Hey everyone sorry it's been taking so long for me to update and all but whatever at least I didn't leave you guys hanging for months on end right? Anyway a fare warning… this chapter may be a bit jumpy because you all know I don't like to repeat myself and the ORIGINAL chapter for this is on another computer.

Oh well.

Chapter… something: Thoughts of leaving

Why is it that I can't even remember what chapter number I'm on?

After being led to her room Ash was then led back down the stairs and into what seemed to be a training room. Ryu stood in the middle of the ring a pleased look on his face.

"Glad you made it." He said the smirk on his face growing as Ash and Shinku stopped outside the ring boundaries. "Training?" Ash questioned.

"Exactly." Ryu started to explain. "Your friends are sure to come after you and we wouldn't want them to succeed in taking you again would we?" He explained as Ash looked down slightly.

"Ash." This brought her attention back up to Ryu. "I know you are friends with them and this is hard for you but you left them there should be no reason for you to not fight against them." He explained, she realized he had a point.

"Okay." She said stepping out into the ring. "Okay well then first I need you to attack with all the power you have." He explained but she faltered in compiling to his wishes.

"Trust me I know what I'm talking about and asking of you." It took Ash another moment but finally she set herself in a stance gathering all the power she could muster in her.

"Excellent." Ryu muttered seeing that he was about to be put threw the attack he had killed Hiei with and had brought out of her before. Only now he wouldn't feel the pain of it.

--

Meanwhile the gang sat in Koenma's office waiting for the spirit world ruler to show up. The door opened in front of them and Koenma appeared suddenly going and sitting at his desk.

Noticing the two stacks of paper on either side of the desk he quickly pushed them off carelessly making him look somewhat more organized. "Now." He started folding his hands on the desk, "what can I help you with?" He asked.

"Ash is gone." Yusuke stated as Koenma's eyes widened from the information, "what why did you let her go?" He questioned looking at each of the team.

"We didn't willingly let her go!" Kuwabara stated.

"She must have left sometime in the night after we were all either gone or asleep." Kurama said from his seat releasing what he had concluded before.

"Baka she left in the morning." Hiei said leaning against the wall as all eyes turned to him. "You know this for a fact Hiei?" Koenma asked.

"Hai." Hiei answered surly.

"Well why didn't you say anything sooner?" Kuwabara asked anger in his voice.

"Or better yet go after her?" Yusuke put in the same emotion in his voice. Kurama looked at his fire demon friend as Hiei simply looked away.

"Guys harassing Hiei isn't going to help us at all." Kurama stated trying to get Yusuke and Kuwabara off of Hiei's case. "But shorty is holding information from us."

"Oh well it's not going to do any good by doing that." Kurama stated as both boys huffed and turned back towards Koenma's desk.

'I'm not going to ask you if you're okay but is there any chance you're going to act normal with Ash's absence?' Kurama questioned Hiei telepathically.

'Hn don't count on it.'

'What are you thinking about all of this anyways?'

'That's none of you're concern.' Hiei replied back to him almost instantly.

'Gomen Hiei I didn't mean to pry.' Kurama said then breaking the link between them.

Hiei's P.O.V

I felt the fox cut the link between our minds and at that moment I felt a pang of guilt run threw me though I would never show it. I could see that Kurama was just trying to understand and help me with this but I couldn't accept it.

The fact was that all of this started because I was stupid and told Ash negative things instead of thinking things threw first.

I couldn't and didn't want to think of what could happen in these situations where Ash's mind was sure to be very susceptible to things people said.

Normal P.O.V

"Can you track Ash's ki and tell us where she is?" Kurama questioned. "Yes actually I can do that." Koenma said, as a screen appeared in front of them with a map of the world with a small yellow dot barely visible to the see.

Suddenly the screen started to zoom itself in to just Japan showing the dot growing in size slightly. But as the screen tried to zoom in again it blurred and changed to black the words 'Insufficient data' coming up in red.

"Insufficient data?" Koenma yelled at the screen pounding his desk with one of his small hands. "What does that mean?" Kuwabara questioned in almost a whisper.

"It means you're brain is the size of a pea." Yusuke mumbled, "It means it can't call up the information." Kurama filled in. "Well I can't track her something is blocking it." Hiei's eyes snapped open although everyone failed to notice the look of his mind at work.

"But I'll try and get it to work until then there is nothing we can do." Koenma said a bit of sadness in his voice. "I'll contact you if I find anything." The gang took that as their cue to leave and started for the door and the portal that would transport them home.

--

With Ash night had fallen and now she sat in her small room, it was a little better then the prison cell Kianna and her had shared before. She was free from any chains in this one and a small bed with a blanket just big enough for her sat on it.

(Yep my describing skills suck.)

She sat on the cold stone floor in the dark room staring out into the clear night's sky the full moon her only source of light.

Ash's P.O.V

I thought to myself of why I decided to come here anyways, Hiei had said that I brought everyone down and that I lived my life a lie and the more I think about it the more I see that it's true.

And as much as I don't want to believe it the more it shows the lie I have made.

I guess I make my life this way because it makes the people around me happy… but does it truly make me happy? Did coming here… to my enemy truly solve my problems?

Wait… let's take this back a few steps for a moment… why did I choose to come to Ryu above anything else? Sure I have no family besides a mother that I don't even know if she's alive or not but other then that nothing.

I would be able to find a place to live easy but… was leaving this place so easy? I had moved so many times in my life because of my father's abuse but this was the one place that I felt at home.

It was the place I had met Hiei and the others and the place Hiei had told me he loved me I couldn't make new memories like that anywhere else… maybe that was why I stayed in this city.

But that still doesn't answer why Ryu? That question I probably couldn't answer but my best guess… I think for that time I didn't think I could live anymore knowing the only person that had ever showed me true love had rejected me.

But I couldn't bring myself to take the option of death and this was the only place I had ever felt really close to death. But surprisingly Ryu had changed since before now he was more understanding.

But still I can tell he can still severely damage someone's mind… Shinku for example she shouldn't have to be put threw anything like this at such a young age and yet she was, power forced upon her having nothing else.

I want to help her now, try and give her a regular life as much as possible. But how would I do that?

I couldn't think anymore emptiness filled my heart to much I knew what I wanted but I couldn't get it… maybe never again. Slowly I pulled myself up into the bed closing my eyes willing my body to sleep, but it wouldn't come.

--

At the temple Hiei sat in his tree using his Jagan eye to try and search for Ash but much like the computer every time he tried it always came up blank.

Sighing to himself he put his bandana over his Jagan feeling Kurama coming towards his tree. "Hiei how long are you going to search for Ash?" Came the kitsune's voice staring up into the bare branches. (Yep it's still winter even slightly!)

"As long as it takes." He answered looking down at the red head, "we'll find her Hiei but I think you already know where she is do you?" It surprised Hiei sometimes how he knew what Hiei was thinking even when he didn't say anything.

"I think so." He said almost inaudibly. "Well would you mind sharing?"

"Ryu has her."

A/N: Not much of an ending but I had to end it somewhere and I couldn't think of anything else to put so that's that! Anyways I greatly appreciate ideas and suggestion so feel free to send some! Anyways please review either way and I'll update as soon as possible!