Yu Yu Hakusho/Teen Titans:

"Darkness Returns"

Chapter 7: "Falling Stars"

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and Teen Titans do not belong to me by any means. Both belong to Cartoon Network, but Yu Yu Hakusho belongs primarily to Yoshihiro Togashi and Shonen Jump and Teen Titans primarily belongs to DC Comics and Warner Brothers.

Author's note: The Shadow Combat is finally underway, and this round will determine who faces Slade's and Rando's teams in the semifinals. By the way, I know what happens in "Aftershock, part 2" and those of you who've seen it in the U.K. are probably wondering why the Titans still didn't trust Terra. Let me put it to you this way: If you were horribly betrayed by someone you trusted with all your secrets, would you be so easily inclined to trust them again, even after they gave their lives to save you? No, you'd still feel hurt and that wouldn't leave you with a lot of warm fuzzy feelings for them.

Timeline: YYH, a few years after the series. TT, a few years into the future.

Slade and the Toguro Brothers stared down Shishi, Starfire, and Kuwabara.

"The Titans have told me much about you, Slade," Shishi said, pointing the Banshee Scream at him.

"And what do they say?" Slade asked, his voice cold and mocking.

"That you're a psychopath," Shishi replied. "A cunning, dangerous, manipulative psychopath who uses children to do his dirty work."

"That would be Raptor talking," Slade said, smirking underneath his mask. "He's always hated me with a particular intensity."

"You have caused Raptor much suffering," Starfire said, cold rage in her voice. "You have driven him to the edge of madness with your crimes, you have infected us with probes to force him to fight for you, and you have manipulated an innocent girl to fight for you. It will end tonight, and you shall never trouble us again!"

Green energy extended from her hand and shaped itself into the Jade Star Blade.

"Good idea, Star," Kuwabara said. "Spirit Sword!"

"You all have swords," Slade commented, sounding unconcerned despite the fact that all the swords present were pointed at him. Then he reached behind his back and drew a sword of his own, a katana. The strange thing about the katana was the kanji characters on its blade.

The elder Toguro removed his shirt and twisted himself into a sword, which the younger Toguro proceeded to grasp. Then the younger Toguro summoned 80 percent of his strength.

"Now we all have swords," Toguro said.

"Y'know, it looks like one of those Westerns where everybody's waiting for the first cowboy to draw," Changeling remarked.

"Let the battle begin," Slade said.

Shishi raised his Banshee Scream and the hilt opened, revealing a stretched and twisted skull. Strange ethereal mists began to swirl around the ring and skull-like faces could be seen inside the mists.

"What the hell are those swirly freaky things coming out of Shishi's sword?" Changeling asked.

"That's a question that's on all our minds," Raptor replied.

"Those are the spirits of deceased demons," Raven explained. "Shishi is obviously using their energy to power his Banshee Scream, and he can probably use them to attack."

"I do not fear your spirits, Shishiwakamaru," Slade sneered. "Do your worst."

"I will," Shishi replied and lunged at Slade with the Banshee Scream, intending to use the powers of the spirits to run him through. Unfortunately for him, Slade blocked the Banshee Scream with his katana.

Meanwhile, the Toguro Brothers were fighting Starfire and Kuwabara.

"I see you haven't improved that much with your sword, Kuwabara," the younger Toguro sneered as he blocked with the sword into which his older brother had transformed. "However, your golden-skinned friend is far more skilled with her weapon, and I think I'd rather challenge her than you. So good-bye." That said, he punched Kuwabara so hard that the force of the blow sent him flying out of the ring.

The automated voice began to count down from ten once again.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . ."

"Kuwabara!" Starfire shouted. "Return to the ring before it is too late!"

"Three . . . two . . ."

"He won't," Toguro stated with cold certainty.

"One." Then a buzzer rang. "Kuwabara is out of Match 2 of the first round of the Shadow Combat."

Starfire's eyes glowed green with rage. "You will pay for what you've done, you vile, sickening creature!" She flew at Toguro and quickly slashed diagonally. However, the older Toguro shifted into a shield, protecting his younger brother from the strike.

That did not deter Starfire, however. She simply ducked under his punch and did a low sweeping kick that knocked his legs out from under him.

"That is the weakness of your power, Toguro," Starfire said. "Your upper body's muscles grow with the amount of strength that you use, but your lower body's muscles do not. And you are now too heavy to bring yourself back to an upright position."

"You're partially right, Starfire," Toguro answered. "It's true that the muscles of my lower body do not grow like my upper body's muscles do when I tap into my strength . . . but you forgot one thing."

"And what would that be?" Starfire asked.

Toguro replied by shrinking his muscles back to normal size. "Now can you say that I am too heavy to rise?" That said, Toguro stood up and began to power up again. Starfire took that as an opportunity to attack with her Jade Star Blade, but Toguro used the shield that was once his older brother to block.

"You are far more skilled than I expected you to be," he said. "But your skills are no match for my sheer power."

"No matter how strong you are, sufficient skill and technique can still defeat power," Starfire answered. "Starburst!"

She used the hand that wasn't holding her Jade Star Blade to shoot a ball of green rei-ki that exploded in an emerald flash.

"If you're trying to blind me, it won't work," Toguro said as the light faded. "Sunglasses, remember?"

As for Shishi and Slade, they were still fighting. So far, Shishi's attempts at besting Slade were proving fruitless. Finally, he raised the Banshee Scream --- and it lived up to its name, letting out a piercing, eerie shriek.

"Ahhhh!" Cyborg yelled, covering his ears.

"I think my eardrums are broken!" Changeling shouted.

"Stupid ningen," Hiei sneered. "If your eardrums were broken, you shouldn't be able to hear anything."

Starfire had paused from her fight with the Toguro Brothers to cover her ears. Unfortunately for her, they weren't willing to give her time to recover; the younger Toguro charged at her with the elder Toguro in his hand as a sword.

"Starfire!" Raptor shouted.

Starfire looked up, her eyes glowing green, and she shouted, "Eye of the Jade Star!" She fired starbolts out of her eyes, aiming right for Toguro's sunglasses. However, Toguro raised his older brother in shield form over his eyes, blocking the blast. In the moment he had raised his brother to block, Starfire had shot a massive starbolt into his stomach, pushing him back.

"Nice shot, Starfire!" Yusuke shouted.

"Yeah, about time someone took it to that over-muscled fiend," Suzuka added.

However, Toguro quickly caught himself before he fell. "Yes, you're very skilled, but you still won't beat me."

"Your brother cannot protect you forever," Starfire declared. "So do battle with me like a man . . . if you can."

Toguro growled. "Insolent little girl, I will make you regret those words." His elder brother changed back into a sword and Toguro swung, aiming to spill some Tamaranian blood. However, Starfire was quicker than he'd expected and she flew out of the way of the attack.

Starfire flew back down, apparently intending a diving attack with her Jade Star Blade. Unfortunately for her, Toguro blocked with the sword that was once his older brother. The two struggled ferociously against each other.

"You're strong, Starfire," Toguro said. "The only problem is that I am far stronger, and I am growing bored with you." That said, he brought his knee up for a vicious jab to Starfire's naked stomach. However, Starfire jumped back into the air and delivered a hard crescent kick to his chest. The kick staggered him, but it didn't knock him down.

How am I supposed to defeat him if he simply will not fall? Starfire wondered. Then the answer hit her. You force him to fall.

"No matter what you try, little girl, it will not work," Toguro said.

As for Slade and Shishi, the battle between them continued with no winner in sight. However, it was apparent that Slade had the upper hand.

"It's time I showed you some of my sword's capabilities," Slade said. The kanji characters on his blade began to glow.

"What do those weird symbols on his sword mean?" Terra asked.

"Those symbols are Japanese kanji," Kurama replied. "Translated, it's actually a message: 'Darkness reigns supreme.'"

"Chaos Rhapsody!" Slade shouted, slamming the katana onto the ground. The instant the blade touched the ground, a wave of lightning-charged darkness raced at Shishi, who tried to block with his Banshee Scream. However, the dark energies of the katana proved too strong for Shishi to block and he was blasted out of the ring, where he impacted hard against the wall that separated the audience from the fighters. That is, if there was an audience.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . ."

"Shishi, get back in there!" Genkai yelled.

"Five . . . four . . . three . . ."

"Come on, Shishi!" Suzuka shouted.

"One." The buzzer rang. "Shishiwakamaru is out of Match 2 of the first round of the Shadow Combat."

"I'm sorry," Shishi managed to utter. "The power of that sword . . . it was so unexpected . . . and so strong . . ."

"Don't worry, Shishi," Genkai advised. "Just rest."

"Great, just great," Raptor grumbled. "Now Starfire's in there all alone against those psychos."

"Have faith in her, Raptor," Kurama advised.

"Yeah, this is my sister we're talking about," Blackfire added. "She won't go down that easily."

Indeed, she wouldn't. She'd held her own against the Toguro Brothers, but now that Slade was free of Shishi, the whole team would be fighting her.

Toguro brought his sword down, ready to cut Starfire in half. However, he didn't count on her blocking with her Jade Star Blade. Slade sneaked up behind her, ready to stab her with his katana. Like Toguro, he didn't count on her blocking his attack.

"You will not defeat me so easily," Starfire declared, her eyes glowing emerald. "Machine Gun Blast!" With her free hand, she blasted Slade with a rapid barrage of starbolts, which he deflected with his katana. The deflected blast came for Starfire, but she dodged it and it struck Toguro instead.

"You should watch where you deflect your opponents' attacks, Slade," Toguro advised with cold irritation in his voice.

Slade gave no response whatsoever to Toguro, only renewed his attack on Starfire. When the katana's blade clashed against Starfire's Jade Star Blade, it pulsed with dark energy and something strange happened.

"What is happening to my Jade Star Blade?" Starfire asked, watching in horror as it slowly dissipated. It didn't escape anyone's attention that the green wraithlike mist that was once the Jade Star Blade was being sucked into Slade's katana.

"No," Raptor uttered in hushed and horrified tones. Then louder, "That katana is leeching her energy!"

"I think that's very obvious," Hiei spat.

Once Slade's katana had completely absorbed the energy, said energy turned black.

"An interesting power this katana has," he intoned. "It can consume the opponent's energy upon contact and convert that energy for its own use, like an organic being's body changing food into nutrients." He smirked under his mask. "You've fought well, Starfire, but it's time to end this game."

"I will not let you defeat me, Slade!" Starfire yelled. "Rrraaaahhhh!" With that primal cry, she flew right at Slade, intending to tackle him before he could use the pilfered energy against her. Unfortunately, she underestimated Slade's reflexes. He dodged her charge and Starfire turned and flew back at him.

"Good-bye, Starfire," Slade purred. "I'm sure Raptor will miss you greatly." He slashed the air, creating an arc of dark energy that slammed into Starfire and knocked her out of the ring.

"Starfire!" Raptor and Blackfire shouted and ran to her, kneeling beside her.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . ."

"I am sorry, Raptor," Starfire managed to moan, "that I could not defeat him for you."

"Two . . . one. Starfire is out of Match 2 of the first round of the Shadow Combat. The winner of Match 2 is Slade and the Toguro Brothers."

"It's ok, Star," Raptor whispered, stroking her hair. "Just rest now."

"Yeah, it's all right, Koriand'r," Blackfire whispered, sounding unusually motherly.

"That was very much enjoyable," Slade purred. "Raptor . . . your paramour put up quite a fight."

"SLADE!!" Raptor screamed, turning to face his enemy and tormentor. "When we meet in the next round, victory will be mine and you will pay for what you did to Starfire! I will show you no mercy at all! Do you hear me, Slade? No mercy!!"

"I look forward to it, Raptor," Slade replied, a deadly smile underneath his mask as he stepped out of the ring with the Toguro Brothers.

"Selector, begin!" Rando shouted. The selector did its work again, juggling the remaining four orbs into the air. Out of each dragon's head came one orb. The first orb had Rando's name on it and the second orb had Kurama's name on it.

"Are you ready?" Kurama asked Blackfire and Touya.

"I've got a lot of anger to work out after what Slade did to Star," Blackfire replied. "I'll just use it to beat down Rando and his team."

"Of course," Touya replied.

The three stepped into the ring, facing down Rando, Karasu, and Suzaku.

"Are you ready to lose?" Rando asked.

"That depends," Kurama replied. "Are you?"

"Leave the fox and his whore to me," Karasu said to Rando and Suzaku. "You two may focus your efforts on the ice ninja."

"Who's the team leader here, me or you?" Rando asked coldly. Then his expression softened. "As a matter of fact, it doesn't matter who we fight. If one of us is the last one standing, our whole team wins. You may dispatch them yourself if you wish."

"I told you once to never call her that," Kurama snarled.

"Ah, Kurama, you are so beautiful when you're angry," Karasu purred. "Of course, you're always beautiful. I don't see why you chose her; she will never understand the demon in you the way I do."

"Thank you for your offer, but no," Kurama replied. "Blackfire's love for me is pure. You simply wish to possess me. That is not truly love; that is merely lust and perverse obsession."

"Let's begin," Rando said.

Blackfire started off by firing a volley of pinkish-purple starbolts at Karasu. Unfortunately, they all exploded before they even touched him.

"What the fuck?" Blackfire asked. "How did you do that?"

"It's my power," Karasu replied. In a blur of speed, he grabbed her and triggered a small explosion where he touched her. Blackfire screamed in pain and Karasu smiled underneath his mask.

"Blackfire!" Kurama shouted. "Rose Whiplash!" He lashed Karasu with the Rose Whip, but Karasu caught it and it exploded.

"Didn't you learn your lesson from the last time we fought?" Karasu asked. "Your plant creations are completely useless against me. Here, have your precious whore." He threw Blackfire at Kurama.

"Are you all right?" Kurama asked.

"Other than the fact that this nutcase keeps calling me a whore, I'm fine," Blackfire replied. Her fist glowed pinkish-purple and the glow shaped itself into the Black Star Blade.

Kurama drew several roses out of his hair and held them all in his hand. "Rose Sword!" The petals of the roses flew off and the bases of the stems wrapped around his wrist. The far ends of the stems extended and intertwined into a sword-like blade.

Kurama and Blackfire went at Karasu, both of them striking with their blades. Karasu was dodging their attacks with fluid grace and insane speed.

"Black Star Meteor!" Blackfire shouted, firing a massive starbolt at Karasu out of her free hand. Karasu couldn't entirely evade the blast and it nearly blew his arm off. Kurama took the opportunity to slash Karasu while he was weakened.

Karasu just chuckled.

"What the hell is so funny, you freak?" Blackfire asked.

"You actually managed to hurt me," Karasu replied. "You're a lot stronger than I've given you credit for. I see why Kurama made you his mate."

"Thanks for the seal of approval," Blackfire retorted sarcastically, "but you're still going down!"

Meanwhile, Touya was fending off Rando and Suzaku.

"Storm of Torment!" Suzaku shouted, creating a bow and arrow from spiritual lightning and firing the arrow at Touya, who dodged with incredible swiftness.

"Shards of Winter," Touya replied, and blew a flurry of ice crystals off his hand. The crystals flew toward Rando and Suzaku, who dodged them.

"Don't think you can use your ice powers to counter my lightning," Suzaku stated. "Ice is just frozen water, and water conducts electricity."

"I can still hurt you," Touya replied and created an orb of ice energy. He then punched the orb, causing it to shatter into thousands of ice crystals that swirled around the ring.

"What's he trying to do, blind us all?" Blackfire asked.

Karasu used his powers to explode the ice crystals surrounding him and his two opponents and the explosions blew Kurama and Blackfire back.

"I know Touya was only trying to fight Rando and Suzaku, but his attack may have done more harm than good," Kurama said. "I've gotten stronger over the years, but even so, I will not be able to beat Karasu in my human form."

"So go Yohko on him," Blackfire suggested.

"Good idea," Kurama said, and began the transformation. His hair paled from red to silver and his eyes changed from soulful emerald to sharp golden. He grew taller and paler as his ears migrated to the top of his head and became fox ears. A tail sprouted from behind him and his clothes changed to a white gi-style top and loose pants.

Karasu stared in wonder when he saw Yohko Kurama. Even now, Kurama in his true form took Karasu's breath away.

"Do you think you can defeat us now?" Yohko asked coldly.

Karasu created a grenade in each hand and threw both at Yohko and Blackfire.

"He created grenades out of thin air?" Blackfire asked. "How did he do that?"

"Kurama's power comes from things that already exist," Karasu replied. "He merely alters them to suit his purposes. My power, on the other hand, is to materialize my thoughts. I think, therefore it is."

"That still won't save you," Blackfire retorted. "Black Shooting Stars!" With her free hand, she fired a barrage of starbolts at Karasu, who simply made them all explode. Then her Black Star Blade suffered the same fate. "What? You destroyed my blade!"

"My power is everywhere," Karasu said. "All around us. Allow me to demonstrate." Suddenly, orbs of green light appeared all over the ring.

"What's with the light show?" Changeling asked.

"It's Karasu's power," Hiei replied, "made visible."

"Damn," Cyborg remarked. "It's like being surrounded by floating land mines!"

"Yes, and if they make the slightest motion, those mines will blow them apart," Hiei added.

"Time for the end," Karasu said, and he detonated the orbs nearest Yohko, Blackfire, and Touya, making them all cry out in pain. He then absorbed the remaining orbs into himself and his hair lightened from raven black to golden blond.

"What did he just do to his hair?" Terra asked.

"That's Karasu in his stronger form," Hiei replied. "And right now . . . he's about to explode."

Karasu lunged at Blackfire, intending to kill her once his power triggered, but Yohko shoved her aside and took the brunt of Karasu's powers. A massive explosion of light and sound reverberated throughout the ring, causing almost everyone to cry out and cover their faces. When the explosion cleared, Kurama could be seen, back in human form with his clothes torn and his skin bruised, but still alive. However, his Rose Sword wasn't as fortunate, having been burned up in Karasu's explosion.

"It's good that your face isn't damaged," Karasu purred. "I wouldn't want such a masterpiece to be ruined."

"You're going to die, do you realize that?" Kurama asked.

"I shall triumph this time, Kurama," Karasu replied.

"What did those bastards Rando and Slade promise you in exchange for fighting us?" Blackfire asked.

"The chance to see Kurama again was enough incentive for me," Karasu replied. "It made working alongside that thug Toguro bearable. Thankfully, Rando didn't put me with him. Never mind that; your days are numbered now."

"I don't think so," Blackfire answered. "Black Meteor Shower!" She fired a Shotgun-like barrage of starbolts at Karasu, who simply made them all explode before they reached him.

As for Touya, Rando and Suzaku's combined powers were wearing him down. After all, fire melted ice and ice, being frozen water, was an excellent conductor for electricity.

"You've fought well, Touya, but it's time this game ended," Rando said, pointing his finger in a gun-firing pose. "Spirit Gun!"

The blood-red mockery of Yusuke's signature attack raced at Touya, but he deflected the shot with his ice sword. The blast struck Suzaku instead, knocking him out of the ring.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . ."

Suzaku flew back into the ring with another Storm of Torment, which Touya dodged. He kicked Suzaku and rebounded off him to deliver a swift kick to Rando.

"Circles of Inferno!" Rando shouted, throwing the crimson fireballs at Touya, who dodged.

"I've had enough of you," Touya declared, running at Rando with his ice sword. Rando dodged all his strikes and then delivered a vicious kick to Touya's midsection. Suzaku fired his Storm of Torment once again, and this time it connected, trapping Touya in a world of agony. The ice ninja collapsed in a heap.

"Oh, no," Jin uttered. "Those nasty blokes really worked him over."

Rando picked up Touya. "What do I do with you now?"

"I know you like to torture your victims, but we have more important things to do," Suzaku said irritably. "He was a good fighter, but he only whetted my appetite for an even better fight."

"Fine," Rando grumbled and threw Touya out of the ring.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . ."

No one said any words encouraging Touya to get back into the ring and fight. They knew he was too badly beaten to even stand.

"Seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . ."

"Touya . . ." Jin uttered, saddened and horrified at seeing his partner in his present condition.

"Three . . . two . . . one. Touya is out of Match 3 of the first round of the Shadow Combat."

"Touya!" Kurama called out. Then he whirled to face Rando and Suzaku. "You will all pay dearly."

"The two of you against the three of us," Suzaku said. "How can you possibly hope to win?"

Blackfire's fists glowed pinkish-purple and she fired a double-fisted starbolt at Rando and Suzaku. Unfortunately, she didn't anticipate Rando protecting himself and Suzaku with a force shield. The shield turned her attack back on her, sending her flying out of the ring.

"Blackfire!" Kurama shouted.

"Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . ."

"Sister, please return to the ring of combat and continue fighting!" Starfire cried out, running to her.

"Three . . . two . . . one. Blackfire is out of Match 3 of the first round of the Shadow Combat."

"Blackfire . . ." Kurama uttered, despair in his voice. "No . . ."

"Ah, don't worry, my lovely fox," Karasu purred. "You still have me."

Kurama turned, his emerald eyes bright with fury. "You will all pay." That said, he re-formed his Rose Sword and began to battle all three demons by himself. He fought valiantly, but he was on the edge of exhaustion.

"Come on, Kurama, you can do it!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Yeah, kick their asses!" Yusuke shouted.

"Do you think your brainless cheering will help him?" Hiei asked. "All the encouragement in the world won't save him if he's too exhausted to fight."

"It's time this game ended," Suzaku said. "Storm of Torment!" He fired the spiritual lightning as an arrow and it intertwined with Rando's Spirit Gun blast, creating a devastating force that proved to be too much for even Kurama to handle. The blast knocked him out of the ring and the countdown began.

"Ten . . . nine . . ."

I'm sorry, Kurama thought. Sorry I couldn't win for you, Komand'r.

"Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one. Kurama is out of Match 3 of the first round of the Shadow Combat. The winner of Match 3 is the team of Rando, Suzaku, and Karasu."

"I'm sorry," Blackfire whispered to Starfire.

"It is all right, sister," Starfire whispered.

Blackfire looked, and saw Kurama lying outside the ring in a semiconscious state. "Kurama!" she cried out and ran to him, forgetting her own wounds in that instant. "Kurama? Kurama!"

"I'm sorry, Komand'r," he whispered.

"Don't be," Blackfire replied, tears in her eyes. "I'm just happy that you're still alive."

"And I am happy that you're still alive," Kurama answered, smiling weakly.

As for Touya, Jin had carried him back to the others. "He's in really bad shape," he said.

"Of course he is," Yusuke said. "He just got hit by Suzaku's Storm of Torment after being weakened by his and Rando's previous attacks."

"That's their style," Raptor concluded. "It's a war of attrition we're fighting here, and so far we're losing. We have to find a way to turn the tables . . . before it's too late."

End Notes: I sense that a lot of people are going to be pissed off at me for how I've treated their favorite characters in this chapter. Look on the bright side: I didn't make it easy for the villains to win. If it comforts you at all, they won't be on top for long. Rando and Slade will get what's coming to them, but you'll have to read the next chapter to see for yourself.