A/N: No, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. My most humble apologies if I neglected to state this in previous disclaimers. It was completely unintentional.

Part 11: Memories, Secrets, and a Curse

Calisandra, three time winner of the Miss Ditz pageant, defending champion of the Biggest Blonde Idiot title, currently attending EDFFU (Extremely Dumb Fashion Freaks University), was clinging onto Tarukon's arm as if he currently owned the last arm on the face of the earth. You could practically see the money signs flashing in her eyes as she tried to make her moves on him.

"Isn't this wonderful Taru-kun?" He winced at how she addressed him, "Isn't this just the best? I love parties. There's always important people to meet, everyone is so nice and it's so much fun! I just love being popular!"

Tarukon stood there, staring at anything but the CIB on his arm (completely idiotic bitch). 'How much more of a ditz could she possibly be? And could she make it anymore obvious that the only interest she has in me is my fortune, beside the fact that she currently is 'working' for my father.' Looking around, he saw someone with interesting red hair. 'Is that who I think it is?'

"Calisandra, won't you excuse me for a minute?"

She looked worried for a moment, "Certainly Taru-kun, but only a minute." She smiled at him so sweetly that Tarukon's teeth were screaming from the agony of the cavities already. He walked toward the person with the red hair.

"Shuichi Minamino, I presume?"

*****

After the initial arrival of most of the secret security, the group scattered. Yusuke and Kuwabara, taking Botan and Yukina with them as they roamed the room. Joe had walked over to a corner, where he was standing quietly, taking in everything. Occasionally, he would go to the gardens to talk to Gantoi, but only when there weren't other people around (on the account that Gantoi was trying to pass off as a statue). Hiei has disappeared, as was naturally expected. Aniya and Kurama were left to their own devices, but Aniya didn't mind. She was having fun.

"This is nice, I don't actually have to talk to anyone I don't know, I get to walk around in the stupid dress, but there's no fighting and the only bad thing is that all the guys are looking at me. I feel like a freak show."

"Don't feel like that Aniya. The only reason they look is to admire your appearance." Kurama's smile faded as he added gravely, "But Aniya, in all serious, don't revel in their attention too much. I'm afraid that their intentions are not as honorable as they may appear."

Aniya pretended to be shocked, "Really, Kurama. Get your mind out of the gutter. I've spent my entire life surrounded by men. I think I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry." Suddenly, a young man stood in front of them.

"Shuichi Minamino, I presume?"

Kurama looked at the young man. 'Hm…gray eyes, black hair. I think I recognize him…' then the realization hit him, "Jean Pierre Cheveaux?"

The other man smiled, "Correct as always Shuichi, or should I say, Kurama?"

Kurama smiled, "I had no idea that you were here." He explained to Aniya, "Jean and I attend the same high school in the human world. He lives a double life, as he is the resident expert on strange spiritual energies. Here he is known as Tarukon. Tarukon, this is my friend, Aniya, formally known as the Black Dragon."

Aniya held out a hand as she'd been taught, but instead of shaking it, he lifted it to his mouth and kissed it. Horrified, Aniya could hardly contain her emotions. He said, "I'm very pleased to meet you Miss Aniya." She smiled and replied, "Same back at you."

Kurama and Tarukon began to talk when Aniya had a sudden feeling. 'Tarukon…that was one of the people I had to watch out for…Lord Doukai, his son Tarukon, Calisandra and who ever they were with.' Looking at the young man in front of her, she suddenly felt something else, something that was oddly memory like…

"…my name's Tarukon…" A little boy with gray eyes and black hair smiled at her.

…bright light…crazy men in white…trying to hurt…me… A scary man approached her with a syringe with pink liquid, laughing.

…"TARUKON!"…Arms grabbed her from behind.

…claws…stay with…Tarukon…no…stay with him…She tried to use her claws to stay with the boy.

…spirit energy…scared…clip wings…Her spirit energy filled the room as they prepared to clip her wings.

…explosions…helicopter…can't get out of the way…She was flying away from the explosions, and she saw the little boy's face in the window of a helicopter, then everything went black.

Kurama noticed Aniya's dazed look. "Aniya, are you alright?" Quickly throwing on a look, she smiled at him. "I'm fine." 'I need to talk to someone, soon.'

Tarukon looked just as concerned as Aniya tried to regain her composure. 'Does she remember? Did she have a flashback or something?'

Calisandra was getting bored. "Taru-kun, who are these delightful people you're talking to?" Tarukon turned and stared blankly at Calisandra before introducing her to Aniya and Kurama. "Calisandra, this is Kurama, and this is Aniya."

Smiling sweetly, Calisandra looked at Aniya. "I'm very please to meet you Anita." 'So this is the little bitch that Nara Ska and I have to take down. She looks like she's a mess already. This will be a piece of cake.'

Aniya slapped on a smile as sickening sweet as Calisandra, "The name's Aniya. But I'm very pleased to meet you too. Tell me, how exactly do you dye your hair?"

Calisandra's smile disappeared. "It's completely natural."

For a moment, Aniya looked confused, "I could have sworn that you were suffering from the side affects of using Dye-a-Ditz."

The other girl's face turned sour. "Well, I'd be surprised if yours is natural, dear."

"Well, it was nice meeting you anyway, what was it, Calisandra?"

"We should get together sometime."

Aniya muttered, "If I ever feel the need to drop my IQ". Calisandra forcefully pulled Tarukon away, but his eyes were on Aniya's. She shook her head. "Kurama, I think I may have lost a bunch of my memory."

With a worried look on his face, "Just now?"

She shook her head again, "No. I'm regaining them now. I felt like I knew this Tarukon person."

Kurama frowned. "Whatever you think, you have to remember that the dragon man you spoke of told you to watch out for Calisandra, Lord Doukai and his son."

Aniya sighed, "I know." 'Actually, he said that the son was out for more than just a little fun. He didn't exactly say that Tarukon was a bad guy…damn…why is my life so hard?'

There was a slight chiming of bells and a little man stood on a platform. "If you would be so kind as to move into the dining hall, dinner is served. The seating arrangements are posted on displays to the right and left of the doors into the room.

Kurama and Aniya made their way over to the dinner hall doors. "Aniya, can you use your senses to see if you can see where we are seated?"

She scowled at him. "I can see outlines and objects. If you ask me to identify anything smaller than a face, you're out of luck. If you wanted long distance reading vision, you should have brought Hiei along."

"We're at table nine with Yusuke, Yukina, the ferry girl, and the baka." Aniya turned around. "Who asked you?"

Hiei shrugged and made his way over to the table. Yusuke and Botan had already seated themselves. Hiei sat down next to the spirit detective. Aniya was about to sit down when Kurama stopped her.

 "It is polite for the gentlemen to seat the ladies," he did so, "before being seated themselves."

There were two spots at the table left. Kuwabara and Yukina finally arrived and Kuwabara sat Yukina down next to Aniya because he didn't want to be stuck near either of the two midgets (of course what he didn't realize that, this being a round table, his seat was directly across from Hiei's, so the little fire demon could glare at him.)

Aniya looked at Yukina, 'So this is Hiei's sister.' Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted.

'You talk, you die.'

'You know, killing me won't erase Yukina's memory.'

He froze. 'It doesn't matter. You talk, you die.'

'Are you some broken record or something? Anyway, how would you propose to kill me? Last time I heard, you failed when you tried to kill me, the last two times.' Smiling, she looked at him and added, 'Besides, it would be a great ice breaker for me and Yukina.'

'Don't you dare.'

'I do too dare. See if I care for all the threats you're making. They're all big and empty, like your head.'

Kurama, watching the silent conversation sighed, "Will you two please be so kind as to have verbal conversations? It grows increasingly irritating when you refuse to have regular conversations and speak telepathically."

"Sorry Kurama." Aniya smiled innocently. "I wasn't aware that telepathic conversations made you feel uneasy."

Kuwabara suddenly looked up as the waiters appeared. "OOOO! Waiters! Waiters mean menus, menus mean ordering and ordering means food!!"

Everyone except Yukina and Kuwabara sweat-dropped.

Aniya sighed. "Kuwabara is so appalling."

Yukina giggled, "Actually, I think he's quite funny. My name is Yukina, who are you?"

"Name's Aniya. You're an ice apparition, aren't you?"

Yukina nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, what sort of demon are you?"

"Full-blood dracon." Yukina's eyes grew wide. "A dracon? But aren't they supposed to be extinct?"

"Yup. I'm just the weird one. I was actually raised on Mars by Oompa Loompas."

Yukina smiled. "You're joking, right?"

Aniya smiled back. "How could you tell?" Looking at the menu, she glanced at Yukina. "Do you have any idea as to what these actually are? I've never been in a restaurant where I needed to translate what the meals actually were. Unless you include the Chinese take-out place, but those guys are practically bilingual. There's only so much you can do to confuse fried rice and chicken."

Yukina looked at the menu as well. "I think this one is chicken…and this one is some sort of vegetarian meal. That's about it. I too, don't often have a chance to go eat at a place where the menu is in a different language."

They both smiled at each other. Aniya broke the real ice, "So, how did you and Kuwabara get together?"

"Oh, it's a long story."

"Dinners like this take a long time."

"Oh, alright…"

Kurama could see that Aniya and Yukina got along better than most sisters did. "It'll be good if they become friends. Aniya needs Yukina because of the legend and Yukina can always do with another friend." He saw Hiei glaring at them as Aniya listened to Yukina tell her story. "What is the matter Hiei? You cannot shelter her forever. Sooner or later, she will have to meet new people."

Hiei snapped, "I know that." He frowned, "It's just that baka over there says she's going to tell Yukina the truth."

"And you are not prepared to face the truth yet."

Looking sourly at Kurama, Hiei replied, "Don't make it sound like my decision is the wrong one."

"I wasn't trying to. But you will have to tell her eventually."

"Not necessarily."

Kurama smiled and shook his head. 'Hiei, will you ever learn? Yukina would be overjoyed to know you're her brother, regardless of who you are.' He watched Aniya tell Yukina one of her own stories.

"So you really…?"

Aniya smiled, "Yup. And then he did this move that was supposed to end it all, but I gained control over the attack and I won." She paused, "Okay, so I fell asleep just after he did, but I still one the fight."

Yukina was laughing, "That sounds so comical. Who was this person you were fighting?"

"Your brother."

Yukina's, Hiei's, and Kurama's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates when they heard Aniya say that. Luckily, no one else was paying attention, so they didn't notice. Yukina's huge eyes filled with hope, "You know my brother?"

Aniya shook her head, "Not personally, no. I've only ever really fought with him twice, and my mask does not provide me with the best vision."

"Oh." Yukina looked disappointed, "Do you know anything about him?"

Aniya nodded. "He's a master at the martial arts. He's really fast and well known for the attack that he used on me. He was a felon, but he's reformed himself."

"Reformed himself, how?"

"He worked with government officials on several occasions to wipe his slate clean."

"So he's good now?"

"Yup."

Yukina's eyes showed hope once again. "Imagine someone who fought to the good side. To think that my brother is someone like that!"

Hiei stared at Yukina, and then at Aniya. She stared back and said, 'Don't worry, I wouldn't tell.'

'Why not?'

Just then, the waiters came with the first course, so Aniya didn't have time to answer Hiei's question.

*****
An hour or so later, once all the food had been removed, the same little man, who had announced dinner, stood on another platform and said, "It is time to adjourn to the dancing hall!" Many of the young couples jumped up in anticipation. Everyone else got to their feet. Kurama found Aniya, Kuwabara got Yukina and the last three trailed after them.

Tarukon watched Aniya from a distance, with our favorite IDW (Insanely Ditsy Wench) on his arm. 'She really has gotten prettier. I don't think that she's aware of how nice she really looks. I don't care if Calisandra, Nara Ska, father and the entire CEF come after me, I'm going to do my own plan, plan Tarukon: to eliminate anyone who attempts to hurt Aniya!'  With a determined look on his face, he quickened his pace to catch up so he could keep an eye on Aniya.

"Taru-kun, slow down please, I can't keep up!"

"Then you should have worn sensible shoes, so you could walk."

"Taru-kun, that is not very nice. Aren't you supposed to be considerate?"

"Only when I want to be."

"Taru-kun, you really are such a laugh?"

"Calisandra, you see this face?" He pointed at his face, "Is this face laughing?"

"Well, no, but that's the whole point of the joke, you see, Taru-kun."

My name is Tarukon not Tarukun."

Calisandra was getting angry. 'I don't understand it. I'm gorgeous, I'm well endowed, I've money, and I've got the right sort of friends. He's getting colder and less considerate by the second.' She saw where his gaze landed. Aniya was laughing with Yukina, along with some of her other friends. 'Ah, so it's little Aniya that we're focusing all of our attention on, is it?'

She brought her bracelet to her mouth and whispered, "Lord Doukai? We have a problem. Code T and A." She heard his reply, "Shit. Damn that boy. Calisandra, keep him as far away as her as possible. We have to find the right moment for Nara Ska to attack her. Wait for her to go to the bathroom with a group of her friends. Or just wait for her to go off on her own. Then you know what to do."

"Yes, sir." Calisandra, determined to make sure that Tarukon wasn't completely focused on Aniya, grabbed him and hauled him onto the dance floor. "Come, Tarukon, let's dance, this one is my favorite." Tarukon, so shocked that she had actually used his real first name, followed without any protestation. Calisandra smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 'This time, there will be no mistakes. If all goes well, I'll be the new Lady Doukai with the world at my fingertips in less than a week.'

****

Aniya smiled as Yukina talked to her about ice maidens. She was very interested in Yukina's past. For the first time, she felt that life was actually going her way. 'I'm the friend of the eighth person, unless of course, it's not her. Then I'm in trouble, but it can't be bad to be friends with her anyway. She's so nice.'

Yukina was interrupted by an argument between Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Na-uh. I'm totally better than you, Urameshi."

Yusuke laughed, "Are you joking? If relationships were track, I could run circles around you."

"Then why do I have a date and you're stuck escorting Botan?"

"…"

Aniya didn't want any more fights so she asked Yukina, "When is Kuwabara going to activate the bet?" She quickly used her senses to find Hiei so that he wouldn't miss anything. 'Pay back time.'

'Pay back for what?'

'Calling me a lamp shade.'

'Hn.'

Yusuke stopped laughing, "That's right. Kuwabara, when were you going to start telling Hiei what to do?"

"Um…now, I guess." He looked worried, 'Maybe I shouldn't have made the bet. I don't want to think of what he'll do if he doesn't like what I tell him to do.'

Aniya started talking to Hiei again. 'The baka is going to start telling you what to do, idiot.'

'As if I'm going to do what he tells me.'

'I would if I were you.'

'What makes you say that?'

'I've just told Yukina that her brother is a bad guy gone good and he's better than he was. If you refuse to honor the bet, then what does that say about you?'

'Baka. She doesn't know I'm her brother.'

'But what happens when she finally finds out? Then what will she think of you then.'

Hiei stopped. Aniya had a point. 'Fine. I'll do what the baka says, once.'

Kuwabara was still looking worried that Hiei was going to kill him if he tried to tell him what to do. Aniya patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. He says he'll do one thing without killing you. After that, it's your own neck on the line."

He brightened up and he started talking to Yusuke and Kurama. "Think guys, what should I make him do?"

Yusuke thought, "Go around singing the song that never ends?" Kuwabara shook his head.

"How about if you make him talk to someone for a certain amount of time?" Kurama suggested. Kuwabara thought about that one, but decided, "Nope. That would be too easy. He'd find a way out of it."

Yusuke snapped his fingers, "Got it!" Kuwabara looked eager, "What?"

"You…tell him he has to ask a girl to dance." Kuwabara jumped up and down, "That sounds like a good idea!"

Aniya rolled her eyes, "So all he has to do is ask a girl to dance? Pathetic."

Kuwabara stopped jumping up and down, "No one asked you. I think it'll be funny to see shorty dance with a girl."

Aniya rolled her eyes again and sighed, "No, all you told him was to ask a girl to dance. You never specified that he had to dance with her. What if the girl said no? Did you ever think of that?" She smiled as she could hear Hiei swear in her mind. 'That's for calling me a lamp shade. I'm making sure that there's no loopholes for you to slip out of this.'

Yusuke and Kuwabara talked with one another before saying, "Aniya, will you get Hiei?" She did so. The little demon blurred over and stared at the two humans with a bored expression on his face. "What?"

Kuwabara pointed a finger at him, "Okay, shrimp. This is the one thing you have to do: Ask a girl to dance and if she says no, then you have to keep asking until you get a girl who says yes, and then you have to dance with her."

Hiei was about to refuse when he remembered what Aniya had said… 'If you refuse to honor the bet, what does that say about you?'… 'What about when she finally finds out? Then what will she think of you?' 'Fine. I'll do this one thing.' His next words were the opposite of what everyone expected him to say, "Fine. I'll do this. But I get to pick when and where." Then he blurred away.

Kuwabara nodded, not wanting to push his luck. Yukina and Aniya noticed that everyone's eyes had grown to the size of dinner plates. Yukina tapped the baka, "Kazuma-san, are you alright? Your eyes look slightly swollen." His eyes changed from dinner plates to little hearts in a record amount of time. "My eyes are fine, Yukina." He got sappy, "Even just looking at you is enough to cure anyone."

Aniya pretended to barf behind Kurama. 'Man, that guy is the very essence of stupidity.' Yukina looked at little embarrassed at what Kuwabara was saying. Botan took this opportunity to say, "Girls, why don't we head to the bathroom?" Yukina and Aniya nodded. As they left, Yusuke asked, "What is it with girls and going to the bathroom in groups?"

Kuwabara still had the hearts in his eyes and he wasn't going to going in the conversation anytime soon. Kurama answered, "Perhaps it is a cultural instinct to stay together." Yusuke shrugged and turned back to Kuwabara, slapping him, to see if that would help get him out of his stupor.

*****

Calisandra was trying to keep Tarukon occupied. Her job got a little easier when he suddenly stopped looking around for Aniya. 'Hmm, he must have finally gotten over her. I knew this was going to be easy.' What she didn't notice was, that along with her burden, her chance at notifying Nara Ska of Aniya's disappearance was flying away. She was completely ignorant of the fact that Aniya and her friends went to the bathrooms.

Suddenly, her watch started to beep. "Taru-kun, please excuse me for a minute, my cell phone is ringing." Walking away, she found a small corner to hold her bracelet up to her mouth. "What is it Lord Doukai?"

"Aniya is gone."

"So? Good for her then. There shouldn't be any problems. She was making my job harder anyway."

"Scratch that, she's back."

"Damn."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, sir. Nothing at all."

"Apparently, she just left."

"Yes, sir." Calisandra could see where this was heading….

"To go to the bathrooms."

"I see sir." …and it didn't look like the near future was going to be pretty…

"With her friends."

"Ah." …actually, the future looked down right bleak for her…

"Leaving her male friends behind."

"Oh shit."

"Oh shit is right. I'll let this one go, but Calisandra, you need to really get Aniya out on her own. Nara Ska can't approach her without any of the spirit detectives going after her. A large part of the success of this mission leans on you, and I won't tolerate failure."

"Yes sir. I understand sir. I won't let her go again sir."

"Good."

Calisandra lowered her arm, straightened her appearance and practically raced back into Tarukon's arms. "Did you miss me?"

Unknown to her, a pair of eyes opened after she left. Having heard the conversation, he was unsure as to what to do next. 'Do I warn the idiot, or do I let her figure it out on her own?'

*****

Aniya and Yukina were once again laughing at how boys could not understand why girls needed to plan bathroom trips together. Aniya smiled, but her smile didn't last long as she saw who was heading their way. "Yukina, don't look now, but Firenzy is heading this way!"

Yukina tried to see without turning around. "Firenzy? As in the Firenzy from the Arena?"

"The very same. Maybe if we walk away, he won't notice us."

"HELLO GUYS!! Isn't the party just great?!! Wow, these are some pretty ladies right here!! Hey, pretty lady with the silvery white hair! What's your name? Would you like to dance with me?!!" Firenzy almost shoved Yukina out of the way in his attempts to get closer to Aniya. Firenzy winked at her, "You haven't danced yet, I noticed. Keeping to your self until the right guy comes along right??! Well say no more!! What'ja say to us two dancing?"

Aniya, unused to this kind of attention was at a loss for words. Frantically, she looked around for an excuse. Trying to find Kurama or Yusuke, she realized that they had gone off to find some refreshments while the girls had gone to the bathroom. She and Yukina were stranded in the middle of nowhere with no one to help them out.

"Um…I'd love to dance, it's just…it's just…that…" She looked at Yukina and tried to signal that she wanted some help. Yukina didn't seem to be able to help either. She wasn't used to this kind of a guy either.

Aniya looked around helplessly. "I'd love to dance, I really would, it's just that…I…"

"She said she'd dance with me." Aniya turned with dinner-plate eyes to look at Hiei. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?'

'Saving your ass, what does it look like, baka?'

'What do you mean? My ass doesn't need saving and I can save my own ass, thank you very much!'

Firenzy seemed to do a double take. "Excuse me, sir, but I think the lady was about to say that she'd love to dance with me." He went down on a bended knee just as Kurama and Yusuke came back with their punch. Yusuke's eyes grew as large as dinner plates when he saw this. Aniya sweat-dropped when Firenzy began to say, "Beautiful lady, goddess of all that is light, would you grant me this dance?"

"I said she said she's dancing with me."

Now Kurama and Yusuke had both caught the dinner plate symptoms. They looked at each other in amazement. Did Hiei really just announce that he was planning to dance with Aniya?

Aniya was nodding her head. "Um…yeah. I said I was going to dance with him. So sorry that I can't dance with you."

Firenzy jumped back up. "That's alright! I'll ask again later, lovely creature. He can't dance with you all night." Then he scurried away to talk to someone, quite possibly Joe. Aniya sighed as he left, "He really doesn't have a clue, does he? If he knew I was the Black Dragon, he wouldn't be so anxious to dance with me."

Hiei was staring at her with his hands in his pockets again. "So is that a yes or no?"

"Huh?" Aniya was confused.

"Baka. I just asked you if you wanted to dance. Is it a yes or no?"

Now everyone in a ten foot radius who knew Hiei had caught the deadly dinner plate virus that was growing rapidly contagious. Aniya looked at him as if he was from Mars. "You have gone insane, haven't you?"

"I wish." He gave her a death glare. "If you don't want to, just say so now. Then I'll go tell that baka that you're available."

Aniya paled. "Choose between two idiots? This is so hard…fine." She folded her arms. "Don't think that this means that I'm trying to be nice to you or anything, it's just I'd rather not touch the other moron."

"Let's get this over and done with." He walked toward a remote corner of the dance floor and Aniya followed. For a moment, he seemed unsure as to what to do, but after looking at the other couples around them, they managed to settle on dancing, an arm's length apart, barely touching. (And what they were doing couldn't really be called swaying because what they were doing, compared to swaying, would be like, saying falling from a building could qualify as flying.)

They turned their heads in the opposite directions, determined not to notice the other one. 'Stupid ningen.'

Aniya looked at him and glared. "If I'm a stupid ningen, then why didn't you ask someone else?"

'Because no one else is short enough.'

She glowered and then put on a happy face. "I know you asked me because you wanted to get this done and over with. Now the baka can't tell you what to do and since I'm not available for dancing, the Firenzy guy isn't bothering me, and therefore isn't bothering you or anyone else in our group with his presence."

"For a stupid ningen, you certainly can seem smart sometimes."

"I'm not stupid. And I'm not a human."

"Hn." Then he paused for a moment. 'Why didn't you tell her?'

Aniya was confused again. "Tell who what?"

He gazed at her with a bored expression. 'Why didn't you tell Yukina?'

She looked down at her feet. 'I understand what you're going through.' Hiei looked stunned. Aniya continued, 'I feel it too. The need to protect her and keep her happy. We both have secrets that we want to keep from her so she doesn't get hurt.'

'Baka. Like you'd have a secret with her.'

'Well…I don't really want to tell you this, I doubt you really care, but…you remember the legend Koenma told you about? The one with the dragon child and everything? Well I'm the dragon child. I've found four of the seven friends that I need to make in order for me to face Sukeisa. Yukina is the last one, the eighth that is supposed to help me defeat Sukeisa.'

'How could she be the eighth one. The stupid poem said that the eighth friend would be made at the last minute. You're already friends with her.'

Aniya sighed, 'I know. Recently, the dragon man who keeps communicating with me tried to tell me that someone else might be the eighth one, but I don't see how. He showed me images, almost like a video camera view of Yukina for as long as could remember. I don't see why he would go through all of that unless she was eighth one. Maybe he meant that there would be eight friends, but only the eighth one could help me at the last minute or something. I don't know. It's really confusing.'

'Hn.'

'Even if she isn't the last one, the dragon man tried to warn me that people out for my guts could injure me enough to prevent me from winning the battle against Sukeisa. Then everyone would die and she would be hurt. If she was the eighth friend, then she could get hurt in the process of helping me to defeat Sukeisa. Either way, she could get hurt, so I want her to be safe.'

'Why? You're no relation to her. I'm her brother. I can protect her myself.'

'We all saw how well that plan worked.'

'Nani?' He asked sharply.

'Come on. What could be more painful for her than to have people being hurt because of her. She never deserved to go through something like that.'

'That's why I don't tell her. She deserves to be happy, and having a brother like me is not what I think would make her happy.'

'Idiot. She'd be happy with you no matter who you really are.'

'Hn.'

She laughed. "No wonder the others think you have difficulties in the people skills department, you're like talking to a brick wall!"  Then she remembered something. "What did you mean when you said you were saving my ass, earlier?"

He replied, 'I heard some baka talking to someone on a communicator about you. Apparently, they're after you and this blond idiot seemed to think that she had missed something when you went to the bathrooms.

Suddenly, she felt something cold grip her heart. Freezing, she used her senses to scan the area.

"What is it baka? Scared of a little threat already?"

Aniya shook her head and continued to look. 'Hiei. Get off the floor right now. Find Yukina. Make sure she, and everyone else is fine. Something's wrong.' He gave her a look that clearly said, Don't think I'm doing this because I'm doing what you say, I'm doing this because I feel like it. Walking back to the group, he made sure that everyone was still there. 'They're all fine baka. What are you worried about?'

'I think Sukeisa's here.'

'What?!'

Before Aniya had a chance to explain, a figure stepped in front of her. "Aniya, if you aren't engaged, may I have this dance?"

Aniya looked up at Tarukon Doukai. 'Oh shit. If I refuse, then he'll know that I know something, and I don't want to raise any speculation here…dammit…why did he have to come along? I guess I'll have to say yes. I've gotta play my cards very carefully from here on in.'

"I'd be delighted to dance with you, sir." Tarukon took her arm and gracefully led her to a spot on the dance floor, where he proceeded to dance. Aniya stared at him thoughtfully. 'Why do I feel as if I've seen him before? He doesn't seem like a stranger, or the bad guy…'

Tarukon could feel Aniya's gaze. 'Maybe she's remembering. Maybe she'll remember who I am!' He smiled as they slowly twirled around. With a determined glint in his eye, he met his father's gaze. Needless to say, his father didn't look pleased. 'That ought to show father that he can't mess around with me.'

"Excuse me? Sir?"

"Call me Tarukon, please."

Aniya paused. "Alright, Tarukon. Have I met you before? You seem very familiar and I don't know why."

Tarukon seemed to pull in his breath. 'So she doesn't remember. I don't want to tell her straight out, but what can I do?' "I feel as if I know you two. I wonder, it might be something we ate?"

"What did you eat?"

"I think it was the chicken. The only other thing I recognized was the vegetarian meal, and I wasn't interested in that."

"Me too! I mean, I didn't want the vegetarian meal. I mean, I thought that chicken was better…." She was flustered. 'Why is this happening to me. I danced with the other baka…I've talked to men before…why has this never happened before?'

Tarukon and Aniya smiled at each other as the band played on.

*****

Lord Doukai met his son's gaze. 'What the hell does that boy think he's doing? If she remembers who he is, then our chances at succeeding are slim to none. I'll have to get Calisandra to work on this.' "Calisandra?"

"Yes, Lord Doukai?" She was hidden by the same potted plants that she had been behind when Hiei had heard her speak. "Where is Tarukon? He seems to have disappeared and I can't find him anywhere."

"He's dancing with Aniya."

Her eyes flared. "That treacherous bastard! How could he do something like that to me!" then she remembered who she was talking to. "I'm sorry my lord. No offense intended toward your son."

"No, that's alright. Right now, I was thinking the same thing. I need to you to get Nara Ska in there so she can do what she needs to do."

"What? Now? In front of all the other people?"

"Come up with a suitable distraction. Try using your spirit energy."

Calisandra smiled, "With pleasure sir." Then she walked away from the plants into the garden, where Nara Ska was hiding. "Come on. It's time for you to get your revenge. You remember what to do?"

Nara Ska nodded. Calisandra continued, "Lord Doukai seems to think that we need to get this done and other with right now. So what I'm going to do is make a distraction, by pretending to fight her or something. One of my attacks will be the concealment spell of Katomi's. That will be your cue to cast your spell on her. Also, feel free to do what you can to injure her. The more injured she is, the better our chances are of success."

Nara Ska nodded again. Calisandra wondered, 'Does she ever get tired of nodding her head?' Out loud she said, "Alright. You'll know when to attack." Nara Ska nodded.

*****

Aniya and Tarukon were still looking at each other. 'Where have I seen him before…it doesn't matter I suppose. He sure is cute though.' 'Whoa! Aniya, snap out of it. He's the enemy.' 'How can he be the enemy?' 'Very easily, you idiot!' 'But the dragon man didn't actually say he was the enemy. He just said he was out for more than just fun.' 'If that doesn't spell out enemy, then what does?' 'Oh shut up. You're just jealous.' Aniya blinked. 'I need to stop doing that. Two opinions in my mind is not a good thing.' She smiled because Tarukon was looking at her with a worried expression on his face.

"Aniya, are you alright? You looked like you phased out for a moment there." He looked into her eyes to make sure that she was absolutely alright.

"I'm fine." Then Tarukon looked at her, "Aniya?"

"Hmmm?"

"I need to tell you something…"

*****

Lord Doukai saw Aniya and Tarukon stop dancing. "Oh no, here he goes." Then he saw his son rub his neck. He faintly heard him say, 'I need to tell you something…' Lord Doukai nodded to Calisandra. 'My dear, it is time for you to act. If you don't act now, all our chances of success are gone.'

Calisandra nodded and signaled Nara Ska. The red-eyed demon moved into position. 'Show time.'

*****

"I need to tell you something…" Tarukon raised his hand to his neck, without knowing. For years, whenever he'd been nervous or scared, he rubbed his old scar. He found that is gave him a little confidence, if you could call it that. He smiled nervously. "Um…I…"

Aniya smiled at him. "What is it Tarukon? You don't have to be nervous. Just tell me whatever it is that's bothering you." 'Who am I fucking kidding. 'Don't be nervous.' Ha! I should take my own advice sometimes, I swear.' Then she saw it. The blue scratch mark on Tarukon's neck.

"Tarukon?"

Then she remembered…

…Lord Doukai…tried to have me killed…or injured beyond hope of recovery…Tarukon saved me…helicopter…a little boy peering out of the window…the explosion…the hospital…I remember blowing it up, but…now I remember why…the stupid boulder…hit me…concussion…dammit…something else I can't remember…something about Sukeisa…

Tarukon read Aniya's expressions like a book. He could see the realization, the surprise, the shock, and something between anger and sadness? "Aniya? Are you alright?"

Looking him in the eye, Aniya answered. "I remembered…you saved me…from your own father."

Wincing slightly he added, "Well, tried to save you yes, actually succeed, no."

Aniya was tracing the scar on his neck. "I gave you that, didn't I? When they tried to take me away again." They both got lost in each other's eyes and they would have gotten farther than that, except that a certain bitch interrupted.

Calisandra shoved her way in between the two of them. Putting her back to Tarukon, it looked as if she was protecting him from some horrible beast. "Stay away you bitch! Taruk-kun is mine. You can't have him."

"His name's Tarukon. Not Tarukun. And who says he's yours? If he is, then why is he moving away from you, slut!"

Calisandra suddenly began to glow. "All right. I've tried to be nice, but clearly this isn't going to work out. I demand to fight right now!"

"Bring on your worst!"

"You got it, bitch!"

*****

"What?!"

"You heard me detective. She says she thinks that Sukeisa is here."

"How could that be? I don't see any sleeping monsters with cosmic powers."

"Moron. Do you really think that Sukeisa would be in his original form? Chances are is that he found a new one and is now hiding in a demon's body."

"Oh. Right." Kuwabara looked at Yukina. "Yukina, what's the matter? You seem distracted."

"I can't find Aniya. She isn't dancing with Hiei anymore and she's not with that other man."

Yusuke looked at Yukina. "What other man?"

"The one that she danced with after Hiei. He was tall with gray eyes and black hair. He was wearing a blue suit, I think."

"Tarukon."

Yusuke turned to Kurama. "Do you know who's she talking about, Kurama?"

The kitsune nodded. "Yes. Tarukon is the name of a human who is currently the most educated scholar on irregular spirit energies. He attends human school, but spends a lot of his free time in Makai and spirit world. His father is Lord Doukai and if Aniya's with Tarukon, then…we need to find Aniya immediately."

They turned to Hiei. "Well, you're the psychic one here. Where is she?"

"Yusuke, do you really need me to figure out where that girl is?"

The group suddenly heard:

"…I demand a fight right now!"

"Bring on your worst!"

"You got it bitch!"

Yusuke looked back at Hiei. "I guess we won't need you after all."

*****

Aniya and Calisandra circled each other, checking the status of their opponent (or trying to do this while looking pretty as the case might have been with a certain someone we know). Calisandra smiled nastily. "I know a lot about you Aniya. How you can't use your wings and claws unless you power up first. So I doubt you'll be using either in that get up." She laughed as Aniya cursed silently for her stupidity at agreeing to wear the dress.

'I should have worn the stupid Sailor crap uniform instead. At least I could fight in it.'

Calisandra could see the frustration written on Aniya's face. "Agonizing isn't it? I also know about your stupid drama, dance and song magic. I can tell you that it won't work here. The stupid dress will prevent you from dancing. Song won't be enough to defeat me and drama would be a waste of your time."

"Why?"

"Because I took all of that stupid Katomi's power. Now I have her singing powers and I've been trained in a special kind of magic. One that's never been heard of. It tops drama by far."

Aniya was not impressed. "Really? What kind of magic is it then?"

Calisandra posed dramatically, "Teen."

Aniya sweat-dropped. "You're not serious. I've never heard of teen magic. You have got to be kidding. I think you're making this up. I know all about magic, I studied for years. There is no such thing as teen magic. I doubt anything short of top drama could bring me down. That stupid 'magic' of yours can't possibly hurt me."

"It can, and it will."

"I'd like to see you try."

Calisandra froze and then suddenly closed her eyes. "Fine." Then she brought one of her arms up and moved it quickly, making it look as she had slapped the air. Then she repeated the motion with her other hand. She shouted, "Bitch Slap!" Two beams of energy that looked like hands blasted from the air she'd slapped. (A/n: You can just see the freeze, the pose, the little words underneath that say the name of the attack.)

The two hands went toward Aniya, who didn't flinch as they slapped her in the face. Calisandra smirked, but the smirk disappeared once Aniya started laughing. "What is so funny? I just pitch slapped you!"

Aniya was laughing so she didn't hear Calisandra. "You're magic, it's just spirit energy! That is pathetic. Those didn't hurt as much as a bee sting. That was a stupid waste of good energy. That attack was no more magic than Kuwabara is smart." (In the background there was a "hey! Take that back shorty!") She continued. "I think it would be good if you dropped this right now. I'm under orders not to kill anyone. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to pull my attacks enough so that you wouldn't die."

Calisandra was fuming now. "How dare you insult me!" She leapt at her, forming "claws" with her hands. "Cat Fight Claws!!" Aniya easily dodged the attacks, saying, "Those were almost like an attack that a certain white-haired hanyu that we know, uses. He is very particular to it. Are you sure you've got the copyrights settled out? You could be fined for using something that isn't signature to you."

The bitch spun around and tried to do a martial arts kick. "Cheerleader kick!" But her dress prevented her from carrying through and she landed on her butt on the floor with everyone laughing at her. Aniya was laughing so hard that tears were coming out of her eyes. "Come on, is that the best you can do? You still haven't used any magic yet. It's all spirit energy. You should know that my magic can stop all your stupid attacks."

Calisandra started to glow pink. "You asked for it slut. Here I go: DITZY POWER!!" There was a blinding flash of light, and when it died away, Calisandra stood there in a pink and white cheerleader outfit. "Now that I'm powered up, I can finally get this under way. COLD SHOULDER!" She spun and flipped her shoulder at Aniya, who felt cold immediately, and was frozen temporarily, but she recovered and shook her body all over.

"Okay, that's it. I'm getting tired of standing around with you prancing in something that a Sailor Scout would be ashamed to wear!" Aniya flung off her shawl. Then she proceeded to whirl away her skirt, revealing a pair of pants and boots.

Botan was angry. "Where did she get those? I told her she couldn't wear those! When did she put them on?"

Kurama smiled. Now he knew what had been taking the dracon so long to get dressed. She had had to disguise the fact that she was wearing combat gear beneath the elegant skirt. He was slightly worried. Even though it seemed as though Aniya's opponent was weak, he couldn't help but sense that there was someone else with a large amount of power in the room, someone that they had met before.

Calisandra was waiting, "What are you waiting for, bitch? Blow on the stupid scar and power up so we can fight real this time!"

Aniya shook her head, "I don't think I'll need any of my magic powers to win. My fighting skills should be enough!" With that she leapt at the dumb blonde and began to punch and kick like there was no tomorrow. Calisandra had trouble keeping Aniya from hitting her. 'Damn. If she doesn't use her dracon power soon, then we can't put the spell on her. I'm going to have to call in Nara Ska.'

As if on cue, the demon arrived. Aniya landed a punch on Calisandra's forehead and the other girl fell to the floor, whimpering. Then the dracon turned around. "Nara Ska." The red-eyed demon nodded in return and the two fighters began to circle each other.

Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, Yukina, and Botan watched from off to the side. Yukina asked Kuwabara, "Aniya will be alright, won't she?"

"Of course she will. The stupid little shorty can't die." Kuwabara didn't like defending the dracon, but he didn't want Yukina to be super worried or anything.

Yusuke turned to Kurama in shock. "How is it that Nara Ska is still around? Aniya said that she was tied to Katomi's life energy, so why didn't she die with Katomi?"

Kurama answered, "Well,  I don't actually know, but I think that since Calisandra says that she took some of Katomi's powers, my guess would be that she also acquired enough of Katomi's life energy to maintain Nara Ska. Aniya is going to have to play her cards very carefully, Yusuke. Otherwise, she will fall."

The group turned to watch the fight again.

*****

Aniya and Nara Ska had stopped circling and were regarding each other. Both of them knew that the battle could go either way. They also reached a silent agreement (who knows how) to not use any weapons because the fight was between them, not with the other people watching the fight. Then they rushed at each other to fight.

There were a bunch of blurs and when the two fighters landed in crouches on the other side of the smoke, the audience could see that Aniya was hurt a lot more than Nara Ska. 'Dammit, I don't know how she got to be so strong. I just don't understand. I could beat her before…why can't I now? I guess there's nothing for it, but to use my power.'

Aniya removed the black glove that covered her scar. Blowing on it and activating her energy, she glowed blue-white and then she was there, dragon wings and claws and all. Powering up for her electrical attack, Aniya noticed that Nara Ska wasn't moving. Normally, when Aniya powered up her electrical attack, the opponents reacted in some way, but Nara Ska stood frozen on the spot, watching as Aniya gathered the electricity.

Lifting her arms, Aniya threw the electrical attack at Nara Ska (which is kind of stupid because if goes against the entire 'don't hurt the audience, so don't use weapons' thing. Oh well) who narrowly dodged it. Aniya didn't like that, it made her suspicious. 'Yeah right. Like all of a sudden she's afraid of me now. What the hell??!'

Aniya powered up another electrical attack, but while her hands and mind were busy, she suddenly noticed that Nara Ska was using telekinetics to take the Astoria stone. "Oh no you don't!" Aniya threw away the attack, but just a moment too late. Nara Ska grabbed the stone and smashed it on the floor.

Everyone froze. There was silence as Aniya stared at the stone which was supposed to be the last weapon against Sukeisa. Smoke started to rise from the shards of the stone as it slowly evaporated (can stones do that?). Nara Ska then walked over to Aniya, who found that she was tied with invisible bonds, tried to move out of the way. Nara Ska put the palms of her hands on Aniya's cheeks.

Pain erupted from every cell in Aniya's body. She couldn't help but scream as it felt as if something was being pulled out of her. 'DAAMMMIT!!!' Feeling all her spirit energy, magic energy and life energy drain out of her, she fell to her knees.

*****

Tarukon tried in vain to find out what was happening. "Aniya? Aniya! Where are you?" He couldn't see anything in the smoke. He could hear her screaming. 'Dammit. If only I'd dealt with Calisandra. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm, dragging him away from the smoke.

"Tarukon, we're leaving." It was Lord Doukai, dragging him away from Aniya. 'I didn't tell her yet!' Tarukon struggled against his father's arm. "Guards, deal with him."

The last thing Tarukon saw before he was knocked unconscious was Calisandra and Nara Ska coming up in front of him, both of them grinning like Cheshire cats. Calisandra smiled nastily in his face and said, "Well, Tarukon. It seems like your efforts failed. Now there is no one who can stop us…"

*****

"Hiei, Kuwabara? Can you tell what's happening?" The last thing any of them had seen was Nara Ska smash the stone against the ground. The smoke that had risen from the shards had covered Nara Ska's draining attack. Suddenly, they heard screams.

Kurama, Hiei and Yusuke looked at each other. "That's Aniya!" Kurama and Yusuke ran into the smoke, trying to find Aniya. The smoke was beginning to clear away and they found Aniya. Hiei had found her first, or they had found a girl that looked like Aniya.

Kuwabara came over. "Guys, where's Aniya." Yusuke pointed, but Kuwabara protested, "That can't be Aniya. Aniya has white-silvery hair, not black hair."

Kurama and Yusuke looked at each other. "What does it mean? I've never heard of someone's hair turning black."

Hiei looked at Kurama and nodded. "It means, detective, that our dracon friend is human."

A/n: Very loooong, ne? I know the ending sucks, but I had to break it off somewhere. I have decided not to pair Aniya up with anyone. I originally thought I'd pair Aniya and Tarukon, but it wouldn't work later on, so I won't. Stay tuned. I will try and update as much as possible. (But I update solely for me because no one would ever dream of reading this, except for my sister and the one person who actually reviewed it.)