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Series: Yu Yu Hakusho
Name: Kazuma Kuwabara
Age: 14 (by this point though he's likely close to 15 though)
Gender: Male
Appearance: Kuwabara is one ugly looking bloke, definitely a natural trait, though probably not helped by the fact that his face is usually sporting various bruises and scrapes courtesy one Yusuke Urameshi. His face is long and features brown eyes, usually overshadowed by his furrowed brow (either in anger or deep concentration), and a head of bright orange hair. Kuwabara is tall, likely a bit tall for his age, and has a muscular body; all-in-all, he has a very thug-like appearance, one that, should he pass you on the street, most likely induces a reaction to cover one's wallet, just in case. This thug demeanor is further enhanced by the fact that most days his body is suffering from a Yusuke-delivered fist pummeling.
Usually Kuwabara wears his school's uniform, which consists of bright ble pants, a blue coat buttoned up the middle with round yellow buttons, and a white tee underneath. Sometimes he'll be in a different outfit (like at the Dark Tournament finals), consisting of a long white coat and a pair of white pants held up by a black belt, but this is only worn on special occasions. Sometimes Kuwabara will wear a hachimaki on his forehead, always in a moment of extreme determination; the hachimaki will always have words on it expressing his particular form of exuberance (for example, when he was going to rescue Yukina, his hachimaki displayed his burning love for her, and attributed his determination to find his love as the method for how he'd find her).
Personality: Kuwabara is rather simplistic in nature; his type is easy to identify, and his various opponents tend to figure him out pretty quickly. The first thing they notice about Kuwabara is what a simplistic fool he is. Kuwabara has never been known for his intelligence (his lack thereof is often the subject of jokes from his more insensitive friends); in fact, he's so stupid that getting above a 50% on a test in school is an incredible achievement for him! His idiocy is not just limited to the classroom, however: often on missions, he's the last person to pick up on something that his teammates found strikingly obvious way ahead of him. However, he does usually figure things out eventually, after factoring through his thoughts for awhile.
Because Kuwabara is not much of a deep-thinker (that is, he might often be found in deep concentration, but his actual thoughts tend to deal more with surface details, rather than more complex ideas), he shows this in his actions. He is the type who rushes into a fight without a strategy, only intent on kicking his opponent's ass. He uses very straight-forward attacks, which makes his movements quite predictable. Kuwabara doesn't use the first minutes of a fight analyzing his opponent or forming a strategy; he just charges right on in. It's because of this that Kuwabara has never beat Yusuke in a fight. Kuwabara learns his opponent's attacks by taking hits from them rather than observing from a distance. One might hope that learning the techniques from physical means teaches Kuwabara faster than intellectually, but that's not always the case... but sometimes he does learn from his mistakes in the middle of a fight and can turn what he learns to his advantage. This isn't always a certain thing, though, and sometimes, despite his understanding of an opponent and their fighting technique, Kuwabara may lose the fight anyway, either for learning too late, or simply being unable to match their skill.
The second thing an opponent learns about Kuwabara, following his thick-headed nature, is his determination. Kuwabara never backs down from a fight, and he never runs from one, whether the odds are against him or not. This determination is due to his pride, and manly honor. Kuwabara may be dumb, but he's a man of honor and when he promises to start a fight, he intends to finish it too. He's proud to stick to his honor, and often uses his sense of honor as a gauge against his opponents. Not only is he dedicated to upholding his own honor, but when he faces someone without honor, he is all the more determined to put a stop to them.
His "manly honor" is what influences much of how Kuwabara lives his life, not just in fights. For example, though he may be the second toughest kid from Sarayashiki Jr. High, and the head of his own small gang, who engage in fights with neighboring student gangs, Kuwabara leads his gang with a certain set of ethic codes. When the leader of another gang kidnapped his cat, in order for Kuwabara to get her back, he had to do as the leader ordered him; the gang leader told Kuwabara to steal some magazines from a local store, however, because of his moral code, he couldn't steal the magazines, and bought them instead. So, though Kuwabara may be a punk who doesn't follow all the rules set in place, he does his best to uphold most of them even while engaging in rebellious teen antics. Other mandates of Kuwabara's moral code of honor include not hitting girls (and actually, this extends to respecting girls in general: Kuwabara was absolutely horrified when Yusuke groped a supposedly-female demon opponent), and doing his best to keep innocents and regular civilians out of any fight he may incite. Cruelty to anyone not deserving of it or those unable of defending themselves is also a big no-no in Kuwabara's book.
Probably the most important part of Kuwabara's honor code is his loyalty to his friends. Even above winning a fight is Kuwabara's loyalty and care for his friends. When one of the teachers at school forbade Kuwabara and his gang from fighting for a week, or else his friend Okubo would lose his after-school job, which supported his family. As Kuwabara made it a near-daily after school activity to engage in street fights with rival gangs, this restriction was mainly a sacrifice on his part, but because his friend's well-being was more important, Kuwabara refrained from fighting, even when challenged. Instead, he took his beating without retaliating, all because his friends mean the world to him. Throughout the show, Kuwabara displays his dedicated loyalty toward his friends, and often willingly makes sacrifices for them, even when it seems impossible for him to succeed.
Out of Yusuke's team - consisting of Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke himself - Kuwabara is the most sensitive. If any of them is open to caring for his opponent, it's him, and he has on occasion tried to stop a fight if he felt that his opponent was in it for the wrong reason, or, as happened in the Dark Tournament, Team Urameshi went against a team of brain-controlled humans. Kuwabara is usually the one who tries to reach out to his opponents when they're suffering. He considers doing so another part of being a man; after facing Seaman, who ambushed Kuwabara and his friends and nearly killed them, Kuwabara carried the injured Mitarai to safety. Mitarai, who didn't expect such kindness and mercy from any human, asked Kuwabara why he was helping him, and Kuwabara told him that for a man, doing what was right didn't always mean doing what he wanted. He's able to put aside his own anger to show his enemy kindness, and it is always sincere.
Kuwabara is not afraid to show his emotions, even ones that most men would consider "unmanly" to display. When Yusuke died at the beginning, Kuwabara showed up at the wake, shouting at Urameshi, unable to accept that he was dead. Though most of the mourners there sneered at his loud and unseemly grief, it's just one example of Kuwabara being brave enough to show his sorrow. He truly wears his heart on his sleeve.
This extends to his tendency to fall in love as well. When he first met Botan, he immediately had a crush on her, and did until he saw Yukina, for whom he fell hard. Even though he falls in love at sight, his affections are sincere, and once he fell in love with Yukina, he's very true to those feelings. It's amazing the affect his crush's presence can have on Kuwabara: whenever he sees Yukina, Kuwabara grows giddy and excited, and directs all his attention on her. The mere sight of her is often like healing power for him, and his motivation is always restored when he knows that Yukina's watching. For example, during the Dark Tournament, Team Urameshi nearly had to withdraw when the team was reduced to Kurama, Yusuke, and a very injured Kuwabara; after four fights, Kurama was in worse shape than he was, while Yusuke was unfairly disqualified from fighting the last match due to a technicality in his second match. Kuwabara was too injured to be expected to fight, but he was the only one left who could enter the ring, and he did so, though his loss was all but inevitable. That's when Yukina arrived to the stadium, and all she had to do was say his name for Kuwabara to regain his vigor and win the match (his only win during the Tournament, before the finals).
All feelings seem to come easy to Kuwabara, and this holds true for fear as well. He's often spooked and always has a huge reaction to things. He's also easy to anger, especially if your name is Yusuke or Hiei, though he usually resolves his anger with a punch and is done with it. Usually he gets angry when he feels his teammates are keeping him out of something, that they do so because they think he's too dumb to be included. He does not like to be under-estimated, and often looks for ways to brag to his teammates and show them why they should be impressed with him. He takes pride in his abilities and achievements, and is never content to remain static. He likes to improve himself, both in fighting skill, and in other aspects of life. Even though he's not the brightest bulb, he still does his best to attend school and tries to learn what he can. He doesn't give up on his dreams and aspirations, and has a generally optimistic view on his life.
Particulars: my spirit sense is tingling → Kuwabara was born with an exceptional amount of spirit awareness, which allows him to sense things such as ghosts or apparitions when close-by. Whenever he feels one of them near, he tends to get a chill down his spine. Though he can't actually see them, he can usually guess a ghost's traits and even possibly what it's a ghost of. Because of his spirit awareness, he's sometimes been plagued by ghosts following him about, and since their presence gives him the chills, he's tended to not welcome their presence or his powers. However, because of his powers, he made the perfect host for Yusuke to take over when he was a ghost. Needless to say, the experience was rather mind-boggling for Kuwabara (especially when he came back to himself only to find a cute girl pressed up against him...and then slapped him silly a moment later). In addition to his ability to sense ghosts and other apparitions, Kuwabara is also able to occasionally see another person's memory. It's a bit like telepathy, but it's not something he uses consciously. Most of the time it's because the other person wants to send him a message, often a warning or cry for help.
Because of his spirit awareness, he eventually sought the advice of renowned master Genkai, coincidentally arriving at her temple the same day she was holding a tournament to find her successor. He somehow got involved in the tournament, which is where...
i'm kuwabara and i have a big sword! → ...he learned a technique to use his high spirit energy as a weapon. At first, he harnessed his energy with a very potent tip of a wooden sword, but eventually he taught himself to summon his weapon without the help of it. His weapon is simply called a "spirit sword" and is exactly as it sounds: a sword formed from his own spirit energy. It's bright yellow in color and sounds like, well, a lightsaber. Through training with Kurama in the months before the Dark Tournament, Kuwabara furthered his spirit sword technique, and is able to produce two swords, one per hand. He can also make the swords as long or as short as he likes, and can make them twist and turn, unlike a real solid sword. He can also make his sword take on different shapes, like the spirit flyswatter he used to defeat the Elder Toguro. Kuwabara is also able to separate the sword from his body and use it, as he did at the castle of the four Saint Beasts, as a spear or as a "kabob", in that particular instance.
However, because his sword uses his own spirit energy, his power in using it is not limitless, and if he uses too much too fast, or for too long a period of time, his energy will become depleted and it will take him some time to recuperate (though Yukina's presence can usually speed that process up dramatically). The possibilities of what he can do with the sword are limitless; his energy, however, is not.
It should be noted that the point I'm taking Kuwabara from has his spirit energy in hibernation. It's not within his grasp to use at the time, but is preparing for a new type of power...
a new power → What Kuwabara doesn't realize is that his spirit energy is getting ready to hand him a doozie of a power: the power to slice through dimensions. He probably won't be able to bring it out right away, as the first time it manifests for him is when he's desperately trying to save himself and his friends. However, he will come to Soeldei with the potential to awaken that power.
i'm gonna beat your face up so bad even kittens won't look at you! → Of all Kuwabara's aspirations, beating Yusuke in a fight is probably his most ardent. He's fought Yusuke more times than most people would care to count (though his friends are keeping score), and every time he loses. However, Yusuke is the only one that Kuwabara consistently loses to. Everyone else he challenges he usually beats, and it is for this reason that he's the 2nd toughest guy at Sarayashiki Jr High. Because he's fought against Yusuke so many times, Kuwabara's pretty used to taking punches, and has likely gotten to be a better through his experience.
whoa! this eikichi girl must be something special to make him sink that low → It should be noted that Kuwabara is a big softie when it comes to his kitten, even get on his knees and humiliate himself. For such a tough guy, his devotion for his cat really doesn't fit his image.
kurama really is a fox thing, and to think I let him near my kitten! → Kuwabara has seen a lot of things from his involvement in Yusuke's cases, and, in addition to his relationship with Yukina, has a unique view on demons. Unlike Sensui, who, as a young man, saw humans as "good" and demons as "bad", from Kuwabara's experience, he knows that things are not that cut and dry. A lot of times his demon companions can do something that'll freak him out and make him wary of them, but he also knows that there are humans who can do some great evil too. His experiences certainly give him some perspective on how to interact and judge the world around him, and the people in it.
i don't want you to think i'm weird or anything, but please please please just kiss me! → It should be (briefly) noted, that Kuwabara is slightly homophobic, in the fact that any time something like that is brought up, he kind of freaks out and doesn't want to hear anything more about it (as seen in both reaction to that unfortunate dream where he kissed Yusuke -it was actually a message from Yusuke, who needed someone to kiss him in order to be brought back to life- and when Itsuki told Kuwabara and the others that he had always hoped Sensui would be his lover). He doesn't have anything explicitly against the idea, he just doesn't know how to deal with it.
a mulberry is a tree, kuwabara is a man → One thing Kuwabara is not afraid to face is his death. Or, rather, he is afraid, like before the match against the Elder Toguro, but he also knows when it comes time to accept his fate and do what he can to face it bravely, like a man. He willingly sacrificed his life to give Yusuke the impetus he needed to defeat the Younger Toguro (though, luckily for him, Toguro did not intend to actually kill him).
Canon History: There's not much to be said about Kuwabara's childhood. He grew up in an apartment with both his parents and his older sister Shizuru, though his parents don't seem to be around much of the time. It's suggested that Kuwabara learned a lot of his habits from being brought up with and partially by his older sister (Botan often jokes that she can see where Kuwabara got his need to fight whenever Shizuru displays her own physical strength). Kuwabara did not have trouble making friends in school, being a pretty stand-up kind of guy who looks after his pals. In junior high, he formed a gang with his three good friends Okubo, Komada, and Kirishima, and they carved out their bit of territory through fights with rival gangs. However, Kuwabara was the one who did most of the fighting, and so he gained a reputation.
There was one with a more impressive and feared reputation than he did, though, and that went to one Yusuke Urameshi, a fellow classmate. It was inevitable that Kuwabara would challenge him, and challenge he did...and he lost, badly. But Kuwabara was not discouraged by his loss, and continued to pursue Yusuke and challenge him to fights, until Yusuke had learned his name, and until their fist fights became almost routine. It seemed that the reason Kuwabara continued to challenge Yusuke was because he wanted to beat him, and in part, yes, he did want to win one day. But he also wanted Yusuke to know him, and it's suggested that Kuwabara probably wanted to befriend Yusuke too, in an odd sort of way, for Yusuke had no gang, no matter what the rumors said, and had no friends either (save for Keiko). Kuwabara, ever sensitive, probably noticed that, and wanted to give Yusuke somone he could depend on to be there, even if he was only there as his eternal punching bag. Yusuke didn't seem to understand Kuwabara's motives at all, because he was genuinely surprised at his reaction at Yusuke's death.
When Yusuke died, Kuwabara was incredibly grieved by it, and didn't want to admit his passing at first. At his wake, Kuwabara yelled at Yusuke, calling him a coward and telling him that he wasn't allowed to die, that Kuwabara needed him.
The funny thing was, at that time, it was Yusuke who needed Kuwabara more, as he was the perfect vessel for Yusuke to possess for an hour, just long enough to give Keiko the message not to burn his body, that he'd be coming back. Of course, Kuwabara was completely oblivious to all that, but he did get a bit turned around when he lost an hour of his life due to the ordeal. Because of it, though, Yusuke and Botan took to following Kuwabara around (Yusuke wasn't supposed to contact Keiko, and the two of them really had nothing better to do). So it was that they heard Kuwabara and his friends swear off fighting for a week at one of the teacher's insistence; if they failed, Okubo would lose his job, as most jr high students are not normally permitted to take a job. On top of that, the teacher required all four of them to get above a 50 on the upcoming science test. Kuwabara, who got a 7 on his last test, was fighting an uphill battle, but was determined to see both requirements through for Okubo. Unbeknownst to him, the teacher had paid some students from another school to challenge Kuwabara to a fight, in the hopes that he'd break his promise. But to everyone's surprise, he didn't throw a single punch. In his academics, Yusuke came to Kuwabara in his dreams and helped him study for his test. Even though he couldn't see Yusuke, he could feel him there, and Kuwabara was thankful for his invisible help and support.
Soon after that, Yusuke came back to live; Kuwabara first found out when Yusuke stepped into a fight between Kuwabara and a rival gang, the leader of which had catnapped Kuwabara's Eikichi. He would have done anything to get his cat back...except for obeying the directive to hit all three of his friends. The cat was seconds from losing an eye when Yusuke intervened, saved the cat, and made his debut back to the living world.
Kuwabara's next encounter with Yusuke was at the temple of master Genkei, a famous spiritual expert. Kuwabara had only gone for help on containing his spirit awareness, but got roped into participating in her tournament for her successor. He and Yusuke made it through to the final eight (Kuwabara, impressively, completed the second challenge, a trek through some real spooky woods, first) and it was in the semi-finals, one-on-one matches held in absolute darkness, that Kuwabara discovered his ability to create a spirit sword. With his new-found power, he won that match and went on to the final four. However, he got the misfortune of being pitted against a notorious demon called Rando, whom Yusuke, as Spirit Detective, had been ordered to stop at all costs. Needless to say, Kuwabara lost that fight, and came out of it with numerous broken bones. Genkai aided his healing, though, so he was in good shape when the next case came along.
Makai insects were infesting the area and turning men into mindless demons. Yusuke was sent by Koenma to stop the ones behind it, four powerful demons known as the Saint Beasts. Kuwabara came along, and two former criminal demons Kurama and Hiei joined the team as well. They arrived at the castle of the Saint Beasts, where they were nearly crushed to death by a collapsing ceiling. They managed to escape, only to be confronted by the first of the beasts, Genbu. Kurama fought and won against him. Kuwabara took the second demon, the white tiger Byakko. Kuwabara eventually defeated him, though it was a long battle and he used up a lot of his spirit energy in the process. Hiei took the third, Seiryu, and then they came upon an army of plant-covered men guarding the tower leading to the final beast, Suzaku. Kuwabara and the others helped Yusuke get into the building, while they took care of the seemingly endless onslaught. Yusuke eventually won his fight, but not without draining his very life energy to do so. When Kuwabara got to the top of the tower to find a dying Yusuke, he used his own life energy to make sure his friend didn't die again, and passed out in the process. But everyone came out of the mission alive and, after some heavy recuperation, well too.
The next mission from Koenma came in the form of a vhs; because Yusuke didn't have a working video player, he and Botan watched it at Kuwabara's place, Kuwabara insisting that he get to watch as well. It was the first time he'd seen Koenma, Yusuke's boss (and he too laughed his ass off at the fact that Koenma is a toddler), and was also the first time he saw Yukina. The moment he saw the captive ice maiden, who was theirs to save, he fell in love and literally ran out the door, ready to rescue her. As a result, he missed the vital fact that Hiei, who annoyed Kuwabara, was her brother. Not knowing where his destination was, Kuwabara was forced to wait for Yusuke and Botan to show him the way.
Yukina was being held in a mansion in the country, owned by a man named Tarukane, and when Kuwabara and Yusuke reached the mansion, they were met by three demons-for-hire, there to stop their progress into the building. They beat the three of them easily though, through a good display of teamwork. As they went through the mansion, Kuwabara was able to see a painful memory for Yukina, of a human in Tarukane's employ who tried to rescue her and died for his troubles. He also saw some of the ways in which she'd been tortured, and his determination to get Tarukane and make him pay grew.
When they reached a large and empty room overlooked by a studio at one end, Yusuke and Kuwabara met the final line in demon defense Tarukane had hired: the Toguro brothers. Kuwabara wasn't interested in fighting them, though; instead he pointed up at the studio room, where Tarukane was watching, with Yukina at his side. She tried to telepathically urge Kuwabara not to fight the Toguro's for she'd seen their strength before and was afraid they might die. And they very nearly did, but for a strategy Yusuke came up with that won the fight and supposedly killed the Younger Toguro. Kuwabara, tired and injured from the fight, stayed in the room, and Yukina came down to see him, heal him, and thank him. And so he met the love of his young life.
They had thought that was the end of that mission, but they were mistaken. Not a month later, Toguro came to Yusuke and told him about a demon tournament called the Dark Tournament; Yusuke was the guest of the year, and he had to find himself a team of five within three months, or else he and his friends would be killed. Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama were the obvious other members of the team, and Yusuke took care of finding them a fifth. Yusuke left to train with Genkai, while Kuwabara spent his time being trained by Kurama (and Hiei, to a lesser extent). Three months past quickly, and soon they were on their way to Hangman's Island, where the tournament took place.
Kuwabara had the first fight of the tournament, against a kid named Rinko, who fought using yo-yos. Though Kuwabara got in some good hits, and managed to throw both of them out of the ring, Rinko used his yo-yos at the last minute to bind him and prevent him from entering the ring in time. Kuwabara lost that match. Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke all won theirs, though, and so they advanced to the next round.
In the next match, strangely, Kurama and Hiei didn't show up, and neither did two of the opposing team's fighters. So, the owner of the other team, Dr. Ichigaki, proposed that they fight a three vs. three battle royale, and the last man standing won the round for his team. The mysterious fifth fighter, who wore a mask and had yet to reveal their identity (though Kuwabara guessed that it was Genkai, based on height and the fact that she was the only person Yusuke had seen for the past months), knowing that both Kuwabara and Yusuke were still recovering from their first round matches, accepted those terms, so that she could be in the ring to cover for them both. During the fight, however, Kuwabara realized that their opponents, who were humans, were being controlled by Dr. Ichigaki, and that they had been taught by their martial arts teacher not to kill; they begged Kuwabara, who was the only one able to receive their message, to kill them. Kuwabara, of course, couldn't do such a thing, and he begged the masked fighter to find a way to save them. Because of his compassion for their human opponents, Kuwabara ended up taking all their attacks, until the mysterious fighter separated the humans from the device controlling them (using her spirit wave technique).
At the end of the match, Hiei and Kurama arrived, with the humans' teacher, and the rest of the story. Immediately following that match, Team Urameshi was scheduled to fight again, and the terms for the fight were decided that the first team to five wins would take the round. Before they were allowed to begin, however, a medical tent appeared on their side, and a nurse pulled Hiei and the masked fighter aside, deeming them unable to fight (Hiei had used a very draining attack in the first round, and the masked fighter's attack that freed their opponents had depleted her spirit energy). Unfortunately, it was a trap, and the two of them were trapped by a strong defensive barrier, therefore preventing them from participating in the match against Team Masho. Kuwabara's injuries prevented him from being a viable fighter, so their win was up to Kurama and Yusuke.
Kurama took the first two fights, at the end of which he was practically dead. He very nearly was, since he went unconscious while standing in the ring, and the third member of Team Masho stepped in and started tossing Kurama's body around like a rag doll, until Yusuke, rules be damned, very nearly took the other fighter's life. Kurama was placed outside the ring, by Kuwabara, and Yusuke took the ring. He won his first two fights, but due to a technicality, the tournament rules committee disqualified his second win, which meant Yusuke was no longer able to fight, even though he was the only one in good physical condition.
The other team had one fighter left, and if no one faced him, they'd forfeit the match, so Kuwabara, being the only one not deemed unable to fight and not having been disqualified, was the only hope for his team, and though his body was suffering from a number of injuries, he entered the ring. Yusuke tried to stop him, but Kuwabara wouldn't let him not fight, even if it meant this was his last fight. It very nearly was, as the first half of the fight consisted of Kuwabara getting his ass handed to him.
And that's when Yukina called out his name, and he was transformed. Knowing his girl was watching him, Kuwabara knocked the stuffing out of his opponent, winning the match and the round for his team.
That win got them into the semi-finals and a new stadium, where Team Urameshi faced Team Uraotogi. Again, they started the match with only three present members: Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama. Elsewhere, Yusuke was undergoing his final test to receive Genkai's special Spirit Wave technique. Team Uraotogi proposed they decide matches using dice with each team member's name on one side of the die, with a sixth side for a "free choice". Because they were missing two, Hiei decided that if any absent member's name came up, he'd take their place. The first two matches were Hiei's, and he won both, though with a struggle. Kurama's was next, and he won his match as well. They were doing well...
...and then it was Kuwabara's turn versus the team's leader, Shishiwakamaru. His opponent used an item called the "Cape of No Return" on Kuwabara, which ended up whisking him away to the old stadium: an utter loss. He had some good timing though, because the girls (Botan, Keiko, Shizuru, and Yukina) had left the hotel late and couldn't find the new stadium. Kuwabara led them back, but by the time they returned, Genkai had won her two matches and landed them in the finals.
Before the finals began, Kuwabara and Kurama were approached by Team Uraotogi's Suzuka, who had provided his teammates with a number of special items and was now going to give them a few items as well. For Kuwabara, he got an item resembling a sword hilt, and after some practice using it, he discovered that it amplified the power of his spirit sword.
On the day of the finals, both teams found themselves with a vagancy, Team Urameshi's being that of Genkai. When Kuwabara asked where the old lady was, he was told she was feeling too sick to appear. Koenma took the fifth spot instead; for Team Toguro, their team owner, the multi-billionaire Sakyo was their fifth. The first match was Kurama and Karasu. Kurama succeeded in killing Karasu, but due to a technicality in the match, Kurama lost the match. Hiei was more lucky, and won his match against Bui.
Kuwabara took the third match against the Elder Toguro, and it was during that match that he learned of Genkai's true conditon: not sick, but dead, killed by the Younger Toguro a few days before. Kuwabara was immensely hurt by his teammates for keeping the truth from him, and once he won the match by flattening Toguro with his Spirit Flyswatter, he slugged Yusuke in the face. But the others assured him that Yusuke hadn't kept the truth from him to be malicious, but only because he was still struggling to admit the truth to himself.
Yusuke's fight with Toguro was next, though not before Sakyo made the daring bet of laying his life on the outcome of his teammate's win. If Yusuke won the match, his life would be forfeit, and the same went for Koenma should Toguro win. Koenma accepted the bet, thereby rendering Yusuke and Toguro's fight the game match point of the round.
It was an incredibly intense match, though Toguro definitely had the advantage and the strength. He wasn't satisfied with Yusuke's power level, though, so he started taking the lives of the audience. When that wasn't enough to motivate Yusuke to unleash his full potential, Toguro decided to take the life of one of Yusuke's teammates, to give him the necessary emotional shock to let go and use his powers at their maximum. Toguro decided to kill Kuwabara, of whom Yusuke was quite protective. Hiei and Kurama prepared to fight Toguro off the best they could, but Kuwabara denied them, and decided to meet his fate. With his sword "drawn", he charged at Toguro, who pierced his chest right around his heart. With his dying words, Kuwabara encouraged Yusuke to go all out and defeat the bastard...the bastard who had missed his heart on purpose. Kuwabara was still alive, but decided to pretend he was dead to give Yusuke that extra push he needed.
And it was exactly what Yusuke needed. With Kuwabara's "death", he realized his true potential and utterly defeated Toguro. It turned out that Toguro wanted Yusuke to defeat him from the beginning, but he wanted to be defeated while at his full power. The tournament finally over, they all prepared to leave, but not before Yusuke got his wish granted, and Genkai came back to life. They returned back home and to normal life.
But upon his return, Kuwabara discovered, to his dismay, that all of his spirit powers had vanished.
→ deviations
Crux: Kuwabara goes to Genkai for help in concern of his missing spirit energy.
Tangent: Genkai had returned to her temple after the dark Tournament, where she was surprised by a number of visits from newly awakened psychics, who had all discovered their new abilities within the past month. She was alert, therefore, for the next dark cloud on the horizon. Something was happening, and it would be nasty when the storm rolled in and broke.
So when Kuwabara came by with supposedly runaway powers, Genkai could sense what was really going on with him: his spirit energy was preparing for a new power, something big. It couldn't all be coincidence, and Genkai felt fairly sure that whatever Kuwabara's powers were working on was quite likely linked to the impending trouble. To protect him, and also to safeguard against the encroaching storm, she suggested he go on a pilgrimage and train for awhile. Not wanting to worry the boy, she fed him a story that his body needed training to cope with the advances his energy had made through the tournament.
Kuwabara respected the old woman's advice, so he decided to check out a place he had heard about while at the tournament, a place called Soeldei (he couldn't quite remember who he heard it from, but most likely it was from Toya or Jin, two ninjas from Team Masho, who had been looking to win the tournament in order to win the island for themselves). So he packed his bags, left Eikichi in his sister's care, said goodbye to Kurama, Botan, and Yusuke, and then headed out to find Soeldei, unaware of what trouble he was leaving behind.
Allegiance: Legion
Reason: Genkai instructed Kuwabara to train, and being that his powers are MIA, the only thing he can train is his physical strength. Legion is just the place to do that.
→ sample The Dark Tournament had ended a week ago, and Kuwabara was finally feeling like he was back in the normal rhythm of every day life again. It had been difficult at first to adjust, for the tournament, which had really only lasted a few weeks, had been like a whole new world. Coming back home, it was as though he and the others had been away for years. They had changed so much in those few short weeks that it felt like everything else must have changed too. But he had soon discovered that he was the only who had changed; Okubo, Komada, and Kirshima were the same as he'd left them, though they had noticed the change in him. It wasn't something that he could really talk about with them, though, and they had accepted that, though not without voicing their own speculations on where he'd been.
But it had been a week now, and Kuwabara felt pretty well settled in again. He was on his way home from school now. The first few days, going to school had seemed so foreign, such a strange thing to do. But Kuwabara was lucky, he had his gang to look forward to, and to help him with the adjustment. Those first few days had been like coming off of jetlag after a trip to the moon, though. They were...tough.
Going back home, though, he had Shizuru to talk to about the tournament, if he wanted to, only Kuwabara really didn't want to. Yukina was there too; she was staying for a little while longer before returning home. That was certainly something he enjoyed, coming home to Yukina every evening, getting her to heal some of his bruises from some street fights he'd gotten himself into already. His sister scowled and scolded him for taking advantage of her kindness, but Yukina never seemed to mind.
Today had been a really good day so far, Kuwabara thought with a grin. No rival gangs wanting to get their asses pounded into the ground by the great Kuwabara, and it was a Saturday, which meant no school tomorrow! It was the first Sunday back, and Kuwabara had plans of spending it with Yukina, take her out on the town and stuff. Kinda like a date, he thought with a snicker of glee. Yes, Kuwabara was in a fine mood.
Until someone dumped a bucket of water on him. Glaring, he turned his face up, ready to threaten the ears off whoever had done that...only to hear a soft and apologetic, "Oh, Kazuma, I didn't see you there! I'm sorry..." It was Yukina.
Kuwabara immediately grinned up at her. "Oh hey baby, that's all right!" he called up to her, a cheesy grin on his face. Well, if it was Yukina, that was fine, he thought. It was pretty hot outside anyway, and the water had done wonders to cool him off. "Hee hee hee, that was actually really refreshing! Thank you, Yukina!" he said.
"Are you sure...?" she asked, a look of concern still on her face.
Kuwabara struck a manly pose, still smiling up at her. "Absolutely! A little water never hurt anyone!" he said (completely unaware of how his words would be proved wrong in a few short weeks).
She still looked uncertain, so Kuwabara waved up at her and shook his head. "Honest, don't worry about it Yukina! A true man doesn't let something like this get him down." He chuckled to himself, thinking how impressive and cool he must look to her. She merely watched him with a kind, if somewhat bemused, expression.
"Hey, I'll be right up, okay?" he said, pausing from his showing off when he remembered that, yes, his uniform was soaked and his soggy hair was starting to droop into his eyes. It would probably be best if he changed into some more casual clothes. Maybe he could even take Yukina out tonight, get a head-start on their day out tomorrow. With that prospect in mind, he dashed up the stairs to his family's apartment.
When he opened the front door, however, he was surprised to see a small gathering of bags there. Puzzled, he kicked his shoes off and stepped inside. "Hey, sis, you going somewhere?" he called.
Shizuru peered out into the hallway, a frown on her face. "Don't be an idiot, little brother," she said. "Don't tell me you forgot that Yukina's going back to Demon World tomorrow?"
Kuwabara's face fell. "She's leaving already?" he asked, deflated.
Yukina stepped into the hallway, her hands clutched in front of her. "Um, Kazuma?" Kuwabara looked up and tried to smile. He mostly succeeded; this was Yukina, after all. "I was thinking, could you show me around town a little tomorrow, before I have to go? I'd like to see more of your hometown."
Kuwabara's sorrow fled and his cheesy, gleeful grin was back in place. "Yeah! You just let your man show you around tomorrow," he said, gesturing at himself. "I know all the best places around!"
The ice maiden smiled. "Thank you Kazuma. I look forward to it."
Yes, he thought, it was good to be back home.