"Anything?"

"It's in the air." he answered tightly drawing away from the window, "Exactly what was so difficult about keeping watch over her?"

"Give me a break Hiei," Yusuke grumbled, "It's not like we were expecting her to climb out the window. That's something we would pull not her."

He had known a few minutes after he and Kurama had reentered the house. At first he had attributed the feeling of absence to her having shut herself in her room. That was until he went past her room and noted the lack of presence inside of it.

Now all four of them were gathered in her room. He and Kurama stood at the window.

"If I had to guess Botan was involved." Kurama offered stepping back, "It should not be all that difficult to follow. Hiei..."

He paused, already perched on the windowsill to follow the fading scent.

"Try not to over react. It is possible this was something to do with her abilities." Kurama ventured.

He snorted, "If you actually believed that fox you would not have said anything."

Then he was moving to follow the scent as it played out.

All manner of furious thoughts clamored for his attention.

The foremost being how did one go about killing a grim reaper.

"What exactly is it we're doing?" Botan asked nervously as she gazed around at the semi large crowd of loud humans.

She smiled at her friend before scanning the large group once again.

She was looking for a certain person who was technically the answer to all her immediate problems.

She had directed Botan to the poor section of the city where the industrial buildings were more prevalent. There was one building, it had been a large factory at one point in the past, that she had wanted to go.

This was not exactly Botan's type of crowd, it would have been more Yusuke or Kazuma's if they had ever dealt with these groups. To her knowledge they never had, being a delinquent did not give you an all access pass to stuff like this.

It took real reputation to gain entry into this place. Not just the dubious reputation of the toughest juvenile delinquent. In fact anyone to young was turned away with severe prejudice and encouragement to wait until they were out of diapers before trying again.

In some ways this singular event was what kept reputations like her's going. Aside from her various dealings with these people in other situations.

She had never come here with the interest of tending to her reputation. The outcome normally was what did so.

"We are doing nothing. I'm about to have a lot of fun and you get to watch." she informed the reaper finally spotting the person she had been searching for, "Come on."

As they moved through the cheering and booing crowd she heard Botan gasp in surprise as the group of people moved enough for her to see what was going on.

"But...Shizuru those people are..." Botan stammered.

"Beating the crap out of each other." she supplied grinning, "It's a street fight Botan."

"Not like I've seen." Botan disagreed wide eyed, "This is like the Dark Tournament or something."

"Much smaller scale and no demons." she assured her putting a hand to her shoulder to get her attention away from the combatants, "Trust me this is normal. Hey Arata!"

A skinny, middle aged man with a large grin waved back at her from the sidelines, "Hey Shizuru! Long time no see!"

She maneuvered her way to the man's side, pulling Botan along with her just to make sure the girl stayed out of trouble. This was not the place to lose sight of her. Botan may deal with death but she was not the kind of person who should mingle with the creeps and thugs that surrounded them.

That's rich. I'm Death's body guard...

"Has it been a year already?" Arata asked her jovially as they came up to him.

He was one of the easier of the bookies to deal with at the fights. They had been dealing with each other ever since she had begun attending these things.

"Something like that," she replied, "Tell me Narumi is around."

"Well yeah but she ain't scheduled...yet," Arata winked at her, "Soon as that snake hears you're here that'll change. You want the usual cut?"

"Of course," she agreed chuckling, "Get to your set ups Arata I don't have all night."

Probably only an hour or so really...

"You can't be serious Shizuru." Botan half pleaded with her, "Who is Narumi? You aren't actually going to fight, are you?"

"Really Botan it shouldn't be that surprising." she said reaching into her pocket for her pack of cigarettes, "Kazuma didn't get his attitude out of thin air or from Yusuke. Didn't you ever wonder why it didn't bother me all that much to watch at that damn tournament?"

"Well yes but..."

She turned her attention to the center of the crowd.

Two thugs were throwing punches at each other, some landing, others not. Both were heavily bloodied. The match was obviously being played out. Real street fights were much shorter, everything put into landing the hardest blows to take your opponent out quickly. This was more spectacle then anything.

She lit her cigarette she had just taken from the pack, drawing the smoke deep into her lungs.

These sort of events did not bother her. When she watched fights it might seem to everyone else that she was bored with it.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Her opinions varied from fight to fight. Sometimes bare knuckle brawling like the kind Yusuke had engaged in with the demon Chu was much more exciting then the ones that had involved weird abilities.

Of course when there were men involved there always came a point where she was convinced it was only trying to prove who had the bigger package. That was when her attention wandered. There was fighting and then there was beating on each other.

Her interest was in the purity of the fight itself.

"See that woman over there?" she said pointing with her chin, "The one crowded by those girls that look like they work someplace with neon signs?"

They were hard to miss. The only pack of about twenty girls clad in leather pants, halter tops, and just as many varied types of clothing that really served no purpose when it came to fighting. It had never made sense to her that Narumi, who thought she was some kind of pop star and insisted on being referred to by the singular name, would surround herself with sycophants that were that useless.

Narumi herself wore much more practical if still curve fitting clothing. The woman with short cropped black hair and steel grey eyes favored vests as shirts, and jeans. The way she held herself would have told anyone who understood fighting that she could and would use her fists if she was inspired to. From past experience she knew it did not take much to inspire Narumi.

Narumi's entire demeanor made her seem out of place among the group of fledgling idiots. It was hard to believe she was the leader of one of the more vicious female gangs that was only a step beneath the actual mobsters.

"That's Narumi." she said taking a drag.

"And you're sure she'll want to...um fight you?" Botan asked eying the woman, "She looks pretty tough."

"She is," she replied tucking a hand in one of her pockets, "and yeah she'll agree. We do this about once every year. Narumi has a thing about beating me."

"You've already fought her?" Botan almost squeaked.

She nodded her head, "Since before either of us had anything like a reputation."

It was amusing in its own way.

When they had been younger they had crossed paths more regularly. Their fights happened more often because of that. As they got older life had gotten in the way of things.

She had needed to be more responsible for Kazuma's sake and Narumi had taken a different way.

Still they both gravitated to this situation. Some inner calling drawing them once a year no matter how busy they might be in their lives.

She knew it had more to do with the challenge they saw in each other then anything else.

Between her and Narumi there would always be the drive to test the other.

Can take the kid out of the streets but that doesn't mean the streets die off...

"I thought this was supposed to be fun. This isn't what I would call fun in the least."

"Okay so I lied a little," she confessed not feeling the least bit guilty, "You wouldn't have helped with the jail break if I told you what I was planning."

"I should say not!" Botan snapped then eyed the other woman speculatively, "Has she ever won?"

"Nope but that's why she always agrees when I show up."

She smiled a little as a young man braved the small crowd of scantily dressed girls to speak with Narumi. She knew from the quick look Narumi gave the young man what was being said to her.

She could already feel her adrenaline starting to move through her as Narumi scanned the crowd with narrowed eyes. She gave the woman a little half wave as she was spotted.

She needed this more then she had thought if the anticipation running through her was any indication.

"You and Narumi will be the fight after next." Arata said returning to her side, "Closing out with you two."

"How are the odds?" she inquired only slightly interested.

"Not bad. Heavily in your corner as usual but since you've been out of circulation so long some are coming in on her side. I'm in your court of course." Arata answered grinning, "I always bet on a sure thing."

"I'd be careful Arata if she pulls a knife like last time things could turn out on her side." she commented drily.

"A knife?!" Botan exclaimed, "What have you gotten me into Shizuru?!"

A/N: Please no jumping the gun or me let it play out...as far as I'm concerned this is IC for Shizuru. Reviews are definately welcome (PLEASE!)