Remember that Dark Tournament that started in YuYu Hakusho volume 6? We're in volume 13 and it's FINALLY over!!! None of the libraries in my county own volumes 11 or 12, so I can't refer back to either of them.

It's the final match: Yusuke Urameshi of Team Urameshi versus the younger Toguro brother of Team Toguro. Younger Toguro has powered himself up to 100% of his power. He makes the most musclebound bodybuilder look pretty normal by comparison. Former contenders Rinko, Chu, Jin, and Toya are among the audience.

Yusuke was already upset about Younger Toguro killing off his sensei, Master Genkai in volume 10. Apparently, Kazuma Kuwabara's death was an even bigger motivation for giving Younger Toguro more than 100% of HIS power.

Yusuke needs Koenma's reassurance that he's still alive when the dust settles. Then our hero gets some news that stuns him. I loved Hiei's response when Yusuke is upset that he wasn't told before.

Sakyo, the sociopathic human who sponsored Team Toguro, is a sore loser. Everyone departs hastily. It looks as if Team Urameshi is not going to collect their winnings.

There's an interlude where the late Younger Toguro faces his afterlife. We learn what motivated him. I think his choice of punishment is excessive. Not even the spirit of Genkai, appearing as she did when they were lovers 50 years ago, can change his mind. He does have some advice for Genkai, though. She takes it. We get an ominous caption about Hangman Island.

The entire stay on Hangman Island took 10 days. Spring Break is over. It's time for Yusuke, Keiko, Kurama, and Kuwabara to get back to school. (Demons Hiei and his half-sister, Yukina, don't have to worry about that.)

Yusuke and Kuwabara are in 9th grade now, their last year at Junior High. Botan comes to them from Koenma. She explains something that had them puzzled before Principal Takenaka yells at them. They're to meet Botan after school. Kuwabara reveals that his sixth sense is shot.

They meet up with three students they don't know: Yu Kaito, Asato Kido, and Mitsunari Yanagisawa. Yusuke agrees to go off with them. (Loved his aside to his spirit beast, Pu, when Pu makes the sound that got him his name.) Kuwabara's explanation to their classmates when Pu comes flapping in to tell him what happened to Yusuke was even better. (Pu can write. I'm impressed.)

We learn that Kurama's neighborhood is two train stops away from Yusuke and Kuwabara's. The scene switches to Meio Private High School, where Kurama (as human Shuichi Minamino) is a junior. According to a sign posted on the wall outside the school, the three top students for some test were Shuichi, Yu Kaito, and Yasuhiko Mitsui. Their scores are 496, 494, and 490, respectively.

Some nameless student is trying to convince Shuichi to become president of the Biology Club when Kuwabara and Botan come running up. Kuwabara naturally calls him 'Kurama,' which is apparently the name of a sumo wrestler. Shuichi passes it off as a nickname.

Kurama has no idea where Hiei is and Yusuke's kidnappers wanted all three of them. Good thing Botan has some Underworld detective tools with her. Kurama points out why the demonic aura-meter wouldn't be helpful this time. Kuwabara points out the problem with using the see-through glass. However, the Itako Whistle is just the ticket.

Hiei isn't interested in helping rescue Yusuke until Botan offers him an incentive. All four head to the Fourth Dimensional Mansion in Monster Town, which was designed and built by some obscure artist. That view of the exterior on p.97 makes it easy to understand why the house has been vacant since the artist died. See page 148 for a floor plan of the first floor.

There's a warning posted next to the front door. A certain word must not be said once one enters.

Turns out Yu Kaito is a classmate of Shuichi. He's developed a strange ability recently and thinks that the winners of the Dark Tournament would be a good test for it. Three of the four would-be rescuers fall victim to Kaito's power. One was particularly unfair because the warning notice didn't mention something about the forbidden word.

The fourth pulls an interesting trick to secure an item they needed as well as matching wits with Kaito.
Botan reveals that she's brought Underworld Tracking Stickers. If you're fine, they're blue. They'll turn yellow if you get a minor wound, red if you get a major one.

Loved the dumb moves Yusuke makes trying to pass a test one of his captors sets him. The attempt involving Hiei made me chuckle.

We learned Asato Kido's strange new power first. At last we learn what power Mitsunari Yanagisawa has developed. Can Yusuke counter it in time?

We get to met the mastermind behind the kidnapping and tests. That leads to an information dump from Koenma (who has been back to his Underworld appearance since page 50 -- darn).

The final two pages remind me of a minor recurring character on 'Mystery Science Theater 3000'. Unlike that show, this version isn't funny.

By the way, we learn that Kurama's human mother's name is Shiori, she's 40, and she's getting married this fall. Also, Kuwabara's 18-year-old sister, Shizuru, is a fan of Japanese movie stars Bunta Sugawara and Ken Takakura. (One of those nice margin notes compares Takakura to Clint Eastwood.)

The title page has a drawing of our four main young men. The author/artist had fun mixing them up. From left to right: It's Hiei's hair and head shape on Kuwabara's body, with Kuwabara's face.Yusuke's body and face sport Kurama's head shape and hair. Hiei gets Yusuke's head shape and hair. Yes, that leaves Kurama with Kuwabara's head shape and hair. He seems the calmest about the switch.

This is one of the translated manga where the art hasn't been flipped, but you should get used to reading in the opposite direction from American comics. According to a note on the copyright page, 'Some scenes have been modified from the original Japanese edition'. I haven't seen the Japanese edition, so I've no idea which scenes those are and in what way they were modified. ( )