A/N: Well, this was supposed to be the last chapter. Then my writing muse hit me with the force of a semi-truck and decided that this needed an epilogue. *facepalms* On an unrelated note the lock on my door broke so I was stuck in my room until my stepdad dismantled it. Hope you like the chapter and, as always, feel free to review!

Bold: Flashback

Italic Bold: Telepathy/Mindscape

Chapter 20

"What, you're leaving?!" Miranda exclaims. "Shouldn't you be here to train like me and Yusuke?" She asks, Annabel shook her head. "Genkai needs to focus on Yusuke, he's the one inheriting her technique. I need to train with someone that has a similar ability to my own." Annabel says as Miranda pulled her into a suffocating hug. "And just what am I supposed to do? With your luck some serial killer will stumble across you training and attack you!" Miranda wails. "I trust Koenma and my instincts enough to believe that I'll survive the training. Just don't tell the boys anything about me training in the Makai, not that they'll be in that much contact with us. They'll be busy training as well." Annabel says thoughtfully. "Then what am I supposed to do when you're gone?" Miranda asks moodily. "Socialize with people your age? Or you could try not fawning over Hiei's looks and ask to train with him. He's a fire demon so he'll be experienced in using it." Miranda's eye shone gleefully. "Why didn't you mention this before?!" Mostly because if you tried training with him earlier before Genkai put us through hell he would've accidentally killed you. Annabel thought.

When Annabel went through the portal she wasn't expecting to arrive at the outskirts of the Saint Beast's castle. Dozens of small, cloaked demons were starting to appear. Annabel shivered, she didn't need to feel their energy to know that these things wanted her dead. "Meat!" They all shrieked, lunging at the woman. Tch, they're just small fry. Flare enough energy and they'll scatter. Densetsu says, sounding bored. "Why couldn't that portal have led into the castle?!" Annabel snarled, her eyes turning violet. Her usually calm aura became sharp as she created ice claws for herself and charged at them with reckless abandon. "Ice Claw!" She yelled, slashing through several of the demons. An inhuman gleam in her eyes made the lesser demons feel a chill go up their spine. "Well? Didn't you want to kill me or was that before you found out I'm not easy prey?"

The pattern of being attacked by lesser demons would repeated as she actually entered the castle. She narrowly avoided being crushed by the falling ceiling, only to be attacked by Byakko's pets. She knew that she was being tested but it didn't mean that she wasn't pissed off. She had been hoping to actually speak to her teachers before they tried killing her. It was common courtesy! To make matters worse none of her teachers seemed to think she was worthy enough to meet at the gate! They were probably thinking that she would be killed by one of their traps. As her anger began to build Densetsu seemed to growl in approval. Looks like those idiots haven't heard the saying about a woman scorned. Let's hunt them down, one by one. Densetsu purrs, it's influence making Annabel's eyes darken. "Time to begin our game of hide and seek." She says with a smirk. If there was one thing that she confident in, it was being able to track down spirit signatures.

"Hey Mira, where's Anna?" Yusuke asks as they both were subjected to Genkai's harsh training methods. Miranda looked troubled. "She didn't say where she was going, only that she asked Koenma to find someone to train her. She had a really solemn look before she left." She says, Yusuke looked baffled. "Who would the brat know that could train her? I don't think I know anyone that uses ice." From afar Hiei watched like a hawk, it was only a matter of time before the brunette went off on her own. And with the aggressive behavior she'd been showing recently he was looking forward to what she'd be like after training.

Kuwabara sighed in frustration. They were going into a tournament with demons and he didn't know how to prepare for it! Yusuke had master Genkai for training and Hiei refused to train with a human so he was out. He may have horrible grades but he wasn't stupid, he needed someone to advance his training. The only person he could think of with enough patience and smarts to properly help him would be Kurama. Now what school did the red head go to again?

Well, it seems like the girls took the whole demons existing thing rather well. Botan thought after speaking to Keiko and Yusuke's mother. Both brunettes had demanded to know what exactly his job was and they refused to be led away from the subject. Keiko was worried, as expected, but Atsuko seemed unfazed. "So he'll be kicking demon ass then. Doesn't surprise me after winning a fight with death." The woman says. Botan was starting to see where Yusuke got his attitude from.

"You know, it isn't polite to leave a guest at the door." Annabel says, her voice echoing through the hall. She couldn't see the Saint Beast but she could certainly sense him. It must have been Genbu, the one that looked like a turtle golem. An eerie chuckle echoed through the confined space as Annabel froze, going into a defensive stance. A tail with a sharp barb manifested from the ground and Annabel jumped away from it. "What? You're too cowardly to take on a human in a fair fight? No wonder you're known as the lackey of the group." Annabel taunted, trying to draw out the demon.

As expected Genbu had gone for a more direct approach and Annabel had formed her ice claws, cutting through solid stone. Genbu soon found himself without arms, Annabel narrowed violet eyes at the demon. "Now, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" She jumped back as Genbu's detached arms were manipulated to fly straight towards her. The look on Genbu's face was a mixture of rage and malicious glee. It made Annabel wary but this guy had nothing on the younger Toguro. "Looks like I have to teach demons that I'm not someone to underestimate." She says grimly, letting loose the spirit energy she kept a tight rein on. The temperature began dropping significantly.

Suzaku watched as the woman took on their weakest member, she had obviously had training since the last time he'd seen her on the monitor. Her attacks were aggressive and had a surprising amount of power behind them for someone of her stature. Eventually she seemed to give in to her frustration as the entire corridor froze over, freezing even Genbu in his tracks. "Now, are you going to tell me where they are or do I have to hunt them down myself?" Annabel demands, leaving Genbu's head unfrozen. Genbu only cursed, further irritating the woman. "Alright, let's start with an easier question. Are there anymore traps that I need to be worried about?" She demands, Genbu gave a fanged grin. "You'll just have to find out for yourself." He says, enjoying the murderous glare that the human sent him.

"I wasn't expecting my training to turn into a Legend of Zelda quest, I do not have the time for this." Annabel grumbles as she went further into the castle. It was interesting to see that Genbu actually had a solid body instead of just being a spirit. Was it that way with the others as well? She doubted that Genbu would have been a proper teacher anyways, he could just regenerate until his opponent tired out and strike. His only real weakness was the stone in between his legs, honestly any girl facing the monster would've instinctively kicked there. As she went further into the castle she felt the air begin to heat up. As she reached the next room she saw that it was filled with lava and there was only a few pillars to hop across to get to the other side. "Oh come on! What is this, a video game?! How the hell do you install a lava pit anyways?" She demands, unaware of the demon laughing at her annoyed grimace. And to think she hadn't even come across the other surprises that the Saint Beasts had in place. By the time she'd reach them she's try to kill them on the spot.

"I wonder what it says about my life that I'm not surprised to be facing off against actual zombies." Annabel says as the green, humanoid husks all went to mob her. Once again she created a pair of claws, the weapons were actually growing on her. After she made her way through the swarm of zombies she'd make it to the tower, where at least two of the energies were at the top. But weren't there three more of them? She was starting to become exhausted, her adrenaline wearing off. She didn't think she'd be able to make it to them at this rate. With one final explosion of her ice powers she froze everything around her, passing out. Two figures looked down at the human, observing the carnage she created. "What do you think Seiryuu? Is this human worthy enough to receive training?" Suzaku asks his silent companion, the blue demon looked down at the girl. He analyzed the unconscious female and noted how her body was shivering in her sleep, trying to retain heat. Almost like the coldness of her own spirit energy was too much for her fragile human body to handle. Still, it would be something interesting to look into. "It's certainly more impressive than that other human that forced their way in. It will certainly be an interesting two months." Seiryuu says gruffly. Suzaku smirked.

When Annabel woke up it seemed that she was in someone's private quarters. Even half awake she was still on guard, especially since she couldn't recognize her surroundings. "I'll admit that you weren't what I was expecting human. You're more resilient than I thought you'd be." Suzaku says, bring in some sort of food Annabel couldn't identify. If she had to guess it was some animal native to the Makai. Her instincts weren't screaming at her for the moment so she supposed that it wasn't anything threatening. "That's the closest I'll ever get to a compliment here isn't it?" Annabel says warily, accepting the plate and eating it with the same vigor of a starving man. "What's your name human?" Annabel hesitated. At the tournament she would be a different person so she'd need an alias. But what would be a good one to go with? Well there was currently a dragon making itself at home in her head... "You all can call me Ryuuzaki." She says with a grin.