Keiko and Botan pounded on the door of the boy's suite, calling for them to open up. "This is an emergency!" Botan howled, a slip of paper gripped tightly in her hand while the other hit the door. She knew how hard Yusuke was to wake up and figured Kuwabara would be even worse. Shizuru finally arrived with a sigh and pushed the two girls aside as she whipped out a couple of bobby pins and a tiny smirk on her normally passive face. But before she could even attempt to pick the lock, the door opened to reveal a Kurama whose hair was pulled up and looking a bit annoyed-- Hiei sat at the windowsill, glaring at the loud female intruders.

"Heh heh... uhm..." Keiko looked at the bubbly grim reaper who was frozen by the negative emotions billowing from the two demons in front of them. She took the paper from her hands, handing it over to the fox demon vessel. "Kagome didn't mention anything to you, did she? About not coming to the match today?"

The paper had very little information beyond just seeing them later and wishing them good luck. Kurama shook his head. "Not a word. But she is the replacement. I'm sure--" He stopped and glared at Keiko's pocket. "... what do you have there...?"

The human girl blinked at the look in the normally passive Kurama's eyes and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small acorn with a strange face on it. "It was on top of the note, kind of like a paperweight. When I picked it up, I swore it made some kind of noise and I dropped it on the desk. But it didn't make the sound again when I picked it back up..."

The redhead took the acorn and, true to Keiko's word, it belted out a single cry before becoming silent. He sighed and looked around at everyone present. "This is an ancient form of fox magic, usually perfected by kits before they are allowed to learn higher forms of magic. It is a way to alert their parents and family members of which way they went and where to find them. But this one is only designed to greet one person and register whomever else touches it... as what, I do not know... but the kitsune who enchanted this acorn has gathered whatever information it attained from a single touch."

A bandaged hand reached up and plucked the acorn away. The acorn did not cry out this time. "That means it is time to get our wayward miko, preferably in time to make it to the fight. Yusuke, the masked fighter, and the idiot will go to the stadium as planned." Hiei's uninjured hand lit up, stopping Kuwabara's retort to the insult. He put the acorn in his flaming hand and listened to the magic nut scream in pain with a rather pleased gleam in his eye. "Kurama and I will gather the priestess and bring her to the stadium. Rest assured that she will be thoroughly scolded for trading one kitsune for another...during such a dangerous time." Lowering his hand and letting the ashes fall to the ground, he left the room with Kurama. It was time to hunt.

Xx.xX

Kagome meandered around the forest, looking out for a familiar auburn-haired fox demon. She wore a pair of blue jeans that were a bit tight and a button-up white shirt with the top three buttons undone and an undershirt to keep any eyes off of her assets-- Botan wasn't flat-chested but the young miko had her beat in the boob-department. To ensure that she wouldn't get caught (and scolded for her clothes), she left the suite after writing a note to explain that she had something to do and that she would see them all later. After all, she was only a replacement-- the masked fighter could easily take any opponent out if it came down to it and, if the worst happened, Kagome could be an actual fighter with the ability to do something than just stand there and get talked down to like some little hussy. Yes, she was still upset about yesterday. No, she wasn't going to let it go just yet. Her school uniform was her signature look and she hoped that Shippo would be able to recognize her after 500 years without the green skirt and sailor top.

But putting that thought aside, she really did love the more natural spots of the island. She enjoyed being surrounded by the trees that ran wild and filled her heart with nostalgic bliss...if only she couldn't still see the hotel from where she stood. And thus, she proceeded further into the forestry. Her aim was the largest tree on Hang Neck Island.

Why?

Simply because she had taught Shippo her surefire way of always going home if she got lost. Goshinboku was the largest tree in Tokyo and was grown on the hill that the Shrine was eventually built upon. Since her son hadn't specified where he would find her in the forest, she sought the largest tree out of habit. It was easy enough to find. Getting to it was a bit tougher but the miko enjoyed the exercise. It was a different 'burn' than doing a grocery run and carrying the bags up the shrine steps.

But at long last, Kagome entered a small clearing right in front of that large tree (smaller than Goshinboku but it would suffice). She smiled and approached it. She lay a single hand upon its trunk, closing her eyes as she placed her forehead against the rough bark. Her aura surged in greeting as she did with the Goshinboku every morning since she'd been back. The leaves rustled with her power and appeared to become more lush and vibrant.

"Ahh, are ye crazy?!" A loud voice, heavily accented, broke her out of her out of her thoughts. She looked around to find them but saw no one. Perhaps it was the tree... maybe an offspring of Bokuseno? Her purity would hurt a demon tree but she didn't smell anything burning.

"Oi! Up here, lass!"

Her blue orbs looked up to spot vibrant blue eyes... fangs in a pouting mouth... pointed ears and a sharp horn within a mass of bright red hair... and a muscular chest hidden behind 2 strips of white cloth and equally muscular arms crossed in front of his chest. "Wha' d'ya think yer doin', lettin' yer wind out so?! Lucky fer me, ah felt it b'fore gettin' knocked outta th' tree! Amazin', though, a wee filly like ye'self possessin' such a leef energy as tha'!" With every word he spoke, the demon's ire turned more amused and impressed. "Aye... yer the lass who was gettin' hit on by tha' one team leader, righ'? Quite the melter, tha's fer sure~" He laughed boisterously, easily igniting a smile on Kagome's face though she didn't understand some of the words. But they didn't sound anything like the last demon she had the...pleasure of meeting.

"Yeah... Chu was... interesting..." Her words only made the cheerful demon laugh more. "I'm Kagome."

"Jin, th' wind master, a' ye service~" He bowed flamboyantly before using his wind powers to float cross-legged in front of her but lower to the ground so they were at about the same level. She couldn't help but feel grateful at his thoughtfulness (intended or habit)-- he was so tall, she had to risk a sore neck to look him in the eyes when he was standing. Even if it wasn't actual consideration, she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. "So K'gome, wha's got yer wind in such a tizzy? Scared me pants off, it almost did..."

Kagome smiled weakly. "Well, I was just greeting this tree. My family has a sacred tree on our shrine grounds but it feels like so long since I have seen it... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. There's still a lot I don't know about my powers... er, I mean, my wind...?"

He put a big hand on her head and ruffled her thick raven locks with a grin that sported one of his fangs. "Me pants didn't run fer the hills so all's well, lass. An' ah know wha' ye mean--winds're always changin' direction, gettin' faster or calmin' to a gentle breeze. Best just to ride th' currant~" He suddenly started flying around in a way that she had only seen in Peter Pan, never losing that grin, laughing as he did tricks that weren't meant to impress but to show her such a large amount of joy that she had forgotten was possible in one person.

Well, at least there was one person she knew that could match his joy, hopefully 500 years didn't turn him into an old stiff like a certain demon lord. She looked around and started climbing the tree she had just greeted, her time in Sengoku Jidai aided her well with the leisurely task and soon she was poking her head out of the top and waving at Jin to gain his attention. The wind master flew over to her at near break-neck speed before stopping on a dime directly in front of her with a curious grin. "You didn't happen to see a fox demon around these woods, did you? Auburn hair, sea green eyes? I was supposed to meet him here but I haven't been able to sense him."

"Oh... hmm... nope. Sorry, lass. But maybe I wasn't supposed to find him fer ye? Sounds like he be playing hide-n-seek, don't ya think?"

Kagome chuckled a bit and gave him a friendly smile. "That does sounds like him. But I thought I'd try... thanks anyway." She turned to climb down the tree when Jin stopped her.

"Allow me, missy~" he said as he held out his hand and, upon the miko's acceptance, pulled her close and he wrapped her in his strong bare arms before starting to fly with her. He heard her pleased laughter and started to do some tricks with her so she could see how he enjoyed his wind before finally landing and helping her sit on a log. His brand of flying was normally fairly dizzy for others.

The Shikon priestess' hair was a mess, there were leaves and feathers trapped in the curly yet tangled locks, but even so, as she ran her fingers through to remove all the tangles and small wind-born decorations, her grin and charming laughter could not be tamed. "That was amazing! Thank you for your help and for the fun!"

Jin waved off the thanks with a wise word. "Life's too short to be so serious. Gotta have fun while yer still breathin' an' all tha'. Now, ah should leave ye to yer foxy game. Surely my team's in a tizzy, lookin' fer meh. Well... all but Toya."

Kagome tilted her head, asking, "Wait, you're a fighter?"

The redhead flexed his muscles and returned her question with one of his own. "Can' ye tell? Our match is after th' one goin' on righ' now. But th' other's like to make sure we're all around so we don't get disqualified by a technicality. Anyway, later, K'gome!" Once again, he took to the skies, flying towards the stadium and leaving Kagome to fix her hair to a modicum of tameness.

"Jin the wind master... such a strange guy. Oh well, ready or not! Here I come!"

(lass, filly - girl

leef - lethal

melter - describing a person who is a bit of an idiot or at least very annoying)