be some kinda training if only masters can even come here!' The tantei muttered, wishing like hell that he knew what the hell the woman was thinking. Since he couldn't, he tried casting his awareness out, only to retch as the aura of desolation washed over him from all sides.

"Please be careful." Tsuruko warned, putting a comforting hand on his back as his heaving calmed "This is the site of a great battle that was waged centuries ago between a demon and the Shinmeiryuu." She frowned "The battle was so fierce it scarred the landscape irrevocably, the demon so powerful it couldn't be destroyed, only sealed in the sword of a warrior who gave his life to stop it."

"An ancestor of yours?" Kuwabara asked, only to blink as the woman shook her head, and enigmatic smile on her face that spoke of some hidden agenda.

"While the honor such a relation would bring to us would be great," she admitted "I am happy to say he wasn't of the Aoyama clan…otherwise his offspring would be off limits."

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Far away, a bespectacled Ronin sneezed, resulting in him being sent heavenward once again, courtesy of the shaved gorilla he, for some unfathomable reason, kept trying to impress.

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Unaware of the dilemma their conversation had caused, the two continued onward, Kuwabara's sense of foreboding increasing with every step, until he was wholeheartedly wondering why in the hell he wasn't running in the opposite direction. "We're here." Tsuruko called out, snapping the tantei out of his daze, raising his fists in preparation as he gazed upon…a gate.

Admittedly, there was nothing outwardly special about it; it was merely a door of wrought iron, set into the wall of a rock formation that, most likely, led to a cave. What was ominous were the heavy chains attached to the gate, tethered to the giant statues of particularly violent looking deities that stood on either side of the door. Warding talismans and ropes adorned many of the boulders lining the area, much like a temple, warding off evil influences.

But Kuwabara's senses couldn't be fooled, even if the warding talismans did make the place look secure to an extent, there was no mistaking their purpose.

'These aren't for keeping things away.' The tantei deduced, eyeing the gate with trepidation as a dark, malignant aura emanated from it 'It's to keep something IN.'

"I see you've arrived…Kuwabara-kun." Seiko's voice echoed around them, the tantei looking up to find Tsuruko's mother standing near the entrance to the cave "Thank you Tsuruko…I shall take it from here."

Tsuruko bowed to her mother, turning on her heal to return to the compound, her bangs covering her eyes. As she parted however, just as she was passing the confused tantei, their eyes met, and the tantei was surprised to see the concern in those normally reserved eyes. "Be careful…Kuwabara-kun." The current shihan of the Shinmeiryuu offered, her tone concerned, yet solemn. And then she was gone, disappearing in a burst of speed that would've impressed Hiei.

'Can everyone friggin; teleport but me?' Kuwabara wondered bitterly, anything to keep his mind off the woman's distressing words 'More importantly…why do I have the feeling I'm not gonna like what's in that cave?'

"You have every right to feel unsettled." Seiko assured him, her hands resting atop a sheathed nodachi "This gate is known as the Shuren no Mon, and has served as a right of passage for many of the Shinmeiryuu."

"Kinda…dark for a training site…don't-cha think?" Kuwabara muttered, sidestepping a small tendril of darkness that drifted past "I mean…I thought you guys were exorcists?"

"We are...to an extent." Seiko allotted, "However, many of us lack the inner strength to face the unknown, others have been deemed unworthy, or have fallen from grace."

She turned to face the gate, her eyes narrowed "Inside this chamber, a warrior will face their inner demons, their greatest fears, in continuous combat." She shook her head "I cannot tell you what you will face, for the experience is unique to each individual, you could be beset by nightmares, denied the ability to scream, you could be asked to meditate whilst being assaulted by visions, or even fight your closest friend…or family."

Kuwabara blinked, noting how the woman seemed to sag inwards, as if showing her age for the first time. He reached out a tentative hand, only to pull it back as she straightened, the hard look returning full force.

"Kuwabara-kun." Seiko called out "What you face in these caves will be one of the toughest challenges ever" her eyes locked onto his own "It will break you, remake you, then brake you again and again, until only what cannot be broken remains…will you proceed?"

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Kuwabara swallowed, an instinctive desire to run for the hills taking him over, before being beaten back by his innate stubbornness and the knowledge that he'd already faced his worst fear twice, once before awakening his power, the other in the caverns beneath Mushiyori city. "I'll do it." he declared, stepping forwards whilst punching his palm "I've faced worse things than caves…and there's only one thing I fear, and that WON'T be happening any time soon."

"So you say." Seiko noted, though there was a hint of pride in her eyes "Very well, I shall open the gates for you."

Turning her back to the tantei, the current head of the Aoyama family drew her Nodachi, striking a stone covered in talisman ropes, causing it to chime like a bell. The note rose, a rumble emanating from all sides as the great gates cracked open, painfully slowly, until the entrance was bared to all.

"The way is open." Seiko uttered, standing before the passage with her back to the teen, though Kuwabara could sense the unease in her aura "I can go no further, the rest is up to you."

Kuwabara nodded, stepping forwards, only to blink as the Aoyama Matriarch placed a hand to his wrist, eyes widening as she placed a kiss on his forehead. "Come back to us in one piece, Kuwabara Kazuma-kun." She ordered, a wane smile on her face, before placing a hand to his chest.

Kuwabara was so stunned by the action that he didn't even notice the surge of ki near his ribs until he was sent flying through the air backwards, feeling like he'd taken one of Urameshi's reigun blasts right in the stomach, even as the gates shut before him, cutting off all light.

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Genkai frowned as Kuwabara's reiki dropped off her mental radar. She wasn't worried, as an A-class fighter there were few threats he couldn't face, and the few that did exist weren't stupid enough to march into Shinmeiryuu territory to have a crack at him. On the other hand, the very fact that she KNEW how the Shinmeiryuu operated didn't set her mind completely at risk.

'They may produce top-class demon hunters and exorcists,' she muttered, recalling seeing a troop of them in action during an incident in Kyoto that culminated in a demon being sealed in a sword 'but damn if they don't have a penchant for driving people over the edge.'

And this wasn't a metaphor, most masters of the Shinmeiryuu had more than a few screws loose due to the grueling training. They weren't insane per say, but their little quirks took a lot of getting used to.

'And then there's the Shinmeiryuu battle aura.' She muttered, suppressing a wry chuckle as she recalled seeing Tsuruko's father use it for the first time 'Damn near blasted the poor bastard into a tree, thought he was the demon we were hunting.'

Needless to say, the Shinmeiryuu learned to never to put on their 'game face' in her presence without letting her know they were there.

What? You think with countless demons vying for her head, she took the time to differentiate one bloodthirsty maniac from the other? She may hold the title of psychic, but she wasn't infallible.

"Genkai-shihan." Yukina called out, stepping into view with a tray of green tea and crackers, a mildly concerned look on her face "Kazuma-kun's reiki…"

"I know dear." Genkai assured the Koorime maiden, wishing she was as certain of the man's well-being as she was acting "But there's no need for worry, if anything could take out the lunkhead Koenma wouldn't have let me send him off on his own."

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"Koenma-sama!" yelped the ever worrying blue ogre known as Saotome George as he stumbled into his leader's room with all the grace of a sack of potatoes "Kuwabara just dropped off the radar!"

"What?!" Koenma yelped, knocking over a stack of papers that, thankfully, had already been stamped and sorted "What the hell are reconnaissance doing!?"

"Koenma-sama!" Ayame called out, appearing out of thin air on her oar, her normally composed features showing hints of urgency "The Tartarus system is showing signs of activity!"

Koenma blinked, a little stunned at that. While hardly as important as the sudden disappearance of his recently elected reikai tantei, the fact that one of the many portals to the underworld on earth was active again was most unsettling. And knowing his lucky streak of late, the god-ling just KNEW the two cases were very closely related.

"What type of energies is Tartarus giving out?" he asked, turning to Ayame, who pulled out a pocket computer and pulled up the relevant information in record time.

"Relatively stable ones sir." She assured him, earning a sigh of relief, "Slight temporal alterations, manifestation of an uninhabited section Makai…" she frowned "And the summoning of a condemned spirit."

Koenma frowned, not liking the sound of THAT at all. Normally condemned spirits were bound to the plane of hell they were cast into, never to escape until either atonement or they cease to exist. True a lot of them had been 'paroled', after it was revealed they'd been manipulated by his sire, not to mention given free counseling and psychiatric help/evaluation to ensure they weren't a threat to humanity, but there were a few that had rightfully deserved their spot in the pits, and the thought of one of them running amok on earth, albeit in a parallel dimension, was NOT comforting.

"Which spirit is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as Ayame handed him the file, only for his pacifier to drop from numb lips to the floor with an audible clatter "…oh god no…"

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"Ow…" Kuwabara groaned, holding his midriff as he tried to regain his footing, a little difficult seeing as every ounce of air had been forced from his body by Seiko's little stunt "What'd I do to deserve that?" he wondered "For that matter…where am I?"

The man's concerns were well founded, for the barren landscape that stretched for miles in all directions was NOT what you expected to find in caves. Barren plains of scorched ground, the trees stunted and withered by either heat or drought, but more likely the stagnant aura of youki that hung in the air like a fog. The cracked earth was a dull rusty colour that reminded the tantei far too much of blood, and it'd take an act of God to force him to forget the air this place gave off.

"The Makai." He breathed, wincing as he regained his footing, his eyes taking in every minute detail of the wasteland "How in th' heck did I get here? For that matter…why th' heck am I here? I thought I was gonna be training."

"And so you will." A deep voice assured him, though the calmness it radiated didn't stop the tantei from freezing like a block of ice, turning slowly to eye the figure that was standing behind him in horrified disbelief.

Tall, frightfully so, at least a good ten feet in height with a lean, almost lanky build that belied his years as a master class fighter. His black hair was shaved at the sides beneath a flat-top. He wore black dress pants over smart, yet comfortable shoes. A green vest was tucked into said pants, with the rest of his frame concealed by the open green trench coat he wore. His hands were in the pocket of said coat, as per the norm, and the light shone off his stylish black shades as he gazed down at the stammering tantei.

"It's been a long time…" the giant noted, a hint of amusement in his deep baritone, the corner of his lip quirking slightly in amusement as he spoke "Kuwabara."

"T…Toguro…" Kuwabara stammered, gaping at the long dead human turned B-rank demon in disbelief, the old, gut wrenching terror rising to the fore as he took an involuntary step back "But you…you're-!"

"Dead? Yeah." Toguro admitted, as if commenting on the weather, shrugging his shoulders indifferently "Fire and brimstone, eternal suffering, all that jazz." He shrugged slightly "Nothing special."

"Nothin' special?!" Kuwabara snapped, pointing at the demon in a rage "Koenma said you were consigned to the last level of hell! The worst of the worst! No-One's ever gotten out of there!"

"And yet I stand before you." Toguro shot back, silencing the tantei as he continued to gaze at him from behind those emotionless black sunglasses "You've grown."

"Duh, s'been what? Ten years?" Kuwabara muttered, hands in his pockets as he tried to alleviate the shaking, with limited success 'Dammit! Toguro's middle B-class! I'm pushing A-rank prime! I shouldn't be scared of hi-!'

"But you are." Toguro cut in, smirking as the former teen gaped at him in alarm "I'll admit I was a pretty dull apparition, bulging muscles were about all I could do." He tapped the side of his head "Still, I WAS one of Genkai's comrades, being able to read each other's minds made tag-teaming pretty damn easy."

"How come you never used that stuff against Urameshi?" Kuwabara wondered, eyeing the not-so-jolly-demon-giant warily "If you could'a read his mind you'd have won easily!"

"True." Toguro allotted, tilting his head slightly "But winning was never my intention, only the fight with Urameshi mattered…" he trailed off, eyeing his right palm for a few seconds before clenching it "And besides…those skills were from a different life…a demon had no place using them."

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Kuwabara eyed the silent giant once again, noting, to some surprise, that he wasn't giving off the intimidating aura that had kept him awake at night for weeks when he'd spied the man standing with Urameshi in the ruins of a building the giant had leveled just to show off how much he'd been holding back when they first met.

'Guy probably didn't even use 10% of his strength.' The tantei muttered, bending his knees slightly to avoid any sudden moves, knowing first hand Toguro was as fast as he was strong. He hadn't seen the giant when Toguro had stabbed his fingers into his chest all those years ago, even though he'd been charging right at him.

"What're you doin' here?" he asked at length, eyeing the first MAJOR threat he and Urameshi had ever faced with a sense of trepidation and a hint of his old teenage terror "Back for revenge?"

"Hardly…" Toguro chuckled, "I got what I wanted out of my fight with Urameshi…I was even content to consign myself to the deepest pits of hell." He pulled off his shades, revealing the calm, narrow eyes underneath "No…I'm here because of you."

"Me?" Kuwabara wondered bleatingly, reaching for his Tameshi no ken the entire time in case the demon decided to 'hulk-out' on him "What'd I do ta piss you off?"

"You stepped into the Shuren no Mon." Toguro replied, apparently going into lecture mode, pointing at the teen as he spoke "Inside this gate, time moves at a slower space, three days outside being the equivalent to three months in here." He smirked "That's three months to whip you into shape."

Kuwabara blinked, eyes widening as he came to grips with what the human-turned-demon was implying "You…" he stammered, gaping like a fish "You're supposed to be training me?"

"Surprised me too." Toguro admitted, rolling his shoulders slightly "I was all set to roast for eternity, but apparently whoever designed this place knew their stuff…yanked me right out of the pits just so I could be here."

"B-but why you?" Kuwabara stammered, eyes wide "I mean no offence, but weren't we enemies? You killed Genkai-Baachan for cryin' out loud!"

"A necessary evil." Toguro muttered, though he averted his eyes as he spoke "Urameshi had a hundred foot wall of pure bullshit between his power and his emotions...something that would've hindered him if not dealt with." He eyed the former delinquent carefully "But then…you'd know all about motivational trauma…wouldn't you?"

Kuwabara suppressed a flinch, but it showed that he'd gotten the message. He'd pulled the martyr card during the tournament to get Yusuke's ass in gear…only for Yusuke to do the same against Sensui.

'The only difference being Toguro was playing us the whole time,' the tantei muttered to himself, eyeing said demon the whole time 'But I'm not like Urameshi…I don't think I got any 'come back from the dead' cards going for me.'

"We going to stand here shooting our mouths off all day or are we going to train?" Toguro asked, tilting his head to the side "Not that it matters to ME, I'm hell bound when this is all over either way, but I'd like to at least TRY to enjoy myself for a while."

"How is training supposed to be fun?" Kuwabara asked, only to shiver as the giant slowly pulled off his jacket, the grin on his face terrifying the former delinquent to no end.

"Oh you won't be having any fun…" Toguro assured him, even as his muscles rippled in the telltale manner of the activation of his youki "You're in my training camp now Kuwabara…and I'm not as nice as Genkai."

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Genkai looked up sharply, her eyes narrowing as something on her mental radar literally sparked, before abruptly dieing down.

'If I wasn't so used to them popping up I'd ignore these feelings of concern.' She muttered, reaching for her tea mug, which had cracked along the side, watching as Yukina swept up the shattered remains of a mirror that had fallen off the wall as the clock chimed thirteen times 'Still…I can't help but feel slighted for some reason…like a muscle bound idiot just badmouthed me in some way…'

She shrugged, sipping her tea tentatively to prevent spillage, the only muscle head that knew of her and DARED to pass comment being long since dead and buried…along with all their dreams of the past.

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And so it begins...

Cue Nadesico music:

Narrator: What ho! A foe from the past casts a perilous shadow over Kuwabara!

Toguro: SLOW!!!

Narrator: Will our hero surivive his cruel minstrations!

Toguro: DODGE!

Narrator: And will he survive long enough to see the fruits of his labors!

Narrator: Next time on Reikai Sensei Kuwabara; Toguro's Tremendous Tortuous Training's Testamanet!

Toguro: This guy always so bad with titles?

R&R Or be the designated punching bag for Toguro...and he's practicing the Junk-Punch.