FW: And I finally write again!

Botan: Over your depression already?

FW: …Not really… but I finally write again!

Kurama: How long are you planning on making this story?

Yusuke: I've been wondering that myself….

FW: Not sure… I THINK I'm wrapping it up now… but there still needs to be a few more chapters…. Time to clear up the confusion: Kurama is still in band even though he doesn't remember the mission because he's the type to stick with a project, especially when others depend on him. That's what he thinks of all this now, just a project. He doesn't have a problem being called "Kurama" because he thinks it's a nickname, with Suichii being his birth name. Sorry I forgot to mention all this… I overlook stuff. A lot.

Hiei: That's an understatement.

FW: No one asked you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

START

As soon as Botan had been named the new section leader, Kuwabara had wasted no time in celebrating. "Way to go Botan!" He yelled, pumping a fist into the air.

Tsoy, sitting directly behind him, gently took his arm back down. "Be careful what you say in school hours," he warned. "Don't forget, we are still in a war."

Kuwabara turned in his seat, glaring at the senior. "I don't give a crap about this stupidity. If anyone has a problem with me celebrating a friend's success I'll pound his head in!" He exclaimed, gaining a few weird looks from other saxophones.

Tsoy grinned, shaking his head in mock disappointment. It was more of a half grin though, and the spirit detective caught it. "What's wrong?"

"It's Mia," Tsoy answered, lowering his voice, hoping to avoid eavesdroppers. "Something's very wrong with her, and I don't know what."

"That's no big deal. There's always been a few things wrong with her," Kuwabara dismissed the subject easily.

"No, when she took me, there wasn't any threat in her actions, no anxiety, or fear of being caught. There… wasn't anything," Kuwabara leaned closer, interested in Tsoy's words. As far as anyone knew, he'd never talked about his capture. "Only after I was bound did she have any kind of emotion, and it was a depressed one. Not what you'd expect from someone who'd just "won". When I touched her-"

"Whoa!" Rackly cut in, having been standing close and listening in a little. "I thought you didn't go for girls!"

Tsoy glared at the sousaphone. "I don't."

"YOU'RE GAY?"

"You didn't know that?" Rackly asked Kuwabara looking down on the freshman in astonishment.

"Not important…" Tsoy tried to cut in and finish his sentence, but the two other brass players were still arguing. "Come on! I touched her ARM to HELP HER STAND!" He finally lost his patience and spoke loud enough to be heard. Luckily, the band room was still relatively noisy with Botan's shocking leadership.

"Rackly," Tsoy continued. "I don't think I was talking to you. Shouldn't you be annoying your own section?" He asked, throwing the insult in as a joke.

The other senior winked and left, waving back at them to show he understood, and no hard feelings.

The orange haired boy quickly got back on subject. "So what about when you touched her arm?"

Tsoy shook his head. "It felt like I was grabbing ice, except the feeling spread over my whole body. Something about it… I just… can't explain," he finished, leaning back into his seat worriedly.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Kuwabara muttered to himself, also resettling himself in the chair. He'd had similar experiences with his 6th sense, all bad. By now, he knew that if what Tsoy had just described happened on contact, it usually meant the other person was evil, and in a dangerous way.

He shifted his saxophone so he could use the reflection to glance at Mia. "I think we need to talk," he thought.

In the meantime, Hiei was plotting as well. Ignoring Mr. Nesul's attempt to restart the practice, he sent a mental message to Botan, Kuwabara, and Yusuke.

"Where IS he!" Yusuke demanded. It was after school hours, and Hiei, Botan, and himself had all gathered outside the city hospital, the same one Joane was housed in. The only one they awaited was Kuwabara.

"Hn, the oaf probably got himself lost," Hiei said, looking away. He wouldn't admit it, but he was REALLY missing Kurama's company. The fox would probably chide Hiei on his lack of faith, and find something sensible for them to do. But without him, they just stood there.

"We're not getting anywhere doing nothing," Botan reasoned, making the fire demon wonder if she had mind reading powers too. "We'll just have to do without him."

"That will make things easier…." Hiei mumbled, leading the way into the huge white building.

A nurse showed them to the still unconscious flutist's room. "Normally, we don't let anyone but family see someone in his condition," she whispered, as if afraid an avalanche might fall. "But I'll make an exception. Company will do him good, and no one's stopped by at all…." Botan looked away, tears forming in her eyes at the news. The nurse turned and left them with their privacy.

The room was a typical hospital room. Pure white, with medical equipment everywhere a person happened to look. All eyes ignored this though, and focused on the still, pale boy lying on the bed in the corner.

The three gathered around him, silent as possible. "There's gonna be security cameras," Yusuke whispered, not moving his lips. "Hiei, do what you have to, but don't make it obvious, and don't change expressions."

Hiei let himself a ghost of a smirk. "You don't have to remind me," he sent the words directly to the other two's heads.

Hiei made his way closer, arm slightly outstretching. Joane knew something, there was a reason he thought Botan did this, and that was a vital clue. The demon had quickly decided that if Joane wasn't able to tell them, he'd fish it out himself.

As discretely as possible, he let his fingertips ghost over the pale boy's forehead and concentrated, letting himself fill with the other's memories.

As he got used to being inside another's head, and when he was fairly sure his probing wouldn't shatter Joane's mind, he guided the memories to most recent, searching for what had happened before falling on Kurama's doorstep.

Joane was walking down the street after dark. Not the smartest thing to do, but he had wanted to be alone.

Footsteps behind him, he turned and a steak knife was shoved into his chest.

The flutist fell to the ground, struggling to keep his eyes open. The figure stepped farther into the light. Dark hair, about shoulder length. Blank brown eyes staring down at him, and a feminine figure. The eyes disturbed him most. He recognized them from four years ago… as his parents' murderer. As she lowered herself farther down, knife glittering and ready to carve the two words, he blacked out.

Hiei withdrew, closing the third eye under his bandana and removing his hand. Keeping calm, he nodded to the others, and the three left.

"Well?" Yusuke asked, impatient as soon as they were clear of the hospital.

When the demon didn't respond right away, Botan took the opportunity, "It was that instructor from the other school, right?" She asked, enthusiastically.

"No."

Botan's enthusiasm was shot. "Are you sure?" She asked, dumbfounded now.

"Yes. Joane's assaulter was a female."

"A girl?" Yusuke puzzled. "Maybe an ex then?"

"Don't be stupid," Hiei drawled, but couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. The brown eyes remained in his mind as they walked.

Kuwabara, in this time, hadn't blown off their information gathering for video games. This time. He had successfully cornered Mia, literally.

"What happened when you took Tsoy?" He asked, getting down to business.

She made a face at him. "I'm not telling you!" She said.

The male groaned. He took a step forward, knowing that he'd never strike a girl, but hoping he looked intimidating enough. "He never did anything to you. Why would you take HIM of all people? Why not Tac, or me?" He asked.

She shrugged. "He was closest," she lied.

Kuwabara's body stiffened as he suddenly felt demonic aura in the hallway. He tried to move, and get the unsuspecting girl out of harm's way, but it was gone before he could move.

"No, not gone," he mentally corrected himself, noting the demonic surge of power in the senior's small form. "Inside her."

Kuwabara slowly backed away, not sure what to do. Mia didn't hesitate; her hand reached into her jeans' pocket, and pulled out a knife, crusted with dried blood. Her unseeing brown eyes stared at him as she slowly moved forward, toward him.

The biggest of the detectives took a defensive stance, then his eyes widened, putting pieces of the puzzle together. "You… attacked Joane last night!" He exclaimed, looking at the knife. "No, you're possessed!"

With speed that confirmed his belief, she attacked, him only just having enough time to dodge. She whirled about, facing him again, and raised the knife, prepared to strike.

But she didn't.

Her eyes held for only an instant, regret, before disappearing as whatever controlled her took over again. But still, she wouldn't, or couldn't, finish him off.

"Come on Mia…" Kuwabara rooted for her, not moving, as he didn't want to accidentally break her concentration.

"No…" she said, beads of sweat moving down her face, her hand shaking from the effort of keeping it from plummeting downward. "Not… AGAIN!" She yelled, the willpower in her soul forcing the demonic energy away from her.

The knife clattered, falling to the floor, Mia following soon after, her spirit spent. Kuwabara rushed forward, grabbing her shoulders and heaving her into a sitting position. In the corner of his eye, he watched the cloud-like evil energy vanish. "Are you alright?" He demanded at once.

She didn't answer at first, only shook in his grasp. "I've done horrible things…" she finally spoke. "Tsoy… Joane… oh Joane!" She yelled, jumping to her feet. The sudden action surprised Kuwabara; he didn't think she still had the strength. He watched her run away, still shocked, before realizing that maybe he should have stopped her…. "Oh crap…" he muttered, not bothering to get up.

Mia kept running, down the street, ignoring her fatigue, straight to the hospital. Her memory had been strangely unreachable, but now, she could see it all clearly. Last night, she HAD attacked Joane, but she didn't WANT to! She didn't MEAN to!

"Don't you dare die… I have a confession…" she panted, willing her legs to not stop running. "I… I think I killed them…." She closed her eyes, thinking of his parents, and battling the pain inside at those words. True, she WAS violent, and didn't mind death and destruction, but knowing SHE caused it was completely different. Despite popular belief, she WASN'T a mass murderer. "Or am I?" She questioned.

Not having been paying attention to where she was going, she ran right into the open arms of a stranger wrapped in a dark cloak. "Watch where you're going!" She yelled, the old personality shining through even in these times of turmoil.

The stranger's arms were wrapped around her, and they didn't ease up. "What the heck?" She asked, getting a bad feeling about this.

"We have no use for rouge puppets," he growled menacingly. A gun was in his right hand. "You're dismissed."

She really started to panic now, struggling wildly.

A large stick was thrown with perfect aim, hitting his the gun and knocking it away. The two turned to look at the newcomer.

Kurama stepped forward, "I thought you might need some assistance," he spoke to Mia, who "hmph"ed and turned away.

The man's eyes narrowed as he turned to his new opponent, Mia still held firmly in place. "How hard can one teenager be to beat?" He asked himself silently, smirking. "This may be the legendary Kurama, but without his memories, he's just a normal human."

END CHAPTER 18

FW: I made it longer than usual!

Yusuke: So to counter your good dead, you left a cliffhanger.

FW: Pretty much. Review if you chose, don't if you don't. If you flame, k. I'll take it in stride! (I'll take it proudly, in other words)