Well, what with the disclaimer taken care of in the last chapter, I have nothing important to say! Go figure. Thankfully I got over the Spice Girls binge, but now I seem to be getting back to my country-western roots. Yeeha. What is it with me lately? Ah well. Here goes, I guess.

Wait! I do not own McDonald's!

- blah – Hiei

= blah = Sanura

((blah)) Kali

:: blah :: Kurama

[blah.] Youko

Sanura sat comfortably in her royal blue airline seat and ate her foil-wrapped international airline peanuts. Kali was staring devilishly at said peanuts, willing them to spontaneously combust. Which, granted, could be arranged if she had anything to do with it.

"No, Kali," Kali looked up to see her partner's hand over hers and wide maroon eyes staring meaningfully at her.

"Fine," she sighed. She had been anxious ever since last night, and burning peanuts on a major airline would definitely give her some entertainment. Sanura had taken care of the holes in her wings without difficulty, though that did little to ease her mind of the previous night's events – crying in front of people was something she did not, under any circumstances, do.

The intercom beeped and a female voice floated cheerily from the speakers. "Alright, folks, we are arriving at our destination of Los Angeles, California. It's 85 and sunny, with a slight chance of rain here in beautiful L.A., and we will be descending shortly. At this time all electronic devices need to be turned off, and your seats and trays need to be in their upright and locked positions. Welcome to Los Angeles!"

"About time," Sanura muttered.

Kali crossed her arms and shut her eyes. "People should not be allowed to sound that happy."

"Maybe she's on something." Kali sniggered at the suggestion. Sanura had always been a comedian at heart. A shame, really, that she had made the choices she had. She could have done something more meaningful than serving justice – not that Kali disliked the honorable career, or anything.

"Penny for your thoughts," Sanura tossed a salty peanut into her waiting mouth.

"Not a chance in all the hells. And don't you dare try reading my thoughts."

Sanura frowned. "Well how about a nickel? I have..." she dug through her pockets and produced several coins. "Forty-seven cents. Surely I can get something for that."

"Fine. I was just thinking about planes. I really don't think it's a good way to travel."

"Bull. Don't lie to me, Kali, I hate having to read your mind."

The demon-god sighed tiredly. When did Sanura get so damned intelligent? "Why are our lives so fucked up anymore? We shouldn't have to be here." She answered again, truthfully this time.

"Don't be so serious about everything, I had you laughing just a moment ago. Besides, if we never die we're bound to screw up sometime."

"I guess. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Aha! Maybe not sense, but it's perfectly logical! Logic prevails yet again." Sanura pointed her finger in the brunette's face triumphantly.

"Yay?"

"Humph. You are so uptight, Kali. SO uptight." The cat demon crossed her legs Indian-style and grasped her ankles, pulling them up as close to her as they would go.

"This coming from the woman who has to do stretches at every waking moment just to stay limber. I'm more flexible than you are and you do yoga."

Sanura blew a raspberry at her and waited patiently for the plane to land.

Koenma stared up at the demon and three humans in front of him, one of which was yelling.

"I have better things to do than follow some STUPID pair of girls half way across the WORLD when I just finished fighting TOGURO of all demons! What's a guy gotta do to get a friggin' vacation around here?"

"Yusuke, this IS a vacation. You're going to California, how bad can it possibly be?"

"He's got a point, you know," Botan added. "It's not like you have to fight anyone, you just have to make sure they don't get into any trouble. According to Ayame, they manage to stir up problems with the authorities in almost every city they visit."

"Hn. More babysitting," Hiei observed.

"Just do it, Yusuke!" Koenma hopped onto the desk in front of him and clenched his fists.

"Whatever."

"That's the spirit!" Botan beamed.

"Good. Now get packing; you have a plane to catch."

Sanura pulled her hair into a loose bun and popped her yoga video into the VCR. An unbelievably skinny blonde woman appeared on the screen and began talking in a calm yet instructive voice as she shifted into the first position.

Kali watched from a bar stool as her partner in justice followed every word the video instructor said. The brunette was sitting in a chrome-and-glass mini-kitchen, in a modern-style hotel room with floor-to-ceiling windows and soft white carpet. It was too sterile for her liking, though Sanura seemed to take to it immediately. 'Now THIS is a hotel room!' she had exclaimed happily upon entering. Kali supposed it was great to look at, but not exactly cozy. She much preferred her house back in Japan.

"You know, you should try this stuff too. It's incredibly relaxing."

Kali walked over to her tangled-up friend and bent over sideways so she could look Sanura in the face. "Your arms are shaking, your head is on the floor, and your legs are twisted in ways I never thought possible. Yes, it definitely looks peaceful." She tickled Sanura's side, causing the cat demon to fall over laughing, and walked back to sit on her bar stool.

"Hey! You can't do that, you cheater!" And so began a massive pillow fight that spread throughout the room. Both girls eventually ripped up a couple of down-feather pillows each, as well as earning a few bruises.

"Wow," Kali commented, looking at the mess of a hotel room before them.

"Yup. I'll cook if you clean," she suggested out of habit.

"Okay, I guess." Kali began picking up the masses of feathers that littered the floor.

"What do you want?"

"I'dunno, where's the menu?"

"Menu...?" Sanura's tails brushed against her hand as she looked through the mini-kitchen.

"Yeah, room service menu? The one the hotel's supposed to lay on the counter or something."

"I don't believe that room service would be pleased to see the havoc we have reeked here recently, do you?" She cocked an eyebrow at her winged partner, who was scooping pillow remains off the television.

"I guess not. What can you make?"

"Nothing without a stove," She answered, noticing the utter lack of kitchen appliances. "Why don't I help you clean up and then we can go to the diner across the street."

"Sure, now get a trash bag."

"So this America." Yusuke cocked an eyebrow and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Apparently so," Kurama commented from behind the detective. The group was receiving many a strange look from English-speaking persons in the area, most likely due to their rapid-fire Japanese.

"Uh, guys...how're we supposed to get out of this place?" Kuwabara looked around the airport with childlike wonderment, much to the disgust of Hiei, who walked off down a hall with Kurama at his side.

"Yusuke," Botan was just walking out of the gate; the group's plane had just gated and the four boys were among the first few off. "You just have to follow the signs, silly!" The two humans looked up and were amazed to find that each hallway was headed with a board, which had arrows and labels for directions. Unfortunately, neither boy knew enough English for it to make much difference. Botan noticed this too late. "Oh, woops, I guess you can't just follow the signs, can you? Well, lucky for you two, I read English perfectly!"

When the three of them finally reached the taxi pick-up at the front of the airport, their two demonic companions were waiting with a cab. The five of them piled in without a word and prepared for the long drive.

Kali and Sanura had finally cleared the room of all pillow and/or feather remnants and had proceeded to treat themselves to desert at the nearest diner. The dragon had taken her wings in before leaving the room, as well as most of her demon traits. The cat had hardly bothered, though she did cast a simple invisibility spell over her tails and ears. But the fangs, claws, and tattoos, those stayed in public view. 'Let them stare, Kali, it won't matter to anyone. People in this city are used to weird crap like tattoos and fangs and abnormally long nails. They don't care," She had reasoned before they had departed.

Sanura sipped her rootbeer float thoughtfully and ate a piece of Kali's brownie. "Do you even care that I'm stealing your food?"

"Not really," was the half-hearted reply. The demon-god was busy thinking, yet again, of a certain fire apparition.

"I spend WAY too much time with you." The cat demon abandoned her now empty float and let her head fall into her right palm while her left hand twirled her bright orange hair.

"Agreed. Not much to do about it, though," Kali continued munching on her ice cream-topped, chocolate syrup-smothered brownie with somewhat robotic actions. "I wonder what the boys are doing."

"Boys?" The cat asked. She was rather consumed with thoughts of one in particular, a red-head with eyes as green as the plants he grew. The plural part confused her.

"Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama and that other one."

"His name is Kuwabara." Sanura said it plainly, and to the untrained ear it would have sounded annoyed. But to Kali, her partner of over a decade and friend of countless more, it was simply informative.

"You know I'm bad with names."

"I never did understand that; you're supposed to remember the secrets of the universe and be wise beyond all other creatures. So far as I've seen, you live up to that reputation wonderfully – but you can't remember anyone's name to save your life, I swear it."

Kali shrugged and poked at her brownie absently before looking up for the first time in over a half an hour. She was mildly surprised to find Sanura staring blankly into oblivion, so she tore herself away from her previous thoughts to focus on her friend. "You seem distracted, Sanura, are you alright?"

The cat girl drifted hazily back to reality and answered, "Yeah, just thinkin'."

"Oh, about what?" Kali scowled. All the answers to the universe's many questions could never help her to understand Sanura. One could almost call the cat goddess confusing.

Her golden hair shimmered as she shook her head. "Who would be more accurate."

"Ah. The queen of hearts has a crush, eh? I should've known."

Sanura laughed at her old nickname; Kali had thought it up during one of the cat's many poker escapades in Las Vegas. "I could say the same for you, oh mighty single one. How long's it been since your last 'relationship'?"

"Um..." Kali squinted and looked up at the ceiling, as if it would offer some help.

Sanura sighed, "I'll give you a clue – it was before we took this job." Kali grimaced at that. "Yeah. See, unlike you, I can handle boyfriends on the side of work."

The brunette snorted. "Right, boyfriends that usually last about two weeks before you get tired of them. You have the attention span of a fruit fly. And anyway, just because I haven't had a relationship doesn't mean I haven't had anything else exciting." Kali crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward.

The other woman pointed her fork at the dragon and squinted in an unenthused attempt to be intimidating, though she could hardly contain her smirk. "At least I try. It's not my fault that those guys were boring."

"They weren't boring; they just only had one personality. Apparently that's not enough for you. A lot of people would consider you schizophrenic. Ever think about that?"

"Of course. But the fact that I act differently in accordance with a situation does not make me insane. I just enjoy many different things, thus making it hard for me to find someone who shares all of my interests."

"Impossible is more like it. I will never understand you."

"Course not. Shall we?" Sanura scanned the bill and stood up to face the cash register that stood next to the door.

"We shall." And with that, the girls took their leave.

"You realize they're following us."

"Of course they are," Sanura smirked.

"Ten says they think they'll have to save us."

"Twenty."

Kali and Sanura were presently scaling the cubicle-ridden floors of an office building on the outskirts of Los Angeles, courtesy of an outer elevator. It was just past 8am, and the two of them hoped to catch their target before she got settled into her new office. However, they were running a good deal later than expected, due in large part to Kali's morning irritability. Sanura, on the other hand, had been awake and practicing yoga at 5:30.

"I still don't understand why I can't just fly up." Kali looked longingly over the thriving metropolis and crossed her arms.

"It's L.A., Kali. Someone would notice. People don't just fly around major cities. Speaking of, why couldn't we ride in the elevator instead of on top of it?" Sanura was balancing on one leg while she pulled the other up to her chest, stretching it as far as she could.

"Because we can't have everybody and his brother knowing that we're here. Do you have any common sense?" She yawned in reply.

"Nope. That's all yours."

"Yay," Kali sighed sarcastically, crossing her legs and sitting down.

Sanura switched legs and questioned forlornly, "So how should we kill this one?"

"I figure we should wait to see if she can fight back and if she can, fair fight like always. That probably won't happen, though, mainly because she's a stereotype rich girl. Except for the fact that she works out at the company gym, so she really isn't all that defenseless. If she can't fight back, then –"

"I knock her unconscious and we finish her off painlessly. Are you always this clean-cut with deaths?"

"You should know."

"Hm. I suppose so. Oh look, we're here." The elevator had stopped a couple floors down from the top. Sanura hopped up to the top floor windows, unsheathed her claws and thrust them several times through the floor-to-ceiling glass. This efficiently created an opening big enough for both women to jump through as the elevator began its journey back down the skyscraper. Once inside the office the two of them looked around at the spacious black and glass fixtures, bare shelves and soft gray carpet. "How any human manages to work in a hellhole like this is beyond me."

"Well, their brains don't exactly work like ours," Kali pointed out, letting her wings back out in case she needed them later.

"Hey now, you know how I am about that." Sanura had also undone her spells, letting her tails and ears back into public view. She was wearing her usual silk shirt and pants, though today her shirt was such a light blue that it appeared white, her pants dyed vibrant navy blue. She had also taken the precaution of strapping her twin swords to her back, one crossed over the other. Her hands were gloved so as to prevent the flow of healing energy from palm to sword, her boots laced up tightly to allow better agility than the ridiculous sandals she had seen other warriors wear. Sanura had no room for anything unpractical; everything on her had a purpose and all things without purpose had been discarded.

Kali was dressed in her 19th century gothic outfit as always, though she had taken the trouble to pull her wavy hair into a top-layer ponytail. She hated it getting into her eyes when she was killing off bad guys. Her jacket was not present, in light of the fact that her wings were there instead. Heat came off her in waves, hinting at the fire that waited in her throat. The two of them were nonchalantly awaiting battle, calm and unexcited as a product of years of warfare. Killing was work; nothing more.

Voices were heard in the hall outside and the dragon turned to face the door. Sanura looked to Kali for a signal, left hand ready with a spell and the other poised above her left shoulder, ready to draw the sword. Kali watched the door intently while her hands began retrieving two daggers each from her belt. After a long moment of waiting her fingers began twirling them impatiently, a nervous habit she had had for centuries.

The door knob turned and Kali tensed, though her fair-haired partner remained standing calmly and quietly. The girls heard a deep voice bid the more feminine one farewell as the door opened, and only when they were assured that the woman was alone did they consider attack. She was wearing a light blue dress, her curly red hair bouncing freely around her made-up face.

Sanura, for one, was somewhat relieved. This was just another search-and-destroy type, nothing special, so there would be no complications. It was almost boring.

((To quote our favorite fox, 'don't assume.')) Kali threw two of her daggers at the girl, though she deliberately missed her head and stabbed through her purse – she was testing the waters. The redhead squealed upon noticing the presence of the two women, and shrunk into a corner helplessly. Sanura was taken aback.

= Why're we killing her? =

((What did I just get done telling you?)) The dragon replied. ((Koenma said she was planning to do something fishy with the corporation's power. He didn't know anything else, but I don't think she's who we need to kill.))

= Who, then? =

((That's what I'm trying to figure out. What's she thinking about?))

Sanura scanned her mind for anything significant. An image immediately popped into her head, along with a certain feeling – but she did not quite recognize it. = Her mother. She's afraid for her mother...her boss may be threatening her, but other than that her mind's blank. =

((Great, so who do we get rid of?)) Kali ran through the options in her mind; the girl's superior would be the obvious choice, but complications could always arise. The mom was out, that would only result in the girl being depressed and the boss being angry. They could kill the girl, but her boss would still be at large. Fatcat it was, then. She walked across the room and yanked her daggers out of the wall, pocketing them in her belt once more.

"Are you going to kill me?" The girl whimpered from the floor.

Kali rolled her eyes and walked over the trembling executive, making a b-line for the door. "Where's your boss's office?" Having received directions from the stuttering girl, the dragon opened the door with the intention of finding the bastard who was manipulating the poor ditz head. Before she could follow through with her actions, however, she felt a decidedly demonic aura radiating from behind her and heard a 'whoosh,' followed by a 'thunk.'

Sanura had sensed something deep in the girl's subconscious and, after knocking her out cold, was pleased to find a small oni crawling out the girl's mouth. The cat had cleanly decapitated the offending criminal with a spell-laden sword and picked him up off the floor by the time Kali turned around.

"Threatening boss, huh?"

"So I was wrong for once. Sue me," the golden-haired demon retaliated smartly. Ayame soon came by to confiscate the little devil, and since their plane would not be leaving until the next day – all parties involved had expected a much more difficult operation - the detectives decided to have a little fun while they were still in the states.

"I think we ought to go to the Sequoias. It's great for flying up there," Kali argued.

"As long as I can go hiking." The cat was used to compromise by now. "Hey, would ya' look at that," She was pointing to the rooftop across the street, where four boys and a blue-haired girl were watching them attentively.

"Well, you won the bet," the demon-god scowled. "Let's pay them a visit."

Sanura grinned approvingly and whispered, "Yes, let's."

"Hey where'd they go?" Yusuke looked around the office through the binoculars Botan had supplied.

"Aw, why can't our missions be that easy?" Kuwabara scowled at the building across the street from them.

Hiei snorted at the boy's stupidity and crossed his arms darkly. Kurama's mind was going ninety-to-nothing, rendering him unaware of the outside world until a distinctly feminine voice rang out from behind them. He recognized it immediately, though he had only heard it once before. The cleverly harmonious tone of her voice coupled with the knowledge that she stood behind him was enough to send his head to the clouds.

"Enjoy the show?" Sanura was floating a few inches off the ground with her arms crossed, seemingly supported by a haze of silvery blue mist. Kali, hands on her hips and a smirk on her face, walked straight toward Hiei until there was about a foot's worth of distance between their faces.

"Doesn't this qualify as baby-sitting?" She asked slyly. A growl was all she received in answer. Hiei's blood was rushing a little too fast for his liking, and he had a strange hunch that the woman in front of him had something to do with it.

Botan began laughing nervously as she tried to come up with a reasonable excuse for their presence, but Sanura cut her off. "It's okay. Koenma almost always does this with us. 'Always digging up trouble,' he says. It's not like we never clean it up, though I'm not sure if we're legally allowed in Michigan anymore."

"Anyway," Kali interrupted, "we're going up the Sequoias. You guys want to come?"

"We'd love to!" Botan immediately cheered.

Kali smiled genuinely, which was rare for her. "Great. How're we going, Sanura?"

The cat ran her fingers through her sheets of orange hair and looked upward – anything to avoid making eye contact with Kurama. Just looking at him was enough to make her blood rush, and she had a thing against blushing. "Well, we could take a train but it would take longer than a plane."

"We don't have plane tickets."

"True. I could rent a car and drive – that would take six or seven hours if we stop to eat in Bakersfield."

"Five if I drive." Several nervous glances were cast in Kali's direction, as well as a smirk.

"Seven when you get pulled over for speeding and arrested for driving without a license -"

"Well when you say it like that." Kali muttered. She snuck a glance at the fire demon next to her, taking advantage of the fact that all eyes were on Sanura.

"- so if we were to drive around instead of through Bakersfield, it would only take four and a half hours. Assuming that I drive – there is no way I'm entrusting these people's lives to you. Can you four live on McDonald's for the next few hours?" She turned inquisitive eyes on the humans among them, all of whom nodded.

Sanura did a head count and thought for a second. "Wonderful. I'll have to get a minivan, that's the only way we'll all fit into one vehicle. Why don't you all get your things together and meet us in front of our hotel in an hour?" The two women left without further conversation, in search of a good rental car company.

The ride had been uneventful as yet, despite the frequent arguments between Hiei and Kuwabara, most of which revolved around Yukina or human stupidity. Sanura was, of course, driving, with Botan in shotgun and giving directions. Kali had taken her solitary seat in the very back row, furthest seat from the sliding door. Kurama sat in the middle, with Hiei on his right. Kuwabara and Yusuke were sitting in the two independent seats in the middle row, talking about something of no real importance.

"Good night! Where did these people learn how to drive?" Sanura exclaimed dejectedly. "I've been trying to switch lanes for the past four exists and no one seems able to maintain a constant speed for more than two minutes!" Her voice was airy, high-pitched and above all, exasperated. Kurama stared at the back of her head and asked Kali if she was really that upset.

"No, she hardly ever gets angry. In fact, I've only seen her truly infuriated on three occasions in the entire time we've traveled together; twice as a result of injustice and once as the result of an infantile fool who deserved death."

Kurama's eyes remained on the seemingly enraged driver as he asked delicately, "And did he receive his due payment?"

Kali's eyes narrowed and her lips tightened disgustedly. "No. I wouldn't let her kill him." She smirked at the memory. "I believe that's the only real disagreement we've had in the last millennia, and the only grudge she's got against me. Sanura would murder him in a heartbeat if I were to give her the chance – and not in a too humane manner, if I'm not mistaken."

"That's fascinating," Hiei scowled.

Kali spit a tiny flame onto her finger and flicked it into Hiei's lap, watching the vertically challenged demon sniff at the air until he looked down and noticed a minute hole burned through his cloak.

He immediately laid a hand on his sword and growled, "Woman, the next time you set fire to my clothing I will not hesitate to kill you." This ignorant girl was beginning to get on his nerves, not to mention the fact that she was making him anxious just by sitting so close to him – not that he would admit it.

"Is that a threat?" She asked in the most annoyingly innocent voice she could muster.

"No, it's a promise."

Kali had to admit that he had a sharp enough tongue to match her own. But, of course, her rather perverted mind carried that thought into images she was more than capable of creating.

= You are so lucky that I am here. =

((And why's that?)) Kali shot back, irritated due to the interruption.

Sanura 'humph'ed in her mind. = Had my barrier not been up, a certain fire apparition would have been in on your lovely picture show just now. Consequently, you are damn lucky. =

((Oh...that. Hehe...)) Kali trailed off laughing, allowing Sanura to leave her be and watch the road instead.

(AN: on a different telepathic frequency...)

:: You seem nervous, Hiei. ::

- It's none of your concern. - The last thing he needed now was Kurama pestering him.

:: Is it the girl? :: Kurama smirked mentally.

- Like I said, it doesn't matter. –

:: Who would have thought; the most feared swordsman in makai has a crush. :: He could hardly keep the amusement from his voice.

Hiei growled audibly, eliciting a curious look from the dragon demon two seats over. Something comparable to a butterfly started fluttering around in his stomach when her gaze locked with his. It was a feeling he was not only getting used to around her, but was also on the verge of enjoying.

As neither of them had severed the connection, the fox had sensed Hiei's reaction to the dragon's gaze. He kept his grin to himself and saved the information for a later date; it just might become useful.

Well that's it for now, but I'll have another chapter up soon. Probably in the next two days. I actually have a plan for this one! That's rare for me...anyway, review!! Cuz that's the only way I can tell if anyone reads my stuff!