After the first fights of the initial round were over and Team Urameshi was settled in to watch the competition, Holly and Koko strolled over to check them out. Leona went with them, since Hiei was her father and she hadn't seen him in several decades. Holly approached them first.
"Congratulations on your victories," she said. "After viewing that initial fight I had some concerns about your team's competency, but those were put to rest quite easily."
Kurama looked up from where he was sitting and did a double-take. Hiei just grunted. "Holly?" Kurama asked.
She grinned. "Yes, and from what that flowering idiot said, you are Suichi Minamino, although everyone here calls you Kurama. Is my father in there or are you just here as a tease?"
He stood up and still had to look up into her face. "I'm here just as that...creature said I would be. What are you doing here?" He glanced behind her. "Koko? Did you bring her here?"
"No, she brought me. We're one of the two alternate teams brought in to keep people in practice between bouts."
"Are you mad? You could be killed! You're supposed to be protecting her! What were you thinking?" Kurama's questions were directed to Koko, but Holly answered him.
"Don't be stupid, Dad. I haven't needed anyone to protect me in centuries. You would have known that if you had been around. Besides, she didn't even know I had signed us up until it was far too late. She did prevent us from coming over on the same boat as you guys. That looked pretty messy." Holly shuddered.
"It was. All the demons on the boat were killed except us." He might have said more, except that Yusuke chose that moment to notice the conversation and come over.
"Hey, Kurama. Who're your friends? I didn't think anybody here was willing to talk to you and Hiei without trying to rip your heads off."
"Ah...Yusuke. For the most part, you would be right, however these three are a bit of an exception to that. Allow me to introduce you to Kurama Hollyanna, Koko and Leona."
Yusuke's eyes bugged for a moment. "Kur-"
"Yes, Yusuke, this is Youko's daughter. And Leona there is Hiei's. Koko was supposed to be looking after Holly, but I guess she outgrew it since I was gone."
"Pleased to meet you," Yusuke managed to get out. Holly giggled and Koko shook his hand. Leona gave a familiar sounding grunt.
Just then, a small red feline went racing past with two youngish kitsune girls in pursuit. Kurama narrowed his eyes as he watched the feline speculatively. Looking back at Holly, he arched a brow in inquiry. Holly shrugged. "That was three members of the other alternate team," she said. "Two others look a lot like Uncle Hiei except that one has white hair and the other keeps hers tightly braided. The last is a half-demon calling herself Urameshi. I don't know where they came from, but they are an interesting bunch."
"And who else is on your team?" Kurama asked.
"I don't think I'm going to tell you. We are scheduled to have a 'demonstration' battle with your team tomorrow between the first and second rounds, since you were first to fight in the first round and are last in the second. Apparently the committee does not want you to get bored between fights. You can meet them then. Ta, Dad." Holly and her teammates ran off giggling, leaving Hiei, Kurama and Yusuke looking after them.
Meanwhile the red kitten was racing from team to team, searching for a familiar figure, scent or accent. She knew he was there. Knew he was with Uncle Touya. And absolutely knew he would want to know about the alternate team that was to give the demonstration fight with Team Urameshi just before the beginning of the Second round in the morning. The little red-heads behind her were more annoyance than cover and she knew if they caught her they would drag her back to Mercy and force her to stay with them.
Suddenly, from one of the training rooms, she heard two voices speaking and felt a wave of icy chill. She turned sharply and ducked through a small crowd and into the doorway. Skittering under a large robe that was hanging over a chair, she stilled, waiting for the searching girls to move on so she could speak with her target. She heard them whispering to each other as they searched.
"C'mon, Kara. She's not here and we have to get back to Mercy before she blows another demon up. I told you this was a bad idea. We don't even get to fight until the day between the third and final round. And we don't even know who we'll be going up against."
"Yes we do. And we can set things up with our dads ahead of time so nobody gets as badly hurt as it will appear," the second voice argued. The kitten curled herself into a tight ball to ensure that no trace of her fur or tail showed.
"Oy!" A male voice called. "What're ye two kids doin' here. This is a dangerous place. Gae back ta yer parents afore ye git in trouble."
There was a sound of small feet skittering away and then the fabric was lifted from the chair. "Ye ken come out now. They be gone."
The kitten looked up...and up to find a familiar face grown larger, although the horn nestled in the bright red hair and the long pointy ears remained the same. "Da!" She squealed, racing up his pants leg and then up the material strung across his chest to his shoulder. "Ah'm sae glad Ah found ye. Mum is here and her team is gunta face Grandfather and Uncle Hiei in the mornin'. Ye hafta be here with me ta watch and then ye hafta come see Mum afterwards!"
Jin smiled at the kitten on his shoulder. "Ah thought ye looked familiar. Yer the same kitty that introduced me ta me Holly when we were young'uns, aren't ye? But why are ye callin' me Da? And who's yer Mum that I hafta see in the mornin'?"
The kitten snorted. "Ah called ye Da because yer me faither and me Mum is yer true love, Kurama Hollyanna, Captain of Team Holly, ye big git."
Jin stilled. "Me Holly's here? Where? Ah want ta see her now."
"Well ye can't," the kitten stated. "If ye see her afore her battle with Team Urameshi, she'll be distracted 'n' git her arse kicked warse than she is already gunta."
"She's gunta get her arse kicked?" Jin asked in bewilderment. "By those humans and them human-lovin' backstabbers?"
"Be careful what ye say about them," the kitten advised, digging her claws into his shoulder. "They're na bad, na matter what ye've heard. They're jest tryin' to do a job that nobody asked if they wanted. Besides, one of 'em is me grandfaither and another is gunta be one of yer best friends when this is all over. Sae jest wait till ye meet em afore ye pass judgement."
"All right, all right. Dun't git yer fur in a bunch. Ah'll wait till Ah meet 'em ta decide." The kitten purred into his ear. "Sae, where shall we watch this fight from?"
"If it's all right with you, Da, Ah'd like ta stay with ye tanight and then we can watch the fight from the arena in the marnin'." The kitten peered around. "Ah dun't want them little red-headed witches ta catch up wit me afore then."
"And jest who are these witches," Jin asked, shrugging into his disguising robes that all of his sect wore except when they were fighting. The robes covered the kitten as well and allowed him to stroll past the searching twins without a second glance from them. She waited until they were well away before answering.
"They're Mum's younger half-sisters, though they actually havena been born yet. Me friends and me figgered we could come back in time and see what really happened here since we grew up on stories aboot it all ar lives. Seemed like a good idear until Mercy decided that since there are five of us we ought to register as a team and fight, too." The kitten snorted again. "Ah'll niver know what she was thinkin'. She actually wants to try ta take doon her faither and his friends, even if it means they all die here and none a them will git born."
"Ah dun't see that werkin'. After all, if they take doon ther faither and none a them gits born, how can they come back and take doon ther faithers an if they doon take doon ther faithers, they all get born, right?"
"Arrrggghhh! Dun't try ta make sense a it. Pleeaaassssee Da! Ah dun't understand a bit o it. Ah jest wanted ta come back here and see ye and Mum git tagether proper so's AH ken be born."
"Fair enough." Jin proceeded to his room and waited there until the next morning when the fight they both wanted to see would take place. The kitten went with him.
