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Chapter I: The End of the Dark Tournament

As he watched the last of Urameshi's spirit energy fade, Sakyo's expression turned from impassive to smug. He had paid, and Toguro had delivered. He watched as the boy staggered backward, but didn't fall. It won't be long now he thought, as he turned his attention to his own champion, expecting the large energy ball to disappear any moment. But the blast of Yusuke's spirit gun stubbornly stayed put, and, as Sakyo soon realized, wasn't going anywhere.

Peering closer, the crime lord saw with a stab of shock that Toguro was actually straining to hold the ball in place. Muscles bulging in his arms and neck, feet struggling for purchase in the ground, Toguro was barely keeping the giant energy blast in check, and was losing that battle even as Sakyo watched. There was a sudden, shuddering crack – Toguro had lost his grip. Sakyo watched helpless, horrified, as everything he had worked and planned so diligently for began to unravel. Yusuke's spirit gun slowly inched forward, grinding up Toguro's demonic skin, before fully enveloping him.

It was over in an instant – the single second for fate to decide if all his work was to come to naught – Sakyo had made the ultimate gamble, and he had lost. Now all he could do was pick up the pieces.

Kurama could barely see for the dust in his face and the lingering flash of light in his eyes. One moment Toguro had been holding the great ball of Yusuke's spirit gun in his arms, and the next he had been enveloped in its explosion. The dust was clearing – he could see – a sharp gasp from Hiei brought him out of his reverie.

"What is it?" he asked, turning to his sharp-eyed friend.

No reply. Turning back, Kurama realized with a start that he could no longer see Yusuke or Toguro. For a moment he was staring wildly into the clearing dust, before his attention was drawn to the ground. Oh, no… Yusuke and a human-looking Toguro had both collapsed on the ground.

"Amazing!" Koto sounded unusually breathless. "I've never seen anything like it! Both team captains down after blasting each other with all they had! I wish all the fans of the tournament could have seen this! Juri! Start the count!"

The apparition in question nodded and wobbled over to where the two combatants lay. She made a face – in the sunlight Toguro was a pasty white and seemed more inhuman than ever. It was obvious he was dead. "Uh…alright. Umm, I'll start the count…"

"One, two, three…"

Come on, Yusuke, get up! You've got to get up! Kurama suddenly realized he was shaking.

"Four, five…"

Damn it, I knew I should have taken this match…I knew! Yusuke, you better get up, or I'm going to kill you myself…

"Six, seven, eight…"

Kuwabara was not dead, although all he could see was darkness. He could still hear. Right now, numbers were dancing through his mind, mocking his helplessness.Damn you, Urameshi…don't you dare screw this up; not after everything we've been through; not after Genkai…

"Nine, ten."

Yusuke, what have you done? Koenma's fist clenched convulsively, hidden in the folds of his long red cloak.

"Well…" Juri sounded as confused and stunned as all the apparitions in the stands felt. "Seeing as Toguro is dead, and Yusuke didn't get up within the allotted ten seconds, there… is… no winner."

"And with this match ending in a draw," Koto's voice broke into the silence, "the teams stay at a 2-to-1 score, Urameshi leading…but because a team needs at least three successful completions to win the Dark Tournament…there is no winner to this year's Dark Tournament."

Pandemonium ensued.