Author's Note: Nakoruru, you are the first person outside my family to use that reference for 'dinner.' On a more interesting note for the rest of my readers, school's up this week (seniors got out early) so I'll have more time to write. Enjoy!

            Hiei's response to Neko's news had been…clear. The couch now lay in five pieces, having fallen victim to Hiei's rage at hearing that Kennichi had been under his nose, in plain sight, and taken a hostage. Hiei had then gone into his bedroom and not come out. An hour passed, and Neko decided to change into clothes more suitable for a rescue mission.

            Neko looked at her reflection in the mirror and the light on the ceiling fluttered. She looked at its reflection and was blinded. She blinked to clear her sight and then stared. The bathroom was gone, and she stood in a large hall. The room went up two stories and was decorated in bright crimson with white marble. It made her feel strangely proud. Then she saw the chairs—thrones—on the dais at the far end. There were six, four smaller on each side of the central and larger thrones. She felt her lip turn up, then heard soft footfalls behind her. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she began to turn and look up. Frustratingly enough, she closed her eyes as she turned and it occurred to her that she was merely a passenger in this vision. Then she felt firm, smooth lips meet hers and silently gasped. What was this dancing feeling? Wait—that scent, it surrounded her, it reminded her of…

            Before she could complete the thought, the vision left her. Neko once again faced the bathroom mirror in Hiei's apartment. She sighed and opened her bag. Off came the uniform, and on went the formfitting bodysuit and looser shift. The shift wasn't much of a dress, with high slits to allow movement, which was secured by a thin belt with a single pouch. Into this pouch went a bottle about the size of Neko's fist with a strong dose of what Koenma had described as 'wake water.' It had been a stimulant to keep her going through endless days of training, and she felt she might need it now. No weapons were necessary, she had her training and magic. She braided her hair, and started to pack her things up again. Something hard on her uniform hit her hand and she looked closer. There was a pink pin on the front. Remembering her vision, Neko gently removed the pin and fastened it to her shoulder. Then she took out her locket, now known not to have been her mother's, but still important to her. It went with the pin rather nicely. Content, she left the bathroom.

            Hiei sat on the windowsill. For some reason he'd turned off all the lights, and the moonlight gave his figure a silver lining. Then he stood and Neko recognized his original black outfit. A sword in its sheath rested at his side, his only weapon. Neko looked up at his shadow where his eyes would be. "Are you ready?" he asked.

            "Yes," she said. Hiei walked to the door. "But, shouldn't we tell the others?"

            He stopped. "No, they'll only get in the way." Neko wondered about the sense in that judgment, but decided Hiei was the more experienced fighter and would know. They left the apartment and went down the stairs in silence. As they left the building, the bushes off to the side rustled. Hiei crouched, but Neko knew that sound.

            "Kiri!" she said. The cat came out and Hiei relaxed. Kiri jumped up and Neko caught her. Neko then held Kiri out at arms length like a stray and said sternly, "If you come with us you'll have to pull your own weight." Hiei smirked.

            His smirk vanished when Kiri said, "Honestly! Need I remind you that I am your Guardian? Pull my own weight indeed!"

            Neko set Kiri down and said. "Sapphire got caught, and he is also one of my supposed Guardians." Kiri grumbled, but followed the two crusaders into the night.

            Yusuke sighed and looked up. A whole lot of nothing had happened over the past week. He'd gotten so used to running around that free time made him bored. Kayko had managed to drag him to a movie, and it hadn't been too bad, but boredom had set in and he felt like a slug. His daydreams were quickly interrupted by the appearance of a floating Koenma in front of his face—a much taller Koenma.

            "Yusuke! We have an emergency!" Koenma said, his voice down an octave and his mouth looking rather strange without its pacifier.

            Yusuke picked himself up off the floor and gaped. "Koenma? What the heck happened to you?"

            Koenma smiled. "It seems Neko has a natural ability to bring out people's potential. I had the potential to grow taller, and did so. For Hiei I imagine it was the same."

            Yusuke frowned. "What about me?"

            Koenma scratched his face. "Well, I guess you've hit a dead end." Yusuke opened his mouth to object, but Koenma continued. "I called on you to let you know that Hiei and Neko have come to Spirit World."

            Yusuke felt let down. "What? That's not exactly a crisis."

            Koenma leaned forward. "It is if they happen to go directly to a heavily shielded mansion, which I have just been informed is inhabited by none other than Kennichi."

            Yusuke blinked. "How did they know?"

            Koenma shrugged. "That's anybody's guess, but you need to round up the grew and get over there quick. They were insane to go alone, Kennichi is no amateur."

            Neko, Kiri, and Hiei looked up the hill at the textbook example of a haunted mansion. The dead garden with its skeletal trees reaching into the sky lay between them and the side of the house. Kiri batted Neko's leg with a paw to get the girl's attention. "Once we get inside, I will return to my original form. I must stress that the instant we have Sapphire we leave for home."

            Hiei looked at Neko, waiting to hear her answer. She looked at the house. "I don't know where home is, but we will leave once our mission is complete." Then Neko crouched low and ran for the house. Hiei kept pace and an eye out for danger. Kiri hadn't expected the other two to leave so abruptly and had to catch up, but they all reached the mansion safely. Hiei eyed a second floor window.

            "Think your magic can get you two up there?" he asked Neko. She was staring at the wall. Hiei didn't appreciate being ignored and reached out to grab her arm and turn her to face him. The cat yowled and he paused to look down.

            Kiri's tail was swishing back and forth. "I think she's going to take us right through. Pick me up and grab a hold of her." Hiei hesitated, but Neko suddenly started to walk into the brick wall. Without a second thought, he scooped up Kiri and latched onto Neko's arm as she guided them through the wall and into a dark passage.

            The hall was unusually wide, but long enough that the dim glow from Neko's magic around them didn't let them see the opposite end. Kiri jumped out of Hiei's arms and shuddered. She grew into a large, dark tiger with draconic wings the same gold as her eyes. Neko stopped glowing, and just as her light died, sconces on the walls came to life.

            They were in an old ballroom or dining room which had been cleared out except for one piece of furniture on the far end. Hiei drew his sword and Kiri turned to face the throne and growled. Neko frowned, she sensed nothing. Then Kennichi appeared on the throne, lounging with such a relaxed posture that he could've been waiting there for hours. Neko began to feel uneasy, she hadn't smelled anything.

            Kennichi gave them a toothy grin. "I see you accepted my invitation without delay, congratulations. However, you should have brought your other allies because there isn't just me who wants to fight you." A taller man stepped out from behind the throne, his dark cape swishing behind him like a shadow. Neko felt her head ache. She knew this man! At least she knew his psychic scent, and it wasn't pleasant. Kennichi continued. "Allow me to introduce Narwa, a guest from a dark sect, the Kurai."

            Narwa grinned and Neko realized that he may be evil, but he was not much older than she. "Li Neko, we meet at last. Your grandmother will be so sad to hear you died—again."

            Neko brought up her hands and her magical bow appeared. "What do you know about my grandmother?" she asked. She couldn't remember too many particulars about a grandmother, but there had been one. This guy was probably from her true past.

            The man waved a hand dismissively. "She's still around, controlling the Li family like a baker does dough, but they're doomed. Why do we bother with things which will soon prove to be pointless? You're going to try to shoot me, aren't you?"

            Neko loosed her arrow. It bounced off her target like rain on a windshield. She gaped. That arrow had been powered to kill, who was this guy? Narwa looked a little insulted. "That's your best shot? Your mother was five times more powerful than you! What happened to the awesome power you supposedly inherited from those parents of yours? They nearly killed my former master, despite their eventual defeat at his hands, and even I thought twice before attacking the Li family stronghold." He paused and then looked thoughtful. "Or maybe…You aren't really a Li."

            A sword appeared in Neko's hand and she settled into a defensive stance. "I am Li Neko!"

            Kennichi yawned and got up from his chair. "That's fascinating, but not what I'm here for." Hiei shifted his whole focus to Kennichi, who drew his sword and faced Hiei. "I'm looking forward to this rematch, 'Chosen One', but I'll let you make the first move."

            Hiei frowned. "What 'Chosen One?'"

             Kennichi sneered. "There's a prophecy among us apparitions, a tale which has tempted me since childhood. What it boils down to, is the founding of a dynasty of power, which rules the universe in all but name."

            Hiei shifted his position to give him the best speed and waited for the right moment. True to his suspicions, Kennichi leapt first and made to strike Hiei down with a single blow. Hiei moved to parry the strike…

            Yelan looked at the surrounding landscape and felt her hope waver. Eriol had sent her granddaughter to this world to protect her? He had explained that it was supposed to be as much an education for her as a safe place to grow into adulthood instead of being thrown into it head first, but Li Yelan felt like she had to question his right to do this. Yes, he was the greatest magician in the world, but that didn't give him authority over everyone.

            She had personally traced Neko to this place, another level to an alternate dimension, referred to as Spirit World. In front of her was the mansion where Neko and Hiei had been summoned by Narwa and Kennichi. Yelan looked behind her at the few she'd brought with her on this dangerous mission. Meilin, Junko, Rita, and Yuki stood in battle costume with their weapons ready. Rita had been a last minute addition because of her insistence on coming along. She had been the closest to Neko, and had admitted to actually missing her cousin after the first few weeks. Now she was a young woman, not a child, and could be counted on to use magic responsibly.

            There was a rustle behind them and Yelan spun around. A young man in jeans and an open jacket stood there, a smirk of his face. "Would you be Kennichi's security force?" he asked.

            Yelan stepped forward and was about to admonish the boy for speaking so to his elders, when someone else came out of the trees. Another young man, but wearing a red school uniform and with red hair, stepped forward and placed a restraining hand on his companion's shoulder. "Yusuke, these people are humans." The black-hared one seemed to give them a doubtful look, but shrugged. The redhead bowed to Yelan. "Forgive my friend, My Lady, we just weren't expecting to find anyone like yourself in this part of Spirit World." He straightened and asked, "I would appreciate knowing why you are here."

            Yelan nodded to her family and they sat down, but still with an uneasy eye on the newcomers. "We are not of your world, we come from an alternate Earth in search of my granddaughter, Neko." The two young men shared surprised looks. "You know her?"

            The first, Yusuke, nodded. "Yeah, she's in our class. Kuwabara thought she was a demon at first because of her unique spirit energy, but I guess it stands to reason she'd be different if she's a magician from another world."

            Yelan nodded slowly. "Yes, has there been much trouble? This looks like a rather unfriendly place for me to find her in."

            A third person stumbled out of the bushes at that moment, a young man with orange hair and a blue uniform. Yelan found it interesting that two wore uniforms and the third did not. The latest arrival looked at her group with confusion written all over his face. "Who are you?"

            Yusuke ignored him. "To answer your question, it seems a particularly dangerous demon took an interest in Neko and one of our other friends, Hiei. They came here to confront him." He pointed a thumb at his face. "We're the reinforcements."

            Yelan looked the three boys over. Them? Well, odder things were possible. They had no magic, but their mention of 'spirit energy' made her assume it was something used instead of magic in this world.

            There was a sudden explosion from the house and they all spun around to look up the hill. A hole had been blown in the roof. As the debris fell, several figures came out and started jumping around at incredible heights. Yelan recognized the purple hair from one, and the uniform on another. "A Kurai!" she shouted. Yuki, Junko, Rita, and Meilin immediately headed for the house, the others close behind.