Chapter Seven

"So, how are you doing?" the static voice asked.

Melanie couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. Just a little, itsy, teeny tiny, bit.

"What for?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'm with a group of murderous demons and I just killed a man, so."

"Not a man. A demon. Who would've killed you if you hadn't killed him first."

Melanie sighed. This was getting tiresome. "What do you want me to do here? Lose my sanity? 'Cause I'm so close."

"Well, no, that wasn't the intended purpose. I wanted you to meet some people."

"Who?"

"I'll give you a hint, since I'm so nice. You've already met them."

"That's... so not helpful. I've met so many people that even I can't remember them."

Yuki awoke with a jerk (again) and looked around. He had just been pulled from sleep and the conversation. What on Earth woke him? Was he being attacked? Had Team Toguro finally deemed him useless?

No, no, Sakyo said my talents are valuable. Even if the team wanted me gone, Sakyo wouldn't let them.

Against all better judgement, he called out, "Hello?"

There was no answer. Yuki scanned the room quickly, thankful for the night-vision his demonic body granted him. Nothing was out of place. There were no shadows lurking behind walls.

Am I going crazy?

Shaking his head, Yuki attempted to go back to sleep. Finding himself unable to, he instead decided to meditate. When that didn't do much but cause him to wander his own mind (and question his sanity teaming up with some murderers and even staying with them), Yuki decided to train.

Apparently demons can function pretty well with minimal sleep.

Yuki didn't feel half as tired as he would've been in a human body. He hadn't been able to fall back to sleep after the odd midnight awakening, but even so, his brain wasn't muddled.

"I wonder if I should check out the fights today..." he muttered, watching some humans leave the building and head towards the stadium. "Nah."

Instead of watching the fights, Yuki decided to spend the day training. He had somehow acquired a fondness for it during his isolation in the woods. So the demon focused on getting his stamina up. It had been horrendous even when he was alone. Even more so, now that he was surrounded by people who could outlast him, should they come to a standstill. And since the demons had demonstrated what they tended to do to losers, the white-haired demon wasn't willing to lose.

Even I'm guilty of this. Killing the loser. It's barbaric and cruel. And yet I adapted to it so quickly.

Yuki had to still his shaking hands and forcibly banish the image of the dead and mutilated Gorilla.

I can't think about that. If I do... who knows what Team Toguro will do to me if they find out I don't want to kill.

It was almost sundown before Yuki spotted Team Urameshi walking from the stadium. They seemed to be beat-up and overly exhausted. What on Earth had happened for them to look like that? Without a second thought, he rushed to help Kuwabara walk.

"What happened?" he rushed to ask.

Yusuke and Kuwabara grinned. "We won!"

"I realized that, but are you guys ok?"

"Kuwabara here might be a bit beat up, but otherwise we're good!" Yusuke grinned.

Yuki's gaze flickered over to the masked fighter and Hiei. They seemed to be worse for wear. Hiei hadn't even taken his right hand out of his pocket. What Yuki could see of it, was that it looked burned, like charcoal.

"I'd suggest you let Kuwabara, Hiei, and..." Yuki looked at the masked fighter, hoping for a name.

They seemed to understand, but shook their head. Then they spoke. It was soft, but clear, and very feminine. "Don't bother with me. I'll be fine."

At first, Yuki was startled, but he quickly nodded. "Just rest. You look terrible. I can tell that, even if I can't see your face."

The masked fighter nodded.

"I don't need you to tell me what to do," Hiei hissed, giving Yuki a glare.

Yuki felt his temper flare. He was just trying to help. Even if he was on the bad guy team.

"Fine then, die. Maybe then you'll be able to put aside your damned pride," Yuki hissed back.

Hiei seemed shocked, taking a step away. He quickly recovered.

"I could kill you in my sleep," he growled.

"Try me. Maybe you'll find I'm stronger than you," Yuki growled back. It seemed like they were two weak wolves fighting over a meal.

Even though Hiei was 3 inches taller then him, Yuki did his best to glare him down. As blue and red clashed in a battle of stubbornness, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Yuki reluctantly broke eye-contact with the infuriating fire-demon and looked over at Kurama. Hiei huffed.

"It's certainly kind of you to worry about us," the red-head smiled.

Yuki nodded slowly. "You guys are pretty cool in my book, so..."

Yusuke broke into a wide grin. "Hear that, Kuwabara! We're cool!"

The black haired teen slapped his bent over charge and Kuwabara coughed a little.

"Did you have to hit me, Urameshi?!"

"Don't be such a wuss! You're fine!"

Yuki held back a small snort. It was refreshing to see their antics. He had gotten bored of being alone in the hotel room. Although, compared to the alternative of seeing Team Toguro, Yuki was thankful for the alone time.

"Who did you fight against? I heard a lot of cheering and whatnot," he finally asked.

"We fought against two teams today," Kurama informed the short demon.

"Two? That's... unconventional. I thought teams fought once per day?"

"Yes, well, it seems today wasn't conventional."

Yuki nodded again (he seemed to do that a lot around Team Urameshi) and watched the two human boys bicker.

"It seems that the finals are in two days," Kurama spoke again.

That sentence surprised Yuki.

"The finals are in two days? So fast?" he asked, his gaze turning to the red-head.

Kurama nodded. "We'll be fighting against each other then." He paused. "I think it'd be best if you gave us some time alone."

"Oh... yeah, sure."

He wasn't about to say it, but Yuki felt like he could count Yusuke and Kuwabara as friends. Maybe he was mistaken. He was fighting against them.

"Hold on."

Yuki was shocked to see Hiei standing in his way.

"I want answers."

The white-haired demon tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean about what you did to Kurama and I that time in the forest."

"Oh. That was... another ability of mine."

"Elaborate," Hiei demanded, stepping closer and invading Yuki's personal space.

Yuki felt himself want to retaliate but reeled the feeling in and took a step back before continuing. "It's an ability I can use only as a female. It allows me to control another being's blood."

"Is that how you caused that pain? You controlled our blood?" Hiei looked like he was about to kill someone. Which, granted, he probably had done before.

Yuki nodded very, very slowly. He didn't want to fight against Hiei. He knew nothing about the fire-demon. Aside from that maybe he used a sword. And was fast. Really fast.

Hiei seemed to take a deep breath to calm down. And then he was gone. Yuki tensed, slightly panicked that Hiei was about to attack.

"Don't worry. That little runt is in no shape ta' fight," came Yusuke's voice. "He's just gone off somewhere."

"No shape to fight? Is that why he hid his arm?" Yuki relaxed and looked over at the tall teen.

"I'm surprised you noticed that," Kurama commented. "But yes. He injured himself."

"Oh. Well... uh, I'll leave you guys to your... healing. And um. For what it's worth, I hope you guys win."

Yuki was mildly surprised to see Team Toguro in the hotel room.

"Yuki," came Younger Toguro's voice. "We missed you at the arena."

"I didn't go," came the small demon's response. "I was preparing for the finals."

"So you heard."

Yuki nodded. "We're fighting against Team Urameshi, right?"

"That's right, little Yuki," Older Toguro smirked. "I hope you're ready."

"If you don't mind me asking... why does Team Urameshi seem to have a grudge against you guys?"

Younger Toguro raised an eyebrow. "What does it matter to you?"

"I want to know if I end up getting in the way of someone's revenge or something."

The body-builder known as Younger Toguro was silent for a while. "Something like that."

Thanks. That's OH SO helpful.

The next day was suspenseful. Yuki watched Team Urameshi leave the building and head to the arena without Yusuke or the masked fighter. Where were they? Wasn't Yusuke important?

"Excited, are we?" a voice made Yuki jump and spin around.

He was face-to-face with Older Toguro.

"What do you want?" Yuki ground out.

"Just asking a question, little Yuki. Humor me."

"No, I'm not excited," he sighed, turning back to the window.

"Really? You're not excited to feel blood on your hands?"

Yuki whipped his head back around, eyes freezing. Before he could speak, Older Toguro laughed.

"Don't try and hide it. You like feeling powerful. You enjoyed killing that lower-class demon."

"That's not true."

"You're afraid of what it did to you. You don't want to be a killer. But it's in your nature. You're a demon."

Part of what he said was true. Yuki didn't want to be a killer. He was afraid of what it did to him. And it probably was in his nature as a demon. And... he had attacked with every intention to kill. But after coming down from the adrenaline rush, Yuki had been horrified by what he had done. He had obsessively scrubbed at his face, turning the pale skin a raw red until he could feel the stinging every time his face moved. He wasn't like them. He would control himself. He would have to.

"You're wrong," Yuki replied, his voice weak.

But even still... if he was a demon, and demons killed... would that mean he would become bloodthirsty? Would he lose his humanity and start to actively look for things to kill? If he wanted to kill... would he be able to control himself?

"For now," Older Toguro chuckled darkly, as if reading Yuki's inner turmoil. "When the power starts to corrupt that pretty little mind of yours, come find me. I'll take care of you."

Yuki managed to escape from the suddenly oppressive hotel building, running into the forest and attempting to calm down his anxiety. He wasn't a demon. He was human. He wasn't a demon. He was human. He wasn't a killer. He never wanted to be.

Thoughts raced through his mind, grasping at what seemed to be left of his humanity. He had accepted his powers so easily. He never questioned them. Yet now here he was, trying to calm his accelerated panting and shaking. Would he lose himself? Or rather... would he lose Melanie? Would the human part end up being swallowed by the demon part? Would Melanie truly become Yuki?

Yuki skidded to a stop and forced his body to become female. She looked over her shaking hands, now seeming paler than usual. Clenching them, she shook her head and allowed her feet to go where they wanted.

It wasn't long before she stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking the blue sea. It seemed so calm. So serene. The complete opposite of what she felt on the inside. She looked up at the full moon, coldly shining down at her, as if mocking her.

It wasn't long before she felt a violent shiver go down her spine. It made her look to the West and see something glowing. Her curiosity got the better of her as she leapt off the cliff and landed on the beach below. It didn't take long to reach the source of the light.

Yusuke was standing there, looking out at the ocean, hands pressed together in a sort of meditative stance. A large glowing sphere surrounded him. The sphere crackled with energy and Yuki felt beads of sweat trickle down her back. This was strange, her gut told her. He wasn't this strong last time she checked.

She watched from a distance for about an hour, amazed at Yusuke's endurance. After that, she was surprised to see him draw the sphere into himself.

Then Kuwabara came tumbling down the cliff face clutching a sword hilt.

"Yo," Yusuke greeted.

"Don't give me that," Kuwabara replied, holding his head. He seemed to have hit it on the way down.

Yuki watched as they exchanged a few words, Kuwabara bragging about his "Super Dynamic Strong Spirit Sword". Then someone else joined in with a "You're as noisy a bastard as always."

Hiei appeared around a cliff, his right arm battered and bloody.

"You bastard! Don't startle us by showing up out of nowhere like that!" Kuwabara yelled, looking quite freaked.

He's like a mom fart, Yuki thought with a snicker. Silent but deadly.

"What's the matter with your right arm?!" came Kuwabara again.

"It just wouldn't listen to what I told it to do, so I had to beat it around a little," Hiei replied, looking at said arm.

That is not how you make your arm listen to you.

"At any rate, all we need now is for Kurama to come along, and-" Kuwabara was cut off as a smoother voice took over.

"If you mean me, I'm already here. I have been for a while now."

Kurama looked over to where Yuki's hiding spot was. "As well as someone else. Come on out, Yuki."

Yuki could feel embarrassment flood her face. Great. She had been caught spying. Better get it over with.

"H-Hi..." she called, stepping out of the shadows.

"Yuki-chan? Even you were here?" Kuwabara seemed ready to faint.

"Sorry. I felt something and I wanted to investigate..."

She walked forward, joining in the odd ring the group had made.

"Um, where's your other fighter?" she asked, looking around. "I haven't seen her since yesterday."

Yusuke looked away. Everyone but Kuwabara had taken on a somber expression.

"She's not... Ba-san isn't... she won't be coming back today," Yusuke explained through clenched teeth.

Sensing that she had just walked into a can of freshly packed worms, Yuki took the hint and dropped the subject.

Nobody seemed willing to talk afterwards.

"Is..." Four sets of eyes looked up and watched Yuki. "Is there anything I can do?"

She had spoken so quietly that she hoped no one heard it. She looked up and saw that even Kurama's and Hiei's gazes had softened. She was used to being glared at by those bright eyes.

It was Yusuke who spoke first.

"Don't worry about it, Yuki. It's our business."

The day of the finals had arrived much too quickly. Yuki was being ushered into the arena too soon. It was too soon to fight. Not against them. It seemed exactly like the fight against Team Spirit Warrior. The only difference being that Sakyo had joined them.

He could barely register the crowd roaring for Team Toguro to kill Team Urameshi. He didn't even look up from the ground until he heard Juri's voice introduce the teams.

The masked fighter wasn't there.

"Um, it seems that Team Urameshi is missing a fighter," Juri began. "If you don't produce a fifth fighter, I'll have to disqualify you."

Juri stood silent for a while, waiting for the fifth fighter, but none came.

"As Team Urameshi is short of participants, we hereby declare Team Toguro to be the victors by default-"

"Hold it! I'm the fifth man!" a voice cut in.

The doors behind Team Urameshi began to open, smoke billowing out.

"What kind of strange Spirit Energy is this?" Kuwabara cried, faltering slightly.

"It's not Spirit Energy. It's just dry ice."

A tall man stepped out, a... pacifier stuck in his mouth. He wore blue clothes and a long red cape that flew behind him. He had brown hair and a Jr. tattooed on his forehead. Who was that?

"K-Koenma?!" Kuwabara pointed at the man.

"Act all important, will ya," Yusuke frowned.

The crowd seemed to grow restless at the mention of the newcomer's name.

"Who's Koenma?" Yuki wondered aloud.

"He's the ruler of the Spirit Realm," came the reply from Bui.

"Oh."

"Those of us who rule over the Spirit Realm do not normally become involved with matters of the lower realms. However, the situation being what it is, it seems I cannot help but participate," Koenma continued.

Kuwabara seemed to question Koenma's ability to fight, to which Koenma revealed a jetpack underneath his cape. Yuki had to laugh at that.

They're funny.

Juri seemed opposed to Koenma acting as a replacement for the masked fighter, who she called Genkai, but the other members of Team Toguro seemed fine with it.

"The final round's first match is between Contestant Karasu of Team Toguro, and Contestant Kurama of Team Urameshi!" Juri yelled into her microphone.

And so, the first round began.

ahhhhhhhhh I'm so sorry I didn't upload anything yesterday! I didn't have any internet! To make up for it, here's a doubly long chapter!

NEXT TIME: EXPLOSION! THE YOKO AWAKENED

DFTBA!