Disclaimer: You know the drill… *pouts* I only wish Kurama was mine….

Mousey: Hai… You and your Kurama obsession…

Star: Better than your Hiei obsession….

Mousey: Leave my Pyro Pixie alone!

Star: I rest my case….

Both: Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Four: Nightmares from the Past

Lea woke up screaming. She had been dreaming of nightmares from her past. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. It had been a long time since her father, Yuri's, death. She looked around in the dim light. A sudden brightness blinded her for a second.

When she regained her sight she saw Kurama standing in front of her with Kelly beside him. Kurama smiled. "Good, you're awake," he said softly.

"Where am I? Better yet, what am I doing here with you?" the elf questioned.

Kurama looked around. "Why, in the forest. And your little ghost friend called me over because you passed out."

"Oh. Kelly," Lea started complaining. "Why the hell did you call him? Especially since he's a demon with a record?"

"Now, Lea be NICE! He helped you. Besides, he's better than you think," Kelly replied.

Just then, Hiei, dragging an unwilling Koori, came upon them. "FOXBOY get this DAMN Firefly off of me!" Koori screamed loudly. Hiei kept a tight grip, however, and looked up at Kurama.

"What are you doing here, fox?"

"It seems I've stumbled onto an elf who knows somehow knows me. I think her intentions were to attack me but she passed out," came the fox's reply.

Lea glared. "You make it sound like I'm weak- fox,was it?"

"You sure look it," sneered the rather unhappy snow leopard demon.

"Koori, be nice. And I never said you were weak," Kurama stated.

Yusuke came running up suddenly. "There you two are! Think you can tell someone before you run off like that?" exclaimed the Spirit Detective.

"You knew where I went, detective. You're the one that was too lazy to get the snow kitten and sent me, instead," Hiei steamed.

Lea's glare intensified. "You think I look weak, eh? At least I don't have kitty ears, demon!"

Kelly rested her hand on Lea's shoulder. "Lea, calm down! If you don't I'll call Josh."

Kuwabara and Yusuke looked from Koori, to Lea, to the ghost. "Who's the hottie with the pointy ears?" Kuwabara asked.

Kurama looked at him. "Her name is Lea," he said, voice calm.

"OH. By the way, Koenma has us staying together in a temple," Yusuke began. "This includes all of us, Koori, and some elf."

Lea looked over at Yusuke, a puzzled look on her face. "You mean me? Stay with all of you? There are too many frickin' demons. No. Way."

Yusuke looked over at her. "Too bad; you have to. Kurama is your new guardian, like Hiei is to Koori."

"What? Since when?" exclaimed Lea and Koori at the same time.

"Since an hour ago. And Koenma wants to see the ghost," Kuwabara answered.

Lea shook her head, glaring. "No way in hell am I going anywhere without Kelly!"

Kurama looked at the elf and smiled kindly. "I'm sure Kelly will join us soon. I doubt Lord Koenma will keep her there," he reassured.

Koori sighed, annoyed. "So I'm stuck with Firefly or one of you at all times? The elf and I both?" she asked.

"That's right, Kitty-cat," Kuwabara said, his voice full of excitement.

"Damn it you baka ningen, don't call me that!" the snow leopard exclaimed.

"I'll call you that if I want!" the tall, orange-haired guy replied in a harsh tone of voice.

"NO you won-" Koori blinked as the fire demon covered her mouth.

"Stop. You're giving me a headache."

"Like we care, short stuff," taunted the keeper of the Spirit Sword.

Hiei's red eyes shot up to the taller man. "I'd watch it if I were you. I could always let her hurt you."

"Ha! No you can't; you'd both be in trouble with Koenma," Kuwabara said in a singsong voice.

"WOULD you all stop arguing?" shouted the Spirit Detective.

"Yes, how about we go check out the temple Koenma will have us staying in," the level-headed one of the group, Kurama, suggested.

For once Lea couldn't have agreed more with the fox in this situation. They were ALL giving her a headache. She looked over at Kurama and asked, "Is it always this loud?"

"It's only a bit louder than usual but to answer your question yes it is." The two then looked around at the fighting and sweatdropped.

"Well, Kurama, since it looks as if I'll be staying with you for a while, do you think I could try my hand at stopping the arguments?" Lea asked, a plan already forming.

Kurama nodded and told her it was okay as long as she didn't do anything drastic.

The elf smiled, then spoke something in elfish. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Koori were surprised when the roots of the nearby trees wrapped themselves around the four. It wasn't difficult for them to breath and wasn't really that uncomfortable but the four still struggled to break free.

Koori tried to use her sword, Hiei tried to burn the roots, Yusuke tried his Shotgun, and Kuwabara tried cutting through it with his Spirit Sword. Lea was one step ahead of them, though. She'd perfected the spell making sure that no demon could get free.

"Are you guys going to stop arguing now, or am I going to hafta keep you there?" Lea asked mischievously while Kurama chuckled.

Koori glared. "Put me down! Put me down this instant!"

Yusuke nodded his head. "Fine, I'll quite fighting!"

Hiei just kinda nodded. "Hn. Fine."

Lea looked over at Koori, mischief still glowing in her green eyes. "Everyone but you and Kuwabara have agreed not to fight. Will you?" As the elf spoke, Hiei and Yusuke were let down.

"I won't fight either!" Kuwabara cried. He was let down, too.

Koori sighed. "Fine, I won't fight… Just let me down!" she shouted anger filling her voice.

Lea smiled. The roots weren't letting go of the snow leopard demon. "And you won't run away? The trees have told me how much trouble you've been causing. 'Sides, I want Kurama and Jaganshi in top form when I fight them."

Koori gave a smirk. "Thought there was going to be NO fighting, Pixie."

Lea smirked also. "Oh, I will be fighting once this mess about me staying with you guys is cleared up." Lea looked around expecting Kelly to smack her upside the head, telling her that their priority was Kaito. But Kelly was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Kelly?" she questioned.

"With Koenma," Kurama answered.

"Will you make this damn tree put me down, please?" Koori complained while knawing on the tree root. Kuwabara couldn't help but fall to the ground and laugh, pointing at the snow leopard.

"Looks like we have a little kitten stuck in a tree," Yusuke teased.

Kurama could barely keep his composure and Lea was just flat out laughing.

"Sure, I'll let you down, Kitty; as soon as you promise not to run as well," the elf giggled.

"Fine, I won't run either," Koori snapped. Lea spoke in elfin to the tree, asking it to let Koori down. Koori grinned as her feet touched the ground. She glared at the tree root, grabbed it, and froze it completely, kicking it so it would shatter.

Kuwabara gulped. "Could you do that to us?"

"Yep. But I won't. Least for now." The snow leopard smirked darkly.

Lea growled. "What? Pick a fight with a tree because you're frustrated with a promise? You will pay for that!"

Koori straightened up and looked over her shoulder at the elf. "I am a demon of my word, Pixie," she said simply.

Lea called on the trees once again, this time shaking. "May I borrow a root for travel, that I might keep this evil bound?" she asked in elfin. The trees allowed it and the nearest root grew until it sat beside her. She picked a piece of it, her hands glowing with power. "Demon of your word or no, you must not kill what helps you live."

Koori merely rolled her eyes and turned around walking off a short distance. "Let's just go to the temple," she said softly.

Kurama and the others, besides Hiei, looked at the elf in amazement. Lea glared at the demon's back. After a moment, she grabbed a pouch from under her shirt and put the root in it, ignoring everyone's stares. She then put some soil in the pouch, too, and walked up to the tree that Koori's ice had affected. "I apologize for the demon's rudeness," she said, in elfish. The elf then let her power hum through her and healed the tree.

"I won't let her do something so reckless again."

A/N: I really loved doing the last part of this. You get to see more of Lea. She's very interesting! And also, there is more hot-tempered Koori. Mousey did good with her! n.n

Mousey: Of course she's MY character.

Star: My, my, aren't we arrogant?

Mousey: *swats with paper fan*

Star: Owie! I was just kidding!

Mousey: It was a paper fan... How could that possibly hurt?

Star: I could've gotten a papercut!

Mousey: Oh wah! Anyway, read and review!