On the Boundaries of Reality
part 1
by M.E.

On the Boundaries of Reality: Part One
Dimensional Differences
*
By: Lady Mandy of the Orange Root
aka M.E. (Magnificent Entity)
([email protected])
***
Chapter One: Best Man

Tori smiled at her friends, her team mates. It was so nice to have Yusuke back among them after his three year absence, she ha  missed her "punching bag." Her high spirits fell and her face momentarily displayed her unhappiness as her eyes landed on Hiei, who was arrogantly putting up with Kurama's q iet teasing. The two were such opposites, it had amazed the rest of their little group when they found out that the fiery little youkai and the elegant youko were "a couple."  She had known it for months, it was hard to ignore such things when one was an empath, but she had tried her hardest.

Brushing the thoughts away, Tori turned to her best friend, "Oi, Urameshi, now that you're back are you an' Keiko going to finally get hitched?" A brilliant grin spread over her face as she ducked his playful punch. "Don't forget, I get to be best man." "Baka, you're a girl, you can't be best man," Yusuke growled, glaring at the vertically-challenged female. "Are you saying I'm not man enough to be yer best man? Why, I guess I'll just have to prove it to you," she grinned wickedly and started after him, shouting out threats as she chased him.

Kurama sighed and shook his head, smiling slightly to Botan who now stood next to him, "Some things never change. You'd think that with time she would actually start actinglike a girl. Well, at least she finally started going to school again." 

Botan lifted an eyebrow, "Really? I didn't know. Isn't it kind of late though, she's almost eighteen..." "She's not as stupid as sh  sometimes seems. In fact, though she may not look like it, Tori is above average, she just dropped out before she got to far." The red head sighed as he watched Tori tackle Yusuke to the ground, threatening to pound him if he didn't agree to let her be best man at his wedding.

Tori suddenly stopped and blinked, turning to look at the others, "Aww, I knocked him out again. You'd think that he'd have learned *something* while he was gone, but he still won't hit a young lady." Her green-brown eyes gleamed mischievously as she stood up  then suddenly widened as a sneakered foot whipped out, knocking her to the ground. "Oi, chibi-tori, of course I don't hit ladies, but as you've just pointed out, yer not a lady, yer a wild cat," Yusuke grinned cheerfully as he pinned the kicking and biting mass to the ground.

"BAKA!!! Let me up this instant, Urameshi, how dare you make fun of my height!!" Tori's leg went up in a well aimed kick, and the figh resumed.

"You can tell they're such good friends, they act almost  like brother and sister," Botan sighed, exasperated. Kurama flashed a winningsmile, "I know, isn't it scary?" He turned to Keiko, "You'd better make them stop, or else you won't have anything left to hit." Keiko shook her head, "Naw, it's okay, I'll get him later. Tori's been telling me for the longest time how annoying it is that she doesn t have anyone to fight with anymore." They laughed, watching as the two friends tumbled around on the grass, each trying to best the other.

Suddenly Tori stopped, hopping up, glancing at her watch. "K'so! I've got homework to do, and school tomorrow. Stupid time zone  differences," she grumbled to herself, brushing the grass and leaves from her jeans and trying to comb the tangles from her short, curly orange hair. Her hands felt the air around her, pulling at invisible seams. Tugging at something, the others watched as Tori opened a jagged hole in the fabric of time and space, a black area of nothingness surrounded by a border that glowed a faint orange-yellow. She then turned back to Yusuke, "Don't think this is over, Urameshi, I still haven't put you in orbit for insulting my height. Ja ne!" and hopped through the portal.

***

Yusuke watched as his friend disappeared, panting only slightly, then turned to Keiko, "Since when does Tori care about school? I thought she dropped out when she was thirteen." Smiling gently, Keiko turned her large brown eyes to meet his own, "She did, bu  she decided that she would have to do something with her life, make the best of what she has now because Reikai's found her folder she probably won't be reincarnated again." Nodding thoughtfully, Yusuke drew Keiko into an embrace, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense, why should she waste her last chance?" He gently stroked her hair, mind wandering. Keiko sighed, happy that he was finally back. Though she  knew he had changed and would never quite be the same Yusuke she had known before, she wasn't too upset.

*** 

Chapter Two: Arrival  They stared at the strange girl as she came out of what was definitely a portal, and turned to close it behind herself. When she spotted the group her mouth dropped inamazement, and she started cursing under her breath. Finally she turned to glare at them, "Oi, I bet this is all  Koenma's fault, he's been tampering with my portals again, hasn't he? Doesn't he know I *hate* having my portals messed with? I've got a biology test to study for tomorrow, I can't deal with his jokes right now!" "Who are you?" Yusuke snapped, stepping in front of Keiko with a protective gesture and pointing his index finger at her. 

"Don't point that thing at me, Urameshi. Who am I, indeed. Your joke is not amusing, you know who I am," the girl's hazel eye flashed with brilliant green fire, she was obviously pissed off.

Yusuke looked at her, then barked at Botan to get Keiko out of there, right away. Kurama summoned his rose whip and Hiei drew out his katana, while Kuwabara formed his usual sword from his ki. 

The girl blinked, startled. "Sheesh, I know we weren't onthe best of terms when I left a few minutes ago, but it was just a play fight, y' know?" Her eyes turned to Kuwabara, and she drew in her breath quickly as her eyes landed on his rei-ken, "Who are you, and what are you doing with that?!" When the group still didn't move, unfazed by her outburst, her eyes grew round in amazement, "Hey, it wasn't Koenma playing around with my portals again, was it? Oh no, I didn't...it couldn't have...shit." Her shoulders fell and she gave them a pained look, "Look,  I don't know what's going on, and I'd rather not have to fight you... But hey, I can't help it if  happen to be a great believer in the most wonderful concept of self-preservation. Rei-ken!" A flaming sword of orange-yellow ki, identical to Kuwabara's, appeared in her hand, and she entered a fighting stance, readying herself for an unwanted battle. 

Kuwabara jumped back as he saw her weapon, "It's like that weirdo guy from the Meikai... You don't think Yakumo's back,do you?" She glared at him, "What?! I have nothing to do with Yakumo, so don't insult me! I already fought that bastard  once, so I sure hop  he hasn't returned, because I don't look forward to doing it a second time..." The rei-ken disappeared, and she face showed that she was deep in thought, "Yes," she whispered to herself, "that would explain this. I wonder how it happened... Maybe I wasn't thinking  when I gave the portal my destination..." Finally she stopped mumbling, and turned to the rest. "I think I have a logical explanation for what's happened, but I sure hope I'm wrong."

The others looked at her for a moment, and then put away their weapons, all except Hiei, who was still suspicious of the stranger (phsycotic little antisocial fire demon that he is).

"I think, that, when I opened a portal to go back home, I instead opened one to another dimension, one just like one I'm from, excep  with no me," she gestured to Kuwabara,"and him instead. That would explain why you don't know who I am, and yet you  seem to resemble my friends so much. You *are* my friends, except...you're not..." she shook her head, slightly confused. She then held out her hand, "Konnichi wa, atashi wa Kuhara Karen, desu. But if you call me that, I'll be forced to hurt you. My friends call me Tori. And, just a word of warning, don't pick on me about my height." She smiled brightly.

They stared at her, unsure of whether to trust her or not. 

Almost as if she sensed their reason for hesitation, she held up her hands, a gesture of surrender. "It's okay, I won't hurt you. I was just a bit nervous and upset before. I usually ask questions first and shoot later, it's one ofmy great flaws that tends to get on your, excuse me, *my friends'* nerves." Now she frowned, "Any way, it's not like I could do any damage, I'm outnumbered, and I've always been the weakest." Her eyes, brown-green orbs full of happiness and friendliness, stared at then, pleading them to believe her. Finally Hiei put away his katana, and the others  walked forward, introducing themselves. Tori laughed as the began to tell her their names, "I already know who you all are... except for him, the tallone with the orange hair, what's your name?" Kuwabara looked startled, a bit upset at being singled  out, "Ahhh... Atashi wa Kuwabara Kazuma."

She smiled at him, saying quietly, "Yorishiku Kuwabara." 

 Yusuke laughed, "Oi, Kuwabara, I think the poor girl has a crush on y-"

 If he had been about to say anything else, he never got achance to, because Tori's fist had just connected with his  chin, knockin  hi  out with a swift uppercut. As he fell to the ground, she kicked him lightly. "Baka," she growled, then smiled at everyone else, flashing a victory sign.

Deep in his muddled mind, Yusuke was groaning over the fact that he seemed to have met up with girl who had a mixture of Botan and Keiko's personalities, Kuwabara's rei-ken, and Hiei's dislike of being called short. In fewer words, he was now doomed.

***

Chapter Three: In Which the Whole Dimension Concept is Explained

Okay, so this isn't really a chapter, more of an interlude, but I don't think I can get an explanation of my dimension concept in anyother way. I could have Tori  explain it, but probably only Keiko, Kurama, and maybe Hiei (because he doesn't really trust her allthat much) would stay awake through the entire explanation. Thus, this short, but informative, 'chapter'.

Dimensions are a little bit like different worlds, except they are a bit different. Every time that you do something,there are two dimensions formed, one in which you do it and one in which you don't. A dimension is a might-have-been, what might have been if  something else had happened, but each dimension's also its own little 'world', with its own might-have-beens and its own dimensions branching off. So, there are an infinite of dimensions out there, and the number grows every second.

As one might know if one is familiar with YYH, there are three worlds, Makai, Reikai, and Ningenkai (there was also Meikai at one time  but that was destroyed). And if you are familiar with other stories by the Weirdos of Weird World, you will also know of our concept that there are several million worlds- I think our excuse is that each anime series is another world, with its own little worlds...oh, it's so confusing!! Well, anyway, these worlds are *not* different dimensions, they are different worlds that exist  in different dimensions.

Tori comes from an alternate dimension of the YYH world, in which Kuwabara does not exist and she does (if you want to know why  it'  because her file in Reikai was lost which caused her to be reincarnated several times. Don't ask why Kuwabara isn't there, that's a pointless question. Why? You'll find out later in the plot). She has accidentally traveled to another dimension (where she doesn't exist but  Kuwabara does), that is *not* the original YYH dimension (the one from the manga). She's not in that dimension for a few reasons:
1) I don't know enough about the series for her to be in that dimension
2) Her presence changes the dimension so that it creates yet another, separate dimension
3) It's more interesting this way ^_^

In case you want to know, there are a few other differences between Tori's dimension of origin and the one she is in now. You'll find out what they are later on, but I'm not going to tell you right now because the plot's not developed enough. ^_^ hah hah!! I don' think there's really anything else for me to say, except that I think I'm gonna finish part one of this before I finish the two other lengthy fics that I'm work on (one I have writer's block with, the other I know exactly where it's going to go, like this one). This is the  my second attempt at this fic. I started writing it, but itwas going to be to long and I was chopping out big parts because I wanted to  get to part two. Also it had a lot of depressing flashbacks, which I didn't like (I liked the flashbacks, I just didn't like the fact that the  were depressing, I'm already working on a depressing Fushigi Yuugi fic).

Thanks for your time and attention!! (you are all my slaves... @_@)

***

Chapter Four: Oniisan

Kuwabara looked into the room where Tori was sitting, quietly pulling her fingers through her hair while she stared at the floor. They had brought her to Genkai's temple, unsure of what to do. For some reason he felt drawn to the strange girl, maybe it was because she too used the rei-ken. "Ne, Tori-ko, daijoubu ka?" he asked, watching as her hand moved through her short orange hair  straightening it to only let it loose and bounce back into curls. Her hazel eyes lifted from the floor, to stare at his own brown eyes, "I'm seventeen, so please don't refer to me as a child." 

"Oh, sorry, it's just...your height..." Kuwabara blushed slightly at his mistake.

 "Don't judge people by their appearances. Would you saythat Hiei was a child because of his lack of stature?" She paused, then laughed quietly and shook her head, "Never  mind, of course you would, because that would be an insult and you don't like Hiei."

The taller teenager blinked, a strange look on his face, "How did you know that? That I don't like the little bast- Hiei? I thought you said I didn't exist in your world."

Tori smiled and got up. Even standing she was nearly two feet shorter than Kuwabara. "I'm slightly emphatic. I can sometimes feel what other people feel. Your mind was very organized and easy to go through. If I didn't know so little about you, I wouldn't hesitate to say that you had some physic abilities yourself."

"Went through my mind... You went in my mind?!" He was outraged by the very idea that someone had entered his head without his permission.

Tori winced at his outburst, "Ouchie. You are a physic, aren't you? You broadcast rather clearly." She shook her head a few times, trying to get rid of the pain, then looked at him again, smiling. "I usually scan the mind of people when I first meet them. It helps meknow where I stand. Sort of like how one might test another's ki to see how powerful they are, I look at a person's mind to see what they think of me, what their personality is like."

"What- what did you find when you looked at me?" Kuwabara asked, interested.

A thoughtful look crossed over Tori's face, "You're very loyal, you're also egotistical, Urameshi's best friend, always trying to beat him  and you don't like Hiei." Slipping her small hand into his large one, she looked up at him, "And... and your ki feels just like mine. If you were to ask me my opinion on the matter, I would say that we're the same person."

"Nani?!"

"I mean that you're me in this dimension and I'm you in my dimension, the whole thing is actually very interesting from a professiona  viewpoint. If it makes you feel any better, you can think of me as an annoying little sister," Tori smiled brightly. "Come on," she added, tugging his hand."What now?" still confused, he wasn't sure what was going on.

"I want to see how good you are with the rei-ken. You might be able to teach me some new stuff."

***

I stand in the shadows, watching as the two figures fight, both of their rei-kens - identical orange-yellow flames of ki - flash, countering each other. I would rather be doing something else, but I don't completely trust this young girl. How she can be so calm about going from one dimension to another, I don't know. She reminds me of the idiot, with her curly orange hair and he  green-brown eyes. That, and she too has the rei-ken as a weapon. Interesting. Actually, she's pretty good, better then Kuwabara. She takes advantage of her size, and the fact that her body is built differently from his bulky one, slipping out of the reach of his blade, tumbling to the side. Her young appearance seems to be the complete opposite from the air of age that wears around her. She  is older than she looks, how else could she have become so familiar with her weapon in the brief life time that ningen's have? Tori interests me, she said that she knew all of us except Kuwabara in her own dimension, that we exist there too. I wonder how she came to know us, though I think I have already found the answer. She said that there is no Kuwabara where she comes from, so, taking that into account, as well as the fact that they have the same weaponry, I would say that she fills Kuwabara's nitch in her  dimension. It disgusts me slightly, the idea that there might be several such people spread throughout the dimensions. More than one Kuwabara - it's sort of scary.But she doesn't seem that much like him. Tori seems more mature, and her attitude is slightly different,  not as confident as the idiot, more nervous, unsure. And then there's the fact that she's a female...She's beat him, and is standing  over him triumphantly, herrei-ken gone. Though she is small she is very good, it might  be nice to practice with her, just to keep fro getting rusty. Now she leans over him, checking to see if he's okay. When it becomes obvious that he's unconscious, instead of just  letting him lie there, she picks up his legs and half drags, half carries him back inside Genkai's temple.

 When Tori comes out again she is alone. Her eyes rove thearea, finally picking out my form among the shadows. Too late I realize that she knew I was standing there the whole time. "Hiei, if you want to fight now, I'm ready," she calls  out softly, knowing I will hear.

How did she know that I was thinking of trying out her skills myself? She is like Kuwabara, maybe she too is physic. Unable to leav and pretend that I was never here, I walk over to her, drawing my katana. It has been to long  since I have had anyone to fight with other than that half-competent idiot. I'm looking forward to this.

*** 

I haven't practiced much lately, even though Genkai's always getting on our cases to keep in shape. I've had tests to study for, and so much stuff to catch up on forschool. I dropped out when I was thirteen, and didn't start going again till I was sixteen. It was sort of a pain, having to learn a lot of stuff over again, but it was also fun, and it helped that I'm pretty quick at learning new things. So, anyway, it's been a while since I last practiced.

 It was pretty fun to fight Kuwabara, almost like fightingmyself, except he's built differently- not only is he almost two feet taller than  me, he's also poportioned differently. Guys and gals are different like that. When I noticed that Hiei was watching, I was a bit surprised. Where I come from he didn't like me all that much, we didn't hit it off all that great. Maybe here I'll be given a second chance, maybe here I'll have a chance at... Well, never mind that now. 

So now I'm fighting him. He's a bit mixed up, he's fighting someone new, someone he's only seen in action once before, and I've fought him more times then I can count. It's kind of funny now that I look at it. I always liked sparing with him, he's a little taller than me, but not enough to lord it over me, and I think it kind of makes him feel better, to have a shorter opponent for once. He used to  run circles around me, to fast for the eye to really follow, just a flicker of light. But as I got better, remembering forgotten instincts, I was able to catch up a bit, and even  managed to beat him a few times. Though each time that I did, he would promptly turn around and whip my butt the next time. But I've done it, which is what counts. He's surprised that I can move as fast as I do, that I'm  able to dodge him, sliding out of the way of his blade like a cat. I smile, it's instincts like this that have kept mealive this long. It's fun, to watch him try to keep a straight face and not show his amazement at my abilities.  Of course, I'll never be able to completely beat hi  with the sword, just like I'll never be able to really beat Urameshi in a fist fight, but hey! A girl can try, can't
she?

Kuwabara watched as Tori came in, his head aching slightly from where it had hit the ground when she tripped him, knocking him out. She was breathing a bit heavily and the sweat on her forehead gave away the fact that she had continued her workout after he   d become unconscious. From the earlier sounds that had floated in through the door, he assumed that she had been fighting with Hiei, which was enough exercise for just about anybody. The little jerk was *quick*.

Tori picked up a flannel shirt from where she had dropped it earlier, using it to wipe the moisture from her face. She glanced around, "Ne, Kuwabara, do you think Yukina might have some clothes around here I could borrow? I'm about her size, and I'd rather not w  rthese anymore, they're kind of sweaty. Kind of left all mine in another world, didn't know I'd be traveling." A grin flashed over her face.

"Yu-Yukina?" Kuwabara gasped.

She nodded, "You know, the girl who's a bit shorter than me, has...umm...aquamarine hair, kind-of pink eyes. Likes birds. I saw   r  round here earlier but I don't know where she is now. Do you?" Tori, having just recently met Kuwabara, did not know what she was getting herself into.

"Yukina...? Yukina is *here*? Yukina, Yukina, Yukina-" Kuwabara immediately forgot about his headache and jumped up, doing his Yukina Dance (tm).

"Never mind, I'll look for her myself," Tori looked at the tall ningen nervously. Some people just plain freaked her out at times. Shrugging, she turned and walked out of the room, looking for Yukina.

***

Yusuke looked at the girl. She had disposed of the clothes she had been wearing when they met and was now attired in a simle yellow blouse and green shorts. Finally he sighed, unsure of what he was going to say. "So yer saying that yer from another dimension."

Tori nodded. She had just finished explaining what you all got explained to you in Chapter Three. (They didn't have Chapter Three  o look at so they had to listen to Tori.) Now all that was left was to add one important detail... Taking a deep breath, she tried tobe  confident, telling herself that even though she *looked* like an eleven year-old, she was actually seventeen, and even though she was seventeen, she had several lives already in her pocket. It wasn't working. "Ummm, yeah. Oh, and there's a slight problem I might not be able to go back."

Yusuke just stared at her for a moment. Botan shifted uncomfortably in the silence that followed Tori's last remark. Kuwabara stared at Yukina, who was visibly worried. Finally unable to contain herself any longer, Botan spoke up. "Why not?"

Twiddling her thumbs, Tori looked down at the floor. "Well, I told you how there are an infinite of dimensions out there, right? So, i  s pretty hard to find one out of all the others. I could probably hop around at random for a long time, but the chance of me e  r reaching my dimension of origin is so small it's not worth even mentioning."Running a hand through her red-orange hair, she continued,  "I think- I think I would prefer to stay here if that's okay with you-all. I don't want to chance ending up someplace that's completely different from my home." 

Genkai sighed, "You realize that you're asking us to make a big decision. We can't give you an answer right away." She paused   d  ori nodded her head. "Give us a few days, maybe even longer, to decide."

"Okay." While the rest were still mulling over what she had said (yes, even Kuwabara, his mind isn't the one-tract thing that most people think it is), Tori got up quietly from where she had been sitting on the floor, and left the room.

***

Kuwabara found her sitting outside on a rock, watching the sunset. He walked up behind her, careful to not make a  oise. When he was right behind her he cleared his throat to get her attention. "Tori-chan..." he said softly. "Hai?" Her hazel eyes turned to stare at him. "What you said earlier... That you might not be able to go back to where you came from... Was- was it true?" "Hai. I probablycan't go back." Her mouth twisted into a grimace, "I won't pass my biology test, I won't get my math  homework done... Hey, and I won't have to go on any of Koenma's stupid missions anymore!" She immediately perked up.

"Koenma's missions... You're a Reikai Tantei where you come from?" He sat down next to her, interested. "Mmmhm. I got drafted to the job when I was fourteen. Reikai misplaced my file for a lengthy period of time, which caused a whole chain reaction of proble  . They somehow figured out a way to pin the blame on me, made me a Reikai Tantei and sent me to work with Urameshi," Tori s rugged, "I never really liked it. I mean, it could be sorta fun at times, but I was never the type of girl who was out to save the world, ya know? Mostly I just wanted to be left alone." 

Turning his head slightly so that her face was in his line of vision, Kuwabara pondered her remark. When he had been fourteen it   d never occurred to him that he might save aworld, and yet he had done it more than once. And he was  proud of it, proud of the fact that he was a member of the infamous Urameshi Team. He was pretty sure that the rest of the team, even Hiei, felt the same way. Yet here was Tori,who said she had just wanted to be left alone, but from the way she acted she seemed to be the type of girl who  was outgoing and social. The whole thing was pretty strange. As if she had sensed his thoughts, and she probably had, she piped up, "I'm not what I seem. Because of my Reikai file being lost, I was reincarnated six times. When I died the first time I didn't want to come back. I had lived a long, solitary life, and had been quiet depressed near the end. I just wanted to forget, but reincarnat  n doesn't let you do that." She shifted over, leaning against him, "My lives after that would have been very happy, but I always felt wrong, like I didn't belong. Over those five lives I worked myself into a nice, deep blue funk. One of the fewgood things about being a Tantei was that it helped get me out of the depths of depression. For the first time I had  friends, people who cared about what happened to me,something to do that allowed me to help others. Hell, I even went back to school after dropping out two years before."

The gears of Kuwabara's mind were whirring. Bit by bit he was slowly piecing together the history of this girl. But something was missing. Something very important, that was necessary to understand the rest of the pieces. In a brotherly gesture, he drew four-foot-three figure against him, trying to calm her fears.

"It was all goin' pretty good, and then Urameshi had to go and get himself killed a second time. He came back, then went off to   eMakai, doin' somethin' 'nother. I started  school again, but I started to spend more an' more time over in Japan, less time arond L.A.  I didn't realize what was happenin' to me till it was too late...too late..." herbreath heaved out in a shuddering sigh. Sniffing lightly, s  e turned away from him, brushing curls from her eyes. Standing, she walked away quickly, leaving Kuwabara to sit alo e. He stayed there for a while, pondering over what he had learned, still cursing the missing piece of this puzzle. 

*** 

Chapter Six: Swelling Pains

I'm letting those feelings surface again. They bubble up from where I hid them nearly two years ago. I shouldn't let them come I should hide them like I did the first time, but for some strange reason I can't will myself to do so. Something prevents me, pushing me closer to them every day, letting me see the signs, the second chance I've been given. M  ybe...maybe... There's no chance of return, I could just let them come, and take the chance. But I can't, again something prevents me.

With all these familiar people around me I feel very much at home, and yet it isn't home. We'll all be talking, laughing over something that happened, when I mention somefunny thing I did, like when I beat up Urameshi for teasing me about my getting my period. And then they all stare at me, like I'm nuts, reminding me that this isn't my world, my home. Maybe that is what prevents me, the  knowledge thatI'll never belong. My nitch here is filled, where will I be  placed? It's all to hard for me to figure out. But I like it he e, with all its differences. I especiallylike Kuwabara, it's so touching how he follows Yukina around like a puppy dog. The others really  underestimate him, they seem to only see the brash exterior, not the sweet, caring person inside. Only Yukina seems to see him for what he really is.

They all seemed to be genuinely upset when I told them that I probably won't be able to go back. Is it because they don't want o have to deal with me, or because they feel sorry for me? I wonder...

***

Koenma looked up as Botan entered his office. On his desk there lay a folder, somewhat ragged with age. It looked like the man a folders that floated all over Reikai, containing the information of a person's life/lives. The strange thing about this one was that,  despite it's agedappearance, it was noticeably thin.  Botan glanced at the folder, nodding her head towards it,"What's that?"

The demigod shook his head in wonder, "It's just some person's file. The weird thing is that it appeared out of nowhere. Section Ten, Records, said it just popped up. It freaked them out so they sent it to me. That was five days ago, I just got it today."

Perching on the edge of the desk, Botan picked up the item in question, glancing at the name on the cover. The neatly typed name had been crossed out, and below it was written 'Kuhara, Karen' in semi-legible handwriting. The inside held two photographs, one o  ayoung youkai woman with long black hair, the other of a small girl with flaming orange  hair. As her eyes fell on the second photo, they widened noticeably, she turned to Koenma. "Why... It's Tori!"

"Tori?"

 "Mmmhmm. She just sort of showed up a few days ago. Came out of a portal. She said she was from another dimension, and t at she hadn't been planning to come here at all." Botan went on to tell her boss everything she knew about the girl.

Taking the folder from Botan, Koenma flipped through it, noting the circumstances under which Tori had become a Reikai Tantei, and afew other interesting facts. "Hey, she's an American!"

Botan leaned over, glancing at the folder. "That explains her accent," she mumbled to herself.

"Hmmmm," Koenma put down the folder. "So, she's still here? She hasn't gone back to her dimension of origin yet?" A sad look c me into the ferry girl's pink/purple eyes, "She said that she can't..." Botan went on to explain Tori's problem.

Koenma opened the file, flipped through a few pages until he at last found what he was looking for. Circling a small, seemin y unimportant number, he turned to Botan, a huge grin plastered on his face, "Guess what Botan, it's your lucky day. You get to do research in the Rekai Archives."

***

Chapter Seven: Perfect Fit

Tori looked at the boy. "What do you mean I can't practice with you an' the others?! I'll have you know I'm just as good as any guy, better than many, in fact." Yusuke shrugged, "I just don't wanna have you get hurt. You'd probably blame me an' then Keiko'd get allmad at  me-" He stopped as Tori's foot swept out, knocking his legs out from under him and causing him to fall onto the ground.  he grinned, holding out a hand to help her up, "Still think I'll come cryin' to you if I get hurt, Urameshi?" He reached out to grasp   r offered hand. When he would have pulled her off her feet, she instead wrenched her hand away, maneuvering out of the range the punch that followed her retreat. "Catch me if you can!" she called, flipping away.

Grumbling, Yusuke stood up. He charged at her, totally prepared to surprise her. Again she tumbled out of the way, taking advant  e of her slight build. Aiming towards a different tactic, he started toward her once again, then suddenly changed direction as he clo ed in, moving to the left, the direction in which she had been prepared to flee. Catching her off guard, Yusuke grabbed her wrist, twisting it so that she stumbled to the ground. Drawing back his fist to punch, he was not at all surprised to find that she had tumbled out of the way, hopped up, and was once again on her feet.

"Damn you're good, " he swore under his breath.

Sensing his exasperation, Tori smiled as she dodged another kick. "Actually, I have the advantage that I've fought you several times before. You, on the other hand, have never fought me."

Yusuke glanced around, his eyes landing on Kurama, who was standing to the side, watching the whole spectacle with an air  famusement. "Oi! Kurama! Come 'n' help me, you wouldn't want us to look bad by being beaten by a *girl*?!"  "Hey! I resent that remark!" Tori cried, aiming anotherkick at her opponent's stomach. 

Shaking his head, Kurama smiled, "Ne, Yusuke-kun, can't hold your own against a girl can you? You ought to be ashamed."

"Aw, com'on K'rama," Tori whined, "I'm gettin' bored with slowpoke here. I'll never get any practice this way. All I ave to do is  out-smart him, and as you should know, that's not too hard."

 Still laughing, Kurama joined the fight. Both the Reikai Tantei found it hard to keep up with the small girl, whoseemed to be lighting-fast at times. But they seemed to finally have a chance of beating her when they cornered her. Tori was running forward, and  a large rock was in herway. She could easily jump over it, but Yusuke was on the  other side, ready to intercept. Going too fast, she couldn't change directions. The only way to go was ahead. Tori surprised them by going the other way. When she came to the rock, she shot her hand out, letting it rest on the rock. At the same time she jumped lightly, pushing against the hard surface of   e rock with her palm. She ended up flipping over the rock, changing the flip into a forward roll when she came in contact with the gro nd again, and tumbling between Yusuke's outspread legs. As she passed by she grabbed his ankle, pulling him to the ground. The two teenagers rolled around on the grass for awhile, each trying to beat the other. Kurama had once again retreated to the sidelin .  Laughing, Yusuke finally managed to pin Tori to the ground, each of his hands holding down her wrists, and one leg pinning her   n legs to the ground.

Grimacing, Tori looked up at him, her hazel eyes shining, "You won. Again. Someday I'll beat you, Urameshi, someday." Yusuke st  d up, brushing off some of the grass and leaves that stuck to his clothes. He held out a hand to help her up, but she just laugh  , shaking her head. "You don't really think I'll fall for an old trick like that, do you?" Instead she hopped to her feet, then ran over to Kurama. "I think you should have let me beat him. Deflate his humongus  ego some." She winked and elbowed the redhead in the stomach. Yusuke, grumbling, walked over. "And you think that *I* have a big ego," he murmured. Tori just laughed some more, and  slapped him on the back, barely phasing the taller teen. 

From the shadows a figure watched as the trio walked off,laughing and joking. Couldn't those three take anything seriously? And that girl was the worst yet. The worst part was, she was also the most interesting.

***

Blowing dust-covered bangs out of her eyes, Botan squinted to read the title of the crumbling scroll in her hands. Someone really   d need to clean up the archives. She justhoped that she wouldn't be drafted to do the job. Moving so  that she could get enough light to read the scroll, her mood immediately lightened. Finally! She had only had to look at about five hundred others, plus assorted books andelectronic encyclopedias, and spend a whole day trying to  get the oni in charge of the archive to let her in to the restric  d section, just to find the moldy old scroll that Koenma had requested. Botan would have preferred to have done just about anything else, but what Koenma-sama wanted, Koenma-sama got. The blue-haired ferry girl sighed, if only she could be sure about what he wanted...

***

Koenma glanced up as a very dirty figure burst in excitedly. For a moment he freaked out, then calmed down when he recognized the person. "What is it Botan?" he asked around the several stacks of paperwork on his desk. "I found that document you want  , Koenma-sama," she said excitedly, waving said object.

He grinned and chewed on the Fuukumen that was, as always, stuck in his mouth. "Good. Now if I can just get George to do someth ng about these papers, I can do something about Tori's situation."

***

Kuwabara groaned, for some reason he just couldn't sleep. He was staying at Genkai's temple for a few days, his parents were outof  town, and Shizuru had decided that she wanted some time to herself, without a younger brother around to bug her - i.e., she  ad kicked him out. Finally giving up on sleep, he got up, padding out of the room he had been stuck in and heading for the kitchen. Mmmm, maybe all he needed was a some food in his stomach. He was surprised to find the kitchen light on, pale yellow light streaming out of the open doorway to form a small arc  on the wooden floor. Stepping into the room, he found Tori, sitting quietly at a counter, a mug in her hands. "Hey," he said quietly.

 She jumped slightly, startled, then smiled, turning to look at him. "Ohayo, Kuwabara," she answered softly. When he gave he  a surprised look, she gestured to the digital clock that rested on a counter, the red numbers declaring to the world that it was one thirty two in the morning. She waved her hand to an empty stool next to her, tucking the edges of the robe that she wore around her legs. Shrugging, Kuwabara sat down on the offered stool.

"What're you doin' up?"

"Same as you, couldn't sleep. I kept on thinking about how I'll never go back... Never see my friends again," she sighed, taking a sip from the mug.

"But, you said that they all existed in this world." 

"They do, but it's not the same. I was reminded of that today, when Urameshi and I got into a play fight. Back home, it's a usual sight to see the two of us having it out. He always wins though. But... today it was different. I knew all of his moves, his techniques, and he knew none of mine. I almost beat him."

Kuwabara laughed grimly, "Beat Urameshi, I've been trying to do that for years."

 "So've I. But today I realized, I don't ever want to really beat him. If I did... it wouldn't feel right." She sighed, and leaned against  is shoulder. "Hey, Kuwabara, you wouldn't mind letting me spill out some'more'f my heart o you, would ya?" He just smiled, which she  took that as a go ahead. "In my world... Hiei and I never really hit it off, in fact, he just about hates me, views me as competition as I'm unattached."

Lifting an eyebrow, Kuwabara was confused, but said nothing.

 "You see, Kurama an' Hiei, they're a couple." She paused, letting the information sink into her companion. Tori was slightly stun ed that it didn't seem to phase him to much. She continued, "He thinks I'm gonna try to steal his kitsune from him, but it's nothing like that. Kurama's one of my very best friends, second only to Urameshi. That's what he is, nothing more than a friend...but Hiei..." Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she let her hair fall forward, concealing her face.

As Kuwabara pulled her into a hug, comforting her as a close friend or brother might, he felt the pieces of his puzzle fall into place. The last piece had been found, and it was a perfect fit. Silently he cursed the slight fire demon that was causing this poor girl so much pain.

***

Chapter Eight: Departure

Finishing the final calculations, Koenma sighed. There, that was one less problem to worry about, now to contact Botan and tell here the good news. He called to one of the passing oni, ordering him to find the perky ferry girl as quickly as possible. The oni, being the (demi)god fearing being that he was, ran off to perform the errand right away. Koenma leaned back in his chair, lightly sleeping while he waited for Botan, which turned out to not be very long.

Botan burst in through the door, "Hai, Koenma-sama?" He smiled, "I figured it out. It can be done. All we have to do is tell her."  he smiled and bent over, nearly sqiushing the toddler as she hugged him enthusiastically. "Doumo arigatou gozimasu, Koenma-sama, arigatou!!" Botan pulled out her oar, ready to leave immediately with the good news. "Matte, Botan!" Koenma called out, just before she could leave. "There's only one thing. As with all portals of this sort, she has to *want* to leave. That's all." He gestured to her that she could leave.

***

Tori looked up from where she was sitting on the grass, book in hand. She smiled as Botan came into view. "Konnichi wa, Botan! I'm just studying, no sense in falling behind in school even if I am stuck here for the rest of my life." Botan jumped off her oar, all smiles. "Oi, Tori-chan, that's just it! Koenma's found a way for you to go home." 

For a moment Tori just sat there, her hair falling forward to hide her face. "Tori-chan, doushita no? Don't you want to go back to where you came from?" 

Tori turned and smiled, any doubts that might have shadowed her face banished. "Ne, Botan, I'm fine, of course I want to go back. I s just that- how did Koenma do it?"  "He looked at your file (which showed up in Reikai when you showed up here) and it had  he address of your dimension of origin in it. Then there was this old scroll, which talked about how to make an inter-dimensional portal... And he put them together and came up with a way for you to go!"

 Yusuke and Kuwabara came over, "Hey, what's goin' on?"Yusuke asked.

Botan smiled, "Koenma's found a way for Tori-chan to go back to her own dimension!"

Kuwabara smiled, "Hey, that's great!"

Tugging at Tori's arm, Botan mounted her oar. "C'me on. Koenma can only open up the portal at a certain time."

"But I- I wanna say good bye to everyone..."

 Several minutes later Tori was once again on the oar, she smiled and waved, having already exhausted her store of hugs. "Sayonara, minna! Sayonara!" she called out until she could no longer see the group. Sighing, she turned her thoughts inward as she sped towards the Reikai.

***

Botan skidded to a halt. With a mock-salute to Koenma, she put away the oar, then looked at Tori, "Ready?" Glancing around, a   d look crossed Tori's usuallycheerful features. "Demo... I wanted to say goodbye to Hiei... but he wasn't there. Could I go say  goodbye?" Koenma glared, "That would take to long." 

 She smiled, "Ahh, but you forget that I'm an expert with portals. If I know where to find him, I can get it over with pretty quickly." Sighing, Koenma nodded, turning to Botan, "Your department, I believe." Botan pulled out a small book, and quickly rambled of a
location to Tori. The red-head opened a portal and quickly disappeared.

***

Hiei was slightly surprised when the girl tumbled out, landing on top of him. "Gomen," she mumbled, "I was in such a rush I forgot to set the destination near the ground." He glared at her, then turned, ready to leave. Unfortunately for him, she snagged the edge of is  coat, forcing him to stay. Blushing slightly, she began, "Koenma's found a way for me to go. I'm gonna leave soon." Red eyes gla  d at her, "You're the idi- Kuwabara in your world, aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Ha- hai."

He grunted, "Stay away from Yukina."

For a moment she just stared at her, mouth wide in amazement, "You- you think that I'm interested in Yukina in- in *that* way, just because I'm Kuwabara in my world?" Hiei continued to glare at her. He did not expect what happened next.

Warm lips caressed his own, passionate and full. Her tongue darted lightly over his lips, slipping in where his mouth had opened in surprise. At first he resisted, then, as time passed, he found himself (to his horror) leaning into it, savoring the feeling. Hiei was still in shock when Tori finally broke the kiss. She stood up, opening a portal. "Why should I be interested in Yukina when it's her brother  ho I've always been in love with?" she whispered, her words so quite that later Hiei doubted whether he had ever really heard them. Tori turned to look at him one last time before she went through the portal. "Sayonara."  

***

Botan watched as the girl stumbled into the room. "Now are you ready?"

Tori smiled, flashing the victory sign. "HAI!" she called, then jumped through the portal Koenma had created.

***

Bet you thought it was going to be longer with all those notes at the beginning, huh?

 Send all comments/criticsims/corrections/death threats to: [email protected] I want your feedback!

Special thanks to Rapunzel and Blue Jeans for proof reading this fic as well as encouraging me to write it in the first place. I didn't believe them at first when they said it was actually pretty good, until I read it and found my self thinking, "Wow, this is *good*, I wonder who wrote it?" That's pretty bad, huh? of course, I'm now holding that part three is even better. This isn't drawn out enough...

©1999 M.E. also known as Lady Manday of the Orange Root also known as Manda Hunter. who can be reached at [email protected]. Comments, criticisms, death threats, etc. are encouraged and welcomed. Flames *will* be accepted, but if you send me a flame, I might send one back  at you. All tessen wielding bandits from Konan will be forwarded to Blue Jeans after being liberally doused with sake. Don't say I didn't warn you!

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