Knocking Some Sense into Yusuke

Human World, Hanging Neck Island.

Leaving the arena, Kurama felt more than a little unsettled. After watching Team Toguro's match, he realized that he was sorely outclassed as he was now.

From the way Bui wielded his oversized axe and tore his opponent apart, to the way Karasu caused his opponent to explode with little effort or movement, and finally the way Elder Toguro manipulated the shape of his body to defeat the remaining three members of the opposing team.

On top of that, there was his encounter with Karasu on his way out.

Without even feeling his approach, Kurama had found himself in Karasu's grasp, Karasu's hands, which he had intuited were the reason for his opponent's fiery demise, were only inches from his face. And the feeling that knowing there was nothing he could do to escape was haunting his every thought.

'If I want to live through this tournament, I have to come up with a viable strategy.' Kurama thought to himself as he walked toward the hotel where he and the rest of the team were lodging. 'If only I could bring out Yoko during the fight.'

Just as that thought flashed through his mind, Kurama's thoughts were forced to a complete halt when he felt a powerful, yet familiar, presence disappear.

"Oh no. Genkai, how could she..." Kurama muttered as he began sprinting toward the place where he last felt the presence.

Meanwhile, Hiei, who had been training since dawn, also felt the disappearance of Genkai's presence on the island.

"Damn..." Hiei muttered as he ended his training and began walking toward the location where he last felt Genkai's presence.

Not only Kurama and Hiei, but Koenma, Botan, Yukina, Shizuru, Irene, Erza, and all of Team Toguro also felt that Genkai was no longer alive. And all of them knew that Toguro was the cause. While Irene and Erza were expecting this outcome, thanks to talking with Genkai about it, Botan, Yukina, and Shizuru felt a sick feeling in the pits of their stomachs.

Koenma, on the other hand, had also been expecting this to happen, however, he felt no small amount of sadness at the passing of an old friend.

The only person with a decent amount of spiritual awareness that did not react to Genkai's death was Kuwabara. Though, no one would know whether it was because he did not sense it, or he did not believe his senses to be true. Instead, he was busy pacing in front of the hotel, worrying about why Yusuke and James had run off.

"That was pathetic." James said as he approached Yusuke, who was sitting motionlessly against the tree he had smashed into.

Yusuke, however, did not respond to James' insult. Instead, he continued to hang his head in sadness.

"If you're gonna act like this, she should have just let Toguro kill you and everyone you know and love." James said disdainfully. "And to think she cared so deeply for such a pathetic---"

"... ut up..." Yusuke murmured, interrupting James' speech.

"Sorry, mind saying that again?" James asked in a mocking tone. "Or do you plan to keep holding back like you did with that punch a few seconds ago?"

"I said..." Yusuke said, looking up with blood shot eyes and anger in his expression. "Shut up!"

With that exclamation, Yusuke's spirit energy, or magic power, spiked, causing the air to ripple and the ground around him to sink slightly.

"Hmph!" James snorted, still looking at Yusuke with a disdainful snort in his eyes. "I thought you really cared about her, but if this is all you're gonna show me, then I guess I was wrong."

"Shut up!" Yusuke roared as he stood up with rage burning in his eyes. "Don't talk to me like you fucking know me!"

With that bellow, Yusuke lunged at James, anger fueling his attack.

*Boom!*

However, as soon as he was within arm's reach, James slammed the younger boy into the ground, kicking up dust and fallen leaves due to the force of the slam. Then, James held Yusuke in place while he continued to speak.

"Come on, dude, is that really it?" James asked with a smirk. "If that's all you can show me, then maybe I should go and kill all your friends and loved ones."

Hearing that, Yusuke's rage burned even brighter.

"At least, if I'm the one who does it, they won't suffer more than necessary." James said, changing his disdainful tone into a more compassionate one. "But if you fight Toguro like you are, he's definitely going to torture them. Maybe even in front of you, just to make you give him the fight he wants."

Imagining James killing Keiko, Kuwabara, and his mother caused Yusuke's power to spike even higher. However, no matter how much he struggled, he still couldn't escape from James' grasp. When James mentioned how Toguro would more than likely torture them and how he might be forced to watch it happen, Yusuke's power spiked close to its limit.

"I said shut up!" Yusuke bellowed once again.

This time, when Yusuke roared, his spirit energy was strong enough to push James away, even if not very far. Still, that bit of distance was more than enough for Yusuke to rise to his feet again.

Then, once again, with rage fueling his actions, Yusuke lunged at James and threw a punch with all his might. Unlike last time, however, James was unable to easily avoid and counterattack. Instead, he was forced to block it.

Like Toguro had done earlier, James raised his left hand and caught Yusuke's punch. Unlike Toguro, however, James hand was not damaged in the slightest. Instead, the collision created a shockwave that knocked down the thinner trees in the duo's surroundings.

"Good." James said with a wide smile on his face while he held Yusuke's fist. "Now, that we've gotten rid of that wall of bullshit you built between you and your emotions, we can get you ready to beat the shit out of Toguro."

Hearing those words and seeing the wide smile on James' face, Yusuke realized what James was doing. Despite understanding what was going on, Yusuke was still pissed off.

"You think it's fun playing with my emotions?" Yusuke growled.

"Sure do." James replied happily.

"Fuck you!" Yusuke said as he swung his left leg at James' head.

Releasing Yusuke's fist, James ducked under the kick. Then, with just enough force, he pressed his hands on Yusuke's thigh and knocked him off his feet with little effort.

"Come on dude." James said, still with a smile on his face. "That would have never worked a few days ago. Even though you definitely have the power to kill Toguro now, you can't even use it properly."

As James spoke, Yusuke hopped back onto his feet and charged at James once again. Throwing another punch, Yusuke was expecting James to catch it like he had before. And if he did, Yusuke had a follow up planned.

However, James dodged Yusuke's punch, contrary to the Spirit Detective's expectations. Then, when Yusuke was caught off guard, James backhanded him across the face, causing him to fly away before slamming into the tree he had been sitting in front of moments ago.

Instead of rushing to attack again, Yusuke stood up slowly. All the while, he glared at James as hard as he could while trying to figure out what would be the best course of action to take with his next attack.

"Good, since you've calmed down a bit..." James said, turning around toward the spot where Genkai and Toguro fought. "Do you think you could hold that thought for a minute."

Then, as if he weren't even fighting a moment ago, James began walking away. Seeing this as an opportunity, Yusuke rushed at James as fast as he could with his hand cocked back for another punch that he aimed at the back of James' head.

"Seriously, did you forget how precise my sensing ability is?" James asked as he nonchalantly ducked under Yusuke's punch before grabbing his arm tightly. "Fine, since you're in such a rush, you can go ahead. I'll see you there in a minute."

After saying what he wanted to say, James threw Yusuke over his shoulder. However, instead of slamming him into the ground, he threw Yusuke up into the air, over the trees.

"That's something he's really gonna have to work on." James said, did he forget who I am, or rather what I am, due to his anger or something?"

A few seconds later, Yusuke fell out of the sky and landed agilely next to Genkai's corpse. Seeing his master's body lying lifeless on the ground once again, Yusuke, for the first time in a long time, felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Like James had said, Yusuke had built a wall between himself and his emotions. For the simple reason that showing emotion did not match the image of a tough guy that Yusuke had in his mind. However, now that James had mercilessly torn down that wall, Yusuke could finally cry for Genkai, something he had not done when she died in his arms.

About a minute later, James walked into the clearing. When he did, he saw Yusuke sitting on the ground holding Genkai's cold, unresponsive hand in his own, while tears streamed down his face.

"*Sigh* He's only fourteen." James muttered as he watched the heartbroken teenager in front of him. "This really is something he never should have had to go through. Fate really can be a bitch sometimes."

As James muttered to himself, he continued to approach Yusuke and Genkai's corpse. However, it seemed that Yusuke was so deep in his own thoughts that he did not notice James' approach.

Seeing as he was going unnoticed, James smiled mischievously. Then, when he arrived next to the two, without alerting Yusuke, James extended his left hand over Genkai's chest. A moment later, a pair of [Pawn Pieces] appeared floating over his outstretched palm. Then, he let the two [Evil Pieces] fall into Genkai's chest.

After that, James simply waited. However, his smile widened when Yusuke did not notice the [Evil Pieces] sinking into Genkai's chest.

Meanwhile, as James had observed, Yusuke had completely forgotten all the rage he was feeling with James, who had played with his emotions, once he saw Genkai again. So, instead of rushing back to fight with James again, he sat down and held Genkai's cold hand and closed his eyes. For the next few minutes, he just reminisced about all the time the two of them had spent together.

So, it was only natural that Yusuke had missed the moment James reincarnated Genkai into a devil.

"Haven't you cried enough, Dimwit?" Genkai said, causing Yusuke to think he was hallucinating. "Or did you somehow manage to turn into a little bitch while I was dead?"

Although he thought he was hallucinating when he heard Genkai's first question, her second question caused him to open his eyes with a mix of shock and bewilderment on his face. Then, he was thoroughly confused when he saw the owner of the hand he was holding.

The woman whose hand he was holding had pink hair like the Genkai he knew. However, hers was a much brighter shade of pink. It was like Genkai's hair when she powered up to full power before his inheritance test.

'Now that I look at her closely, she looks just like the old hag when she powered up yesterday.' Yusuke said as he let go of Genkai's hand and rubbed his eyes. 'But how? She's dead, right? I mean, I watched her die.'

"*Sigh* You really are a dimwit." Genkai said after seeing the confusion in Yusuke's eyes. "Did you forget who and what..."

Before she continued, Genkai paused for a moment. Then, she began scanning her surroundings for any nearby presences. Feeling two familiar presences nearby, she shook her head and continued.

"... J is?" Genkai asked, finishing her earlier question.

At once, Yusuke knew exactly what Genkai was talking about. In fact, he had been present for a few of James' peerage members being reincarnated. He had also heard before that someone could be resurrected shortly after death by the [Evil Pieces].

After having his memory jogged, Yusuke glared at James with a look as if he had just been betrayed.

"Come on, now. Don't look at me like that." James said with a wry smile. "I told you that I acted like that to get you over the wall you built around your emotions, right?"

"But why didn't you tell me that you could reincarnate her into a demon?" Yusuke asked aggressively.

"First of all, it's devil, not demon. And second, that one's on you, bro." James said while pointing at Yusuke. "When I thought you had calmed down, I started walking back here and told you to hold on. But before I could say anymore, you attacked, thinking it was a good chance."

That statement caused Yusuke to open his mouth wide. Then, he closed it with an embarrassed blush on his face.

"Anyway, now that the show is over, let's go back to the hotel." James said while turning back toward the hotel. Then, after he started walking, he continued while looking in a certain direction. "I'm getting kinda hungry. Hiei, Kurama, are you two coming?"