Disclaimer: I do not own YYH... nor the characters, except for my made up characters and the plotline.

Reviewers:

Rose of Death: - Thanks. I'll try to update quickly, but with schoolwork at hand, I think I could get the chapters done at least by the weekends.


Chapter 7: Burning Thoughts

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"Well then, I suggest you start to get ready now. The portal doesn't stay open for long."
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'Two months...' Catherine thought as she placed a few clothes in a small dufflebag-- most of the clothes were training gi's and a few casual clothes, though none were dresses or skirts. She left her bed and went over to her closet, scrambling for something. She froze as she felt a cardboard box in her hands. She then looked down, taking off the cover, revealing a small sugar pink kimono which had white polkadots which had a lavendar sash neatly folded beside it. There were four more kimonos underneath; one was a checkerd-pattern kimono with orange and white squares with a brown sash; the one underneath that one was a red kimono with a big print of a white butterfly on the back, the sash was black. The last kimono was a purple kimono with sakura petals on the sleeves, the sash was dark brown. 'These don't even fit me anymore...' Catherine thought. She shook her head and then placed the four kimonos and sashes back into the box and placed the lid back on top. Her eyes narrowed as she felt a small presence in the room.

"Recalling memories?" Shouheki questioned. He had his back leaned on her door with his arms folded. He obviously wanted something, though Catherine knew what-- to aggrivate her. That was how it was. The flirting was just an alibi, but it was the most affective way to make Catherine want to slap him across the face, but she could not lay a hand on him because of his barrier techniques. She couldn't believe her mother had asked him to help, even if he was a talanted healer.

"None that concern you." Catherine replied dryly. She pushed the box back into the closet and stood up, searching for a jacket. She paused as she felt his hand an inch away from him, however spun and slapped it away. "If you're only here to piss me off, you'd better get the hell out of here."

"Aw, Rine-san, I'm hurt. How can you say such things to your dear cousin?" Shouheki asked in a mocking-like tone.

"You're not dear, you're far from that. And you're close to getting punched in the face." Catherine said flatly.

Shouheki chuckled lightly, "You're an interesting girl. Much different than your last---" he cut himself off, realizing what he had said.

"Last?" Catherine questioned. She stood up to her feet, giving a stern look, "Last what?"

"I'm forbbidden to say. Just forget I said it. If you really want to know, you'll have to go to the leader of our branches."

"But didn't the leader already die? Someone took over the requirements, didn't they?"

"Who knows." Shouhiki said in a careless tone. He turned, starting to leave, though paused as he spotted someone guarding the door. He narrowed his ruby eyes to him.

"Ah, don't worry. I was being civil." Shouheki said, a alm smile crossing his lips.

"Hn." was the infamous reply from Hiei.

Catherine remained silent for a few minutes after Shouheki left. The akward silence made her body tense, 'Say something idiot!' she told herself. Though she could barely even open her numb and dry lips. Catherine barely managed to make a small feminin grunt. She then turned and walked towards her bed, having her back face him. She acted as if she were finishing her packing, though when she glanced back, Hiei was gone. 'Smooth one moron! Wait... why do I even care? He's a jerk! Not as bad as Shouheki... but he's still a jerk!' she thought.

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"She sure is taking her sweet time..." Yusuke said. He placed his hands into his green jacket, glancing towards the bare road. He had really been itching for a fight lately, since things had been quite peaceful. He then glanced at the family as they waited in a few seprate groups, talking among themselves. He then figured that there might not be much of a fight for him, considering all of the new security. He then glanced towards Koenma, and then Botan who had just arrived. She wore her sugar pink kimono as usual and still had her goofy smile.

"Be patient Yusuke, she is a girl afterall." Botan said. With that being said, Catherine was seen from afar, huffing as she rushed to the center of the forest. She stopped once she was only a few feet away from a part of space which had been cut to make the portal. Her Jiaoling Youren was replaced with a tight, black shirt and a blue jean jacket. She placed her small duffle bag in front of her, vertically and leaned onto it until she caught her breath. She stood back up, holding onto the bag by both straps in front of her. 'Note to self: work on stanima...'

"Sorry. I had to check something..." she said.

"It's all right. Well then. Now that we're all here, the portal is almost done. It should open to the other side any minute now." Koenma said.

Catherine looked at the glowing oval in front of her. She approached it slowly, but Koenma placed a hand in front of her. "It's still not complete. If you jump in now, then the chances of you entering Makai safely are a slim chance." he said.

Catherine then stepped back, though felt claws pierce into her back, pushing her into the portal, along with whatever was behind her. She could barely hear the mumer "Rine-san!" from the entrance of the circle, but it died out as she went through. Bright flashes surrounded her as she fell through the shaking vortex, which seemed to be making shape. Catherine shielded her eyes as a blinding light forced through the vortex, giving it a solid shape.

She flew out of the vortex, nearly falling off the edge of a mountain reigon. The unfamiliar sky was a blood red with dark clouds. Lightning shackled and the thunder responded violently, making the ground far underneath her vibrate belligerantly. She hung onto the edge of the cliff for dear life, nearly passing out as she saw the ground below her. She then looked back up, seeing a familiar coyote in front of her. The female coyote placed her paw on Catherine's hand, piercing her claws into her flesh.

"This is payback from earlier. Now you won't have anyone to protect you."

"What's with you moon-howling pups and trying to break off my hands?" Catherine stated sarcastically. Not only was her hand in pain, but her the back of her shirt had deep claw marks, digging into her flesh, and letting her scarlette liquid ooze out of her wounds. She felt her numb hand start to loose grip of the cliff, though the coyote pierced her claws deeper into Catherine's tissues. She winced her eyes shut, half of it from the pain and the other half for not wanting to look to the ground. The last place she wanted to be right now was on the edge of something very steep though she would have to endure it if she didn't want to be killed off, again.

"Pity, I was looking for a good fight too. You dirty hanyou. Go to the deep ends of hell."

Catherine's eyes opened heatedly, her gray eyes hollowed into a dark charcoal. As Momiji released Catherine's hand, Catherine dug her fists into the cliff, slowing down her momentum. Once she stopped half-way in the cliff, she ran across the damaged wall with immense speed and jumped back onto the surface. Chinese characters dug out onto the skin of her arms, face, legs and back, lighting up into pure white. Catherine croutched to her knees, pushing her hands on the sides of her temple and hollared in agony. She then gave hollow breaths as the lights dimmed, glaring her ebony eyes towards Momiji. Something among the coyote's lines triggered Catherine's violent behavior. She couldn't tell where the burning fury was coming from, but it slowly influenced her into rage. Her consious soon fell asleep while her subconsious, or whatever consious, started to awaken from a long slumber.

"Don't insult me you worthless mutt." she said wearly before caving in. Her eyes flickered from charcoal to gray as she collapsed to the ground. Once she fell, the Chinese characters faded away in a shimmering form. Catherine layed, sleeping peacefully and completely unguarded. To Momiji's surprise, the wounds were healed and there were no specks of blood except on the back of her shirt. Momiji started to approach Catherine, however stopped as Hiei, along with Kuro and Keihi (in wolf forms) stood beside Catherine. Momiji backed away, giving a growl, and fled.

Hiei retreated his katana and then bent down, carefully picking up Catherine. "... She doesn't have any scratches." he stated. He was surprised, however masked his expression with a stern look as she started to stirr. Her eyes flickered openen, however shut lazily after mumbling something. Hiei sigh and placed Catherine over his shoulders, resting her body on his back. Kuro and Keihi sprinted once Hiei dashed off.

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"Hiei..."
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Catherine pushed off the bed violently, however eased a little as she realized she was indoors. She slid off to the side of the bed, pushed back her loose hair, and stood up. She walked slowly towards the door which stood across from her bed-- she could hear mumers from the other side of the door. She held onto the edge of her white t-shirt, which hung laxed over her shoulders and sighed. Someone must have changed her shirt while she had been resting. She turned the knob slowly with her other hand, and opened it slightly. She poked her head through the door and spotted a group of unfamiliar people. She walked in quietly, letting go of the end of her shirt and looked at the small group-- most of them either hand bandages or patches.

"Oh, you're up. We were starting to get worried." one of them said. She looked up to him, giving a short nod. His hair was just as long as hers, but was in a ponytail and had no bangs. His brown eyes scanned her from head to toe, and then gave a nod in return. "Looks like you have no injuries Rine-san. That is your name, right? One of your family members offered to heal you, but it wasn't necessary."

"Tsume-ojisan, don't flirt with her. She's much too young for you." a woman said, curling her lips in a wry smile. Her silver hair was cut into a boyish length, pointing in different directions, though a few strands (about 3 inches wide) rested on her cheek and covered part of one of her emerald eyes.

"I'm not flirting, just concrned. Though the way she came in here, it looks like she already has a young man." he said in a calm tone.

"Huh?" Catherine said confused.

"Ah, that's right, you were asleep when he brought you on his back. I think it was Hiei-san, ne?" the silver-haired teenager asked.

"EH?" Catherine said, her voice raising, in a shocked tone. She felt her cheeks burn a bright pink, however jerked her head, facing the wall opposite of the entrance door. "He's not my boyfriend." she said flatly.

"Oh, now that I remember... I think someone wanted you to go meet them in the lobby... I believe her name was Mamori-obasan." he said.

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"Oh Rin-san, thank goodness! Everyone was worried." Mamori cried as she embraced Catherine tightly. 'I guess she's calling me Rin since the other family members are around...' Catherine thought.

"I'm fine, really." Catherine said assuringly. She then gave an exasperated expression as her aunt gave another tense hug. She shuttered to think of what her mother would have done if she didn't come back alive. To put even more greif, she remembered what was keeping her alive-- the demon that she had accidentally let loose was the reason. She then had an image of a young man grinning and as she saw the image of her mind, her face turned slightly pale. The warm smile made her feel some sort of agony, but it wasn't as bad as earlier when she was almost killed off--- somehow it felt worse, as if something were eating from the inside of her chest. 'Why am I thinking about him? He's--'

"Rin dear, are you all right?"

Catherine looked up to Mamori, who had finally broke her dangerous grip of secureness. She gave a weak smile and nodded, "Mnh. I'm fine." Catherine said.

"Oh, Rin dear, Koenma-sama said you need to check-in at the front desk. They should give you a room number and a key." Mamori stated.

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"Where have you been? After that coyote attacked you from behind, everyone was panicing!" Yusuke said.

"I uh... don't really remember much..." Catherine replied.

"Well, you seem fine. Kuro-san had suggested to leave you in one of the strongest teams until you recovered consiousness. We were still checking in while you and Hiei arrived." Kurama explained. Though he hadn't finished since Hiei narrowed his eyes, as if saying "Say anything more and you'll regreat it."

"I--"

Catherine was cut off while being pounced onto from the behind. The preadator seemed no older than Catherine's younger siblings and from the looks of it, he was quite entergetic. His shaggy brunette hair swished over his sharp, chocolate brown eyes. He was quite skinny and very frail, though had very sharp fangs which showed as he grinned. His silver ears drooped on the top of his head, while his tail wagged a mile a minute.

"You're Rine-san, ne? I'm Tsuki, from one of the trainee teams." he said.

"Trainee teams?"

"Yeah. I guess it'd sort of be like a Junior Devision, or at least I think that's how some of the tournaments work in some ningen countries. I wanted to ask you somethin'. Mind taggin' along with me for a bit?" Tsuki asked.

Catherine glanced to the other detectives, who seemed to not have any objective expressions and then glanced back to Tsuki, "I guess it's all right." she responded.

"Wai! Thanks." Tsuki said. He then hopped off Catherine's back and started to head towards the door, followed by Catherine. The young pup open the door and walked out, not bothering to shut it, forcing Catherine to do so. The two walked quietly through the hallway, though stopped at an elevator. Tsuki hung his head low, glancing at the red carpet, as if he were in deep thought. He then looked up to Catherine, opening his mouth to say something, but the elevator's soft 'bing' cut him off. He looked towards the doors which opened slowly. Catherine blinked as she spotted no one inside the elevator. 'Did he press the button?' she thought to herself.

"Uhm, I wanted to ask about Naomi..." he said slowly.

Catherine raised her eyebrow as if she had heard gibberish, though slowly caught on and gave a wry smirk, which caused Tsuki's face to turn scarlette.

"Ahh, so that's it. The shy-around-girls type, eh?"

Tsuki cocked his eyebrow and thought of the most intelligent thing he could say. "Nani?"

Catherine gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of her head, "Sorry, I sometimes have a thick head and blabber about something without thinking. So, what do you need help with?"

"Uhm well..."

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("Baka!")) a deep voice bellowed.

Two figures stood in front of a waterfall; the area was mostly of grass, a small cliff, and some trees at the border. Water rushed at the peak, dropping into the hazy lake which didn't seem to raise tide. A coyote with blonde fur stood upon a large boulder, standing in front of a coyote with maple-colored fur. Momiji, despite her 'accomplishment' had seemed to get more retorts than praise. It would only be a matter of time when she snaps.

(("But Kiiro-sama---!"))

(("You insolent coyote! Think before you bite. Do you remember what happened the last time you disobeyed orders?"))

Momiji shuttered by just thinking of the past. She had only been a pup, but despite that fact, they didn't go easy on her. She figured that she wouldn't be able to press the subject anymore and decided to switch from offense to surrender, for now at least. She bowed her head, bending her left paw, (("Forgive me Kiiro-sama. I assure you it won't happen again."))

The blonde coyote nodded in approval and retreated from his mighty rock, approaching her until he was a meter away. He sat down on all four legs, keeping his back straight. (("How much has she improved?"))

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Catherine sighed as she carried Tsuki on his back. She then lifted her head feeling an odd, but familiar, presence. She dove out of the way as a fireball broke through the glass window behind her and went through the hallway. She then placed Tsuki down on the floor and then glanced back towards the window where a young woman stood. Tsuki growled, though Catherine placed her hand on his shoulder, gesturing him to back off. At that, she stood to her feet and took one last glance at him.

"I'll only be a minute, don't tell anyone who I'm with or where I'm going, all right?" she said. Tsuki's nod gave Catherine an approval and walked towards the woman and jumped through the window, following the woman. Tsuki rushed over towards the window, watching after her as she sprinted off. Footsteps startled the young pup, which caused him to scurry for the elevator door which started to close. A hand on his back shirt caused him to stop.

"Where did the onna go?"

"Rin-san?"

"Yes you fool, where is she?"

Tsuki quivered, though relaxed as he heard another voice, "Hiei, don't be so tough on him. He's only a pup."

He turned to see a tall young man with long red hair and emerald eyes. "Ah, Kurama-san, ne?"

"Yes. Now, where did Rine-san go?" Kurama asked.

Tsuki hesitated as Catherine's words runned through his mind, almost like a broken record. He glanced towards the floor, missing the wide-eyed expression Hiei gave.

"She left with a youkai?" he nearly shouted.

"I... I can't say..."

Hiei did not wait long enough for the ookamiko's answer. He sprinted off, heading the direction the youkai and the hanyou had left.


Cliff hangers again... okay, this wasn't too descriptive (though I try dearly, and I've seen some of my previous mistakes from my other chapters. I kept wondering What DID I type in the previous chapters?) Anyways, I'll try to work on the next chapter(s) and put more info., etc.

Other

Animals

Ookamiko: "Ookami" means "wolf", "ko" is the suffix for "kodomo", which means "child" So "Wolf Child"

Hanyou: Half-blooded Demon (it's usually an insult to demons)