I never truly could say that it felt good to wake up, until today. I wanted to hear of the heroic deeds the guys did at Maze Castle. I got out of the bed in the infirmary and walked to my room. I changed into my new clothes and felt pride as my red and black ensemble looked menacing, my daggers pridefully displayed on the side of my thighs. I felt like I should check to see what everyone else was was up to. I knocked on Kurama's door. I heard some movement, some shuffling around and then the door opened.

"Kurama, good morning." I greeted. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time." my eyes were fixed on his unkempt hair.

"Good morning Natsumi. I was actually getting up anyway. What can I assist you with?" Kurama was still polite as ever.

"Can you tell me what happened at Maze Castle?" I couldn't contain my eagerness for a story.

He smiled. "Sure, just give me a few minutes."

"Okay, I'll be in the kitchen."

I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge door looking for something to eat. For demons such as myself, it's not vital that I eat something every day like humans. Fasting for a year was actually a test my clan required each of the clan members to pass, if they wished to be a warrior. I spotted a bag of red seedless grapes and grabbed them, closing the fridge after me. I sat in one of the bistro chairs with the bag of grapes open in my lap, munching away mindlessly. Kurama entered the kitchen and sat in the chair across from me. I took the grape bag from my lap and offered some to him but he shook his head no. The bag of grapes returned to my lap as I slowly ate them as Kurama began retelling the events that happened.

Kurama's POV

"Yusuke and Kuwabara were surrounded by demons on the outskirts of the city. Hiei and I arrived from the portal and scared the demons away. Yusuke was surprised to see us thieves were in the same place as him. I had explained that Koenma had assured Hiei and I a clean slate in Spirit World if we aided him. Yusuke then introduced us to Kuwabara. Hiei had to say we were babysitting rather than helping and Kuwabara and he got into a spat. Hiei swore his revenge on Yusuke and I reminded him we have to settle the business at hand before he could handle his own. We then made our way to Maze Castle without much incident. We got to the front gate and a strange monster greeted us and said we had to be tried at the gate of betrayal. The strange monster pulled a lever down and the ceiling began coming down on us. We couldn't move with such a heavy weight, so Yusuke had trusted Hiei to pull the lever to stop the ceiling from collapsing further. Hiei was idle for a little bit, before the strange monster warned him if he had pulled the lever up, a boulder would have crushed him. He sliced the monster with his sword before pulling the lever up. The boulder came down with great force and speed but thankfully, Hiei was faster. We began walking down a long, narrow corridor when Yusuke's communication mirror rang. We all heard Botan's report."

I observed Natsumi had completely forgot about the grapes.

"We also heard your greeting. I chuckled. Yusuke asked me what I knew of the Saint Beasts since Botan didn't give him much information, and I told him that truthfully didn't know much either. I got to encounter Genbu, the stone beast. He was a massive talking boulder that had arms and legs as well as a tail. I was observing how he would fight and how he would put himself back together. I got hit in the stomach but it was a small price to pay. I was finally able to track where he was coming from by using my rose whip. I was able to get what would have been his hypothalamus and shatter it, defeating him. We were able to advance to the second set of doors. We had to run through the corridor as Byakko was roaring and the building started coming apart. We ran up some stairs and were facing Byakko himself. Kuwabara volunteered to fight him, and it was a close battle. We were able to move onto another set of stairs and the next part, in which we were face with fifteen doors, and only one led to the correct path. Kuwabara used his spirit awareness to pick a door and thankfully, it was the correct one. We walked a short ways before coming across a door with the mark of the blue dragon. Hiei insisted that the fight be his. Seiryu continued to shoot ice but Hiei was faster. Hiei's leg and arm got frozen, but was still able to cut Seiryu sixteen times."

Natsumi was looking at me intently.

"I'm afraid from there it gets boring. We let Yusuke go through to the last Saint Beast, while we stayed behind and fought off the cultivated humans. We made it halfway up the stairs when the whole building began falling apart. Hiei had acted quickly and threw his sword up and into the top part of where the stairs used to be. I used my rose whip and the three of us swung around and up. After that, we came upon Yusuke who had successfully beaten Suzaku but used his life energy to do it. Kuwabara gave some of his life energy to Yusuke. Yusuke is currently resting at Kuwabara's house." I concluded. Natsumi breathed as if she were holding her breath.

"That's incredible!" her eyes matched her tone of excitement. "I wish I were there! It must have been exciting, feeling the rhythm of battle."

"I'm glad we all made it out safely." I said. "I actually need to be going to check up on a few things. Take care." I stood up, pushed in my chair and headed out to Koenma's office.

Natsumi's POV

Kurama headed out of the kitchen and I figured I would go outside to keep sharp and train. I got up and felt something slide off my lap. I remembered the grapes and quickly grabbed the bag before it could spill its contents on the floor. I put the grapes back in the fridge and then headed outside of the complex. Hiei was already out there, a black shadow racing throughout the grounds. I smiled to myself and began stretching. Finishing my routine, I crouched down and prepared to sprint. Black shoes were in front of me and I halted myself from throwing all my weight forward. Flustered, I got up from my position and noticed that Hiei was walking off to somewhere I had never gone. I went after him, trying to keep my distance but not hiding the fact that I following him.

"Where are you going?" I asked, looking around and finding objects that I could easily remember to find my way back.

"Some place that doesn't concern you. Leave." Hiei stated keeping his back to me.

"You have no idea if would concern me or not. I'm going with you." I declared.

"Hn." he continued to walk until we came across a rift. Without saying another word, he jumped in the rift. I was right behind him.

We landed in an alleyway of some sort. Bones littered the ground and rodents fearfully scattered upon our arrival. There was a musty smell- traces of sweat, dirt and garbage in the air. I wrinkled my nose immediately. Hiei started walking as did I. Exiting the alleyway there was a new sight to my eyes.

"A demon city?" I asked Hiei, looking at him.

Hiei nodded and continued to walk towards the populated area. This area consisted of buildings, worn with age and possibly countless fights and many tiny stalls set up and manned by robed merchants each promising that their supplies and wares were the best. We ignored them and continued to walk. There was an opening that led to a more wealthy side of town, where demons walked haughtily and shops were in concrete buildings. Glances were passed as Hiei and I walked side by side through this part of town.

"So what are we trying to accomplish here?"

"I'm looking for information on my sister."

I stopped the conversation, not wanting to push the issue any further. We came upon a large tan building that had a painting of a black book.

"This way." Hiei quickly moved to the right.

My instincts allowed me to keep up with him, staying on his right side. We stopped in front of a portly frog demon. His large, black eyes widened slightly in surprise as two demons appeared in front of him.

"Tell me what you know." Hiei ordered.

The frog demon gulped before speaking, his baritone voice keeping low to a whisper.

"There is talk that an ice apparition is being held captive by a human. He uses her for her tears. This human has a hunger to possess all things rare. Word has it, he has set up a significant bounty for the Phoenix."

My eyes narrowed at the mention of the Phoenix. "What would a human want with it?"

The frog shrugged, turning his attention to Hiei. "This is the latest news I have. Now as for my payment-"

Hiei interrupted him. "Your payment will not be afforded to you since I didn't receive a location."

The frog shook his head, "You're right! I'm sorry!" he stuttered, lowering his head.

I heard the sound I didn't want to hear. Hiei had unsheathed his sword.

"No." I turned to my left, grabbing Hiei's right hand with both of my hands. His eyes met mine.

"Not yet." I told him.

"There is someone who may know information that I don't have access to." The frog man whispered frantically. "It's ill-advised and dangerous."

"It's ill-advised to lie to me. Who is this person and where can I find them?" Hiei replied.

"They call him Hideki. He has been imprisoned and I hear is held at the Shadow Castle which is North of here." the frog quavered.

Hiei stood there for a moment, determining if the frog was giving correct information. I realized I was still holding onto Hiei's right hand and immediately released my grip, bringing my hands to my sides.

"Very well." Hiei sheathed his sword, turned and jumped onto a building's roof with me following close behind.

When were were out of sight and away from the frog, I began thinking about how to get into Shadow Castle.

"What do you intend to do now?" I inquired.

"Break in." he stated flatly.

"Seriously? You won't make it out alive that way!"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"I do."

I explained the plan to Hiei and he agreed to go along with it. I had made it inside the Black Book Club's building and into the ladies' locker room. From there, I was able to see what the attire looked like. The sound of heels clattered behind me. I turned around and was greeted by a tall, blonde woman.

"Are you Tsukiko?" the blonde woman asked.

"Yes! Yes I am." I smiled.

"Where is your uniform?"

"I didn't receive one yet, I was told to come in today for my fitting and then work."

The blonde nodded and then gestured with her hand for me to follow. "As you know, the Black Book Club enjoys the finer things in life. They spend a great deal of money to get what they desire. However," she paused to grab a key ring and find a key to the door we had stopped in front of, "There are still some house rules we must obey." The door opened and dozens of the outfits were folded neatly on a shelf. The blonde woman shut the door behind me.

"Strip down." I did as I was told, careful to hide my daggers since she hadn't noticed them yet.

"Mmhm." The woman went to the shelf and began searching through the sizes. "Here we go, try this on." It was a black laced teddy that had fishnet tights attached.

I did as I was told. I put one foot in the leg of the outfit and then the other foot in the other leg. I carefully pulled the fishnet tights up my knees then to my thighs. I pulled the teddy over my bottom and up my waist. I slid my arms into the arm holes and adjusted my breasts. "Perfect." the woman nodded in approval. "Now, Tsukiko, the house rules. Number one, You must always have a smile on your face. Your customers may touch you, but they cannot kiss you. You can show them your goods if you want a nice tip but it's not required. You cannot have relations with the customers and must go by a stage name. Is that clear?"

It was a lot to take in but I nodded. "Do I choose my stage name?"

"Yes. Do you have one in mind?"

"Vixen."

"That suits you. Here," she handed me a pair of four-inch heels, "Put these on and go back to the locker room to fix your hair. I'll meet you there once I have your name tag."

I dutifully put on the heels, scooped up my clothes, smiled and thanked her. She opened the door for me and I made my way back to the locker room, where I saw a raven haired girl waiting. I cleared my throat.

"Hi! I'm Tsukiko!" the raven haired girl greeted.

"Nice to meet you!" I smiled. I put my clothes down except for my hood. "Come, follow me."

Tsukiko did as she was told. I walked to where a door was and stood beside her.

"I'll need you to rest in here." I used the butt of my dagger to hit her in the back of the head. I caught her as she fell forward and opened the door. I dragged Tsukiko inside and laid her on some towels. I closed the door behind me, scooped up my hood and daggers and hurriedly walked on the balls of my feet so I wouldn't be clattering around. I had put my clothes in a locker and had the key wrapped around my wrist. I finished putting my hair up in a bun when the blonde woman returned.

"You look lovely, Vixen." the blonde flashed me an approving smile.

I smiled. "Thank you."

She approached me from behind and put a black velvet collar on me. "You're all set to work."

The smell of cigar smoke was awful. There was very little ventilation in this building, giving the room a smokey effect. I put on my smile and set to walk the floor. I approached a table that had a couple of demons in business suits.

"Can I get you boys anything?" I smiled, cringing on the inside.

"I'll have another beer." One of the demons said.

The other demon made it clear he was looking me up and down as he licked his lips. "I'll have a jack and cola."

I nodded still smiling. "My pleasure. May I take these out of the way for you?" As I got the nods of approval, I collected the empty glassware and made my way to the bar. "One jack and cola and another beer please."

I didn't want to admit that I got caught up working for a place that I wasn't employed at. Most of the demons seemed to care more about drinking than about me. Soon though, a fight broke out between two of the patrons and I took the opportunity to explore the building. I had made it up a flight of stairs and passed two men, one that was very tall, wearing a green trench coat and sunglasses and the other man, with grayish curly hair sitting on the tall man's shoulder.

"I sense something brother." he paused. "Never mind, we have business to attend to."

I ran down down the hallway and right into the frog demon. I was easily knocked back and fell on my bottom.

"You!" he hissed. "I'll make sure where you're going, you won't escape!"

I put up my hands up in front of me. "I don't know what you're talking about!" I lied.

He hovered over me, his black eyes gazing intently. He reached down and hoisted me up over his shoulder. "The boss will know what do do with you!"

I was satisfied they took my bait. I was inside Shadow Castle. I began to take in my surroundings. The prison cell bars were starting to show signs of rust. I looked down at myself and saw I was still in the "uniform" from the Black Book Club. I smirked. This will be too easy. The guard that was posted at my cell looked back at me.

"What're you smirkin' at?" he drawled.

"You." I flirted.

He paused and turned. "You want some of this?"

"I do. I want you. I want to cut you to pieces with your blood spewing out of your lifeless body as I decorate this room with your entrails." I grinned wickedly.

He paled considerably. "You little bitch! If I could, I would go in there and teach you a lesson!"

"What's stopping you?" I taunted.

The guard sighed angrily before pulling out a sizable key-ring, fumbling to find the key to my cell. A small 'click' could be heard and he swung the door open with all of his might.

I feigned alarm as the guard advanced to me.

"I'll put you in your place!" he bellowed.

I laughed. "I'd like to see you try." I crouched down and charged at him. I was only able to knock him back a few feet. Damn these shoes! I quickly took off my heels and used my speed to warp behind the guard. I snatched the key-ring as I kicked him in the back and he stumbled into my cell. I shut the door and he was locked inside.

"Let me out!" he yelled.

"I will if you can answer a few questions. Where is the one called Hideki?"

"I'll never tell you!" he said defiantly.

I walked up the cell and put my hands on separate bars and squeezed. They sizzled and began to melt away. "I won't repeat myself."

Cold sweat covered his face as he began babbling. "He's on the third floor of this castle!"

"Good. See? That wasn't so bad." I cooed. "What floor are we on now?"

"I can't tell you that."

I reached up, grabbed the bars that I had melted but in a higher place and squeezed. The metal sizzled and I now had two metal rods. I looked at him. He remained silent. I put one of the rods to my mouth, inhaled and exhaled out fire. I then quickly poked him with the burning hot end of the rod.

He yelled in pain. "Seven! We're on floor seven!"

"Is there anything else you can tell me about this castle?"

Wincing where I had poked him, he began, "The majority of us are in the human world. There is only a handful of us here. Now please, let me out." He begged.

I turned my back and began walking out.

"Wait! You said you would let me out!" He yelled.

I breathed in, turned around and faced him. A blast of fire emitted out of my mouth. I turned and began running to find the stairs. His screams of agony rang throughout the halls of floor seven.

I finally had made my way down to the third floor. "Hideki?" I called out. I began peeking through the sturdy wooden doors. "Hideki?" I called again.

"Yes?" a faint voice could be heard.

"Hideki, I'm here to help. I need to know which room you are in. Please tap on your door." A few moments had gone by where it was silent. Tap. Tap. I followed where the taps were. I peeked through the door and saw a sickly looking man. "Hideki, while I'm looking for the key, may you please tell me about a human holding an ice apparition captive?" I tried a key but it didn't fit.

"His name is Gonzo Tarukane. He is the human that holds the ice apparition. He is profiting from her tears and he will use whatever means necessary to get them."

I tried another key, it fit but didn't turn. Oh great, so Hiei's sister is being tortured. "How many people does he have with him?" I tried another key but it was too small.

"I'm not too certain. The last I knew is Tarukane was looking for "specialists" since she was refusing to cry."

I tried a bronze key and the door opened. "Where is the ice apparition's location?" I walked inside his cell.

Hideki's eyes widened, his face became red and he looked away. "It's in a secluded area, about 200 miles from a city."

"Is there anything else you can tell me?" I stretched out my hand to help him up.

Still averting his eyes, he took my hand and pulled himself up. "Tarukane is on the hunt for the Phoenix."

"What are his intentions?" I went to Hideki's side and put his arm around my shoulder.

"He thinks he has a device that can steal the Phoenix's energy and turn it into life stones. Since the Phoenix is immortal, Tarukane can profit by literally selling life to humans and demons.

I began to walk and he limped beside me. "We have two flights of stairs, and I don't know how far this castle is from the city I was at earlier."

Hideki and I made it to the first floor without any incident. When we had rounded the corner we caught the footman's attention.

"Sound the alarm! We have escapees!"

I nudged Hideki to the nearest wall and sprinted towards the footman, knocking him down. I grabbed one of my metal rods and swung it high over my head before bringing it down with great force. It was literally a skull-splitting crack that filled the room and blood sprayed everywhere. Two more footmen ran towards me. I used my speed to warp behind them, heated up my metal rods and delivered two kidney shots. Two more skulls were split. I rushed back to Hideki.

"We need to get going. The alarm has already gone off."

Hideki nodded, "I will only slow you down. Go."

I shook my head. "You're coming with me."

"I refuse to go. There is nothing left for me outside of here."

"Don't be a fool! You can get away from the torture and live normally." I argued.

"Fly Phoenix. Fly far and fast."

"Hideki! No! Come on!" I grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

It was at that second, Hideki's heart had stopped. His eyes were devoid of life. I closed my eyes and sighed, closing his eyes as well.

"I didn't know you that well but you were a good man. A good man that deserves a proper burial." I picked up Hideki's corpse and burst Shadow Castle's doors open. Using my speed, I ran far and fast with until I found a place I found suitable to bury Hideki. I dug a small shallow hole and put Hideki's body over it. Saying a final goodbye, I touched Hideki's corpse and it became a pile of ash that fit perfectly in the hole. I covered the hole and marked his grave with one of my metal rods.

I ran back to the Black Book Club's building. I cloaked myself with my energy, sneaking in the main entrance. I went to the back where the locker room was. I was pleased to see my locker was still locked. I quickly unlocked the locker, gathered my belongings and exited out the employees' way. Clutching my clothes, I ran back to where Hiei and I were supposed to meet- by the rift we entered through.

Hiei was leaning his right shoulder on the wall when I turned the corner. He didn't seem disturbed in the slightest that I had shown up in a completely different outfit, sprayed in blood and slightly out of breath.

"So this is where you were going to make your escape. It's a pity you were so close." a high pitched voice called out.

I looked up to see a girl with choppy pink hair and hazel eyes. "What do you want?"

She smiled wickedly. "Your time."

I seen movement out of the corner of my eye. "Hey! What the hell! Hiei!" I jumped back, evading a slash from his sword.

"What took you so long? It's been a week." Hiei was clearly agitated.

"What are you talking about? It's still the same day as when we came here." I was confused.

Hiei took his sword and used it to point to a wall. There were seven tally marks.

"I can assure you, I just got back and it's still the same-" I stopped. "Was there a girl with short pink hair? Hazel eyes?"

"No." he glared at me.

"I seen a girl. She had short pink hair and hazel eyes. I asked her what she wanted and she just said my time." I started putting the pieces together. "If you said you've been here a week, she could be manipulating time. For both of us." He stayed silent. "The only way out of these things is to either temporarily forget your memories or fight through this."

I began channeling my energy and setting fire to the buildings around us. "Maybe if we find a hole, we can escape." When we had destroyed everything we could, both of us sat down to rest. I had closed my eyes for a minute but when I had opened them, the buildings were back to the way they were. "What in the hell?!" I yelled. Hiei opened his eyes and narrowed them. I walked to where his tally marks were. There was an extra one. "There is no way this has been a day!" I cried out. I channeled my energy again, destroying the buildings. After everything was destroyed, I sank to my knees.

On the "fifth" day of being with Hiei, of destroying buildings, of feeling desperate, I tried something I hadn't thought of until then. I climbed to the roof where I had seen the girl. With a fierce yell, I unleashed my energy. The sky had changed colors, the buildings began crumbling away and my energy was encircling me faster than the speed of light. Then, without any warning, my energy exploded and enveloped everything in a bright white light. The temporal loop was over. The girl that could control time was blown far away, being right where my energy bomb was. I looked at Hiei and saw that he began moving. He looked me over and turned away promptly.

"There was only one individual that held my respect. I have to add one more." Hiei commented.

I beamed, even though his back was to me. "I have all of the information. Can we go home so I can clean up and change?"

Without another word, Hiei and I passed through the rift.