The Next Round Begins Immediately

Human World, Hanging Neck Island.

After the match ended, Keiko who had been scolding James for his ruthless behavior, fell silent. After seeing those slashes to the back and the pools of blood that formed under the members of Team Ichigaki on the ring, she was certain that he had killed them.

"Still think that stopping J would be a good idea?" Irene asked in a teasing tone.

Hearing that, Keiko began to blush in embarrassment.

"How was I supposed to know that he was saving them when he cut them like that?" Keiko protested quietly.

Meanwhile, Botan, who had taken on the role of Team Urameshi's trainer was checking on Kuwabara who had several cracked ribs after James sent him flying from the ring. A few moments later, after reuniting the old man with the three human members of Dr. Ichigaki's team and sending them off, James, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama made their way over to Kuwabara.

"What a surprise, you lost... again." Hiei said in a dry tone when he saw Kuwabara's condition.

"Shut it, Hiei... Ow!" Kuwabara barked back, before wincing in pain. Then, he looked at James angrily. "And why did you do that? I was just trying to stop you from killing those three."

"First of all, Kuwabara." James said nonchalantly. "There was no need to stop me from killing them, since I had no intention of killing them in the first place. If you had used your spiritual awareness, you would have noticed that I didn't kill that guy."

Lowering his head in shame, Kuwabara knew James was right. He let his emotions get the better of him and didn't think things through at the time.

"Second, I saved your life when I knocked you out of the ring." James continued. "When I knocked you away, there was an energy javelin headed right for your heart."

"What, but I didn't see or sense anything." Kuwabara said, not completely believing what James had to say on the matter.

"He's telling the truth, Kuwabara." Yusuke said, defending James' point.

"Then, how could Urameshi sense it when I couldn't?" Kuwabara asked, believing the story even less now. "I mean, he's always sucked at sensing spirit energy."

"After enough trauma, you learn to do things that you never could do before." Yusuke replied with a faraway look in his eyes.

Seeing the lifeless expression Yusuke was wearing, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama, and Botan all wondered exactly what he had been through during his three months of training. However, they were also not sure if they really wanted to know.

"Although that didn't fully answer the question, it did explain why Yusuke could sense something you couldn't, Kuwabara." James added with awry smile.

'Seriously, why does he look like that every time he mentions Master's training?' James asked himself. 'I know Master's training is harsh, but it's not like he would have... died... Okay, I understand, I guess. That many near death experiences would change someone on a fundamental level.'

"The reason that you couldn't sense them was because of those things on the three fighter's backs. The gross things that were controlling them." James said, continuing where he left off. "Those things made their spirit energy much purer. So, their energy was harder to detect. However, because of my master's training, Yusuke's spirit energy has grown much purer in the last three months as well."

Contemplating James' words, Kuwabara could only believe them. It seemed that Yusuke had grown a lot stronger thanks to the training he went through. Naturally, that made Kuwabara want to see if it would be as effective for him as it was for Yusuke.

'I'll ask about it after the tournament.' Kuwabara thought to himself while nodding with determination, only to wince in pain from moving too much.

Before they could speak any further, however, an announcement rang over the stadium's broadcasting system.

{"Due to a unanimous decision from the Tournament Committee, Team Urameshi's next match will begin immediately.} A female voice said through the stadium's speaker system. {"Team Mashou, please make your way to the ring."}

"Wow, they aren't even trying to hie the fact that they want us dead." Yusuke said in a feigned tone of surprise.

{However, because Team Urameshi will be fighting in two matches, back to back, they will be subjected to a medical checkup by our very own medical professional."} The female voice announced over the speakers once again.

"Oh yeah, this is definitely a scheme of some sort." Yusuke said.

"What gave it away?" James asked in a sarcastic tone.

A moment later, a female demon walked out of the tunnel that Kuto usually used to entered the stadium.

"Scratch that, she can grab my balls and tell me to cough any time." Yusuke said with a perverted grin on his face.

A moment later, however, Yusuke flinched and lowered his head while losing the perverted grin.

"Damn, how did she hear me?" Yusuke asked in a whisper. "I don't have to even look, and I know that Keiko is glaring a hole in the back of my head right now."

"Never underestimate a woman's intuition, man." James said, patting Yusuke on the shoulder.

Walking from the tunnel to Team Urameshi's side of the ring, was a voluptuous, red-haired demon whose left eye was covered by her long hair. Wearing a skimpy nurse's outfit, she almost looked the part of a medical professional.

"Hello, I'm Ruka." The red-haired woman said in a sultry tone. "If you would allow me, I'll inspect your conditions."

Then, without waiting for a response, Ruka raised her right hand, pointing her palm at each of the members of Team Urameshi in turn.

"There is no need for this." Hiei said sharply. "It's clear the only one in need of medical attention is the fool laid out on the ground."

Ignoring Hiei, Ruka continued to inspect the five members of the team. While doing so, she would point her right palm at a member then she would make eye contact with the same member for a second or two. However, upon making eye contact with James, Ruka held eye contact for around ten seconds, feeling that it was impossible to look away. And she sweated profusely for more than half of the duration.

"Is something wrong, Ruka?" James asked with a smile, snapping Ruka back to her senses. "Should I open my mouth and say, ahh?"

James then opened his mouth and showed his throat to the sexy red headed demon. However, when she looked, she was scared out of her mind.

Blazing in the depths of James throat was a raging inferno. Ruka felt that even looking at those flames for too long would burn her to death. So, she quickly looked away.

"Ahem!" Ruka cleared her throat to divert her mind from what she just saw. "After my analysis, I'll need to see Hiei for further evaluation. I'm sure it must be rather awkward not being able to use your dominant arm, right?"

Glaring at Ruka, who by now had turned away and walked toward a medical tent that had somehow been set up in the short time since she entered the ring area, Hiei followed her after a short moment. However, as soon as he entered the tent, following Ruka's invitation, the entire tent was covered by a barrier.

"Wow, he really followed her into such an obvious trap without a word." James said with his eyes wide open and a smile on his face.

Just as James had mentioned, Hiei walked into the tent knowing that it was a trap. However, thinking himself strong enough to deal with whatever the Tournament Committee could throw at him, he walked in without a word. Unfortunately, he was not strong enough to break out of this barrier.

"Do you really think you can hold me here?" Hiei asked while glaring at Ruka.

Ripping away her nurse outfit, Ruka was left wearing little more than a set of leopard print underwear. Then, she smiled at Hiei arrogantly.

"Of course, I do," Ruka said arrogantly. "No one has ever escaped from a barrier I, Ruka the Enchantress, have set."

"I'll show you the price for underestimating me." Hiei said coldly.

"Fifty Thousand Yen says Hiei fails his breakout attempt." James said, earning himself a glare from Hiei as well.

Deciding there was no point in talking any more, Hiei charged the barrier and attacked it with his left hand. The result? Hiei was bounced away from the barrier before slamming into the back of the medical tent."

Arrogantly smiling at Hiei one last time, Ruka flicked her long hair behind her shoulder and addressed the crowd.

"Now, after careful consideration, due to his injuries, Hiei has been deemed ineligible to participate in this match." Ruka said, speaking into a small microphone that was attached to her outfit.

"Something tells me she's not really a nurse." Kuwabara said

"Wow, you and Yusuke are two for two with the obvious statements." James said sarcastically.

"Now, with that out of the way, let's get to the next match." Kuto said excitedly.

The demons cheered loudly. Seeing that one of Team Urameshi's members had been disqualified before the match began, they thought that the Spirit Detective would finally die in this round.

A moment later five figures of differing sizes appeared in the ring.

"And here is Team Mashou!" Kuto shouted into the microphone. "Like they have in their previous match, they seemingly appeared from thin air."

"So, who wants to play the role of leader today?" One of the cloaked figures asked in an arrogant tone.

"I guess I'll do it." A comparatively shorter figure said, stepping forward while removing his cloak.

With the cloak removed, he's revealed to be a tall fair skinned demon with shoulder-length red hair, blue eyes, a short white horn on his forehead that is mostly covered by his bangs, and pointy ears that make him look more like a sprite than a demon. And he wears a mostly white outfit with a white toga-like top and white baggy pants that are held up by a blue sash. He also wears a pair of arm guards with a red jewel in the center of each.

Seeing that the opposing team was ready to discuss terms, Yusuke hopped in the ring to do the same as his team's captain.

"So how do you wanna play it?" The redhaired demon asked.

"You can decide." Yusuke replied.

"Then... How about we go one to one to one to one until there's no more left?" Jin asked excitedly.

"Uh... what he said." Yusuke said with confusion clear on his face.

"Did he just agree to a term that he didn't' understand?" James asked curiously.

"It would appear that way." Kurama replied with a nod.

"*Sigh* Something tells me that if I told him to use his head more, he would just try throwing in some headbutts into his combat style." James said, shaking his head with a smile.

"I wouldn't put it past him." Kurama said with a small smile.

The team captains have agree to have a match where each fighter can only leave the ring upon losing." Kuto said, explaining the rules to the audience. "The winner of each match will remain in the ring for the next fight. The team who loses all their members first is the loser."

"Wow, she's quite perceptive." Kuwabara said in an amazed tone.

"I knew that." Yusuke said, trying to hide the awkward expression on his face.

'How the hell did she get that from what he said?' Yusuke questioned in his head.

"Now that the rules have been set, are you ready for some more blood, carnage, and death?" Kuto asked excitedly into her microphone.

Naturally, the demons in the crowd began to cheer wildly. The only thing any of them wanted to see more than violence is Yusuke's death. And if they were lucky, they would get to see both during the next match.

"Kill Yusuke! Kill Yusuke! Kill Yusuke!" The demons in the crowd began to chant with fervor.

"Wow, you must be pretty good, Yusuke." James said while patting Yusuke on the shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked curiously.

"I mean, as a Spirit Detective." James explained. "You must be doing something right if so many demons you've never met hate you so much, right?"

"Indeed." Kurama agreed. "Yusuke, you've become something like the Boogie Man to the average demon."

"That's kinda bad ass." Yusuke said with a smile.

"But why aren't they chanting 'Kill Kuwabara!'?" Kuwabara asked from his spot on the ground. "I've been helping Urameshi with his cases."

"Maybe if you weren't lying on the ground unable to get up, they would hate you a bit more." Botan said while tending to Kuwabara's injuries.

"Now, would each team send up their first fighter?" Kuto asked, putting an end to that particular conversation.

"So, who wants to go first?" James asked with a smile.