Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

ALERT!: Linkin Park Rox, because you have been so nice, if you ever read this again, number 1, please review, and number 2, I will delete the rush ending in They Used To Be Friends and replace it with a full-blown story. Your choice. So please review, or at least email me at pandagirl003 at aol . com, and about the spacings, ff won't let me type it unless there are spaces. Thanks!

Chapter 25: Spirit Detective

Well, I guess I'm ready. I'm stuck in my room with Keiko, whois doing the last straps on my backpack, while Mie is god knows where.I have packed food for a week, and it's all stuffed in my huge backpack. It's frickin' HEAVY! And I'm supposed to be a demon too!

Guess what I found out? They want me to be another Spirit Detective. I told them flat-out no, that I have too much going on and that if I get one more responsibility I will totally lose it, but did they care? No, they only gave me a party hat and a whistle and told me to lighten up. They must think I'm two years old. I AM NOT TWO, despite what anyone else says! But maybe being two would have it's advantages. At least they wouldn't ask me that at every given interval. I think they are threatening Yusuke thatif he doesn't give me the post he will be killed, but even so, it doesn't matter, as I will noto be taking it from him. He's happy; I'm happy; the only problem is that no one else notices. Grrrrr-ness.

And I am totally freaking out over my Commir. What if I get in trouble? What then? I won't be able to call for help?They can't just let me die, right? Right?

Thinking of Genkai, I'm not so sure.

My nerves probably magnify this. I really, really,really don't want to go into that fog again. And Keiko isn't helping.

"C'mon, girl, you'll do great! Just like you always do! If you mess up the worst that could happen would just be a simple, swift decapitation, or---"

"Keiko, you're supposed to be my cheerleader, notmy High Chancellor!" (The head of the funeral in the medieval days.) "Honestly, stop being so gloomy! I have enough on my mind without the fact of how fast my death will occur. Sheesh."

"Oh," she laughs. "Sorry. That must be kind of depressing."

"Ya think? And you know what else?"

"What?"

"Where am I supposed to look for this child?"

"Hiei said something about it yesterday out of the corner of his mouth, as always. Like he'd see you and give you a map or something."

"Oh, okay. Do you kno why he talks out of the corner of his mouth?"

"No, but Hiei's weird. I don't think there's anyone alive who can fully understand him. Like, we had to threaten Hiei to help us out, yet when one of our enemies killed his teammate, Hiei went all weird and said that he and only he would fight they guy. Obviously, he won."

"Well, he's actually pretty simple. Selfish with a hint of friendship. And---" I stop. "Keiko, why are you looking at me like that?"

She grins. "Hiei and Katrina. How unlikely."

"C'mon, it's not like that! I was just saying that he's easy to figure out..."

She smiles again and shakes her head. "Fine, don't admit it. -KAT- don't get mad, I'm just saying, the way you were talking suggested it. You are the only person in history that can actually say that youunderstandHiei, and usually when a person says that, they mean they like that person."

"Well, I don't. I mean, as a friend in some circumstances, but not like him like him."

"Whatever you say. And here comes Hiei right now."

Now I don't feel like talking, so we don't. I had kind of hoped that I could excuse myself by saying I didn't know where to go.But of course, true to his word, Hiei comes in with a detailed map.

He points to the southeast corner. "It's around here where we sensed her. I'll show you how to get there, but then you're on your own."

"Why am I on my own? Why can't I have a buddy? Can't you come with me?"

He actually goes red. Is thisreally Hiei? "That's what Koenma refuses to tell me. You're not ready for this kind of thing, but he doesn't seem to care. Genkai's sharing nothing either. If I had to guess, it's almost like they're testing you for something. And speaking of testing, your retraining is due to start in 4 days."

"Damn. I'd hoped they would have forgotten by now."

"Not Genkai. Her memory does not fade, no matter what."

"I'm finding that out."

So I follow him out the door. Keiko issues a final 'GOOD LUCK, KAT' at the top of her lungs and shutsthe door. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that I am sure did not come from breakfast.

As soon as we step into the fog, I choke. It's thicker and smellier than last time, and that was but one week ago.

"You okay?"

"Fine," I gasp. WHY DID I TELL HIM THAT? I wonder if I have ever been less fine.

He glances at me worriedly, and then motions for me to follow him. We trudge for what seems like 100 miles, (he said genkai said he wasn't allowed to use super speed)but then we finally come to a little clearing, a sort of parting in the fog. I feel happy, the kind that flared up within when I looked at the demonic lights.

"Hiei, why is it so much clearer here?" No sooner had I asked this, I am hit with a wave ofdizziness so incredibly huge that I drop to my knees. Then…it's gone. I shakily stand up, the intense pain ebbing away quickly.

"Kat! KAT! What happened?"

"I-I dunno."

"Kat, I'm really, really sorry about this." His voice becimes curter."But this is what has to be done."

"What?" It is answered by a popping noise. Hiei has abandoned me. I'm alone.

I'm not alone.

Something is here with me. I sense something, actually no, many things.

Panic hits me, though not as bad as it could have been.

Calm down. Calm down. Relax. You're really powerful, right? You can take it. You can take it. You can take it…

These thoughts keep me under control, at least for the moment. I finish pulling myself together, and then I look for the footprints Hiei said he'd found near the site. I don't have to look far. Massive footprints, like that of an abscessed Bigfoot's. Of course, they lead into the fog. The thought of going back into that fog makes me sick. But I need to save that idiot child, right?

I try to move my feet but they won't move. Maybe it's just that I hate not being able to see. Or maybe…

Oh shitake mushrooms.

I'M STUCK! I AM ACTUALLY STUCK!

I can see the look on their faces. Hiei's disbelieving voice, 'It killed her because she was stuck?'

Of all ways to die…

Frustrated, I tug my feet again. I manage to lift one up about two inches, and see that a strange type of goop covers it. Very sticky goop, which is also currently drying on my long thick boot.

I've learned enough from Genkai to know that sticking my bare hands into some unearthly substance was not the smartest path of action, but how elseam I supposed to get free?

I tug harder and harder, until, sweating, the answer hits me. Do I really need my boots?

So, I unlace them and then I get them off, sweating profusely. Okay, now I'm alone with not even my boots to protect me. Great. So, in my socks, I walk off, following the trail of footprints. A second after, I hear something and dive out of sight along this path. For once I am grateful for the fog,at least I can't be seen.

"I felt something twitch in Rhiharl's webbing. I think we have her another meal to give to dear old Sensu…"

Then what I hear is unmistakably a cry of rage. "FOOL! I told you we should have got here faster! The animal escaped! All that is left of it is these boots! It might have been the savior of the human! He needs it!"

"Oh no, oh no."

"And it's your fault, buffoon!"

"You don't think he will be content with that human female?"

"OF COURSE NOT! LOOK AT HOW SKINNY SHE WAS! NO MEAT AT ALL! AND SHE WON'T BE EATEN! REMEMBER, SHE'S---"

"Y-you mean, he wouldn't eat the panther man?"

"That bloke?" The first demon laughed dryly. "He's been fried and refried so many times by that frap ray, the only thing that has less water than him is the Earth's Sahara. No, the panther is merely a hostage, and of course, he will be used later if he can ever get the child."

"Wish I knew why he needed him." Muttered the other one thoughtfully.

"Can't have him causing trouble, right?"

"Will he kill him?"

"At some point. You know, when he has no further use. Once his life energy is sucked away, what more can be done with him?"

"I guess so."

"Let's go. We're already late."

They teleport away.

Those morons! Talking about that where anyone could have heard them!

I haven't been happy since I heard them, but now I most certainly am. They filled me in on so much stuff! I continue walking, almost skipping. They caught the girl in the webbing, and that Sensu is the demon keeping my father. And that they know Suuichi and I exist. And why would Sensu need me, the savior, to come unscathed?

I'm no longer smiling. Perhaps it is because of these thoughts or that the footprints are getting fresher, and greater in number. I guess I'm getting closer to Sensu's training grounds, at least for his troops.

Now the fog is getting thicker because the energies from the demons are more concentrated, so it's also smellier. If I live to get out of this dump, I'm never setting foot outdoors again as long as I live.

Suddenly, I hear commotion that sounds like a great crowd. If it's an army I'm dead. But we knew I was dead already, right?

I come to a demon town, which is obviously the source of all the noise, that you wouldn't know existed had you not been right next to it and deaf. But I have to face my most obvious problem: HOW AM I GOING TO GET IN UNSEEN? I mean, even demons are bright enough to figure out the difference between a demon and a part-human.

Ironically, the answer is being read right in front of me. I see a sign: ROUND UP REBELS FOR REWARD, complete with a picture of who I speculate is Sensu. Big as a tree and hairy green, it couldn't have been the one that hurt Botan. They said it was whitish.

I see an uglybluish-green demon, in a rancid blood red tunic-like garment. He doesn't see me leap from the shadows. I take him out easily, my claw drawing a line across his throat, wincing as some of the jugular spray splashes me.And I also wince as I tug off the robe. Utterly disgusted, only saving that girl's life could have let me put in on. Then I pull up the hood so that my human face is shrouded in shadow. Then I pick up the demon's body and sling it over my shoulder. I look in my Commir, and even I have to admit I really look the part of a bounty hunter. I resist the crazy urge to yell for backup just in case something happens. Bloodstained robes, my captive beaten up, everything's in place. I would be almost comfortable if:

I was not worried about never getting this putrid stench of blood off of me, and

I was not worried about whether I'd have to show my face or not.

So, I step into the populace and realize that I blend right in. There are tons of demons that hide their faces, and another few who have wounded people also with them. These men I watch closely. They all seem to be going into this huge stone palace, which looks like the evil twin of Koenma's place. Some windows are boarded up, and the thing seems to be creaking, waiting for someone to drop onto. Not exactly comfy looking. I watch at a distance. The other bounty hunters talk to this shrimpy, wispy little yellow demon, probably stating their business and names. The manager writes on a slip of paper and admits them through with a wave of his hand - or claw.

Looks simple enough.

I step up to that main door, and stare expectantly at him. He sizes me up. "Your name would be…?"

I hadn't expected this. I hastily deepen my voice pitch. "……….Krasakat."

"You'd be a bounty as well?"

"Er…yeah. A bounty hunter. A servant of Sensu! I would never dream of disobeying his ridicul-hrm-good laws!"

He watches me carefully, as if waiting for me to suddenly run and attack. "Very well, through and through, you'll find someone to escort you within the door…NEXT!"

I bite back a scream of delight. I made it in! And for a name, using a variation of Crazy Cat!

A/N Review!…please? And this chapter sucked, I just got done editing it, I assure you, the writing quality improves later.