ShadowDove87: hey everyone! I'm actually updating again…I'm shocked! ;; Well I can't take all the credit. If it wasn't for my friend Qiruama I probably would be putting up a new story. She and I started writing this together a while ago, so this is not so much my story as our story. We both loved writing it, so I hope you all enjoy it! Please review and tell us what you think. Productive criticism is welcome, but not destructive. Thank you!

x

A Battle With Memories

Chapter 1 – A New Recruit

Authors: Qiruama and ShadowDove87

x

It was summer, the last day of school. The first time they met each other. Class was almost over when he wandered in, the tall red head, Kuwabara. He could not be considered the smartest, the only thing that occupied his mind was fighting. Fighting and winning against Urameshi Yusuke, which he never did. That day though, a lot was about to change. As Kuwabara looked into the classroom, enquiring about the whereabouts of 'Urameshi', no one answered. No one save for the raven haired girl on the far end of the room. Though she was in the same grade as both Yusuke and Kuwabara she seemed older, somehow more experienced. Her name was Tara and, as she replied, her lips formed into a small smirk.

"I think that girlfriend of his is having her usual 'chat' with him,"

Yusuke's, so called, 'girlfriend' was Keiko. They were not an actual couple, at least not yet. They were complete opposites, making affection rather difficult. He couldn't care about school enough to rub two coins together and she based herself around her education. The clash in personalities made her a very confining partner, something that always caused tension between them.

Kuwabara stared at Tara as though it was the first time he'd ever seen her. No wonder really. She usually didn't actively participate in class and kept to herself most of the time. Taking in her subtle features, he realised he was in love.

"Well, hello…I don't believe we've met. I'm Kuwabara!" he smirked proudly at her, puffing out his chest, making him feel very dashing. He was only scaring her.

"Yeah, I know already," her attention seemed somewhat divided. "I'm used to seeing Urameshi kick your ass all the time," looking back up at him, her green eyes flashed briefly as her smirk returned. She enjoyed teasing people, although that was not something many knew.

Kuwabara, rather surprised by her response, fell silent. He sweatdropped and cleared his throat. "Err….I'll win one day! For sure!" he chirped. It didn't seem like he believed his own words.

Tara only continued smirking, turning back to look out the window, she sighed a little. After a few moments she slowly turned to look back at Kuwabara, having noticed his reflection in the window. Raising an eyebrow at him in question, she wondered if there was any discouraging him. "Hey…why do you want to talk with him anyway? Another fight coming up, hmm?" the change of topic roused a hint of curiosity in her.

Kuwabara looked around the room a little, avoiding Tara's gaze. He half hoped Yusuke would jump out from somewhere. "Eh, no, Botan asked me to get him-.. Err, I mean…" too late. Kuwabara's distracted mind had brought him into trouble again. He slowly turned his head to look at her, sweatdropping and trying to look a mixture of confused and innocent in hopes of making her forget what he'd just said.

"Botan? Botan who?"

"Eh, no one!" he waved his hands about wildly, and it almost looked as though he was trying to wave aside a simple comment. Almost.

The raven haired girl raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "You know you're a really bad liar, Kuwabara. Why don't you just tell me the truth?" Botan…Where have I heard that name before…?

Kuwabara seemed quite nervous now, especially under her inspective gaze. He blinked frequently, his heart rate sky rocketing. "Umm, I think I can hear the teacher call… Bye!" and he was off.

Tara sighed a little and turned to gaze out the window again. He wasn't worth her time and she decided it would be best to just forget about her rather awkward encounter with Kuwabara. As she stared out she did not notice that someone was looking straight back at her, his eyes narrowed.

A little while later, Yusuke wandered slowly back into the classroom, a huge, red, hand mark adorning his left cheek. He frowned and let himself fall, unceremoniously, into a chair. "Dammit, why do girls have to hit that hard all the time?" he kept grumbling to himself, rubbing the still glowing print.

Tara's attention turned from her lookout and to Yusuke. She couldn't help but laugh a little. "Maybe it's because we are stronger than you guys, ne?" she smiled a little at him before shaking her head. "Anyway, Elvis was looking for you,"

Yusuke blinked a little in surprise. It was often that anyone in his class actually paid attention to him, much less responded to one of his remarks. "…Elvis…?" he heard her laugh as she nodded her head.

"Hai, Kuwabara was here not long ago. He said Botan was looking for you,"

Yusuke didn't have an opportunity to exclaim his surprise. Kuwabara marched promptly back into the room, as if on cue, and grabbed Yusuke's arm, dragging him up from his seat. "There you are Urameshi! I've been looking all over for you! Botan has another mission for us!"

Tara looked after them with a wondering gaze. Her curiosity was growing and it was finally starting to get the better of her. Slowly getting to her feet, she went to follow them, being careful not to be seen. Their walk lead her to the roof of the school building wherein she remained hidden in the stairwell, peeking out from behind the door. She couldn't see much, but it was enough. Her eyes caught sight of a blue haired girl, clad in a pink kimono and floating on what seemed to be…an oar…?

"Look Botan, I brought Urameshi!" Kuwabara exclaimed to the hovering girl, who had a huge smile on her lips.

"Yo Botan," Yusuke didn't seem quite so excited to see her. On the contrary, he looked rather annoyed. "What's the problem now? Another stupid demon think he's cool enough to be in the NingenKai?"

Tara narrowed her eyes. Not only did the bright and bubbly girl seem very familiar to her, but how could two idiots like them know about demons?

"Uh," Botan paused, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "I think it's better if you talk with Koenma about this. I was only sent to pick you guys up," looking the two boys over a moment she started glancing about curiously. "Do either of you know where Hiei and Kurama are?"

Tara stared, not sure if she was hearing everything. Not just anyone could go and talk to the ruler of the Spirit World and a simple human shouldn't even know about him!

"Uh, I think Kurama's in school and who cares about shorty anyway?" Kuwabara looked at his two companions, attempting a convincing look, smirking victoriously after a few moments. Little did he know that the 'shorty' had just appeared right behind him.

Glaring holes into Kuwabara's back, his ruby eyes glowing with loathing and a hint of disgust towards the much taller boy.

Yusuke sighed, putting a hand on his head when he caught sight of the staring contest the two boys were caught in. "Dammit Hiei, you really have to scare us like that?" he smirked a little at the death glare from Hiei and the responding terrified look from Kuwabara. The fire demon suddenly appearing behind him was obviously not what he'd wanted.

"Err…" he started, trying to avoid the venomous stare. "Let's go find Kurama!"

Tara had to move fast. She knew the only way for them to come out was down the stairs, right where she was. Her eyes widened a little when she heard them coming closer. Moving quickly, she tried to get away in time, but it was in vain. The moment she stepped out into the hall, she knew it was too late. The black clad man stood before her and he did not look happy. His eyes narrowed in annoyance and disapproval, watching as she began to back away. He only took another step toward her.

"And where do you think you're going?" his voice was cold, cool, controlled.

Tara was speechless. How the hell had he appeared in front of her like that? He'd been up on the roof with the other three just moments before. A jump like that would mean certain death for any human. Unless of course he was…

At that moment Yusuke and Kuwabara hurried into the corridor. They stopped when seeing Hiei cornering one of the students.

"Who was it Hiei?" the fire demon had mentioned a spy while they were up on the roof, so this must be the convict. Yusuke came to a rather sudden halt when he recognised Tara. She looked at them a little and sighed.

"Hey! That's the girl from before!" Kuwabara exclaimed, almost tripping on the step behind him in shock.

After letting the situation sink in for a moment, Yusuke's expression moulded from shock to mild surprise, raising an eyebrow at his classmate expectantly. "Tara? What are you doing here?" he looked at her in a way he'd never looked at her before…if he had ever looked at her in the first place, that is. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, still looking somewhat troubled, as though he didn't like the situation.

Hiei stepped forward again, a little closer to her, his eyes still narrowed. "Detective, I believe we have our spy," his blood red eyes flashed and seemed to burn into her soul as he spoke, making her shiver involuntarily.

Tara blinked in surprise, trying to shake off the demon's interrogative glare, turning her attention to Yusuke. "Detective? What is he talking about?"

The questions didn't do anything to reassure him. Frowning a little more he sighed. "Tara, what were you doing up there? How much did you hear?"

She, on the other hand, was rather taken back by the hint of frustration in his voice. Although he tried to act cool like he usually did she could see through the façade. What was he afraid of? There was no way he could be involved in any of that, could there? She glanced around the small crowd that had formed in the corridor outside their classroom. Hiei was forever glaring, Yusuke looked troubled and Kuwabara looked more puzzled now than ever before.

"Eh, Urameshi..? She feels funny."

Tara blinked, turning to glare at him. "Sorry, what did you say?" she snapped. There was no way he was going to insult her, although she still didn't know what he meant, but the look on his face didn't mean anything positive, so she had to expect the worst.

Yusuke, not taking his eyes off their, so called, hostage, turned his attention to his friend. "Funny? In what way?"

Kuwabara knit his brows together in frustration as he tried to figure it out himself. "Eh, kinda like Hiei." He blinked a little as he looked at her, squinting as though he was trying to see her through a fog. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was that he was sensing from her. She seemed normal enough, maybe a little like Yusuke, but then again, her energy was, well, different. A hint of demonic maybe.

Yusuke started laughing, ignoring the questioning looks he was receiving from the other three. "Haha, yeah right, and I'm the kind of the Spirit World! Listen Kuwabara, there's no way that girl can be a demon. I've known her my whole life and she's always just been this, like, weird girl, but not a demon!" he kept laughing for a while until Hiei interrupted him.

"I'm sorry to say this detective, but the idiot's right," his gaze, once again, rested on Tara. "We'll get Kurama and take her to the toddler,"

Tara's eyes widened. She looked back and forth between the boys. How could they know? And now this 'toddler'…who was he supposed to be? "Wow…" she slowly back away from them, trying to keep her distance from all three. "Sorry what? No way, I'm not going anywhere! Forget it!" crossing her arms she looked at each with a determined glare. That settled it. There was no way she was just going to go with them. Still, she was troubled by the talk of demons. She continued backing away from them, having convinced herself that, as long as she could see where all three of them were, she would be able to get away. She soon realised she was mistaken though, when Hiei suddenly appeared behind her.

He seemed to look slightly more annoyed and agitated every time he had to make a renewed approach. "As you said, you're not going anywhere," he grab her arm in a firm grip, quickly convincing her that she could not get away.

Tara only gawked a moment before starting to struggle. She'd never taken orders before and she certainly wasn't about to start now. Hiei was faster though and, just as she was about to open her mouth to protest, the world around the blinked out and she found that they stood in an entirely different school building altogether. He had teleported the entire group into an empty classroom, occupied only by a young man with long, red hair. Their sudden change of scenery seemed to be the least of her worries though, as she stared at Hiei, rendered speechless. She could no longer deny it. He was a demon, and a strong one at that.

The young man didn't seem the least bit surprised to see them suddenly appear before him. Smiling pleasantly he approached the motley group. "Oh hey," his smiled wavered for only a brief second when he noticed Tara. "Who's this?" he asked softly.

Yusuke frowned. "A girl Koenma needs to see. Kuwabara and Hiei say she's a demon, but I'm not really sure…" his voice trailed off as he turned to look at her. He sighed after a moment, shaking his head a little before turning his attention back to Kurama. "What do you think?"

Kurama sighed as well, turning his attention to her again. "I'm not sure Yusuke. Identifying demons is not one of my specialities, but if Hiei and Kuwabara both say she's a demon then they're probably right," he smiled again, silently trying to reassure Tara.

She studied him a moment, puzzling over his calm figure. Even his energy was calm. After a few moments, reality hit her like a slap in the face. The shock was easy to read from her expression. She would have never guessed it was him. But what was he doing here with them?

Botan showed up not long after. She swooped in through the window and hopped off her oar, smiling brightly at them. "Hey again," she started, stopping and blinking a little when she noticed Tara. "Eh…guys? Who's she?"

Hiei made a noise that greatly resembled a growl. "Hnn, someone Koenma needs to see," he found no reason why he had to give any sort of explanation to the blue haired nuisance, whether she worked for the damn toddler or not.

"Oy, Hiei, you could be a little more polite," Kuwabara huffed, crossing his arms. Some people just didn't understand that women had to be treated with respect. Especially pretty women.

Tara only raised an eyebrow. She now understood that this was probably going to be one of the most unpredictable days of her life. She was going to have to prepare herself for one surprise after another. Kuwabara's sudden courage towards Hiei was one of these unexpected surprises. Of course she'd heard of his honour code, who hadn't? She wouldn't have expected that it would make him stupid enough to actually snap at the fire demon though.

Botan sighed, looking sceptically at Tara a moment before turning back to Yusuke. "Alright, if you can say go for her then let's get going," her smile instantly lit up her face again as she fished a pink compact out of her kimono, snapping it open. "Botan here, Koenma sir. I've found the boys and they're ready to see you!"

Tara sweatdropped as she kept looking at Botan, not quite sure what to make of the bubbly girl, almost not noticing the childish voice emitting from the compact. The 'grim reaper' flipped the compact shut again and jumped up onto her oar as a black hole opened before them.

"Koenma's waiting,"

Kurama was the first to walk through the portal.

"Hnn, I'm going through, take care of the girl," Hiei followed close behind, no longer considering it his responsibility to baby-sit Tara.

Of course, Tara made one last ditch effort of getting away from them, but Yusuke was faster. He took her arm and pulled her to his side. "You're not going anywhere," he pushed her towards the portal, giving her no opportunity to argue.

Now on the other side of the portal, she found herself standing in a spacious office. There were no windows. A brown desk was the only piece of furniture and it had been planted in the middle of the room. Cautiously, she began looking around, wondering where the ruler of the Spirit World actually was.

"Kurama tells you have a visitor with you," there it was again, the childish voice she'd heard coming from the compact earlier, but she couldn't find him. Then, out of the blue, a toddler, with a pacifier and all, jumped onto the desk. She only had to look at him a moment before realising who he was. Koenma, ruler of the Spirit World, the son of King Enma. He looked like the brat many apparitions described him as. Pressing her lips firmly together she tried to keep from laughing and failed to hold back a giggle.

Koenma sweatdropped when he looked at Tara, clearly not amused by her reaction. No one seemed to have respect for him nowadays.

"I'm sorry," Tara managed to blurt between laughter. When she'd finally calmed herself, she smiled pleasantly as she looked at the young leader, whose annoyed expression remained firmly in place.

After getting over his well known annoyance that always followed the laughter, he turned his full attention to Tara. It looked as though they were right. "Your signature's interesting," he finally started. "Who are you?"

Tara sighed and took a quick look around the room. She wasn't comfortable simply divulging such information, but it didn't look like she had any other choice. After all, she'd much rather tell them than spend the rest of her life in ReiKai prison or something else along those lines. "My name is Tara and I'm a demon living in the human world," A moment of silence followed her confession, only broken when Yusuke voiced his surprise.

"WHAT?!" it practically looked as though his eyes were about to pop out of his head. "You…you're a demon…? And…you never told me?"

Tara sighed, running her fingers through her hair. All these incessant questions were starting to get on her nerves. "Well of course I didn't tell you. Why should I?"

Yusuke took a deep breath, blinking a few times while he took a moment to regain his footing. She was different in his eyes now. She wasn't the weird, shy girl anymore. She was someone else. A girl he didn't know. "You're…" it was as though he'd been set on repeat, he couldn't utter any other word.

Koenma interrupted his inept stuttering, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…you could be useful for the team," he nodded, having come to a conclusion. "Yep, that settles everything. You're the new member of the team," he smiled at them confidently, as if nothing could possibly be wrong. Now Yusuke's eyes were not the only ones bulging.

Tara stared at the baby in shock. What had he just said? Something about a team, yes, she'd heard that right, but, what was that about becoming a part of it? She didn't like the sound of that at all.

Kuwabara stared at Koenma, flabbergasted. "So you mean you're gonna make her a detective too?" he sounded jealous.

Kurama, standing closes to Koenma, cleared his throat tentatively. "Koenma, you think that is wise? You don't even know the young girl,"

Koenma sighed. "You'll need her for your next mission," he started slowly, moving back to sit in the large armchair behind the desk. "Besides, as a demon living in the NingenKai, she could have reeked havoc long ago, but she never did, did she?" he leaned back in his chair in satisfaction. It wasn't often that he could enjoy such baffled reactions from all four boys.

"You're putting a girl on the team?" Yusuke was the first to recover, his palms slamming down on the desk in obvious disagreement with their leader's decision. "Kuwabara's bad enough, don't you think?"

"Hey!"

"This girl, Tara, will be more useful than Kuwabara," Koenma pointed out, not fazed by Yusuke's outburst.

"Hey!!"

Hiei smirked lightly, enjoying the batting of insults directed at Kuwabara. "Hnn, that would not be very difficult,"

Tara sighed, ignoring the human and the fire demon who were now caught in a heated argument. "Listen, Koenma, I really don't need to be on any team and I'm sure the boys can do way better without me. I really don't have time for this and I really don't wanna be a detective." Her voice was calm, but firm, making it clear that she was not about to take orders from someone not even half her height.

Koenma closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm afraid you have no choice in this matter,"

Tara's expression darkened as she glowered at the baby, who didn't seem to notice her dark mood at all. It was Kurama who interrupted her thoughts.

"What kind of demon are you, Tara?" although he still seemed somewhat concerned about their new recruit, he was calmer now, as though he was gradually adjusting to the idea.

She sighed, forcing herself to calm down a moment before she looked up at him with a small smile. "I'm a thunder demon,"

Kurama only smiled more and nodded. "I could sense that, I just wanted to be sure,"

Tara sweatdropped, now realising he was right. Now that she knew who he was, a demon, she knew perfectly well that he was able to sense something as simple as that, especially if she lost her temper like that. She had to be more careful.

After a while of actually talking her new team, Tara discovered many things. She confirmed that Kurama was the legendary Yoko Kurama, a demon fox of the MaKai. A thief who, shortly after being shot, used his spirit to flee to the Human World to recover his strength. Hiei was the Forbidden Child, the result of a Koorime and a fire demon. She had heard about both demons in the past and remembered her father telling her bedtime stories about them when she was still a young girl. When he was still alive. The comforting memory of her father helped her relax and adjust a little to this entirely new situation. She learned that Kuwabara was actually a normal human who had a heightened spirit awareness. He even showed her his spirit sword, hoping to impress her. The most extraordinary story she heard though, was Yusuke's. His ancestor having been one of the three demon kings changed her whole outlook on him. He wasn't simply a delinquent anymore in her eyes.

Koenma didn't give her a lot of time to get to know her team mates though. There was, after all, a mission he wanted them to complete.

"I'm afraid I can't give you the exact details. We received some information from the Makai," he started and the expression on his face told them it was trouble. He was up on his desk again, pacing back and forth as he spoke. "To be honest, I don't know the details myself. All I can tell you for sure is that a shift in power is threatening the Makai," he stopped walking and started sucking on his pacifier instead.

Yusuke sighed. "Oh great! Don't those demons ever take a break?"

Tara looked at him in time to see him roll his eyes in annoyance. "Yusuke, demons don't take breaks, what did you expect?"

"The source we've received this information from had agreed to meet you and give you the details," the team looked at him.

"So, we're going to the MaKai?" Kuwabara asked slowly.

Koenma nodded. "That's what it looks like,"

Yusuke started smirking a little at the idea. "Heh, it's been a while since I've been there. It's going to be fun to see it again," he leaned back in his seat, putting his hands behind his head.

Tara raised an eyebrow at the detective. "Fun? Yusuke, have you even heard what this is about? How can you say a mission like this is going to be fun?"

Yusuke looked at her a moment before starting to smirk more. "Hey, what's the matter Tara? You must have been there before, right? What? Scared?"

The young thunder demon narrowed her eyes. Not only was he playing a dangerous game in challenging her temper, but he actually believed that she was scared and that was not the point at all. "As a matter of fact, Urameshi Yusuke, I have been to the MaKai and no, I'm not scared of going back," she snapped irritably.

Kurama cleared his throat, breaking the tension building between the two teens. "So," he started slowly. "How do we know who we need to talk to?" his question made even Yusuke stop laughing and look up.

"I'm having one of the ogres prepare a portal that leads to the demon city she's agreed to meet you in. Just look for a neko youkai,"

Kuwabara's eyes bulged, but this time from glee rather than shock. "It's a cat demon?" everyone seemed to take a small step away from him. They could practically feel his energy level rising. Kuwabara was the kind of human who was obsessed with cats, women and love.

The portal opened in the far corner of the room and the small team of five walked through, one after the other. Stepping into the barren, asphalt street, they looked around. They were clearly standing in the rundown section of a flourishing city. They could hear the noise of a market not too far away, but the lane they stood in was completely empty.

"So," Yusuke started, looking around. "Where do we find this neko girl?"

Hiei narrowed his eyes as he started walking, the others slowly following him. "Hnn, it looks like we have to find her,"

Tara gazed around as well. Being back in the MaKai had not been one of the things on her mind when she'd gotten out of bed that morning. The energy of the four boys around her made her nervous. She'd moved to NingenKai to get away from demons and apparitions, not to join forces with them.

The city was immense. No matter how far they walked, all they saw were the tall, grey buildings towering over them. It seemed endless. Odder yet, was that they did not encounter a single soul while exploring the metropolis, even though the noise of chatter was never far away. Not a single creature, and especially no demon cat. Occupied by their own thoughts, none of them realised that they were actually being followed.

Her brown eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, making it easy for her to navigate through the shadows the buildings cast upon each other. Her eyes almost seemed to glow gold. She had been following them for some time now, observing them. Although it was unlikely that anyone else knew of this place, she could never be too sure. Her eyes were set on the tall teenager with too much gel in his hair. He seemed to fit the description of the Spirit Detective that Koenma had given her, but it was in her nature to be cautious. You could never be too sure.

Kuwabara, pulling up the rear, seemed especially jumpy. His brows were knit together, face pale. He didn't look too well. "Umm, guys?" he didn't seem to trust his own voice. "I really don't think I like this place. It gives me the tickles!"

Yusuke, who hadn't sensed anything, looked over his shoulder at Kuwabara with a smirk. "Even spiders give you the tickles Kuwabara,"

Kuwabara gave an involuntary shudder. "But they're gross…! With all their little legs and eyes…"

Tara sighed and shook her head, trying to ignore him. She was still irritated with Koenma for forcing her to become part of this inept team of his. "Have you ever tried to look at yourself in the mirror? You're gross yourself, so shut up,"

Both boys stared at her for a moment before Yusuke burst out in fits of laughter. Kuwabara crossed his arms and pouted indignantly, looking considerably offended.

Hiei, on the other hand, had ignored Tara's comment completely, and was looking around, eyes narrowed. "If you could control your ridiculous laughter for a while detective, then you'll notice that we're being followed,"

Kurama nodded in agreement. "I've been sensing the same thing for quite some time now," he peered into the narrow streets between the buildings as they passed them.

Yusuke stopped laughing, his face suddenly becoming serious. He too, was looking around now, trying to find the person who was spying on them. He didn't feel comfortable in the position of the one being followed and planted his feet firmly on the ground, still standing in the middle of the road. "If anyone's following us they better step forward if they don't wanna die!" he shifted his weight onto his other foot and into a fighting stance. He almost loved it. No, he did love it. Fighting was living for him.

The others stopped as well. Of course Kuwabara did the same as Yusuke, hands fisted, ready to fight. Hiei only looked around. He didn't need to 'get ready' like those idiots. He'd been born ready. Kurama only sighed a little. He tried to figure out where their follower was, but to no avail. Tara, on the other hand, seemed more alarmed and troubled than the others. After having lived in the human world with no threat of being attacked by a demon, she'd grown insecure both in her fighting skill and strength.

Yusuke was slowly starting to get annoyed. "Hey!" he started yelling. "What the hell are you afraid of, huh? Come out and fight you stupid asshole!" provoking the enemy had always been what he was best at.

Tara stared at him in shock. She had not, no matter how stupid she thought he was, expected him to open his mouth and say something like that in a city filled with demons. "What the hell are you doing, Urameshi? Trying to get us killed??"

The girl in the alley narrowed her eyes a little as she watched them. Her tail flicked in annoyance as she emitted a low growl. "Greased back hair and a cocky attitude…that must be Urameshi Yusuke," she murmured to herself. Looking through the now tense group, her eyes came to rest on their tallest member. "Ugly oaf with high spirit awareness…must be Kuwabara Kazuma," she moved further back into the shadows, only waiting for the right moment to step forward and shut them all up. Yusuke's raving was starting to become too much for her. Finally, they started walking again, but did the detective's mouth ever stop running?

"Now you better come out you jerk!" he yelled in aggravation.

She finally stepped out, having had quite enough of him already and only wished for him to shut the hell up. She gave them a hard look as she appeared behind them. "…jerk…?" her tail flicked again. She certainly did not look amused. "Koenma did mention something about you being hot headed and rude, but this is almost too much,"

The group stopped and turned slowly to look at the cat girl. Her black tail continued to flick expectantly, waiting for a response from any of them, tucking a strand of her violet hair behind a velvet cat ear perched atop her head.

Yusuke looked at her and blinked a little in confusion. "Huh? You know about Koenma?" he had completely forgotten that they were supposed to talk to a neko youkai to learn about their mission.

The cat sighed a little. If she'd known it would be this frustrating, she would not have agreed to meet them by herself in the first place. "You're looking for a neko youkai, aren't you?"

Kurama nodded. "Given that you're the only demon we've encountered thus far, it's safe to say that you are the one we're looking for,"

She nodded. "Yes, she's standing right in front of you."