A/N: Ok, here is the next chapter. Hope you like it. We're alomst into Chapter Black. The story will take quite a drastic twist after that...evil grin. Anyway for those of you who check my reviews, and to the review who accused me of copying, I copied nothing except for from that website, which I put as a disclaimer in the begining chapters. Everything else has come from my own strange head. I haven't read the other story in depth yet, but from my scanning of it, it appears that he went with the 'who is Hiei's Father?' plotline. I just skipped it. I went to the Dark Tournament and now to Chapter Black. Anyway, here's the chap... Reviews are still more than welcome.

The world was on fire. Everything was hot and burning. She could feel it with every ounce of her being. There was nothing to do, but endue. Her Reiki was trapped within her skin. She couldn't use it. Just like Kurama's was against Masho. The thought floated out of the pain. It took her a long moment to remember who Kurama was. A face appeared before her, red hair turning to flame as she studied it. The fire burned away the skin, leaving behind a skull and she thought she screamed. The bone melted away and left nothing behind.

She had no idea who or what Masho was, but she did know that the thought was true. It had happened. Kurama's energy had been trapped. Hers was still there. She could see it, feel it, but something kept her from using it to deal with this agony. She strained to release the bonds that kept her, but to no avail. She couldn't. She was too weak. Weak...that is what started this whole thing...She was too weak.

A world appeared before her as a little of the pain faded. Sounds were the first thing she recognized, a loud, steady beeping. Lights, bright lights, a ceiling and a face came into focus. A male face, with brown hair. He was watching her and there was concern written in his brown eyes. He was tall and was wearing blue and red. Who was he? What did he want? She couldn't defend herself. Where was the protection she was promised? Wait a minute...protection? Why did she need protection? Did something hunt her? She felt trapped, fear of capture coursing through her blood. What was going on? Who was she?

"Lorin," he whispered, "I can see your eyes are open. Are you aware? Can you understand me?" It's voice was gentle and worried. Lorin? Was that her name? What was she? What did it mean to be Lorin? The figure moved a little closer She felt a growl build in the back of her throat and he froze in his tracks. The feeling of threat faded.

"I guess you can. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend. I doubt you remember with all the pain your in. I am very sorry, but I can't take that pain away yet or let you have your reiki to dull it. It should start to fade on it's own soon. You just need time to adjust," he kept his voice soft as if to avoid paining her and she noticed that the supposed bright lights were not all that bright. Come to think of it, there was hardly any noise in the area at all, besides that annoying beeping. She could hear the smallest rustle of cloth or a water faucet dripping.

Why could she do that? How? She had better than normal senses since she had reiki, but it had never been this good...had it? A wave of pain engulfed her. Every thought was blocked as she was consumed by the excruciating burning. A moan escaped her lips and the young man with brown hair was instantly concerned.

"Lorin, is it getting much worse? It's supposed to be going away soon. Just hang on a little longer. I wish Hiei were here. He'd be able to help." Hiei? Who was Hiei? Another face appeared before her and Lorin felt the urge to smile and slap the smug look off his face. She focused on the man before her. A name came...Koenma...memories...he was safe...

"Koenma..." she whispered. Surprise shot through the eyes of her friend and he nodded. "Don't tell Hiei," she protested

He smiled a little. "I won't just as I promised." A memory floated to her from the pain.

flashback

"What do you mean, 'don't tell the others'? Don't they know what you're doing, Lorin?" a toddler Koenma yelled at her. She glared at him and didn't back down.

"No! They don't know and I don't want them to until I'm done. This is what I want for my wish. No one will change my mind," she insisted.

"This is going to be extremely painful. Even you, a winner of the Dark Tournament, has never felt this kind of pain. Don't you want them there to help you with that?" he protested. Koenma hopped on his desk and began to pace. He was sucking on his pacifier furiously. It was clear he didn't like this at all.

"No," she said again, "I can handle it. They'll only try to stop me. Besides, don't they have to search for that Tunnel to Makai?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Yes, they do, but Lorin you don't understand what you're getting into. This is extremely dangerous. It could kill you. Do you want to possibly die without Hiei or the others with you?"

That one gave her pause. He jumped down and paced the floor in front of his desk for a change. She was mad at Hiei, yes, but not that mad. She couldn't do that to him. He had lost so much already and didn't open up to anyone.

"Alright, Koenma, a compromise. If it looks like I'm going to die, call the others to help. Otherwise we do this my way, Agreed?" she asked, staring at him intently.

"Agreed." The look he gave her screamed reluctance.

end flashback

"I'm going to live then?" she whispered, shifting to move away from the pain. Koenma put a cool hand on her face. She stopped, quieting at the ice on her burning skin.

"Yes, I do believe the surgery was a success. Only time will tell, of course, how much you've lost and how much you've gained." He slid an arm under her shoulder and help a cup of water to her lips.

"What?" Lorin asked, after obediently sipping some water, "I'm going to lose what?" Panic filled her eyes at the thought of not remembering. She needed to know, to have memories. She needed to know who she was. Could her memories have been affected? She knew that 'Hiei' was important to her, but right now she couldn't remember the face she had seen earlier or hear a voice. Lorin didn't know why he was important, just that he was the reason she was doing all of this.

"You might loose some of your Reiki. It probably won't function as it should. You might have some relearning to do." Koenma hastened to explained. He helped her sit all the way up, propping pillows behind her.

"But my memories, they'll be fine, right?" she asked, worried. The pain was mostly gone...for now. She had to get as many answers as possible before it returned.

"Memories? You can't remember?" It clearly surprised him. He thought for a few minutes. "I guess that could be a side effect of the surgery," he muttered to himself, "The rest of you was affected in other ways." He looked up at her. "I am sure that it is just a temporary thing. I will check with the surgeon, if you want. Tell me what do you not remember?" he asked. Exhaustion filled her eyes and she felt centuries old.

"I don't know. Everything is fuzzy. I just..." Lorin hugged herself and tear filled her eyes, "I don't know. I don't know anything. I feel so alone, isolated. Where are they? They promised to always be here, didn't they?" she whispered, broken. "Oh, I wouldn't let you tell them, right? I pushed them away. Maybe...maybe...I deserve this... I deserve to be alone. I... I..." she felt a gentle hand on her arm and looked up to Koenma's compassion filled eyes.

"No," he said, firmly, "you don't deserve to be alone. And you aren't. True that you didn't want the others here right now, but I'm still here. When you remember why you sent them away, then I'll send for them if you want. Don't be afraid." She nodded, and felt her eyes grow heavy.

"Sleep now. I'll guard you." Koenma assured her. It was the last thing she head before the darkness claimed her.