A/N: Story is not going to follow Dark Tournament arc word for word so don't worry about that.

"Wait! Heeey!" she called, her voice weak with fatigue from her running, "Don't leave yet!" Hotaru waved her arms frantically hoping that at least one of the boys would turn around and notice her. Luckily they did. She'd been running for such a long time, after leaving the city her henshin-stick had directed her to forest on the outskirts of the city. After weaving through what seemed to be miles of trees she was able to glimpse fire light ahead and knew she had gotten close. Her outfit may not have been that practical for running either, possibly adding a bit to her fatigue factor as she wore a pink blouse with a small white jacket over it, a red skirt with small pink frills, dark colored stockings that reached all the way up her thighs, and flat, black mary-jane styled shoes.

"Alright, who the heck is that?" Kuwabara asked, distrust in his voice, "Any of you guys know her?" he asked, looking at both Hiei and Kurama's faces. Kurama looked over to Hiei as well to see if he would say anything, but much to everyone's surprise it was Yusuke who spoke.

"Uaah, hey! It's that girl...she's friends with Kayko." the Spirit Detective explained, not really giving anyone the explanation they truly desired, "What? Don't look at me, I don't know why she's here."

Hotaru quickly joined them on the boat where they had been boarding, stopping and practically doubling over to catch her breath. "I'm so glad...I was able to catch you guys." It was all she could think of to say, especially when she couldn't breathe still.

"So uh, what exactly are you doing here...uh, let's see..." Yusuke asked, throwing his stuff down as he searched his memory banks for a name. Kayko hadn't mentioned the girl very much since they last met so he was clueless if they even still talked or knew each other. "Ah, Hotaru, right?" he snapped his fingers and she nodded with a smile, finally able to speak again.

"Yes, glad to know you remember me, but...what are you all doing here? I was...more or less drawn here...is the boat going somewhere special?" she asked totally clueless, it was too late to back out now anyways as the boat had already left port and had set sail for wherever their destination. The orange-haired boy looked at her disbelief, on the verge of having an over the top reaction to her innocent question, "You mean you just jumped on here and don't know where we're going? I thought you were from Reikai or something!" he exclaimed.

"She's a foolish human who obviously doesn't think ahead." Hiei piped from his "perch" on the railing of the side of the ship, his balance perfectly kept. Hotaru felt her cheeks tint, well that may have been true but still...she at least had a good reason to come. If Saturn told her to come here then it must have been important but she couldn't tell them all that. Hiei might have known but he didn't know all the details, it was best if she kept the other boys in the dark about Saturn and her identity. The dream part might have been okay to go with though.

"I told you once before that I have odd dreams, but I am also able to have visions and see into the future on occasion. It's a power of mine that comes and goes unfortunately and tonight I had a dream about your group in that forest, and here I am." she explained, talking more to Hiei than anyone else since she technically knew him the best out of any of the group members. The orange-haired boy continued to look confused as he swept his glance back and forth over them all.

"Am I missing something here? Come on, don't leave me out of the loop! Wait a minute...you all know her?! Why am I the only one who gets left out of these things?" Kuwabara cried angrily although he received no answer. By this time, Yusuke had passed out on the floor of the boat, the two demon members of the group keeping pretty much to themselves, and that masked person...Hotaru certainly had no idea who that could have been, even her dream hadn't made her privy to that knowledge. Turning slightly she addressed the orange-haired boy, "Oh, by the way, my name is Hotaru Tomoe. I'm not from Reikai, I'm actually just a human like you." If she didn't know any better she could have sworn she saw Hiei roll his eyes out of the corner of her own.

"The island better have more entertainment that this." Hiei spoke up, hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or truthful. Kurama reminded them that they were not on vacation, showing that it must have been a joke of sorts. Hotaru was starting to feel a little left out herself...why on Earth did she jump on this stupid boat to start with? Setsuna was going to kill her once she found out...wait a minute, that's right, where were they going?

"You never did say where the boat was going to..." she trailed off, voice on the quiet and meek side, just barely audible above the din the other demons made.

"We're going to an island that has been designated for use for the Dark Tournament." Kurama spoke up, a friendly smile on his face but it faded, "It's just like it sounds I'm afraid, a tournament filled with teams of apparitions who fight to the death all for a single prize." Hotaru felt uneasy...of course there had to be fighting involved. "We ourselves were extended an offer to join the tournament, and well, let's say that refusing the invitation was not a viable option." She nodded, a knot beginning to form in her stomach...so, Reikai hadn't sent their team anywhere, instead they were basically being black-mailed to fight in a tournament filled with demons or else their lives were forfeit. She swallowed, her throat dry, not only from the earlier excursion but from the anxiety...would she be forced to fight any? Good thing she brought her henshin wand with her. She couldn't help but feel bad and want to help but the idea of fighting these demons was...she paused and looked around, most of these creatures didn't look any different from the heartsnatchers or phages that she had fought during the Sailor Wars. Perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult if things really came down to it. The only real problem was that these creatures actually had independent thoughts other than just retrieval, making them a bit more human-like. It was...unnerving to say the least.

Hotaru side-stepped once she realized something was coming up behind her, it was that Masked Fighter man. She must have missed something while in her reverie as the man headed up towards the newly appeared platform. Wait just a minute...were the fights already happening? She looked around at the faces of the boys in wonder, all of their locked on their strange, new teammate. Hotaru thought it best not to say anything yet and watched on with unease as the fighter much smaller than herself headed off to face a plethora of demons. What happened next was nothing short of amazing. Power and energy swirled together around the fighter before a bright, bluish light shot forth and pelted the demon creatures with ferocity, effectively killing all of them.

Hotaru couldn't believe it...when she thought fighting she just assumed it meant through physical means. So this tournament...of course, it was a demon tournament so it didn't have any rules. She cursed herself for being slow on that one. So...she turned from the platform and stole glances at Yusuke and Kuwabara. If they were humans then that must mean they had powers similar to hers...was that Masked Fighter a human as well? She couldn't sense any demonic presence coming from him so he must have been. But what was that strange energy that had manifested for its attack? Her power of destruction came from Saturn and her healing power came from using her own life energy to heal those hurt around her...this felt different though. She heard Kuwabara murmur something about a 'shotgun', wondering if that was the name of the attack.

What happened next wasn't much of a surprise, the remaining demons on the boat had grown ridiculously restless...they were out for blood in other words. To be even more exact, they wanted human blood. It was all too quickly that they became surrounded.

"Hotaru, right? I really hope you know how to fight." Kuwabara grunted under his breath, wondering if he should try and protect the girl, knowing full well that Hiei wouldn't and Kurama would be too preoccupied with his own fighting to do so. Hiei scoffed under his breathe, "Of course she can." and with that, their group dispersed, she herself scrambling off to the side. What should she do...she asked herself as she scooted farther away from the carnage taking place. It was all she could do to watch with a coherent brain...Hiei was so fast, he cleanly cut through 20 demons or more without breaking a sweat, and Kurama had summoned some kind of whip and was ripping them into pieces with every spin. Kuwabara had formed some kind of energy sword and surely wasn't to be overlooked in this fight, aptly holding his own after impaling a demon.

With a loud stomp, she looked up...oh no, she'd been spotted. A rather nasty-looking one had chosen her as its opponent or perhaps rather prey, licking his lips as he looked down on her. Her eyes wavered as she saw more headed her way. Of course, she was a female...they were thinking she'd be the weakest link to take out first. Hotaru growled, she wasn't even fighting in this stupid tournament. However before she could reach for her henshin stick, the creature in front of her began to lunge at her.

She paled, eyes wide and heart-beating in her ears. "Stop!" she cried holding her hands out as if it could possibly protest her...nothing ever hit her or grabbed her. Maybe one of the boys had killed them, taking pity on her and trying to protect. No, it was her Silence Wall...she had somehow conjured it without being transformed. Hotaru, arms outstretched, looked on in amazement as the orb of protective purple power engulfed her in small but accurate dome shape. Sensing something, she turned to look at the leather bag at her side...her henshin stick was glowing through the material. "Are you doing this...Saturn?" Leaving a hand up, just in case it was what was controlling the barrier, she fumbled through the bag and grabbed the wand. "You want me to call you, right?" Hotaru whispered, questioning the stick as if it had been the celestial warrior herself talking face to face with her.

"Saturn..."

But she didn't get far, the barrier burst from the inside out, the rush of power forcing the demons back. It surprised her but not so much as what happened next. Before she could continue with her transformation phase, the wand in her hand continued to glow and surge with power, then began to reshape itself. It was her Glaive...why was Saturn doing this? Why wasn't she able to transform?

No time to worry about that, she decided as the demons had gotten back up and they were charging with a vengeance. Hotaru panicked, she couldn't use this weapon all on her own...was Saturn trying to teach her how? It didn't make any sense to her but she would have to go along with it if she wanted to survive...and she did. The polearm weighed a good bit, an ancient relic really from the Silver Millennium, but she was suddenly able to swing it with such ease...it was Saturn. It had to be. The celestial warrior was controlling things from behind the scene. After she had sliced through a few demons, she felt the power leave her and knew she was on her own. If she kept practicing like this then maybe she would become proficient enough with the Glaive all on her own...it was almost...fun. No, she reprimanded herself...fighting was not fun. It was never the answer and was only necessary when talking, reasoning, and everything else had been attempted. It was Usagi that had taught them all that it was possible to save the entire world without anyone getting hurt.

Hotaru breathed heavily, her arms already sore from carrying the polearm, the weapon still a little too heavy for her to wield on her own. It had grown quiet...was the battle over with? She looked up...the boys were looking at her strangely, that was to be expected though, she had just pulled a weapon twice her size from practically nowhere.

"Well that was unexpected..." Kuwabara mumbled, his energy sword having disappeared from his hand.

"Hmph, so you can use that weapon then?" Hiei questioned, a rather smug look on his face. She could tell that he was trying to undermine her on purpose, possibly provoke her into attacking. She only shook her head, "I can, but I don't enjoy fighting at all...only when its necessary." he closed his eyes and grunted, his shoulders moving slightly in a movement that told her he no longer cared.

Hotaru stared up at the weapon glinting in the moonlight...how was she supposed to put it away?

It wasn't like de-henshin where she could simply go back to her civilian clothes...this was just the weapon. 'Saturn, this is your doing, right?' the girl thought, addressing the other persona that lived within her thoughts and memories, 'Why do all this? Why now?' But the Saturnian soldier was quiet, Hotaru unsure if she couldn't talk or simply refused to. The staff of the pole-arm glowed a dull purple color, a tiny humming vibration running throughout it before it shrunk down back to her henshin-stick. Hotaru stared at the wand in her hand, still not comprehending what Saturn was doing or was planning. She'd have to contact her later when the boys weren't around lest they think her even stranger than they already did.

She glanced around, the boys no longer paying her any attention as they were closing in on the island, something she definitely didn't mind...whatever took the focus off of her. Although still unconscious she had an idea of what Yusuke was like when she met him earlier with Kayko, the masked fighter...she wasn't even sure if the others knew his identity. Kuwabara seemed kind, slow, but kind. Kurama seemed that way too but his air of distrust about her shown through possibly more than he realized. And Hiei...

The boat jerked fiercely back and forth, signifying that the vessel had come to shaky but sure stop against the port.

Hotaru sat alone in a hotel room of her own. After realizing that the room that had been allotted to the boys only had a set number of beds, she knew she would have to find a room of her own; not only due to manners but Haruka would kill her if she found out...it was funny how Hotaru still worried about what her adoptive 'papa' would think even when she was so far away. Of course, she'd been offered the bed but Hotaru couldn't accept and went down to the hotel management to plead with them. It hadn't been an easy thing to do, the clerk immediately depending some kind of payment in return.

She could remember patting the pockets of her skirt, realizing that she'd brought no money with her on this trip, thinking she wouldn't need it. She tried to explain to him again, even going so far as to namedrop the boy's team...she had to stay here, Saturn brought her here for a reason and she wasn't going to be outed just because she couldn't find a safe place to sleep. She could tell the clerk was about to lay into her but never did because someone popped up right behind her at that moment,

"How rude! I can't believe you'd treat guests like this, not mention you're talking to the alternate fighter of Team Urameshi! As the team manager I am simply appalled at what I'm hearing! This is clearly gender discrimination!" Hotaru blinked, it was Botan. But how did she...oh, right, she was a guide to the River Styx...she may as well have access to every place imaginable. The blue-haired girl winked as she glanced over, basically telling her she had everything under control. Hotaru hoped that alternate fighter business was just part of the lie.

"Don't you worry a bit, dear, we'll have you a room in no time. Quite the courageous thing you did coming along on this journey, I might say." Botan had been a ball of energy as usual, Hotaru unable to keep up with her but grateful in the long run as the clerk hastily went to find them an unoccupied room close to the boys. Botan had explained to her that Koenma had seen the whole trip here, and Botan herself just couldn't sit by and miss all the action nor watch the injustice being done to the poor girl.

Once in their room, Hotaru was able to set down the small amount of belongings she actually had and set up camp on her side of the room, assuming Botan would take the other bed, but when the blue-haired girl looked as if she was about to leave Hotaru stopped her with a question.

"Huh? Oh well, actually, I kinda hafta explain to Kayko and Shizuru about where Yusuke and Kuwabara have disappeared off to...well, at least a very convincing lie." Hotaru watched as she laughed uneasily, obviously quite unhappy about this part of her job.

"Are you coming back?" Hotaru asked uneasily, she didn't want to spend the night alone in this room but...it wasn't like she had any other option. She didn't know Botan all that well but the girl was friendly, reminding her of the more energetic Senshi she knew.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world! I'll be back before you can say 'bingo'!" the girl laughed, summoning her oar and disappearing out of the hotel window. Hotaru shut the glass behind her, locking it as she did so.

Now what...she questioned, alone in the room. As the memory ceased to replay in her head, Hotaru looked around. It was so quiet in this room, well-furnished and well-kept for a place that was supposed to be crawling with demons. She at least thought she might hear noise coming in through the walls. Hotaru decided that she'd take a shower in the morning, having only brought one pair of pajamas and another outfit, she'd have to make it last especially since she didn't spy a washing machine anywhere in the room or on the way inside.

Hotaru decided the only thing left to do was head to sleep for the night, not exactly eager for the tournament to begin tomorrow. All it meant was fighting and bloodshed, and since there were demons here, there would definitely be some under-handed tricks going on.

Hotaru jumped, thinking the window had shattered, her head snapping around to look. The window lay perfectly untouched, not even being rattled by the window. Hurriedly, she crawled out of the bed covers and ran to the wall that connected to the boy's room. Maybe it was coming from here? She waited...she heard muffled voices, some unfamiliar ones. What had been the shattering noise though? Some laughter, maybe from a small kid? The door of the other room opened, the vibration causing her own door to rattle. Moving quickly, she sank to her knees and opened the door, trying to glance into the hallway for a peek. A tall blond man and a smaller boy dressed in bright colors...who were they? Friends? Enemies? Hotaru was definitely tempted to ask the guys but thought better of it...they might mistake her as one of those two and attack her.

She sighed...she never should have come here.

Oh right, she had planned to contact Saturn...but no, if the walls were thin enough that she could hear something breaking and the sound of voices, then that meant they could surely hear her and with Kurama and Hiei being demons, their hearing was probably much better. Hotaru replaced her henshin-stick from where she had grabbed it with gusto, sadly laying it back down. She didn't really want to watch the fights...maybe if she stayed behind in the morning then she could speak with Saturn for awhile, then go to cheer the boys on. That would work pefectly.

With the light still on, Hotaru nestled into her bed ready for sleep. Maybe those dreams wouldn't find her here...her eyes shot open.

In all this confusion, she'd forgotten to tell Setsuna where she'd gone, nevermind about the Tioron Crystal showing back up with no explanation. Still though, the crystal was locked in her closet and there was no one around for it to draw energy from. Setsuna was still at the Time Gates, most likely, and no one but the girl herself ever went into the room. She was so tired though...contacting Setsuna would have to wait until the morning too.

Darkness. Inky, black darkness...it was not normal, it was almost as though the darkness had formed into a giant cloud that choked the life from the very air itself. It was difficult to breathe here, he had to hold his arm over his nose and mouth to get fresh air. No stench hung in the air, it was just...smoky, for lack of a better term. Where was this place?

He didn't dream often. Dreaming would require a much deeper slumber, something he only allowed himself to do after a long training session and/or in a place that provided protection; he'd be damned if he came under attack just because he dozed off. So why...why had he fallen in like this? He couldn't afford it, he had to wake up in case those two from Rokuyukai happened to show back up; having Yusuke unconscious was bad enough.

Someone cried out.

He found himself in a physical form inside his dream-like state, being able to walk despite the looming darkness that filled the place. He couldn't explain why he was following it, chalk it up to instinct. Besides, if he was trapped in this dream world for now, he might as well go ahead and get this dream over with.

The invisible pathway on which he walked lead him to a small room, closed in on all sides save for the one he entered. It was dimly lit, a small candle flame flickering in the corner. Despite the poor lighting, his eyes trailed over to the adjacent wall where a shadow was formed by the candle...it wasn't his own. So he wasn't alone, he remarked, looking over his shoulders at the other body in the room.

It was girl, age indiscernible but her frame was small and her voice was weak. She whimpered, he unsure if she even knew he was there. She was shackled to the wall, wrists and ankles, and under her neck ran another iron chain; it had not been put there to choke, but to keep her head from falling forward in fatigue and possibly breaking. Was this some kind of torture room? Her eyes were covered with a dirty piece of cloth, but he stood silently and watched and the girl squirmed and maneuvered her head until the blindfold slipped ever so slightly down. A small teardrop rolled out from beneath it and the girl eagerly licked it with her tongue. No wonder she was so small, she was starving, dying of thirst too, it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to one or the other.

He stood there and stared...this was just dream, he had no obligation to help her. She wasn't real, just a figment, a hallucination. Everything around him felt real, but he was able to tell his mind that it wasn't. He didn't even know her...she did seem familiar but...

"What's your crime, woman?" His question startled her, fiercely trying to scramble away from the sound of the voice. Had it really been that long since she'd heard a voice? She never moved far because of her bindings, and was unable to speak due to her thirst so instead shook her head. So she wasn't here because of a petty crime...then why? He stood motionless, hands hidden within the confines of his cloak. The girl didn't move, probably no more energy to do so, her earlier movement the product of some kind of short-lived adrenaline.

He definitely hated to admit it, but his curiosity was getting the better of him and so silently moved forward, crouching down in front of her. As he went to pull her blindfold to see her eyes, the cloud of darkness fell over him like a fog.

Hiei awoke and looked around. The room was dark but definitely not empty, he having fallen asleep on the window left the furniture free.

What a ridiculous dream...he couldn't even place the girl. Maybe she'd be somewhat recognizable if her eyes had been visible...