A/N. Well, this is one of my first fanfictions and the one I lost and searched for a long time until one of my friends stumbled across my journal where I'd written the story so cheers for her. I hope you all enjoy this one, it's kind of different. I guess the Ankoku Bujutsukai inspired me a bit to write this. Please write to me and tell me what you think. I do accept Flames but be warned that I will only laugh my little demonic ass off at them ^_^.

There may be some words you might have some difficulty pronouncing so here are the pronounciations. Yane (rhymes with "cane"). Fanku (Fan is like 'fawn' and ku is like 'coo'). Adauchi (A is like 'uh' dau like 'dow' and chi like 'chee). Hitosarai (Hi like 'he' to is like 'toe' sa 'suh' and rai is like 'rye'). Stoochi (Stoo is like 'stu' and chi is like 'chee'). Gogyoutoku (Go-geeyo-toe-koo).
"Dake anou sore sudeni" means "just get on with it!"
"Kaze Doukoku" means "Wind Wail."

Reflection
By: Dark Crow

Prologue
	The gentle breeze teased her mint-green hair in the night. Up above, a million 
stars sparkled in the dark, navy-blue sky. The wind blew giving a haunting sound, like
spirits moaning as the trees rustled in the wind. The only other sound were the crunch
crunch sounds of Yukina's sandals brushing against the fallen leaves and dried grass.
Yukina was carrying three, smooth, black stones as she made her towards Genkai's
temple.
	It's such a beautiful night, the Koorime thought to herself, I've never seen so
many stars.
	She stopped and gazed at the night sky, admiring the little twinkling stars. 
She tilted her head to the side a little and saw Sirius shining the brightest among
the other stars. She then looked back down at the stones she was carrying.
	I hope these make a good addition to the pond in the garden, she said
as she continued her way.
	The rustle of the trees grew louder as the wind blew harder. Yukina shifted 
the heavy load of stones to her left arm and clutched her kimono tightly against
the cold wind. It was around the end of October, and November would be 
coming up shortly.
	It's strange, I usually don't get this cold. I have the goosebumps. I better
hurry before I freeze.
	Yukina picked up her pace to a powerwalk. She stopped and squinted her
eyes to see better. If she isn't mistaken, she could just make out in the moonlight
a small, cloaked figure crouching against a tree trunk. Yukina walked right over to
this strange, hooded figure. She stopped right in front of it, all of a sudden 
becoming colder.
	"Um, e-excuse me. Are y-you lost?" Yukina asked in her sweet voice, shaking.
Why has it all of a sudden become so cold?
	The figure looked up at her and smiled. Yukina saw that it was an old woman.
She had a huge nose with a wart at the end of it and three pieces of hair sticking out
of it. Her face was wrinkled and lined with age. One eye was incredibly bigger then 
the other one. It was a cream-colored marble eyeball. The other eye was natural-
sized and azure green. Bits of gray hair stuck out of the hood.
	"Well, you're a very sweet little girl," said the old woman. Her voice cracked
and sounded like she smoked a thousand ciagarettes a day. "Thank you for asking
but no, I'm not lost. I'm just staying here for the night."
	"Oh, n-no you sh-sh-shouldn't stay out h-here in the cold," said Yukina 
shivering. "You c-can come with m-me and stay at t-the temple. There...there should
b-b-be an extra room for y-you and I'm sure Genkai-bassan w-wouldn't mind you--"
	The old woman raised a hand to cut Yukina off; shaking her head.
	"No, no, my child. I would be just fine staying here. Besides, I wouldn't want 
to burden you with my presense," she paused for a second and continued, "but I
was hoping you could to be a favor," she said slowly standing up. She was no
taller than Yukina.
	"Certainly. What would you like me to do?" replied the ice maiden.
	"But, it seems you're a little busy," said the old woman, eyeing the stones.
	Yukina caught her gaze and shook her head no.
	"That's okay. T-these can wait," Yukina said setting down the burden next to
her. "Now, what is it that y-you need me to d-do."
	"Very well, then. Come with me."
	The old woman led Yukina into the depths of the forest. The trees blocked out
the moonlight, making it harder to see.
	"I need some help carrying a few boulders."
	"B-boulders? I don't think I would be very much help, madam. I'm not very 
strong," said Yukina.
	"Nonsense, of course you are strong, why do you think I chose you to help me?
Besides, they aren't very big boulders, just a few rocks. Come along now, they should
be up ahead."
	They finally stopped after a few minutes. Yukina looked around, looking 
confused and a little scared. The old woman placed a hand on Yukina's back and gently
pushed her forward.
	"They're behind those bushes. Go on now."
	"Mind me for asking but, what do you need a bunch of rocks for?"
	"Oh, I have my reasons. Hurry up and go now."
	Yukina glanced back at the woman who was smiling sweetly and brushed past
the bushes. Once she was out of sight, the old woman chuckled to herself and 
disappeared. Yukina, however, was searching for the boulders the old woman was
talking about but didn't find any.
	"Uh, madam. There doesn't seem to be any big rocks around. Are you sure 
they're around here? Madam?"
	Yukina looked back and saw the old woman right behind her chuckling to 
herself.
	"What's so funny?" Yukina demanded.
	"You, you foolish girl," said the old woman, except this time her voice was deep 
and manly.
	"Wha--"
	Right before her eyes, the old woman instanly turned into a young, and rather 
handsome, man. Yukina gasped and before she could scream, the man in front of her
came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He covered her mouth 
with his free hand to keep her from calling out. Yukina screamed and screamed but
no matter how hard she did, nothing came out.
	"Shush, my precious. You belong to me now," he whispered in her ear. She
felt his breath brush against her ear, cold as death. Yukina sunk her fangs into his
hand but it didn't do much.
	"Now, we don't want to do that now do we? You can't hurt....well....right now."
	A grayish-purple gas surrounded them. Once it disappared, they were gone.

Chapter One
	It was a bright and beautiful day! The sun was shining and everyone was
enjoying themselves and having a great time. The scene would be perfect if it weren't
for the frown on Keiko Yukimura's face as she walked the busy streets of Tokyo.
	K'so, Yusuke, she thought, Why can't you just leave a damned note or 
something when you're leaving instead of taking off without a trace. I wish you can
understand how much I worry about you...
	Suddenly, as if on cue, she spotted Yusuke Urameshi sitting down on a bench 
with his lap, staring hard at the ground.
	"Yusuke!" Keiko called out and ran towards him. As she came closer she saw 
that he had a hard look on his face, as if he was pressuring himself not to cry.
	"Yusuke?"
	Yusuke looked up at the sound of his name and saw his fiancee staring down
at him with a look of concern. He sighed and looked back down.
	"Where were you? I was worried sick when I saw that you weren't home. Where
were you?" She sat down next to him, taking his hand in hers. "Something bad 
happened. I know it, so don't try to hide it from me. Tell me, please?"
	Yusuke looked into Keiko's eyes with such a sad look it almost scared her.
	"Yukina's gone," was all he said.
	"Wh-what?" Keiko replied, squeezing his hand hard. "What do you mean she's
gone? Oh, Yusuke, don't tell me she-"
	"No, she's alive, at least, that's what we're hoping. She's gone missing. Genkai
came over through the window last night and told me Yukina didn't come home yet. It
was around three so she figured something was wrong. I was gonna wake you up but
I didn't want to worry you, you looked so peaceful, I just couldn't bring myself to wake 
you. Anyways, me and Kuwabara looked around here in Tokyo. Man, you should've 
seen the look on his face when he came rushing over after I called. I could've sworn
he'd been crying, poor guy, he finally found a perfect girl for him and she's gone 
missing. Kurama and Kenkai looked in the Makai while Botan and Koenma tried to
track her down but no luck. We searched for almost five hours but we couldn't find
her, it's like she never existed. It was almost eight thirty when we all met back at
Genkai's temple and rested."
	He looked at Keiko's face and almost laughed. She seemed so shocked,
her eyes were huge and her mouth hung ajar. Yusuke let go Keiko's hand and
stood up.
	"Wait," said Keiko. "What about Hiei? Didn't he help at all?"
	A dark shadow passed over Yusuke's face. "Well....that was the reason I
didn't come home today."
	"Huh? What do you mean?" Keiko asked.
	"You see, we were talking about it when Hiei showed up and he asked
where Yukina was. Kurama told him she was missing and then....that's when
hell broke loose. He just stared at us and then suddenly yelling at the top of his
 lungs saying stuff like Genkai wasn't responsible and stuff, cursed at us a lot,
a whole lot and then suddenly....his eneergy broke loose. It shattered a lot of
stuff and we all had a hard time calming him down. Man, he almost blew the
whole place up if it weren't for Kurama. And then after he was settled down,
he just took off. Just like that." Yusuke let out a small laugh.
	"Oh, my...does he...you know...like Yukina or something? Because I'm 
pretty sure he knows well enough that Kuwabara and Yukina are together,"
said Keiko slowly.
	Yusuke bit his lip. He wasn't sure if Hiei would mind him telling Keiko
about him and Yukina, but Keiko does deserve to know.
	"No, it's nothing like that," Yusuke sat back down. "Uh...well...you see,
Hiei is Yukina's...uh...how do I say it?"
	"DAKE ANOU SORE SUDENI!" Keiko bellowed.
	"Okay, okay, you don't have to bite my head off! Hiei is Yukina's brother.
There, satisfied?"
	Keiko stared at him and all she said was "Oh, okay."
	"But you can't tell Yukina that, though. He'd get really mad, okay?"
	But Keiko didn't seem to hear him, she sunk down to the ground and
dozed off. Her shoulders shaking a bit.
	"Keiko? Keiko! Daijoubu ka?" said Yusuke, grabbing Keiko's shoulders
and shaking her. Keiko came back to Earth and blinked a few times.
	"But I don't understand," said Keiko. "Where could've she'd gone?"
	"Here, let's go back to Genkai's and just settle down over there," Yusuke
said, lifting her up. 
	"Ok."

	Yusuke and Keiko climbed the steps all the way up to the doors of the temple.
Yusuke didn't even bother knocking and just pushed open the doors. Five gloomy 
faces looked up at them, not one of them had a smile on. Botan was wiping her eyes
to wipe away the tears that she had been shedding. Yusuke shut the doors and  
walked over to the middle of the main room with Keiko following behind. Kurama
was leaning against the wall with Kuwabara as Genkai sat down with Botan and 
Koenma who was in his adult form. Then, in a dark corner, he could just see Hiei 
sitting down wrapped up in vines, glaring at everyone.
	"Well, hello, everyone! And how are you all feeling?" Yusuke asked with a
big smile.
	"Good, Yu-chan, perfectly fine," Botan replied.
	"I was looking for an answer, Botan! How could we be fine in a situation like
this and why the heck is Hiei tied up?" said Yusuke.
	"We have our reasons," said Kurama with a sly smile on his face. "I had to 
be sure that Hiei wouldn't run off again and kill someone with his fury."
	Hiei gave a short "hn." Translation: Kitsune no Baka, once I get out of these
vines, you'll be sorry.
	Yusuke addressed something to Kuwabara but he didn't seem to hear. He
doesn't hear anything or anyone; just ignoring them and let them talk to themselves
while he thinks about all the dangers that Yukina could be in. That is, until he heard
Hiei make an unnecessay remark.
	"KuwabaKA, did you hear what he said? Or is your feeble brain too small to
soak up anything new coming your way?" said Hiei smiling evily.
	Kuwabara looked and glared at Hiei and marched over to him. He bent down
right in front of Hiei who was glaring at him. Kuwabara raised his hand, grabbed 
Hiei's cheek and began pinching it.
	"Listen here, you little punk! Right now I'm almost close to being in depression
and I don't want to hear what other people say right now and neither do I care. I'm
not in the mood to start anything right now 'cause all I'm worrying about is getting
Yukina back, okay!? So why don't you keep your little demon trap shut right now and
LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!! Or else I'll just keep pinching your wittle cheeks all day and
all night long, got it?" said Kuwabara, nearly yelling in Hiei's face. 
	Suddenly, Hiei began opening his mouth slowly and bit Kuwabara's hand hard
enough to pull if off clean.
	"YEOWCH!!!!!" cried Kuwabara pulling his hand back. "What the hell did you 
do that for?"
	"Pinch my wittle cheeks again and I'll pull your damned hand off and don't ever
lecture me like that again or else."
	"Or else what? Hmmm?"
	Just as Hiei opened his mouth to reply Kurama stepped between them and 
began lecturing them both which only caused Hiei and Kuwabara to get even more
angrier. Botan watched the kitsune closely, eyeing every feature he had. She never
really thought that she would ever fall in love with Kurama, but she did. Who 
wouldn't? He had everything any girl with sense would love. Dazzling emerald eyes
that can capture one's soul the minute they lay on you. His soft features, surrounded
by scarlett hair, all the way to his personality and tough-built body; she loved them 
all. Botan was just about to enter a deep daydream when her thoughts were broken
by the sound of Koenma's voice.
	"BE QUIET! BOTH OF YOU!" yelled Koenma.
	Hiei, Kuwabara and Kurama turned their direction to Koenma, whose amber 
eyes were burning with iritation.
	"Now, I know you guys are worried and confused how Yukina disappeared 
and I know we all want to find her. But bickering and arguing with each other isn't 
going to help. Botan!" said Koenma.
	Botan jumped at the sound of her name. She hurried over to him.
	"Y-yes Koenma-sama?"
	"Come with me outside, we need to discuss some things and Kurama?"
	"Yes?" replied the kitsune.
	"Untie Hiei, I think he's calm now."
	"Of course, sir."
	Koenma turned his direction to others. "We'll be right back. You all just sit tight
and wait here until we return. Got it?"
	No one answered as they watched Koenma and Botan go out the back door 
into Genkai's garden. Kurama had a quick flash of jealousy surge through him as he
thought about Botan being alone with Koenma but soon shook his mind away from 
the thought. He was being foolish, Koenma wouldn't pull a stunt on her or anything, 
he's just her boss needing to discuss something with her. Kurama smiled and he 
didn't know why.
	"So now what?" said Yusuke.
	"Now we wait," Genkai responded. "Until they come back."

	Botan and Koenma ventured deep into the garden near the pond. Koenma 
hadn't said a word since they left and it was making Botan nervous. She looked over
to where the pond was and admired it. It was surrounded by beautiful stones that were
light pink and black. Huge white flower stalks grew at one side of the pond and Dog 
Roses grew on the other. Small baby trees were behind it, they seemed to be Cherry
Oak. The grass was fresh green and so was the rest of the garden. Before then, 
Botan remembered, none of that stuff were there before Yukina came and started 
living here.
	Yukina did such a wonderful job on the garden...poor, Yukina, I hope she's
all right. The dear....
	"Botan. I want you to look in that pond," said Koenma so suddenly it made 
Botan jump. That was twice today.
	"What? What?" she replied.
	"Don't ask questions, just do it. And tell me what you see."
	"Ok, then. Whatever you say, sir."
	Botan walked over to the pond with Koenma following behind. She sat on her
knees and looked in the water expecting to see something but all she saw as her
reflection. She looked all around the pond but nothing was there.
	"Koenma-sama, are you sure there's something in here? I hope you don't mean
my reflection because there's nothing in here, well, except for a few fish--"
	"Keep looking," said Koenma, all of a sudden, right on top of Botan. His voice
suddenly changed into something deeper, and colder. "Keep looking...and you'll see 
your frightened face in the water."
	"K-k-koenma?" said Botan, looking behind. Her eyes went wide at what she saw.

	"God, what's taking them so long?" said Yusuke in an annoyed tone. They've 
been waiting for almost an hour and a half for Koenma and Botan to return. Everyone
else has been patient but Yusuke was complaining after twenty minutes of waiting.
Keiko told him that they were probably discussing something really, really important
and it might be taking a while but that didn't get rid of Yusuke's impatience. Oh, how
he hated waiting!
	Suddenly, Koenma, in his adult form, appeared out of nowhere in the middle 
of the room. It looked like he was rushing.
	"Whew, sorry I'm late guys. I had a few extra paperwork to do and my father
wouldn't let me go until I finish them all or else it's a hundred spankings. Now, what
did I miss?" said the Prince of the Underworld. 
	"Where's Botan?" asked Kurama.
	"Hm?"
	"He said where's Botan?" said Yusuke.
	"What do you mean where's Botan? I told her to go here without me because 
it'll take me a while to finish my paperwork. Why? Isn't she here?"
	"You just went outside with her in the garden stupid!" yelled Yusuke.
	"I didn't see Botan at all, Yusuke, I just got here!" Koenma said.
	"Wait," said Kurama. All eyes turned to him. "If you just got here...then...who 
was that other Koenma?"
	The answer smacked them on the head as they realized the truth. They all
rushed outside into the garden and elsewhere looking for Botan.  Dark clouds began
to gather suddenly and the air turned icy cold. The wind started blowing really hard,
ripping against their clothes and the bare skin on their faces. Some plants and grass
ripped out of their places and flew into the air as if a tornado were sucking them.
	They searched everywhere, but Botan was nowhere to be found. Kurama 
dropped on his knees and pounded the earth with his fist, leaving a dent. He began
to shake with fury, gripping the grass and tearing it out. Hiei walked over to his
kitsune friend and stood next to him, not saying a word, which was a wise thing to do.
Say something wrong that will anger Kurama even more and all hell would break lose.
	"Sorry, Kurama. We couldn't find her," Kuwabara replied. Kurama didn't answer.
"But I'm sure she's around here somewhere--"
	"She's gone, Kuwabara," said Genkai. "Disappeared, vanished, gone...just like
Yukina."
	Gone...just like Yukina.
	Those words were so loud in Hiei's ear as he heard them over and over again. 
A jolt of pain gripped his body; a feeling a sadness and desperation filled him. Soon 
that feeling was replaced by anger and hate, hating the person that took Yukina, wanting 
to shred that person to every last bit with his own bare hands if he did anything to his 
beloved sister.
	Hiei relaxed and ran off. Leaving the others behind.

Chapter Two
	Shizuru's jogging pace got slower and slower each minute. She ran three miles
and back, leaving a total of six miles. Desperate to get home and take a bath, Shizuru
forced herself to go faster. She saw the street her house was on was just a few feet
ahead. Shizuru swirved to the right on her street and saw her house just ahead.
	Shizuru walked the rest of the way down, she didn't feel like jogging anymore. 
She was right at their door when she suddenly stepped on something and heard a 
crunching sound. She moved her foot and saw that it was an envelope with her name 
on it. Shizuru picked it up and looked on the back and shrugged. Just as she was
about to open the door, Kuwabara slammed it open and saw Shizuru standing there.
	"SIS!" Kuwabara cried out, grabbing his sister and squeezingher really hard.
"Oh, thank God you're still here, sis! I thought you'd get kidnapped! I kept looking out
and opening the door just in case you came so I could pull you in before you get 
kidnapped just like Yukina and Botan which would be really bad 'cause I don't want
you to get kidnapped either so--"
	"Baby brother, if you don't let go of me I'm going to hurt you," said Shizuru through
gritted teeth.
	"Oh, right, sorry," said Kuwabara placing Shizuru down. That's when he noticed the
small envelope in her hand. He snatched it out of her hand and began examining it 
carefully. "What's this Shizuru?"
	"I don't know now give it back!"
	Shizuru attempted to retrieve the note back but failed miserably. To her misfortune,
Kuwabara is taller than her so he has the advantage. Kuwabara tore the envelope open 
and unfolded the note. Shizuru charged at him again but Kuwabara just merely stuck out his 
hand and heldher back, trying to read the note. Knowing that Shizuru would never get the
note, he smiled widely. Shizuru moved back sending Kuwabara falling face-forward on the
ground. Shizuru took the note out of his hand and started reading. Kuwabara got up and
hovered over her waiting for her to read. 
	Shizuru looked back at him with small eyes. "Do you mind?"
	"Oh, sorry. But read it out loud, I wanna hear it."
	"I will, I will."
	She read the note outloud and it said :
	Shizuru, the moment I first laid eyes on you, I immediately fell in love with your 
beauty and not only that, but your strong will-power. Meet me three stores down from
Sae's Hair Salon in the alley. I wish to speak with you.
						
						Anonymous

	"What the hell?" said Shizuru. "Crappiest note I've ever read and how the hell 
does he know my name?"
	"Did you talk with anyone today? Or some other day?" asked Kuwabara.
	"No."
	Kuwabara scratched his head trying to think about what's going on but failed.
	"Well, I don't know whoe sent it to you, sis, but it sure is crappy."
	Shizuru handed Kuwabara the note and headed for the door, grabbing a coat
on her way.
	"Uhhh...sis? Where are you going?" Kuwabara asked.
	"I'm going to go meet this guy, see how he knows my name and what he wants."
	"Well, obviously he wants you, Shizuru," Kuwabara said looking at the note. 
"But I don't think you should go."
	"And why not?" said Shizuru.
	"It could be dangerous. What if it's a trap? It could be that same guy that kidnapped
Yukina and Botan and what if he takes you away, too?"
	Seeing the concern in her brother's eyes, Shizuru went up and hugged her little 
brother.
	"I'll be fine, promise. If anything weird starts to happen, I'll get out and run away.
Not walk away, run away, okay?"
	Without waiting for Kuwabara to answer, Shizuru burst out through the door;
Kuwabara still calling after her.
	"If you get kidnapped I'm gonna be mad at you!" Kuwabara cried out but 
Shizuru just waved good-bye and headed down the street.
	Sae's Hair Salon, she thought to herself. That's not so far, just a few blocks 
down.
	Shizuru looked around to keep an eye out for anything suspicious, just in case 
what Kuwabara had warned her about was true. He could be lurking anywhere, waiting
to kidnap her. Before she knew it, the hair salon was right across the street. Shizuru 
looked left and right just to be certain no cars are coming and crossed the street. The
problem was that there were two alleys that were three stores down from each side.
Shizuru took the one that goes north first and saw that no one was there. She went three
stores down south and turned into the alleyway. Suddenly, a gush of cold wind blew 
against her that she had to tighten her coat up even more.
	"Hello? Anyone here?" she called out.
	She went down a few more steps then stopped. She saw a young man with black
hair sitting on a small, wooden box looking up at her. He was wearing a red tunic with 
blue jeans. She coudn't see his eyes since he was facing down. As Shizuru edged 
nearer, it started to become even more cold.
	"Are you the one that sent me the note?" she asked.
	"As a matter of fact, I did," said the young man, standing up. He came closer to 
her until she could see him clearly. Shizuru saw that he was extremely handsome and
couldn't help not to gaze. Then she saw his eyes and gasped. They were bloodred,
not the color of a ningen, but a youkai. It started to become even colder than before.
	He smirked as Shizuru began to step away; he seemed to be amused that she
was starting to get frightened. Shizuru turned around and began to run, she didn't want
to stay there for a minute but then he grabbed both her arms and held on to her. 
Shizuru pulled out of her jacket and began to run but it was hard to since the air was so
cold; her legs began to numb up, making it hard for her to run. The young man smirked
again and threw her jacket down and ran after her. He jumped up and pinned Shizuru
to the ground, who was thrashing and kicking, desperate to get him off her. He 
pressed all his weight on her until she couldn't breathe and stopped moving. He slowly
got up when suddenly Shizuru kicked him in the stomach and scrambled to her feet.
Before she could move an inch, the youkai pinched the back of her neck causing 
Shizuru to slip into consciousness. She fell into his arms and a grayins-purple smoke
surrounded them. They were gone once it disappeared.

	Kuwabara was tapping on the kitchen counter, waiting for Shizuru to come home.
It's been an hour since she left and he hadn't heard a word from her. He kept trying to
convince himself that maybe she and that anonymous dude went out somewhere like on
a date or something, but he wasn't fully convinced. After another ten minutes of waiting,
Kuwabara got fed up and walked over to the couch where he left the note. It said for 
Shizuru to meet him in the alley three stores down from Sae's Hair Salon. He wondered
why he didn't say the store right next to the alley but it didn't matter. Kuwabara grabbed
the note and put on his jacket. Placing the note in his jean pocket, he went out, making 
sure he locked the door, and ran downstairs. Once he got outside, he looked up and 
saw that there were dark clouds again and the air was cold, just like it had been when
Botan was kidnapped. A sick feeling formed in the pit of his stomach as he raced down
to get to Sae's Hair Salon	
	He kept bumping into people that were crowding the streets and slowing him 
down. Kuwabara pushed someone out of the way and ran some more until he saw
the hair salon. Without stopping to see if there were any cars, he ran across the street,
just barely missing a van speeding. Kuwabara stopped and looked left and right, 
wondering which alley it was. Then a burst of demon energy came from the alley to
his left. He sprinted into the alley and walked in.
	"Shizuru! Shizuru! Are you here?" he called out but no one answered.
	He walked a little deeper until he saw something lying on the ground. Fear
and panic raced through him as he ran towards the object.
	"Shizuru!" he called out as he stopped in front of the object. He bent down and
saw that it was Shizuru's jacket, and that was all. Kuwabara picked up the jacket, 
gritting his teeth.
	"NO!" he yelled and ran out of the alley with Shizuru's jacket. 
	He sprinted faster than he ever ran, fury feeding his energy in his legs, causing
him to go faster. Kuwabara was running towards Genkai's temple to tell her what just
happened. He skipped three steps at a time and got up to the temple doors in no time.
Kuwabara slammed the doors open.
	"Genkai! Genkai!"
	Kuwabara heard noises coming from the kitchen and ran in that direction. He
bursted in and saw both Koenma and Genkai talking with one another, drinking some
herbal tea.
	"GENKAI! SHE'S GONE!" Kuwabara bellowed suddenly, making Koenma jump
and spilling some of his tea on him.
	"She...she...she's g-gone! Took...her...kidnap...Yukina-"
	"Kuwabara, calm down and catch your breath and then tell us what happened,"
Genkai said calmly.
	Kuwabara only gave himself a minute to catch his breath before he started again.
	"The kidnapper that took Yukina and Botan kidnapped Shizuru! She's gone!"
	"What?!" Koenma and Genkai said in unision. "How do you know?"
	"This came for her," Kuwabara said pulling out the note from his pocket. 
Genkai read the note to herself and looked up at Kuwabara.
	"Did you go and check the alley yourself?" Genkai asked after she finished 
reading.
	"Yeah, and I found her jacket on the ground and I sensed demon energy all
around that place. It's gotta be him! I know it!" Kuwabara said, tears starting to well
in his eyes. "We need to find them all, before he does anything to them. Who knows
what he'll do!"
	"Let's call the others," said Koenma. "We'll discuss this together."

Chapter Three
	Yusuke was patting Kuwabara's back trying to confront him that the girls were
fine but he wasn't doing a very good job at it. Tears were still running down 
Kuwabara's face and started pouring even harder the more Yusuke talked about them.
After a while he gave up and allowed Kuwabara's tears to flow. Kurama was sitting
on the other side of Kuwabara but he wasn't paying attention to him. All he was 
worried about was where Yukina, Botan and Shizuru were and if they were all right.
Keiko was standing alone far off away from everyone. Hiei wasn't there though, 
they couldn't find him and didn't bother looking for him forever so they went to the 
temple without him. 
	"I know you all are wondering what all these strange kidnappings are all 
about and, most importantly, why the "kidnapper" took our girls instead of someone
else," said Koenma. "But I assure you that we will find them...somehow."
	"Well if you're assuring us that you'll find them then why aren't you finding 
them?!" Kuwabara yelled. He stopped crying surprisingly.
	"We are, Kuwabara, we are. It's just a little harder to track them down since
we don't have any DNA. Maybe a piece of hair or something would've do but we
don't have any so we're trying to find them as fast as we can."
	"Why do you need DNA?" Yusuke asked without thinking.
	"Because," Koenma replied, "I have a new device that can locate anyone 
anywhere even if they're in a different world or dimension. But, in order to do so,
I need a piece of hair or possibly even skin, whatever that's been on their body.
Sorry, frabic doesn't work."
	Everyone was silent, as if absorbing the information. It quiet, deadly quiet
until Keiko began to walk into another room. Yusuke watched her as she went,
thought about going after her but decided against it. He knew that if his fiancee
wanted to be alone, it was best to leave her alone. Then suddenly, Keiko's 
high-pitched scream filled the room, followed by a painful SLAP and some more
screaming with another SLAP and then silence.
	"KEIKO!" Yusuke cried out and he jumped to his feet and sprinted across
the room followed by the others. He kicked down the door and got his spirit gun
ready as Kuwabara got his sword and Kurama summoned his rose whip only
to find Keiko alright and Hiei lying on the ground with a small red mark on his
left cheek.
	Hiei sat up rubbing his cheek. "Dammit woman, what the hell was that
about?" He said.
	"You scared the living hell out of me! It was dark and I couldn't see 
anything and then you suddenly come up and grab my shoulder!" Keiko
countered.
	Yusuke sighed and began to laugh as he put away his weapon. He walked
over to Hiei to help him up.
	"Hahahahahahaha! Well, now you see what I gotta live through,"
he said follwed by a slap on the back of his neck.
	Hiei helped himself up and replied with a short  'Hn'. He was quiet
for a minute then looked away.
	"D-did you find anything? Did you f-find out where they are?" Hiei said,
still turned away. He was having a hard time saying this, as if he was embarrassed.
	Yusuke shook his head sadly and replied, "No, but we had another
kidnapping. Shizuru's gone this time."
	Kuwabara turned away and walked out of the room as the rest followed him 
out. Kuwabara plopped down on the floor and had a hard expression on his face.
He looked like he was trying to prevent himself from crying.
	"Then it's obvious who's next then," Hiei said. "Think about it, Yukina, Botan
and Shizuru are all gone. So that means Keiko is next. She's the next victim so we 
need to watch out for her just in case."
	"He's right," Koenma said. "And just in case she does disappear, Keiko, can
I have one strand of your hair?"
	"Huh? Uh...sure," she said and pulled out a piece of hair and handed it to
Koenma. "But are you sure that the others are safe? What if that man did something
to them? It's only awful to think about what he could've done..."
	"Yes, I know," Koenma replied, "but for now, be careful who you talk to. It can 
be anyone, from what I see, he's a shapeshifter, so be careful and don't go out alone.
Have someone come with you for protection just in case he shows up, and even if he
does, I have your hair so we would be able to find you so you have nothing to worry
about, sorta."
	Keiko nodded her head in agreement but she still didn't look convinced. 
Yusuke got up and held her in his arms, slightly rocking back and forth resting his
chin in her hair.  She was trembling, all this excitement really got her worked up.
They stayed like that for a long time and Keiko began to ease up a little. Just as
she began to close her eyes, the front doors bursted open with such might that
they could've flown right off. Everyone turned around to see who it was and their
eyes bulged out of their sockets and gasped as they stared at Yusuke, all cut up
and bruised and shirtless, gasping for air and he stood in the doorway. Keiko
looked at the Yusuke in the doorway and the Yusuke who was holding her, he 
doesn't seem surprised by this, in fact, he looked a little amused.
	"Keiko!" the Yusuke at the doorway shouted. "Get away from him! That's 
him! That's the kidnapper! Get away from him!"
	Kurama gasped and looked over at Keiko and Yusuke. The Yusuke 
holding her began to chuckle lightly and tightened his grip on her. Soon his arms
slid down to her waist and pinned her arms to her side and held her really tight.
	"Damn, I though you'd stay down after our little encounter in the alleyway
this morning. Oh well, it doesn't matter, I got the final key with me to put this plan
in process," said the Yusuke holding Keiko. And with that, he bent a little and 
kissed her cheek.
	 Keiko didn't move, she didn't even flinch, she was too shocked to know
what was happening. First she was conforted and felt safe in Yusuke's arms
who all these people are assuming isn't Yusuke when suddenly the real Yusuke
shows up. Then there was all this commotion and she couldn't understand what
they were saying or what was going on. It was all happening too fast.
	Kurama made eye contact with Hiei and he nodded. Hiei seemed to know
what to do before anyone so he relaxed and didn't take up a fighting stance. 
Koenma did the same also and stepped back. Genkai whispered something
to Koenma and he nodded. Everyone knew that to do except for Yusuke. He 
charged up and sprinted at full speed towards Keiko and her captor, spirit energy 
bursting everywhere.
	"Yusuke, wait-" Kurama called out.
	"I'll beat your ass you sick bastard!" Yusuke cried out.
	The fake Yusuke turned to see Yusuke coming at them and jumped back 
farther but Yusuke gained up. He wouldn't have enough time to take Keiko back
to wherever he kept his stash. Just as Yusuke was about to punch him, Hiei dashed
in front of him and hit him right in the face that sent him flying across the room.
The fake Yusuke smiled while a grayish-purple mist surrounded him and Keiko and
in a matter of seconds they were gone.
	Yusuke got up and saw that it was too late and that they were gone. Hiei  now
stood in their place, glancing down at Yusuke. Yusuke got up and suddenly, his face
turned into an angry expression and ran up to Hiei, grabbing the front of his cloak.
Hiei didn't bother to defend himself or anything, but simply looked up at the glaring
Spirit Detective.
	"Stupid! What hell was that for?! Do you have any idea what you just did?!"
Yusuke bellowed in rage.
	"Simple," said Hiei, "I stopped you from doing something completely idiotic.
And if you'd open up your mind think for a minute, you'll understand perfectly well 
why I did that."
	"Huh? 	What do you mean?" Yusuke said, anger still showing in his voice. 
	"Think about it, baka. If you stopped them from getting away, we would have
a harder chance finding the others, but if you just let him think that he's winning, we 
could find him easily and bring the others back. But since we weren't here, you 
probably have no idea what I'm talking about."
	Koenma stepped forward. "I have a new device in Reikai that can track 
anyone, no matter where they are, using their DNA. A piece of skin or strand of
hair would do, which I have right now," he said holding up Keiko's hair. "These are
some of Keiko's hair, so since I have them we can find her and the other girls
easily."
	"How do you know it will work?" Yusuke asked.
	"Oh, it works, trust me, it does. Meet me here in exactly one week from
today."
	"Why one week?" Kuwabara asked.
	"Because it takes one week before it finds whoever it's searching for. But be
thankful I have the newest one, the old ones take about three years."

Chapter Four
	"Keiko? Keiko, wake up. Can you hear me? Keiko..."
	Keiko opened her eyes drearily to stare up at Yukina's garnet ones.  Her 
focus soon came to view and she looked up Yukina's worried face. She sat up all
of a sudden that Yukina jumped back. Keiko blinked her eyes a few times to get
adjusted to the darkness until she could just barely make out shiny silver bars. 
Behind those bars was something that looked like a lab. There were dissection
tables with scalps, dissecting knives, hooks hooked on wires that dangled 
dangerously. Just out in the corner were four capsules with turquoise liquid filled
up inside with bubbles bursting as if something was breathing inside those 
capsules but is invisible to the naked eye. Then she saw some of those wires
with the hooks inside them; deadly sharp that they glistened. Keiko shivered at
the thought of being hooked up with those things. It suddenly occured to her that
it was freezing inside the building and she began to shiver, her teeth chattering 
loudly as she hugged herself trying to keep warm.
	"Don't worry, sweetie, you'll get used to it soon and warm up."
	Keiko looked over and saw Shizuru bending over her, with a smile on her
face that showed reassurance but worry as well. Botan came up next to her as
well but she had a stern look on her face, she smiled but her expression didn't
change. This came to Keiko odd, knowing that Botan is always a cheerful and
bubbly person and now is suddenly a total different person. Yukina paced around
the room with a paranoid looked, always looking around as if something's going
to pop up and attack her. Keiko jumped up and cried out Yukina's name as if she
just noticed her and ran up to her and hugged her.
	"Yukina, where are we?" Keiko asked backing away a little.
	"I'm not sure, but it's not Ningenkai I know that. The smell isn't the same,"
Yukina replied.
	"And the spirit energy," Shizuru piped in. "It's so much stronger here, much
stronger than a demon's energy, it's nothing I've sensed before. It feels evil here but
despite all that, I sense a sort of innocence that was once here, but I just can't quite
make it out. Gah, damnit."
	Botan's expression suddenly changed to her old one. "Oh, I wish we can get
out of here. Where are we?" Botan said. She sounded annoyed.
	"I'm glad to know that you all are awake now."
	Everyone jumped at the new sound that they were hearing. They all turned 
around and saw a handsome young man with dark black hair and gorgeous ruby
eyes staring through them. He smirked at them and had a tint of amusement on his
face as he sensed the girls' confusion and fear.
	"And just who the hell are you?!" Shizuru said.
	"Please allow me to introduce myself, my ladies, I'm Adauchi Hitosarai, and 
yes I am the one that 'kidnapped' you and brought you here," the man said.
	"Oh, so you're the bastard," Shizuru replied, "I thought you looked familiar. I'll
never forget that hideous face." She smiled a grim smile and waited for his response.
Keiko turned pale and looked as if she was about to faint.
	"I admire your bravery, love, I like that in girls, which is why I also chose you,"
Adauchi said, amazingly calm.
	"Cut the crap and get on with it. Why'd you bring us here?"
	Yukina looked over at Shizuru and slightly smiled. She admired Shizuru as
well on how she could stand up to that man so easily like that. She wished that she
could be as brave as Shizuru and stand up to Adauchi like that as well, and feel
proud of herself. But instead, she just stood there and let Shizuru do all the talking.
	"I brought you here because I want you all... to do me a favor." At this, Shizuru
lightended up a little, the others perked their ears with curiosity. 
	"You see, there is a tournament that is going to open up in two weeks. Every
century, the Lord here holds this tournament but there are some things that are little
different about this one. I'm not going to go into detail but give you just a quick 
summary, is that alright my pretty's? Good. This tournament is far more different than
others, only one team is allowed to enter and they each will battle seven different
opponents...alone. Women are the only people that are eligible to fight in this 
tournament. The Lord wants to prove that women are as good of fighters as men,
so i'm guessing. It's a fight to the death. There is no little ten-second count 
whenever someone is down, oh no, you fight until the other is dead. Not almost dead.
Dead. Deceased. Gone. Dead. And do you know what the prize is?" He looked around
at them then continued. "The prize is to rule this whole world for fifty years, while the 
remaining fifty the Lord rules again. But, the fighters aren't just taken for granted. They
are rewarded as second-in-command of the ruler and are able to do anything they 
want-until those fifty years are up."
	Adauchi was quiet for a long time, letting the girls soak up the information
he gave them before continuing. It was deadly quiet. They were all holding their 
breaths, as if even breathing would be too loud. Adauchi continued.
	"I would do anything to win this tournament....which is why I chose you four."
	Shizuru began to burst out laughing so hard tears began to stream down
her face. But this didn't set off Adauchi, he only stood there smiling with this
hands folded behind his back. 
	Shizuru wiped her eyes and contained herself.
	"Whew, I haven't laughed like that in a long time," she said still giggling.
"But if you're planning to win using us, you're in for a ride, you see, we're not
fighters so you might as well let us go and find some other chics to do your dirty
work." She smiled with satisfaction.
	"Oh, no dear, I've tried looking for women to fight for me, but none of them
gain any skill so that's when I bought those over there," he gestured with his head
over at the capsules, "and now I can turn the weakest set of humans into the most
deadliest beasts," Adauchi said with a toss of his hair.
	They're eyes widened with fear and suddenly knew the situation that they
were in. Suddenly, a snake-like demon appeared. He had a long, oval head with
huge black eyes and two slits for a nose. His hard tail slammed on the ground,
causing a dent on the floor and every now and then, his forked tongue would come
out, quiver, and then slide back in. The only thing he wore over his green body was
a torn white t-shirt and dark blue, jean shorts. It was the most scrawniest demon
anyone has ever laid eyes on. 
	"Stoochi," said Adauchi, "you ruined my floor."
	The snake demon known-as Stoochi stared at the dent he caused with
the wack of his tail. He looked back guiltily up at his master and apologized.
Then he said something about if it's time yet and when can he do 'it.'
	"Yes, yes, you're right, we should get to it and get on with," Adauchi
turned back to the girls. "And as for you four, you will be mine forever, my 
precious soldiers. Now, if you just allow my men to escort you to those 
capsules-calmly-there would be no trouble and we go on and head for 
Mashin Shima, the island where the tournament is held."
	Yukina stood up now, anger quickly taking place of her fear and running
through her veins as a fuel to stand up and defend herself. She was now
getting frustrated as well as confused and wanted to leave but she knew she
won't get anywhere unless she spoke up, which she did.
	"In your dreams, moron!" 
	Adauchi snapped his fingers and a group of men that resembled
vampires began to move in on the girls, walking right through the bars. Shizuru
was the first one to charge forward and smash one of the men right in their lip,
sending them flying back and landing against the wall. 
	"Who else is gonna try to land their dirty paws on me!" Shizuru cried out
as a whole swarm of them began to edge near. Botan summoned her oar and
began to hit random vamps, knocking them out cold. She jumped back when one
almost grabbed her shoulders and swung her oar that broke his jaw. Keiko was
screaming as two men were holding onto her, Shizuru managed to find her way
and pulled them off her and landed a few blows. Keiko accidentally slapped
Shizuru on the back when she grabbed her, thinking it was danger.
	"Ow, Keiko, it's me," Shizuru said.
	"Oh, sorry."
	Over half of the vampires cornered Yukina, who was awfully scared. Her
legs were shaking, not from the cold but from fear as she stared into the glowing
red eyes of the demons that were to take control of her. She told herself constantly
to be brave and not show them that she's scared but it was no use. They came in
so close that she would feel their breath on her face, the sour smell burning her
eyes and she shut them tight, as if she didn't see them, they would go away when
suddenly, one grabbed her shoulders. Then something inside of her burst. She felt
red hot rage building up inside and she burst open her eyes, to find them glowing
pale blue and bright. She let out a loud scream and had every last one of them
flying back against the wall, then splatter, making a sick smashing sound. Yukina
looked around, her eyes their normal, garnet color. Everyone was staring at her,
all squished up in her little corner looking like a little girl. Adauchi raised his eyes
then smiled with pleasure.
	"So, you are very strong, seems that your anger fuels you, well no matter,
you will all fight for me anyhow," said Adauchi. 
	Suddenly, a hard glass wall replaced the bars. A bunch of holes emerged
from the ceiling and a let out a gush of yellow mist, filling up the enclosed room. 
The mist gagged them from their breath as they enhaled large amounts of it.
Yukina tried to hold her breath as long as she could watching the others suffercate.
She wanted to cry out to them to hold their breaths but she couldn't and she knew
they couldn't either. If they did, they would be just sucking up mist and hold it in 
their bodies, letting it cut off their air supply. Just then, Yukina gagged and tried 
to hold it in even longer but found that she couldn't and let out the air and breathe
in some more only to have the yellow mist nestle inside her body. She coughed
and then fainted. The last thing she saw was Shizuru banging on the glass wall
then sliding down and falling onto her back, before she entered darkness.

	Adauchi's lab servents stripped them from their clothes and pulling Botan's
and Yukina's hair down so it fell down their backs. Stoochi drained the capsules
from the turqoise liquid to allow the lab workers to set them up properly. They 
carried them to the capsules, placing one in each, piercing their wrists with the 
hooks, watching the blood ooze down their arms onto their sides and dripping
on the floor with delight. They closed the glass doors and locked them up.
Stoochi opened up the tubes that allowed the liquid to fill up the capsules and
allowed the lab servents to do the rest. Adauchi watched with a grim look on
his face, his ruby eyes shining like the gems themselves. Then he smiled, a cruel
smile and licked his lips, anxiously waiting for the process to finish. He could just
taste the feeling of victory and power at the thought that all would worship him. His 
thoughts were suddenly  disrupted by Stoochi's raspy voice.
	"Ssssir, the processss would take about one week. Wouldn't that be too 
long?" Stoochi stated.
	"There are two weeks 'till the tournament and it takes about four days to get
there. It'll be plenty of time, besides, I alreayd registered them in, so there's no 
hurry," Adauchi said.
	"Of courssse ssir," Stoochi replied.
	"Stoochi," said Adauchi.
	"Yess?"
	"You damaged my floor, fix it."

Chapter Five
	That whole one week seemed like an eternity. Waiting anxiously to get the
results and worrying day and and day out about Yukina, Keiko, Botan and Shizuru,
wondering if they're alright, let alone alive. Coincidently, the sky has been gloomy
and dull during that week, as if mourning the loss of the four girls. Nimbus clouds 
have been gathering for days and staying there, mot moving at all. On the last day
of waiting, rain began to fall. Starting as a light sprinkle at first, but in a matter of
minutes, began pouring and pouding hard against the ground with winds rushing
hard and wailing loudly, sounding like werewolves howling at the Full Moon. But
the harsh weather didn't stop Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei from meeting
Koenma at the temple, each eager with anticipation. They were all waiting in the 
main room, for Koenma to show up and tell them where the girls are so they can
get a move on finding them. Hours passed and still no sign of Koenma, Hiei
began to think that he wasn't going to show up but Genkai confronted him and
reassured that he will be here. But still no show. Even though they have been 
waiting for almost eight hours, they still wait patiently as if they just got there.
	At last, just as Hiei was about to make a rude remark, Koenma appeared at
last with hard expression on his face. They all rose as Koenma stepped forward, his
eyes closed and breathing quite loudly. Everything was quiet as they waited for the
result. It was a little too quiet, though. It was as if the wind held its own breath as well
waiting for Koenma and stopped the rain from pouring. No sound could be heard.
Maybe the wind really did hold its breath and stop the rain, or maybe they couldn't
hear it because of their hearts thumping loudly in their ears that they shut out 
everything just to hear Koenma speak.
	Just as everyone was about to go mad with anxiety, Yusuke finally spoke up.
	"Well? Where are they?"
	Koenma still didn't answer but just stood there, now gazing at Yusuke. Now,
Yusuke wasn't so patient anymore and, in fact, began to lose his temper.
	"Answer me dammit! Do you know where they are or not?!"
	Koenma opened his mouth. "Yes I do know where they are, and they're not
here in the Ningenkai, I'll tell you that."
	"So they're in the Makai?" Kuwabara asked.
	"No," Koenma replied. "They're not there either."
	"Well then where the hell could they be? They can't be in the Reikai can they?"
Yusuke said.
	"They're not in any of these three worlds," the prince of the underworld replied,
"but they're in the Mitsukai. It seems that they're heading for the Shouten Bujutsukai."
	At these words, Genkai and Kurama gasped. Yusuke and Kuwabara stared in
confusion as Hiei cocked an eyebrow.
	"The what-kai?" Yusuke asked. "What tournament?"
	"It seems that you haven't heard of the Mitsukai, ne?" Genkai said.
	Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded while Hiei looked to the side.
	Kurama said, "Shall I explain?" looking over at Koenma. Koenma made a
gesture with his hand telling him to go ahead.
	"The Mitsukai is a another dimension where Angels lived. Yes, yes, you are
probably wondering 'Then what is the Reikai for?' The Reikai takes in dead spirits
and take care of them. After fifty years, the ones that were good are sent to the
Mitsukai while the ones that were bad were sent to, of course, Hell. Anyways, a
powerful ogre named, Gogyoutoku, escaped from Hell and somehow managed to
enter into the Mitsukai and terrorized it. He killed majority of the Angels, and the
remaining that he spared were turned into his minions. Ever since Gogyoutoku
has taken over the Mitsukai, it has been Hell itself there. The air that was once
fresh and clean is now putrid-smelling and foul and polluted. Trees are dead and
grass is brown and dry for it hasn't rained in over one-hundred years.
	"Sometimes later, Gogyoutoku found an island which was large enough to
have a stadium, a really big stadium. The strange part was that none of the recent
Angels knew about the island. Gogyoutoku named the island 'Mashin Shima' which
translates to 'Devil Island' and there he holds a tournament every one-hundred years
which is the Shouten Bujutsukai-Tournament of Death."
	"So how does this tournament work?" Yusuke asked with a shaky voice.
	"That's just what I'm about to explain," Kurama replied.
	"Well, hurry up, you're taking too long."
	"Patience, Yusuke, patience," Kurama said. "Now let's see, where was I? Oh
yes! The Shouten Bujutsukai is nothing like the Ankoku Bujutsukai that we fought in.
Instead of having a ten-second count, one of the opponents has to be dead. They're
to fight 'till one of the fighters are dead, no matter how long it takes. It's a fight to death,
hence the name, Shouten Bujutsukai, and only women are allowed to enter. One team
of women will enter and each woman will fight seven different people."
	"Say what now?!" Kuwabara said. "You mean to say that two people fight until
someone is dead?"
	"That's exactly what he's saying, baka, pay attention," Hiei replied.
	"I AM paying attention you little punk!"
	"But I don't see why we're really concerned about this whole tournament thing, 
I mean, why are we worrying about it?" Yusuke asked.
	"Don't you see?" Koenma said. "Yukina, Botan, Shizuru and Keiko are all 
going to be entering the Shouten Bujutsukai!"
	"Nani?!" Hiei cried out. Yusuke and Kuwabara's eyes bulged right out of their
heads. Kurama looked as if he was straining to keep from crying and closed this
eyes. Genkai was probably the only one that didn't look concerned, instead, she just
sighed.
	"So maybe this guy that took them is wanting to enter them in the Shouten
Bujutsukai, ne?" Genkai said. Koenma nodded yes. "Just one thing troubles me 
though," Genkai continued, "I'm not saying they aren't strong girls, belive they are,
but I'm concerned on whether or not they would survive these fights just with their
strenght alone. I know Yukina has a few powers of her own but I'm not so sure about
the others."
	"That's an excellent point," Koenma replied. "That's why we need to get to the
Mitsukai as fast as we can, track them down, and get them back as quick as 
possible."
	"One question," Kuwabara said raising his hand.
	Koenma gave him an annoyed expression. "Yes, Kuwabara, what is it?"
	"How do we get to the Mitsukai? Is there some kind of portal or something?"
	"Yes there is, in the Enryaku-ji Temple located on Mount Hiei in East Kyoto,"
Koenma replied.
	"Enryaku-ji Temple? Are you sure it's there? That's the most holy temple in
all of Japan," Genkai said. "It's amazing that they hold a dimension like Mitsukai
there."
	"What a perfect name for a mountain, I'd hate to go to that crappy place 
now," Kuwabara muttered under his breath but Genkai heard it and hit across the
back of his head so hard that it could've broken his neck.
	"DON'T INSULT IT MORON IT'S THE MOST SACRED LAND IN ALL OF 
JAPAN YOU IDIOT!"  Genkai bellowed.
	Kuwabara grabbed the back of his head; about to burst into tears. "I'm...
sorry."
	"Okay you guys need to stop chit-chatting and get moving," Koenma said.
	"You mean you're not coming?" Yusuke asked.
	"No, how am I gonna explain to them I'm the mighty Koenma? But Genkai will
go with you guys. Right?" He said looking over to Genkai was scowled but didn't
say anything.
	"Okay then, it's settled. Now off you go," Koenma said.
	Just as they were about to leave, Kurama piped up. "Where's Hiei?"
	They looked back in a corner and saw him curled up staring at his hands. He
looked dazed as if somewhere off other than here. Kurama crouched down next to
him and put a hand on his shoulder and asked him what's wrong but he wouldn't
answer, he just kept on staring at his hands. Kurama looked to see why he was
staring at them and saw that they were shaking.
	"Are you scared?" Kurama asked.
	"No," Hiei replied without any emotion.
	"I mean, scared for-"
	"No, let's go." Hiei pushed Kurama's hand off his shoulder and walked along
with the others. 

Chapter Six
	It was a four-day journey to East Kyoto and another two hours to get to Mt.
Hiei. They had to walk to the sacred land because people there think it's 'rude' to 
drive up to their holy land. So they all had to walk for two hours straight. In the first
hour of walking, Kuwabara began to complain that his feet were hurting but was 
stopped from a punch in the stomach by Hiei. The rest of the time they were quiet.
By the time they reached Mt. Hiei, they were all exhausted and rested for a bit. They
 walked on a little further after their break and found the entrance steps for the 
Enryaku-ji Temple. Next to the steps was a sign that read 'Please be very quiet when
you enter the temple. We ask that you take off your shoes when you are inside for
respect for our holy temple. You may now proceed up the stairs.' They all looked up
the steps that continued on, their face expressions a little concerned. Kuwabara
began to cry complaining that he couldn't even see the top of the steps. Hiei and 
Kurama began to walk up the stairs first. Once they reached the tenth step, he looked
back and saw that no one was following. Then they noticed that Genkai was missing. 
	"Where's the old hag?" Hiei asked.
	Yusuke pointed behind them and they looked back to see Genkai already 
half-way up the steps. She's fast for an old lady, Hiei commented to himself. 
Genkai stopped and turned around to stare down at the rest of them.
	"Well aren't you coming?!" she yelled.
	Kurama and Hiei began to walk up the steps followed by Yusuke, and 
Kuwabara. It took them a good fifteen minutes before they reached the top, except for
Genkai, it was only five minutes. They looked around the temple, admiring the scene.
There buddhists and priests carrying staffs, praying in front of a sign made of pure
ivory. To their left they could see some of the shrine grounds. Two prayer houses
surrounded by trees were covered in wards, to protect them from evil spirits and
demons from attacking them. Hiei and Kurama winced at the sight of them.  Next
to the prayer houses was a pathway where some buddhists were walking down. On
their right, they saw an enormous hill a little far off with a few houses under it. The 
leaves on the trees were taking a yellow, brown and few red color indicating the
coming of autumn. There were a lot more trees with green leaves than a different
color. The sky was getting dull and gray nimbus clouds were forming a little far off.
Estimating by the look of the wind, a storm would arrive in aproximately four hours.
That should be plenty of time for them to get to the Mitsukai. 
	Soon a priest came up to them, smiling gleefully as he looked down along the 
line  that they formed. He was old and lined with age and completely bald from hair. 
Not even eyebrows or eyelashes. He took each of their hands and shaking them as 
he introduced himself as Raikou. A few more priests came by and introduced 
themselves as well.  Genkai, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama all introduced 
themselves, but when it came to Hiei, the priests widened their eyes in awe. They
all grabbed his hands and shoulders and hair and anything they can get a hold of
and complimented him on his name saying what a beautiful name it was. Hiei just
stared at them as if they all were mad. Finally the priests all let him go and smiled. 
Raikou stayed as the rest of them left attending their own agendas.
	"So, what can I do for you young travelers?" Raikou said in a low voice. To
Yusuke, he sounded like a regular grandpa.
	"We're here to get into the Mitsukai. Can you take us to the portal?" Genkai 
asked.
	Raikou's face turned serious. "Hmmm. I can get you to the portal, but you will
have to wait until tomorrow when the new sun rises."
	"How come?" Yusuke asked.
	"Because," Raikou explained. "the Portal Priests are not here after nine 
o'clock. They arrive back to the temple at five o'three, when the sun rises. So we will
have to wake you all up around four to wait for the Portal Priests."
	"These Portal Priests," Kurama said, "are the only ones that can open the 
portal?"
	"Yes they are, young man, and besides, it is getting late and we are 
expecting the storm so you all can rest at our lodge. I am certain you all are hungry,
well, that won't be a problem, Yane is an excellent cook. Come along now, it will
take a while before we get to the lodge," Raikou said as he turned around and began
walking. "It is all the way in the back of the mountain. A beautiful name for a beautiful
mountain." Raikou muttered those last words.
	Kurama leaned down and said, "They like your name, Hiei."
	"I can't imagine why," Hiei said sarcastically as he walked ahead.
	The walk to the Kaidan-In, the lodge they were staying at, was a really 
interesting one. It wasn't long before they stumbled across the actual trail. Hiei looked
back and saw the gray nimbus clouds gathering up even more over the city and 
mountain. The wind blew a soft breeze ruffling his clothes and hair as he turned back
around.  The trail was composed of nothing but fallen leaves, rocks, and dirt, thought
it was a little hard to walk since the ground was so muddy. There were tall trees 
surrounding either side of the trail, barely having any leaves except for the tall bushes.
They were walking in silence when a low rumble of thunder sounded and a few 
seconds later a huge, flash of lightning flashes across the sky, causing every 
single tree to glow a bright orange. They paused during the flash which lasted
a few a seconds before it went away the trees got back their musty brown color
again. Kuwabara jumped on Yusuke when the lightning striked, which made them
fall down on the muddy ground. Genkai muttered under her breath "idiots" as they
walked on, leaving Yusuke and Kuwbara behind, having them run to catch up.
	After a few minutes of walking, they were soon out of the dense forest and out
in the open, in fresh air. Fog was gathering over the hills, too much fog. You could
barely even see the tips of the mountains with all that fog covering it up. They 
looked down below them and saw a vast mountain range. They stopped and stared
at the beautiful site in awe. They could see some of Kyoto down there but mountains
were blocking some of the view.
	"Don't worry," said Raikou, "from the Kaidan-In you'll be able to see the whole
city of Kyoto."
	Raikou showed them a little deserted forest town right in the pit of mountains 
surrounding it. He said that there was an invasion long time ago and that people
have built houses in the middle of the mountains so no one can get passed them
and attack. Unfortunately, a few years later the intruders have found a way in and
killed them all. It was a tragic story but they continued on. A little more up ahead,
they passed a Moon Base on their right. There was a small, two-story tower which
was the Moon Base. Right next to it were two electric towers that send circuits
through the city.
	"I guess they missed their planned landing site pretty badly," Kuwabara
commented, earning a few laughs from the others as they walked on.
	After a while they came across a road with fog hanging around it. They
had to go up the road to enter the Enryaku-ji Temple. The closer they got to the
fog, the colder it got. Then suddenly, the fog began to move in towards them as
if something was controlling it and blinded them. Genkai ordered everyone to
stay together so they won't get lost. Of course, Kuwabara missed those orders
and panicked when he got lost. The fog cleared up enough to see and Kuwabara 
saw that he was right behind the others the whole time; Genkai's eye began to
twitch from annoyance but didn't say anything. Raikou stopped suddenly and
smiled broadly.
	"What is it?" Genkai asked.
	"Welcome to the Enryaku-ji Temple," Raikou stated.
	The fog suddenly cleared up completely as if on cue and they saw ahead
of them the entrance to the temple.
	"Wait," said Kuwabara, "weren't we just in the Enryaku-ji Temple when we
first arrived here?"
	"Oh, yes we were," Raikou replied. "But that was just a part of it. This is the
main temple."
	There were scads of priests and buddhists everywhere, far more than the last
time they had a peek at the Enryaku-ji Temple. Before they had a chance to look around
it completely, Raikou was already on the move and they had to rush to catch up to him.
They've been walking for almost three hours before they reached the main entrance
and now they had to walk even more. They went past a monument without even 
glancing at it. Hiei stopped and examined it and saw that it was a 'Protect the Nation'
monument. It had a strange shape to it; it wasn't even, as if they found a random rock
and carved words into it. Hiei looked up to see the others climbing up these stone 
steps towards a small temple. Hiei followed and suddenly had a burst of energy 
smack him in the face. It was nothing like any other energy he has ever sensed 
before. It was as if something was calling for help, like it was in danger or trapped.
He could almost hear screaming just from that burst of energy. This sent a chill
down his spine. He wondered if the others sensed it but they seemed oblivious to it. 
However, that didn't stop him from not ignoring it. But as soon as they were inside, 
Hiei could tell that they could sense it but kept a straight expression on their faces.
Raikou turned around and smiled. A young woman came up from behind him, 
looking around twenty-one. She had wavy, burgundary locks that went a little past
her shoulders. She had piercing black eyes that you could be lost in forever and had
pure, ivory skin. She smiled a breath-taking smile that made Hiei gasp. Probably a
little too loudly since Kurama was glancing over at him, a faint smile on his lips. Hiei
looked away only saying a short 'Hn.'
	Raikou spoke up. "Everyone, I believe this is where we part. This is Yane, who 
I told you about earlier, and she will take you the rest of the way up to the Kaiden-In.
Well, good day," and with that he walked further inside the temple.
	Yane walked up to them, smiling, and looked around. Hiei wasn't the only one
staring though, the others were as well, except for Genkai of course. Yane only smiled
more.
	"Well, once you all are done sight-seeing, we might as well ahead along," said
Yane.
	Yane walked out the entrance and urged them to follow. They looked down with 
embarrassment and followed.  It didn't take long until they reached the Kaiden-In. They 
gazed in awe at it's terrific color, such a bright red.  The roof was blue with gold edges. 
There were golden statues of old buddhists. They stepped inside and looked around. 
It was packed with people, most of them were priests and some were other people
staying there also. Yane took them to the back of the building where the rooms were
kept. She slid open one door to reveal an exceptionally huge room.
	"I'm afraid you would have to share a room, I hope that's ok," Yane said.
	"Uh, yeah, yeah, sure, it's fine, uh, thanks," Yusuke stammered, not even
paying attention to what he was saying. He was too busy obsorbing the strange
new enviornment. He ran up to the window and cried out to the others. They ran up
to where he was and looked out the window and gasped. You could see the whole,
entire city of Kyoto! There were mountains protruding right behind it. They gazed
at this wonderful scene for a few more minutes before Yane cleared her throat
drawing their attention.
	"I'm glad you like the view, this is one of our best rooms. Plenty of sunlight
shines through in the morning. Anyways, the futons are over there in that corner, and
on this shelf," she walked over to a shelf that was on the left side of the room, "are
some extra blankets in case you get cold tonight. Nights here are getting pretty 
cold. Winter is just around the corner so you might want to cover yourselves up. In
the meantime, dinner would be ready in about two hours, please, make yourselves
confortable. If you want some entertainment, you can go and browse around the 
Kaiden-In, there are many interesting things to look at, I'm sure you all would find
most of them enjoyable. If you need anything, my room is all the way at end of the 
hallway, alright? Okay, you all settle in and I'll start dinner for everyone. Is there 
anything in particular that you would like?"
	Kuwabara said, "Is it okay if you could make some Chow Mein, I haven't
had that in a long time."
	"Of course," Yane replied, "Anything else?"
	They replied no so Yane left with smile and closed their door. Her footsteps
slowly faded away until she could be heard no more. Yusuke and Kuwabara raced
each other to the futons. Of course, Yusuke won, and got the best one. He set it out
and put a few blankets on it, sat down and sighed.
	"So," he said, "We won't be able to get to the Mitsukai until 5:03?"
	"That's right, so for now we need to be patient," said Genkai. "I don't know
about the rest of you but I'm going to take a walk outside."
	"Yeah," said Kuwabara, "Say, uh, I'm gonna go look around, this place. They
probably got some really neat stuff. Wanna come Urameshi?"
	"Yeah, sure, why not? There won't be anything else to do anyway until 
dinnertime," Yusuke replied, getting up.
	"Maybe I should take Hiei out for a walk, as well," said Kurama. "Hiei, do
you-"
	He stopped when he turned around and saw that Hiei was there. He wasn't
anywhere in the room and you can't go through the windows. When had he slipped
out? He probably left while Yane was talking, but how did he walk out so swiftly 
without even being noticed?
	"Man, that's just weird," Kuwabara said. "Oh, well, I really could care less
where that little shrimp went, now, I'm gonna give myself a private tour!
	"Whatever," Genkai said, "Well, if I see Hiei I'll let you all know," and with that
she opened the sliding door and walked out.
	Yusuke and Kuwabara raced out of the door and raced each other to find the
main hall. Of course they got lost until one of the buddhists showed them the way.
Kurama stood alone in the room, gazing out the window. He was worried about Hiei.
	Please don't be so hard on yourself, Hiei, Kurama thought to himself.

	Hiei paced through the woods very slowly, taking his time looking around 
himself. The trees were taller than average height and with all the plants, herbs and
dampness from the trees, the forest had a refreshing smell that relaxed and calmed
his spirit. He stopped a for moment and took in a deep breath and held it there. He
shut his eyes and smiled. The smell was now a taste in his mouth and it was 
wonderful. He let it out slowly, and breathed in again and held it. Oh, how he loved the
forest. It was a different world full of a different kind of life that was innocent and yet
dangerous at the same time. Though he would never admit this to anyone ever in
his entire life, but he loved the creatures and wildlife that lived among the woods. 
He enjoyed the birds chirping beautiful songs, each and every single one of them
different. And the fierce, independant snakes that crawled up the vines seductively.
He loved it all, but he can't tell anyone that or else it would damage his pride. His
pride. That's the only thing that got in the way of him showing the soft side of him. 
Honestly, he wanted to tell at least someone of this soft part of him, but he was
afraid of what they would think of him. So he decided to keep quiet. Hiei soon
realized that he was holding his breath too long and let it out fast and breathed
in again, but normally. He opened his eyes and looked around. Everything had
a blue-ish tint to it. He walked on a little more and picked up a slight jog and then
that jog began to a run which became into a sprint and he was now dashing through
the forest faster than he has ever ran before. He stopped when he was coming to a
dead-end of the forest and walked the rest of the way. He stopped at the very edge
of the cliff and looked down before him at Kyoto. The sky was darkening and the 
lights gave out a glare, like little firelights among the darkness. He looked at it
one more time and began to turn back.
	He felt like running again, which is what he did. He ran all the way back to
where he was before he started running. Hiei leaned against the tree and slid down
to the ground against. A small, white rabbit emerged from a hole and began to
prance about and stopped when it came across Hiei. Hiei stared down at it and bit
his lip to keep from crying out. Rabbits were Yukina's favorite animal. He placed his
head in his hands and began to tremble from the pressure of trying to keep from
crying. He couldn't cry, he just couldn't. Even if there wasn't anyone around, he just
couldn't let himself cry. The rabbit hopped away out of sight. Hiei took a deep breath
and let it out and managed. Now it was even darker. He decided to make his
way back to the Kaiden-In before everyone got worried. Psh, they were probably
already worried when they realized that he had gone. He hadn't gone too far when
he saw a deer. He hadn't really seen one up close. He stopped and it stopped, both
staring at each other. Hiei inched closer to the deer, making sure not to make too
much noise and scare it off. He soon came within reach of the deer and reached out
his hand. The deer stepped a little closer and nuzzled his hand soon allowing him to
pet it freely. He looked around cautiously to make sure no one was around and began
to stroke the gentle creature. Then he suddenly heard footsteps. Hiei stopped and
tensed up as well as the deer. He didn't move nor breathe and soon he could just
make out a dark figure. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, getting ready to
attack until he heard a familiar voice.
	"I knew you were softer than you looked."
	Hiei relaxed, he could make out that voice anywhere. The figure stepped into
the light and Yane appeared. She was wearing gray working clothes with a basket
of different herbs and spices. The deer just stood there and began to paw at the 
ground then bent down to eat. Hiei suddenly realized that Yane had saw him pet
the deer and blushed with embarassment. How could he had been so careless?
He cursed at him self for not being more watchful instead of losing track of what
he was doing. Yane smiled when she saw him blush and began to laugh. This
made him even redder.
	"It's ok," she said, "I won't tell anyone and damage your pride. Belive me, I
know how it is. My sister was always like that."
	"Your sister?" Hiei asked.
	"Yes, my older sister, Fanku. Always acting like she didn't need anyone and
never showing her emotions. It was like she had no emotions and she never cried.
Oh, how would she beat herself if she cried, even if no one knew about it. I tried to
be strong like her, but, I just wasn't harsh enough. Everyone said I was more of a
'softy' and that I shouldn't try to be like my sister, blocked herself away from everyone.
So I listened to my parents and oh how much good it did." Yane stopped and picked
up a wad of jasmine and placed it in the basket. Hiei guessed that she was waiting 
for him to reply to her.
	"So...how did it do you good?"
	Yane closed her eyes but instead of answering his question, she asked him
one.
	"So why are you going to the Shouten Bujutsukai?"
	Hiei found this puzzling. How did she know? "How do you know we're going?"
	"Raikou told me through telepathy. But really, if you're going to go there to 
watch, I suggest you don't. It's not a good tournament, unfair rules, rude crowd, so 
much...blood..." she trailed off when she glanced up at Hiei. She knew that she 
probably had said to much.
	His head was turned to the side and was looking down. His eyes held so
much sadness there it was unbearable. Yane asked if something was wrong but
he didn't answer. He only now thought about all the bad things that could happen.
What if Yukina lost a match? And they weren't ten second counts either, it was a
death match. What if she did lose? Then that would've mean that her opponent had
killed her. He looked at the sight of Yukina laying sprawled on the floor, her eyes
white with no life, ripped apart and drenched in blood with some pouring out of her
mouth. Suddenly, he heard a strange sound, like someone was screaming except
it was faint and in a matter of seconds, his face was wet. He realized that he was
crying and that strange screaming sound was actually him, crying out. He was on
his knees with his head in his hands. Yane rushed over to him and placed her arm
around his shoulders, trying to confort him. She pulled him closer and held him in
the darkness. She brushed his hair a little bit, trying to soothe him down, whispering
conforting words in his ear but nothing was working. Yane knew that someone very
close to him was in the Shouten Bujutsukai.
	"It's ok, really, don't worry, it'll be fine. Please, stop crying. I was just 
exaggerating, it's not that bad, whoever that's close to entering the tournament is
bound to be strong. Just have faith in them and everything will turn out fine, okay?"
	Hiei settled down a bit to where he stopped crying. He still shook a bit but
was calm now. For a while there was absolute silence until he pushed himself
gently away from Yane and stood up. She helped herself up as well.
	"I'm sorry," he said wiping his eyes.
	"No, don't apologize. If it wouldn't hurt too badly, may I ask who is in the
tournament that is so dear to you?"
	Hiei hesitated a bit but replied anyway. 
	"I have a younger sister, actually, a twin sister that was abducted with
three other girls and are being forced to enter the tournament. They are strong,
but, not strong enough to where they can fight in a deadly tournament like this.
I'm just scared that one of them might lose, especially Yukina."
	"Is Yukina your sister?"
	Hiei nodded.
	"I understand you perfectly," Yane said.
	Hiei snorted. How could she possibly understand? She was just trying to
be conforting probably, but she could never understand how painful this is.
	"For my sister had decided to sell herself as well and enter the Shouten
Bujutsukai," Yane finished.
	Hiei gasped and turned around. "What?"
	"That's what I meant that listening to my parents did me good. Fanku was so
full of herself that she actually thought she was strong enough to enter it and win the
tournament along with her teammates and their leader. She lost in the third round,"
Yane placed a hand over her eyes and began to laugh sadly, "How stupid," she 
finished it off.
	This made Hiei worry even more when suddenly another set of footsteps
came their way. Before any of them could move, Genkai appeared in front of them.
	"There you two are, I've been searching for Hiei all over the goddamned forest."
	"How did you find us?" Yane asked.
	"I followed the sounds of your voices, you two could be heard miles away, have
you any idea how freakin' loud you talk? And that's rhethorical question by the way, so
just don't talk and follow me, we need to head back. And I thought you were working on
dinner, Yane."
	Yane gave a cheesy look. "Well...actually...I asked another one of the other 
cooks to cook for you guys, see, I usually go out in the forest and pick herbs." She
smiled widely.
	"So...technically....you're a softy," Genkai said.
	Yane's jaw dropped and then shut. She didn't say anything but only followed 
Genkai with Hiei after. Just was they reached out of the forest, Yane grabbed Hiei's
arm.
	"Come with me, I know something that would make you feel better," then she
turned to Genkai. "Miss Genkai, Hiei and I would meet you back at the Kaiden-In 
later, we need to do something, so you go along without us."
	"Sure, whatever," she said, "now don't go smooching off on me now," she
said teasingly when suddenly a rock landed on her head with a hard thud. Before
she could turn around to see who had done it, Hiei and Yane had already taken 
off.
	Genkai muttered to herself, "Damned kids."

Chapter Seven
	Hiei followed Yane through the pathway, passing people and other priests
on the way. They crossed a bridge and finally came across a small shrine with a
statue of a large buddhist behind a well. They came to it and Hiei peered inside to
see the freshest and purest water that he had ever seen. Yane reached over to the
statue pulled something off the top of his head. Hiei saw that it was a cup. Yane 
scooped some water from the well and offered it to Hiei.
	"Here, drink this, this water holds healing powers that heals wounds when
you pour it on it, and the soul when you drink it. I'm guessing that you're soul is
damaged and tired right now, but if you drink this, you'll feel much better, trust me,"
she said with a smile.
	Hiei sipped the water with hesitation. He didn't feel any different, he still felt
tired and depressed and very worried. But he didn't dare mention this to Yane, it
might hurt her feelings. They headed back to the Kaiden-In. As soon as they entered,
they were first welcomed with such a good aroma in the air their mouths began to
water. The air smelled of fresh pork, orange chicken, beef and other scents they
couldn't quite make out. Yane disappeared without Hiei even noticing. Hiei made 
his way back to his room that he was sharing with. He stepped inside and looked
around. The whole room was filled with food and empty dishes, stacks of them.
	Yusuke noticed Hiei entering. "Hey, Hiei! 'Bout time, come eat, we've got
a lot of food, bet you're hungry, ne?"
	Hiei looked at him with a disgusted look only to earn a confused one from
Yusuke. Hiei slammed his foot down and bellowed with rage.
	"HOW COULD YOU BE EATING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!" he cried out.
"Don't you even care?!"
	Kuwabara and Yusuke stared guiltily down at their plates but not Kurama 
nor Genkai. Kurama merely smiled at Hiei, he set his plate down and walked
towards him. Kurama pulled him outside.
	"Hiei, I know you're worried sick," Kurama said in a hushed voice, "but
don't be too worried. It's not good for you. But I know how you feel, believe me,
I do," he said silently. Kurama seemed to be lost for a second but he came back
to focus. "But we'll be leaving soon. Look, it's almost midnight, in about five hours
we'd be in the Mitsukai in no time. Right now, we have to nourish ourselves as 
much as we can, because I'm sure there's not any food there, or at least, nothing
that's edible. Now come inside and eat a little, don't make me have to shove it
down your throat," Kurama threatened jokingly. Hiei scowled at him but didn't
say anything. 
	They went back inside and joined the others and resumed eating. Hiei
only stared at the meal but didn't touch it. Kurama eyed him now and then
and saw that Hiei not only eat, but he didn't seem to move at all. He was frozen on
the spot. Just as Kurama was about to say something, Hiei moved his hand then
paused for a second and continued to reach down to his plate. He broke his 
chopsticks and began to eat slowly, taking time on chewing. After what seemed
like ten minutes, he swallowed his first piece and took another, he seemed to
have a difficulty eating. 
	If he doesn't snap out of it, he'll choke, Kurama thought. Without thinking,
Kurama leaned over and clapped his hands together hard, which snapped Hiei
out of his daydream. 
	Hiei didn't eat for the rest of the night, nor sleep, while everyone else was
gone off to dreamland. He kept staring out, wondering what time it was and how
much longer it was until they left. Hiei gave up sleeping and just sat on his futon,
waiting for the time to come. He didn't sit for five minutes before he wandered
off in a deep sleep.

	A hand shook him awake. He looked up to see Yusuke staring down at
him with a serious face. Yusuke helped him up, not needing to say anything for
Hiei knew what was going on, and he was thankful that the time had finally come.
Raikou was there at the door of their room waiting for them. They crept outside
quietly to meet three men in red cloaks waiting for them outside. They took the
hint that these were the Portal Priests Raikou was talking about. Hiei stepped
on the muddy ground and remembered that it was supposed to rain. Odd, he
doesn't remember it every raining and yet the ground was damp with water. Oh,
well, there were more important things to worry about right now and rain wasn't
one of them. The three priests hadn't spoken a word but only walked slowly and
steadily through a pathway. The reached a private area with little rock posts that
had writing engraved in them to protect the shrine from demons. Hiei cursed
under his breath and was careful not to get too close to them, as well as Kurama.
There was a statue of a buddhists sitting on a chair. Behind the protective statues
stood an elven statue holding a small priest meditating. 
	They waited their for who knows how long until they saw little glinches of the
sun where they had to shield their eyes. Suddenly, the priests began chanting 
quickly. Raikou warned them to stand back further and they obeyed. The sun 
rising higher, causing tension among them when suddenly a huge burst of light
formed in the middle of the cluster of statues. It glowed a bright blue and began
getting bigger and bigger until stood at least twenty feet high. The portal was 
complete, however, the priests kept chanting, probably to keep the portal open.
Raikou turned to them.
	"This is your only chance to go, hurry and leave before the Portal Priests
become tired. I do not believe I have to repeat myself."
	No one said anything and proceeded forward. They bid their farewells and 
walked into the burning light. Hiei didn't look back at all, only forward, into another
dimension.

Chapter Eight
	During their travel to the other world, they might has well tear their eyes out. 
The pressure and speed forced apon their bodies kicked the air out of them and
felt as if their eyes were being pulled out very slowly and painfully. Though it only
took exactly four seconds to travel through different worlds, it felt like eternity. Finally,
they reached the Mitsukai and landed with a hard thud. Hiei brushed himself off and
looked around to obsorb the enviornment and gasped. The others looked around and
saw what he had gasped at. The world was hell itself. There seemed to be no other
form of life what-so-ever and if there was life, it wouldn't be in good shape. The earth
was hard and a dull brown. No plants or grass at all and the trees were barely alive,
or even alive at all. The bark was peeling off them, leaving them almost nothing but
a bare stick of wood, some limbs were falling off as well. Other than that, there was
nothing else and they wondered how in the world they would find their way to the
Shouten Bujutsukai. It seemed that they now realized the putrid odor in the air and
gagged. It smelled like dead corpses and toxic mixed together. While holding their
breaths, they walked on further until they came to a conclusion that they were getting
nowhere.
	"Ah, dammit, we're lost aren't we?" said Yusuke. He sounded like he had cold
since he was talking while holding his nose. 
	"Maybe we're just not in the right place," Kuwabara replied.
	"Of course we're in the right place, dumbass, and why does it have to smell
do damn badly?" Yusuke said. Then he added, "We have to keep walking, I mean,
how else are we going to find the girls? Oh! Hiei! Do you think you can find them now
since we're here?"
	Hiei made a strange noise. Even though he wasn't holding his nose, you could
tell that he was still holding his breath, struggling not to breathe. He didn't say anything
and gave it a try. He took off his bandana and closed his eye. The Jagan began to glow
as it searched for their energy. He suddenly sensed Botan's when suddenly he was cut
off with an enormous amount of energy that smacked him straight into the ground. Hiei 
rested on his elbows and rubbed his head. His Jagan was injured causing pain in his
head. 
	"What the hell just happened?" Genkai demanded. 
	"I...don't know...but...it was strange. I sensed Botan for a second,"--Kurama's
ears perked--"but, something was different about her."
	"Like what?" Kurama asked.
	"She was much stronger, her energy level was very high, but then...I was cut off
by another wave of energy that was even stronger that hers...and for an instance before
I was cut off, I saw a figure of a man and the energy was coming from him. It seems that
he doesn't want us to find them."
	"So it seems, but right now we need to find the Shouten Bujutsukai," said
Genkai.
	"What's the hurry? We still have four days left," Yusuke said.
	"Hmm, true, but where are we going to stay for four days? Out in the open?"
Genkai countered.
	Then Kuwabara said, "Maybe there?" The fog disappeared revealing a huge
hotel-looking building. There were suddenly demons and fallen angels surrounding 
them, piling into the building.
	"What...the heck? How come we didn't see all these demons until now?"
asked Yusuke.
	"I don't know, and I don't care, but we need to go inside before it fills up,"
Genkai remarked.
	Without a moment to spare, the five of them made their way inside and saw
that it was much bigger than it seemed outside. MUCH bigger. Looking around, they
saw that everyone else was just making themselves into different rooms.
	"So...do we just go into some random room?" Kuwabara asked.
	"I...guess..." Yusuke said just as confused. "But it looks like all the rooms are
taken."
	Hiei began to wonder off away from the group and approached a door. He
barely touched it with his finger before he swung open to reveal an empty room. The
others saw this and trotted towards and went inside. Unfortunately, the room was very
small, a little bit bigger than an average-sized living room. There was only one 
window, which was very small and narrow. One little, blue couch against the wall, and
a bathroom. Of course, this is not the only thing that was there. If they looked harder,
they would see the very-well blended in door that leads to another room that is the
bedroom.
	Kuwabara rests on the couch and asks, "So, what do we do now?"
	Hiei replied, "Now, we wait."

	Meanwhile, back in Adauchi's lair, Adauchi was resting on a chair, 
daydreaming about winning the tournament. Across from him were four figures 
resting casually against the wall, behind bars. Stoochi swiveled up next to him, his 
tongue flickering in and out. There was a long awkward moment of silence until
Adauchi finally spoke up.
	"Do you want something?" he asked.
	"No, sssir, I'm jussst waiting," Stoochi replied.
	"For what?"
	"Why, for the tournament? There'sss only four daysss left-t. Are you sssure
they're ready?"
	"I don't know, Stoochi," Adauchi said mockingly, "why don't you go and see?"
	"Uhh, well, I didn't mean-"
	"I said, go...and...see."
	"Y-yesss sssir." Stoochi gulped and inched forward a little, taking tiny steps
at a time, shaking and dripping in sweat. He stopped and looked back at Adauchi
who merely smiled encouragingly. Stoochi turned back around and stared in the utter
darkness and lurked behind the bars. Light from the laboratory shined halfway in, 
leaving the other half black. He sucked up a big amount of air and proceeded forward,
only an inch away from the bar. He placed his hand upon it and flinched back. Nothing
happened. Adauchi waited with his fingers together, smiling. Stoochi tapped against
the bar and leaped back, still nothing happened. Stoochi smiled, now confident, 
knowing nothing was going to happen so he stepped forward sticking his head in 
and sticking out his tongue, nothing. He slipped all the way, but didn't go any further 
and just stood  there. It was strangely quiet. Not a sound came from the other side. 
Stoochi stood up and turned around to where he was facing Adauchi.
	"There ssseemsss to be nothing heeere," he said when suddenly a figure 
leaped at him, knocking him down. A huge roar sounded. An enormous, silver 
wolf with shaggy hair, leaped up at and attacked Stoochi biting at his leg.
	Stoochi screamed in fear and whipped the beast with his tail and made a run
for it only to be blocked by the wolf. It's eyes were menacing has it rushed forward for 
another attack. Stoochi managed to dodge it and slipped past through the bars right
as the wolf banged against the heavy metal. He snarled, baring its teeth and began to
gnaw at the bar. It grabbed Stoochi's tail by the mouth and began to pull him back.
Stoochi cried for help but Adauchi just sat there smiling, enjoying himself. The wolf
pulled even harder and was ripping off half of Stoochi's tail. Adauchi seemed to 
finally gain some sense and stood up and walked toward Stoochi and the beast. He
called it off and the wolf let go, with half of Stoochi's tail in its mouth. Blood covered
its face and paws, while some was dripping from its mouth. It dropped the tail and
stood there, staring hard back at Adauchi. Adauchi was satisfied and turned to
Stoochi.
	"There, do you think they're ready after you saw what this one could do?"
Adauchi asked.
	Stoochi didn't answer but only winced. There was laughter coming from the
darkness. Now, there was no wolf anymore. In its place stood Yukina, arms 
covered in blood, licking the off the blood around her lips. She grinned, showing
off her fangs. Behind her, six pairs of eyes glowed red, laughing at the pain that
Stoochi was showing.
	"That was pathetic," Yukina said, showing no emotion in her voice. Her 
eyes were emotionless as well, and looked droopy. "I expected more of a 
challenge from that creature, but it appears that he's only a weakling and a 
coward." She grinned again.
	Stoochi was about to recounter that but remembering what Yukina did to
his tail he dared not. Instead he laid there face down. Adauchi walked up to the
cell, close to Yukina. He began petting her head like a dog.
	"Now, that's a good girl," Adauchi said.
	Yukina snarled and attempted to rip off Adauchi's hand but he pulled back
before she had the chance, though she did manage to rip off a small piece of his
sleeve.
	"Do not...ever...EVER treat me like a mangy dog again or else I'll tear off
more than just a scrap of cloth," said Yukina.
	"Yes, yes, I understand, dearie."

Chapter Nine
 	The day of the tournament has arrived. Apparitions and fallen angels were
making their way inside the stadium. Trillionares and billionares all seated in their
private boxes, ready to bet their money. The stadium had a strange look to it. A
mixture of a Gothic cathedral and a giant spider.  Long, black poles, sharp at the 
bottom stuck out from all around. Strange carvings and designs were burned into
the texture and gave it a dark look. It was twice as big as the Ankoku Bujutsukai 
stadium, much larger and all black. Two, large, horn-like things stuck out at the top.
Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke and Genkai were following the crowd into the
stadium. At the entrance were two guards taking tickets for the tournament. It just
struck to them that they forgot to buy tickets.
	"Ah, dammit, how could we have forgotten to buy the friggin' tickets!" said
Yusuke. "How the hell are we gonna get in now?"
	"Simple, detective," said Hiei, "we sneak in."
	"How?"
	"Just blend in," said the apparition.
	They began to walk in the middle of a huge crowd of demons and moved 
quickly. When they got to the entrance, they saw that it would take more than just
sneaking in. They would have to make themselves seem invisble if they ever want 
to get past.
	"Great, this is just great," said the Spirit Detective. "Now what?"
	"Don't give up so easily, dimwit," Genkai said.
	They stopped for a minute so the crowd could get larger and began making
their way again, quickly and quietly slipping past the guards that were too 
preoccupied in handling the anxious guests. Yusuke breathed a sigh of relief and
followed the others. When they got to the arena, they stopped and gasped. It was
humongeous! The  battle ring was almost covering the whole ground area, which 
was incredibly large itself. The height of the stadium seemed as if it would never stop
and was filled with apparitions from all kinds. There were two doors on either side,
they assumed it was where the teams came in through. The seats were filling up
fast.
	"C'mon, let's find a good place to sit," Kuwabara suggested.
	"Come with me, I know a good place to sit."
	The voice was faguely familiar. They turned around to see a hooded person
who's face was slightly covered.
	"I have seats in the very front row where you all can sit, come with me."
	They hesitated for a second but decided to go along with this stranger. After
all, he said that he has some good seats in the front row. There were a few steps to 
climb to get up on the first row and moved down a little bit where there were six open
seats waiting for them. It was at a good angle so they could see everything that was
going on. They sat down and waited for the tournament to start but of course, it didn't
immediately. Hiei eyed this hooded person suspiciously but didn't say anything. It has
been all half an hour that they've been waiting and none of them had spoken a word.
Finally, before they were about to go mad with anxiety, the referree, who was a young
vampiress, made her way to the middle of the battle ring.
	"Finally! I thought I was gonna go mad," Kuwabara said.
	The vampiress lifted the microphone to her mouth.
	"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the annual Shouten Bujutsukai! I am 
Mezon and I will be your fabulous host for this tournament!" Her voice sounded like 
dead leaves being scraped against gravel. "Yes, I  know you have been  waiting a 
long time for this moment so get ready because we have a stronger, vicious and 
more brutal team this time, but before I introduce them, Iet me introduce his
Lordship, and ruler of the Mitsukai: Lord Gogyoutoku!"
	At the top of the stadium stood a large, gray ogre with wild black hair and 
piercing blue eyes. He looked down to his people and placed his bulky, large arms
in the air. A pandemonium took over the crowd with cheers like 'Hail Lord 
Gogyoutoku!' Some even bowed to show their respect, however, Yusuke, Kuwabara,
Kurama, Hiei, Genkai and the hooded person did not move muscle. They didn't even
cheer. They actually could care less about the large beast, they just wanted it to start.
After a while the noise died down.
	"Anyways, now on with tournament!" Mezon stated. The cheering started up
again. "In the left corner is our visitors fighting in the tournament, with their leader
Adauchi Hitosarai: Team Kikaki!"
	The doors opened slowly for they were very big and heavy, revealing a man with
black hair and ruby eyes in suit; behind him four girls. They stepped out of the darkness
and into the light where everyone can see them clearly. Yusuke and others gasped as
they saw Botan, Keiko, Shizuru and Yukina stand there scowling. The crowd cheered
wildy, some bewildered to see four delicate, young women about to fight in a bloody
match. 
	"Team Kikaki," said Mezon, "show us your power."
	At once, all four them began to raise up their spirit energy where it was 
surrounding their bodies totally. The ground began to shake and already pieces of
rock from the stadium began to fall. They decided that they were done showing off
and died down. Mezon spoke up.
	"And that folks...was 20% of their power."
	Immediately there was discussion going around. People mumbling about. 
Even Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei and Genkai had trouble believing that that
massive energy coming from them was only 20%.
	"In the right corner, may the first opponent please enter."
	Those doors opened up and out came a woman with black hair tied up in
a ponytail wearing a tight, red ninja outfit except that her head wasn't covered. She
landed gracefully next to Mezon. Without anyone saying anything, Botan jumped up
and landed next to Mezon just as gracefully as the ninja did. Kurama's eyes became
wider as he winced at the sight of Botan. She was wearing an unusual outfit. A white,
ruffle skirt, brown Greek sandles that went up to her knees; a blue vest that went low
into a V-cut and loose white, short-sleeves. Her hair was down and she was carrying
a sword and a shield. Her skin was pale and her cheeks lost their rosy blush, her eyes
had no feeling in them either.
	"Alright then, it's settled! Taki vs. Botan! You may began whenever you're ready!"
	Right after Mezon spoke the last syllable, Taki and Botan were up and at each
other. Taki made the first move and landed a kick on Botan's neck, trying to break it.
Botan grabbed her leg and bent it backwards and sticking her sword in the middle,
pinning it together. A bloodcurdling cry came out of Taki as she fell to the ground.
	"This was a waste of my time," was all Botan said before she took her sheild
and sliced through Taki's neck.
	The whole stadium was quiet as Botan retrieved her sword from Taki's leg, 
wiping the blood of it and kicked her off the ring. Kurama stared in shock. He couldn't
believe that Botan, Botan, could actually enjoy killing. She couldn't even shove 
someone without feeling guilty while she was standing there right now, a smile on
her a face and at the same time....bored...and disappointed. The crowd cheered,
urging her to kill more, they asked for more blood, more gore, more violence. 
Kurama shut his eyes and covered his ears. He couldn't bear it, he just couldn't.
	"Well, uh, that was, uh a very quick battle, don't you think?" Mezon said
into her microphone. "Anyways...the second opponent please enter."
	Once again the two massive door and most bizzarre creature...slithered out
of it. The man's body was barely covered in gauze as if he had been mummified. A
strip covered his eyes and one was going across the inside of his mouth. His skin
was purple but his head was the color of soapstone. He had three large claws on
each hand and he moved snakelike. He rolled upon the ring like a disk and 
seperated himself to where he was standing. Kuwabara looked sick.
	"Ah, man, that's disgusting, does he have any bones in him? Ew...."
	"Kohito vs. Botan begin!"
	 Botan charged at the creature with immense speed and struck it with her
sword, however, Kohito blocked it with his claws. He hissed threatheningly and
pushed back. Then he crouched low, his spirit energy rising and then pounced
and pierced her arms with his claws.
	"No!" Kurama cried out.
	Botan cried out as Kohito jumped back and began to move with graceful
movements in place. Now there were three holes on each of Botan's arms. She
winced at the pain, while blood slowly began to trickle down her arms.
	"Damn you," she cursed at Kohito.
	"Wow, people! That must've hurt, honestly I'd hate to be the one fighting,"
Mezon said.	
	The crowd went even more wild when they sited the blood, as if it triggered
their emotions. Kohito hissed madly at Botan when she suddenly appeared before
and punched him in the nose, breaking it. She began to land numerous amounts of
blows to his face and ending it with a final blow to the neck. Kohito rolled back and
laid on the ground. Botan breathed harshly as she ran towards Kohito again, kicking
him up high in the air. She dropped her weapons and raised her hands above her
head, placing her palms togehter.
	"Kaze Doukoku!" she cried out. Suddenly a strong, tornado-like wind came
out of nowhere and began advancing on Kohito in the air. Soon, the whole stadium
was surrounded in wind, you had to hold on if you wanted to stay on the ground. Some
demons began flying in the air and being ripped apart from the strong wind. Hiei,
Kuwabara, Kurama, Yusuke and Genkai all held onto the rail so they won't go flying in
the air, however, the hooded man just sat there holding onto his hood so it won't fly
back, he seemed to not move at all which caught them by surprise of how this man
could withstand such a strong gale. Hiei caught a glimpse of long black hair under
that hood. The hooded man seemed to catch on and pushed his hair back under
his hood and resumed to hold onto it.
	Kohito was being flung all around the arena, the wind cutting and scratching
his arms, face, legs his whole body. Finally, Botan stopped her power and the wind 
died down automatically. Kohito came falling down to the arena. Botan picked up 
her sword and jumped up and knocked Kohito down even more. She landed next
to him, poking him with her sword when he suddenly cut her ankle. Kohito wasn't
hurt at all, only for a few scratches and bruises. He snaked around her legs, 
crawling up them and came up behind her and stuck his claws into her 
shoulder-blades. Kohito jumped off her and watched her fall forward.
	"C'mon Botan, get up!" cried Kuwabara. "You can do it! Get up! Kick that
guy's ass!"
	Fortunately, Botan did stand up, however, anger was rising about her and
her spirit energy was rising tremendously.
	"Do you think she's gonna do it?" Shizuru asked.
	"Coming from the looks of it, yes, she is," Adauchi replied, "and mind you, 
she looks rather, as you people say, pissed off."
	Botan turned around to her opponent, but her eyes were different. They were
brown, purely brown, no white or purple showing at all. Botan twitched once, then 
twiced until she let out cry that could only belong to the cry of a Phoenix. She began
to mutate, getting larger until she was no longer human but a Phoenix, a very large
Phoenix that is. She flew up and dived forward, trying to pierce Kohito, who was
dodging each move. Kohito suddenly tripped over a ditch, allowing Botan to pierce
through his heart and rip him apart like a beast. Finally, once he was in smithereens,
Botan returned to her normal form. The rest of her battles came farely easy and she
won them in less than an hour.
	She returned to her place next to her master and teammates and stood there,
arms crossed and patched in dried blood.
	"My god people, have you ever seen such a bloody and intense battle? I didn't
think so!" Mezon said. "The next contestant please-"
	"Hold it!"
	Mezon immediately stopped at the sound of her Lord's voice. Gogyoutoku was
standing, eyeing Team Kikaki.
	"Change of plans. I want the rest of the team to fight the rest of the twenty-one 
fighters. Do you think they can handle it?" he said.
	The audience cheered for their agreement yelling 'yea! they'd definitely die'
or something similar to that sort.
	"Kill the shorty! She'd be the first die!" someone from the crowd had directed
to Yukina.
	Yukina looked over at them and pointed her finger when suddenly that area of
the stadium blown up.
	"Now, now my dear Yukina," said Adauchi, "we do need to get rid of that temper
of yours."
	"Ah, quit bitching about it," Yukina replied.
	Keiko, Shizuru and Yukina began making their way towards the battle ring when
something suddenly shot at them. They jumped back and turned to the direction of where
the blast had came from and saw Yusuke, with his finger glowing blue.
	"There's more where that came from," said Yusuke. 
	"Bitch! How dare you!" Shizuru cried out. She pulled out her zambatou and 
pointed it at Yusuke when fire suddenly shot out of it. Hiei, Yusuke, Genkai, Kuwabara
Kurama and the hooded man jumped out of the way and charged at them. Yusuke
was about to grab for Shizuru's zambatou when Keiko suddenly kicked him away.
	"Don't even think about it, you are to battle me," she said and she got out a 
very thin sword.
	"No, Keiko, don't you remember me? It's me, Yusuke, snap out of it!" said
Yusuke as she charged at him. Yusuke managed to block the attack and shoved
her back. Keiko began to land a series of punches and kicks.
	"I mean it, Keiko," Yusuke said, blocking her attacks, "stop this! I don't want
to hurt you."
	But she paid no heed to his cries and landed a high-kick on him sending him
flying back. He landed in the middle of a crowd.
	"Guess it's gonna take more than just talk," he said as he jumped down and
began to fight Keiko.
	Meanwhile, Kuwabara was running probably the fastest he has every run to
outrun Shizuru, who was right now a stunning cheetah.
	"Please, sis, I'm beggin' ya! My legs can't carry me any longer," Kuwabara
pleaded. He looked back to see Shizuru back in her form carrying her zambatou.
She was wearing an orange headband with her hair in one braid. She wore an
orange bikini-top and an orange skirt that reached her ankles but had slits going
all the way up to her waist. Her boots, however, were brown.
	Kuwabara summoned his spirit sword just in time to block Shizuru's attack,
which would've sliced him in half. Shizuru kicked at his shin, causing him to trip,
giving her the oppurtunity to hit him, but missed since Kuwabara was already on
his feet.
	Botan limped towards Kurama who was dumbstruck to see her in this
condition. He ran to her and held her up, offering help but she merely pushed 
him away.
	"Keep your hands off me, fox. Who gave you the right to touch me?"
	"But you're injured, please Botan, you don't want to fight me, you're
too weak-"
	"Weak? Weak?! Who says I'm weak just because I'm wounded. I 
still have much more power in me and I can defeat you with it. Weak. My
butt!"
	She grabbed her sword and cut Kurama's stomach. Blood began to seep 
through his white shirt.
	"It seems you've left me with no choice," he said and reached in his hair taking 
out the rose whip. 
	Botan charged at him to strike again but was too slow and Kurama blocked 
her. This trial was repeated over and over again until Botan had finally collapsed to 
the ground, struggling to breathe. Kurama ran to her side just as Botan became 
unconscious, she had lost too much blood.
	Yusuke was having a hard time blocking Keiko's punches. She was just too
graceful and seemed to be floating in air. Hiei was just about to rush over to help
his friend when he suddenly heard a snarling sound coming from behind him. His
heart stopped for the fear of not knowing what it was, but knowing who it was. He
turned around slowly and was pushed down to the ground by a silver wolf. Yukina 
had her paws on his chest and was snapping at his face, trying to rip it off. Hiei
was pushing back her back, trying to keep her head away from his face but she 
was very strong. She pushed her paws even harder, her claws digging through
his clothes and into his chest. Her eyes were a shining silver, full with menace
and rage. However, his own eyes were full of fear, pity, and anger. He was
gazing at this beast, the same beast who was his gentle sister who could do no
harm now trying to rip his body apart.
	Hiei kicked Yukina off him. The wolf changed back into Yukina and she 
rubbed her head and looked up at Hiei.
	"Yuki-"
	Before he could finish, Yukina took out a pair of short, twin swords. Hiei
drew out his own sword and began fighting with her, not wanting to, but he was
obliged to. Their battle was intense, Yukina has almost the exact same fighting
styles as Hiei. She jumped up, placed her hands on his shoulders and flipped,
throwing him on the ground. The air was knocked out of him. Yukina came up and
kicked his rib cage where there was sickening crack, fortunately, she didn't kick
him hard enough to break it. Hiei pushed Yukina to the ground and they rolled
around, beating each other. Yukina was on top of Hiei, her fingers wrapped around
his throat and pushing down, trying to choke him.
	"Yuki...na...no...stop...don't."
	Kurama saw his friend in need of help and placed Botan down gently and
raced over to where Hiei and Yukina was. He grabbed Yukina's shoulders and was
trying to pull her grip away from Hiei but was having a difficult time. Yusuke had 
already taken Keiko down and was helping Kuwabara fight his sister. Yukina
squeezed even harder, Hiei began to gag and his lose on her wrists began to loosen.
	"Yukina! Stop! You're going to kill him!" Kurama cried out and with a final pull
he threw her off of Hiei.
	Hiei coughed uncontrollably, Kurama helping him up in a sitting position. On 
his neck formed ten bruises where her fingers had been.
 	
	"How can we get them back to normal?" Kuwabara asked, blocking Shizuru.
	"You don't, because you can't."
	Yusuke and Kuwabara turned to Adauchi who was grinning widely.
	"You can't stop them...unless you stop me. You might be able to knock them 
out for a while, but when they wake up, they'll still be vicious brutes as they are right
now."
	Adauchi and Shizuru began to advance on Yusuke and Kuwabara.
	"Get ready, 'cause I don't think they're gonna come down easy," said Yusuke.
	"Right."
	Shizuru had to fire balls in her hands and was shooting at them. Adauchi 
created a forcefield to keep them in, hoping that they would die quicker that way.
	
	Hiei and Kurama were in a duel against Yukina. Kurama was about to kick her
when she grabbed his leg, pulled him forward causing him to fall on the ground. She 
cut an X onto his chest and kicked him back. Hiei punched her in the stomach, not too
hard but not so gently either. She fell back and lunged at Hiei, once again, had in on
the ground and was trying to choke him.
	
	Adauchi was watching Kuwabara and Yusuke, helpless against Shizuru. He
was laughing uncontrollably when suddenly an arrow came right through his chest. The
forcefield died away. Shizuru suddenly and stopped and dropped down. Kuwabara
and Yusuke stared in shock and looked over at Adauchi, who fell forward. A few feet
behind him was the hooded man, holding a bow and arrow, only this time it wasn't a 
man, and he wasn't hooded. It was a young woman with rich black hair and black eyes.
Yusuke and Kuwabara stared in shock as Genkai came up beside her.
	"Where the fuck were you?!" Yusuke shouted.
	"Watching you fight and seeing if you would figure it out by now, but since you 
didn't, being the dimwit you are, we finally decided to take some action," Genkai
responded.

	Yukina was pressing her fingers down again.
	"Why can't you die?" She said. "I...hate....you," was all she said before she
collapsed and laid on top of Hiei.
	Hiei gasped and held her in his arms.
	"Yukina? Yukina? Are you alright? Yukina!" he said, shaking her gently, but
she wouldn't wake up. Genkai, Yusuke, Kuwabara and the woman walked over to
them. Hiei saw the woman and stared up at her in shock.
	"Yane?" He asked. All heads turned to her.
	"No, not Yane," she said. "My name is Fanku, I'm Yane's older sister."
	"Yane had a sister?" Kuwabara asked.
	"I thought you were dead."
	"Yes, that's what everyone thought, but really I wasn't. Just unconscious, 
guess they forgot to check for the pulse."
	"Why didn't you return to her?" Hiei asked.
	Fanku stared at him hard. "That's none of your business."
	Genkai chimed in. "Sorry to interrupt, but we really need to be going and
get these girls some medical help, fast."
	Hiei looked down at Yukina and stroked her soft cheek, he looked carefully
and saw that the color in them was slowly coming back. He smiled.

Epilogue
	Hiei was standing on top of the hospital roof, staring at the night sky. There
were thousands of little stars shining brightly and winking at him. The wind blew his
hair gently and he felt a storm coming up. Shizuru, Keiko, Botan and Yukina were all
in their hospital beds, resting, and hopefully, waking up soon. The trees whispered
among themselves as the wind once again wailed through their leaves. A sound of
distant thunder was heard and a flash of light shined. Hiei closed his eyes and 
listened to the soft sound of gentle rain beginning to fall down and soaking his face.
It felt good, and pure. He felt clean and so relaxed.
	"Hiei?"
	He turned around to see Yane at the doorway.
	"What are you doing out here?" He asked her.
	"I should be asking you. Anyways, I came to tell you that Yukina has woken up
and if you-"
	She didn't have a chance to finish for Hiei had ran passed her and was already
inside the hospital building. Yane followed after. Hiei almost ran into Kurama who was
standing in the doorway to Yukina's room. He held a finger to his lips motioning him to
be quiet. Hiei tried to walk in softly but his boots were wet, making a squeaky noise. 
Yusuke, Kuwabara, Genkai, Koenma and Fanku were already there. Hiei walked up
to Yukina with Kurama and Yane closely behind. She looked up at him, then to Kurama
then to Yane.
	"Hey, Yukina, how you feeling?" Yusuke asked.
	Yukina stared at him as if searching for something.
	"You don't have to talk if you don't want to, ok?" Kuwabara said smiling.
	Yukina looked at him with a face saying what-are-you-talking-about?
	"I...guess I'm ok," she said.
	At once, they began speaking with her, their hearts lifted and happy. 
Kuwabara began crying with tears of joy as he hugged Yukina who just sat there 
without moving a muscle. Hiei cried a little, black hiruseki stones falling to the ground 
but he quickly wiped  them away before anyone can notice. Kurama gave him a sly 
look. Yukina seemed to be confused for some strange reason. She looked around 
at each of their faces as she said the three words that made their hearts stop beating 
forever.
	"Who are you?"
	The only sound there was was the rain tapping against the window.

                                                                                                   --