NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read this series, and more thanks to everyone who has reviewed.

The next day I ran to school, having overslept. I had expected to wake up at five, as I usually did, so I hadn't bothered settling my alarm clock. Unfortunately, it was the one night that I had an undisturbed sleep. Even though I ran, I still managed to be late to Algebra. I slipped into the vacant seat behind Shuichi, as was becoming daily routine. "Nervous?" I whispered.

"No," he whispered in reply. "I'll be fine. We're meeting in the entrance of the park after school is over to form a plan. Do you want to come?"

My eyes widened in surprise. I had gotten the distinct feeling that their mission would be too dangerous for girls.

Shuichi sensed this and quickly corrected himself. "Just so you'll know what the plan is, not to actually take part in it. I'm not going to put you in danger."

"Okay." I suddenly realized how confused anyone would be if they were eavesdropping on us. The conversation would seem quite absurd, especially in the middle of math class. I chuckled quietly to myself, trying to remain silent.

Apparently it didn't work, because Shuichi looked for a moment as if he was going to turn around, then seemed to change his mind and whispered, "What's so funny?"

I couldn't speak for fear of bursting into laughter, so I quickly scribbled it onto a piece of paper, hoping that it was legible in spite of my laughter. He read it, and then shook his head slightly in amusement. The paper quickly found its way back to me.

I suppose it would, wouldn't it? As would most of our conversations.

Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice our exchange, laughter included.

After school I went to the park with Shuichi to meet up with the guys. They were all already there.

"Okay!" Yusuke stated. "Now, that we're all here, I have an announcement to make: I have a plan!"

I think it's safe to say that they all looked fairly surprised at Yusuke's announcement.

"What is your plan?" Shuichi asked cautiously.

"Since you're the only one that can still fight after the smoke box comes out, you'll hunt down this guy and see if you can take him on alone. The rest of us will be at the dojo, waiting. Hiei will stay in contact with you at all times with his creepy third eye. If you need help, we'll be there in a flash."

I bit my lip and suppressed the urge to tell them that was a stupid plan. To send one person to take on a guy who could break into the king's vault! It was unthinkable!

"It seems as though the girl doesn't like your plan, detective," Hiei said to Yusuke.

Yusuke looked over at me and smirked. "Don't worry about Kurama; the pretty-boy's tougher than he looks," he assured me.

"It doesn't matter! Sending one person to take on someone who's obviously quite powerful is insane!" I exclaimed.

"I'm tellin' ya, fox-boy can handle it. And if he can't, we can be there as soon as he needs us. Nobody's gonna get hurt. Have a little faith, will ya?"

"I guess there's not really anything else I can do, is there?" I asked, a sarcastic gleam in my eyes.

"Nope," Yusuke replied.

"May I note that the person you're discussing is standing right beside you?" Hiei said.

I gasped slightly and blushed. "I apologize, Shuichi; it's not my place to say what you can or can't do."

"Can we just go already? I want to see Yukina!" Kuwabara complained.

I noticed that Hiei scowled at this, but said nothing.

"Kuwabara's right; we need to get going," Yusuke agreed.

"I'll start tracking him now. Yusuke, please take Riku home. I believe Hiei and Kuwabara both need to get to the dojo, and you already know the way to her house." Shuichi requested.

Yusuke nodded, and we all went our separate ways.

When I got home, my mother was already there. "Mom! What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised. As I said before, she's usually not home until late.

"I got off early today. For the next couple of days there's a chance I'll get off early, so I might be home when you get here sometimes."

"Okay."

We ate dinner together, and then I went along with my usual nightly routine of homework, music, and sleep.

I was in a dark, cold room, which was moving very fast. I tried to stand and couldn't. With a start, I realized that I was bound tightly. When I struggled, the rope only got tighter, and the room moved faster.

With a jolt, I awoke and realized that I had been dreaming. But, for some unknown reason, I was still moving. I now realized that I was being held, not tied up. I opened my eyes and let out a strangled scream of surprise to find Hiei being my kidnapper. "Hiei! What-?"

"We're almost there," he interrupted.

I tried to look at my surroundings, but Hiei was running too fast; everything around me was a blur. Suddenly he stopped, and we were in an office. Yusuke and Kuwabara were already there, along with a toddler behind the desk.

Hiei dropped me onto the floor and I quickly picked myself up.

"I am Koenma, prince of the Reikai," the toddler announced to me.

I bowed slightly to him before turning to the others. "What's going on?" I asked. "What happened?"

Koenma looked nervously at Yusuke before explaining. "We've lost track of Kurama," he explained.

"What?" I repeated weakly.

"Hiei was keeping in touch with him telepathically, and then the connection broke suddenly. We don't yet know why, but we're going to find out. Yusuke said you were a friend of Kurama's that he was training, and Hiei suggested that they take you with them to get Kurama." The toddler looked at me carefully. "Do you want to come?"

I nodded. "Yes," I croaked. "I'll come."

"Are you crazy!" Yusuke shouted at me. "No offense, but you're way too weak. I'm telling you, we'll get him back. He won't get hurt."

I shook my head. "You also said that no one would get hurt. I'm coming."

"What, so you can be killed? We don't know it Kurama's hurt or not. He's probably fine."

"If any of you get hurt, I want to be there. I don't have any friends but you guys, and I'm gonna go with you."

"Let her come," Hiei said, startling us all. "Kurama said he wanted to know what would happen if she came in contact with the smoke of the box, so now's our chance to find out."

"Somehow, I don't think he meant 'Let's throw her into the most dangerous situation possible' when he said that," Yusuke commented wryly.

"You said yourself that there was no danger, that Shuichi wasn't going to be harmed. If that's the case, then why would it be dangerous for me?"

"Because you're a girl, that's why!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

Yusuke hit Kuwabara on the head. "That's not it, moron. It's that you're too weak; you haven't had any training. Kurama's one of the strongest demons I know. You just figured out you were a demon a few days ago."

"I don't care; I'm going. Koenma and Hiei said it's alright, so it's alright."

"Fine," Yusuke grumbled. "But since it was your idea, Hiei, you're the one baby-sitting her."

"Hn." Hiei acknowledged. I wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no.

"Okay, guys, now that we have that settled," Koenma broke in. "I'll get Botan to take you to the last place that Hiei had contact with Kurama. Botan!"

A cheery girl with bright blue hair and a pink kimono appeared. "Yes, Koenma sir?" She then caught sight of me. "Who are you? I'm Botan, nice to meet you! I'm known by most as the grim reaper!" she said perkily.

I blinked as she shook my hand vigorously. "The grim reaper?" I repeated, dazed.

"Strangely enough, yeah," Yusuke said.

"Botan, this is Riku," Koenma said to her. "She is a friend of the gangs."

"Then why haven't I met you yet?" Botan asked, confused and slightly sad.

"I just met everyone else a few days ago. I attend school with Shuichi," I explained.

Botan immediately became serious. "Oh. Well, then, we'll just have to hurry up and get Kurama back home safe as soon as possible, not the wouldn't already. What was it that you needed, Koenma?"

Koenma sighed. "I need you to make them a portal to where Hiei says he last had contact with Kurama," he finally explained. "It was right around here, wasn't it, Hiei?"

Hiei nodded to confirm what Koenma said.

"Alrighty! Let's go then. Portal for three?"

"Four," I corrected her.

She looked at me strangely for a moment, but said nothing at Hiei's nod. "Right this way, then." She quickly conjured a swirling blue portal out of nowhere.

Hiei and Yusuke stepped in bravely. Kuwabara stayed behind. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing towards the portal.

I nodded and stepped in. The sound of a rushing wind filled my ears, and there was a strong sensation of falling. This lasted for a few seconds, and then I was on my feet in a small clearing in a forest with Yusuke and Hiei. Kuwabara soon joined us, tumbling to the ground with a thud.

Terrified, I spun around to face a different part of the forest. I searched the woods carefully, looking for any tell-tale signs of what I had just felt.

"What's wrong? There's nothing there," Kuwabara said to me.

"Exactly," Hiei replied.

He was right. The forest looked just the same as the rest of the woods surrounding us, but it felt like emptiness. It was like there was nothing there at all, like it had just disappeared. I couldn't sense anything from that direction, Human or otherwise. "What is it?" I whispered.

"I don't know," Hiei said. "I've never encountered the likes of it before. I can't sense anything inside. I'm going to guess that's where Kurama went."

"It's very dangerous," I said softly. "It would be easy for anyone to sneak up on us and kill us."

"Do you want to go back?" Yusuke asked.

I shook my head. "I'll be fine." I've come this far already; there's no point in turning back now. I slowly approached the strange, almost non-existent area of forest. "I'll go first."

I could tell that they didn't think that was a good idea, but they didn't complain. When I reached the edge of the clearing, I stopped. Drawing a deep breath, I plunged my foot into the forest. Nothing happened. My right foot felt no different than my left. I breathed a short-lived sigh of relief before following my foot into the trees.

I hope you liked it. Sorry it's taking me awhile to post these, but I lead a busy life. Sayonara!