After peaking her head through the door, and having a nurse notice her, Laena got a new pair of pants, and shirt. Sure, they weren't emblazoned with Metallica, or anything clever, but they would do, I mean, the pants were black, and the shirt was blue. I could live with that.

She walked out into the corridor, slightly dazed at how she arrived there. The light from the many large windows hit her, and she squinted, trying to adjust herself. Then she turned around, and stumbled forward to see Suichi come out of a door farther down the hall. He looked exhausted.

"Suichi?" She asked unsure. He stopped, and turned around, surprised. "Laena?" he asked hopeful sounding. She ran to him, ignoring the pain in her legs from the cuts being stretched. She threw her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek, laughing.

"When did you get up?" He asked, his face lit up. "About 20 minutes ago. I had to find clothes, and then the doctor had to check me out, and now I'm here." she looked around a moment. "Where is here?" she asked genuinely baffled.

Just then the doors Suichi came from opened, and two guys were filing out. The first was a boy with heavily gelled black hair, who stopped, and stared at them. Laena looked questioningly to her friend.

"Urameshi, what's the hold-up?" a very deep, and obnoxious baritone rang out from behind the first boy.

Laena watched a red gerry curl bob into view. "Hey!... Oh." The boy stopped just behind the first's shoulder.

"Maybe we better go back in." Suichi suggested, and they all filed back into Koenma's office.

"Kurama, what's the pro...?" The child at the desk began to ask, but stopped when he saw the girl.

Laena looked towards the direction of the voice, and stopped where she was. There is a baby sitting behind the desk. "Whoa!" she exclaimed in a deep-pitched voice. "Did he talk?" She asked as she pointed a finger at him, while bending her head backward to her friend.

"Sit." Came a rather aggravated command from the direction of the desk. So, Laena, and the others obeyed, and moved before the desk to face the child. Now she felt nervous.

The black haired boy on Laena's left broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Hey, I'm Yusuke, and this oaf is Kuwabara." he casually said, as he jabbed a thumb behind him. "We never got your name, come to think of it."

Laena looked at him for a moment, and tried to remember where she'd seem him before. "Hi. My name is Laena. You look REALLY familiar." She barely shook her head. "Are you a sophomore? Yeah, you're one of the new kids." She said half accusingly, and yet half excitedly. She was just so proud that she could remember a face.

Yusuke looked back at Kuwabara with a confused expression. Then Kuwabara looked around. "Hey, where's Shorty? Shouldn't he still be in here?" Laena frowned, wondering whom he was talking about.

"I'm right here." Came a calm yet irritated voice that Laena knew all too well. A grin had started to spread across her lips as she turned and saw her woodland friend sitting on the window sill. "Hiei!" She chirped as she vaulted the 6 feet to the now jaw-dropped fire demon. She threw her arms around him, and squeezed the life out of him.

"Onna?" he gasped in a tight breath, and she let go. He looked up at the others, who weren't so subtly staring at the rare display. (quite unheard of for our little fire apparition.) So he cleared his throat and delivered a fierce glare back. Everyone, meaning Yusuke and Kuwabara, jumped and averted their eyes. Suichi had a small smile of amusement and relief spread across his face as he turned back towards the desk. The child behind the desk took it upon himself to get the hard part over with.

"Do you know why you're here?" he asked. Laena looked up, and shook her head. "Maybe you should sit." She obeyed, and walked up to the desk and sat next to her friend. "What's going on?" She asked slyly. "And why am I here to begin with?" she asked, looking around.

Suichi spoke up before the baby. "Do you remember what happened in the park?"

Laena got a confused, yet thoughtful expression, as she sat, contemplating for a moment. "We were walking through it. What else did we do?" She asked, looking hopeful to her friend. Suichi eyed her, his expression unsure.

The child took it from there. "Laena, you don't remember anything?"

"Any of what? What happened?" she asked, beginning to get worried. Why were they all so solemn? Damnit!

"Why is everyone so secretive?" she asked, making her tone harsh. "Where did these cuts come from? What is this place? Who are you people?" She made an effort to keep her voice down. She was losing her already frayed temper.

"Laena," Suichi began, "Yesterday, when we were walking through he park, we were attacked. Do you remember a man on the tree line?" Laena stared at her friend as if he had just grown another head. "What are you talking about?"

Then she remembered the other people in the room, and turned her slitted gaze on them. "Can we talk about his somewhere else?" She asked her friend in a hushed voice.

"No, we will talk about it here and now." came the stern voice of the Toddler behind the large desk. Laena's head snapped around at the tone and defiance, ready to deliver a death glare, but the look in his eyes, and his expression arrested those feelings.

"Kurama, I'm just gonna come out and say it." He directed the question to the red-haired boy, but didn't look away from the girl. "This is Spirit World, Laena." he said slowly, calmly, driving each word into her head. "It is a place where spirits come, and stand Judgment. There are many other worlds, such as the Demon Realm, and the Human one. Occasionally, a demon will break out of the Makai, the Demon Realm, and terrorize part of the human Realm. You, my dear, are a victim of such a case. Kurama," he said with a vague gesture towards her friend, "brought you here because you were suffering from a dangerous loss of blood as an outcome of this attack."

He paused for dramatic effect. (And I'm tired of typing large paragraphs.)

Laena stared wide-eyed, and open-mouthed. Everyone sat in silence taking in what the Child was saying.

"I," the Child continued, "am Lord Koenma, I am in charge of the Spirit Realm. And even though I still look very young, I have been alive for centuries." He paused again, watching the girl. "You have already made friends with two of my best demons, I see. And you have acquainted yourself with my Spirit Detective. I'd say you're well on your way to becoming part of my staff."

(Oh, that Koenma. He's just full of witty remarks. Ha ha.)

Yusuke: This is stupid.

Ackie: Shut up! I already know!

Laena stared, speechless, yet again. She didn't really look like she was alive, much less taking the information in, and processing correctly. Then she shut her mouth, and pushed her lips together, and rose an eyebrow.

"Right..." she drawled. She looked to her friend, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Suichi, what did you do? This is a pretty elaborate scheme you've got going on..."

All he did was keep a constant stare on her, driving her to believe. Her expression dropped from skeptical to unamused.

She turned to look at Hiei. She caught his eyes, and he held the stare. "No." she whispered. She stood up. "No." this time she said it louder, with a harried tone of disbelief, while shaking her head. "What is this? A Pink Floyd movie? You people aren't serious." Everyone was silent, watching her, meeting eyes.

Laena sat back down, dazed. She began to rub her face, and then push on her temples. This wasn't happening. This was the sort of thing one read in a fiction story, or in the National Inquire. Not from your own friends. Well, it's not like you hear a baby talk either, she amended.

"Okay." she said slowly, meticulously contemplating each word, "Let's say, to make things easier for the moment, that I believe you. What does this have to do with my being attacked? And what two demons? Am I dead?" This last part settled on her like a fist in the gut.

No! I can't be dead. I haven't lived my life! I haven't married Sebastian Bach's son! (Which I intend to carry out. I mean, have you seen him?) Okay, just breathe, breathe and take in, slowly... no. NO. I can't this is too much... I CAN'T BE DEAD!

"Laena!" Onna! She heard her name at the same time from three different voices. She snapped back to the physical world in an instant.

"You're not dead. After all, you're here aren't you?" she heard Hiei's sarcastic voice from behind her. She narrowed her eyes, and then calmed down a little, her anger giving her courage.

Koenma eyed her warily, and sighed. "What it has to do with is everything. If you were attacked, there could have been some reason behind it. Some motive..." he said more to himself. "Anyway, the two demons I mentioned are none other than your friends. And believe me, it is a surprise." Laena stared at him for a minute.

"Wait. No way you're talking about..." she stopped, and turned her head to the boy next to her. She stared into his green eyes, and could see something glittering behind the human facade. Then her gaze dropped to the floor, thinking of who the other was. She felt his stare on her back and went rigid. She slowly turned her head to face the garnet-eyed man.

Then she snapped back around to face the child at the desk.

"Why are you here?" she asked too quietly. Something in her finally shielded her rationality, and was preserving it, keeping it strong for the aftermath, taking hits like they were nothing but common knowledge.

Koenma leveled his gaze with her's and said calmly, quietly, "We have come to your town because of a weakness in the barrier between the Human Realm and the Demon one. I have sent in my Detective Team to find the weakened barrier spot, and to watch for any abnormal events."

"Then why are they at school?" she asked almost testily, leaning forward. Koenma rose an eyebrow.

"They are only in high school. They need an education while on stakeout." Laena felt that shield slipping at the mundane response. She almost began to cry.

She sat back, content for the moment with the information force-fed to her mind. Her emotions felt extremely jumbled, and she wasn't quite sure what she was to do. But for some reason she was experiencing a wave of irateness. And she felt Suichi was owed that debt. As well as Hiei. Yep. Laena decided, right then and there, that she would just have to kick their butts.

Well, there you have it.

A poorly-written chapter, but at least she knows.

The next chapter is odd. Just warning you.

I went to New York today.

And I stalked a reli feminine-looking kid with clickie shoes.

It was fun.

Coffee...

And then a serious of unfortunate events ensued, and now I'm hiring Lucivar and Aubrey to take care of it.

My men...