Disclaimer: DON'T OWN YYH! KATRINA IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER!

Tracey, you had better be happy that I updated!

Chapter 18: Happy Times

Mie just looks at me. "Your radishes?"

"Yep," I agree happily. "All because I didn't eat Genkai's radishes."

Genkai grows red. "You didn't eat the radishes? Grrrrrrrrrrrr."

"But Genkai, those radishes saved my life! Those old, cold, moldy disgusting tokens of the devil were a stroke of luck, a token of life! Cause they did save---"

Genkai walks out of the room, obviously very pissed. "You'd think I stabbed someone with them, the way she's acting," I muttered to Keiko and Mie. They giggle. Keiko murmurs "but you did the next step up, you dissolved someone with them." More laughter. It seems like I haven't laughed like this with my friends in a long time.

"Well," says Kurama. "We could use luck like that, you know. Maybe you can join our team and we can look for your dad."

"MY DAD!" I yell suddenly, realizing a horrible fact. "BEAUTY SAID SHE KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT HIM BUT I KILLED HER BEFORE SHE COULD TELL ME SO!"

"Really?"

"That's a shame."

"Maybe she could have told us what the demon's weakness is..."

I sigh. "If I had only remembered..."

"Speaking of your dad," says Hiei. "That's the affair I was working on last night. I couldn't tell you because then you wouldn't fight Beauty, you would just help me, to hell with what I wanted, look for more clues. I got a really good lead. Basically, we found some hair of your father's, and it was on a robe of a demon. We are identified the genes of the person wearing the robe, and they all point to another lowly demon named Parasi. We just need to catch them to find out about their employer. It's going to be like finding a needle in a haystack, but we are tracing him through a transmitter left on the robe. I think the chief of the organization was afraid his own henchmen would turn on him, so he tracked their every move."

"So then if we find the leader, we'll find my dad?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"Let's get cracking, then!" I say happily. "Show me the trans-whatever thingy!"

5555555555555555555555(this is the only way I can show thought changers)

"BEAUTY'S DEAD? BUT THAT CAN'T BE...SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO KEEP A LOW PROFILE IN THE HUMAN WORLD TO BRING KURAMA TO ME..."

"M'master, I'm disappointed too, but apparently she fought a powerful demon and was killed by the acidic poisoning of radishes. She didn't stand much chance against such a powerful demon..."

"WHICH DEMON? KURAMA, I PRESUME?"

"No, sir, this one be a girl! A daughter of his."

"A daughter? He had a daughter...did he?" The demon Sensu turned toward the energy cage surrounded by a protective force field. "Tatewaki, son, did you have a daughter?"

"Whaaa---no," said a tortured voice, "I had only Kurama."

"Why do my sensors tell me you are lying?"

"Cause f--- your sensors, you beast."

Sensu chuckled. "That's improper Japanese, my friend."

"Oh is it, bastard?"

"That's right. What powers does she have? Tell me, boy! TELL ME!" Sensu pressed a button, and the cage lit up with electricity. An anguished scream sounded from inside.

"Now do you feel like talking?"

"No..."

"Play it your way, then." More electricity. More pain. Sensu laughed cruelly. He would get it out of him soon. Because if Kurama was too crafty to be caught, he would settle for another family member, and Tatewaki's undoubtebly weak daughter would do just fine. His experiment required two of the Kon line, and he was half-way there. The daughter would be easy.

"M-master?"

"What?"

"Beauty's just called. She wants to meet with you soon. Says she's found a replacement."

He laughed. "Tell the weak coward it can be arranged."

555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

As I was taken back to school with Mie and Keiko, I hugged myself with pleasure. I was now an official member of the most revered team in the Spirit World. That's what they told me anyway. Probably just an ego thing. Even Genkai was proud of me (WOOHOO), despite her disappointment of my neglecting the radishes. The rest of my extended friends will depart for the Spirit World soon. They don't know if Mie, Keiko and I will come or not. They said they still had to figure out how to smuggle me out of school for so long and somehow hide the fact that I was gone from my mother. But in truth, I think they just don't want to hurt my feelings. They probably think I'll get in the way.

Another piece of good news is that Mrs. Yukimura came back to teach Japanese History. I'm glad she swallowed the story about the Featherbrain moving out to another island. I still don't know how the rest of the gang managed to cover that up, but they somehow pulled it off. (I wonder if Hiei's katana had anything to do with it.)

So everything is good here, so far. I can't wait for my (possible) adventures later!

This rainy night, Mie and Keiko are in my dorm, watching Mie control winds. She concentrates on nothing Keiko and I can see and then creates a breeze, even though no windows are opened. Then they turn to me to watch me camouflage in a...never...ending...cycle...

"Keiko," I say exhaustedly, after my 12th camouflage, "How many times do you have to see this before it's enough?"

"Keiko, she's right," Mie looks nearly as tired as me. "Beauty drained most of my energy, remember?" It was true. It took Mie a lot of effort to recharge her lost power, and she still wasn't fully recovered. "Whadaya say we finish this another day?"

"B-but...BUT I'M NOT A DEMON! IT'S JUST NOT FAIR! I HAVE TO WATCH THIS OR ELSE I'LL DIE!" She cries onto her pillow so fakely that I burst out laughing.

"Keiko, give it up already! Be glad you aren't a demon!"

"Why should I? I mean, it sounds and looks so cool!"

Mie is looking annoyed. "But it's not cool! I've had to watch my powers forever, so as not to create a tornado when I'm mad inside! In fact," she turns to me. "I'm surprised you didn't notice my demon energy. I didn't know myself I was so good at concealing it! I never thought there were others like me besides my parents---"

"---Oh yeah. I keep forgetting to ask you this. Mie, where are your parents?"

Her face darkens considerably. "My mom ran off and left me so she could participate in Spirit World action. She broke my dad's and my heart. My dad shot himself, he was so lonely. I was raised by my cousin, Jin, until I came here. She, my mother so to speak, was cruel, and she made me promise to never say anything about my, or somebody else's, demonic power. That thing I was going to say...I also know you're a...I meant to say demon. I could sense your power, even before you transformed, slowly growing inside of you. It wasn't hard." She shudders. "You have a lot of power, Katrina. More than I'll ever hope to have."

My god. Her hellhole case made my life seem full of candy. Maybe this was why she was so quiet. "Now come on! You don't know that!"

"It's all right Katrina. We all have our strengths." She switches off her lamp on her bedside table. Keiko seemingly leaves for her room. Taking it as a sign to go to sleep, I conk out on my bed.

Two minutes later they wake me up. "What is it?!" I growl.

Keiko. "I wasn't leaving, silly, I was just going to get my diary so we can read it aloud."

I stare at her. "Your diary. Please say you are kidding."

"Yep," she says, her brown eyes showing irresistible pleading in them.

I fiercely bite back the urge to maul her, slowly and painfully, and pull myself into a sitting position on my bed. This is gonna be a long, long, long, long night.

I wake up in my bed. Now when did Keiko finish? I seriously don't remember. It was that long.

I realize what woke me up. The Commir is glowing white hot. I pick it up, hating my caller.

"WHATTTTTTTTT?!?!?!"

I could have sworn Kurama's hair blew back on the other end. "I just wanted to say that you're coming to the Spirit World. In less than week."

A/N Hoped you liked the last fight scene, I tried to be creative, dunno if I succeeded. Review!